Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

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Chapter 299: Den of Evil (4)

- Oh, another five thousand brothers...?

Orc Lord Bantubangtong's eyes wavered.

He had fled from Mara to this otherworld, only to encounter another demon.

However, at least this demon offered a plan to save his brothers.

It was a level of evil incomparable to Mara, who had taken over his homeland.

- 50%... Is it possible? Even we don't know what we might encounter as a result.

As Bantubangtong anxiously gazed at the gate, Yeongwoo gripped his hand firmly, as if to reassure him.

"Either way, we'll have to go to war with Mara on this planet. We're just dealing with enemies we'd have to face eventually, but earlier."

Yeongwoo's eyes were resolute.

This was because, if this business succeeded, the profit Yeongwoo stood to gain would be beyond imagination.

If they could open the portal and survive at 50% risk, Yeongwoo would earn 300 million Karma in cash.

'And also acquire an elite force of 15,000.'

But that wasn't all.

Given the high risk, it was clear that a powerful being would emerge, allowing Yeongwoo to add at least one more legendary kill to his record.

Moreover,

「Void Flesh」 - Void One-Handed Sword

【Absorbs other void flesh.】

【Phantom Dragon: 10% increased damage against living creatures.】

'I can strengthen the Void Flesh as well. High risk, very high return!'

Blinded by the enormous benefits, Yeongwoo looked at Bantubangtong... no, at Bang the Great Hero.

"Master Bang! Make your decision. With one pull of the lever, you can gain 15,000 brothers and 450 million Karma. Of course, 300 million of that goes to me!"

- …….

In the face of the demon's whisper, the Master Bang tightly closed his eyes.

Then,

Rumble!

He set the danger level of the dimensional gate to 50%.

- We follow the greater cause!

The number displayed in the center of the gate changed from 10,000 to 15,000, then shot even higher.

Flare!

[0/15,000]

Finally, the portal began to reopen.

Rumble!

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The metal gate installed in Darwin, Northern Australia, began to activate.

With the characteristic mechanical sound and a great vibration from within, the space inside the oval frame, just over 100 meters in diameter, started to ripple.

‘A portal!’

The city was being reconnected to the homeland of the Redfoot Orcs.

Crash!

Blue flames erupted from the edges of the frame, and the space inside was instantly filled with a blue substance.

Sizzle!

The sight was awe-inspiring, like a vertical sea surface, but given that it was 100 meters in diameter, it was also terrifying.

Only then did Yeongwoo start to think differently.

'Isn't this portal a bit too large for just rescuing their kin?'

Redfoot Orcs were typically 3 meters tall, with giant orcs reaching around 5 meters.

Even considering the possibility of bringing in large weapons from their home planet, a 100-meter-diameter gate seemed excessive.

‘30 meters would have been enough.’

So what was the purpose of this massive gate?

"……."

Yeongwoo's gaze naturally fell on the deeper sections of the lever.

The 75% and 100% danger zones.

Then,

Whoosh!

The rippling surface of the portal calmed, revealing a dark landscape beyond.

"…Where is that? A fortress?"

As Yeongwoo squinted to see the other side more clearly, the Master Bang opened his eyes wide.

- Aratubank!

"…Pardon?"

- The Tomb of the Fallen! The sacred ground of our brothers!

In other words, Aratubank, the place now visible through the portal, was a sort of memorial site. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

"So, you're saying your brothers sent a distress signal from a memorial site?"

For them to be driven into a memorial site—how desperate must their situation be?

While Yeongwoo stood there with his mouth agape, the Master Bang urgently gestured to the flag bearers.

- Lead the way!

The flag bearers with yellow banners quickly rushed to the portal, while archers tossed red pouches into the air and shot arrows at them.

Pop!

The Redfoot emblem appeared in the sky.

Then, within the dark portal, a light began to emerge.

It was Redfoot Orcs holding torches.

- …!

- ….

But for some reason, they neither shouted nor screamed, even stifling their breathing as they ran out.

"…What the heck?"

