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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 171: Hexen's Tomb
I'm certain.
Even without examining it closely, my body is reacting instinctively at this very moment. The memory, vividly imprinted in my mind as if branded there, is unmistakable. Observing my expression, Zion's lips curled into a smile.
"I have a feeling something interesting is about to happen. Could it be what we're thinking?"
When I nodded in affirmation, my subordinates erupted in simultaneous exclamations.
"Finally, we get to see a monster or something like that!"
One was laughing, another was excited, one seemed frightened, another appeared indifferent, and yet another looked hungry.
Their expressions were diverse, but their eyes held a similar gleam.
"Let's go in."
Swoosh—
As we entered the demon realm, the familiar sight of a dark cavity at the entrance greeted us.
Three diverging paths extended from this cavity.
While I was assessing the demonic energy, the other groups had already made their way inside.
Some were still gathered in the cavity, while others seemed to have already ventured into the branching paths.
A quick glance gave me a rough estimate of the situation.
Confident clans had entered alone, while the rest, seemingly evenly matched, planned to move together in groups.
"Have you arrived?"
Chano, the leader of the Life Mercenary Group, who was mingling with other mercenary groups, approached us.
"We're planning to move together. What are your intentions?"
"We'll go separately."
At that moment, a man I hadn't seen before, standing amidst a group of mercenaries, shouted in our direction.
"It would be wise for the Crazy Mage Squad to join us!"
"We're fine."
"You never know what variables might arise. Traveling together could be mutually beneficial. For your information, the contribution points for Heaven-rank monsters are insane. Even if we cooperate to take down just one, the allocated contribution points will be substantial."
Zion responded on my behalf.
"Are you hard of hearing?"
As soon as the man's grumbling reached our ears, Chano shouted.
"Enough, Fulham. That's a shameless request."
Chano looked at me again, as if in understanding.
"I had a feeling you'd say that. With your skills, you're certainly capable of it. Even based on contribution points alone, everyone remaining here is in the 10,000 to 20,000 range."
While I was surveying the diverging paths, Chano's nosiness kicked in.
"The Parmaus Clan has taken the left path, the Yellow Magic Tower and the Sansul Mercenary Corps are in the middle, and the Dior Clan and the mages from the Red Magic Tower have entered the right path. We plan to slowly enter the left path with our vanguard first. If there are any monsters left behind by the Parmaus Clan, our vanguard will assess them first, and if they seem manageable, we'll join forces to take them down."
"...."
"Personally, even if you don't join us, I recommend the left path. This Level 1 demon realm is 'Hexen's Tomb.' I heard from El... Where are you going? Listen to what I have to say!"
***
As soon as we entered the right path, a repulsive stench washed over us.
I lit a fire in the pitch-black darkness. A slimy green fluid was smeared across the walls, enclosing us on both sides.
My subordinates grimaced simultaneously.
"What is that smell?"
"It's the stench of orcs."
I knew a lot about high-level demon realms.
Most of the reports Kant had given me were dedicated to them.
So far, five main types of Level 1 demon realms have been discovered.
The one that has appeared now is one of them.
'Hexen's Tomb.'
This type of demon realm was named after the knight 'Hexen' who killed the demi-human monster possessing a core when this form of demon realm was first discovered.
"So, demi-human monsters will appear then?"
It seems Zion has also done some research in Keplan. I replied to him,
"There's a high probability it will be orcs."
Among the demi-human monsters, only orcs have green bodily fluids and a disgusting fleshy smell.
As we proceeded with the fire lit, the stench gradually intensified.
Arin, covering her nose, remarked,
"I don't think ordinary orcs will appear."
Zion responded,
"Maybe those Orc Warriors will show up."
I shook my head and replied,
"Something even stronger than that will appear."
Ordinary orcs don't even qualify as high-ranking monsters, but it's a different story when it comes to the warrior class.
Orc Warrior is a low-ranking monster.
Orc Great Warrior is a Heaven-rank monster.
Since it's a Level 1 demon realm, at the very least, Heaven-rank monsters will appear.
"I'm starting to get a sense of them."
The disgusting bodily fluids were gradually mixed with a faint smell of blood.
Simultaneously, the sound of weapons clashing came from ahead.
Flash—
Exchanging glances with my sharp subordinates, we immediately kicked off the ground.
A horde of green monsters came into view.
Two men with swords were struggling to fend off the orc horde's attacks.
Among them, one orc, wielding an axe in each hand, dripping with blood, was particularly large.
He was a head taller than Makan.
"It's an Orc Warrior."
Crackle—
As soon as an ordinary orc, directly hit by Arin's released electric current, collapsed with a thud, the horde, led by the Orc Warrior, turned to look at us.
"Growl!"
At the same time, with a Thud—, Makan leaped.
With a single stride, Makan reached the Orc Warrior and thrust his spear.
The moment the Orc Warrior crossed his axes to defend,
Makan's arm swelled as if it were about to burst with surging mana.
Clang—! Thud—!
The Orc Warrior was pierced, along with his axes.
Makan's spear thrust had penetrated both the Orc Warrior's axes and his head at once. As if that wasn't enough, the spearhead, still overflowing with power, was vibrating with a Brrr—.
Instant death.
This was achieved without even him opening his mana circle, solely relying on his physical strength utilizing his mana core.
'This guy is growing like a monster.'
While the orcs, having lost their leader, were in disarray,
They were swept away in an instant, unable to offer any resistance to the magic unleashed by my subordinates.
