Chapter 551 – Separation
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The advance of the punitive force went smoothly.
I was able to easily deal with the charging ghouls, arrive at the pillar tower, and enter inside.
As the punitive force entered the castle, the ghoul’s attack disappeared as if it had never happened.
“It looks like Yeongju Castle.”
Priscilla looked around and said.
The exterior may have been damaged, but the inside still maintained its castle structure.
“It looks like a tower was built on top of the Yeongju Castle.”
Norman said as if agreeing with Priscilla’s opinion.
The punitive force explored the inside of Yeongju Castle.
Although it was dark and dull, there was no sign of any other beings.
-There are stairs here!!
A knight discovered a staircase.
It was a long spiral staircase attached to the wall.
The staircase, which was completely different from the castle’s internal structure and foreign, was facing upwards.
“Shouldn’t we go upstairs?”
Even if it wasn’t what Marquis Liu said, there was no other option.
The punitive force began climbing the stairs.
As we climbed up the pillar tower, the appearance of the castle gradually disappeared.
It changed into an environment made entirely of stone, like the underground cave I passed through in a trap.
I would say that the only difference from the underground cave is that it has a slightly more clearly defined shape.
Each floor had a maze-like structure.
However, it wasn’t a complicated maze, so it wasn’t difficult to find the way to the next floor.
“Is it true that the Demon King is here? It’s a lot quieter than I thought.”
The vice-captain walking next to Burwell said.
Since I hadn’t encountered any enemies since entering this pillar tower, I couldn’t help but wonder that question.
“Don’t let your guard down.”
Burwell gave a mild caution.
“Of course.”
Has the word become a seed?
The punitive force encountered a group of men blocking their path.
They were carrying shabby weapons that looked like farming tools. He was haggard, and the hardships he had endured were completely reflected in his face.
A human brought from a territory occupied by the Demon King, appeared to be a survivor.
The punitive force couldn’t help but be shocked when they encountered ordinary humans, not monsters from the underworld such as demons, warlocks, or ghouls.
Nevertheless, Burwell did not let down his guard.
It was because I didn’t know what the devil might have done.
I looked at them with all my senses, but I didn’t feel anything particularly troubling.
“… What does it look like?”
Burwell thought he might not know and asked the vice-captain.
“I also look like an ordinary human being. Captain”
This time, I looked at the high-ranking wizard, Marquis Liu.
I was wondering if there might be some kind of magical action.
“It looks like it has the same explosive magic circuit as the ghouls.”
Marquis Liu shook his head and said with a sad expression.
“Stay back. If you come close, I will kill you.”
Burwell looked at the group of men and said coldly.
“I’m sorry. Sir… I can’t let you go. If we back down, our wives and children will be killed.”
A man in the group said.
Burwell frowned after hearing his words.
“… You’re doing something messy.”
Burwell’s eyes sank horribly.
It was anger against the devil, not a group of men.
Their situation was unfortunate, but they couldn’t back down.
“We must subdue the demon lord. How dare you disrupt Terraism’s event!”
Fear fills the men’s eyes as Burwell yells.
It was difficult for a single peasant to withstand the momentum of the leader of the Holy Knights of Terraism.
At that time, something fell from a small hole in the high ceiling.
-Sharply.
The punitive force looked at the fallen object in shock.
What fell was the body of a child.
“Toby, Toby!!”
A man runs out of the group, hugs his child and sheds tears. He looked like the dead child’s father.
It was also a warning showing what kind of disaster would happen if the men retreated without stopping the punitive force.
A determined light appears in the eyes of the men who were very frightened.
“Aaaaah!!”
The men rushed to the punitive force.
It was a run by an ignorant village father with no formality.
“Fuck…”
Someone in the punitive force who saw this let out an expletive.
When the men rushed at the punitive force, of course they were hitting rocks with eggs.
“Ugh!!”
The charging men are pushed back by the wizards’ magic. And magic is poured over it.
-Puff puff puff!!
A one-sided massacre occurred.
The men were wiped out without causing any damage to the punitive force.
Marquis Liu looked at this with a bitter expression.
“I don’t understand.”
Burwell did not understand the devil who did this.
If it was an attempt to boost the motivation of the punitive force, it was successful. Because of this, my hatred for the devil grew even greater.
“… Advance.”
Following Burwell’s orders, the punitive force crossed over the flesh of the men who had died in vain and headed to the next floor.
And the punitive force could see scraggly children on the next floor.
