Chapter 209

“This is as far as we can go… The Heavenly Yuan is mine.”

It was time to defeat the Mangling Dragon and claim the last remaining Fire Point.

Ardenia had 361 landing points and nine fire points, resembling a Go board with its 19x19 grid structure. The Human Empire controlled about one-fifth of these points, having captured areas such as the eight fire points; dungeons that dropped materials needed for equipment crafting; those providing essential food supplies; and others conducive to training new soldiers or gaining experience due to easy hunting.

Naturally, the strongest adversary faced by the Human Empire was Legend Rank, necessitating my update of the Hellhub.

“A field boss! Field boss confirmed!”

“It’s the legendary field boss, the berserk Mad Basilisk Dehakan!”

Splash!

A massive creature materialized, drenching its surroundings with water. This field boss appeared twice in the Hellhub’s Underground Floor 1, at noon and 9 PM.

In Revenge, whenever the creature appeared, guilds would wage war against each other to claim it. But in Ardenia, there was obviously no need for such conflict. Instead of competing or hindering one another, the thousands of soldiers stood ready, armed with bows and spears, guarding the castle walls.

“Here it comes!”

Flash!

The Mad Basilisk Dehakan unleashed its petrifying beam.

Pop!

But a protective barrier intercepted the attack. This Mythical Rank barrier blocked all long-range attacks until the castle’s stored mana ran dry! Reinforced to the max with abundant funds, especially for the Hell Castle where the Level 999 barrier was enhanced, it was so sturdy that even I would take an hour to break through it.

Grrraaah!

Abandoning its long-range assaults, Dehakan let out a ferocious roar and charged towards the castle walls.

“My soldiers, stand ready!”

Hearing the commander’s shout, the soldiers charged forward with their giant sniper rifles.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

Krak-krak-krak-krak-kraaaang!

Thousands of bullets rained down on the oncoming dehakan. Though its skin was pierced by countless rounds and blood spurted with each impact, it ignored the pain and pressed ever closer.

“Archers, step forward!”

As the distance closed, a new command was given, and high-level archers drew their bows.

“Striking!”

“Holy Weapon!”

“Double Pain!”

Priests positioned behind the archers cast their buffs.

“Fire!”

The command triggered a volley of arrows. This salvo carried a power far beyond any previous firearm salutes they had experienced.

“Kreeeee?!”

The charging dehakan, startled, attempted to halt its charge, but more than half of the unleashed arrows had already found their mark. And this was only the beginning.

“Slow!”

“Breaking armor!”

“Confusion!”

“Darkness!”

While archers continued their relentless barrage, debuff casters unleashed their spells within range.

“Flame Strike!”

“Gust Strike!”

“Thunder Strike!”

Finally, attack mages pummeled the target with magical fireworks.

It was over.

“Clear!”

“Don’t lower your guard for an hour! The beast from the second underground floor might still show up!”

The battle had ended in a flash. Despite possessing significantly higher HP and special abilities compared to regular monsters of the same level, the field boss was hunted down before it could even reach the castle walls. The sheer scale of attacks from thousands of players was unimaginable, even for a legendary monster to withstand.

Of course, it could be easily resolved if they could breach the defenses in an instant and scatter thousands of enemies or bombard from a distance, but…

There’s a reason mythical-rank castle walls exist.

Long-range attacks were blocked, and spatial movement was prohibited. The castle walls were fifty meters high; avoiding the onslaught of attacks while climbing along the towering wall was no easy feat.

This only applies to creatures of legend rank.

“A field boss! Confirm a field boss!”

“It’s Mythical-Rank Field Boss Behemoth Krute!”

“Emergency! Emergency! A Mythical-Rank Field Boss has appeared!”

“Notify all units!”

Swish…

The huge hole in the ground momentarily lost its moisture. Already, an enormous creature was visible in the sky.

Thud.

The colossal body, which had been hovering in mid-air for some time, vanished in an instant.

Bwoooosh!

The air erupted with a deafening sound as the atmosphere itself seemed to thrash about.

“The protective barrier held.”

