I can do it.

Just learning that fact alone brought a major shift in how the Black Wind Corps and Bon felt.

Two thousand Black Wind Corps and Bon stood in ranks of five and ten before Hyunsoo.

Bon stood in front of Hyunsoo.

Then he extended his hand.

“Give me your loyalty.”

Just moments ago, under a hopeless sky, the Black Wind Corps had been afraid.

Not anymore.

[Bon and the Black Wind Corps will train and improve to prepare for the Gremory invasion in 2 years!]

A small smile formed at the corner of Bon’s mouth.

It was a completely different expression from when he’d awakened an hour ago—and the change went even deeper.

Hyunsoo was sure of it.

Bon has no choice but to take my hand.

Bon’s eyes proved it.

But the bigger change made even Hyunsoo’s pupils shake.

“......That day, when even the lord couldn’t be protected, I will protect you.”

Bon didn’t say he would swear eternal loyalty.

But the way he’d been talking down had turned into respectful speech, and the mocking smile had turned into a smile of trust.

Bon took Hyunsoo’s hand.

“Loyalty!”

The two thousand Black Wind Corps—prepared in advance—saluted, placing their clenched fists over the left side of their chests.

Right. It wasn’t just Bon.

You could say it was the moment the entire Black Wind Corps took Hyunsoo’s hand.

With a little over six hundred days left until the demon invasion, a new hope was stirring.

Meanwhile.

The Black Wind Corps who had sworn loyalty felt their hearts thundering.

The new lord they had chosen to serve.

And behind him stood two people they could rely on.

One was Luxiu, eating almonds as a snack.

One was Asura Kabel.

They were now together with the three who had sealed demon Gremory.

And a question rose in their minds.

What’s that puppy?

“Woof, woof!”

A puppy standing bravely(?) like a majestic lion.

A plain mutt, slowly nodding with an arrogant, cool-looking face as it looked over the Black Wind Corps.

Then the Black Wind Corps saw snot running from its black nose and froze.

Why is it acting cool......?

It’s wearing the face of someone who sealed a demon.

That really was Lucky Lump’s expression.

Ahem. I’ll protect you, so do your best from now on.

To the Black Wind Corps, the mutt couldn’t help but look adorable.

They didn’t know.

That day, even though it had been far away, it had fought with them.

That Lucky Lump, faintly aflame, was also one of the lamps.

*****

[Give me your loyalty.]

[You have obtained a vassal who will lead the era.]

[All masteries increase by 1.]

[Total HP and MP increase by 4%.]

[All skill cooldowns are reduced by 5%.]

[You acquire 25 bonus points and they are evenly applied.]

The loyalty worm also served as a measuring device.

Depending on how much of a buff it gave Hyunsoo, you could predict potential and current strength.

[Black Wind Corps Leader Bon Lv.475]

Bon was definitely strong.

But compared to Luxiu, the increase from the loyalty worm was about 30% smaller.

Because Bon is in the semi-named NPC tier.

In Ares, having the same level didn’t mean having the same strength.

Many composite factors affected it.

Like how a Legendary class holder could beat someone even with a 100-level gap compared to a normal class.

Luxiu is definitely a high-tier named NPC I didn’t know about.

The new phrase—“one who walked the path of Paewang”—proved it.

Even if Bon is far beneath Luxiu, he’s valuable.

That couldn’t be denied.

Even right now, just recruiting Bon and the Black Wind Corps made Atlas erupt.

[The territory residents of Atlas’ respect for you increases sharply.]

Some of the forces and many of the territory residents who had been in Atlas before had already awakened.

To them, Hyunsoo had ultimately been nothing more than a new lord they didn’t really know.

Bon was different.

“Commander Bon!”

“It’s the Black Wind Corps!”

“The Black Wind Corps is here!”

When the leader and corps that had once protected them appeared quickly, breaking expectations, the territory residents couldn’t help but cheer.

“Thank you, my lord!”

“Long live Lord Hyunsoo!”

