CH 311

Kim Jin-Woo was starting to get a headache. His inability to understand the Usurper’s plans troubled him more than the prospect figuring out how to win the battle.

“Shall we send in the Nagas?” Dominique suggested.

Kim Jin-Woo shook his head in response. If the Nagas were sent in, he would be able to guarantee victory in the battle. However, unlike the Einherjar that he had obtained by sheer chance, the Nagas were the real backbone of his strength. He couldn’t afford to waste them carelessly, and he had no intention of sending the Nagas blindly to their deaths.

“No, we still have some leeway. It won’t be too late to send in the Nagas after our enemies reveal their true powers,” he replied.

Besides, the Usurper’s army had yet to enter the battle in earnest. It would be wiser to leave the Nagas as a reserve and prepare for any future variables that might occur, rather than hastily including them in the main force.

“But I can’t just stand and watch the Beastfolk King run rampant like this,” he muttered.

Thankfully, it wasn’t just the Nagas who were available to send in as reinforcements.

“Angela,” he began. Angela approached him immediately, having been waiting for his call. Kim Jin-Woo continued, “Inform the Reapers. The other prey I promised them aside from the Heavenly Giant Lord are here.”

Kim Jin-Woo finally decided to unleash the Reapers he had been holding in reserve. He had already made use of them once, and he was certain that the Usurper must have become aware of their existence by now. Thus, it was more beneficial to put them to use and finish the battle as soon as possible, rather than wasting more time.

Not long after Angela disappeared on Kim Jin-Woo’s orders, the Red Giant’s voice rang out accompanied by the loud footsteps characteristic of the Reapers.

<I hope that you will honorably keep your promise this time.>

“I’ve already set the table for you, so how about you eat your meal first and talk about it later?” Kim Jin-Woo replied bitterly before turning his attention to the Beastfolk King.

“Damn bastards! What the hell did he do for you to follow him as if you were his dogs!?” the Beastfolk King cursed, exploding in anger at the sight of the Reapers who were certain to bring him defeat in an already unfavorable battle.

“Now that that’s been somewhat resolved...” Kim Jin-Woo muttered, half-listening to the Beastfolk King’s curses as he looked at the Usurper’s movements from afar.

There was no change in her expression at all, as if she had been expecting the intrusion of the Reapers from the beginning, and there were still no signs of her army being sent out either.

“What the hell are you waiting for…” Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t help but frown heavily, as It looked as if the Usurper were waiting for something to happen.

The Beastfolk King ran rampant across the battlefield as desperately as he could, but he couldn’t turn the tide of battle. Numerous beasts were slaughtered by the gluttonous Reapers, and the Beastfolk King’s army suffered enormous damage from the assaults of the Einherjar.

“Mm.”

However, for some reason, the Beastfolk King, who would normally have tucked his tail and escaped by now, was sticking around until the end. The only difference was that even after fearlessly driving away dozens of Reapers on his own, he couldn’t stand on the front lines any longer, and was forced to retreat far behind the ranks.

And then, a strange thing happened. At first, Kim Jin-Woo presumed that the forest was simply swaying in the wind. But soon, that small disturbance turned into a big change, and the densely lined trees stretched their branches and roots toward the Reapers.

To Kim Jin-Woo’s astonishment, the very Reapers that had been running rampantly in the battlefield just moments before were now screaming wildly as they retreated from the advance of those humble branches and roots.

<The Underworld Tree is in our way once again!>

The Underworld Tree was the same as ever, but for some reason, the Red Giant let out an angry outburst toward it. Kim Jin-Woo had unintentionally overlooked the unassuming forest at first, but it seemed to be part of the Underworld Tree as well.

<Why do you continue to deny us?! The Abyss is not even part of the Underworld!>

Judging from the Red Giant’s angry roar, Kim Jin-Woo inferred that he must have had past encounters with the Underworld Tree, in which he couldn’t achieve his purpose due to it getting in his way. The Red Giant’s face had gotten even redder than Kim Jin-Woo had thought possible, expressing his anger with his whole body.

<Now that this has happened, we cannot stand it any longer either.>

But his anger was directed toward the wrong person. The Red Giant and the Reapers rushed toward Kim Jin-Woo, dodging the branches and roots that were extending from the Underworld Tree.

<Give me the body of the promised Highlord! If you do that, we will cross over into the realm of that cursed Underworld Tree and annihilate every last one of your enemies!>

Kim Jin-Woo snorted and replied, “You should show me some results if you want me to reward you, shouldn’t you? I mean, what have you done so far? Are you daring to take credit for the work my army has accomplished?”

Thanks to the Reapers’ efforts, Kim Jin-Woo had been able to push back the enemy vanguard, but that was something the Einherjar could have achieved on their own in the first place even without their presence, albeit at a slightly slower pace.

All the Reapers had done was reduce the time it would have taken to do so; thus, from Kim Jin-Woo’s point of view, there was no reason for him to pay the Reapers anything in return.

“Don’t whine like a child. If you want something, prove your worth and earn it,” he continued. He also informed the Red Giant and his Reapers that if they desperately wanted the body of the Beastfolk King, they should go and kill him first.

“I swear with everything I have, this time, I’ll definitely reward you. But before that, you have to show me the proper results,” he concluded.

