Episode 464
“The heart of an Elder Dragon?”
Zeke looked puzzled as he tried to grasp what Nabu was saying.
“Are you saying the shattered heart of an Elder Dragon is hidden in the Forgotten Forest?”
Nabu nodded in confirmation.
“Yes, it’s sealed deep within the forest, known as the Black Star.”
“But… wasn’t this forest cursed after the second Demon King’s invasion?”
Zeke recalled meeting the Fisher Knight Reyes in the hidden stage of the Inverted Tower, back when the Forgotten Forest didn’t exist. He had always thought the forest’s endless expansion was due to a curse following the invasion.
“You’re not entirely wrong. The curse came about when the Elder Dragon’s heart was sealed here.”
So, it was the heart of the Elder Dragon that had transformed the forest into what it was now. The secret of the Forgotten Forest, one of the most forbidden places on the central continent, was finally unraveling.
Zeke, realizing something, spoke up.
“Could it be that my master stayed here for a thousand years to guard the sealed heart of the Elder Dragon?”
Manna, who had been listening, nodded solemnly.
“Indeed, Zeke. The Black Star holds immense power, too dangerous for the mortal realm. That’s why the leader personally sealed it here.”
Zeke understood why the forces of the Abyss were launching a full-scale attack on this place.
“They plan to use the Elder Dragon’s heart to resurrect the Demon King through the second baptism.”
Zeke recalled how Solomon had fallen to become the Demon King in Carcosa. A thought crossed his mind.
“Solomon made a pact with the Elder Dragon, sharing its heart. If Solomon became the Demon King in that state, wouldn’t it have affected the Elder Dragon as well?”
It seemed unlikely that a mere sealed heart could curse the entire forest. Zeke considered the possibility that the Demon King’s energy might have seeped into the Black Star.
“Either way, it’s dangerous if it falls into the hands of the Abyss.”
Zeke looked up at Nabu.
“Is the seal on the Black Star secure?”
Nabu nodded.
“As long as it’s in this forest, the Black Star is safe. With Nigel as its guardian, it won’t leave the forest.”
“But with my master captured, aren’t we being too complacent?”
“Only the guardian can break the seal to the Black Star. Unless Nigel has lost his mind, he won’t guide them.”
Zeke shook his head.
“We can’t be too sure. Among the fallen constellations’ avatars, there might be someone capable of breaking or deceiving the seal.”
Zeke himself had once bypassed the Great Sage’s seal using Belial’s power to enter the Temple of Theia. Other fallen constellations might possess similar powers.
Nabu and Manna’s expressions darkened at this.
“Hmm, that would be troublesome.”
Nabu pondered for a moment before speaking to Manna.
“Zeke’s concerns are valid. Manna, you should come with me to the forest’s center to defend it.”
Manna nodded in agreement.
“Understood, Nabu. But what about this place?”
Nabu nodded again.
“I’ll cast a large-scale protective spell here, so it should hold for a while. I’ll also leave some Highlanders behind.”
He pointed to a map he had laid out.
“We’ll guard the center. Meanwhile, Zeke, you should attack the energy supply stations and close the gates. There are three in total.”
“Understood. How large is the enemy force?”
“It seems at least a legion is stationed. The key is to attack all three simultaneously. If one is attacked, the others will reinforce their defenses, making further attacks impossible.”
Zeke pondered Nabu’s words.
“So, we need to cut off the energy supply all at once. Hmm…”
Various strategies ran through his mind. Zeke quickly organized his thoughts and stood up.
“I’ll need to scout the area first to devise a plan.”
“Alright, I’ll assign some strong Highlanders to assist you.”
“No need. I’ll handle the attack alone. The Highlanders should stay here to defend.”
Nabu was taken aback by Zeke’s decision.
“Alone? How do you plan to attack all three energy supplies by yourself?”
“I have a strategy. Don’t worry.”
Nabu, though skeptical, nodded after recalling Zeke’s earlier prowess in battle.
“Alright, I trust you’ll manage.”
Manna, listening nearby, also nodded in agreement.
Zeke stood up and instructed, “Keep deploying summons and guardians for defense. The gates must remain closed until I return.”
“Got it. We’ll hold the line here. You focus on your mission.”
After leaving the central camp, Zeke checked the map Nabu had marked with the locations of the energy sources.
“With this scale, they must have fortified it well.”
He decided to see for himself and used the system portal to stealthily move closer.
Upon checking his karma points from the recent battle, Zeke’s eyes widened.
“What?”
The number was so high he thought it was a mistake.
“What’s this?”
Over 200,000 points were displayed on his status screen. He had expected a large gain but not to this extent.
“Guess I won’t have to worry about points for a while.”
Zeke, who always calculated the most efficient use of his points, now had the luxury to use the system’s features more freely.
With ample karma points, he opened the system portal without hesitation.
A brilliant light enveloped him, and he vanished.
Grrr—
A beast, larger than the hounds that had attacked the Highlanders and with massive hooks on its tail, prowled the forest’s edge. Known as the Gwaiho by the Highlanders, it was far superior in speed and strength compared to the hounds.
Zeke hid behind a tree, masking his presence, and expanded his senses to survey the area.
“Just one of them, it seems.”
To move stealthily, he activated his Shadow Armor.
Sss—
The shadowy armor enveloped him, erasing his presence completely. In this state, he silently approached the Gwaiho from behind, transforming the shadows into a massive scythe, and swiftly swung it at the beast.
Slice—
The Gwaiho, unaware of Zeke’s presence until the last moment, had its head severed by the black scythe.
Thud!
The beast’s body collapsed to the ground without a chance to resist.
Using the Shadow Armor in combat, Zeke was astounded by its power.
“I didn’t realize it was this effective. It’s like a cheat item.”
