Chapter 251: Myth of a New Era
The sun was setting in the sky while Sung-Woon quietly looked down at the battlefield.
'It’s well-composed.'
All the diverse powers Hegemonia had built up were now manifested in the form of Hegemonia’s Hierophany. Firstly, she summoned the warriors that had died being called heroes using the most powerful Unique Domain: War.
This method of summoning individuals from the player’s Afterlife was commonly used. For example, in the case of Lakrak, a skill was later developed that allowed him to summon warriors who had fought alongside him. These individuals from the Afterlife could bring with them the power and abilities they developed while they were there; therefore, it was necessary to cultivate an environment in the Afterlife for growing one's strength.
'Though they are carrying cold weapons, each one seems to be at the level of a walking armor.'
Certainly, the Union Kingdom had many warriors who died during the continental unification, but more sacrifices were made during the war with the Empire, killed by guns and shells, so there were many armed with guns.
'Judging by the weapons, the technological level of their Afterlife seems quite high.'
Those with guns were armed with mini-guns, anti-material sniper rifles, bazookas, and such. There were similar weapons, but their rate of fire, bullet speed, types of ammunition were all beyond what could be found in this era.
As the barrels of the mini-guns heated up, the Empire's soldiers fell like waves, tanks stopped in their tracks when hit by anti-material sniper rifles, and bazookas knocked down walking armors with a single hit.
'While we were building the Sanctuary, Hegemonia must have been busy running a weapon factory.'
The various parts Hegemonia brought along were also noteworthy. Hegemonia had reserved quite a lot of parts for summoning, including quite a few golden statues. Apart from the value of these statues, they were themselves giving buffs to the surrounding soldiers of the Union Kingdom. And at the same time, guardians to protect them were lurking around. The gold chariots carrying the statues moved forward little by little as they pushed through the battlefield.
Moreover, Dragon corpses the Dragon Knights pulled along as they circled around in the sky were like relic-level items, and judging by their processed state, they were similarly giving debuffs to individuals not from the Union Kingdom.
'That’s overwhelming.'
Sung-Woon judged that if all of Hegemonia's summoned entities were combined, they would be formidable enough to confront the Rasdasil defense force. Armed with modern firearms, Hegemonia's summoned entities, each bearing a low level of divinity, would continue to charge even after taking shell hits. In a hypothetical scenario, if an equal number of the Empire’s troops without player support faced them, they would be annihilated without putting up a proper resistance.
'More importantly, that's not the key part. Saying that she turned the scraps of Small Areas into buffs for minor gains means...'
Sung-Woon slightly furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Hegemonia.
'Essentially, most of her skills were invested into her main body.'
The power of the Hierophany body, which appeared when Hierophany was used, depended on the player's Divinity level and Domains. Therefore, by mixing Domains, the physical form of the body, the category of a skill, and capabilities of skills were determined, and unnecessary Small Areas were converted into XP points to raise skill levels.
When these Small Areas were converted, depending on their relevance to the skill being created, they provided high or low XP points. When they provided low XP points, as Hegemonia demonstrated, they were used to summon entities that benefit surrounding beings.
'And that black Horse, Kazaha, was a Gytrash, wasn’t it?'
Choosing one's own mount as an Apostle could seem strange, especially in The Lost World, where Dragons are the obvious choice for a mount as the strongest creatures, not a horse—divine beast or not. However, to Sung-Woon, it seemed like an appropriate choice.
Gytrash brought misfortune, a capability that could offset potential variables that could occur for Hegemonia. There was a simple reason the ability to offset variables was highly valued.
'If there are no variables, she believes she’s guaranteed to win.'
Although it was shameless, to Sung-Woon, it actually seemed like an excellent strategy.
With the presence of a Gytrash, Hegemonia's opponents lost the opportunity to use strategies that were high risk but also high return. They were limited to only certain approaches to face Hegemonia as she manifested as a Hierophany body. Furthermore, by being selected as an apostle, the Gytrash itself gained a Divinity level.
