Chapter 124 : Torch of Radiance (2)
Chapter 124: Torch of Radiance (2)
An enemy within.
Yohan had found the Raid Breaker Lee Saerom had warned him about.
‘Is she alone, or does she have another accomplice among them?’
He couldn’t tell that much yet.
However, befitting someone who had already annihilated multiple raiding parties, she was manipulating the situation with considerable skill.
‘Eyes of the Prophet’ scanned the target.
[Cordelia is currently using the Unique Ability ‘Internet Broadcasting’.]
Ohh. Would you look at this?
A considerably rare ability had appeared.
‘Interesting. So the method is to build Favorability and turn people into her subscribers.’
Only now did Yohan understand why Cordelia had willingly given up the reward and acted generous.
The core of Internet Broadcasting’s ability was possessing a large number of subscribers.
The more followers she gained, the more dramatically all her Skills and basic stats increased.
For now, it seemed best to set an appropriate trap and make her reveal her identity.
However.
There was something Yohan had overlooked.
[Cordelia activates the Trait ‘Intermediate Agitation’!]
The fact that she even possessed an additional Trait capable of strengthening her ability.
“The driving force behind that torch is Divine Power. In that case, wouldn’t it naturally be right for me, someone who serves the God of Light, to use it? I can assure you that I’ll handle it far better than a Magic-type like Mr. Yohan.”
“That’s right!”
“If the Paladin had used it, no one would’ve died!”
The voices grew increasingly forceful.
The atmosphere also began to turn dangerous.
This definitely wasn’t because she wanted the torch.
‘She’s trying to provoke me into attacking.’
What Hunter would simply stand by after having their possession taken away?
Her main objective was to drive the situation to its worst possible point and make them kill one another.
And while she was at it, she would probably use the fact that he had killed allies against him afterward.
What a headache.
Why were there so many people in this world who were so damn good at scheming?
“One more thing.”
Cordelia raised her index finger.
Damn it. What else is there?
“Mr. Yohan can no longer travel with us from this point onward. I believe you were the one who made the hole in the Defensive Stronghold.”
What the hell was she talking about? Even if they asked the Sea Otters passing by, they’d say she looked like the biggest son of a bitch here.
However, there was no way for Yohan to explain how he knew that the Defensive Stronghold could only be destroyed from the inside.
“Th-That’s too much. You’re saying we should abandon Mr. Yohan based on nothing but suspicion?”
Yuki stepped forward.
Of course.
“There was no one inside doing anything suspicious at the time. In that case, wouldn’t the person who wandered outside alone naturally be the prime suspect?”
It didn’t work in the slightest.
“That’s….”
“More importantly, it makes no sense that he guaranteed he would survive under those circumstances. And then actually returned without a single injury. Unless he knows some kind of dark method, that is.”
Even circumstantial evidence was more than sufficient inside a Dungeon.
In the end.
Either he killed everyone here.
Or gave up and withdrew.
Those were the only choices left.
Yohan chose the latter.
“Understood. We’ll do as you want.”
“Hmm. That’s unexpected.”
Cordelia smacked her lips as though disappointed,
While staring deeply into Yohan’s pupils with a sticky gaze.
“Because fighting under these circumstances would be the worst possible choice.”
‘Livestream’.
One of the abilities of Internet Broadcasting.
Invisible cameras were watching this place.
Waiting eagerly for him to be the first to unleash his Magic.
“We’ll move that way. Don’t follow us. If we meet again, we’ll consider you an enemy.”
A short while later, Cordelia led the Hunters away.
Six remained in total.
Yuki, Lee Siwoo, and several Imperial Knights and soldiers.
“Why aren’t you going with them instead of staying with me? Your chances of survival would be much higher with the side that has the torch.”
“It’s hard to explain, but it’s a…feeling.”
Yuki answered briefly.
“I’ve visited the Vatican often because of various connections, but I’ve never seen a Paladin like that. Besides. That woman. The smell of blood has seeped into her body.”
Lee Siwoo added a remark as well.
Was it because he was an Assassination-type? Surprisingly, this guy had excellent danger-sensing abilities too.
Ultimately, their choice was correct.
Before handing over the Torch of Radiance to Cordelia. Yohan had tampered with it a little.
‘It should draw plenty of aggro.’
Like moths drawn to a flame. Countless monsters would swarm toward them.
There was no need to pity the Hunters who had betrayed him without appreciating his kindness, since they were simply reaping what they had sown.
After all, the fundamental rule of this world was choosing the right side to stand on.
“Still, the real problem begins now. This is going to be quite a difficult journey.”
The Knight smacked his lips bitterly.
Although it was morning, moving without any countermeasures would inevitably be burdensome in more ways than one.
