Chapter 160
“Uoooh!“
“They’re fleeing! Chase them and kill them!”
Loud roars echoing through the cave.
Wild Boar Tribe members raised spears and torches high while shouting at the top of their lungs.
The Strategy Team’s allied tribes, having gained the upper hand in the previous Central Corridor battle, began advancing with unstoppable momentum.
Not only did the tribes themselves have superior strength, but the Strategy Team members were also more skilled than the Reverse Heaven Society.
“Our god is stronger than their god! Charge!”
“Kill all the enemies and take the cavity!”
Once the balance was broken, the defense lines collapsed like dominoes.
“R-run away!”
“W-we can’t die!”
The tribes belonging to the Reverse Heaven Society side couldn’t even think of standing against the enemy’s offensive.
Enemies who, despite having their necks severed and hearts pierced, would return the next day wielding swords and spears again.
In this underground world where revival rituals existed, this wasn’t such an unfamiliar sight.
Outstanding warriors would be immediately revived to be utilized as fighting strength again.
So normally, no matter how high the enemy’s morale, even if opponents they had killed returned to point swords and spears at them again, they would have fought back without fear.
But now the situation was different.
“Make survival the top priority!”
Now that revival rituals were completely forbidden by Seo-jin’s orders.
If they died in this battle, there was no telling when they could be revived. In the worst case, they might even face complete death.
Even the brave warriors who used to fight without fear of death had no choice but to flee.
Enemies who revived infinitely versus allies who could no longer be revived.
It was clear who would gain the upper hand.
In such a situation.
“Move quickly!”
Romulus, younger brother of the Wolf Tribe’s chieftain Remus.
He stood at the rear of the formation, shouting loudly while helping other tribe members retreat.
Romulus’s role was to guard the rear and block the pursuing enemies.
Keurreung- Kaeng-!
Just a short time ago, he had been running around the cavity playing with the wolf Seo-jin made for him, but now he stood on a blood-soaked battlefield alongside that same wolf.
“Die!”
Enemy warriors charging at Romulus who blocked their path.
“You die instead!”
Romulus alone blocked the narrow passage while simultaneously facing two or three warriors rushing at him.
Keureung-!
The wolf Seo-jin had made also helped Romulus fight the enemies.
“Huu, huuk.”
Enemy corpses gradually piling up in front of Romulus. He had already brought down more than ten by himself.
But facing the endlessly charging enemies, Romulus was gradually becoming exhausted too.
Though he was close to being the strongest warrior among the Wolf Tribe warriors, he couldn’t handle all the enemies who kept charging without fear of death.
Kkeeing-.
The wolf that had been fighting bravely beside Romulus also began letting out pained whimpers as its wounds accumulated.
Having lost a wolf once before, he didn’t want to let his wolf die again.
‘I’m retreating. I’ve bought enough time.’
Judging that he couldn’t hold out any longer, Romulus shouldered his wounded wolf and shouted.
“Explosion!”
“Catch him!”
Enemies chasing after the fleeing Romulus.
They succeeded in catching up to the exhausted Romulus without much difficulty, but.
Kureureung-.
“Eh!”
They ended up being buried under a pile of rocks that poured down from above.
It was explosive magic that Seo-jin and So-yul had planted throughout various caves and passages before engaging in full-scale war.
Kugoong- Kung-.
“……”
When the rumbling and vibrations stopped, he could see passages completely blocked with rock piles and corpses buried beneath them.
Romulus silently looked at the enemy warriors who had died buried under the debris.
‘Those who, even if killed today, will return tomorrow to point swords and spears at us.’
In the past, when seeing their deaths, he had no thoughts beyond this.
But now it was different.
Though he had accepted it as natural until now, he realized that returning from death was not a normal occurrence.
Romulus had seen and realized this fact clearly with his own eyes.
‘…They are beings that belong to the earth.’
Cursed ones who could never return to the surface again.
With complicated feelings, Romulus looked at the enemy corpses before turning his head away.
***
“Southwest entrance has collapsed!”
“The lava cave area has also been destroyed. Approaching through alternate routes!”
“Combat broke out during retreat from the Central Corridor! Quickly send relief forces…!”
Urgent reports kept coming to the Wolf Tribe’s cavity where the Reverse Heaven Society’s base camp was located.
Every single one was news that their positions were collapsing and they were retreating under enemy pressure.
This was only natural.
After all, it was Seo-jin who had induced this situation.
‘There’s no need to struggle fighting the enemy in an unfavorable situation.’
He just needed to buy time while minimizing casualties.
Moreover, the Eagle Tribe and Rabbit Tribe, believing their totems had been destroyed, were passive in battle, so despite the urgent reports, the plan was proceeding more smoothly and safely than expected.
Also,
‘If our forces are pushed back all the way here…’
It meant enemy forces were also gathering here.
This meant fewer troops were guarding the enemy’s stronghold.
Seo-jin asked.
“How is the troop deployment?”
“Yes, we’ve placed soldiers who have undergone revival rituals at the most intense battlefields and at the rear of retreating forces.”
“Well done.”
The most dangerous position during retreat was the rear of the forces.
They had to face the enemy’s most fierce pursuit, so the possibility of death was high.
Therefore, they placed those who had been revived in the past at the rear of the forces.
Those who had returned from death once had no possibility of leaving this underground world to live under the sky again.
On the other hand, pure living beings who hadn’t undergone revival rituals could still set foot on the surface and live under the sky again.
Deploying forces to protect these people from death was essential.
It wasn’t about weighing the value of lives, but it was something someone had to do.
