Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 75

Lee Minseong managed to escape Queen Bee Arsha but continued to be relentlessly pursued by corrupted lancers.

Although these lancers were weaker than him, killing them proved impossible.

Every time he attempted to, an overwhelming message resounded in his mind, accompanied by intense pain.

-Obey the Queen!

-Obey the Queen!

[Kraah! Shut up! I said shut up!]

Lee Minseong felt as if he was going insane.

If he let his guard down for even a moment, an overwhelming desire to return to the queen bee and pledge loyalty surged up inside him.

-Obey the Queen!

[Stop it! Get out of my head!]

He tried everything to escape the voices—covering his ears, slamming his head against the ground—but nothing worked.

It was to be expected.

Those weren’t just voices.

It was the instinct of a worker bee reborn for the queen.

For Lee Minseong, who had always lorded over others, this was an unbearably humiliating feeling.

-Obey the Queen…!

[No! I refuse! I am not a mere worker bee!]

Grinding his teeth, he forcefully suppressed his instincts.

After narrowly evading the lancers’ pursuit, he found himself hiding in an ironic place: the vice president’s office of the Reaper Guild.

[Hah. Yes, this is where I belong, not some hive.]

He panted for breath, reaching for the wine stored habitually in the cabinet, only to scowl.

[…So this was it!]

The wine in his hand was the source of all his troubles.

The high-class royal jelly wine gifted to him by ‘Madam’ after each visit to the queen bee.

This was the queen bee’s poison!

[Drinking this every day is what put me in this state…!]

Smash!

He lifted the wine bottle, ready to throw it, but then paused.

[…Wait.]

Seeing the queen bee’s poison gave him an idea.

A way to suppress his worker bee instincts.

With this, he could…

[Create my own army.]

He poured his mana into the royal jelly, infusing it with his essence.

The poison was now tinged with his energy.

[Good. If someone gets poisoned by this, they’ll transform into soldiers loyal to me, not the queen bee.]

He absorbed the newly crafted royal jelly into his stinger.

Then, he went outside to test it on lower-ranked hunters, injecting them with the jelly.

But for some reason, they died instantly.

[Tch. Weaklings. Can’t even handle this level of poison.]

Clicking his tongue, he sought out mid-ranked hunters.

But the result was the same.

They all succumbed, vomiting blood and dying from the poison.

[Why do they keep dying?]

Lee Minseong was confused.

Was there a problem with his royal jelly?

He continued attacking hunters repeatedly until he finally found success.

And that success came, ironically, with a hunter from his own guild, the Reaper Guild.

[…A coincidence?]

At first, he thought it was just luck.

But it wasn’t.

No matter how many tests he ran, only Reaper Guild members survived the royal jelly.

[Why is this happening?]

Eventually, he figured it out.

[Could it be that they were already loyal to me?]

Royal jelly was originally a poison that created worker bees.

The target of their loyalty was naturally the queen bee.

[But I am not a queen.]

Lee Minseong was just another worker bee, so none would pledge loyalty to him.

Except for his subordinates from the Reaper Guild.

Their minds already bore a form of loyalty to ‘Vice President Lee Minseong.’

Even if that loyalty was driven by something as shallow as salary and position, it was, paradoxically, the strongest bond among humans.

Realizing this, Lee Minseong let out a hollow laugh.

[So, only my royal jelly works on Reaper Guild members? Hah, fascinating. Truly fascinating.]

No wonder the slaves he created looked different from the queen bee’s ‘lancers.’

Lee Minseong’s slaves were reborn as ‘corrupted ghouls,’ more human-like than insectoid.

[Perhaps this is fate.]

It suited him better.

With this power, he could take everything from that annoying Im Taegyu.

In fact, Im Taegyu had never deserved to be guild master in the first place.

[He was more suited as my chauffeur. I should make him my slave again, just like before.]

He wasn’t sure if his royal jelly would work on an S-rank, but if it did, it would be a massive success.

After all, Im Taegyu used to obey him as his driver, so it seemed plausible.

Thinking about enslaving Im Taegyu made Lee Minseong feel elated.

Being reborn as a worker bee wasn’t entirely bad.

Aside from the instinct to serve the queen, there were many benefits.

The queen bee had melted and compressed Lee Minseong’s human form into an evolved combat species.

Losing his original human skills was a small price to pay; after all, skills were meant for battle.

Concentrating all that power into a combat-optimized body was a net gain.

With his current form, he believed he could even defeat Im Taegyu.

[Hah. He may be an S-rank, but he’s just an archer shooting from behind. If I poison him and disable his weapons, I’ll have the advantage…]

That was how he arrived here.

All his plans had gone smoothly until now, and the result was Im Taegyu standing exhausted before him.

