Chapter 134: 10-Quad. Spreading Flames. (feat. Heavenly Demon.)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 134: 10-Quad. Spreading Flames. (feat. Heavenly Demon.)
“What are you saying? That the lives of the people in our world have become the target?”
After hearing the full explanation, the old man asked again, his voice thick with disbelief. Seo-un spoke up on behalf of Li Lingwei.
“That’s correct. Out of ten thousand players, the number of eliminations is set at a mere hundred. In a 10-Quad game where ten people form a single squad, that essentially means there are no eliminations among the players themselves. This implies that the only objective of this game is the lives of the people in this world.”
The old man couldn't quite wrap his head around the strange terminology, but the gravity of the situation—and his granddaughter’s grim expression—was clear enough.
“How can this be!”
The old man was beyond stunned; he was speechless at the sheer absurdity of it all. If anyone other than his granddaughter had brought him this news, he wouldn't have believed a word of it. But since it came from her—the one who had traveled to the other world—he had no choice but to accept the nightmare.
After a moment of processing the sudden turn of events, the old man narrowed his eyes.
“I am going to the Unorthodox Alliance. I must see the Alliance Leader.”
Li Lingwei nodded. “Then I’ll leave that to you, Grandfather.”
“Are you not coming with me?”
“I want to, but we have to keep spreading the word to the surrounding areas… We plan to head to the Yugok Sect next.”
She spoke the name of the Yugok Sect cautiously, glancing at the old man’s reaction.
“Very well,” he sighed. “This is no time to bicker over the petty affairs of the Righteous and Unorthodox factions.”
“Yes. And please, be careful of the foreigners who look different from us.”
The old man nodded, his gaze lingering briefly on Juriel and Dump Lyle before he turned away. The old man’s group and Seo-un’s squad parted ways after leaving Jindok Valley together.
“Keep in mind that we might encounter players on the way to the Yugok Sect,” Seo-un warned.
Though his teammates were always prepared for battle, Seo-un reminded them once more to heighten their focus. In a typical map, they could simply treat everyone they met as an enemy, but in this game, distinguishing friend from foe wasn't easy. They couldn't afford to let their guard down; an enemy blade could spring from anywhere.
“I’ll take the lead as the scout,” Jin Long offered.
Seo-un nodded. Since their destination was Yugok, Jin Long would know the fastest route.
For half a day, they veered off the main roads, cutting through fields and forests in a nearly straight line. Dump Lyle even shed most of his armor—the very lifeblood of a knight—to keep from falling behind. At times, he even used an Air Board to conserve his stamina.
After half a day of relentless running, a gloomy mountain thick with sinister energy appeared. As they rushed into the dark mountain at dusk, warriors with sharp, glinting eyes emerged from all sides. The metallic ring of unsheathed weapons echoed through the air. Most of the team grimaced at the overwhelming killing intent pouring from those fierce gazes.
“I am Jin Long of the Yugok Sect! I have urgent business today. If the Master of Heoeum Mountain opens the path, I will surely repay this debt in the future!”
Some teammates had been preparing for battle, wondering if these were enemy players, but Jin Long’s words made them realize the opponents were locals.
—So, it is the young hero Jin of the Yugok Sect!
A clean-cut, middle-aged man descended in front of Jin Long, his voice booming with internal power as if to flaunt his cultivation. Seo-un narrowed his eyes as he looked at the men surrounding them.
‘This is quite different from the martial arts novels I’ve read.’
Usually, the bandits in novels were just fodder to fill the protagonist’s pockets or thugs who extorted money from merchant groups by relying on numbers. But the bandits he faced now possessed the distinct aura of true martial artists. They didn't feel like commoners who had taken up arms because they couldn't make a living farming. The killing intent they radiated was so thick it made his skin prickle.
—They look like well-trained soldiers, Gi-chan sent via Voice Transmission.
Seo-un gave a slight nod. —I agree. They look like real soldiers with edges sharpened on the battlefield.
Even the usually temperamental Li Lingwei didn't act rashly, so Seo-un also waited to see how things would play out.
“Are you the Great Hero Gwa, the Master of Heoeum Mountain?” Jin Long asked with a fist-to-palm salute.
