Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: 55th Chapter. Xerxes (1)
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1.
“Xerxes, that guy's here.”
The moment El Pam uttered those words, everyone's expressions hardened.
‘Not that they knew what it was.’
They weren't hardening their faces because they knew what kind of monster this Xerxes El Pam had mentioned was.
Honestly, they had never even heard the name before.
But El Pam's companions knew.
‘If the boss is reacting like this, it's no ordinary monster.’
No matter what it was, it was something they needed to be extremely wary of right now.
El Pam had even said it.
‘Rescue comes first.’
Not just be cautious—rescue Michael's party.
Which, put another way, meant that from El Pam's perspective, this Xerxes monster wasn't one they could take down.
That left only one question hanging in the air at that moment.
“What kind of monster is it?”
Why was El Pam so wary?
“It's not particularly strong. But it has a special ability.”
“A special ability?”
“Monster control.”
Everyone's expressions hardened further at that explanation.
It was definitely a headache-inducing power.
Moreover, they had all experienced it before.
“Like the Pharaoh Snake.”
The Pharaoh Snake, and the sight of monsters or adventurers poisoned by its venom turning into soldiers guarding it.
It was still a chilling scene just to imagine.
To his companions lost in such thoughts, El Pam said,
“Worse.”
“What?”
Worse than that.
“The Pharaoh Snake required poisoning with its venom. And poison is surprisingly inefficient. But this one is different.”
“Different how?”
“Just making eye contact turns you into its slave.”
The moment they heard that explanation, everyone gulped.
They didn't need any further details to grasp how terrifying that was.
‘It was an incredible monster.’
Of course, El Pam knew it well.
More than well.
‘It could enslave monsters stronger than itself.’
Most monsters with subjugation abilities couldn't control those stronger than them.
But Xerxes was different.
It could turn even stronger monsters into slaves with just a glance.
That was why it was so terrifying.
‘Even up to boss monster level.’
Among the monsters it could subjugate were boss monsters on a completely different level from regular ones.
‘It was a nightmare after monsters started pouring out of the Mystic Gates.’
Moreover, when El Pam first encountered Xerxes, the Maple World was already overflowing with monsters that had escaped from the Mystic Gates.
Those hordes of monsters had formed legions under Xerxes' command.
The results were predictably horrific.
A nightmare.
On the other hand, it was a mystery.
‘We had no idea where it came from.’
Xerxes wasn't even listed in the Adventurers' Association's monster catalog.
A monster whose very existence was unknown.
So at the time, they just assumed it had come from a Mystic Gate.
‘It was from Crise after all.’
But now it was clear—it was a monster from Crise.
Born from the core power within Crise.
Of course, that wasn't good news.
“As long as it's here, all the monsters around are an army.”
From El Pam's party's current standpoint, it was an extremely troublesome situation.
“You can tell just from the footprints.”
“Ah!”
As El Pam said, the monster footprints near the Colosseum were like those of an army.
Perfectly uniform and orderly.
That was one of the reasons El Pam knew the monsters here were under Xerxes.
And there was one more headache-inducing factor.
“That's its castle.”
The fact that it had made the massive arena, the Colosseum, its castle of all places.
2.
Heavenly Crise.
What impressed adventurers who visited the most wasn't that it existed in the sky.
“Crise has a massive arena, the Colosseum, unlike anything in the Maple World.”
The Colosseum!
The stadium was so enormous it astonished even the giants.
It was the pride of Crise's giants.
But after problems arose in Heavenly Crise, the Colosseum was no longer the giants'.
Elder giants who remembered it no longer spoke of the Colosseum.
To young giants born after the issues in Heavenly Crise, it was just a place from imagination.
That was why.
“Whoa!”
Michael and his companions stood dumbfounded before the massive Colosseum.
“We made it here!”
It was their first time seeing the Colosseum with their own eyes.
Overwhelming emotion was inevitable.
“Today!”
And that emotion soon turned to courage.
“We save Crise!”
Fueled by that courage, they marched toward the Colosseum.
No hesitation.
For now, they were all safe.
No one was hurt, no significant battle fatigue. They were in better condition than ever.
No monsters in sight.
No sounds either.
‘No monsters.’
Not a hint of the monsters that had once filled Heavenly Crise anywhere.
In truth, that was dangerous.
It was impossible for that many monsters to suddenly fall out of Crise and vanish, so they had to be gathered somewhere.
And circumstances suggested most were likely hiding in the Colosseum.
But such doubts didn't enter Michael’s party's minds right now.
Thrill had numbed their reason.
‘Lucky us.’
That numbed reason saw the situation as just good luck.
‘No next time but this one.’
And judged that such luck wouldn't come twice.
So they stepped into the Colosseum without hesitation.
Passed through the massive entrance.
What greeted them first were the statues filling the area around the entrance.
Statues modeled after warriors who had achieved great feats in the Colosseum long ago, heroes of the giants.
Seeing them, Michael's party imagined.
‘Next, it'll be us.’
Themselves becoming giants' heroes, immortalized here as statues.
That was when it happened.
Clank!
A sound rang out.
Michael's party turned at the noise, still buzzing with excitement up to that point.
‘A monster, probably.’
