Episode 160: Dream in the game becomes reality

38. New era (6)

Among the nine members of the Imperial Castle Infiltration Unit, she was the one classified as 'Other', unlike the Grand Master, Aura Master, and Archmage.

Elder Iris Marignan's defensive ability in dealing with the semi-Spirit King-level spirit of space is comparable to that of any person I have ever met.

Maybe it was for today that she appeared before me.

Therefore, Arcia walked confidently, holding the small-sized Marignan in front of her like a shield.

"Hey, you crazy people!"

Upon entering the 4th stage area, a world of flames and lava spread out, covering all directions.

Marignan, frightened by this, quickly used spirit magic, and her unique ability to distort the space around her, as if surrounded by water droplets, was revealed.

"If you make it through safely, I'll give you some snacks."

Arcia said that upon seeing Marignan struggling.

It was like offering the best reward to her, but Marignan became even angrier when he heard those words.

"I'm over 100 years old, you bastards! And there's a lot of money!"

What I'm saying is don't treat me like a child.

But what can I do, not only does he look like a child, but he also acts like a child.

Arcia increased her movement speed with the attitude that she didn't care what you said.

In the end, Marignan had no choice but to focus on his abilities.

What Marignan deployed was not a simple shield.

It can be said that it distorts space to channel attacks rather than block them.

Thanks to this, I didn't feel any heat even though it felt like I was watching a lava version of an aquarium.

"That's amazing. "Have you calculated everything?"

When I escaped to the 4th level of hell, my companions clicked their tongues in admiration.

Is there such a thing as calculation?

It's just that the precautions taken just in case worked out well.

But it was a harmless misunderstanding, so I just let it go.

The high evaluations around me will one day protect me like a shield.

"You're crazy, you went out of your way to get some sweet water from the Croesen Empire, and ended up being given a toy, a scarf, and a shield."

Immediately after breaking through the level 4 zone, Marignan lamented this.

However, Arcia told him not to talk nonsense and entered level 5 cold-blooded hell.

As his shoes froze in the cold, Marignan hastily reused the spirit magic he had temporarily released.

We entered the level 5 area.

* * *

"uh?"

It didn't take long for the expression on the face of the Croesian Emperor, who was triumphantly enjoying the suffering of the invaders, to distort.

"How did you… … ."

The Hellfire Zone, which kills the opponent with certainty, is destroyed without even emitting a single flame, and even in the mental attack zone that destroys humans from the inside, he leads his suffering colleagues and breaks through without a problem.

Adrian's appearance was beyond imagination, and I felt a sense of wonder beyond absurdity.

"Unbelievable."

The head of the intelligence department, who knew the imperial castle's intruder response system well after the emperor, had to believe his eyes.

And the ministers, who were not sure what was going on, expressed a sense of crisis as the intruders in the hologram video got closer and closer.

"Well, it won't be easy to break through the labyrinth."

Self-talk mixed with the emperor's wishes.

But that expectation was inevitably destroyed.

"Nonsense!"

When Adrian led the group and broke through the 3rd stage labyrinth area as if taking a walk, the emperor jumped up from his seat as if screaming.

"Your Majesty! Avoiding the place... … ."

Even though I couldn't understand the situation, I could easily realize that a crisis was approaching just by looking at the disappearance of the emperor, who was confident that he would triumphantly kill his enemies.

Therefore, the ministers insisted that the emperor stop being stubborn and flee quickly.

"I do not know yet. yet."

But the emperor could not give up.

If you want to escape from here, you must disarm the Hwangseong intruder's 'Mortal System'.

The mortal function is the hope of defeating the enemy, but at the same time the constraint that holds them back.

After examining the situation in stage 4, the emperor decided in his heart to flee.

However, the enemy brought out an elder from the Elysia Alliance they had recruited.

When the emperor remembered Elder Iris's abilities, he sensed failure.

"haha."

When I get too angry, I actually end up laughing.

The Emperor's low laugh did not last long before it turned into a deep sigh.

"I'm going to be amazed."

We really need to destroy common sense to some extent.

Everything I experienced in my life was always within the emperor's expectations.

However, in this war in which Adrian took over as commander-in-chief, nothing went as planned.

"Has the goddess cast me out?"

I couldn't help but think like this.

I wasn't even angry anymore, thinking that I was being bullied like this by a young man who had only passed the terms and conditions.

"your majesty! "Hurry up and make a decision!"

After seeing Adrian breaking through level 4 and entering level 5, the emperor turned off the mortal mode, a function to respond to intruders, and spoke to the Minister of Military Affairs.

"You will remain and command the troops inside the imperial castle."

That meant taking time to escape.

To the Minister of Military Affairs, it meant death, so he couldn't help but be shocked.

But that was only for a moment, he said, bowing his head.

