Chapter 227 – Sphinx’s Tomb (2)
Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
Before entering a dungeon, there was a lot of preparation that needed to be done.
Especially when the party involved was Isaac Ivanov’s.
This had already experienced numerous terrorist attacks and they had been in countless deadly situations.
“Access is denied to reporters!”
Therefore, it was natural that Isaac Ivanov’s party would demand thorough surveillance, security and supervision ahead of their attack on the Sphinx’s Tomb dungeon.
“Those who do not cooperate will be shot!”
That’s why the reporters did not act recklessly in the face of the Egyptian army’s words despite the huge story that was in front of them.
‘If you make a wrong move you’ll really get shot.’
‘Now is not the time to take risks.’
Isaac Ivanov’s party had no choice but to do whatever they could to ensure their dungeon attack wasn’t hindered, even if it meant using brutal methods.
It was under this strict supervision that Isaac Ivanov’s party gathered in front of a dungeon gate which had appeared in the center of the Pyramid of Khafre.
They were made up of Isaac Ivanov’s team of three and Johann Georg’s team of eleven, for a total of fourteen players, who were making their final preparations before entering the dungeon.
“Check your inventories one more time and make sure you have all the items we need!”
And among them, Johann Georg and his ten teammates were the busiest. Johann Georg repeatedly shouted at them to check their inventories.
Kim Woo-jin watched quietly from the side.
‘There’s no indication.’
Kim Woo-jin was holding a small device in his hand.
It was an alarm that was connected to all kinds of surveillance equipment that Oh Se-chan had installed in this place a long while before.
It was given to Kim Woo-jin so that he would be able to tell if anyone was trying to secretly approach them.
And this alarm was currently silent.
‘That means nothing was detected on the infrared and ultrasonic cameras.’
This meant that nothing had been detected by the sensors so far.
At that moment, Kim Woo-jin’s eyes became golden.
[Horus’ Eyes have opened.]
Horus’ Eyes could see through everything!
The moment he opened his eyes, the view of the world that Kim Woo-jin had, immediately changed as information of all kinds became visible.
‘They prepared a lot.’
Even information on the items Johann Georg and his party had brought with them was visible.
But Kim Woo-jin couldn’t find anything strange.
‘Horus’ Eyes can’t see anything.’
There was also no indications anywhere else.
‘If so…’
That was why Kim Woo-jin was certain.
‘It looks like they brought out the Cap of Invisibility.’
That this was the item the assassin who was targeting him was using.
Kim Woo-jin was also satisfied by this fact.
‘Then all the preparations are complete.’
At that moment, Kim Woo-jin spoke up.
“We’ll enter the dungeon soon.”
The dungeon attack had commenced.
…
Cluck cluck!
From its appearance, there wasn’t much of a difference between these chickens and normal chickens.
These chickens looked quite similar to chickens that one could find on a chicken farm, except for the fact that they had black spots and stripes on their bodies and beaks.
A hundred such chickens were gathered, tapping their beaks against the floor. And from a distance, one might even think they were a group of chickens who were pecking the feed that had been thrown on the floor.
But if one were to get closer, they would never believe that these were normal chickens.
First, they were many times too big.
Every single one of these chickens had a height above two meters when they stood straight.
Puk Puk!
What was more surprising was that the things they were pecking at were actually Trolls!
Roar!
These chickens weren’t even pecking at the Trolls and eating them ravenously, instead, they were slowly peeling the Trolls’ flesh back and pecking at them. (TL: bruh these chickens are metal)
Feral Chickens!
They were monsters who could only be found in 5 Floor dungeons and above. These monsters were known for their cruelty, ferocity, viciousness and cleverness.
Moreover, because they lived in large groups, they were monsters that even veterans, who were experienced with attacking 5 Floor dungeons, would get cold sweat if they encountered them.
That’s why they were nicknamed Chicken Run.
This was because whenever players encountered a large group of Feral Chickens, they would run away like cowards.
But now a group of people were approaching these chickens without even trying to conceal their presence.
Rattle!
They even made a lot of noise and revealed their might.
Koo, koo!
At the sound, the Feral Chickens looked up from the Trolls they were pecking at and observed the group that approached them with hostility, with eyes filled with ridicule.
Koh!
