3) Woomba Belkain

Bardray and the Royal Guards arrived on the Melbourne Mine’s 3rd floor.

“They’ve been informed that we were coming.”

“It seems like that.”

The 3rd floor was empty of users. A few thieves searched the area but couldn’t find anyone in the vicinity.

“There is no time to delay. Anybody who is hiding here will be allowed to live.”

“Let’s go.”

The Hermes Guild split into two parties after dealing with the users on the 1st and 2nd floor. The Magician Hit Squad took the thieves to set traps to prepare for when the Black Lion Guild’s reinforcements arrived. They created a perfect layer of trap fortifications on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor to buy time. Meanwhile Bardray, the Royal Guards and the battle group continued going down.

“Now it is a little bit exciting.”

“How strong is it really… It will be an exhilarating fight.”

The battle group pulled out their weapons. They had to get rid of the remaining users in the mine and complete the quest. It was Bardray’s Master Quest so it was natural that they mobilized all the capabilities of the Hermes Guild.

They figured out that Belkain was hiding in the Melbourne Mine. Belkain was cla.s.sified as a medium to large sized monster. Its level was estimated to be more than 620! According to the history of the continent, it was said to have climbed out of the bottom of h.e.l.l. 100 years ago it caused terrible damage to the Tullen Kingdom until the High Elves eventually defeated it. It escaped while wounded to the Haineph Mountains and hadn’t appeared since.

“According to a report someone found Belkain’s tail feathers in this part of the mine… There is a high possibility that we will have to fight it soon.”

“I’ve heard its cries once or twice but never figured out the location. I decided to leave it alone.”

History stated that Belkain had a very destructive power over the earth so it was dangerous.

“Get ready for battle.”

They had reached the entrance of the 4th underground floor so heavy resistance from the Black Lion Guild and the users gathered there was expected. The knights with high defense went down the stairs while covering themselves with s.h.i.+elds. But unexpectedly there were no attacks from the Black Lion Guilds and hunting users.

Kentrio:

The enemies aren’t visible. Come down and see.

Originally the Black Lion Guild had planned a line of defense at the entrance. But they felt it was too reckless since the dungeon was revealed after the earthquake.

Belkain’s lair!

They could buy some time when moving there and if lucky then they could find an exit for the mine on the other side. The trails around the entrance was investigated.

“They aren’t in the area. And the footprints have continued into the dungeon.”

“How pitiful. Did they enter just to die?”

Krobidyun said.

He was a level 446 Necromancer in the Royal Guards whose original profession was a senior magician. He hadn’t changed to a Necromancer while Barkhan and his Undead Legion were still alive. He had been watching Weed defeat the Undead Legion on the broadcasts and started to wonder about the potential of Necromancers. He had the basic skills of a magician and the full backing of the guild so his abilities as a Necromancer quickly grew. A Necromancer was active in large scale battles which is why he came along this time.

“Leave some troops behind while we enter Belkan’s lair.”

Bardray began to take the lead. He changed his armour and sword to his original one. It was armour he got from the Royal Knight of the Kelton Kingdom while completing his cla.s.s quest.

The Black Knight’s full set!

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that it was one of the best items that had appeared in the Versailles Continent to date. The Royal Guards also changed into their equipment for fighting boss level monsters. They used spears, maces and axes with destructive power to fight against medium and large sized monsters.

“We’re going to smash that guy.”

“The battle axes will move forward first.”

Bardray walked faster than usual. Rather than feeling burdened at the possible appearance of the Black Lion Guild’s reinforcements, he welcomed it because he could show a strong appearance in combat. He could show off the power of the strongest warrior on the Versailles Continent. No one could touch the mighty Bardray.

“Kukukuk, come with me.”

Krobidyun started summoning the undead. A Necromancer’s role was to create an undead army as combat troops. He raised the corpses of the users hunting in the Melbourne Mine so a minimum of Death Knights and Dullahans were summoned. There were also a few people with the power of a Doom Knight. If he used the Black Lion Guild members on the 4th floor then his undead would grow even more.

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-What should we do? I think they’re coming this way.

-Shhh, be quiet.

-Hyung, do you plan to just wait until they pa.s.s?

-Maybe they won’t see us and will just pa.s.s unaware.

Weed and the other 3 people were hiding on the 3rd underground floor. Hegel had been eager to go down to the 4th floor but when he calmed down, he realized that there was no point.

