Episode 120 [War Ender – 3]
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F Grade There were about 200 players who were buried under that stigma and grew up late.
Among them, Lee Hyeon-wook, the great emperor of steel, used to be evaluated as the second strongest.
‘Of course, the first to be counted was Necromancer, the leader of the Corps of Death.’
He was much stronger than the S-rank players who had gone far ahead.
‘Even if the S-ranks teamed up and attacked like a raid, they couldn’t beat him…’
Many people had doubts about this.
How on earth can an F-grade player who grew up late be so strong?
Was he really an F grade player in the first place? Could it have been a lie?
‘Yes, there were quite a few questions like that.’
But there was no way to check. His true identity was shrouded in a veil until the very last moment. Not only did I know their name, gender, race, and nationality, but I couldn’t even recognize their face since they were wearing some type of mask.
‘In other words, it is actually unknown when he learned how to grow his abilities.’
Anyway, it was widely believed that he had awakened after the ‘Rediscovery of Class F’ incident… The fact that the Necromancer’s [area] was here was clear evidence that he had been active before then.
Lee Hyun-wook felt his head getting complicated.
‘Now that things are like this, we need to find evidence to track this guy down.’
He spread his ‘Fly Eye’ in all directions and investigated the inside of the [Temple of Death].
I looked at the strangely shaped murals on the walls on both sides and went deeper.
All of these structures were created using the Necromancer’s ‘Sphere (春域)’ skill.
‘Usually temples like this were used as a place to produce high-ranking undead, perhaps?’
The Necromancer was a player who could command more subordinates than anyone else. If there are corpses nearby, simply infusing them with mana will turn them into skeletons or zombies and make them absolutely obedient.
However, that was not the Necromancer’s main power, and no matter how many ordinary skeletons there were, they were easy prey in front of wide-area firepower like Lee Hyun-wook or Inferno.
‘But a powerful high-ranking undead made from the corpse of a boss monster… it was unstoppable.’
As those things pile up one by one, the Necromancer’s army becomes an unstoppable wave.
Soon, in the inner darkness of the temple, a lofty altar could be found.
It was a pyramid-like structure with a height of 3 meters and stairs in four directions.
And what was on top of it… was a huge bone.
“…those are Drake’s bones.”
The ‘Red Drake’ race, a very large monster that dominates the eroded terrain of California’s volcanic region.
They were the highest-ranking monsters, each of which was actually treated as a boss monster.
‘There is only one reason for something like that to be here.’
He must have been working on reinforcing that bone and recreating it into a high-ranking skeleton.
The exact name is unknown, but the Guardian called it ‘red bone painting.’
Upon closer inspection, I noticed that red engravings were engraved on every joint of the Red Drake’s bones.
‘It’s not finished yet. It seems like my attack stopped….’
What was needed to strengthen the bones like this was a living sacrifice, a living human being.
Sure enough, tanks filled with red liquid were lined up on both sides of the altar. It was like a huge fish market… But what was inside was not raw fish, but people.
“Damn it…”
At least a hundred civilians of all ages and genders are slowly dissolving in the magic solution.
Sacrifices of this magnitude could not be afforded in developed countries where social surveillance networks functioned properly.
‘In other words, it is an undead factory set up in a country where it is not strange for hundreds of people to go missing.’
They were doing this by deliberately approaching countries in civil war and supporting the Ndoz League.
“These bastards have been doing this crap for a long time…”
That wasn’t the only thing. Huge jars were placed on one side of the Temple of Death.
‘It is a container that collects the breath of the abyss, a by-product of the red ossification process.’
Breath of the Abyss was a type of gas weapon extracted from freshly dead bodies.
It strengthens the abilities of the undead and, conversely, acts as a poison to the living.
The necromancer first sprayed it on any battlefield and then deployed the undead army.
‘Still, if you had the same level of toxicity tolerance as me, you could probably endure it…’
There was no way most players would have something like that.
It was then.
Kugugugu——
The huge stone door on the wall behind him was opening.
Perhaps that was the normal way to enter this ‘temple of the dead’.
Then, about twenty black soldiers rushed in in perfect order.
Chuck— Chuck— Chuck— Chuck—
“There he is! Surround him!”
A large man wearing iron armor walked out from between them. The huge war hammer in his right hand caught my eye, and it was much longer than Mowglai’s, so it seemed to be well over 3 meters. ‘Lyon Noir, the second-in-command of the Ndoz Alliance and the central hangar here
. is the general manager of.’
