Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Descent of Kartul
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In an instant, flames erupted and engulfed the Red Orcs and Black Orcs.
“Chii…k…”
The Red Orcs emerging from the blaze had their bodies melting away, their faces contorted in agony.
But they couldn’t take any action.
Sizzle…
Their vocal cords burned away too, turning them to ash that scattered in the wind.
The Black Orcs that revealed themselves amid the inferno were different.
“Huff! Huff!”
They exhaled ragged breaths, spewing gusts of wind.
Even as their bodies burned, they didn’t collapse.
And then.
“Captain. I’ll handle it.”
With those words, Kim Sion shot forward.
Whoosh.
Her vanishing figure reappeared in the blink of an eye amid the Black Orcs wreathed in flames.
Blink again, and swords were in both her hands.
Blink once more.
Splash!
The surviving Black Orcs were shredded into dozens of pieces each.
Those chunks were promptly reduced to ash by Yoon Seung-ah’s flames.
“……”
No one dared open their mouths at the scene that unfolded in a flash.
“You people are…!”
Some players muttered, but there was no reply.
“A door’s open over there, so head on out. Just know you’ll have to go through some annoying procedures.”
Lee Jae-kyung said, hand resting on his sword sheath.
“There’ll be some who sold their souls in all this.”
Flinch.
Tremors rippled through a few spots, but Anton and he had already planned for that.
And then.
“Seung-ah, the magic?”
Go Yohan said.
Hum.
Drows’s staff in her hand.
The eyes of the crow-headed top glowed with light.
“It’s even better now.”
“Then we move out right away.”
“Yes, Captain.”
It was at that moment.
Whumm!
The light from the staff intensified, suddenly enveloping Go Yohan’s entire group.
When those blinded by the light regained their vision.
“……”
They were gone.
The others stared blankly at the spot where they’d vanished.
Boom! Whoosh!
In the distance, an explosion rang out, flames shooting skyward.
“Players, disarm the survivors and strip off their upper garments!”
Anton’s voice boomed then.
“Infuse mana into anyone with tattoos! Recover items for appraisal!”
The guild members snapped to attention at Anton’s command and moved swiftly.
“What nonsense is this?!”
“Stealing our items…?”
The players could only panic.
A natural reaction.
“That was the request from the ‘Shins.’”
Shins. The players flinched at the name.
“Shins? And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“The ones who just swept away those Red Orcs.”
That was the end of it.
The power they’d witnessed earlier created a gap no mere difference between civilians and players could explain.
If those flames that engulfed the orcs had swept over them?
Gulp.
No one would last even a moment like the Black Orcs. They’d all melt into lava, pooling on the ground like the Red Orcs.
Rustle.
One by one, a few began removing their own upper garments.
Clunk, clatter.
Then they started disarming themselves.
The reason they could was that the orc presences they’d felt until moments ago had vanished in an instant.
*
*
*
Whenever Yoon Seung-ah’s magic flashed.
Clang!
Sparks flew.
Kim Sion charged straight in, slashing through Black Orcs with her twin blades.
“These things have prime meat.”
Lee Jae-kyung advanced from the opposite side, swinging his sword.
It wasn’t as light or swift as Kim Sion’s strikes.
Splurt!
But each one was sharp and heavy.
With every swing of Lee Jae-kyung’s blade, over a dozen orcs staggered and fell.
“Especially good when sliced.”
In the past, Lee Jae-kyung’s swordsmanship hadn’t been like this.
If anything, it had been closer to Kim Sion’s.
Like someone possessed, endlessly hacking at foes until his body broke, only satisfied then.
That was why.
-Sword Ghost.
His stats were built that way, and his skills matched.
“Please…”
Go Yohan clutched his head and said.
“Don’t say crap like that with the swordsmanship I taught you?”
Lee Jae-kyung’s transformed style had come from Go Yohan.
Unlike the Apostles, Lee Jae-kyung had become Go Yohan’s ‘Seed.’
He’d taught him power beyond mana—divinity.
And swordsmanship suited to his essence and the divinity he’d gained.
Lee Jae-kyung’s current level was in the low 400s.
Among the absolute top ranks, he was top-tier.
But even that couldn’t explain this level of combat prowess.
[Your Seed, Lee Jae-kyung, earns faint Karma Points from the orcs he’s slain.]
A Holy Knight’s Seed was appointed by the Goddess herself.
“Ooh! My Faith is rising!”
And they gained the Faith stat too.
“What are you doing?”
“Praying, obviously? Figured it rises better like this with the Faith stat.”
Go Yohan shook his head, and Lee Jae-kyung smirked, swinging his sword.
