Chapter 1834 “The Overgeared Guild is the best. Not a single person will deny it. Besides, I heard that all the elites of the Overgeared Guld will participate in this expedition.” “Grid, Kraugel, Yura, Jishuka, Hurent, Haster, Zibal, Faker, etc... They are so great that they deserve to be treated as guests of honor no matter where they visit. Each one is an irreplaceable, all-time great player. Grid’s apostles and Sword God Biban are also there. What raid would be impossible?” “Baal’s death will really make a big difference. The fate of those who suffer even in death will be corrected and the world will overcome despair. The rejuvenated people will rapidly develop civilization with an incomparably higher level of activity. Many people see the change in the world caused by Trauka as the beginning of season two, but I think season one will end and a new beginning will open only when Baal dies.” “Baal is a being who must die. He must disappear in order for Satisfy to move forward. He can’t be a non-raidable boss. In other words, he can’t be invincible. The Overgeared Guild will succeed. They will surely kill Baal. It is a necessary event in the flow.” People from all walks of life guessed that the success rate of the Overgeared Guild’s Baal raid was very high, and even if they failed this time, they would try again and surely succeed one day. After all, to be able to try again was a player’s privilege. However, Grid’s thought differently. ‘If I fail this time, I might never get another chance.’ The ability to prey on the power and skills of the dead—Baal’s fraudulent power didn’t just apply to NPCs. It often even took away a player’s skills. In a way, it was natural. It was because the named beings received the privilege of ‘become stronger as the players become stronger.’ It was a basic law. Baal was the named one among the named, and he also received the same preferential treatment. He could absorb a player’s skills when killing a player. ‘Of course, it seems there are many restrictions, but... So far, the skills of the players absorbed by Baal were very few and the level was low. Perhaps Baal had to meet certain conditions in order to take away a player’s skills. Either Baal had to kill them himself or he had to go through some process after killing them. In any case, Baal became stronger as time passed, as he fought more and as he won. He was like a player. If they couldn’t kill him this time and were defeated— Additionally, if Grid or the apostles died in the process and their power was lost. It would become very difficult to plan for the future. It was okay. They knew everything and were fully prepared. As stated earlier, Baal became stronger as time went by. So time played into Baal’s hands, not theirs. The exception was the past month. That period of time was spent producing dragon weapons and armor as well as collecting enhancement scrolls and marks. It could be affirmed that they had far surpassed Baal’s growth. [You have entered hell.] A notification window popped up the moment the hell elevator stopped descending. The apostles and the Overgeared members were somewhat nervous. The moment the elevator door opened, there was a high probability that the traps set up by demons would be triggered. Everyone immediately prepared for battle because they had experienced it once in the past. Grid was relaxed. He took a step forward the moment the elevator door opened. “Wait...!” Mercedes rushed out after him before stopping. Her beautiful eyes shook. Demon Slayer Yura—the woman who had spent most of her time in hell alone at Grid’s command came out to meet the group. “Compared to the previous visits, the level of magic has risen significantly... We would’ve suffered quite a loss if we stepped on it without any preparations.” There were signs of magic in every crack in the ground around Yura. This was Braham’s assessment after looking at it. At this point, Mercedes had to fully acknowledge Yura. Wasn’t she sacrificing herself alone here in hell, far away from her loved ones, while leaving a steady track record? “Have you been well?” It was an amazing sight. Mercedes first bowed and greeted Yura. “Yes,” Yura replied with a smile. She must have many things to say but she didn’t show it. Mercedes felt it a lot. She wanted to emulate Yura. Jishuka’s eyes widened as she watched the two of them from behind. “Why is Mercedes being mean only to me? Is she jealous of big breasts?” “...I think I know why.” Isn’t your tone of speaking a problem? As Vantner couldn’t bear to say this and was distracted, new figures arrived by Yura’s side. “It has been a while. Hello, Braham.” The 10th Great Demon, Leraje, who didn’t know defeat. “Welcome, god of the surface.” The other was Eligos, the Black Knight whose tone had become subtly polite. It looked like it was right after a battle. His entire body was covered with the blood of demonic creatures. it seemed that all the demonic creatures waiting nearby were slaughtered. The senses of the Overgeared members were on edge. It was the aftermath of their transcendence reacting to the two demons. They realized that these two were powerhouses representing hell. Things that weren’t seen when they met in the past were now visible. ‘It is even said that they lead large armies of tens of thousands.’ They were truly formidable allies. The tension of the Overgeared members was relieved somewhat. [When God descended to hell, the rulers of hell greeted him.] [Eligos, the Black Knight who guards the river of reincarnation with Cerberus, the watchdog of hell.] [Supreme King Leraje who doesn’t know defeat.] [The only rulers that 1st Great Demon Baal failed to subdue, bowed their heads to the god of the surface.] The epic was updated and helped viewers understand. It let the world know that the beings who came with Yura to meet Grid were huge powerhouses. Viewers marveled and the humans on the surface rejoiced. Their jubilation created a notification window that was only visible for Grid. [Humanity’s fear toward Baal has faded slightly.] ‘Good.’ It was as expected. The epic started to create a development in Grid’s favor. In Lauel’s words, it acted as a ‘key’ to kill Baal. Everyone knew about Grid’s progress from the time that the epic started. The more Grid threatened Baal, the more humanity’s fear of Baal would fade. The moment it disappeared completely, Baal would suffer serious damage. An infinite number of lives—it was a loss of the strongest power that stemmed from the fear of humanity. ‘This is why we must never act rashly.’ Depending on his performance, people’s fear would fade. The performance he was talking about here wasn’t just about destroying the enemy. It was also important not to be agitated in any particular situation. The moment he was agitated, people also became agitated. At worst, they would recall the fear that had faded. ‘From now on, I’m not an ordinary person. I am a genius. No matter what trap I fall into, act as if it is expected from the beginning.’ And in addition to that, invincible. Even if a knife was stuck in his heart, he had to act like he was bitten by a mosquito. —Although it was best not to go through that in the first place. “......” Grid took a deep breath to control his mind before taking a step. There was no time to lose. He hurried to match the schedule so that everything would go according to plan. He even delayed having a conversation with Leraje, who was happy to see him. ‘No.’ Grid stopped moving. He stood in front of Leraje, who was sad to see him passing by with just a glance. “Supreme King who doesn’t know defeat.” “Huh...? Yes?” “Please assist me along with the valiant Black Knight Eligos, who treats Cerberus, the greatest demonic creature of hell, like a horse.” “Nyang? This body is hell’s greatest... Oof oof.” The quick-witted Huroi blocked Noe’s mouth. Grid’s comments were emerging in the epics. It was described as a great god of the surface bestowing a divine message to the transcendents of hell. [Humanity’s fear toward Baal has faded slightly.] The effect was immediately apparent. Grid smiled with satisfaction and quickened his pace again. Leraje was still looking dumbfounded, while Eligos mumbled as he stared at Grid’s back. “Your dignity has increased. I like it.” “......” After a moment of silence, the group hurriedly chased after Grid. The parties were organized as originally planned. The first party was composed of Mercedes, Haster, Euphemina, and Pon. They would move to Chepardea’s ‘spawning place’ to remove the ‘eggs’ that allowed Chepardea to resurrect even when killed, and eliminate Baal’s subordinates standing guard there. Yura pointed it out as one of the most important places, so they invested a lot of power there. The second party was composed of Piaro, Hurent, Damian, and Zednos. Their purpose was to move to the ‘Demon’s Cradle’ where endless demonic energy was produced to strengthen demons and demonic creatures. To be exact, it was to change it, not destroy it. The moment Piaro turned the cradle into agricultural fields, it would create a favorable environment for humans operating in hell. Since Piaro was the key to creating and sustaining the agricultural fields, the assistants he added were Hurent and Damian, who were excellent in combat. Zednos was added to resist magic. The third party