Just then.
“I’m not so sure. We don’t know that yet.”
Yohan took out a bottle filled with sloshing liquid.
It was the Holy Oil he had obtained from the One-Person Prayer Room.
If he combined this with the flame he had extracted from the Torch of Radiance beforehand….
Fwoosh!
A temporary radiance was created.
There wasn’t much distance left to the rendezvous point, so this would be enough.
＊＊＊
Two hours later.
Yohan and the members safely arrived at the second rendezvous point.
Several raiding parties had already gathered at the encampment spread out before the enormous valley.
None of them were in good condition.
Their numbers were also woefully insufficient compared to the first rendezvous point.
‘Did they lose about half?’
Yohan muttered inwardly.
He had expected heavy casualties, but this was downright devastating.
Kwakakakaka!
Papapow!
Explosions echoed throughout the valley.
All kinds of Skills and abilities mixed together in one place.
“Don’t leave a single human alive!”
Numerous Dryads launched spears and arrows.
In addition, an enormous number of monsters moved about, slaughtering the raiding parties that had entered the valley.
“Mooooooo!
When a Minotaur that had half-transformed into a skeleton swung its axe, the Tankers were pushed backward.
“R-Retreat! Fall back!”
With the sound of drums, the soldiers withdrew while taking care of the wounded.
Breaking through the valley didn’t seem easy either.
Just then.
“Lord Yohan?”
“Warrior Kang!”
“Big Brother, you’re safe!”
He spotted the members huddled together.
It felt as though all the exhaustion and worry he had accumulated until now melted away in an instant.
“Is everyone okay?”
Yohan rushed over in a single stride.
“Kahaha! It was easy. There were only weaklings far too inadequate to send this great one to Valhalla.”
“Just ignore what that idiot says. If we hadn’t met Vivian and Scarlet along the way, he’d be having a beer with Thor by now. Seriously. He even lost his axe and had tears welling in his eyes, you know?”
“L-Lagerseh! Did we not agree to keep that a secret!”
Well. As long as no one was hurt, that was enough.
There would be another opportunity to restore the pride that had fallen to the ground.
That aside.
It was rather surprising that Vivian had been traveling with Scarlet.
There had often been an invisible battle of nerves between the two.
“You two were together? The entire way here?”
“I got along quite well with Miss Scarlet. We talked about all sorts of things too.”
Vivian answered with a radiant smile.
Something about that felt ominous.
Whoooosh….
The atmosphere surrounding the smiling Scarlet was very different from before.
The quality and concentration of her Magic were also anything but ordinary.
Why was she smacking her lips?
The way she was licking her lips while staring directly at his neck was extremely ominous.
“Hmm.”
Yohan unconsciously took a step backward.
He could hear all the stories that had piled up later. First, he needed to meet with the command staff and discuss what came next.
When he arrived at the command post, he saw familiar faces.
Ian, the Vice Commander of Dragon’s Claw. Zigharun, the Chief Mage. Sherphon, the Military Mage, and Beatrice, the Priestess.
There were also quite a few other staff officers.
Once enough people had gathered, Ian got to the point.
“In one hour, we’ll use medium-range Teleportation. Around 100 people, including those gathered here, are planned to cross over.”
While the majority drew attention in the valley. A small elite force would cross over and destroy the Gate.
That was the core of the operation.
‘As expected, the Empire came thoroughly prepared too.’
Teleportation itself was Magic that required an enormous amount of materials and effort.
Much less in this place, a space that went beyond merely being alien.
Calculating the coordinates and finding a gap couldn’t have been an ordinary challenge.
“We definitely don’t seem to have enough people to break through head-on.”
Seo Changhee, who was attending the meeting, nodded.
The route through the valley was practically nonexistent.
After several attempts. They had discovered that its defenses were strong enough that they would have to be prepared for total annihilation.
Of course.
The side that had to draw attention. And the side that had to enter the enemy’s home ground with only a small force were equally at risk.
“Everyone, get your final rest. The final battle awaits us after this.”
They had to settle everything before nightfall.
If the sun went down, they would have no chance of victory whatsoever.
＊＊＊
Slash!
The moment the blade flashed, a fountain of blood erupted from the neck of the last remaining Hunter.
“Aah, he was my first diehard fan. That’s so mean.”
Cordelia displayed a crying emoticon.
A blond-haired man shook the blood from his blade and spoke irritably.
“I told you to pursue Go Yongjin and Lee Saerom. Why did you go and poke an unrelated hornet’s nest?”
“Well. Because I wanted to personally see who was giving our perfect Mr. Samuel such a hard time?”
“That was foolish. You accomplished nothing other than exposing your identity.”
