by Park Saenal
During the 10 minute battle, the Demon King had a one-sided advantage. 100 players had already died. However, the players didn’t feel sad. They analyzed the Demon King throughout the battle and devised a strategy. Information gathering and analyzing were the basis for raids.
“He adds a spinning motion to the footwork… Damian, please be prepared to act. I will start the counterattack the moment the Demon King’s magic machine recovers,” Jishuka gave out instructions. Her gaze focused on the increasing amount of smoke that was pouring from the Demon King’s body. It wouldn’t be strange if it exploded immediately. She didn’t know why, but the user of the magic seemed angry.
Damian expressed some doubts, “The Demon King’s health is still almost at the maximum. Isn’t it too soon to make yourself a target?”
“There are 300 of us, 300. If we all accumulate thousands of damage per person, we can consume the two million health.”
“He is floating in the air, and not many people can get close to him at the same time.”
“He will eventually come down to the ground. There will be no mass slaughter for the time being.”
Grid’s weaknesses were his cooldown time and resources. His skills were powerful, but they consumed a lot of resources and had long cooldowns. He had been using skills for 10 minutes continuously and was clearly weakened. Fly wouldn’t be available for him to use forever. It was Jishuka’s judgment that they shouldn’t give Grid any more time.
‘Now, the only wide-area skill left is Transcended Link. We need to block that footwork.’
Jishuka had been Grid’s colleague since the days when he was unknown. The skill effect might’ve changed, but she was able to grasp the status of Grid’s skills through the final result.
‘100 people in 10 minutes. The damage is greater than expected, but it was worth it.’
They should spread out through the battlefield as much as possible. This was the order that Jishuka and Chris gave to the players. It was to minimize the damage from Grid’s wide-area skills. However, some players didn’t trust the order and crowded together. This meant that Grid’s skills were showed to have a great effect. In particular, the loss of the magicians was painful. Even so, it was within the acceptable range. It was still a 300-against-1 battle, and the players still had an overwhelming advantage.
Pon whispered to Jishuka who was pulling out an arrow, “Is that really Grid? How can he summon a magic machine?”
“Grid’s clone copied Grid’s items. He might’ve gained a hidden piece to copy items after killing the clone.”
“Combination, transformation, and now copying?”
Wasn’t it a fraudulent skill? Pon found it hard to believe. Still, Jishuka was adamant. “Have you forgotten? Our leader isn’t someone common sense applies to.”
In the old days, Jishuka had seen an inexplicable area after encountering the sky above the sky Kraugel. Now she felt it from Grid. It was difficult to understand him as a friend or an enemy. The difference was that Grid caused infinite fear now that he was an enemy. It felt like they had crossed a river they shouldn’t have crossed.
‘It has been a long time since my blood boiled like this.’
Jishuka was a predator. She ate instead of being eaten. Licking her red lips, Jishuka suppressed her anxiety and pulled back her bowstring. She aimed precisely for the moment when the Demon King jumped from the magic machine. The Demon King’s chest was hit by the charged arrow, and he was thrown away from the magic machine. Simultaneously, the magic machine exploded like a signal.
Damian used a wide-area buff and shouted, “We will start the offensive!”
[You have put the Sweet Candy in your mouth.]
[The Hermes Shoes have been equipped.]
[Skill Enhancement has been used.]
[The Baby Dragon’s Fire has been swallowed.]
[The Valbun Sword has been equipped.]
…
…
The rankers brought out items purchased from the Reputation Store. They were items which they had bought with the four heavenly kings and the Demon King in mind. The rankers’ reputation points weren’t as high as Grid’s. They were limited in comparison, so the rankers had to be more cautious about using them.
Chris’ greatsword struck the Demon King, who barely raised his body from the explosion. The damage was considerable. The Demon King tried to counterattack, but Regas’ strike forced him back to the ground.
