Chapter 296. Orden Annihilation Operation (3)
“…How should we split it?” Jin Sahyuk asked while I was handling the Basilisk’s corpse. Glancing back, I saw her eagerly staring at the dungeon’s rewards.
“I don’t know.”
Killing the Basilisk rewarded us with two items.
===
[Pinnacle-grade Dungeon Box]
—What item could be inside?
===
===
[Alexander III’s Cape] [Pinnacle-grade] [Ancient Legendary Artifact]
—The cape worn by Macedon’s conqueror. Its wearer will exude formless charisma.
「2 Point Invariable Stat Increase – Charm (9 points max)」
「Ignore 50% of Physical Damage」
「Conqueror’s Boon – increases the growth rate of ‘magic power’ and ‘Gifts’.」
===
One was a random box that had yet to be opened, and the other was the item Jin Sahyuk was staring at in awe. In this world, ‘equipment of a well-known ancient general’ was much more noble and powerful than a ‘divine weapon of an unknown god’. This was also the reason Xiang Yu’s Conqueror Spear and Lü Bu’s Square Sky Halberd were considered two of the strongest weapons.
In this regard, the cape of the Conqueror Alexander the Great was an incredible artifact. Although Eastern influence was strong in this world because of Korea, the ancient Macedonian conqueror wasn’t so easily forgotten.
“Then… this cape can be mine….”
Jin Sahyuk carefully picked up Alexander’s cape. I stared at her fixedly.
“…W-Why? It’s okay, right?”
She flinched with a guilty conscience.
“Do you even know who Alexander III is?”
“What? Don’t underestimate me. Of course, I do. Alexander the Great is one of the few people of this world that I look up to.”
Jin Sahyuk surprisingly praised Alexander. Well, he was a king of great charisma, ambition, and character. Jin Sahyuk likely saw him as a senior who walked the path she wanted to take.
“Mm, I see, to think my king has respect for another king. As your servant, I am touched.”
I spoke sarcastically like a servant. Jin Sahyuk’s reaction was funny. She stared at me with her eyes wide like a rabbit before taking a few steps back and murmuring, “…Don’t do that. It confuses me.”
I shrugged and went back to finishing butchering the Basilisk’s corpse. I put the body in my spatial pouch, and put its skin over my Black Lotus Suit with [Synthesis].
[‘Basilisk’s Epidermis’ has been synthesized with ‘Black Lotus Suit’.]
[‘Black Lotus Suit’ gained the following effect – 30% Physical Damage Reduction, 40% Magic Damage Reduction]
“What are we doing next?”
Hearing Jin Sahyuk’s question, I looked back at her.
“What do you mean? There’s Orden to worry abo…”
Jin Sahyuk was already wearing Alexander’s cape. The way she touched it with sparkling eyes made her look like a kid who received her Christmas present.
…It irked me for some reason.
“I’m letting you borrow it. It’s not yours.”
“What? What do you mean?”
Jin Sahyuk protested immediately. She clenched the cape and glared at me strongly.
“Why would it be yours? I did at least 80% of the work in clearing this dungeon.”
“Bullshit. If I wasn’t here with you, you wouldn’t have been able to clear it.”
“Oh…? ‘With me’, you say~? I didn’t expect my king to say something like that… Anyways, the System thinks otherwise.”
I grinned. Jin Sahyuk should be able to see the [Dungeon Clear Breakdown] as well. According to the system, I made 83% of the contribution while Jin Sahyuk only made 17%. The dungeon rewards were decided based on a dice-roll that was proportional to one’s contribution.
“But I did what you said without complaining, so you should give this to me….”
“Dice please.”
I called for the System’s dice-roll without listening to Jin Sahyuk.
Two six-sided dice immediately appeared. If the sum of the two dice was between 4 and 12, the rewards would be mine. If it were two or three, they would be Jin Sahyuk’s. The dice would be rolled for each of the items.
Drrrr—
Unsurprisingly, the two rolls came out to 11 and 12.
The [Pinnacle-grade Dungeon Box] and [Alexander III’s Cape] fell into my hands.
