Chapter 198
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: The Hero, Accumulated Power - 3
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A single scene could change the entire atmosphere.
The world reacted to the blueprint Lee Hyun-wook had presented.
- Through a surprise live raid broadcast, Steel Rain proves once again that he is the ‘Hero’ who will stop the apocalypse.
- Why we must believe in Steel Rain: What is ‘Magitech,’ the new technological skill that will open a new horizon?
But that tide, too, would soon turn…
Eleven hours after he returned to Laputa with the Leviathan's carcass, the Demon King once again revealed himself to the world, making his presence known.
In other words, the Demon King was also trying to shift the currents.
And his location was none other than…
- [Breaking News] Demon King Appears Over New York Skies (First Report)
***
"Oh, my God…"
On the world's most famous street, Times Square, the countless people coming and going stopped as if frozen in time, their eyes fixed on the sky.
"..."
A shadow slowly crept over their faces.
*Vwoom— Vwoom—*
In the sky above Manhattan, New York, still called the greatest city in the world, the ‘Flower of Death’ had appeared.
Like a cliché scene from countless alien invasion movies, it hovered majestically above the skyscrapers, looking down on the city known as the ‘capital of the world.’
*Vwoom— Vwoom—*
It was an arrogant and leisurely sight, as if observing an ant colony that could be crushed at any moment.
Furthermore, swarms of flying undead circled it, creating a grim atmosphere. Among them, a single ‘Bone Dragon’ exuded a particularly formidable pressure.
The Flower of Death… The entire world already knew of its power.
At that moment, the world's top Player news show, the New York-based <Kill the Monster>, was like a funeral home.
- …Ha— I never thought it would come to New York, right above our heads.
- That flying object looks like the same weapon of mass destruction that attacked the ‘Ancient Red Drake’ in the first wave erosion zone in California a few days ago.
- Yes, that's right. It's the entity known as the Flower of Death, and we all witnessed its ability to cover an incredibly wide area with a deadly gas.
- It was a truly horrific scene. In just one day, it completely wiped out all the ‘Ancient Red Drakes’ that humanity had failed to even raid until then.
- Yes, after seeing that, every nation must have been pouring all its resources into preparing for an invasion from that thing, but…
- That's not something you can just prepare for with effort alone.
After drawing the world's attention more intensely than ever before, the action the Demon King took was…
- Ah, we have news just in! A-A message has just been sent to the world from the Demon King's side!
To deliver a message to the entire world.
The screen quickly switched to show the Flower of Death in the New York sky, with a caption below that read, ‘The Demon King's Message.’
- Let’s listen in now.
Then, a man's voice began to flow out.
「…From this moment on, if anyone tries to leave New York, I will rain down poison gas and toxic venom upon the entire city. No matter how much you struggle, the moment I decide, millions of civilians will die. So, not resisting is the better way to live longer. None of you should even think of leaving my sight.」
That was it.
Just a very short and sharp threat… there weren't even any demands.
- ...
Even the hosts of <Kill the Monster> were at a loss for words, and for a while, the audio went dead, filled only with a terrible silence.
- Uh… so… it-it has not been revealed for what reason the Demon King’s side has taken the citizens of New York hostage.
- And the U.S. government has been repeatedly trying to make contact, but they have yet to receive any response.
Only one name came to mind at this moment.
- Does Steel Rain know what's happening?
- Honestly, at this point… it feels like we need a response from Steel Rain more than from the government or the domestic guild alliance.
- Yes, he has to step in. If Steel Rain is watching this broadcast, please… give us an answer.
***
The whole world tried to decipher the Demon King's intentions.
But no one could come up with a clear answer.
Only one person was different: Lee Hyun-wook, who had received the ‘Hero's Boon.’
He had received a direct hint.
- (!) The Demon King has begun constructing the 'Demon King's Castle'.
* Once the Demon King's Castle is complete, the ‘Rampage of Evil’ will begin. A random ‘Gate’ will open in the area every 24 hours, and the monsters that emerge from it will be subservient to the Demon King.
‘…What?’
The information was nothing short of shocking.
‘So… he’s going to have an infinite supply for his army?’
If goblins came out of that random gate, it wouldn't be a big deal, but if, by some chance, a dragon emerged, it would become a huge problem.
"…Things have gotten complicated."
Lee Hyun-wook had planned to gather items from all over the world, process them with Magitech, and create as many weapons as possible.