"... What?"
The two men, who had been struggling with the fight, stared at each other in bewilderment at the sudden turn of events and finally let out a sigh of relief.
"...Phew."
Finally regaining their composure, the men looked towards us.
"Thank you. Are you the Crazy Mage Squad?"
Zion replied,
"That's right. Where are the others?"
"The Red Magic Tower and the Dior Clan passed by earlier. We were following behind them, but we were suddenly ambushed..."
"Where do you belong?"
"Ah, we don't have an affiliation."
From a rough observation, they seemed like those who follow behind, aiming to pick up scraps.
They were trying to increase their contribution points by being opportunistic.
"Tsk."
Zion, also noticing this fact, turned his attention away from the men.
We picked up our pace, leaving the men behind. As the slimy bodily fluids grew thicker in front of us, Zion muttered,
"Maybe we should have split up at the crossroads from the beginning. We could have just swept all three paths ourselves."
Zion suddenly looked at me.
"What do you think?"
"Excellent. Even now, you can go back and take another path."
"Damn it. So that's a no, huh."
It's not that I hadn't considered that.
However, there's no guarantee that only Heaven-rank monsters will appear.
Mutated species could emerge, or even a disaster-rank monster like the 'Orc King' could appear.
That's also the reason why I didn't divide the Crazy Mage Squad at the crossroads.
Two 5-star knights of vassal clan level are needed to handle a Heaven-rank monster.
Two 6-star knights of vassal clan level are needed to handle a disaster-level monster.
In my judgement, each member of the Crazy Mage Squad can handle Heaven-rank monsters without any problems on their own, but it would be dangerous if a disaster-rank monster were to appear.
Furthermore, now that we've discovered traces of demonic energy, another variable, like that weasel-like monster, could suddenly pop out.
"Hmm."
Since Zion seemed dissatisfied, I added a word.
"We're all going to meet anyway. Wait."
Hexen's Tomb.
The structure is simple.
The three diverging paths eventually lead to one place, the heart of the tomb.
Unless a variable appears, the monster with the demon realm's core will be there.
The right path I chose has many high-ranking monsters, but it's the shortest route to the heart of the tomb.
"Let's increase our speed."
I focused wind pressure on the tips of my toes and kicked off the ground.
Now, I barely feel like I'm touching the ground even when I kick off it.
It's like I'm subtly floating in the air.
My transcendent movement technique, grass serpent, has advanced to another level.
But with good things, bad things also come.
"This is strange."
Could it be that Kant deceived me?
Even after proceeding for a long time, there's no trace of the others.
"Captain. There's nothing here at all, is there?"
Zion is right.
According to Kant's report, high-ranking monsters appear on average in the right path.
If those who entered before us had encountered even a few Orc Warriors, we should have caught up with them by now.
"Stop for a moment."
I asked my subordinates,
"Anyone feeling anything strange?"
I asked just in case, but no one answered.
Helplessly, we continued in the same direction for a long time, but there was still no change.
'We've almost reached the center, and we haven't encountered a single monster so far?'
There's no way we wouldn't have caught up with them otherwise.
While I was feeling uneasy, I suddenly stared straight ahead.
Whoosh—
Sparks flew in the distance, and my vision flashed.
A moment later, a disgusting stench and the smell of blood, strong enough to numb my nose, surged in like a wave.
As if on cue, my subordinates and I ran forward simultaneously.
Thud—
At the end of the diverging path, the heart of the tomb appeared.
The mages of the Red Magic Tower and the knights of the Dior Clan were scattered about.
However, what really caught my eye was...
"Huh? What are you doing here?"
I haven't seen Arin's emotions so openly displayed recently.
Arin's eyes were wide as she stared at the two men.
Taylor, Blair, and Cliff next to them.
The three men, their faces pale, lay on the ground, gasping for breath.
Meanwhile, Blair looked at Arin and with difficulty, spoke.
"...Damn it, we've been had."
Why the three of them are here is a question for later.
I quickly assessed the situation.
The mages and knights were covered in blood.
Traces of explosions and 'barriers' breaking were evident.
I looked at Taylor, Blair, and Cliff in turn.
It seemed that the three of them had pushed their mana to the limit and deployed a barrier to protect the others.
"Captain."
"This is strange-nya."
"I don't see any monsters."
It was at that moment that Taylor, raising his head, glared at me. He strained to lift his finger, even in his exhausted state.
"Over there, you idiot!"
Taylor's finger pointed towards a spot.
An artificial crack ran squarely across the blocked wall.
I immediately opened all the circles of my heart and started an incantation as I ran.
Fwoosh—!
The crack was completely torn inward, revealing another space.
In the center of it, a giant orc was staring at me.
"A Great Warrior?"
A Heaven-rank monster.
An Orc Great Warrior.
"...."
I immediately sensed something was wrong.
The Great Warrior's heart was pierced, and only the whites of his eyes remained.
And a little further behind him.
"Hey."
"...."
"Who are you?"
A man who was slowly exiting from the other side stopped walking.
He slowly turned around to face me.
He was wearing a mask, so I couldn't recognize him.
It was the masked man I had seen before entering the barrier.
My heart pounded.
The demon realm's core was in the man's grasp.
The energy of the demon realm was clearly writhing within it.
"Let's talk, after you put that down."
At that moment, I decided to unmask any masked individuals I encounter in the future.
The masked man suddenly started running away in the opposite direction.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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