novelRacial War (3)
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Kururururu
Michael clenched his teeth as he received the messages and carrier pigeons that were flowing in madly from all around.
"Is there a possibility that you killing that... Has some relationship with the reason why the parasites of Ouroboros have gone crazy?"
There was chaos going on the Roots above.
Since they said that a huge amount of parasites that could be clearly seen from below were crawling out of the body of Ouroboros and marching down.
Billions of them when they weren't even weak.
And there was only one reason why the Ouroboros who had been quiet for 20 years was like that.
Hansoo nodded at those words.
'I wondered where he went... It seems like he went to connect to Ouroboros. '
Actually the situation which worried him wasn't the parasites but rather him just bringing down the Snake.
Since then it will become so dangerous to the point where it wouldn't even be comparable to the parasites.
'But since he isn't doing so... It seems that it'll take some time. Anyways, I don't think I can do anything inside of it then. '
According to his original plan, he was going to feed poison to the Ouroboros and slowly grind it up from the inside.
But there was no way the Clone will sit and watch him rampaging inside it.
Which meant that it was a full frontal battle.
'Time is important then. '
The longer it took for him to come down the better.
There was no way for him to know when he will come down usually but there was an amazing alternative method in front of him.
There weren't many people with the trait Library who hadn't gotten strong.
Intelligence and information were the strongest weapon of all.
Since there was a huge difference between knowing and not knowing the direction even for simple things.
And the woman in front of him actually proved this.
'It's been a while. Sofía Vargera. '
Hansoo laughed quietly in his mind.
Sofía Vargera.
One of the final 100 of the human race who had been running towards the Crystal in the distant past.
Of course she was quite close with him too.
'Well. We can talk things out later. '
He needed intel at this moment.
Hansoo spoke towards Sofía.
"How long do you think it'll take? Until that thing comes down?"
"What?!"
Michael freaked out at those words.
There was no way that he asked about the parasites coming down.
Since they could check with their own eyes.
Which meant that something else was coming down and there was only one other existence that could trouble this guy.
For the Ouroboros to come down when the parasites were dangerous enough.
Sofía squinted her eyes as she looked at Hansoo.
'... How did he know? That I would know?'
Exactly a few days. It wasn't something like this.
But the danger she felt on the skin was increasing and if she calculated with this new sensation then something big will happen in 14 days or 16 days at the latest.
Since there was no way that the parasites will take 14 days to come down so there's only one other way.
The abnormal Ouroboros will be coming down.
'Oh god. Something big has happened. '
Sofía clenched her teeth.
For something like this to happen when keeping the seal alone was busy enough.
Hansoo looked towards Sofía and then asked again.
"How long does it take? I need to know that in order to set up a plan properly."
"..."
The one who was actually in chaos from Hansoo's attitude was Camille.
Since Sofía was also known for being extremely bad-tempered.
'Uwaa... '
"Two weeks."
But Sofía replied obediently unlike Camille's expectations.
She was too busy calculating what will happen once that thing came down.
'First contact the leader. Then..."
Her mind was too occupied for her to have the will to squabble with him.
But the problem rose from a different location.
"The Ouroboros is coming down in only 2 weeks?"
Michael clenched his teeth.
He then made his decision instantly.
'Escape. '
Michael then opened his mouth.
"We'll leave then. Since there won't be much time."
Camille, who had been listening, shouted out in confusion.
"What are you saying? We'll all die if we don't fight."
If something like that came down then there won't be a hole to escape.
What was he thinking.
Michael gazed at Camille and then spoke out.
"If there wasn't an escape route then probably. But that's not the case."
Sofía also frowned at Michael's words.
This was why she hated the clansmen.
Since they grouped up by themselves and backed off during important moments.
"You crazy bastards. Are you all going to go over?"
Camille frowned at those words.
Since she finally understood what Michael's words of not needing to fight meant.
She had forgotten from shock.
That there wasn't only the Red Zone in the Other World.
'Damnit... The passage opens soon. '
Camille looked towards the Trunk of the World Tree.
......................................................
The Hecarim clan, one of the Six Pillars like the Lighthouse.
