Chapter 142

Level-Up Heretic Inquisitor – Episode 142 (142/227)

Episode 142: The Turbulent Continent (3)

The nocturnes bought at the auction filled one side of Eil’s inventory.

Eil moved all of them to a secure warehouse for storage.

“Investing is good, but… the problem is definitely the war.”

After leaving the warehouse, Eil fell into deep thought.

Judging from the current situation and signs, it seemed certain that a major war was about to break out.

This investment also had little chance of any sudden issues arising.

Eil wasn’t the type to invest nearly all his assets without being confident.

But a war between the Six Major Guilds wasn’t something that could be easily dismissed as just a good money-making opportunity.

It was such a massive clash that even predicting its ripple effects was difficult.

Not only other guilds or churches, but even individuals could easily get caught in the crossfire.

“Since we don’t know exactly when the war will start yet…”

KRAKK!

Suddenly, something huge fell right in front of Eil.

Peeking through the crushed armor was the corpse of a man spitting blood.

It was an NPC guard who had fallen from the high castle walls.

“What the…?”

Startled, Eil took a step back.

He quickly looked up at the wall where the guard had fallen, but couldn’t see anyone.

“Huh… Who would do such a thing? Did they get caught stealing?”

“Even killing Dawn guards… Whoever this reckless user is, they’ve caused a big accident with one of the Six Major Guilds’ NPCs.”

Users began gathering around the guard’s corpse.

The incident involving some bold user messing with one of the Six Major Guilds’ NPCs became quite the spectacle.

In any other territory, people would typically raise alarms or flee upon seeing such an event.

However, since this was the stronghold of Dawn Guild, no one worried.

It was practically impossible for anyone to cause chaos here within their territory.

‘This feeling isn’t good…’

Eil slowly retreated due to the ominous premonition creeping over him.

He tried slipping away from the scene by pushing through the crowd of onlookers gathering.

While doubting whether anything serious would happen continued to linger in his mind…

KWAHAAAANG!

A loud explosion sounded from the gate this time.

The noise was so deafening it made everyone inside the fortress momentarily stagger.

UAAAAAH!

The cries of guards came from atop the walls.

Another dangling corpse fell down, finally causing significant unrest among the other users inside the fortress.

“What… what’s going on?”

‘Eh…’

Immediately grasping the situation, Eil frowned and quickened his pace.

It was common enough for players committing crimes to recklessly attack guards once discovered.

However, this was no longer simply an individual player’s misbehavior.

Dawn Fortress was under a sudden assault.

And the only ones capable of doing this were another of the Six Major Guilds.

‘Could this really be the moment?’

Not wanting to get involved in troublesome affairs, Eil hurriedly tried escaping the scene.

Besides the two gates located on either side of the fortress, there were other ways to escape.

A passage almost unknown to other users.

Considering this was a key point near the border, he figured it’d buy him enough time to escape.

However, the enemy’s movements far exceeded his expectations.

“It’s… Nightmare!”

“It’s a war! Run!”

Nightmare guild members infiltrated the interior of the fortress in the blink of an eye, beginning to dismantle the defenses.

They indiscriminately slashed at both NPC and user members of Dawn Guild.

The supposedly safe interior of the fortress instantly turned into utter chaos.

While users trying to escape the war outside the gates faced similar situations,

This Shudrapfel Fortress, located in the border region, was taken into account and guarded by plenty of elite troops.

Yet they were effortlessly swept aside by the invading Nightmare guild members.

After all, these were the ones who came prepared to crush this place in one go, and not even the subordinate guild members responsible for defending the fortress stood a chance against them.

“Make sure none escape! Grab them all!”

“Drop your weapons!”

Nightmare immediately cut down any users who resisted even slightly, and subdued those who dropped their weapons.

They didn’t intend to kill unrelated users merely because they were present in the fortress.

However, they needed to investigate whether they were part of Dawn Guild or its subordinates.

This was exactly the kind of troublesome process Eil wanted to avoid.

Slipping away from the chaotic scene, he descended underground.

TAHK!

A long passageway stretched ahead.

Though extremely dark due to the lack of light, its straightforward linear structure made it easy enough to navigate the path.

Following this route would allow him to escape the fortress without going through any hassle.

But things weren’t that simple.

“Hold it…”

The figure appearing ahead.

In the instant Eil hesitated, a dark blade flew out of the darkness, narrowly missing him.

WHOOSH!

‘Shit…!’

The one Eil encountered while fleeing turned out to be a member of Nightmare Guild.

They had been guarding this passage all along, meaning Nightmare was aware of this passage’s existence.

The guild member perceived Eil, attempting to exit through this suspicious passage, as someone from Dawn’s side and tried to swiftly cut off his windpipe.

KAGAG!

Eil barely managed to deflect the rapidly approaching sword.

“Sto…!”

SWISH!

The sword grazing past his cheek.

A long gash appeared, spurting blood, and before he could even speak, a consecutive attack charged in.

A powerhouse equipped with level, gear, skills, and expertise.

An opponent genuinely coming at him with full force meant he’d die if he slipped up even once.

