Game of Divine Thrones

Chapter 153: Dragonlord Ivanov 4

'He sounds so confident.'

Ivanov never thought there would be someone who could clear the stage faster than him.

There was no way he wouldn’t be surprised, as he had to sacrifice his own allies to somehow reach this stage.

When Ivanov tried to ask something, a series of system messages popped up before his eyes.

[This stage is a tournament match.]

[During tournament rounds, you will be matched against opponents of similar strength as you, taking into account your stats and equipment quality.]

[If you reap your opponent's life within the time limit, the game will end and you will be given a 5 minute break.]

[After the break, a new match will begin. This will continue until nobody is left to fight you.]

[If the time runs out before the end of the match, the participants will be forced back to the previous stage.]

[Current number of tournament participants in Zone A: 128]

The fact that 128 players were participating meant that he had to win at most seven battles before he could move on to the next stage.

The reason why it was ‘at most 7 battles’ was because the battles among other participants would not always end up with a victor.

During kill or be killed situations, they wouldn’t hold back against each other, so even if one person killed his opponent, the victor could die from his deep wounds.

When a red sign written [30:00] appeared in the air, Ivanov pulled out his greatsword.

“I don't know who you are or what you do, but you will have to die here. I still have so many things to deal with.”

“Lord Ivanov, it’s him. He’s the owner of the demonic energy I felt at the entrance to the ruins.”

“Demonic energy…?”

Ivanov frowned at Carnelian's words.

‘But he looks like a normal human being...’

Since he was wearing an adventurer’s watch, it was highly likely that he was from a neighbouring country to Ivanov’s motherland Russia.

However, the demonic power he emitted showed that the man had made a contract with demons.

He was probably a spy or an assassin sent by a demon king from another faction.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have hidden himself when Ivanov and Carnelian first arrived in this ruin.

Having understood the situation, Ivanov asked Woohyuk.

“Have you been waiting until now to kill me secretly?”

"Indeed. If I were to fight you outside, some annoying pests would interfere.”

“Who ordered you to do this?”

“I'm not really under anyone’s orders.”

“What? Does that mean that you are as powerful as a demon king?”

“That's difficult to answer. For now, let’s say that I’m at least that strong.”

‘At least that strong?’

Ivanov looked at him with ridicule.

His opponent was saying that he could be stronger than a demon king.

However, no matter how much he observed, Ivanov did not recognize him as one of the 72 Demon Kings.

The 72 Demon Kings were clearly different from ordinary humans in appearance.

“Anyway, you will die here. Don’t forget that I have her to support me.”

Ivanov glanced at Carnelian.

She was treated as a summoned familiar by the system, so she was able to participate in the 1-v-1 tournament matches with Ivanov, her owner.

“You’re not the only one who has someone to help.”

Woohyuk didn't bring Lia with him for obvious reasons.

Instead, he had other people who could do the troublesome work on his behalf.

When Woohyuk opened Lemegeton, Demon King Amii jumped out of it and swung her flame whip.

“Your orders, Lord Asura?”

After severe sessions of corporal punishment(actually, more like torture...), Amii had become obedient.

Woohyuk nodded and lifted Grandia and pointed the tip of the blade towards the man on the other side.

“Deal with him. However, the red dragon next to him must be captured without any injury.”

“It’s been a while since I last saw a dragon. I understand."

Amii walked forward with a confident expression.

She was immune to fire due to her trait in the first place.

Even if the red dragon attacked her from the sidelines, she wouldn’t have to worry at all.

“Asura? Amii? Don’t tell me...”

Ivanov was shocked and his gaze alternated between Woohyuk and Amii.

He had heard all the rumors about the Rhine and Dane kingdoms through his information network of demons.

'I never expected this to happen.'

Who would’ve thought that Asura would visit his country…?

Moreover, he had come in order to take Ivanov’s life...!

He urgently ordered Carnelian.

“Quickly check our enemies’ power with the analysis magic, Carnelian.”

“Yes, Lord Ivanov.”

Carnelian blinked her red eyes and stared at Amii and Woohyuk.

Then, a status window popped up, listing information about the two of them.

[Amii, the 58th Rank Demon King]

-Class: Demon Lord (Viscountess)

-Traits: Leadership (30,000), Ignis (exclusive weapon, can summon the Hound of the Baskervilles, and can inflict continuous flame damage on enclosed targets), Eternal Hell (Immune to flame attacks. Can give shape to flames and make them explode) Mobilization (Can open abyssal gates and summon the monsters from his territory), Demon King’s Dignity (Immune against B-grade or lower weapons, as well as low or intermediate magic. Increases immunity to debuffs by 35%), Master/Slave Contract (As a demon king, can accept vassals)

-Stats

Strength 411

Vitality 402

Agility 428

Intelligence 304

Spirit 396

[Urkheim]

-Occupation: Orc Warrior

-Title: Son of the Chief (Strength +15, experience gain +15%), Human Hunter (Absorbs 1-3% of the stats of humans killed personally), Male Orc who Passed his Coming-of-Age Ceremony (Additional violent tendencies, Agility +15% at night)

-Stats

Strength: 122

Vitality: 117

Agility: 103

Intelligence: 41

Spirit: 85

-Other

Affinity +25% with other sub-races.

'Wha, what the?!'

