Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Temple of the Yellow God
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Shangri-La, humanity's most powerful nation.
A place that had enjoyed a millennium of prosperity since its founding by the hands of the 'Elders,' an ancient race who were children of the Four Great Gods.
It was no exaggeration to say that the blood of the Elder race had been lost to the flow of a thousand years, effectively severed.
Their blood had mixed with that of other races and spread far and wide, but for that very reason, no one existed who had inherited it in its entirety.
The current royal family of Shangri-La was no exception.
The Shangri-La royal family, which had inherited the blood of the Legendary King and his son, the White Meteor, had seen its line completely extinguished three hundred years ago during the 'Tragedy of Seven Days and Nights.'
The new royal family that inherited the throne thereafter did not have a single drop of the Legendary King's blood in its lineage.
This 'severance of blood' was a widely known fact, one that anyone with a modicum of knowledge could easily uncover, yet Shangri-La steadfastly continued the Legendary King's lineage. Their claim was that what mattered was not blood, but the succession of spirit and legitimacy.
Thus, the current Shangri-La royal family still adhered to the ancient Elder naming conventions.
The reigning king of Shangri-La, 'Blue Lion,' was a mature man approaching fifty.
Befitting the king of Shangri-La, a nation that emphasized a martial spirit, his body was robust, and his mastery of martial arts was beyond ordinary.
Sweeping back his thick, brown hair, which resembled a lion's mane, Blue Lion let out a long sigh. He spoke in a resolute tone, as if annoyed by the sluggish meeting.
“The royal family will dispatch the navy. Protecting the people is the duty of the state, and this decision will not be changed.”
In the center of the royal palace.
Deep within the royal shrine dedicated to all Four Great Gods, there was a room sealed by a powerful barrier.
Only the reigning king and the popes of the Four Great God Cults were permitted to enter this room, where the divine sword 'Storm-Caller,' the first of the Thirty-Seven Star Swords and the one and only strongest sword in the human realm, was kept.
In the center of the diamond-shaped room was a large round table, and in the very middle of that table, the blade of Storm-Caller was embedded halfway.
Occupying one seat at the round table, Blue Lion looked at the other members with weary eyes.
The Four Great God Cults each had a grand temple in the north, south, east, and west of Shangri-La, so none of the popes were physically present in the capital.
However, they were currently participating in the meeting hosted by Blue Lion from secret rooms within their respective grand temples.
Thanks to the advanced illusion and communication magic created by the ancient Elders, it was no different from holding a meeting with everyone physically present.
The woman with black hair seated across from Blue Lion.
Tehenut, the pope of the Yellow God Cult, spoke in a soft voice.
“The Yellow God Cult is also willing to send the Divine Artifact 'Morning Glory' to the Olympus Sea. However... it is difficult to find a champion capable of protecting the artifact safely.”
The priests of the Yellow God, who governs life, water, love, and beauty, had long been known for their striking appearances.
Whether the cult itself placed importance on such things, or if there was some divine magic related to beauty, was a mystery, but the pope of the Yellow God Cult was always the most handsome man or beautiful woman in Shangri-La, and the current Tehenut was no exception.
Despite being nearly forty, her face was free of wrinkles, and her light brown skin held a captivating beauty.
Two Divine Artifacts had appeared in the World Quest preview video that the Players had witnessed.
The Red God's Divine Artifact, Thunderbolt, and a nameless Divine Artifact of the Yellow God.
Even Vivian, the guardian of the Kingdom of Britannia, had not recognized it, so it was only natural that not only the Players, but also the natives of this world, were at a loss as to the identity of the Yellow God's Divine Artifact.
But Tehenut, the pope of the Yellow God Cult, was different.
She had identified the Divine Artifact the moment she saw the preview video.
It was undoubtedly 'Morning Glory,' which the Yellow God had bestowed upon the Holy Warrior, Black Bear.
Opinions varied among the cults, but Tehenut was of the mind that the Four Great Gods had caused The Great Summoning. Therefore, she had no reservations about providing a Divine Artifact for the second World Quest.
The problem, as she herself had stated, was that she had not yet decided on someone to entrust the artifact to.
Not all cults had an order of Knights Templar.
