Conquering the Tower Even Regressors Couldn't-Chapter 397: Eighty-Eighth Floor, Quadrant of Decay (3)

[Resist the Forces of Decay.]

The thunderous cry from the Koshark quadrant stirred the spirits of the other three species.

Even the climbers at the bottom of the Leaderboard had braved countless trials to reach this point. A steady tension, sharpened by battle-readied focus, spread through the Quadrant of Decay.

Sensing the building anticipation, I scanned the climbers.

Everyone’s vibe is good.

Still, I didn’t intend to charge in just yet. Having seen the factory for myself, I knew what awaited us.

Our coalition was built, and with no time to synchronize, a mindless assault would only lead to unnecessary losses. At the very least, we needed a basic strategy in place.

[Please assign the next wave’s enemy count to each quadrant. Time remaining: 1 minute 3 seconds.]

Even though we had decided to cross the portal, the clock continued ticking. Judging by the earlier message, we had to destroy the barrier blocking the portal for the trial to proceed.

We had about a minute of rest to formulate a proper strategy. It wasn’t sufficient, but I raised a hand toward each quadrant anyway.

I didn’t need to say anything. The leaders of each group stepped forward, as did Ha Hee-Jeong.

With time running short, I briskly explained the situation, “There’s a factory beyond the portal. As soon as we break the barrier, the trial will task us with destroying it.”

Everyone listened silently.

“We’ve only got a minute. The moment that barrier breaks, enemies will pour through. Tell your climbers to be ready for battle.”

Even before I finished, Ha Hee-Jeong turned on her heel. “Everyone, prepare for combat! Face the portal! Hold your ground and wait!”

The other species quickly followed with similar orders.

After a beat, I added, “If they come through before everyone is in formation, I’ll hold them off. If not, we talk and move in together.”

The other leaders nodded, although Turen asked, “What’s on the other side?”

“A massive factory. There are at least a few hundred thousand enemies. Could be millions. I saw four replica apostles.”

Faces hardened all around. Only Ha Hee-Jeong remained calm.

The Turina leader, clearly uneasy, questioned, “Can we really manage that? We’ve barely got ten thousand climbers, less if you exclude Earth. Millions of enemies and four apostles, even if they’re copies... I don’t know if it’s possible.” 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Ha Hee-Jeong stayed silent, her expression unreadable. Turen’s brow furrowed slightly, but the Subren simply watched me. It seemed he agreed, at least in part.

Turen looked as if he trusted me, but concern lingered in his gaze.

I shrugged casually but confidently stated, “No need to worry. I’ll take care of the apostles. I can handle the mobs, too.”

Honestly, I wasn’t bluffing—I really could manage everything.

“Well, I can’t promise everyone will survive. If anyone wants to back out, say it now.” I glanced at the leader of the Turina.

He hesitated for a second, then shook his head defeatedly. “No. I’ll trust you.”

I nodded firmly at him. “You should. I’ve earned that.”

They could believe in me. At least now, I was worth that much.

Checking the remaining time on the message, I glanced around at the climbers again. “Twenty-four seconds. We’re starting. Back to your positions.”

“Understood.”

Everyone returned to their posts with grim resolve. By then, we had just under twenty seconds left, which was enough.

I began to activate Divine Power.

Destroying the wall required a considerable amount of divine energy, far more than simply passing through it. Not only was the barrier protecting the portal, but it also divided the quadrants.

To proceed, I had to bring the entire thing down.

It would cost me roughly half of my current divinity. Not enough to drain me completely, but ideally, I should rest before heading in.

No telling what is coming after this.

Blue and gold light surged across me. The violet gloom of the Quadrant of Decay lit up in an instant. Unlike earlier, I was now wielding my divinity in full.

The climbers from Earth stayed composed, but the others were visibly shaken. Their eyes locked onto me, wide with disbelief.

It was expected.

This is the first time they are seeing my strength since... was it the fifty-first floor?

Even earlier, when I hadn’t even used a tenth of my power, they were stunned—and this was on an entirely new level.

As the tension mounted, I raised the divine energy I had gathered. It roiled in my grasp, dense and volatile. Only moving slightly, I extended my hand, sending a spear of lightning launched toward the violet barrier.

It unleashed a thunderous crash the moment it struck

Thud!

In the moment of impact, I also heard the brittle sound of something breaking.

The barrier spanning the entire battlefield shattered in an instant. Turbulent waves rippled outward.

Ah, shit.

Decay was mixed in with the waves of mana. I quickly summoned divine energy and forced the waves back through the portal before they could reach the climbers.

“Whoa,” someone in the Turina camp dumbfoundedly gasped.

At the same time, a strange shield formed around the portal. It wasn’t divine in nature, and it felt unfamiliar.

Watching it for a moment, I realized that it was the power of the Primordial God. The tower had sealed the portal.

A notification appeared.

[Climber Kwon Su-Hyeok has broken the barrier blocking the portal to the Quadrant of Decay. The trial has changed.]

[Destroy the factory within 24 hours.]

[The new trial will begin in 4 minutes 59 seconds.]

Everyone had received the message, and they were now staring into the air, reading it for themselves.

I skimmed through mine quickly.

Phew. What a relief.

The tower had given us a five-minute grace period. Of course, since four different species needed to coordinate, it was only fair.

Still, that didn’t mean things would be easy.

While we prepared, the factory would be doing the same.

Not that it matters. I will crush them all anyway.

