Chapter 309
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 309
Chapter Title: The Hidden Portal
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Baal was watching everything through the hologram.
Stupid fools. They should stay hidden quietly. Do they have no intelligence at all?
Bakaluss castle still harbored many demons.
Even without their Demon King, they were demons sworn to Bakaluss territory, bound by duty to guard the castle.
Still, about a fifth of them must have had some sensethey fled the castle in terror at Jeong Hoons overwhelming might.
I cannot intervene.
Deep down, he wanted to step in himself, but he had already failed once by trying to manipulate his minions.
If he made a move now, it would be deemed intervention.
Before the bet, let me tell you one thing. Stay seated on that throne until the time limit expires.
Time limit.
Sitting on the throne for 240 hours to observe Jeong Hoons movementsthat was the condition of this wager.
Ive lost too much. Rather than letting it fall into my lieges hands like that, Ill claim it for myself no matter what.
A human he had marked long ago.
He had witnessed countless races across the destruction of myriad dimensions.
Yet none had stirred his curiosity like this one.
No, there was one.
The figure who completed 100 of the episode and fell into his lieges grasp.
Back then, he had wanted to bind that one as a subordinate through a pact, but the fool refused every wager.
He never did claim him, though it wasnt a great regret.
Curiosity-arousing, yesbut not enough to warrant taking a penalty.
This human, however, was different.
Tougher, more agile, with superior situational awareness than any race he had ever seen.
His acquisition ability, in particular, along with the luck it brought, was beyond compare.
Turn a specimen like that into a subordinate adjutant serving at his side, and the 96 Demon Realms would surely flourish.
That was the extent of this humans potential.
This time, hell definitely fall into my hands.
Yes.
It was a true pity that every Demon King in the realm had perished, but securing this human would more than make up for it.
Baal was utterly confident of victory in this bet.
And why not? Five special items existed somewhere in the Demon Realm.
All hidden away by Escannoneven he, its overlord, had no idea of their locations.
Can he find items even I dont know about? All five of them?
Impossible.
The human had just 240 hours.
Far too little time to locate all five.
Baal could thus relax on his throne and wait.
Bakaluss castle.
Kuheuk!
Screams of demons echoed throughout the interior.
Block the human!
Dont let him break through!
The demons had blocked the paths and refused to yield, so Jeong Hoon carved his way forward with raw force.
Swish
Slash.
With every swing of his spear, demons lost heads, arms, and legs.
It made no difference if they unleashed special abilities.
Bolstered stats from devouring black souls.
Add the Demon Slayer title on top, and the demons stood no chance against him.
From the basement all the way to the twelfth floor.
He searched every inch meticulously, leaving nothing unchecked.
Naturally, the result was nothing.
No items that could qualify as a fortuitous encounter.
Yet Jeong Hoons expression remained utterly serene.
Master, arent you a bit too relaxed?
Yeah. He only gave us 240 hours.
Baal had set the limit at 240 hours.
Even with that constraint, not a trace of impatience showed on Jeong Hoons face.
I can find them, so dont worry.
As long as a method existed, there was no reason to feel rushed.
Hoon, should we head to another castle?
No.
The reason for searching the castle first was simple.
Special items were typically stored in places of great value.
Yet Bakaluss castle had yielded nothing.
Hmm... The Seven Sins pointed this way, so I figured it might be in the castle.
That method was none other than the Seven Sins.
Before confronting Baal, when he had sent the Seven Sins away.
Somethings here...
What?
I dont know. But when I summoned the main body earlier, I faintly sensed five energies.
He hadnt understood at first.
But when Baal mentioned the five special items, he realized those were the energies the Seven Sins had detected.
Seven Sins.
Jeong Hoon summoned the Seven Sins.
Yeah. What? Got more food?
More importantly, remember what you mentioned before?
Mentioned?
Yeah. You said you sensed five energies in the Demon Realm.
Oh, right. But I dont feel anything now.
You sure?
Jeong Hoon narrowed his eyes.
Not in the castle, thenburied nearby?
Yeah. Still, its definitely close.
Good. Mind summoning the main body again?
Sure.
The Seven Sins promptly manifested its main body.
What!
Ugh!
A massive shadow fell over them, and everyone trembled.
Everyone, calm down. Its fine.
Jeong Hoon soothed the group as he regarded the Seven Sins.
Ah, there it is now. That way!
Once the main body vanished, the Seven Sins pointed beyond the castle walls.
A black forest lay there.
A forest of grotesquely twisted shapes, as befitting the Demon Realm.
Okay. Lets go.
With the location confirmed, Jeong Hoon headed straight for the forest.
It teemed with demons insideall escapees from the castle.
P-Please... spare me...
If you just let us live, well leave this place quietly.
Unlike the castle guards, these demons surrendered without a fightthey were the ones who had fled in fear of Jeong Hoons power.
