abcnovels
Chapter 241
Chapter 241
Chapter 241
Kim Jin-Woo’s grip on the Mystical Spear tightened. Luyang had been angrily shouting just moments before, but now he was keeping his mouth shut, looking nervous.
By now, even an idiot would have recognized the difference in their power level. And Luyang was no idiot. He realized that his opponent’s power was far above his own, and he tried to devise a plan to get out of his sticky situation. But for now, his priority was to avoid that damned spear.
Luyang gulped without taking his eyes off the sharp spear, which looked as if it could pierce its body at any moment.
However, the tip of Gungnir was pointing somewhere else.
Crash!
The Mystical Spear dug into the hard ground.
“Eek!” Luyang exclaimed.
Was his opponent thinking he could end this fight without his weapon? Or was he trying to ridicule Luyang, who was trembling at the slightest gesture?
Either way, it was a disgrace and a shameful turn of events for the arrogant Duke. Luyang’s beak snapped away in humiliation. However, he couldn’t afford to escape right away because of the stark difference in their powers.
“You bastard…” he muttered. He was caught in a situation where there seemed to be no way out, and his anger only deepened further. However, his feeling of embarrassment outweighed his anger.
Kim Jin-Woo’s actions, which seemed meaningless at first glance, caused an unexpected change.
Rumble.
The Mystical Spear firmly fixed itself to the ground, and roots started to emerge from it. Strong roots and branches began to sprout, and in an instant, it became a single ash tree. Its branches started to spread out in all directions.
By the time Luyang felt a sense of abnormality, it was already too late. A few roots that had secretly dug into the ground grabbed him by his ankles. Before he could even react, a branch stretched out and wrapped around his body.
He twisted his body, trusting in his mighty power to help him break free, but to no avail. The strong branches and roots refused to let him go. Neither the Corrupting Poison Mist ability nor the Satyr’s strong physique worked. He was completely bound.
The true form of the Mystical Spear, Gungnir, was the Seed of the Underworld. And now, the Seed had germinated; the first fruit it bore was Luyang, one of the rulers of the Deep Floors.
“If things had gone according to plan, you would have ended up as nutritional fodder for the Underworld. But I have no intention of yielding you to the Underworld,” Kim Jin-Woo said as he approached the poor Duke, who was helplessly tied up.
Luyang, who had been struggling to the point where his muscles had been sliced up and his tough hide was starting to peel off, belatedly took notice of Kim Jin-Woo and froze. He began babbling, “Wait! Let’s negotiate! If you let me go, I’ll support your labyrinth! And I’ll also direct support from my home country to yours! So, let me…”
He tried as hard as he could to offer everything he could, but the language barrier between him and Kim Jin-Woo continued to be a wall between the two of them… No, even if they could communicate, there was no way that this greedy Lord would let go of prey he had finally caught.
“Blame yourself for not being a true Duke,” Kim Jin-Woo said coldly.
“W-wait! S-save me! I can’t die like this!” Luyang begged. “Do you know what it took for me to finally get to where I am!? Save me! If you wish, I’ll swear my loyalty to…”
The façade of the mighty Duke was stripped away, and so was the shell of the temperamental dungeon baby. All that was left was a poor tunnel digger crying and begging for his life in the face of Death.
“Resent your fate for meeting me,” Kim Jin-Woo said as his fingertips touched Luyang’s body, and with that, Luyang met his end.
[Dukes are the most glorious of the Underworld Nobles, and are the true rulers of the Deep Floors. Luyang was a being with power that could not be compared to any other Nobles you have encountered thus far. But now, he is nothing but a poor butterfly caught in the web of the greedy Lord.]
[The Power of Greed feeds off Duke Luyang as its source of power, and it will consume everything till the last drop.]
“I will consume even all of your resentment.”
The battle was over, and now, it was time to dig in.
***
The battle had concluded, but nobody dared to move.
“Heeeek!” Luyang screamed.
Hearing the screams of a frightened Duke was a novelty, but never a pleasant experience. The sight of a powerful ruler like Luyang falling and being eaten alive by another like an insignificant lifeform of the Underworld came as endless horror to all those gathered.
Even his loyal Satyrs dared not move a single step out of fear, and not even the greedy Grand Labyrinth dared to kick up a fuss despite having a Duke turn into mere fodder in front of it.
“Ah…” Among them, Angela was the only one who felt a sense of joy rather than fear at the sight. She admired the unbelievable sight of a Deep Floor ruler being eaten alive, and at the end, she even shed tears.
The Duke, who had once been thought to be an absolute ruler, begged for his life like common trash. It was a moment when the firm and absolute rules of the Underworld were broken.
“In the deepest of depths, upon the throne of absolute power, the true King has been born.” Angela got on her knees and lay flat on the floor to worship her master, and the numerous Vampires, Under-Elves, and other inhabitants of the Grand Labyrinth followed suit.
“My King!”
***
[The energy of the ruler of the Satyrs, the Demon Army of Sin, was truly a great fit for the Duke.]
[The Power of Greed, after absorbing that enormous amount of energy, has immediately broken beyond its 100% satiety level, and its grade has increased.]
[[The Power of Greed (Grade 1) has become the Power of Greed (Grade 2).]
[The Power of Greed has reached Grade 2, and the unique power ‘Gluttony’ has become ‘Predation’.]