“Kuek…!” Pon’s spear pierced the Demon King’s chest, and Damian’s sword linked to the attack, dealing the Demon King with a serious injury. Poison emerged from the Demon King’s armor, but they ignored it and kept attacking. They weren’t fragile enough to shrink back from this damage.
“Annihilate!” Iyarugt charged up inside Iyarugt’s Sheath and entered the ‘intoxicated’ state. His attack power increased by 500%, and he borrowed the power of Peak Sword’s strongest skill. It was the deadly sword that defeated Hero Kraugel in only two blows last year.
[You have suffered 230,900 damage!]
[The gap between the shoulder blades and armor is weakened, exposing a weakness!]
The Sweet Candy and Damian’s buff caused Peak Sword’s attack power to destroy the Demon King’s armor. This was just the beginning. Hundreds of players ran up to the Demon King who was still caught by Pon’s spear.
“Blood Rain.”
The Demon King’s blood surged into the sky and then poured down like rain. It was a wide-area attack that showed a great effect against the heavenly king called Kobold. The magic dealt a severe blow to the Demon King and strengthened Katz, completely changing the flow of the battlefield.
The fallen Demon King couldn’t stand up easily, and the players’ momentum skyrocketed. As they fought hard, the dungeon produced by Eat Spicy Jokbal was nearing completion. In the middle of the battlefield, Eat Spicy Jokbal was setting up a small fortress which would increase his teammates’ recovery while blocking the artillery shelling.
“Huhu, the flow has changed completely.”
In the Daejin Group’s executive boardroom, the presidents of the various affiliated companies who received Lee Jinmyung’s call were impressed. The Demon King, who had killed the players one-sidedly for 10 minutes, could no longer fight back and was being beaten up.
“The three Korean players are playing a big role. Maybe South Korea will get several gold medals.”
“Can’t we enter the top three with just two medals? I am looking forward to it. The effects of the event will be amplified if South Korea shows a better performance.”
The executives who didn’t know the identity of the Demon King were excited. In particular, the heads of the affiliated companies conducting events related to the National Competition were excited.
On the other hand, Chairman Lee Jinmyung, the president of Daejin Motors, and three public relations directors were stiff. They had to know the identity of the Demon King. In fact, they were waiting for Grid to unveil his identity after winning. So, from their standpoint, this development was truly the worst.
‘There is no meaning if he loses.’
Would the public be enthusiastic about the loser? No, absolutely not. The Demon King would be met with ridicule and criticism instead of cheers if he were defeated. Despite abandoning the country to become the Demon King, Grid only managed to get this result.
“Tsk.”
A loser couldn’t be raised as the group’s signboard. There was a half-gray mask covering the Demon King’s face, and Lee Jinmyung clicked his tongue as the cracks in it started to run red with blood. It was regrettable that he had missed the big fish called Grid, but Grid was too terrible.
‘He made a promise he couldn’t keep.’
Lee Jinmyung didn’t like a guy who couldn’t keep his calm. Grid wasn’t good enough for his granddaughter. Feeling ashamed for having coveted such a person for a while, Lee Jinmyung shook his head and lit a cigarette. His gaze was still on the monitor, but the situation didn’t enter his head. His
head was only filled with the plan to make Yura his successor. It was at this moment that…
『 ….!! 』
『 No…!! What…!! 』
“….?” He was lost in his thoughts when he was interrupted by the commentators’ shouting. Chairman Lee Jinmyung couldn’t fully understand what they were talking about or what was happening on the screen. He rubbed his cigarette onto the ashtray as the surprised cheer of Daejin Motors’ president entered his ears.
“Yes!!”
“….?”
What was this? Why was the head of Daejin Motors showing such a frivolous attitude in front of the executives? Chairman Lee Jinmyung frowned as he belatedly recognized the situation.
On the screen, Demon King Grid was injured by several people, then he caused an explosion. It was a nuclear explosion. More than 200 out of the 300 players remaining turned to gray. Among the 200 players, there were famous members of Overgeared that Lee Jinmyung knew, including the 1st ranked Chris.
