The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player Novel - Chapter 191
Chapter 191 – 12 Apostles
The Church of Despair isn’t a formal religion.
Being a heresy, it wasn’t even known in the United States.
It was natural for John Delgado to have doubts too.
“How the hell did you track me down?”
His tone asking the Spanish man was more formal.
He felt the need to be more cautious in his tone after hearing he was the founder of the Messiah.
Also because he thought he was a fellow who had set sail to kill Black Scythe.
“I met someone in the United States who knew your face while investigating the first place in the country. Apparently, he was a follower of the Church of Despair. Thanks to that, we were able to track your location.”
“You dare to sell my face without permission. Who the hell are you…?”
“My nickname is Berber.”
“Berber?”
John’s mouth opened in astonishment.
He trusted this guy more than any other loyal follower of his.
“Don’t talk nonsense. I didn’t betray you. I gave you the location because I knew it would be a proposal you’d like.”
“That guy. Anyway, I’ll have to scold him later.”
“Ah, we’ve arrived.”
John, who was muttering, got out of the car with the Spaniard.
The place they arrived at was a sparsely populated forest.
“Let’s go. We have to go quite deep in.”
After walking through the forest for about 30 minutes, they saw a small cabin.
“Is that where the meeting is going to be?”
“Yes.”
“There are many cafes and other places. Why here…?”
“It’s a place where the best players gather, so it would be better not to stand out, don’t you think? Also, they might fight among themselves over differences in opinion if they go to more crowded places.”
“Yeah, I guess it could get noisy if they’re using skills and clashing swords among themselves.”
Since it was the first meeting, they had to be especially cautious in case something went wrong.
“So, are the best players from each country gathered inside right now?”
“Yes. Three days ago, after recruiting the last of the Twelve Apostles, everything is complete. However, not everyone could attend. Some countries can’t even make it to the United States due to particular circumstances.”
As he spoke, the Spaniard opened the door of the cabin.
Crreeeek-
In front of a prepared wooden table inside, six people were sitting with bored faces.
They were elite players from different countries, with varied hair colors and races.
“How long do you plan to make us wait, Spanish? Do you want us to die of boredom?”
“Haha, sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Is that person the last Apostle?”
“Yes, everyone please greet him. This is the Master of the Church of Despair, John Delgado, the necromancer of the number one area in the United States.”
With the Spanish man’s introduction, the people’s gazes turned to John.
Crrrrunch-
The first to stand up seemed to be a burly man over two meters tall.
“I’ve heard of you. Nice to meet you. I’m the First Warrior.”
John, shaking the offered hand, frowned.
He felt that the hand was extraordinarily dirty.
“From your pronunciation, I’d say you’re British, right?”
“Yes. I’m also a sword master who ranked fifth in this round.”
“Fifth place, huh. Impressive. Do you earn many points?”
“I hope earning some points is as easy as comparing myself to Black Scythe.”
After the greetings, the next person stood up and extended their hand.
“I am the representative from India, Swingman. Level 49, martial artist.”
“Pleasure to meet you.”
“I’ve heard you have the ability to raise corpses.”
“Yes.”
“If you ever need corpses, come to our country. What rots in our country are corpses.”
John smiled ironically and shook hands with the next person.
It was an Asian with an air of a decadent-looking game player.
“It’s Dark Soul. I’m Japanese by nationality, and I serve as a sniper.”
“This is the first time I’ve heard there’s a profession called a sniper.”
“It’s also the first time I’ve seen a necromancer.”
“Where did you learn a bit of English?”
“I didn’t learn it, I learned it on my own by watching American dramas. But, even so, I can’t have long conversations.”
There were people from different nationalities like the UK, India, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, etc.
Therefore, they could only have simple conversations in English among themselves, as long conversations were difficult.
“Pleasure to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. John.”
Most shook hands with John, but one person stayed still.
“Who’s that guy?”
As if he had no intention of greeting, it was an Asian sitting quietly with clenched fists.
“Yang Qiwen. Since we’re going to see each other in the future, let’s greet.”
“Why should I?”
The Chinese man’s arrogant attitude baffled the Spaniard.
“Who is he?”
“Yang Qiwen, who ranked second in round 11 of the ranking. He’s a Chinese classifier and ranks first in the hierarchy of the dark society.”
‘Dark society.’
John couldn’t help but know world-renowned organizations like the mafia or the yakuza.
It just seemed absurd that a despicable gangster would show a defiant attitude.
“What are you looking at, big-nosed brat?”
“What did you say? If you have something to say, say it in English.”
Despite being able to speak English, he didn’t like the way the Chinese man muttered in Chinese.
“Mr. John, please greet the rest of the gentlemen here. Although they couldn’t be physically present, they connected via video conference.”
On the laptop on the table, the faces of four other people were displayed.
After greeting John, the Spaniard explained.
“Well, I think the introductions are over. Please, sit down. Let’s talk seriously.”
John sat down, suppressing his strange feelings.
Eight strong individuals from different nationalities had gathered around a table.
“Now that there’s a new person, I’ll introduce myself too. I’m Spanish, level 50 gladiator. As you know, I’m the founder of the Messiah, and I believe you all know the reason for its founding.”
“To oppose Black Scythe.”
The Spaniard nodded at John’s words.
“Yes, we gather here to oppose Black Scythe, who ranks first in the ranking. We must not ignore his solitary domination. We cannot stop him alone, but if we unite, we can.”
“How do we plan to stop him?”
“Isn’t that why we’ve gathered here to discuss?”
“It’s not so easy to think. You’ve seen it this time too. He gained the astonishing amount of 20 million points.”
“Yes, he probably leveled up considerably with experience packs and equipped himself with items from the special store.”