He quickly composed himself, absorbed the fallen Gwaiho with his shadows, and moved deeper into the forest.
He sensed presences beyond the trees.
“That must be it.”
According to Nabu, all three energy supply stations needed to be destroyed to close the gates.
“So, I have to take down three heavily guarded fortresses.”
The Highlanders were defending the forest from the beasts, while the High Table protected the Black Star’s seal.
Zeke, having received the situation from Nabu, took out the green sword and the Eastern sword from his inventory.
“Arataso, Nebilos. I need your help.”
Zeke shamelessly planned to use demons to attack the Abyss’s stronghold.
Arataso, having been with Zeke for a while, was used to this, but Nebilos remained silent.
Zeke shook the Eastern sword containing Nebilos.
“Hey, Nebilos, answer me.”
Arataso spoke to Zeke.
[Nebilos is a high-ranking demon, an inspector of Abaddon. His pride won’t let him comply easily.]
Zeke clicked his tongue at Arataso’s words.
“Demons never listen to reason.”
Immediately, Zeke gripped the Eastern sword and summoned the will of light.
Sss—
As the holy light infused the sword, Nebilos’s voice erupted in panic.
[Aaagh!]
“Want to die? Answer when I call.”
Faced with Zeke’s harsh tone, Nebilos trembled and responded.
[You’re more of a demon than any demon!]
“Shut up and listen carefully. Timing is crucial, so if you fail, I’ll hold the holy sword all day.”
Crushed by Zeke’s ruthlessness, Nebilos had no choice but to comply, gritting his teeth as he reluctantly agreed.
Zeke planned to send Nebilos and Arataso to the energy supply stations, using the system portal to destroy them simultaneously.
“I’ll send ghost soldiers to position you. When I give the signal, wreak havoc and create a portal for me to enter. I’ll destroy the energy supply as soon as I arrive.”
Arataso nodded in agreement to Zeke’s words, while Nevilos remained silent, once again bathed in the light.
Having received a satisfactory response from Nevilos as well, Zeke summoned ghostly soldiers, arming them with green swords and eastern blades, and dispatched them to the energy supply station.
He then stealthily infiltrated the first energy supply station.
Given its strategic importance, the area was teeming not only with monstrous hounds and tigers but also with new types of beasts and monsters.
As he ventured further inside, he encountered a stone wall, its construction technique all too familiar.
“Orcs?”
Recognizing the structure, Zeke realized that the main force guarding the supply station was indeed orcs.
“They’re tenacious creatures. If I engage each one, it’ll be exhausting. Better to strike quickly and retreat.”
Shrouded in shadow armor, Zeke transformed into a dark haze, slipping through the wall and into the heart of their base.
Once inside, Zeke was taken aback by an unexpected sight.
“It’s not just orcs.”
Alongside the orc legion, clad in thick armor and wielding steel axes, were other races.
There were satyrs with goat horns and legs, arachne with the body of a spider and the upper torso of a human woman, and gremlins, small but notoriously vicious.
“These are all races that vanished from the surface. Where on earth did the Abyss find them?”
Zeke recalled how Siemens Apollyon, in his attempt to bring down the Kingdom of Chronos by summoning the Demon King into his body, had gathered these races to form the Demon King’s army.
Without the Demon King’s power, even Siemens Apollyon wouldn’t have been able to control these ferocious races.
As Zeke pondered this gathering of races, a fight broke out nearby.
“You filthy spider! Get lost!”
An orc warrior glared menacingly at one of the arachne, exuding a murderous aura.
The sly satyrs watched the fight with interest from a distance, while the gremlins, baring their sharp teeth, egged them on.
Ignoring the reactions of the other races, the massive arachne looked down at the orc warrior, its four eyes gleaming.
“An orc dares to challenge the illustrious arachne? You must have a death wish.”
“What did you just say, you bug? Fine, let’s roast some spider for a feast.”
As Zeke observed the escalating conflict, he suddenly realized something.
“The arachne is speaking an ancient Eastern Continent language?”
The orcs, having emerged from the Forest of the Forgotten, spoke an ancient Central Continent language, but the arachne used the ancient Eastern Continent tongue.
This suggested that, like the monstrous hounds, the arachne might have come from beyond the Eternal Mountains.
“Could it be that these ancient races have been surviving beyond the unreachable Eternal Mountains? There might be more of them.”
While Zeke was lost in thought, more orcs joined the fray, brandishing axes to threaten the arachne. In response, other arachne emerged from the ground.
“The illustrious arachne are one.”
“We’ll use these insolent orcs as food for our newborns.”
The orcs, undeterred by the arachne’s threats, raised their axes and shouted battle cries.
“I don’t know what you’re babbling about, you bugs. Come on, we’ll roast you and your spiderlings today.”
The situation was on the brink of erupting into violence.
Just then, dark sorcerers from the Abyss appeared with someone in tow.
“What is the meaning of this?”
The dark sorcerer shouted at the orcs and arachne.
The gremlins, who had been watching, quickly fled, while the satyrs claimed it was none of their business.
The orcs and arachne, however, showed no fear of the dark sorcerer.
Instead, they seemed wary of the hooded figure standing behind the sorcerers.
When the sorcerers failed to control the orcs and arachne, the hooded figure stepped forward.
Only then did the orcs and arachne recoil in surprise.
“Pathetic creatures.”
The voice was strange, resonating in their ears.
Zeke frowned at the voice, scrutinizing the figure closely.
“A new race?”
The figure removed the hood.
The orcs and arachne gasped and stepped back.
Even Zeke, hidden and observing, was shocked by the figure’s identity.
“Is that…?”
A vivid third eye embedded in the forehead.
The hooded figure was none other than a member of the Three-Eyed Clan, once rulers of Shambhala.