A Clash of Frost and Plague
"What an oblivious fool..." Tae-hyun muttered under his breath, but Furneus caught it anyway. As a Demon Duke, his hearing was naturally exceptional. To have this insufferable human criticize his lack of tact was the ultimate insult, sending Furneus into a towering rage. It was enough to make a mockery of his title, the Ice Duke, which he had earned for his cold, terrifying demeanor.
🐰 Carbanog is amazed, noting that it has never seen the Ice Duke get so emotional before!
The Archisus treatment—capable of heating up even a Demon Duke who had lived a cold, emotionless existence for a thousand years!
You have successfully taunted Ice Duke Furneus!
Your Speech skill has increased.
There was a common complaint shared among players trying to level up their Speech skill.
Unlike other skills with relatively straightforward requirements, the conditions for leveling up Speech were incredibly diverse and peculiar. It was a skill that those without a knack for it could barely level up at all. In that regard, Tae-hyun was practically born for the Speech skill. He was a man whose Speech leveled up even when he was just muttering to himself!
"How dare this wretched demon—!!!"
"?"
Tae-hyun turned his head. At first, he thought the shout came from his own party, but he was wrong. It was the paladins of the Idergo Cult, trembling with fury.
"How dare this demon chase away Lord Idergo's divine beast?!"
"No, it just left because it was full..."
"What nonsense are you pathetic mortals spewing?"
Furneus looked down at them, utterly dumbfounded. To be honest, he could acknowledge Archisus. Though the god was obnoxious and infuriating, Archisus was at least a worthy opponent for a Demon Duke. But the Idergo Cult? They were nothing more than filthy, wretched mortals serving a smelly, disgusting, and pathetic deity. For such creatures to demand their "divine beast" back was beyond absurd.
"Worshiping a beast of the Demon Realm as a divine beast truly shows the pathetic standard of you mortals. I suppose since your god is so foolish, his followers are bound to be the same."
"...!"
🐰 Carbanog remarks that those words were a bit too harsh!
For a cult NPC, insulting their god was the second worst insult imaginable, right after: "Are you by any chance from the Archisus Church?" Furneus's words drove the paladins into an absolute frenzy of rage.
"How dare a lowly demon spawn—?!"
"Lord Idergo's wrath shall—"
"Silence. Die."
Growing annoyed, Furneus waved his hand. *Crackle, snap!* Dozens of ice spears materialized in midair.
The Ice Duke's Ice Spears! A powerful grand magic that only a Demon Duke could cast!
🐰 Carbanog warns that the Demon Duke's cold energy has grown even stronger! It says the chill is powerful enough to freeze even Archisus's luck!
The unique cold energy radiating from the Demon Duke dealt damage the moment it touched anything. While the damage itself was similar to an unavoidable curse, the freezing penalty was far more dangerous. As the freezing penalty accumulated, one's movements would inevitably grow sluggish and slow. Against a Demon Duke, being slowed was as good as death!
Why did the Demon Duke get stronger?
🐰 Carbanog guesses that he might have trained diligently due to the shock of being defeated by Archisus.
...Why on earth would a Demon Duke do something as out-of-character as training?
Training was supposed to be the players' job, not the boss monsters'!
Regardless of Tae-hyun's thoughts, Furneus unleashed his ice spears. *Whoosh!* The sheer destructive force of the incoming spears made even Tae-hyun flinch. Could the Idergo Cult actually block that?
"Shield of Plague!!" *Rumble—*
"!!!!!"
A thick, dark green cloud billowed upward, forming a massive barrier.
The more chaotic the continent becomes, the stronger the Idergo Cult grows!
The more the plague spreads across the continent, the stronger the Idergo Cult grows!
The [Authority of Plague] is infused into all skills of the Idergo Cult!
...!
*Crash! Boom! Bam!*
Tae-hyun was genuinely surprised. The Idergo Cult had actually blocked it! Although the plague barrier made of green clouds was completely shattered, the fact that they had withstood the attack at all was impressive. Furneus also looked taken aback, clearly not expecting this.
"W-What...?!"
"You corrupt demon! How dare you insult Lord Idergo's name! Did you honestly think your pathetic attack could pierce Lord Idergo's shield?!"
The Idergo Cult was bursting with bravado. Watching them, Tae-hyun felt a twinge of envy.
I wish the Archisus Church members were that reliable.
The Archisus Church had plenty of bravado, but their actual capabilities didn't seem to match up to this!
🐰 Carbanog scolds you, asking why on earth you would envy those fanatics when there are so many better things to envy!
Hey, let a guy dream.
Furneus trembled with rage. It was bad enough being humiliated by that Archisus bastard, but now he couldn't even instantly obliterate some filthy, wretched cultists?!
Have I fallen this low?
His very pride as a Demon Duke was severely shaken!
"Before I hunt down that Archisus bastard, I will slaughter all of you first!"
"Try it if you dare! If you surrender Lord Idergo's divine beast, we might just spare your life, demon!"
*Roar—!*
A massive wave of seawater surged up like a tsunami, instantly beginning to freeze solid.
"In the name of the Ice Duke, I command everything in this vicinity to freeze!"
"How dare you! In the name of Lord Idergo, I decree that everything in this vicinity shall rot and decay!"
The bishops standing among the paladins of the Idergo Cult stepped forward. Tae-hyun had wondered if it was foolish for them to face a Demon Duke, no matter their numbers, but the bishops began unleashing monstrous power.
A holy relic!
Tae-hyun and Carbanog realized it instantly. The bishops were holding dark, rusted swords. Though the weapons looked completely devoid of physical attack power, they radiated an immense, overwhelming Holy power. It was a holy relic of the Idergo Cult!