However, Romulus was exceptionally placed in the rear despite being a pure living being.
It was because he had volunteered to take on the most dangerous position himself.
‘Things are flowing smoothly.’
If things continued this way, this test would probably be cleared without much difficulty.
But if there was one variable.
‘It’s Sword Star Ju Won-jae.’
He was someone Seo-jin couldn’t be confident of gaining a perfect advantage against, even in his current state.
Taking the final totem he always carried could be considered the most difficult task in this World Quest.
‘What to do about this.’
While Seo-jin organized the reports he received and designed future plans.
“What should we do? They’ve come right up to our noses!”
“On top of already being on the defensive, you even forbid revival rituals – how exactly do you plan to take responsibility!”
“Even now, if we perform revival rituals…”
“You should say something too!”
The chieftains of various tribes under the Reverse Heaven Society were restless and trembling with fear.
“……”
Wolf Tribe Chieftain Remus maintaining silence among the murmuring chieftains.
He too wasn’t unaware of the severity of the situation.
At this rate, enemy forces would surely push all the way here, resulting in certain defeat in the war.
And defeat meant the annihilation of the clan, or degradation to slave status.
The long war would end with the humiliation of defeat.
And that by an outsider’s decision.
However,
“That’s not particularly important.”
At Remus’s calm words, the other chieftains’ eyes widened with anger.
“What, what?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you understand the severity of the situation?”
Remus answered the indignant chieftains with a calm voice.
“I know, I understand better than anyone. And you all know well too.”
Remus’s eyes gleamed.
“That we can’t keep cowering and living underground forever.”
“…!”
Toward the speechless chieftains, Remus pointed upward with his finger and said.
“It’s been nearly 300 years since we established our settlement in this underground. The sky, light, everything outside has become distant over these years. My younger brother, our grandparents too, only learned about the outside world through documents and oral traditions.”
Blue sky, warm sunshine, gentle breezes tickling the skin.
Wide grasslands and endless lakes of salt water. All of that had been so long ago it could be dismissed as legend.
At these words from Remus, the gray-bearded Mouse Tribe chieftain snorted.
“Hmph, pipe dreams. What would we do going to a surface polluted enough to be uninhabitable?”
“That’s not right. The outside world is fine. Unlike what we think, it’s not polluted either. The problem is with us.”
“What?”
“Stop spouting nonsense!”
“Are you trying to evade responsibility for bringing that outsider by making strange claims now?”
Despite the other chieftains’ accusations, Remus continued what he had to say.
“Evading responsibility, yes, that’s what we’ve all been doing until now. Filling our hungry bellies with the fruits of desire left by our ancestors, being desperate for immediate survival, we’ve turned away from the truth. What has been the price?”
All that remained for them was this underground world where only endless killing remained.
Remus recalled going to the surface with his younger brother not long ago.
***
The underground kingdom created by various tribes was entirely surrounded by solid rock formations.
Therefore, there was only one passage leading to the surface, the one their ancestor had carved long ago.
But that passage was sealed with layers of magic, and no one had even attempted to break those spells.
There was a legend that if the magic sealing the passage was lifted, the polluted magical power of the outside world would enter and the underground world would perish.
Therefore, each tribe strictly forbade approaching that passage and even stationed guardians to take turns protecting the magic.
However, as the tribes cooperated and prepared for large-scale war under the mediation of the Reverse Heaven Society and Strategy Team, the vigilance of the passage leading to the surface naturally became lax.
Seo-jin used this opportunity to send the two brothers to where the passage was located, telling them to go see the truth of the world.
“Is this the place?”
“Yeah.”
Romulus, who had received a pet wolf from Seo-jin.
Before the major battle, Romulus stood with his wolf and his brother in front of the door leading to the surface.
Along with the ‘key’ Seo-jin had given him.
“Is it really okay to go outside?”
“…Yeah, there are things in the world you can only believe by seeing with your own eyes.”
Remus said this while hardening his gaze.
Though he had treated Seo-jin’s group as saviors and accepted them into the tribe, Remus too had doubts about his plan.
He had a duty to confirm the truth. As a chieftain, and as an older brother responsible for his younger brother’s future.
Also, curiosity about the outside world was something any tribe member of the underground world carried in their hearts.
No matter how much he was a chieftain leading a tribe, he couldn’t resist without confirming it directly.
Of course, just breaking this magic and opening the door carried a non-negligible probability of the great calamity from legend befalling them.
‘The legend that polluted magical power from outside would enter the underground.’
Because of that legend, no one had thought to break this seal until now.
But seeing that Seo-jin and other otherworldly beings had come down from the surface world, the probability of there being the legendary polluted magical power outside was infinitely low.
Remus told his younger brother.
“Try inserting the key.”
“Okay.”
The ‘key’ Romulus received was something Seo-jin had made by analyzing each tribe’s totem to have similar magical wavelengths.
Originally, the seal could only be lifted by gathering all sixteen tribes’ totems together, but Seo-jin’s key could temporarily produce that effect.
Chiriririt-.
As unique magical wavelengths spread from the key, the barriers were lifted one by one.
Eventually, only one large stone door blocking the boundary between surface and underground remained before the brothers.
Romulus swallowed and pushed the large stone door.
Kureurereu-.
Stone powder and dirt dust falling away.
At the same time, bright light entered through the opened gap.
“Kuk.”
“Th-this is.”
Light far too bright for the brothers who had adapted to darkness for so long.
Despite the burning sensation in their eyes, the two brothers struggled to open their eyes and faced the truth of the world.