‘Now I can win!’

Lee Minseong was confident.

He would finally knock down Im Taegyu, trample his face, and spit on it.

Then, he’d enslave him, just like before the Cataclysm, and use him forever…

‘But who is that man?’

Lee Minseong’s eyes fell on Suho standing next to Im Taegyu, and an ominous feeling rose within him.

It felt as if he were facing the queen bee herself…

No, if it were the queen bee, he’d feel compelled to pledge loyalty, but with Suho, it was entirely different.

Fear.

A pure terror surged up, as if confronting a natural predator.

‘Why? He doesn’t even look that strong.’

After becoming a worker bee, Lee Minseong’s perception for gauging opponents had become extremely sharp.

From what he could sense, Suho was only a C-rank hunter.

At best, a B-rank.

The real threat should have been the A-rank hunter Baek Miho standing beside him.

So why did he feel like fleeing?

Why was his body frozen, as if he were a frog facing a snake?

‘Nemesis of Insects.’

The unsettling sensation pricked at Lee Minseong’s pride.

[…You’re an annoying one.]

He tried to shake off his unease and revealed his full power.

Kwoooom!

An immense energy burst from Lee Minseong.

Meanwhile, Suho felt the opposite of what he expected.

‘He’s stronger than me, but I don’t feel like I’ll lose.’

Suho opened his shop window without hesitation.

Clink.

[‘Item: Quiver (100)’ purchased.]

[‘Item: Quiver (100)’ purchased.]

Two heavy quivers appeared in Suho’s hands.

“Here, use these since you can’t use mana arrows.”

“…!”

Im Taegyu’s eyes widened as he received the quivers and looked at Suho.

“Where did you suddenly get these…?!”

“I’m a summoner, remember?”

Suho shrugged with a casual explanation.

“Of course, they’re not free. I’ll send you the bill later, so don’t hesitate to use them. I’ll give you more if you run out.”

“Y-yes! Thank you!”

Im Taegyu nodded, a bright smile crossing his face.

At this point, it didn’t matter whether Suho was a healer or a summoner.

Those questions could wait.

Im Taegyu turned toward their enemies, his expression sharpening.

His S-rank weapon, *The Reaper’s Bow*, could slay beasts even with regular arrows.

Now, with arrows in hand and wielded by Korea’s strongest S-rank archer, he was truly a hunter.

Swish, swish, swish!

Im Taegyu’s arrows pierced the heads and hearts of the ghouls attacking from all directions.

“Leave crowd control to me; focus only on Lee Minseong!”

He wanted to take down Lee Minseong himself, but he knew he couldn’t without mana.

He couldn’t let his pride delay them any longer.

With Im Taegyu’s command, the battle intensified.

“Let’s go!”

“Yes, sir!”

Suho and Baek Miho charged at Lee Minseong.

[Krrreee!]

Shadow lancers’ wings sprouted from their backs.

Swish!

They flew at Lee Minseong, launching a fierce attack.

Shwak! Bang! Thud!

[Too slow.]

Lee Minseong smirked and effortlessly evaded their attacks.

‘How is he this fast?!’

Baek Miho urgently warned Suho.

“Be careful, Suho! His speed surpasses A-rank levels!”

Lee Minseong’s eyes gleamed with joy at her words.

[Hah! Yes, I have transcended humanity. Your slow attacks will never touch me!]

“Oh, really?”

Twitch.

Lee Minseong’s triumphant expression faltered at Suho’s nonchalant reply.

No matter how much he tried to ignore it, Suho’s presence kept bothering him.

[…Fine. I’ll kill you first!]

[With a fierce aura, Lee Minseong flew straight at Suho, ready to pierce his heart with his sharp spear.]

A sly smile appeared on Suho’s face.

‘This is what I’ve been waiting for.’

Suho’s eyes glowed as he shouted:

“Come forth!”

Suddenly, countless black streaks of light erupted from Suho’s body, surging toward Lee Minseong.

[W-what is this?!]

Lee Minseong’s eyes widened in shock as he recognized them for what they were.

Lancers.

They were the queen bee’s lancers, the ones that had relentlessly chased him before.

[This can’t be…]

Lee Minseong tried to veer away from his attack on Suho at the last moment.

His speed was faster than theirs, so he was sure he could escape, even at this close range…

Thump.

“…!”

Suho caught the spear Lee Minseong had aimed at his heart with a firm grip.

“Got you.”

[Let go!]

Lee Minseong, alarmed, struggled with all his might to free himself.

But it was already too late.

“Finish him.”

[Krrrr!]

[Kreeee!]

The lancers, swooping in from all directions, struck Lee Minseong’s body with their spears, tearing into him relentlessly.