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Chapter 498: Stragglers (1)

“Th-Then have all the gods of Olympus been annihilated?” Uriel asked.

“No, but…”

Oh Kang-Woo explained the current state of Olympus.

“This is… the worst.”

Uriel’s expression hardened. It was despairing to hear that most of the gods of Olympus could not participate in the war against Bael and his army, which was only a month away.

Kang-Woo mentioned, “I’m sure Bael attacked them with this in mind.”

“Haaa…” Uriel shook his head in disbelief. “Just how strong is Bael… to be able to decimate Olympus by himself?”

He knew how powerful those with Deific Essence were since Michael was one of such beings. He could hardly believe that a group of such beings were one-sidedly beaten by one demon.

“He’s strong. Overwhelmingly so,” answered Kang-Woo concisely.

He was not exaggerating to keep them on their toes; Bael was so powerful that not even Kang-Woo was sure whether or not he would be able to defeat him. Bael might even be on the same level as the Titans, the creator of worlds.

Silence fell. Even Gabriel, the always playful angel, was serious after hearing about the loss at Olympus.

“It might be weird for me to say this since I was the bearer of the bad news, but relax.” Kang-Woo smiled faintly and continued, “Whatever the case may be, this isn’t a battle we can avoid. We should be raising our chances of victory instead of trembling in fear.”

It was easier said than done. Imagine if a dump truck were to suddenly veer off its lane and charge right at you; how many of us would be able to stay calm and think to roll to the side? Nine out of ten people would fall into panic mode and get hit by the truck without being able to react.

‘And those nine out of ten people can’t become an archangel.’

The archangels did not betray Kang-Woo’s expectations.

“You’re right.”

“Nothing will change even if we stay in fear.”

Uriel and Michael nodded in seriousness. They were unwavering to the point that it was boring.

‘They don’t disappoint.’

It would have been pointless to ask for their assistance if they were any other way.

Kang-Woo continued, “Let’s head to the Hall of Protection first. I will give you the details on the defense line there.”

“Very well.” Michael nodded. As he was following behind Kang-Woo, he was reminded of something and then asked, “Oh right. Come to think of it, why did you ask us not to bring the other angels?”

“Oh, I was curious about that as well. Why did you ask only for us three?” asked Uriel with his head tilted in wonder.

Michael approached Kang-Woo and said, “If you’re worried about the state of Sant’Angelo, it has been more or less resto—”

“No, that’s not why.” Kang-Woo shook his head.

When he asked Iris to contact Michael to ask for assistance, he also told Iris to tell Michael not to bring other angels aside from Uriel and Gabriel.

“Setting up the defense line itself is going to be much later. I just thought there was no need to bring so many so soon.”

Michael tilted his head in confusion, unable to understand the logic. He asked, “Shouldn’t it be prepared as soon as possible since the war is only a month away?”

“We’re indeed short on time, but not getting caught is more important.”

Bael would be attacking Seoul in one month, but Kang-Woo needed to maintain the façade that he had no idea about the day of the Apocalypse for their plan of attack to work.

‘That would make the ambush meaningless.’

Kang-Woo had temporarily prevented Bael from being able to observe them through the System, but that was not good enough for him to rest easy.

‘We have to set up a defense line throughout Seoul.’

It was far too wide of a perimeter to be lying in ambush; stealth was the most crucial part of this plan, which required the defense line to be prepared as thoroughly and quickly as possible. Hence, it needed to be set up as late as possible.

“It seems I did not think it through enough.” Michael nodded as he stroked his chin, having fully understood Kang-Woo’s intentions. “But wouldn’t it be discovered regardless as soon as we set up the defense line?”

Kang-Woo shrugged and answered, “I’ve already thought of a countermeasure for that.”

However, his countermeasure was not as perfect as he was letting it out to be.

‘But…’ Kang-Woo lightly closed and opened his fists. ‘How hard can it be to keep a brat’s eyes covered?’

He was certain that he was unmatched at least in his ability to hide things.

“This won’t be easy.” Michael narrowed his eyes and nodded.

“But it has to be done.”

“As expected of the God of Splendor.” Michael laughed.

Kang-Woo smiled back and turned around. “Right, let’s go to the Hall of Protection. Layla will brief you on the details once you arrive.”

“Hm? Wh-What about you, Kang-Woo?”

“I have something to do, so I can’t stay.”

