Chapter 69
Northern Expeditionary Force!
The expeditionary force, aiming for the complete conquest of the North and the death of the Undead King, was marching towards the World’s End, boasting a massive scale of 100,000 troops.
Comprising this Northern Expeditionary Force were Changwang Rio’s Simseong Milky Way guild, who claimed to be the hegemon of the North, along with their allied guilds and collaborators, and elite warriors and NPCs like Druids, drawn from the Northern Tribes Alliance.
Land of Death!
True to its name as the domain of the undead, the ground was cracked like a dried-up rice paddy, and the sky was painted a gloomy gray. In this very place, a battle was unfolding.
“K*ll the undead bastards!”
“Let’s turn those corpses back into corpses!”
The clash of the Northern Expeditionary Force and the Undead Army!
Amidst the chaotic battlefield where the dead and the living intertwined and magic flew rampant, the one who stood out the most was Changwang Rio, wielding Mistilteinn.
Changwang (Spear King)!
As befitting his name, every time Rio thrust his spear, ghouls, skeletons, and zombies alike fell.
Wherever Mistilteinn grazed an undead, leaves, stems, and flowers bloomed from their bodies.
Overwhelming vitality!
The power of life and nature, diametrically opposed to death, enveloped the undead.
Wherever Rio passed, countless undead perished like rotten straw, and with each of his steps, flowers, grass, and sprouts sprung up from the barren earth.
It was truly a sight to behold, like a single flower blooming on the battlefield, the embodiment of life itself!
The expeditionary force was ecstatic as they witnessed this spectacle.
Similarly, viewers watching the battle against the undead through internet broadcasts and cable gaming channels were captivated by the overwhelming display.
Drakan!
The wars he had shown so far, from the recapture of Lawless Port Granado to the naval battles and underwater warfare, were indeed interesting, but the war between the Northern Expeditionary Force led by Changwang Rio and the undead was no less captivating.
A war between the living and the dead!
The “War against Death,” which felt like watching a confrontation between light and darkness in real-time, had already become a hot topic, whether positive or negative, across the Ard Forum, SNS, and Ard Live.
Even in the real world, snippets of conversations about the Northern Expedition could be overheard while grabbing lunch.
And Rio was immensely satisfied with this outcome, no less than Shin Jeong-hyeok, his superior and the true owner of the Simseong Milky Way guild.
‘It was an expedition I started reluctantly, but now that it’s underway, I think I made the right decision.’
Although the quest began due to Shin Jeong-hyeok’s coercion, the overwhelming attention and benefits pouring in were undeniable.
In such a situation, Rio was letting out cries of joy.
‘If I succeed in the Undead King raid, I might even become the true ruler of the North.’
The gears in Rio’s head were already spinning at full speed, practically emitting smoke.
Undead King!
If he could only defeat that Mythical grade monster, whom even Kazan, the greatest hero of the North, the pioneer, and the father of all Northerners, could only manage to seal!
For the first time since entering Second, he might become the ruler of a ‘nation,’ not just a ‘guild.’
King Rio of the Northern Kingdom!
What a glorious title that would be!
Rio knew.
He knew just how much power the guild master who swallowed a ‘nation’ in the previous game possessed!
Just look at Drakan, the leader of the Iron Blood Alliance. Didn’t he swallow the Kingdom of Sachsen under the name of the Iron Blood Alliance through the Rebellion Quest in the previous game, and then bring numerous prominent guilds to their knees in the Guild War? Didn’t he use that as a foundation to form the Guild Alliance and wage war against the entire world?
Even if it wasn’t to that extent, there was a significant difference between a guild and a nation, and the things that could be accomplished with the capabilities and power of a nation were far more diverse and numerous than those of a guild.
There was a saying that a million things change when a guild becomes a nation, and for good reason!
Anyway, if he could complete the War against Death quest and k*ll the Undead King, it wouldn’t be a mere pipe dream to unite the Northern Tribes Alliance, establish the ‘Northern Kingdom,’ and ascend to the throne as the king who fully ruled the entire North.
If that were to happen, he would be the first to achieve a feat that even the current top-ranked player, Hero Eugene, couldn’t accomplish.
‘King, a king. Hehehehehehe.’
Rio let out a sinister chuckle inwardly.
Meanwhile, the battle had already come to an end.
Rio, with a satisfied smile, watched the beautiful sight of life blooming as the Druids cast their magic on the Land of Death.
Kaian, the deputy commander of the expeditionary force and the vice guild master of Simseong Milky Way, approached him and said,
“Guild Master-nim. This battle was also a victory for our expeditionary force.”
