“KKEHEHEHEHE—!”

The 500 undead necromancer Wei had summoned erased the disadvantage in numbers.

The undead, who knew no fear, charged the knights without hesitation.

Wei could never forget the humiliation of that day.

The day they summoned and commanded thousands of undead with China’s necromancers and overwhelmed the Koreans.

When black night covered the world, Hyunsoo floated in the sky—and with a single Twin Dragon Sword, erased every necromancer.

Wei had been one of them.

Emperor, King of the Dead.

The greatest necromancer in the world.

Someone comparable to an Immortal.

Those were the epithets necromancer Wei used to be called.

But now the world called necromancer Wei like this:

“One of the necromancers who got wiped out by the Twin Dragon Sword?”

“That one who summons a lot?”

The Continental War had been a festival for rankers.

The longer you survived and the longer you shined, the more you could prove yourself in front of the entire world.

But Wei had been forced to log out in under thirty minutes.

So their reputation could only crash.

Fucking Hyun!!!!!

Wei wanted to turn the dead of Hyun’s Forge—guild members and territory residents alike—into undead and parade them right in front of Hyun.

And for that day, they had grown stronger by devouring even more artifacts and elixirs than they had during the Continental War.

For one reason only:

To carve an unforgettable humiliation into Master craftsman Hyun, force them to their knees, broadcast that sight to the world—and reclaim their glory.

But then they ran into unexpected obstacles.

Wei didn’t back down.

“Kill them all.”

Because their undead—now stronger than ever—were driving them back.

Did Wei understand?

That the harder they pushed—

the more they were helping Hyun?

“U-ugh... AAAAAAGH!”

“K-KHAAAGH!”

“Why are there so many undead—khhk!”

And the same was true for the others.

[Yongwol: I’ll land lethal damage on the knights and make them easy to kill. You finish them—cut off their breath.]

Yongwol, an assassin.

The successor to the Assassin King.

With a dagger in hand, she pulled her mask up to just beneath her eyes.

Around her were more than fifty assassins—her subordinates.

She also couldn’t forget the humiliation of that day.

She was the owner of the most influential assassin group in China.

And even she had met death in—literally—two exchanges.

Not just Yongwol.

The best assassins had been split in half by Hyunsoo’s Link, Accumulation, and One Strike, Two Halves—stacked into Trinity.

Yongwol burned with resentment.

She had even sold off half her assets, upgraded every artifact she could, and supplied the elites who came with her.

Now she clenched her teeth and began weaving between assassins and knights.

Assassins flickered in and out—appearing, disappearing.

Their blades were sharper than usual, loaded with raw emotion.

[Yongwol: Let’s kill every last one of Hyun’s fucking bastards and show them our power!]

She was no different from Wei.

The more she and her subordinates landed lethal strikes on knights—

the better it was for Hyun’s Forge.

The more they turned these enemies into golden goblins.

The ones making the biggest impact were Sword Emperor’s descendant Pond and Poison King Liu.

A large portion of the knights were already weakened by roughly 20%.

The Legendary monster—Hydra.

Its absurd Breath made their bodies smoke like they’d been doused in acid.

And with blood pouring from everywhere, the knights were starting to fear instead of harden.

Poison King Liu’s spear skewered two knights in an instant.

THUNK—

At Liu’s side, Sword Emperor’s descendant Pond’s blade fell—and five knights collapsed at once.

The knights’ average level was around 370.

It was beyond common sense.

[Liu: Their swordsmanship is on a completely different level from the knights I’ve faced so far. It feels like I’m looking at a knight order led by a Sword Emperor.]

It was Liu’s honest evaluation.

The knights were too exceptional.

Could 4,000 knights like this really gather in one place?

To be honest, Hyun’s underlying force was terrifying.

To have the power to assemble people like this...

And that was why Poison King Liu was happy.

If they killed them all—

and then caught Hyun as well—

the glory would only grow.

[Poison King.]

[For 3 minutes, those attacked by you are inflicted with lethal poison.]

[Movement slows by 30%, and they fall into various status ailments.]

Poison King Liu moved faster through the knights.