Jukma, the clan lord, looked at one of the giant trunks behind his main camp.
The Six Pillars weren't something metaphorical.
The giant trunk of the world tree split up into six thick paths when it got close to the surface.
The six split up World Tree Stems dropped down horizontally until the land, split up into 12 roots and then continued to spread along the surface.
And this was why they were Six Pillars and twelve base roots.
Because of this, the six pillars was the best place to give out nutritional fluids to everyone within the clan.
Since it was the start of where the World Tree spread the nutritional fluid from.
And only the strongest six clans could stay here because of this.
'Well. I don't know why they don't place it in a more comfortable location. '
But the foodline not being severed was one of the most important factors.
Jukma gazed contently at the giant trunk which fed the entire clan and then looked over at the lake in the distance behind the trunk.
Lake.
A huge lake that was between the six huge trunks.
It wasn't made of toxic waters either.
But then it also wasn't made of nutritional fluids.
The people called this lake the.
A man walked towards Jukma who was staring at the lake.
"What shall we do?"
Amil Stadan who acted as the spear of the Hecarim Clan, calmly asked as he heard the madly rushing news from the outside.
It had been 3 years since they had been here.
But there was not a single time where something like this had happened.
'... Billions of parasites huh. '
It wasn't a number that made him think of a loss.
The number was definitely threatening but the path they could take to come down was limited to the body of Ouroboros and the strength of the Six Pillars, Twelve Roots and other clans was formidable as well.
Which meant that if the Six Pillars, Twelve Roots and higher clans were gathered then it would be possible to withstand it despite receiving large amounts of damage.
'If we group up that is. '
Jukma opened his mouth after finishing his thoughts.
"We've enjoyed as much as we needed right?"
Amil Stadan pondered for a moment and then nodded.
1 year where he had crazily struggled to survive after coming to this world.
1 year where he had madly ran to get stronger so he can go up.
6 months of finally finding some leisure and enjoying this and that while watching others struggle.
Though he had only rested for 6 months out of 3 years, he had no problem with this.
Resting for 6 months was a long time.
Jukma laughed as he spoke.
"They all prepared quite a few artifacts right? In Orange."
"Correct."
Their runes were currently Red.
The runes that came out from the World Tree Mountain Ranges were only Red.
But sometimes an Orange Artifact that they couldn't even use dropped around the Branches.
'The Fairies are quite kind. '
Though they can't use it here, it will become much easier for them if they got a good artifact here for the next zone.
Since a good weapon was the core of a strong battle power.
Jukma listened to Amil Stadan's report of being ready and then laughed coldly as he spoke.
"Then let's go over. Slowly."
He had fun as much as he should have.
He was pondering whether to go up but for a big event like this to happen.
Such an event was basically giving him the final push.
Then Jukma looked over to the Lake, .
They couldn't eat or drink it.
There was only one use for the lake.
A passage to get to the next Zone.
"Get ready. The remaining ones... Well they'll do well on their own."
"Yes."
In order to get out before this place got run over by the parasites they needed to hurry a little bit.
Jukma remembered something while making the plan and then spoke.
"Oh yeah. I heard there was quite a special guy out of the newcomers this time around?"
At those words Jukma nodded to himself.
"That is right."
"There's quite a lot of fun guys out of the Koreans this time. Let's take him. We can just give him runes and raise him."
"Understood."
Amil Stadan heard Jukma's words and then started to send carrier pigeons and messages in all directions.
.......................................
Michael opened his mouth as he looked towards the six trunks.
"In two days the passage is going to open. Once the mirror opens then there's no need for others of the Pillars to fight. They will probably leave first. Sorry but that's the case for us as well."
Going through the Mirror was very simple.
Once a month, the surface of the lake turned like a mirror.
They just needed to go through it then.
If they have the qualifications then they will disappear into it.
If they don't then they will walk out from the spot whence they walked in from.
Of course most of their clansmen, who were high level adventurers, had the qualifications.
They had been pushing it back until it now but then there's no reason to not leave anymore.
'There's no reason to get massacred in a fight where there's nothing to gain. '
Sofía grinded her teeth at Michael's words.
