Level up Inquisitor

Level Up Heretic Judge – Episode 146 (146/227)

Episode 146: The Tyrant of the Lecture Hall (2)

[A World Event has occurred!]

“…….”

The world event initiated by the divine rank Bahamut appeared before everyone.

The targeted locations were nine outposts situated at the far western edge of the continent.

Adjacent to the remote desert region beyond the continental borders, it was also a border area between the two Great Guilds, Apollo and Cerberus.

‘Extreme West Zone.’

Nesha recalled the name after checking the map for the location.

It was a collective term for over thirty medium and small outposts located at the westernmost edge.

There was nothing particularly special nearby, and its geographical position wasn’t favorable due to difficult access.

Because of this, even the Top 12 Guilds or the Six Great Guilds that already had their bases established elsewhere didn’t bother extending their reach here despite the costs involved.

However, Warode’s fiefdom symbolized immense wealth and power, and many large guilds without fiefdoms fiercely battled to claim them.

In the end, only two guilds managed to repel all others and secure their fiefdoms.

Blackburn and Blood Alliance Guilds.

After fierce competition, they acquired multiple territories and divided the Extreme West Zone evenly between them.

‘This is definitely… a perfect target for a world event.’

Whether judged by the number of mobilized believers or the number of targeted outposts…

This event was on a larger scale than when the Light Church moved.

But compared to dealing with the Top 12 Guilds, these opponents were easier.

Unlike Lu who moved the church to punish a lord in league with demons, Bahamut didn’t bother with such pretenses.

With more options available, Bahamut cleverly targeted the weaker factions’ territories.

‘Moreover, all the targeted places belong solely to Blackburn. They won’t be able to hold out.’

All the designated outposts in this world quest belonged exclusively to Blackburn Guild.

The adjacent territories of Blood Alliance Guild were completely excluded.

Bahamut cunningly avoided having to deal with both guilds simultaneously.

Besides, from the Water Church’s perspective, this was an excellent opportunity to exploit the already strained relationship between the two guilds.

Crunch!

Nesha threw the severed head of a man she’d been holding in her left hand onto the floor.

The severed head rolled across the floor and stopped after bumping into a cold corpse missing its head.

Its original torso.

‘To counter this move, fighting alone won’t cut it.’

Nesha captured a priest from the Water Church and extracted information.

From this harvest, she sensed something suspicious and felt the need to dig deeper.

[‘The Contemplator in Darkness’ silently watches you.]

A message from the divine rank observing Nesha flickered past.

* * *

The Hermit’s Gateway.

One of the small minor outposts located in Warode’s Extreme West Zone.

Not originally a high-demand location due to its position along the path to the Wanderer’s Village, it was now under heavy attack by enemy forces.

BOOOOM!

The forest shook continuously as spells rained down from both sides.

“Hold them back at all costs!”

“We need to seize the advantage here!”

Members of Blackburn Guild shouted as they clashed with Bahamut’s believers.

Since the outpost’s defenses were minimal anyway, they preemptively moved out into the forest to intercept the attackers before any facilities inside could be damaged.

But the situation for the guild wasn’t good.

Though barely holding on, they were being pushed back by the overwhelming numbers of the Water Church’s gathered believers.

Considering how recently the battle had started, the situation was rather bleak.

“Damn it, we’re getting overwhelmed by sheer numbers here too.”

An officer of Blackburn gritted his teeth at the gradually worsening situation.

Including him, around eighty members of Blackburn Guild were tasked with defending the gateway.

On the other side, nearly 130 enemies had split off from the main force to secure the gateway.

If the other battlefields were faring better, it might have been different, but the situation was the same everywhere else.

Being pushed back overall was inevitable.

Earth Church, Fire Church, and Water Church…

These three churches were originally the three major churches of Warode.

The Light Church merely disrupted the third place ranking by rising rapidly.

Now, while Water Church may be fourth in size, it’s not because they’ve shrunk—it’s just that the Light Church has grown explosively.

The vast number of Bahamut’s believers were gathered from more than two regions, including NPCs as well as players.

‘Moreover, the bonus from divine favor makes a bigger difference than expected.’

In battles between factions, where large numbers inevitably clash, long-term fights naturally ensue.

And the Water Church had quite advantageous traits for such prolonged battles.

They received bonuses to healing and regeneration based on their divine favor.

As long as divine favor management wasn’t a complete mess, all believers were receiving those bonuses, making them extremely durable in sustained combat.

In chaotic large-scale wars like these, recovery capabilities are a significant advantage.

