Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: The Fanatic's Return
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* * *
I upgraded the World Tree Castle and the Storm Castle to Heroic grade and installed defensive buildings and crystal objects.
If I had my way, I'd make them Legendary, but the budget wouldn't allow it.
It wasn't just about buying a single castle; I had to purchase attached buildings and objects too, which made it even tougher.
'For now, this should be enough to fend off the surrounding monsters without issue...'
The real problem was the inland monsters.
Whoosh.
My consciousness sank, opening the inner world. With my chakra realm reaching the fifth layer, the room had expanded noticeably.
I looked at the Go board taking up one wall.
"As expected..."
The attribute monsters that had occupied the star points were certainly troublesome foes, but they also served as a barrier keeping the high-grade inland monsters from advancing to the outskirts.
And now, with the Ice Queen of the upper right star point, Edward of the upper left, and the Storm Leopard of the lower left dead by my hand...
The territories they had diligently claimed reset, spawning their original monsters.
It was only natural for the inland Heroic and Legendary monsters to slowly expand their territories outward.
'The star points will be taken by Heroic-grade monsters or higher. No, in the end... most of them will probably end up in the hands of Legendary monsters.'
It was true that the players of the Human Empire had gained powerful strength and were growing, but if things turned out like this, winning large-scale wars against them would be impossible.
In other words...
'I have to fight with the castles as my backbone.'
I needed higher-grade castles, and more of them. Fully leveled attached buildings and siege objects went without saying.
"Ah."
The realization drew a groan from me.
"How much money do I have to make..."
Even working like a madman every day, it wasn't enough.
The stock market's tenfold money cheat had become useless thanks to my pay-to-win power, hitting me even harder.
"Aah... Castles are supposed to be bought by guilds pooling their money! Upgrading attached buildings is done with castle taxes! How does it make sense to earn it all alone!"
I screamed from the cockpit.
The Landworm got annoyed.
[Ah, shut up.]
"Sorry..."
After apologizing, I slowly formed hand seals.
I gathered qi for Land Breaker and tensed my whole body.
"Log out."
Back on Earth, I sliced the neck of the corpse golem charging at me.
Crack! Boom!
A blast of cold air poured out, followed by an earth-shaking explosion.
"Log in."
Back in Ardania, I shakily drank a potion.
"Ugh... I'm dying. With fatigue building up, even songpyeon and potions have their limits."
I closed my eyes in the cockpit. Even using the perfect sleep chakra ritual only eased my mental fatigue a bit; it couldn't eliminate it completely.
Unleashing Land Breaker, which drained my entire strength and max inner energy in one go, like some laborious digging, put a strain on my body, which was practically a biological weapon.
"I should fire it one more time, then stay on Earth for a while."
With that resolve, I circulated chakra. Practice made perfect; the hand seals for Freezing Slash were now fluid. I could complete them in three seconds.
It was growth worth widening one's eyes in awe, day by day renewing itself.
In real combat, the difference between nine seconds, six, and three wasn't just using a skill once versus twice. In tense battles, it was the difference between casting a ritual or not.
'Though it doesn't mean much to me.'
Right. It was irrelevant. Since I finished the ritual in Ardania before logging out, a few seconds meant nothing.
I gathered qi for Land Breaker and clenched my muscles.
"Log out."
As I swung my sword...
"You shall not budge! Despair alone!"
Blood poured from all directions, binding my body. That wasn't all.
"Graaaah!"
The corpse golem grabbed me. The corpses making up its body wailed and clung to me everywhere. A load of several tons hit me at once.
"Death... Death's... Single Strike!"
With my movements sealed, the death knight swung its sword at me. Black sword energy clung menacingly to the blade.
And in that moment.
Freezing Slash & Land Breaker.
Snap!
The blood wrapping my body tore like paper.
Pop pop bang!
The corpses clinging to me burst and shattered, flying everywhere.
I pulled my swung sword back to mid-guard and said,
"You can't bind me with this much weight."
Crackle crackle!
The monsters swept away in a fan shape froze belatedly. A groan came from behind.
"Wow, that's brutal, for real."
"What? Why are you out already?"
With a brief moment of respite, I turned to see Seongjae emerging from the carriage. He wasn't alone; Hye-young, Olya, and Lea were checking their gear and activating their abilities.
'Huh? Their conditions...'
They had entered the flower carriage on the brink of death, but now they looked great. Color returned to their pale faces, and their near-fatal wounds were perfectly healed.
Olya shouted,
"Teacher! What the hell is that songpyeon? The effect is insane! I'm fully recovered!"
'Right, it must've hit Olya even harder. Her recovery was already higher than her vitality.'
But still, everyone looked too good. The songpyeon boosted mana recovery too, so the others benefited, but to reach peak condition in such a short time?
As I marveled, Seongjae said,
"The flower carriage has time acceleration. We got plenty of rest, so go in and rest now."
"You sure?"
At my concern, Seongjae grimaced slightly.
"Hey. I know you're strong, but aren't you underestimating us? No one's not a genius here, so quit yapping and go."
"Yeah, teacher! Don't worry too much! We won't collapse as easily as before!"
"We've come up with a strategy."
"Jaeyeon-ssi should be fine, but please rest a bit."
After their words, I pondered briefly. Honestly, I could keep going. My greatest strength wasn't my over-800 strength points or skill bonuses—it was the combat endurance from log in/out.
'But I should pace myself.'
Truth be told, I'd already shown too much. Even pushing the Authority holder concept, it was excessive.
"Alright. I'll trust you and rest."
"Oh, and Jaeyeon."
"Hm?"
As I turned to enter the carriage, Seongjae, mana swirling around him, said,
"That songpyeon... it's the one, right?"
'He figured it out.'
