The Final Boss Has Returned — Chapter 128
The all-out offensive of Drakan and the Dark Alliance!
Attacked from the air and ground, inside and out, east and west, the Eastern Colony helplessly crumbled, and the Eastern Alpha Mind too met its death beneath Drakan's Iron-Blooded Executioner.
‘It's over.’
Drakan gazed at the Alpha Mind's corpse and plunged the Iron-Blooded Executioner into the ground.
The conquest of the Eastern Colony had concluded in victory, overwhelming the enemy with sheer power and without any significant damage, just as expected.
Though it was a colony advanced enough for the enemy to field aerial units, the forces on this side were no less formidable.
Drakan and Ignis themselves, of course, as well as the chieftains of each race excluding the Immortal King, the leader of the Black Ring Society, Kalid, and even an Ancient Dragon and an Arch Lich!
The Dark Alliance army had mobilized truly ultra-elite forces; from the very beginning, it was impossible for them to lose.
But putting aside the overwhelming difference in military strength, the users erupted in cheers the moment the war ended in the ruined former royal castle of the Gasan Kingdom.
“We won!”
“The Alliance is the best!”
For the Eastern users who had been unable to properly venture into the field until now, this victory was a thrilling experience alongside Drakan.
The exhilarating experience of having defeated an enemy that threatened them once again, following the decisive naval battle, was enough to make the Eastern users' hearts pound.
Moreover, unlike during the naval battle, over half of the users now belonged to the faction called the Dark Alliance, so the Eastern users felt an even stronger sense of solidarity in the victory of the colony conquest battle.
Drakan smiled as he watched the scene.
[You have conquered the former royal castle of the Gasan Kingdom.]
[Will you declare Dark Territory in the East?]
It was because of the single line of notification that appeared before his eyes.
“I declare it.”
Drakan looked at the notification window and unhesitatingly chose to declare Dark Territory.
The moment Drakan uttered those words.
A pillar of black light descended from the heavily clouded sky and enveloped Drakan and his surroundings.
[The Demon Kings of the Hall of Demon Subjugation marvel at the expanded Dark Territory.]
[The Demon God of Darkness is greatly pleased.]
Watching the messages sent by the Transcendents of the Hall of Demon Subjugation that appeared one after another, Drakan smiled.
[Dark Territory has been declared in the East.]
[The power of darkness spreads throughout the East.]
At that moment, a notification window appeared for every user currently connected to Arde World.
The East!
The region where Drakan had truly begun the game, where his very roots lay!
That region was finally falling into Drakan's hands.
* * *
Drakan was not the only one who had succeeded in the colony conquest.
Yujin!
True to his bold promise, he had personally led the conquest of the Central Colonies, and furthermore, successfully mobilized the Five Eyes and Coalition users to simultaneously assault three Central Colonies.
“Long live Yujin!”
“For the Coalition!”
“As expected of the Coalition!”
“I knew choosing the Coalition was the right call. The Coalition is the prevailing trend!”
Just like the Alliance users who had conquered the Eastern Colony, the Coalition users too had directly or indirectly tasted victory in the colony conquest battles, gradually beginning to feel a sense of belonging and unity.
And as the last remaining colony in the West was choked out by the human wave tactics of countless Chinese users under the leadership of Xiongmao Esports, as if demonstrating the might of the continent, all colonies that had taken root in Arde World finally vanished.
Though surviving remnants of the monsters occasionally roamed the fields, Arde World had returned entirely to the embrace of the users.
But the story of the Broken World did not end there.
The moment Xiongmao Esports destroyed the last colony!
It was because an Oracle Quest descended upon Yujin and Drakan—the users representing each faction who had each contracted with the two beings, the Goddess of Light and the Demon God of Darkness, the Transcendent leaders of each faction.
[Dimensional Gate Construction]
[Grade: Myth]
-Across the entire world, after countless unnamed heroes waged fierce battles, Arde World has finally stopped the invasion of the Broken World. But this does not mean the Hive Mind's invasion ends here.
Hive Mind, the Monarch of Conquest, still has its sights on Arde World, and the second invasion force it has sent will reach Arde World in the near future.
However, creating a massive dimensional gate large enough for an Alpha Mind to pass through is too much even for the Hive Mind, so there is still time before the second invasion. And the Goddess of Light and the Demon God of Darkness have agreed that now is the perfect time for a counterattack.
Construct the 'Dimensional Gate to the Broken World' before the second invasion and launch a counteroffensive against the Broken World.
The protection of the Hall of Myriad Gods and the Hall of Demon Subjugation will be with you.
[Quest Completion Condition]
[Dimensional Gate Construction Completed]
[You have acquired information on the facility 'Dimensional Gate to the Broken World'.]
[You may now construct the 'Dimensional Gate to the Broken World'.]
Dimensional Gate to the Broken World construction!
In the grade window of that quest, which signified a full-scale counteroffensive to the Broken World, the word 'Myth' was stubbornly, glaringly attached.
‘A counteroffensive. As expected, things are proceeding as I predicted.’
The day after the Eastern Colony conquest battle.
Drakan, who had logged into Arde World as usual and was pouring the astronomical amount of gold donated by Sin Hayeon into restoring Loraine Castle, the former royal castle of the Gasan Kingdom which had been completely destroyed, looked at the quest that appeared before his eyes and thought this.
A counteroffensive to the Broken World!
Drakan was certain that a counterattack-related quest would appear someday.
And for good reason—Drakan was the very one who had personally gone to and returned from the other world, the Broken World.
‘Dimensional Gate to the Broken World construction.’