The commentators made a fuss while the players who barely survived had dumbfounded expressions.
Chairman Lee Jinmyung was absentminded for a moment before jumping up and shouting, “Yes!!”
“…!?” The executives were astonished. The owner of the Daejin Group, known as the ‘dictator’ and ‘charismatic chairman’ in the industry, was embarrassing himself in front of the executives…? Were they seeing wrongly? The executives made baffled expressions.
“Stingray!” The chairman even used a chuimsae. (TL: an exclamation made during Korean traditional music that is used to connect the musician and the audience, creating a cheerful atmosphere. Stingray isn’t a common exclamation and the only note I found while googling is related to the excited cries fisherman used to make when they caught something they desired.)
Chairman Lee Jinmyung was just as happy as the president of Daejin Motors. He was proud that his eye for people was great.
‘Yes, I can borrow the power of my outstanding grandson.’
There was uncontrollable greed in Chairman Lee Jinmyung’s eyes as he watched Grid.
Chapter 960
“…!?” Grid got chills down his spine shortly after jumping off the magic machine. Jishuka’s arrows, which appeared without leaving a trace, flooded toward his heart.
‘Dammit.’ The arrows were the only things he hadn’t blocked throughout the battle. He couldn’t afford to concentrate on the arrows that arrived without any sound. Around two months ago, Jishuka had made the same expression after clearing a hidden quest and learning a new archery skill.
‘I should’ve noticed that she is a beast.’
Grid was certain. On this favorable terrain, Jishuka was strong enough to be the most revered person. She had been maintaining the best form for many years and had finally reached the realm of the sky above the sky. Jishuka was truly an amazing person. It was encouraging that she was his friend and colleague. On the other hand—
‘Yura.’
Yura—who only experienced a series of frustrations after becoming a legend—came to his mind, and his heart grew heavy. Despite her talent and hard work, she had failed… Grid could only think that she had no luck. She had gone through a period of misfortune, and Grid could tell how much she had been suffering. He wanted to help her. He didn’t want her to give up.
In this moment, Grid was struck by the arrows in a defenseless state and was thrown from the magic machine. The magic machine exploded. Grid’s field of view spun around and around as he was swept up by the blast. The durability of his items dropped greatly. It might be confusing, but Grid coped with the situation calmly. He overcame his dizzy vision and got up while adjusting the posture of his sword.
His insight stat and the Slaughterer’s Eye Patch gave him a warning. However, he couldn’t prevent Chris’ attack. It wasn’t enough to cope with the attack of the 1st ranked player and one of the 10 meritorious retainers of the Overgeared Kingdom. Grid was thrown by Regas, stabbed by Pon, and cut by Damian and Peak Sword…
The bombardment of skills from 300 players quickly reduced Grid’s health. He was trampled on the ground, and Grid realized the greatness of the power of numbers. He fell to his knees and cursed as he thought of the people who coined the saying, ‘There is no shame in a collective beating.’
From the moment he crashed onto the ground, Grid didn’t have any time to raise his fingers. The attacks came from all directions without delay and completely blocked his movements. Even a weak attack became a huge threat. Hundreds of thousands of health flowed out per second, and it seemed that he would die right away.
‘I was too prideful.’
In fact, Grid had been filled with confidence ahead of this battle. He alone understood the system of the Demon King subjugation and was able to make all types of precautions according to it. He could also use all his blacksmithing skills without any burden because the National Competition’s server was completely separated from the main server.
Grid was forced to judge that he was in a favorable position. Then he took one step further. He saw the players as easy targets. With the exception of the Overgeared members and a few high-ranked players, the rest could be dealt with using one skill or a few basic attacks.
He thought it would be a 1-against-30 fight, instead of a 1-against-400 fight. It was a misjudgment. First, it was difficult to hit them itself. The participants thoroughly used their numbers advantage to completely neutralize Grid’s attack power. Their defense was also excellent. The formula of death wasn’t easily established for the players who were representatives of their countries.