The intruders weren’t idiots so they had probably come with enough power to attack the Black Lion Guild. Hegel heard about the situation on the 1st and 2nd floors so he knew the users on the 4th floor didn’t have the level to stop them.

He had lost his sense of judgement when he panicked but that was when Weed’s survival instinct shone. He decided to remain on the 3rd floor that most users had abandoned.

‘It doesn’t seem like there are a lot of people here. Therefore the intruders would only leave a small amount of people behind to search.’

He had learnt to quickly calculate money under a vicious boss so his head came to a quick conclusion. But the other 3 people didn’t understand that Weed’s judgement was that good based on their expressions.

‘I dug sapphires until it was quite late……’

There was no denying that he was greedy for gems.

“Kuaaak!”

“We didn’t commit any crime……”

“Banis.h.!.+”

The sound of users hiding elsewhere and being caught could be heard. The users couldn’t hide from the enemies who had a.s.sa.s.sin or thief cla.s.ses. Weed was hiding in a recess at the end of the long tunnel where he had been digging the sapphires.

Now some a.s.sa.s.sins were heading this way. Professional a.s.sa.s.sins could hear any low breathing as a loud sound and determine minor temperature differences. Meanwhile the thieves specialized in dismantling traps in dungeons. But when it came to installing traps or surprise attacks, the a.s.sa.s.sins were the cla.s.s with the superior ability. They had high destruction capabilities but low stamina so they couldn’t fight for a long time on the battlefield.

‘If they come closer than they’ll find us.’

The a.s.sa.s.sins could use stealth technique when walking. Although their movement speed would increase if they released stealth. The a.s.sa.s.sins thought the enemies were weak so they didn’t feel the need to hide and searched in pairs. Two a.s.sa.s.sins were also coming to scout the place where Weed was hiding.

‘There are two of them so I need to end it quickly.’

Weed pushed Hegel forward when the a.s.sa.s.sins approached.

“H-huh! Hyung!”

The two a.s.sa.s.sins who discovered their prey kicked hard across the ground and ran forward. Both foreheads were tagged with the mark of a murderer. Hegel could tell that they were at a reasonable level just by looking at their equipment. This was a clean-up strategy so they didn’t bother informing the other a.s.sa.s.sins.

“Guardian Wall!”

Hegel struck a defense pose with the s.h.i.+eld in front of him. His body was frozen and he didn’t even dare strike back. The a.s.sa.s.sins used the momentum of their speed to execute a jump attack. Suddenly birds of light came down on them. It accurately aimed for their heads!

“Keuuuuk!”

“T-this…..”

One of the a.s.sa.s.sins suddenly had their health rapidly reduced. They raised their dagger to try and defend from the continuous attacks. But the birds of light just changed trajectory and attacked the a.s.sa.s.sins’ vital spots. There were seven consecutive critical hits! The two a.s.sa.s.sins disappeared into the grey light.

The a.s.sa.s.sins had offensive capabilities but their health and fitness were significantly lower. They also couldn’t wear heavy armour so their defense was low. Therefore they were weak in a frontal confrontation.

Weed used the perfect opportunity to make Hegel bait. The a.s.sa.s.sins were careless while expending their power on attacking. They never expected that someone with Weed’s sword skills would be hiding in order to take advantage of it.

“Hyung, what skill is that?”

Hegel was more interested in Radiant Sword than being resentful. The sword technique was very flashy and powerful.

“It’s no big deal. We’ve caught two of them so that will buy us some time.”

“Now we will be safe?”

“No, the other a.s.sa.s.sins will probably flock here when those two don’t come back after a period of time.”

Weed said while picking up the loot the a.s.sa.s.sins dropped. They were murderers so it was possible to obtain gold coins, jewellery, a poisonous dagger and a ring that increased the critical strike chance.

“Too bad. These aren’t expensive.”

A lot of people chose to play a.s.sa.s.sins. The items could be easily sold despite not being worth much so he couldn’t complain.

‘I wonder if these guys belong to the Beden Guild.’

If the Beden Guild had this power then they wouldn’t have been successively defeated by the Black Lion Guild. A great power was needed in order to simultaneously attack the Melbourne Mine and other places.

‘Right now they’re unidentified. Did someone join forces with the Beden Guild in order to deal damage to the Black Lion Guild?’

