[Use of attack skills is restricted/controlled for 2 hours.]

[It is the Poison King’s power. You cannot resist.]

Poison King Liu.

Hyunsoo was cut by the spear he swung, and he felt poison spreading through his body.

When he returned to the fortress, the poison spread throughout him, making it impossible to use attack skills.

Hyunsoo moved at once.

Was he running away?

No.

BZZZT—

Hyunsoo had fought Pond and Liu, and the Chinese users, with his own hands.

And he felt it.

‘Each and every one of them compared to our guild members—no, they’re even stronger.’

Every single participant.

The moment he fought there, he learned one thing.

‘We lose.’

It felt like he could hear it.

[You’re in a critical moment.]

As always, Hyunsoo found a way.

He wasn’t running away.

The place he stepped into was a forge hidden somewhere out of sight within the fortress.

He took out the Twin Dragon Sword.

‘This time, let’s make it for real.’

God’s Custom Repair lets you recreate.

‘Twelve Turtle Ships.’

He thought that maybe, just maybe, that could become the variable here.

*****

Pond was someone who needed to be restrained.

Normally, people might have asked why anyone would stop the great Pond.

But this was the continental war—an event being broadcast live to the entire world.

Every action was criticized, every word became gossip.

So the one who played the role of restraining him was Zhuge.

The moment Zhuge died, Pond—who believed he’d been mocked by Crazy Rookie—lost all restraint.

Like a tyrant.

“All troops, equip the weapons supplied by Wang Gang!”

CLANK, CLANK-CLANK, CLANK-CLANK—

The Chinese users began arming themselves with unbelievable artifacts.

Pond’s weapon was, unbelievably, a Legend artifact.

And beyond that, a total of six Legends appeared among the users.

What was even more shocking was this.

-All Chinese users are armed with Unique artifacts.

-This time, China was expected to field around 200 Uniques!

-But just from what we can see, it’s already over 400!

Pond wore a deep smile.

It was China’s scheme.

After spreading “200” to the media, they received Uniques supplied from every forge in China.

In other words, China had staked its life on this continental war.

“WAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

“WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH—!”

-The Chinese users’ cheers sound like they’ll pierce the sky.

-This is insane.

-If it weren’t the continental war, when would we ever see 400 Uniques appear at once!

Pond crossed the bridge.

In the first place, Zhuge had made that plan to win as efficiently as possible.

But even if it wasn’t efficient, the fact that they would win didn’t change.

After crossing the bridge, he flicked his eyes around.

‘Where did that bastard go?’

Crazy Rookie had vanished.

But soon, the corners of his mouth tore upward.

“Hyun’s Forge is truly ridiculous!”

He used the shallow knowledge he’d learned from Zhuge. Public-opinion driving.

“China’s blacksmiths did their absolute best for their homeland. What did you do!?”

His gaze landed on the woman named Nell.

The commentators panicked.

-I’d like everyone not to pay too much attention to what user Pond is saying.

-That’s right. The continental war is an event for everyone, but how you participate is each individual’s choice.

But that was exactly what Pond was aiming for.

“Hyun’s Forge is an individual. That is the clear limit of an individual—and proof that your subscriber count was a lie!”

It was persuasive, and viewers agreed.

-Hyun, that’s pretty bad.

-Black Anvil and our country’s forges were all stoking their furnaces with bloodshot eyes because it’s the continental war, but Hyun isn’t even showing up.

-Hyun is an individual blacksmith.

-Exactly, it’s all hype lol

-For real, it’s like our country’s apartments lololololol

He was dumping the reason for Korea’s defeat onto Hyun’s Forge.

Before anyone knew it, the Chinese users began crashing into the walls.

And massive spells slammed into the fortress.

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAAANG—!

KWAA-JAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAK—!

The durability of the walls dropped at a rapid speed.

Korean users burst out from all over to respond, but they were being swept away by Chinese users with overwhelmingly strong artifacts—and even levels to match.

The reason Pond was saying all this was to trample Hyun’s Forge.

Since he’d been played by Crazy Rookie, he had to vent his spite like this for it to sit right.

