Chapter 179: Warriors of the Great Forest

Befitting its name, the 'Great' Temple of Rakan was a large, majestic building.

Despite that, the High Priest, who had the highest authority here, lived in a humble abode. The room didn't even have a sofa!

Unlike his small, humble room, the High Priest was tall; he was even taller than Burkan.

The High Priest, who was garbed in black religious habit, was more than 2 meters tall. His incredible height was accompanied by a sturdy, strong rock-like body.

'Now I know why they call him the High Priest of Blood and Iron.'

Becoming a High Priest of the Rakan Church came with quite a bit of fame, so Kang Oh already knew some things about him.

The High Priest of Blood and Iron, Mahakan.

Of all the members of the Rakan Church, he was considered the greatest of their clerics, and was also known as a martial artist.

"May Rakan's grace be with you."

"May Rakan's grace be with you."

Burkan and Mahakan clasped their hands in prayer and bowed to each other. It was a greeting that Rakan's followers gave to each other.

"How have you been, Lord Mahakan?" Burkan raised his head and said.

"I've been well. Who is this?" Mahakan stared at Kang Oh.

"He's my blood brother."

"My name is Kang Oh."

"I am Mahakan."

Kang Oh and Mahakan greeted each other.

"Anyway, why did you need to see me all of sudden? Is something wrong?"

"Yes. I came to ask you for a favor."

"What kind of favor?"

"Show it to him," Burkan said.

Then, Kang Oh pulled out the diamond embedded skull from his inventory.

"Mm."

Seeing that, Mahakan's expression stiffened.

"Do you know what this is?"

"The Evil God's sacred treasure."

Mahakan already knew what the skull or more specifically, Nemeth's Skull, was.

"Exactly. I'd like to leave this with the Rakan Church," Kang Oh said bluntly.

Mahakan kept his mouth shut and silence dominated the room. Burkan and Kang Oh just stared at Mahakan.

A short while later...

He finally said, "Hoo, this must also be Lord Rakan's will."

It seemed like he understood what keeping Jaila's sacred treasure here entailed.

Like cockroaches, the Evil God Worshippers would keep coming back, no matter how many of them were killed. They wouldn't give up on the sacred treasure.

If that's the case, then they would continuously seek the sacred treasure using whatever methods necessary.

However, Mahakan was willing to take responsibility for the item, despite the inherent risks involved.

"Thank you." Kang Oh and Burkan simultaneously bowed their heads.

Mahakan extended his hand and took Nemeth's Skull. Then, black energy rose from the skull. It was almost as if it were rejecting Mahakan, as he worshipped a different god.

"It truly is one of the Evil God's sacred treasures; it emits an awful energy like all the rest." Mahakan furrowed his brow.

"It's dangerous," Burkan said.

Mahakan nodded his head. He fully agreed with him.

"Is there anything else? If not, then I'll go and take care of this."

"No," Burkan said.

"Then I'll see you next time."

He was right about to leave, but...

"One second, please." Kang Oh raised his hand.

"What's the matter?"

"Could you please take care of this too?" Kang Oh pulled out the Bronze Goat Statue.

"Hoo, that item's also associated with the Evil God I see."

"Yes. It turns a person into one of the Evil God's disciples," Kang Oh said.

"Please give it to me." Mahakan took the Bronze Goat Statue. "Is that everything?" Mahakan asked.

"Yes." Kang Oh nodded his head.

[You have completed the quest, Transport Jaila's Sacred Treasure.]

"Then, take care," Mahakan said.

Kang Oh and Burkan followed the paladins, who waited on standby outside, and left the great temple.

"Hoo, I'm glad to be free of those items," Kang Oh said.

"Lord Mahakan isn't the type of person to shirk his duty," Burkan said.

"He looked strong."

"He's about as strong as me."

"I see."

Mahakan was a monk, so he was known as a cleric that knew the way of the fist.

Seeing as how Burkan said that they were about even in strength, Mahakan must be a Master Monk.

"Anyway, everything ended smoothly."

"It's all thanks to you," Kang Oh flattered.

"Let's go have a drink."

"Sure."

* * *

Jae Woo laid on a sofa, turned on the TV with the remote, and changed the channel to TGN.

The Winged Snake Nest Expedition would be aired today. It was almost time for the program to start.

He watched commercials while wearily laying on his sofa. Then, Yura opened the door and came in. She was wearing a thick jacket, and appeared to be going out.

"Where are you going?" Jae Woo asked.

"College," Yura said.

"Ah."

Yura loved food, so she decided to be a chef. She'd just recently started attending a culinary school.

"Take care."

"Mhmm. Why are you in the living room at this time of day? It's not like you." Yura looked at him strangely.

"The footage I sold is being shown today. If the viewership is high, then I get a bonus, so I want to see how it does."

"Oh, ok. Keep up the good work."

"You too."

Right before she left, Kang Oh thought of his other sister, Mina.

"Where's Mina at anyway?"

"Mina? She went to see her boyfriend."

"Ah, is that so?" Jae Woo gripped his phone and sent Mina a message.

- Come home early.

She'd never, ever respond to this message.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Kang Oh asked.

In his opinion, Yura was much prettier than Mina, but guys didn't really go after her.

