Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 166

166. Apostle of Salvation (2)

A dungeon deep within a dark cave.

Located in the main territory of the Griffin Guild, figures that would surprise everyone had gathered.

“I’ve received word. It seems the sacred relic from the Eastern Wilderness has been safely recovered.”

“Good, everything is going according to plan. Once we finish things here, we can begin in earnest.”

Kruger and Silas conversed.

The 1st and 8th ranked players in all of Warlord.

As the top executives of the Apollyon Guild, they didn’t bring a single guild member with them, even though they were in a territory that had nothing to do with their guild.

A bold move in such a tense atmosphere recently.

Before them was a large Soul Stone and members of the Iron Cross, moving busily.

Black magic power, drawn from the earth, writhed and surged around the Soul Stone.

“Kruger, do we really have to join hands with these shady guys?”

“Saying things like that where we can hear you hurts, you know.”

Mute of the Iron Cross said with a greasy smile.

Regardless, Silas looked at them with displeased eyes.

But there was no turning back now, and even for her, with her firm position, it was impossible to change the decision.

“We have to support that obnoxious prince. I can’t stand it.”

“There’s nothing to gain from betting on the winning side.”

Kruger said simply.

With all six major guilds siding with the princess.

Supporting the princess as they had been wouldn’t change anything.

But if they stood on the opposite side and managed to turn the situation around, they could have much greater influence.

It wasn’t an easy task, but if they held a card that could reverse the situation, the story was different.

At that moment, a man appeared from the entrance.

“You bastards……!”

Lewin, the guild leader of Griffin.

Behind him, Lewin, the 6th-ranked player, was followed by half a dozen supporting guild members, who stopped behind him.

“I couldn’t believe it, but you’re pulling this kind of crap in someone else’s territory… You know that what you’ve done is tantamount to a declaration of war, right?”

Lewin’s fierce gaze turned to Kruger.

But he remained relaxed, despite the menacing look.

“You arrived sooner than I expected. Though the number of people is less than I anticipated.”

“This son of a…….”

Lewin, having heard about Kruger’s intrusion into Griffin’s territory, headed straight to this cave.

However, there were many Apollyon guild members hidden along the path leading here, and they lost a significant number of guild members due to traps.

Lewin, frowning, shifted his gaze to the back for a moment.

“Ha, is that the Soul Stone? If you thought we’d be taken down by some ancient spirit or whatever, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“I don’t expect that much either.”

Kruger said calmly, making a gesture with his hand.

Duuuung!

[A declaration of war has been made!]

[The ‘Apollyon’ Guild and the ‘Griffin’ Guild are entering a state of war!]

A system message appeared to all guild members on both sides.

The Griffin guild members present were all shaken at once.

No one had expected him to declare war in this place.

“A little help is enough. Finishing things is in our hands. It’s time to break the balance.”

“Shut up! I’ll kill you here!”

Lewin, enraged, took out his staff and charged forward.

His class was ‘Battle Mage’.

A unique mage class that utilized mid-to-close range combat, it was so difficult to master due to the need to cast spells and engage in melee combat simultaneously that most users didn’t even attempt it.

It was, in effect, Lewin’s signature class.

The long, spear-like staff aimed for Kruger’s neck.

Clang!

Silas blocked his attack.

Her black-tainted blade was swung mightily, and Lewin stepped back quickly.

Because she had intervened, he suffered a shallow wound on his forearm, and a small amount of blood dripped down.

Tsutsutsu!

[Exposed to curse, movement speed slightly decreased!]

[Exposed to curse, maximum health slightly decreased!]

The messages appeared before Lewin’s eyes.

It was her skill from their brief exchange.

Silas, with her Swordmage class, specialized in dark attributes and was skilled in auxiliary black magic and curses.

However, Lewin possessed a unique-grade passive that allowed him to resist these types of debuffs, so the stat reduction wasn’t significant.

Paat!

Lewin, casting an acceleration spell on himself, quickly closed the distance.

Having declared war like this, there was no way he could let them leave his territory unscathed.

He intended to take down Silas, who was blocking his path, in one fell swoop and then take the head of Kruger, the guild leader.

Kaga gag!

The sounds of clashing echoed repeatedly as offense and defense were exchanged fiercely.

At that moment, a powerful current emanated from Lewin, who had finished casting a spell while wielding his weapon.

Silas quickly stepped out of range, but in the meantime, a shockwave at the level of instant magic struck her.

Kwaang!

She was knocked back and stunned, and Lewin, who had rushed in to deliver a combo while she was flying, followed closely.

However, as soon as she was hit by the shockwave, she immediately used a status abnormality解除 [status ailment removal] skill to break free from the stun.

Instead, with her body flipped upside down, she activated a large skill in mid-air.

Kwaaaang!

Unique-grade attack skill, Assault.