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAAANG—!

Pond went madly cutting down Korean users.

Before long, he’d drawn close to the front of the main gate.

Pond thought:

Once the continental war ended, Hyun’s Forge’s subscriber count would drain away like an ebbing tide.

Hyun’s Forge’s subscribers weren’t global.

Those 3.7 to 4.5 million subscribers were mostly Korean users.

And Koreans tended to unite well.

If they started a boycott or something similar, the subscriber count could be cut in half.

It was truly petty revenge.

At that moment—

“......It’s a big problem that you said that.”

Pond looked up at Nell.

On the wall, looking down at him, she wore a troubled expression.

Pond cut down another user who came at him.

Then Nell said something strange.

“I think our people are going to get even more excited because of you.”

What kind of bullshit is that?

“Who says that? That Hyun’s Forge is an individual-type forge. Sorry, but we aren’t an individual-type forge.”

Pond’s eyes wavered.

‘Not an individual-type forge......?’

Something was going wrong.

*****

Two weeks before the continental war began, Hyunsoo called Blacksmith Per.

‘Tell all the blacksmiths to craft only horn bows and small arrows.’

Hyun’s Forge had five hundred excellent blacksmiths, and the one who taught them was Hyunsoo.

Their level ranged from upper-tier to top-tier blacksmiths.

They began producing outstanding horn bows and arrows.

When the Chinese camp was thrown into chaos by Hyunsoo’s sudden incursion, Hyun’s blacksmiths prepared atop the walls.

“Selling small arrows made by Hyun’s Forge~! Clearance sale, clearance~!”

“How much per shot?”

“Fifty gold~!”

Users were stunned.

“A-a clearance sale, but it’s ten times more expensive than regular arrows?”

Fifty thousand won per arrow. What kind of insane inflation was this?

“Want to check?”

Users who checked went wide-eyed.

The penetration was nearly double that of regular arrows. In their lives, they had never seen such a ridiculous arrow.

“No, but still ten times is.......”

“Do you not know weapons are expensive on a battlefield? Come on, think about it. If you shoot this arrow, you’ll kill Chinese users, right?”

Nod—

“Then the whole country will cheer, right?”

Nod—

“Then you’ll become a hero, right?”

Nod—

“Then we might win, right?”

Nod—

“And you still won’t buy?”

“Give me forty.”

“Here, fifty!”

Somewhere else—

“Selling Epic-to-Unique-grade horn bows made by Hyun’s Forge~! There are lots of other masterpieces made by Hyun’s Forge’s blacksmiths too—clearance sale, clearance!”

Of course, these were also over 40% more expensive.

But what mattered was this.

Korea’s top rankers were here.

To them, this wasn’t much money.

They bought bows and arrows made in Vallas Territory.

And then an effect like this also appeared.

[Perfect combination.]

[Accuracy increases by 6%, and penetration increases by 8%.]

They couldn’t hide their shock.

Also, Commander Lee Hwan had gone down and fought around two hundred Chinese users, then returned.

He was feeling his limits clearly.

‘At this rate, we won’t even last two hours. If only I had a saber.......’

Lee Hwan was a saber user. But right now, he was holding a Legend artifact longsword.

A Legend longsword was better than a low-grade saber.

At that moment, Nell approached.

“The guild master said to lend it out for a rental fee.”

“A rental fee? How much?”

“Twenty thousand gold.”

“......?”

Lee Hwan was dumbfounded.

Even to him, someone who made hundreds of billions of won a year, it was an absurd price.

Not buying—just borrowing—and it was twenty million won?

“What are you talking abou—mm......?”

Lee Hwan checked the saber labeled Twin Dragon Sword and went pale.

“I’ll borrow it.”

“Ah, it’s per hour.”

Twenty million won per hour. There was no other highwayman like it.

But Lee Hwan had no choice but to borrow it, biting down on bitter frustration.

‘What kind of person is Hyun......?’

Lee Hwan admired him sincerely.

Anyway, Hyun’s Forge and the Korean users were waiting for the Chinese users to come in deeper, and in greater numbers.

And while talking to Pond, Nell bought time and was able to create this situation.

