Chapter 229

(4)

7.

Maze of Devouring.

Suddenly, shadows erupted in this horrific place that gnawed at the magic of the trapped beings.

Crack! Thud!

Entities quickly forming with the sound of twisting bones. They were six minions clad in the guise of beasts.

I can’t understand.

The first to speak was the creature in the bird mask.

After his mumbling, which was wrapped in chain sickles, the monsters in wolf and crocodile masks opened their mouths.

The watcher did not seem to think they were that dangerous.

I wonder what the king is thinking.

The reason the minions ventured into the maze was to annihilate the ‘Outsider’ on the order of Lord of the Immortals, Astevan.

However, those who just expressed their doubts felt that it wasn’t necessary to mobilize six of them.

Not everyone thought this way, though.

But a royal command is a royal command.

Once given an order, we must follow it.

That’s the duty of a minion.

Unlike the three who complained, the minions in the pig, sheep, and horse masks were ready to faithfully execute Astevan’s command.

So, we had two sides of opinion.

Just then, in the peculiar silence, the crow-masked minion broke the ice with a suggestion.

There’s no need for everyone to move, right?

An ominous-sounding sentence.

Those who decided to comply with the royal command squinted their eyes and replied.

What does that mean?

Does that mean we won’t be executing the command?

No, let’s split our group in half.

Split in half?

As the minion in the horse mask questioned, the minion in the wolf mask eagerly revealed its inner thoughts.

You all search for the Outsider as per the king’s orders.

We will deal with the other underlings, including the star’s agent.

It wouldn’t be efficient for all six minions to move together. Instead, let’s split up and hunt down every prey trapped in the maze.

That was their proposal.

After a considerable amount of time passed, the six minions finally reached a consensus.

Got it. Let’s do that.

They accepted the idea of dividing the group.

However, it was under the condition that they would join the others as soon as they eliminated the star’s agent and the underlings.

Thus, the crow, wolf, and crocodile masks vanished in the blink of an eye. The remaining three minions then exploded with their pent-up frustration.

How dare you refuse the royal command.

This incident will be reported to the king.

Though they found common ground, it was essentially an agreement made under duress. They simply retreated to avoid wasting time.

But the complaints were brief.

Well, the die has been cast.

We focus on our mission.

The three minions quickly recalled their purpose and began to carry out their royal orders.

The black-haired Outsider.

To annihilate Noa Darshen. Just as they were about to seek the location of their target—

Wait, what’s that?

A presence was detected up ahead.

An extremely vivid presence. By its momentum, it seemed like it was rushing toward this place.

Shortly after, the figure was confirmed.

A massive golem wielding axes in both hands. By its appearance, it was clearly far from their target.

Not the Outsider.

Then it must be one of the underlings.

No need to engage, then.

But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t fight. After all, anyone trapped in this maze was an enemy of Astevan.

Let’s take care of it quickly and move on.

The three minions gathered their magic power.

They were ready to eliminate the barrage charging at them.

8.

Meanwhile, at that moment.

Spotting the Undying Minion, Ulan rushed in, leaving a word to Sven to provide cover.

At the same time, he checked his Spirit.

He needed to gauge how many times he could use his Transcendent Domain before the battle.

‘I can’t waste my Transcendent Domain.’

It puts a tremendous burden on the body, and the Spirit is also massively consumed.

Setting aside the body’s burden, if we only look at the Spirit, one complete Spirit can use Transcendent Domain twice.

And Ulan had three complete Spirits.

‘So the maximum I have is…’

A total of six uses.

However, he had already used three of those in the previous battle against the Undying Minions.

Therefore, he had three uses left.

Coincidentally, the number of Undying Minions was also three.

‘That shouldn’t be a problem.’

If he used all remaining uses for the Transcendent Domain, eliminating the three minions wouldn’t be an issue.

But Ulan had no intention of doing so.

There was no guarantee that those three were the only minions that entered the maze. So he intended to keep at least one use in reserve.

‘Then dealing with them all at once would be more efficient than one by one.’

Ulan’s eyes glinted coldly.

He then swung his axe without hesitation.

Whoosh! Boom!

But it was quickly blocked. The minion in the horse mask seemed to anticipate the attack and raised its shield to defend.

In response, Ulan took advantage of the intent to deflect the attack and changed the axe’s trajectory toward its head.

───?!

The creature’s eyes showed surprise as they wavered.

Seizing the moment created by that split second, Ulan launched a fierce assault. However, it wasn’t enough to land a fatal blow.

Thanks to that, the horse masked minion barely escaped.

Then, the minion in the pig mask approached to take its place and swung a club.

Whoosh! Thud! Boom!

Ulan faced it without dodging.

In that instant, the two exchanged dozens of attacks. The fierce back-and-forth battle reached a temporary halt.

I see now.

You’re not the Outsider.

You’re the one who took down the Priest and the Gladiator!

The three minions’ eyes lit up in unison.

Meanwhile, Ulan offered no reply.

There was no point in conversing with creatures that were about to turn to ashen remains anyway.

“Huff.”

Just as he was regulating his breath and preparing for battle.

Suddenly, a rain of arrows poured down.

Pow! Pow! Pow!

Sven’s covering fire unleashed a barrage of arrows with explosive velocity.

Of course, Sven hadn’t yet reached the Master’s level, so he couldn’t inflict significant damage on the minions.

‘But it’s not meaningless.’

Sven’s arrows were plated in silver.