Despite facing a Mythical Rank opponent, the barrier was also of Mythical Rank. Of course, the barrier of a Mythical Rank castle wouldn’t prevent direct access by enemies… but Behemoth’s incredible speed caused it to be classified as a “Soil-type” creature.

Perhaps this is an error that only occurs in reality, rather than a game… Although, come to think of it, if this were a game, crossing the castle walls wouldn’t be possible at all. The standard procedure would be to destroy the gates, but no one even glanced at them.

[Arooooom!]

Behemoth landed with a thunderous roar, its ferocious yellow eyes fixed on the top of the Guild Tower.

It’s looking directly at me.

Well, it’s a Transcendent Rank creature. It must be aware that I’m the only suitable opponent within this palace.

How impudent!

But even a Transcendent Rank creature is no match for me. I can easily handle even the special bosses, much less a mere field boss. How could a pitiful level 20 creature dare to raise an eyebrow at me?

Instead of leaping at it, I took a seat by the window. And then…

“The fortress comes every day!”

Light flashed. Guarded by Mycalesian radiance, the radiant knight—Knight of Light Edward—stood atop the castle wall.

Grrrmmmm!

The earth magic beast, Behemoth, roared menacingly. Upon arriving, Edward equipped himself from his inventory. A legendary light-colored full plate armor covered his entire body, and the radiance that had been flowing through him spread throughout the armor.

“Everyone, focus your power—!”

“Graaaah!”

The Behemoth roared and charged. The intelligent creature didn’t rush at full speed like before; it had deduced the nature of the protective barrier with a single collision.

However, if it slowed down, it would receive a barrage of arrows and magic attacks.

Thud-thud-thud!

The Behemoth’s powerful aura enabled it to break through all those attacks and leap over the castle walls. It couldn’t avoid damage entirely, but by concentrating energy on its two horns, it minimized the impact.

The Behemoth was a formidable monster. After all, how could a Mythical Rank be weak? In fact, when the Behemoth first appeared, despite having been well prepared, hundreds of players died that day.

However, after experiencing this attack once or twice daily, they began to develop countermeasures.

Flash!

Halfway up the castle wall, the Behemoth was blocked by Edward.

Graaaah!

The Behemoth’s forelegs swung like lightning. Five claws, sharper than swords, sliced through the air with blinding speed.

But…

Clang!

As the claws met Edward’s sword,

Whoosh!

The massive body of the Behemoth spun around. Unable to control the momentum from its missed attack, it was sent careening off course!

Of course, Edward wasn’t left unscathed either.

Shunk!

His armor was torn, and blood poured out.

“Great Heal!”

“Great Heal!”

“Great Heal!”

“Recovery!”

The priests’ healing magic poured out. But that wasn’t all.

Pobble-bubble! Kwaging-kwaging!

In an instant, thousands of arrows and magical attacks rained down on the Behemoth’s body, momentarily frozen in mid-air. Even a monster beyond imagination couldn’t withstand this superlative onslaught and plummeted to the ground.

Thud!

Of course, the Behemoth soon blasted off the ground and leaped back up the castle wall.

“Hello there!”

In no time, the recovered Edward blocked its path once again.

Kwaging-kwaging! Pobble-bubble!

For two whole hours, the Behemoth tried everything in its repertoire. It shuffled around in attempts to shrug off Edward, tried to smash through the castle walls, and even tried digging into the earth itself.

However, Edward continuously blocked its path… and even if he couldn’t do so:

The Mythical defense tower and Divine artifacts were in motion. In fact, the result was already decided.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Level-up effects erupted from all directions. Items fell before the soldiers. Although there were so many people that the individual rewards were meaningless, the Mythical-grade raid boss Behemoth, even if struck only once, dropped a [Raid Reward Box]

”…Yes. It is possible.”

I turned away from the castle walls.

More than ten years had passed.

The Human Empire had grown stronger.

In Ardenia, all players were free users, but even free users could obtain legendary gear or abilities after playing Revenge for about ten years.

Ardenia didn’t have events like “Login Bonus” or “Weekly Quest,” but at least guild attendance existed. As more and more people joined guilds, the number of those who awakened increased steadily. Now, almost everyone living in Ardenia was a Player.

