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

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

World rank #15, Kou, hid among the undead and charged in with about two hundred knights wearing black armor.

With all the undead completely wiped out, he ended up fighting the Korean users head-on.

When a plan goes off the rails, it’s an unsettling thing.

But once they actually fought, it was doable.

They’d been fighting for about an hour, and the Korean users had only managed to force-log out around fifty Chinese users.

The fight with Lee Hwan, in particular, had left an impression.

Lee Hwan, Korea’s only top-ranker within the top 50.

He was definitely an outstanding user. But Wang Gang hadn’t been forced to log out in his fight with him.

Instead, he’d made him flee inside the castle.

If he had to describe Lee Hwan right now, it was this.

‘He’s wearing clothes that don’t fit.’

He mainly used a saber, and it looked like he still hadn’t found an artifact that suited him.

It couldn’t be helped.

The number of Legend artifacts in Korea was about one-thirtieth of China’s.

And artifacts produced by blacksmiths rarely carried the exact effect he wanted.

A pitiful user—born under the wrong nation, Lee Hwan couldn’t even properly grip a proper weapon.

Kou clicked his tongue.

But then....

“Here he comes again.”

Kou sneered.

Even though Lee Hwan’s level was higher than his, he wasn’t afraid.

But there was something different from earlier.

Lee Hwan was holding a saber.

Kou rushed in lightly.

KWAAANG—!

Kou, blades meeting, faltered.

‘What is this?’

He made a face like he couldn’t understand.

After just a single exchange, his whole body buzzed—tingling and vibrating.

Kou also had a high understanding of weapons.

A saber is hard to swing and slow.

When an ordinary longsword can be swung three times, a saber can be swung once.

But just now, the speed had been fast enough that when a longsword swung three times, it felt like the saber could swing twice.

“My general Sword Mastery is upper-tier 6, but my saber mastery is top-tier 7. And this named sword, the Twin Dragon Sword, has an effect that makes it 40% lighter than a normal saber.”

Kou was stunned.

“What kind of weapon like that exists in this world?”

“Right here.”

KWAAANG—!

It was real.

The speed of the Twin Dragon Sword in Lee Hwan’s hands was beyond common sense for a saber.

What was even more shocking was its destructive power.

While keeping that speed to a degree, its destructive power was several times that of a longsword.

KWAAANG—!

The moment it struck armor head-on, Kou’s armor—closest to Legend—cracked apart.

“This was made by Blacksmith Hyun, but you guys don’t have Hyun, do you?”

Kou was shaken twice over—because Lee Hwan’s expression looked like a child boasting about some wonderful new thing he’d gotten.

Lee Hwan glanced around.

“Come on! Come on!”

“You guys don’t have Hyun, do you!?”

“Just how good do you think our Hyun’s artifacts are!?”

The tide of the battlefield had changed.

And even as Lee Hwan began to overwhelm Kou, it was hard for him to truly process it.

‘How did he make such a perfect artifact....?’

It maximized the saber’s advantages and compensated for its drawbacks as much as possible.

Originally, an artifact tends to include unnecessary functions.

And Guild Master Lee Hwan of Hwarang had been steadily sending recruitment notes to Hyun, only to be ignored every time.

Because of that, he hadn’t hit subscribe for Hyun’s Forge, harboring a slightly twisted feeling toward Hyun.

But his mind changed.

‘The moment the continental war ends, I’m hitting subscribe.’

A chill ran down Lee Hwan’s spine.

“Puhahahaha—! You guys don’t have Hyun-uuuuh!”

“A-are these bastards insane!?”

Hyun’s Forge sold weapons at about 40% above market price, but that gave Korea wings.

And now even he had decided he’d subscribe to Hyun’s Forge.

Then....

‘What about the viewers...?’

He swallowed, throat dry.

Still, even he admitted what needed admitting.

‘Long live Hyun.’

Suddenly, he remembered his weapon-use time.

‘1 hour 32 minutes.’

For 1 hour 32 minutes, a rental fee of thirty million won had burned away.

“UUUOOOAAAAAA!”

Lee Hwan clenched his teeth to get his money’s worth.

*****

Nell, scanning the battlefield, saw that eight hours had passed.

‘We’re starting to get pushed.’

After the first true clash, the fight stayed evenly matched—back and forth.

Fights between high-ranker tiers lasted longer than expected.

They held out for several hours longer than the world experts predicted.

And unexpectedly, the Korean users were fairly strong too.