‘If I do that, I should be able to widen the gap with the Demon King…’
He believed there was a limit to the number of items the Necromancer and the Demon King possessed.
‘They must have scraped together every precious item they could find, but they couldn't have brought everything with them when they moved dimensions.’
From what Lee Hyun-wook had observed, all dimension travelers came alone.
That meant the items they wore were all they brought.
‘Of course, the Necromancer had a separate skill related to subspace, but it wasn't on the level of carrying around a ton of airdrop devices like me…’
Therefore, Lee Hyun-wook calculated that he could get ahead in terms of both the quality and quantity of weapons, which meant time was on his side.
But if the Demon King's Castle was completed and the 'Rampage of Evil' began, and a gate's worth of monster forces joined the Demon King's side every 24 hours…
‘…In the end, time won't be entirely on my side either.’
So, how should he proceed now?
‘Instead of waiting for the Demon King to make a move like now, I need to find him and launch a preemptive strike.’
And the ‘target’ seemed somewhat clear.
Lee Hyun-wook looked at the television showing New York. Given the current situation, it was reasonable to assume that was the construction site for the ‘Demon King's Castle.’
‘Is that why he didn't demand anything and just took the citizens of New York hostage?’
Everything seemed to fit together perfectly.
But Lee Hyun-wook felt a nagging sense of unease.
‘But to reveal it so openly… it’s very suspicious. He must know that if he starts building the Demon King’s Castle, I’ll target it…’
Then why, for what purpose, did he choose New York, the best place to attract attention, as the site for the Demon King's Castle?
And then, something incongruous caught his eye.
"—Hm? That’s… not the main body of the Flower of Death, is it?"
He had seen the Flower of Death so many times it made him sick.
But he had never felt this sense of discordance before.
He paused the TV screen showing the Flower of Death and examined it closely.
The ‘Flower of Death’ he knew was bigger than that. And its petals weren't blood-red like that, but purple with red spots. The shape of the pistil, blooming like a column from the center of the flower, also looked completely different.
He asked Talos, who quickly looked up the information online and confirmed it was the difference between a ‘stamen’ and a ‘pistil.’
In other words, it was definitely a completely different Flower of Death.
‘Then I need to figure out why he would place a second Flower of Death over New York.’
Lee Hyun-wook arrived at the answer without much difficulty.
‘It’s likely a decoy.’
For more concrete information, Lee Hyun-wook asked Director Lee Kyo-jun to provide satellite images of the sky over New York—of the Flower of Death.
And after confirming them…
‘…Just as I thought, he isn't there.’
In his past life, Lee Hyun-wook had thoroughly investigated the Necromancer's strength to defeat his worst enemy.
He knew a few things about the Flower of Death, one of which was that the ‘pistil’ part acted as a kind of antenna.
It received the Necromancer's mana and then emitted it near the roots, serving as a ‘router’ that relayed commands to the undead in the area.
‘That’s how he controls a much larger number of undead.’
But looking at the satellite photos of the New York sky—the photos of the Flower of Death taken at 5-minute intervals—he noticed that the pistil wasn't moving at all.
"…Normally, it would twitch toward the Necromancer if he was nearby."
That was why tracking the pistil's movement had been the most basic method for locating the Necromancer hidden among the undead legion.
In short, the Necromancer was not there.
Which meant the Demon King was not there either.
Which meant that was not the construction site of the Demon King's Castle.
‘Right, he wants me to think that’s where the Demon King’s Castle is being built.’
In other words, it was a ploy to buy time.
Until the real Demon King's Castle was completed…
But Lee Hyun-wook, who already knew what the Flower of Death looked like, was not fooled.
A strange smile formed on his lips.
‘They have no idea about the greatest power I possess.’
Unaware that Lee Hyun-wook knew information from the future, the Necromancer and the Demon King had cast what they thought was a brilliant lure, but they weren't getting any bites.
‘This fact will be a great weapon until the very end.’
But finding the real location of the Demon King's Castle was another matter. Even if he couldn't stop its completion, he ultimately had to attack the castle to defeat the Demon King, and finding its location was the first priority.
‘I can't just search the entire world…’
The castle could even be deep in the ocean, so that would be far from efficient.
‘If I could command Hugin and Munin, I might be able to find it… but I need to specify a region first.’
