Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 346

Extracurricular 8.

A Special Hell for You (4)

Ardan hastily connected to his subordinate beyond the rift.

Soon, using the lower-ranking subordinate as a conduit for his consciousness, Ardan could see what was happening.

And he was horrified.

It was the base where all preparations had been proceeding smoothly thanks to the priest. But the moment his vision locked in, he felt the excruciating pain of his skull being shattered.

As soon as he connected, the subordinate’s head was smashed by something.

However, in that brief moment, Ardan grasped the situation.

Beyond the rift, his subordinates were being unilaterally massacred.

“This is a damn mess. What the hell is that priest doing…?”

Ardan kept sending messages to the priest, but there was no response.

In that instant, Ardan felt a shock, as if he had been struck in the back of the head.

‘Could it have been a trap?’

He couldn’t know whether the priest had cooperated with the ‘Star of Hell’ or not.

Ardan had unilaterally believed that he wouldn’t cooperate, given that most of the priests had been killed.

However, the important thing was that contact with the priest had been lost, and he had already pushed a tremendous amount of supplies beyond the rift.

Moreover, in that situation, his subordinates were being unilaterally slaughtered.

Ardan didn’t lose his reason, even as he burst into anger.

The situation was bad, but conversely, most of the enemy’s forces were deployed right in front of him.

If he could eliminate them now, the upcoming conquest would surely become easier.

“Everyone, go in! Protect the altar from collapsing!”

***

Bang, boom.

Ardan’s ironclad soldiers exploded here and there, scattering fragments. The hunters, who were closing in, couldn’t avoid injuries from the sudden self-destruction.

“Upper-ranking subordinates are appearing. Cease the battle and retreat,” Adam urgently ordered.

Similar instructions were given to the monsters. However, forces like Kirson and Khazrat, who could handle the upper-ranking subordinates, remained.

The fragments of the shattered ironclad soldiers melted away, bubbling.

The molten iron quickly gathered like streams, heading towards the center of the forest all at once.

In various parts of the forest, the heated molten iron burned the trees, emitting light and creating snowflake-like patterns.

“Ah, ah, aaaaaah!”

A huge roar erupted from within the gathered molten iron. It was a deafening noise that numbed the eardrums.

At the same time, the space above the scorched black ground began to warp strangely. And then, soldiers different from the ones seen until now, clad in heavy armor about 10 to 13 feet tall, began to emerge with difficulty.

Seeing that, Adam said briefly.

“An angel is descending. Everyone, lie down.”

“Angel?”

Hyun-woo questioned the bizarre name for a moment.

No sooner had Adam’s order been given than a beam of light struck the ground.

The trees in the forest all fell to one side, as if trying to get away from the light. Hunters who hadn’t prepared for the impact were seen rolling on the ground.

For a moment, Hyun-woo thought Adam had used the Tsepish Case [a powerful, area-of-effect attack]. But it was subtly different.

The Tsepish Case was destructive but excessively broad, and it was more effective against humans than monsters.

However, the moment Hyun-woo saw the beam of light spewing out from the dust cloud, he clicked his tongue.

“I think you’re giving Lee Ji-tae too cool of a role.”

“People like it.”

That was enough for Adam.

***

Lee Ji-tae, who had been waiting in the air, launched a surprise attack on the ground as soon as Adam Fault’s order was given.

It was narrower in range than the Tsepish Case, but it was a much stronger and faster attack. Above all, it was an effective attack against monsters.

Most of the upper-ranking subordinates who were just about to appear were crushed or broken by Lee Ji-tae’s surprise attack, and they were lying on the floor.

The upper-ranking subordinate who was trying to form a body by gathering molten iron had its form turned into rags.

Perhaps because it was an unexpected blow, they seemed hesitant.

“Good. It works.”

At that moment, a crow flew to Hyun-woo. The crow cleared its throat, cawing, and spoke in Khazrat’s voice.

“Great one. The altar underground has collapsed due to that shock. Now, the conquering star can no longer deploy upper-ranking subordinates.”

The shaman Khazrat was pouring his power into collapsing and disrupting the priest’s altar.

But his most important purpose was not the altar.

“The priest?”

“I’ve released a rat to track him. He believes he’s escaping.”

Hyun-woo nodded.

Catching the priest was a simple matter, but Hyun-woo had no intention of doing so.

“This time too, continue to track him and don’t miss his movements.”

Hyun-woo ordered him to continue tracking the priest, then slowly walked forward.

The upper-ranking subordinate, who held the position of centurion under Ardan, was struggling to stand up, overcoming the aftermath of the shock.

The shock itself wasn’t much. But his body was a mess because he had forcibly passed through an unstable rift.

“Ah, don’t overdo it and lie down to rest.”