Even a graze—just being nicked—was enough to stack poison on them.

“Kkhk...”

“Ugh...”

Poison King Liu, too, was fighting like Hyunsoo’s reliable right hand.

SHKAAAA—!

But the standout was Pond.

The instant Pond drew their blade against thirty charging knights, they were cut down in one sweep.

“That one is their leader.”

“We must kill that one first.”

Sword Emperor’s descendant Pond was just as stunned by the situation as anyone.

But they felt their blood boil.

After that day, I replaced my sword.

Legend Above Legend grade.

After Hyun—those damned hands—made the first Legend Above Legend grade, more artifacts at that level had begun to circulate in the world.

They still cost a fortune.

And Pond had paid that fortune.

I’ve studied you thoroughly.

One reason rankers were strong was because they specialized in analyzing opponents.

They analyzed faster and more sharply than others, so they could respond before a skill even manifested.

Also, one of the Twin Dragon Sword’s offensive tricks was breaking artifacts.

But a Legend Above Legend grade artifact wouldn’t break so easily.

SHK—!

Pond’s eyes shook as they cut down yet another knight.

Sword Duke Roman.

Roman was sweeping through users like falling leaves with an aura-flooded blade.

Like a wolf among sheep.

And Pond could see the knights’ desperation.

“Don’t retreat! Kill them all! Show them what this continent is!”

[Sword Duke’s Rage]

[The knights’ morale boils over.]

“WOOOOO!”

“We obey!”

“For Sword Duke Roman!”

“For the Kingdom of Goyard!”

What stunned Pond was their resolve.

They’re fighting like this is their last battle. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

That was exactly what it looked like.

Like they were truly fighting for Hyunsoo—as if this were the last battle they would ever have.

They’re dancing a blade-dance for Hyunsoo!?

Pond was horrified.

A being who could make people fight like this—Hyunsoo, the Sword King’s disciple.

Pond couldn’t understand it.

What exactly were they fighting so desperately for?

But Pond and the Chinese users also put their lives on the line.

GRIP—!

Pond clenched their sword harder.

And their sword began carving through knights even faster.

*****

What made Sword Duke Roman and the knights so desperate?

If the rebellion fails, we all die.

The citizens who stood with rebellion will abandon us.

That was why Sword Duke Roman and the famed-family knights fought like it was their final battle.

They had nowhere left to step back.

The moment rebellion began, they had to give everything.

“WOOOOOOO!”

So Sword Duke Roman danced the blade even more crazily.

But surprisingly—

the enemy force that had crossed the continent was the same.

“RAAAAGH!”

“HAAAH!”

“DIEEEEE!”

They, too, were fighting with everything they had.

Roman didn’t know it, but if they returned after coming all this way to catch Hyun—and failed—then the condemnation would be even worse.

That one.

Sword Duke Roman’s gaze met Pond’s.

It was true that both of them were opponents Hyunsoo would struggle to face head-on.

But then—

“You’ve got some skill with a sword!”

“I am the descendant of the Sword Emperor!”

The two of them began fighting each other fiercely.

CLINK-CLINK-CLINK—CLANG!

Every collision of blades added another critical wound.

“WOOOOO!”

Pond, remembering the defeat Hyunsoo had handed them—

“RAAAAGH!”

Roman, determined to correct the false designation of “descendant” and walk a new king’s path—

CLACK-CLACK-CLACK—CLANG!

They threw sparks and shredded each other’s HP at an accelerating rate.

In other words, they were destroying themselves.

Someone watched it all.

Agh. I want popcorn.

In their rage and their desperate battle, they hadn’t even noticed Hyunsoo was hiding.

And Hyunsoo couldn’t help finding it ridiculous.

Victory in the Continental War?

It was natural. It was fair. So why are those bastards acting like I won immorally—freaking out, drowning in insecurity?

The designation of the king’s descendant?

His Majesty Barad wants a Goyard that does not waver. A country where blacksmiths and knights coexist. He designated me because he knows that country will be solid.

Right. Continental War or descendant designation—Hyunsoo had done nothing that deserved this kind of hatred.

The reason they were enraged and trying to trample Hyunsoo—

Greed.

