by Park Saenal
“Belial’s Power. Queen of Mocking and Violation.”
Grid divided into two people. On top of that, Rigal’s arrow struck him. Then there were three and four of Grid. The effect of Tiramet’s Power created an orange shield around his body, and his health was restored to 30% thanks to the First King title. Even so, it wasn’t reassuring. Numerous arrows and spells filled the sky and then poured down toward Grid. Rigal once again fired his bow.
“Flower Revolve.” The four Grids did a short sword dance while observing as many arrows and spells as possible. Pagma had fought Chreshler and read the thousands of light spears with his eyes, recognizing them as targets and counterattacking all of them.
This was impossible for Grid. The current Grid was dealing with arrows and spells that were comparatively slow to Chreshler’s light spears. Nevertheless, he couldn’t see all the attacks and recognize them as targets. Compared to the non-human Pagma, Grid’s perception and wits were lacking. It was why he opened up Belial’s Power and shared his vision with the clones. He used four fields of view to target thousands of arrows and spells, summoning hundreds of petals in the air. If someone looked closely, a fine rotation could be seen.
The hundreds of petals centered around Grid. They collided with the thousands of arrows and spells flying toward Grid and sent them back.
“…!”
It was an unbelievable phenomenon! The air force stiffened at the sight of their arrows and spells returning to them. The sky and the world were in a state of turbulence. The returned arrows and magic turned hundreds of air force members to ash. Meanwhile, Grid was hit by some arrows and spells, and he fell to the ground. The tens of thousands of cameras simultaneously shook and caused the viewers to get headaches.
-…
The viewers became dumbfounded.
Grid confronted thousands of enemies alone in the high sky. His appearance of returning some of the intense bombardment already caused him to go beyond the realm of a human being. People couldn’t measure or comprehend his strength. They were just admiring him while feeling astonished and thrilled.
[A legend doesn’t die easily. Your health is fixed to a minimum.]
Five seconds of immortality… The final notification window rose in Grid’s field of view as he lay on the ground.
‘Shit… I only managed to use Flower Revolve three times.’
The difficulty of using the skills with the clones was too high. Right when he had been about to use the fourth Flower Revolve, the enemies’ attacks had already arrived. Thus, he couldn’t deal as much damage as he expected. Grid was disappointed, but the position of another person was completely different. Rigal, who was the symbol of imperial nobility, had a red-tinged face. “You…! You!!”
The griffons and wyverns had been raised by the Gelder Family. Had Rigal ever experienced losing them? No. Yet for the first time today, Rigal saw his men screaming and dying. The number was almost 1,000.
“Your… Your head alone isn’t enough! I will destroy everyone in this place!”
The extremely enraged Rigal fired five arrows at once. He poured all his magic power into the arrows. He was determined to annihilate the Overgeared King lying on the ground as well as the residents of Bairan. At this moment, a voice emerged from the wounded Grid and entered Rigal’s ears.
“Summon Knight.”
“…!?”
The red disappeared from Rigal’s face like it was a lie. He recovered the magic power that he had poured into the arrows. It was instinct. The presence of the two knights who appeared in response to the Overgeared King’s call was so enormous that he judged he had to save his strength in order to survive them.
“W-What is this?” Rigal’s eyes shook as he watched the two knights appear to the left and right of Grid. He knew that His Majesty the Emperor had sent away Mercedes and that she became Grid’s knight. However, he hadn’t imagined this. That person was the Overgeared King’s knight? He was alive?
“S-Sir Piaro,” Rigal called out the name with a trembling voice.
“It has been a while. Since you are wearing the Gold Dragon Armor, your father must’ve died,” a response was heard. It meant it wasn’t an illusion. Rigal felt like he had seen a ghost.
Piaro spoke to Rigal who had completely lost his soul, “We can talk later. Let’s meet in hell.”
Rigal was floating 800 meters above the ground. There was a shadow over his head that swallowed even the moonlight. He looked up and saw a huge mortar.