The Yellow God Cult was the most peaceful among the Four Great God Cults, and it possessed no significant armed forces to speak of. It was to the point that, unlike the other cults, they relied entirely on the Shangri-La national army for the defense of their temple.
Tehenut's positive response and beautiful voice somewhat eased Blue Lion's mind.
Blue Lion turned his gaze to Tehenut's left.
“What of the Red God Cult?”
The large, bald old man—Goto, the pope of the Red God Cult—did not answer immediately. Only after choosing his words several times did he speak in a displeased voice.
“Thunderbolt has not been taken outside the grand temple once in the last five hundred years. To expose the cult's greatest Divine Artifact to danger based solely on the word of Players... frankly, that is a difficult thing to ask.”
“But the first World Quest that occurred in the Avalon Duchy unfolded exactly as the Players' 'prophecy' foretold, did it not? Perhaps we should trust not the individual Players, but the ones who sent the prophecy?”
The one who responded to Goto was Kaien, the pope of the White God Cult.
The youngest among the popes, he, like Tehenut, believed The Great Summoning was the will of the Four Great Gods.
Goto, who was still not convinced about who had caused The Great Summoning, frowned.
“Kaien, do you believe the Four Great Gods caused The Great Summoning?”
“It is not for us to presume to fathom their will. However, I believe their will is contained within The Great Summoning.”
Kaien stated his opinion firmly.
Goto clicked his tongue in disbelief and turned his gaze to the seat where the pope of the Green God Cult should have been. He spoke in an irritated voice.
“Where in the world is Pope Evanoel of the Green God Cult anyway? Isn't this precisely the time when the Green God Cult should be taking the lead?”
The second World Quest was, after all, a prophecy of a battle against a sea monster.
The Green God was the greatest and strongest god of war in this world, with the Three Great Martial Gods under his command. The Green God Cult, which served such a god, was the most militant among the Four Great God Cults.
In particular, the current Pope Evanoel was a powerful being, so much so that she had earned the moniker 'Pope of Destruction.'
One of the world's Eight Superhumans, she could claim to be the strongest in humanity, excluding the Green Meteor, who had already become a transcendent being almost beyond the definition of human.
And yet Evanoel, who should have been at the forefront of the fight against the sea monster, had been missing for months.
As this was a round table meeting where even a proxy could not be sent, her seat was empty.
Goto looked back toward Kaien.
“What about the White God Cult? Is Kalein still wandering?”
Kalein, the Archmage of Extreme Roaring Flame.
Apostle of Morgana, the goddess of magic and a lesser god to the White God.
One of the world's Eight Superhumans and the greatest magician in this world—the Supreme Wizard—he too was currently missing.
In the end, they were back to square one.
The 'Superhumans' of Shangri-La, who seemed capable of repelling the sea monster without any trouble, were currently missing.
There were many other talented individuals in Shangri-La besides them, but the preview video for the second World Quest had been so overwhelming that it was hard to feel at ease.
As the meeting fell into a lull again, Tehenut parted her beautiful lips.
“Your Majesty, forgive my impertinent question, but has there been any word from the Green Meteor?”
“There has not. We are searching everywhere, but we cannot find even a shadow of her.”
The guardian deity of Shangri-La and Avalon.
The strongest being in the human realm, she had not shown herself during the first World Quest either. And it seemed this time would be no different.
Blue Lion continued.
“She only appears during crises that we cannot handle on our own. So, conversely, this means the current crisis is one we can overcome by ourselves.”
The Avalon Duchy had passed the World Quest onto the Players and simply stood by.
But Shangri-La could not do the same. The repercussions of the second World Quest were too great to be left solely to the Players.
“The prophecy the Players saw said that both Divine Artifacts, 'Thunderbolt' and 'Morning Glory,' are needed. To minimize the risk, I believe we must first follow the prophecy.”
Blue Lion said, looking straight at Goto.
When the other two popes sent him nearly identical looks, Goto's shoulders slumped. He let out a sigh and relented.
“Very well. I will select personnel to transport Thunderbolt safely.”
In the case of the Red God Cult, there were many skilled hunters who served the 'God of the Hunt,' a lesser god to the Red God. It was clear that the artifact bearer would be chosen from among them.
His expression softening at Goto's surrender, Blue Lion asked Tehenut.
