The Bet with the Lord of the Polluted Throne

The term holy relic, or sacred artifact.

These are objects infused with the dignity of a Constellation—a being whose name has been etched into the stars that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠adorn the heavens.

The spear that had pierced my chest in my previous life, Judgment of the Sun, belonging to Hyperion, had also been a sacred artifact.

They were on par with the highest grade classified by the Tower—Myth-grade artifacts.

Depending on the type, some sacred artifacts were even treated as one tier above that.

The rank attached to a demon god’s name doesn’t always symbolize raw ‘strength’ or ‘hierarchy.’

Even Belial, the powerful demon archduke who rules the southern region of Hell, only sits at the 68th position.

Barak, the master of the ‘Evil Snake Statue,’ is also considered quite strong among the 72 demon gods.

The real problem was that the one I had to negotiate with was Baal, the leader of all 72 demon gods.

A short while later.

The moment Baal accepted, an invisible tether tightened around my soul.

A properly added mission.

At the same time, the number of Constellations watching me skyrocketed.

Baal’s rank was equivalent to those who reigned as divine kings in the societies of the gods.

Since Pandemonium presided over the concept of ‘evil’ that existed in every dimension, even the divine kings had no choice but to yield to him.

When such a being made a wager with a mere mortal…

It was only natural that other Constellations would take interest.

“That child really is persistent,” Nyx whispered softly, a faint smile on her lips.

Come to think of it, Ares was practically Nyx’s great-grandson in terms of divinity, so calling him a child made sense.

“Yeah, well, he’s the kind of Constellation who doesn’t even give out a single gift,” I muttered, subtly throwing shade at Ares.

It was an arrogant remark I would never have dared make before.

But now that I had the attention of multiple Constellations, the story was different.

Oh ho.

Even Ares seemed desperate now, finally making a real move.

Although the Tower System had blocked it, the important thing was that Ares had already tried to grant me his ‘blessing.’

In a month, I’d have to ask him for that blessing again.

“There you go smiling again.”

“Don’t nitpick even the way I smile.”

“You’re tolerable when you stay quiet, but please, just stop smiling like that.”

Leaving behind Nyx’s lament, I moved toward the next stronghold.

[The attack power, defense power, and vitality of the Korean team’s minions increase by 10%.]

After completely raiding three zealot strongholds, I returned safely to base.

The moment I fed the crystals into the core, the minions were instantly strengthened.

“Team Leader, it looks like you’ll need to head over to the Philippine battlefield.”

“Are the players over there that strong?”

“No. It’s just that there are quite a lot of them.”

Just as Kim Youngsoo said, it seemed both countries were extremely wary of me.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

The man who had risen to become the supreme commander of the EU front in my previous life really did have a sharp eye.

“You two can take your time coming over.”

“Master, I can be useful if I go with you!”

“No need. From what I can see, I’ll be plenty on my own, and it’ll be faster that way.”

—Hehe, this contractor really is reliable.

Nyx, now in her spirit form, perched on my shoulder and let out a soft laugh.

“Come before I finish up.”

“Tch.”

Leaving behind Lee Jiyoung, who clicked her tongue in annoyance, I headed for the Philippine front.

The Philippine players were clustered together in the canyon.

There were well over a hundred of them, but I charged straight in without hesitation.

During the Iron promotion match, I had only managed to tie down ninety people. But in the two months since then, I had become far stronger.

Buff spells stacked on top of one another in an instant.

A smile naturally formed on my lips.

“It’s Yu Jinho!!”

A Philippine player at the very front screamed the moment he saw me.

Ha. The Philippines really were just like Japan.

“Overwhelm him with numbers!”

“Yu Jinho’s specialty is hit-and-run! If we pin him down, his combat power will drop sharply!”

“Everyone, follow the plan we discussed earlier!”

They even came up with a strategy just to deal with me?

I’m so touched I might cry.

Thump— Thump— My sixth sense rang out a warning.

From my sides and behind.

The players surrounding me swung their weapons all at once.

A perfect encirclement.

Since I had charged straight into enemy lines, there was nowhere to run.

But here’s the thing.

Not everything you investigate turns out to be accurate.

I deployed every defensive skill I had.

Finally, I used Blessing of Greed to coat my carapace and skin, maximizing my defense.

Clang! Clang! Clang! The Philippine players’ attacks rained down like hail.

And these weren’t normal attacks.

Every single one consumed mana and stamina.

Bowling Bash.

Deadly Blow.

Brandish Spear.

…….

Bowling Bash, which inflicted guaranteed stun on hit.

All sorts of other skills slammed into my body.

Sparks flew in every direction.

The friction heat generated when metal weapons collided with my carapace had created those embers.

But.

Not a single attack managed to pierce through my carapace.

“Is that all you prepared?”

