Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse-Chapter 201: Banquet hall

Justin stood in the banquet hall, reflecting on the situation. He didn’t need to open the quest window to grasp the nuance. "Kings" must be a reference to other leaders. The banquet itself was likely a gathering of those leaders.

The system’s intention became clearer to him. If someone had made it here, it meant they had practically conquered their region. The system probably wanted them to expand their influence by engaging with other leaders.

Indeed, every nearby territory that could be traveled to and from within a day had been revealed. By now, more than half of those territories had likely been unified under one rule. The system seemed concerned that after the unification, the pioneers would simply stagnate.

It made sense. After all, no one knew where other distant territories were, and it would take at least a day to reach them.

No leader would recklessly send their precious pioneers on expeditions into unknown lands, especially when the journey could take days and there was a risk of getting lost. Most would simply settle down and wait for a new quest rather than act without reason.

The system probably wanted the leaders to meet and find out the locations of other territories through this quest.

Once they knew each other’s locations, trade or conflict would naturally follow, depending on individual ambitions. This was the system’s way of broadening the world, though Justin suspected there was a larger purpose behind it all.

Curious, Justin opened his status window and read the newly added main quest.

"The Banquet of Kings"

Category: Main Quest Details: The leader who has reached this point must be the strongest in their surrounding area. No one can dispute it if they call themselves a king. However, there is never only one king in the world. Stay in the banquet hall for the next three days and meet other kings. Reward: All pioneers entering the banquet hall will receive level-appropriate armor.

Justin’s eyes widened as he read the quest. He wasn’t the only one. His subordinates, as well as Damian, gasped in shock.

Soon, murmurs spread among the other pioneers behind him.

"Level-appropriate armor? What does that even mean?"

"You idiot! It means the armor scales to your level! Level scaling!"

"What? So the higher your level, the better the armor you get?"

"Exactly! And it says everyone gets it, regardless of level!"

The pioneers’ faces brightened as they discussed the quest. Armor was a precious commodity, unlike weapons, which were easier to come by. The promise of such valuable equipment being distributed was enough to make anyone feel like they’d hit the jackpot.

Justin, however, felt a mix of emotions. "Damn, I should’ve brought Derek and Ethan."

The armor scaled to the pioneer’s level, meaning the highest-level pioneers would receive gear comparable to some of the best quest rewards. The absence of those two now felt like a missed opportunity.

As Justin glanced around, he noticed the expressions of the other leaders and their lieutenants were similar to his. He chuckled softly to himself. They were likely thinking along the same lines.

Well, it’s the same for everyone. No one could leave their most trusted lieutenants behind with an empty territory to defend.

It was a dilemma. They couldn’t afford to leave their top assets behind, yet now the rewards made them wish they had. Even if they had known about the rewards from the start, the final decision likely wouldn’t have changed.

Shaking off his lingering regrets, Justin stepped toward the back door of the treasury.

"Now that the rewards have been distributed and we’ve received a new quest, I’m ready to enter the banquet hall. Anyone object?"

"No objections."

"Do as you see fit."

Damian, who had become increasingly bitter over Justin’s complete takeover as commander, nodded with a dark expression. On the other hand, Zeal, with a calm and satisfied demeanor, nodded without complaint.

Look at that guy. Unable to maintain his role as a shepherd leading the masses, it seemed he had switched to a "prophet" position, waiting for others to realize their mistakes.

"Ah, truly, he is the cult leader!"

"To keep giving chances to that stray lamb...!"

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"One day, even he will realize the truth of the cult leader’s intentions and repent!"

Incredibly, Zeal’s inaction was being portrayed as if he were waiting for others to come to their senses. It was absurd, but before Justin could say anything, he noticed the desperation in Zeal’s eyes and decided to leave it alone. After all, if Zeal’s leadership crumbled and their alliance fell apart, that would cause more trouble than it was worth.

Rumble.

As Justin stood before the back door of the treasury and pushed it slightly, the massive doors slowly swung open. He squinted against the sudden glare of the backlight.

"Finally, you’ve arrived," came a mocking voice from the shadow beyond the light.

"How fortunate," Kade thought, smiling.

When he first arrived at the temple, he thought he’d stepped into a minefield. After enduring tasteless food and sleepless nights under the cold dew, they had faced a brutal trial. It seemed like the trial was designed with nothing but malice, as if it never intended for them to succeed.

They lost a third of their pioneers just to pass the trial.

But their misfortune had ended there.

"Who would’ve thought I’d be the first to arrive?"

When Kade first stepped into the banquet hall, he had no thoughts. After losing so many men, all they had gained was a single unique item from the treasury. The additional armor distributed to his subordinates seemed meager in comparison to the sacrifices.

At that point, he regretted coveting the main quest in the first place. To make matters worse, the banquet hall wasn’t even a combat-free zone, making it a place of heightened tension and despair.

"Damn, what’s stopping someone from attacking first and killing us all?"