Of course, this raiding operation could cause quite a few losses since it involved hundreds of users. The reinforcements from the Black Lion Guild could confine them and deal damage in return. In addition, they indiscriminately slaughtered users so the Black Lion Guild wouldn’t be the only ones hostile to them. He didn’t understand the reasons but he had become involved in it anyway.

“Now I see no other methods besides fighting.”

The G.o.d of War.

Weed’s combat instincts were unleashed.

“I’ll just dig up 2 more sapphires……”

“Hyung, please!”

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The a.s.sa.s.sins moved quickly. They laid their traps while searching for users and killing them. 25 a.s.sa.s.sins were executing their mission on the 3rd underground floor.

“It has been some time and no. 43 and no. 44 haven’t come back yet.”

“Are they just delayed?”

The mine was complicated so it would take different amounts of time to return. Despite the degree of error being taken into consideration, all of the a.s.sa.s.sins had gathered except for 2.

“There was no indication of it earlier.”

“Call them in the guild chat.”

The a.s.sa.s.sins called the colleagues that hadn’t appeared. There was no answer.

“They’re not even responding to whispers.”

“Perhaps…..”

They either terminated their access or died! There was a battle occurring in the Melbourne Mine area so they couldn’t log out.

“They’re dead. Someone strong is lurking.”

“What was no. 43 and no. 44’s search direction?”

“The coal mine area.”

“Let’s go there.”

6 a.s.sa.s.sins moved to that area to search for their colleagues.

Sneak sneak.

They used their stealth skills to become invisible when walking! The a.s.sa.s.sins also wore camouflage clothes so they a.s.similated with the surrounding landscape. They also wore boots that didn’t make a sound when stepping on leaves or gravel. The only indication that something was moving was a transparent afterimage.

-It is this area.

-Look carefully and don’t forget to check the boundaries.

The a.s.sa.s.sins slowly moved forward.

Rumble!

“It is a trap.”

“Twieot!”

The a.s.sa.s.sins thought there were traps installed in the ground so three ran forward while the remaining three retreated. The a.s.sa.s.sins were good at discovering traps because they installed it themselves. Normally traps had a minimum size and were interlinked.

‘If a small trap is installed then we won’t be able to notice it……’

‘Is it a user with the same cla.s.s? Then no wonder why no. 43 and no. 44 didn’t return.’

The a.s.sa.s.sin had a brief thought. Those with higher skills could install smaller traps with intense power.

‘Pop.’

The a.s.sa.s.sins scattered and crouched down. They were prepared to defend against explosions, arrows, poison or anything else!

“Van Hawk, strike!”

“Understood Master.”

Instead of a trap, a Death Knight was waiting in the dark to strike. Van Hawk’s attack power and level wasn’t something that the a.s.sa.s.sins could endure. Two a.s.sa.s.sins were killed with consecutive attacks! Meanwhile Weed had taken care of one a.s.sa.s.sin.

“It was a fake trap!”

The three a.s.sa.s.sins that escaped to the rear realized their mistake. They were a.s.sa.s.sins so they reacted more keenly to traps compared to other people. They had also been tense because two of their colleagues had disappeared without a trace. Now three of them had died without a proper fight.

“Let’s retreat and return with more numbers.”

The remaining a.s.sa.s.sins weren’t fools and tried to retreat after three of them died. They had already announced in the guild chat that there was a surprise attack. It was reasonable for the a.s.sa.s.sins to consider their safety and retreat.

“This fragrant smell. I’m feeling thirsty.”

Torido appeared behind the a.s.sa.s.sins’ backs. He used the vampire movement skill n.o.bility of the Night to suddenly appear behind an a.s.sa.s.sin’s neck.

“Yum yum yum!”

The body of one person became paralyzed by Torido’s attack. The two remaining a.s.sa.s.sins that were still free made eye contact and nodded at the same time.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’ll see you afterwards.”

The a.s.sa.s.sins realized how difficult the opponent was when the monster Torido appeared. The ring he wore indicated that he was a Vampire Lord. They would rather live with regrets then die trying to save their colleague. But the vampire servants that appeared completely blocked their escape.

“Death Blade!”

Van Hawk’s black sword flew towards them. The a.s.sa.s.sins split to either side to avoid it.

“Sword Kaiser!”

Weed’s Daemon Sword became absurdly large and split apart an a.s.sa.s.sin. It was a skill that burned all his mana to deal one blow. It was a bit excessive to use on one person but he chose it when considering the a.s.sa.s.sin’s ability to make a rapid escape. Van Hawk had also taken care of the remaining a.s.sa.s.sin.