"Come, O plague! Arise in the name of Lord Idergo!"
In an instant, a horde of plague beasts was summoned, charging across the frozen sea. These creatures were laden with all kinds of deadly toxins! To counter them, Furneus's army clashed head-on. His forces consisted of spirits—not gentle, friendly spirits, but a rampaging army of spirits that had completely lost their minds! The collision of plague and frost over the ocean sparked a battle of epic proportions.
"..."
"Tae-hyun, don't you think we could just slip away right now?"
"Actually, I was thinking the exact same thing."
It was a thought Tae-hyun had been harboring for a while. Since those two sides were fighting so fiercely, shouldn't they just retreat for now?
"We're retreating! Let's secure our city first!"
No matter who won, they could just deal with the victor when they approached the city! Everyone gathered there was highly satisfied with Tae-hyun's command.
"A wise decision, Kim Tae-hyun!"
"Fighting from the city will be much safer...!"
"Wait, shouldn't we hunt all of them down?"
"Shut up, you winged mosquitoes."
"?!?!"
Tae-hyun's judgment was spot-on. The Idergo Cult wasn't just rising up here. Across the Central Continent, plague armies were emerging alongside the banners of the Idergo Cult.
But the fact that players were seriously discussing this showed just how dire the state of the kingdoms was. Even the prosperous Erangs Kingdom was currently struggling to handle the monster waves. In such a chaotic climate, the sudden emergence of an evil god's cult was an incredibly difficult threat to deal with.
The 8th Legion of the Idergo Cult is marching toward the city!
The plague is spreading!
A penalty has been applied to all Farming skills...
A penalty has been applied to all Recovery skills...
"Aaargh! Monsters!"
Players shrieked in horror at the sight of grotesque, giant beasts with eight legs and three heads—monstrosities they had never seen before—lumbering toward the city. Spewing poison and plague from their entire bodies, they contaminated everything in their path, proving to be far more troublesome than any undead army.
"Damn it! Cain looks downright handsome compared to these things!"
"I don't know if that's the right comparison, but I agree!"
"What is the Espa Kingdom's knighthood doing?! Why aren't they helping?!"
"Who knows! They're probably under attack themselves!"
The plague armies rose up and began marching across the Central Continent, striking the Erangs Kingdom, Espa Kingdom, Auston Kingdom, and others. Their sheer numbers made it a wonder how they had remained hidden for so long. Consequently, not just the kingdoms, but all the major guilds on the continent went into emergency mode.
Tae-hyun was no exception. He quickly gathered his subordinates to establish a defensive line.
"What about Furneus?"
"He defeated the Idergo paladins, but he seems to have taken heavy damage and retreated."
"Shouldn't we pursue him? It'll be dangerous if he recovers and comes back later..."
"We don't have time to chase him right now. The Idergo Cult is our priority."
Even if Furneus were to attack at full strength, Tae-hyun had a few tricks up his sleeve. Let them come!
Subjugate the Idergo Cult
📍 Description: The fallen cult of the evil god, the Idergo Cult, seeks to conquer the kingdoms and spread Idergo's name! If they are not stopped, the kingdoms will fall. Subjugate them before the plague spreads further and their armies seize the castles.
🎁 Reward: ?, ???
Destroy the Plague Pools
📍 Description: Since ancient times, the Idergo Cult has been a filthy faction that spreads plagues, making them the natural enemy of Sadiq, who wields the sacred and grand flame. They breed countless beasts and contaminated armies within their plague pools. You must destroy these plague pools!
🎁 Reward: ?, ???, ???
"...?!"
Receiving a kingdom quest to stop the Idergo Cult was hardly surprising. However, receiving a Sadiq Church quest to stop them was completely unexpected.
🐰 Carbanog points out that evil god cults naturally tend to have bad blood with one another.
True, but I didn't expect them to know their weaknesses so explicitly.
The Idergo Cult's weakness, passed down through the Sadiq Church! Such knowledge wasn't gained from just one or two skirmishes. It was undoubtedly recorded after centuries of mutual bloodshed.
🐰 Carbanog remarks that in the future, the Archisus Church's records will probably contain methods on how to deal with the Sadiq Church and Demon Realm demons.
Is that something to feel... proud of?
"Matches for sale! Matches! Only one copper!"
"Huh? Is it really just one copper? Isn't that way too cheap?"
"Maybe they don't work well?"
"Not at all! Just watch!"
*Whoosh!*
An NPC wrapped in a robe struck a match. It ignited instantly.
"This is no ordinary fire. This is a sacred flame imbued with the Holy attribute."
"Oh...!"
"You're really selling something like that for just one copper?!"
"Yes! In exchange, if you would just place your faith in Lord Sadiq..."
"..."
"..."
The players' expressions turned deadpan. Wait, this guy...?!
"He's a Sadiq NPC!"
"No wonder he was selling them so cheap!"
It was already a well-known gimmick in the Valley. A cheap trick to subtly convert players to Sadiq while selling matches!
"We are the Archisus Church! The Archisus Church!"
"Why would anyone in the Archisus Church believe in Sadiq?! We believe in Archisus!"
"Archisus is great, but Sadiq has his merits too!"
"What merits? Does believing in Sadiq improve our gacha pull rates?"
"...You can control fire..."
"Whatever."
"We can just learn fire magic."
"We don't even have enough contribution points to learn Archisus-related skills, why would we waste them on Sadiq?"
"Sob, sob, sob!"
The Sadiq Church NPCs wept. How on earth had they ended up being treated like this?!