The cave floor was completely overturned, and Lewin, who was almost caught in the attack, quickly retreated.

‘Such skill…….’

His brow furrowed at the unexpected show of force.

She was also a top-ranked player, ranked 8th.

He knew, of course, that she was a formidable opponent.

But even considering that, she shouldn’t have been at the level to stand on equal footing with him, the leader of one of the six major guilds.

Yet, her movements just now momentarily exceeded his expectations.

It was as if her skills had suddenly improved, far surpassing what had been reported.

– Guild Leader! The rankers who went to the Black Tower have been defeated!

– Schultz and Alex have both been subdued by Lucan of Apollyon!

– The personnel at the Shipwreck Graveyard have also been wiped out!

“Wh, what……?”

Urgent reports began pouring in from all directions.

Lewin, flustered, felt his mind freeze for a moment.

Kruger and Silas weren’t the only ones who had entered the territory.

Apollyon’s high-ranking executives, who had secretly entered the territory, had all been caught in Griffin Guild’s intelligence network, and Lewin had sent pursuit teams to chase them.

He knew that Apollyon’s executive-level high rankers were extremely strong compared to the other six major guilds.

He had formed teams of rankers with sufficient power based on pre-analyzed data.

But the results he was hearing now were all defeats.

Rather, those who had gone to assess the opponent’s strength had all been defeated.

“Damn it, how the hell…….”

“Looks like things are wrapping up on the other side too.”

Silas grinned, seeing Lewin’s expression.

At her words, Kruger drew his sword and stepped forward.

“Then let’s finish things here too.”

* * *

“Guild Leader, it’s war! Apollyon has declared all-out war on Griffin!”

“I just heard.”

Karin, the guild leader of Nightmare, didn’t show much reaction to Lambic’s fuss.

“Th… that’s all?”

“What kind of reaction were you expecting?”

“It’s an unexpected move. No one thought Apollyon would suddenly attack them…….”

“It’s a good thing for us. We don’t have to worry about being backstabbed during the war.”

Nightmare was still continuing its fierce war with the Dawn Guild.

As a war between two massive forces, they had to pour all their strength into it, and in that situation, the other six major guilds lurking behind them were a significant source of anxiety.

But now, the two guilds in the rear were engaging in war.

Nothing could be better.

They could now focus solely on the war with Dawn without worrying about being attacked from behind.

“But can Griffin hold out? If the Apollyon Guild, which is already growing rapidly, devours the Northeast…….”

Although they were both among the six major guilds, there were differences in power between the guilds.

If the Apollyon Guild, which was already in the lead, absorbed all of Griffin’s territories, the aftermath might be unmanageable.

But Karin’s reaction was indifferent.

“Griffin is also one of the six major guilds. They won’t fall that easily. Besides, Cerberus and Iron Cross won’t just stand by and watch until things get to that point.”

Cerberus and Iron Cross, based in the Northwest and North, respectively.

These two of the six major guilds had a long-standing animosity dating back to the second-generation game, Armenia, and were always snarling at each other.

But that didn’t mean they were so foolish as to only bite each other.

With Nightmare and Dawn tied up in war, it was only natural that they would check Apollyon if it tried to grow too much.

“Either way, we can’t afford to divert our forces.”

Karin said simply.

The fight between Nightmare and Dawn Guilds had now reached a point of no return, and they couldn’t afford to move to check the other side.

“By the way, what’s the situation with the sacred relics?”

“Ah, I was just about to tell you.”

Lambic, regaining his composure, handed her the report.

Nightmare had completed the recovery of the core sacred relic fragment in the Western Desert.

It was confirmed that the sacred relic in the North had been handed over to the Order of Light, and the only notable user among the followers of light heading north was Aile.

In other words, Aile was the first to discover and recover the sacred relic in the North.

“So, that means Iron Cross just watched as the sacred relic was taken. No, that can’t be.”

Karin, recalling Sir, the guild leader of Iron Cross, shook her head.

There was no way she wouldn’t have noticed what was happening in her territory, and it was more likely that she had made some kind of deal with Aile.

“I wonder what kind of deal she made with that woman… Have you contacted Aile? Luring the Order of Light with the Western sacred relic would be a good option for now.”

“Ah, well… We tried to contact her first, but she said she would reply later due to urgent business.”

“Urgent business……?”

Karin reacted as if it was unexpected.

‘What is she doing in the southern backwoods?’

* * *

Kiiiik!

The undead legion filled the plains densely.

The legion, filled with terrifying high-level grotesque creatures and corpses, was being led by evil spirits called Nepos’s minions.

And on the opposite side, tribal warriors with determined faces were lined up.

Unlike their usual appearance of fighting their own battles without order, they were arrayed in an orderly manner like an army.

Kuuung!

Whirrreek!