The biggest problem was the ‘information’ that the Overgeared members provided to the players. After knowing that the Demon King was Grid, Jishuka and Chris were now in full command of the players and most of Grid’s wide-area skills were no longer effective. Grid didn’t show it, but he was unbelievably embarrassed when he cloned the Red Phoenix Bow and used ‘Fly Up!’, only to find the number of enemies in his field of view to be unreasonably small.
[You have suffered 3,900 damage!]
[You have suffered 10,040 damage!]
[The durability of Valhalla of Infinite Affection has decreased by 19.]
[You have received the abnormal condition ‘bleeding.’]
[You have resisted.]
[Due to the title effect of First King, the Great King’s Dignity has been activated.]
[You have counterattacked and reflected the status condition.]
[You have suffered 2,730 damage!]
[You have suffered 5,800 damage!]
[The durability of Valhalla of Infinite Affection has decreased by…]
…
…
It felt like an eternity. Grid was beaten one-sidedly and recalled the school days when he was helpless. The difference from the past was that he wasn’t shaken at the reminder of his trauma. It was a trauma he had already overcome. He had yet to overcome his relationship trauma, but it wasn’t an important issue now.
[The effect of the ‘First King’ title has been activated!]
[A shield that will block as much damage as the health lost in the last minute will be created. All terrain adaptation will increase by 100%, while movement speed and defense will increase by 10%.]
He lost 70% of his health in just a few seconds. Grid gained some distance thanks to the shield and became aware of the passage of time. He remained calm as the players entered his vision. Some people were gasping due to the poison from Valhalla while others were confused by Great King’s Dignity. There were many people who seemed to be in a dangerous state, but all of them were absorbed in attacking without backing down. The desire to hit the Demon King a bit more and gain medals controlled them completely.
“…”
The shield had bought Grid some time. Grid calmly checked his condition while taking into account Tiramet’s power. He had enough mana to use Transcended Link after linking up Freely Move and Fly. The combo of these three skills could save Grid from the immediate crisis an
d slaughter dozens of players.
It was afterward that was the problem. His mana would fall to the bottom. He wouldn’t be able to maintain Fly for long and would eventually crash to the ground. Then the same thing would happen again, and it would become really dangerous. At best, he would kill dozens of players but have no way to win.
‘Belial’s power of fire can make a path of flames, but the result is the same.’
In the end, mana was a problem.
‘Alarm isn’t ready yet.’
Grid had roughly predicted when the four heavenly kings would be broken through, but he hadn’t been able to grasp it perfectly. Thus, he had set the linked Alarm and Magic Missile as late as possible. He couldn’t depend on them yet.
Thoughts of Noe, Randy, the Overgeared Skeletons, the light elemental, and Tiramet passed through Grid’s brain. Should he summon them for this immediate crisis?
‘It is too premature.’
Noe’s defense skill and his skill to take away stats would be a big help, but this wouldn’t guarantee victory. The pets and pet owner wouldn’t be able to last for a long time against the nearly 300 players. Grid’s pets would be quickly recalled, and he would soon be alone again. Furthermore, the light elemental had a separate use.
[You have suffered 23,000 damage!]
[The durability of Valhalla of Infinite Affection has decreased by 37.]
His distinct half-mask that was covered in red—the mask originally named Bizarre Mask was gaining more and more cracks in it. The blood leaked through the cracks and cooled Grid’s face.
‘This…’ Grid’s heart started to thump.
He fully realized that he was experiencing a great crisis. Defeat, failure—he was unaccustomed to them despite having experienced them countless times. Words that he didn’t want to become familiar with ran through Grid’s mind. There was something strange. He felt excited instead of frustrated and desperate.
Grid sensed it intuitively. There was a solution that he hadn’t thought about yet. This was the birth of the ‘wisdom’ created by his experiences and efforts which had accumulated over the years.