Chapter 145
“‘Vice-Lord’…?”
Who was he talking about?
Hearing the way he spoke, the man was probably from a martial realm. The aura and the way he composed himself made it obvious he was a Ranker.
Seeing that he had fire in his eyes, he was probably in a hurry.
“Just who are you talking about?”
“Our vice-lord, the Vice-Lord.”
“If it’s the vice-lord…”
“I am named the Fist Lord of the Heavenly Demonic Cult, Pung BaekLim.”
At BaekLim’s self-introduction, Walloc’s eyes went wide.
‘The Heavenly Demonic Cult?’
Although it was a world on a lower floor, the Martial Realm had a special place that was different from other floors. It had a guild composed of many Rankers and one High-Ranker—The Heavenly Demonic Cult. The cult leader of that place was known as the High-Ranker of the Martial Realm.
And as the Fist Lord, he would be one of the four Rankers that represent the Heavenly Demonic Cult.
‘I did hear that they started becoming more active after being quiet for a long time…’
But he could never have expected them to come here to a different floor. And…
“Why are you looking for your vice-lord here?”
“I received an order to come here.”
Walloc had just thrown out the question of why, but the Fist Lord had received a direct order.
“Here…?”
“Yes. He definitely—”
“Fist Lord.”
Someone interrupted Pung BaekLim’s sentence and approached from behind.
It was YuWon.
After turning his head, BaekLim’s expression brightened.
“Hahaha! You were here?”
“You were bothering the wrong person, so I came quickly.”
Hearing the two have their conversation, Walloc had a confused expression.
‘He’s the vice-lord?’
Walloc’s eyes turned to YuWon.
He was the Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Demonic Cult.
He still couldn’t believe it.
‘If it’s the vice-lord… Isn’t that the next highest position after the cult leader?’
Walloc could tell just by how the Fist Lord in front of him was treating YuWon with respect. Kim YuWon was the second-in-command of the Heavenly Demonic Cult.
“Where’s everyone else? It shouldn’t be just you who came.”
At YuWon’s question, Pung BaekLim smiled.
“Of course. It was your command after all. How could I come by myself?”
Pung BaekLim turned his head.
YuWon also looked in the same direction.
Step, step, step—
The sound of many footsteps and the sight of many people.
Walloc looked in disbelief.
BaekLim wasn’t alone.
The many soldiers of Britain who had come into the forest for the development all looked that way.
Thousands. No, maybe tens of thousands. A number of people many times more than the pioneers that had been enlisted for this development were approaching YuWon.
And then…
Tap—
…They all knelt in front of YuWon and repeated, “Our great Vice-Lord!”
“Our great Vice—”
“Stop.”
YuWon’s voice cut through the horde of the Cult’s martial artists that were repeating what Pung BaekLim had said. His voice was low and quiet, but it was still clearly heard.
At that one word, the place became as quiet as if the sound had been cut by a sword.
YuWon looked at the thousands of cultists that were kneeling in front of him.
The Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Demonic Cult. The title that granted absolute command over all in the Heavenly Demonic Cult. It was a title that he hadn’t used a single time after acquiring it. But now…
YuWon decided to use the power of that title for the first time.
“I command you as the Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Demonic Cult.”
This test definitely had the restriction of not being able to receive help from outside forces. The ones he could receive help from were the knights and soldiers that were part of the pioneers. Other than that, YuWon needed to pass this test with only the abilities he possessed.
And the effects of “Vice-Lord of Heavenly Demonic Cult” was definitely an ability YuWon possessed.
“From now on, help the pioneers here…” YuWon looked around at Walloc and the other pioneers. “Make a trail through the forest as fast as possible.”
Tang—
As soon as the command was made, Pung BaekLim hit his palm with his fist.
“We heed your command!”
And in the next moment…
“WE HEED YOUR COMMAND!”
The loud shout of thousands of cultists echoed out.
* * *
Translator - Jreaming
Proofreader - BringTheRayn
* * *
Most of the cultists of the Heavenly Demonic Cult were players. Born in Mount Heaven and gathered under the banner of ‘faith,’ they climbed the Tower and became players and then returned to Mount Heaven.
Additionally, all the cultists gathered here were people who had climbed above the 25th Floor before. Also…
‘The number of Rankers is better than expected.’
Among them were Rankers who had climbed to the top of the Tower as well.
It wasn’t just an empty rumor that the Heavenly Demonic Cult had half the combat power of the entire Martial Realm. Even excluding the Heavenly Demon who was a High-Ranker, they had incredible amounts of strength. A player group composed of elites.
And it wasn’t just the Fist Lord Pung BaekLim, but the Spear Lord Baek MuGang was here as well.
YuWon was able to witness the power of the Heavenly Demonic Cult again.
‘Will we really be able to finish this within fifteen days?’
The personnel who had heeded the call from the Heavenly Demonic Cult was five times the number of pioneers. They also exceeded the pioneers in terms of the number of Rankers and each player’s ranking.
The pioneers were only made up of normal knights and soldiers that weren’t part of the Knights of the Round Table, but the ones who had arrived from the Heavenly Demonic Cult were their elites.
‘The Martial Realm that joined forces with the Heavenly Demonic Cult were nearly as strong as the major guilds. The cultists have also started to climb the Tower again.’
A player climbing the Tower held deep meaning. As each member became a Ranker and increased their skills, so did the overall fighting power of the guild.
In addition to that, this was the Heavenly Demonic Cult that put their warlike characteristics first.
