Chapter 221
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 221
Chapter Title: Two Archangels
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Ryu Min joined the mercenary guild and accepted a subjugation quest.
As a veteran mercenary, he was assigned a more difficult quest than the others.
“This is the Forest of Beasts at the edge of the Lutherus Mountains. The merchant alliance of Hormos has been suffering because monsters occasionally burst out and attack the roads.”
Squad leader Kaltz scanned the mercenaries as he continued the briefing.
“Our mission is to eliminate the Blood Orcs, the most numerous creatures in the Forest of Beasts. They go berserk at the sight of blood and their combat power increases, so avoid getting injured as much as possible. Alright, let’s move out.”
“Yes!”
As the subjugation squad advanced, Ryu Min stared into the empty air.
[Sub Quest – Subjugate Blood Orcs]
└Condition ▶ Subjugate 100 Blood Orcs
└Reward ▶ Slight increase in mercenary guild rank experience, 30,000 gold, and experience
└Blood Orcs subjugated so far (0/100)
The rewards weren’t anything special.
He no longer had any greed for gold or experience.
‘It’s all about raising the mercenary guild rank.’
He figured clearing quests like this just 20 times would get him to Master rank.
Rustle- Rustle-
The large group of mercenaries pushed through the underbrush.
Counting heads, there were 40 in total.
By the setting, it was a party of veteran mercenaries, but aside from Ryu Min, they were all NPCs.
‘I need to quickly take out 100 and grab the next subjugation quest.’
There were ten subjugation quests in the Forest of Beasts total, and clearing one led straight to the next.
That chaining mechanic was one of the strengths of subjugation quests.
[Location of target ‘Blood Orc’ detected.]
[Currently 210m away.]
Ryu Min used Tracking to locate the monsters.
Activating Scan, red dots appeared exactly where he expected.
“Quick! Queeek!”
The mercenaries who spotted the Blood Orcs raised their weapons and prepared for battle.
But Ryu Min’s scythe moved first.
Thwack-!
Crackle-!
Stab! Stab!
He sliced off its head with the scythe and scorched its body with lightning.
He scattered Dark Swords in succession, then cleaved its body in two with another scythe swing.
[Blood Orc subjugated!]
[Title effect: Experience gain increased by 1.5x.]
[Experience +0.24%]
[Gold +800]
[Bonus Gold +400]
[Current kill count: 10/100]
[Massacre Rune effect: All stats increased by 10%.]
[44 enemies within 100m radius.]
[One Man Army Rune effect: All stats increased by 44%.]
He dispatched five in an instant, then the next five that appeared right after.
It all happened while the mercenaries blinked five times.
“What the—how did that happen?”
“There were flashes, and suddenly they were all dead.”
“Warrior from another world, was that you?”
Ryu Min nodded at the mercenaries’ questions.
There was no reason to hide it, and he planned to show his full strength to clear the quest faster.
From there, things proceeded smoothly.
[Sub Quest completed!]
[Experience +4.8%]
[Gold +30,000]
[Mercenary guild rank experience slightly increased.]
[Forest of Beasts quests remaining. Proceed to next subjugation quest? Y/N]
In less than 20 minutes, he’d killed 100 Blood Orcs, and the chained quest notification popped up.
Pressing Y would bring up another subjugation quest in the Forest of Beasts, while N would send him back to the guild.
‘Of course, Y.’
He accepted the chained quest, moving straight on to ‘Hunt 100 Trolls.’
He wrapped that up easily too, then Poison Slimes, Ancient Trees, Fallen Vampires, and all sorts of other monsters, and two hours had flown by.
[Blood Golem subjugated!]
[Title effect: Experience gain increased by 1.5x.]
[Experience +0.21%]
[Gold +700]
[Bonus Gold +350]
[Level up!]
[Current kill count: 503/100]
[Massacre Rune effect: All stats increased by 100%.]
[28 enemies within 100m radius.]
[One Man Army Rune effect: All stats increased by 28%.]
‘Doing nothing but quests nonstop got me a level.’
Now level 92, Ryu Min checked the time and decided it was about time to head back.
As he cleaned up the surroundings with that in mind, the mercenaries gaped anew.
“Ha ha, your skills are always impressive no matter how many times I see them. We’ve got a real powerhouse here!”
Squad leader Kaltz and the mercenaries showered him with praise until their mouths went dry.
He’d culled the monsters in the Forest of Beasts to near extinction, so it was warranted.
But Ryu Min wasn’t one to get cocky over NPC compliments.
‘I’ll wrap up the Blood Golem quest and hurry to meet Russell…….’
That was when it happened.
His active Scan picked up two new red dots.
‘Monsters respawning?’
That didn’t seem right.
They were approaching far too quickly for that.
‘……Those aren’t monsters.’
As the two dots entered 100m range, the message updated.
[30 enemies within 100m radius.]
[One Man Army Rune effect: All stats increased by 30%.]
Two had been added to the previous 28.
Whatever they were, two enemies were closing in fast.
Straight toward him.
‘Inside 60m now.’
Entering his Aura Detection range, he read their movements.
‘They’re in the sky.’
Ryu Min looked up.
There, atop the trees, winged figures were flying.
Archangels.
“Look! Something up there!”
“Wings—it’s an angel!”
“Heavens above!”
The mercenaries couldn’t hide their shock at the holy aura even from afar, their faces enraptured, but Ryu Min remained expressionless.
He knew why they’d appeared.
‘Now you’re sending two to kill me?’
The angels descended lightly to the ground like feathers, fixing their gazes on Ryu Min.
[Found you. Black Scythe.]
[So this is where you were hiding, you worm.]
Their many wings and massive sizes suggested they’d sent no pushovers.