Even knowing the source was a monster.
Nothing strange about it.
They were confident they could handle any ordinary monster.
That's how they had made it this far.
Clank!
What appeared before Michael's party was a massive fennec monster standing on two legs, spear in hand.
A dangerous monster, but one Michael's party had slain thousands of.
‘Huh?’
But the moment they saw it, Michael's party froze cold.
‘What the—?’
Hundreds of fennecs advancing toward them in perfect formation, like a trained army.
A sight Michael's party had never seen before.
‘Dangerous.’
And a dangerous sight at that.
Until now, Michael's party had held the advantage over monsters thanks to their strategies and tactics.
Monsters using strategy and tactics?
The fennecs' numbers alone dwarfed Michael's party.
That was why.
“Fall back!”
Michael issued the order to retreat without a second thought.
But it was already too late.
Clank!
The moment they turned, they faced another fennec army.
One that had been lying in wait for them to enter.
A trap.
One set to capture Michael's party for sure.
Realizing that, Michael had only one command left.
“Break through!”
At his word, Michael's party gripped their weapons and charged the fennec pack at the entrance, following Michael.
The battle that ensued dragged on unexpectedly.
The reason was simple.
Clang!
The fennec army wasn't overcommitting to attack Michael's party.
It was tactics.
Better to block them reliably, even at a cost, than risk gaps from clashing head-on.
Effective tactics.
‘At this rate, we'll starve!’
For Michael's party of around thirty, there was no way through if the fennecs played it like this.
A nightmare!
But the nightmare didn't end there.
If a fennec pack was buying time, there had to be a reason.
Soon after the clash began, the fennec-blocked Michael's party heard it.
Bwooo!
A trumpet blast.
Then they saw it.
“M-my God!”
A massive elephant monster in a helmet charging at them like mad.
“A M-Mammoth!”
Mammoth.
The strongest monster currently in Crise.
One that required a dozen giant warriors to take down!
Slaying it was an achievement even for giant warriors!
Facing one surrounded by the fennec army?
Michael and his entire party wore the same expression.
‘Oh.’
They lost the will to fight.
Bwooo!
And none in the now-demoralized Michael's party prepared for the approaching Mammoth.
In that moment, only one thing left.
‘It's over.’
Resignation.
That was when it happened.
Ta-at!
Suddenly, a man wielding a polearm appeared above the Mammoth's head and plummeted toward it like lightning.
Aiming his polearm at the Mammoth's helmet.
It seemed pointless.
The helmet was tough, but the Mammoth's skull was far tougher.
Attacking there?
No way it would work.
But the polearm-wielding man shattered that common sense in an instant.
“Smash Swing!”
Crack!
By simultaneously splitting the Mammoth's helmet and skull.
Michael's party froze as if struck by lightning themselves at the sight.
‘H-how?’
It was beyond imagination.
And Michael felt the greatest shock.
Of course.
‘H-how is that guy...?’
The one pulling off this impossible feat was none other than Dibo.
The adventurer who had been helplessly outmatched in their duel, weak as could be!
“Hey!”
That Dibo now looked at Michael and said,
“Came to rescue you.”
No one responded.
Even understanding the situation was beyond Michael's party right now.
Seeing that, Dibo gave a wry smile.
“Hey, hey, snap out of it.”
What Dibo had shown was undoubtedly astonishing.
Even Dibo thought it was impressive.
Shattering that massive elephant monster, the Mammoth, helmet and all, in one blow?
A sight only Dibo, possessor of Aran's skill Smash Swing, could show!
But Dibo knew.
“If you lose it over just this, what happens next?”
That what they would see from here on would be even more shocking.
Unfortunately, Dibo's warning had little effect on Michael's party.
It had already begun.
Pew!
The fennec army suddenly started collapsing like dominoes.
Each with an identical hole in its head.
El Pam, his Fire Arrows massacring the fennec pack.
Michael's party's reason utterly failed before this scene, far more shocking than Dibo's display.
That was why.
Thwack!
Dibo kicked Michael's shin hard with his own foot.
“Gah!”
Michael cried out in pain.
To him, Dibo said,
“Snap out of it! At this rate, we can't rescue you! You don't expect me to carry you all, right?”
“Ah!”
Michael finally came to his senses.
“G-got it.”
“Good, follow me.”
Michael quickly rallied his companions and followed Dibo, pushing through the collapsing fennec army.
They successfully escaped the Colosseum and soon rendezvoused with El Pam's waiting party.
That was when.
Seeing El Pam, Michael said,
“Please help! This is our chance to secure the core!”
El Pam's eyes narrowed at those words.
He had no intention of fighting more today.
Knowing Xerxes' danger, he planned to prepare more thoroughly before moving.
“I know where the core is!”
Even hearing that didn't change his mind.
Honestly, he didn't trust Michael as a guide.
One wrong turn in guidance, and El Pam's party could die too.
That was certainly true.
Rustle!
“Grandpa—no, the Titan Elder gave me the Colosseum map!”
Until he saw that map.
And the moment he did, a vivid picture of the Colosseum formed in El Pam's mind.
“Dibo!”
Finally, El Pam said,
“Yeah, boss.”
“Hold out for 20 minutes.”