The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 204
204fury.
===========================
Lee Hyun-wook and Agaidika were standing face to face..
The two clashed only once, lasting only a few tens of seconds, but that alone devastated an entire area of about 100 meters..
And as the atmosphere intensified to the point where talks could no longer proceed, the situation was about to unfold as if troops from both sides would rush in at any moment and a full-on battle would break out.…….
Whoo-do-do-do——
The overheated heat cooled down as rain suddenly poured down, a rain full of divine power..
purr?
The ancient red dragons covered in it looked up at the sky with blank expressions instead of glaring..
“Uh, this is……."
“I feel like my head is clearer!”
In other words, the latent spell in my head was released..
“……If you do this, you won't die from your head exploding if you protest against those bastards.?”
"then… … Is this a chance to run away??”
"Maybe it's a chance to fight again.”
A strange current began to flow between them..
Although they were all of the same race, some were captured by the Demon King, while others resisted until the end and were shackled by the 'latent spell'..
Grrr—
Until just a month ago, although they were from different villages, they had shared joys and sorrows as one race, but now they were divided into two factions and the emotional rift had deepened..
But sparks didn't fly right away. They were all receiving orders from different entities..
Agaidica and Chahalis.
They were both at the front, so I had no choice but to wait for their orders to come..
"……But what are those two doing??”
Meanwhile, the confrontation between Lee Hyun-wook and Agaidica was stopped, and the two put down their weapons and started talking at a fairly close distance..
Then the battlefield fell into complete silence..
All eyes were on just those two..
Whoa whoa—
After the story was over, Agaidika turned his head and looked at his men waiting at the rear. His eyebrows moved a few times as if he saw something in his eyes..
“……Really, everything has been lifted. I never imagined this was possible.”
The voice was somewhat angry. In other words, it seemed that the hostility toward Lee Hyun-wook had been eliminated to some extent. Lee Hyun-wook took a step closer and asked in a more subdued voice..
"So, are you trying to obey the devil forever? I don't think you're that type of person..”
“……I thought that if I waited, the day would come when I could kill him. Even if it lasts a few decades or even hundreds of years.”
"Ah, then I saved you time.?”
Lee Hyun-wook took a step closer. He came within range of Agaidica's fist with his bare hands. This expressed not only the intention to fight but also a certain degree of trust..
Then, except for Agaidica, the other three Ancient Red Drakes glared at him with wary expressions..
Lee Hyun-wook watched Hugin and Munin's movements closely. because…….
- Chahalis, Eastern Ruler of the Red Volcano (LV)：193)
* The devil's descendants
- Eastern Centurion of the Red Volcano (LV)：181)
* The devil's descendants
- Eastern Centurion of the Red Volcano (LV)：181)
* The devil's descendants
It was because all three were members of the Demon King’s family..
'Chahalis is a boss monster. The other three are elite monsters. After all, it is not an easy opponent..’
Still, they seemed unable to move forward hastily, perhaps because they were aware of Agaidica, the guardian of the red volcano, who was overwhelmingly stronger than them..
"……But can you say that you are different from the devil??”
Suddenly Agaidica asked:.
Lee Hyun-wook looked puzzled..
"Do you call that a question? I know why I came here—”
"That guy was the same type as you. AKA Player Raj.”
Only then did Lee Hyun-wook understand what he was saying..
“You players, we have been living quietly inside this red volcano... … Didn't they attack you persistently even though you didn't have any grudges??”
"......."
"We have always been on guard against your invasion, whether we are asleep or on the hunt..”
From the perspective of the Ancient Red Drakes, all players seemed to be the same invaders..
"We did not take this land by force as you claim. You know that too. When we came, you were not there, only volcanic fields and wastelands. We pioneered land from nothing and built a house..”
At this point, humanity can't help but feel unfair in many ways. Strictly speaking, California was completely taken away and they were just trying to get it back..
However, the Ancient Red Drakes claimed that since they appeared after erosion, they migrated to unclaimed land..
‘This is not a matter for debate here..’
In order to figure that out, I had to fundamentally know what this game was and what its purpose was..
Who and why are you turning the Earth into such a mess, sending these unidentifiable monsters to make humanity fight a game?.
But that wasn't a problem that could be solved by thinking about it now. If he followed the 'main quest' given to Lee Hyun-wook, he might be able to reach the truth.…….
