Overgeared

by Park Saenal

  “…”

  Today, Peak Sword’s cult worship of Grid began again. Vantner was taking out earplugs twisted from long use and stopped as he was going to put them in his ears. It was because the three evil eyes children were approaching.

  “This point onwards is prohibited,” Vantner stated harshly despite the feelings in his heart. He couldn’t relax his vigilance no matter how cute the evil eyes children were.

  “It will be dangerous if assassins from the empire come. Don’t hang around here and play elsewhere. In fact, don’t leave your house at all,” Vantner warned coldly. Still, the evil eyes children lingered. They exchanged looks a few times before extending their hands which they had kept hidden behind them. In their hands, there were many candies that looked like ferns.

  “Eat. This is something that all three of us risked out limbs to obtain.”

  “…Did you take candy that your mothers hid?”

  “Kukukuk? What are you talking about? My mother can’t treat me badly. The power latent inside me is a violent guy who ignores the flesh of kin. Kukukuk.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about… In any case, thank you.”

  These were the children’s snacks. Vantner and Peak Sword, who knew the evil eyes would be in great danger when obtaining goods from the outside world, only took one candy. Then they urged the children to return home. The children hesitated before bowing. “You are the first and last humans we have bowed to since we were born. You should be honored.”

  “…?”

  “…Thank you for protecting our great king.” As if embarrassed, the evil eyes children blushed and fled as soon as they gave thanks. Peak Sword and Vantner stared at the children’s backs in an upset manner.

  “This is X.”

  “…You planted a flag.”

  Moreover, it was a death flag! This was a common development in manhwa and movies. The main character helped someone, then person who was normally cold suddenly thanked them… This was a line that signalled the time of death was approaching.

  “Quickly contact Lauel… Kuek?!” Peak Sword urgently took the posture of drawing the sword. Two dark human figures appeared out of the air and blocked the children’s way. The startled children hesitated, and Peak Sword and Vantner flew toward the children.

  However, the two enemies who appeared were assassins with great skill. The daggers thrown by the assassins obstructed Peak Sword and Vantner. While the two of them fended off the daggers, the assassins grabbed the necks of the evil eyes children. They intended to use the children as hostages, but their intentions weren’t easily achieved.

  Peak Sword and Vantner were strong.

  “Where are you going?”

  “…!?” The assassins barely escaped from the sword that flew toward them. The reason they didn’t use the caught evil eyes children as a shield was that their mission was to capture the children. Peak Sword took the posture of Draw Sword and once again questioned, “What are you planning to do by catching these little kids?”

  Of course, the assassins didn’t answer. They took out daggers with the ‘explosion’ option attached and threw them. Vantner raised his shield to block the daggers. Then a powerful explosion occurred. The assassins believed that Vantner would be blown up along with the shield and were about to leave.

  “These guys are truly X. Huhu.”

  Something spun among the thick dust. It was a circular shield. The assassins crossed their daggers and blocked the shield. However, the shield was so strong that they groaned involuntarily. The silent assassins let out sounds of pain, and Vantner laughed as the shield returned to him like a boomerang.

  “It is good since I was bored. Put the children down and fight properly.”

  “Che…!”

  The assassins couldn’t fight properly. They were unlikely to win considering the power of the 1st ranked guardian knight Vantner and the 1st ranked quick draw swordsman Peak Sword. In any case, this place was full of enemies. The longer the battle, the more disadvantaged they would be.

  The assassin cast a smoke screen. They intended to escape from the city while Peak Sword and Vantner were confused for a moment. It was at this moment that…

  “Sob. Look,” the evil eyes kid with the runny nose asked as he was caught by the assassin, “Touching my body, do you want to die?”

  “…!”

  There was a reason why the ‘advance teams’ had decided to kidnap the children of the evil eyes species. They thought the power of the evil eyes would be lacking because they were young. This wasn’t the case. The little evil eyes took off his eyepatch, and the assassin holding him froze.

  “Uh… Uwaaaah…!” The terrified assassin tried to throw away the evil eyes boy, but it was useless. The power of the evil eye acted just by ‘seeing.’ It was the most irrational force in the world.

  “This…!”

  The other assassin was surprised by his now dead colleague and turned to the two evil eyes he had captured. The rope tying them together was so tight that they couldn’t move their fingers to take off their eyepatches.

  ‘You idiot, you should’ve captured him properly like me!’ The assassin cursed his dead colleague and sneered. He was going to leave here before the smoke was completely lifted. By the way…

  “…?”

  Did the stealth skill not activate? The smokescreen that blocked the enemy’s vision became thicker and started to disturb his view.

  “…!” The flustered assassin looked like he had seen a ghost. The two evil eyes children who had been tied up just a moment ago were now standing in front of him.

  ‘When did they escape?’

  The smokescreen thickened like a fog over a lake at dawn. The assassin stood alone in the middle of this, and his confusion was maximized. He heard the laugh of the evil eyes children who had disappeared from view.

  “Die wandering this fog forever. Kuk… Kukukuk! Kuhahahaha!”

  “Uwaaaah!”

