Mountains crumbled, and dark, ominous clouds gathered across the region.
"U, untie us!"
"If we stay like this, we'll all die!"
Panic ensued.
Both humans and monsters were in a state of chaos.
The monster army that had occupied the mountain was also flustered as Raktusha began to falter.
There was no way to escape.
Thus, the only option was to help Raktusha.
However, the problem was the cultivators climbing the mountain.
Raktusha had ordered them to be restrained, but they couldn't fight the Four Fiends with the cultivators restrained.
"Sir Enkasa, what do you plan to do with them?"
"Kill them all."
The monster army chose to annihilate the cultivators.
"Aaah!"
"S, spare us!"
In the end, the cultivators met their deaths without putting up a proper fight.
Enkasa, the strongest gladiator who followed Raktusha.
A lion-faced beastman who had pledged his life to serve Raktusha, drawn by his prowess.
"From now on, everyone will assist Lord Raktusha."
"B, but the opponent is the Four Fiends...!"
Swish!
One of the monster army members, terrified, opened his mouth, but before he could finish his sentence, his neck was cut off.
Enkasa then scattered golden sword energy and said expressionlessly,
"Is there anyone else who is afraid?"
"..."
There couldn't be.
Enkasa turned his head.
Raktusha had ordered the cultivators to be restrained, but since there were no cultivators left to restrain, he hadn't disobeyed the order.
At that moment,
'Hmm?'
Another presence was felt nearby.
Enkasa turned his gaze, and someone was descending the mountain.
Was it a cultivator or a practitioner from the upper part of the mountain?
"Isn't the human carrying the daughter of the White King?"
"Y, yes! It's definitely the daughter of the White King."
A human carrying the daughter of the White King and another man.
Enkasa frowned.
'Trying to escape in the chaos.'
But his luck was bad.
He happened to meet them head-on.
Even if he helped Raktusha, he couldn't afford to lose the original target, the daughter of the White King.
"Commander Enkasa, let's kill and take them immediately."
"Wait a moment."
A monster army of ten thousand.
Killing a mere human was no big deal.
Yet, why did it feel so strange?
It was extremely unsettling.
He finally realized why.
'...Came down from the mountain's peak, breaking through that curse?'
The peak of the mountain, where the Four Fiends and Raktusha were battling.
He must have come down from there, yet there was no sign of the curse.
Even Raktusha couldn't escape Baal's curse.
Moreover,
"Move."
"..."
What was this confidence?
Standing before an army of ten thousand, he didn't even blink.
He spoke in a strong tone, as if saying that if they didn't want to die, they should move.
Enkasa raised his golden sword energy, which resembled a mane.
It was unsettling, but he couldn't afford to waste time.
He would kill quickly and take...
Whoosh!
At that moment, a more brilliant golden aura rose from the human's body.
The aura soon formed a shape, like a thread woven together.
It was a sword.
'This...!'
Gulp!
Enkasa was taken aback.
He couldn't help it.
This wasn't just sword energy.
If it were just sword energy, he wouldn't have been so surprised.
It was different from simply covering a sword with energy.
This was...
This was...
'Sword Qi...!'
The technique of weaving sword energy into a complete form.
There was no mistaking it.
This was the legendary Sword Qi!
Even Raktusha couldn't use Sword Qi.
Enkasa clenched his fist.
If it were fake, he would have noticed.
But it was real. The pressure was undeniable.
"Commander?"
His subordinates were puzzled.
They didn't understand the fear of this Sword Qi.
Grrrr!
Bang! Bang! Boom!
The sound of the Four Fiends grew louder.
Raktusha was being pushed back more and more as time passed.
He couldn't escape the Four Fiends' attacks.
"...Move aside."
"Commander?"
"We will assist Lord Raktusha."
If they tried to deal with this unpredictable human, Raktusha would surely die.
Moreover, Raktusha's survival was more important than the daughter of the White King.
Even if they all died, saving Raktusha would be more meaningful.
*
Mercenaries Joaquin, Sean, and Malibu were in a state of shock.
"Captain, is this a courage training? Are they all real?"
"Maybe we should really run now?"
In response to their subordinates' questions, Joaquin looked at the warp.
The monster army, led by Raktusha, had crossed into the cultivators' mountain, and soon the Four Fiends appeared.
The situation inside the glowing warp was dire.
"This guy must be dead by now!"
"Four Fiends? Are you serious? Are you crazy?"
Indeed, with such chaos, the man must have died.
No matter how great he was, he couldn't have survived between the Four Fiends and Raktusha.
Joaquin clicked his tongue.
It was time to return.
The mercenary city must be in chaos by now.
"Wait."
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the distance.
The figure approaching the warp was the man who had hired them.
"Client?"
How did he survive in that situation?
Moreover, he wasn't alone.
He had entered with two people but came out with four.
"Carry one each."
"Excuse me?"
"Carry one each and leave this place. As far as possible. The warp will explode soon."
"Ah...!"
The warp will explode.
In other words, this land might sink into the abyss.
If it sinks, they won't be able to leave this land.
'Crazy!'
If they wanted to survive, they had to run as fast as possible.
*
The appearance of the Four Fiends had damaged the warp.
