Chapter 348: 17 Years (2)

“Dammit! I knew things were going too well today!”

“Gather your weapons right this moment and gather the Guild members!

“Gather the party members!”

The Players had been enjoying the festival, but a crisis suddenly appeared at the camp. The happiness turned into intense fear because of Erebo and his cockroach army’s approach. Shin Sung-Hyun meandered around the city in turmoil and quickly sent a command.

“Summon the 1st and 2nd Teams right away and send them on standby to the eastern city wall. That’s where the bastards are marching toward.”

“Understood,” Jang Kyung-Hoon said.

“Teams 3 and 4 will provide rearguard support and be responsible for the Players’ safety.”

“I will deliver your orders right away.”

They were lacking a lot of manpower. Shin Sung-Hyun was giving orders as stoically as always, but inside, he felt a sense of dread.

‘Why are they attacking us so suddenly? I thought he was more cautious, but it seems that’s not the case.’?

He was certain that they had properly pissed off Floor Master Erebo by destroying his spawning grounds. He quickly worked the abacus in his head.

‘Can we do it?’?

The Guild Master of the Goblin Guild wasn’t sure if they could defeat that monster even if all the Players in the city came together and fought as one. Even if they managed to succeed, the price they would have to pay would definitely be expensive.

‘We need strong Players.’?

At times like this, one powerful fighter was worth more than ten normal Players, even more than usual.

“Find the Sword Saint, Wei Chun-Hak, and Tenmei Ryo right this moment. We’ll join together with Silent Moon, Celestial Dragon, and Sky Soul and move out,” he said.

“I’m not sure about Celestial Dragon, but Silent Moon and Sky Soul may decide to move independently…” Jang Kyung-Hoon said.

“They will not do that. Those two are smart.”

Shin Sung-Hyun always treated Kim Woo-Joong as his rival, but the Sword Saint lacked multiple aspects to lead a Guild. After all, he was a natural-born warrior.

However, he wasn’t dumb.

‘He also probably knows that we won’t be able to do this if we don’t work together.’?

He was even less worried about the bright and smart Wei Chun-Hak. The only one he was worried about was the Sky Soul Guild.

‘The crucial question is what that old raccoon will do.’?

Shing Sung-Hyun started to feel impatient.

“Tenmei Ryo. Find that man first.”

***

The Chinese Celestial Dragon Guild was occupying a four-way intersection in the city and was confronting another mob of people. Wei Chun-Hak’s snake eyes were always brazen, but they had become vicious in a way no one had ever seen before.

“Where are you going at a time like this?” he demanded.

“You can’t tell?”

The members of Sky Soul, led by Tenmei Ryo, were standing on the other side. The Guild Master looked at the giant tree on the other side of the city wall and smirked. “You truly intend to fight something like that? It makes me wonder if you’ve hit your head.”

“If we don’t kill it now, humanity won’t be able to dream of clearing the 4th floor in the next ten years.”

“Ten years… That’s not so bad.”

This was Tenmei Ryo’s true opinion. His Guild was already part of the Big 6, and he didn’t think it would be a bad idea to keep maintaining the status quo.

“It’s not so bad?” Wei Chun-Hak’s face contorted like a crumpled pack of cigarettes. “Where is your integrity as a Player?!”

“What? Integrity?

Hahahaha!

” Tenmei Ryo laughed for a long time before looking at Wei Chun-Hak as if he was reminiscing. “You’re still young and naive. I feel like I am looking at my younger self. I had such integrity decades ago. Back then, I firmly believed that was the right thing—that Players were meant to use their powers to save people, clear Gates and Floors.”

“I know that...”

Tenmei Ryo wasn’t on the level of the 5 Heroes, but he was still regarded as a great Player. He was also the same person who had achieved something great by heightening the name of the Tenmei Clan and their Guild.

