Chapter 202
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 202
Chapter Title: The Assault on the Demon King's Castle - 1
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In the distance, a section of the vast mountain range that formed the world's backdrop was sinking into nothingness.
Ruuuumble—!
A hazy cloud of dust rose from the spot, surging like a wave and sweeping across the red plains toward them.
And as the area had transformed into a volcanic region after the first wave, magma flowing underground was exposed to oxygen and exploded, sending massive mushroom clouds blooming one after another.
Boom— Boom—
This would have shaken the 'Demon King's Castle'—under construction deep underground—to its very foundations, undoubtedly provoking the Demon King.
'...Of course, this alone isn't enough to damage the Demon King's Castle.'
Even after slamming four Mogleis into the ground, the Ancient Red Drakes' underground city likely wouldn't be completely destroyed.
Wasn't it presumed that the very reason for building the Demon King's Castle there was to avoid his Moglei strikes?
'But they won't be able to block them forever.'
However, the Demon King surely knew that the Moglei drops might not end with this one barrage, and that with enough strikes, even the sturdiest tree will fall.
In other words, if they left Lee Hyun-wook unchecked, he would reduce even the largest mountain to dust and crush everything beneath it...
'...So, they'll have no choice but to crawl out.'
Lee Hyun-wook planned to kick the hornet's nest and swat the hornets as they swarmed out. It would be a much more advantageous fight.
"All right, I think we can begin setting up camp now."
At Lee Hyun-wook's words, Team Leader Lee Kyo-jun, standing beside him, issued an order to the entire fleet via Mana Messenger. Two of the nineteen airships then broke from formation and lowered their altitude.
- Chk— Commencing cornerstone installation operation.
The first team to land secured a basic perimeter by setting up a 'Mana Shield,' after which the second team's Priests landed, deployed numerous 'Holy Relics,' and activated them.
Wooooong—
A gentle divine power spread out, cleansing the area of the deathly energy that had saturated it.
- Chk— Phase one complete. Commencing phase two.
Next, a group of engineers bustled about, pulling rolled-up fences from subspace and beginning to enclose the camp's perimeter.
As airships landed within the perimeter and began unloading vehicles and supplies, the site started to take on the appearance of a proper military encampment.
- Deploying blacksmiths to proceed with additional work.
Then, the Dwarves and blacksmiths from Laputa stepped forward to install Magitech Auto-turrets and position AI-equipped Colossi in guard mode.
Several massive weapons, prepared just for this day, were also visible.
That wasn't all.
- Chk— The Dark Elf Spiritists are ready.
Next, the Spiritists from the Dark Elf Forest scattered seeds and imbued them with mana, causing a green wave to sprout up around the camp, forming a great barrier.
Thus, Lee Hyun-wook mobilized every resource at his disposal to maximize the camp's defenses in a short amount of time.
'Laputa will arrive soon, but I don't know how long this battle will last, so we need to be thoroughly prepared.'
And a well-prepared fortress would serve as a major pillar in the battle. Even if they were pushed back, it would act as a citadel for a siege and a supply depot to easily receive reinforcements.
About thirty minutes into the camp's construction, Team Leader Lee Kyo-jun approached him again.
"The dust seems to have settled at the target location, so we'll deploy the 'Special Reconnaissance Team' to search for the entrance to the Demon King's Castle."
The Black Tiger Unit's 'Special Reconnaissance Team,' composed of twenty-four assassin-class Players, had infiltrated the area long before the Steel Fleet's arrival.
With skills suited for infiltration, like stealth and sensory enhancement, and supplied with all sorts of Magitech items, they would demonstrate infiltration capabilities second to none.
Furthermore, Warrant Officer Cheon Myeong-ho was leading them. When it came to infiltration missions, he would perform better than anyone.
And...
"The first wave of reinforcements is about to arrive."
Before coming here, Lee Hyun-wook had requested support from several prominent Players around the world.
They were Players he judged he could trust his back to, and they had readily answered his call and gathered in one place.
"Then in ten minutes, we'll open a Wight Hole and have the first wave of reinforcements join us."
"Yes, please do."
With this, the expeditionary force for the assault on the Demon King's Castle was nearly ready.
Of course, the force wouldn't be truly complete until the troops from New York and North Korea joined them.
***
Wooooosh—
A thick beam of light shot into the sky and transformed into a ring. The inside of the ring distorted, and a massive portal opened.
Thump-thump-thump-thump—
Dozens of helicopters emerged from it in a line, landing one by one on a makeshift runway at one side of the camp.
