Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 150

150. The Tyrant of the River (6)

“Kuhuk…”

Bolton knelt and collapsed.

The staff fell from his powerless hand to the ground.

His remaining health was barely around 1 percent.

Covered in severe wounds, Bolton could no longer move.

“No way!”

“W-What is going on?”

The Blood Pledge guild members stirred and wavered at the unbelievable event.

A duel between two users with a level difference of over 40.

However, the result was the complete opposite of everyone’s expectations.

A fierce battle unfolded that was difficult to follow with the eyes, and Aile, the lower-level player, ultimately seized victory.

Moreover, Aile still had 30 percent of his health remaining.

It wasn’t a duel between clueless newbies; it was something that shouldn’t have happened based on common sense.

Clang.

Aile, having finished the fight, leisurely retrieved his longsword.

Clearly, Bolton’s skills were not a lie.

As an ice mage, he employed a rather troublesome combat style, constantly pressuring him.

But the problem was that Aile was thoroughly familiar with his play style.

“You bastard…!”

Bolton, with a face full of dismay, looked up at Aile and gritted his teeth.

Aile already knew all about his skill set and had finished grasping his combat methods.

Not only that.

What kind of play he preferred, the patterns or habits he showed during combat, and the weaknesses he displayed in specific situations, etc.

He knew all of his strengths and weaknesses.

On the other hand, the opponent knew nothing about Aile.

This difference played a very significant role in a Warlord’s one-on-one duel, where mind games are crucial.

No matter how confident Bolton was in duels, it was impossible to defeat Aile, who had already devised weaknesses and solutions before the fight even began.

‘The passive I obtained last time was also a great help.’

Aile subtly turned his gaze.

The skill he obtained after reaching level 150 in Eltris was a hero-grade passive that greatly increased magic resistance, ‘The Witch’s End’.

Thanks to this skill, also known as Witch End, he was very relaxed even when facing a mage.

[‘The Ruler of the Volcano’ expresses satisfaction with your battle.]

[‘The Mother of Life’ shines her eyes and urges a contract.]

[‘The Secret Explorer’ sponsors you with a joyful heart.]

.

.

.

A match that anyone would have thought would be difficult.

The deities who were watching him from another dimension also couldn’t hide their excitement at the current result.

Even though he wasn’t their apostle, all three deities sent a small amount of contribution.

[‘The Judge of Light, Ru’ wears a triumphant smile.]

[Light Church Contribution +300]

Ru, who already knew Aile well, showed a smug attitude as if he knew it would happen.

It was as if he was proud that he was his apostle.

However, leaving the deities’ interest behind, Aile still had one result to bring out.

“Now, you have to pay the price.”

Aile strode towards Bolton, who was kneeling.

Now, according to the result of the duel, he had to delete his character himself.

There were many Blood Pledge guild members who followed Bolton around, but no one could step forward to stop him.

It was a legitimate result agreed upon by both sides, and there was also the overwhelming atmosphere due to the wondrous skill they had witnessed a little while ago.

But then, the Blood Pledge guild leader, Duke, stepped forward.

“No, there’s no need for that. I’ll grant you what you wanted.”

“What I wanted?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. You were aiming for that from the start, weren’t you?”

Duke showed a nonchalant reaction as if he was refusing to hear any unnecessary nonsense.

Then, Aile wore a light smile on his lips.

“I like that you’re quick to understand.”

Instead of deleting the character of the vice guild leader, he would have to work with the Blackburn Guild to stop this world event.

That was the content of the deal that had just taken place without conversation.

Then, Bolton, who was the only one who understood the situation among the guild members, immediately protested.

“Wait… what are you talking about? Changing the guild’s decision because of just me! That’s absolutely not allowed! It doesn’t make any sense in the first place!”

“Then are you going to quit the game as it is here? We’re just trying to do something together after finally uniting, and if you quit, how well do you think the guild will run?”

“That’s…”

Their original game, ‘Lineage,’ was originally a game of chaos, divided into numerous factions and extremely opposed to each other.

Even though it was a game with a certain scale, the reason why guilds from Lineage hadn’t shown any prominence until now was because of that.

But after they dramatically compromised and united into one guild, the story changed.

The reason why the Blood Pledge Guild was able to grow rapidly recently was because Duke and Bolton, who were ranked 1st and 2nd at the time, stepped forward and became strong focal points.

But if he were to quit the game, complaints would erupt from the guild members of the former alliance that Bolton led as a representative.

If that happened, the guild would split again as before, and in fact, the growth shown so far would be completely over.

Aile, who suddenly provoked Bolton and applied for a duel, was aiming for that.

“And… I was already feeling uneasy.”

Since hearing Aile’s claim at the negotiation table, Duke had been quite bothered by something.

In fact, the scale at which the Water Church mobilized its followers was a bit excessive, and if the next event was really aimed at them, it would be quite dangerous.

