Chapter 187
At the same time.
Min Jin-Ho of Dogjeon was tapping the armrest of his chair with his index finger.
"So you're saying we lost two castles without even putting up a proper fight?"
And in such a short time?
"...I apologize."
"Ha, this is ridiculous."
Was this even a possible situation?
No matter how much he thought about it, it didn't make sense.
Was it even possible to withstand all the poison they had set up in the castle without any problem?
It was impossible with just a high level.
To withstand that level of poison, one would need to possess a skill that grants immunity to poison.
'Among those I know, no one possesses such a high-level immunity skill.'
Who on earth could it be?
Just then.
One of the executives who was supposed to be guarding outside the castle rushed in.
"Guild Master! Someone is attacking the castle!"
"Attacking?"
"Yes!"
"...It must be that guy without a doubt."
Min Jin-Ho rose from his seat.
The guy who took two castles from Dogjeon.
He became curious about the face of that damn bastard.
***
They arrived at the large eastern castle where Min Jin-Ho, the leader of Dogjeon, was stationed.
It was indeed a massive castle, incomparable to the two castles they had conquered earlier.
"Master, shall we start right away?"
"Of course."
"Understood!"
Michael led the ghosts and started attacking the castle's barrier.
This barrier had a much higher defense than the previous castles.
Therefore, it took longer than expected to destroy the barrier.
'Min Jin-Ho.'
Meanwhile, Min Jin-Ho appeared on top of the castle wall.
The corners of Jeong-Hoon's mouth curled up into a grin.
"There you are."
Jeong-Hoon pulled the bowstring, aiming at Min Jin-Ho.
Ultimate Arrow.
He released the drawn bowstring, and the arrow shot out in a parabola.
The arrow flew accurately towards Min Jin-Ho.
However, before the arrow could reach Min Jin-Ho, it struck the barrier.
'His expression is priceless.'
Min Jin-Ho's expression was completely distorted.
He must have noticed that the arrow was aimed at him by looking at the direction it came from.
*Crackle.* Crackle.
Fine cracks appeared where the Ultimate Arrow had struck.
It was an arrow with 1700% attack power, so it overwhelmed the barrier's defense.
As the ghosts continued to strike the barrier with their weapons, the cracks in the barrier gradually widened.
Crash!
Finally, the barrier shattered with a loud crash.
NPCs were lined up in front of it.
A far greater number of NPCs than in the previously conquered castles were firmly blocking the path.
"Enter first."
"Yes!"
Michael controlled the ghosts and passed through the NPCs in an instant.
The role of the ghosts this time was to disrupt the users lurking in the castle.
Unlike the previous castles, there were over 100 guild members stationed here, so it would be much more effective for the ghosts to enter first than for Jeong-Hoon to do so.
Meanwhile, Jeong-Hoon charged at the NPCs.
All the NPCs in the front line were holding shields.
Jeong-Hoon casually grabbed one of the shields in front of him and snatched it away with his strength.
Then, taking that shield, he pushed through the NPCs like a bulldozer.
"What strength..."
"We can't stop him!"
The NPCs were like leaves in the wind.
After breaking through the NPCs, he saw 20 users lined up in front of him.
They were close-combat specialists who also handled poison.
"What's this?!"
"It's necromancy! There's no other explanation!"
They were fighting the ghosts.
Meanwhile, Jeong-Hoon approached them.
"Gotcha!"
At that moment, one of the guild members threw a punch at Jeong-Hoon.
A green liquid splashed over Jeong-Hoon.
[Thousand Poison Immunity activated.]
[You are not poisoned.]
But even this poison couldn't harm Jeong-Hoon.
Jeong-Hoon wiped the liquid off his face with his hand and swung his sword at the users.
Every time he swung, the users' heads fell to the ground.
"Cough!"
"Ugh...!"
After quickly killing the 20 users, Jeong-Hoon entered the castle.
Similarly, the inside of the castle was filled with poison.
[Thousand Poison Immunity activated.]
[You are not poisoned.]
If it weren't for the Unique grade Thousand Poison Immunity, he would have already lost his life from the amount of poison.