Lee Hyun-wook was lost in thought for a moment.
A mana communication came through to him.
The message was that Alain Gidam was urgently looking for him.
Saying he had acquired another item…
‘Ah, that’s right, there’s that guy.’
There was a wild beast he had tamed quite well.
‘I’ll release him and have him find the den where the pack is.’
***
"...If you knew how much I struggled to obtain this item, you might even shed a tear."
Alain Gidam sat on a sofa in the Order Tower, making a playful remark.
All the while, he turned his head this way and that, his eyes darting around.
"Phew… this is luxury. The view here is absolutely stunning. Well, I suppose it is the tallest building in the world."
The Order Tower was enclosed by glass walls on all sides. Thanks to that, not only Laputa but the entire surrounding landscape was visible at a glance.
The panoramic blue sky spread out like an ocean, a massive city floating above the clouds… Alain Gidam was the first outsider to witness this scene, and he smiled brightly in admiration.
‘Ha— I’ve finally made it this far.’
How miserably had he bowed and scraped to get here?
For Alain Gidam, who held a world-renowned position and possessed a great deal of pride, it had been an arduous task. But he was also a gambler who could bet everything to get what he wanted.
‘Laputa, the heart of Steel Rain… The fact that I’m here means he has completely opened his heart to me. And with what happened in New York, he must be feeling pressed for time. If I bring him a huge benefit at a time like this…’
He slowly shifted his gaze, glancing sideways at Lee Hyun-wook, who was sitting across from him, examining the tablet PC he had handed over.
‘…He won't be able to refuse, and he’ll walk right into my trap.’
Lee Hyun-wook swiped the screen a few times before speaking.
"So you're saying the legendary-grade item, ‘Yeouibong,’ is inside a gate in China, and it's bind-on-pickup."
That's right, the ‘Yeouibong.’
Wasn't it the weapon of the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, the protagonist of the world's most famous classic novel, <Journey to the West>?
"Yes, and very fortunately, the <Jin> Guild, who secured it, has been arguing and even shedding blood over who among them should get the item, so they haven't touched it and have preserved the site as is. Haha— quite the farce, I'm sure, but it's lucky for us."
Lee Hyun-wook was silent for a moment, and Alain Gidam swallowed dryly.
But in the end, Lee Hyun-wook nodded.
"…If you're offering it to me, I have no choice but to go."
"Haha— I knew it, right?"
"Yes, I'll soon have to go to New York to face the Demon King, so I need to bolster my strength even a little. I'm just grateful that you've found another precious item like this for me."
"If I could, I would've gone and grabbed it myself, but… for the sake of the Earth—"
He raised his index finger and pointed at Lee Hyun-wook.
"—I'm investing everything I have in you."
He had learned the art of navigating the political and business worlds after long entanglement, and he knew that such blatant wording was surprisingly effective.
No matter how much a person had, they always wanted to feel acknowledged. No, in fact, they wanted to have it confirmed again and again more than anyone else.
‘That's why flattery, especially when offered with a little bribe, almost always works.’
Steel Rain was no different.
And just as expected, Lee Hyun-wook smiled pleasantly.
"Monsieur, I am truly always grateful."
Lee Hyun-wook extended his hand, and Alain Gidam shook it.
"Shall we go right now, then?"
***
Lee Hyun-wook, along with Kim Se-hee and a few other Hope Guild members, followed Alain Gidam to the place where the Yeouibong was said to be sleeping—a gate opened somewhere on Chinese soil.
*Vwoom—*
Lee Hyun-wook passed through four two-way portals arranged by Alain Gidam to arrive in China.
The location was Mount Heng, one of China's five great treacherous mountains, where dozens of Players greeted them.
And from the center of the group, one man walked out.
He was short but had a sturdy build. One peculiar thing about him was the numerous piercings on his ears and nose.
- Player (LV: 72)
* Villain, Devil Worshipper
Lee Hyun-wook recognized him.
‘…It’s Zhang Junjie, one of the Five Evils of the Continent.’
He was a member of Dark Star, one of the leaders of the Chinese Villain network. And more importantly, he was a Player who had used the ‘Yeouibong’ for a while.
‘Which means the Yeouibong is definitely here.’
He approached Lee Hyun-wook with an affable smile.
"Wow, I never thought I'd get to meet you in person. I am Zhang Junjie, the vice master of the <Jin> Guild. The master should have come himself for something like this, but he's caught up with something important right now."