“……First of all, we all have to kill the demon lord, but then we can think about the next thing, right??”
There was something called priority.
"If we cannot kill the devil, we will perish. I don't know if you will perish or not, but you will be miserable slaves.."
"......."
"And anyway, you have no choice. That's why I told you to seize this opportunity. Then think slowly.”
Lee Hyun-wook slowly turned his head and looked at Chahalis..
Looking at its mouth moving, it seemed like it was talking through distant eyes and magic..
'Probably the devil.’
The Demon King is probably ignoring the current situation, and if he knows that his bid for time has been in vain, he will come up with another plan... … He couldn't be wasting time.
Jeopuk—
Hyunwook Lee took a step closer to Chahalis. Then the guy frowned and took a step back..
Then, the remaining two elite monsters named 'Red Volcanic Eastern Centurion Commander', who were standing as if guarding him, stepped forward..
Seeing as they all had the modifier ‘Eastern’, they seemed to be blood relatives..
As Lee Hyun-wook approached them, he stretched out his hand behind his back, and the huge sword, Moglei, which had been planted on the ground, flew out and landed in his hand..
chin—!
The large sword glowed menacingly in the sunlight..
"Don't think too complicated. Let’s start by solving what we can solve now..”
Lee Hyun-wook raised his moglai and passed by Agaidica..
Despite his clear intention to kill Chahalis, Agaidika took no action..
In other words, he completely agreed with Lee Hyun-wook’s opinion..
"and… … I'll show you good faith and take out a few of your sore teeth, so let's do it..”
Even if they were traitors to their race, Guardian Agaidica might be reluctant to kill his own people en masse due to his sense of duty, so Lee Hyun-wook planned to deal with them on his behalf..
Then Chahalis was frightened and shouted..
“—Hey there, Guardian! Shouldn't you protect me and all of our people? huh?”
But Agaidika was silent..
He let out a long sigh and glared at Chahalis with an angry expression..
Then, even though he was startled, he unconsciously stretched out his hand to Agaidica and released mana..
yes—
It seems that he was given the authority to use 'latent magic' and was using it to control Agaidica... … Of course nothing happened.
“You really can't understand the situation. Or is it a struggle??”
Lee Hyun-wook said with a grin..
"this person—!”
Chahalisui put his hands together and created a magic circle, and powerful flames spewed out from within..
pop——!
However, Lee Hyun-wook swung the mogley and easily extinguished the flame..
"If it's not that guy... … In the first place, you are no match for me.”
Lee Hyun-wook said, pointing to Agaidica with a nod..
As the guardian of the red volcano, that guy was stronger than most dragons here in the red volcano, so even Lee Hyun-wook couldn't easily defeat him..
However, if it was an ordinary Ancient Red Drake, there was nothing that Lee Hyun-wook couldn't beat, no matter how much it was a boss monster..
no. could win them all.
He has become so strong that he has no rival, not just in this timeline, but even in the world eight years from now.…….
Jeopuk- Jeobok—
They cowered and took a step back even as Lee Hyun-wook, who was much smaller than them, approached..
They could feel it too.
The scale of class that Lee Hyun-wook exudes.
"Stop this— this— that bastard.!”
At Chahalis' shout, the two centurions turned into their drake form and rushed towards him..
Meanwhile, Chahalis put his hands together as if trying to perform a 'short-distance teleportation spell'..
"How dare humans!”
"—Die, you barbaric life!!”
Lee Hyun-wook swung his moglai with all his might at the two men who were running towards him. Although it cut into the air, 'Space Cutter' was activated and an invisible mana blade was fired..
Well, here we go, here we go——!
The space around the waist of the two men was distorted, and with a thud, the scales broke and blood burst out..
“Kak!”
"Pfft!”
As expected, since the level was quite high, even if hit directly by the space cutter, he did not die instantly..
However, the damage seemed to be quite severe, so he stumbled backwards and began to inflate his body..
If you return to your original form, your recovery speed will be faster, so I planned to prioritize defense..
But Lee Hyun-wook was already making the next move..
Sigh - Sigh—
Two silver arrows moved in an arc and hit both guys' left eyes at the same time..
They were only wary of Lee Hyun-wook, so they couldn't respond to the attack coming from outside their field of vision..
Wow—
They instinctively twisted their bodies due to the pain and the loss of one side of their vision, and at that moment, Lee Hyun-wook kicked the floor and rushed to their bedside, swinging his moghlay..