“Ah….”
A gloomy look surfaced on Jin Sahyuk’s face. It looked like a mix of feeling cheated, annoyed, and sad.
“Here, you can keep wearing it for now. I’m letting you borrow it temporarily, but I’ll lengthen it if you listen to me well.”
I consoled her and then took out the ‘Basilisk’s Fang’ to grind to dust. I planned to use this dust for Medea’s ceremonial robe. Since it was close to completion, Medea would be able to descend soon.
“…Don’t forget what you just said.” Jin Sahyuk muttered reluctantly.
“I won’t.”
With that, we left the dungeon. Our next destination was Orden’s palace, where we expected a heated battle to be taking place.
It was time for me to go end the third main phase.
**
[Central Africa, Orden’s Territory]
The moment Yi Gongmyung sent the signal, the Special Task Force entered the 18 passageways in their respective teams. The garden, research center, housing facility, etc. The Heroes raided all important parts of the palace except Orden’s royal court.
Chief Officer of Essence of the Strait’s Tower of Wish Team, Kim Youngjin.
Guild Leader of Creator’s Sacred Grace, Yun Seung-Ah.
Swordsman of Wish, Kim Suho.
Vice-Leader of Desolate Moon, Shin Jonghak.
Essence of the Strait’s elite member, Chae Nayun.
Divine Archer, Jin Seyeon.
Spirit Speech Master, Aileen.
Hellfire Yi Yongha.
The Special Task Force infiltrated the palace quickly.
“…Is it there?”
Here on the outskirts of Africa, there were non-Heroes who were asked to help by various governments or the Association.
“Hm, looks like it’ll be fun.”
The Hero who was recently promoted to rank 10 among Master-rank Heroes, the Wolf of Valhalla, Yoo Sihyuk.
Though he spent most of his time focusing on raising the future generation in his martial arts camp in Baekdu Mountain, he had returned for this special mission. With his incredible skills, he crossed Africa lightly and arrived at Orden’s palace while defeating monsters and humanoid monsters.
—Krrr.
—Grrr.
Next to him were eight white wolves. They were ‘Sword Beasts’, spirit beasts that gave him the title, ‘Wolf of Valhalla’.
These wolves were a part of Yoo Sihyuk’s Gift, manifested by his swordsmanship. A single Sword Beast was equivalent to a high-rank grade-1 Hero in strength.
“Mm, humanoid monsters are coming here. Can you feel them?”
“…I can.”
Another man responded to Yoo Sihyuk’s question. Black hair and well-defined facial features. It was the Master-rank Hero, Yoo Jinwoong, who was called the Abdicated King of Seoul because of his daughter’s success.
Of the 70 Master-rank Heroes, only 30 were participating in today’s mission. The remaining 40 either died while trying to assassinate Orden, betrayed humanity like the Temple of Justice’s Park Hanho, or were officially ‘missing’ for unknown reasons.
“Judging by their killing intent and unique aura, it seems there are at least three of them.”
Yoo Jinwoong slowly released his magic power. Pzzt—! Pzzt—! Electric currents made with red magic power crackled violently.
“Agreed. They’ll be here soon.”
Yoo Sihyuk rubbed his chin and looked forward in anticipation. He could feel more than one source of powerful demonic energy approaching him.
…Three seconds later.
Whooosh—!
Three humanoid monsters appeared with a fierce gust of wind.
“Kurahaha! Kurahahaha! You two must have big hearts—!”
“…Quiet, Croxus. They’re strong… don’t underestimate them.”
“Humans are humans no matter how strong they are. They can’t be our match.”
All three humanoid monsters closely resembled humans. One was a male with the outer shell of a rhinoceros beetle on his back, one was clearly modeled after the nine-tailed fox, and the last one was a giant who looked like a mix of an ogre and a troll.
“Let’s see….”
Yoo Sihyuk remembered the information he was given from Yi Gongmyung. The Hero Association’s spy had worked hard to obtain this information.
[Croxus]
—Legend Beetle humanoid monster.
