Chapter 234

(4)

6.

Astevan Urbathra Mordem.

As soon as he arrived in the Eastern Jungle, the Lord of the Undying Minions, surrounded by thousands of Undead and having created a Maze of Devouring, was in a rather foul mood.

There was only one reason for this.

It was the relentless stream of bad news coming through his Observer, one of his minions.

【…….】

First, the Maze of Devouring he had created to procure the Power of the Abyss had collapsed, and he received word that all six of his minions had fallen.

For a moment, he was left speechless at this unexpected report. More than anger, confusion took precedence.

‘To the point of eliminating the maze and minions…’

He wondered if his opponent possessed a powerful force. While deep in thought, Astevan recalled a piece of advice he had heard before coming to the jungle.

‘Rakus mentioned two threats.’

An Outsider and the Star’s Emissary.

He had been specifically warned to be cautious of those two among the Star’s Heroes. But in Astevan’s view, those two were not that strong.

Just then, additional reports came from the Observer.

【There is a monster among them.】

【A monster? What do you mean?】

【An individual with unreasonable power. All six minions have been defeated by him.】

With information that was hard to believe, the Observer added that this so-called ‘monster’ posed a far greater threat than the Outsider or the Star’s Emissary.

This raised yet another question.

If that were the case, why had Rakus not mentioned the existence of such a being?

‘Was there a lack of information?’

That thought flickered, but Astevan quickly shook his head. He speculated further, but all paths led to a resounding no.

‘No, there’s no way he wouldn’t know.’

Rakus was the one who first informed Astevan of the existence of the Star’s Heroes while waiting for the door to the Abyss to open.

Moreover, he was also the one who told him that there were eight heroes and who among them to be wary of.

‘Then…’

The one conclusion he could arrive at was simple.

Rakus had deliberately concealed information.

While this wasn’t a 100% certainty, just the possibility of it made Astevan’s eyes grow chilly.

At that moment.

【My King.】

【We have completed our preparations.】

Two minions, excluding the Observer, reported respectfully. This snapped Astevan out of his thoughts as he fixed his gaze on the remaining three minions.

Agent Calex.

Observer Vergot.

Judge Rakus.

Minions clad in the forms of a lion, hawk, and bear, respectively.

These three were his elite forces, the most special and powerful among Astevan’s twelve minions.

As he gazed at them, Astevan finally opened his mouth, which had been tightly shut.

【I will grant each of you a maze.】

The mazes he had created were not limited to just the Maze of Devouring. He had also devised additional mazes: the Phantom and the Abyssal Maze.

【Utilize the mazes to ensnare every enemy that approaches this place. And delay them for as long as possible.】

【Yes, my King!】

【We shall carry out your command.】

With a final loyal response, the minions who received the cores of each maze disappeared, preparing to greet the Star’s Heroes coming from Shulfern.

A little while later.

In the silence of the ruins, Astevan gazed up at the sky to the northwest. The direction of the capital city of the Rubens Empire. The place where Rakus was.

【The howling Eye of the Abyss. I don’t know what schemes you’re brewing…】

With suspicion arisen, he would demand Rakus prepare a convincing excuse.

If there was even a hint of this affair remaining unresolved, Astevan was fully prepared to eliminate Rakus first.

The cool blue light from his eyes flickered as the ruins fell silent.

7.

Around the same time.

Right after the core of the maze was destroyed.

Darkness swiftly dispersed as Ulan’s party escaped the Maze of Devouring. They were soon welcomed by familiar faces.

“Everyone!”

“Are you all okay?!”

It was Professor Melt and the mages who had left Shulfern earlier, along with Milena Armadin, the defense commander of Shulfern.

At that moment.

“Sven!”

Milena suddenly rushed over and hugged Sven tightly. Perhaps it was the unexpected reunion? Sven was taken aback.

“Milena? What are you doing here…?”

“I saw you getting swallowed by darkness, so how could I not come back? That’s why I returned.”

While leading the rear guard, she witnessed the darkness engulfing Shulfern.

So, she chose to send half of her troops to Murka and turned back with the other half toward Shulfern.

“Later, we discovered a gigantic black wall blocking the road to Shulfern.”

“We tried everything to break it down, but no matter what we did, we couldn’t.”

They even attempted to detour, but they still couldn’t enter Shulfern.

Just then, while they were waiting helplessly, the wall suddenly collapsed of its own accord, thanks to Ulan and his party shattering the core of the maze.

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re safe.”

Professor Melt smiled brightly.

After the joyous reunion, Ulan’s group decided to take some time to regroup before heading to the Eastern Jungle. They were all exhausted from the repeated battles.

As they took their respective breaks.

“So, what should we do now?”

Ulan, Noah, and Laurea gathered separately. They had something they needed to discuss regarding Astevan’s extermination.

“If it’s Astevan, then surely…”

“He must have already set up traps in the jungle.”

Noah nodded silently at Ulan’s flat remark. Astevan was the most cautious lord of them all.

In the original story, he had armies of thousands of Undead and twelve minions, plus dozens of mazes surrounding his residence.

‘Of course, since he just came out of the Abyss, he probably doesn’t have that many mazes now.’

But the possibility that there are other mazes besides the Maze of Devouring was more than likely. They might assume at least three or four had been set up.

‘Walking straight into a clearly visible trap is the dumbest thing ever.’

However, they could not just leave it be.

Just like the Frost Dragon grew stronger through its molts, Astevan would exponentially increase his forces given enough time.