Even though it wasn't useful as a mount, the black horse Kazaha, known for bringing dark clouds, was revered as one of the apostles, and with its separate Divinity level and Faith point consumption, it definitely was tactically useful. If need be, Hegemonia could even draw Faith points from her own apostle, thus serving as a kind of battery.
'Right, there was a time when selecting a Dragon as an apostle to ride around and demolishing enemy apostles and capitals in a Hierophany body was a popular build.'
Known as the Destroyer God Build, it was a strategy where a player invested everything in one Hierophany body and became a one-man army, wreaking havoc on battlefields. It was absurd, but not impossible. If the initial few battles were won and benefits secured, the game could be ended before reaching the late phase with proper firepower.
'Come to think of it, was it around that time?'
Sung-Woon had been playing The Lost World since its official release, but Hegemonia wasn’t seen in the early rankings. Months later, when the Destroyer God Build became popular, Hegemonia appeared in the upper ranks. To Sung-Woon, it seemed that Hegemonia's interest in The Lost World stemmed entirely from that build.
Although he ignored Hegemonia whenever she acted like she knew him, Sung-Woon remembered their first encounter. At that time, Hegemonia had been on top of the Sky Castle led by two Dragons, having obtained Large Area: Light. She had as many as twenty apostles, all celestial giants that shot arrows conjured by Faith points. Each arrow was almost like a bunker buster, making it difficult to approach anywhere within their line of sight.
And whenever an approach and attack were attempted, Hegemonia's Hierophany body would appear and smash everything to pieces. As a result, two alliances, each spanning continents, were crushed, and Hegemonia’s territory ascended to a complete hegemonic nation.
Therefore, Sung-Woon gave up the surface and established the Kobold Underground Kingdom. Hegemonia was unaware of the numerous underground railways connecting countless citizens living in secret, nor did she know that they were secretly advancing scientific technology, generations ahead in developing nuclear technology, or that they had dug tunnels under Hegemonia's major cities and planted nuclear bombs.
The moment all the nuclear bombs detonated, Hegemonia, in her Hierophany body, was sealed without even a chance to fight back.
'She sent me a friend request right after that.'
Of course, Sung-Woon didn't accept the friend request. When a defeated player sent a friend request, it was highly likely that they did so to hurl insults.
Sung-Woon looked at the battle on the surface. With Hegemonia's arrival, all fronts got reorganized around her. Hegemonia's apostles gathered in one place, as did those of the Pantheon.
'It won't be easy.'
The apostles of the Pantheon found it challenging even to get close to Hegemonia. The closest anyone got were Redin and Lakrak.
Redin, with his knights, managed to damage some of Hegemonia's golden chariots surrounding her and then charged toward Hegemonia. But Hegemonia, without even using a skill, cut down Redin from on top of Kazaha. Fortunately, Redin was saved by his knights, but lost an arm in the process.
Mazdari and Lakrak didn't miss the opening created by Redin. Mazdari's magic summoned a mass of tentacles that entwined Kazaha, reaching up to Hegemonia's ankles. Though the tentacles were scorched immediately due to the red-hot armor, even that brief moment allowed Lakrak's arrow to hit Hegemonia. However, just before reaching Hegemonia, the arrow evaporated into flames.
'One average defensive skill.'
Judging that the apostles alone couldn’t stop her, the Pantheon, led by Wisdom, deployed powerful creations saved for critical situations. Among them, Sratis was at the top. This blue mantis-shaped monster, which had been around from the early part of the game with immense strength and consistently helped Sung-Woon, had now become a being even Dragons would fear. Its giant size of 55 meters was enough to make the forces of the Union Kingdom hesitate.
Following that, the powerful insect creations Sung-Woon had been steadily producing began to hold back the Empire’s defense line, stopping its continuous retreat.
Sung-Woon remained still.
'Not yet.'