The moment the centurion raised his head, Hyun-woo lightly kicked his head.

The head rolled away, making a hollow sound, and soon melted down into molten iron.

Starting with the centurion, the other fallen upper-ranking subordinates also began to melt.

The molten iron, as before, began to gather again into one huge mass.

It was that huge mass of iron that Lee Ji-tae had turned into rags.

The mass of iron quickly repaired its body as if the wounds had never existed, and slowly began to shape its body.

[Star of Hell.]

“Oh, what is it? It’s talking without a mouth.”

Hyun-woo spoke as if he was amazed, but Adam and Lee Ji-tae were not.

Being able to speak meant that it was a considerable upper-ranking subordinate with both intelligence and power.

Lee Ji-tae quickly slashed at it with a lightning-clad sword, but it was as meaningless as cutting water.

“Get out of the way, Lee Ji-tae. You’re not compatible with it.”

Lee Ji-tae made a pained expression, but Adam’s words were correct.

Adam raised his hand and grasped as if trying to mold the molten iron. The molten iron captured in the air was crushed in an instant, but soon surged and scattered.

Adam frowned.

If it was an enemy that didn’t take physical form, then she wasn’t compatible with it either.

[War is evolution.]

When Adam and Lee Ji-tae no longer attacked, the molten iron slowly began to take shape.

It had the appearance of a heavy armored knight clad in iron armor, just like the other soldiers, but it was still the scarlet molten iron itself that emitted tremendous heat.

The molten iron flowing endlessly over its body was clearly visible.

[Adapting and surviving in any battlefield is the conqueror.]

“Then why don’t you say that the strongest Pokémon is Ditto [a Pokémon known for its ability to transform and adapt].”

[Pocket… what?]

The thing stammered at Hyun-woo’s words, as if it was flustered.

But soon it realized that Hyun-woo was teasing it and decided to ignore it.

Getting angry or reacting to trivial jokes would only make itself look ridiculous.

It looked around and muttered.

[The rift has collapsed. I prevented the star from being conquered, but I couldn’t prevent my avatar from manifesting. Although it’s a poor and crude form… it’s enough to catch and kill all of you.]

“Avatar?”

[I am the conquering star, Ardan.]

The people who heard that voice all had surprised faces.

They thought it would be a considerable upper-ranking subordinate, but they never thought that Ardan himself would come. Of course, it was still surprising even if it was a temporary clone.

Ardan plunged his hand into his own heart. And then, he took out a burning red sword from within and held it out, saying.

[You, I have come to conquer the Star of Hell.]

Ardan’s sword was pointed at Adam Fault.

***

Adam Fault distorted his expression as if he was displeased, and Lee Ji-tae didn’t understand the situation.

Hyun-woo was silent for a moment.

It would be fun to pass it on to Adam Fault and get out of the way, but he didn’t want to miss the most interesting part.

And above all, Hyun-woo had a question that had been in his head for some time.

Ardan seemed like he could provide an answer to that question.

“It’s this way, not that way. Of course, Adam Fault would be more suitable for the name Star of Hell, judging by his appearance and atmosphere.”

Hyun-woo said, taking a step forward.

Ardan looked suspiciously at Adam Fault and Hyun-woo alternately.

[…That one seems stronger?]

“It’s not always the stronger one who wins.”

Hyun-woo didn’t stop walking.

Ardan distorted his face as he watched Hyun-woo approaching closer and closer to the tip of the huge sword.

He looked defenseless, as if he didn’t care whether he was stabbed or not. Even before touching the tip of the sword, Hyun-woo felt a heat that seemed to burn him.

Hyun-woo gestured to Adam and Lee Ji-tae. It meant to step back.

When the two had retreated far enough, Hyun-woo whispered to Ardan.

“I have a question… What number do you think you are?”

[What? What number are you talking about?]

“The star that was completely deceived by the priest and invaded.”

Ardan couldn’t understand Hyun-woo’s words. But the moment he understood those words, he felt a shock as if he had been struck in the head.

He had suspected that the priest might have deceived him. But he ignored it, thinking it was no longer an important issue since he had already been deceived.

In order to kill them and destroy the supplies he had invested.

But that wasn’t just happening to him?

“The ‘world left unattended without the game ending’ seems quite sweet to the stars. Like ants swarming around honey, this one and that one get caught up.”

Hyun-woo chuckled and put his hands in his pockets.

“And none of those guys even properly manifested. Maybe the priest didn’t tell you this? Because he firmly believes that he can take revenge.”

That son of a bitch.

Ardan muttered inwardly.

He had never heard such a story from other stars. They would have been silent out of shame for being disgraced, or with the thought that they couldn’t be the only ones to suffer.