The man returned the gesture. “I am. I am Gwa Mo. Young Hero Jin, a man of your standing should know better than to recklessly climb Heoeum Mountain as the sun sets. Is that not an action easily misunderstood?”
The middle-aged man spoke with polite etiquette, but his expression was far from pleasant. Bandits who settled in the mountains considered anyone climbing their territory at night to be an attacker. If it hadn't been Jin Long stepping onto the mountain at such a precarious hour, they would have been swarmed from the start.
“I truly have an urgent matter. If you open the path, I will not forget this favor.”
The middle-aged man’s eyes darted around, scanning the people behind Jin Long. His face filled with curiosity, especially at the sight of the foreigners whose appearances he had never seen before.
“Is it not common courtesy to at least tell me what this urgent matter is?”
Just as Jin Long was about to reply that it was a sect matter, Nam Sa-gwang stepped forward, unable to contain himself.
“He said it’s urgent, so stop talking. Open the path if you don't want to die.”
The middle-aged man’s brow furrowed deeply. He was about to let out a roar of anger when he saw the Hand Aura Nam Sa-gwang had manifested. His jaw dropped, he flinched, and then he slowly raised his hand.
At that moment, the sound of weapons being sheathed echoed all around, and the bandits parted like the Red Sea to open a path.
“I will remember this consideration,” Jin Long said.
As they passed between the pale-faced middle-aged man and his bandits, Seo-un spoke up. “Is there a need to be so polite to bandit scum? You’re a member of the Righteous Faction, Senior.”
Jin Long answered as he continued to climb the mountain without rest. “There are two main types of mountain strongholds in our world: Jinmuchae and Musanstronghold. A Jinmuchae is a true stronghold where martial artists act as the masters of the mountain, like the one we just saw. They even form alliances with other strongholds; in a broad sense, they are an organization of martial artists. If you mess with them recklessly… it can become a seed of conflict.”
Jin Long glanced at Nam Sa-gwang and slightly altered his final words. Regardless, Nam Sa-gwang didn't seem to care in the slightest.
Li Lingwei added to the explanation. “Musanstrongholds are just a bunch of nobodies, no different from commoners, who take up weapons and head into the mountains to act like masters. They’re just drifters who move from mountain to mountain committing robberies, so we don't pay them much mind.”
“I see. Those guys from earlier definitely seemed to have mastered some martial arts.”
“The Master of Heoeum Mountain is quite well-known in this region.”
As they cleared Heoeum Mountain and ran through the sprawling farmland beyond, the team’s expressions shifted instantly. The metallic scent of blood stung their nostrils.
Simultaneously, Nam Sa-gwang, Jin Long, and Seo-un accelerated explosively, bolting forward. The moonlight revealed the corpses of farmers scattered across the fields. Without stopping, the three scanned the bodies and fixed their gaze on the village at the edge of the farmland.
—Everyone, follow us carefully!
Leaving only those words behind, the three blurred toward the village. Piercing screams reached their ears.
“Aaaargh!”
“Please, save me!”
As they leaped over the village fence, their brows furrowed in rage. The people slaughtering the villagers were unmistakably players. Gleaming armor, pulled-down robes, and the ripples of mana gave them away.
Swish! Thud.
Nam Sa-gwang was the first to act, obliterating the head of a knight who was swinging a mace at a crying child.
Riiip! Clang.
Next, Seo-un used ten streaks of claw-like Aura manifested from both hands to tear apart a knight who had just slaughtered a family and was hunting his next victim, shredding both man and armor.
Crunch!
Jin Long didn't even draw his sword; he simply crushed a warrior’s head with his bare hands.
Only after three of their teammates were taken down almost simultaneously did the players stop their massacre and turn their attention to the trio.
“W-Wait! There’s no need for us to fight. W-We’ll give you all the people here, so…”
Seeing the mage speaking with his hands raised, Seo-un’s expression twisted into one of pure disgust.
“You’re from Earth.”
“Y-Yeah. You too, right? There’s no need for Earthlings to fight each other—”
Crack!
The head of the mage, who had a short two-block haircut, exploded. Seo-un’s fist had pierced through the man’s barrier in an instant, shattering his skull.
Only then did the remaining four players exchange glances and begin to scatter, fleeing in all directions.
“Don't let a single one escape!”
As they pursued the monsters who had committed such demonic atrocities, the wails of those who had lost their families echoed from all around. Soon, the screams of the players who had caused this carnage joined the chorus.
