The Final Boss Has Returned — Episode 26
Attack!
The moment Drakan, the commander-in-chief, gave his brief command, the eastern elite forces, including Ignis, charged straight at the pirates.
“Old man! I’m amazed you’ve managed to keep that stubborn life of yours alive until now!”
“I will take your head with my own two hands, lizard!”
Among them, the clash between Liark and Kalid undoubtedly stood out the most!
When Over Ranker-level powerhouses surpassing level 400 collided, terrifying shockwaves whipped through the surroundings.
The sight of black magic and bone-chilling auras crashing together was truly a war of the stars!
It was a scene where the sheer might of an Over Ranker was on full display.
“Howl, Cog of Death!”
“Shred them, Blade of Darkness!”
A spectacular clash of skills!
The fight between Liark and Kalid drew exclamations from the viewers watching the scene in real-time through Arde Live.
Over Ranker.
In Arde Saga Second, these super-powerhouses were said to number only twenty among users!
An all-out battle between two NPCs of the same caliber was truly the pinnacle of spectacle.
Of course, the problem was that for the users fighting nearby, it was anything but spectacular…….
“Fuck, splash damage incoming! Dodge!”
“Uwaaaack!”
It had become such a common sight to see nearby users failing to dodge the splash damage and taking hits.
While Liark and Kalid were trading blows in the middle of the port, the flow of battle was naturally tilting in Drakan’s favor.
“Cursed Land!”
Five black magicians belonging to the Black Ring Society, excluding Kalid.
Though not on Kalid’s level, they possessed strength on par with ordinary rankers. As they completed their synchronized chant and unleashed their black magic, dark magical power covered the port area.
[The Weakening Curse has been applied.]
[The Slow Curse has been applied.]
[Your stats have decreased.]
It was the appearance of Cursed Land, a large-scale black magic spell that inflicted random curses on enemies.
And the eastern users absolutely did not miss the moment when the pirates afflicted by the curse fell into abnormal statuses and their stats dropped.
“Die!”
“You pirate bastards!”
The rankers and named players of the East.
Though they were high-level, they had suffered all kinds of tangible and intangible harm from the Pirate Alliance while leveling up until now. Snarling with rage, they indiscriminately unleashed all manner of skills and slaughtered the pirates.
But among them, the one who stood out most on the battlefield was undoubtedly the Flame King, Ignis.
“Flame Wave.”
When Ignis manifested his skill, a blazing wave of crimson flames surged forth!
After the towering flames devoured the pirates, all that remained were the items signaling their deaths.
The pirates would flee at the mere sight of Ignis, overwhelmed by the dignity of an Over Ranker who could summon flames and turn enemies to ashes with a wave of his hand.
And the rankers of JDG following behind such an Ignis.
Having worked together for a long time, they slaughtered the pirates efficiently through strict tank-DPS-healer role distribution.
And besides Ignis, there was one user who stood out on the battlefield for a different reason.
“Drakan! It’s Drakan over there!”
“Kill him!”
It was Drakan.
The instigator of this war, a former top ranker, known to be merely in the level 100s—he looked like easy prey at a glance on this battlefield where the minimum level was 380.
No matter how much the importance of levels had decreased in Arde Saga Second compared to the previous game, the gap between a level 380 user—effectively the level cap—and a level 100 user was like the distance between heaven and earth.
Thus, they charged at Drakan like moths to a flame.
Drakan—though he was merely a level 100 user, his fame was real!
If they killed such a Drakan, they would be able to make a name for themselves both in the Arde World and on the internet as the one who had slain Drakan!
But Drakan’s expression, despite being assaulted from all directions, was overflowing with composure.
“The experience points are coming to me on their own feet!”
[Look at that confidence lolololol]
[Lol crazy lolololol]
[Drakan is so fucking arrogant, but that’s exactly why I keep watching lol]
Drakan glanced at the chat window, then took a step forward and manifested a skill.
“Tyrant King’s Dominion.”
A legendary-grade saga skill, embodying the hegemonic majesty of Steel Lord Drakan engraved in the history of the Arde World, finally revealed itself here.