P—billion——! 100 million——!
It is a sword that weighs a whopping 100 tons..
No matter how ancient the Red Drake was, his flesh had no choice but to fall off in chunks and his bones would break off like tree branches..
One guy stepped back, clutching the nape of his neck, where blood was pouring out like a waterfall, and the other guy had one of his arms torn off from the wings and was tattered..
In fact, it was a retirement.
"Wow——”
“Kak, buy, save......."
Meanwhile, Chahalis threw the two guys as bait and completed a short-distance teleportation..
And just as I was about to move—
puck—!
A spear was thrown into the guy's shoulder, and the spell got tangled up..
"Pfft!”
It was a dragon spear thrown by Edward Woods..
"stand there.”
Before I knew it, Edward Woods was approaching close by..
"Pfft! This—this—young guy…… ”
He took out another dragon spear and took a javelin throwing stance..
However, Chahalis succeeded in forcing a short-distance teleportation spell, and his appearance disappeared before my eyes........
yes.......
"Oh my god!”
Perhaps because he was hit by a javelin and his spell was disturbed, he reappeared only about ten meters away..
Still, I tried magic again and tried my best to somehow escape from this place..
but…….
Qua—ang——!
I couldn't find the Mowglai that fell like a thunderbolt from above my head, and I was crushed to smithereens..
It was such a bland battle, no, it was an overwhelming hunt..
"......."
Meanwhile, the thousands of Ancient Red Drake troops who were watching the scene seemed unable to do either one thing or another..
They seemed to have forgotten how to move, just wandering around in place, unable to make any decisions. Some even made cries mixed with anxiety..
This is a phenomenon called 'command collapse' that appears in groups of monsters, and when the leader monster is eliminated, it temporarily falls into a debuff state..
Not only that, but there are also those who are confused because they do not know which side to be on..
However, as if providing the correct answer, Agaidica stood next to Lee Hyun-wook..
It would have been difficult for the Ancient Red Drakes in the rear to understand the situation since they had no way of knowing what conversations were taking place here, but this one scene would have explained it..
A new alliance was formed.
Then a commotion broke out among the Drakes..
Some Drakes, probably Drakes following the Demon Lord, had started to run away..
There were also Drakes trying to catch it..
However, the overwhelming majority seemed to have decided to follow the guardian of the red volcano and remained in their seats, making loud cries..
That's it——
It was a scene that humans could hardly understand, but it seemed like they were cheering or chanting Agaidika..
At that time, Lee Hyun-wook asked Agaidica..
"Agaidica. Do you know where the Demon King's Castle is??”
“……Know.”
"Guide me there. Go and kill the devil.”
But Agaidika reacted skeptically..
"Even if we help, you cannot do it alone. It's true that your attack put pressure on the devil, but that doesn't mean your sword can penetrate his heart..”
Lee Hyun-wook nodded..
"This is not all, no need to worry.”
He raised his head and looked up at the sky.
"We are just the advance guard, now the main force will come..”
***
There were people watching the scene at that time.…….
"......It's crazy, but if those red lizards went out in droves, didn't you think they would last for a few hours? Gordon said he would.?”
A large man holding a sledgehammer said.
He was standing in a cave-like room, looking down at the window..
This is a watchtower facility for ancient red dragons located on a cliff on a peak of the Red Mountains, overlooking the wilderness where the commotion just unfolded..
At that time, a woman holding a very long cane approached behind him..
The wand was unusual in that it had a very small fairy 'fairy' stuffed into the head..
At first glance, it looks like a simple sculpture, but if you look closely, it really is a dried out fairy corpse... … I knew it was a mummy..
She also looked out the window and quenched her appetite..
"Instead of holding on, it looks like it's sticking to that side? Isn’t this completely fucked up? It's like an entire corps was taken over..”
"yes. I seem to have forgotten how long it's been since those lizard bastards were beaten..”
"Hmm, His Majesty the Demon King must have judged that way too… … Did you get hit by Steele Lane again this time? Ha, shit, I have no idea how this works. You won't really lose if you keep doing this.?”
“Ugh, Rachel, do you really regret choosing to follow the devil??”
"Oh no, that can't be possible..”
She was startled by the big man’s question and shook her head. If you mess with her mouth... … She could have been reduced to just an undead. There have been several cases like that so far..