  It was useless to scream and struggle. The fog just became thicker.

  “Wow…” Peak Sword couldn’t close his mouth as he moved through the smokescreen. At first glance, the two assassins were obviously of high ranking. One had been completely frozen to death while the other screamed along as he fell into a hallucination.

  ‘They even have the power to pull out the death flag…!’

  The evil eyes species was absolutely amazing. They now completely understood why Grid and Lauel were obsessed with the evil eyes.

  “The duration of the illusion isn’t eternal. I recommend taking them out in advance,” the evil eyes children said while pointing at the hallucinating assassin.

  Peak Sword nodded before approaching the assassin and tying him up. They took off the assassin’s mask and revealed that he was an NPC. Even after finding out his identity, they could still attack him. In other words, these assassins weren’t affiliated with the empire. If they were imperial NPCs, it would’ve been impossible for them to be attacked due to the armistice agreement.

  ‘External groups were contracted.’

  Peak Sword and Vantner examined the city. Fierce battles were taking place everywhere.

  “Hrmm… What to do?”

  “What can we do apart from staying here?”

  Peak Sword and Vantner’s mission was very important. Guarding the gate was equivalent to protecting the evil eyes king.

  “It is dangerous. Don’t go home and head into the castle.”

  It happened as Peak Sword and Vantner sent the children into the castle. Dozens of people appeared out of thin air. The invasion of the ‘advance teams’ wasn’t over yet.

  “We’ll take care of you first before protecting the evil eyes.”

  Peak Sword and Vantner smiled as they faced the assassin group. Not a single bit of tension could be found in them.

  “It’s going to be super fun from now on.”

  “Yes. It’s more interesting because we were about to die of boredom.”

  “…Crazy bast
ards!” The leader of the assassins frowned and gestured. The assassins struck the two people at once. Iyarugt roared.

  Chapter 974

  Chris saw the odds of this mission succeeding as over 90%. There were four months remaining in the truce agreement with the empire. The agreement between nations was protected by the system, so the empire and Overgeared Kingdom were unable to attack each other. The Overgeared members were guarding the evil eyes’ village, and the empire couldn’t attack wildly. Even if the empire invaded the village, the Overgeared members just needed to guard the gates, and they would be able to protect the evil eyes’ king until Grid arrived.

  ‘These guys!’

  However, the empire took actions that were different from what they had expected. The empire invaded the village indirectly by using external forces. Chris’ expression instantly darkened. ‘Those empire bastards intend to thoroughly consume our strength!’

  He swung Grid’s greatsword quickly. The cross-shaped trajectory of the sword struck the upper bodies of the two assassins moving through the darkness and killed them. The assassins with low defense were easily killed by Chris, who had the most powerful attack power.

  ‘Dammit, it is a mess.’

  Chris jumped to the nearby roof of the mansion and shook as he watched the whole city. There were battles taking place all over the village, and the assassins who appeared in pairs were powerful enough to dominate two elite military units.

  ‘They are coping easily with two elite units containing 100 high-level players…’

  Were these truly rabble hired by the empire? Chris raised the power of the Tyrant and flew forward. The further he moved, the more his attack power increased.

  “Viscount Chris!”

  The expressions of the Overgeared soldiers still looked threatened despite trying to capture the assassins. Then Chris appeared like the raging wind and saved them from the assassins. He ordered the unit leaders, “Assemble your troops at the castle of the evil eyes’ king. It should never be breached.”

  “Yes!”

  Among the 10 meritorious retainers, Chris was one of the twin leaders along with Jishuka. It wasn’t a problem for him to operate the troops using his own judgment. The soldiers replied vigorously and saved another unit as they marched in the same direction. In the meantime, Chris moved along the roofs toward the village center while killing assassins.

  The heart of the village was a small library. It was a place where Lauel, Jishuka, Pon, and Regas were guarding. The top rankers were gathered there because it was one of the most important bases in the village.

  “I have come to help.” Chris broke through the assassins surrounding the library and stood by Lauel. Jishuka was covering him by firing arrows while Lauel looked like he had aged 10 years.

  “As expected, the empire seems to covet the knowledge and information stored here.”

  “Certainly…”

  In other places, the assassins appeared in pairs, while there were dozens of assassins here. Chris faced more than 100 assassins and wondered, “What the hell are these guys? How are they appearing out of thin air without going through the door? This is something that even Faker can’t do.”

  “They are borrowing the power of magic.”

  “Magic?”

  “Yes. An excellent magician can make the space itself weak, allowing people to warp in.”

  “It doesn’t feel like Mass Teleport since they are scattered all over the place… Is it easy for a great magician to use this type of magic?”

  “I don’t know about ordinary magicians, but it is easy for the magician king.

  “Magician king…!”

  He was one of the five pillars of the empire and the head of the Tower of Eternity. Chris recalled the infamous Goldhit and was convinced of it.

  “It is a fraudulent magic… How long can we last if troops keep being sent this way? There is a limit to our stamina. We will run out of supplies and become exhausted,” Chris confided the anxiety in his heart. He didn’t feel suspicious about why Lauel hadn’t anticipated the current situation.

