Chapter 119

"The Emperor, who had passed away, suddenly came back to life one day..."

The story told by the spear soldier was one already familiar to Seong Jihan, who had cleared this map before.

It spoke of the former emperor of the Wind Empire who died a year ago but suddenly resurrected.

This emperor reclaimed his throne from his son and launched a massive invasion against the Cloud Empire.

His primary objective in doing so was to obtain the 'Divine Beasts'.

"The Emperor said he sought a Divine Beasts to offer to the Phoenix that resurrected him. As you know, when we talk about Divine Beasts, it's the Cloud Empire, right? Hence, the Emperor broke the non-aggression treaty and prepared for a full-scale invasion."

"... And he specifically ordered that the Azure Dragon and the Phoenix be secured at all costs. There was a spell on the entire Phoenix Corps, but it seems I was fortunate enough to escape it... When I saw the Phoenix, I lost my mind."

For an NPC pleading for his life, this 'Awakened Black Spear Soldier' sure was verbose.

The character seemed like a lore dump.

- When will this damn lore end?

- This map has the most dialogue, damn it.

- Now that Seong Jihan summoned the Phoenix, there's even more dialogue.

- Just tell us the boss's weakness already!

Given that even Diamond rankers played on this map, the viewers were familiar with the NPC's dialogue.

Although a few lines had been added because Seong Jihan summoned the Phoenix, in essence, it boiled down to the Wind Empire's resurrected emperor's invasion.

"Hmm, is that so...? Emperor Chojyo resurrected using the power of the Phoenix?"

"I didn't even know a real phoenix existed."

"One thing I'm curious about: Why did they not use the original phoenix flag and instead use a blackbird flag? Wasn't it originally red?"

The Phoenix's symbolic color was fiery red. Yet, the banners and the undead from the invading Feng Empire all bore a blackbird.

When Bijang inquired about this, the spear soldier replied, "Because the phoenix that appeared was black."

"A black phoenix?!"

"Yes. So, the Emperor ordered all flags within the empire to be changed... If not, the phoenix's offspring would punish them."

The moment the spear soldier mentioned the phoenix's offspring, a loud flapping noise resonated from the sky, and he screamed in terror.

"They're here! Those creatures!"

Those creatures.

The final bosses of the One-Leg map had appeared.

'They're here.'

The bosses of the One-Leg map, the Phoenix's 'Offsprings'.

Rather than a single entity, it was a swarm of large birds, all merged together.

Seeing the approaching flock, Bijang murmured in disbelief.

"...What the hell? Those sizes... They're the offspring of the Phoenix?!"

"Yes... Those are indeed the Phoenix's offspring..."

"How can they be offspring!"

Bijang and the spear soldier were both in shock, but for Seong Jihan and the viewers, it was a familiar scene.

- He came this far In Gold...

- Not surprising anymore, lol.

- Can they clear it?

- But since Hojo is dead, it's almost a guaranteed win, right?

- Yeah, if there's no Hojo, Bijang will probably help out.

While the Phoenix's offspring were not weak, Hojo, the leader of Phoenix Corps, had been a notoriously challenging opponent in the game.

So, with his absence, the game's outcome looked promising.

Moreover, there was another factor assisting in countering the Phoenix's offspring.

"They look pretty strong!"

"I... I know their weakness!"

The spear soldier mentioned a 'fatal weakness'.

"The real one has a blue beak!"

While all the Phoenix's offspring looked identical, their beak colors were diverse, each sporting one of five different shades.

The genuine offspring changed its color randomly with every game.

- So the real one's blue this time.

- Is the number the same, 5?

- Yeah, same number. 25 divided into five colors.

When the real one is attacked, the fakes also get damaged and vanish along with it.

"There's such a weakness, so even though the Phoenix's offspring is the final boss of this map, it's been considered weaker than the Hojo."

"Blue color... How do you know about that?"

"Only the chick with a blue beak ate the sacrificial offerings. The rest were becoming transparent from behind."

"Hmm, okay. Let's start the attack with the one with the blue beak."

