Chapter 552
“It is an honor to meet you,” Seung-Gu said.
“Oh!” Death Fog exclaimed out of delight. Then, he asked, “Did you say your name was Seung-Gu?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I am the Immortal Lord, Death Fog.”
“Yes, I have heard of your greatness, O, great one from another world.”
“Hmm? Have you heard about me?”
“I do not know in detail, but I have heard Your Majesty is a great being who ruled over other worlds.”
“Oh! You seem to be a wise one!” Death Fog exclaimed in awe. Then, he continued his interrogation, “So, what is your relationship with that one?”
“He is someone I have journeyed with and served as my elder brother.”
“Yet you betrayed him?”
“There have been numerous instances where I was unhappy serving him,” Seung-Gu replied. Then, he stole a glance at Siegfried and continued, “I served him as my elder brother, but he treated me like a slave. Not once did he treat me like a brother.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. His personality is absolutely horrendous; he chases after skirts and even philanders behind his wife’s back. Ah, he is almost crazily obsessed with money. He's such an expert miser that even the worst of misers would come and try to learn from him.”
“Oh...?”
“There had been countless instances where he had stabbed his own friends in the back. Those who had trust in that bastard are bound to suffer in the end.”
“So that’s why you betrayed him?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Seung-Gu bowed and replied. Then, he explained, “It is impossible for me not to betray him when I have seen what he is capable of firsthand. He is bound to betray me somewhere down the line, so it is foolish of me to miss this opportunity. Hence, I have decided to grab this opportunity Your Majesty has given me.”
“Are you saying that I have given you the opportunity to betray him?”
“Precisely! Your Majesty’s graciousness has given me the chance to not only have my revenge but to also redeem myself as a man!” Seung-Gu replied. Then, he bowed to the ground once again and exclaimed, “Thank you for your graciousness, Your Majesty!”
“Keke!” Death Fog cackled. Then, he smiled and said, “It is good to see there is one among you who knows how to be grateful!”
“How can I not be grateful to Your Majesty when you have saved me from that bastard’s tyranny?”
“Excellent!” Death Fog exclaimed in delight. Then, he commanded, “Award this Adventurer, Seung-Gu, with the bounty promised!”
The skeletons replied in unison, “Yes! Your Majesty!”
They disappeared somewhere and then came back with gold bars worth two million gold.
“Seung-Gu,” Death Fog said.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“This is your reward.”
“Thank you! Your Majesty!” Seung-Gu exclaimed and bowed to the ground. Then, he hurriedly stored the gold in his inventory.
“But who are those Adventurers you brought along?” Death Fog asked.
“Ah! They are the ones who helped me capture this bastard. They are extremely strong Adventurers, Your Majesty.”
Well, Seung-Gu was technically lying, as these Adventurers weren't extremely strong but insanely extremely strong. The Adventurers he had brought along were the most powerful Rankers in the coalition forces, which included the living legend Yong Tae-Pung. In other words, Seung-Gu had brought with him twenty of the most elite Adventurers in the coalition.
“Really?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Hmm...”
“If I may request something from Your Majesty...” Seung-Gu said carefully.
“Speak.”
“May Your Majesty hire me and these powerful individuals?”
“Hire you and them?”
“We cannot return to the coalition forces now, so we were hoping that Your Majesty would extend your grace and hire us.”
“Oh! I certainly will!” Death Fog exclaimed. Then, he added, “I will personally appoint you as my knights even!”
“Really, Your Majesty?!”
“Yes, it is only right for talented individuals like yourselves to become my knights.”
“Oh!”
“You deserve much more than this for what you have accomplished–”
It was then...
“Hey, Seung-Gu. I think that’s enough,” Siegfried said while slowly getting up. Then, he smirked and added, “We already got the money, so there’s no reason to keep this up.”
“Okay, hyung-nim,” Seung-Gu replied.
“But hey, that hurt, you know? Ah... Don’t you think a knee kick was too much? I mean, I can understand the slap, but a knee to the face is just...”
“I-I’m sorry...”
“Also, you sounded quite sincere when talking shit about me a while ago. Were those your real feelings?”
“N-Not at all!”
“Hmm... I don’t think so.”
“Really! They’re not!”
“Something’s fishy...”
“I already said it’s not!”
Siegfried continued to suspect him while Seung-Gu was breaking out in cold sweats.
“...?”
On the other hand, Death Fog was deathly confused as to what in the world was going on.
Exactly one second later.
Death Fog lowered his head and started trembling. Then, he growled under his breath, “These lowly insects... dare make a fool out of—”
Unfortunately, he was unable to unleash his anger as—
“Kill them all!”
“Attack!”
“Sweep ‘em up!”
—Operation Trojan Horse was activated, and the Rankers in the throne room started killing all of the undead monsters.
***
Two days ago...
“This can’t go on forever...”
Siegfried made his calculations and decided that he wouldn't survive for long.
“I’ll die at this rate.”
The bounty of five hundred thousand gold when killed and two million gold when captured was simply too good to pass up that the number of Adventurers coming after him was increasing sharply day by day.
The gold rush was so intense that there were even rumors about how the three Mercenary Kings—who were NPCs—had become interested in the bounty. Forget about dying; there was a high chance Siegfried would end up captured alive and dragged to the Immortal Kingdom if those mercenary kings came after him.
“Hyung-nim... I think it’s best if you return to the Proatine Kingdom,” Seung-Gu said, sounding worried.
Siegfried grimaced and retorted, “Why should I?”
“Because it looks like something bad will really happen to you if you continue staying here.”
“Hmm... That makes sense.”
“So going back to the Proatine Kingdom and seeking refuge there is our best course of–”
“But I don’t want to.”
“Huh?”
“Why run when we can claim the bounty?”