“What about the broadcast results and the buzz?”
“Simseong Milky Way, Changwang, Northern Expeditionary Force, War against Death are all ranked on the SNS real-time trends. Portal’s real-time search rankings are also dominated by related keywords. The number of viewers on the guild’s official channel’s live stream is 20 million. The viewership rating for SBC Games’ live broadcast of the War against Death has reached 10%.”
Rio smiled at Kaian’s report.
It was another incredibly satisfying achievement.
“Vice Chairman-nim will be pleased again today!”
Vice Chairman Shin Jeong-hyeok!
The crown prince of the Simseong Group, he had a perpetual smile on his face these days, thanks to the Simseong Milky Way guild’s performance, which was practically monopolizing the spotlight.
“Let’s keep going like this, all the way to the Undead King.”
The moment Rio said those words with a smile.
[The Winter Seal has been destroyed.]
A notification window popped up in his vision.
“Winter Seal? Destroyed?”
The destruction of the Winter Seal!
What in the world was this sudden, out-of-the-blue news!
Rio’s face hardened as he read the unbelievable message in the notification window.
Winter Seal!
The news that the seal, infamous enough to be known by every Northern user, had been destroyed was enough to shake Rio’s composure.
‘Who in the world? How? Why? Did they destroy it?’
Moreover, unlike ordinary users, Rio, who had completed quite a few Northern-related quests, knew exactly where the seal was located and who was guarding it.
Winter Forest!
Druid’s Sanctuary!
How on earth did someone manage to penetrate that formidable place where the previous generation of Druids resided, shatter the World Tree, and then break the seal underneath it?
This was impossible without an elite party that included Over-Ranker level users.
However, Rio’s thoughts couldn’t continue any further.
[Eternal Winter will return to the North.]
Along with the short message, snow began to pour from the sky as if a hole had been ripped open, and a biting, fierce wind started to blow.
Eternal Winter!
It was the moment when the army of the Frost King mercilessly descended upon the Northern Expeditionary Force.
▄ ▄ ▄
Eternal Winter has returned to the North!
The impact of that message, delivered to all users in the North, was immense.
[Winter Seal? Who broke this thing?]
[ㄴThe North is freezing its a*s off right now. No questions.]
[Anyone want to build a snowman with me?]
[White trash is falling from the sky;]
[ㄴThis person is definitely cultured.]
Of course, the North was famous for being a cold and barren land, but that was a relative concept. The North also had seasons like spring and summer when the snow melted.
And the current season in the North was summer!
It was a time when snow was nowhere to be found, and the temperature consistently stayed above freezing. It wasn’t a coincidence that the Northern Expeditionary Force chose summer to start the war.
In such a situation, the sudden arrival of winter was a shock in itself.
Northern users were scrambling for ways to protect themselves from the cold as the biting chill and heavy snowfall, as if the sky had opened up, engulfed them.
However, the ones who suffered the most were none other than the Northern Expeditionary Force!
“T-This is an unbelievable cold. Even though we’re not in the Arctic yet, if it’s this cold, the non-combat losses could be severe when we reach the Arctic.”
Rio’s hands trembled as he listened to Kaian’s report.
“What in the world is this!”
Arctic!
The main base of the undead and a frigid zone where blizzards raged year-round!
To reach the northernmost tip of the continent, commonly known as the “World’s End,” they had to pass through that snowy wasteland. But to experience that level of cold before even reaching it!
It was a nightmare.
They hurriedly utilized their stockpiled winter supplies, but as Kaian reported, they could face significant non-combat losses upon entering the Arctic.
Of course, the strong individuals like themselves, who made up the leadership of the expeditionary force, were relatively unaffected by the debuffs from the cold, but the soldiers who comprised the expeditionary force were not.
Moreover, if their enemy were fellow humans, they wouldn’t have to worry this much. The non-combat losses due to the sudden cold would be similar for the enemy as well.
But the problem was that their enemy wasn’t human, but undead.
Corpses couldn’t feel the cold, and therefore, the undead were immune to cold debuffs.
It was a situation that was unilaterally advantageous to the enemy!
In such a situation, charging into the Arctic, which would only get colder due to the arrival of Eternal Winter, without any protection against the cold, was practically suicidal.
“What about additional supplies for winter gear?”
“We’re trying our best to resupply, but the budget has already reached its limit. Without additional support, further resupply will be difficult.”
Money!
In the end, it was that d*mn money that was the problem again.
Well, it was only natural that the budget would be exceeded if they incurred additional expenses on top of the already astronomical cost of maintaining the current army.