“Keuk!”
It was dangerous. The wound Grid had inflicted was serious. The fear of death won over confusion. Rigal regained his composure and quickly pulled on Allentica’s reins. It was necessary to escape the range of Pounding Mortar, and it was possible with Allentica’s fast flying speed. However—
“I can’t let you go.” Mercedes flew and blocked his way.
“You! Mercedes! You ugly traitor!”
The Gelder air force that made the air defense facilities of a kingdom meaningless—they were the strongest but why didn’t they act in the Lubana war in the past? The reason was simple—they were helpless against a transcendent’s strength. Just like Grid, the powerhouses who occupied the sky and the ground could hurt the air force with a single blow. Hundreds of years ago, the Gelder air force had been brutally trampled on by Undefeated King Madra. The advantages of flying were useless in front of Legendary Knight Mercedes.
A whirling silver sword cut Allentica and Rigal at the same time. It was as destructive as Grid’s swordsmanship, but it was faster and more sophisticated, managing to connect and hit a number of times. Rigal lost his balance, and a mortar fell on his head. The thousands of air force members were swept away by the pressure and turned to ash.
“Lord Rigal!”
The survivors, including Earl Baron, didn’t run away. They headed toward Rigal, who had been crushed by the mortar and had fallen to the ground. A bitter smile flashed on Grid’s face. If only they had run away… Then he could’ve slaughtered the disloyal troops without any regrets.
“My Lord! My Lord!” Rigal’s soldiers were a symbol of loyalty. They knew they would soon die, but they still helped and escorted Rigal. It was a meaningless sacrifice.
“Cough, cough…” Rigal had been hit by the legendary farmer and knight. He was in a seriously injured state that he couldn’t recover from. The gray light symbolizing death rose from his body.
“S-Sir Piaro. Please. Please…” Rigal wanted to leave a last will, but he couldn’t finish. The time given to him was too short. However, his eyes showed what he wanted to say. He was earnestly pleading for his men to be returned safely to their homeland and their families.
‘Piaro, don’t forget that you were their hero.’
“What should I do?” Mercedes asked while Piaro was stiff-faced.
Grid gazed at the remnants of the air force who stared at him with fear, confusion, anger, and killing intent. “Kill them all. Catch as many griffons and wyverns as possible.”
“Yes.”
If he was going to spare them, then he wouldn’t have used the Undefeated King’s swordsmanship or summoned Piaro. He couldn’t leave anyone alive. In the first place, war wasn’t a game. He was risking his life and the lives of his precious people. Additionally…
“…” Grid saw the destroyed statue of Khan.
A warning window appeared in his vision as he made a sad expression.
[The Saharan Empire’s duke ‘Sky King Rigal’ has been defeated.]
[It is a great accomplishment that no one has achieved.]
[Your reputation throughout the continent has increased. You have acquired 2,000 reputation points.]
[Your level has risen.]
[Your level has risen.]
[The Duke Gelder Family’s Gold Dragon Armor has been acquired.]
[The Duke Gelder Family’s Giant Greatbow has been acquired.]
[Your knight ‘Jude’ has experienced a fight against the strong and has succeeded in breaking through
his limits. His stats limit has increased.]
[You have gained a special opportunity and understood the concept of a legend, transcendent, and status.]
[From now on, the achievement system—which is the basis of the title system—will be applied to not only you but also to your knights.]
[Your knight ‘Jude’ has accomplished the achievement of ‘Loyal Knight.’]
[Your knight ‘Jude’ has accomplished the achievement of ‘Unquenchable Fire’]
[Your knight ‘Jude’ has accomplished the achievement of ‘Battlefield Miracle.’]
[Your knight ‘Mercedes’ has accomplished the achievement of ‘Battlefield Miracle.’]
[Your knight ‘Piaro’ has accomplished the achievement of ‘Killing One of the Seven Dukes’.]
