Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Conqueror's Tomb
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[System Message]
[The fourth round begins.]
Piercing through the pouring light,
darkness came once more.
It wasn't pitch black where you couldn't see ahead.
Just like early evening as the sun sets.
But the sky was filled with dark clouds, and the slow-falling rain steadily soaked the parched ground.
[Kim Cheonjae's Group]
[Please select the story progression for the upcoming fourth round of 'Land of Ruin.']
A. Stay in the fourth round until victory is achieved.
B. Proceed to the next round after the event ends, regardless of win or loss.
The first route might take a long time to advance to the next round but offers great rewards.
The second is the shortest route, where you can reach the next round just by hiding in the village.
I chose A.
Since that Yi Yianghun bastard took Cheok Jungyeong with him,
I had to claim the rewards from this place.
"I choose A."
[System Message]
[All players have finished selecting the story progression.]
[Selection - A]
Vroom!
Screeech.
The car was blocked by the barrier.
There was a stone bridge stretching from the forest to the castle.
Deep pits flanked both sides of the single path.
White mist filled what looked like a canyon below.
We parked the car in front of the forest and walked along the stone bridge inward.
Step. Step. Pat pat pat!
Yoo Sora slipped on the rain-slicked stone. Her balance shook, and she teetered toward the edge below the bridge.
I grabbed her hand and yanked her back.
Smack!
"Be careful. You'll die if you fall."
Yoo Sora's face turned pale as a ghost.
"S-s... sorry."
The mist made it look like just a canyon, but below was a habitat for mutant monsters.
-Kyahaaaaak!!
A bizarre cry echoed from beneath the cliff. Yoo Sora pressed close to me with a frightened face.
"W-what is that?"
"Monsters infected with the virus."
"...... There are monsters down there?"
"Yes. A whole lot of them."
Michael gathered light in his grenade launcher and fired toward the bridge below.
Boom!
In the flash of light, dozens—no, hundreds of mutant monsters came into view.
Just for a moment, but we could see them.
Types of monsters we'd never seen before swarmed down there.
Goblins, trolls, ogres.
Beings called monsters that didn't exist in reality.
Even they were infected with the virus, their bodies mutated to a purple hue.
-Kihak!
-Kyaak.
-Krueeeh.
The mutants hit by Michael's grenade wailed in screams.
"...... Genius Kim. Those guys aren't dying."
"They're not ordinary ones. Don't even think about fighting them. They're nothing like humans who got infected."
"O-okay."
Michael gulped as he stared under the bridge.
We cautiously walked to the end of the stone bridge.
The castle's silhouette emerged, hidden by mist from afar.
An ironclad fortress blocking virus-infected mutant monsters from reaching the 'Ruined Village.'
[You have entered the 'Conqueror's Tomb' area.]
This place, looking like a medieval castle, was where players from Korea, Japan, and China all gathered.
A location where players from the three countries constantly fought to advance to the next round.
Ma Jeongwoo gripped his axe handle tight and asked me.
"Charge straight in?"
"...... No. Keep a low profile until the investigation's done."
"Okay."
From the fourth round on, acting without a plan would definitely get you killed.
The risk level was completely different from the third round called Utopia.
It was an inter-country showdown between nations on bad terms, so the battles were fierce, and the chance of death was high.
'Well-'
If we'd chosen route B, we could've just hidden and gone to the next round.
But I chose A, so...
-Ding!
A skull mark appeared above my head.
Jeongwoo, Michael, Yoo Sora too.
PK marks appeared above all their heads.
[You have entered a PK-permitted area.]
[Player kills are now permitted from this moment.]
[Advantages based on PK rank will apply, so fight hard.]
From now on, even murders wouldn't bring NPC intervention.
Arriving in front of the NPCs guarding the castle gate, I furrowed my brow.
"...... Jeongwoo. No way the Japanese bastards own this place?"
A platoon of soldiers in Japanese military uniforms from the colonial era guarded the entrance.
One with a mustache stepped forward and asked me.
"*^@##@^*?"
What the hell?
I tilted my head and stared at him. The NPC scratched his head, and a system message appeared.
[System Message]
[Language synchronization complete.]
"Where do you come from?"
"From the Ruined Village."
"Which country are you from?"
"Republic of Korea."
"Oh ho. Chosenjin."
Chosenjin?
Ma Jeongwoo surged forward in anger.
I blocked him and signaled to fall back.
'Stay calm.'
I took a deep breath and replied to the Japanese soldier.
"Can we go in?"
"Your pass?"
"Here."
Seeing the pass signed by Major Kim Juncheol, the soldiers cleared the way.
"The owner of this castle is currently the Great Japanese Empire, so watch yourselves."
The NPC's tone turned sneering.
I nodded slightly in greeting and entered the castle.
* * * * *
The rain wouldn't stop.
Even falling slowly, my hair was soaked, hanging like seaweed.
