Ranker Who Shatters Myths - Chapter 223

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Broken Ranker

Devours Myths

Chapter 223

Savior (4)

“Celtic Bio?”

“…?”

Colonel Gaius tilted his head as he looked at Captain Aesion, who had suddenly sidled up next to him.

Even though they had been in the same dungeon for nearly a month, they could count on one hand the number of times they had conversed alone.

But then….

“The merger and acquisition between Lumenus Pharmaceuticals and Tasacan Oracle.”

“…!”

“Looking at your expression, you were indeed a Celticer.”

“N-no way!?”

Captain Aesion looked somewhere with a face lost in thought.

“I still think the R12 gene protein binding structure was just born in the wrong era.”

“This can’t be! To meet a comrade in a place like this!”

Colonel Gaius put away the cigarette he was about to light and grasped Captain Aesion’s hand.

Celticer was a mocking term for followers of a company that had once caused a biotech craze in the stock market.

Though the followers themselves proudly believed they were people with foresight.

“I think the same as you, Captain! Our eyes weren’t wrong! The world was wrong. Everyone just wants immediate pills that fall right in front of them, with no interest in basic research!”

“What we believed to be the future was just too early.”

“We were just one beat ahead of everyone else…. They couldn’t even wait for that small amount of time…!”

“Do you know this? I still dream about data sequences.”

“How can you be so exactly like me!”

The two men continued their conversation that others wouldn’t understand for a long time, licking each other’s wounds.

Between them, a light of friendship that transcended factional logic had taken root.

“I knew it…! From the moment I first met you, Captain, I thought you were no ordinary person…!!”

“I had the same thought when I first saw Colonel Gaius…. Haha. To think such a compatible friend was so close by.”

“Back then, I was too sorry that I couldn’t approach you because of factional logic.”

“It’s fine. From now on, we can discuss our foresight to our heart’s content.”

“Haha. You’re right. But still, I can’t help wishing I had known you sooner.”

“Why?”

“I have a decent friend. I’ll introduce you when we get the chance. Black Maria’s deputy was actually a Celticer like us.”

“The Butcher of Ilaila?”

Anyone watching would think they were friends for over ten years. Now they were even speaking casually.

The people around them had expressions wondering why they were acting like that.

“In that sense,”

“The blue-chip stock we saw this time will definitely moon if we hold onto it, right?”

Both men’s gazes turned toward the front of the group.

Lee Hyeon was there.

Kwakwakwang!!

After the entrance to the dungeon leading to the temple suddenly opened.

Lee Hyeon had taken the lead, opening the narrow path.

Kiiaaaa-

Uuuuu…!!

In the darkness where not a single ray of light penetrated.

A cave passage barely wide enough for one person to pass through.

Despite not knowing when or where ghost-type monsters might appear from the walls and ceiling to attack,

his steps carried confident strength and ambition.

From that sight,

both Captain Aesion and Colonel Gaius had become fervent followers of Lee Hyeon.

“This time…!”

“We’ll definitely go beyond the moon to Mars!!”

“Let’s go all the way outside the solar system!!”

Both men’s eyes blazed with fighting spirit.

Though they didn’t know it,

their eyes were very similar to someone living in Guam.

* * *

[You are currently heading toward the Temple of the Sun God Yarhibol.]

[Eliminate the guardians protecting the temple entrance.]

…

[The curse ‘Stun’ is applied throughout the passage.]

[Movement speed is reduced.]

[Cognitive confusion sets in.]

…

[Activating ‘Sacred Relic: Golden Eyes of Truth’ to quickly identify obstacles and difficulties blocking the path.]

[You are getting closer to the myth of ■■Great■.]

…

[This dungeon has been partially in its as it becomes entangled with the myth of ■■Great■.]

[Find and resolve the cause of the adaptation.]

Lee Hyeon was opening the path with his Golden Eyes of Truth blazing brightly.

A narrow passage.

It was a cave passage with no particular features except that the slope led diagonally downward.

Kiiaaaaa-

The problem was the ghosts that constantly launched surprise attacks using this narrow terrain.

“Why are so many ghosts appearing? Is this really a sun temple?”

Manager Kang Yun-su, who was helping Lee Hyeon from the side while eliminating ghosts, frowned with suspicion.

Just moments ago, he had been smashing the head of a creature trying to burst out of the wall with a sword.

The problem was that no matter how hard he hit them with powerful magic, they wouldn’t ‘disappear.’

Kekeke.

Instead, they would only scatter while leaving behind plenty of mocking laughter.

As if they intended to return again soon.

It wasn’t just that one.