But Nell stared straight at reality.

Korean users: 514 still alive. Chinese users: 631 still alive.

As time went on, Korea’s numbers were falling faster than China’s.

Polarization had begun.

‘Once polarization starts, it accelerates sharply—like a dam collapsing.’

Nell looked at the situation coldly.

‘We did well.’

They were incredible.

No matter who you asked, they wouldn’t hold back praise.

In reality, it was difficult for Hyun’s Forge guild members themselves to shine here.

They were strong by Korean standards, but here, people like that were everywhere.

‘Everyone’s satisfied....’

Then Nell saw the expressions on Hyun’s Forge people’s faces and realized she’d been foolish.

“Just one more! Just one moreee!”

Ian grit their teeth and kept firing arrows, and Bark swung his shield at five users at once, struggling desperately.

Belia prayed without end, and Taehun and Hanul fought with bodies already overloaded.

“.......”

Nell realized she’d been complacent.

Their hunger to win was still burning.

Something she couldn’t know because she wasn’t the one fighting.

“UUUAAAAAA!”

Even as they started to get pushed, they fought like hell not to be pushed.

Nell clenched her fist and trembled, furious that there was nothing she could do for them.

She could feel their sorrow.

The inferiority, jealousy, and desire hidden behind Hyunsoo’s exploits.

It couldn’t be helped.

Everyone wanted to become a star.

But right now, they were nothing more than one out of a thousand.

......THUD

......THUDDANG

Then, in the cracks of the deafening battlefield, a sound reached only Nell.

That sound was hotter than anything else.

‘...Hyunsoo.’

Maybe Hyunsoo understood that feeling too.

At that moment, Nell’s eyes shook.

‘Pond. Liu....’

They started moving.

*****

Pond and Liu waited for the Korean users to grow exhausted.

Even if Pond had been pulled into a scheme, he had enough of a brain for that much.

It was time to push polarization to its extreme.

RUMBLE—!

A green-black sphere shot up into the sky.

Poison King Liu was known as a user like this:

The one who could inflict the greatest debuff in Ares.

That green-black sphere hanging in the sky fell over the Korean side like rain and burst like fireworks.

PAPAPAPAPAPANG—!

SHHHRRAAAK—!

[You have been afflicted with Abyssal Poison.]

[You cannot resist.]

[All stats decrease by 20%.]

[Vomiting, chills, and dizziness occur.]

It was power on the level of a named NPC.

Liu’s ultimate was literally a calamity.

It was enough to pour fuel on the polarization that was deepening by the minute.

“U-uaaaargh!”

“Kuhh—!”

“You fucking— I was winning until just now...!”

“Hey, why are you two ganging up—khagh!”

The reason polarization steepened was simple: Korea’s numbers dropped while China’s stayed the same, meaning Korean users had to face larger numbers.

Liu’s poison accelerated it.

“U-uaaaargh!”

“Kkhuh—!”

“Crazy....”

The Korean users who’d been holding firm in front of the main gate started to get pushed back.

And then another one dropped in.

SLAASH—

It was Pond.

His sword instantly took the heads of three Korean users.

Landing, he drew again at blinding speed.

SLAASH—!

In that instant, twenty Korean users were split in two with 450% cutting power.

Pond wore a delighted smile.

‘Now the slaughter begins!’

The moment Pond raised his hand, the Chinese users began spamming skills.

PAPAPAPAPAPAPANG—!

KORRRRRRRRK—!

Watching Koreans scatter without a trace, they sneered.

Before long, around a hundred Korean users had fallen to the Chinese side.

It wasn’t some scene carefully staged.

They just collapsed, helplessly.

“Ah, please, show some mercy.”

“Public execution is too much!!!!”

“Are you using skills?”

“Commander, I’ll use skills.”

Liu shook his head.

“Kill them with basic attacks. We still have a lot of places to go.”

It was an excuse.

Not because they had far to go, but because they wanted to broadcast them being killed by basic attacks live.

But “we have far to go” made it sound justified.

Soon, a horrific scene unfolded.

CRUNCH, THUNK, SPLAT

Someone fired an arrow and forced a Korean user to log out.

Someone smashed their head in to force a logout, and someone else cut like a madman.

The numbers fell faster and faster, exponentially.

Finally, the gate opened.

KREEEEAK—!

Pond and Liu, along with around five hundred Chinese users, moved to step over the broken gate.

Then Pond’s expression turned puzzled.