“Still, you’re the biggest one among them. But it seems like you can’t avoid a pathetic appearance.”

Only then did Ardan call out to the other hunters. And he realized that the level of the other hunters, including Kang Hyun-woo, had risen considerably since before he left this star.

Logically, if the game was interrupted, there could be no more level-ups or item enhancements. Because mana would no longer pour in like a flood as when playing the game.

But if there are bugs caught in the honey, it’s possible.

Ardan was not the only star that had his supplies and mana stolen and contributed to the power of humans.

In the meantime, humans had grown to the point where they could not be ignored.

This world was already hell.

A sweet hell that hides its appearance to seduce and devour other stars.

An ant hell for the stars.

Hyun-woo slowly brought his forehead to the tip of Ardan’s sword. Instead of being scorched, his forehead began to crush the tip of the sword, making a sizzling sound.

The sword did not pierce Hyun-woo’s head, but turned into a reddish-green rust and crumbled. And as it was, Hyun-woo began to push forward.

Ardan raised the heat from his entire body and burst into anger.

“Hey. Don’t get too excited. You’ll die quickly.”

Ardan tried to strike Hyun-woo with the sword as it was, but he discovered that his wrist was falling off with a cracking sound.

Before he knew it, his wrist was blackened. The red rust that had seeped into the cross-section was visible.

Ardan didn’t understand the situation. In the meantime, Hyun-woo had already come to his feet.

“See you next time.”

As it was, Hyun-woo strode into Ardan’s melting molten iron.

Ardan tried to grab Hyun-woo, who had entered his body. But there was nothing to grab.

Rather, he witnessed the sight of the hand he had put in turning into a lump of rust and crumbling.

[You! What are you doing! What is this…]

Ardan felt breathless even though he had no lungs. He felt like he was getting older even though he had no lifespan.

He felt rust forming all over his body and his joints corroding.

Before long, Ardan froze in the position of bending over to grab Hyun-woo.

Crack.

And Kang Hyun-woo walked out, breaking Ardan’s corroded lower body.

His whole body was covered with cold lumps of iron, but there wasn’t even a trace of scorching on his skin.

Instead, his whole body was drenched in sweat.

“Hoo, I feel like I came out of a sauna.”

“Kang Hyun-woo!”

From a distance, Adam Fault watched with a suspicious expression and shouted.

“Is it okay now? Can I get closer?”

“Huh? Ah, yeah. ‘Now’ it’s just sweat. I thought Ardan looked so hot that it would be good to test it.”

After Difficulty: Hell disappeared and he lost Ultimate: Beast of the Apocalypse, a new skill naturally appeared in Hyun-woo’s ultimate slot.

It was ‘Blood of the Beast’.

This ability, which was sufficiently activated by body fluids, still remained even after Difficulty: Hell disappeared.

This was because it was not something that Renian had forcibly given him, but something that was latent in Hyun-woo’s blood.

Adam muttered as if he was fed up.

“I didn’t think it would work on something close to inanimate like this. Did you know?”

“Of course.”

Because he had already used it on the Shattering Star in Difficulty: Hell.

The memory of that time was faint, but the sensation remained. But it was questionable whether it would work even in high-temperature situations like Ardan. That much was a gamble.

‘Maybe it’s not time to be punished yet.’

Hyun-woo was concerned about Yoo-min’s story.

Since he had committed sins, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was punished and died.

But Hyun-woo didn’t die, and there were no other unusual events.

And thinking about it, even if he was really punished, he didn’t think he would quietly die.

In the end, Hyun-woo survived again, and the star’s subordinates who had invaded met a miserable death.

“Is it over?”

Yoo-min, who was directing the tactics from the rear, approached as the situation was settled.

Hyun-woo felt more complicated when he saw her. Yoo-min ordered the hunters to transport the remains and supplies left by Ardan. Hyun-woo, who was watching the scene, opened his mouth.

“Yoo-min. Do you think there’s a heaven?”

“Huh? Why are you suddenly talking nonsense?”

“You said that your father was someone who could die at any time. That your father’s death was karma. Then are we like that too? Wouldn’t it be strange if you or I died at any time?”

Yoo-min looked at him with an absurd expression, but soon understood what Hyun-woo was saying. Yoo-min seemed to be contemplating for a moment before opening her mouth.

“Well, even if everyone in the world knew that there was a heaven, we wouldn’t have a way to confirm it.”

Yoo-min’s answer was extremely calm.

Hyun-woo looked at her with a sense of futility, but he didn’t feel particularly bad.

It just felt like he was confirming the facts.

Yoo-min soon smiled brightly and hugged Hyun-woo tightly.

“Instead of being greedy for a place we can’t even set foot in, let’s cultivate this special hell for us beautifully.”