The other ghosts were the same.

Some would suddenly poke their heads out from the ceiling, while others would reveal themselves far down the passage before mysteriously disappearing again.

How should I put it?

It was as if,

‘They were trying to observe us outsiders….’

In fact, most of their clothing wasn’t armed gear but rather ordinary desert clothes.

They didn’t feel strongly hostile enough to simply call them monsters.

However, they weren’t completely without malice, as they occasionally launched surprise attacks or attempted possession.

Just moments ago, Lee Hyeon had saved one of the party members from nearly being possessed.

“It probably was once. Now it’s been ‘corrupted’ for different reasons.”

“Corrupted…?”

“Don’t you think there’s something strange about these ghosts?”

Lee Hyeon pointed at a ghost that was just poking its face out from the ceiling.

“Now that you mention it….”

Manager Kang Yun-su narrowed his eyes as he looked at the ghosts.

“For monsters, they retain a lot of human features. They’re not easily exorcised either. Most of all… there are too many of them.”

He had no idea how many ghosts they had faced while passing through that short distance.

Lee Hyeon nodded.

“You’re quite perceptive. That’s right. These ghosts are all victims who died not long ago.”

“…Don’t tell me?”

Manager Kang Yun-su’s expression hardened as something came to mind.

A city completely empty without a single soul.

Household items left behind all alone.

Scenes as if people had simply evaporated….

“Yes. These ghosts are probably all residents of the desert city.”

“…!!”

“For some reason, they’ve all died and are now bound to this temple.”

“….”

Lee Hyeon actually had an idea why they had become ghosts.

‘It’s probably the aftermath of experiments from the secret research institute. There would be no reason to keep witnesses alive either.’

[You have successfully used Huaanjingjing to partially uncover the secrets hidden in the 【Ancient Desert City】!]

[1. The Evaporated City.]

[The city ‘Tadmor’ was once an oasis city that enjoyed great prosperity, a city that worshipped the greatness of the sun god who blazed hot over the sand desert throughout the four seasons.]

[However, one day, divine winds filled with the god’s wrath blew in to punish the city that failed to properly uphold the sun god’s teachings, engulfing the city, and the people had to leave their homeland one by one.]

[2. The Missing People.]

[But in the desert where sunlight and sandstorms were strong, the people had nowhere to go. Eventually, unable to endure hunger and thirst, they returned to the sun god’s embrace….]

[3. Underground Temple]

[The sun is darkest before it rises. For this reason, the few remaining people in the city built an underground temple to pray for the safe return of the dead and for the god’s anger to subside.]

[The owners of the corpses buried underground wait here only for the time of resurrection….]

…

This city was probably already declining due to reasons like climate change.

In fact, among the records of Hunters who explored this dungeon long ago, there were occasional sightings of Natives.

But when Feng Jinghao established a research institute here and imprisoned Sata Wang, the remaining survivors were completely wiped out,

and with the Bull Demon King’s appearance putting the final nail in the coffin, it became completely barren land.

This was the hidden history remaining in this temple.

Lee Hyeon had used Huaanjingjing to lift that very lid.

‘Normally, I would leave them above and explore alone while making contact with the Bull Demon King, but….’

However, unlike usual, Lee Hyeon was focusing on group strategy this time.

‘Right now, it’s much more beneficial to inform them about the research institute’s true nature too.’

Lee Hyeon planned to show the traces left by the Sama Society not only to White Fang, Astra, and the UN’s multinational forces,

but also to the 13th Legion and Babel Tower, which belonged to the Axis of Evil.

What if they learned that the U.C.O., which was causing great chaos on the Middle East Front, was actually caused by the Sama Society?

‘If this could be made public, the Sama Society could be made into a complete public enemy not only in international society but also among the Axis of Evil.’

In martial arts novel terms, it was like a scheme to make Feng Jinghao and the Sama Society into public enemies of the martial world.

When that time came,

even the Axis of Evil would find it much easier to beat up the Sama Society than before.

Russia would also feel considerable pressure from international society in accepting the Sama Society’s asylum.

[The 【Snow Queen】’s narrative shakes her head at your cunning schemes.]

‘Schemes? This is usually called strategy.’

[The 【Snow Queen】’s narrative says such things are the conduct of dishonorable rogues who lack integrity.]

[The 【Snow Queen】’s narrative nags that to become a ruler, one must walk the righteous path of kingship, not the path of tyranny….]

[The 【Death】’s narrative yawns long, saying there’s a strong smell of old-fashioned nagging coming from somewhere.]

[The 【Snow Queen】’s narrative points and tells the little one who hasn’t even hatched from its egg to wash its feet and go to sleep.]