“This is a decent item that dropped.”

Weed acquired boots that increased agility and movement speed. The level limit was 320. These boots would have a wide usage on the Versailles Continent. It was also useful in battle so it was an item that anyone would desire.

“Ah… Hyung!”

Hegel said after emerging from his hiding spot. He saw Weed’s ability in a fight so he knew Weed was a high level user with great skills. Yet he had summoned a Death Knight and Vampire Lord as his subordinates. They were the famous Van Hawk and Torido.

If someone didn’t know about Weed then it wasn’t possible to call them a fan of Royal Road. Hegel considered Weed the War G.o.d as a hero. Hegel personally envied and admired him despite belonging to the Black Lion Guild.

“Omo, Sunbae-nim!”

Alice and Dine’s eyes also changed. They looked like brightly s.h.i.+ning lanterns. Anyone who knew they were with the G.o.d of War would envy them!

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Bardray and the Royal Guards safely arrived at Belkain’s lair.

“Strengthen the boundaries.”

The 220 Hermes Guild members raised their tension. The thieves and scouts in the Royal Guards went to check the situation and returned.

“There are traces of a battle. We also found 7 bodies around Belkain.”

“There’s already been a fight since they entered.”

The users hunting in the Melbourne Mine had an average level of 380. Once there were no more monsters then they would move to another hunting ground to obtain profits. The monsters in Belkain’s lair were level 440 so there would be casualties even if the users teamed up. Separate users had to suddenly form a team so it was difficult even if the cla.s.s configuration was good.

Krobidyun used those bodies to produce Doom Knights. Necromancers who raised their skills quickly could partic.i.p.ate in boss fights with the Hermes Guild. That’s because Necromancers wearing cla.s.s exclusive items could summon undead creatures from friends and foes.

They discovered less monsters and significantly more corpses of users as they entered deeper into Belkain’s lair. Krobidyun counted the number of undead created so far and shook his head.

“If it’s like this then they should’ve let us wipe them out first.”

The users seemed to prefer going to the end of the dungeon than to be killed by the invaders. Little by little they discovered the corpses of the Black Lion Guild members.

“Well we shouldn’t pay any regard to it. They were already destined to die.”

Arkhim said with a laugh. Power and strong forces ruled on the Versailles Continent. It was natural for the Royal Guards to think that the weak would die.

“Let’s continue.”

Krobidyun continued summoning Doom Knights. The Elementalists used a skill to transfer mana to him so he could keep summoning an undead legion. Bardray and the Royal Guards continued deeper into Belkain’s lair.

“If an enemy appears now……”

“I can see why those that entered recklessly died.

Belkain’s lair wasn’t a long dungeon. They finally arrived at the last location where the boss monster was.

-Kuuwaaah!

A huge roar!

-You’re stupid for trying to find me when I’ve been living quietly… You made me decide to enter the world once again!

The Woomba Belkain was fighting the Black Lion Guild and general users who seemed like they were going to die.

“Unbelievable……”

Kasim’s jaw dropped at the sight of the surprising battle. The Woomba Belkain had st.u.r.dy arms and legs as well as a head with big, menacing horns. He held stones that he rotating viciously to b.u.mp into users. It lived up to its reputation in the Tullen history books as it slaughtered the users that came to its lair.

-Humans, you are savage beings that need to be stepped on. I don’t know how you came here but I’ll kill you all.

The brutal Woomba Belkain swung its paws and tail, killing 5~6 users. That wasn’t the only thing that froze the chests of the battle company. The loud noises of the users hunting in the Melbourne Mine drew the monsters.

They entered the dungeon to find a way to somehow live. But the monsters’ levels were too high than they ran into the boss cla.s.s monster Woomba Belkain.

“The intruders are behind us and the monsters in front so how can we win?”

“I won’t surrender and die if there is even a slight chance of living.”

“If it is like this then I should at least have a clean death.”

“I can’t just die like this.”

The users chose to fight and die. The intruders or the boss cla.s.s monster! They chose to die by the hands of Belkain instead of the Hermes Guild. Belkain had also drawn the wild monsters wandering the dungeon. They headed towards the place where Woomba Belkain was.

Thus the Hermes Guild were welcomed by various monsters and were plunged into pandemonium.