However, a single opening appeared at that moment.

With the man closing in, Eil retaliated with a shoulder ram.

PAK!

The skill connected accurately, sending a powerful shockwave and stunning the opponent.

But that was exactly what the opponent intended.

Instantaneous use of an abnormal status remover.

The moment the stun hit, the opponent reacted astonishingly fast, using it to act as if they hadn’t been stunned at all.

‘It’s over!’

The man’s sword thrust straight toward Eil’s neck.

But at the last second, something blocked the attack.

CHIENG!

The man’s sword bounced off his hand and rolled across the ground.

“Gi, Guild Leader?”

“That’s enough.”

Karinn, the leader of Nightmare Guild.

She intervened, separating the two.

POOF!

The torch bracket lit up, finally bringing light to the passage.

“You should have recognized a face even in a place like this.”

“Apologies.”

Realizing the situation, the guild member hastily apologized and withdrew.

There was no way Eil, a named player on the Light Church’s side, could be related to Dawn.

Of course, it was natural not to easily recognize someone unfamiliar in a passage dark beyond measure.

Still, as a member of Nightmare, whose every member was at least a quasi-ranker, it was a significant blunder.

Nevertheless, Karinn didn’t seem inclined to reprimand him further after nodding her head, allowing him to retreat.

Once alone in the passage, she spoke first.

“I didn’t expect to meet you like this again, Eil.”

“Karinn…”

Eil looked at her.

Apart from his equipment changing according to his level, she didn’t appear much different from when they sat together during negotiations in Media.

Though this time, she was covered in blood.

She must have been cutting down quite a few people at the forefront of the fortress assault.

“I followed you because your back looked familiar. We almost had a close call there.”

“Having the Guild Leader of Nightmare personally attack a Dawn outpost… Is this an official declaration of all-out war?”

“Just getting a proper price. Thanks to someone drawing Binghai’s attention and creating an opening.”

Karinn stared at Eil with amusement.

Eil understood what she was implying.

Shudrapfel Fortress was one of the more vulnerable spots in the tightly fortified border regions between Dawn and Nightmare.

The reason lay in the presence of Binghai Guild.

Binghai, positioned between Nightmare and Dawn Guilds, placed this fortress apart from Nightmare, sandwiched between Binghai’s territory.

‘Binghai’s territory served as the crossing point.’

The reason this ambush could be carried out without Dawn noticing at all.

Rather than directly attacking adjacent strongholds, they secretly approached through Binghai’s territory.

Binghai Guild, distracted by recent wars, wouldn’t have been able to respond in time even if they noticed such movement.

‘By now, I bet the surrounding territories have been completely devastated.’

Nightmare wouldn’t miss such an opportunity, and simultaneous surprise attacks would have occurred at nearby outposts adjacent to Binghai.

Starting attacks from weaker defense points.

With the Guild Leader herself stepping in, it signaled the beginning of an all-out war with Dawn.

“Haven’t you heard the story about the Oun Prince trying to overthrow the Six Major Guilds?”

“I’ve checked the information you sent. But there’s no need to worry about that part. I’ve already set the guilds in motion separately. It’s laughable if the royal family itself isn’t moving directly and merely manipulating external forces.”

Her words convinced Eil.

Unless they completely let their guard down, they wouldn’t fall for such tricks given the information received.

Most importantly, even if the two guilds focused on fighting each other, the other Six Major Guilds wouldn’t sit idly by while world quests targeting us were happening.

“Separate from that talk, we also have one piece of information to share.”

“Information?”

Eil looked at her, intrigued.

Given the quantity and quality of information possessed by the leaders of the Six Major Guilds, there was no need to deliberate.

“With this World Event, though the Light Church has taken the lead, other churches will soon make significant moves too. Movements larger than burning down a single city.”

“A new World Event…?”

“Yeah, the divine interventions will intensify soon. Just like how ‘Lu’, your goddess, awakened.”

[‘Light Judge Lu’ looks at her with interest.]

‘They knew Lu had awakened from her slumber…’

It’s unclear when she realized, but Karinn was aware of Lu awakening from her slumber.

Even Lu showed surprise and interest at her mention.

As they conversed and exited the passage back into the fortress,

“One word from me.”

Despite the intense atmosphere where not even a breeze could escape, Eil, under the protection of the Guild Leader, walked out without hindrance, envied by the captured users.

Somewhere along the way, the gate had been completely torn apart.

‘Honestly brutal.’

Eil chuckled wryly as he headed outside when…

From behind, Karinn called out.

“If things go awry and you ever need a guild, feel free to come to ours. If you’re willing, that is.”

“Recruitment offer… Never expected that.”

Who would’ve thought the Guild Leader of one of the Six Major Guilds, Nightmare, would personally extend an invitation?

Other guild members clearly didn’t expect it either, looking at her in shock.

This was the first time she had personally invited anyone since entering Warode.

“But it’s best to stay away from the border regions for now. If you don’t want to get involved.”

“Noted.”

Nodding, Eil turned around and left the fortress.

A massive war between the two giant guilds would soon envelop the continent, and lingering nearby wouldn’t bring any benefits.