The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-324

Chapter 324: Dogma (4)

…Oof!

Joints were twisted.

One of the Insect-king inevitably rolled on the ground.

Vikir caught the horn of the charging Insect-king people and immediately applied a joint lock.

…Crack!

No matter how sturdy the armor may be, the joints were inevitably weak.

After several strikes, Vikir realized the exoskeletons of the Insect-kings were quite strong, so instead of exerting force, he conservatively applied joint locks to save energy.

And as a result.

Over fifty insect kings writhed on the sandy ground, letting out groans.

Vikir, who had subdued the beetle-shaped Insect-kings by breaking its mid-arm, asked with a hint of annoyance.

“Now, do you feel like talking a little?”

[Yes. Please spare our knees. They are precious to humans too, aren’t they? Please….]

The elder-like longhorn beetle Insect-king groaned in prostration.

As the gray-bearded old insect king bowed his heads, eventually, all the insect kings knelt before Vikir.

Vikir silently observed them.

Black exoskeletons, muscular bodies, subtly different faces by gender…

Although they all had a generally similar appearance, there was a crucial difference.

That was the shape of their horns.

Some had one thick horn protruding straight, while others had two horns sticking out like tongs.

It was like the difference between longhorn and stag beetle.

It seemed even among themselves, these Insect-kings didn’t have a good relationship.

Because their teamwork during the attack was completely off.

‘…Thanks to that, it was easy to subdue them.’

Vikir sat down on a rotten log.

In front of him, stag beetle and longhorn beetle Insect-kings sat on their knees.

Naturally, the commoner students knelt behind them with pale faces…

“See that? He took down fifty of those longhorns, while we couldn’t even handle one even when we charged all at once.”

“We were struggling with just one… But he, Fifty of them…”

“He’s a monster, seriously! What’s with him!”

“Maybe he ate hundreds of candies in the 3rd and 2nd floor? That’s the only explanation.”

Whispers could be heard all around.

To those guys.

“Can’t you be quiet? You’re being loud in front of our lord.”

“Loud.”

“Loud.”

Highbro, Middlebro, and Lowbro no longer bothered to hide their reverence towards Vikir.

Meanwhile.

Vikir asked the Insect-kings.

“How did you end up here?”

Then, the longhorn beetle and stag beetle Insect-kings, with their thin, long eyebrows and beards, lowered their heads and began to speak.

[We lived on an island called ‘Guchung Island’ across the harsh sea for a long time.]

[Suddenly, we were attacked by demons and ended up trapped inside this strange tree.]

‘It seems like Amdusias created this place by separating a part of that island.’

[However, forcibly stitching together different terrains caused all the plants on the island to wither, leaving only the roots of the Abyss Tree.]

[During this time, we’ve been in a prolonged standoff to control the Abyss’s sap. There were others as well, but they all died over time, leaving only us.]

“…I see.”

Vikir nodded his head.

According to the Insect-kings’ explanation, the demon Amdusias was mimicking a god.

On this, Decarabia provided additional explanation.

[Are you aware that the rune, whom you consider creator also like to patch together various worlds into one as ‘world collectors’?]

“I didn’t know. What’s that?”

[It’s nothing special. Just like how sheep have their own world, and wolves have theirs. But sheep and wolves undoubtedly coexist in reality, right? That’s the work of rune.]

In the beginning, in a giant world that had always existed, sheep lived together, wolves lived together, and humans lived together. All by themselves.

But the being called ‘Rune’ took parts from the worlds of sheep, wolves, and humans and put them together, creating the world of reality.

[When you stitch those worlds together, you call the needle ‘ecosystem pyramid’ and the thread ‘food chain.’]

“Wasn’t that just a passage from an old scripture? Was it real?”

[Well, even I can’t say for sure. It’s been so long ago. Anyway, Amdusias has certainly been collecting various worlds inside the Abyss tree, he tries to mimic rune. It’s been his long-time hobby.]

Of course, the world inside the Abyss created by Amdusias and the reality created by the Rune god are different dimensions from their intricacy.

It’s like comparing patchwork to famous luxury clothing.