The woman called Rachel spoke again..
"I have this power... … Clearly, the power of being a vassal of the Demon King is too satisfying. How can you doubt the devil when you have been given this kind of power??”
These were players who responded to the ‘Demon King’s invitation’ and came under the Devil’s command..
Of course, the vast majority of people who received the devil's invitation naturally ignored it, but there were also those who did not. For example, devil worshipers or red players... … It was these people.
"Ugh—right? Where on earth can you get this level of skill increase? Is that all? I never thought I would have monsters as subordinates in my life..”
As the large man spoke like that, an orc approached him and poured a drink into the empty glass that was on the table..
"I really feel like a noble..”
As such, not only did they gain a tremendous increase in their abilities by becoming 'vassals of the devil', but some also received the power to control monsters..
But then— a blue magic circle was drawn in the center of the room..
yes—
"Ah, it looks like Gordon is finally here..”
Then, the players scattered here and there, the so-called ‘vassals’ of the Demon King, began to gather one by one..
“Is this another new operation??”
“I'm sure they won't let us out this time.?”
“Before that, there were titans and black orcs. I'll write them first.”
Soon, a figure appeared above the magic circle..
A tall man. He was a handsome white man with pomaded hair and a suit..
"gordon.”
Gordon Price, head of the world's largest businessman.
If it were known that he was supporting the devil, the world would be turned upside down..
Not only was he rich, but he also had a high reputation in the player community..
He slowly walked out of the magic circle..
He then approached the large man, took the glass he was holding, and took a sip rather roughly..
"I… … Gordon, isn’t it about to be completed? The devil's castle.”
The large man asked so cautiously that his physique made him feel awkward..
They were only waiting for the completion of the Demon King's Castle..
When it was completed, the power of not only the Demon King but also all beings who followed the Demon King was scheduled to increase significantly..
Even if that were not the case, the Demon King's legion, which was an enormous force, would be strengthened several times, so it would no longer be able to hide and be chased by Steelaine, but set out to conquer the whole world..
That moment is just around the corner.
However, Steele Lane came and knocked loudly on the door, creating a sense of crisis, so he sent out the Ancient Red Drake Corps and the Guardian of the Red Volcano... … Rather, Steele Lane’s power has been strengthened..
In many ways, the atmosphere was not good..
Gordon Price looked out the window and opened his mouth..
"There isn't much left. Only 7 hours left until completion.”
“……You can handle that much, right??”
The big man asked and Gordon Price shook his head..
"Max. Holding on isn't important.”
"huh?"
“Even if the Demon King's Castle is completed, it is of no use if there are no troops that can receive its power. The devil wants to preserve his troops. That is the reason why I have traveled all over the world and subjugated monsters. therefore……."
He slightly lowered his head and looked out the window at a side of the mountain..
coo coo coo coo coo coo coo——
A large hole was created there..
And something, a lot of something, started crawling out of the hole..
It was like a reaction to touching an anthill..
“……The undead army that can be revived even if it dies has decided to go out, so from now on you will guard the devil's side..”
A legion of necromancers had marched out..
Then a murmur spread throughout the room..
Because this was very unexpected.
Rachel took a step closer and expressed her doubts..
“uh… … But wasn't it difficult to take out the undead army right now? that… … I think I heard that when the saint, him, and Laputa riding the divine beast appear, their power will be greatly weakened. So he said he would hide it for now. for a room later.”
Gordon Price nodded at this..
"Yes, it will definitely be a loss, but since the undead army can be restored even while the war is going on, the Demon King decided that it would be okay to expend it to some extent..”
Gordon Price knew well the formula for the power of the ‘Necromancer’. Because it was something he raised..
“And above all……."
He looked up and saw a plume of black smoke rising near another peak..
Everyone's eyes focused on that phenomenon..
And soon, exclamation burst out..
"oh.......”
"That, no way……."
Hung——
Through the black smoke, the wings of the veil emerged..
A being so large that it makes the great mountain range called Red Volcano look like a mere hill... … It was the ‘Bone Dragon’.
That's as many as 4... … The sight that followed, with flying undead such as wyverns pouring out and decorating the sky, was the scene of hell that everyone had imagined at least once..
Gordon Price looked at the scene and slowly smiled..
I felt like the unpleasant feelings from before were suddenly washed away..