“Perhaps he even reached the maximum level.”
Although several things were discussed, the conclusion was that they had to stop Black Scythe.
“Anyone with good ideas on how to stop Black Scythe, please speak up without reservation.”
A man quickly raised his hand upon hearing the Spanish.
It was Yang Qiwen from China.
“Why bother about this? You should go to Korea and kill Black Scythe,” he said.
“Kill him? Isn’t that too hasty a judgment?” another asked.
“Hasty? Should we then just stand by? Watch that guy take all the rewards for himself?” Yang Qiwen asked with an intense look.
“We must kill him. There is no other option. Hesitating will only lead to us losing everything,” another said.
“I agree,” said John nodding silently.
Although the Chinese didn’t like it, he agreed with the opinion of merciless killing.
“It certainly seems like Black Scythe is monopolizing the rewards for himself,” another remarked.
“After all, shouldn’t we balance the power to survive together?” one more asked.
“Yes, that’s correct. If Black Scythe continues to monopolize, he will destroy the balance. It’s like killing other players,” another said.
“I agree.”
“I also support the idea of killing,” said most, raising their hands to murder Black Scythe.
There was no need to vote for or against, but nominally, the Spanish asked.
“So, does anyone oppose killing Black Scythe? Please raise your hand.”
“….”
“….”
As expected, no one raised their hand.
“So we’ll assume everyone is in favor of killing Black Scythe unanimously and discuss the method of assassination. Please, tell us without reservation how to find and kill him.”
Then, as if he had been waiting, the Japanese player, Dark Soul, raised his hand.
“I am a sniper. Once I know the location, I can shoot him and kill him even from 2 km away. With this, I reached third place in round 11.”
“Wow, you’re really a pro at assassinations.”
“Bah, that means nothing to the main topic.”
Yang Qiwen, who spoke Chinese with disgust, said in English.
“I am a hunter. I am a professional at killing humans, whether in reality or in other worlds. It will take me two days to track and kill his position.”
“So why did you join Mesías? You could take care of Black Scythe alone.”
When Swingman muttered, Yang Qiwen’s forehead wrinkled like a scroll.
“That weak-looking brat eating curry? Why are you here?”
“Isn’t there someone who can speak Chinese? It sounds like an insult. Please interpret what he’s saying.”
“Stop it.”
The one who calmed the crowd was John.
“Has anyone here personally met Black Scythe?”
When everyone fell silent, John spoke with a serious expression.
“I did. Just three days ago, a bastard cut off my leg.”
“….”
“Do you know what the emotion I felt at that moment was? It was helplessness. I couldn’t measure the power gap with him. My 30 summoned undead were annihilated without even cutting once.”
At that moment, John’s expression trembled as if he remembered the feeling.
The emotion he felt was not fear.
It was, nothing less, anger.
“It’s evident that we’re facing a formidable enemy. However, we cannot afford to remain victims. We will use all the forces of Desperation to defeat that bastard, even if necessary. As they say, even a tiger does its best to catch a rabbit. So don’t stand there idle, we must all unite to have any chance of success.”
“But this is a surprise attack…”
“Even if it’s a surprise attack, it won’t be easy to handle. We’re not dealing with someone who reached level 90 effortlessly. He might already be at level 99. We cannot let our guard down at all.”
John’s words had persuasion. They were the most realistic they had heard so far, enough to move the hearts of the Twelve Apostles.
“The words of Mr. John are correct. We are here to unite our forces, not to boast of our skills. Collaborating together is the right thing to do.”
Said by the founder, Spain, the others nodded accepting the situation.
“So, let’s go together to Korea and plan the execution. First, let’s talk about how to find Black Scythe.”
“I have an idea about that.”
Everyone paid attention to Dark Soul’s words.
It seemed the proposed strategy was quite good, as everyone’s expressions lit up.
“It sounds like a good idea.”
“I agree.”
“Let’s put it into practice right away.”
“Since it could cause international problems, we should start by looking for the clandestine ships heading to Korea.”
“So be it.”
A malicious smile appeared on the lips of the Twelve Apostles.
———————
Under the recommendation of Ma Gyeong-rok, Ryu Min met with Christine.
The conversation they had was nothing special.
“It was all as I heard from Jeffrey.”
To the question about Black Scythe’s location, Ryu Min slightly tilted his head and responded with the prepared answer beforehand.
“I have no idea.”
“I know nothing about his identity or location unless he decides to reveal it himself. He wouldn’t wear a mask if he was willing to be found. Seeking him out would be detrimental.”
“Agreed?”
Surprisingly, she immediately accepted.
“Christine already knew. She only showed action to search for Black Scythe because of her father.”
But her desire for information about the necromancer was genuine.
With so many comrades sacrificed, she couldn’t simply bury her feelings of revenge.
Although Ryu Min didn’t reveal any information except for the prophecy of Round 12.
A week passed since his return.
The necromancer sought by Christine would already be affiliated with Mesías.
“I know what Mesías organization is like after experiencing it. The international cooperation group created to oppose Black Scythe. The organization called ‘Twelve Apostles’ formed by the leaders of each country will approach Korea to assassinate me.”
“They have about a week before they act, right?”
He didn’t know the exact time, as it changed with each round, but the approach was always the same.
“They’ll probably target CPF members this time too.”
This time, the intention is to contact the unit members and lure the unit leader, Black Scythe.
In the process, the unit members were sacrificed… … .
“I don’t plan to do it this time either.”
There may be variables, so I need to prepare in advance.
Preparing to receive the foreigners.
—
(Up to ’45’ more ch4pt3rs)
Publication of up to 6 weekly ch4pters, thank you.