Carnelian's jaw dropped and she could not hide her surprise after reading Woohyuk’s status.

She hadn’t noticed that he had deliberately changed his status with the Moonshadow ring.

As Carnelian hesitated, Ivanov became angry and pushed her forward.

“If I die, you won’t survive either. Do you think they will spare the life of the last dragon in the world?”

A Dragon Heart would grant powerful strength to those who eat it.

A typical example was Sieg, who had defeated the evil dragon Fafnir and became a dragon-slayer.

He gained abilities such as dragon armor (cannot be damaged by B-class or lower weapons, along with low or intermediate magic), Indomitable Fighting Spirit (Becomes immortal for 10 minutes after activation), and his stats also increased significantly.

Demons would never leave a dragon alive, and the heart was only part of the reasons why they would try to kill it.

If Carnelian were caught by the 72 Demon Kings or the Witches of the Seven Deadly Sins, she would definitely suffer.

The demon kings sealed by Woohyuk were exceptions to this rule, but Carnelian wasn’t aware of that yet.

“My, my fire magic won’t work on that woman! And she can summon familiars with that whip!”

“Tsk, then we’ll fight on the defense. I know! From now on, you will only pay attention to my safety.”

Ivanov knew from Woohyuk’s earlier words that he was trying to capture Carnelian.

When he injected magic power into the accessories he was wearing, new system messages appeared.

[Ring of Harmony (A-grade) has been activated.]

[Will reduce the effect of magic from one property by 35% for 10 minutes. The available properties are Water, Wind, Earth and Fire.]

[The Guardian's Necklace (A-grade) has been activated.]

[Generates an intangible shield for 10 minutes. Its strength is proportional to your magic power.]

[Every time the shield absorbs a shock, magic power is depleted. Once all the magic power is used, the shield will naturally dissipate even before the 10 minutes time limit.]

[Undine's Earring (B-grade) have been activated.]

[For 5 minutes, the user’s equipment will be strengthened and given the water property. Moreover, the spells: Ice Arrow, Ice Strike, and Frozen Shield can be cast by the user.]

Unlike Woohyuk, the system messages were directly notifying Ivanov through his adventurer's watch.

Woohyuk had mastered the use of items and quest exploration during his past 40 years, while Ivanov had not.

When Amii saw him busily checking his messages, she snorted.

“You don’t really act like the master of a red dragon. Look at you, activating all your items because you’re terrified by us.”

"Shut up! I don’t want to hear that from a loser who was sealed in Lemegeton and lost her territory in the demon world!

“I did not lose my territory. I can go back anytime I want if Lord Asura permits me.”

The territories of the three sealed demon kings were now completely sealed and isolated within the demon realm. They were surrounded by transparent barriers which made it impossible for other demon kings to invade.

Moreover, no new ruler was elected within the sealed territories, because the positions and ranks of the three sealed demon kings were now fixed and unchangeable.

Lemegeton was a magic book powerful enough that it could change the system.

“You said you were the 58th? You must be strong since you’re a Demon King, but I’m not such a pushover myself. Prepare to be defeated again.”

Ivanov still had a hidden trump card.

A mysterious item he had received from Astaroth, the 29th ranked demon king.

Ivanov thought it would be useful to defeat Amii using it, since she was a low-ranking demon king.

When Ivanov took out a purple pill from his pocket.

Woohyuk immediately frowned.

[Clipport's Fruit].

Its side effects were fatal to those who used it, but the buff effects were still remarkable.

Rosenkreuz had defeated Saint Boetius and overwhelmed the other four wisemen just by taking that pill.

Amii quickly swung Ignis as if she were also aware of the dangers of the pill.

“Shred that man to pieces!”

Rumble!

A fiery dog without a proper physical presence appeared from Ignis and rushed to Ivanov.

[The Hound of the Baskervilles].

It was the hunting dog of Baskerville, one of the ancient demons, so it was definitely skilled in battle.

Swoosh!

Dozens of Ice Arrows flew towards the flaming hound.

Ivanov had used Ice magic using the Undine’s Earrings.

However, the flames of hell were a few stages higher in power than the elemental magic.

Rumble.

The Ice Arrows all melted before they even reached the hound.

Ivanov grinded his teeth. He steeled himself and swallowed the Clipport's Fruit.

His hesitations due to the potential side effects had now been overpowered by his will to survive.

Ivanov’s pupils turned purple, and he dashed forwards, streaming a horrifying noise.

“Kraaaaaaarrgh!!”

When his magic ran out due to the Clipport's Fruit, he couldn't control his consciousness anymore.

Crack! Boom!

The hard stone floor that Ivanov stepped was smashed and a trial of pits was drawn behind his running figure.

Soon, he and the Hound of the Baskervilles collided, and a powerful gust blew around with a crashing noise.

Booboobooboobooboom!!

Swoooooooooooosh!

The two were evenly matched, and no victor appeared.

Ivanov had defended against the hound using a frozen shield several times more powerful than normal, while the flame hound smacked away the ice greatsword Ivanov was swinging.

As they confronted each other, Amii smiled as if she were amused.

“The drugs Aleister created are truly effective. But what about this?”

Amii swung Ignis once again, and fire sparkles scattered in all directions, forming a huge magic circle on the floor.

Woohyuk nodded when he saw it.

'Good thing I made her fight against him.'