Ryu Min peered into their minds from 20m away.
‘One is Uriel, Archangel of Light and Flames, rank 4. Next to her is Raguel, Archangel of Justice, Equity, and Harmony, rank 5.’
Fortunately, no stronger ones had come, but two Archangels still put him on edge.
‘This reaction just because I killed one? Nothing like my previous regressions—I’m facing angels on a whole new level.’
Wondering if even rank 1 might show up, he eyed them warily.
Unlike the tense Ryu Min, the Archangels seemed utterly relaxed.
[Uriel, as promised, I’ll take him first? Don’t interfere.]
[I know, I know. Just make sure I don’t have to.]
[No need for such trivial worries. Who do you think I am? The Judge of Justice that made even demons tremble?]
[Fine, if you’re so great, subdue him without a scratch. That’ll save face for the higher-ups too.]
[Just leave it to me. I’ll show you what true justice looks like.]
Raguel, smirking confidently, folded her wings and drew the swords from her waist.
Longswords with gleaming golden blades—unique in that she wielded two, one in each hand.
‘A dual-wielding angel?’
Most used a one-handed sword and shield, so dual swords implied an aggressive style.
‘I need to gauge her skill level.’
Opting for a probing battle first, Ryu Min crossed his arms behind her approaching form, smirking inwardly at Uriel watching from afar.
‘Looks like they’ll come one at a time. Perfect.’
He prepared to use Reaper Form if needed, but Raguel spoke as she closed in.
[Black Scythe, was it? No, vermin like you don’t deserve a name. I’ll judge you now—surely you know the charges without me spelling them out?]
“What crime? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
[Filthy human. You don’t even know what you’ve done?]
“Speak plainly so I can understand, you demonic angel bitch.”
[Y-You, ignorant human trash…….]
He hadn’t even provoked her much, yet Raguel’s forehead veins bulged as her cheeks quivered in rage.
‘That reaction from just this? Explains why they call her the Archangel of Justice.’
‘An Archangel without composure. Easy to rattle.’
Ryu Min chuckled deliberately, hatching a plan.
“Pfft. Heh heh.”
Her reaction was immediate, as expected.
[What’s so funny, human?]
“Nothing, just had a funny thought. Heh.”
His mocking laugh flushed Raguel’s face like a volcano.
[……A pathetic human dares laugh in my presence?]
“Sorry, sorry. But what can I do when it’s hilarious.”
[What’s so hilarious!!]
“Suddenly remembered Remiel and Sariel dying. Begging for their lives—how pathetic they looked, heh heh.”
That ignited her.
Raguel charged like a beam of light.
Her face was twisted demonic, utterly unhinged.
Clang-!
Ryu Min parried the headshot with his scythe, then twisted his waist to dodge the follow-up stab at his side.
[I’ll kill you right here, you filthy human!!!]
Clang-! Clang! Clang!
After blocking a few attacks, Ryu Min grew inwardly surprised.
‘This is rank 5’s level?’
Not at all—she was weaker than expected.
‘No, have I gotten ridiculously strong?’
Clang- Clang- Clang clang-!
Her wild barrage lacked precision, fueled by rage.
Gaps everywhere.
He could end her in one thrust if he wanted.
‘Disappointing. Stronger than Sariel in power, but no sharpness. Not threatening.’
As he defended, he noticed Uriel uncrossing her arms.
Surprised he was holding up so well.
‘If 5th is this level, 4th won’t be much different.’
Unaware of his disappointment, Raguel looked pleased.
[For a worm, you’re blocking some of my attacks. I’m honestly surprised.]
‘I’m surprised too. Weaker than I thought.’
[Let’s see if you can block this.]
After clashing swords awhile, Raguel leaped back and crossed her blades.
Vrrr-
The golden swords vibrated intensely, their glow deepening.
-Tsk tsk, stupid human. If you don’t dodge, you’re dead.
He heard her thoughts, and Foresight revealed what would happen in 7 seconds.
‘She plans to turn this area to rubble.’
A big move, but nothing to worry about.
Just dodge.
‘But if I let it go, the squad leader and mercenaries will get caught.’
Thought brief, action swift.
“Get back!”
He used Death’s Grasp to shove the nearby mercenaries out of range, then launched himself to push Kaltz away.
Instantly, her blades flashed, and pillars of light erupted from the ground.
Kwoooosh-!
Trees turned to ash in a blink, leaving a deep X-shaped crater.
“Ah, ahh…….”
Thanks to Ryu Min, Kaltz and the others who barely escaped patted their chests, staring into the endless pit.
A split-second delay and they’d have been erased.
“Th-Thank you, warrior from another world.”
Ryu Min ignored Kaltz’s gratitude.
His eyes were on the floating message.
[Hero Rune stack: 73/100]
[Hero Rune effect: All stats +73.]
‘Saved three, gained three stacks.’
That’s why he’d saved the mercenaries.
To build Hero Rune stacks.
‘If I save all the mercenaries here, I can easily hit 100.’
For that, he needed Raguel’s help.
Conveniently, she stared at him oddly.
More shocked he’d saved the mercenaries than that he dodged her skill.
[What was that? A player saving unrelated otherworld humans?]
“These people are innocent.”
It sounded heroic to others, but to an angel, it was a murderer doting on his pet dog.
[Ha, ridiculous. Trash who murdered an Archangel saving other lives.]
Her amusement was short-lived.
[Thanks to you, I’ve got a fun idea.]
A cruel smile crossed Raguel’s face.
[I’ll kill every human here except you. Watch closely.]
Ryu Min inwardly cheered.
‘Simpleton.’
His plan to borrow the Archangel’s help was working perfectly.