Swish! Swish! Swish!

I covered my sharp claws with Blessing of Greed and unleashed the tyrannical inner energy of the Asura Demon Spirit Heart Method.

The players touched by the trajectory of Mountain Lord’s Wave Claw turned into gray ash.

“Deadly Blow should have a stun effect on hit!”

“Not only that—he completely ignored the forced movement effect of Bowling Bash!”

I hadn’t even gotten started yet.

And they were already panicking.

Skills below 3-star rank couldn’t restrain my movements.

“Since time is precious, just come at me all at once.”

“So arrogant for someone who’s al—”

Splat!

The player who had been talking recklessly turned to dust in an instant.

How boring.

If it weren’t for the need to conquer Neshan, I would have just steamrolled them like this.

“Consider yourselves lucky.”

Ten minutes later.

Not a single Philippine player in the canyon made it out alive.

From the very beginning, our country had overwhelmed both nations.

“As expected of Lord Jinho! You’re truly on another level!”

Oh Jiwon practically begged the moment he saw me return from the battlefield.

The other players I had appointed as squad leaders reacted the same way.

Since we had seized the initiative the moment the promotion match began, it was only natural they were excited.

“Perfect timing. I have some orders to give.”

“Please give us any command you wish. We will follow only you, Lord Jinho.”

“Then take it easy until the morning of the second day.”

The Korean players stared at me with expressions of utter confusion.

“The power gap is this huge, yet…?”

“I’m going to conquer Neshan.”

“Ah, right. Neshan’s spawn condition was the morning of the second day.”

“Still, just sitting around doing nothing seems…”

Players openly showing doubt and dissatisfaction.

Well, it was a natural reaction.

They probably thought I was deliberately taking the long way around when there was an easier path.

“I never said you should just watch, did I?”

A smirk slipped from my lips.

“You’ll all want to raise your kill counts, and contribution points matter too, so go fight to your heart’s content.”

“So you’re saying you won’t be stepping in yourself, Lord Jinho.”

“Exactly. I’ll personally take care of the strongholds.”

“Understood.”

The squad leaders exchanged glances, then immediately headed toward the battlefield.

Only Oh Jiwon lingered, watching me carefully before reluctantly turning away.

I watched the squad leaders’ backs with a gaze full of contempt.

“Team Leader, will this be alright?”

“No need to worry, Brother Youngsoo.”

Excluding our own team members, the level of the other players wasn’t all that different.

Among the two hundred, only Oh Jiwon was actually useful.

With just the rest of them, they wouldn’t be able to overwhelm the two nations’ forces—maintaining the front line would already be difficult.

“If our allies’ line starts collapsing, I’ll step in then.”

“In my opinion, the enemy won’t overcommit ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their forces either.”

“Really?”

“Because if they recklessly throw everything in, they’ll just end up getting crushed by you, Lord Jinho.”

“Then we can comfortably focus on clearing the strongholds.”

“I’ll report immediately if anything happens.”

Heh.

This is exactly why I recruited Brother Youngsoo in advance!

The ability to share vision and communicate in real time.

It would prove even more useful ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠later when we tackled large-scale gates with vast areas.

“Ughat!”

The one occupying our side’s stronghold was the black-winged beast race, Black Feather.

Just like the orcs we had encountered during the Diamond promotion match, they were monsters modeled after real residents of another dimension.

At first glance, it seemed similar in effect to the Ant Lion essence, ‘Breath of the Earth.’

However.

The additional option of being able to read the wind’s flow more clearly was what made Black Gale unique.

It wasn’t useful right now, but once I absorbed a flight-related essence, it would become quite handy.

By the time I finished clearing our side’s strongholds, the Philippine minions had also been strengthened.

“Ugh, they moved one step ahead of us.”

“One step? That’s just normal.”

Once the sun set, full-scale battles over the strongholds would begin in earnest.

All I had to do was target the monsters in the Philippine camp at that time, so there was still some leeway.

The monsters in the strongholds ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that regenerated at night.

The moment the sun set, I charged straight into the Philippine camp.

-Kikikiki.

-Fresh flesh.

-Let’s devour it.

The monsters appearing in the Philippine camp were evil spirits.

They could only be damaged by attacks infused with mana or inner energy, or by magic.

In my previous life.

During the Scavenger days, predation had been impossible against these monsters, but…

“I’ve already tested it.”

Even the Immaemangryang—monsters that were half spiritual bodies—had been devoured. So why wouldn’t these work?

Unlike the Sentence of Weakness, this was a skill whose true value only appeared when continuously staring at the target.

It would be more useful against powerful enemies rather than crowds.

Since this was the first time I had obtained this essence, I needed real combat to test its effects.

And there just so happened to be a suitable opponent.

I waited for the sun that had disappeared beyond the horizon to rise once again.