In other words, the only way to increase their chances of success was to strike quickly. Yet, to do that, they needed to enter the jungle, which led to another round of contemplation.

‘Ugh, what should I do?’

Thinking of the mazes Astevan had spread throughout the jungle, Noah nervously bit her nails.

Just then, Ulan suddenly spoke up.

“Is it really that worth worrying about?”

“Of course! We can’t just recklessly enter without knowing what mazes are laid out.”

If they weren’t careful, they could end up scattered like they did before.

At least this time, they were lucky not to have lost a single person, but if Noah or Ivella were alone when they encountered the Undying Minions?

Just the thought brought terrifying images.

“Or do you have some fantastic idea?”

“I have a plan.”

“Huh? You’ve thought of something?”

Both Noah and the previously silent Laurea looked intrigued. Ulan confidently laid out his plan.

“Let’s set it on fire.”

“…Huh?”

“If we burn down the forest, everything will be resolved.”

Without the dense underbrush and thick trees, hiding the Abyssal Core of the maze would become a challenge.

Additionally, even if there were roaming mazes, they could handle them without any obstruction.

“Hah, what are you even saying?”

Noah shook her head and sighed at Ulan’s words. Then, she shot him a sideways glance as if to counter.

“Do you realize how vast the Eastern Jungle is? Do you think it would take a week—no, more than a month—to burn it all down?”

“You don’t necessarily need to burn down everything.”

He responded briefly as he unfolded a map.

Then, he pointed his finger toward Shulfern and drew a line towards the jungle.

“All we need to do is burn the path from here to there. He’ll likely be in the center.”

“Still…”

That was too reckless.

No, it was an extreme operation. No one would agree to such an outrageous plan.

As he sighed, Laurea unexpectedly spoke up.

“Hmm, I actually think it might work?”

“…Are you serious?”

“Yep. After all, the Eastern Jungle isn’t inhabited, and the monsters have reportedly all gone outside the jungle, right?”

When Sven reported his scouting results, he mentioned that all the monsters had been driven out of the jungle. This meant the jungle was now crawling only with Astevan and the Undead.

So, starting a fire wouldn’t be a problem.

Laurea concluded thus.

“Huh, okay, let’s say we set it on fire. But how do you plan to burn such a vast area?”

Even the path Ulan pointed at was larger than several major cities combined.

That was not even the only issue.

The jungle was extremely humid, making it hard for fire to catch without pouring oil. So how were they even going to set it ablaze?

Noah questioned, and without a second thought, Ulan provided a simple solution.

“We’ll borrow Delia’s power.”

“No, even with Delia…”

“Hmm? What is it?”

Just then, Delia, who had been recovering her mana in the distance, approached the three of them, curious about the mention of her name.

Noah explained their earlier conversation, and Delia pondered for a moment before responding.

“I haven’t tried it, but it might be possible.”

“R-really?”

“Yep. If I spread fragments of the stars imbued with fire properties widely…”

She finished her answer readily and added one condition.

“But it’ll be tough for now. First, I need to recover enough mana.”

“That goes for us as well.”

Ulan replied shortly.

Simply setting the forest on fire wouldn’t solve everything.

To deal with the Undying Minions and Astevan, they needed the Transcendent Domain, and to use it again, they would need to recover their spirits.

“Then we’ll start after the sun sets.”

“Sure, that won’t be a problem.”

By then, they would have regained their mana.

Moreover, with nightfall, the mana recovery would undoubtedly accelerate. Delia nodded vigorously as Ulan’s plan was accepted.

Of course, Noah sighed.

‘…Is this really okay?’

Burning down a pristine forest?

Was this the right move? She couldn’t seem to think of anything else besides Ulan’s suggestion.

After a while, once the discussions wrapped up.

Ulan gathered all the party members together.

He was going to share their upcoming plan based on the conversation they had just had.

Once he explained everything, the reactions of the group were split sharply.

“Y-you want to burn the Eastern Jungle?!”

“Are you seriously saying that?”

It was Melt, the professor, and the mages.

They reacted just like Noah, shocked by how extreme the plan sounded.

On the other hand, there were those like Laurea and Delia who supported Ulan’s plan.

“Fire has been a symbol of purification since ancient times.”

“And if the jungle is teeming with the Undead, then it absolutely deserves purification. Personally, I think it’s a good strategy.”

It was the responses from Ian and Kadel.

They chose to burn the forest without a second thought when informed that the entire jungle was overrun with Undead.

“Whoa! What a barbaric idea!”

“But I like it!”

“Destruction is the start of creation.”

“Let’s burn it all down!”

The spirits of Fertisha echoed in agreement.

To them, the Eastern Jungle was already a land polluted by the Power of the Abyss.

Thus, opinions were split into two.

But ultimately, the opinions tilted towards Ulan’s side. Most of those considered strong among the group wanted to burn the forest.

“Ugh, is this really okay?”

“What if we end up causing problems later…?”

“That’s something we can think about later.”

Ulan casually replied to the concerned engineers. After that, Ulan’s plan was unanimously approved.

And that night.

The moment to execute the operation had arrived.

“Now, I’ll start slowly.”

Delia stood atop the crumbled castle wall.

She activated a multitude of spells that she had prepared since the day before. Furthermore, she poured all her reserved mana into the magic formula.

A little while later.

The High Mage’s massive bombardment spell struck the Eastern Jungle.