Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Main Hall Assault
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Entrance to the Transcendence Church's main hall.
Thick fog from the Baek Si-hyeon phenomenon shrouded even the path right in front of them.
"Hanok."
"Yes, it's gotten even stronger."
Hanok wrinkled his nose every time he was called.
Leyzon remembered the fog-shrouded maze.
Hanok's exceptional sense of smell.
With these two factors meshing perfectly, the group pressed forward without pause.
"...It seems like my brother left the scent on purpose."
Hanok said, narrowing his eyes slightly.
No matter how sharp Hanok's nose was, picking up his brother's scent from this distance was impossible.
Yet the fact that the Shadow Warlord's scent lingered meant it was deliberate.
"Probably so they can find their way back out later."
Leyzon clutched a single book in his hand.
He had a naturally sharp memory.
But even the best memory had its limits.
Aware of this, Leyzon had diligently recorded Dungeon Replay knowledge every night.
No telling how long they'd be stuck in here.
This was preparation for that.
And his foresight had paid off exactly as planned.
"Next, right."
Leyzon turned in that direction and glanced back at Hanok.
Hanok nodded once more.
"How did Brother make it through this path, I wonder."
Hanok asked obliquely.
It was a simple question.
"Just grab one of the Transcendence Church priests."
But Transcendence Church priests didn't value their own lives.
They welcomed death, as it took them to the side of the Evil Transcendent Being anyway.
They harbored no fear of dying.
Yet the world held means of coercion beyond mere death.
"The Shadow Warlord must have grasped one of their weaknesses."
In the end, the priest had no choice but to reveal the path to the main hall through tears.
The Shadow Warlord had left the scent as insurance.
Undoubtedly a scent only the Sword-Tooth Clan could detect.
Hanok being the only one to notice was proof.
"...Then how do you find the way, Abyss?"
This time, it was the Sword Saint who posed the question.
He hadn't fully dispelled his budding suspicions yet.
They maintained a temporary alliance for now, but he'd keep doubting until all truths came to light.
Leyzon glanced sidelong at the Sword Saint.
"I've trapped the world in a tiny board and moved the pieces repeatedly over years to witness countless outcomes."
Leyzon dropped the utterly out-of-place remark.
The Sword Saint blinked.
His face screamed confusion at the nonsense.
Leyzon smirked, lips curling up.
"Something like that—beyond your comprehension."
Was he joking or serious?
The Sword Saint couldn't tell.
But seeing Leyzon laugh so cheerfully sparked a thought.
"...Abyss, do you receive revelations from the Transcendent Being too?"
Leyzon blinked.
Then he rubbed his chin.
A direction he hadn't considered himself.
Leyzon's gaze drifted to the fog-choked sky.
The real Leyzon didn't exist in this world.
In his place stood Ryu Han-hyuk.
'To them, the me who played Dungeon Replay must seem godlike indeed.'
So was Ryu Han-hyuk, puppeteering this Leyzon,
a divine Transcendent Being descended to earth in possession?
Leyzon let out a hollow chuckle.
Unfortunately, he wasn't some omnipotent entity.
"Think whatever you want."
The Sword Saint stared silently.
But Leyzon had nothing more to say.
If doubts persisted even now, that was that.
"Hmph! As if Lord Abyss would receive revelations!"
In that instant, Syria shouted, arms crossed at Leyzon's side.
"Lord Abyss is far greater than any Transcendent Being!"
Syria gazed at Leyzon with sparkling eyes.
Her unwavering faith always soothed his heart.
As if affirming he belonged here.
"I think so too~."
Eden nuzzled Leyzon's cheek from her perch on his shoulder.
Thanks to his two undead, Leyzon felt his strength surging.
This must be how a father raising son and daughter felt.
No wonder dads were so tough.
Dads were invincible.
"Like a family."
The unexpected words came from the Sword Saint.
He stared at Leyzon and the undead for a moment before fixing his gaze ahead.
"At least I know you're not lying about your undead."
Leyzon had somehow earned recognition of his sincerity.
The Sword Saint's suspicions seemed to ease a bit.
'See?'
This was why people needed to talk.
"Almost there."
Leyzon looked up.
Hanok reacted to the intensifying Shadow Warlord scent too.
"Everyone."
At Leyzon's call, their demeanors shifted instantly.
Killing intent sharpened in a heartbeat.
"Breakthrough."
Boom!
With Leyzon's shout, the Shadow Wolf kicked off the ground and leaped.
The Sword Saint drew his blade and vaulted after it.
Whoosh!
The moment Shadow Wolf and Sword Saint burst through the fog,
a massive temple loomed into view.
Before the temple stood what looked like guards.
They seemed distracted by the commotion inside.
"Huh?"
By the time they spotted Leyzon's group, it was too late.
The Sword Saint's sword flashed.
Shadow Wolf's fangs shot forward.
Slash! Crunch!
The first guard's neck was severed by the sword.
The second's throat was shredded by fangs.