"I don't."

Her face seemed to say, 'Why do you ask?'.

"You really don't have one? You're not trying to keep it a secret, are you?" Jae Woo looked at her suspiciously.

"Why would I hide it? It's not like there'd be anything wrong with it." Yura grinned and countered, "You have a girlfriend now, so when are you going to introduce her to us?"

"When I get the chance."

'My girlfriend is so famous and popular that...'

"Anyway, I'll be going now."

"Alright. Call me if you're going to be late. I'll come out to get you."

"I'll be fine."

Bang.

She closed the front door.

Jae Woo focused on the TV.

A short while later...

Drum roll!

The program started with a view of the various tribes' warriors gathering in a single place, accompanied by some spectacular music.

The title was as follows:

Warriors of the Great Forest!

Then, it showed the expedition force splitting into four groups and attacking the Winged Snake Nest.

Many networks, GBS included, would usually explain the footage to the viewers first, but the TGN producers had boldly decided against it.

The footage was exciting enough and was improved by the music, background noise, and special effects, so adding in subtitles or explanations was unnecessary.

It was as if they were confident that the product would speak for itself.

He continued to watch, and began to understand why they were so confident in the footage.

"Hoh."

He participated in the southern expedition force, so he didn't know what happened in the other areas; he curiously watched on to see how the other groups performed.

The warriors in each area, as well as the players that had joined the expedition, performed admirably.

TGN's editing was magnificent, as it helped zoom in on their performance. It felt as though he was watching a good war film.

'As expected of TGN. They're good.'

They weren't the number 1 gaming channel for nothing.

Jae Woo picked up his phone and opened the TGN's real time chat window.

- Look at how many snakes there are. Disgusting.

- Ah, I should've been there too.

- Commenter above me, are you even high enough to be in the Great Forest?

- It's amazing to see all of the Great Forest's warriors fighting together!

- This is awesome!

- I see a lot of famous players too. Pavadun's Executor, Tongen, Wind Archer, Sephiro, Twin Sword's Twin Head, Spear Knight, Geon, and the one with the jet-black greatsword must be Oga.

- They're all players that are in the Great Forest. Several of the Great Forest's most renowned warriors are there too. Nedav's Chieftain, Aman, Jirga, the one swinging the gigantic sword, Shila, known as the Great Forest's greatest healer, and Twin Swordsman, Krohn.

- Even if these well-known figures weren't here, it would've been good. Humans and snakes are fighting so intensely.

- I keep getting surprised by the tunnels that appear along the way, as well as the snakes that pop out of them.

- This is really good.

- The editing's good too.

- Agreed.

'As expected.'

The Warriors of the Great Forest was, as expected, drawing a lot of attention from its viewers.

'The viewership will be pretty high.'

He was wondering what the viewership would be, as the program had drawn interest even before TGN had broadcast it.

Anyway, the program continued, showing Aman's expedition force reaching the entrance to the Snake Queen's nest. That was the end of part 1.

* * *

Once the annoying ads were out of the way, part 2 of the Warriors of the Great Forest began.

Part 2 started with the elite 31 warriors entering the Snake Queen's lair.

Drum roll!

The warriors advanced with solemn expressions, accompanied by awe-inspiring music. Aman, who stood in front, was focused on the most.

Of course, Kang Oh's carefree expression was shown a little too.

A short while later...

Everything that Jae Woo had experienced firsthand was being shown to him on TV.

The Snake Queen spat out extremely adhesive green liquid while the warriors closed in.

And...

Suddenly, the Snake Queen revealed its second head and devoured one of the warriors.

The editing, which made the Snake Queen's second head appear so suddenly, coupled with the goosebump inducing music, completely surprised everyone.

- Holy, that surprised me.

- Ah, I wet my pants.

- Who edited this!? Give them an award. Hahaha.

- Holy, there are two of them!?

- Wow, you have to kill two raid bosses?

- Holy crap.

It seemed like the viewers were misunderstanding something, though it was understandable.

But then, Kang Oh explained that the Snake Queen had two heads, and the elite troops crazily charged at it.

The battle continued quickly, and was so exciting that it didn't give people a chance to breathe. In the midst of all that, the program showed Kang Oh carrying his team, appearing like the protagonist of the story!

At some point, it reached the climax.

The Snake Queen flew into the air! Kang Oh, who'd transformed into the Red Demon, chased after it!

It ended in Kang Oh's victory!

With his wings outstretched, he slowly descended to the ground as if he were gliding. Then, the warriors roared with cheers and pushed their fists into the air!

It was truly a moving moment.

- A battle in the air?

- Holy crap.

- Did this really happen?

- Who is that person?

- He's a famous player called Oga. He's going to be called a legend from now on.

- I'm not so sure about that, but this footage is amazing.

- Agreed.

- Can't say no to that.

Once the program was over, people began to post en mass on Arthtory regarding the Warriors of the Great Forest.

[The legendary video, Warriors of the Great Forest. Make sure you watch it. Watch it twice, no three times.]

[A highlight video of the Warriors of the Great Forest for busy people. Watch the original if you can!]

[The flying Oga... who is he?]

[Oga, Oga, Oga!]