Chapter 223
Chapter 223
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 223
Chapter Title: Ancient City (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
# 223
The recapture of Kitanro Fortress! Its meaning went beyond merely reclaiming a base.
It scattered the enemy's main forces.
And allowed for defeating them piecemeal.
Though the dwarf-gnome alliance had chosen to retreat at some point—likely because mutual casualties were too high for total annihilation—at that moment, over 20% of their total forces had already been shredded.
“As expected.”
And one more thing. The dwarf-gnome alliance had abandoned Nihilman Fortress as well. Attempting to defend it in its state of total destruction, rather than mere partial ruin, would only lead to even greater losses.
But the orcs were in the same boat, giving up on advancing all the way to Nihilman Fortress. As a result, Nihilman Fortress became a windless zone, wrapped in an eerie silence.
“Now’s the time…….”
Thanks to that, Krokchwi had found some breathing room. The gnomes’ obsession with their race quest was fearsome, but they hadn’t pinpointed the ancient city’s location yet, so it should be fine.
Moreover, with Nihilman Fortress included, they still had to cross Kitanro and Hillos Fortresses.
Deeming this sufficient, Krokchwi vanished from the battlefield.
* * *
Orc players, unaware of Krokchwi’s disappearance, fervently praised the hero Krokchwi’s name.
His name immediately shot up Kraang’s player ranking chart, and those who had witnessed his battles firsthand couldn’t deny it.
SS-rank (Combat Power: Unassessable, Level Rank: Unassessable): Krokchwi
The rankings displayed combat power rating, level ranking, and level in that order.
Since he had appeared like a comet out of nowhere, unknown to anyone, his level couldn’t be estimated, nor could his rank, but his combat power evaluation placed him at the pinnacle among players: SS-rank.
Considering that not every master-level player received an SS-rank evaluation, this was an extraordinarily high assessment.
Even without knowing he might be a fictional character.
“Damn, who’s badmouthing me?”
At that very moment, the culprit behind it all was picking his ear while roaming the orcs’ lands.
“Not like searching for Wang Xibang in China or anything…….”
The ‘Land of Abandoned Iron and Sand,’ located at the rear of Hillos Territory.
It was unsuitable for farming or construction due to the abundance of rocks and scrap metal, and the ground wasn’t particularly firm, rendering it unused.
It hadn’t always been that way, but from some ancient point, desertification had set in, leaving the ground covered in coarse sand. Certain spots even sank deep into the earth, making not just hunting but even traversal difficult.
On top of that, the monsters there were annoyingly tough.
“What a hassle.”
The desert ant series had tough exoskeletons and burrowed through holes scattered across the sandy floor, harassing relentlessly while offering poor experience points and items. Scorpions’ poison and armor-like shells were even worse.
Cactus monsters masquerading as objects—Sabotenders—that suddenly unleashed hundreds of spines were a pain, and among the ‘desert’-affixed monsters, many inflicted ‘Drought’ effects, draining bodily moisture and causing status ailments, which ramped up water flask item consumption.
Thwack!
But that was only for average cases. Desert heat didn’t faze Rokan at all, and scorpion venom was nullified by his Hundred Poisons Immunity.
With shells tough as armor that he tore through like paper and shattered bones effortlessly.
As a region shunned by players, the Land of Abandoned Iron and Sand teemed with monsters, but to him, they were just a nuisance.
“It’s about time…….”
Rokan—no, Krokchwi—shook monster fluids off his great battle axe, surrounded by the wreckage of dozens of fallen beasts.
Normally, one would move spots by now, but he showed no intention of doing so.
He was waiting for something.
Rumble rumble.
Soon after, vibrations shook the ground, and something burst through the sand.
“How’d it go?”
Wag wag.
What emerged was none other than Digdog.
One of Krokchwi’s two methods to find the ancient city was using Digdog to scout underground.
But after letting it roam subsurface for ages, nothing had turned up.
That made sense—the Land of Abandoned Iron and Sand was no small field.
Finding it in one go would have been the unrealistic part.
So he pinned his hopes on the remaining method.
“Can’t wait for the gnomes, so this is the only option left.”
There were other ways. A more standard one, even.
Gnome players with the race quest would arrive here with various hints and mechanisms, search around, and activate devices—that was the proper route.
Yet even in his past life, the ancient city had been discovered through a completely different method.
Rumble rumble rumble.
A fierce tremor shook beneath his feet.
Had the scouting Digdog returned? No, this was far larger.
“It’s here!”
In that instant, the sand beneath Rokan gave way, swallowed into a massive maw rising from below.
[Giant Sand Worm][Lv 332]
The desert terrain’s apex monster, the Sand Worm, devoured him.
Sizzle.
Its esophagus and stomach churned, swallowing everything in its mouth.
Krokchwi, disguised as Rokan, was no exception. Swallowed whole without chewing, he tumbled inside alongside the monster corpses he’d piled up.