Soon, familiar faces he had met several times in this life, like Brian Teal, Edward Woods, and Kodo Koshiro, appeared. As for the rest...
'...Ailee Home, who represents Canada; Taylor Port, known as the Shield of America; and Josh Chang, the Guardian of Singapore—I know them well.'
He had never met them in this life, but they had fought alongside him against the Necromancer in his past life, so he could trust them without any need for vetting.
"Thank you for answering my call."
Lee Hyun-wook shook hands with each of them, welcoming them as sincerely as he could.
Among them, Edward Woods and Kodo Koshiro had a relationship that went beyond mere rivalry; they'd had heated confrontations before.
And the Kodo Koshiro he knew was a man who treated this game more as amusement than a disaster.
But for now, he needed them as allies. The firepower of S-rank Players was nothing to scoff at in a war event like this.
A short while later, they all gathered in the command tent.
"...Soon, the Demon King's legion will pour out to stop us. And as you already know, Titans, Black Orcs, Ice Trolls, and Ancient Red Drakes are among those under his command."
Lee Hyun-wook said.
At this, Edward Woods raised his hand with a worried expression.
"But what if they don't come out and just hold their ground?"
He turned his head, gesturing out the window toward the volcanic terrain as he continued.
"I was here four years ago during the California Reclamation Operation. And, embarrassingly, I was taken hostage and saw their underground city. It is... far more fortified than we think."
Four years ago, heroes from all over the world had gathered to reclaim California, which had been corrupted by the first wave.
They suffered a devastating defeat, one so great it was said that thirty of the world's top 100 rankers were lost. To this day, no one has dared to attempt another assault.
That was how powerful the Ancient Red Drakes were, stronger than any monster that had appeared thus far.
And it seemed Edward Woods had that memory etched deep in his bones, as he couldn't hide his concern.
"...So, they'll likely try to hole up in there, and with magma flowing everywhere, it'll be extremely difficult to break through."
But Lee Hyun-wook resolved his concerns quite simply.
"Then I'll just keep dropping Mogleis on that mountain."
"Ah..."
"And in fact, I already tried it once a few hours ago. I'm holding back because if I keep it up, the entrance we need to use might disappear too."
It was the ultimate pressure that only Lee Hyun-wook could apply.
At those words, Brian Teal nodded.
"...Right. If you keep taking a pickaxe to an anthill, they'll have to come out eventually."
And soon enough, that swarm of ants began to emerge... Team Leader Lee Kyo-jun's voice came through Lee Hyun-wook's Mana Messenger.
- Chk— Enemy presence detected.
A moment later, Team Leader Lee Kyo-jun entered the command tent and operated his tablet. A crystal projector linked to it activated, displaying a hologram.
It was intelligence footage sent from the 'Special Reconnaissance Team' that had infiltrated deep into enemy territory. A man's voice was heard as an image of the shattered mountainside appeared before them.
- Those are... Ancient Red Drakes.
Movement was detected across the collapsed mountainside, a result of Lee Hyun-wook's Moglei drop.
Monstrous creatures, roughly fifteen to twenty meters tall with dark red scales, were crawling out onto the surface, their amber eyes gleaming.
Grrrrrr—
- The numbers... twenty-three, thirty-five, fifty... no, they just keep coming.
Team Leader Lee Kyo-jun then shared an analysis report from a military satellite, which put the number at a staggering 1,241.
Hearing this, the Players couldn't hide their shock.
"Oh, my god... How can there be so many?"
"That's even more than there were four years ago."
"...You're right. Looks like they've been breeding a lot."
Their surprise was understandable. A force of Ancient Red Drakes that large could overthrow a respectable nation... no, an entire continent.
And every one of them remembered humanity's crushing defeat four years ago, with some having experienced it firsthand. It wouldn't be surprising if their trauma was resurfacing.
But Lee Hyun-wook alone remained calm.
'Yes, I expected them to appear first.'
It was just as he had predicted. Since this was the land of the Ancient Red Drakes, they were the strongest force in this volcanic terrain.
They were also the most numerous monster, making them a perfect tool for the Demon King to buy time.
'But to be willing to expend his forces so boldly just to buy time... That must mean the construction of his castle is that critical, just as I thought.'
Until now, all of the Demon King's plans had been focused solely on the completion of his castle.
In other words, it was clear that once the castle was finished, the situation would become overwhelmingly advantageous for the Demon King.