The Chinese users wanted the achievement of killing the First Legend.

Sword Duke Roman and the knights wanted to steal the seat of the king’s descendant and drink in wealth and glory.

Hyunsoo didn’t feel a shred of guilt.

If anything, watching their HP bars plummet faster and faster, Hyunsoo felt greed as well.

But unlike theirs, it was justified greed.

They had aimed for Hyunsoo, stained Hyunsoo’s name, and tried to rise by stepping on it.

Hyunsoo turned around.

*****

“Kh—!”

“Hk!”

Roman matched with skill. Pond matched with gear and level.

As the fight reached its peak, both of their HP dropped sharply.

[HP has fallen below 30%.]

And the lower it fell, the closer their fury climbed to its own peak.

Curses burst out of both mouths at once.

“You lackey bastard of Count Hyunsoo!!!”

“I’ll bury you and Hyunsoo together!”

Both of them widened their eyes as they pulled their swords back. Their eyes darted around.

The battle was at its end—knights were bleeding everywhere, and a large portion of users were teetering at the edge of being forced to log out.

“Weren’t you Count Hyunsoo’s friend from across the continent?”

“What kind of bullshit is that? Aren’t you the lackey the Sword King sent to protect Hyunsoo?”

Both of them realized something was wrong.

“Everyone, stop!”

“Cease the attack!”

At the commanders’ words, the fierce battle came to a halt.

They exchanged a few more sentences and realized the truth:

Their target was the same.

As they fought, their hatred for each other had only grown—

but both of them understood something.

It ends only when one side is wiped out.

And even the side that ‘wins’ will take losses close to annihilation.

Pond—being a user—lowered their stance first and showed flexibility.

“Our merit is Hyunsoo. How about we join hands?”

“...A good idea.”

Sword Duke Roman agreed.

“Only by tearing Hyunsoo apart will my anger be soothed.”

And ironically, Hyunsoo’s actions made the two groups cling tighter.

“Do you know about territories granted by the gods?”

“Of course. But you needn’t worry. The average is only 400 forces. As a fellow foreigner, I know it well.”

“Four hundred... then with the original two hundred, that makes six hundred.”

“Hah. So even combined, Hyunsoo’s forces were only six hundred.”

NPC and user shared information.

And it filled both sides with certainty.

“An army of 6,000. Hyunsoo will collapse too easily in our hands.”

Then—

RUMMMBLE—

“...?”

They felt the ground tremble. A force was approaching.

Their eyes sharpened.

“What trick is it this time?”

“Do they have some ability that multiplies the number of footsteps?”

That wasn’t the sound six hundred could make.

They both let out bitter laughs and looked toward the sound.

The laughter slowly drained from their faces.

White ivory—armor made to resemble it.

And horned helmets that looked like they were carved from the same white ivory.

There were easily more than a hundred.

Behind them was a force so large it filled the maze, carrying a banner marked with crossed “anvil and sword.”

Not a single soldier broke formation.

With disciplined motion, they stamped left foot, right foot—into the ground.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP—

At the very front stood someone.

Someone who had always felt ashamed to call themself lord, sovereign.

Because the residents and forces they possessed were pathetic in number.

But today was different.

“Good to meet you. I am the sovereign, Hyunsoo.”

[You are afflicted with the Overwhelm status ailment.]

[You stiffen under tension that makes it feel like your breath will stop.]

[It is not easy to move your body under immense fear and powerful pressure.]

The stat called Overwhelm proved its perfect timing.

They were being overwhelmed—literally—by Sovereign Hyunsoo’s appearance.

And at the sovereign’s graceful hand gesture, Atlas’s 4,000 soldiers loaded baby bolts as if displaying their loyalty.

CLICK—

SHHAAAAK—!

The moment Hyunsoo’s hand dropped, 4,000 baby bolts pierced 6,000 enemies.

PFF-PFF-PFF-PFF-PFF—!

In a single exchange, they were wiped out—dozens of glittering artifacts and gold dropping beneath them.

And from Atlas’s 4,000, level-up alerts surged upward in a flood.

They were 6,000 golden goblins—exactly.