The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 281

281.

[The strange substance in the Legion Commander’s heart reacts to the Vessel of Fate.]

[Phase 2 is skipped.]

[A hidden phase occurs.]

“……Hidden phase?”

Suddenly, in this situation?

Before Doyun, dazed, could even understand what was happening, it began.

Swoosh-

Something dark purple, like smog, rose from the Legion Commander and quickly began to stain the surrounding land.

“What, what is that?”

“No, what’s going on all of a sudden?”

“An aura is being emitted?”

An instinctive sense of rejection, an unpleasant energy.

Watching the writhing earth felt ominous, like looking at pollutants.

The raid members, who had been riding the momentum, hesitated and stepped back.

It wasn’t just them.

“What’s going on now.”

“……I don’t know exactly, but it doesn’t seem like a good situation.”

“I agree.”

Ast, the Heavenly Demon, and Arthur, who had been sweeping through with momentum, also stopped abruptly, frowning.

Even the zealot, who had been tirelessly swinging his greatsword, was eventually forced to retreat by the increasingly dense energy.

——!

The density of the roar being unleashed is different.

The sharpness, as if tearing through space, travels through the air and reaches the skin.

The Empress’s eyes became serious.

“……Hey. Get ready.”

“Okay.”

Her intuition was telling her that everything up until now had just been a light warm-up and that the real raid was about to begin.

This was something that everyone here felt, not just her.

The ominous premonition was never wrong.

[The Abyssification of the Labyrinth begins.]

[The ground is stained with the Abyss, centered around the sealed Abyss, ‘4th Legion Commander of Destruction’.]

[Current Abyssification of the Labyrinth 10%]

[If Abyssification reaches 100%, the Labyrinth raid fails and influences the outside of the Labyrinth.]

“What? Abyssification?”

“It influences the outside of the Labyrinth? Doesn’t this basically mean we’re screwed if we fail!”

“It’s the same as the Forgotten Tomb! Damn it, are we going to become traitors if we mess this up?”

“Is this scale even right?”

The sense of crisis, felt even just by looking at the text, was enough to cause chaos.

And this wasn’t even the end.

Thud thud thud-

The ground shook, and the dark purple ground began to turn translucent.

“Wh, what is that.”

“……An egg?”

“No, but why is it so big?”

Beneath the revealed contaminated land was a giant egg.

And its size was absurd.

The moment they looked down at the floor, they felt not only powerlessness but even a sense of futility.

“One mountain after another.”

“I knew it was too easy…… Tsk.”

“Whatever it is, the situation doesn’t look good.”

Ast and the Empress were also clicking their tongues, expressing their dismay.

Arthur and the others were no different, but only Doyun and the Guardians had serious faces.

They couldn’t help but be.

‘Master, is that perhaps……?’

‘Yeah, I think you’re right.’

‘……We must stop it, Master.’

Doyun and his party had already seen it before.

The event that appeared when they caught the Destroyer, Gaiman, in Brion.

‘The Eye of the Abyss.’

It was still closed, and the reptilian pupils weren’t visible, so at first glance, it looked like an egg, but they were sure.

That overwhelming presence, like a cosmic horror, was not something they could forget.

More than anything.

“Huh? Look over there!”

“Damn it, what is that again!?”

“Oh, they’re coming up! Block them first!”

The Legion of the Abyss, revealed from the very slightly opened eye, was the proof.

Like an army rising from hell.

A grim, dark purple energy flowed from them as they rose from the underground to the surface.

‘Even at a glance, there are over 50 of them.’

Fortunately, they seemed somewhat weak to be called the Legion of the Abyss, as if they were just fodder [cannon fodder or expendable troops].

Some were even falling back into the abyss with their heads pierced as they came up.

“Huh?”

“This is it. Knock them all down before they come up!”

“Okay!”

Users, regaining confidence from that, hurriedly began to knock the guys down.

They had already succeeded in knocking down a quarter of them, but unfortunately, this was the limit.

Kyahhhh-

Creak-!

“There are some above too!”

“Ugh, I’m going crazy.”

The demonic beasts of the Abyss, like giant wyverns, fluttering in the sky.

It was because the remaining guys flew here and began to interfere.

That… uh….

Squeak….

The Legion of the Abyss, who succeeded in coming up in the meantime, were surprisingly people.

To be exact, they seemed to have been people in the past, with half of their skin still human and the other half contaminated by the Abyss, writhing.

The moment the users flinched at the unpleasant appearance, someone shouted loudly.

“Charge!”

“They’re weaker than we thought! Don’t back down, sweep them away!”

It was Marpard and Lavaon.

“……Pardon?”

“B, but what about the Legion Commander…….”

The users, startled by their command, questioned, but they were firm.

“Trust the Masters and leave it to them.”

“We can’t focus on the Legion Commander unless we deal with the Legion anyway. So, helping as much as possible means taking down the Legion as quickly as possible. Understand!”

“Yes!”

They no longer questioned the accurate command, which left no room for argument, and followed the order.

Of course, the Kashin followers were no exception.

“Believers, punish the heretics!”

“Yes!”

“For the almighty Kashin!”

As soon as the zealot’s order fell, they jumped into the Legion without the slightest hesitation.

Not even the gruesome appearance or the fierce momentum could stop their madness.

Doyun nodded at that.

‘Still, the Rankers are quick to judge.’

Thanks to their quick handling of the sudden situation, they could focus on the fight with the Legion Commander without interference.

If those guys had been flustered and the Legion had interfered…….

Just thinking about it gave him goosebumps.

But even though they had avoided the worst, the situation was still not good.

[The Abyssification of the Labyrinth is currently at 12%.]

