Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Rampage (2)
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# 156
Rampage (2)
The Ancient Emperor's Rampage! Have the Humans' Attempts Failed?
This was the common headline splashed across webzines specializing in coverage of The Lord.
The current Human Emperor Kaisman, startled by the Ancient Emperor's rampage as it trampled the Gnome territories in its path, had led his subordinates to intercept it—only to suffer a crushing defeat after coming under attack himself.
"It must be because of that corrupted power..."
It wasn't clear if they'd tried talking it down or attempted something else entirely. The one certainty was that after the encounter, the Ancient Emperor's rampage had intensified.
The Ancient Emperor, which had been relentlessly targeting only the Gnomes and pushing forward, suddenly lost its direction.
It abruptly changed course, launching a sudden assault on a nearby Dwarf region, then proceeded to destroy a Half-Elf village as well.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately, given that it was already deep inside the Golden Lion faction's territory—there were no incidents like the Black Dragon Legion's infiltrations and lootings that Rokan had carried out during the Corruption Wave. Still, the destruction was so devastating that rebuilding would cost a fortune.
And the humans' strongholds were no exception.
"Humans have truly lost their minds."
Even in life, the Ancient Emperor had done plenty of mad things and drawn heaps of scorn for them, but he'd always upheld one grand principle.
Benefiting humanity.
He had treated all other races with ruthless cruelty, yet harbored boundless affection for humans.
No matter how lowly a human's station, he pitied them and would rage on their behalf. For him to destroy a human city that posed no threat—this was pure insanity. It was proof positive that he was no longer in his right mind.
"The Emperor spared him because of their blood ties, at least? Does that mean a shred of reason remains...?"
Of course, the current Human Emperor Kaisman had undoubtedly brought considerable forces when he went to confront it. Whether he survived by his own strength, or if a faint thread of Chrono's sanity remained, recognizing Kaisman—it was uncertain.
And Rokan, for his part, hoped it was the former: that Kaisman had escaped under his own power.
That would give Rokan the perfect pretext to hunt them down.
"Come on, hurry up and put a bounty on them..."
But until Kaisman made that call, Rokan couldn't touch him. Kaisman had personally revived the Ancient Emperor—his own ancestor, no less. Laying a hand on him recklessly could mean charges of treason.
"Wait, this direction..."
Having confirmed that Kaisman hadn't yet reached that point, Rokan gathered more intel—then spotted something odd.
The movement paths of the Ancient Emperor and the Red Crusaders.
After clashing with Kaisman, Chrono had wandered aimlessly at first. But at some point, it locked onto a straight-line trajectory, even bypassing nearby villages without a glance.
What was its aim? Had it regained its senses and was now charging toward the Black Dragon Legion?
Rokan checked the regions it would hit if it kept on that path—and his face twisted in bewilderment.
"Something's up."
But he quickly schooled his expression. It might be that some restraint had finally kicked in late, but his instincts told him otherwise.
Something else had intervened.
"Let's see what bastard this is. Kai!"
Rokan teleported ahead via magic circle and called for Kai. He climbed onto the giant's back and unleashed his will.
Kreee! Fwoosh!
With rapid wingbeats, the massive body lifted into the air.
The gear Rokan wore was heavy in its own right, but Kai's astonishing strength and stamina let it accelerate effortlessly.
'There.'
Tracing back the path where Chrono was expected to advance, Rokan eventually spotted an army blanketing the ground in black.
And ahead of them, a lone user fleeing like his tail was on fire.
'What's that guy's deal?'
But Rokan didn't rush in recklessly. What amazed him was that even as Chrono and its army pursued with intent to kill, the guy maintained his distance.
He wasn't on some special mount, but the Red Crusaders—possessing master-level stats—were fast enough that even a Ghost Horse rider would struggle to outpace them bit by bit.
So how was this guy keeping up? Watching from a distance, Rokan realized he was even controlling the gap with ease.
"No way, a Thousand-Gold Horse?"
He drew closer. Focusing his gaze, Rokan could make out the mount in fair detail.
It was unmistakably a Thousand-Gold Horse.
A special mount costing a thousand gold per steed—an insane price.
Depending on the breed, they boasted superior stamina, speed, or combat prowess, but all were at least 30% faster than a Ghost Horse.
And someone had bought one at this stage of the game?
Rokan could afford it if he wanted, but it struck him as pointless money-burning, so he'd put it off. Who knew someone else had gone for it.
"Damn, he's stacked with cash."
Rokan rubbed his eyes and checked again, letting out a whistle. Beyond the Thousand-Gold Horse, the gear draped over the rider screamed top-tier prices.
And among it, Rokan spotted several items he'd personally selected and listed in his private shop.
