Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: The Golden Knight's Absence
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At the same time, in Pyongyang.
The Archdemon Beast Przewalsky was deeply displeased, even amid this overwhelmingly favorable battlefield situation.
As one of the Apostles guarding the Core Dungeon, victory obtained at the cost of unleashing his pride and symbol, the Divine Horse Ascension, was only natural.
And with not just himself but numerous "brothers" joining in, the situation was unpleasant enough—but what irritated him even more was that the bastard who had enraged them all like this was nowhere to be seen on any battlefield.
[Prrrrub! Hey, Park Sookja, why isn't that guy here?]
"Ah~ I was having such a blast hunting... Huh? What? That guy? Who do you mean?"
[That golden human bastard! The one riding the golden dragon! Why isn't he showing up?]
"You shouldn't be asking me... Yeah, where is he? Did they hide him somewhere? Or did he head north?"
The existence of Yoo Seongwon, the golden knight who had slain his brother Leghorn—user of the Phoenix Ascension—and humiliated them all.
They had unleashed the ascensions of all the brothers, including himself, precisely to eliminate him this time and restore their honor. Yet now that they were on the battlefield, that damned golden-armored fool was nowhere in sight.
He had gone to the trouble of summoning Park Sookja to ask, but even she just tilted her head in confusion.
"Um... I'll make some calls and find out, Lord Przewalsky."
She could clearly see his rage, so Park Sookja quickly pulled out her phone and radio, frantically contacting other Scavengers and underlings.
And just like that, as if it weren't some closely guarded secret, she easily obtained information on why Yoo Seongwon hadn't joined the war.
"Lord Przewalsky, that guy apparently caused a huge scene at the strategy meeting for this war and got barred from participating."
[Prrrup, what?]
"So he wasn't joining the assault from the start. They suspect he went to another dungeon... but that's all I know."
[Prrrrrrub!]
Przewalsky snorted even harder, venting his fury.
He hadn't unleashed his ascension just to deal with these pathetic humans!
The real target he had ascended to catch wasn't even participating in the war, leaving him dumbfounded and seething with rage.
[Prrrrub! Fine. Then this time, wipe out every last one of these damned humans and charge south! Turn this tiny peninsula into Lord Slaughter King's territory! Park Sookja, go! Sweep them all away!]
"Puhahaha! Talk about overkill! Of course! O Apostle of the great Lord Slaughter King!"
With that, Park Sookja descended back to the ground, targeting the soldiers once more.
Any battlefield was gruesome, but a war involving Slaughter King's forces, who preyed on "human" flesh, was all the more horrific.
"Uwaaaah! Uwaaaack!"
"Sergeant Kiiim!"
[Nom nom... It's been ages since I feasted. Muuuum!]
Slaughter King-affiliated monsters often combined combat with meals, so the fields were littered with scenes of soldiers being devoured alive.
No matter how fiercely they fought back with mana stone bullets, tanks, and more, it did nothing against Slaughter King's direct Apostle-level monsters. In the end, only Hunters could handle them—but the Scavengers weren't about to let that happen easily.
"Hey, what are you doing? Shields up, now!"
"Aaack!"
"Damn it! Another Scavenger? Can't see them! Shit!"
"Someone help! The formation's breaking!"
Even expert dungeon raiders and raid specialists struggled to fend off Scavengers sniping with crossbows from the surrounding forests, ruined cityscapes, and amid the surging waves of Slaughter King monsters.
They were already stretched thin just focusing on the monsters, but with Scavengers harassing them via shootings and assassinations, it was maddening.
The Hunters endured as best they could with their skills, constellation blessings, and various abilities, but it wasn't easy.
"Become offerings to our great General and Dear Leader! I'll offer you all up and become the number one Party member in the prosperous nation they build!"
"You... crazy old hag!"
"Oh, we're here too? Hehe~ Let's run around~"
"You fucking bastards!"
And the S-rank Hunters from the Blue Dragon Guild—the supposed hope of the Hunters and military—couldn't even process S-rank monsters, let alone stop Under City ruler-level Scavengers rampaging through allied lines.
Limi Joo, Kwak Wonho, and Park Sookja—who had finished reporting to Przewalsky—thoroughly avoided S- or A-rank Hunters, fleeing while infiltrating weaker Hunter groups or military units to sow chaos.
They appeared to coordinate, but really just used each other to tilt the fight in their favor.
"Retreat to Kaesong. At this rate, casualties will only mount, and more losses just empower the Scavengers. Tell the Olympus Guild Hunters to halt their advance and head to Kaesong too."
"Understood. But what about the Hunters already inside the dungeon...?"
"Are you suggesting we sacrifice more in this mess? Relay the order now."
In this dire situation, Go Cheonsu had no choice but to order a retreat to Kaesong to save as many soldiers and Hunters as possible.
