Chapter 750

Hundreds of tentacles shot out from the sewers, wrapping around Corporal Randleman and his comrades.

Shwoook! Shwoook!

“

Argh!”

“Kuheok!”

“W-What is this monster...?!”

Corporal Randleman and his comrades struggled to free themselves from the tentacles, but their struggles were futile.

Snap!

The red tentacles constricted and crushed them with monstrous strength. Its grip was so strong that they could not resist it. Soon, they no longer had any strength left in their limbs to continue their struggle.

C-Crack...! Crack!

The tentacles constricted them further, pressing down on their muscles and snapping the bones in their bodies one by one.

“S-Somebody... help us—!” Corporal Randleman cried out, hoping to signal another squadron.

But then—

Swoosh! Schlick! Schlick!

Another tentacle was thrust deep into his mouth, cutting off his scream.

“G-Gaah!”

“G-Guuurk!”

Before they could even scream, Corporal Randleman and his comrades were fully gagged by the tentacles forcing their way down their throats.

Crack! Crack! Snap!

Their bodies were battered, and their bones were shattered as they were dragged into the sewers by the tentacles. The tentacles pulled them deeper into the dark murky water until they vanished completely from sight.

***

In the sky over Feiogh...

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The alarm blared in the command bridge of the Guardians’ headquarters. They were monitoring the ground for the unique energy signature of the Soul Fragment of Apocalius.

“Anomaly detected! We are picking up an energy signature!”

“Unusual energy signatures detected from Feiogh! It is the same energy as before!” the operators shouted the moment the alarms blared.

Cheon Woo-Jin rushed into the command bridge and urgently asked, “Where is it coming from?”

“We are unable to pinpoint the exact location! The energy signature faded too quickly, sir!”

“What?!” Cheon Woo-Jin exclaimed.

“It was only brief, but it definitely came from Feiogh!”

“We might not know its exact location, but the energy was there!”

“What the hell is going on...?” Cheon Woo-Jin muttered in sheer disbelief.

The energy signature from the soul fragment was so powerful and distinct that it would be difficult for it to hide itself. In other words, there was no way it could just simply disappear—yet, here it was, vanishing completely, leaving behind nothing at all.

However, one thing was certain—the final soul fragment was definitely in Feiogh.

‘

The war is already over,’

Cheon Woo-Jin thought, glancing down at the capital city.

Feiogh was ablaze; the streets had turned into a battlefield between the Proatine Alliance and the Zavala Kingdom’s forces.

‘

Tae-Sung should quiet things down soon enough. Once the fighting dies down, I will start searching for it,’

Cheon Woo-Jin thought, instantly making up his mind.

“We will stay in the air above Feiogh. Once the fighting ends, we will begin our search,” Cheon Woo-Jin said.

With that, he left to find the Immortal Alchemist, Acheron, to relay the news.

“Acheron.”

“What is it?”

Acheron, as usual, was focused on the Homunculus Project that would enhance the Guardians.

“I believe we have found the final soul fragment.”

“

Hmm?

”

“Once we capture King Frederick, we will interrogate him, and we should finally be able to track down the Church of Osric’s trail.”

“That’s good news. The Fated Censer has been highly unstable these days, so I was starting to get worried. But this works out perfectly,” Acheron said with a smile, clearly pleased.

“Yes, it somehow did.”

“I do hope everything goes smoothly. This will give us a solid lead on that evil cult.”

“And you can finally be at ease once we catch them.”

“I’m fine,” Acheron replied with a faint smile. Then, she added, “The peace of this world is far more important than any individual danger.”

“

Ah...

”

“Please focus on maintaining the peace and order of this world. I will assist you in any way I can.”

“Thank you,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied, bowing his head. He was genuinely grateful, as Acheron’s experiments had made the Guardians far more powerful than before.

The Guardians, enhanced to Level 299 by the Homunculus Project, had yet to be deployed in battle, but just watching their training made it clear that most of them were now on par with some Masters in terms of combat power.

That alone was more than enough proof that the Homunculus Project was a resounding success.

‘

Once we take out their main forces, we’ll have an overwhelming advantage against them,’

Cheon Woo-Jin thought. He was confident in winning against the Church of Osric.

With the newly enhanced Guardians, the outcome was almost guaranteed.

‘I’ll wait for the situation to stabilize. Then, I’ll meet with Tae-Sung. But damn... I didn’t expect he’d really do it. What a crazy guy... How did he bring down a great power?’

Cheon Woo-Jin could only shake his head in disbelief, marveling at Siegfried’s achievements as he gazed at Feiogh.

***

Elsewhere, King Frederick and his officials were doing everything possible to escape from the Iron Palace.

Unfortunately, escaping proved to be far more difficult than they thought it would be.

“There they are!”

“Catch them!”

“After them!”

King Frederick and his officials sprinted through the secret passage, and they froze in terror when Proatine knights and soldiers came charging from the opposite end.

“H-How did they know about this passage?!” King Frederick shrieked in horror. This secret passage was constructed back when the palace was still under construction, and its construction was kept as one of the most confidential secrets of the kingdom.

This passage was designed solely as an emergency escape route for the royal family in times of danger, so it truly came as a surprise to see the Proatine knights and soldiers coming from the other end of it.

But there was a logical explanation for this...

The Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance could reveal every terrain within the map, and escaping from its user, Siegfried van Proa, was impossible.