The teammates who arrived late stood in stunned silence, staring at the commoners erupting in unbearable grief. Gi-chan, in particular, was more shocked than the others. He was used to seeing such horrors only on television; the impact felt twice as heavy in person.
“We have to move quickly. That’s the only way to minimize the damage.”
Seo-un nodded as he stood with Gi-chan, looking at the boxes and coins that had appeared in place of the players' corpses.
[Ding! You have obtained Blue Coins. You can now summon a Vending Machine.]
Ignoring the notification, Seo-un grabbed Gi-chan’s shoulder and shook his head. Gi-chan had been reaching out toward a very young girl crying over her parents' bodies, but he pulled his hand back at Seo-un’s intervention. The image of the girl overlapped with his own sister when they had lost their parents, causing his shoulders to tremble. Seo-un gripped him tightly, steadying his wavering mental state.
“Right now, saving more lives is more important than comforting one person.”
Gi-chan finally managed a nod.
The team’s hearts were heavy as they passed through the farming village. Their minds were a mess just thinking about how many more people like those players were out there.
“Gi-chan. Steel yourself. We have to finish this game as quickly as possible and go back.”
At those words, Gi-chan snapped out of it. The realization that they had to end the game quickly planted a seed of anxiety in his chest. Now that his vague fears were confirmed as reality, his worry for his sister back on Earth began to grow.
It wasn't just Gi-chan’s anxiety. Seo-un and Dump Lyle shared the same concern. Just then, a powerful surge of mana was felt nearby.
“It’s area-of-effect magic!”
At Juriel’s shout, Seo-un gritted his teeth and veered toward the source of the mana.
Boom!
“Block it! Block it no matter what!”
A knight, his face drenched in blood from a wound on his exposed head, shouted desperately as he threw his body in front of an incoming spell.
Crash!
A massive stone fist erupted from the ground. The knight’s barrier shattered as he blocked it, and he was sent tumbling violently across the ground. Behind him, near another farming village, a player who had been evacuating people was running toward the fallen knight.
A quad consisting of nine martial artists, a mage, and a knight was struggling in a one-sided battle against a quad of only six. Having assessed the situation instantly, Seo-un and Nam Sa-gwang charged into the fray.
‘Hamit!’
Upon his call, a small spinning wheel appeared before Seo-un’s eyes.
—T-t-t-t-t-t-ting! Striker of Demise! Not bad.—
Hamit said it wasn't bad, but it wasn't the skill Seo-un had wanted. He had relied on his Luck stat, but a surge of irritation rose when the desired skill didn't appear. He had wanted an AoE skill to wipe out the mages immediately.
Striker of Demise was a high-risk skill where successful attacks didn't deal damage immediately but instead stacked. The accumulated damage would then explode all at once at a random point within ten hits. It was a dangerous and difficult skill to manage.
Grinding his teeth audibly, Seo-un didn't use the skill but instead unleashed streaks of Aura toward the mages.
Boom! Boom!
The Aura blasts tore through the air, but the mages, already wary of Seo-un’s team, dodged the attacks and gathered together.
—It’s Blink!
The four mages and two knights used Blink with perfect synchronization. Seeing them move to a single spot and form a formation as if they had worked together for a long time, Seo-un and Nam Sa-gwang lunged at them.
Clang!
The moment the two knights blocked the Aura with their Aura Swords, the mages unleashed status-effect spells. Gritting their teeth, Nam Sa-gwang and Seo-un retreated.
After backing off for a moment, Seo-un swept his hair back with one hand. Simultaneously, his fluttering hair transformed into copies of himself. Six clones were created instantly. Thanks to the newly acquired Demonic Energy, his Immortal Demonic Energy had reached 300, allowing him to double the number of clones he could create.
As the suddenly multiplied Seo-uns charged at the enemy again alongside Nam Sa-gwang, a barrage of various spells flew toward them.
Rumble!
An Earth Snake tore through the ground, accompanied by an Ice Snake that froze the surface as it lunged. Above them, Blade Cutters whistled through the air.
Crash! Crash!
Nam Sa-gwang was the first to shatter the magic. As he ruthlessly destroyed the two snakes, his clothes frosted over, and a chill swept the area. The seven Seo-uns leaped over him, their Aura clashing with the Blade Cutters.