“What of the Yellow God Cult? If you wish, I will dispatch a portion of the Royal Guard.”
“Thank you for your consideration. However, there is still time before the World Quest. The distance between our grand temple and the Olympus Sea is also relatively short, so for now, we will try to find a suitable person using the cult's own resources.”
At the polite refusal, Blue Lion simply nodded a few times. Just as Tehenut said, there was still quite some time until the World Quest.
And from the way she spoke, it seemed she was planning to find someone among the Players to entrust the artifact to.
Blue Lion had not yet reached a firm conclusion about The Great Summoning.
Therefore, he decided to focus only on the task at hand.
“The Avalon Duchy overcame the first World Quest without major damage. Let us too overcome this World Quest.”
With those ceremonial closing remarks, the round table meeting was adjourned.
* * *
At the same time, after nearly ten days of flight, the Black Dragon had reached a point where the borders of Shangri-La were in sight.
The initial plan was to fly a direct route to the grand temple of the Yellow God, but its new status as a 'warship' proved to be a hindrance.
The nobles in the west of the Kingdom of Britannia were displeased by the Black Dragon passing through their airspace, and the Avalon Duchy, while permitting entry, demanded it follow a route they specified.
As the route became convoluted, so did the supply route, and naturally, the journey took longer than originally planned.
However, none of the Adamas guild members expressed any particular complaint. They had departed extremely early in the first place, so there was still over a month left until the World Quest.
Since it was going to be delayed anyway, approaching the journey as if it were a trip wasn't so bad.
“Hoo, hoo… This is much harder than I thought. It's a bit different from a sword.”
Kim Kang-san, who had been sparring with Kang-seok on the deck in full armor, collapsed, panting for breath.
In Kim Kang-san's hands was a large warhammer instead of his usual greatsword.
It was an item Kang-seok had acquired from the Tower of Raum.
He didn't know which Player had originally used it, but it was clear they must have possessed immense strength.
After all, even Kim Kang-san, who boasted the greatest physical strength in the Adamas guild, found it difficult to wield.
“Well, the center of gravity for a sword and a hammer are completely different. But the power is incredible, isn't it?”
“Yeah, I guess it seems that way.”
The reason Kim Kang-san had changed weapons was for future team play.
In terms of position, Kim Kang-san was a tank, just like Seong Yu-jin. However, compared to Seong Yu-jin, who was a dedicated tank, he lacked both the performance and number of skills.
Since it was impossible to strengthen his tanking abilities further, he decided to enhance his offense instead.
In that sense, he had chosen the warhammer, which packed a powerful 'single blow.'
Having wrestled with the hammer for nearly an hour, the sweat-drenched Kim Kang-san tore off the upper part of his armor and caught his breath.
As he sat leaning against the deck railing, a cool breeze blew past.
“I'm exhausted.”
“Here's some water.”
Kang-seok sat down next to Kim Kang-san and handed him a waterskin. Accepting it without hesitation, Kim Kang-san drank more than half of it in one go before speaking again.
“By the way, Kang-seok.”
“Yes?”
“We're probably going to need a mage in the guild, right?”
“Probably.”
The 'Adamas Assault Team' had already achieved brilliant victories, but there was still room for improvement.
The mage Kim Kang-san was talking about wasn't a healer like Go Min-gu.
A mage for offense. The assault team's cannon, possessing various area-of-effect spells and ranged attacks.
Currently, the only one in the Adamas guild capable of ranged attacks was Choi Yu-ra.
Of course, Choi Yu-ra's ranged firepower using various heavy weapons was excellent, but the limited ammunition made it inconvenient to manage.
Tanks: Seong Yu-jin and Kim Kang-san. Melee DPS: Kang-seok and Park Han-yeong. Ranged DPS: Choi Yu-ra. Healer and buffer: Go Min-gu.
Just one more person. Add a mage, and the party would finally be perfect.
Kang-seok thought of Kim Ha-neul, who had died in the Tower of Raum, and sighed bitterly. While he lamented the loss of her abilities, the sadness of her death itself was greater.
Kim Kang-san, who didn't know Kim Ha-neul, assumed Kang-seok was stressing over recruiting new members and spoke in a deliberately light tone.
“It'd be great if we meet a new friend during the World Quest.”
