V56C2P4 – The King of Devils

That night, the adventurers had a meeting in a tent.

“There are many locations that cannot be reached due to the terrain.”

“I don’t think we can find our answer without any kind of information. It will be difficult to find anything.”

“If it’s a dragon, there will surely be some traces. Maybe near the largest volcano or between the ground fissures.”

“Half of us would die in those locations.”

The more they talked, the more they realized the danger of this adventure.

‘But, this is what adventures do.’

‘One slip and I’m dead. I never had such a thrill doing quests.’

The adventurers investigated the Ring of Fire, uncovering the unknown regions bit by bit.

Every day, several players died but no one desired to go home.

After some time, news reached out to them.

Orc lord Seechwi who was investigating the Plain of Despair messaged them.

– Seechwi: Shhk! I finally earned the trust of the orc tribe. Ch-Chhk!

“How did you…. Did you find anything?”

The adventurers at the Ring of Fire were basically barehanded and needed any information they could get.

– Seechwi: Orcs do not have records… Shhk! What’s worse is that stories weren’t pa.s.sed down properly through the generations. Ch-chhk!

“I suspected so.”

Chase and the adventurers were discouraged. In truth, it was the reason only a few adventurers visited the Plain of Despair when it was released. The orc history did not pa.s.s down properly.

When one orc says his stomach is full, the other orc would think they succeeded in the hunt. The next orc would scurry over to have a share, many stories were lost or distorted.

– Seechwi: However… Shhk!

Seechwi continued.

– Seechwi: I discovered a word that could be a clue. Shhk! Cletta the king of devils…Ch-chhk!”

***

Weed and Brockhand diligently moved with their short legs and climbed the mountain.

‘Cletta, king of devils? What does that have to do with anything?’

A name that randomly spouted in this calamity of the Black and Red Dragon!

‘That is too misleading. It’s not worth trusting, coming out of the orcs. Yup. It doesn’t have any basis.’

He wanted to relieve himself as such, but he could not free himself from the tickling at the back of his mind.

‘For now, I have to do what must be done. The things on the list… will be done when they are due.’

Weed could see monsters from far away.

“Monsters.”

“Leave them to me. I’ll split them in half.”

Brockhand took off the axe tied to his back.

“There are other monsters in the vicinity. Monsters will crowd if we make a sound, so let’s pa.s.s through quietly.”

“My dwarf pride doesn’t…”

“I’ll buy you as much beer as you want later.”

“I think your quiet approach is right.”

Brockhand intervened at times and discovered shortcuts, but when it came to decisions Weed had to convince him every time.

To their luck, they were dwarves with small stature.

Just by sitting in the gra.s.s, they were hidden from monsters breezing by.

“Hmm. It’s unfortunate that they can’t get a taste of my axe.”

“There will be a chance.”

On their walk to Treestub Village they discovered a small cave with 9 dwarves.

“We are warriors of Golson Village. We saw a lot of monsters while heading to Treestub Village, so we were preparing a surprise attack. Who might you folks be?”

“I am Brockhand of the liquor storage, and here is Weedhand who took back our treasure from Kaybern’s lair.”

“I am in the presence of a great dwarf. It is an honor. It seems you’re making your way to Treestub Village. Do you mind if we accompany you?”

Weed accepted their request and his brain was working fast.

‘With them, that’s 10 dwarves. At first I thought it was mere coincidence coming across Brockhand… It might not be what it seemed.’

He only thought about sneaking into Treestub Village. But now, leading all these dwarves increased his chances of getting caught.

‘Plans will change slightly. A clean surprise attack and clear the path.’

At Treestub Village, the dwarves will make a decision that will determine the fate of their kind. It wouldn’t be so bad for him to take the time to befriend the dwarf warriors.

– Betten: There are monsters around. They look to be gigantic demonic beasts leashed by the draconic soldiers. 7 of them are roaming, all apart from one another. If we wait for 4 or 5 minutes, we could sneak through.

“7 ahead. Can we take care of them quickly?”

“So be it. I’ll finally show them my axe.”

“I will take 3 of them.”

“So I can see your lair-robbing skills in action. I got your back.”

Weed and the dwarves launched an a.s.sault on the monsters blocking the path.

The monsters hidden among the gra.s.s and trees burst out, then Weed leapt down from the tree branch.

The dual-wield axe with which he trained so rigorously!

With the weapon he grabbed from Kaybern’s lair, his base attack was 280.

Other attributes also increased sharpness, strength and destructive force. It was truly a rampaging weapon.

The monsters quickly died as soon as the dwarves unleashed their two-p.r.o.nged attack.

Weed rapidly slayed two demonic beasts.

– Biwald: Southwest, 270 meters. Draconic warriors and monsters approaching. If you leave quickly you won’t be discovered.

– Sseum: 8 monsters north. I have been observing for some time, and they seem to patrol within certain boundaries. You could take care of them at the chestnut forest and remove any threats.

“Let’s hurry. Our next destination is the chestnut forest. There is a battle waiting for us there.”

“Sounds good. My blood is boiling.”

Thanks to the avian scouting the surroundings, they took care of the monsters and advanced with ease.

Weed slaughtered dragon soldiers by using Sculptural Destruction and poured all his art stats into strength, crus.h.i.+ng them in just 3 blows.

These soldiers had substantial health points and endurance, but were weak to his method of heightening base attacks.

They could withstand skills, but were crushed under direct attacks!

Weed’s eyes glimmered.

‘I can’t say this is efficient in terms of hunting, but it’s a decent location overall.’

The draconic warriors dropped useful equipment as well as dragon teeth and scales.

These were great as magic ingredients and also needed in special quests.

The dwarves looked at Weed with amazement.

“You are incredibly strong!”

“I didn’t think you’d slay the soldiers that swiftly.”

