Chapter 2476 – 2476. God’S Atlantis
「Area 8,800, entered the hot stone area.」
The Legion Alliance ascended to the front of the volcanic island. Upon first entering the volcanic island, one must pass through this area.
It was a place filled with black basalt. Hot steam rose from various parts of the ground, obscuring the view.
The members of the Legion Alliance stared in awe at the massive volcano, the heart of the volcanic island, far in the distance. Black smoke and ash constantly poured out of the huge volcanic crater, covering the sky. It was a sight that could only overwhelm a human.
I approached Kang Myungjin and spoke to him.
“Kang Myungjin. There don’t seem to be any monsters here?”
“This is an area without monsters. Except for the steam rising from the ground, it’s relatively safe.”
Of course, I knew that too. I also knew the strategy for this area. I asked the question as if I didn’t know.
“Relatively safe, huh? Should we set up a base here?”
The gazes of those around us turned towards us.
Kang Myungjin raised his voice as if to be heard and calmly answered my question.
“The steam here rises randomly at certain intervals. You never know when hot steam will rise from under your feet. Also, the more people there are, the more steam there will be. Look. Isn’t there more steam than before? The longer you stay in this area, the higher the chance of being steamed to death.”
“Indeed, there’s more steam. The temperature has also risen… and above all, it feels unpleasant because my clothes are getting wet. What’s the strategy for this area?”
“It’s about finding a special stone and destroying it. The problem is that the special stone doesn’t look special at all on the outside.”
“Then how do you distinguish its specialness?”
“You’ll know when you hold it in your hand.”
I looked around and let out a hollow laugh. In this area, the next most common thing after steam was stones. You had to pick up and check each of the hundreds of millions of stones. And with stones heated by steam.
Even though I knew it in advance, it was a ridiculous strategy. It would be better to kill monsters.
“Wouldn’t it be possible to have the mages find the stone with magic?”
It was Dario’s suggestion. Kang Myungjin shook his head.
“That stone cannot be found with magic. Unless you have a high-rank item specialized in finding things… at least I don’t have one right now.”
It wasn’t just magic. You couldn’t find the stone with your senses either. Even if I spread electromagnetic waves, it would be the same. Unless you touched it directly, it would be recognized as an ordinary stone.
“When you say high-rank… do you mean an A-rank item or higher?”
“You’re being surprisingly modest. It’s S-rank or higher.”
“……”
“Attention!”
Kang Myungjin, who had instantly suppressed the chaotic atmosphere, continued.
“There are several important areas on the volcanic island that must be conquered. I intend to divide the alliance into four groups and quickly conquer those areas.”
“Wait a minute. Isn’t that a bit too dangerous?”
“It is dangerous. But we don’t have time to conquer it step by step. We have competitors. And we’re already behind. We have no choice but to do this to get ahead of them. The only good news is… they’re also dividing their forces to proceed with the conquest. Otherwise, conquest notification messages wouldn’t be popping up at such short intervals.”
Kang Myungjin divided the Legion Alliance into four groups. The Angelus Legion, the Tetrix Legion, the A-Plan Legion, and a team of other small and medium-sized legions. The smallest force was Kang Myungjin’s A-Plan Legion. It was natural since it was composed only of the A-Plan Legion.
Kang Myungjin told them the target areas and strategies. The Legion Alliance was divided into four groups from the start.
Kang Myungjin’s expression wasn’t good.
“Kang Myungjin. If you’re really worried, why don’t we gather everyone and move together now?”
“…Normally, I would have, but with the disruptors, it’s too inefficient. This is the best we can do for now.”
Kang Myungjin turned his body sharply.
“Let’s go. We don’t have time to waste.”
• • •
Alterior, an executive of the Tetrix Legion, arrived at area 8,837 with 200 exiles.
「Area 8,837, entered the 1st Armament Zone.」
「The designated weapon is a bow.」
1st Armament Zone.
An area where only one weapon can be used.
The designated weapon changes randomly. You never know when or which weapon it will change to.
“…This is the worst.”
Alterior muttered with a serious expression. He wasn’t talking about the weapon.
“There’s no initial entry notification message.”
A disruptor had arrived here first. And they were likely still here.
“Alterior-nim! Enemies have appeared in front! They rose from the ground!”
Alterior looked ahead. They were soldiers with translucent bodies. The ghosts of the battlefield, who only knew how to fight. The ten ghosts held bows in their hands. They aimed at Alterior and drew their bows.
200 against 10. It was obvious who had the advantage. But it was the 200 who were flustered.
“We can’t use shields!”
“Defensive magic… it doesn’t work?!”
Amidst the growing commotion, Alterior remained calm.
“It’s as Kang Myungjin said. Shields are treated as weapons, and magic or skills must be used according to the designated weapon. Arrows are coming. Raise your arms to defend.”
Unlike weapons, there were no restrictions on armor. In other words, the gauntlets covering their wrists could be used as shields.
Thwack!
The arrows shot by the ghosts couldn’t pierce the gauntlets and fell to the ground. The ghosts slowly drew their bows.
Alterior raised a spear. He took a javelin-throwing stance, but he couldn’t throw the spear.
