Dungeon Predator (WN)
chapter-44

"There are only two of them?" Malcolm asked, after hearing what the vice-captain had to say.

"Yes. They only have two members. But Sephiro is one of the members."

"Sephiro?"

"The Wind Archer and owner of the SS-rank Lasselpino Bow, Sephiro."

"Why is he..."

He omitted the 'waging a guild war against me!'.

"I'm not entirely sure..."

"Who's the other guy?"

"His name is Kang Oh. It's the first time I've heard of him."

"Hmm. But why are they called Going as Three?"

It was strange; there were only two of them, yet they went with Going as Three.

"Perhaps one of them left," the vice-captain said.

"You said it's only been a few hours since they've made their guild. You think that one of them left in that short period of time?"

"It seems as though they had a difference of opinion regarding the guild war and left."

"I guess so."

Malcolm nodded his head.

He sat deeply into the throne as if his anxiousness had faded slightly.

"Well, in any case, we need to be careful since Sephiro's a ranker. Take some of the kids and tell them to be ready."

If something happened on guild turf, then those on standby would pop out immediately to deal with the threat.

"I understand. But why would they do something so insane?"

It was strange that only two people challenged them to a guild war. Did they set some sort of trap that they were unaware of?

"Who cares. There're only two of them and the guild war will only last a day."

"Still..."

"I said that's enough!" Malcolm snapped.

At that moment, the vice-captain received a message from one of the subordinates guarding the entrance.

- There are three people walking towards the ruins. It's the 'Going as Three' guild that declared war on us.

When a guild war started, it would show the player's guild mark, as well as their name above their head.

That's why the graverobbers at the entrance to the Graham Ruins knew exactly who was coming.

- The two are definitely part of the 'Going as Three' guild, but the one wearing a smiling mask isn't.

"President, they're here. But there are three of them, not two," the vice-captain said.

"It seems like they got someone from another guild to help out. So that's why it's Going as Three."

"How shall we proceed?" the vice-captain asked and Malcolm checked the time.

There was only one hour left before Arumode respawned. They had to take the three of them down before then.

"If they enter our turf, then we're all going to attack them together."

Once the three entered their territory, they would get attacked simultaneously by every member of Death Potion.

"What about the Arumode Poison?"

"We shouldn't need the poison. Don't give it to our subordinates. If we need it, I'll use it myself."

Malcolm didn't trust his subordinates. Thus, he had no intention of passing out the Arumode Poison to them.

Since they would claim they used the poison during the battle and then sell it afterward.

"Then I'll order them to gather immediately."

"Alright."

The vice-captain rushed out.

"I hope Sephiro drops the Lasselpino Bow!"

There were only three of them.

One of them may be a ranker, but they had 50 guild members.

Moreover, they possessed the Arumode Poison.

This poison couldn't be cured through the medicinal herbs or liquid antidotes available on the market.

Thus, Malcolm believed there was no way he could lose.

* * *

Two of the graverobbers guarding the entrance to the Graham Ruins disappeared.

"They're going inside," Eder said.

"They want to fight us inside. They say that mutts eat half of their food on their front yard and then go inside," Sephiro said.

"It's easier for us if they all attack at the same time," Kang Oh said nonchalantly.

Kang Oh's party soon arrived at the entrance to the Graham castle.

Only one side of the door to the capital was left, and even that part dangled as if it would fall off at any moment.

Kang Oh went inside. Eder and Sephiro followed behind him.

[Entering the dungeon, Graham Ruins.]

It was quiet.

Because the graverobbers had recently killed the undead, there were no monsters here.

Kang's party silently continued their way towards the palace.

Guoh.

Guuu.

Meanwhile, a few undead burst through the floor, ending the silence, but Kang Oh's party ignored them.

"They're waiting for us inside," Kang Oh said.

Once they approached the palace, he sensed the presence of multiple people.

"They'll probably surround us," Sephiro said.

"They're the ones who are trapped. Eder!"

"Yes."

"Once the fighting starts, layer bone walls over the door so no one can leave."

"Understood."

Once Kang Oh's party entered the Graham palace's ruined garden, they saw several members of the Death Potion guild gathered around them.

Malcolm and the vice-captain were above them on the stairs leading up to the palace.

"What have you come here for?" Malcolm yelled.

Kang Oh glanced at Sephiro. He was saying, 'Try talking to him.'.

Sephiro took three steps forward.

"Hmph. Death Potion's guildmaster, Mr. Malcolm. My name is Sephiro."

"Yeah, so? Why is the Wind Archer here?"

"We need Arumode's body. If you give up its body just once, then everything can be resolved peacefully," Sephiro said.

Malcolm was enraged.

"You already declared war. What the hell are you even saying!?"

You're supposed to make an offer first and then make a declaration of war if that doesn't work!

Of course Malcolm would never accept Sephiro's offer.

"So he says."

Sephiro looked at Kang Oh.

Kang Oh stepped forward.

"Look here," Kang Oh called.

"Look here?"

Malcolm scowled.

"Are you too stupid to understand?"

Kang Oh's language and tone of voice grated on people's nerves.

"What?"

"We're picking a fight. A fight. So shut up and fight."

Kang Oh untied the demon sword on his back.

Eder prepared to cast spells and Sephiro strung an arrow.

"You're all insane! To think you'd come to our turf with only three people. Let's see how reckless you are!" Malcolm yelled.

"Tch, tch. You really are dumb. What makes you so special? The three of us are more than enough for the likes of you."

Kang Oh clicked his tongue.

"I'll keep killing you after the guild war is over."

