The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 314

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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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Chapter 314

Episode 314.

A pitch-black helmet.

Two reptilian eyes revealed through the gaps.

The aura flowing from the black armor takes the shape of wings, evoking instinctive terror.

Would this be what a strong being from the Abyss looks like when wearing human guise?

“What is that thing….”

“Crazy….”

Just making eye contact felt like it would make their legs give out, leaving them unable to continue speaking.

Not just the Players, but the NPCs as well.

No, rather the NPCs seemed even more bewildered than the Players.

“Is that truly Sir Garion?”

“Good heavens… what kind of grotesque appearance is that.”

“It’s like a dragon-person from mythology.”

“That? I’d say it looks more like a knight consumed by the Abyss than a dragon-person.”

There was talk of dragon-people and the Abyss, but one thing was certain.

The Garion they knew was no longer there.

He had transformed into a terrible being that could no longer be categorized as human.

“Lo, look over there! Isn’t the 1st Prince bound up?”

“My word, it really is!”

“1st Prince!! Are you alright!”

“Damn, His Highness’s condition doesn’t look good. He’s already starting to undergo Abyssal transformation.”

And behind him, the 1st Prince, Rior de Arnis, was bound to a black pillar.

The black and blue veins proved he was undergoing Abyssal transformation.

Fortunately, black tears were not yet visible.

Black tears were the symbol of one completely consumed by the Abyss.

What flowed down Rior’s blackened skin was a transparent liquid.

[Do you see, Your Highness.]

“….”

Without even looking at Rior, Garion opened his mouth.

[Even with the Empire’s one remaining Prince captured, no one comes to rescue him.]

“….”

[This is the reality of the Empire you’ve been protecting. No, it could be called human nature itself.]

Though his face was hidden by the helmet, it could be felt.

That he was smirking.

“…Why.”

Rior struggled to hold onto his blurring vision and spoke with difficulty.

“Why did you betray us.”

[Betrayal….]

Only then did Garion face Rior.

At eyes mixed with grief and sorrow, anger and lamentation, Garion chuckled as if finding it ridiculous.

[Humans are always like that. They only remember what was done to them, never what they themselves did.]

“…I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

[Of course you wouldn’t. It’s always been that way. Well, it doesn’t matter. Such things aren’t important anymore.]

Garion replied calmly and took a step closer, continuing his words.

[The 1st Prince is very lucky. Unlike the 2nd Prince who was born sickly and couldn’t even become a mummy, you were born with warrior bones and can become the final piece of a great plan.]

“…Garion.”

[Stop straining your eyes. It only speeds up the consumption. You should watch, shouldn’t you? The moment the Empire falls into my hands.]

“…Garion!!”

From beneath the screaming 1st Prince’s eyes, tears that had now turned nearly gray flowed down.

He tried moving his body convulsively, but the Abyss chains were not something a mere human could break with strength.

Rather, the binding force only grew stronger, cutting into flesh and spilling blood.

[One thing is regrettable. On ‘that day’ which will soon come, the 1st Prince will no longer have the intelligence to appreciate it… That is truly unfortunate.]

It was then, as he shook his head as if genuinely meaning it.

Ding-

[A party enters the Abyss Veil.]

[The 1st Prince’s consumption is delayed.]

A message announcing someone’s entrance.

[Hooh… so there weren’t only cowards after all.]

Turning his head at this, he could see them.

Crack.

“Garion… how dare you….”

“You’re no longer human. Have you truly violated the taboo?”

“Disgusting bastard who abandoned a knight’s pride….”

Two knights in brilliant armor and one mage who clearly had noble bearing.

“I will execute you and rescue the 1st Prince.”

And walking forward in front of them, a knight wearing wind armor.

[Dran, is it?]

The Gale Knight, Dran.

A knight ranking in the Empire’s NPC Top 100, he was a young knight belonging to the Empire’s strong.

He was particularly close with the 1st Prince Rior and was a talented knight who often served as his sparring partner.

At his appearance, those who had been watching inside the Veil while twiddling their thumbs began whispering.

“Awesome, it’s Dran.”

“Dran, the Gale Knight? Wow… I’ve only heard rumors, this is my first time seeing him fight. Isn’t he the next Knight Order Commander?”

“He just hasn’t inherited it yet, but his skills are already at Commander level.”

“Ooh! Sir Dran has stepped forward.”

“If it’s Sir Dran, he’s reliable!”

Moreover, Dran wasn’t alone.

“My word, look at who came with him!”

“Master Mahas, Lady Levia, and Sir Jearron too? Good heavens, all these people stepped forward together!”