[Exposed to Giant Sand Worm’s gastric juices. Taking 30 continuous damage per second.]
[Caution! Fail to escape before HP depletes, and you will die.]
Mixed in the juices, his HP began to drop.
‘Now.’
Tumbling wildly, Krokchwi suddenly stabilized. Inside the ceaselessly moving Giant Sand Worm, he barely found his center and stood.
First objective: success.
Now, all that remained was to smash the Giant Sand Worm from inside and escape before dying.
Krokchwi got right to work.
But not with the great battle axe he’d been using as Krokchwi. The Sealed Gale Chain Battle Axe. No polymorph release, but Rokan’s main weapon was in his hands.
In here, at least, no one would spot him.
“Barrage! Chains of Annihilation! Wheel Wind!”
“Grraaaaaargh!”
Powerful destruction skills unleashed in sequence, ravaging the Giant Sand Worm’s innards and bursting flesh.
Each time, the worm writhed in agony, but that was it. It had no way to strike back at the foe inside.
‘To think this is the only攻略 method. Horrifying.’
Boasting immense resistance to external blows and swallowing most magic attacks whole, Sand Worms were nearly invincible even in his past life.
Some even said catching a young dragon was easier than one.
The only known kill methods, revealed later, were just two: strike the pea-sized weak spot somewhere under its belly, or enter the mouth, rip through the gut, and exit.
Neither easy given its monstrous resistance and HP, but Rokan chose the latter.
Repeatedly hunting for the weak spot while at risk of being crushed was tough, but wreaking havoc from inside with overwhelming attack power? That he could do.
“Gale Incarnate!”
After pummeling the worm’s innards for a while, Krokchwi timed it.
As HP neared zero, he activated his held-back Gale Incarnate. Saving it for when attack power might fall short if used too early.
“Legend Rider!”
He even summoned Fenrir additionally. With peerless attack power, he ordered Fenrir to attack nonstop until its HP ran out.
Summoning Kai was an option too, but if the worm’s tough hide withstood the enlarged body, Rokan would be the one in trouble—crushed or wasting time.
“Light Massacre!”
Pulling out master skills, Krokchwi went all-out.
He’d thought Gale Incarnate might not even be needed, but HP drained faster than expected, and the worm’s HP was insane.
Starting without external damage, plus the monster corpses being digested alongside partially restoring its HP.
He needed to push harder.
Cycle through all attack skills once, then layer continuous damage with Chains of Annihilation and Wheel Wind. Once cooldowns reset, focus fire.
Boom!
Concentrated assaults overwhelmed even the Giant Sand Worm.
Its thick innards exploded entirely, punching a hole through the tough hide. Krokchwi’s escape was inevitable.
[You have leveled up.]
Drenched head to toe in gastric juices, feeling grimy, but the clear level-up chime lifted his spirits.
Not long after gaining a level from the desperate resistance quest—with its massive experience—and now adding the Giant Sand Worm kill experience, he’d leveled up again.
Naturally huge rewards for soloing a ‘raid-grade’ monster.
“Treasure Goblin’s got nothing on this.”
And rewards weren’t just that. Roaming the Land of Abandoned Iron and Sand, swallowing everything edible or not, the Giant Sand Worm’s belly overflowed with items.
Mediocre ones dissolved in the juices, leaving only rare-grade or better.
[Heart of the Sandstorm][Unique]
Necklace crafted from a special gem found in the desert’s heart. Imbued with powerful flames.
- Fire Resistance +30%
- Fire Attribute Attack Power +30%
- Fire Magic Cast Speed +50%
- Intelligence +100
- Vitality +100
[Desert Drought][Unique]
Dagger containing the power of the parched desert. Inflicts the pain of the withered upon foes.
- Attack Power: 1,300
- Durability: 800 / 800
- Fire Resistance +25%
- Fire Attribute Bonus Attack Power +15%
- On hit, chance to trigger [Curse of the Parched Desert]
- Vitality +90
Desert terrain traits meant most options were fire-related, including plenty players would kill for.
Dozens poured into his inventory at once. No wonder Sand Worms were called mobile treasure vaults or boxes.
But Krokchwi focused more on one junk-like item amid the rest.
[Unknown Ancient Mechanical Device Part][Rare]
Mechanical device part of unknown purpose. Features distinctive ancient engravings.
“Bingo.”
A grin spread across Rokan’s lips. He immediately released the polymorph. No reason to stay orc-shaped now that he’d found it.
“Digdog!”
Rokan summoned Digdog and began tracing back through the tunnel the Sand Worm had made.
He hadn’t expected to find it right away, but encountering a Sand Worm that had swallowed something from the ‘ancient city’?
Tracing the path it had burrowed backward should lead somewhere to the ancient city, right?
Reversing through the Giant Sand Worm’s massive tunnel, Rokan and Digdog delved deeper underground, and deeper still.
Finally, they came face-to-face with the long-awaited ancient city.