"What the...?"
"How can a mere level 226 martial artist resist the poison...?"
"His face should be turning blue!"
The users who had prepared the poison looked at Jeong-Hoon with dumbfounded expressions.
"This level of poison can't bring me down."
Jeong-Hoon gave them a faint smile and slaughtered the users.
As expected of a castle that Dogjeon had owned for a long time, not only was it large in scale, but the scale of the poison was also extraordinary.
Jeong-Hoon frowned at the continuous poison party that followed.
'It's obstructing my vision.'
The thick poison gas inside the castle blurred his sight.
"Master! I'll guide you!"
"Alright."
Jeong-Hoon, guided by the ghosts, climbed the stairs to the upper floors.
Along the way, whenever he saw users fighting the ghosts, he quickly cut their throats.
When he finally entered the top floor, he found Min Jin-Ho, the leader of the Dogjeon Guild.
As if he had been waiting, Min Jin-Ho greeted Jeong-Hoon.
"...You've come."
A little while ago, when he was standing on the castle wall.
An arrow flew in, drawing a parabola.
Although it was blocked by the barrier, that arrow was clearly aiming for him.
Because of that, Min Jin-Ho was in a very bad mood.
On the surface, he was just a level 226 martial artist.
He couldn't believe that such a guy had raided their castle.
Jeong-Hoon grinned.
"Nice to meet you, Guild Master Min Jin-Ho."
"Are you aiming for the flag?"
Min Jin-Ho gestured with his chin.
A flag was planted there.
To conquer this castle, they had to pull out that flag.
Honestly, Jeong-Hoon was confident that he could pull out that flag right away.
He could order Michael to distract them and then forcibly pull out the flag.
But that option wasn't in his mind.
"That too... but first, I'm going to defeat you, the Poisoner."
"I see."
Min Jin-Ho nodded as if he had expected it.
He wouldn't let his guard down.
This guy had come all the way to the top floor alone, not with a large group.
And in the process, most of his guild members had been wiped out.
'It's a disguise.'
Level and class.
He had heard that there was a way to disguise those.
He hadn't been interested because there was no need to disguise himself, but now that he was facing someone who was disguised, he became curious.
Min Jin-Ho, the Poisoner, wiggled his fingers and activated a skill.
It released a deadly poison throughout the entire castle.
A nerve poison that even guild members proficient in poison couldn't withstand.
It was a poison that only he, who had completed the 4th class advancement, could endure.
Hiss-
With the sound of gas leaking, poisonous fog descended from the top floor.
[You have been poisoned.]
[Thousand Poison Immunity has partially resisted.]
[Your health is slowly decreasing!]
The corner of Jeong-Hoon's mouth twitched once.
'As expected, Thousand Poison Immunity isn't enough.'
As befitting the leader of Dogjeon, the power of the poison he used was beyond imagination.
However, compared to Min Jin-Ho, who had risen above the Heavenly Realm in his previous life, this was nothing.
Jeong-Hoon slowly raised his sword and pointed it at his neck.
"The poison is strong. Let's end this quickly."
"What...?"
Min Jin-Ho's pupils trembled wildly at Jeong-Hoon's words.
It wasn't that he was scared by his warning.
The poison he was currently inhaling was a deadly poison that destroyed nerves and took lives.
Even guild members proficient in handling poison couldn't last 30 seconds against this poison, yet he was able to endure it without any problems.
Whoosh!
Jeong-Hoon kicked off the ground and leaped forward.
At his movement technique, Min Jin-Ho hurriedly created distance and clapped his hands.
Purple liquid gushed up like a fountain from the entire floor.
[You have been poisoned.]
[Thousand Poison Immunity has partially resisted.]
[Your health is decreasing faster!]
As the poison stacked, his health decreased at a faster rate.
[Using Advanced Healing.]
[Health is not recovering properly.]
He managed to recover some of his health with healing, but even that wasn't a complete recovery.
"You didn't eat two of my castles for nothing. You're the first one to last this long."
Min Jin-Ho looked at Jeong-Hoon with a relaxed expression.
Two types of poison had already stacked.
