Chapter 171
Chapter 171
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 171
Chapter Title: Harvest Festival (2)
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A short while ago, in the Slav Kingdom.
"Dark Knight! The Dark Knight is here!"
The players of the Slav Kingdom, who were growing increasingly battered under the demon assault with more and more corpses piling up on the ground, erupted in cheers at the Dark Knight's arrival.
But there were plenty who worried.
"Even the Dark Knight... can he beat those demons?"
"Yeah, tell me about it."
Their worries proved unfounded.
The demons and Dark Knight clashed fiercely.
But he couldn't seize the advantage.
Then, suddenly, the tide turned.
Kwaaaang!
The Dark Knights unleashed a barrage of ferocious attacks in an instant, wiping out the demons.
Then they vanished just like that.
"What the hell just happened?"
"No idea."
"Was he holding back his power?"
"Why?"
"How should I know?"
"Forget it. We're alive, aren't we? That's what matters."
"True enough."
"But man, the Dark Knight really is strong."
"Good thing he's on our side."
"Enough chit-chat. Let's move the wounded first."
In any case, the players who had survived began cleaning up the battlefield.
Something similar happened in the Mokoro Kingdom.
Reinforcements from the Saclant Empire arrived.
A fierce battle soon ensued.
Yet even after gaining the upper hand, the enemy's resistance was formidable.
But then.
Puuuung! Puuuung! Puuuung!
Those who had focused solely on defense from the start suddenly charged forward.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
They unleashed an enormous surge of aura.
They swept away the Demon King's minions in a flash, then vanished without a trace.
"Those guys were the Dark Knights, right?"
"Yeah."
"But they're that strong... so why had they only been defending until now?"
"Yeah, with that kind of power, they could've wiped out the Demon King's minions before the Saclant Empire's reinforcements even got here."
"There must be some higher-up reason we don't know about."
"Yeah, let's not worry about it. We're alive, and casualties are basically zero."
Some buildings were damaged and there were quite a few injuries, but no deaths.
It was a resounding victory.
In the end, the Mokoro Kingdom's players reached the same conclusion as those in the Slav Kingdom and began cleaning up the battlefield.
* * *
"Seize that bastard immediately!"
Carl XIII ordered his royal guards.
"Uwaaaah!"
The cornered Marquis Marius unleashed demonic energy in an attempt to flee.
'In the end, this guy's the one who screws everything up.'
Kang Hyun-soo clicked his tongue as he watched Carl XIII, whose face was filled with fury.
Dealing with Marquis Marius was something he had planned to decide after subduing the Demon King's army that emerged from the dimensional gate.
If Marquis Marius joined forces with the Demon King's army, eliminate him.
If he pretended not to know?
He figured he could use him a bit more.
But young Carl XIII couldn't overcome his hot-blooded impulses and had lost his cool.
'Well, can't be helped.'
It was a bit of a waste.
'It's not like he's the only minion of the Demon King.'
He could use the other minions instead.
Then he could proceed with the original plan without issue.
In Marquis Marius's case.
'Just use him as a scapegoat.'
If he pinned the failure of this Demon King army plan entirely on Marquis Marius?
'The other Demon King minions could keep operating.'
He could drive the Demon King's army into a corner using them.
If this kept repeating?
'Discord would start brewing between the demons and the Demon King's minions.'
What Kang Hyun-soo wanted most?
'To shatter the demons' trust in the Demon King's minions.'
That would prevent more minions from being recruited.
And stop Atlantis dimensional intel from leaking to the demon world.
"Keurk!"
Marquis Marius's body was reduced to rags in an instant.
Though Marquis Marius had gained ranker-level strength through demonization.
He couldn't withstand the all-out assault from the Saclant Empire's elite royal guards, handpicked from their top players.
'What the hell is going on?'
'Things have gone wrong. It's a trap.'
'No way the Emperor knows our identities too, right?'
As their comrade Marquis Marius's treachery was exposed, the Demon King's minions grew tense.
Fortunately, Emperor Carl XIII seemed unaware of the other minions' identities besides Marquis Marius.
"Throw that scum into the deepest pit of the imperial palace dungeon. Once this is over, I will personally interrogate him. Also, arrest all of Marquis Marius's family and retainers and toss them in prison. Execute on the spot anyone who resists."
"Yes, sir!"
The royal guards responded vigorously to Carl XIII's command and mobilized the imperial central army.
By the time this minor commotion ended.
The dimensional gate fully opened.
And the Demon King's army appeared.
"Time for slaughter!"
"This time, I'll definitely get promoted!"
Three demon world nobles emerged.
These three demon nobles were retainers of Count Rimmonshitz, all undead.
One lich and two death knights.
Their orders were simple.
With the main forces gone, massacre the empty Saclant Empire capital's citizens and kill the Emperor.
They had to fake their deaths to Marquis Marius and the other Demon King minions at the end.
But for continued operations in the Atlantis dimension, they could afford that loss.
However.
"Attack!"
Hwaruruk! Pajijik! Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
The moment they crossed the dimensional gate, every kind of attack skill rained down madly on the three demon nobles.
"What is this?"
The flustered demon nobles blocked the attacks.
"Didn't they say the capital was empty?"
"Looks like the slave bastards screwed up again."
"Damn it!"
The demon nobles' faces twisted.
But.
'They're just pathetic humans anyway.'
'We'll just kill them all.'
'More live sacrifices actually helps with promotion.'
The three demon nobles dismissed it simply.
How could lowly humans possibly defeat them?
At that moment.
Song Hana, the Spear Emperor, Yuka, and the commanders from the Rokto Empire that Kang Hyun-soo had summoned in advance.
Plus the orc lords and named players Kang Hyun-soo had called from the Slav and Mokoro Kingdoms via legion summons.
