Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Rampage (3)
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“Whew, that was close. Nearly died there.”
Rokan had scattered mechanical engineering items equipped with area taunt effects, like Hansel and Gretel leaving a trail of breadcrumbs, luring Chrono and the Crimson Crusaders toward the human faction’s city.
He didn’t even need to lead them all the way to the city gates. Once they were pointed in the right direction, he bolted at full speed. That alone would accomplish what he wanted.
What happened next went without saying.
Destruction. Massacre.
Nothing remained in the wake of Chrono and the Crimson Crusaders. Only hyenas swarmed the aftermath.
“Jackpot!”
“Rare! It’s a rare! Score!”
Instead of hunting themselves, scavengers arrived just a beat late whenever they turned a stronghold into rubble, scooping up the drops like rotten meat.
Those who had stubbornly fought back to rack up merit points were mostly high-level players confident in their skills, so the pickings were pretty lucrative.
But Rokan didn’t see it in a bad light. It was just part of the game. A smart choice, even.
The only reason he wouldn’t do it himself was the payout wasn’t big enough for the effort—poor cost-to-reward ratio.
If he were low-level, he’d have done the exact same thing.
‘News should be coming soon…’
Afterward, the cash man showed up several more times, as if he’d taken a quest, but Rokan’s interference kept thwarting him.
Once the next city, and the one after that, saw their human strongholds smashed, Kaisman and the council had to make a decision. Whether to officially declare the ancient emperor and the Crimson Crusaders enemies.
Finally, a single announcement went up on the bulletin boards of every human city.
[Subjugate the Corrupted Ancient Emperor] [Quest] [Repeatable]
Subjugate the corrupted ancient emperor and his army. Massive rewards await anyone who inflicts valid damage on them.
-10,000 gold or Imperial Palace Free Pass for slaying the Ancient Emperor
-1,000 gold or 1 Unique Item (choice) for slaying a Red Guard
-200 gold or 1 Rare Item (choice) for slaying a Crimson Crusader
A bounty quest straight away. Bounties were now on the ancient emperor and the Crimson Crusaders’ heads. In the name of the entire Golden Lion faction.
The human faction’s name was included, of course. Kaisman and the council had admitted failure in controlling him through seals and resolved to take him down.
A clear contrast to the Black Dragon Legion, which hadn’t suffered direct attacks yet and thus hadn’t formed a full alliance.
“Alright, time to get started.”
Many who saw the notice began preparing to engage, itching for a fight.
Rumors had spread that every single Crimson Crusader was a master-level powerhouse, but greed overrode caution.
Sure, some were tempted by the 200 gold per kill, but the real top players eyed different rewards.
The choice of rare items.
Grab about ten, and you could equip a full rare set with the options you wanted, right?
Everyone knew item grade wasn’t everything—proper option setups could yield even greater power.
That’s why they were charging into battles like eggs against rocks.
Everyone except one: Rokan.
‘Head-on? Even masters would die like dogs.’
The Crimson Crusaders numbered a thousand—all master level. Guerrilla tactics or whatever, they’d only take losses. Unless you hit master level yourself and went full suicide squad.
So what to do? The Crimson Crusaders obeyed only Chrono’s orders and never split up.
In most cases, the play was to distract the adds and take out the boss—classic “steal the egg.”
But the opponent was Chrono. An absolute monster who could wipe out even that terrifying Crimson Crusaders legion solo. Even if every player on the central continent mobbed him, toppling him was impossible.
“Let’s go, Kai.”
Kweet!
Rokan mounted Kai once more, soaring through the skies, biding his time.
* * *
“Time to begin.”
After resupplying and leaving the city, Rokan didn’t immediately attack the Crimson Crusaders.
He was aiming for chaos. A one-sided slaughter more than a melee, but he still needed someone else to draw their eyes for him.
And there were plenty of hot-headed players and guilds willing.
“Focus fire one! We only take down one!”
The party pooling their power with excited shouts had a clear goal: one-shot. Even if they all died, nail exactly one Crimson Crusader.
If they pulled that off, they’d come out ahead in the end—that was the calculation.
“Hold… hold… hold… Now!”
The moment a Crimson Crusader soldier stepped into their calculated spot, they dropped group stealth and unleashed their strongest attacks on that single target.
Kuguuguugu.
“Gasp!”
“Crazy!”
“Scatter!”
But the enemy was a master. Not some slightly higher-level monster they’d scraped by against before.
A being on another plane.
Some among them had boasted they could do it too, hearing Rokan took down a master, but the instant they clashed— the moment one of the thousand Crimson Crusaders flexed its power—they realized how arrogant and ridiculous that notion was.