The intangible momentum rising from Drakan’s entire body engulfed those attacking him in an instant.
[You have faced the momentum of Tyrant King’s Dominion.]
[You have been afflicted with the abnormal status ‘Slow’.]
The speeds of the pirates hit by Tyrant King’s Dominion slowed all at once.
“Wh-what!”
“What kind of skill is this?”
“What the hell!”
While the pirates were bewildered by the off-spec skill called Tyrant King’s Dominion!
Not missing that opening, Drakan mercilessly swung the Blood-Iron Executor he held in his hand, shimmering with a dark red aura.
“Uwaack!”
Just once.
With a single slash, Drakan made all the pirates charging at him step back.
[Fatal Blow!]
Currently, Drakan’s stats were inflated a whopping four times by super-grade doping potions!
Though he was level 100, his stats were virtually on par with level 400. Dealing with pirates hovering around level 380 was a piece of cake.
An ordinary level 100 user might not be able to adapt to suddenly boosted stats, but he was a former top ranker!
When it came to physical ability, he was a man born with monstrous talent that no one could match.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve felt this sensation! At this level, it must be about a quarter of my prime!’
Far from failing to adapt to the heightened senses, Drakan smiled with the leisure to even compare his current state to his prime.
He looked at the bewildered pirates and raised the Blood-Iron Executor once more.
Soon, another dark red trajectory was drawn through the air!
The pirates struggled frantically to attack Drakan, but he evaded their attacks through his Tyrant King’s Dominion while continuously striking them with exquisite precision. In the end, the pirates who had underestimated Drakan for being low-level could only meet their deaths.
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
…….
[The saga level of the Steel Lord saga has increased.]
[The saga level of the Tyrant King’s Dominion saga has increased.]
[The saga level of the Steel Edge saga has increased.]
The moment he cut down the pirates like that!
Notifications of level-ups filled Drakan’s vision.
It was truly the legendary explosive leveling!
It was the result of bonus experience gained from killing users of far superior levels combined with the effect of an experience double coupon.
But the notifications that delighted Drakan didn’t end there.
[A new saga skill, ‘Berserk Blade’, has been unlocked.]
[Berserk Blade]
[Grade: Legendary]
[Manifestation Level: Beginner – Level 1]
[A skill that condenses aura and then detonates it instantly to annihilate enemies within range with terrifying destructive power. According to the saga of Steel Lord Drakan, he used this skill as his main technique and is said to have achieved the feat of single-handedly slaughtering a legion with the Berserk Blade.]
[Condensation: Condenses aura.]
[Detonation: Detonates the condensed aura.]
A saga skill newly unlocked as the saga level of the Steel Lord saga increased!
Berserk Blade!
It was the main skill he had enjoyed using in the previous game, one that was virtually synonymous with Steel Lord Drakan, finally revealing itself.
Having confirmed the contents of the saga skill, Drakan burst into laughter.
“Now I can really go wild!”
Steel Lord Drakan!
His main skill had returned!
A satisfied smile hung on Drakan’s lips as he regained his main skill.
Now, it was time to properly collect experience.
* * *
‘Th-this is insane! It’s a dream, it has to be a dream!’
Zak was looking around with trembling hands gripping his cutlass.
The burning Lawless Port!
The falling pirates!
And the enemies mercilessly butchering his allies without quarter!
It was truly the worst possible situation.
If there was any hope at all, it was Liark, but even Liark was now in a dire situation. The Flame King Ignis, a powerhouse of the same level, had joined the fight alongside the black magician, turning it into a two-on-one battle with defeat looming.
Zak sought an escape route, but breaking out of this hellish free-for-all where skirmishes raged in every direction was no easy task.
‘Damn it! Damn it!!’
Zak cursed inwardly.
Why on earth? What had he done wrong to deserve this!
He truly felt it was unjust.
In both the previous game and Second, he had merely been enjoying his hobby of PK.
So why did the same bastard keep blocking his path every single time!
Drakan!
Hatred toward that bastard began to boil in Zak’s heart.