The climbers from each race began to gather at the center, having read the message. Like Ha Hee-Jeong had brought Hendrick, others brought their tacticians.

“Let’s talk quickly. Time’s short.”

I signaled to Ha Hee-Jeong. We were going to be at the center of this anyway

***

[The new trial will begin in 0 minutes 16 seconds.]

Coordination proved exactly as difficult as I had imagined, and five minutes was truly insufficient.

Still, we had managed to establish a general framework.

The biggest reason behind this lay in the fact that Earth had the largest number of climbers.

Dividing the climbers by their role and species was feasible, but trying to assign responsibilities to each species didn’t make sense at all. Earth had so many climbers that even combining the other three wouldn’t match a seventh of Earth’s numbers.

Trying to assign tasks to an individual species under these conditions would be madness.

We reached a consensus. Rather than forming separate groups, the other species would integrate into Earth’s existing formation.

Given how robust our formation was, though, it ended up being easier than expected.

Moreover, thanks to Ha Hee-Jeong’s knowledge from her previous life, the formation required no trial and error. Her leadership was nearly flawless.

In fact, before reaching this floor, the climbers had already exchanged strategies and formation ideas through the Community.

We just needed to assign positions, now.

Of course, the other species had likely formed their own formations while progressing through the tower. With a regressor among us, however, Earth’s formation was on an entirely different level.

[The new trial will begin in 0 minutes 01 seconds.]

The message updated, and the strange rectangular barrier surrounding the portal disappeared. Silence descended.

[Destroy the factory. Time remaining: 23 hours 59 minutes.]

I heard someone swallow nervously. All eyes were on the portal, but nothing emerged.

Since the trial involved destroying the factory, it seemed likely the trial wouldn’t begin until we crossed over.

Unless they have set up an ambush and are waiting on the other side.

Either way, didn’t make much of a difference. Everything was in place.

The climbers stood poised, waiting for me to take the first step as promised. With tens, if not hundreds of thousands of enemies waiting, charging in all at once would only create chaos and confusion.

I scanned the group. Weapons drawn, each face was set with steely resolve.

“Looks like it is my time to shine.”

“Woo! Woo!”

Leaving behind the rousing shouts of the Kosharks, I turned to Ha Hee-Jeong. “You ready? Ten seconds.”

She chuckled lightly. “I know. Make sure the path is clear. We’re sprinting straight to the factory.”

Unlike the others, she didn’t appear tense, and that brought a smile to my face.

I turned away, stepped forward, and entered the portal. A strange sensation surged through me.

In the blink of an eye, an entirely new landscape unfolded before my eyes. Immediately, hundreds of attacks rained down on me—arrows, magic, spears, and projectiles came from every direction.

However, I was prepared, and simultaneously activated my mana and divinity. A surge of blue and golden light flared around me.

Crack, boom!

The divine barrier blocked hundreds, if not thousands, of incoming attacks. The impact raised thick clouds of dust.

Even before the smoke could fully clear, I raised my axe.

Just as expected.

A smile crept onto my lips.

They had struck first, but it was time for my response. My fiercely spinning mana transformed into lightning. Hundreds of bolts materialized in the air, then splintered and tore through the front line.

At the same time, I unleashed a colossal bolt of lightning into the sky.

Rumble—

Thunder roared across the already dim, violet sky.

All of this happened within the first five seconds of battle. Still, my barrage had already shredded the frontmost Forces of Decay.

Crash!

As a second bolt slammed down from the sky, I unleashed a powerful wave of mana. The monstrous creatures toppled by lightning were hurled back by the sheer force of my wave.

Eight seconds in.

Readying my axe for battle, I surged forward. Drawing the attention of the Apostle of Decay and its replicas was my top priority. Fighting them one by one would be far too troublesome.

***

[Destroy the factory. Time remaining: 23 hours 59 minutes.]

Will he be alright?

The thought sprang unbidden into Turen’s mind.

He trusted Kwon Su-Hyeok. Despite that, sending someone alone into a battlefield filled with hundreds of thousands felt reckless—even to the Kosharks.

Granted, witnessing Kwon Su-Hyeok’s unimaginable strength had quelled some of that doubt, but it didn’t erase the concern entirely.

Ten seconds after Kwon Su-Hyeok crossed through the portal, the four races began to follow, with Ha Hee-Jeong at the lead.

Boom!

A sudden explosion of light lit up the battlefield. Turen flinched and instinctively shut his eyes as the stench of scorched, rotting flesh stung his nose.

When he opened them again, the sight before him left him speechless.

Rumble, crack!

Dozens of lightning bolts rained from the dark violet sky, striking the battlefield. Within a two-hundred-meter radius of the portal, not a single creature remained.

At the far end of the battlefield, mounds of monstrous corpses covered the ground. Beyond the piles stood Kwon Su-Hyeok, axe swinging as he cut down enemies in the midst of hundreds of thousands.

A one-man army.

No, Turen realized that calling him an army was an understatement. He had mentioned he had gained divinity.

Is he truly a god?

No one answered the question echoing in Turen’s mind.

He couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. “That lunatic.”

His thigh muscles tightened from excitement. As the exhilaration from the impending battle spread through him, Ha Hee-Jeong’s low and calm—yet loudened by mana—voice rang out.

“Advance.”

That composed, serene command echoed above the climbers’ heads.

In the next instant, Turen slammed his foot into the ground and launched himself forward.