Slash!
Orc blood coating the blade splattered across the ground.
‘Jeez…’
He joked around, but every time he used the swordsmanship Go Yohan taught him, Lee Jae-kyung felt a chill.
‘What kind of swordsmanship is this?’
Tumultuous emotions surged with each swing, pain like his body was tearing apart.
Yet.
‘Divinity.’
The mysterious power Go Yohan had implanted healed his flesh on its own.
Of course, unlike Go Yohan’s, this divinity couldn’t heal others.
It only restored his own body.
That was why.
‘It’s a horrific swordsmanship.’
Lee Jae-kyung found Go Yohan’s swordsmanship terrifying.
This wasn’t swordsmanship.
‘It’s self-flagellation.’
Whipping himself, etching pain into his very being.
Any normal person would self-destruct after a few battles.
But the divinity kept him fighting endlessly.
‘Sword Ghost.’
A style truly fit for the Sword Ghost.
Then.
Crunch!
Go Yohan reached out, crushing a horde of orcs.
“Phew, all done.”
Kim Sion’s voice came as—
Flash!
They were teleported again.
“Alright, next…”
Clearing orc packs near civilians.
“Captain’s the best!”
Kim Sion shouted like Lee Jae-kyung and dashed off.
“Enbi, don’t tease the Captain.”
Yoon Seung-ah’s voice rang out in Go Yohan’s stead.
“Ha.”
Go Yohan chuckled in disbelief and gazed into the distance.
Rumble rumble!
The churning black clouds felt ominous.
Kartul’s summoning was near.
*
*
*
The Apostles’ levels didn’t rise like normal, just like Go Yohan’s.
But.
“Ooh!”
Lee Jae-kyung was leveling up like a player.
Twenty-four level-ups.
And then again.
Flash.
Light flickered.
“…Seung-ah, say something.”
Lee Jae-kyung said awkwardly.
Red and black waves filled the surroundings.
Orcs beyond counting had surrounded Go Yohan’s group.
But it was different this time.
Rustle.
They backed away quietly, showing no will to fight.
“Gorejul Krack.”
They surely knew it too.
Just like in Travania before, that monster couldn’t be felled even if a few orcs were sacrificed.
“Gorejul Krack.”
And now, the monster that was a beast alone had brought its spawn.
“Gorejul Krack.”
So, just as before.
“What the hell are they saying?”
Monsters had to be met as monsters.
“They’re insulting me.”
“What…?”
“These pig bastards!”
“……”
Some bristled at Go Yohan’s words.
“Looks more like fear to me?”
“Knight of the Evil God.”
Go Yohan answered Lee Jae-kyung’s question.
“That’s what they’re calling me.”
“…Yeah, that’s an insult.”
Go Yohan rarely said it outright.
But.
‘Goddess.’
They knew he held such a being in deep faith and reverence.
He’d wanted to discuss it countless times.
‘Someday he’ll tell us.’
For now, waiting silently felt right.
“So that means…”
But there was one other thing only Lee Jae-kyung and the Apostles knew.
“Those are the things from that Travania place, right?”
That Go Yohan was a reincarnate with memories of another world.
That world had been destroyed by demons.
It wasn’t hard to believe.
If anything.
‘That’s why…’
Hearing it helped them understand Go Yohan a bit more.
Rustle.
The Apostles and Lee Jae-kyung positioned themselves to guard Go Yohan, who stared at the orc high priest at the front.
“Summoning ritual not started yet?”
“…Soon.”
“Kartul…”
Go Yohan’s eyes darkened.
“Then.”
As he lifted his head again.
“I’ll help.”
Boom!
Churning black energy poured toward the black clouds at the ritual’s center.
“……!”
The orcs panicked and gripped their weapons.
“Stop!”
The orc high priest shouted, halting them.
“…My thanks for the aid, Knight of the Evil God.”
Right now, Go Yohan was accelerating the ritual, sharing his own sins.
They couldn’t keep brawling pointlessly forever.
Killing every orc wouldn’t end it.
As long as ‘hope’ remained, they’d fight to the last with everything they had.
But with Go Yohan’s appearance, the orcs halted the meaningless slaughter, assembled their forces.
Boom!
If the Kartul they awaited descended.
Boom!
That battle would decide this little war.
From the black clouds, a pillar of black light fell.
Within it.
Boom.
Earth-shaking footsteps began.
Black armor, twin greatswords larger than its massive frame.
Through the half-broken helmet.
Boom!
A horn protruded—one, two, three…
Six in total.
[Ograk’s Incarnation, Kartul descends.]
“Kartul.”
The Black Orc King.
It was Kartul.