"Your Majesty, please do not forget the loyalty of the little people."

"I guess so."

Having said that, the Minister of Military Affairs led half of the Vanguards who were protecting the Imperial Palace and headed toward the route where the intruders were infiltrating.

And the Emperor moved quickly in the opposite direction of the Minister of Military Affairs and used the teleportation artifact.

[Space movement is not possible.]"Tsk!"

Even though the Emperor lifted the Hwangseong's space movement obstruction, the artifact did not work.

What this means is that Adrian, the intruder, had deployed a space movement obstruction force to prevent the emperor from escaping.

In the end, this means that you have to escape to the outside through an emergency passage or reach a teleport gate that allows constant spatial movement.

If I had chosen to run away right after the enemies attacked, I would have been able to escape safely, but now it was a close call.

"your majesty!"

-Quaaaang!

The emperor headed to the emergency passage located near the imperial palace.

But the problem is that the tail is too long.

"Your Majesty, us too!"

The ministers followed the emperor's secret passage one after another, saying that they too would survive.

What kind of secret passage is this?

"You guys head to the teleport gate!"

"your majesty! "Please save me!"

The emperor got angry and tried to send them away.

However, for superhumans who can run tens of meters in one second, this was nothing more than an act of buying time.

-Quaaaang! bang! Quaaaang!

"Oh, no."

After the first explosion sounded, the Minister of Military Affairs' troops encountered the enemy.

The sound of destruction began to get closer and closer, like the sound of footsteps.

Due to the struggles of the terrified ministers and major nobles, the secret passage is in a state of chaos.

It's not that I don't understand their fear, but thanks to this, the evacuation, which requires speed, turned into a mess.

"What are you telling me that the emperor is here?"

And the bodies of the subjects who followed, ignoring the emperor's orders to head elsewhere, expanded like water balloons and exploded all at once.

He appeared in a scene full of flesh, blood, and internal organs.

- Jeopuk. Jeez.

Silver hair and blue eyes.

He was a handsome young man with a cool complexion.

"The Duke of Lawrence."

"Nice to meet you. "Your Majesty, Emperor Croesia."

"What happened to the Minister of Military Affairs?"

"Minister of Military Affairs?"

"I would have stopped you."

"Was the Minister of Military Affairs among those who blocked our path? You didn't know that nobles and soldiers were killing everything they saw. "Excuse me."

The tone of voice was polite, but the strides he took and the sneer on his lips were extremely arrogant.

The surviving Vanguards blocked his path, shouting that he was being cruel... .

"Do mortal humans need any more courtesy than this?"

After continuing to walk, a white light flashed and the emperor's world began to spin.

The emperor gaped, showing that he did not understand what had happened, but no voice came out.

And soon I was able to understand what was happening to him.

"your majesty!"

A headless body dressed in colorful clothes slowly falls.

It was none other than his own body.

Yes.

The emperor of a great empire who had nothing to fear under the sun, was beheaded in a very unsightly manner while fleeing.

In this way, the emperor's world is immersed in darkness.

"Goodbye."

The cool final greeting of the young man looking down at me pierced my ears.

'You're going in vain like this?'

The emperor denied reality, but soon his mind became empty and he could not think of anything.

It was the vain end of Emperor Sergei de Kreussen, renowned as the Iron Blood Emperor.

* * *

"Ahhh… ."

I took the emperor's body into subspace, ignoring the members of the Croesen Empire who were staggering around with shocked expressions.

If the Croesian Empire left the emperor's body like this, they would try to hide the emperor's death somehow, so there was nothing they could do.

"What will the remaining people do?"

I was lost in thought for a moment at Arcia's question, but my worries didn't last long.

"Because we need someone to declare surrender. Let's kill everyone except the highest nobles."

I have a tendency to show no mercy to my enemies.

The decision that led to this was extremely cold-hearted.

In this way, everyone except the minister of the palace was killed, and the minister of the palace, who seemed to have lost his mind, was brought to Gregory in captivity.

"huh?"

We went back down the emergency passage and headed to the Imperial Palace, where we encountered an unexpected person.

"Oh, who is this? Isn't it Prince Andre?"

"The Duke of Lawrence? Uh, why... … ."

The crown prince, who was known to have gone to Dragonland, welcomed us with a puzzled expression along with the Royal Guard.

At such an odd timing, even the last water monster appears on its own.

I gestured at Arcia with an expression that asked, "What the hell is this?"

Then, four daggers came out from Arsia's waist with a blue light and flew towards the crown prince.

Although the guard knight commander guarding his side was an Aura Master, it seemed impossible to block all four swords.

The crown prince will inevitably be killed by Arcia's blow.

-visor.

but.

Arsia's sword stopped in midair without reaching anyone.

"Isn't the war already over at this point?"

