Chapter 200: Hell King (1)
Translation: Nadu
Edit: Sephtair
Anguish stopped crying when he picked up the Fragment of Fissure.
Then, he allowed it to remember the ‘scent’ that was deeply entangled with the Fragment of Fissure. He did this because Muyoung also knew that, deep within the Fragment of Fissure, the scent of ‘Dantalian’ was also present.
This would be a lot of help in finding the Demon God of the 71st seat, Dantalian, or knowing if he was getting close to him.
<You have conquered 22 towers.>
<The 22 towers have been connected to the real world.>
<At most, 22,000 specters can be called to the real world.>
As he conquered more towers, the power he could control had also increased.
He basically earned 1,000 specters per tower.
Thismeant that if he conquered all 44 towers, he could make use of 44,000 specters in the real world.
Unlike the past, when Murdudun was just had the form of a soul, as the Hell Path realm was now connected to the real world, it seemed like the specters could produce physical damage.
Additionally.
<King Slayer – ‘Slayer of Kings’ has been activated.>
<Strength and agility have increased by 1 each.>
<You will be able to complete the achievement by slaying 100 kings.>
<The reward will change depending on the rank of the kings that have been killed.>
<You have killed 85 kings.>
<Current achievement satisfaction level: low level 37, mid-level 14, high level 32, top level 2>
The owners of the towers were all considered as high-level kings.
There were only 15 kings left!
Also, there were 22 towers, which meant that he would be able to complete the King Slayer achievement in the Hell Path.
‘I’m excited.’
There was a chance it wouldn’t end with just one quest.
Continuous achievement. As it was a process of following King Slayer’s footsteps, another achievement might appear depending on the reward he received after finishing this achievement.
And these types of continuous achievements were known to give great rewards.
However, they were hard to receive, to complete, and were known to sometimes be impossible.
What would it give?
‘The stats that could be earned through the King Slayer are also becoming rare.’
Was it because Muyoung’s stats had already reached their upper limits?
Although strength and agility had increased this time by 1, no stats increased recently when he had killed more than ten owners of the towers.
Of course, in Muyoung’s current state, 1 stat point was very valuable.
As every 1 stat point difference could be slightly felt.
“The owners of the towers started to collaborate.”
“Among the owners of the towers, the strongest one, ‘Hae Mosu’, has already gathered 10 owners.”
“Are you going to wait for him to gather the rest of the owners?”
The nine-tailed foxes asked.
They were enthusiastic in trying to make Muyoung the king somehow.
Rahora’s wishes had exhibited that much power.
Muyoung shook his head.
For him to wait until the enemies gather?
It could be a chance to conquer them all at once, but he didn’t want them to all gather.
They were many, while he was one.
At least in terms of leading an army, a simpler command structure was better.
“I will divide the army. Murdudun and you guys will each lead specters to invade the towers that have yet to collaborate. Also, before the ones who have join up, cut off all their support by ambushing them near the paths that lead to the meeting point.”
Muyoung had no experience directing a war, but he had faced combat on many battlefields. He had heard and seen quite a lot as well.
He knew that in a war, removing the support in the middle was very important. Although they wouldn’t need food because they were specters, if they lost their manpower, they would be demoralized.
Muyoung made full use of his advantages.
Furthermore, he gathered the rest of the army. It was to invade Hae Mosu.
‘There is no need to drag things out.’
It would be a foolish thing to give them time when he had already taken control of the winning hand.
Muyoung knew very well how to paddle when the water came in.
* * *
Alan was a rank 1 priest from the Holy City Mulalan.
Normally, he would have needed to be worshipping faithfully in Mulalan, but he was currently in Noble Castle, far from that place, staying with few knights.
“Alan, do we still not have permission to enter the towers?”
Alan, who was eating a pickle at a restaurant, shook his head.
“We have given them all the official paperwork but…”
“Whew! Actually, their surveillance on us had increased. Wherever I go, their eyes are on me.”
Alan turned his head slightly. Then, there were people who avoided their eyes right away.
They didn’t even try to hide it well. They were openly monitoring him.
It meant they were that willing to cover up the towers. However, because of Mulalan’s position, they couldn’t ignore them, and allowed only a few to enter the Noble Castle.
After realizing his current situation, he let out a sigh.
“If I was a saint or a cult judge, they wouldn’t be able to ignore me like this.”
A saint, a cult judge.
Besides the sage king, they were the people who were recognized as the strongest priests.
There were tons of rank 1 priests. They didn’t have much authority either. However, since Mulalan had dispatched him here, he had no choice but to follow up.
“Is Mulalan thinking that the things happening in Noble Castle aren’t a big deal?”
“I don’t think so. Just…”
Alan reserved his words when the paladin asked.
Mulalan had a great interest in the current situation.
However, they didn’t have enough people to allocate.
Mulalan was currently in turmoil internally.
It was because the appearance of one girl had created a huge commotion in Mulalan.
It had already been 2 years since the girl appeared. The girl who instantly became a saintess was even controlling the sage king.
Some called the girl an angel, while others declared her to be a witch who charms others. However, those who considered her to be a witch all met with sudden deaths.
Sudden death.
The cause could not be determined.
However, they were all people who denounced the girl as a witch.
That was why currently Mulalan was at a standstill. All gates were closed, and they were trying to find out what caused the deaths.
Of course, no progress wa made.
However, Mulalan had become strange ever since the girl appeared.
The girl’s name was Hyacinth.
She was the reason why a mere rank 1 priest, Alan, had to be in charge of such an important task.
The paladins also had a rough understanding of the situation. That was why they ended their conversation by nodding their heads.
‘I have no idea what to do now.’