“Long live him forever!”

They knew it too.

Bon and the Black Wind Corps were like wild horses that were hard to tame.

Just the fact that they’d awakened again and decided to protect this place was an incredible thing.

[The bond between you and the territory residents deepens.]

[You acquire Overwhelm 100.]

[Atlas’ military power increases by 30% due to the recruitment of Bon and the Black Wind Corps.]

Just awakening them raised military power by 30%.

Well, sure.

Hyunsoo looked at the Black Wind Corps.

[Black Wind Corps Rude Lv.397]

The Black Wind Corps were elite troops a little below the Blood Ghoul Corps.

But Hyunsoo held one certainty.

The Black Wind Corps that had originated in Holy Lord’s hands will fill what they lack by meeting Atlas’ new master.

Atlas had Bella, the sword genius.

Bon and Bella.

With them, the Black Wind Corps could quickly surpass the Blood Ghoul Corps.

There was even a way to accelerate their growth further.

Hyunsoo went to the forge and gave orders to the blacksmiths.

“Begin crafting artifacts for the Black Wind Corps. True to the name Black Wind Corps, I want everyone armed with black full plate armor, horned helms, and black cloaks.”

“We obey.”

The equipment they had was only average.

With the blacksmiths here, the Black Wind Corps’ arms and armor would be made magnificent.

Hyunsoo could already picture it.

The imposing sight of two thousand Black Wind Corps wearing nothing but black artifacts.

Just encountering them would drop the enemy’s morale.

But Hyunsoo still felt it wasn’t enough.

Subduing Bon and the Black Wind Corps had only been preparation for something bigger.

The Great Atlas War.

To talk about it, Hyunsoo met Nell.

“At 6 o’clock, we’ll coordinate the rules at the Korea Hotel and then proceed with the contract.”

The Great Atlas War was the first event ever hosted by a user.

Because so many world top-tier users were expected to participate, it had enormous global attention.

But in the end, it was still user-hosted, so clear “rules” had to be set through negotiation between both sides.

“The problem is whether they’ll give us a month.”

Hyunsoo agreed with Nell.

Right now, what they needed most for the Great Atlas War was time.

“They no longer need to wait for the Atlas War.”

On the other hand, those who would become the allied army had no reason to delay time.

They wanted to bring down Hyun and receive the promised 20 artifacts as soon as possible.

“The time frame they’ll propose is probably about two weeks from now, so I don’t know if our opinion will be accepted.”

Hyunsoo asked with a calm face.

“What are the chances of winning with Atlas’ strength?”

“The rules haven’t been decided, so I can’t say easily. But if we assume the Great Atlas War is held under rules both sides can accept.......”

Nell made a cold analysis in her head.

She considered who would fight for them in the Great Atlas War.

Of course, she excluded Lucky Lump—the guardian who could protect another gate, whom they °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° didn’t know about—and filled that slot with Bon instead.

“I can’t predict it either. Not at all.”

“......?”

Hyunsoo was surprised.

If nothing else, Nell was someone who could calculate win rates with certainty.

Her understanding of Ares was far higher than Hyunsoo’s.

“The enemies are people called the peak of each nation. Those people form an alliance, lead each nation’s rankers, and come to Atlas. Of course, we have an unexpected variable—people with strength unlike what they anticipate—but the problem is that they’re peak-tier too, so we don’t know how much they’ve grown recently.”

The hallmark of the strong was that they didn’t expose their power.

“Even if we add one, and add more, it’s still not enough. We can’t talk about odds, and in a worst case, we’ll fall far too easily. What we need right now is what you did—recruit people like Bon to raise unknown possibilities.”

After catching her breath, Nell spoke with a sigh mixed into her voice.

“And after that, we have to stretch the time until the Great Atlas War breaks out and grow as much as we can.”

Stretching time was the key.

Hyunsoo, who understood her, felt more bitter than anyone.

“Even after working like crazy, it’s still not enough.”

He couldn’t see victory at all.