  Although it was true that Lauel was intelligent enough to be called a genius, he wasn’t always successful. It wasn’t possible for Lauel to cope with all the variables. He often failed and made mistakes. However, this time was different. Lauel didn’t think this situation was serious.

  “There is a limit to the magician king’s magic power, just as we have a limit to our stamina.”

  “It is the same whether they are making a frontal charge or moving with magic. We can’t stop it if troops pour in all at once.”

  “There is no need to worry about a volume offensive. Haven’t I already explained this part?”

  “…?”

  “The empire doesn’t have infinite money. They will have to give compensation, so they won’t be able to easily pour in a lot of troops.”

  “The empire will have to pay to move them? Can’t the empire move them for free?”

  Nearly every kingdom or group on this continent had been offering tributes to the empire for hundreds of years. They were complete slaves of the empire. Chris wasn’t convinced that the empire would pay compensation for moving them. Lauel explained, “Do you know why existing groups have lived like dead mice without resisting the empire?”

  “…?”

  “It is because they think the empire’s power is infinite. The empire isn’t in a position to show weakness. The moment the empire offers no money, other countries will question the empire’s power and the dominance will weaken.”

  “That’s why they have to offer a reward every time they move outside forces?”

  “It’s a commonly used bluffing system.”

  “There is something I can’t understand. Lauel, why do you keep saying that the empire is poor?”

  It was strange.

  This was the empire that dominated the continent for hundreds of years. The empire monopolized all sorts of resources and invaded other kingdoms. Yet they were so poor that they couldn’t move some outside forces…? Creating quests for 500 million players might be too much but the assumption that it was hard to move subordinate forces didn’t make sense. It just didn’t make sense that the empire was poor.

  Lauel was quietly using magic while listening to Chris’ questions. He changed the wind direction to maximize the power of Jishuka’s arrows while also neutralizing the assassins’ throwing techniques. Additionally, he created an earthquake every time they approached, leading them directly to Chris. Lauel was fighting effectively despite having few combat skills. It was a combat method that made people realize why the saying of ‘fight cleverly’ existed when athletes and martial artists were praised.

  Lauel’s brilliant brain was creating a disaster for the enemies. ”I thought of something while watching the magic machine in the National Competition. How much manpower and money did the empire invest in unearthing the ancient artifacts? How much techniques and money were poured in to restore and operate the ancient relics?”

  “Do you mean that the empire is poor because of the magic machines?”

  “No. The magic machines are just one of the causes. I just came to a more fundamental question.”

  “Fundamental question?”

  “If the empire is truly as wealthy as people widely think, it wouldn’t be normal for them to struggle to suppress the Overgeared Kingdom and Valhalla.”

  “…?”

  “Can’t they step on the Overgeared Kingdom by constantly producing and dispatching infinite troops, just as you claim now?”

  “Ah…!” Chris felt like he had been struck by lightning as he gained enlightenment. Lauel was a person who was concerned about the empire’s tactics, and he was also the first person to realize the limits of the empire’s tactics.

  “You… You really are clever…”

  Lauel laughed at Chris’ heartfelt admiration. “Time is fair to anyone.”

  As Grid grew, Lauel was also growing. He studied, thought, accumulated knowledge,
and developed his vision.

  “I don’t know what type of genius that God of War Ares recruited…” Lauel activated a pre-set trap to lure out the hiding assassins. Then he laughed while covering half his face with his hand. “But that person needs to be ready to deal with me now.”

  Lauel was convinced of something. Grid and Kraugel had grown rapidly over the years. They had an absolute force that made strategy and tactics obsolete, and no one could be their opponent. At this moment, gray pillars rose continuously in the evil eyes’ village. They were the pillars that symbolized the death of the invaders.

  ‘That is…’ Chris and Lauel turned toward the south without speaking. It was the direction of the city entrance where the gray pillars were occurring the fastest. That was the zone Yura was protecting.

  Chris clicked his tongue. “Lauel, even if your expectations are wrong, I don’t think the empire can break through if they come.”

  “…I agree. Let’s go inside the building. It is time to change shifts with the evil eyes.”

  “Okay.”

  Just like how a human’s stamina wasn’t infinite, the magic power of the evil eyes wasn’t infinite. Unlike their king, ordinary evil eyes could only free the power of their eyes for two hours a day. Still, two hours were enough.

  “H-Hiik!”

  “S-Spare me!”

  The power of the evil eyes made even the coldest assassins kneel down and beg. The evil eyes took care of most of the assassin remnants in just half an hour and then switched back to the Overgeared members, who had enough rest. The empire’s advance team was practically unable to do anything and collapsed just like that.

  “Kukukuk… You are decent. It is a power that is hard to be confined to the ‘framework’ of humans.”

  “Hahaha… You didn’t buy people who are all talk.”

  ***

  It was the 19th day since the 10 meritorious retainers left for the evil eyes’ village.

  [Your understanding of the Ether Glasses is now at 100%!]

  [The ‘Ether Glasses’ production method has been acquired.]

  “Wow, it’s finally over.”