“Decades ago, I witnessed the deaths of countless Players with such integrity. And then I realized something…” His face had an air of superiority, like a sage that had reached enlightenment. “I realized, ‘Ah, a Player’s integrity is worth less than dirt’.”

“What nonsense is that?”

“Think about it. It has been decades since then, but do the people still remember any Players from back then aside from the 5 Heroes? No! Those who had thrown their lives away like useless pieces of straw for the sake of the people and this world have already been forgotten!” he bellowed.

Tenmei Ryo then cleared his throat. “So stop playing pretend and accept reality.”

“...”

Wei Chun-Hak gave the elderly warrior a deadly glare. “I respected you greatly, Tenmei Ryo. But now, I’ll consider you dead.”

“

Heh,

you’re not even speaking formally to me. See, all you Chinese bastards are uncouth…” Tenmei Ryo shook his head. “Do as you wish. Let us depart.”

Just as Tenmei Ryo took a step, the members of Celestial Dragon blocked his path and gave off a nefarious aura.

“You’re actually going to do this?”

“Let me go...”

Wei Chun-Hak looked at him like he was a disgusting insect. “There is nothing more dangerous on a battlefield than an ally you cannot trust.”

“You’re smart. Then, good luck.” Tenmei Ryo smirked.

Just as he brushed past Wei Chun-Hak, the latter spoke in a hushed voice. “You’re not taking your younger sister? Tenmei Mio?”

“She’ll survive on her own and come back, I suppose. Even if she doesn’t want to, it doesn’t matter since she never wanted to come back.” Tenmei Ryo clicked his tongue and led the members of Sky Soul away to return back to Earth.

Wei Chun-Hak stared at their backs and put a cigar between his teeth and lit it.

“How shitty…”

Even if they survived this battle, he felt like he would have a lot to do afterward.

***

“I’ll be on my way now. I think my members will be worried!” Gong Ju-Ha exclaimed.

“Be careful.”

Gong Ju-Ha paused just as she was about to leave the roof. “...You should be the one who should be careful. Don’t get hurt trying to save someone again.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Gong Ju-Ha laughed lightly, then rushed off the roof. A moment later, five familiar auras came up.

“Jun-Ho!”

His friends and Cha Si-Eun opened the door to the roof and stepped forward. They looked at him without saying anything.

Seo Jun-Ho slowly opened his mouth. “Gilberto, be on standby with the Watchguards. Skaya, did you prepare what I asked you for?”

“The big wide-area spell, you mean? We can use it whenever we want.”

“Good job. Miss Si-Eun, please protect the people at the city walls. As for Rahmadat and Mio, you two…”

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes looked past the city walls and fixed on the World Tree. “You’ll go there with me.”

***

Bang…! Baaaang…!?

Erebo moved forward on four limbs. There was no longer any part of him that resembled an insect.

“Wow, he

?really

is enormous. I bet it’ll make a booming sound if we hit him,” Rahmadat commented.

“He is big and powerful…” Mio pointed out.

Perhaps it was because he was carrying the World Tree on his back, but Erebo was covered in an exoskeleton that looked as sturdy as a tree’s bark. It made one think of the Korean mythical creature, the aspidochelone, which apparently carried a mountain on its back.

Baaang…!?

Every time Erebo took a step, the ground would vibrate and shake. At the same time, he also gave off an overwhelming energy that shook them to the core. The Players on top of the city walls gulped.

“

Um…

”

“Dammit, how are we supposed to kill something like that?”

“Now that we see it up close, I’m sure of it. We can’t defeat it with our Guild’s power.”

“It’s too bad, but we need to think of our futures.”

The first ones to make the decision to leave were the Guild Masters. Their decision carried the lives of countless Guild members, and they chose their safety over this conquest.

“The Sentinel Guild will give up on the Erebo conquest. We will return to Earth.”

“The Sichuan Guild shall retreat...”

One by one, the Players tapped on their hologram windows. In an instant, they became pillars of light and surged into the sky.