"If you're an undead of that level, you'll be able to demonstrate great power even with a little bit of divine power..”
That wasn't all.
coo coo coo coo coo coo coo.......
One side of another mountain collapsed, and dust began to rise from there. It was a scene like a herd of buffalo running..
They were all red-ossified ‘Red Drake Skeletons’..
From these three points, an overwhelming number of undead armies began to pour out..
Gordon Price looked down at the scene and smiled bitterly..
"Looking at it again, I wonder if that makes sense..”
When he was training a necromancer, how much effort did he put into making just one of those things??
A temple of death was built in the Central African Republic, and a huge amount of sacrifices were made to create just one animal..
And its power was truly so great that, during a clash with Steelaine, it tore the Ancient Iron Golem to pieces..
But there are hundreds of them..
"And that's not all. I also prepared something.”
He said that and raised his head and looked up at the sky..
From a ridge, something that looked like a rocket was soaring high into the sky, with white smoke hanging from its tail..
"Uh, what is that??”
“……This is the ‘Mana Reverse Grenade’ developed by our company..”
"Mana Reverse Grenade?”
"It is a type of EMP that temporarily destroys the mana circuit. This means that its satellite weapons will be out of action for a few minutes as it hovers in low-Earth orbit, and there's no need to worry about dropping Mowgli..”
Then, exclamations of ‘Oh—’ erupted from everywhere..
The most difficult thing to deal with when dealing with Steelaine was the Mowglai, which had a lot of gravity..
Soon a light flashed in the distant sky..
The mana grenade exploded..
It wasn't visible from here, but it would have paralyzed the 'warbox' floating in low orbit..
Not only that, it was fired over the players' camp and completely paralyzed the airships..
Among them, there must have been 'Gaussham', which sent Leviathan in one blow, blocking all of Steelerain's powerful blows..
“We haven't just been watching him run amok. When he was gathering materials from all over the world to make weapons, I was making weapons using my own money..”
Gordon Price slowly lifted his glass and drained all the remaining liquor..
Now, it was time to watch the victory achieved through collaboration between the Demon King and himself..
Hung— Hung—
Suddenly, an army of flying undead, including the Bone Dragon, slowly lowered its altitude and prepared to attack the players and the Ancient Red Drake..
It looked like a squadron of dive bombers from World War II..
Of course, the fact that Lee Hyun-wook was handling the ‘holy sword’ still bothered me. If you apply that to Moglai, you will be able to retire even the main dragon..
‘But it takes a long time for that to happen.’
No matter how big Mogley was, he was only an overachiever in front of the Bone Dragon, so it would not be easy to demonstrate his power—there would not be a picture of the Bone Dragon collapsing in one hit..
‘You'll have to hit it at least fifteen times..’
And all the devil needs is time..
'Grab it hard once. The moment the Demon King's Castle is completed, it will eventually be revived........'
at that time—
"uh! Wide hall opened!”
A circular white ring formed above the player's camp..
“……Is it true that Laputa is coming??”
"Wow, bad timing..”
They also knew about the existence of Laputa, who implanted the sacred tree..
Of course, it appeared when the undead army departed..
At that time, Gordon Fry shook his head as if to reassure him..
“However, even if the concentration of divine power in the area increases, it will not be easy to catch the Bone Dragon. Because we assumed that much and sent out the undead army..”
However, what came out of Wight Hall was something completely different..
that.......
“……Uh, it's a dragon.?”
Yes.
A white dragon came out through the portal and flew vertically. After that, airship fleets came out in droves..
But the dragon's appearance was very strange..
Geeeeeeee——
Isn't there all kinds of mechanical devices attached to the whole body??
Then it opened its mouth, white breath erupted, and struck one of the bone dragons..
Quagwagwagwagwa——!
That breath was a bundle of divine power itself, and no matter how powerful the Bone Dragon was, it could not withstand it and melted..
Since it was the wing of the film that melted first, it lost lift and plummeted—eventually falling to the ground..
bang——!
One bone dragon retired in the blink of an eye..
And then—
To—kwa—kwa—kwa——
With a loud sound, missiles poured out from the mechanical dragon's entire body. At the same time, dozens of beams of light were shot out with a gong sound..
My whole body was a weapon.
That too is a divine power weapon.
The offensive covered the sky..
Within seconds of the first Bone Dragon crashing, flying undead began dropping like moths to fire..
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