He extended his hand, and Lee Hyun-wook shook it.
Following his lead, they climbed the mountain path.
After about ten more minutes…
"Here we are."
But all that could be seen were trees and piles of rocks.
"…A wide-area mirage barrier?"
"Oh, you recognized it right away?"
It was the same kind of cloaking magic that was cast over the ‘Bukaksan Grand Shrine.’
As they climbed a little further and passed a certain point—
- You have passed through the <Wide-Area Mirage Barrier>.
A fairly wide hilly area unfolded before them.
Several helicopters were parked there, and dozens of Players in full gear stood guard.
And there was a cave. Seeing it blocked by a large iron door, it seemed to be the space where the gate in question had opened.
"Ahem, but there is one difficulty with this place."
"Yes?"
When Lee Hyun-wook gave him a questioning look, Zhang Junjie scratched his head awkwardly and said.
"As you've probably heard, there have been some major and minor fights between the three factions within our guild over the weapon of the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, that sleeps in that cave."
"Yes, I heard."
"So we decided amongst ourselves that, to prevent any thieves from getting in before we determine the owner of the Yeouibong, we would set a rule that only one person from each of the three factions can enter at the same time. Otherwise, we've inscribed magic circuits to make the cave itself collapse."
He said, pointing to the entrance of the cave.
Indeed, all sorts of magic circuits were drawn there.
"They say it would take three or four days to disable that, and none of us have that kind of time, do we?"
He said with a slight smile.
Lee Hyun-wook nodded.
‘They’ve put in quite an effort.’
This trap seemed to have been prepared with considerable care.
Lee Hyun-wook turned his head to look at Kim Se-hee.
"Director Kim, I'll go in alone, so please wait here for a moment."
"Ah…"
She didn't know the full story, so she looked somewhat anxious about Lee Hyun-wook entering a strange place alone, but this was Lee Hyun-wook, wasn't it? Who would dare question his safety?
"Yes, then we will wait outside," said Alain Gidam, who had come with them, before Kim Se-hee could respond.
Lee Hyun-wook nodded and accepted the bracelet Zhang Junjie offered him.
"Here, you must wear this to enter."
[Item Information]
- Name: Oath of the Three Gorges
- Effect: Allows entry and exit through a specific barrier.
Lee Hyun-wook put on the bracelet and entered the cave with Zhang Junjie and one other Villain.
Alain Gidam and the Chinese Players watched him disappear, exchanging glances.
***
And just as expected, it was a trap.
"…What do we do now? The great Steel Rain took a few bribes and lost his mind, walking right into our trap."
"Eheheh— there will be no escape this time."
Of course, there was no gate inside the cave.
But the level of the trap was surprisingly not so cliché.
‘What is this?’
Lee Hyun-wook tried to summon AD-2 from his wrist imprint, but strangely, the imprint didn't respond.
At this, Zhang Junjie laughed and said.
"Kukuk— this cave is lined with ‘Mana Inversion Stones.’ In other words, inside here, neither your mana nor ours will function properly. Meaning, you can't use skills."
"..."
"Do you have any idea how much we spent on this facility to catch you? It probably cost as much as that strange arsenal you painstakingly built!"
Lee Hyun-wook raised his head and examined the ceiling and walls.
They were meticulously coated with a rare material item called ‘Mana Inversion Stone.’
To cover such a large space with the incredibly hard-to-find inversion stones… originally, inversion stones were only used as tools to disable barriers at best.
Their price was comparable to Orichalcum, so filling such a vast space would have required a truly enormous sum of money.
This was an absurd trap, only possible for a Villain who had encroached upon the closed-off big market of China.
"…You really prepared meticulously this time, didn't you?"
"That's right. You said you built that arsenal with the support of your small country, right? So what do you think we, who can draw on the power of this great nation, can do when we get serious?"
Lee Hyun-wook nodded.
"Yes, it's impressive. A trap prepared to this extent… any Player would fall for it."
"Eheheh— you know it well, don't you? So are you going to beg for your life? There are no CCTVs in here, so feel free if you want to."
Lee Hyun-wook silently glanced down at his watch.
"…294 seconds left."
"What?"
"If you can kill me before then, go ahead. If not…"
If there isn't a single opening, you just have to force one.
"…This entire mountain will collapse."