Chapter 327
Chapter 327: District 7 (4).
District 1, Demonic Cult headquarters.
A woman was sitting cross-legged on a blood-stained altar. Slightly raised lips.
However, her eyes were not smiling. Her deep, blood-colored pupils merely looked down below the altar.
Heavenly Demon Yoo Honbi.
Black silk flowed down her body.
Above her exposed shoulders, blood-red patterns squirmed as if alive, and a red mist rose from the ends of her long, flowing hair.
She was beautiful.
If not for the fear seeping into their bones, anyone would have been unable to take their eyes off her.
Yoo Honbi uncrossed her legs.
Just that alone crushed the air around the altar.
“You will hand over the Blood Pool?”
Yoo Honbi, who was tilting a dark red wine glass, smirked.
“Is that true, Lupus?”
Lupus, sitting on the opposite sofa, merely shrugged his shoulders. His blood-scented suit and the red light stained on the tips of his fingernails shone subtly in the darkness.
“I have to throw at least that much of a bone for you to keep your mouth shut.”
“Keep my mouth shut, huh…….”
Yoo Honbi put down her wine glass. Seueuk. Her pupils narrowed.
“When I asked for it, you clutched it even while spilling blood, but now you offer it first? You've become quite desperate, Lupus.”
The corners of Lupus's mouth twisted coldly.
“I heard Shadow disappeared?”
“…….”
“Why would those quick-witted rats leave the Demonic Cult? If the prospects were killer, they wouldn't have done that.”
Yoo Honbi's eyes also turned cold.
“Why are you trying to give it, you smelly beast.”
“Because of that guy. Kim Minwoo.”
The moment the name came out, the air became a bit heavier.
Yoo Honbi's eyebrows twitched slightly.
“That Necromancer in District 7?”
“Yeah. The guy who chewed up Irokes and even Ifrin. He's cutting off all the tax lines from below. If left alone like this, he'll bite his way up to District 6 and District 5. Isn't it the same for the Demonic Cult?”
“Because unlike someone, we are still an emerging faction.”
Yoo Honbi shrugged her shoulders.
While Red Flag had spread its forces here and there, the newly risen Demonic Cult was only just properly settling into District 1.
The lower districts?
They were in a state where they hadn't yet expanded their investments and territory that far.
Meaning they were relatively less in a hurry.
Yoo Honbi gestured with her chin.
“So? You'll hand over the Blood Pool, so the Demonic Cult should stay quiet?”
“To be exact, it's this.”
Lupus folded his fingers one by one.
“One, I will take care of Kim Minwoo. Two, you handle Medea in the meantime. Three, naturally, attacking Red Flag during that time is forbidden.”
Yoo Honbi laughed while looking at the grimy candlelight.
“Then the Blood Pool is ours?”
“That's right.”
A brief silence.
Yoo Honbi wiped away her smile and asked seriously.
“Are we making a contract?”
“We are.”
A promise carries a weight like gold.
If they make a contract, that is.
Instead of answering, Yoo Honbi emptied her glass.
Red liquid flowed down her throat.
She put down her glass.
A proposal with nothing to lose.
“Good. I accept.”
The conclusion was fast.
Soon after, Yoo Honbi narrowed her eyes.
“By the way…… what happens if you die?”
“……What?”
“Well, Ifrin died too. There's no law saying you'll live forever, right?”
Lupus sneered.
“Then you can swallow it all.”
“How cool.”
“Why should anything remain when I am dead? It won't matter then anyway.”
Red Flag?
It maintained this faction because one of the Seven Lords was there.
If there is no leader, the remaining wolves will only scatter.
That was why he did not think about what happens after death.
In the first place, he had no intention of dying either.
Lupus, having written the contract, turned around.
His eyes shone coldly.
Since he had tied down the Demonic Cult, now…….
It was time to take care of the rat that kept gnawing at his nerves.
He would thoroughly exact the price of handing over the Blood Pool with the limbs of that Necromancer.
＊ ＊ ＊
Kim Minwoo folded the report.
‘Iron Armor Morgan. 1st priority for conquest.’
The corners of his mouth went up.
If District 8 took half a day, one day was enough for District 7.
“Cedric. This guy Morgan, the location of his base has been figured out, right?”
―It's the central tower. The troops appear to be under 300.
“Let's go.”
The Bone Dragon spread its wings.
The central part of District 7.
Iron Armor Morgan's stronghold.
Kuuuuung―.
The sky darkened.
The shadow of the massive skeleton dragon covered the entire tower.
“Wh-what is that―!”
The guards screamed.
However, there wasn't even time to respond.
“Kill them.”
Just a single word.
The four Legion Commanders charged at the front along with the Dragon Tooth Soldiers.
Cedric's spear smashed the main gate, and Vulcan's whip burned the watchtower.
It was a massacre.
Iron Armor Morgan held out quite well.
The steel armor covering his entire body bounced off Olivia's fingernails twice.
“You monster-like―!”
He couldn't block the third.
His neck snapped.
The center of District 7 fell before the sun set.
“Good.”
It was smooth.
Even more than District 8.
The flags of the Death Cult were planted all over District 7.
The believers increased.
Faith accumulated.
He felt his divinity becoming thicker.
[The dominance of District 7 has surpassed a certain level! However, the divine artifact is already in someone's hands!]
[Target: District 1 Lupus.]
‘……Lupus?’
Kim Minwoo narrowed his eyes.
