The Schudenberg King asked in a quivering voice. And the Dark Elf surrounded by 10 guardsmen nodded.
“That’s right.”
The King seemed to deflate like a balloon the moment he heard those words. At the same time, the dozens of nobles packed into the King’s Hall fell into a state of panic.
“Oh my god, our concerns were true after all…….”
“We thought the demons have been driven from the Sinius Principality and now……”
“What are we going to do now?”
“Everyone please stay quiet!”
A heroic voice was heard from among the nobles. The voice had come from Marquis Daltin. Daltin turned his eyes to the man standing next to the Dark Elf.
“Lord Ark, can we believe the Dark Elf?”
“Timosi is a mole I planted on the side of the Red Man shortly after the Demonic War started. Until her true identity was revealed, she managed to stay next to the Red Man and see all his plans.”
Ark surveyed the nobles gathered inside the King’s Hall and replied. This was the best thing Ark could do. Ark’s thoughts had been complicated after returning from Global Exos. The Red Man’s identity, Alan falling unconscious…… His work inside the game was gradually growing. Ark found it difficult to grasp how he should feel about the situation.
‘Let’s put it in order step by step.’
Ark whispered to Timosi as soon as he connected to the game. And he told Timosi who was hiding near Selebrid what Ho Myung-hwan told him. Global Exos promised not to legally punish them if Timosi handed over all their information. That information was the Red Man’s plan.
-The Red Man occupied the Sinius Principality because of the preparations required to revive the Dark Lord. After obtaining the heart filled with the magic of the devil, the Red Man’s plan is now in the final stages. That’s why they withdrew from the Sinius Principality.
-Then the preparations for resurrecting the Dark Lord have already ended?
-Yes. When the ceremony starts then the Dark Lord will be resurrected after a few days.
Ark felt his heart drop at the Timosi’s words. Originally the Dark Lord didn’t exist in New World! If Park Woo-seong tried to resurrect the Dark Lord then he would now exist. Park Woo-seong’s plan of resurrection the Dark Lord wasn’t a joke anymore. He must have a goal. And whatever his goal was, it wouldn’t have a good effect on New World. Park Woo-seong dared to take on Global Exos for that purpose.
‘There is no guarantee what will happen to New World once the Dark Lord resurrects!’
It was a tremendous threat to Ark. Lancel village, Silvana and the proceeds from the territories in the Sinius Principality…..all the time Ark had invested over the 2 years in his achievements in New World.
‘I have to do whatever it takes to stop him!’
However, Ark couldn’t stop the Red Man by himself. The Red Man was leading millions of demons. Furthermore, he was moving into the final stages of his plan so he would concentrate all his power and forces in one place. The only way to stop the Red Man was to gather the strength of all the NPCs and users in New World.
‘If the Red Man restores the Dark Lord then it will be too late. I have to quickly collect the users and NPCs to stop the Red Man. But the Avengers are the only ones that know about the Red Man’s plan. The users and NPCs are already confused because they thought they won the Demonic War already. Even if I try to raise a fuss, it will be useless.’
That’s why Ark called in Timosi. If he listened to Timosi’s testimony who was on the side of the demons then the King would have to believe. Ark insisted that Timosi was someone from his intelligence network to account for her chaotic status and to make her claim more convincing. But the method he chose seemed a bit too extreme.
“If all the preparations have been finished……The Dark Lord will really resurrect?”
Ark had hoped to take measures to prompt the nobles into action. However, the nobles were just caught by their fear and everything was a mess.
“Will making such noise stop the Dark Lord from resurrecting?”
Daltin frowned and yelled at the nobles. Then he turned back to Timosi and said.
“How many days remain until the Red Man resurrects the Dark Lord?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where is the place that the Red Man will start the resurrection?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you know anything?”
“Damn, how am I supposed to know? The Red Man was planning to betray us so of course he wouldn’t tell us all of his plans. I thought the resurrection was taking place at the dark temple until a while ago.
Timosi shouted angrily.
“The dark temple?”
“I’ve already checked that place. But they have already left.”
Ark replied to Daltin’s question. In fact, this was his biggest problem. After hearing Timosi’s information, Ark had instantly contacted Haverstein. In this current situation, finding the location of the Dark Lord’s resurrection was the top priority. The temple Timosi escaped from was located in the centre of a mountain range in the Sinius Principality. So he asked the expedition to quickly check the temple while returning from the Sinius Principality. But the search party Haverstein sent determined that the temple was empty. This meant the resurrection ceremony wasn’t taking place at the temple. Daltin muttered with a disappointed voice.
“So we don’t know the place where the Dark Lord is going to be resurrected?”
“There is a way to find out.”
“A way to find out? How?”
“……It will arrive soon.”
Ark murmured in a low voice. Then something happened outside the King’s Hall and 10 people poured in. They were wearing white hoods and accompanying a woman wearing white armour. They struggled against a barrier of guards and shouted.
“Ark-nim!”
“Your Majesty, tell the guards to stand down!”
“Yes, all guards withdraw!”
The King waved his hand and shouted, causing the guards to salute and withdraw. That’s right. This was the method Ark used to figure out the whereabouts of the Red Man. Lariette and the prophet clan. After Ark requested the temple search from Haverstein, he asked Lariette and the prophet clan to find information about the resurrection ritual in the History Crystal. The History Crystal contained all the information about New World so some remnants of the resurrection ritual might still remain from the Dark Century. Since the temple was empty, he had no choice but to rely on the History Crystal.
“Lariette-nim, did you check it?”
“The History Crystal doesn’t contain any information about the Dark Lord.”
Lariette answered while gasping.
“But we can guess where the resurrection will take place.”
“You can guess the location?”
“When we arrived at Shangri-La, the Truth Crystal was violently unstable.”
One of the prophet clan members came to the front and explained. The Truth Crystal revealed the will of the Creator. Using this, the prophets could see the past, present and future of New World. But when Lariette and the prophet clan arrived at Shangri-La, something rose in the Truth Crystal.
“It was an island emitting unimaginable amounts of dark energy. It is clearly a revelation that the Dark Lord will appear on this island in the foreseeable future.”
“Do you know where that island is?”
“I know. It is an island called Kwarian.”
“Kwarian?”
The bishop standing next to the King burst out after hearing the prophet’s answer. He staggered like he received an impact and muttered.
“Oh my god, I should’ve known earlier……”
“What do you mean?”
“Kwarian…..it is an island from the Bible. After gathering the power of the universe together, this holy island was the first place that the Creator stepped foot on in order to create this world…… In the Bible, this island was called the beginning and end of the world. If an existence that wanted to destroy the world was revived……then the only possible location is Kwarian.”
“Your Majesty!”
Daltin kneeled down and shouted. The King’s Hall that was wrapped in silence suddenly seemed to awaken. Dozens of nobles kneeled down simultaneously and repeated.
“Your Majesty!”
It was clear what their behaviour meant. The King looked at the nobles and smacked the arm of the throne with his fist before getting up.
“Listen. Based on the reports just now, it is clear that the continent is on the brink of ruin. This doesn’t just apply to the residents of the Schudenberg Kingdom. This is an existence which threatens the whole world. I proclaim as the Schudenberg King. Summon all warriors who have stepped foot on this land! Also request for the total mobilization of warriors from the Bristania Kingdom!”
“As you will!”
The shout echoed like a bomb through the King’s Hall. At the same time, there was the beating of drums and the quest renewed.