The healing potions of the Water Church were famously impossible to match, and the longer the fight dragged on, the more advantageous their position became.

“Cough…!”

“Damn!”

Around thirty members of Blackburn Guild assigned to defend the gateway had already fallen.

Just as the commanding officer was about to issue a retreat order due to the hopeless situation…

BOOOOOM!

An unexpected massive magic swept through the middle of the battlefield.

The flame-based attack magic ‘Seed of Ruin’ engulfed part of the forest.

There shouldn’t have been anyone among the Blackburn Guild members assigned to defend this gateway who knew such magic.

KRAAAK!

“AAAAHHH!”

Two men suddenly entered the battlefield and swept through Bahamut’s believers.

With concise movements and agile actions, their spear and sword slashed through, leaving trails of blood.

Startled by the sudden appearance of these strangers, the commanding officer looked at them.

Eil, the top-named player of the Light Church.

And Roden, the former high-ranker from Armenia.

The two famous players quickly turned the tide, and from the other side, another massive spell came flying.

BOOOOOM!

The ‘Meteor Shower’ falling from the sky.

The meteor precisely struck its mark, exploding and sweeping away all the Bahamut believers unable to escape its range.

A unique-grade massive attack magic.

Given the tremendous casting time required, the damage dealt upon hitting was unsurprisingly devastating.

“What the hell…”

The officer stood frozen in place.

The absurd situation of continuous massive spells being cast, which would be tough even to perform once.

What’s more, she couldn’t even identify the face of this mysterious player who remained unknown.

“Shit! Focus on that mage!”

The confused believers regained their senses from the sudden intervention.

A Bahamut assassin used a skill to conceal themselves and rushed toward where Ria stood.

No matter how skilled, a mage in the rear is bound to be vulnerable in close combat.

They had to stop this bombardment somehow.

But even that proved impossible.

SWOOSH!

CRACK!

The assassin was sent flying by Alisa’s staff.

Realizing the situation, Blackburn Guild members quickly approached and finished him off.

“Protect this mage!”

“Hold on, behind us…!”

POW!

Another thief using stealth skills charged from behind.

But he too was sent sprawling after getting hit in the jaw by Alisa.

From the Water Church side, many believers rushed forward trying to take down Ria,

but the healer beside her, Alisa, easily handled the attackers while protecting her.

“I can’t believe this…”

A mere four-player party reinforcement.

But their skills were undeniably astonishing.

Including Eil, the team’s accumulated specs built up until now weren’t inferior to other players who started earlier.

Of course, compared to near-top-tier or actual top-tier players, they still had a ways to go.

But considering items and skills, their average strength wouldn’t fall behind even compared to members of large guilds.

Above all, their ‘skills’ spoke for themselves.

SCHLICK!

Roden spun his spear after simultaneously slashing the necks of two charging warriors.

“Haha, must be the side road, so no tough opponents yet. About forty left now.”

“Then…”

KRAAAK!

Eil cleanly sliced through the martial artist approaching from behind.

“Let’s finish this quickly.”

* * *

The scattered bodies of believers littered the forest.

The intense battle that had raged here was swiftly concluded after the group’s intervention.

‘That we could come together was pure luck.’

While casually chatting with his party members, Eil thought.

Originally, upon witnessing the world event, he intended to head solo to the Extreme West Zone.

But coincidentally, his party members had just finished an instance dungeon and joined him willingly, coming to the battlefield to help.

In cases where world events like this occur, even users unrelated to the faction or opposing force can join the opposing side.

Depending on their performance, substantial rewards were given, allowing them to obtain greater rewards than normal quests.

Of course, that’s assuming they can successfully block the event.

‘But…’

Despite winning the battle, Eil’s expression didn’t look particularly pleased.

Since arriving here, he’d gotten a clear view of the strength of the believers mobilized by Bahamut.

NPCs from the Water Church were also partially mobilized, gathering an overwhelmingly large number of believers.

Although they had performed admirably and displayed dominance during the recent battle,

this was merely a small-scale battlefield.

This Hermit’s Gateway served only as a passage, nowhere near comparable to Nightmare’s Calpea Gateway he’d seen before—a very tiny outpost.

It wasn’t a proper concentration of troops; they merely blocked one of many paths.

This world event was on a scale too grand for Blackburn Guild to handle, with the entire front line being pushed back.

Even with Eil and his party joining in, it wouldn’t make much of a difference.

‘Simply participating in the battlefield won’t turn the situation around. To solve this… perhaps taking a calculated risk is the only option.’

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