And once that happened?

The citizens of the empire began synthesizing their remaining Player cards, gradually obtaining higher and higher abilities. By defeating monsters that stormed the castle walls, they acquired the best legendary gear, which they then strengthened. Their collections also steadily improved.

That’s not all.

They have embraced the advanced field of parapsychology on Earth-34 and trained tirelessly. Gaining practical experience is too easy for them. Every day, they enter dungeons for money, honor, or strength.

What if mythical rank cards are introduced here?

I currently possess 5 mythical rank class cards, 9 mythical rank pet cards, and 5 mythical rank guardian cards.

Even without being a Transcendent, I can create at least five beings with stats and skills comparable to a Transcendent, plus operate four additional mythical rank pets.

What I lacked in the Mythical rank dungeon, the Temple of Death:

I could [mobilize these numbers].

But I can’t just give them away.

Mythical Rank cards were immensely powerful. Even the humblest person in Ardenia would become a leader upon obtaining one.

Despite my mysterious power of battle foresight, my combat strength before and after acquiring a Mythical Rank card was incomparably different.

“Flower.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Flower entered the office at my call. Although she now held a position equivalent to Empress, she continued to handle matters near me. She remained steadfast even when I offered to assign others to her, and I had eventually given up.

“Who won the hunting competition?”

It was a contest where participants cleared as many dungeons as possible with the Golden Skill Book applied, marking the five-year anniversary of Revenge. Thanks to this event, the Human Empire secured an incredible number of legendary skill books.

“It was Edward, sire.”

“I see.”

He nodded. Yes, he was going to give them up anyway. He had even decided on what positions to place them in.

“Very well. Then… let us hold a tournament.”

“A tournament?”

“Yes. Let its name be… ‘Gang’s Mightiest’. A martial arts competition open to the entire Human Empire. And while we’re at it, let’s also hold the ‘Magic Conference’. A tournament to vie for supremacy in magic. Furthermore… let’s host a ‘Palace of Healing’. A competition to select the finest priestesses.”

”…The rewards will be key.”

“Age cards.”

”…!”

Ten years ago, the Empire had trembled when legendary cards were put up for grabs in a competition.

Such things are impossible now.

The Class cards had been sufficiently mastered, and the most powerful elites of the Human Empire had always managed to complete their legendary cards through card synthesis. It required an incredible amount of time, money, and effort, but it was made possible by the vast number of Player Fuls.

But Mythical Rank was different.

Legendary was as far as one could go with card synthesis. Only those possessing the Radiant Flame could attempt to synthesize a Mythical card, and even then, they were limited to acquiring only one Mythical card through synthesis. Even more viciously, if they lost their Radiant Flame, their Mythical cards would become inactive!

Revenge is on its 10th year, so why am I only at 9th Mythical?

Even Bae Saram, the representative of Nemesis, couldn’t have predicted that more and more crazy people would be pouring 10 billion won into a single myth card, including myself, who was adding an enormous number to create a total of 40 myths.

“Your Highness, this power is overwhelmingly strong.”

“But only with such strong power can it become a force capable of helping me.”

”…Then there will be no literary or music competitions.”

“Literary and music competitions?” I paused at Flower’s words. She meant that those who won in these competitions couldn’t be my [Power], so they should be excluded, but I didn’t think it necessarily had to be like that.

“Well, that’s fine too.”

“Huh? But…”

“Instead, winning here isn’t the condition. You must exceed the score condition I set.”

In Revenge, it was estimated that you’d need to spend around 10 billion won to draw a single Mythical Rank card.

In other words, if my work could earn them over 10 billion won, I wouldn’t feel any sense of loss. Even with that 0.001% remainder. Wouldn’t the remaining 99.999% still be available through [High-Rank Summon Tickets]?

Well, I doubt anyone’s going to cash in their walking tag for a Mythical Rank.

It was obvious. How easy is it to earn 10 billion won with anything short of a huge hit? Even the highest-earning genre novel wouldn’t dare dream of such sums.

And yet…

“Huh? Ooooh? This song is too good. Where’s it from?”

Unexpectedly, it was Space Star, F·D, who asked the question.