Drakan looked at the quest objective of constructing the Dimensional Gate to the Broken World and immediately opened the newly added information window for the Dimensional Gate to the Broken World in the management mode that was already active.
[Dimensional Gate to the Broken World]
[Grade: Myth]
[A massive dimensional gate imbued with the authority of the Demon God of Darkness and the protection of the Hall of Demon Subjugation]
[It can open a dimensional pathway to the other world, the Broken World, from Arde World by transcending the dimensional barrier.]
[Construction Cost: 100,000,000 Gold]
[Estimated Construction Time: 30 Days]
The Dimensional Gate to the Broken World was literally a massive structure in the shape of a gate.
If compared to a real-world structure, it was shaped like the Arc de Triomphe of France expanded several times over—that was the Dimensional Gate to the Broken World.
And the gold required for its construction was a whopping 100 million gold!
Indeed, it was a price befitting a Myth-grade building and a structure whose information window openly stated that it was imbued with divine authority.
An unrealistic expenditure enough to build a small city in the blink of an eye!
But Drakan pressed the Dimensional Gate to the Broken World construction button without hesitation.
Because as long as Sin Hayeon was behind him, gold was a resource that meant little.
[Construction of the Dimensional Gate to the Broken World has begun at Loraine Castle in the East.]
[Time remaining until completion of the Dimensional Gate to the Broken World: 30 Days]
[If you wish to shorten the construction completion time, please participate in the Dimensional Gate to the Broken World construction.]
And the moment Drakan pressed the Dimensional Gate to the Broken World construction button in management mode.
A notification of the Dimensional Gate to the Broken World construction appeared before every user's eyes.
“Dimensional Gate to the Broken World construction?”
“Holy crap, are we counterattacking now?”
“Where is it being built?”
“Didn't you even read the notification? It says Loraine Castle in the East.”
“If it's Loraine Castle, isn't that where the colony Drakan destroyed was?”
“Let's go to the East!”
“Let's go to the other world!!”
Dimensional Gate to the Broken World!
The quick-witted users realized the moment they saw the facility's name.
The true identity of the dimensional gate being constructed at Loraine Castle was a passage from Arde World to the Broken World—in other words, it was now Arde World's turn to attack rather than defend!
The users who saw the notification flocked to the East, to Loraine Castle, like clouds gathering in excitement.
Broken World!
It was another world that had only been seen through the joint broadcast of Yujin and Drakan, a massive field equal to Arde World, perhaps even larger, opening as a new region—the very fact ignited a fire in the users' hearts.
New content always excited users' hearts.
If it was a super-massive-scale content like an 'other world', even more so.
The users were confident they wouldn't even shy away from unpaid construction labor without a single penny in wages for the sake of the other world content.
But the users who had flocked to the East didn't just throw themselves into the dimensional gate construction work.
Loraine Castle was called a castle, but it was literally a wasteland ruin with nothing—let alone convenient facilities like inns.
Therefore, for the users gathered for the Dimensional Gate to the Broken World construction to stay at Loraine Castle, it was necessary to build other facilities as well.
Thanks to that, countless users participated in the Loraine Castle restoration project that Drakan had started, and Loraine Castle began to quickly regain its former appearance.
While many users were flocking to Loraine Castle, not all users were heading there.
“Hey, did you see the rewards for the Great Forest pioneering quests this time?”
“You raise your level and get items—total jackpot, right?”
The Southern Great Forest!
In the Dark Elf Kingdom located there, they faithfully carried out Drakan's orders and distributed all sorts of quests related to pioneering and exploring the Great Forest to users.
Because of that, the Great Forest, already a popular field, began to overflow with Dark Alliance users.
And among the users who had headed south was Drakan, the Conqueror King—the leader of the Dark Alliance and the user who had claimed the seat of the nineteenth Over Ranker.
Night Haven.
The capital of the Dark Elf Kingdom, the royal palace standing tall in the center of the metropolis bustling with countless users due to Great Forest exploration quests.
In the audience chamber of that palace, Drakan was meeting Idun, the Dark Elf Queen.
“Welcome, Apostle.”
“Have you found information on the witch?”
Drakan got straight to the point the moment he arrived.
Thirty days in game time—no, perhaps even shorter now that users were participating in the Broken World Dimensional Gate construction in large numbers!
He might not be able to complete all the succession quests within that time, but he had to complete at least the first one.
“We have found it.”
Idun spoke in a calm voice in response to Drakan.
“After you gave the order, I mobilized the Shadow Search Unit and had them comb through the entire Great Forest like raking leaves, chasing the legend of the witch.”
Shadow Search Unit!
Idun had mobilized the Dark Elf Kingdom's most elite forces to literally 'search' the entire Great Forest.
“As a result, we found a point where the witch is expected to be.”
“Where is it?”
Idun paused briefly at Drakan's question before answering.
“The Forest of Demons.”
“Forest of Demons?”
“Yes. It is called the deepest forest within the Great Forest, a forbidden region of the Great Forest where countless demons dwell. We received a report that a being presumed to be the witch was sighted there.”
Drakan fell silent for a moment as he listened to Idun's explanation.
Forest of Demons.
In the previous game, he had been everywhere from the northern to the southern ends of Arde World, and he had visited the Forest of Demons as well.
It had been to catch the Legendary-grade boss monster, the 'Spider Queen'.
That was why, even without her explaining, Drakan knew that place well.
“Understood. Thanks for the information.”
Having acquired the information, Drakan left a word of thanks for Idun and departed the audience chamber.
Now, it was time to head to the Forest of Demons.