Concentrating forces in one spot would allow either escape or an all-out battle to find a way out—he deemed it the best option and swiftly issued the retreat command.
The military thus began their rout along the same path they'd come, but with Archdemon Beast Wagyu blocking the rear, they couldn't flee straight. They split into two prongs, retreating circuitously.
Naturally, even an orderly retreat demanded heavy sacrifices—without proper gear, mana stone tanks, or trailers, splitting up only amplified the losses.
Scavengers, specialists in human hunting, relished this hunt-like pursuit of fleeing prey.
Chasing routed enemies was their specialty, so most soldiers failed to escape traps or Scavenger crossbows, inevitably becoming Slaughter King's offerings.
The forces sent to assault Pyongyang finally reached Kaesong half a day later, with surviving Hunters and soldiers totaling barely a third of the original force.
Even upon reaching Kaesong, the battle didn't stop.
The rear was still blocked by the mountain-sized duck monster Deokdeok and Iberico erecting a mana barrier.
The lone silver lining: forces with Olympus Guild arrived with minimal losses and merged—but the war situation remained critically unchanged.
***
B-rank Dungeon: City of Savagery 'Dreambambakkarara' King's Arena.
Kuuuung!
The massive giant 'Arena King,' armored head to toe in iron, dropped his weapon and collapsed onto the arena floor.
And atop his fallen body appeared the new king of this place: Yoo Seongwon, clad in golden armor.
He shook the blood and bone fragments from his Titan stake and stood tall, basking in the barbarians' cheers.
[Everyone! A new king of the arena has finally been born. No longer the 'Cowardly Golden Tin Can'—he is now the 'Golden King,' true master of this arena. Praise the valor of the one who ascended by defeating all foes with overwhelming might! Ooooh! New king! Ascend to your throne!]
[Choice: Claim reward and become the new Arena King / Claim reward and exit dungeon]
"Let's go."
Having met the clear conditions and claimed all rewards and EXP, Yoo Seongwon exited without hesitation.
He ignored the lengthy message of regret, looted items from the fallen former Arena King's corpse, and headed out of the arena with Shin So-mi and Shin Ayoung.
"Still, the final boss lived up to the name. Tough one."
"You call that tough? Just because we finally did a proper party fight at the end? Other Hunters would call you heartless. Right, Mom?"
"Still, catching one properly is something."
The three chatted about the final boss, the Arena King, as they left.
Thanks to its strength as the last boss, they'd honed their party play sync—and Yoo Seongwon was glad for the dungeon clear reward.
[A splendid victory in the arena! You overcame treacherous foes, elevated honor and courage, and humbly forsook gold and power! This is the epitome of knightly virtue!]
[Dungeon Clear Reward: One Reward Choice]
"A reward from a B-rank... That's huge. Whew~ Thought I wouldn't get any until level 70. Lucky break."
"You're too OP, Uncle."
"True. Anyway, snagging one before Bohak is good."
This gave him three slots: his spare skill, the level 70 reward choice, and this one.
Yoo Seongwon reviewed his skills en route out, planning to empower the Heavenly Sword Army further.
Outside, Heavenly Sword Army goblin soldiers guarded the trailer vicinity against wild beast attacks until his party's return.
[His Majesty has emerged! Aaaall units! Salute His Majesty! Dress ranks!]
[Heavenly Sword!]
[Heavenly Sword!]
"...Yu-cheong, how hard did you drill these goblins? Their language skills looked iffy, but now they're Korean professors."
"Teaching only necessary tongues isn't hard, Your Majesty. Glad you returned safely regardless."
Speak of the tiger—Yucheong appeared from behind just as Yoo Seongwon eyed the impressively lined-up goblins.
He'd likely waited near the portal spawn point in advance.
The guy knew protocol.
"Back from the dungeon. I'll unload the mana stones and materials—sort them."
"Understood, Your Majesty. However... Urgent message from Elder Baek Ga-yeon at Iron Fortress. Return immediately upon exiting."
"...Urgent? That's never good. Tsk. Can't ignore it though. Let's move."
Heavy with unease, Yoo Seongwon boarded the trailer, exiting Constellation Mountain Hermit's domain, crossing Sin Gangnam, and heading to Iron Fortress.
Before arriving, he spotted crowds gathering at the entrance—sensing trouble, he pondered turning back.
"What now with these idiots...?"
"What else but impending disaster? Like that, maybe."
"...Haa~ Damn it."
Amid his doubts, he spotted a hazy, translucent blue wall rising where Shin So-mi pointed.
The mana wall from the north.
Yoo Seongwon could guess its cause, sighing deeply.
Obviously, the north invaders had been crushed. Despite kicking him out of the strategy meeting, now they swarmed him for firefighter duty.
Knowing the score made him want to bolt, but he couldn't. Sighing, he drove the trailer into Iron Fortress.