[The Power of Gluttony, a picky eater, becomes more aggressive. The Power of the true Predator that devours all living things, Predation, has been created.]
[The Power of Greed now allows you to devour a greater amount more quickly.]
[From now on, you will be able to consume multiple lives at once instead of one.]
[Also, unlike Gluttony, which only absorbs energy, Predation can use the power of its prey once.]
[The Power of Curses and Punishment possessed by the Demon Army of Sin can now be used.]
Kim Jin-Woo felt his blood vessels on the verge of exploding as a feeling of fullness flowed through him, but that was quickly absorbed by the Power of Greed as well.
[Power of Greed (Grade 2), Satiety: 93%]
[If you increase your satiety by another 7% in the future, the grade of the Power of Greed will increase again.]
As the Power of Greed’s grade increased, the new ability ‘Predation’ was unlocked, followed by the strengthening of Kim Jin-Woo’s physical body. But Kim Jin-Woo was more delighted by the fact that he had defeated a Duke by himself, even though he was half-hearted in his attempt.
Kim Jin-Woo looked at Luyang, who had dried up and turned into an expressionless mummified corpse. He was a dungeon baby who looked no different from an insignificant tunnel digger once his outer shell was removed. Despite the result Kim Jin-Woo had accomplished, there was a bitter aftertaste lingering in his mouth.
However, Luyang may have been a human and a dungeon baby, just like him, but he was also an Underworld Duke, and someone who had invaded his Grand Labyrinth. And Kim Jin-Woo was not soft enough to mourn the death of an invader.
“Take control of the battlefield!” he commanded.
After Luyang’s body was reduced to dust and scattered across the battlefield, Kim Jin-Woo declared victory.
[You have won against a mighty Deep Floor Duke.]
[You have achieved a miracle again in spite of being outnumbered and lacking in power.]
[A victory that will be remembered for all time in the Underworld has been added to the streak of victories by the Undefeated Commander.]
[For a long time, the Underworld Dukes have reigned supreme. The news of your success in trampling on the absolute throne of the Underworld has spread far across the Underworld.]
[Labyrinth masters who were unaware of your existence have begun to recognize the Undefeated Commander.]
[As your fame and notoriety spreads…]
***
The battle was over, but there was still work to be done. Kim Jin-Woo had to quickly send troops into the fallen Duke’s labyrinth before nasty scavengers surrounded it. He quickly sent Morrigan and Heimdall out with instructions to clear the Labyrinth of Satyrs.
Kweeeeek.
While the other Summons were busy clearing up the labyrinth, the Ant Ghost, which had been standing blankly in the middle of them, was startled and let out a noise when Kim Jin-Woo looked at it.
Kim Jin-Woo said, “It’s alright now. Let her back out.”
Seemingly disappointed, the Ant Ghost started to regurgitate. A few moments later, a rumbling sound followed by a terrible stench filled the air. Ariane, half-digested by the Ant Ghost’s disgusting saliva, was spat back onto the ground.
“Mm…” Her clothes, which had barely been enough to cover her in the first place, had completely melted off, but Ariane was looking more pathetic than seductive. She looked like a piece of meat that had been chewed and swallowed halfway, and if Kim Jin-Woo had been just a little too late, even her flesh would have melted away due to the Ant Ghost’s deadly digestive acid.
“Urgh.” Kim Jin-Woo groaned. But he couldn’t fault the Ant Ghost for what it had unintentionally done to her, not after knowing that she had assassinated the Lord of Nightmares. Thus, instead of scolding the monster that only knew how to eat, he called for one of his Summons, saying, “Wake her up.”
Angela, who had been waiting by his side, looked at Rikshasha with a disgusted expression. The ever loyal Under-Elf acted without hesitation.
“I permit you to use violence; just make sure she wakes up,” Kim Jin-Woo said.
As soon as he finished speaking, Rikshasha pulled out her scimitar and cut off one of Ariane’s ears. Her petite ear fell to the floor, and blood gushed out from the wound.
“Kaaaaaaaaaargh!” Ariane jumped up to her feet with a scream, before quickly grasping her situation and biting down on her lips.
It was pitiful to see her covering her wound and kicking around on the ground, all the while looking for a way out. She struggled as she stumbled across the ground in an unsightly manner, perhaps due to the Ant Ghost’s gooey digestive juices.
“Looking good, Queen of Illusions,” Kim Jin-Woo said coldly as he looked at Ariane dripping blood all over the place. “No, I should call you a Warden.”
Ariane, who had been rolling her eyes in pain and despair, closed her eyes tightly upon hearing those words. Her expression was filled with deep frustration and resignation. She seemed to have accepted the situation and appeared to be on the verge of spilling everything, but she ultimately didn’t give up her secrets so easily.
“As expected, you were acting all this time,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked.
Ariane had endured endless violence all along, but she had managed to keep her mouth shut. Kim Jin-Woo was subtly impressed with how tight-lipped she was, but that feeling of admiration only lasted for a brief moment.
He smiled sadistically. The Power of Predation he had acquired only allowed him to use any of his absorbed opponents’ abilities once. But unfortunately for Ariane, the ability ‘Curses and Punishment’ he had just taken from the evil demon, Luyang, was quite suitable to use on someone like her—a prisoner that refused to talk.
“Let’s see how strong the will of a Warden is,” he said.