Chapter 344: Rule Breaker (2)

Smash—!

The communication hologram crystal ball that had fallen to the floor was ruthlessly trampled by Kim Minwoo's military boot and shattered into pieces.

At the same time, Agares's headless corpse finally collapsed limply.

[You have defeated the 7th ranked Great Lord of the Demon Realm, ‘Agares’!]

[You have acquired massive experience points!]

[Level has increased by 4!]

“Kyaa.”

Kim Minwoo smacked his lips with a thrill of pleasure.

Just a single sword strike.

Even though he was in the 800-level range, an extreme required experience interval ahead of the 3rd seal release, his level shot up by 4 in an instant.

The experience points provided by the ancient, stagnant Great Lords were truly explosive.

“Look at the experience bar filling up. This is why I come to the Demon Realm.”

Since the proxy protection period was over, to Kim Minwoo, who was not even subject to the rules, these guys were just walking honey pots that handed over hefty experience points.

But, they didn't just give experience points.

“He's a guy who played the 3rd rank for hundreds of years; there's no way he lost even the items he stored away just because he lost some territory in the Ranking Battle……”

Kim Minwoo's gaze surveyed the interior of Agares's castle.

“Find them. The items.”

The Legion Commanders and summons all began to move.

The necks of the demons blocking the way flew in all directions.

After a 30-minute exploration, they found Agares's treasure vault.

“Lucky.”

He saw a golden door that looked like something was definitely inside.

“Cedric, open the door.”

Boom—!

No sooner had the command fallen than Cedric's spear tore off the firmly closed steel vault door like a piece of paper.

The interior of the vault was revealed as the dust settled.

“Waah……”

Kim Minwoo's jaw dropped.

Even though his territory and power had been lost and he had fallen to 7th place, the slush funds and treasures the Great Lord had personally gathered transcended imagination.

From the mountain of rare ores and gems of the Demon Realm to the armaments spewing out brilliant mana.

“Wow, it's a total Treasure Island, Treasure Island.”

Kim Minwoo walked into the vault with a beaming smile.

It was full of useful equipment.

At the very least, they were Unique, and the base was Legend grade. In a corner, several pieces of Ancient grade armor, spewing out an aura different from the rest, were also placed.

“This looks quite delicious.”

Kim Minwoo took out a few pieces of his own equipment from his inventory.

The Legend grade Ghost Step shoes and the Wings of Chaos cloak. Their performance was excellent, but at this point where the spec inflation was piercing the sky, the grades were starting to feel slightly disappointing.

“Shall I do some sweet compression?”

Kim Minwoo gathered the Ancient grade material items he found in Agares's vault together with his Legend grade armor.

[Using skill, Compression (EX)!]

[Pulls the target's grade up by one level!]

[Massive mana is consumed!]

Flash—!

An intense light wrapped around the items.

Meanwhile, Kim Minwoo gulped down highest-tier mana potions worth hundreds of millions as if drinking plain water.

Gulp. Gulp.

[Mana is fully recovered!]

He spammed compression while sucking down mana potions as if hooked to an IV.

The greatest advantage of the Compression skill was that the grade did not drop even if it failed.

In other words, it was an insanely broken skill that could definitely churn out superior items as long as there were materials overflowing.

And right in front of Kim Minwoo now, materials gathered by a 3rd rank Great Lord for a lifetime were piled up like a mountain.

[Great Success!]

[The Legend grade Wings of Chaos is fused with Ancient grade materials and promoted to

Ancient grade!]

[The effects are significantly enhanced!]

“Nice.”

While he was at it, he even indiscriminately combined and enhanced the disappointing parts among the equipment of Merhen, Cedric, Vulcan, and Olivia with the Ancient grade items from the vault.

Even the summons standing behind him were appalled by the master's madness as he crazily operated the compression transmutation circles while drinking potions like water.

It didn't take long for Great Lord Agares's thousand-year-old vault to become empty.

Humming a cheerful tune, Kim Minwoo stuffed the remaining treasures and magic stones into his inventory and space ring without leaving anything behind.

Leaving behind the desolate vault where not a single speck of dust remained, Kim Minwoo stretched out his arms.

“Ah, I ate well.”

A huge level-up, full setting of Ancient grade item upgrades, and even looting a massive amount of slush funds.

‘This was completely at the level of a walking Golden Goblin.’

Kim Minwoo, having pleasantly finished strengthening his power, turned his gaze toward the fragments of the communication crystal ball he had trampled and broken just a moment ago.

The faces of the stagnant waters beyond that crystal ball, who would be turning pale while watching this massacre, were vivid in his mind.

Kim Minwoo rested the Mythical-grade demonic sword, Hell Rhapsody, on his shoulder and looked back at the four Legion Commanders lined up behind him.

“Well, we’ve rested for a bit and finished digesting that.”

Above his head, the massive divine dragon, Gleipnir, let out a thunderous roar and spread its wings.

“Now, shall we head to the 6th rank?”

The 6th-ranked Great Lord was Vassago.

Originally ranked 2nd, he was one of the Great Lords whose ranking had plummeted after the death of his primary proxy, the Witch of the White Night, Elise.