"These bitches... Seriously. You guys are really heartless. Those who don't have the qualifications cannot leave."
Of course all the other high-ranking adventurers including themselves will leave.
But then what will happen to the countless other adventurers left behind.
If strong people flooded out then the ones remaining below will just get massacred.
Michael snorted at Sofía's words.
"What, then you want us to get killed here as well? I don't know about the parasites but what are you going to do when the Ouroboros comes down? You damned bitch. I don't know what you're thinking but to us our clan is more important than everyone else in the world combined."
Fighting with their life on the line for people they don't know about.
Words were easy to speak.
But could they actually do it?
It was human nature to feel sad for their own family getting hurt more than a distant war.
'I can't give up. '
As Michael and Sofía's argument grew, the one who was feeling troubled was actually Camille.
Camille looked towards Hansoo after staring at the two for a while.
He had killed two of the four Calamities so far.
Wouldn't he have a method of dealing with the Ouroboros as well?
"Do you perhaps have a method of killing the Ouroboros?"
Michael snorted at Camille's words.
Hansoo had killed the Calamities by wrecking them from inside the body.
But for some reason the Ouroboros sent out all the parasites which acted as the inner defensive system.
What did this mean?
'This means that it won't let anyone come inside anymore. '
According to his clansmen inspections, every hole in its body was being blocked by the scales on the body.
This meant that they have to kill it in a full frontal battle but a single swipe from that snake tail could smash apart the giant Root they were standing on.
Though it did not have any special abilities like the Devouring and Vomiting Root but the size, hardness and mass of its body made it overwhelming.
Killing that thing in a head on battle did not make any sense.
No, if nobody distracted the parasites to buy time then fighting it was impossible in the first place.
Hansoo nodded at those words.
"It's a bit hard alone."
"... ?"
Everyone made a surprised expression.
That meant that he could kill it if they helped.
Hansoo started to quickly calculate things within his head.
'Two weeks are a bit tight. '
A beast that was getting controlled by somebody who had evil intentions and a beast that was faithful to its primitive instinct.
There was no need to say which was more dangerous.
It wasn't that they were going to wait 2 weeks and killing it after it comes down.
They had to beat it before 2 weeks, before that thing was completely under control.
'It's too hard to do it alone'
If he and the Seven Departed Souls combine their power and borrow the power of the artifact, it'd be doable to fight with the bastard drinking zealously the poison water.
'Not only Sofía, we call the six others as well. And while the six pillars and the other guys block the parasites, we climb to beat the Ouroboros. '
Other people wouldn't know but there was a way of contact between the Seven Departed Souls.
Done thinking, Hansoo opened his mouth and explained his plan.
And Michael, Sofía and everybody else froze after hearing the plan.
'... You want us to trust that kind of plan and not leave?'
If they miss the chance of two days later, they're trapped here for a whole month.
If Hansoo fails to kill the Ouroboros, after two weeks of calm they'll have no choice but to spend the remaining two weeks until the passage opens again with the Ouroboros raging around. (*PR: Edited this sentence heavily to make it clear)
There was not much to say about the result as well.
No. Even then, why would the other clans agree and help them.
'Damnit. What is he thinking. Is he mad?'
Michael clenched his teeth inwardly.
But Sofía's expression froze because of another reason.
"Do you guys even know what we are doing?"
The people thought that those who were called the Seven Departed Souls were running around the branches for stronger or better artifacts.
And they thought that this was the reason why they weren't seen from the eyes of those around the Trunk or Roots.
But this was not correct.
The reason why they were staying around in this place for such a long time was not because of such petty reasons.
And because of this the seven of them could not leave at the same time.
Hansoo quietly grasped onto Sofía's hands from those words.
"What... !"
While Sofía was surprised, Hansoo wrote something down on Sofía's hand.
"... What are you?"
The thing that they were sealing.
Sofía's expression froze from the word that no one should know other than the seven of them, the word which Hansoo had written down on her hand.
Proofreader's note
Sponsored chapter.
Jukma's name means "Crimson Horse". I wonder which writing system Hansoo used to write "Akuma"?
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