Plus, they had been blessed with holy magic by the priests in the earlier battle. If they were hit by these arrows, even the Undying Minions would inevitably have openings.

In that fleeting moment, a small gap appeared.

Big enough to shove an axe through.

‘Now!’

Ulan seized the opportunity.

The axe was hurtling towards the minion wearing the horse mask.

Thud! Crunch!

The hefty mass turned into ashen remains, scattering everywhere. However, it wasn’t completely eliminated due to not using the Transcendent Domain.

Ugh! What a stupid ploy!

The minion’s eyes flared with anger.

Yet, contrary to its words, the horse mask minion dared not approach recklessly. It only realized what a challenge Ulan was after half its body turned to ashen remains.

At that moment, the three minions, including the horse mask, quickly exchanged glances. Then, without one leading, they scattered in three directions.

Sven narrowed his eyes.

‘Are they thinking of fleeing?’

As he kept watch over the movements of the minions.

Suddenly, every hair on his body bristled.

“…!”

A feeling of instinctive alarm struck hard.

Sensing the danger, Sven instinctively retreated. Just in time for the pig mask minion’s club to barely skim his cheek.

You’re quick to run away!

Soon, a furious barrage of attacks followed.

Fast enough to elude the eye, but Sven dodged all with his animal instinct.

In the process, he understood its intent.

It probably wanted to take him out before dealing with Ulan, who would be easier to handle than him.

‘I wish I could use a little help.’

He hoped for Ulan’s assistance, but he looked too occupied. The horse mask and sheep mask minions were ferociously pressing him.

Sven clenched his face in frustration.

‘So what now?’

He couldn’t be on the defensive forever. While pondering a way to turn the situation around, something suddenly caught his eye.

‘Huh?’

There stood Ulan, with his axe on his hip.

He was facing two minions with one axe while the other hand was behind him, alternating his index and pinky fingers.

‘That means…’

The signal of hunters.

A sign to climb a tree.

It’s something used when a dangerous beast appears or to lure prey.

Meanwhile, Sven was engulfed in confusion.

Setting aside how Ulan knew the hunter’s signal, there wasn’t anything that could be considered a tree nearby.

‘No, wait.’

Technically, it wasn’t a tree, but something taller than one. That was Ulan in Magic Armor.

He’d be about the same height as a short tree once someone climbed up his back to his shoulders. Hence, the meaning of the signal was to get on his body.

‘But to do that…’

He had to break through the pig mask minion that was pressing against him with the club.

Sven pondered this fact.

Breaking through an attack rather than simply dodging had different risk levels. But he didn’t think long.

‘…There’s no choice but to break through!’

That was the only way.

Sven hoped he had correctly interpreted Ulan’s signal as he began to charge forward.

To make a frontal breakthrough.

Finally giving up on running, huh!

The club assault surged toward him.

Getting hit even once might not just break his bones but could also lead to instant death, but Sven didn’t care and pressed forward.

Whoosh! Whooom! Whoosh!

The sound of slicing through the wind was harsh.

But he didn’t mind. Sven relied on nothing but his experience and instinct as he moved his body.

You little rat!

Was the pig mask minion irritated by Sven’s evasiveness?

While deftly dodging the furious attacks, Sven rolled onto the ground and finally succeeded in breaking through the pig mask minion’s range.

Watching this, Ulan smiled.

‘Impressive after all.’

Sven’s movements and evasion skills were top-notch, even among the Seven Heroes. It was certainly feasible for him to break through the Undying Minions.

Also, there was one more reason Sven was able to break through and escape, rivaling a Master.

‘They’re not Masters.’

They can fight on par with a Master, but that doesn’t make them a Master.

This was because the Undying Minions could intervene within the Master’s Domain, but they couldn’t deploy a domain of their own.

‘If they could cast a domain…’

Sven’s breakthrough would have surely failed.

No matter how superb his evasion skills were, everything would be meaningless within a Master’s Domain.

However, Sven brazenly broke through the minions, proving that Ulan’s assessment was indeed correct.

“Huff, huff!”

Meanwhile, at that moment.

After barely regrouping with Ulan, Sven leaped onto his back and swiftly climbed to his shoulders.

Just as he was catching his breath.

The three minions charged in unison.

We’ve cornered them both!

There’s no escape for you now.

I’ll take you both out at once!

The minions closed the distance from three directions.

There was no retreat. Let alone the space or opening to dodge an attack.

A life-or-death crisis.

As Sven wore a troubled expression, Ulan spoke in a whisper.

“Jump from your spot.”

“W-what?!”

“With all your might.”

The sudden command flooded him with questions, but there was no time to clarify.

Sven bit down tightly.

‘Whatever, I don’t care!’

He was ordered for some reason.

Swiftly crouching, Sven followed Ulan’s command and jumped with all his strength.

Whoosh!

Thanks to the special leap of the Myoin tribe, Sven’s body soared three or four times higher, just as the three minions were closing in.

Prepare to meet your demise, mortal!

For our king!

Fierce blows were flying in from all directions.

But the minions were unaware.

Ulan wasn’t trapped in a corner; he was actually hoping for this to happen. The moment they stepped into Ulan’s range—

The Transcendent Domain unfurled.

And—

The sounds of harsh metal scraping and the wind slicing through the air ceased instantly.

What followed was only one sound.

Crunch! Smash! Thud!

The sound of victory rang out.

Chapter 52. Maze