One skill shattered everything.
Their attacks. Their confidence. Even their will to survive.
“Subjugate.”
Chwararararak.
“……!”
As they were mercilessly cut down by the Crimson Crusader they’d targeted, Rokan descended on Kai.
He activated the special skill embedded in the Chains of Ruin.
Leaving everything to one Crimson Crusader, he snagged one from a cluster of cocky Crusaders idling arrogantly and rapidly gained altitude.
“Big catch!”
Just like with those trying to stop the ancient emperor’s revival, the legend-grade item’s subjugation left the Crimson Crusader helpless. Perfect immobilization.
Chwark!
He swung his left hand gripping the chains like shaking off dirt, and the tightly bound Crimson Crusader flew up onto Kai.
Kweet!
Kai complained at the sudden weight, body wobbling briefly, but quickly regained balance.
Dodging skills fired from below with acrobatic turns, they pulled away.
“Lights-Out.”
Once at a safe distance, Rokan’s finisher erupted.
It brutally split the head not wrapped in chains.
“One down.”
Master or not, nothing held up to Rokan’s insane destructive power.
It felt a bit tougher, being a metal doll, but what could it do? Hit after hit, criticals landing— it shattered and crumbled.
Others might take ages, but for Rokan, it wasn’t hard or time-consuming.
In seconds, he smashed its head, claimed the exp and loot, and fulfilled the bounty quest’s base condition.
‘Rushing off after one kill would be stupid.’
But he didn’t immediately claim the reward and renew.
Rewards could wait, and rares wouldn’t upgrade his specs anyway. The bounty quest had a hidden mechanic.
Kill one Crimson Crusader for 200 gold or a rare item choice. But kill thirty and claim at once for a bonus. 30+1, you could say.
Extra payout for gold, or an additional rare item.
‘Or skip thirty rares for a unique.’
In his past life, with plenty of masters around, it wasn’t much of a secret. But now? Different story.
Guilds struggled to take even one, as he’d seen. They’d want to trade kill points for rares and upgrade ASAP.
Hell, someone might solo thirty-plus alone.
‘Play it right, and it’s a goldmine…’
Rokan wouldn’t pick gear, of course. Accessories.
No base defense or attack, but options that shone brightest—perfect for the “choice” perk.
Grinning, he rewarded Kai with a top-grade stamina potion and took a break.
Waiting out the 30-minute cooldown on Subjugate.
Exactly 25 minutes later, he shook off, mounted up, and took to the skies again.
[You have leveled up.]
Circling the skies again, eyeing the Crimson Crusaders’ movements, Rokan snagged several more in gaps.
Using Lights-Out, with its faster cooldown than Subjugate, he poured on extreme DPS and wrecked them. Even in the grindy high-level zone, levels came quick. Master exp was massive.
But repeating it drew caution from the Crimson Crusaders.
Chrono raged and targeted him a few times, barely evaded thanks to Link, escaping by the skin of his teeth.
Player mothballs charging in helped too, of course.
“Stealth.”
At this point, Rokan switched tactics. Same dive from the sky, but now using stealth to evade their upward watch.
A user-only hide skill, but Link extended it to Kai. They vanished together, reappearing as Subjugate launched.
“Bye-bye.”
“Kyaaak! Kill him!”
Chrono’s fury at the unexpected stealth was natural.
His venting hit other players, but Rokan felt no pity. They’d come for glory too.
After a couple more stealth snags, Chrono made a rational call. He ordered one of his high masters to blanket the area with anti-stealth spells.
So Rokan adapted again.
“Subjugate! Wheeet!”
He’d told Kai to circle overhead. When Chrono and the Crusaders looked away, he slipped into a player crowd’s chaos. Subjugated another, whistled, and—big spend—summoned his Thousand Gold Steed to flee.
The cash man’s case proved it outran Crimson Crusaders.
1000 gold per horse stung, but he’d have bought it eventually anyway, easing the pain.
Then, smash again!
Amid players getting shredded, Rokan alone toyed with the Crimson Crusaders.
“Over here!”
Even so, he steered Chrono and the Crusaders toward the disputed zones. Their hands were needed to take down Chrono, after all.
Pure strength? Black Dragon Legion edged out Golden Lions.
Golden Lions excelled in group fights, but against Chrono-level insanity, a few overwhelming elites beat a bunch of middling strong. Even they barely won a sealed Chrono at huge cost.
Plus, Rokan’s mobility on Kai made faction irrelevant.
‘Damage on you, gains for me!’
He just balanced the scales. Tip too far, and the other faction might invade en masse.
Unwilling guardian of equilibrium, he busily crisscrossed the skies.