SLAASH—!

Something shot up from somewhere.

‘A forge?’

It was too fast for him to find it.

FLASH—

When he finally caught it in the sky, Pond narrowed his eyes, trying to see it clearly.

But he couldn’t make it out.

Then it dove.

That unknown thing plunged into the castle interior.

KRAAAAAACK—!

A gigantic saber over three meters long—its surface was being engraved in red with a crest.

[Now this servant’s warship.]

[Even now, I still have.]

[Twelve remaining.]

“K-kyahahahaha—! Khahahaha!”

Pond laughed.

Zhuge had dug into every last detail about Hyun’s Twin Dragon Sword.

Now-this-servant’s-warship, I-still-have-twelve.

The power it carried was to imprint Blacksmith Hyun’s power into a single target.

Just like how it had let Ian touch Legend, even if only briefly.

“What are you going to do with just one person!”

Sure, they might be able to kill someone. But with that one person, then what?

Then—

[Black Night.]

Once again, darkness fell over the world.

Humans are animals that get used to things.

Fear of something you’ve experienced once becomes trivial the second time.

Even while swallowed by darkness, Pond smiled.

And then, the world snapped bright again.

‘...Huh?’

Pond’s smile faded.

Bark, Ressel, Belia, Hyeji, Taehun, Hanul, Ian.

They placed their hands around the Twin Dragon Sword.

Someone on the blade, someone on the grip, someone on the flat.

-W-what is that?

-The people of Hyun’s Forge are gathering around the Twin Dragon Sword.

-W-what is about to happen!?

Across the world, their figures were being shown in close-up.

*****

‘CEO, you look better these days.’

A dull daily life—Real-Estate Tycoon Bark seemed to have found a new life.

‘...You’re participating in the continental war? I believe you’ll shine.’

Ressel, the youngest of Hansung Group, had the expectations of Chairman Lee Taeseong.

‘The three geniuses? Even so, in the continental war....’

Hyeji, Taehun, Hanul.

Deep trauma still remained for them, and they feared the public eye.

‘I’m scared....’

Belia hated fighting, but she fought to protect her guild members.

Each of them had their own reason, but a shared thought.

‘I’m powerless....’

‘So I was this insignificant.’

‘Fuck....’

It was a chain of despair.

Like the common line—everyone thinks they’re special—they expected their own exploits.

But in truth, their exploits weren’t big.

Just one participant out of a thousand.

Then, in the darkness, Hyunsoo’s guild chat appeared.

[Hyunsoo: I put the Twin Dragon Sword’s true meaning into it.]

As if bewitched by the sword shining even in the darkness, they approached.

‘The Twin Dragon Sword’s true meaning...?’

‘What is that?’

[Hyunsoo: Become the twelve ships.]

Twelve ships.

Us—who couldn’t do anything here?

Before they knew it, everyone had gathered in front of the Twin Dragon Sword.

[Hyunsoo: The power I put in this time is different from the power I put into Ian. I got the inspiration from Flame that I obtained not long ago.]

Bark reached out first, and the others, one by one, reached out and took hold of the Twin [N O V E L I G H T] Dragon Sword.

The Twin Dragon Sword burst with a massive resonance.

[The most perfect twelve ships are completed.]

We aren’t people that great.

Bark has so much that he falls into emptiness every night.

Ressel is getting pointed at by executives saying, “The young master’s playing games these days?”

The Olympic trio live while enduring the common jealousy of, “Aren’t they living off what they earned back then?”

[Hyunsoo: Protect it.]

He and we share the same heart.

We were nothing more than selfish people, not patriots.

Wanting cheers under the spotlight, we chased a better Hyun’s Forge than yesterday.

But that isn’t how the Twin Dragon Sword saw them.

[The story that saved the nation responds.]

The Twin Dragon Sword asks a question.

Why did you board this ship.

If you board this turtle ship, you might die—at the hands of the roughly five hundred Chinese users crossing that gate ahead.

The answer was simple.

‘Because we had to board.’

Because we had to protect this sea.

No.

Because we had to stop them from crossing this castle gate.

At last, the flames spreading from the Twin Dragon Sword swallowed them.

[It burns the hottest.] 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

They became the twelve ships and crashed into five hundred ships.

[It is recorded in history.]

When they came to their senses, they had carved a new stroke into Ares.

And they understood.

[Story. Those who had to board are recorded.]

That day, Joseon might have had to board a ship.

Just like us.