“Piaro, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say that.” Piaro bowed politely. Mercedes was silent. Jude got up and looked for a meal. Along with the three knights who had started to build up their ‘status’, Grid examined the people of Bairan.
Chapter 1003
Ibellin and the Overgeared members hadn’t killed a single enemy. They had found it hard to intercept the air force who attacked from a high altitude, and they had also failed to penetrate the defense of the griffon and wyvern’s heavy armor. Yes, they hadn’t protected Bairan. They had been seriously trampled on, but they hadn’t run away.
Instead, they had held on till the end and protected the people. They had taken on the arrows and spells pouring from the sky on behalf of the people, lost their lives, and resurrected while gathering information on the enemy. All of this information had been passed onto Lauel.
Thanks to this, Lauel could determine the power of the air force. Yet the one he sent as reinforcement was only Grid. The Overgeared members in Bairan were furious. Even if Grid was strong, how could he handle the 5,000 air force members and Sky King Rigal? Why had Grid been sent alone without the best archers, magicians, and tankers to protect him?
They felt that Lauel had failed to understand the seriousness of the situation. Additionally, it wasn’t good that they were placing great burdens on Grid all the time. In the end, they realized it was all because of their incompetence and felt a sense of shame. If they were strong in the first place, Bairan wouldn’t have been captured and Grid wouldn’t be burdened…
The Overgeared members knew they should reproach themselves, not Lauel. Consequently, they couldn’t make eye contact with Grid. In the meantime…
“…!” Grid smashed the air force with a single blow. He also beat up Rigal until the latter was bloody. Grid might’ve crashed to the ground and failed to hide his pained expression, but he stood up for his colleagues and people. He declared to Rigal that he would protect all of them.
“…”
Then Piaro and Mercedes arrived and destroyed all enemy forces.
“I’m sorry.” The Overgeared members approached Grid and bowed. They still couldn’t meet Grid’s eyes.
“I’m sorry that I’m never of any help.” Their words were full of bitterness.
They shook as Grid glanced at them. “What are you saying? More people would be dead without you.”
“…”
“It would’ve been harder if you hadn’t told me the information about the air force.”
“…”
“You did well enough. Thank you.”
It wasn’t a pretense. Grid was touched and thankful to his colleagues who had fought and died. He was relieved to see that the people were relatively well. To his colleagues who still couldn’t raise their heads, Grid added some words, “If it is annoying to take the bus now, you can pay me back later with a plane.”
“How can we do that?”
“I’m sure it is possible.”
Grid was now certain. The gap was closing. Chairman Lim Cheolho’s words would surely come true, and the gap between hidden classes and normal classes would be narrowed.
Transcendents…
The more normal the class, the more accomplishments they could gain. The more levels they raised, the more powerful they would be.
‘It must be.’
The 25 Overgeared members who fought to defend Bairan—they were classified as the mid-to-upper range of power in the Overgeared Guild. Then what about among the two billion users? They were high rankers that would feel far beyond ordinary people. Nevertheless, they were treated like children by one unit of the empire. It wasn’t a good balance.
If the players were unable to do anything against increasingly stronger enemies like the empire, the great demons, and the yangban in the future, the willingness of the players to continue playing would gradually decrease and the game would be ruined. The S.A Group couldn’t be unaware of this. Chairman Lim Cheolho had predicted the situation and arranged the transcendence system.
‘The people who deal with strong opponents and are frustrated will become transcendents faster.’
The first transcendent player would surely come from the Overgeared Guild. Grid didn’t doubt it and told his colleagues his thoughts. The Overgeared members were stunned for a moment before asking Grid, “Don’t you think it is unfair?”
“What?”
“You worked hard to become a legend and widened the gap with ordinary players. If that gap narrows, won’t it be unfair and frustrating?”
“Who knows?” Grid stared up at the sky. Many stars decorated the night sky, but there was only one moon.