The eyes of these chickens then became filled with murderous intent,
They intended to smash the heads of these fools who dared to interrupt their meals and peck at their brains.
Koh?
But the eyes of the Feral Chickens shook when they finally got a good look at the group who were approaching them.
Koo!
The ferocious Feral Chickens immediately became terrified.
Rattle!
The fear of encountering a group of over 500 skeletons was not something that could be explained.
Moreover, it wasn’t just an army of Skeleton Soldiers.
Hyaha!
A group of Skeleton Wizards, who were poised to throw fireballs at any moment were moving alongside the group of Skeleton Soldiers.
Kyaha!
And at the front, the line of Skeleton Knights gave off a horrifying momentum.
But the one that drew the most attention was the Dullahan, the headless knight who stood at the helm of the army.
The eerie cries coming out of the Dullahan were enough to make the meat on the Feral Chickens’ bodies harden.
Kyahahaha!
The Dullahan’s head’s cries filled their ears.
[The Dullahan’s cries stuns the Feral Chickens.]
Koo!
Following that ear piercing shriek, the Feral Chickens subconsciously took a step back.
And it was at that moment that the hunt had come to an end,
What followed could only be called a massacre.
“Amazing.”
Johann Georg exclaimed with a sincere expression on his face.
The scene in front of him was already coming to a close and there were only a few Feral Chickens left.
Clap clap clap!
He couldn’t help but clap when he saw six Skeleton Soldiers move like a well oiled machine in order to take down a Feral Chicken.
“Every time I see Mr. Ivanov’s Skeleton Soldiers I can’t help but feel admiration.”
Of course, this was only possible because Isaac Ivanov’s skeletons were truly different from others.
“It’s really different from my own Skeleton Soldiers.”
This was proven by the fact that the way Johann Georg’s Skeleton Soldiers attacked was really different.
Koo!
While the Skeleton Soldiers with shields blocked the Feral Chickens’ attacks, the Skeleton Soldiers with spears stabbed the chickens’ bodies at the same time.
There was no glamor, only simplicity.
Honestly, compared to the prowess displayed by Isaac Ivanov’s skeletons, it was a sight that would make one shake their head rather than applaud.
‘It’s still the same, without any flaws.’
Instead, it was more compact because of its simplicity.
Moreover, Kim Woo-jin knew better than anyone just how effective this compactness could truly be.
‘That’s what made Johann Georg so fearsome.’
Johann Georg’s skeleton army was more like a wall of despair than a spear.
A wall of despair so high that even the Messiah Guilds was forced to give up its conquest.
‘It’s not that much now.’
Of course, that was only the case before Kim Woo-jin had returned to the past.
It was natural for the current Johann Georg’s abilities to be much weaker since Kim Woo-jin had effectively ‘stolen’ many important skills from him since his return.
“Your Book of the Dead is quite shocking no matter how many times I see it.”
More importantly, Kim Woo-jin had even managed to obtain skills that even Johann Georg didn’t have before he returned to the past.
Of course, that wasn’t the case for everything.
“I’m envious of your Boatman Charon(1) Skill.”
It was a skill that allowed the user to make a deal with Charon, the ferryman who took the dead to the underworld.
Skeleton Soldiers, Skeleton Knights, and even Dullahans and Death Knights could all be traded for as long as the appropriate price was paid.
And the price here was magic power. As long as he had magic power, Johann Georg would be able to maintain his skeleton army without needing new corpses to sacrifice.
‘It’s a horrific skill.’
It was one of the skills that bothered Kim Woo-jin as it had a hand in the creation of the King of Undead.
“It’s such a shame that there could only be one skill page.”
Of course, since it was a legendary skill, it wasn’t possible for more than one person to have it.
“If I had another one, I’d definitely give it to you without hesitation.”
Isaac Ivanov laughed at Johann Georg’s words.
Suddenly.
Kooii!
A painful screech could be heard.
“Shiba!”
Followed by a shout that sounded like thunder,
Whoo!
Johann Georg let out a short whistle at the sound, turning his head in Lee Jin-ah’s direction.
What he saw was Lee Jin-ah beating up a Feral Chicken with nothing but his fists.
Even in a place like a dungeon which was much more brutal than reality, such a sight was still quite shocking to behold.
“That guy is really amazing.”