They were rivals, competing for the main quest rewards. If a rival became weakened, there was no reason to let them live. It was better to eliminate them immediately.

Kade’s outlook was bleak, but one of his subordinates made a suggestion that changed his mind.

"Chief, we’re the first to arrive, right?"

"Isn’t it obvious? Why are you asking something you already know? Are you mocking me?"

"No, it’s not that..."

"Then what is it? What are you trying to say?"

"Well, since we’re the only ones here... couldn’t we wait and, when someone arrives, just... take them out quietly?"

Kade was jolted awake by the suggestion. Upon further thought, it seemed like a plausible plan. Since there was no one else around, there were no threats or backstabbers to worry about. The other competitors arriving at the banquet hall would likely be off guard, having just completed their own quests. If executed well, they could eliminate each one as they arrived and possibly become the sole victor of the main quest.

"Let’s do it immediately!" Kade wasted no time in putting the plan into action. It wasn’t a difficult task—just wait for the first one to come through and attack.

Rumble.

"Pant... pant... damn, this is such a nightmare...!"

"Kill him!"

"What the hell!? Aaaah!"

"Craziness...!"

Fortunately for Kade, the first ambush was a huge success. The competitor, exhausted from the previous challenges, was completely caught off guard. Not only did the leader arrive first, leaving their subordinates behind, but they also seemed desperate to rest as quickly as possible. That desperation led to their eternal rest.

As the rival pioneers stood in shock from losing their leader, Kade shouted at them.

"Will you join me, or will you die here? Choose one!"

The fallen leader’s subordinates exchanged uneasy glances before reluctantly choosing the former. It wasn’t a choice they made willingly. Who would want to join an outsider they’d never seen before? It would have been better to elect a new leader from within their own faction.

But the problem was, there was no time to select a proper decision-maker.

"If I try to fight here but then surrender, it’s just me dying..."

"Honestly, even if I give orders, who would listen? They’d just tell me to stop pretending to be important."

"Surrendering is better than risking humiliation in front of someone who won’t even acknowledge my authority."

Thus, Kade easily absorbed one faction into his own.

With his first success, Kade’s confidence soared. If things continued like this, there was nothing to fear from the other competitors. After tossing the corpse through the still-open door and closing it again, he was busy consoling the newly surrendered subordinates when—

Rumble.

"Oh?"

The door opened again, and Kade smiled. Fate seemed to be on his side, as the door right in front of him began to open. There was no way to hide and launch a surprise attack this time, but it didn’t matter. He had already absorbed one faction and could crush the newcomers with raw power.

With a smile, Kade called out to the opening door.

"Finally, you’ve arrived."

As if he’d been waiting for a long time.

"...Who are you?"

"Kehkeh, who knows? What do you think?" Kade dragged out his words in response to Justin’s question, clearly intending to mock him.

Seeing Justin’s frowning face, Kade smirked coldly.

"It seems you haven’t figured out the situation yet, but don’t worry, soon you’ll be kneeling and begging."

Kade had been through hell to get here. Nearly a week of sleeping outside, the deaths of many of his subordinates, the underwhelming rewards, and the preparations for the first ambush. While the ambush had gone well, it hadn’t been nearly enough to relieve his accumulated stress.

He intended to take care of the rest of his stress by tormenting and killing this arrogant brat in front of him.

"Why don’t you take a guess? What do you think I’m here for, huh?"

"A minion sent to welcome me to my grand reception?"

"..."

Kade’s grin froze. Did this punk still not understand the situation? Could he not see the thirty-plus pioneers standing in front of him? After experiencing the system’s trials, Justin surely didn’t have much strength left.

"Or did you come here to make friends? You wouldn’t be dumb enough to start a fight just to get yourself killed, right?"

"This bastard..."

Kade let out a dry laugh. This guy’s guts were clearly too big for his body. Threatening him would be pointless. The only way he’d understand was through a physical demonstration.

"Brat, if you really don’t get it, let me show you in person why I’m here..."

"Hey, who are you talking to?"

"..."

Kade stopped mid-sentence. Suddenly, he noticed more pioneers approaching the door. Due to the narrow opening and the dim lighting, he hadn’t realized just how many there were.

’Let’s see, about 20 people? That’s a fair amount...’ Explore more stories at novelbuddy

"Justin. Is something wrong?"

"It seems we have another lost lamb here."

Kade’s eyes widened in panic. As the shadows in the doorway multiplied, he realized there weren’t just 20 people. There were at least 60—double the number of his own forces.

"Hold on a second. This guy here was just about to tell us something."

"Tell us what?"

"I don’t know what it is yet. He’ll explain it in a moment."

Justin stepped aside, motioning his pioneers to stand back as he addressed Kade again.

"So, what were you saying? Why are you here?"

"..."

Kade squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before opening them again, forcing a smile.

"Like you said, I came to... make friends. I’ve been waiting here to greet my fellow competitors. Let’s do our best from now on. Kehkeh!"

"..."