“Dad and the uncles went downstairs.”
“…”
They looked like a group of children who had just been unilaterally massacred by a punitive force.
“… The reaction…?”
“There is no response from the dark magic.”
“It doesn’t seem like any special magical measures were taken.”
In the end, Burwell couldn’t leave his children alone.
“… Let’s leave a guard.”
There was no opposition to Burwell’s measures.
The hardships of the punitive force began from then.
On the next floor, there are pregnant women.
On the next floor are the elderly.
There are women on the next floor.
… A newborn baby.
One by one, powerless humans blocked the punitive force.
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“… We need to give them room. If the Paladins are in a situation where they can’t retreat, they are the ones who will swing their swords mercilessly and stay. And…”
Gregory was satisfied with the current situation to the extent that Willas’ snout noisily chattering next to him was not bothersome.
This is because the punitive force was losing troops every time it climbed a floor.
Willas devised a plan that took advantage of the sympathy of the punitive force.
I thought I had nothing to lose, so I accepted Willas’ plan as if I was being fooled.
And the effect was very good.
The punitive force could not bear to abandon the survivors and gradually removed its troops to protect them.
Honestly… The powerless humans of Pantera were much more helpful than the demons.
Willas’ mean-spirited wit was worthy of recognition.
Willas had a very bad reputation among the demons.
It was the so-called bullying.
This is because the rumor that he ran away alone, abandoning the demons who were fighting hard with the Holy Knights in Ramona, was widespread.
But that had nothing to do with Gregory.
‘I may have survived Ramona because I had this mean side.’
Through this operation, Willas was upgraded to a quite useful person, unlike other demons.
The punitive force was escorting the survivors to the lower level of the tower.
It seemed like the intention was to gather the survivors in one place, leave an appropriate number of troops, and join the punitive force on the upper floor.
‘I can’t leave it like that. Send a ghoul to prevent them from joining.’
〔I understand.〕
Gregory detached a significant number of troops to protect the survivors and smiled with satisfaction as he watched the punitive force climbing the tower.
〔He entered his nature.〕
Gregory’s face, which was smiling in satisfaction, soon hardened.
Because now I saw a demon leisurely entering the tower.
Now I was able to see him properly.
It had unusual black skin cracked with red lines, and for some reason it was carrying human women with it.
〔That’s unusual. This is Gangmache. This is a body-related skill that requires a minimum level of 80 to be able to use it. Most of this is possible only by strengthening the skills related to physical strengthening.〕
Panthera avatar users rarely increase skills related to physical strengthening.
Skills related to physical strengthening require good handling of the body in real life to maximize the effect, but this was impossible for virtual reality gamers.
I wondered if this was the first time it had been strengthened to that degree.
‘Is his location still unknown?’
This refers to the location where you access Zephyria.
Because it was a very suspicious avatar, management was looking for an access capsule.
〔Yes, that’s right. I think I need to do a thorough inspection of the system… But it’s difficult at the moment.〕
Suddenly, the screen showing the Gangma body demon became blurred.
‘What is it?’
〔It seems like they realized we were watching and deployed a blocking force field.〕
There is no way an ordinary demon would be this sensitive.
‘… He’s definitely a suspicious guy. I understand his movements well.’
〔I understand.〕
It wasn’t difficult to determine the location.
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After a series of twists and turns, the punitive force reached the top floor of the tower.
Wide and long hallway.
A huge stone gate can be seen at the end.
The punitive force intuitively knew that the devil was waiting inside.
The force of the punitive force was significantly reduced compared to the beginning.
The Demon King took advantage of humans’ desperation to make them commit suicide-like attacks, and prepared a device that the punitive force could not ignore.
It was a clever plan that I had no choice but to suffer even though I knew it.
The number of troops detached to escort the survivors was significant.
They escorted the survivors to the lower floors and told them to return when they had time… But they probably didn’t have time to do that.
Looking at what he did while climbing the tower, it was obvious that he had prepared for it.
The knights of the Kingdom of Laun were barely visible anymore. There were only three sword masters, including Count Hubert.
Even in that situation, it was necessary to maintain as many high-quality troops as possible, and the escort for survivors was the result of being organized mainly with Knights of the Kingdom of Laun rather than Paladins.
There was cold anger in the eyes of the punitive force.
As they climbed the tower, they were boiling over at the cruelty of the devil.
“Let’s go…”
With Burwell’s words, the punitive force put on scary faces and walked towards the huge stone gate.
