The Insect King's characteristics are simple.
Countless monsters and countless poisons.
He constantly pressures the Hero Party members with an unfathomable number of insects accumulated over decades or centuries.
More abilities get added later... but the specs of this first of the Four Heavenly Kings were roughly like this.
Especially strong in wars of attrition—the longer the battle drags on, the closer you get to defeat.
Unlike the slow conquest of Chunghoe Castle, the strategy against the Insect King was very straightforward.
A quick decisive battle.
Inflict maximum damage before monsters gather in the Audience Chamber.
"Let's go."
So when the Insect King's voice echoed through the hall, I hardened my expression and gave orders to my team members.
From now on, it's a race against time. We need to land at least one solid hit before the other insects gather.
Fortunately, perhaps because we had planned ahead, they started following me without question.
Good. The plan is established.
Now it's time to check my specs.
While running, I decided to quickly examine my status.
*Status Window.*
As I thought this, a blue window flickered before my eyes.
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Name: Luke
Lv: 77
[Skills]
Mana Control Lv.4, Mana Blade Lv.6, Bright Style Swordsmanship Lv.5, Combat Focus Lv.4, Multicasting Lv3, Pain Resistance Lv7, Poison Resistance Lv 9, Blood Flow Acceleration Lv2, Pain Memory Lv1, Blood Power Conversion Lv1, Blood Energy Absorption Lv3, Fireball Lv5, ······
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This time I only looked at skills that had recently leveled up, skipping the MAX skills that wouldn't change.
There were quite a few notable changes. My level had increased by 3 compared to before, and many skills had been added or improved.
Sword-related skills like Mana Blade and Bright Style Swordsmanship.
Mental buff skills like Multicasting and Combat Focus.
And the level increase in Mana Control, led by Fireball.
Many skills had leveled up, but the most important one was this:
Poison Resistance.
My "Poison Resistance," which had been stuck at Lv3 before entering Chunghoe Castle, had risen all the way to Lv9.
Now most poisons would neutralize themselves after just a few breaths.
This should be enough. At minimum, I've reached specs that allow me to approach the Insect King.
I turned my head to check my party members' levels.
<74>
<74>
<76>
<76>
These were the levels of Yulice, Lily, Adel, and Camilla respectively.
Everyone had gained a level or two compared to last time.
Surprisingly, the Saintess had shown the most remarkable growth.
Perhaps it was because she constantly burned monsters with her holy power and cast Purification on us at the end of each day. Her level had increased by a full 3.
Considering her crucial role in defeating the Insect King, this was excellent news.
After checking everyone's specs, I nodded with satisfaction.
*I can do this.*
No matter how much the difficulty has increased, I'll take on the challenge.
The possibility is there.
['Combat Focus' has been activated!]
['Multicasting' has been activated!]
['Mana Blade' has been activated!]
['Blood Flow Acceleration' has been activated!]
And so I entered combat.
*
Maybe it was because our party members' specs had greatly improved.
Or perhaps because we'd steadily eliminated bugs and monsters on our way here. Or maybe because we were detected when we were already quite deep inside Chunghoe Castle.
"Huff, hah..."
"Haa, haa..."
We were able to reach the Insect King's Audience Chamber very quickly.
It took only about 30 minutes of running to reach the king's quarters.
No one dropped out.
Some were tired and nauseous, but that was all.
It wouldn't affect our ability to fight.
"Impressive."
As we caught our breath, a voice came from ahead.
A chilling voice like metal being scraped.
Looking up, I saw the Insect King applauding us.
Clap, clap, clap.
The sound of applause echoed through the silent Audience Chamber.
"To penetrate my castle without a single dropout—remarkable. I see now that the reduced number of insects over the past two months was all your doing. I suppose that's what makes you worthy of being called the Hero Party."
You'd think he'd be angry after having his castle infiltrated for two months.
But he remained consistently relaxed, as if observing something interesting.
Of course, that was to be expected. That crazy battle maniac gets excited when facing formidable opponents.
"Saintess, the blessing."
I decided to give him what he wanted.
With buffs covering my entire body, I urged the Saintess to cast her blessing on us.
The Saintess put her hands together and began blessing the party members.
