Episode 414
“Stairs, huh? Do they lead underground?”
Zeke hadn’t expected to find a staircase leading down like a dungeon, hidden away in a secure area.
Pushing aside his curiosity, he sharpened his vision with his dragon’s eye and descended the stairs.
Surprisingly, the wooden stairs weren’t artificially constructed.
“They’re formed naturally, like intertwined branches. Reminds me of the World Tree in the city of the Nagas.”
Though withered now, it likely once served as a massive tower.
Zeke soon reached the bottom, where the floor and walls were made of tangled branches.
He cautiously moved deeper into the space.
That’s when he noticed the glinting eyes of beasts lurking in the shadows.
A low growl echoed.
The beasts, intimidated by Zeke’s earlier defeat of their leader, only growled menacingly without approaching.
When Zeke summoned the light of his holy weapon, the beasts recoiled in fear and vanished into the darkness.
“It seems the beasts have taken over this dungeon-like space.”
As he ventured further, he found massive pillars made of thick, intertwined tree trunks.
Zeke passed the pillars and continued deeper inside.
Then he saw something.
“What is that?”
In one corner of the pillar-lined space was an entrance. When Zeke entered, he found a vast cavern.
The ceiling was so high it was out of sight, and in the center stood a solidified statue.
“Hmm?”
Zeke approached and illuminated the statue with his holy weapon’s light.
It was a form he’d never seen before.
The body resembled a deer, the face and tail were dragon-like, and the feet had hooves like a cow. Two large antler-like horns extended from its head.
Zeke tilted his head, puzzled by the statue.
“Hmm, it looks a bit like the dragon horse Bucephalus.”
With that thought, he decided to summon Bucephalus for comparison.
Neigh!
Bucephalus, summoned after a long time, nuzzled Zeke affectionately.
The dragon horse had a body covered in dragon scales and also bore two horns.
Though similar, the statue was distinctly different.
“So, it’s not a dragon horse.”
Bucephalus nodded as if agreeing with Zeke’s observation.
As Zeke examined the statue, he inadvertently touched it.
And then it happened.
Rumble—
Cracks began to form on the statue, and it started to crumble.
“Damn…!”
As the statue unexpectedly shattered, Zeke was taken aback.
But from within the broken statue, a white light burst forth.
Whoosh!
The light gathered and swiftly merged into Zeke’s body.
Sss—
Zeke was startled as the warm light from the shattered statue settled within him.
At that moment, a message appeared before his eyes.
―Achievement Quest―
[Revive the spirit of the Sealed Earth God and break the seal.]
[Quest Mission Reward: Blessing of the Earth God / Relic of the Earth God]
“So, it wasn’t sealed here? And I have to revive the spirit to break the seal? This is different from the seals I’ve broken before.”
Through the message, Zeke realized that the Earth God’s sealed form existed elsewhere, not in the Forest of the Forgotten.
“The spirit that just entered me… So the sealed form is somewhere else. But where?”
As he pondered, another message appeared.
[The Sage’s Eye has accessed Karma Data to estimate the location of the Sealed Earth God.]
[The location is marked on the map coordinates.]
The Sage’s Eye had automatically searched for related information and found the location.
“This Karma Data access is truly incredible.”
Zeke checked the marked location on the map.
And he was shocked.
“This… It’s where Salmak is.”
When Zeke had previously visited Salmak’s headquarters, he had sensed traces of ancient ruins there.
He hadn’t expected the Earth God’s divine presence to be sealed there.
“I was planning to deal with Salmak anyway, so this works out well.”
Zeke decided to return to Nigel’s house in the forest first.
But when he got there, Nigel was nowhere to be found.
Zeke found a note carelessly left on the table.
<I’ve gone to the west of the forest to hunt beasts. It might take a while. If fate allows, we’ll meet again.>
The Forest of the Forgotten was vast, and even the administrators didn’t know what lived within it.
The task was to stay at the house, respond to any unusual occurrences, and return.
Nigel’s note suggested it would take at least a month for him to return.
“That’s a shame. I wanted to say goodbye to my mentor.”
Believing they would meet again if fate allowed, Zeke left the Forest of the Forgotten with a hint of regret.
To break the Earth God’s seal, he needed to head to Salmak in the desert region.
“If I go to Mycenae and then return with reinforcements, it’ll be too late. In that case…”
A brilliant idea struck Zeke.
Leaving the Forest of the Forgotten, Zeke set his sights on the territory of Ishtar.
The Ishtar family, who worshiped the Earth God and followed its laws.
Zeke planned to deal with Salmak with their help.
“Let’s have some fun.”
“What did you just say?”
The leader of Salmak, who was drinking with his youngest disciple, nearly dropped his glass in shock.
A subordinate, head bowed, reported to him.
”…Zeke Draker has crossed the border with the traitors and Ishtar’s sorcerers.”
The Salmak leader stood up and hurled his glass at the subordinate.
Crash!
He shouted at the subordinate with a face twisted in rage.
“Damn it! What were you doing while Zeke Draker got this close?”
The youngest disciple beside him turned pale with fear.
The Salmak leader patted the disciple’s face reassuringly.
“It’s okay. Don’t worry. They won’t get here.”
He gritted his teeth and shouted at the subordinate.
“Wake the Scorpion Clan. It’s good I requested their deployment in advance. Request more wizards from the Scorpion Clan.”