Rahmadat clicked his tongue as he watched. “

Tch,

they have no integrity. They’re just going back.”

“I cannot blame them. Our enemy is that powerful,” Mio said tersely. She looked around.

Naturally, the parties started to leave after the Guilds.

“Alright, let’s do this thing. When I say heave, you say ho! Heave!”

“Forget it; I don’t think we’ll make it out alive…”

“Still, the 5 Heroes are here, and we have three of the Big 6 and four whole Heavens. Don’t you think it’s worth a try?”

“Actually, Sky Soul went down earlier at the plaza.”

“What? Shit. I’ll give them a piece of my mind.”

Shoop!?

Just as one of their party members turned into a pillar of light and disappeared, the remaining members blinked.

“

Um,

excuse me… Simon? Did your friend just leave?”

“Man, that little bastard. Don’t worry. I’ll bring him right back.”

“Those little shits ran away!”

A crowd of hundreds—no, thousands of pillars of light flew from the ground to the sky. Seo Jun-Ho felt bitter as he watched.

‘Is this payback?’?

Winning before the battle even started. Erebo was giving him a taste of his own medicine using the same method Seo Jun-Ho had used back in the cockroach cave.

“They’re so bulky on the outside, but their hearts are tiny…” he muttered.

“Do you have a plan?” the Frost Queen asked, frowning.

“For now, I’m gonna leave the cockroach army to the Players over here.”

“And?”

“And then, the four of us will stop Erebo. That’s my plan.”

There was a reason Seo Jun-Ho was planning to follow such a reckless strategy.

‘There are four major energies that caught my attention.’?

One was pure. It was likely the remnants of the World Tree, which Erebo had yet to fully absorb.

‘And the other one is most definitely Erebo…’?

The remaining two weren’t as great as the first two, but they couldn’t be ignored.

“They’re probably special entities.”

“Those energies are definitely strong,” Mio said.

“

Hm.

The moment they enter the battlefield, most Players will die without being able to lift a finger,” Rahmadat said.

If the Players’ morale fell even further, the number of deserters would increase exponentially. If that happened, they truly wouldn’t be able to do anything but wait for their defeat.

“But don’t worry too much. We have a secret weapon, too,” Seo Jun-Ho said.

“A secret weapon?” the Frost Queen asked.

“We have one?” Rahmadat added.

“This is the first time I’m hearing of this.” Mio pointed out.

Of course, the Frost Quen had no idea about it, but neither did Rahmadat nor Mio.

Seo Jun-Ho didn’t drag it out any longer. “Our shut-in Archmage worked very hard.”

Shwaaa!?

The dark night sky shone red, illuminated by a giant hexagram. It was a huge magic circle, and Skaya had been working on it nonstop ever since she stepped into the city.

“

Hah,?

that nerd was always napping every time I saw her. When did she have the time to make something like this?”

“Mages are always like that.”

The magic circle had been storing giant boulders in the sky ahead of time, and they started falling on their targets. They accelerated as they fell and rained down mercilessly on the cockroach army and even Erebo.

-

Guooooo!

Erebo’s enormous body tipped slightly, and he let out a lion’s roar.

Fwooosh!?

A powerful gale sped across the battlefield, grazing everyone.

“...!”

Seo Jun-Ho squinted his eyes against the intense wind. He had discovered something.

“They’re coming.”

Two humanoid special entities, one black and one white, were flying toward them at breakneck speeds.

1. Chun-Hak was speaking to him in the highest form of speech, most likely because he looked up to Ryo and because the latter is significantly older. But now he’s speaking in his normal manner, as he does with SJH and co.

2. A giant turtle whose back resembles an island’s. There are several different versions of this from different myths and cultures, and the Korean version has a mountain range on its back.

3. This phrase doesn’t have an exact equivalent, but it’s used in any kind of physical challenge, not just labor, that requires a lot of effort in order to lift spirits.