One month was barely enough time to prepare a barrier and a defense line around Seoul, all while staying out of Bael’s sight. There was no time to waste catching up with old friends.

“Oh.” Uriel expressed dejection.

“Urghh…” Iris also looked dejected, biting her lip after finding out that she wouldn’t be able to spend time with Kang-Woo after being apart for so long.

“Wow, the great God of Splendor sure is popular.” Gabriel wrapped her arm around Kang-Woo’s shoulders with a smile. She brought her mouth close to Kang-Woo’s ear, her breath reeking of alcohol. “Why don’t you work your charm that got you so popular on little old me as well?”

“Hahaha.”

‘What’s wrong with you, crazy lady?’

“I already have a Darling.”

‘Keep that up, and you’ll die.’

“Hmm. You’re getting me even more fired up.”

‘You might catch fire for real at this rate.’

“Alright, please come this way.”

Kang-Woo took Gabriel’s arm off of his shoulders and turned.

“Tsk, you’re no fun.” Gabriel clicked her tongue and stepped away from Kang-Woo.

Kang-Woo looked back at her and smiled.

‘You don’t know this, but I just saved your life.’

“Before that, I have something to tell you,” Michael remarked as Kang-Woo was about to get moving as he shook his head.

“Oh… that? Is there even a need to tell him when it’s almost over?” asked Uriel apathetically as he interlocked his finger behind his head, knowing exactly what Michael was about to tell Kang-Woo.

“We should share every little detail in dire situations like this.”

“What is it?” Kang-Woo asked as he turned to Michael, tilting his head.

“A group of demons was discovered in Aernor not long ago.”

“A group of demons?”

“Yes. There were about… a hundred of them.”

“That’s not that many… or I guess it could be considered a lot. Did they cause any issues?”

“Not much. After all…” Michael narrowed his eyes and continued, “They were stragglers.”

“Stragglers?”

“Yes. I do not know exactly why, but the demons were running away while covered in wounds.”

“From who?”

“That we don’t know, but I would assume there was some sort of power struggle among the demons.”

Kang-Woo suddenly recalled what Eilles had said.

- The majority of Lord Bael’s army is made up of the demons of the Ninth Hell.

In other words, Bael had taken control of the Ninth Hell after Kang-Woo left.

‘And if there was a power struggle among the demons of the Ninth Hell…’

Kang-Woo thought about his loyal subordinates who had been with him during the war against the seven princes of Hell and when he earned the right to rule over Hell.

‘It can’t be.’

A thought that he didn’t even want to imagine crossed his mind. He suspected as soon as he was told that Bael had gathered an army of demons from the Ninth Hell that there would be a conflict between his former army and Bael’s army. He had already expected and prepared himself for it.

‘But…’

If the number of stragglers only amounted to a hundred, it meant one thing that Kang-Woo had not expected to happen.

“...”

Kang-Woo’s expression froze, chilling bloodlust filling his eyes.

‘I’m sure it’s not.’

He erased the negative thoughts, denying them as nonsense.

‘I’m sure they’re just some random straggler demons.’

A part of his mind was sure that his negative thought was true despite his best efforts to deny it.

Kang-Woo asked quietly, “Was there… a particular demon among them whose name you know or if any of their characteristics stood out to you?”

Michael nodded. “Oh, yes. I believe the leader of the stragglers was named…” He lightly tapped on his chin as he combed through his memories. “Doomguard.”

Kang-Woo closed his eyes. The possibility he had tried so hard to deny had become a fact.

‘Doomguard.’

He was the Guardian of Ruin, as well as the demon who commanded the third battalion of Kang-Woo’s Demon King army.

“Could you… tell me where those stragglers are headed?” Kang-Woo asked.

“Oh, of course. They’re heading southeast of Aernor, but… we are close to catching up to them. If you would like to interrogate them, I would recommend you wait a litt—”

“No,” Kang-Woo interjected, his eyes glinting fiercely. “I will go personally.”

“You, Kang-Woo…?”

“Yes. There is a high chance they are associated with the Demon of Prophecy. I would like to interrogate them myself.”

“I see. In that case, I will have the pursuit squad accompany y—”

“No, no, it’s alright. You can just tell me where they are and I will resolve this issue myself.”

Kang-Woo waved his hand and smiled brightly, but there was something slightly off about his smile.