At the same time, an unfamiliar voice rang out, and the figure who had grabbed Arsia's four daggers stopped in the air appeared, starting from the head as if color was slowly being applied.

The raiding force of the Kingdom of Reinharts, including me, hurriedly took a fighting stance.

"… … ."

Our commando unit includes two grandmasters, an 8th circle archmage, and an 8th circle spiritist.

However, no one noticed the presence of an unfamiliar person until he appeared.

This was a threat that could never be ignored.

[Blake Russell / Roadmaster]Race: Dark Elf

Age: 852 years old

Affiliation: Dragon Land Gray Mountains Black Tree Clan Chief

Talents: Auror (best), physical ability (best), learning ability (best), intellectual ability (medium), command ability (medium), magic power (medium)

Characteristics: Mind, observation, assimilation of the environment

Relationship: Indifference / Hostility

Status: Annoying / Embarrassing

And the moment when I looked at the other person's information with a magnifying glass.

I felt a ray of cold sweat running down the back of my neck.

This was definitely a trump card that could turn the tide of battle.

"This is the Roadmaster."

At my words, not only those belonging to the Kingdom of Reinharts, including Duke James, but even Marignan, who was half an outsider, were shocked.

It was natural that the legendary being located above the 8th Circle (Grand Wizard) and Grandmaster was the 9th Circle (Lord Wizard) and Roadmaster.

The person in front of me now is a being of the same level as Archduke Lucas.

"There is a child with a keen eye for attention."

Blake Russell, a dark elf man over 800 years old, had gray skin, white hair, and silver eyes.

When you look at an elf, you get the feeling that they are the same person even though they are of different races, but the dark elf in front of you looked more like a different being than a person.

If I had to really ask, it would be like a monster.

"Your Majesty! "What are you doing with your Majesty!?"

The crown prince shouted angrily.

Nevertheless, the intruders, including me, kept their mouths shut.

This is because he sensed that battle could not be avoided.

"They murdered Your Majesty! Must be killed! "I must take revenge!"

"what!?"

And the struggling cry of the palace minister whom Gregory had captured was like a signal announcing the start of a new battle.

"Lord Russell! Please kill them!"

At the prince's shout, a deep expression of annoyance was etched on the face of Dark Elf Blake Russell.

But the words that came out of his mouth were different from his expression.

"Of course, a promise is a promise."

The dark elf approached, pulling a thin saber from his waist.

I made eye contact with Arcia.

Until now, the two have had quite a bit of experience working together to defeat beings one level higher.

Even though most of the achievements were made in the game, the named players in Giyeon Quest had egos that were as good as the real thing, so it was definitely not a wasted experience.

The problem is that the current situation is a reality where once you die, it's over, but I thought that since there were so many allies, I wouldn't lose in vain.

Arcia and I stood side by side, and Duke James was paired with Marignan.

The rest were volunteers.

"I need to die."

The dark elf approached leisurely, twirling his arms as if relaxing his shoulders.

And at some point.

-Fit!

His new form disappeared from sight and appeared in front of Arsia.

-Quaaaang!

"Oh, quite?"

When Arcia blocked the blow, the dark elf looked very surprised.

But that lasts only a moment.

His silver eyes sparkled.

-Slap!

Arcia's left arm fell to the floor along with the shield.

"uh?"

Stupid question.

Those were the words I said, not Arcia.

Isn't this something that needs to be seen before we fight?

It was natural because I couldn't see anything.

"Please, run away."

Arcia, blood gushing from her shoulder.

Even in that unrealistic situation, she only worried about my safety.

Seeing Arcia like that, I regained my shaky spirit.

"Revive!"

Now is not the time to hide your abilities.

I immediately used the 8th circle regeneration magic, and Arcia's fallen arm was completely regenerated.

"Playing the role of healer in this situation means you want me to kill you first, right?"

"Adrian!"

"The Duke of Lawrence!"

But instead of regenerating Arsia's arm, I gave her head to the dark elf.

-thud!

For a brief moment, Marignan seemed to have decided that I couldn't die if he wanted to live, so he tried to block the blow by using the space spirit to protect me.

Unfortunately, that attempt was useless against the Roadmaster's sword.

-Clink!

Her defensive ability, which had been strong until now, could not last even a moment and was destroyed with a noise like breaking glass.

I gritted my teeth and tried to deploy the 8-Circle Grand Shield, but it was futile considering the opponent's speed, which I couldn't even follow with my eyes.

"huh?"

however… … .

Should we call it a miracle?

The dark elf's sword stopped moving forward when it touched the skin of my neck.

In an unexpected situation, I swallowed dry saliva and looked up at him, and soon I was able to look into his mysterious silver eyes.

"you? "No, you?"

And with a question flowing from his mouth, the sword was withdrawn.