[The 【Death】’s narrative sneers, saying there’s the sound of dentures clacking again from somewhere.]

[The 【Snow Queen】’s narrative is deeply angered by the young one’s retorts!]

[The 【Death】’s narrative teases that it must be nice to be old.]

[The 【Snow Queen】’s narrative….]

…

Lee Hyeon shook his head as he watched the two narratives bickering after appearing for the first time in a while.

Since they were born as the same type of king but walked different paths, there were many areas where they clashed,

but he wondered if they could really be this incompatible.

‘More importantly, why did you suddenly speak up? You said you’d be too busy completing the palace to pay attention to external matters for a while.’

[The 【Snow Queen】’s narrative belatedly realizes her mistake.]

[The 【Snow Queen】’s narrative glares at someone who disturbed her.]

[The 【Snow Queen】’s narrative says that ‘it’ showed a faint reaction in the palace’s underground prison.]

‘It?’

Lee Hyeon wondered what the Snow Queen was talking about, then had a sudden flash of realization.

A giant serpent with a crimson red color that boasted tremendous length and size enough to envelop the entire world.

‘Don’t tell me… the Bloodflower Serpent?’

[The 【Snow Queen】’s narrative nods heavily.]

‘…!’

Lee Hyeon’s eyes widened.

The serpent demon trapped in the depths of his mental world.

It was also the disaster that had given Mo Jeong-gyeon the nickname Mountain God in the distant past.

[The 【Snow Queen】’s narrative says the creature only showed a very faint reaction so far.]

[The 【Snow Queen】’s narrative explains that she doesn’t know when it might show another reaction, so she’ll continue monitoring.]

[The 【Snow Queen】’s narrative warns that it would be good to prepare since no one knows what might happen.]

‘Understood. I’ll continue to… rely on your monitoring.’

As Lee Hyeon nodded heavily, the messages quietly disappeared.

‘…Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Bloodflower Serpent.’

Lee Hyeon frowned at this strange phenomenon that came without any foreshadowing.

He had been steadily building mental barriers and continuously improving his proficiency with the Ice Veil, so what could be happening?

‘…Wait. Could it be reacting to the demonic energy spread widely here?’

Then Lee Hyeon’s eyes widened as he looked at the demonic aura that was now filling the interior of the passage.

The Bull Demon King was also a great demon king who was certainly no less than, or perhaps even greater than, the Bloodflower Serpent.

If these were traces he left behind, it wouldn’t be strange for other demons to be enchanted by them.

‘Besides, I’m spending all day mingling with other demon kings too. Even if the resentful thoughts keep getting stimulated… it’s not strange at all.’

A variable had emerged from a completely unexpected place.

Lee Hyeon clenched his teeth tightly.

‘I really need to meet the Bull Demon King quickly.’

* * *

How long had they struggled to move through the passage?

[You have entered the Boss Room.]

“It’s a temple!”

“It’s a hall!”

Just when the suffocating claustrophobia was starting to set in, a wide-open spacious hall finally appeared.

A place filled with marble pillars and vaulted ceilings.

Sacred fires and statues were placed throughout, adding to its majesty.

However,

such joy was short-lived.

“…What is this?”

“Based on the civilization’s time period, this doesn’t seem to be part of the dungeon, but rather a laboratory artificially created by outsiders…”

“Uweeek!”

“Crazy bastards… Who the hell did this?”

“Were there people who came here before us…!?”

The Hunters were greatly shocked by what they discovered in several suspicious rooms while extensively searching the temple.

They found traces of all sorts of bizarre experiments conducted on both humans and monsters indiscriminately.

In some places, there were even rooms where corpses were piled up like mountains. A nose-piercing stench vibrated in all directions.

The Sima Society’s secret research institute had been revealed.

And…

“Min-jeong.”

Unlike the others, Kim Min-jeong, who couldn’t search the temple and was only pacing anxiously in the hall, turned to look at Lee Hyeon in surprise.

“…Yes, senior.”

Even though she had simply been called,

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Strangely, from a little while ago, her heart had been beating like crazy.

However,

Lee Hyeon was actually looking somewhere else, not at her.

Kim Min-jeong naturally turned her gaze in that direction and hardened her expression.

Behind the temple’s altar.

Some other space hidden by curtains.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-

Her heartbeat became even more rapid.

The Bull Demon King’s killing intent also bubbled up accordingly.

“Get ready.”

Deep blue lightning suddenly sparked from Lee Hyeon’s golden eyes.

“From now on, we’re going to find your new legend.”

“…!!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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