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Chapter 186

#70. Trap

Kim Jin-Woo appeared to be waiting for something, but he didn’t just sit around and wait. It had been a while since he left the labyrinth; now, he was heading toward the Deep Floors.

Krrrrrr.

He encountered the Moai that had roamed the 9th Floor for a brief while as if it were their own property, but the twisted monsters didn’t dare to attack him, and were only able to make otherworldly noises as they stared at him warily on his journey.

“In the past, I would’ve wiped every single one of you, but now, you’re like guard dogs protecting my Grand Labyrinth.” Kim Jin-Woo laughed with satisfaction as he plowed through the hordes of Moai. As he entered the narrow tunnel, the Moai screamed amid the chaos of trying to distance themselves from him.

“Keeeeeek!”

The very Moai that had caused so much trouble to him in the past were now trembling in fear with their heads bowed low. They were like rabbits thrown before their predators, and were unlike the ferocious monsters that had once dared to bare their fangs against the Deep Floor Counts.

But it wasn’t because Kim Jin-Woo had gotten physically stronger that he was incomparable to them. It was his sheer presence that was on a totally different level.

After ascending to the rank of Highlord and realizing the true name of the One-Eyed Lord, he had awakened his presence to the point that one could even call him the King of the Underworld. The Moai, creatures that survived on their instincts alone, felt his overwhelming power and dared not oppose him.

And with that, Kim Jin-Woo left the 9th Floor without getting into a single battle.

The first thing that greeted him when he arrived on the 10th Floor was Boreas’ now-ruined labyrinth. Boreas had received support from the 9th Floor as he held out against the Moai, but once Kim Jin-Woo’s labyrinth had been upgraded into the Grand Labyrinth, he had lost all contact and had been fighting a lonely battle by himself.

In the past, he would have defended himself better, but ever since all the neighboring Barons’ labyrinths had been destroyed by Kim Jin-Woo and his invading forces, the situation had worsened for Boreas.

But as expected of Boreas the Wind Piercer, he showed why he was known as the best warrior on the 10th Floor, as he was still holding his own against the Moai, despite his labyrinth being in complete shambles.

***

“Hold!” Boreas exclaimed. He had been fighting a losing battle as he held out for reinforcements that never came.

“We can’t hold any longer!” one of his subordinates cried. Even his loyal and valiant subordinates had lost a lot of their fighting spirit, and anyone could see how fierce the battle had been all along.

“Damn, now that it’s come to this, at least Lord Boreas should survive!” some of the warriors of the Wind Piercer army shouted at Boreas, knowing their own lives were at stake.

“No. I’ll be with you until the end,” Boreas said gravely.

“As long as you, Lord Boreas, survive, we, the Wind Piercer warriors…”

“Please take the Labyrinth Core and save yourself!”

The situation was so desperate that even the Wind Piercer army that was infamous for never retreating was now considering an exit strategy.

The proud Winter Castle had already been broken into by the endless waves of Moai, and they freely roamed within the labyrinth. Hundreds from the Wind Piercer army had fallen, and only a few dozen remained. None were spared from serious injuries, and it seemed to only be a matter of time before the Winter Castle would fall.

But instead of turning his back on his loyal subjects, Boreas grasped his scimitar even harder. He looked firmly at his men as they beckoned him to retreat and said, “We have no down gems left.”

In response, the warriors who had continued to fight desperately against the Moai up until that moment were left speechless. One began, “But I’m sure we had one highest-grade…”

“I’ve already used it on the summons,” Boreas replied.

The warriors hung their heads in despair. “How…”

“My loyal warriors are dying right before my eyes; how dare you tell me that I should be the only one to live!?”

Sparks flew out of Boreas’ eyes.

“I am a proud warrior!”

Holding his scimitar, he shouted from the front line as he stood in front of his soldiers.

“I am a 10th Floor Baron, and I am the Lord of the Winter Castle! There is no place I will run to! How dare you suggest such a humiliating escape in the first place!?”

The Moai were swept away as he swung his scimitar with an angry shout.

“I am Boreas the Wind Piercer!”

Dozens of Moai were slain each time his scimitar came down, but they were replaced in an instant. Boreas cut them down once more.

“I will not run away!”

However, even Boreas was tired of the battle that had already lasted for over two months, and his subsequent attack only managed to kill three Moai.

“With the King!” The Wind Piercer warriors jumped out in sync and surrounded Boreas. Their morale was raised thanks to the indomitable will of their King, and their swords started to mercilessly strike the incoming Moai.

The narrow passageway was quickly filled with the corpses of Moai, and more of the rotten monsters rushed in as they trampled over the corpses.

The bloody battle continued, but the Wind Piercer warriors started to find themselves cornered. Their accumulated fatigue was too much for just their fighting spirit alone to overcome, and the Moai’s malice was too overwhelming. The warriors that surrounded their king disappeared one by one as they became fodder to the Moai.

“Arrrrgh!” Boreas let out a bloody scream as he watched his loyal servants being torn to shreds by such unreasonable monsters.

“That irresponsible son of a bitch!” He cursed at the reinforcements that had never come.

If he had agreed to the alliance with the other 10th Floor Nobles from the start, he wouldn’t have been in the position he was in right now. No matter how corrupt they may have been, the 10th Floor Nobles were still formidable in their own right.

However, the moment the 10th Floor Nobles had been driven out by the 9th Floor Conqueror, his fate had already been sealed.

He belatedly realized how stupid he had been with his decisions in the Underworld, where it was second nature for everyone to be selective and biased in their own decision-making.