“I hope so.”
What kind of Players would they meet this time?
With so many Players summoned, their games of origin were just as varied.
Perhaps because of the pleasant thought, Kang-seok's expression brightened again. Kim Kang-san, who had been quietly observing Kang-seok's face, nudged the pouch hanging at his waist.
“No reaction from the Divine Beast's egg?”
“Not yet.”
“You said something that resembles you would hatch, right?”
“That's why I'm more anxious.”
As Kang-seok gave a bitter smile, Kim Kang-san let out a hearty laugh.
“What if a clone comes out? Like a mini Kang-seok.”
“Oh, please. You want to take it instead?”
As if the mere thought was horrifying, Kang-seok pretended to untie the pouch. Kim Kang-san shrugged.
“Well, actually, there's something that would suit you better than a weird thing like a mini Kang-seok.”
“Something that would suit me?”
As Kang-seok tilted his head, Kim Kang-san grinned. He raised his right hand, stared into the air with a serious expression, and then, at one point, shouted like a thunderclap.
“Weep! O, Dragon of Black Flame!”
Naturally, nothing happened, but Kang-seok staggered as if he'd been struck by a hammer. He couldn't breathe from the sheer embarrassment.
“Wh-when did I ever say that!”
When he finally managed to protest, Kim Kang-san nodded.
“Right, it was more tragic. Was it like this? Weep! O, Dragon of Black...”
“I was wrong. I was wrong. I don't know what I did wrong, but I was definitely wrong.”
Damn skill command. Why the hell is there voice activation?
Having thoroughly teased Kang-seok, Kim Kang-san decided he was satisfied. He wiped the playful look from his face and said.
“Anyway, whether it's a Black Flame Dragon or whatever, wouldn't it be cool if a dragon hatched? You could ride it around by yourself. Like those Sky Knights of Avalon.”
“Uh...”
Hearing that and imagining it, it did seem quite cool.
Riding atop a magnificent black dragon with black scales. Or charging like an arrow toward a giant monster on that dragon.
The Adamas guild members all relied on Kang-seok mentally, to a greater or lesser degree. That was why only in front of Kim Kang-san could Kang-seok revert to being an ordinary young man his age.
As the corners of Kang-seok's mouth began to creep up, lost in a flight of fancy, Kim Kang-san laughed heartily again.
But it was at that very moment.
“What's so funny?”
Yang Jun-gyu, crouching in front of the two, tilted his head. They had been so focused on their conversation and fantasies that they hadn't noticed him approaching.
“Ah, it's nothing... Jun-gyu?!”
Kim Kang-san, who had been about to mention the Divine Beast's egg, suddenly shot to his feet. Kang-seok's reaction was not much different.
“Who's piloting the airship?!”
When Hunt was here, he and Yang Jun-gyu took turns piloting. But Hunt wasn't here now.
The airship was in flight. Yang Jun-gyu was right in front of them.
Slightly startled by their reaction, Yang Jun-gyu blinked and replied.
“Yu-ra is piloting. She's been begging me to teach her for a few days... Uaaah?!”
The airship suddenly veered sharply. Moreover, it had also picked up speed, causing the deck to tilt, and Yang Jun-gyu, losing his balance for a moment, almost went tumbling.
Quickly reaching out and grabbing him, Kang-seok shouted at Kim Kang-san.
“Kang-san! Stop Yu-ra! Jun-gyu, get back to the helm, quick!”
Yang Jun-gyu and Kim Kang-san, their faces pale, nodded simultaneously. But just as Kang-seok, who had slung Yang Jun-gyu over his shoulder, was about to kick off from the deck...
[It is not a piloting error by Choi Yu-ra. A quest has appeared to the front left!]
It was the voice of Iris, which for some reason he felt he hadn't heard in a long time. Kang-seok quickly looked to his left. In the distance, he could see two airships flying side-by-side.
[Quest: Rescue the hijacked transport ship]
Kang-seok and Kim Kang-san looked at each other. Yang Jun-gyu voiced their shared feelings in a bewildered tone.
“H-Hijacking?!”
The illegal seizure of a vehicle, train, or aircraft in transit.
As if to rouse the three bewildered men, the Black Dragon, piloted by Choi Yu-ra, accelerated again.