The Empire's soldiers, apostles, and creations were fighting valiantly, but the door to the Rasdasil Ruins was futilely opening. Sung-Woon focused on this sight. While the apostles of the Union Kingdom were clearing the way, now Hegemonia was taking the forefront as if they weren’t sufficient enough.
Kazaha, the fourth apostle, cleared the path just by stomping its hooves, and each swing of Hegemonia's sword caused the creations to bleed and die.
'...A skill? Yes, it’s a skill. Even with a high Divinity level, she shouldn’t be able to cut something that tough easily. It might shatter, though.'
Soon, the Empire's apostles and creations began their counterattack.
While Laitla took the defensives, Keiju, who held a scythe, leaped into action as the magical barrier shattered. For a moment, it seemed that Keiju was engulfed in flames, but it was an illusion created by Mazdari, followed by Lakrak again charging with a spear in hand.
However, Hegemonia’s Hierophany body wasn’t easily subdued by these god assassins. Using her sword, she deflected Lakrak's spear and simultaneously struck down Keiju, who was aiming for her back.
However, the Empire had a third attack prepared. Sratis, who had been crouching low, extended its body and lunged at Hegemonia with both legs. Hegemonia performed an impossible movement, as if she had an extra arm separate from the one already swung, striking at Sratis. As the sword that severed Sratis’s arm hit the ground, it exploded, sending up a black line of smoke.
'Ah, so she brought that skill? I was wondering why she gave up the mobility skill, but now I see.'
After the explosion, the path between Hegemonia and the Rasdasil Ruins was wide open.
The Empire's apostles and creations quickly contacted the Pantheon, preparing for what might be their last attack. The players strategized and planned their next move. Despite the crisis, the Empire had almost completely captured the Union Kingdom's rear. Having already secured the skies, they had suppressed the Union Kingdom's entire fleet, with the Empire's warships beginning to turn their cannons toward the coast.
The players wished for just a bit more time, and the apostles and creations agreed to create that time.
-Stop.
Sung-Woon said to his creations, apostles, and the players.
-Let her come.
Various voices reached Sung-Woon. Sung-Woon ignored all of them. However, he didn't repeat himself, nor did he need to. Silence was his answer, and soon, the opposition quieted.
Reluctantly, the wounded beings slowly retreated.
Wisdom, realizing Sung-Woon's intention, briefly commented.
-Let's watch from a good spot.
Sung-Woon checked the remaining amount of Faith points.
'About 9 percent? As promised.'
In front of Hegemonia, rushing toward the Rasdasil Ruins, Sung-Woon used Hierophany.
***
Eldar clasped their hands together and closed their eyes in a prayer-like gesture.
"Oh my, is this really okay? It has to be, right? Please let us win."
Crampus looked at Eldar with a disdainful expression and said, "Who exactly are you praying to?"
"Could you stop shaking your leg, please? I can’t focus."
Crampus cleared his throat.
In reality, what happened next entirely depended on Sung-Woon.
At that moment, RD turned to Wisdom and said, "Well, it's hard to read Wisdom's face, but after being together for so long, I’d say he seems quite calm right now."
Wisdom quickly admitted. The fact that Wisdom's head was shaped like a large dodecahedron from the Kepler-Poinsot polyhedra was due to taste, not to have a poker face.
"Didn't everyone hear from Jang-Wan?"
The players looked at each other.
Lunda, who spoke the most casually and thoughtlessly, said, "Her personality is a bit..."
"A bit?"
"...A bit like Nebula, isn’t she?"
"That's true."
"No, this makes it sound like we're talking behind her back. I know she's a good person. It's just hard to start a conversation with her because of her personality. And I always tell her to her face that she's got a bad attitude."
Wisdom spread his hands as if to show he understood. He didn't even suggest that Lunda should be more careful with her words.
Lunda then asked, "So, what got you so confident that you're not tense?"
Wisdom replied, "Oh, that? According to Jang-Wan's words, Nebula is..."
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