—Threat level: [Master-rank]
—The toughness of its back is inestimable.
…
[Nine-Tailed Fox]
—Nine-Tailed Fox humanoid monster.
—Threat level: [Master-rank]
—Apt user of illusion and destruction magic.
…
[Ogre Troll]
—A monstrosity created by fusing an ogre, a troll, and a human.
—Threat level: [Master-rank]
—Supernatural strength.
“All Master-rank threats.”
Yoo Sihyuk smiled with joy. He always enjoyed fighting strong opponents.
On the other hand, Yoo Jinwoong was distorted heavily. It wasn’t because of fear. No matter who his opponent was, he was always ‘enraged’…
Guoooo—!
…It was then that an unexpected current of magic power shot up.
“What?”
Yoo Sihyuk, Yoo Jinwoong, and the three humanoid monsters stopped observing each other momentarily and turned to the direction of the magic power surge.
“Steel Spirit….”
A steel-colored magic power was flickering in the sky above Orden’s palace. Yoo Sihyuk and Yoo Jinwoong had both seen this scene when they were young.
It was without doubt Heynckes’s ‘Steel Spirit Aura’.
In the next moment, the Nine Stars’ magic power condensed into one point before erupting into a thunderous boom and striking down on Orden’s royal court.
KWAAAAAAA—!
Steel descended from the sky.
“Hm… Looks like Old Man Heynckes isn’t so old yet.”
“…Agreed.”
Heynckes’s juniors and Orden’s servants watched the Lord of Steel’s overwhelming display of power in awe.
**
On the other hand, Yun Seung-Ah’s team infiltrated Orden’s research center.
Her team consisted of Yohei, Chae Nayun, Yi Jiyoon, and Shin Jonghak. Their mission was to destroy all ‘humanoid monster synthesis research data’ to prevent further humanoid monsters from appearing.
“Humans! Don’t think you’ll be able to leave alive—!”
But enemies quickly came to hinder them. In less than three minutes after their infiltration, a group of humanoid monsters resembling centaurs charged towards them with giant spears.
“I’ll stop them! Comrades, go do what you must!”
Yohei stopped running and turned around to face them. Before the rest of the team members could say anything, Yohei drank a potion and charged towards the centaurs. With effects from the potion and Yi Jiyoon’s buffs, Yohei turned into a gust of wind that stopped the beasts’ charge.
“Keep running!”
Yun Seung-Ah led the others onward to the research center recorded on their map. Another group of humanoid monsters appeared soon, and this time, Shen Yuan stopped to fight them.
“We all have return scrolls, so we’ll run before it gets too bad. Make sure to complete the mission and avenge the fallen comrades from my country. Tigris might be dead, but all humanoid monsters are the same!” Shen Yuan smiled before jumping into battle.
“…Let’s go.”
The team continued on, running continuously to their destination. They knew they were chased on time, with more and more humanoid monsters sure to come as time passed. It was important to finish this mission as quickly as possible.
The path to the research center was like a maze due to various illusion and bewitchment barriers in place. However, Chae Nayun’s incredible intuition managed to lead them in the right direction.
“Over there!”
The words [Research Center] soon appeared in front of them.
Kwang—!
They burst through the door and charged inside.
“Haa, haa… looks like they all escaped.”
The research center was empty, with the researchers clearly having run away, but the team’s goal was destroying the facility. As long as the facility was destroyed, they wouldn’t be able to birth new humanoid monsters until the war ended.
“Start destroying everything you see… kuhuk!”
Thwack—!
Suddenly, a powerful punch struck Yun Seung-Ah’s stomach. The sudden attack broke her qi reinforcement in an instant, and Yun Seung-Ah fell on her knees.
“U-Unni! You bastard!”
Clang—!
Chae Nayun’s magic power surged out, lighting the dark research center and revealing the humanoid monster who ambushed Yun Seung-Ah.
“…!”
Chae Nayun’s eyes widened immediately.
—Krrrr….
Tigris was standing in front of her.
The humanoid monster who should have been dead was glaring at them while drooling from his mouth and looking dazed.