was composed of Braham, Peak Sword, Huroi, and Laella. They would search for and slaughter the great demons who followed Baal. They were planning to go wild to the end. Braham’s magic, Peak Sword’s draw sword, and Huroi’s profanity were a triple bombardment. Braham was less likely to take care of others if excited so Laella was added. Her role was to protect Peak Sword and Huroi from magic. The fourth party was composed of Mir, Yura, Faker, Leraje, and Toban. Their purpose was to stop the operation of the factor that produced the red flesh projecting the hell moon, or Asura, by infiltrating underground. The road was so complicated and heavily guarded that Yura’s role was extremely important, since she was knowledgeable in the terrain. Faker would tear down the security without a fuss and Toban would protect Yura. The red flesh had a high chance of resisting, such as the clones used on Grid previously, so Mir and Leraje were deployed to have enough attack power. The fifth party was composed of Zik, Jishuka, Vantner, and the evil eyes’ king. The fifth party would first move with Grid. According to Yura, the purpose was to neutralize Asura’s head, which was decorating the entrance of Baal’s city. It seemed to be a place Baal had built as the first line of defense, so there were many garrisons. It was necessary to keep Asura’s head in check with the destruction rays from the evil eyes’ king while tearing down the defenses with Jishuka’s sniper fire. Vantner escorted the evil eyes’ king. The destructive power and survivability of the entire party would be greatly boosted by Zik’s runes. Zik’s own combat capability after being able to handle King Sobyeol’s divinity was sufficient to respond to any variable. The sixth party was composed of Nefelina and Zibal. They followed Grid from start to finish. Nefelina could be deployed if Grid’s cooperation with Bunhelier was cut off for some reason and Dragon Knight was deactivated. Thus, the distance had to be kept as close as possible. Zibal could use ‘Providence’ to protect Nefelina, but if he was targeted by Baal, there was a high possibility that he would have to completely leave the battlefield. The seventh party was composed of Kraugel and Eligos. They were solid insurance. If Baal was on the defensive, there was a possibility that he would prey on the souls wandering in the river of reincarnation to promote recovery. Thus, the river of reincarnation had to be guarded. It was such an important role that it could be described as the last bastion. For Kraugel, it was very regrettable that he couldn’t be on the front line, but he silently accepted his role. The five angels, including Ibellin, comprised the eighth party along with Biban. They would wait on standby and be dispatched as soon as a request for assistance was received. Angels could communicate with Grid and the apostles in real time. In particular, it was good to play the role of reinforcement because they weren’t hindered by any magic or physical force. It was also possible for them to fly at high speed regardless of topographical features. Biban was the next strongest power after Grid and would coordinate the battlefield by grasping the situation through them. Finally, Katz was on a solo mission. Guided by the red-skinned demon Glant, he was to move to the 2nd Hell, where he would keep a check on Amoract’s movements while attempting to contact Beriache. He was Beriache’s Warrior, so he was looking forward to the possibility of some hidden piece appearing. All the plans were based on Yura’s knowledge and information. The ultimate goal of all these plans was to ‘establish and sustain a one-on-one battle between Grid and Baal.’ The goal was to make sure that Grid wasn’t disturbed and that Baal didn’t receive any help. It was to maximize the effect of the epic. It was only when Grid proved that he could fight Baal one-on-one and win that humanity would be relieved and completely shake off their fear. ‘...It is technically two against one.’ Well, it was practically one-on-one if he regarded Bunhelier as a ‘mount.’ It wasn’t a cheap trick at all... Kurarararara! A huge shadow appeared over the heads of Grid and the others as they split into their groups. It was the shadow of Bunhelier, who had just arrived in hell through the dimensional shift. “You might have to fight for days and days. For those who have restrictions on your stamina, make sure to control your physical strength well,” Grid once again warned the group. It wasn’t known how many times he said it already. It might be tiresome, but the group nodded silently. Everyone was already far away. Grid also sped up toward his destination.