The Red Giant trembled with anger and disgrace, looking alternately between Kim Jin-Woo and the forest that was shaking its branches. It looked as if he were deliberating which of the two options would be easier to deal with.

“Well, if you’re that confident, I guess I won’t be a bad choice either,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked with a laugh, seeing the Red Giant’s deliberations.

However, despite his smile, Kim Jin-Woo’s presence rose exponentially, almost to the point of overshadowing the Underworld Tree’s own terrifying presence. He continued, “But you’ll be entirely responsible for that decision.”

In the end, the Red Giant, unable to overcome Kim Jin-Woo’s presence, returned to his original choice. It seemed he had decided that it would be better to deal with the forest that was an extension of the Underworld Tree, rather than the monster standing in front of him.

<Damn it! No one ever leaves us alone!>

“If you wanted to live a life exactly the way you wanted to, you shouldn’t have left your homes in the first place,” Kim Jin-Woo replied to the Red Giant’s complaint.

Depending on how one saw it, it could be said that the Reapers and the Nagas shared the same common roots. However, there was a clear difference in the way Kim Jin-Woo looked at the two of them. From his point of view, the Reapers were simply part of a transaction, as there was no possibility of making them his subordinates.

<Kaaaaaaargh!>

“It seems they’re outsiders who aren’t welcomed by anyone,” Dominique remarked.

She sympathized with the Reapers in a rare display of pity, perhaps from being reminded that she had been like them in the past. But she didn’t necessarily see the need to go out of her way for them.

“If they were the Nagas, I might have thought a little differently of them. However, should Night awaken, they’ll be the first to betray me. I’m not generous enough to embrace those who can’t forget their old master,” Kim Jin-Woo replied.

Those were his true feelings. He wanted to prepare for the future when such a situation would occur, and it was for that same reason that he had remained firm with the Reapers. He had planned from the beginning to counteract the Usurper and the Reapers, who were supposed to be his strength, should the day of Night’s awakening finally come.

Perhaps the Reapers were already aware of that. But nevertheless, the reason why they were so desperate had to be because of the immense potential of a Highlord’s power..

The Reapers were defeated in the end, however. They couldn’t overcome the forest that had borrowed the power of the Underworld Tree. In front of its overwhelming divinity that purified all unclean and sinister things, the Reapers collapsed, and their bodies disintegrated and eventually disappeared.

However, the Reapers weren’t completely annihilated. They were ghosts that weren’t even allowed to die, and would be resurrected somewhere in the Abyss. Of course, their resurrected forms would be a little weaker than their past selves.

After the Reapers retreated, the battlefield fell into a state of silence for a while.

“It wasn’t a great idea to involve the Reapers.” The Immoral Lord decided to speak to Kim Jin-Woo again. She continued, “Thanks to that, the Underworld Tree is starting to show interest in our work.”

Kim Jin-Woo had initially listened to her with little interest, but suddenly looked up, his expression frozen. He murmured, “You, no way…”

It was only when he saw the Usurper smiling brightly that he realized what she had been aiming for the whole time. She had expected him to use the Reapers, and had been waiting for him to summon them from the depths of where the Underworld Tree resided.

As per her expectations, Kim Jin-Woo had indeed summoned the Reapers to lessen the costly sacrifices of battle. And that, in return, had summoned the attention of the Underworld Tree.

“That’s right. What I needed was the Underworld Tree’s attention. But I was too insignificant to do that myself,” the Usurper said.

The Underworld Tree, which had been standing upright, began to bend little by little. It was a dizzying sight, as if the whole world were collapsing. Branches and leaves as huge as its trunk began bending down from its head.

“But you’re different.”

The Usurper’s whisper-like voice sank lower and lower as she continued.

“Because you’re the heir to the Wardens chosen by the Underworld Tree, and the embodiment of the Underworld Serpent that it’s been so wary of.”

Kim Jin-Woo felt the Underworld Tree’s massive divinity overwhelming him.

“And there’s no other being in this Underworld as interesting as you are; enough to be loved and hated at the same time.”

The Underworld Tree’s divine aura that seemed out of place in the dark and humid Underworld gently descended all across the area.

“But, my little Jin-Woo, don’t ever forget this.”

And at that moment, a change began to occur in Kim Jin-Woo’s body.

“All of this is for you. You may not understand, but you’ll soon find out. So, for now, please heed my words.”

“Urgh.”

Kim Jin-Woo let out a groan before he could even say anything to the Usurper, who had been continuing to speak on her own. Suddenly, he felt a burning pain in the back of one of his hands. Even he, who had experienced all kinds of harsh conditions in the Underworld, was unable to bear the otherworldly level of pain. His head started to spin, and his hearing became muffled.

“Never let go of that Frost Treant branch in your hand. That’s your final chance to drive the monster out of you.”

If that had been all the Usurper had said, Kim Jin-Woo would have resisted until the end. However, her subsequent words were so profound that he heard them even through the ringing pain in his ears.

“Night consumed the Wandering Lord, and the Wandering Lord had the ability to migrate into a different body. It was thanks to that ability that Night was able to occupy your body.”

“W-what are you trying to say all of a sudden!?” Kim Jin-Woo exclaimed through the pain.

“But knowing Night, it might try to use that ability to leave your body on its own,” the Usurper continued.

“What?” Thoughts flashed through Kim Jin-Woo’s mind upon hearing the Usurper’s unexpected words.