And the price of that realization was the death of his loyal subjects and the destruction of his Winter Castle. Feeling bitter, he cursed at the one scapegoat he could think of. “Fucking bastard!”

With the last of his strength, he cut away at the Moai. However, as before, the Moai quickly recovered their numbers, and Boreas waved his arms weakly as he resisted to the very end.

“Urgh.” After cutting halfway through the flesh of a single Moai, his scimitar stopped moving.

“Kaaaaaaargh!” The Moai seemed to have realized that their enemy had exhausted all of his strength, as they flocked ferociously around their target. It was a terrifying sight to see the monsters rushing to eat one more morsel of their fresh victim.

Seeing that, Boreas’ expression was one of regret rather than fear. He muttered, “Well, that was pretty fun.”

For some reason, the Oath of Allegiance had disappeared. But nevertheless, he still enjoyed the time he had spent roaming the Underworld with the 9th Floor Conqueror. He hadn’t been bored out of his mind like the other 10th Floor Barons, nor had he wasted time getting involved in psychological warfare with the 11th Floor Counts. At the very least, the time spent with the Conqueror hadn’t been lame and boring.

Perhaps due to that, as he felt his death approaching, he reminisced and wished how nice it would be if he could return to those glorious days just one more time, even as he watched the Moai flocking to him.

“Eat this, fuckers.” The moment his hands drooped as they could resist no longer, the Moai rushed toward him like a tidal wave.

But the death he was expecting didn’t come. What found him was the Conqueror that he had waited so long for.

“I’m too late, Boreas.”

Despite how much he had said he would swear and make an example out of the Conqueror should he finally appear, Boreas couldn’t bring himself to swear at all.

“I’m sorry.”

Seeing the brazenness of the Conqueror as he apologized with an insincere expression, Boreas could only be glad. He muttered, “Fuck, you’re so early.”

Boreas finally let out a complaint that was more of a gentle whimper. “Thanks to you, my subordinates are all dead and I’m all alone. What are you going to do now, showing up so late?”

However, despite his words, the master of the Winter Castle bore a smirk on the corners of his lips.

***

Boreas’ allegiance to Kim Jin-Woo had been nullified when the latter ascended to the title of Highlord and abandoned the title of a Noble, and yet, Boreas didn’t hesitate to call him king. “I almost died after losing all of my subordinates, but my King sure looks very much alive and well.”

Although Boreas didn’t treat Kim Jin-Woo with the same level of politeness he once had, Kim Jin-Woo continued to treat him the same as he had in the past. After all, the proud Wind Piercer warrior was worthy of such high treatment. He said, “I apologize. I had matters of my own to attend to.”

Boreas didn’t seem to care much about why Kim Jin-Woo had shown up so late. Whatever the circumstances, he seemed much more interested in the ascended presence of his King. “What the hell happened in the short time since we last saw each other…”

Even for Boreas, who had battled against all the other Nobles, Kim Jin-Woo’s transformation was a rather shocking sight to see. It was only a year prior that the two of them had fought in an equal battle. Although Boreas had ended up under Kim Jin-Woo at the end of that battle, he was still very much proud of the fact that he had been able to stand on almost equal footing with the Undefeated Commander and Conqueror. And at that moment, his pride turned into a fierce fighting spirit that boiled within him.

“That’s right, you’re no longer my subordinate.” Witnessing Boreas’ rising fighting spirit, Kim Jin-Woo spoke nonchalantly as if he had forgotten all about it. His brazen attitude rubbed Boreas the wrong way, filling him with rage.

“We both know what we want. Let’s do this again.” Boreas’ grip on his scimitar, which had been dulled by slashing through so many Moai, tightened once more. His burning spirit could be seen in his eyes, as he overcame his exhaustion and revitalized his body.

“Will it be the same conditions as the last time?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

“Everything that belongs to the loser…” Boreas began.

“…will belong to the winner,” Kim Jin-Woo finished.

“Upon the Laws of the Underworld!” Boreas shouted fiercely as he raised his fighting spirit even further. Despite all that, he wasn’t even able to swing his scimitar once.

“Kurgh.” His opponent’s sheer presence was weighing him down completely.

Although Kim Jin-Woo didn’t show any particular signs of killing intent, his mere presence alone was a mountain that Boreas wasn’t able to overcome. Just his presence alone crushed every last ounce of fighting spirit Boreas had within him. He tried his very best to resist, but to no avail.

And before he knew it, Boreas was already on his knees, as if he had already admitted his submission.

“It’s been a while, Boreas. It’s good to see you like this again.” The mighty Undefeated Commander, the sole Conqueror, and now an ascended Highlord, smiled as he looked at Boreas.

***

Boreas transferred the Labyrinth Core of the Winter Castle into a highest-grade down gem that Kim Jin-Woo handed to him, and left for the 9th Floor.

The truth was that Kim Jin-Woo had thought about what to do with Boreas for a very long time. Now that he had ascended to a Highlord, he desperately needed another Noble’s Seal.

However, Boreas was too precious a warrior to take his Seal away and waste his ability. He might have been excessively violent, but his Wind Piercer warriors were proud and valiant, and now that the Nagas were indefinitely gone for good, the Wind Piercer army could be an indispensable force. Having proven his worth, Boreas was safely able to migrate to the 9th Floor, but the same couldn’t be said for the other Nobles.

As for Kim Jin-Woo, he melted back into the shadows of the Underworld in search of the other Nobles who had survived the massacre on the 10th Floor.