Only five paladins accompanied him.
If the Reign Clan decided to conceal information, he had no power to even try to dig up what they knew.
Rather, it would be fortunate if he could keep his life.
‘There is definitely something about these towers.’
Alan looked slightly outside of the gates.
The number of towers that were placed in Noble Castle was continuously increasing by the day.
People were saying that, if it continued like this, the entire Noble Castle would be filled with towers.
As a matter of fact, Mulalan was observing Noble Castle closely. To be exact, the Reign Clan.
‘There is a hidden weapon within the Reign Clan.’
The leaders of Mulalan concluded that those towers might be a result of the weapon.
So, Alan’s mission was to reveal whether or not the towers were related to the weapon the Reign Clan had hidden.
However, the Reign Clan’s mood was somewhat tense.
‘Also, they said Reign Gun was killed. Right when the towers appeared…’
They heard the news that the legitimate child of the Reign Clan had died.
Afterward, the atmosphere became frigid.
There were more than a dozen people who were killed displayed on the gates, mounted on spikes.
If Alan and the paladins weren’t careful, their fate could be the same.
Grrrrrrrrr!
It was at that moment.
As he ate his pickle and let out a sigh, the ground shook, and right beside him, a tower started to rise.
The tower climbed endlessly, shattering the building.
Alan couldn’t help but stare at the scene momentarily.
It was really abrupt.
Grrrrr! Grrrrrrrrrrr!
What was more, it wasn’t just one tower that soared up.
Towers were rising in many places at once.
“What is happening?!”
“Run, run away!”
People were scared out of their wits, and ran away.
“Alan, we need to leave this place.”
The paladins grabbed Alan’s shoulders. However, Alan didn’t budge. Instead, he looked at the door of the tower that just appeared.
“…Let’s go in.”
“What did you just say?”
“Let’s enter the tower. Didn’t a door just appear before our eyes as if it was expecting us to enter?”
Alan gulped his saliva.
A person who was eating beside him had suddenly disappeared.
The entrance of a tower appeared in his place.
The tower soared through the ceiling of the building, and he could see the masonry of the tower, but Alan actually thought this was an opportunity.
“Alan, it’s dangerous.”
“It doesn’t have to be now, right?”
“We can just back away for now and it won’t be late even if we return after completing all the formal procedures.”
The paladins tried to dissuade him.
However, with a pale face, Alan shook his head.
Rank 1 priest. Although he didn’t look like much, he was given a tremendously important mission.
To him, returning empty-handed was the same as dying here.
Alan moved as he broke through the paladins who tried to stop him.
“I’m going in. Either way, the Reign Clan will do whatever they can to prevent us from taking all the necessary procedures. It is better to venture than to wait.”
Although Alan was a coward, he tried to gain courage.
The paladins looked at Alan as if his actions were unexpected, but then nodded their heads.
“As soon as it becomes dangerous, we will force you to leave, whether you want to or not. Do you understand?”
“Thank you.”
Alan moved towards the door of the tower.
The tower was big.
Then, there was an endless stairway.
“Haaa, haaa, haa…”
Alan climbed the tower with his poor stamina.
But, he couldn’t go any faster.
So eventually, a paladin went in front of Alan and lowered his posture.
“Get on my back.”
It was humiliating but, currently, Alan’s heart felt like it was going to explode.
It wasn’t the time to worry about such things.
After Alan got on the paladin’s back, the speed slightly increased.
‘It’s unusual.’
Even as a priest, he could feel that this tower wasn’t normal.
It didn’t seem like there were any monsters, but he could feel an odd ghastliness.
The paladins diligently climbed up the stairs.
After climbing for about an hour, they were finally able to reach the top of the tower.
“First, it seems like there aren’t any items that resemble a weapon. I don’t think it’s anything more than an old tower…”
On the top floor, Alan once again got on his feet and looked around.
However, there wasn’t anything that looked out of the ordinary.
“But, there has to be a reason why the Reign Clan is desperately trying to cover up the towers. We also need to find out the reason.”
Alan looked harder.
Since he had entered, he had to get something out of it.
He didn’t know what would happen once he left the tower.
After roaming around for a while, Alan stopped at one spot.
‘This is?’
A sword was pierced through.
Without thinking, Alan pulled out the sword.
At that point:
Swoooosh!
The sound of ghosts entered the surroundings.
The paladins and Alan were all taken back.
It wasn’t just a sound.
Around him, a few tens, then a few hundreds of monsters started to form.
What was more, most were monsters he had never seen before.
“Alan!”
“Step back!”
The paladins ran to protect him. However, they weren’t really optimistic. Just from seeing the monsters, they could tell that they weren’t ordinary.
Grrr. Grrrr.
Swaaaaaaa!
The monsters slowly approached after noticing Alan and the paladins.
Gulp!
‘Ohhh, God. Please have mercy on me.’
After swallowing his saliva, Alan closed his eyes tightly.
The paladins also were elites, but the monsters in front of them were at least high-level monsters.
For high-level monsters to gather in this great of a number. This was certainly not something that was normal.
“Stop.”
It was at that moment.
They heard the husky voice of a man.
When Alan slowly opened his eyes, a man with six wings was in the middle of the monsters.
‘That man is…’
A man with six grey wings!
He wasn’t a devil. However, he was ominous like a devil.
Two eyes like the abyss.
Additionally, the man’s surroundings were burning with flames.
It was like the appearance of the king of Hell.
However, he was unsure of the source of the holiness that could be felt in the midst of it.
It was true chaos.
“Who, who are you?”
“Muyoung.”
The man answered.
Muyoung. After suddenly spreading his wings, he suddenly rushed at Alan.
“Ahhh!”