“Why are the NPCs acting like that? Are they famous people?”

“Don’t you know? They’re strong fighters in the Top 100. I heard they’re rivals competing with Dran, but they’ve formed a party together.”

“Wow… then it’s doable, right? That means four at Top 10 Guild Master level.”

With the appearance of strong fighters who could match Dran, the Players’ expressions brightened.

With just the Fanatic and Harrington, they had cleared the 1st phase.

Then with four strong fighters of that level, wouldn’t the 2nd phase be possible too?

Facing them as they appeared bearing everyone’s expectations, Garion let out a small exclamation.

[You’ve become the Empire’s hope. How is it, Dran? How does it feel to achieve your long-held dream? Didn’t you want to become a Hero since childhood?]

“Don’t dare speak my name with that filthy mouth.”

[It feels like yesterday when you followed me around saying you respected me. How disappointing.]

“Shut up. To dare insult the Empire and try to harm His Highness the Prince. In place of the absent Chilgang, I, Dran, stake my name and will execute you.”

Only a cold response returned, but Garion merely let out a sneer.

[Do you know this? With Chilgang and the Empire’s strong fighters gone, how many of your own countrymen have stood before me?]

“If you’re going to spout useless words, shut that mouth….”

[Three. Only three parties came to stop me.]

“….”

[While the Apostles, who aren’t even treated as citizens, come in tens and twenties, only three. Isn’t that laughable?]

Those who call themselves the Empire’s masters were too frightened to budge.

What great knights indeed.

What great mages of the great Mage Tower indeed.

[Those who lack the pride to protect the Empire because they value their lives.]

“…How dare you speak of pride.”

[Chilgang? Seven strong ones to bring glory to the Empire? You people are fundamentally wrong. You rely too much on them alone. That’s why there are only such weak ones…]

At Garion’s mocking appearance, Dran’s body trembled violently.

He was so angry that his body shook with uncontrollable emotion, but he had no words to refute.

It was a problem he himself had been feeling.

Watching Dran who could only glare with wide eyes after being hit right on target, Garion shrugged his shoulders.

[Let me see how different you are.]

Saying so, he drew his sword and took a deep breath.

In that brief moment when his breath stopped.

“…!”

Dran’s eyes widened.

Swoosh-

An eerie sound of something being cut filled the space.

* * *

-We’re fucked.

-Wow, we’re really screwed

-Shit, is this right, guys?

The community was in chaos.

The Empire’s strong ones ranked in the top 100?

The Empire’s future, each one said to be on the level of Top 10 Guild Masters even while still growing?

-The Knight of Swift Wind is bullshit, got one-shot.

-Is this rumors being exaggerated? Or is Garion an insane monster bastard?

-Don’t know, but one thing’s certain – that thing wasn’t made to be caught.

In reality, they couldn’t even scratch Garion and self-destructed.

It would be fortunate if they could at least buy some time.

Starting with Dran who was brutally killed, even the remaining three couldn’t last even 5 minutes and died.

For the deaths of those called the future who would support the Empire, it was too futile an end.

-Ah, no wonder Shina ran away ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Since she’s an assassin, her judgment speed is top-tier.

-For real lololol

-Running away from this is legal.

Even those who had been enthusiastically cursing Sina had to stop their attacks.

After seeing it directly, they acknowledged it was a legitimate retreat.

-Sina just posted an explanation saying she withdrew because stealth didn’t work?

-Why didn’t it work?

-Don’t know, she says some black wing-shaped energy moved on its own to block it. From what she heard, it seemed like they made eye contact during the attack process.

-Wow, so it has auto-defense too? Really insane;;

Moreover, when Bloodshed Guild seized the moment to make a statement, public opinion quickly shifted.

An unavoidable calamity.

They began to regard Garion as such a natural disaster-like existence.

-Kashin Church that drove that thing back… They were truly light…

-Wasn’t it because it was phase 1? That thing really seems like Demroc should come.

-Wouldn’t King of Demons be perfect against something like that? He’s literally a one-man army, not metaphorically.

-Have you seen that gloomy bastard step up? No one even knows where he is or what he’s doing now.

-Then what do we do now?

-What else. We have to hold out until Chilgang comes.

-Don’t they still have 2 more hours to arrive? It was already over 70%, can we hold out?

The real problem was the erosion speed.

Less than an hour after Dran died, it had already started exceeding 70%.

Considering it rises slowly as it enters the latter half, this was an impossible speed.

It was actually faster than the early stages.

-Sigh… If only phase 2 hadn’t opened, there would be hope. The erosion speed is really ridiculous.