Shadow Wolf and Sword Saint landed and charged ahead.
The door blocking them shattered to splinters.
Stepping inside, the metallic tang of blood assaulted their senses.
"Smells like blood."
Syria identified the scent first.
Leyzon's eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.
Sword marks and bloodstains littered the main hall.
Leyzon already knew who left them.
'Shadow Warlord.'
Proof of his intrusion.
And the bloodstains were fresh, not long dried.
'Our paths overlapped.'
Hanok's face had hardened.
He too realized the Shadow Warlord had infiltrated recently.
'I figured they'd try to block us at least once while navigating the fog.'
Leyzon's group had wrecked Mugoh.
The resurrected High Priest Goolian would have reported it and pursued them.
Yet they'd reached here without interference.
Meaning, by the time Leyzon demolished Mugoh, the Shadow Warlord was already inside.
"Hanok, keep tracking the Shadow Warlord's scent."
The situation had escalated.
In Dungeon Replay, lords embodied peak power.
The Shadow Warlord, as a reigning lord, was no exception.
But separately, the Transcendence Church brimmed with nasty traps.
'It's the place where most newbies die.'
Even the mighty could slip up fatally here.
'I assumed he'd snuck in stealthily at least.'
A frontal assault made things urgent.
The Shadow Warlord might already be in peril.
"Y-Yes!"
Leyzon crouched low at Hanok's spirited reply.
"Syria, smash anything and everything you see. Go wild."
Syria grinned triumphantly.
"So I just run at full speed, right?"
In that moment, the wolf began to transform.
Rumble rumble crunch!
The red wolf's mane flared, fur standing on end.
Its size doubled in an instant.
The wolf threw its head back and howled fiercely.
Red auras swirled in Shadow Wolf's eyes.
"Sword Saint."
Leyzon vanished into the wolf's mane, issuing a grim order.
"Keep the lightning going."
The red Shadow Wolf stomped the ground with its forepaw and vanished.
Kaboom!
The wolf rampaged through the main hall depths.
And that was just the start.
Red shadows lingered in its wake.
Blood-red bats erupted from the shadows, swarming everywhere.
Soon the entrance was thick with them.
"A-Ahh! Aaaahhh!"
Screams echoed from somewhere.
Priests drained utterly by hundreds of bats.
Not one scream, but a chorus like an orchestra unleashed.
Screams filled the air from all directions.
Yet Leyzon didn't halt the slaughter.
All who reached this main hall were massacre enthusiasts.
No reason for mercy.
Leyzon demanded thorough blood retribution.
Syria rampaged like a vampire sighting blood.
The area drowned in blood and shadows.
In moments, this ceased to be the Transcendence Church—it became a vampire cathedral.
"You monster!"
A knight appeared before the charging Shadow Wolf.
A holy knight of the Transcendence Church, blessed by the Evil Transcendent Being.
The holy knight was massive.
And the aura he exuded was unmistakably high priest level.
Transcendence Church priests followed, clasping hands in unison.
They'd noticed Leyzon's intrusion and begun resisting.
Blessings from the Evil Transcendent Being poured onto the holy knight.
His bulk, swirling with pitch-black auras, doubled in size.
The holy knight bellowed like a beast forsaken by heaven.
His unleashed auras formed black lightning, raging wildly.
Within the helm, his head morphed into a black beast's.
Apostle Descent [SS].
He'd summoned an apostle directly into his body at the priests' call.
"Defile not this sacred church!"
The holy knight swung his black-aura-infused hammer ferociously.
A hammer brimming with destructive might.
Just before it struck Shadow Wolf's head—
Whirr!
The wolf's head split apart, dodging cleanly.
The holy knight's eyes bulged behind his visor.
But no time for his shock to linger.
Between the split head of Shadow Wolf,
shadows erupted, binding his arms instantly.
Pfsh!
Shadows seeped into the armor, draining his blood.
"Aaaahhh!"
His arm shriveled in seconds as he screamed in agony.
The holy knight swung his shield at the wolf.
But the wolf split again, evading effortlessly.
The split shadows lunged at him once more.
They ensnared him in a flash.
He thrashed, but it was too late.
Countless fangs within the shadows tore into his flesh.
"Grah! Aaaahhh!"
The holy knight crumbled to dust amid screams.
Clang!
His heavy armor clattered to the floor.
The priests gaped at the scene.
A high priest-level holy knight felled in an instant.
Their own deaths would follow inevitably.
Primal terror of the living.
Overwhelming dread crushed them swiftly.
Syria gestured lazily from atop Shadow Wolf's head.
Wings spread, she radiated blindingly seductive beauty.
"Who gave you leave to raise your heads?"
The reformed Shadow Wolf opened its maw.
Red shadows surged, decapitating the priests en masse.
Thud—thud—thud—thud—
Headless priests bowed to the floor.
Not a drop of their blood went to waste—shadows devoured it all.
"Good girl."
Syria flashed a grin, her fiery red eyes ablaze with greed for blood.