In CAR, where there is no official player ranking, the man is actually ranked number one,
and the special forces unit he leads, the ‘Black Lions’, were the strongest player force in the land.
“Ha… I’m going crazy. I really think the famous Steele Lane is this. “Did you ever think it would come to land?”
He said that while facing Lee Hyun-wook. There was a very deep anger in his bloodshot eyes.
Well, Lee Hyun-wook turned the Ndoz Alliance’s all-achieved dream into ashes in an instant…
“Let me ask you one thing… What kind of ill will do you have towards us that made you do this?”
Lyon Noir asked as if he couldn’t understand.
Lee Hyun-wook didn’t answer. Instead, he asked a question.
“…Who created this space here?”
“what? “Why the fuck are you curious about that, huh?”
Lee Hyun-wook looked around the Temple of Death as if he was watching and spread his arms.
“Just looking at it, it’s strange and suspicious. I was wondering if it was your people’s cultural heritage.”
Then, Lyon Noir’s eyebrows began to twitch mercilessly.
“You’re so interested in this country that you suddenly showed up and gave it a shit, and now you’re thinking about leisurely sightseeing? Phew—I have no intention of talking to you anyway! “Everyone, deploy all the magic you have prepared!”
Lyon Noir seemed to think they could catch Lee Hyun-wook even after all the hardships they had suffered.
It wasn’t just vague vanity; he had clearly made some great preparations.
At that time, he raised his finger and pointed to the sinkhole in the ceiling that Lee Hyun-wook came through.
“—I’ll plug that hole first!”
At that moment, the three wizard players stretched their wands above their heads and cast some magic.
Then, piles of dirt piled up on the ground move on their own, clumping together like clay and filling the sinkhole.
Blah blah blah——
Soon the hole in the ceiling was blocked and sunlight was completely blocked.
Lee Hyun-wook activated the ‘Fly Eye’ night vision function scattered everywhere.
“…Ah, you’re going to cut off my weapons supply?”
If you do that, you will be able to subdue the main body of the Steel Emperor without much trouble,
and that is a fairly traditional method used by many of Lee Hyun-wook’s enemies.
‘It’s true that that method worked in my past life… but it’s different now.’
Lee Hyeon-wook put 30 Adamant Stars on them at the same time as hardening his entire body.
Sh-sh-sh-sh–!
“—Green Shield deployed!”
Lyon Noir’s cry echoed in the darkness, and at the same time, a tree vine sprang up from the floor.
The Adamant Star was stuck in the soft green barrier that was created, and
immediately after, small stems sprouted from the vine, trying to escape. Trapped the Damant Star.
“—Seal it once more!”
Then, other wizards fired freezing magic and froze the whole pile of vines.
It was to subdue all the Adamant Stars, the few weapons Lee Hyun-wook had brought inside.
‘Those guys are pretty good together, right?’
It was an unexpectedly systematic linked attack.
‘Still, it is a strategy team that is evaluated as the country’s greatest force.’
They must have been training day and night while receiving all-out support from the Ndoz Federation, so they could not let their guard down.
“Act now!”
Soon the tankers, who had been scattered in all directions, slowly came in, wearing night goggles.
The Black Lions charging in one after another, starting from the front left and right shields, boom——
!
The fire magic fired by the wizards in the back row exploded near Lee Hyun-wook.
Lee Hyun-wook stepped back and pulled down the ‘Black Rhino’ he was carrying on his back.
Clunk—
then the sound of a pump softly ringing in the quiet darkness… and soon a flash of light flashes.
Kwa—ang——!
“-100 million!”
The two top tanks bounced off and rolled noisily on the floor like empty cans.
“Damn that shotgun! Watch out everyone!”
It was already known that Lee Hyun-wook had a monstrous shotgun.
“There’s only one gun anyway! Ignore it and dig in and attack!”
Qua—ang——!
Fired again. But this time, the muzzle of the gun was pointed in a completely different direction.
Qua—ang——!
It was the same this time too. Lee Hyun-wook was shooting at the rear out of nowhere.
“What! “Where are you shooting that bastard!”
Cheeeee…
But from then on, I started to hear a sound like gas leaking from somewhere…
“—Kkeak!”
“Cough! “Cough!”
Soon violent coughing broke out here and there.
It was actually inhaling some kind of gas.
“What the fuck is this!”
“—It’s also poison gas! “He sprayed poison gas!”
Lee Hyeon-wook aimed for and broke the ‘Abyss Breath’ jar that was piled up on one side.
“You have prepared those expensive night vision goggles, but don’t you have a gas mask, the most basic of the basics?”
