Chapter 56 - Corcas Mountains Punitive Expedition 3 (1/2)

Arachne’s body trembled upon hearing the screams of the trapped souls.

‘What….’

Her spiderwebs had no resistance whatsoever faced with these black flames, quickly burning up.

As she felt herself being dragged towards Verserios the was stuck on the ceiling, Arachne gnashed her teeth.

‘I need to activate the magic array.’

If things continued this way she was sure to be swallowed up by that mysterious weapon.

Arachne hurriedly spun her web, reforming the magic array once more. A black beam shot out once she was done.

“I did it!”

She wasn’t sure about other things, but at least she could claim to be confident regarding her curse magic.

Even if she were facing a Demon, they would suffer when facing greatly if they received a direct hit from this spell.

As Arachne felt proud of her work, her web was ripped apart by a sudden gust of wind.

Chaaahhhak!

The suction power of the vortex had suddenly increased dramatically.

Arachne looked down at Woohyuk in amazement.

“He’s fine despite taking the Petrification spell head on….”

He was no ordinary Demon, but if he had been one of the 72 Demon Kings, it would have been impossible for her not to recognize him.

‘I never thought he would be so strong.’

She felt like she had hidden away for too long and her battle sense had been dulled.

Arachne spun her legs, frantically spinning her web despite the look of hopelessness on her face.

Then.

Puook

Verserios ran her through from behind, clearly piercing her stomach. It had the ability to move according to its owner’s command.

“Kuhuk”

Arachne puked out a mouthful of dark red blood, as she moaned in pain. It felt like her body was on fire.

Her head slumped down, as the last of her Demonic Energy was absorbed.

‘I don’t know what to do.’

After pulling Verserios out of her, he looked at Arachne’s unconscious body.

It was fine to let her die, but it wasn't like it was his only option.

“What should I do?”

As Woohyuk asked the question, Aris and Irene stepped out of his shadow.

“Hmm… it would be wasteful to kill her.”

If he was able to command Arachne, who was the Spider Queen, it could be beneficial for him in many ways.

Still, it was unclear whether she would be loyal and obey him. It would be better to carve out her heart and feed it to Irene. With her Replication skill, she could absorb her victim’s abilities, even if it was only a weaker version of it.

“We should let her live.”

Irene was in agreement with Aris.

Even if it took a bit of effort, she felt that it would be worth it to properly train her.

“Then I’ll put you in charge.”

Woohyuk looked to Aris.

“Okay.”

As Aris carried Arachne out, Woohyuk placed his palm on the engraved rune on the wall.

Srrrrk

A small hidden room was revealed, with a red altar in the middle which held some items.

[Arachne’s Curse]

Category: Personal Item

Effect: Ingredient for crafting or Alchemy. Simply by holding it you can prevent spiders from approaching.

[Cradle of Grief ]

Category: Jewelry

Grade: C

Durability; 12,500

Effect: When activated, any enemies within a 15 meter radius are sent into a state of confusion, after which they suffer from a 35% decrease in Spirit for 10 minutes.

‘This was Isaac’s artifact.’

Like many adventurers, Isaac had also started off as a mercenary. It wasn’t entirely surprising that he had participated in the Rhine kingdom's punitive expedition.

Woohyuk thought back to the past as he placed the items in his Sage’s Pouch.

‘Back then there had been a rebellion.’

Following the failed punitive expedition in the Corcas Mountains, the Rhine kingdom royalty had been weakened.

Many nobles that were dissatisfied with the current state of affairs, formed an alliance and revolted.

Player clans were also split among both sides, as they engaged each other in fierce battles.

Isaac had been a part of the rebel camp. His power was too weak to assume the throne, but he had gained significant merit and was appointed as the commander of the Teutonic Knights.

The many leaders that followed him received high positions as well.

‘Things will be a bit different this time.’

For one Isaac was dead, but there were still the other leaders that were alive.

If he left them to their own devices, the entire Rhine kingdom would still be plunged into chaos.

He didn’t want the kingdom’s power to be consumed by any infighting. After all, he was planning on taking over the country in the near future.

As he planned his next steps in his mind, Woohyuk walked out of the hidden room.

* * *

The main reason he chose the Rhine Kingdom as his starting location, was mostly due to the Seven Colored Rainbow Ring. It was here that the Crafting Scroll as well as all the crafting materials could be found.

Still, as for its long term prospects, the Rhine kingdom was also an attractive location.

‘The 72 Demon Kings will soon make their move.’

The Generals of the Demon army, that had once faced off against the Gods. It would be advantageous for one to have already established their base before those colossal being moved in earnest.

Having elite vassals under him was likewise important in order for his plans to succeed.

‘First order of things is to wrap up this punitive expedition.’

Either way the monsters here in the Corcas Mountains would have to be dealt with sooner or later.

Even if it might be a bit difficult to clear the place right now, it was something that had to be done.

Upon returning to the camp set up by the Northeast Guard unit, Woohyuk and his party prepared to break camp.

It was now time to move on to the next stage of the operation.

Most of the soldiers under him had managed to overcome the trial in the Arachne’s Temple without too many difficulties.

“We haven’t received any news from the scouts we’ve sent to contact Commander Gaius.”

Tenon announced at a meeting of commanders that was held within a large tent. They were currently in a strategy meeting, with a layout of the mountain range on a table before them.

“If the Kingdom's army is in trouble, we can’t stand by and do nothing. It is our mission to aid them so that this punitive expedition goes smoothly.”

“It’s quite worrisome, the expedition has just begun and yet….”

Daryl, the leader of the 3rd mercenary squad said with a worried expression. He had almost gotten his men killed by a horde of Orcs, so he was quite a bit more cautious that previously.

Rick spoke up seeing that there was no objection among the other commanders.

“Shouldn’t we continue to explore the cave network? We can try to help out the Kingdom's army, but we might also land ourselves in trouble instead.”