Blood Wolf Lupus.
It was a name he remembered very vividly.
Rightfully so, wasn't he one of the Seven Lords.
He had also killed that bastard's younger brother.
‘Most of the holy relics might probably be with the Seven Lords.’
At this point, he wondered if District 9, which still had a holy relic remaining, was the unusual one.
“Hah.”
A laugh leaked out.
It seemed it would take some time to find them.
Because District 1 was a place out of reach for now.
However…….
“It was a place I had to go to someday.”
Kim Minwoo's eyes shone coldly.
To catch the Outer God anyway, he has to go up to District 1.
He has to step on all of the Seven Lords and pass through.
Lupus is no exception.
It was then.
“I am District 7 Head Cael.”
A man wearing a black hood who appeared in front of him knelt down.
Kim Minwoo asked without taking his eyes off the document.
“I believe I said I would receive reports via documents.”
“It is an urgent matter so I came to see you directly.”
Cael's voice trembled.
Only then did Kim Minwoo raise his head.
An informant affiliated with Shadow comes to visit while revealing his face?
Directly at that?
“Speak.”
“Circumstances of Blood Wolf Lupus and Heavenly Demon Yoo Honbi…… coming into contact secretly have been captured.”
The hand rolling the pen stopped.
“The two of them?”
“Yes. It is not certain, but it seems they promised mutual non-aggression on the condition of handing over a portion of the Blood Pool.”
“What is the Blood Pool?”
“It is a red swamp situated in the heart of District 1. It was a place occupied by Red Flag. It was a place coveted by the Demonic Cult side, but…….”
“He's handing that over?”
Kim Minwoo's eyes narrowed.
“If Lupus threw a bone of that level, it means there is something urgent.”
“That is correct. And…….”
Cael gulped down his saliva.
“The Blood Wolf is not seen.”
“What?”
“His presence has disappeared from District 1. There is a possibility he moved to catch Medea, but…….”
The end of his words trailed off.
Cael's gaze headed toward Kim Minwoo.
Fear had settled in his eyes.
“On our side…….”
His throat became bone dry.
“We judge that he is aiming for you, Lord Kim Minwoo.”
Silence.
Only the sound of the wind squeezed in through the window crack.
The presences of the Legion Commanders sharpened all at once.
The tip of Cedric's spear trembled minutely, and heat rose from Vulcan's whip.
“One of the Seven Lords is moving personally…….”
Cael bowed his head.
“It might not be the case, but…… if the Blood Wolf comes down, he will wait around District 6. Because the penalty is applied much less from there than in the lower districts.”
“Is that so?”
Kim Minwoo stood up from his seat.
He walked to the window.
The lights of District 7 blinked beneath his feet.
Now this place was his territory too.
District 9.
District 8.
District 7.
Three districts had knelt under the Lord of Death.
“Interesting.”
Kim Minwoo smirked.
“One of the Seven Lords is coming down personally?”
Behind his back, Cael showed a flustered expression.
It was not a situation to laugh.
Blood Wolf Lupus.
One of the seven monsters ruling the Heavenly City.
An existence on a different level from the likes of Ifrin.
But this man was laughing.
“Good.”
Kim Minwoo turned around.
His black pupils shone coldly.
“He was a guy I had to step on and pass through to go up to District 1 anyway.”
He raised his hand.
The shadow beneath his feet churned.
The four Legion Commanders knelt down in unison.
“Your command…….”
“We are going to District 6.”
Cael's complexion turned pale white.
“L-Lord Kim Minwoo! If you go now……!”
“What?”
Kim Minwoo turned his head.
A cold gaze pierced through Cael.
“You said the Blood Wolf is coming down to catch me. Then I just have to go out and greet him first.”
The corners of his mouth twisted.
“Isn't it courtesy to treat a guest properly?”
‘Perfect timing.’
Lupus.
One of the Seven Lords.
That meant his body would be dripping with all sorts of precious items.
A holy relic.
He has the key to raising my divinity.
It's like going to directly steal what I couldn't get in District 7, so it actually saves me the trouble.
And the corpse.
Kim Minwoo's eyes shone coldly.
The body of one of the Seven Lords.
From the bones to a single fingernail, it is a highest-grade material with nothing to throw away.
Where would there be a more coveted prey than this for a Necromancer?
‘He'd make an amazing undead.’
His heart raced.
It wasn't fear.
The excitement of a predator facing its prey.
The wind wrapped around the hem of his coat.
To go up to District 1, he has to step on the Seven Lords.
To catch the Outer God, he has to stand at the apex.
Lupus was the first gateway standing on that path.
‘If I can't go up, I will fall behind. It's a structure where I have to meet them eventually.’
If it cannot be avoided, the side that bares its teeth first wins.
[Urgent Test Triggered!]
[Blood Wolf Lupus has descended to District 6 personally!]
[Will you go up and face him?]
[Upon Victory ― You can skip all prepared tests and obtain the most enhanced reward.]
[Upon Defeat ― You die.]
[If you do not go up ― The Expert Test is cleared, and you obtain all rewards accumulated so far combined.]
“Good timing.”
He was going to go up and face him anyway.
And even a quest popped up right on cue.
The choice was already decided.
‘How far could I go while avoiding the Seven Lords.’
Rather, now was the opportunity.
The bastard came down personally.
He left his home ground.
Fighting in District 6 is much more advantageous than fighting in District 1, his main base.
“I should go up.”
The hunt begins.