Malcolm gritted his teeth.

Whereas the vice-captain's expression darkened.

'Something's wrong.'

Their opponent was too confident, even though they were so heavily outnumbered.

"President. First, we should..."

"Shut up."

The vice-captain wanted to suggest that they feel them out first, but Malcolm ignored him.

"Even if you were Numbers, you wouldn't survive! Everyone, attack!"

Malcolm was not only the workshop's president and their guildmaster but also their creditor! His subordinates followed his orders without question.

"Uaaaahk!"

"Die!"

The graverobbers yelled and charged.

"Eder, block the door."

Kang Oh spoke calmly, like someone who was taking a stroll.

"Yes."

Eder extended both his arms and cast the spell.

He began to lay bone walls over the door they came through.

Sephiro let loose an arrow.

Bam!

His arrow struck a graverobber's forehead.

Headshot!

Large red shards spilled out and the graverobber staggered.

Sephiro quickly shot four more arrows, all of them hitting their mark.

Kang Oh took out the A-rank armor he'd gotten from Caraco.

The darkness emanating from the demon sword engulfed the armor.

Crunch. Crunch.

There was an unsettling sound of metal being crushed.

[The Demon Sword Ubist has consumed the Wing Patterned Quickness Armor.]

[It is A-rank equipment.]

[Entering Gluttony mode.]

[The demon sword and the character's abilities are tripled for 10 minutes.]

Darkness spilled out of his entire body.

'I'm taking down as many of them as I can.'

If he killed his enemies while Gluttony was active, then he could unconditionally steal stats.

Because he had been fighting boss monsters thus far, he hadn't been able to use this overpowered effect, but this time was different.

Kang Oh planned to kill as many enemy players as possible to steal as many stats as he could.

Kuheong!

Kang Oh roared.

Baramut's Roar!

His body would be infused with a tiger's energy for 30 minutes.

He wouldn't use Devil Trigger yet.

"I'll let you eat your fill!"

Kang Oh dashed towards the graverobbers like a savage beast.

* * *

3 versus 50.

Obviously, the side with 50 had an advantage. No, they had an overwhelming advantage.

However, the reality was different...

"Stop him!"

"Help me!"

"This monster!"

"Eek! Please die!"

The graverobbers screamed loudly and desperately tried to fight back.

But it was no use.

He was a predator that radiated jet-black energy, the darkness fluttering like a cape around him.

It was the graverobbers' destiny to be devoured by this predator.

Swish.

Boom!

Whenever Kang Oh swung his sword, the graverobbers fell like dried leaves.

[You have defeated the Death Potion guild member, Garum.]

[Gluttony is active.]

[Stats have been stolen.]

[Sense +1]

[You have defeated the Death Potion guild member, Luba.]

[Gluttony is active.]

[Stats have been stolen.]

[Mental +1]

Ting.

Sephiro shot an arrow.

He was an experienced hunter.

His arrows didn't miss.

"This damn archer!"

"Die!"

Some of the graverobbers rushed towards Sephiro and swung their gaffs at him.

He wasn't in danger. To be completely honest, they were way too weak to even threaten him.

'Mr. Kang Oh was right.'

They were so weak that he could afford to think about other things during the battle.

He recalled his conversation with Kang Oh.

"The graverobbers are just puppets?" he, Sephiro had asked.

"They're more like machines that do a designated task over and over again (killing the undead monsters), so they won't have proper combat senses or the experience needed to fight well."

Arth wasn't a simple game where one's strength was purely determined by one's level.

Level, stats, and equipment were just the basics. Combat experience, one's senses, decision-making, bravery, fighting spirit, etc. all contributed.

Just like in real life, there were several factors that made one strong.

To that end, Kang Oh had stated that these workers were all puppets.

"But they should all be level 130..."

The Graham Ruins was a level 120 hunting ground.

As they had stayed here for so long, they had to be, at worst, level 130.

Plus, there were 50 of them. They definitely weren't weak by any means.

"They're level 130 puppets," Kang Oh dismissed.

"Hmm. What are you going to do about the poison?"

Arumode Poison!

This fatal poison was a must-have during large-scale raids.

Since it dealt high amounts of damage to bosses with its potent toxicity.

That wasn't all.

There were several rankers that had been afflicted by the poison and were unable to do anything about it but die.

"Well, that's..." Kang Oh began.

At that moment...

"Ugh, you idiots! Get out of my way!"

Malcolm's yells broke his recollection.

The graverobbers quickly ran away.

Kang Oh cut down two of the retreating graverobbers and Sephiro likewise finished off two of them as well.

Eder was diligently casting his bone magic, but it was distressing how weak it was.

In any case, the retreating enemies gathered by Malcolm's side.

After the last of the graverobbers had gathered to him, Malcolm began walking down the stairs.

He wore an overcoat long enough to touch the floor, so it grazed the steps with a silent swishing sound as he walked down.

"Tch, tch."

Malcolm looked at his subordinates with displeasure and clicked his tongue.

Then, he stepped forward himself.

"Think of it as an honor that you'll die to the world's most lethal poison!"

His hand, which was hidden by his overcoat, came out.

It was carrying a pot that looked like a traditional Korean jar. It was a class item created through alchemy.

He began making mysterious gestures with his free hand towards the jar.

A viscous black tar-like liquid spilled out; it was long and thick like a giant earthworm.

It was Arumode's Poison, which was given artificial life through an Alchemist's ability.

"This is it!"

Malcolm stretched his hand towards Kang Oh and the giant black earthworm attacked Kang Oh.