“…I’m not interested in complex theological theories. I need to leave quickly.”

Vikir pushed Decarabia into his chest and asked the Insect-kings again.

“There will be no more disputes over the sap. I will let you all leave this place.”

[Really? Is, is that possible?]

All the Insect-kings, including the elders, widened their eyes.

Vikir nodded confidently.

“Of course, it’s possible. But I need your help.”

[Will do! If clearing this floor’s mission means we can get out, we’ll do anything!]

But the elders didn’t finish their words.

“I need a boat. Can you guys provide one?”

At that moment, all the Insect-kings’ expressions hardened.

…

Silence. Awkward silence lingered for a while.

Eventually, the naive Insect-kings voiced their thoughts.

[In fact, the reason our Longhorn Beetle Tribe and stag Beetle Tribe have been in conflict for a long time is because of the ‘boat.’]

“Why is that?”

[Well, there is a boat, but… there are some issues…]

While Vikir and the Insect-kings were deeply engaged in conversation.

“Oh?! My Lord! Over there!”

HighBro, with a startled tone, shouted.

Vikir turned his head to see an unexpected sight.

Dogma. The leader of the commoner faction was rapidly crawling up the roots of the Abyss.

“Hahaha! You scoundrels! Do you think I’ll share the sap with you!?”

The bloodshot eyes indicated he was already out of his mind.

*Splash!* *Gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp*

Dogma plunged his head into the pool of collected sap and began gulping it down raw, despite his stomach being already bloated. He sucked in the sap with all his might, as if determined not to leave a single drop for anyone else.

“Dogma! Give us some too!”

“You hog! You selfish bastard!”

“The sap belongs to all of us!”

Some followers of Dogma, belatedly following his lead, also rushed to imitate him.

But just as they were about to dunk their heads into the pool…

*Splurt!*

A student’s head exploded.

Dogma’s hand, now several times larger and thicker, had clenched the person’s skull, crushing it effortlessly.

*Gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp* *Gurgle-gurgle-gurgle*

Despite the mix of blood, brain matter, and strange candies spilled into the sap pool as people died, Dogma didn’t release the head stuck in the sap source.

Observing this, Vikir muttered softly.

“You shouldn’t drink so much.”

The Abyss’s sap was inherently demonic. Humans shouldn’t consumed too much. And Dogma had become a living proof of that fact.

*Gag!* *Gurgle!*

How much sap had he consumed? His bloated stomach protruded unnaturally as he desperately groped his face with his hands.

But it was already too late.

The sap from the Abyss tree, permeating through his bloodstream to his very marrow, had begun to change Dogma’s entire physical being.

*Sizzle-sizzle* *Crackle-crackle* *Thud* *Squirm!*

The students who had followed Dogma hesitated in fear.

But they couldn’t escape from under the roots.

*Thunk!*

Dogma opened his mouth wide, swallowing their entire upper bodies with teeth that protruded like blades.

“Ga-ahh…”

Dogma chewed flesh and candies hungrily.

His appearance was no longer human.

Majin.

A peculiar being classified as a demon but not quite a monster or a demon.

A diaspora wandering eternally between the human realm and the demon realm.

Vikir sighed once more upon seeing it.

“It won’t be easy with that size…”

Just then.

“[Surprise! Missed me?]”

A grotesque, chubby fairy appeared above everyone’s heads.

It swayed its plump body unpleasantly from side to side, seeming pleased with itself.

[Oh? Has someone already become a Majin? What a surprise! If that’s the case, I must offer a challenge, right?]

Eventually, the fairy presented a mission to everyone except the Insect-kings.

*Ding!*

[Mission] – Let’s kill the Majin!

– Majin (0/1)

※ Oh dear, your precious friend seems to have lost its taste for life. Let’s make your friend comfortable quickly! You know the only way to do that, right?

…The problem is.

*Ding!*

[Mission] – Let’s kill everything that’s alive!

– Survivors (0/77)

※ It’s no fun being a Majin if you’re not going to rampage, right? Let’s prove how strong you’ve become! By the way, the rewards are quite generous, you know?

It seems it also received missions over there.