Chapter 227: Raising Talent 6
‘He’s the contractor of the Ancient Devil Lucifer…’
Judging from the fact that Woohyuk almost died while dealing with Harpes last time, it didn’t seem that the Ancient Demons and their contractors would be easy opponents.
Furthermore, if Woohyuk did defeat Cadiz, Lucifer probably wouldn’t stay still.
In other words, in order to clear this legendary quest, he had to ultimately consider battling with Lucifer.
However, the legendary quest was impossible to give up. The compensation for completing the quest would probably resolve a large part of their current financial problems.
While Woohyuk was contemplating this, Leifina, who had been silent, began to speak,
“Lord, what is the content of the quest? Your face has become so dark and pensive. You’re starting to worry me”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. This quest is…”
Woohyuk briefly conveyed the contents of the quest information window to his party members without adding his opinion.
Helena was the first to speak,
“Aren’t the Krobaichen Isthmus the most dangerous place on the Eeth Continent? It is the only land-based road that connects the East and the West. It’s a never-ending conflict zone.”
“It is. However, now that order has been restored in the West, for the most part, it’s the next stage that we must face,” Woohyuk replied.
The Krobaichen Isthmus had surprisingly many similarities with the Panamanian Isthmus in the Americas.
This similarity was because drastically different continental powers and cultures were developed and naturally divided by a physical barrier. Furthermore, whoever controlled the area usually possessed the upper hand in military strength and control over the other side.
Therefore, to set off on an Eastern conquest, Woohyuk knew that the Krobaichen Isthmus must be taken over and occupied by his faction.
If he was lucky, he could deal and be done with Lucifer, one of the main three Ancient Demons, so it was worth taking the risk aside from this quest.
‘It’s been a long time since I used the undead forces.’
It was still too early to leave for the Eastern conquest.
Thus, it was impossible to mobilize his vassals’ troops, and, like most of his past journeys, he had to keep his movements and plans confidential.
In that sense, his undead forces were the best military means currently available.
He thought that, even if he didn’t bring Death Knight Huperion from Dreadlore, the personnel he gathered so far were enough.
Choi Kayoon pointed out the window while Woohyuk was recalling the list of the elite undead remaining in his possession.
“Huh? Look at those people. They’re doing a strange ritual while wearing Witch School uniforms…”
The location of the people Kayoon was referring to was at the edge of the forest, a little off the road.
So, even from a distance, they could make out the uniformed people.
Woohyuk stopped the wagon in a suitable position, and then flanked the uniformed people from the side while riding the monster summoned by Choi Kayoon with his other party members.
“That’s weird. My Lord… obviously, I thought that the Witch Cult disappeared from the Rhine Kingdom as a result of the massive subjugation rule…”
“It was probably too difficult to completely eradicate them.”
It was safe to say that virtually all of those who had taken the Qliphoth Fruit could potentially become witches, as they could be manipulated through Aleister’s will.
In that sense, the capital of the Holy Aperia Empire probably wasn’t free from all danger yet, either.
After hearing Woohyuk’s words, Choi Kayoon, who was whipping the riding monster, looked tired.
“Then, maniacs who sacrifice children and have orgies at night could arise overnight in my estate? Suddenly, I feel like the Floren Province is not as safe as I thought. This is a mountain valley, so it’s a good place for them to hide.”
“You have loyal monsters on your side, right”
Since coming down to the Floren region, Choi Kayoon had been hunting and capturing various elite monsters alone.
Of course, Woohyuk provided financial support behind the scenes, but even so, she was quite talented in capturing and training her own elite staff of monsters.
She could now deal with quite a few witches by herself.
While Woohyuk was emphasizing this point, Helena hurriedly opened her mouth while pulling on the reins,
“Stop! It’s a wide area of attack magic!”
At the same time, the clear sky turned red and began to drop numerous fireballs onto the ground.
Kwa-Kwa-Kwa-Kwa-Kwa-Kwa-Kwa-Kwak!