Without streetlights, it was so dark the building signs wouldn't have been visible.
In-game, the medieval castle was depicted pristine,
but here it truly felt like the Land of Ruin, with a dark atmosphere fitting the name.
"H-hey, Kim Cheonjae."
"What?"
"See the flag on the castle?"
Looking up at the castle's top, the Rising Sun flag fluttered.
"Crazy bastards."
"Want me to go burn it?"
"Go alone and you'll be the one burned."
"We go together then."
"You know how many enemies there are?"
"Sigh.... There are Chinese players here too. Why are they just watching that?"
Pretending to shoot the flag with a gun, I replied.
"They've got reasons they can't do anything but watch."
"...... Disgusting."
"Forget it. I'll change that flag soon enough, so don't worry."
As we walked searching for lodging, killing intent seeped from every alley.
Other players weren't visible, so they seemed to be hiding and watching us.
With the whole castle dark and misty, all we could do was walk defensively.
We'd left the 'Ruined Village' in the morning, so it should be lunchtime by now, but there wasn't a speck of light in the sky.
My ears perked up.
Step.
"...... Jeongwoo."
"Yeah?"
"Battle stations."
At my word, Jeongwoo dropped low and scanned around.
"Michael, rear guard!"
"R-rea-"
"Rear! Back!"
"Oh, rear!"
Michael drew his pistol and aimed at the rear on guard.
Yoo Sora stuck right to Jeongwoo's side.
"W-what's happening?"
"...... Don't leave my side."
.
.
.
.
.
.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
"Ah....... Hello."
Someone was approaching through the mist from the opposite alley.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart pounded hard.
Enemy? Ally?
A player bold enough to move alone in this village.
As the distance closed, I saw her—not him—a blood-soaked woman in a cloak. She walked slowly toward us, then collapsed to the ground.
Thud.
Yoo Sora, who'd been watching her, rushed forward.
"Are you okay?!"
I grabbed Yoo Sora's wrist and stopped her cold.
"Halt."
"What are you doing?"
"...... If you don't want to die, stop."
I looked above the fallen woman's head.
A deep yellow skull mark.
A woman who'd killed at least 30 times.
In a PK-permitted area, a single moment's lapse led to death—never let your guard down.
Her sleeve could hide a poison-coated dagger.
Her mouth could conceal paralyzing saliva.
There were plenty of ways to subdue someone, so stay cautious.
I signaled Jeongwoo, and with Michael, they checked the fallen woman.
Michael aimed his pistol.
Jeongwoo stripped her clothes to check.
"...... Genius. This woman's got nothing."
"Yeah?"
I approached the fallen woman while guarding the surroundings.
"...... Shot?"
"No. Stabbed by something sharp. Not a sword though."
"Not a sword?"
"The wound's too small for a blade stab."
Jeongwoo lifted her robe to reveal her blood-soaked abdomen. The wound was tiny, like from a utility knife.
And it wasn't deep.
"...... What stabbed her?"
"No idea."
I hesitated briefly.
There was no benefit to saving her.
I brushed back my rain-soaked hair and thought.
No pursuers in sight around us.
Even if there were, the rain would've masked footsteps. Anyone skilled enough for the fourth round would've hidden already where they wouldn't be spotted.
Genius. Genius! GENIUS!! Kim Cheonjae!!!
"Hey, Kim Cheonjae!"
"Huh? Oh, sorry. Was thinking."
"What do we do with her? Take her? She'll just be baggage."
"...... Korean?"
"Who knows. We can tell her class though."
"Class? What?"
Ma Jeongwoo pulled a twig from her pocket and showed it.
"Druid."
"...... Take her."
* * * * *
Thud thud thud thud—
The rain thickened to where umbrellas were useless.
A chilling aura enveloped the castle, and those who favored moving in darkness began stirring actively.
Kraroom!
Lightning struck over the dark city.
In the flash, five black-clad figures leaping across rooftops through the rain came into view.
Mysterious men with black hoods covering head, mouth, and nose completely.
They arrived on the roof of the inn where Kim Cheonjae's group was.
"Boss. What now?"
"Still breathing?"
The subordinate-looking one nodded.
"Yes."
"...... Would've been better if she'd died quietly...."
A black-clad man who'd rappelled down the outer wall to scout reported to the boss.
"They're gathered in the fourth-floor suite."
"Look like pros?"
"No. Best case, level twenty or so."
"...... Hold position."
The black-clad man with a star mark on his forehead turned on his radio.
Tap. Tap.
Sending signals with his fingers,
Beep.
A thin, feminine male voice came from the radio.
-Who is this transmission from?
Kraroom!
Lightning struck again.
The black-clad men on the roof were all illuminated.
The one with the star mark lowered his hood, revealing a face sharp and tough enough to call ghostly.
"...... Hanjo. Psycho Hanjo."