As Yeongwoo made a puzzled expression, the first brother finally crossed the portal and arrived on Earth.

Squelch!

[1/15,000]

The first brother to arrive on the alien planet Earth looked around frantically, not even having time to be startled.

Then,

- Bantubangtong!

Upon spotting Orc Lord Bantubangtong, he finally showed a relieved expression.

'What? Was the Master Bang quite famous on his home planet too?'

As Yeongwoo watched the reunion of the two orcs absentmindedly, the first escapee grabbed Bantubangtong's forearm.

- What's going on? Why did you call for an escape route from the sacred ground?

The Great Hero questioned him in a reproachful tone.

The escapee, sweating profusely, replied.

- The Devourer has found Aratubank.

- What?

At that moment, Yeongwoo saw it.

For the first time, the Great Hero's eyes filled with genuine fear.

"What… What is it? What is the Devourer?"

Yeongwoo asked, his curiosity piqued, and the Great Hero answered with a despairing expression.

- The Devourer consumes everything. Life, souls...

"Wait, why does that...?"

As Yeongwoo spoke, he suddenly realized something and fell silent.

'Right. Aratubank is a memorial site, isn't it?'

That meant it was a place where the souls of their nation's heroes and protectors resided.

But now, a monster that devoured souls had appeared in such a sacred place.

'A terrible catastrophe is unfolding.'

Having grasped the situation to some extent, Yeongwoo looked back at the portal, where a group of brothers holding torches was running toward the dark chamber in the distance.

They were even carrying a massive coffin together.

And behind them, thousands more brothers followed without even holding torches.

"What's that? Are they carrying a corpse?"

When Yeongwoo pointed to the large coffin the leading group was carrying, the Great Hero pulled his hand back down and said,

- You have a tendency to reveal your ignorance too easily, Little Foot. That is our ancient will, our holy relic .

"Holy relic ...?"

Indeed, it wasn't strange for a holy relic to exist in a place that honored the guardian spirits of the orcs.

But bringing that to Earth was another matter.

"Uh… Master Bang."

- Speak.

"What exactly is that relic your brothers are bringing? If it's something dangerous or if there's even a slight chance it could harm this planet…"

- Little Foot! Do not insult us!

"No, stop putting me in these situations. If it's a dangerous object or if it poses a threat to this planet, I have a responsibility to prevent its entry."

This was true.

The events outside the universe were unpredictable, especially those that went far beyond Earth's common sense.

Even though the brothers called it a "holy relic ," it wouldn’t be surprising if it turned out to be an ancient orc corpse that had rotted for a thousand years and become toxic.

The brothers called it a "holy relic," but it wouldn’t have been surprising if it were actually the thousand-year-old decayed corpse of an ancient orc, now toxic from rot. Of course, it could have been something far worse.

"I only authorized your stay on Earth, Master Bang, and your brothers’. I never agreed to smuggling otherworldly materials onto this planet."

- Small Foot! That is our holy relic, our spirit!

"No, Bang! For the last time, tell me exactly what that thing is!"

The moment Yeongwoo lost his patience and forcibly removed Bantubangtong's rank insignia.

— Rumble!

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A disturbing noise came from beyond the portal.

"...?"

- Ah.

Bantubangtong let out a small sound.

Yeongwoo instantly realized what it was.

"It's the Devourer, isn't it? That sound?"

When Yeongwoo pointed again toward the portal, Bantubangtong nodded.

- It must have caught the scent of the relic. The Devourer craves willpower and souls.

And sure enough…

— Swoosh!

A gust of wind blew through the stone chamber where the relic transport team was moving.

Without any torches, the rearguard of the thousands of orcs began to collapse quietly, one by one, from the very back.

Dozens of brothers were dying every second.

"What the…?"

Shocked, Yeongwoo looked at Bantubangtong, who spoke with a solemn expression.

- The Devourer has reached the vicinity of the chamber.

"Wait, you're saying it kills just by being nearby?"

- It also drains life force.

"That's insane."

Yeongwoo looked at the situation beyond the portal with disbelief.