"Ah, and about mixing the Phoenix's power into Striking Thunderbolt, it's best to refrain as much as possible..."

It seemed that due to the floating phoenix, the spear soldier was about to add something more.

At that remark, Seong Jihan tilted his head.

'Striking Thunderbolt?'

How does the NPC spear soldier know of the existence of the Striking Thunderbolt?

When Seong Jihan looked at the spear soldier with curious eyes,

Suddenly, his mouth stopped.

No, not only his mouth,

The entire world had stopped.

[The system detects an anomaly in the NPC's dialogue...]

[An unauthorized terminal of the Constellation has infiltrated the game.]

[Expelling the opponent.]

'What...?'

And then,

In the paused world, the spear soldier slowly brushed his hair back.

* * * * *

"Damn. I wanted to talk to 'the head' for a moment."

Spear soldier, referring to Seong Jihan as 'the head'.

Such an opponent was predictable.

'The Constellation of the Dead Star, huh?'

How did it get in when it was prohibited from approaching Earth?

"I briefly possessed the body of an old servant, but you caught on."

[Expulsion procedure in progress. 5. 4...]

"Ah, got it. Hey head, be careful with the birds! They are dangerous, so don't get caught! Especially, don't mix in the power of the Phoenix! The 'tree' can detect you!"

Spear soldier urgently warning Seong Jihan.

It was advice filled with genuine concern.

"See you next time!"

With a final wave, the spear soldier, the only moving entity in the paused world, also stopped.

[Resuming the game.]

Only after this system message appeared did the game resume.

"Huh... Why?"

The spear soldier, who had warned against using the power of the phoenix, looked puzzled and then wondered aloud,

"Why did you stop talking?"

"No, nothing."

- What's up with him?

- Was there a mismatch while adding dialogue in real-time from BattleNet?

- Lol, since when did BattleNet become such a fancy game platform?

- It doesn't seem like BattleNet has been perfect since the last Top 100 game, right?

The viewers watching the game, apparently not having heard the earlier dialogue, were only commenting on the spear soldier's stuttering.

'BattleNet... Isn't it too easily breached?'

It hasn't even been a week since the end of the Top 100 match, yet another intrusion?

There was definitely a hole somewhere in the BattleNet system.

'And, was that spear soldier originally a servant of the Constellation?'

Expository spear soldier.

It was strange that the pleading soldier calmly explained the situation and even knew the enemy boss's weakness.

He thought it was just a conveniently created NPC by the system, but it seemed that wasn't the case.

'What's the problem with mixing the Striking Thunderbolt and the White Flame of the Phoenix?'

If the Phoenix itself was the problem, he would have told him to put away the floating Phoenix he was currently using as a buff.

What he pointed out was specifically mixing the two powers.

Could this be related to how the Hojo was so easily defeated earlier?

As Seong Jihan was contemplating these recent events,

"Master."

Ariel, who had been left at the entrance of the bridge, approached and spoke.

"Can you use me to catch those birds?"

"Why?"

"Those creatures are under the protection of the World Tree and are the enemies who prey on our kind."

Seong Jihan recalled the warning given by Karlein.

The advice that the 'tree' can detect you.

Did the tree signify the World Tree?

'In the last life, the World Tree Alliance and Kill the King acted in tandem to destroy the Earth... weren't they not on good terms?'

Upon reflection, they didn't have a direct connection.

The World Tree Alliance only caused Earth's league ranking to plummet in the Space League.

Kill the King had sprung from the dungeons and eradicated Earthlings.

'Otherworldly forces are also complicated.'

As Seong Jihan was contemplating this,

Ariel, perhaps sensing his discomfort, said anxiously, "If you capture that corrupted phoenix with Eclipse, your Shadow Sword stat will increase."

"Really? Then I have to catch it."

Seong Jihan suddenly stopped pondering.

Whether it's the World Tree Alliance or Kill the King,

If his stats would increase, he couldn't resist.

Seong Jihan reached out to Ariel.

Shhhh~

The shadow elf disappeared, and a shadow sword was held in Seong Jihan's left hand.

"You... What is that...?"