“......?”

Pond made a bewildered face.

The archers who had been firing regular arrows from atop the walls just moments ago swapped their bows to horn bows, and their arrows to small arrows.

Then the woman named Nell said coldly.

“This is it.”

Pond’s face twisted grotesquely.

“The reason we eliminated China’s head—Zhuge—first.”

That’s right. Nell was certain that if Zhuge had been alive, he wouldn’t have forced through this kind of recklessness.

Hundreds of small arrows were fired at once.

FWEEEEEEEEEK—

KWAAANG—!

A user who was hit head-on flew about seven meters.

“KHUAAAAAGH!”

“......?”

A rain of small arrows that saved the small country called Joseon poured down.

Originally, an arrow should make a THUNK when it hits.

But Chinese users heard that sound and doubted their ears.

KWA-JAAAK, KWA-KWAK, KWAAANG, KWA-RAK, KWA-KWAK—!

“U-uaaaargh!”

“GkhAAAAAAAGH!”

“Kkhuhhhhuk!”

Dozens of users kept being launched into the air.

They were also coated head to toe in Uniques, so the damage wasn’t catastrophic.

But it was true that this arrow barrage dealt enormous, unexpected damage.

And then—

“Let’s go.”

KREEEEEEAK.

THUD—

The main gate opened, and Lee Hwan, gripping the Twin Dragon Sword, surged out with the Korean users.

“WAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

The Chinese users and Korean users began clashing evenly.

Viewers went wild at the sight of them not giving an inch.

But watching it, Nell thought this.

‘How long can we hold from here......?’

Three hours? Four?

Even if it was even now, Korea would eventually be pushed back by the overwhelming level difference.

At that time—

Hyuntae remembered everything Hyunsoo had told him.

Dr. Jinseop, the attending physician, had once said that a tiny number of patients could hear what people said.

Kang Hyuntae was one of them.

At his words that he wanted to see Hyunsoo, Blacksmith Ren brought him to the lord’s castle.

Lord Vance opened the gate that led outside the territory wide, and they guided him into the world.

Lord Vance and Hyunsoo were still exchanging letters.

They weren’t special letters. Just letters about how Hyunsoo had been doing lately.

Those letters helped.

Vance sent a hawk, and he was able to meet a man called Sword King—built like a wall—and Ben.

“Hyunsoo is the spitting image of his father.”

“Heh heh, I’m glad to meet you like this.”

It was true that these two weren’t people you could meet just anywhere.

But the two of them were bound by the name of being Hyunsoo’s friends.

My friend’s long-held wish. Thinking they could fulfill it, they came running.

“Right now, Hyunsoo is participating in the foreigners’ festival. But with strong power in play, ordinary people can’t enter.”

Hyuntae asked in a flustered voice.

“......Then I can’t meet my son?”

Sword King and Sky-Blue looked at each other.

“We’ll get you in ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ somehow, so don’t worry.”

“Getting a single person into that place is nothing.”

Hyuntae looked at the two of them smiling broadly. Hyuntae, riding in the carriage, headed toward where his son was.

Outside the carriage window, a forge flashed by.

He recalled what Hyunsoo had said before entering the continental war.

‘Dad, I want to become a cool person too. There are people who believed in me and followed me. But in that war, I don’t know how far I can go.’

His son Hyunsoo was always someone who found a way.

Even that Hyunsoo was afraid. He couldn’t help it.

In this world, there were things you couldn’t do even if you wanted to.

‘I’ll do my best. I’ll finish it in a cool way and come back, so watch me.’

Hyuntae asked Ben, who sat facing him.

“May I borrow a pen and paper?”

Ben handed him a pen and paper.

SCRITCH SCRITCH SCRITCH—

Ben stared at what was being drawn so quickly, startled.

‘I’ve seen Hyunsoo draw crafting methods before.’

But his father was far faster and more precise than Hyunsoo. Curious what he was drawing, Ben asked.

“What are you drawing?”

Hyuntae answered with a small smile.

“The crafting method for the Twin Dragon Sword.”

The carriage was arriving at the place where the continental war was underway.