The Final Boss Has Returned 146

Chapter 146

[A quest has occurred.]

[Construction of the Dark Grand Temple]

[Rank: Legend]

-The power of the Demon Court still does not reach the Primeval Plateau. The Hive Mind is not an opponent that can be challenged without the power of a Transcendent Being. Construct the Dark Grand Temple and summon the power of the Dark God, and furthermore, the Demon Court, to this land.

If you do so, the blessing of the Dark God will be bestowed upon you, the Apostle of Darkness.

[This quest cannot be refused.]

[You have accepted the quest.]

I stood still, looking at the quest that had appeared before my eyes.

There was one key keyword in this quest to construct the Dark Grand Temple.

It was that the Hive Mind was not an opponent that could be challenged without the power of a Transcendent Being!

‘A raid that borrows the power of a Transcendent Being.’

I could immediately guess the nature of the Hive Mind raid.

A raid that borrows the power of a Transcendent Being.

It didn’t exist in Second yet, but it had happened a few times in the previous game.

Of course, I hadn’t done it, it was something Eugene had done.

Eugene.

He had successfully completed several raids by borrowing the power of the Goddess of Light.

‘I thought it might be a possibility, but I didn’t know it would actually happen.’

At that very moment, while I was analyzing the quest.

“I received the quest. Did you perhaps receive it as well, Drakan-nim?”

Eugene’s voice reached my ears.

Eugene.

As expected, he had also received the quest.

If I was the contractor of the Dark God, he was the contractor of the Goddess of Light!

Since both of us were receiving the blessings of the Demon Court and the Pantheon respectively, he must have received the quest from the Pantheon side.

“Yes. It told me to build the Dark Grand Temple.”

I answered Eugene’s question honestly about the quest content.

After all, we were in a temporary alliance until the Hive Mind raid, and more importantly, it wasn’t a quest with information that needed to be hidden.

Eugene smiled and replied to my words.

“I have the quest to build the Grand Temple of Light.”

As I expected, he seemed to have received the quest from the Pantheon side.

“It seems that Drakan-nim and I will have to cooperate to defeat the Hive Mind.”

Eugene spoke to me once again.

Cooperate.

Certainly, that might be faster.

The Pantheon and the Demon Court.

If the two Transcendent Being factions that had been at odds since the mythical age of Ard World joined hands, the Hive Mind raid might end quickly.

“I’m glad I formed an alliance with Drakan-nim.”

Whether he knew what I was thinking or not, Eugene said this with a naive smile.

I nodded at Eugene’s words.

“Yes. It was a good thing.”

Anyway, this scale of raid was not something that either Eugene or I could easily handle.

Thinking that, I looked at the overcast sky and the plateau spread out beneath it.

▄ ▄ ▄

After the Primeval Plateau opened.

Drakan and Eugene began building their respective Grand Temples at their respective outposts.

There was still time until the Grand Temples were completed.

In the meantime, the Hive Mind did not show any significant movements.

Of course, it sent troops to the bases to apply pressure, but it did not show any further movement.

Thus, the Grand Temples were steadily being built, but not all users participated in the construction.

The Primeval Plateau.

As the birthplace of the alien civilization built by the ancient inhabitants of the Broken World and their holy land, there were still considerable ruins remaining on the plateau.

Of course, most of the ruins were destroyed by the Hive Mind’s invasion, but thanks to the sheer number of ruins that remained, many users went on ruin exploration.

Meanwhile, the construction of the Grand Temples progressed steadily, and finally, the moment the Grand Temples were completed on the plateau.

Rumble!

Along with the sound of thunder, white and black pillars of light descended from the heavily overcast sky onto each of the Grand Temples.

[The blessing of the Demon Court fully descends upon the Broken World.]

[The blessing of the Pantheon fully descends upon the Broken World.]

The blessings of the Pantheon and the Demon Court!

It was the moment when the Transcendent Beings of Ard World finally fully exerted their influence on the other world.

[A quest has occurred.]

Simultaneously, a notification window appeared before the eyes of all users in the Broken World.

[The End]

[Rank: Myth]

-Thanks to the efforts of numerous unnamed heroes, the enemies have retreated, and the blessings of the Pantheon and the Demon Court have fully descended upon the other world, the Broken World. Now, only the final step remains in chasing the mastermind behind the Great Cataclysm. That is to defeat the Hive Mind, the culprit of the Great Cataclysm, located in the center of the Primeval Plateau.

However, the Hive Mind is not an easy opponent. The Hive Mind is attempting to recall its expeditionary forces currently dispatched to numerous other worlds. If the Hive Mind’s otherworldly expeditionary forces return, Ard World has no chance of victory.

Defeat the Hive Mind before the expeditionary forces return. The blessings of the Pantheon and the Demon Court will protect you.