“Haha... You still haven’t given up on that?” Seung-Gu laughed in disbelief. Then, he clicked his tongue and said, “Tsk... Claiming your own bounty is absolute nonsense, hyung-nim. They are indeed undead monsters, but even they wouldn’t be so dumb.”
“You can claim it, though, right?”
“Eeeh?!”
“You, Uncle Tae-Pung, and a few other Rankers can go claim it.”
“Heok?!”
Seung-Gu could not believe what he was hearing.
“We can’t win this war anyway. It’s looking really bad for us,” Siegfried cut him off. Then, he said, “It’s impossible with just the coalition forces. We’re far too outnumbered, and any battle we win from here on out will be pyrrhic victories.”
Siegfried was feeling pessimistic about their victories from now on. There was no more terrain to use to their advantage, and the enemy would not fall for the same tricks twice.
The terrains up ahead were all wide-open plains, which meant they would be forced to clash head-on with the enemy from now on.
The fact that their supply lines were stretched was already a cause for concern, but the enemy could take over their supply lines as well while they were in the middle of battle, which would prove disastrous to the coalition forces.
In other words, the coalition forces’ only hope was to avoid any large-scale battles and attempt to assassinate the boss monster, Death Fog.
“This will all be over the moment we kill the boss, right? The boss monster is welcoming us with open arms, so there’s no reason for us to refuse his invitation. This is the perfect opportunity for us to approach the boss monster without suffering any damage.”
“Wow... That’s a genius idea, hyung-nim,” Seung-Gu replied with his mouth agape.
“You think so?”
“Yes, we’re basically taking the highway up to the boss monster, right?”
“Exactly.”
“And we kill the boss?”
“Yeah, it should be possible as long as we don’t take any damage on the way there. He’ll probably have his guard dropped.”
“I think so, too.”
“So you’re the key in this. You have to abduct me and hand me over.”
“Alright!”
“And also...” Siegfried said in a serious voice. Then, he emphasized, “The bounty is mine. Got it?”
“...”
“Fine, I’ll give you twenty percent.”
“Thank you, hyung-nim!”
Twenty percent was an excellent deal for Seung-Gu. Why? Because he couldn't even dream of getting the bounty unless Siegfried cooperated with him.
“Alright, let me go talk to Uncle Tae-Pung.”
“Okay, hyung-nim.”
“Hmm... The name of this operation will be...” Siegfried pondered for a second. Then, he smirked and said, “Trojan Horse. Yeah, let’s go with Operation Trojan Horse.”
Thus, the Operation Trojan Horse was put into motion.
***
Yong Tae-Pung and the other Rankers made quick work of the undead officials. They were not that difficult to kill, as most of these officials possessed administrative class and were just normal undead monsters not specializing in combat.
“Block the entrance, uncle!” Siegfried shouted.
“Leave it to me!” Yong Tae-Pung replied.
Yong Tae-Pung and a few of the other Rankers stood at the entrance to the throne room and fended off the royal knights, which were Death Knights, trying to come to Death Fog’s rescue.
Siegfried looked at Death Fog and said, “Alright, shall we have a constructive discussion?”
“A constructive discussion, you say...” Death Fog said. Then, he smirked and asked, “Do you seriously think an insignificant being like you can win against me?”
“Whoa... Do you guys take the same classes? How come you guys always say the same thing?” Siegfried asked, looking sick and tired of the cliche he gets from the boss monsters.
“What did you say?”
“I mean, there were others who said the exact same thing you said just now.”
“What are you blabbering—”
“Do you know what happened to them?”
“I’m not interested in your little games,” Death Fog growled. Then, he got up from his throne and said, “Tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“Where are the fragments? I will grant you a quick and easy death if you tell me their whereabouts.”
Death Fog went straight to the point and asked about the whereabouts of the Void Soul and Ignite Soul.
Siegfried smirked and replied, “Who knows? And why do you think I’ll tell you that?”
“So, you've chosen a slow and painful death?”
“Again... Hey, why are you guys so obsessed with painful deaths? I’ll just come back to life if I die, so do you really think I care?” Siegfried shrugged and sneered. Then, he gripped his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp and said, “Enough chatter. It’s time for us to slug it out, capiche?”
“Hahaha! How foolish! I guess I have no choice but to give you a taste of how agonizing death can be!” Death Fog exclaimed and descended down from his throne.
Swoosh!
A black fog billowed out of him.
“Kneel before me!” Death Fog roared. The black fog turned into a tidal wave that swept across Siegfried and the others.
Whoosh!
‘I can withstand this with my Poison Resistance.’ Siegfried believed that he would emerge unharmed. His Poison Resistance was extremely high, and he was also wearing a Poison-Eating Jade Necklace.
Siegfried made sure he was fully prepared for this boss battle, so he armed not only himself but even the other Rankers with the Poison-Eating Jade Necklaces he had gotten from the United Guild.
He was confident the boss monster’s poison would not work against them, so he placed down his debuff fields and charged into the black fog toward Death Fog with his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp in hand.
There was no way he could escape from the black fog in a closed space, so he decided to seize the momentum and end this quickly.
“Come! Show me what an insect like you can do!” Death Fog exclaimed, conjuring his weapon, which was a massive scythe.
The one-on-one duel between Death Fog and Siegfried began. Death Fog held a clear advantage in terms of stats, but Siegfried managed to level the playing field with his skills and experience.
‘He’s full of openings. I wonder how much damage I can deal...’ Siegfried paid close attention to the boss monster’s attack patterns and took a mental note of the latter's weaknesses.
He was about to attack after getting a grasp of the situation, but—
[Alert: Status Ailment!]
A message suddenly popped up in front of his eyes.
[Alert: You have been afflicted by Decay!]
[Alert: Your body has started decaying!]
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