They had no thought of resisting him.
Sorry, but no.
Jeong Hoon had no intention of letting them go.
Scared or not, they were demons.
Who knew if theyd pretend to surrender only to strike from behind?
Better to eliminate obstacles decisively.
Activating Shadow Moon.
Jeong Hoon swung his spear, unleashing Shadow Moon.
Kuheok!
Kihihik!
The razor-sharp spear strikes shredded the demons before they could resist.
Far more demons lurked in the forest than expected.
Subduing them all took considerable time.
Kek!
The battle ended as he slit the throat of the last surviving apostle-grade demon.
Jeong Hoon shook the blood from his spear and turned.
Now it was time to uncover the special item hidden in this forest.
The question was where it lay concealed.
Seven Sins.
Yeah. That way!
The Seven Sins swiftly pointed to the right.
Okay.
Jeong Hoon moved toward the indicated spot.
Hoon, the ground!
At that moment, Ha-jin cried out urgently.
Hm?
Jeong Hoon halted and glanced downward.
The ground was carpeted in black-tainted flowers. Their petals parted, revealing black tongues that lashed out.
The tongues coiled around him from ankle to thigh.
Everyone following behind recoiled in shock at the sudden assault.
Hyungnim!
Bong-gu rushed forward, dagger in hand.
Stay back!
Jeong Hoon raised a hand to halt him.
He drew the Shadow Kings dagger and slashed at the entwining tongues.
They severed easily.
Slash.
But these flowers were tenacious.
Once all the tongues were cut, they began spewing poison.
Resisting poison.
It was useless against Jeong Hoon, of course.
Inflicting a fatal wound with poison on one who had reached total immunity was impossible.
Jeong Hoon trampled the flowers as he pressed onward.
Using Light Barrier.
He then deployed a Light Barrier to block the rising poison.
Its wide radius wouldnt hold for long, but it would last long enough for the entire group to pass.
Lets move, quickly.
The others hurried after him at his urging.
Here.
The Seven Sins, who had been circling the area, finally stopped.
Jeong Hoon came to a halt as well.
Here?
Yeah!
Nothing about the spot suggested a hidden item.
Just dense trees and a few small rocks.
Was it buried under one of those rocks?
Hmm. Should I dig?
Such treasures were often interred underground.
Nope, not that.
The Seven Sins shook its head and approached one of the rocks.
Not?
Nope.
The rock came up to Jeong Hoons waist. The Seven Sins placed a hand on itnot to absorb stats, but something happened regardless.
The rock split with a crack, and a portal materialized in front of it.
Heh...
A portal in a place like that, of all things.
Go in here.
The Seven Sins stepped away from the rock and returned to Jeong Hoon.
...We never wouldve found this without you.
Even by sheer luck, it would have taken ages.
Of course! You absolutely need me to open that thing.
Me?
Yeah. No idea why, but it reacts to my power.
Thats how you could track it.
Pretty much.
Because it was demonic in nature?
Truly fascinating.
Good work.
Heh, I worked hard searching. Now Im starving.
It patted its belly and shot Jeong Hoon a sidelong glance.
As if saying it had done well and deserved a treat.
Jeong Hoon chuckled and nodded.
Just a bit longer. Ill find those other hidden demons for you.
Promise?
Yeah.
Jeong Hoon approached the portal.
Would you like to enter ???
No dungeon description. No level requirement.
Not even a trace of mana emanating from within.
Oh, right. Master. Be careful. Something with serious power is hiding in there.
The Seven Sins added a warning.
Is that right?
That meant the dungeons difficulty was off the charts.
Not that he had any choice but to enter.
Even without the wager with Baal, the special item was too tempting to ignore.
At the same time.
Baal was trembling from head to toe.
Just 240 hours.
He had smirked in satisfaction watching Jeong Hoon come up empty at Bakaluss castle.
He couldnt wait to claim that human.
That single thought had let him observe Jeong Hoons actions leisurely.
But then the fool summoned the Seven Sins and marched straight into the forest outside the castle.
Why is that thing guiding him?
It made no sense.
The Seven Sins advanced without hesitation, as if it knew exactly where to go, before stopping abruptly.
Fine.
Up to that point, all good.
Until it approached the rock and unveiled the hidden portal.
...That forest had something like that?
Even Baal had been unaware of the portal.
No wayit can sense the item?!
He jolted.
Baal nearly leapt from the throne without thinking.
Lucky he regained his senses in timestanding up would have triggered a penalty for violating the terms.
Damn it... Now I see why he accepted without a second thought.
Absurd wager that it was, Jeong Hoon had taken it with total confidence.
He had known.
That the Seven Sins could detect the items locations.
But how the hell can that thing sense where the items are?
It was enough to drive him mad.