「Not the designated weapon. Cannot be used.」
‘Is the system directly enforcing it? This won’t even allow for loopholes.’
Thud.
He dropped the spear from his hand.
‘Normally, the standard procedure would be to experiment with various things to gather information before attacking… but with competitors, we can’t afford to be leisurely.’
「The Lord of the Sky is watching with interest.」
Above all, his contracted divine seat was watching.
‘It’s been a while since he’s shown interest in me.’
You could only grow stronger by receiving support by attracting the attention of the contracted divine seat.
Crackling.
Golden lightning flickered in Alterior’s hands.
“Astrape.”
The form of the golden lightning changed into a bow. When he drew the bow, a lightning arrow was placed on the string.
Whoosh!
The fired lightning arrow accurately pierced the ghost’s head.
Boom!
The golden lightning exploded, sweeping through the surroundings. The ghosts disappeared without a trace.
‘How is it, Lord of the Sky…!’
Alterior glanced at the sky. It was where the system notification window appeared according to his standards. Then, as if waiting for it, the system notification window appeared.
「The designated weapon has been changed.」
「The designated weapon is a mace.」
It wasn’t the notification window he wanted.
Alterior sighed softly and opened his mouth.
“We must obtain the flag to gain control of this area. We will start running now.”
Kang Myungjin had told them the location of the flag. Thinking about it, he was a strange guy. How did he get this information?
‘The guys who are disrupting the conquest of the volcanic island seem to have the same information… did they get information about the volcanic island from another special area?’
Led by Alterior, they began to run. If they encountered ghosts along the way, they crushed them without hesitation. They couldn’t use search magic or skills, but they knew the location of the flag and how to get there from what Kang Myungjin had told them.
‘Found it.’
A large hill.
A red flag was planted on top of it. The flag of war.
‘If we get that flag, the conquest of this area is over.’
Hundreds of ghosts were gathered around the hill. The individual specs of the ghosts weren’t much. The whips held in the ghosts’ hands were annoying, but not a big problem.
‘We have 200 exiles who are experienced in combat.’
“Charge!! If we get that flag, this area is ours!!”
“Waaaaaaaah!!”
A roar echoed across the battlefield. Alterior wasn’t a commander who just watched, so he charged towards the hill with them.
Swish.
A chilling sensation ran down his spine.
Alterior quickly dodged. Three exiles around him couldn’t avoid it and were cut down by the whip, resulting in their deaths.
‘…Did they add sword energy to the form of a whip? This is a sword in the form of a whip.’
His gaze turned to the end of the whip.
There was a maid wearing a mask. She wore a white smiling mask, so her face couldn’t be seen, but just from the atmosphere, you could tell she was a beautiful woman.
The silver-blue-haired maid nonchalantly swung her whip, killing the exiles around her as she headed towards the hill where the flag was planted.
‘That noticeable hair, and that kind of skill… as far as I know, there isn’t a woman like that. There’s a possibility she dyed her hair to hide her identity. And the fact that she’s wearing a mask… wait, a mask? Is it Helten?!’
It was well-known that Helten’s executives operated while wearing masks.
“Kuaaaak!”
“Aaaak!”
Every time the maid swung her whip, two or three people died. Isn’t it a bit unfair to send sword energy with a whip? We can only do body tackles because of the unfamiliar designated weapon.
Crackling.
Alterior swung a golden lightning whip that appeared from his fingertips at the maid. The maid dodged it with light steps. A gait as if she was taking a stroll. Alterior broke out in a cold sweat. The opponent was an incredibly strong person.
“I didn’t know Helten had a monster like you. What’s your name?”
“……Would I reveal my name when I’m wearing a mask?”
“That’s true…!!”
Alterior furiously swung both hands. Lightning whips in the form of whips flew in succession.
The maid’s whip spun around. She deflected the lightning whips that Alterior sent while attacking the surroundings. The exiles were torn apart by the sharp whip.
‘She’s not interested in me at all. Is she aiming for the flag of war after all?’
He looked around. The exiles who didn’t have the designated weapon of a whip were being helplessly defeated. Moreover, they were busy fighting the ghosts on the hill. The only person who could stop that woman was himself.
‘……I’ll hit her with a full-power attack.’
Crackling!
Alterior pulled out a golden lightning whip from his grasp. Unlike before, it shone more brightly.
The divine seat skill, Astrape (SS), was strengthened by one level due to its unique characteristic, Golden Blessing (SS).
Alterior swung the dazzling lightning whip at the maid.
The maid swung her whip nonchalantly as always. Sword energy extended from the whip. But as soon as it touched Astrape, the sword energy disappeared as if it had evaporated.
‘I won…!’
It was when Alterior was confident of victory.
Crackling.
Black lightning briefly appeared from the maid’s whip. The moment Astrape touched the whip, Astrape split and disappeared.
‘What?’
「The Lord of the Sky is impressed.」
The whip that split Astrape didn’t stop and fell towards Alterior’s head.
「The designated weapon has been changed.」
「The designated weapon is a nunchaku.」
The whip stopped in mid-air.
“You’re lucky.”