As the solemn shadow elf transformed into a sword, Bijang widened his eyes in surprise.

"I will handle it Gatekeeper. Please take care of the barriers."

"Do you not need help?"

"Don't worry!"

Seong Jihan firmly asked not to intervene, and even stuck his Phoenix Flag into the ground.

"Hmm. Isn't that too reckless? Maybe I should help..."

"I told you I'm fine!"

Nameless Divine Arts, Footwork Technique - Flashing Sky Thunder Steps

If he's on the ground, will Bijang help him?

Seong Jihan quickly soared into the sky, using his Footwork Technique.

To anyone watching, he was clearly eager about the stat.

- Is he rushing because he thinks Bijang will help?

- Why did he leave the Phoenix Flag behind tho? LOL.

- Diamond rankers form teams to catch bosses like this. Isn't he being too reckless?

- It's Seong Jihan, after all.

- He even defeated Hojo~

Kiiiik!

As Seong Jihan soared, shadowy grotesque clones started to charge at him one by one.

Maybe they deemed that a single human-like Seong Jihan didn't require all of them at once.

The Phoenix's offspring seemed relaxed.

However,

[This is my speciality.]

Whoosh!

As the extended shadow sword touched the Phoenix's offspring,

Before even slicing their skin, they started to get absorbed directly into the shadow sword.

Kiik! Kiiik!

The grotesque beings twisted to escape as they were pulled into the sword.

But they couldn't resist the sword's absorption, and were completely drawn in.

"Huh. They can't resist at all?"

[They are mere shells that had their 'immortality' taken away by the World Tree. They are nothing but shadows left from the original Phoenixes.]

Saying that they can't resist the shadow sword, Ariel spoke confidently.

[I'll keep catching them.]

Kiiiik!

And so, after easily swallowing ten of them with the shadow sword,

[Your Shadow Sword stat increased by 1.]

A message made Seong Jihan smile.

'Today, it's quite easy.'

Meanwhile,

Kiiiiik...

Unlike before, the Phoenix's offspring hesitated upon seeing the shadow sword.

[They are trying to flee. We must catch them quickly.]

'Ah, I can't let them go.'

Nameless Divine Arts, Dark Shadow Technique - Dark Soul Vortex

Seong Jihan approached the Phoenixes, using the Dark Soul Vortex.

As the shadow sword swirled and grew in size......

Kiiiiiiik!

One by one, the horde of monsters was sucked powerlessly into the Dark Soul Vortex.

Among them, the main body with a blue beak held out a bit longer.

[Stop this futile resistance!]

As Ariel said, it didn't last long and vanished without a trace.

In this manner, the 24th monster was absorbed in an instant.

Finally, only the monster with the blue beak remained.

Kiiiiii...

Even while being disintegrated by the Dark Soul Vortex, the last monster resisted for quite some time.

But it was just prolonging its inevitable fate.

Then,

Whooosh!

The monster's eyes blazed as it fixed its gaze on Seong Jihan.

It was a piercing look, as if trying to see through him.

But soon, flames erupted from its eyes.

From the beak of the monster, words were spat out.

<"Shadow. Worthless.">

[What?! We're worthless?!]

Rarely showing such emotion, Ariel became angry.

The Dark Soul Vortex began swirling even more quickly.

The monster could only stare at Seong Jihan for a short moment before being swiftly absorbed.

<observation value.="" none.="">

[You little...!]

Even till the end, the Phoenix's offspring chick continued to provoke Ariel.

As the last monster met its fate in the Dark Soul Vortex, a system message appeared before Seong Jihan.

[Your Shadow Sword stat increased by 2.]

[You can no longer absorb the power of shadow from this monster.]

"Such restrictions are always so precise."

They should focus on security instead of placing these kind of limits.

While Seong Jihan was satisfied with gaining Shadow Sword stats, the subsequent message made him slightly regretful.

Well, at least it increased by three.

"Plus, the real reward is something else."

Seong Jihan looked down from the sky.

What he was looking at was the Thundercloud Spear held by the Empire's Imperial Gatekeeper, Bijang.

It was time to claim the reward from the epic quest.