“We will hold them back! Please, go on, sire!”

“Hurry! Your Majesty!”

“Escort His Majesty to safety!”

The royal knights drew their swords and placed themselves between the king and the approaching Proatine troops.

“Damn it all!” King Frederick cursed, leaving his knights behind and bolting down a different secret passage.

“Your Majesty!”

“P-Please take us with you!”

“

Huff! Huff!”

His officials gasped for air and struggled as they could not keep up with his pace.

However, King Frederick did not care about them at all.

‘

I have to survive! I can’t die here!’

The only thing in his mind was his own survival, and he did not spare a single glance at those who fell behind.

He just ran, ran, and ran.

Despite running, running, and running, all he found were more Proatine soldiers waiting for him.

“There he is!”

“Halt!”

“Surrender peacefully, and we will guarantee your dignity!”

The Proatine knights and soldiers blocked his path.

“Damn it all!” King Frederick cussed, forced to flee down yet another route. Then, he shouted, “Black Brotherhood! Where are you?!”

He called for the Black Brotherhood, his most trusted bodyguards, but they were nowhere to be found. Thus, King Frederick found himself chased, cornered, and forced to run around in circles within the Iron Palace.

And in the midst of this chase—

“Stop!”

“Halt!”

“He’s over there!”

King Frederick crossed paths with the Proatine troops more than seven times.

In the end, he no longer had anyone left to protect him. His officials were either captured or killed, and only a few knights remained.

“G-Go now, sire!”

“Please be safe, my lord!”

The last of his knights stood their ground against the Proatine troops in a final, desperate attempt to protect him.

‘

Damn it! The safe room! I need to get to the safe room!’

King Frederick realized he could no longer escape from the Iron Palace, so he sprinted as fast as he could toward his personal safe room.

‘

My master will protect me!’

Rather than fleeing, King Frederick decided to hide in his meditation room and seek help from his

Savior.

***

“Huh?”

Siegfried was monitoring King Frederick’s location in real-time through Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance, and he could not help but be baffled after noticing that the king was headed in an entirely unexpected direction.

Based on his calculations, King Frederick was supposed to be running directly toward him right now. Instead, the king was moving in the exact opposite direction, and at a very fast speed at that.

“Let’s see...” Siegfried muttered while checking the map. Then, he murmured, “Well, well... It’s a safe room, eh? I guess he realized he couldn’t escape and decided to hide like a rat.”

“

Kyu?”

Siegfried turned to Hamchi and said, “Let’s go.”

“

Kyu?

Where?”

“It looks like our prey is trying to hide.”

“

Kyuuu!

Got it! Let’s go hunt Frederick down!”

Siegfried and Hamchi moved to chase down King Frederick, but—

“

Hmm?

Who the hell are you guys?”

They ran into a group of masked individuals wearing long robes blocking their path.

“Stop him!”

“It’s Siegfried van Proa! Don’t let him get past!”

“We have to capture Frederick! Don’t let him get to him first!”

The Black Brotherhood immediately unsheathed their crescent blades and charged at Siegfried.

Sukeok!

Siegfried swung his +10 Black Crow Wingsuit and used Heaven Splitting Slash.

“...!”

The Black Brotherhood felt a chilling sensation similar to that of a paper cut across their stomachs, and, in an instant, they were split in two. Their vision tilted sideways before they had a look at their own lower body, and then, they dropped to the floor, dead.

“Morons,” Siegfried grumbled.

“

Kyu!”

“Let’s go.”

Siegfried and Hamchi continued toward King Frederick’s office after making quick work of the Black Brotherhood.

‘

Hmm... It seems I’m getting closer,’

Siegfried thought. He had considerably closed the gap between them, so he moved even faster.

Just as he rounded the corner—

“Hey! Frederick! Stop right there!” he shouted after spotting King Frederick in the distance.

“D-Damn it!” King Frederick cussed after seeing Siegfried closing in on him.

Thud!

Then, he got down on all fours and scrambled away like a beast. He had monster body parts grafted onto him, turning him into a chimera, so he could now run on all fours when he needed to do so.

Well, he was not aware this was something he could do, but his desperation to survive activated the instincts of the parts grafted onto him.

“...”

Siegfried was speechless and stunned by the bizarre sight of the king scrambling away on all fours. He could not even utter a single word out of shock, but he quickly regained his composure and chased at him.

Thus, the frantic game of cat and mouse began.

“

H-Hiiiik!”

King Frederick shrieked after looking back and seeing Siegfried chasing after him.

He ran with all of his might, finally reaching his office. He hastily pulled the hidden level beneath his desk and opened the entrance to the hidden meditation room. Quickly, he sealed the door shut and ran down the stairs.

“Oh?” Siegfried chuckled with a smirk after seeing the king disappear into the secret passage.

However, he did not feel the need to rush.

“

Kyuuu!

Hey, owner punk! Why weren’t you running faster?! You let him get away!” Hamchi shrieked, feeling both puzzled and frustrated.

“It’s fine,” Siegfried replied with a shrug.

“

Kyu?”

“That place is just a hidden chamber. There’s no exit or anything like that. It’s a dead end.”

With that, Siegfried waltzed over to the door of the hidden chamber, raised his foot, and kicked it down hard.

Bam!

The force of the kick punctured the thick iron door. His leg was embedded deep into the metal, as the sheer power of his kick had penetrated through the door rather than breaking it down.