Whoosh.
With a roar, a violent wind swept the area, neutralizing the magic. Simultaneously, multiple layers of barriers rose to protect the enemy knights. From the ground, stone chains erupted, attempting to restrain Nam Sa-gwang and Seo-un.
Juriel, Gi-chan, and Lyle, who arrived slightly later, weren't about to just watch. Their spells rained down on the battlefield, smashing the stone chains. Seeing a mage pull out a scroll, Seo-un opened his subspace.
Swish!
“Sa-gwang!” Seo-un shouted as he used his clones to perform the Muryeong Phantom Step, creating a wall of bodies to hide his whip.
“I know!”
Having experienced this tactic before, Nam Sa-gwang replied as he unleashed Aura to shatter the enemy’s barrier. Two clones vanished under the knights' Aura Swords, but countless afterimages swarmed the enemies. Hidden by the clones, the whip moved subtly, snagging the mage before he could tear the scroll and dragging him toward Seo-un.
The enemies were too stunned to react as they watched their comrade get yanked into the enemy ranks. The captured mage could do nothing but desperately cast a new barrier. Nam Sa-gwang’s Hand Aura pierced through that barrier, splitting the mage from the crown of his head to his crotch.
Splatter!
Leaving behind the mage who died vomiting blood and organs, Seo-un and his team swarmed the rest. The two Sword Emperors and four high-level mages were torn apart without being able to put up any significant resistance.
With the appearance of Seo-un’s squad, who had wiped out the powerful enemies in an instant, the blood-soaked team that had been defending the small village watched them with wary eyes.
“...”
“It seems we’re playing with the same objective. There’s no need to be so guarded.”
At Seo-un’s words, the knight with blood dripping from his head nodded and sheathed his sword. “It’s you. Jin Seo-un. You’re the Crown Rank player, right? The one who shouted before the game started.”
When Seo-un nodded, the remaining players sat down on the ground with sighs of relief, putting away their weapons.
“We’re busy, so we don't have time for introductions. We’ve already finished cataloging the items over there, so you take them. Please, keep protecting this place. There’s no need to give up being human just because we’re playing a game like this.”
The knight didn't refuse and nodded at Seo-un’s words. “I won't decline.”
Though there was much to say, Seo-un’s group left the brief encounter behind and raced toward Yugok once more.
*
[Ding! You have killed an invader of Cloyd. You have earned the qualification to participate in the Cloyd Survival game.]
“What’s this?”
The man tilted his head as he watched the seven corpses he had just killed vanish instantly. He had simply charged in and cut them down, but come to think of it, he had no idea how they had managed to enter this place, which was protected by multiple layers of formations.
“Ah, now that I think about it, I think my junior mentioned something about some strange game.”
The man, who was shirtless and wearing only ragged gray pants, tossed the long greatsword he had been carrying on his shoulder into the air. Remarkably, the sword flew into its scabbard on its own.
*
“Cult Leader! If you suddenly disappear like that…”
The Left Protector, who had caught up to the Heavenly Demon after he had slipped away from his guards during a secret excursion into the Central Plains, couldn't finish his sentence. Killing intent radiated from his master’s back as he stood over a village that had become a bloodbath, with hundreds of people brutally murdered. The Left Protector didn't dare say another word.
As he dropped to his knees, the experts of the Protectorate Hall who arrived behind him followed suit.
“Left Protector.”
The Left Protector felt the cold touch of death in the Heavenly Demon’s voice, which was thick with killing intent. Steeling himself, he spoke. “Yes!”
“Find those who look like this. Find them and kill them all. Every expert of the Protectorate Hall must kill at least one of them. Move.”
The Left Protector looked at the head the Heavenly Demon had tossed behind him. He bowed his head as he noted the unusual appearance of the foreigner—blue eyes, pale skin, and blonde hair.
“I obey your command!”
—I obey your command!
With the shout, the thirteen experts of the Protectorate Hall vanished as if they had sunk into the ground.
“What kind of prank are you trying to play?”
As soon as the Heavenly Demon finished his monologue, he stepped firmly on the head of a player whose limbs had been severed but was still barely clinging to life.
Crunch!
Across the land, the battle between the martial arts experts and the players was beginning.