And there would be few players with ‘toxic resistance’ like Lee Hyun-wook.
“Ugh… my body has so much strength…”
“Ugh, I can’t use the skill!”
No matter how well-trained a player is, he cannot show off his skills if he is covered in a wide-area debuff.
Soon, the priests cast purification magic, but there was no way Lee Hyun-wook could have missed that huge gap.
Qua—ang——! Qua—ang——!
Lee Hyun-wook . He marched backwards towards the slinking guys and pulled the trigger one after another.
Meanwhile, the Palenote fired from his waist shot at the Priest. However,
only one person, Lyon Noir, seemed completely fine.
Everyone get out of the way! I will kill him. This is it!
Squeak! Squeak!
Lee Hyun-wook used Black Rhino’s ‘annihilation spray’ at the guy who was approaching in a straight line.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang-gwang!
At that moment, the guy covered his face with both arms and lowered his posture. He caught it with his body.
“Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssm-k”
he was pushed back about 5m, but that was all.
“Oh, you can’t believe he held on to that…”
Lee Hyun-wook couldn’t help but be honestly surprised. He was a much tougher guy than I thought.
It was probably level 70 or higher, and the armor he wore seemed to be made of Adamant alloy.
“No matter how strong you are, Steele, if you don’t have a weapon, you’re no match for me in close combat!”
“…….”
“I will kill you right here and show your corpse on the air so that my name will be known to the whole world!”
Lyon Noir approached with long strides and let out an angry voice.
Crumbling—crumbling—
and its body gradually expanded, finally becoming about 1.5 times larger.
That’s called ‘Giantization’, a key skill in the latter part of the Barbarian series that will control the creature for the next 5 minutes. Strength and defense would increase by about 3 times.
Boom—Thump—
Heavy steps as if a giant was approaching.
Lee Hyun-wook took a step back and widened the distance as much as possible.
“You’re a rat in a poison, Steele-—!”
With a wild roar, a huge battle hammer flies like lightning.
Kwa—ang——!
Hyunwook Lee rolled to the right and narrowly avoided the blow.
The floor he was standing on just a second ago had disappeared.
I had no idea that if I swung it a few times like that, the whole place would collapse.
“There is compatibility between these idiot players!”
Qua—ang——!
“If you fight against me in such a narrow place… you can’t do anything!”
Qua—ang——!
“You’re such a rat, you’re so scared that you just run away!”
Kwa—ang——!
Lee Hyun-wook was just dodging without any significant attack when he suddenly threw out a word.
“Do you think I’m dodging through that ceiling?”
“what?”
“…I’ve gone up enough, so now I’m coming down.”
At that moment—
kwa— ang——!
The ceiling collapsed again and a bright light burst in.
A 2-ton giant sword that had ascended into the sky and possessed potential energy broke through the ground.
Lyon Noir stepped back and avoided Mowgli.
But what was so good about it made him laugh and shout at his subordinates?
“That’s it, now! Block the ceiling again!”
Blah blah blah——!
Soon, the ceiling began to narrow once again. The wizard players who received the ‘Purification’ spell and overcame ‘Abyss Breath’ first used the ‘Petrification’ magic they had prepared in advance. “Ugh
… ….”
He smiled wryly and lifted the battle hammer with both hands.
“I expected it to fall from the sky and break through the ceiling. But what is that? Do you think you can beat me here just because you have one of those? I told you. “There is such a thing as compatibility.”
Hyunwook Lee wordlessly pulled out the moglai that was deeply buried on the floor.
“Yes, compatibility is definitely important…”
“Ugh—do you understand that now?”
“But are you sure that you have correctly identified the compatibility now?”
At that point, Lyon Noir tilted his head.
“What do you want to say now?”
“I’m just letting you know that you might be a little stupid.”
“This bastard is really speaking unluckily to the end?”
Lee Hyun-wook grabbed the Moglei, which was larger than his body, with both hands.
It was rare to use this weapon like a real sword.
‘Helios heat ray—’
Soon, the sword body became hot as if it had been quenched.
We—ing——!
Already . It was Lee Hyun-wook, who crossed swords with Kaito Okita, who was called a sword saint, on several occasions.
Compatibility was the key, but not the rule.
Some talents ignore compatibility.
And in a sword-to-sword fight, no matter how big the opponent was, nothing would change.
” …I guess this guy wants to leave a will with some plausible words. Prove it!”
Lyon Noir said that and rushed forward with his battle hammer in hand.
However, he could not witness the ‘proof’.
This is because his head was cut off along with the battle hammer in one blow.