[Powerful Abyss beings appear in proportion to the progress of Abyssification.]

‘The Legion appeared when it reached 10 percent. And there were no changes in the 2 percent that followed. Does that mean the Legion appears based on 10 percent?’

Suddenly, a time limit had been placed on the raid.

Now, they could no longer afford to take their time and attack stably as they had been doing.

Recalling his experience in Brion, the Abyss that would appear when it reached 100% was obvious.

‘The strong of the Abyss.’

If they appeared, it would all be over.

They had to win as quickly as possible.

[The sealed Abyss, ‘4th Legion Commander of Destruction’, activates the ‘Legion Commander’ trait.]

[While the 4th Legion Commander of Destruction leads the Legion, they receive the effects of ‘Knockback Immunity’, ‘Status Abnormality Immunity’, and ‘Ruthless’.]

The Legion Commander, stronger than before, with even fewer members.

“Everyone understands the situation, right? We’ll lose if we’re late. We have to end this quickly.”

“I agree…… but is it possible? The speed of Abyssification is unusual.”

“Hmm.”

Ast couldn’t answer Heavenly Demon’s question.

The progress rate had increased by another 2% in this short time, reaching 14%.

At this rate, a new Abyss would appear before that Legion was even dead.

And an even stronger Abyss than now.

On the other hand, the Legion Commander still had 50% of their health remaining.

Since the number of troops had decreased, even with simple calculations, it would take at least another 2 hours.

“No. Capturing him is not the strategy.”

It was Arthur who opened his mouth at that moment.

“? If capturing the boss isn’t the strategy, then what is?”

“You seem to know something.”

“It’s a guess.”

“We don’t have time, so tell us quickly, whatever it is.”

At the Empress’s urging, Arthur calmly turned his head and looked beside the Legion Commander.

Where the giant egg… no, the Eye of the Abyss, was.

“Can you see what’s there?”

“How could we not see that? I could see it even with my eyes half-closed.”

“Look closely.”

“What on earth is there that makes you say such a… huh?”

The Empress, who had been frowning at Arthur’s calm reply, paused.

There really was something.

Something so natural that, because it was the same color as the Abyss-contaminated ground, it was easy to mistake it for part of the contaminated land.

“A bead?”

It wasn’t just a bead.

There was a faint line connecting the Legion Commander’s back and it, as if their souls were connected.

It was so faint that it was barely visible unless you looked closely.

‘I didn’t even know this.’

In fact, even Doyun hadn’t noticed.

It wasn’t hidden, but it was because the Eye of Truth hadn’t been activated.

“Objectively, do you think it makes sense to capture him with a standard strategy before it reaches 100%?”

“……No, it doesn’t. Not by a long shot.”

“My guess is that the bead is the key. Of course, it could be a trap, but…….”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

The Empress, who had been listening quietly, nodded.

“Then let’s try it.”

“Huh?”

“Wait a minute. Empress. There’s a possibility it’s a trap. It would be wiser to move more cautiously…….”

“Ugh, that hothead…… look at her running off again without listening.”

And without giving Arthur and Ast a chance to stop her, she kicked off the ground and rushed towards the bead, breaking through the Legion blocking her path in an instant.

Soon, standing in front of the bead, she swung her sword down.

Bang!

“What, nothing’s happening?”

“That’s why you should think more carefully…….”

“I’ll know if I hit it more.”

“Ugh, I can’t take it. Draw the Legion Commander’s attention.”

Seeing the Empress not giving up and continuing to strike, the party hurriedly drew the Legion Commander’s aggro [aggression or attention].

Thwaaang! Thwang! Bang!

How many times had they struck like that?

Crack- Crackle-

Boom!

The bead seemed to crack, and then light exploded.

They frowned at the light that burst out like a flashlight turning on in the dark, but only for a moment.

Kuaaaaa!!!

The Legion Commander writhed in agony.

At the same time, a message appeared.

[Partially destroyed the sealed soul of the ‘4th Legion Commander of Destruction’.]

[The Legion Commander suffers severe damage.]

[The sealed Abyss, ‘4th Legion Commander of Destruction’, has less than 40% health.]

“Oh?”

“Heh, it worked?”

It was when Ast was chuckling in disbelief at that.

[The sealed soul is destroyed and divided into two.]

[The two divided sealed souls must be destroyed simultaneously.]

[Only single attacks accumulate damage.]

“Ah?”

“Could it be?”

“I see. I understand now.”

At this point, there was no way they wouldn’t know the strategy.

The Legion Commander and the Legion were traps. What they had to focus on wasn’t them.

‘While someone draws the Legion Commander’s aggro, someone else breaks the bead.’

It seemed like it would be reduced by 10% each time they broke it, so if they repeated this four times, it would be over.

The fact that it had increased to five was a flaw, but their number, including the archers, was seven.

It was worth a try.

That’s what they thought.

Ding-

Until they saw the message that soon appeared.

[The sealed soul is destroyed, and the suppression of the ‘Authority of Destruction’ is released.]

[The ‘4th Legion Commander of Destruction’ will use one of the sealed authorities.]

[Uses the Pillar of Destruction.]

[If the Legion Commander’s aggro is released for more than 10 seconds, a Pillar of Destruction will be created.]

[If three or more Pillars of Destruction are created, the pillars will explode, causing area damage.]

[Danger! The area damage of the Pillar of Destruction is an instant kill.]

“…….”

“…….”

Everyone closed their mouths as if they had made a promise at the sight of the messages confusing their eyes.

It was Heavenly Demon’s noble voice that broke the cold silence.

“It seems we’re screwed.”