The dwarf warriors of white beards were in awe. They were all short but had broad shoulders.

“They are nothing compared to Kaybern.”

“The Black Dragon?”

“When I faced Kaybern…”

“Gasp. You battled Kaybern?”

“Well, we clashed briefly… Let’s keep moving. We need to get to the village by tomorrow noon.”

They arrived at the ridge of the rocky mountain.

There was a high chance of getting discovered by the draconic warriors and monsters.

What made matters worse was that the moon was bright and the family constellation that he created while mastering sculptural techniques too was s.h.i.+ning.

The star that resembled Seoyoon and a baby, dressed with jewels rained light down on the earth.

“Please come take a look.”

Weed gathered the dwarves.

“This ridge is widely visible. We will definitely get discovered through this way and attract the monsters.”

“I have no fear. Death isn’t something to be afraid of.”

Brockhand spoke with confidence.

“We will distract them if it need be. You have important matters, so head to Treestub Village!”

Their plan was the warriors scattering and diverting the draconic warriors and the monsters.

Weed thought that in terms of just the success of the quest, the dwarves could be sacrificed.

‘It would be helpful but it risks a huge loss.’

The dwarves boasted about their bond of loyalty with one another. They willingly jumped into battle to save one of their own.

Hence they despised leaving one of theirs as bait.

‘I will get to Treestub Village, but there may be a significant turn of events.’

Though it was a while back, he used to take care of the Rohaim Kingdom soldiers one by one in the Lair of Litvart.

He never got to see them after that, but he did not wish to lose military resources meaninglessly.

‘I have to save as many as I can. I have to save them to exploit them later. These are dwarves we are talking about here.’

Truthfully, Weed was not concerned even if getting to Treestub Village would turn out to be challenging.

He was proceeding in the form of the dwarf, the standard of the current quest but he could always use Sculptural Transformation.

He could morph into a monster or draconic warrior and just walk through carefree.

Or he could turn into a squirrel and scurry away.

Riding on Wyvern3 across the sky could get him seen by the draconic warriors, but the other methods were just plain cheating!

‘Keeping these dwarves alive will be of help later on.’

Weed took out animal hides and a sewing kit from his bag. They were items he carried around after he mastered sculptural techniques.

“I have a plan so please wait.”

He sewed the hides together and applied paint that he borrowed from Yurin.

The work of sewing intermediate level 7.

He wasn’t a master but was very crafty, even fine-tuning it.

The thread and needle danced and created the animal hide clothing. The head was carved from mud using sculptural technique.

The collaboration of sewing and sculptural technique!

*Blink!*

< Well-made Coat of the Black Bear: Durability 20/20 Defense 11

It was a finely woven coat based on the form of a bear!

So well crafted that the wearer would definitely be mistaken for a bear.

Attribute: Slight fear on monsters.

Weak monsters may flee.

Luxurious.

Far from current trends, but could be sold at high prices depending on personal taste. >

“Mmm. Turned out pretty good.”

It was just a plain leather coat.

Even so, like the sculptural master he is, the head of the black bear was very realistic.

One could not tell it apart beyond 10 meters away.

Weed followed up with wolf and monkey coats.

“Wear these coats.”

“You mean these?”

“Yes. We can skip over this ridge with these on.”

“This is disgraceful for a brave warrior. How about we wait until nightfall?”

“That’s not an option. The Family constellation is too bright… We could wait even longer and traverse when the fog sets, but then even we cannot tell when the enemies approach us.”

In the fog, the scouting from the avian was also rendered useless.

Weed did not want to leave this quest to pure luck.

“Currently the draconic warriors are leading the monsters. The draconic warriors have sensitive taste and do not hunt animals. I heard that there are many bears, wolves and monkeys on this mountain. If they do not approach us, they might not notice. Even if they do come quite close, they won’t be able to identify us.”

Weed’s plan was to wear disguise and traverse the ridge.

Many animals of the natural habitat were roaming around as well, so nothing would be peculiar looking from afar.

‘Disguise coats in the middle of the night… Even a ridge will have trees and gra.s.s here and there on the way that would provide as cover from their vision. Being exposed a little bit at a time would not be a problem.”$

The dwarves were reluctant, but it wasn’t difficult to convince them.

“I don’t like it more than any of you. But, we are making a sacrifice for our kind.”

“Sacrifice…”

“Yes. I wish to fight them too… But we will not win against Kaybern if we do. How glorious would it be to have a cold beer after we slay Kaybern?”

Hearing Weed, the dwarves grumbled but managed to wear the disguise coats.

“If they catch us, we will buy time. Weedhand, you head to Treestub Village.”

“Yes. I will do so.”

Weed wore the wolf hide coat.

The mouth was sharp and long with fangs sticking out; the typical villainous wolf coat.

The dwarves got on the move one at a time wearing the animal disguises.

The bear walked a bit further up front and the wolves and the monkeys followed loosely.

It was indeed a strange scene, hence they spread the distance apart and walked in threes or fours.

Weed was experienced in walking on four legs in the past and it was familiar and fairly easy.

The dwarves too were pretty decent in mimicking animal movements, moving along the ridge.

“Kuuuugh.”

“Awoooooo!”

“Screech-screech!”

No one asked them to do so, but the dwarves got excited and started making quiet animal cries. There was surely the sound of sipping beer back when they were getting dressed.

– Sseum: The dragon soldiers are pa.s.sing by from a fair distance in the east. You will still be visible in that range.

Weed too slightly turned his head to look.

Under the moonlight, he saw the dragon soldiers and the monsters patrolling Norn Mountain Pa.s.s. Their objective was finding the dwarves.

The bear, wolves and monkeys treaded lightly along the ridge and headed to Treestub Village.

(To be continued…)