They all charged at the three demon nobles in unison.
And at the forefront?
Naturally, Kang Hyun-soo.
Kwaaaang!
At the first clash, Death Knight Bernard, a demon baron, was pushed back.
'His strength is no joke.'
His opponent was the Demon-Subduing Blood God, who had felled numerous demon nobles and thwarted the Demon King's plans several times.
No pushover.
'Troublesome.'
The aura and skills that devoured demonic energy were proving tricky.
However, Death Knight Bernard hadn't earned his demon baron title for nothing.
'I can overcome this much.'
But.
Death Knight Bernard's foes weren't just Kang Hyun-soo.
Kwaaang!
Under the joint assault of Doppelganger King Taliman disguised as a player and Orc Lord Kashku, Death Knight Bernard was sent flying pathetically.
'What the?'
He had thought to just watch out for the Demon-Subduing Blood God.
But two more at a similar level had appeared.
'I can't handle this alone.'
It bruised his pride, but he needed help.
However.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
"Kuuk! You filthy humans!"
"Why are you all so strong?!"
But his comrades weren't in a position to help Death Knight Bernard.
Leading the charge were Song Hana, the Spear Emperor, and Yuka, backed by Crimson Flame Emperor Dorchov, Benevolent Army King Shin Chang-hoo, Sword King Jang Seok-won, and Demon-Exterminating Spear King Jin Gu-pyeong unleashing relentless attacks.
On top of that, the two recently summoned orc lords and Iron Blood Emperor onward—Kang Hyun-soo's summons—were pouring assaults on the demon nobles.
And crucially, this was the Saclant Empire's capital.
Besides Kang Hyun-soo and his summons, it teemed with the empire's named and ranker players.
"Protect the honor of the Saclant Empire!"
"Drive out the demons defiling our home!"
The Saclant Empire forces and guild players united as one, unleashing fierce attacks.
Loyal Duke Richard of Chungui hadn't joined personally to guard Emperor Carl XIII against any contingencies.
But more than half the royal guards were in the fray.
With the empire's countless named and ranker players swarming like bees on top of Kang Hyun-soo and his summons—which were already overwhelming.
Even demon nobles couldn't hold out.
"Kraaaak!"
Death Knight Bernard let out a death cry and vanished without even showing his demon noble prowess.
And naturally.
'Legion composition.'
He revived as one of Kang Hyun-soo's summons.
'Appoint as commander. Bless the commander.'
Kang Hyun-soo appointed the demon noble Death Knight Bernard as a brigade commander, bestowed Commander's Blessing, and threw him into battle.
With one of the three demon nobles down.
The remaining two were cornered even more.
They were already outnumbered, and now a comrade had died.
"Uooooh!"
When that dead comrade returned as an enemy.
The battle situation turned utterly hopeless.
Their only hope was the follow-up undead legion crossing the dimensional gate.
But regrettably, the undead legion was obliterated the moment they emerged, under concentrated fire from Kang Hyun-soo's summons and Saclant Empire players.
Victory was decided before a proper battle could even begin.
* * *
'Damn it.'
Count Rimmonshitz in the demon world grasped the situation immediately.
His human slaves contracted in the Atlantis dimension reported the contracts breaking.
And his retainers crossing the dimensional gate were perishing one after another.
He couldn't ignore how off things were.
Ordinary demons couldn't track the life or death of retainers sent to the Atlantis dimension.
But undead were different.
Because his undead retainers and subordinates were also summons of Arch-Lich King Count Rimmonshitz.
The same went for the arch-liches and death knights who held demon noble titles.
'How the hell did the human slaves manage intel security?'
How poorly had they been managed for a golden opportunity to turn into an enemy trap?
'What to do?'
Two choices.
Send in better troops.
Or halt deployment.
'Stopping now would be too great a loss.'
Opening the dimensional gate had consumed considerable demonic energy.
On top of that, one rare demon noble subordinate had perished, and the other two wouldn't last.
Undead could revive, sure.
But it required permanently expending equivalent demonic energy.
And crucially.
'What trick did they pull?'
For the perished death knights, if the Demon-Subduing Blood God tampered with them, no amount of demonic energy could revive them.
The silver lining?
A lich could be revived.
But the massive permanent demonic energy loss was unavoidable.
'The losses are too great.'
When descending into Rokto Empire's Four Dukes Orpheus's body, he had permanently lost demonic energy.
During the first raid on Saclant Empire's capital, he lost numerous subordinates.
Reviving those had permanently cost more demonic energy.
And not to mention, descending then had permanently consumed more.
'No more risks.'
If he gained nothing but losses again this time?
'Those damn guys won't leave me alone.'
Plus, reviving perished subordinates would permanently consume demonic energy, and then...
'Forget promotion—I might get demoted.'
He was on track from count to marquess, but now viscount-bound.
"Keuung."
After agonizing, Count Rimmonshitz made his decision.
'No more backing down.'
But sending more subordinates would just get them picked off one by one in this situation.
'It's risky, but no choice.'
Count Rimmonshitz's final resort was.
Step by step.
Crossing the dimensional gate himself.
Count Rimmonshitz crossing personally was a huge risk.
Gaia's system defenses were formidable; his power would surely diminish.
Worst case, during passage through the destabilized gate under Gaia's defenses.
He could become dimensional chaff and perish.
'At least the power loss helps.'
From prior damages, Count Rimmonshitz had become the weakest among demon world counts.
Thus, his odds of becoming dimensional chaff were low.
Moreover, Count Rimmonshitz knew.
'Once their offensive starts anyway, I'll perish. It's all or nothing.'
No more room to retreat.
Pajik!
Count Rimmonshitz hurled himself toward the dimensional gate.