“That’s true. I never imagined he’d see through my identity and objective in an instant and even pull a trick like this. Hmm. Personally, I really want to recruit him into our group….”
‘Argo’.
A gathering of great explorers assembled to reach the end of the Forbidden Book.
Composed of carefully selected elites, they had been meticulously preparing for the Apocalypse for years.
Controlling every little variable….
All under the single objective of reaching the final Episode.
“We recruit those who can be tamed. We do not recruit monsters capable of devouring their own masters.”
“Oh my. If that’s what you mean, I’m an expert. I’ll shower him with affection. Feed him well, and try taming him with plenty of love.”
Cordelia smiled brightly.
Then.
“It seems you still don’t understand what I mean,”
Samuel let out a small sigh before slowly opening his mouth.
“If that man had seriously made his move….”
If she had crossed the line just a little further. Or if he had been left with no other choice.
“Cordelia. You would have died.”
“Me, dead? That joke…is a little too much.”
“Does it look like a joke?”
There wasn’t the slightest hint of amusement on Samuel’s face.
He was merely stating a fact calmly.
“Well. Setting that aside. Was the Tower you conquered called the Tower of Chaos? The one with 25 floors?”
“That’s correct. A Balrog guarded the final floor.”
Countless Towers existed throughout the various dimensions.
And. Only those who had seen the summit of those Towers were permitted access to the ‘Forbidden Book’.
For reference, only those who had conquered a Tower with at least 15 floors could join Argo.
From the 15th floor onward, the number of attempts permitted for the Forbidden Book exceeded fifty.
In other words, they had at least earned the right to be called veterans.
“By the way. Where could the monster who conquered the Tower of Trials be? He must be somewhere out there too.”
Among them all, if one had to choose the strongest, it would unquestionably be the Tower of Trials in this dimension.
It consisted of 50 floors, and Yohan had heard that each floor was constructed with horrific difficulty.
Naturally, Kang Jinhyuk, who had reached its summit, was both Argo’s greatest target of vigilance and greatest object of interest….
Yet even though the Episode had begun, he hadn’t appeared.
“Of all things, the restrictions regarding this Tower of Trials are exceptionally severe… it is frustrating.”
Those who had explored Forbidden Books were subjected to restrictions imposed by the system, making it nearly impossible to acquire information beyond a certain level.
Even the members of Argo had only managed to uncover basic personal information about Kang Jinhyuk.
“You still believe there’s no possibility that Kang Jinhyuk changed his name to Kang Yohan?”
“The fact that they share the surname Kang does bother me, but it isn’t an especially rare surname in this country. More importantly, if he really were that man, there’s no way the people here wouldn’t recognize him.”
Their ages didn’t match. Their hair colors were different too.
There were far too many holes in the assumption that they were the same person.
“Well. That’s true too.”
Cordelia smacked her lips.
“Our plans have already gone significantly off course. Stop concerning yourself with pointless matters. For now, focus on finding Go Yongjin and Lee Saerom.”
The small fry who had only superficially experienced the Forbidden Book had to be eliminated in advance.
There was no telling what kind of butterfly effect the information they possessed might create.
More importantly, only they could be the ones to reach the end of this Forbidden Book.
＊＊＊
[Medium-Range Teleportation activates!]
Wooooong!
Along with a dazzling light, one hundred elites appeared deep within Purgatory.
They were less than 500m away from the ballroom that could be called the starting point of all this.
“One hundred. Everyone is safe.”
“A success,”
Ian nodded at the Mage’s report.
Fortunately, they had avoided the Distortion Field and safely arrived at their intended destination.
Just then.
Kwakakakakaka!
They felt Magic erupt from the entrance to the valley.
The diversionary operation meant to draw the enemy’s attention had begun.
“We move. Have the Mages use Detection Magic. And don’t conserve Scrolls or Potions. Use them.”
“Yes.”
The raiding party formed ranks and cautiously began advancing.
However, before they had even traveled a few dozen meters.
“So it’s you? The ones trying to stop our liberation?”
An unfamiliar voice cut in.
It came from directly behind Ian and the Chief Mage.
At the same time.
Slash.
Ian’s head disappeared.
Crimson blood painted the air as the Vice Commander’s head slowly fell as though in slow motion.
Thud!
Only after the helmet rolled across the ground for quite some time did everyone comprehend what had happened.
“S-Sir Ian!”
“Damn it! An enemy!”
“Impossible… Detection Magic didn’t pick up anything.”
Disbelieving screams continued.
Thump!
Yohan’s heart began to pound.
This feeling.
This sensation.
Dangerous.
His eyes locked onto the being that had killed Ian instantly.