‘There’s no way I’m surviving anyway!’
Venom filled Zak’s eyes.
There was no way to survive anyway!
Then, Drakan, the one who had put him in this state!
He would kill that bastard and die!
That way, even if his character was deleted, it would feel less unfair.
Thinking so, Zak gripped his cutlass and moved his feet.
At that very moment.
“There! It’s Zak!”
A user who spotted him on the battlefield shouted.
“What, Zak?”
“Zak is here!”
“Kill him!”
Soon, numerous users flocked to hunt Zak down.
Zak, the Foreigner Slaughterer.
He had infamy as the Lord of the Lawless Port and had committed countless atrocities including PK as a member of the Pirate Alliance in the East. Thanks to that, many users instantly rushed to kill him.
And the result was tragic.
“N-no! No! Uwaaaaack!!”
Zak, the Lord of the Lawless Port!
Without even reaching the feet of his nemesis Drakan, he met his death under the blades and skills of countless eastern users.
* * *
The battle that had taken place at Granado, the Lawless Port, naturally ended in my victory.
No, it couldn’t even be called a battle.
It was truly a one-sided massacre!
We were greater in number to begin with, the black magicians had inflicted all kinds of debuffs on the pirates, and crucially, they had one Over Ranker-level powerhouse while we had two.
Thus, the pirates had never stood a chance of beating me from the start.
There was only one reason those pirate bastards had fought.
Because they had no escape route.
A burning city behind them, the sea in front of them!
Truly, surrounded on all sides, the only thing they could choose was to fight.
I looked at the scene where the battle had ended and approached Liark, who was groaning.
“Kurk! Kuk!”
Liark, the Cog of Death!
No matter how much he was the third-in-command of the Pirate Alliance and a legendary pirate, he could not win against two powerhouses of the same level. As a result, he was now bound and looking up at me.
Bound all over his body, he was in a miserable state, bleeding profusely from head to toe.
I looked at Liark’s rugged face and smiled.
“Human, are you the leader of this army?”
“Yes.”
I readily answered Liark’s question.
“What do you intend to do with me?”
“Who knows.”
I looked at Liark and smiled.
“You do know that if you kill me now, you’ll make an enemy of the entire Pirate Alliance, don’t you?”
Liark’s voice came out sounding like a threat.
I smirked upon hearing his words.
He was threatening me right now.
That if I killed him, the entire Pirate Alliance would become my enemy!
The Pirate Alliance!
They were certainly a formidable force, one that controlled the entire eastern sea and coastline.
And they were also the ones I had to destroy.
From the moment I received the help of the eastern users to take Granado, the Lawless Port, I had essentially taken on a debt.
The eastern users!
Their public opinion, which had suffered endlessly at the hands of the pirates, ultimately desired the destruction of the Pirate Alliance.
It was not public opinion that would be appeased by merely burning down one Lawless Port.
Of course, since I had taken the Lawless Port for now, dissatisfaction would temporarily subside, but it couldn’t last forever.
If I compromised with the Pirate Alliance here and let it pass, the eastern users who had supported me until now would immediately turn their backs.
Moreover, even if I spared him here, there was almost nothing to gain.
From the moment I burned this city, which was a cash cow for the Pirate Alliance, to the ground—no, from the very moment I decided to undertake the quest to attack the Lawless Port—I had become fated to be hostile to the Pirate Alliance.
So to speak, I had crossed the Rubicon.
The Pirate King!
Having taken the Lawless Port, a fight with him was absolutely unavoidable.
Thinking so, I raised the Blood-Iron Executor.
“I know.”
“Then hurry up and……”
I cut down Liark’s neck as he spewed his worthless words.
The moment I killed Liark, countless notification windows appeared in my vision!
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[……]
[You have slain ‘Liark, the Cog of Death’.]
[Your fame has increased by 1,243.]
[……]
[You have completed the quest ‘The Black Ring Society’s Revival’.]
Looking at the notification that appeared at the end, I smiled.
The Black Ring Society’s Revival!
Because the system had finally confirmed that the damned quest was over.