The Witch Cult members had noticed the presence of the intruders.
Woohyuk stared at the red-haired woman who was standing beyond Helena’s guardian defensive boundary.
‘Based on your clothes, it seems you’re an executive member of this band of witches.’
She would certainly know the purpose of this suspicious ritual.
So, he decided that she needed to be captured first.
She probably wouldn’t be forthcoming, but it wouldn’t be too late to work on her and obtain the information he wanted.
“I will capture that woman. You guys take care of the rest of the cult members.”
Woohyuk gave a simple instruction to his party and waited for the right timing.
Afterward, when the bombing of the fireballs subsided, he whipped the monster mount and rushed towards the band of witches.
Slap!
“Keu-Reu-Reulng!”
The monster mount, which looked like a mix between a rhino and a lizard, roared and rushed toward the red-haired woman.
Despite the fierce momentum, the woman calmly raised her staff without any sign of fear.
Rumble!
Sparks erupted from the ground, forming a large circular flame barrier.
As a result, Woohyuk was trapped alone in the barrier and separated from his allies.
However, the barrier wasn’t enough to contain a person who prevented a great catastrophe and who even defeated Ancient Demons.
Hwi-Ang!
When Woohyuk activated the Ring of Prominence, an exit appeared in the circular flame barrier.
[The power of the Ancient Devil Harpes].
Using the ring, Woohyuk was able to freely handle the flames created by those with a lower demonic hierarchy than himself.
However, the woman with red hair, who was not aware of this fact, looked surprised and quickly sought to close the opening in her barrier.
“It’s useless to struggle!”
Woohyuk pulled Grandia out of its scabbard and narrowed the gap.
Then, the witches who were waiting behind the red-haired woman chanted and began bombarding Woohyuk with fireballs.
Bam-Bam-Bam-Bam!
Each of the fireballs was weak individually, but it was a nuisance when combined together.
Helena, who had approached the supporting witches while Woohyuk was releasing his demonic energy, quickly dispatched the witches.
Flash!
The holy magic of the Saintess was diametrically opposed to the magical properties of the witches.
Her power level was also overwhelming enough to cover the entire battlefield, so most of the witches were easily defeated.
Luckily, the witches who were located outside Helena’s magic spell range were taken care of by Choi Kayoon, so the overall battle advantage quickly leaned toward Woohyuk’s party.
“So, what are you going to do now? Will you keep resisting?”
“Keuk…!”
At Woohyuk’s provocation, the red-haired woman pulled out a dagger with a defeated face.
She was planning on summoning the monsters of the abyss by offering her life as a sacrifice.
However, Woohyuk noticed this and quickly snatched her wrist.
Crack!
His ruthless grab broke the joints in her arm.
The red-haired woman screamed and made a painful expression,
“Ahhhhhh!”
“I can’t let you die so easily. You have to answer my questions first.”
“Do you think I’ll divulge anything? I will never betray Lilith no matter what!”
“But what if it was Lilith’s will for you to be caught here? What happens if your betrayal was already predestined?”
“… What the hell are you talking about?!”
The red-haired woman who rebelled violently showed a face filled with condescending jeer for an instant. It seemed that what Woohyuk said sounded too absurd to her.
To be intentionally thrown towards one’s enemy… she had never considered that thought before.
This was because it was considered a sign of disrespect for Lilith and the seven witches under her to question any orders or motives.
As the woman emphasized her faith again, Woohyuk gave a cold smile and continued,
“It seems you’re too slow to understand the situation, so I’ll kindly explain. You’re just Lilith’s tool. You’re a tool that can give me the right motivation to seek growth and direction.”
Lilith’s ultimate purpose was to flip the existing order by advancing Woohyuk as a demon.
It was understandable in this context that many witches would be sacrificed for Woohyuk’s development.
Therefore, it was highly likely that this incident was also Lilith’s design.
Obviously, he couldn’t prove his point and make it an objective fact, but it was also an invaluable argument to shake the heart and trust of this red-haired woman.