[Quest Completion Goal]

[Defeat the Hive Mind]

[Time Limit: 15 days]

Defeat the Hive Mind!

A quest that anyone could see as the final quest of Phase 2 had appeared.

The users who saw the quest were all shocked.

It wasn’t that they were surprised by the Hive Mind’s appearance now.

The fact that the goal of the Myth-ranked quest was the Hive Mind and that the boss of Phase 2 was the Hive Mind was already widely known.

The point that surprised the users was the quest completion goal.

Defeat the Hive Mind within 15 days!

Considering that the time indicated in the quest was based on game time, not real time, it meant that they had to attempt and successfully complete the Hive Mind raid within less than a week.

Considering the numerous preparations required to succeed in the raid, this was a time that was beyond tight, close to impossible.

[15 days? Is this for real? LOL]

[What happens if we exceed the time limit?]

[Didn’t you read the quest details? It says we’re doomed LOL]

[It means that if the Hive Mind’s expeditionary forces from other worlds all return, we’re all screwed LOL]

[Wow LOL Is it okay to manage the game like this? LOL]

[The explosive ending is awesome;;]

Furthermore, another point that shocked the users was the return of the expeditionary forces mentioned in the quest details.

Ard World has no chance of victory.

People were shocked by that expression, which appeared for the first time in both the previous game and Second.

Monsters that threatened the world existed in the previous game as well, so it wasn’t a rare concept, but it was the first time that a despairing sentence like ‘If we can’t stop them, there’s no chance of victory’ appeared in the explanation of the quest information gap.

[It would be funny if the game really ends like this LOL]

[But would it really end?]

[It seems like that’s what will happen]

General users began to argue with each other about the quest details.

Some took it seriously, while others wondered if it would really end with an explosive ending.

On the other hand, high-ranking rankers were different.

For them, whose livelihood had become the game, the fact that the game world might be destroyed if they failed to defeat the Hive Mind within 15 days was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

Primeval Plateau.

At the outpost of the Drakan and Eugene alliance located there, an emergency meeting was convened as soon as the quest window appeared.

Silence filled the meeting room where all the high-ranking officials of Five Eyes and Jeil E&M were gathered.

Among them, the first to speak was Drakan.

“I didn’t expect this.”

I didn’t expect this.

That’s right.

Even for Drakan, who had experienced all sorts of battles, this situation was far beyond his expectations.

This kind of quest didn’t make sense, even if you thought about it logically.

Ard Saga Second, combined with Ard Live, was already a goose that laid golden eggs.

Not only did users create and enjoy content on their own, even without content updates, but countless people were still watching Ard Live, skipping through the advertisements.

Now, Ard Live had become more influential than TV and was even being called the leader of new media.

In such a situation, a sudden world destruction trigger?

This was truly unexpected.

Ard Saga Second was no longer just a game, and if they really failed the quest and the expeditionary forces returned, destroying Ard World, the repercussions would be far greater than just one game being ruined.

“You’re right, Drakan-nim.”

Eugene nodded in agreement with Drakan’s words.

Eugene had also spent countless hours in Ard World, just like Drakan, and even had the experience of leading the main story after Drakan’s departure in the previous game and defeating the final boss, the Apostle of the End, to see the ending of the previous game.

But even with his experience, the phrase ‘no chance of victory’ written in this quest was something he had never seen before.

“Within 15 days.”

Drakan muttered as he watched Eugene nod.

15-day time limit.

They had to defeat the Hive Mind within just 5 days in real time.

That was the meaning of the quest given to them now.

“We’re not in a position to be picky.”

Drakan’s words continued.

As he said, they were not in a position to be picky now.

Normally, they would steadily gather information, analyze their strength, devise strategies, and only then attempt the raid, but if they did that now, they would definitely exceed the time limit.

“Would the raid be possible with just our forces?”

Eugene asked Drakan.

Would the raid be possible with just the forces gathered here?

Drakan couldn’t readily answer that question.

Of course, it wasn’t impossible if they tried.

Just the forces gathered here were probably the strongest forces in both the previous game and Second.

Like in the previous game, if they aimed solely for the strategy, it was possible.

‘But that would definitely result in massive losses.’

But the problem was after the strategy.

They would have to accept massive losses.

Of course, due to the unprecedented crisis of the world’s destruction, people would be able to endure some losses, but the important thing was that the power of his own forces would be reduced.

If things continued like this, Simseong Iron Stars and Xiongmao eSports, who had preserved their forces by sitting back and doing nothing, would clearly gain an advantage and become the final victors.

And Drakan could not tolerate that.

If he were to die, he would die together, but he could never do something that benefited others.

Wouldn’t it be much better to overturn the pot of porridge than to cook it and give it to a dog?

Thinking that far, Drakan shook his head and said.

“No, our forces are not enough.”

He couldn’t die alone.

Thinking that, Drakan continued speaking slowly.