A wry smile escaped me, but it wasn't surprising. Songpyeon was common, but with recovery and mana recovery buffs lasting four hours, veteran Revenge player Seongjae would recognize it.
"Later."
"No way... Are you the game master's son? Or nephew?"
At his words, Hye-young paused.
"Not some gold spoon, but divine spoon? Pfft..."
I ignored the grumbling and entered the flower carriage.
"Log in."
Back in Ardania.
"Good. Now I can rest on Earth."
I'd expected to fight flat out longer, but now I had breathing room. Monsters were still plentiful, but their confidence suggested they had a plan.
[Jaeyeon.]
"Yeah, right. Less monologuing..."
[Not that. That woman is here.]
"Oh, then bring it up."
At my words, the Landworm rose silently.
A quiet movement using earth attribute power, without a single vibration in the surrounding ground.
Swoosh.
It parted the sand-like earth and surfaced. The Landworm sealed the hole and went dormant. For a building-sized body to move this quietly showed how refined its earth power was.
"Your Majesty."
"Yes. How are the people?"
"As expected, they're in chaos."
Natural. Even non-players could see world messages, and with the news of the Flame Demon King—the demons' leader—dead, the humans who'd submitted to them were at a loss.
"But it's quieter than expected."
"Because the demons are still there."
If I'd cleared the Flame Demon King's hell mode dungeon and succeeded in the siege, all field demons would have vanished.
But I hadn't, and demons hundreds of kilometers away only knew the king was dead, not the details, so they continued managing the cities as ordered.
'Still...'
With my face covered by the turban Harmony gave me, I crossed back alleys.
Stars dotted the night sky, but the city blazed like daytime from fires everywhere.
"Come on~! One more drink!"
"Don't dodge, get over here!"
"The Flame Farewell is in one hour!"
Drinking, harassing women, people shouting and running about.
'Why is it so peaceful?'
It didn't feel like a city held by demons. It even seemed lively.
"No. Look closely."
Unlike my simple turban, Harmony was shrouded in a large cloth. I scanned the surroundings again.
And realized.
'Their eyes... are dead.'
Yes. They ate, drank, and made noise, but their eyes were lifeless. Glancing around, red-skinned demons chattered amid the crowds, fire golems burned stationed throughout the city, and hellhounds prowled growling.
Following Harmony, she explained softly,
"The Flame Demon King conquered the entire southern Holy Empire and herded all humans in his territory here. Anyone who resisted even slightly was burned alive."
"Many died."
"Yes, at least hundreds of thousands were massacred."
And a million remained. I looked around. The streets felt packed.
'Population density unfit for medieval land. Not like a well-planned Ming Empire city or backed by vast granaries.'
Obviously, the demons, not humans, had created this abnormal city.
"The demons provided endless alcohol and meat. Humans didn't need to work or fight for their lives."
"...Not free, I see."
"Yes, humans had to offer sacrifices to be burned by the demons. Five hundred a week. Chosen by humans themselves."
People gathered in one place.
A new inland city far from ley lines. In Ignis's center, countless people assembled.
'Swarms of them.'
Not the whole city.
Impossible in a city of over a million. But even so, this many at night.
Yet with so many...
'Five hundred a week.'
The sacrifice number defied common sense.
[For a final farewell~♪ You are like the evening glow~]
I thought while listening to a woman sing on the platform in the plain's center.
This was too systematic and laborious to be mere taste.
'Probably... sacrificing humans strengthened these demons.'
Special bosses conquered star points to boost their hordes and power, while reinforcing their forces in various ways.
Fanatic Edward's item factory and mass-producing heavenly demonic beasts.
World Tree grafting.
Though insta-killed by the surprise Flying Emperor, the Flame Demon King had built this city to empower his entire force.
'Monsters are adapting to reality in their own ways. At least they're not united—that's a silver lining.'
"Excuse me."
"Ugh! Don't push!"
"What strength...?"
Pushing through people, we approached the platform.
The singer finished, and a middle-aged man climbed up.
"Once again, it's time for farewell."
"Waaah!"
"Thank you! We thank you!"
"We won't forget your sacrifice!"
People cheered wildly.
Only then did I notice, near the platform, hundreds gagged and bound.
Obvious who they were.
'Sacrifices.'
The middle-aged man continued,
"Today, let's talk about sacrifice."
From there, he droned on with tedious wordplay, excuses, and self-justifications.
But the reaction was great.
"Yes! Flames!"
"Flames!"
"Waaah!"
After observing the clamor, I asked,
"What's 'Flames'?"
"A twist on 'Light.' The king's vanguard enforces it. Religious folk, no less..."
We talked as we circled the large platform to the back, when a kid suddenly blocked me.
"Halt! This is the cardinal's farewell rite. Approach carelessly and..."
"What?"
I paused at the kid. Not because of the sword on his back, small as he was under 150 cm. Nor his sparkling blond hair and model looks.
'Huh? This kid... I feel like I've seen him.'
I should've ignored him, but the strong sense of déjà vu stopped me.
"What? 'What?' You don't know me? Must be from outside..."
Then Harmony stepped forward.
"It's me."
"...!"
She removed her face cloth, and the kid's face hardened.
"N-Na...?"
He stared in disbelief, then hugged her tightly.
"Sis... Sis...! You're alive! I thought you died... Sob. Hic... sob..."
He burst into tears. I was still lost in thought.
'Where did I see him? Feels important. How could I forget a kid like this?'
As I struggled with the elusive memory...
"You've been well, Edward?"
"...!"
I froze. I yanked Edward's shoulder.
"Ugh! What're you doing!? Wanna get scolded!?"
He flared up, but I just stared blankly at his face.
'No way.'
Yes. It was him.
The upper left star point special boss.
The fanatic, Edward.