Lee Hyun-wook predicted it would not only allow for troop reinforcement through random gate generation, a phenomenon called the 'Proliferation of Evil,' but also act as a sort of 'domain' that would drastically amplify the Demon King's own power.
'Which means the best course of action is to strike as quickly as possible and deal with him before the castle is complete.'
Lee Hyun-wook looked at Lee Kyo-jun.
"Team Leader Lee, please mark the locations where they crawled out. Those points should be the entrances to the underground city."
"Hmm, which would also mean they're the entrances to the Demon King's Castle, right? We'll need to strike there as quickly as possible."
Lee Hyun-wook nodded, and after Lee Kyo-jun gave an order to someone, analysis data arrived on his tablet in just twenty seconds.
He displayed it on the hologram.
White circles appeared on the satellite map of the mountain.
"Uh... we've confirmed a total of four entrances so far. The points are quite far apart, so we can't be sure if they all connect to a single tunnel."
"In that case... it might be risky, but can you ask the Special Reconnaissance Team to get a closer look?"
After defeating the Ancient Red Drakes that were now emerging, they would ultimately have to enter the Demon King's Castle themselves.
If they took a wrong turn and ended up lost, the consequences would be severe. They needed to identify the shortest route to the Demon King's Castle beforehand.
"Yes, I'll tell them to proceed with caution."
Afterward, they stepped out of the command tent and watched the approaching Ancient Red Drakes.
Thump—thump—thump—thump—!
As the massive beasts charged toward them, the very earth shook violently.
From a distance, they looked like an approaching cavalry unit, but as they got closer, they seemed more like a division of tanks.
"What are you doing! They're closing in fast, move it—"
"All mages, prepare large-scale area-of-effect spells!"
The entire force readied their weapons and prepared for defense.
Lee Hyun-wook also synchronized with the War Box in low orbit and aimed above their heads.
'I haven't loaded any Mogleis yet, but I did load a few heavy warheads.'
However, the Ancient Red Drakes began to spread out, forming a fan-shaped formation.
'They're aware of my low-orbit Moglei strikes and are moving to minimize the damage.'
But...
"Uh... they've stopped."
They halted about one kilometer from the camp. Then, just five of them broke away and started approaching.
"Huh, what kind of trick is this?"
"Hmm... I think they want to talk."
And as the five Ancient Red Drakes approached, they even polymorphed into human form.
It was a clear sign of their intent, like commanders from opposing armies meeting for a parley before a medieval battle.
To put it another way:
"...They're trying to buy time."
After all, making contact, talking, and engaging in a battle of wits would buy far more time than simply clashing in battle.
Lee Hyun-wook saw through their obvious intention.
The logical response would be to refuse...
"...Let's go meet them for now."
Woo Seong-mun and Lee Kyo-jun looked surprised by his words.
"What? Didn't you say time was of the essence?"
"I did, but something's come up that I need to confirm."
The reason Lee Hyun-wook made this decision was because, after observing them with Hugin and Munin and checking their detailed information with Insight Lens... he had noticed something interesting.
- Ancient Red Drake (LV: 134)
* Vassal of the Demon King
This information was to be expected at this point.
But occasionally, slightly different information was mixed in...
- Ancient Red Drake (LV: 141)
* Colonized by the Demon King, Latent Spell 'Explosion' Applied
Thus, the additional information for each individual was divided into 'Vassal of the Demon King' and 'Colonized by the Demon King.' The difference was clear: only the latter was shackled with a latent spell.
'In other words, not all of them have sworn loyalty to the Demon King yet.'
So far, countless monsters had been subjugated by the Demon King.
But hadn't the Ancient Red Drakes been living peacefully in this land before being colonized by him?
'So, some have pledged loyalty to the Demon King, but others have not yet submitted.'
And until now, large monster groups born from wave-corrupted regions had always been divided into various factions.
'As far as I know, that's how it's always been.'
First, there was the Dark Elf Kingdom, which was originally friendly to humanity but turned hostile due to an internal rebellion.
Then there was the opposite case with the Black Orc Kingdom, where a faction opposing King Stonox contacted the Guardians and assisted in an assassination plot against him.
And in the 'Cult of Death,' which emerged from the Seoul corruption zone in the fourth wave—a wave that didn't happen in this life—there was a unique NPC, a Lich burdened by guilt, who had helped in the reclamation of Seoul.
These complex and subtle conflicts within a single race seemed to have been intentionally placed as game elements for players to exploit.
The same was true for the Ancient Red Drake collective here...
'...If this is the case, I might be able to gain a guide and additional troops.'