It was obvious this guy was another honey pot.

If the Great Lords had any brains, they would be trying to group up quickly. He had to take down at least one more and strengthen his forces before that happened. Fortunately, Gleipnir’s speed was bordering on the sinister.

＊ ＊ ＊

Meanwhile, in the skies of the 6th District of the Demon Realm.

Vassago, the Great Lord who had tumbled from 2nd to 6th rank, was flying like a madman, drenched in cold sweat.

‘That crazy bastard!’

He had clearly witnessed through the communication crystal the sight of Agares being sliced apart without lasting even a minute. That ignorant yet overwhelming violence of invading a Lord’s inner sanctum and lopping off their head. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

The difference in power between Agares and himself wasn't that great.

‘I have to get to Baal! Only by uniting the upper Lords can we stop that monster!’

Just as Vassago squeezed out his remaining mana to push his flight speed to the limit.

Puuuuung—!

“……!”

A massive shadow fell from above, blotting out the sun. Vassago looked up in horror.

The gargantuan divine dragon that had descended through the clouds was spewing a terrifying eye glint, perfectly blocking his escape route.

He hadn't even made it halfway to the rendezvous point.

Gleipnir’s sinister mobility had far outstripped Vassago’s escape speed.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?”

Atop the divine dragon’s back.

Kim Minwoo, who was in high spirits after looting Agares’s entire vault just a moment ago, looked down with Hell Rhapsody resting casually on his shoulder.

“Y-you……! To think you’ve chased me this far already!”

“I need to butcher at least one more before you guys huddle up for it to be cost-effective.”

Kim Minwoo flicked his finger.

Paat—!

Cedric’s golden spear energy poured from the air, cutting off Vassago’s retreat, while Merhen’s chains surged toward his limbs.

Vulcan and Olivia also immediately closed the net.

“Don’t you dare look down on me, human!”

Vassago let out a spiteful roar and revealed his true form.

A bizarre magical beast with the wings of a giant eagle and the body of a predator.

As he wrenched his maw open, a breath of deadly poison that corroded the atmosphere poured out like a waterfall.

But…….

[Using skill, Descent (EX)!]

Jjeo-e-e-eong—!

With a single strike of the dissonance from the Mythical-grade demonic sword Hell Rhapsody, Vassago’s breath was vainly split in half and scattered.

“K-kuaak?!”

Successive strikes from Cedric’s spear pierced Vassago’s wings, and Olivia’s shadow claws ruthlessly tore into the creature's back.

Vassago, who plummeted through the air spraying blood, looked up at Kim Minwoo while gasping for breath.

‘This makes no sense……. Why is he this strong?!’

When Agares fell, he thought it was because of a surprise attack. But the power of Kim Minwoo and his summons in a head-on collision transcended imagination.

He was a Great Lord who had lived for thousands of years; why was he being devastated so unilaterally?

Kim Minwoo knew the answer to that question very well.

‘They’re certainly…… much softer than those Seven Lords bastards.’

Kim Minwoo looked down at Vassago with indifferent eyes. The highest-tier Great Lords of the Demon Realm.

Judging by level alone, these guys, sitting around the 10,000 range, should normally be at a similar or slightly lower level than the Seven Lords, the seven rulers of the Heavenly City.

But the quality of combat in actual battle was completely different.

The reason was simple.

These stagnant Great Lords had avoided bloody battles for thousands of years, hiding behind the proxy system of the Ranking Battles.

While they retained overwhelming power, mana, and demonic cunning, they were nothing more than lumps of meat whose fighting spirit and youthful vigor—the kind forged in life-and-death struggles—had long since been castrated.

On the other hand, what about the Seven Lords of the Heavenly City?

They were incarnations of struggle who had reached the apex by fighting tooth and nail every single day in that city—a massive arena for survivors of dimensions destroyed by Outer Gods.

Even in District 1, they were beings who continued their battles through competition and antagonism.

An obese pig in a greenhouse versus a wolf that survived the wild. Even if the numbers on the level chart were similar, the ferocity and combat sense in actual battle could not even be compared.

“Y-you monster bastard……! Just what exactly are youuuu!”

Terrified and struggling, Vassago failed to even understand why he was losing.

Toward his hideous neck, a black line was drawn.

Seogeok—!

Without even putting up a proper resistance, the neck of the 6th-ranked (formerly 2nd) Great Lord flew cleanly into the air.

[You have defeated the 6th ranked Great Lord of the Demon Realm, Vassago!]

[You have acquired massive experience points!]

Tiring! Tiring! Tiring!

The accumulated experience bar overflowed explosively, and a series of cheerful system sounds struck his ears.

[Level has increased by 5!]

‘……Finally!’

He had surpassed Level 800.

According to his calculations, the 3rd seal should be released at this time.

Simultaneously, a terrifying vibration began to explode from the four Legion Commanders lined up behind him.

[Conditions have been met!]

[The 3rd seal of the Legion Commanders is released!]

[The vessel of the soul expands, and the true form slumbering in the abyss manifests!]

The appearances of the four Legion Commanders began to change.