YuWon could feel it again. The power of the title of the “Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Demonic Cult” that he had been forgetting this entire time. To command a force this large was truly an incredible power.
“…I’ll need to go greet him sometime later.”
If YuWon had only joined the pioneers by himself, then it would have taken at least half a year to complete this test. But with the addition of many cultists, he was able to decrease the time as much as possible.
YuWon: Requesting support for the development group of the 25th Floor. As much as possible.
The message that was sent to the Heavenly Demon.
And after only a few days, this many cultists had gathered.
This scene was created through the power of the vice-lord title and the loyalty shown by the cultists to the successor of the Heavenly Demon.
‘I’ve already checked how to get through…’
Boom—
A head appeared behind a tall tree. It was a black-skinned orc that was as big as a giant.
“The problem is just how fast we’ll be able to finish this.”
“Grrr—”
The orc bared its fang and showed aggression towards YuWon.
Its size was impressive but so was the flow of mana that covered its skin. To cut through that, one needed a stronger and sharper mana that could pierce through the mana surrounding it.
And right then…
Bzzzt—
YuWon’s hand held just the thing he needed.
Flash—
Rumble—!
Blinding yellow light exploded out from the monster’s body.
Following this, deafening thunder was heard, and the monster’s chest was charred black.
“Gaaaah—”
The monster’s mouth was open wide as it stumbled, and as smoke came off the leather and skin on its body from being cooked, it slowly fell down.
Boom—
As the massive body fell to the ground, the earth echoed.
YuWon immediately prepared his next [Lighting Bolt.]
The eyes of the new people there saw this.
“…Oh.”
Pung BaekLim forgot about his outstretched fist as he observed YuWon’s fighting form.
* * *
It had been ten days since the World Development started.
The creation of the path proceeded swiftly. After the Heavenly Demonic Cult joined the process, it progressed at a speed that couldn’t be compared to before.
Due to the sudden increase in personnel, the Heavenly Demonic Cultists could only spend their time in hurriedly made tents.
And in one of them, YuWon was contacting Merlin.
Merlin: I was wondering where you went, but you were working over there? What? Pioneers? No, why is the Heavenly Demonic Cult here?
The first point in question was about the compensation for the cultists of the Heavenly Demon Cult for participating in the development. Since the cultists also had Rankers among them, their labor wasn’t particularly cheap. If possible, YuWon wanted them to be paid their due… Of course, with someone else’s money.
Merlin: You know the nation’s situation is currently in a mess… I can’t give you too much.
After the death of Lancelot, Merlin was put in the position of King of Britain.
Thanks to YuWon’s connection to Merlin, he was able to secure a decent number of points for the cultists. Although it was only a few dozen points per day, it wasn’t too bad as a wage.
And then, at the end of the tenth day…
Hephaestus: Wasn’t it completed a long time ago? Why are you so late?
Hephaestus: I won’t go easy on you this time. Be ready to get your head bashed in when you come back.
Due to the test becoming a long-term endeavor, YuWon had ended up missing the deadline for getting the item.
‘…I’ll need to get him a bit more this time.’
Naturally, Hephaestus wasn’t one to wait a long time.
He left the item to Merlin and went back down to the lower floor. Since he had completed the item, he didn’t have a reason to stay in Britain any longer.
Time passed, and the fifteenth day since the start of the development was nearly here.
[You have passed the test ‘World Development.’]
[You obtained 50,000 points.]
[You have received additional rewards based on time.]
[You obtained 150,000 points.]
[The next additional reward has been delayed.]
[You are now able to teleport to the 26th Floor.]
A long-term test called ‘World Development’ that originally would’ve taken one year. Since it had been completed this early, the points received were also incredibly high. It would’ve been quite sad if he only received 200,000 points after spending a year on this test, but since it was completed so early, it wasn’t bad at all.
And so, after the test ended…
YuWon called Pung BaekLim and Baek MuGang to the middle of the developed forest.
“Fist Lord. Spear Lord.”
“Sir!”
“Sir.”
At YuWon’s summon, Pung BaekLim and Baek MuGang approached him and kneeled.
“You’ve done well. Share this among your subordinates.”
[You used 50,000 points.]
[You used 50,000 points.]
YuWon gave the two men 50,000 points each, a total of 100,000.
The cultists of the Heavenly Demonic Cult that had gathered there had followed these two people.
Since they were many in number, this amount of points wasn’t too much, but it was enough for them to spend a night joyously with drinks.
“This much money…”
The two men’s eyes went wide.
Normally, this test would’ve only given out about 50,000 points. With a duration of one year, and the difficulty of the test also being decently high.
However, the reason YuWon could achieve such a great result was truly because of the Heavenly Demonic Cult’s help.
‘Nothing is uglier than a boss with shallow pockets.’
In reality, he had saved half of it for himself, but it didn’t look like that to these two.
100,000 was enough money to build a pretty large new sect in the Martial Realm.
“I accept it with honor.”
“…”
Unlike Baek MuGang, Pung BaekLim seemed to be in deep thought.
YuWon noticed and asked, “What is it?”
At YuWon’s question, Pung BaekLim’s expression changed a few times. And finally…
“…If this is the reward for the work this time, I wish to receive it in another way.”
Pung BaekLim looked resolute as the look in his eyes changed.
Eyes burning with fighting spirit.
With that, mana filled with fighting spirit started to exude from Pung BaekLim’s body.
“Please forget our positions for a moment and fight against me, Vice-Lord.”