However, if they marched forward without at least minimal protection against the cold, it was clear that even if they won, it wouldn’t feel like a victory.
He had the completed Mistilteinn in his hands, so he could certainly end the Undead King’s life, but there was a chance they might be buried in the blizzard and d*e before even reaching him.
“I’ll talk to the Vice Chairman-nim about it.”
Rio closed his eyes tightly and logged out.
▄ ▄ ▄
Skeletal Castle!
In the interior of the castle, which was starting to feel somewhat familiar, I and my party members were having an audience with the Undead King.
A giant skeleton, three meters tall, clad in a black robe, its entire body bound by vines and tree branches!
The Undead King clacked its jawbone towards me.
[Contractor, you have faithfully carried out my request. With this, that arrogant human army is nothing more than rats in a trap.]
Blue flames flickered in the Undead King’s empty sockets.
[Can you show me the completed Levateinn?]
“Of course.”
At the Undead King’s words, I took out Levateinn from my inventory.
Whoosh!
A sword made of pale, blazing blue flames!
The flames in the Undead King’s sockets danced excitedly as it gazed at the sword.
[Truly, a flame more beautiful than I expected.]
A trembling voice escaped the Undead King’s mouth.
[I shall bestow a small reward upon you, who completed Levateinn, my ultimate weapon.]
With those words, a blue light gathered at the tip of the Undead King’s bony right index finger, and then it drew a strange symbol in the air.
At that moment.
[The Undead King is trying to impart the ‘Rune of Regression’ to you.]
[Would you like to learn the skill ‘Rune of Regression’?]
Rune of Regression!
The name of a skill I had never seen before, even with my vast knowledge of all sorts of information from the previous game to the present, appeared.
‘Judging by the name ‘Rune,’ it’s likely a one-time use skill, but Regression?’
Of course, it wasn’t a completely unfamiliar type of skill.
Rune!
Skills with this suffix were often one-time use skills.
For example, like the Rune of Speed or the Rune of Flame, they disappeared after a single use, more akin to consumable items than skills.
But Rune of Regression!
Its effect was beyond my comprehension.
‘Since it’s a reward from the Undead King, it can’t be bad, right?’
Thinking that, I nodded.
“I will learn it.”
[Rune of Regression]
[Grade: Mythical]
[Upon using the skill, the user can revert to their prime state for 20 minutes.]
[One-time use skill, cannot be used again once used.]
[User’s Prime State: Steel Monarch Drakan (Level 863)]
At that moment, my eyes widened as I checked the skill’s information.
‘863, that’s definitely my level from the previous game.’
Level 863!
Seeing my character level from the previous game clearly written there, I smiled.
That level must be based on the previous game.
Because unlike the previous game, where level was a simple measure of strength, Second had a ‘practical max level’ of 380, and it was extremely difficult to level up beyond that!
Even Ignis, an Over-Ranker, was only around level 420, so that spoke volumes.
Anyway, that wasn’t the important thing right now.
Just 20 minutes!
Although it was a short duration and a one-time use skill, I was given an unbelievable skill that could revert me back to my prime.
[I have bestowed upon you a reward befitting your efforts. Are you pleased?]
“I am very pleased.”
I answered the Undead King’s question with a smile.
I instinctively realized it.
Undead King!
The reason why he handed over this one-time use skill to me.
It was probably a setup for the quest to confront Changwang Rio, who wielded Mistilteinn.
As a veteran, no, a fossil of Ard Saga, I could understand this much with a single glance.
[To the contractor’s companions, I shall grant the right to choose one weapon of their liking from my armory, in my name.]
At the Undead King’s subsequent words, my party members’ faces lit up.
After all, there was no user who disliked rewards.
Just then.
[The time has come.]
The Undead King’s voice resonated throughout the hall.
[It is time to punish that arrogant human army and show the entire Ard World who the true master of the North is!]
The hall vibrated slightly.
Undead King!
Blue magical energy emanated from his entire body.
As expected of a Mythical grade monster, the aura the Undead King exuded was truly formidable!
If I were a raider who came to raid the Undead King, my debuff notification stack would have been incredibly high due to the fear emission just now.
[Contractor, I shall entrust you with the command of the undead army.]
The Undead King’s blue gaze turned towards me.
[Go and fight, and achieve victory. Bury those living beings in the snow! Then, I shall acknowledge you as my Apostle, and our undead will join the ancient alliance.]
I smiled at the Undead King’s words.
War!
The time to finally begin a full-fledged war had arrived.