“Can you see it now? Death is only an obstacle to be overcome for King Orden.”
A deep voice rang out from the faint darkness.
Tap, tap— Footsteps echoed in the room. The team members turned to the direction of the voice.
“…Park Hanho.”
Shin Jonghak muttered with his teeth clenched.
The previous chairman of the Temple of Justice, Traitor Park Hanho, walked forward.
“You walked the path of success thanks to my grandfather’s help. This is how you repay your debt?”
Shin Jonghak cursed as he pointed his Conqueror Spear at him. However, Park Hanho’s expression didn’t change a single bit.
“You are all Heroes, yet you are unaware of how ugly, dirty, and evil they can be. I am here because I am indebted to the Monster King but also to destroy the Association.”
“Chairman… Park Hanho.”
Yun Seung-Ah staggered up.
“I understand… your anger, your sadness. I know you would have done anything to save your daugh—”
“There’s no need, I won’t be convinced. Don’t expect anything from me and die like a Hero.”
“No, w-wait—”
“Tigris—!”
Park Hanho shouted Tigris’s name, making him attack immediately. The revived Tigris lacked consciousness, and his body creaked like a wooden puppet. Still, his strength remained.
Clang—! Clang—!
“Krrrrrrr!”
A fierce battle broke out.
Shin Jonghak and Yun Seung-Ah faced Tigris, and Yi Jiyoon merged into the surroundings with her [Stealth] Skill and shot healing arrows.
Chae Nayun was thus left to fight Park Hanho by herself.
“Uk—!”
Park Hanho was the former chairman of the Temple of Justice and the owner of ‘steel magic power’, second only to the Lord of Steel himself.
Chae Nayun was at a huge disadvantage against him.
“…Chairman, snap out of it! If you got your daughter back, why don’t you take her and run away!?”
“Shut up.”
“I don’t understand, kuk! Why do you want to… kuk! Raise your daughter among monsters?!”
Clang— Clang—!
Swords clashed over and over again. Although Chae Nayun was at a disadvantage, she managed to stand her ground with the undefeated swordsmanship of Heynckes. She wasn’t confident in winning, but she was confident in not losing.
Unfortunately…
“Kuaaaaa—!”
The others weren’t doing so well either.
Tigris was releasing his full strength, and in such a small space, he was akin to a death god. Shin Jonghak and Yun Seung-Ah weren’t given any chance to counterattack.
“Kyaak!”
In the end, Yi Jiyoon, who was in hiding, was caught. Tigris cut off her arm without a moment of hesitation, and Yi Jiyoon fell to the ground in pain.
“Aaaah, it hurts… it hurts…!”
“J-Jiyoon!”
“Where are you looking?”
While Chae Nayun was distracted, Park Hanho’s attack dug into Chae Nayun.
Chwaak—!
With her sides cut, Chae Nayun fell backward. Hot pain spread through her body, and Park Hanho quickly followed up with more attacks.
“Aggh—!”
Chae Nayun blocked Park Hanho’s attacks without having the chance to deal with her wound.
Clang, clang, clang!
Their swords clashed as sparks of ember shot up. Chae Nayun started to slow down from the loss of blood.
“You’re getting slower.”
Park Hanho didn’t give her a single opportunity to rest. His sword attacked Chae Nayun in every direction. The attacks that Chae Nayun could block at first started making cuts on her body.
“Kuk…”
As she was being driven into a corner, suddenly, strange windows popped up in the corner of her eyes.
[You used ‘Lv.5 Invitation Letter to the Loveroom’!]
[Although it was activated by someone else, because it was not activated by a Player, the ownership is returned to you.]
[Enter the nickname of the person you wish to invite.]
[Warning! A battle is taking place. Forced summon is not possible.]
“What…?”
‘What happened? Wasn’t the invitation letter in my pocket?’
Chwaak—
While Chae Nayun was wondering what happened, Park Hanho’s sword shot towards her thigh, and it was then that Chae Nayun came to a realization.
“…!”
‘It got torn during battle!’