He didn't know how he was enduring it, but his health must be decreasing.
As proof, Jeong-Hoon's complexion was gradually worsening.
"..."
However, the corners of Jeong-Hoon's mouth were still raised.
"Why are you so relaxed?"
Min Jin-Ho frowned, displeased by that.
"It's funny that you're guaranteeing victory."
"What?"
"Then I'll get serious too."
[Blackfield is activated.]
[All stats are increased by 1.5 times.]
[Due to the effect of Blackfield, all stats of monsters that invade the area are decreased by 10%.]
The cooldown was over, and he could activate Blackfield.
Jeong-Hoon's stats increased by 1.5 times, and conversely, Min Jin-Ho's stats decreased by 10%.
The floor turned black, and a black hand rose, grabbing Min Jin-Ho's ankle.
"What's this!"
"Simply put, it's an illusion."
Jeong-Hoon grinned and kindly explained Blackfield.
'If only I could equip my original equipment, this would be over quickly.'
He felt a bit regretful that he could only wear Siege War equipment.
Jeong-Hoon used his movement technique and rushed towards him.
"Gasp!"
Min Jin-Ho tried to use poison again, but Jeong-Hoon's sword moved a beat faster.
Slice.
With a chilling cutting sound, Min Jin-Ho's right wrist fell to the floor.
"Huh...?"
Min Jin-Ho looked down at his wrist on the floor with a blank expression.
It was a speed on a completely different level from before.
"It was a good fight."
Jeong-Hoon, this time for sure, cut off Min Jin-Ho's head.
Thud
His head rolled off and tumbled to the ground.
"Master! Shall I pull out that flag?"
Michael, who had been watching from hiding, revealed himself.
Jeong-Hoon shook his head.
"It's not over yet."
Jeong-Hoon quickly retrieved his sword, took out his bow, and pulled the string.
"...You're quick-witted."
Min Jin-Ho, whose head had been cut off, didn't disappear and was staring at Jeong-Hoon.
Then, the surroundings flashed brightly, and poison gathered towards Jeong-Hoon, clinging to his body.
The sticky feeling was quite unpleasant.
'Is this Extreme Poison?'
The strongest skill Min Jin-Ho wielded.
Extreme Poison.
It was a skill that concentrated all the surrounding poison energy onto the target, quickly ending their life.
[You have been poisoned.]
[Thousand Poison Immunity has partially resisted.]
[Your health is rapidly decreasing!]
Despite Thousand Poison Immunity resisting, his health started to drop rapidly.
[Using Advanced Healing.]
[Health is not recovering properly.]
Jeong-Hoon tried to replenish his health with Advanced Healing.
"Let's end this."
And he released the drawn bowstring.
The arrow pierced straight into the ceiling.
Heavenly Strike.
A rain of arrows poured down.
The poison that had gathered on Jeong-Hoon scattered once again.
"Kuaagh!"
This was because the rain of arrows poured down on the spot where Min Jin-Ho's illusion was hiding.
Extreme Poison was a very powerful skill, but it had a clear drawback.
He couldn't move his body while controlling the poison.
That's why he had created a clone beforehand and hid as an illusion to trap Jeong-Hoon with poison.
That was the reason why he was still fine even after his head was cut off.
In the future, Min Jin-Ho would succeed in eliminating all those fatal drawbacks, but not now.
Jeong-Hoon pulled the bowstring once again.
The illusion was dispelled by the rain of arrows, revealing his true form.
"Goodbye."
He released the drawn bowstring, and the arrow shot towards Min Jin-Ho.
Whoosh!
The arrow accurately hit Min Jin-Ho's head.
"Cough!"
Min Jin-Ho's head snapped, and he collapsed.
Jeong-Hoon approached him with his sword and ended the battle by piercing his neck.
"It's over."
However, the poison still remained on Jeong-Hoon's body.
Jeong-Hoon replenished his depleted health with holy power and pulled out the flag.
[You have conquered the castle!]
With this, he succeeded in conquering the castle that Dogjeon considered most important.
'With this, an overwhelming 1st place is confirmed.'
A wide smile spread across Jeong-Hoon's face.