[Gold Dragon Armor]
[* When attacked by the same target within 3 seconds, the damage is reduced by 5%. This can go up to 30%.]
[Giant Greatbow]
[* Every time the bowstring is pulled, the power of the giant race can be felt.
The bow has special options because of the materials that make up the item.]
Grid had great interest in the items and planned to stay in the smithy for a while. He wanted to dismantle the Gold Dragon Armor and Giant Greatbow and make a new item with their characteristics.
Mercedes gave a somewhat disappointing report, “We have succeeded in capturing 957 griffons and 26 wyverns, but it won’t be easy to tame them.”
Their loyalty to their former master was too strong. Even named horses didn’t easily change their masters, let alone griffons and wyverns. The Overgeared members were filled with regret.
“It’s okay. Leave them with Nyangmong.” Grid was the only one smiling.
***
Spear Saint Rachel was a descendant of Dehakel, a meritorious retainer at the founding of the empire and a legendary spearman. Among the Seven Dukes, her innate lineage and talents were excellent, and no one could treat her casually. Only one person was different.
Rigal, her childhood friend, treated her in a comfortable and easy manner. Perhaps he was a special existence. That’s why the shock was larger.
“Rigal died?” Rachel couldn’t believe the news that she received. Rigal had succeeded the duchy because his more talented older brother had been short-lived. Rachel knew better than anyone else how much effort Rigal had put in. In order to become a man worthy of being one of the Seven Dukes, he had trained hard day and night, looking after the people while feeling sorry for his dead brother. Rigal had been rewarded for his efforts. Yet he had died. Moreover, it had occurred in a war against a small country with less than 10 years of history.
“It isn’t a funny joke in the morning.” She felt nauseous. Her head was dizzy. Rachel, who looked unbelievably young and beautiful despite being 40 years old, swept back her signature long hair nervously. Her wavy blond hair shone in the sunshine while the expression of her adjutant was dark.
Rachel was unable to bear the uncomfortable silence and asked again, “…Is it true?”
“Yes, unfortunately…” The adjutant once again expressed the reality.
“The air force?”
“They were annihilated.”
“…” Rachel’s face crumpled in a terrible manner. The first person she thought of was Rigal’s only son. The small child wa
s only 9 this year. The child who lost his mother at an early age was now truly alone. Would the little child be able to keep the air force, which was the basis of the Gelder Family, from the hands of the greedy people wanting it? It was impossible. One of the seven families representing the empire was completely destroyed.
“Pathetic guy. I told you to quickly get married and give birth as soon as possible.”
Rachel knew the young Rigal had delayed his marriage because he liked her. However, the national law prohibited marriage between duchies, and Rachel had been forced to ignore Rigal’s heart. She remembered how the young Rigal had always looked at her with a burning gaze.
“Will you go out?” The adjutant carefully asked.
The Twilight Spearmen—the elite army raised by Rachel was ready to go to war at any time. However, Rachel shook her head. She was a duke of the empire, and she couldn’t be swayed by emotions.
“There is something I have to do first.”
Rachel put on a cloak and left the barracks. Once she appeared, 30 knights split apart to create a path. One knight reported, “According to a report from the scouts, he returned last night.”
“We must not forget who the opponent is. He isn’t forced to be polite, so don’t be offended by his words or actions.”
“Yes!”
The best spearsman on the continent, Kirinus—it had taken her several years to find him. She came directly to this distant place to meet him. Rachel wanted to know if he was better than her. Was she not a legend because she was inferior to him? She had to find out the answer.
***
Inside Kirinus’ cabin, Kirinus was interested in the development of the youth he had been teaching for nearly a year.
“You have improved with Control Sword.”
Pushing forward, swirling, or stabbing—the motions that were the basis and essence of the spear were contained in eight swords floating in the air. They flew forward and cut the air. This was the moment when the fairly monotonous Control Sword evolved. After clearing a few hidden quests, the skill had evolved, and Kraugel was pleased.