Of course, it wasn’t a situation where defeat was guaranteed, either.

But not knowing whether he would win or lose at all only made him feel bitter.

“This isn’t your fault. It was an unavoidable means to protect Atlas. If you hadn’t done that, Atlas wouldn’t exist now.”

Nell meant it.

It had only been three months since the server merge.

Those three months—

People were making all kinds of guesses about Atlas.

They said Atlas currently had an army of eight hundred and Bella.

They said the only threat-level force was Hyunsoo himself.

In reality, it wasn’t like that.

Atlas had filled up with enormous variables you could call irrational.

In fact, it had even secured more troops than the eight hundred the world assumed.

Right. I’m not lacking. The situation is just bad.

Atlas’ growth had been irrational to the point no one could criticize Hyunsoo for it.

“But I can tell you what we need.”

Nell looked somewhere.

At some point, it had become night in Ares.

A man had climbed up onto a rooftop and was staring at the stars with hollow eyes.

Luxiu.

Luxiu had only just arrived in Atlas.

And you could say Luxiu’s presence had helped awaken Bon.

But Luxiu looked like he had no goal to live for.

“......We need him.”

Hyunsoo had already brought up the Great Atlas War to Luxiu, and the answer had been cold.

‘......I’ve already repaid enough of the debt. Cutting down the heads of more than fifty commanders, awakening the Black Wind Corps—yes. Now I’ll stay quietly.’

Hyunsoo understood.

He hadn’t gone there to save Luxiu.

He’d saved him by chance, and he was merely someone who had sealed Gremory.

Asking for more was greed.

Still, Hyunsoo felt it.

......I need you, Luxiu.

He didn’t say it, hiding his thoughts.

Luxiu’s words were plainly true.

Luxiu had done enough.

Wanting more was greed—and still, Hyunsoo held a small wish.

I hope your emptiness gets filled. And once it’s filled, I hope you find a new goal.

Because a purposeless, hollow life was nothing but living as time drifted by.

“I won’t force Luxiu anymore. I hope that someday, he’ll hold loyalty toward me.”

“.......”

Nell thought it was a very Hyunsoo-like way of thinking.

Not thinking, you’re staying here, so you’re my vassal and tool, but hoping that someday, Luxiu would truly want to be loyal.

“It’s time. If Luxiu won’t do it, then we only have one thing we can do—negotiate to drag out time.”

The two logged out.

*****

Korea Hotel.

Hyunsoo’s brow tightened.

“A month? Hyun’s Forge must think this is a joke. I think you’re dragging this out way too much. We’re not that idle.”

“Thanks to you, the peaks of multiple nations flew all the way to Korea. Show some manners and sincerity. We’ve already finished pinpointing the territory’s location.”

Alliance Leader Kali spoke about identifying the landmarks around Atlas to prove it.

The location he named was accurate.

“We want it held one week from now. If it isn’t held, the Great Atlas War won’t be established.”

The allied army had listened to Hyunsoo’s opinion because of the promise to craft 20 artifacts.

Now they showed a hard stance, saying they’d burn even that if necessary.

And as he listened, Hyunsoo felt bitter.

If he won the Great Atlas War, what he got was only a promise that the participants wouldn’t invade for a few months.

On the other side, the alliance got 20 artifacts—and took an entire year of Hyunsoo’s life.

If I win, what do I even get?

In other words, Hyunsoo had far too little to gain.

And a contract was being pushed forward, stating it would proceed one week later.

At that time.

Outside the Korea Hotel.

Reporters were puzzled by a white Bentley that had suddenly appeared.

Then, when the person stepped out of the car, the reporters were stunned.

“It’s Lee Sejin.”

“The creator of Ares!!”

He buttoned his suit jacket and headed for the conference room where both sides’ representatives were meeting.

User Hyunsoo and the alliance side will have no choice but to accept my proposal.

He had come with something that Hyunsoo—who had nothing to gain—could gain.

And something enormous at that.