The conversation flowed exactly as Woohyuk expected.
“I-I’m not being used for only that kind of role! Even so, I’m an executive favored by Melena, the Witch of Lust! I’m not just a consumable!”
“That’s funny. If so, tell me the purpose of you coming here. Is it really that important for you to be here right now?”
“Keu…!”
The woman with red hair clenched her teeth with a resentful expression.
Certainly, her current role was simple spying and expansion.
Of course, there was an additional task of capturing Joanna, the real ruler of the Rhine Kingdom, by biding her time and looking for an opening, but the timing was never right.
This was because Drake, the Black Dragon King, was always standing by Joanna’s side after the return of the dragons.
So even though she hated to admit it, much of Woohyuk’s words made sense and were convincing.
‘What kind of information is Lilith trying to convey to that man through me?’
At this point, there weren’t many secret plans that she knew of.
The woman with red hair, who had been deep in thought for a while, nodded as if she had come up with something.
‘Yes. Considering everything, that’s the only thing.’
The location of the Seven Color Rainbow Ring material that still remained in the East.
The Witch Cult was collecting all the materials and moving them to a secret place.
This was done to lure Woohyuk to a suitable place in the future.
However, telling him in advance of their preparations was actually an act of gifting him the material for the Seven Color Rainbow Ring.
It seemed that Lilith wanted to advance the advent period as much as possible by sacrificing everything and everyone.
When the red-haired woman made a bitter expression, Woohyuk pressured her,
“Do you still have no intention of opening your mouth? I tortured Amon, the seventh-ranked Demon King, and made even him confess.”
“… Do you think I will yield to such threats? Furthermore, it hasn’t even been proven for sure if your words are true! I will never give you any information, so if you want to torture me, give it a try!”
Basically, the red-haired woman was an executive of the Witch Cult.
Thus, faith was the last strand of pride for her in her current situation.
Even if she was really abandoned, she had no intention of becoming a blabbering, unfaithful witch.
Woohyuk immediately summoned Demon King Ami, as he expected such a reaction.
“She is a prisoner of war. Whip her until she becomes compliant.”
“Yes, Asura.”
Being trained by Woohyuk, Demon King Ami knew how to torture others into submission.
Before long, the sound of whipping filled the area…
“Ahhhhhhhhh!”
The woman with red hair, who had become half-naked, screamed terrifyingly.
Choi Kayoon, who was watching the tortured figure, shouted into Woohyuk’s ear over the screaming noise,
“But will she become obedient? The witch officers I met in the Izuna Kingdom refused to be prisoners and committed suicide themselves.”
It was a story about Amy, the shadow killer who had now become an undead.
Woohyuk nodded towards Choi Kayoon.
“Sure, she’ll succumb. Even if she’s a With Cult officer, her mental power is limited. So, if one targets that weakness well, one can train and dominate over another without much effort.”
Everyone had at least one mental trauma that could appear in a nightmare.
Woohyuk told Ami to stop for a brief moment and grabbed the woman by her hair. Her body had been scourged by Ami’s whip.
He decided to identify her weaknesses through his Memory Pendant.
Using the pendant, Woohyuk looked into her past for a while and then frowned.
“Hmm… she had that sort of trauma.”
“What? I’m curious, so please tell me,” Helena asked.
“This woman, when she was a child, almost fell into a lake. After that, it seems that she’s never gone close to a large body of water again,” Woohyuk answered.
“Then, to continue the torture, we should take her to a body of water. Are there any lakes nearby?” Helena continued.
“If my memory is correct, there’s a good place around here.”
Woohyuk knew the geography of the Serendia Province well because he once directly ruled the Rhines Kingdom.
As he finished preparing the vicious torture plan with Choi Kayoon and Helena, the woman with red hair started crying.
“N-No! Please don’t drown me in the lake!”
“It’s already too late. If you’re afraid of water torture, you should have listened to us earlier.”
Woohyuk was a leader who didn’t show mercy to the enemy.
The woman trembled silently at his cold appearance.
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