"Well, well, reinforced too?"
Even better—they glowed faintly with reinforcement effects, jacked up to the max.
At this point, the guy might as well be wearing a house on his back.
"That him? Cashman?"
Rokan shook his head in disbelief as a name surfaced in his mind.
The ultimate pay-to-win player, Cashman.
No one knew his exact wealth, but he was infamous for dumping over ten billion won in the early days of The Lord alone.
Rumors pegged him as a Chinese Communist Party official or a Middle Eastern oil baron, but apparently, he was Korean.
They hadn't hit the point of clashing with overseas players yet.
'Made that cash in Korea—chaebol heir?'
It left Rokan a bit dazed, but business was business. After observing the chase a moment longer, he pulled a scroll from his inventory and tore it.
"Wall of Stone."
Rumble rumble rumble.
"...!"
A stone wall erupted right in front of Cashman as he charged at full tilt. Not his max speed, but startling enough for someone moving that fast. Yet the Thousand-Gold Horse lived up to its name.
"Hya!"
Whoosh.
It leaped right over the wall—at least two meters high!
"Fire Field, Wall of Stone, Paralyze Field!"
Infuriated, Rokan tore scroll after scroll. A wall of flame shot up, followed by another stone wall a bit farther on, and finally a paralysis field placed just beyond.
Precisely where the Thousand-Gold Horse would land after leaping the flames and double-jumping off the stone wall.
"Urk, who the—"
Thud!
But Cashman was no pushover. He expertly reined in his mount to clear the fire and stone, then used a shock grenade to blast through the paralysis field.
Rokan hadn't expected mechanical engineering gear too, but it didn't matter. Cashman had unsummoned his Thousand-Gold Horse.
Even if he was a speed-type character, shaking the pursuing Red Crusaders would be impossible.
Whoosh!
"Damn, this psycho."
But that was a miscalculation. Rokan had underestimated Cashman's wallet.
Regaining his balance, Cashman whistled again—summoning another Thousand-Gold Horse.
The previous one had just been unsummoned, meaning he owned at least two.
'Two thousand gold... how much is that...?'
Gold prices had dipped, but it still hovered around 80-90k won per piece. Rokan had cashed out recently at 90k per in bulk.
That meant Cashman had sunk at least 160 million won just into mounts.
Each one cost as much as a foreign luxury car—something no average player could dream of.
Zap.
Meanwhile, Cashman spotted Rokan. He hadn't expected a flying mount, scanning wildly, but with no cover on the open plain, he found him eventually.
Without vision skills, Rokan would look like a dot, but he'd registered the presence.
'So, what?'
No reason for Rokan to run. What was there to fear?
'If you're pissed, come at me.'
He wasn't attacking directly yet because going murderer status now would be a hassle—not because he feared the guy or his backing.
So this time, Rokan decided to get hands-on.
"Bombardment."
An upgraded combo blending Scatter—hurling ten hand axes at once. Tiny dots sped toward Cashman, swelling larger before slamming into his projected path like artillery shells.
Boom boom boom rumble explode!
A true bombardment. Each impact ruptured the space, carving meter-deep craters. It spooked the Thousand-Gold Horse and turned the ground treacherous.
"You bastard! I don't know who you are, but you'll pay!"
Cashman had few options. He dodged and fled, cursing Rokan out.
But even if he knew who it was, would he dare say the same? Rokan sneered, pulling out more hand axes.
"Throw, Throw, Bombardment."
Even without the combo, it was plenty threatening. No explosive force, but a solid hit could cleave him in two, not just unhorse him.
Rokan wasn't aiming to kill, which was the only reason Cashman lasted—but oblivious, he scrambled desperately.
And in that moment, death's shadow fell.
"Kill him!"
"Gah!"
The Red Crusaders had caught up, swarming him.
The metal puppets' merciless sword strikes pierced Cashman's body.
He had a wide taunt skill, but lacking stealth or evasion, he could only watch helplessly as metal invaded him. Even with them, escaping would've been impossible.
"Kill! All living things!"
Even after Cashman crumpled dead, Chrono's fury burned on. Rokan, dodging higher to avoid stray javelins, slipped from detection range—leaving the masterless rage to vent wildly.
As a result, its path veered off. It abandoned the direction Cashman had lured it toward, heading somewhere entirely different.
'It's gone mad for real.'
Watching from the skies, Rokan sensed it. No more rational moves from Chrono.
Proof: Cashman had been human, and green madness gleamed in Chrono's eyes—the mark of corruption's takeover.
"Then no choice."
Why drag this out?
Checking his status, Rokan wheeled Kai around and took up Cashman's former job.
Just... in a slightly different direction.