-That’s what I’m saying;; There’s a limit to forcing your way in to buy time. What’s the point when you get 3-second killed anyway?

-When everyone gets brutally killed and only receives death penalties, who would want to go in?

-Originally, if you go in 10 times consecutively, a waiting time appears. Seems like the system blocked excessive exploits.

-Really? We’re just screwed then.

-Kashin Church… You weren’t light but bitches…

-Is it okay to terrorize Kashin Church from now on?

-How is this Kashin Church’s fault, you crazy bastards. They begged for someone to stop it, but you guys just sucked your thumbs.

It was because the erosion speed increased upon entering phase 2.

Rather, Kashin Church’s good performance in driving back Garion had backfired.

Because of this, many criticized Kashin Church, but strictly speaking, it wasn’t Kashin Church’s fault, so it only escalated to arguments.

[The current 1st Prince’s abyss erosion progress is 80%.]

…

[The current 1st Prince’s abyss erosion progress is 83%.]

Meanwhile, the progress rate kept rising, and the speed of chat messages increased even more.

-Hey, we really have no time now.

-No news from those on the New Continent yet?

-They say they’re rushing over, but there’s no way they’ll arrive in time. They’ll be even later than Chilgang.

-Ah, why can’t you warp from New Continent to Main Continent?

-It’s the land of other races, would that work? It’s not even set up for active trade with humans.

-What about Kaiser’s comrades?

-They’re relatively close so there’s possibility… but it’ll still take 2 hours?

-Then what about Kaiser? Kaiser is all we can trust now, why is there no news?

-Speaking of which, Ast just posted something and it’s chaos right now. Half of it is people cursing out Kaiser lololololol They’re begging him to use the whisper function if it exists. They’re also asking where he is and what he’s doing, dying of frustration lol

-Hahahahaha

How long had such hopeless chatting continued?

As the conversation went on, they only felt more that there was no hope.

[Abyss erosion progress surpasses 90%.]

[Changes occur in the Abyss Veil.]

[The Abyss Veil grows larger and the interior becomes more clearly visible.]

[From now on, the veil’s radius will expand with each 1% increase.]

[Warning! When it reaches 100%, 1st Prince ‘Rior de Arnis’ will die, the veil will lift, and the city’s abyssal transformation will begin.]

Having surpassed 90%, the system window began sending serious warning notifications.

-Hey guys, are you laughing right now? If Kaiser isn’t here either, we’re really fucked? It’s no different from the Empire’s destruction.

-Then what can we do? The game won’t collapse, so it’ll work out somehow.

-I don’t know anymore either. After passing 90%, I decided to just give up. Guys, it’s been fun.

-How much money have I put into this game, shit, that can’t happen.

-If the Empire falls, who knows what will happen to market prices, does that make sense, bastards? If the game collapses, what about the money I invested? The stocks?

-Ugh, that’s why who wants to live as a game addict?

-Is Godose just a game? What level is its current influence…

At this point, players’ reactions split in half.

Those who were anxious and impatient, and those who decided to just give up cleanly.

They opposed each other and desperately typed out chats,

[The current 1st Prince’s abyss erosion progress is 91%.]

[The current 1st Prince’s abyss erosion progress is 92%.]

…

[The current 1st Prince’s abyss erosion progress is 97%.]

[Warning! The city’s abyssal transformation will begin soon.]

[When abyssal transformation begins, the extinction-level city Quest ‘Black Knight Garion’ will fail.]

-Finally… the moment to fulfill my long-cherished wish is approaching…!

With the Empire’s transformation into the Abyss now imminent, Garion spread both arms wide as he gazed at the city’s scenery from within the Abyss Veil.

The 1st Prince, bound to the pillar, was trembling violently with his entire body stained black.

The tears that had been pale gray were now close to sewage.

[The 1st Prince’s current Abyss erosion progress is 98%.]

-Ahh….

One step forward.

Just waiting a few more minutes would bring the moment he had longed for.

-40 years of running toward this goal… finally….

It had been such a long time.

A span of time that could be called a lifetime devoted from childhood until now.

Finally, it would bear fruit and he would be able to prepare for that day.

That’s what he thought.

[The 1st Prince’s current Abyss erosion progress is 99%.]

[The Abyss Veil will soon disappear.]

As the 1st Prince’s consciousness grew dim, his body’s trembling began to stop, and the Abyss Veil prepared to lift.

Whoosh-!

Until something came flying like a beam of light from far away.

A single black dot.

No, it wasn’t just one.

Watching those things gradually approaching, Garion unconsciously muttered to himself.

-…The Fallen?

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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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