The reason why he said in the negotiation that he would retreat until the fight was over without attacking Blackburn right away was also because he was conscious of that.

‘I’d like to take this opportunity to drive them out, but it’s a bit too much of a risk to take when the guild is at stake. This time… it wouldn’t be bad to safely collect the defense rewards for the world event.’

The conclusion Duke came to while watching the duel.

Just as Aile had grasped Bolton in advance, he also knew that Duke was a very cautious person when moving the guild.

That’s why, even after being rejected, he threw a gamble called the duel with Bolton while he was inwardly hesitating.

The fact that he didn’t immediately stop the unnecessarily risky confrontation that an important figure like the vice guild leader had stepped forward was enough hesitation.

But that didn’t mean that he thought Aile could really beat Bolton.

‘No matter how detailed the information he has grasped in advance, there are only a handful of people who can utilize it that much in actual combat, even if you consider the entire Warlord class.’

Before directly facing each other, Duke never imagined that Aile would really be able to beat Bolton.

He had many doubts as to whether he had really defeated Rhoden, a named player in Armenia, but now he had no choice but to acknowledge Aile.

Turning his gaze, he opened his mouth towards Aile.

“After this event is over, we will conduct a separate investigation at the guild level. And if your words are proven to be false at that time… there’s no need to say anything more.”

The last harsh condition he put forward.

Duke was a top player who was aiming to enter the rankings even among the semi-rankers, and if he had faced him, he would not have been able to win no matter how well he had planned his strategy.

But Aile, who didn’t have to worry about it, simply replied.

“Anytime.”

He left the scene.

* * *

After the Blood Pledge Guild intervened, the situation changed very quickly.

The world event that took place between the Bahamut’s followers and the Blackburn Guild was now facing a reversed situation.

Since the two guilds, which had not been on good terms, were joining forces, there were several hiccups, but in the end, it was not a big problem in front of a common enemy.

Moreover, unless there was a significant difference in forces, there was a considerable advantage for the defending side holed up inside the fortress.

That’s how firmly they were able to hold out, and they were successfully blocking the Water Church.

Kwaak! Thud!

The last follower stabbed by Aile’s longsword fell to the ground.

Aile wiped the sweat from his forehead over the stream of blood that was pooling on the floor.

“Is this the last one? Fortunately, I wasn’t late.”

Aile immediately went to support after hearing the news that the Bahamut’s followers who had detoured had attacked a small-scale base.

The other party members couldn’t move because they were fighting in the siege, and Neshua, who happened to be in the same fortress, helped him protect the base entirely.

「It’s not much left now」

“I agree.”

They had cut down so many followers of the Water Church over the past few days.

As a result of focusing on defense, they had gained some momentum and were not far from a successful defense.

But at that moment.

Kugugugu!

Suddenly, a violent vibration was felt from under the ground.

Aile and Neshua were embarrassed and looked around at the sudden situation.

However, the surrounding Blood Pledge guild members were not agitated at all, as if they couldn’t feel this vibration at all.

“What is this…?”

Jeojeojeok!

Now the earth was rapidly starting to crack.

Time seemed to have stopped, the other guild members completely stopped their actions, and Aile and Neshua barely exchanged glances.

Before they could even figure out what was happening.

The surrounding floor collapsed and murky water rose from below.

The forest, which had only been full of dense trees and bushes, rapidly turned into a deep swamp.

[The intervention of the deity, ‘Tyrant of the River,’ affects this land!]

Deedeedeed!

Above the sunken land, the surface filled with water on all sides.

An unidentified huge body floated up from between them.

A monster with a huge and long body cut through the water and circled around them leisurely.

Swaaaaa!

Between the splitting waters, the appearance of a giant catfish, so large that no creature could compare, gradually revealed itself.

The whiskers, longer than mountain ranges, stretched endlessly under the water, and the mouth with tens of thousands of teeth opened wide.

“B-Bahamut…?”

The deity of circulation, water, and destruction. Bahamut.

The person who planned this world event appeared directly in front of them.

“You must have thought you were clever. That you could do everything your way.”

A rough voice leaked from the huge mouth that seemed to swallow the world.

A pressure that was on a different level from when he faced Benaron, the demon of greed.

Cold sweat ran down his face at the threatening reverberation.

“But this is just the beginning. My vassals will soon rise to the ground. The wave of destruction flows, and the eternal cycle approaches. Fate will shatter you.”

Bahamut slowly approached them.

The swirling waters caused by it felt dangerously as if they would swallow them up at any moment.

“Don’t think you’ll be safe forever hiding behind petty deities.”

Cheucheucheut!

The distortion of space occurred just by facing it closely.

Bahamut twisted its body and disappeared back into the deep swamp.

The rising water was sucked downwards, and the pressure that had enveloped his whole body disappeared.

As the deity’s intervention completely disappeared, the earth and forest had already returned to their original state.

“This… seems to be properly recorded.”

「I agree」