Johann Georg sincerely expressed his admiration, and Kim Woo-jin let out a laugh.
“Clearing this dungeon will definitely be easy.”
When he heard that, Johann Georg subconsciously rubbed a ring on his finger and said.
“It’s a pleasure.”
Then he smiled at Kim Woo-jin.
Kim Woo-jin smiled right back at him. Of course, it was completely different on the inside.
‘Hades’ Ring.’
This was the first time that Kim Woo-jin had seen this item.
‘I never thought there could be something like this.’
Moreover, the effect of this item was so powerful that it shocked even Kim Woo-jin.
‘As long as he engraved a sign on them he would be able to make any undead monster his… this kind of robbery could only be possible with an item.’
It was a double-edged sword-like item for all those who had the Emissary of the Underworld as their halo.
Firstly, the merit was incredible.
Being able to take undead from others meant that it was possible for him to use an undead army that far surpassed his summoning limit.
This was the reason why Johann Georg had a team of ten other necromancers.
At the same time, it presented a risk factor. If there was one item that could do this, it was possible for there to be others that had a similar effect.
‘It would have been easier to get rid of Johann Georg with this item.’
If the Hades’ Ring had been in the Messiah Guild’s hands in the past, he was almost certain that Lee Se-jun would have hunted the King of Undead himself.
‘It’s such a headache.’
In other words, it was something that could be fatal to Kim Woo-jin, who was no different from the King of Undead.
This meant that as long as the imprints were engraved at that moment, then even his Skeleton Knights and Dullahan would be stolen away.
And if that happened, Kim Woo-jin would be forced to make sacrifices in order to summon new ones.
What if there was nothing to sacrifice?
That meant that he wouldn’t be able to summon anything.
‘The most troublesome part is that he revealed it himself.’
Johann Georg had directly informed Kim Woo-jin about the Hades’ Ring.
In a way, this could be seen as Johann Georg expressing his sincere loyalty to Isaac Ivanov as though he was saying ‘I have nothing to hide from you’.
But Kim Woo-jin knew the truth.
‘It’s a difficult threat to ignore.’
This was done to tie Isaac Ivanov’s feet. If Johann Georg and Isaac Ivanov were to have a confrontation, Isaac Ivanov wouldn’t have a choice but to be mindful of the Hades’ Ring’s effect.
Sometimes, revealing something was much more useful than concealing it.
‘That’s Johann Georg’s style.’
That was the King of Undead’s style.
He was the type who profited from revealing his power rather than gaining something by hiding it.
In fact, by deliberately revealing Hades’ Ring, Johann Georg would be able to hide his true power more easily.
‘Then I’d have to deal with the assassin wearing the Cap of Invisibility while focused on the ring.’
In that situation, it would be almost impossible for him to notice the presence of the assassin wearing the Cap of Invisibility which hid the wearer’s presence from the very world.
Moreover, it was impossible for him to identify just who the assassin wearing the Cap of Invisibility was.
‘There are restrictions, but…’
As much as it had amazing power, it also had many restrictions.
Once the cap was equipped, the wearer could not attack anything, and once they took it off there would be a 24hr cooldown before they could equip it again.
And finally, no food could be consumed while wearing the cap.
In truth, it wasn’t an item suited for assassination.
Instead, for Lee Se-jun, who was the owner of the Cap of Invisibility, it was more of a survival tool that could be used in the event of a bad situation.
It was one of the last items to protect he who should never die.
‘That doesn’t mean it can’t be used.’
Of course, as long as the shortcomings were covered for, there was no better tool for assassination.
The assassin’s success would be all but guaranteed.
Kim Woo-jin was also certain.
‘There’s no way to prevent their attacks.’
Kim Woo-jin was certain that if the assassin tried to attack him, he would be unable to prevent it or avoid it.
Of course, he had already prepared for that scenario.
[2,222 Feral Chickens have been killed.]
[Proceed to the next floor.]
Then they received the notification to head to the next floor.
When he heard the notification, Johann Georg gave Kim Woo-jin a smile.
“Time for the second floor. I want to reach the sixth floor as fast as possible.”
Kim Woo-jin nodded.
“Me too.”
The dungeon attack truly began in earnest.
(Note:
1. In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, Charon or Kharon is a psychopomp, the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the river Styx that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead.)
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