Even as their brothers behind them fell lifeless, none of the orcs in the relic transport team or the rest of the line lit a torch or broke formation.

They must have known that making noise or creating large light sources would make them easy prey for the Devourer.

‘They’re orcs, all right. But still…’

The scene clearly demonstrated the blind obedience and unity unique to orcs, but even that wouldn’t last long.

— Rumble!

The same noise echoed once more, and a gigantic silhouette appeared in the distant darkness of the stone chamber, beyond the reach of the dim light.

-...Ah!

As soon as Bantubangtong saw it, a look of fear spread across his face.

"Is that the Devourer? Have you encountered it before?"

Bantubangtong could only nod, unable to speak.

His expression was one of pure despair.

Then he turned to look back at his brothers, assessing the numbers still on Earth. And then, unbelievably, he spoke.

- Perhaps... it might be wise to close the gate. For the sake of my brothers and this planet.

"What? What do you mean? What about our money?"

Hundreds of millions in revenue depended on saving the 15,000 brothers beyond the portal.

And more importantly, Yeongwoo had already invested 100 million won in activating the portal—some of it taxpayer money.

"Are you saying that relic is truly as dangerous as poison? A threat to this entire planet?"

As Yeongwoo, on the verge of grabbing Bantubangtong by the collar, demanded answers, the orc—likely the strongest on Earth—shook his head.

- Our holy relic embodies our long-standing will, the myth of the Red Foot itself.

"What?"

- But the Devourer has already detected the relic. By the time the relic reaches here, we won't be able to stop the Devourer from crossing over.

The idea was to abandon both the relic and the brothers to ensure everyone’s survival, by closing the gate before the relic could cross over.

For the Red Foot orcs, this would be an enormous sacrifice.

But while all this was happening, Korea’s absolute sorcerer, Jeong Yeongwoo, was fixated on a different issue.

"What did you say earlier? The relic is what exactly?"

- …?

"Didn't you say something about it being a myth? I’m sure you did."

- Y-Yes, I did. Of course, the relic is our…

"Is it a mythical artifact?"

Yeongwoo gripped Bantubangtong's shoulders with bloodshot eyes, and the orcs in the room began to gather.

Though Small Foot himself might be willing to endure the rudeness, they couldn’t tolerate continued disrespect toward their lord.

But they knew well that this insane human could erase them all with just a strange sequence of numbers.

- Calm down. More importantly, we need to close the gate…

Seeing the relic and the large silhouette behind it approaching closer, Bantubangtong hurried to grab the lever.

Pushing it upward would close the open portal.

But.

Thunk!

Someone, far faster than the strongest orc on Earth, had already covered the lever with his palm.

- Huh?

It was none other than Jeong Yeongwoo07.

"You haven’t answered yet. Is that relic an artifact?"

Cold sweat trickled down Bantubangtong's forehead.

- You could say that, but it’s...

Yeongwoo cut him off by waving his sword, Bastard.

Shing!

"Everyone freeze! Anyone who touches the lever dies on the spot."

- W-What?

The brutal act, unimaginable to orc minds, left Bantubangtong and all the brothers in the room with horrified expressions.

Yeongwoo tightened his grip on the sword as he glared at Bantubangtong.

"Master Bang!"

- Y-You... What are you planning now?

"Sell me that relic."

- What?

"The price? Free."

- …!

"Better to hand it over to me than let Mara take it. In return, I'll kill the Devourer here and avenge your brothers."

Master Bang was about to rush to the lever, prepared to face death, as he retorted.

- That's madness! Small Foot, the Devourer isn't something you can defeat just with strength. Don’t let your arrogance endanger this planet!

But there was one fact that the outsider, Master Bang, had overlooked.

And that was…

"Danger? Master Bang, don't be mistaken. On this planet, I am more dangerous than the Devourer."

With that, Yeongwoo swept his sword across the room, pointing to the thousands of brothers, and added a warm remark.

"Now, go and evacuate your brothers. Isn’t it 30,000 karma per living brother?"

-...Ah.

Master Bang finally realized.

There is no paradise where one flees to.

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