A warm light resembling the Sun God enveloped us.
[Your strength temporarily increases due to the blessing!]
[Your agility temporarily increases due to the blessing!]
"Indeed, what need is there for conversation when you've come this far? Come at me. I am always ready."
"We'll go with the plan as discussed. Saintess, maintain steady purification and buffs; Lily, eliminate the incoming poisonous insects; Adel and Camilla, keep the elite monsters in check."
And I would handle the Insect King.
The other party members would attack the Insect King when they had time, but I would be the main one dealing with him.
After finishing my final explanation, I was about to charge at the Insect King.
Tap.
If only the Saintess hadn't stopped me.
"Huh?"
Turning my head with a puzzled look, I saw the Saintess looking at me with concern.
Things had been a bit awkward between us since the last incident, but enough time had passed that we could talk to each other fairly well now.
Though I still couldn't read her true feelings.
"Um..."
After a moment's pause, she spoke.
"Please don't absorb the Insect King's blood. There might be poison in it..."
"Hmm?"
I tilted my head in confusion.
"Can't you purify most poisons anyway?"
"Y-yes, but you never know..."
The Saintess looked at me with pleading eyes. There was such sincerity in that desperation that I couldn't help but nod.
"Alright."
I doubt he'd already be using the Blood Poison that doesn't appear until the second of the Four Heavenly Kings.
*Well, there's no harm in being careful.*
With that, I began charging at him again.
Thud!
As I stomped the ground, his body rapidly approached. I checked his level one last time.
<80>
A being whose level started with a different digit than ours.
He was 3 levels higher than me, the highest-leveled member of our party, and a full 2 levels higher than Valkan had been in the original game.
It was a sight that would make anyone curse, but still.
*This is manageable.*
I made my assessment. After all, our growth rate wasn't bad either.
Finally reaching close quarters with him, I swung my sword.
Swoosh!
My holy sword, coated with various spells and blessings, slashed fiercely toward him.
"Oops."
Slash!
Dark red blood scattered into the air as droplets.
My attack only managed to take a small piece of his forearm.
Even with buffs stacked all over my body, I couldn't deliver a fatal blow in one hit.
Tsk, even if his main body is supposed to be weak, his physical abilities are still formidable.
That means I have even less time to waste.
I swung my holy sword at him with all my might.
"This Hero is quite impatient. Do calm down a bit."
That's when it happened.
The Insect King cast a spell. A purple magic circle appeared on the floor, and insect-type monsters began pouring out.
In just a few seconds, dozens of creatures at least twice my size had appeared.
"First, play with my children for a while."
I ignored the monsters.
As I said before, they weren't my responsibility.
"Over here!"
Bang! Babang! Bang!
With Camilla's shout, dozens of arrows flew toward the monsters. Adel's arrows killed several monsters and successfully drew their attention.
I raised my sword again and said:
"No, you're playing with me."
"Haha, excellent! That's right, you have a team!"
He laughed heartily, as if amused. That also meant he still had plenty of leeway.
Then he made his next move.
Suddenly, a gourd attached to his waist opened, and hundreds of wasps began pouring out.
One of the Insect King's main items.
The Insect Gourd.
Enchanted with spatial magic, his gourd contained tens of thousands of sleeping pests and poisonous insects ready for immediate use.
Seeing this, I immediately opened my right palm.
['Combat Focus' accelerates your thinking!]
['Mana Control' amplifies your magical efficiency!]
I gathered and condensed magical power.
Some of the mana circulating in my body was drawn toward my palm.
In this state, I began visualizing a spell.
What came to mind was fire.
I wanted a huge, massive fire that could send those annoying swarms of bees straight to the afterlife in one go.
['Fireball' has been activated!]
Immediately after, a fireball was launched.
A flame easily the size of my body charged toward the wasp swarm, emitting a fierce light.
Kwang!
The wasps were completely engulfed by the massive flame.
Seeing this, Valkan smiled brightly.
"Magic! Indeed, how troublesome! Good, entertain me more!"
"You damn bastard. Let's see how long you can keep smiling."
I picked up my sword again.
Five minutes had already passed since the battle began.
Time was still on his side.