The subordinate hesitated before speaking.
“Well…”
“What is it? Speak clearly.”
The subordinate, face tense, replied.
“We can’t contact the Scorpion Clan. It seems… Zeke Draker attacked them first.”
The Salmak leader’s jaw dropped.
“The Scorpion’s main base was hit? Those stubborn bastards who always crawl back like bugs? How?”
“We haven’t identified the cause yet, but… it seems likely.”
Hearing that the Scorpion Clan might have fallen to Zeke, the Salmak leader realized the gravity of the situation.
“Damn it… I should have dealt with him before he grew stronger.”
He had tried to find an opportunity to assassinate Zeke Draker through Shadia but never found an opening.
Recently, most of the dispatched personnel, including Shadia, had betrayed him and joined Zeke Draker.
Many of the external operatives scattered across the continent had chosen Shadia.
He had tried to kill them all with the implanted poison, but for some reason, it hadn’t worked.
The traitors must have found a way to remove the poison.
Sensing something amiss, the Salmak leader had requested the deployment of wizards from the Scorpion Clan as a precaution.
Sweat beaded on the Salmak leader’s forehead.
“It seems I have no choice. I need to ask them for help.”
It was a card he didn’t want to play, but the situation left him no choice.
The Salmak leader rose and headed somewhere.
He entered a room at the end of the corridor, where only a crystal orb awaited him.
He approached and activated the orb.
Soon, a shadowy figure appeared within the orb.
He spoke to the shadow.
“I agree to the terms we discussed. I need help immediately.”
The shadow on the other side of the orb flickered.
Without a word, the orb went dark, and the shadow vanished.
“What? Why did the communication cut off without a word?”
As he pondered, a voice spoke from behind.
“It seems you were in a hurry, Salmak leader, to contact us so suddenly.”
Though the room had been empty, someone had appeared behind him.
The Salmak leader turned to see a man in a black suit holding a briefcase.
It was none other than Rahim, the head of the Nostra Family’s The Six.
Having narrowly survived Zeke’s corruption power, Rahim’s face bore severe scars, and his left eye was clouded, giving him a grotesque appearance.
Unlike before, Rahim’s remaining eye gleamed with madness.
Rahim approached the Salmak leader.
“Combining Salmak and the Nostra Family will create a more powerful organization.”
The Nostra Family had long sought a merger with Salmak.
The influence of the rival organization, Red Eye, was growing stronger than ever, while the beastfolk gang, Crostell, expanded its reach by forming an alliance with the Joins and the Western Alliance.
In the midst of this, the Nostra Family found itself weakened after a clash with Zeke Draker, losing key members like Dario and others from The Six.
To replenish their depleted strength, the Nostra Family had been persistently pursuing a merger with Scorpion and Salmak.
For centuries, Salmak had maintained its independence, ignoring Nostra’s proposals. But as their situation became dire, they were the ones to extend a hand first.
The leader of Salmak looked at Rahim and spoke, “Zeke Draker has wiped out the Scorpion Clan.”
Rahim’s eyes flashed at the news. “The Knight of Salvation… I have a deep grudge against him too.”
Rahim could never forget the agony of his flesh and bones dissolving under the power of corruption.
He turned to the Salmak leader and said, “Now that you’ve joined forces with the Nostra Family, even Zeke Draker won’t be a problem. Together, we can find a way to—”
The Salmak leader interrupted, shouting, “You don’t understand! He’s coming here right now, with those Ishtar sorcerers!”
Rahim’s face hardened at the revelation. “Zeke Draker is coming to attack Salmak directly? Why now?”
It was a move that defied logic. There was no reason to attack Salmak’s stronghold, a fortress that had withstood invasions for centuries.
Drawing the Salmak leader out would have been a more strategic move, yet Zeke Draker chose the disadvantageous battlefield.
“Does he think he can take down Salmak easily? No, he’s too cunning for that. There must be something else he wants here…”
As Rahim’s thoughts lingered, the Salmak leader, sweating, urged him, “We need the Nostra Family’s forces here immediately. He could be upon us any moment!”
Boom!
A sudden tremor shook the Salmak stronghold.
The Salmak leader, alarmed, rushed outside. “What’s happening? What’s going on?”
He saw his assassins moving frantically. A subordinate approached him, breathless. “Zeke Draker! He’s here!”
The Salmak leader’s voice rose in disbelief. “He’s already breached the outer defenses?”
Rumble!
Another tremor followed.
The Salmak leader shouted urgently to his men, “What are you doing? Call in the Scorpion forces inside to stop him!”
He turned to Rahim. “We need the Nostra Family’s help! The Six could—”
At that moment, a voice echoed throughout the Salmak headquarters. “To all Salmak members, surrender now, and I will remove the loneliness within you and spare your lives.”
The Salmak leader’s face turned pale. “Zeke Draker, that bastard…”
Watching from behind, Rahim adjusted his glasses, set down his bag, and unlocked it with a click.
Inside were dozens of syringes filled with a black liquid.
Rahim addressed the terrified Salmak leader, “Do you want to stop Zeke Draker?”
The leader nodded vigorously.
Rahim handed him a syringe from the bag. “I didn’t intend to use these, but given the circumstances, we have no choice. This will be your lifeline to stop him and save Salmak. However…”
He added with a cold expression, “You must be prepared to pay the price for it.”