With no way to use a teleportation book, the only option was to run.
To the warp connected to the next city.
'Why is Seo-a unconscious?'
Finding Seo-a, the saint, was fortunate, but the problem was that she was unconscious near the warp.
For some reason, she had to survive.
Guided by mercenary Joaquin, they miraculously passed through the warp to the mercenary city Cartel.
"Huff! Huff! Cough!"
"Huff! Huff!"
It was a nerve-wracking situation.
At the same time,
Rumble.
The warp trembled.
Soon, the warp connected to the cultivators' mountain turned black as if it had lost power.
"...The warp has sunk."
"If we had been a little late..."
The entire area was sealed.
The mercenaries swallowed hard, tense.
If they had been a little late, they might never have returned.
'So, they were just too weak.'
Raktusha and the monster army were not enough to stop the Four Fiends.
Whether he was dead or alive, it seemed the mission to eliminate the Four Fiends had failed.
"Now what?"
Sean asked.
What would happen now?
What was certain was that the Four Fiends were not dead.
If the Four Fiends were not dead, they would soon invade another area.
Perhaps one of the five neutral cities, including Cartel.
If they could stop them, it would be fortunate, but if they couldn't, it would be a disaster.
Several cities, even kingdoms, might be destroyed.
'The daughter of the White King handed me a book.'
Facing the monster army, he was sure the white tiger beastman was the daughter of the White King.
Before she fainted again, she had given him a book.
He took out the book from his pocket and opened it.
'Sword Immortal Diary.'
At the same time,
《You have awakened the arrangement of the Sword Immortal.》
《To control 'Four Fiends Baal,' you need the 'Sword Immortal Diary,' 'Baal Helmet,' 'Baal Armor,' and 'Baal Talisman.'》
《One of the preparations to control 'Four Fiends Baal' is missing.》
《The location of 'Baal Armor' is indicated on the map.》
A map appeared above the book.
A red dot in the middle.
'Empire.'
It was definitely somewhere in the Arhon Empire.
The Baal Armor was there.
If he could obtain the armor, he could control the Four Fiends Baal, right?
But that wasn't the end.
《Main Quest 7: Achieve Mastery Level 15 in the Cultivators' Mountain completed.》
《Settling the rewards.》
As they completely left the Cultivators' Mountain, Main Quest 7 ended, and the rewards began to be settled.
Endless settlement
In a large conference room.
Thirty 'Dominators' gathered in one place.
They were all the owners of each city, the strongest with immense power and authority.
The Dominators of the five cities connected to the Cultivators' Mountain and the twenty-five cities connected to those cities were gathered in this conference room.
The scene was truly spectacular.
All the Dominators, shrouded in mystery, exchanged sharp words with serious expressions, discussing the current situation.
"What did you say? You're going to cut off the warp and sever ties?"
The owner of the mercenary city Cartel, 'Red Weasel Jeraf,' raised his voice.
The owners of other cities frowned and shook their heads.
"The Four Fiends will target one of the five cities connected to the 'Cultivators' Mountain' next."
"We can't risk our safety just because the warp is connected, can we?"
"Hmm. Jeraf, I'll provide material support without hesitation."
At a time when they should be combining their strength, the idea of cutting off the warp was being proposed.
Cutting off the warp meant severing ties.
It meant ending all exchanges between cities and breaking alliances.
The reason was one.
To distance themselves from the Four Fiends' invasion!
"Does that make sense now!"
Bang!
Jeraf slammed the round table hard.
It was completely unreasonable.
He couldn't understand it, and he didn't want to understand it.
The importance of the warp connecting cities was undeniable. Cities connected by warp were considered to have an implicit alliance.
After all, a city would sink into the abyss if it didn't have at least three warps.
"If you cut off all the warps! You're saying you'll sink Cartel into the abyss?"
"You can connect the neutral cities among yourselves."
"Hmm. If the five cities are connected, there's no need to worry about the abyss."
Jeraf trembled all over.
"So, you're saying we should handle it ourselves? The five neutral cities connected to the Cultivators' Mountain should deal with it on their own?"
"Not exactly... You could ask for help from the empire or the goddess religion..."
"Cough. Are you being too extreme because you're a mercenary?"
Their intention was simple.
They wanted the five cities connected to the Cultivators' Mountain to combine their strength and deal with the Four Fiends on their own.
Even if they failed, the Four Fiends' power would be significantly reduced if the five cities fell.
They were forcing the neutral cities to sacrifice themselves.
Jeraf couldn't miss their obvious intention.
"If the five cities fall, will that be the end? Do you really think the Four Fiends won't invade just because the warps are cut?"
It was a ridiculous idea.
The Cultivators' Mountain had already sunk.
And with a very high probability, the Four Fiends would become the 'Master of the Abyss.'
More likely, they would become the 'Abyss Itself.'
"If the Four Fiends become the 'Abyss Itself,' they can invade at will, even without the warp. Moreover, that monster exists solely to destroy. Once it becomes unstoppable, it will be too late to stop it later. Don't you understand that?"
Jeraf's words were reasonable.
If they became the 'Abyss Itself,' random cities would be invaded.
Once a city was invaded, the connected cities would also become targets.
It would be impossible to prepare, and it would only get worse.