Hyunsoo possessed one special skill that no one else had.

[Counter]

Active Skill

Grade: God

Level: 1

Mana Cost: 800

Penalty: None

Effect:

· Summons artifacts you previously crafted within 30 seconds.

· You may use one Special Ability imbued in each artifact.

· The number you can create varies by probability.

· 70% chance to create one artifact.

· 20% chance to create two artifacts.

· 2% chance to create three artifacts.

It was a power he had obtained in the very earliest days of Ares.

Back then, Hyunsoo had been disappointed by the power called Counter.

The Blacksmith God had no proper attack skills, and only two abilities at all: Emergency Crafting and Counter.

And in those days, “summoning artifacts he had once crafted” did not amount to much power.

Because the things he had made back then had only ranged from Unique to Epic.

Artifacts summoned through Counter could not be wielded.

Just as the description said, only one Special Ability use was possible.

And even if Rare, Epic, or Unique artifacts possessed attack skills, they were not enough to deal truly devastating damage to enemies.

But as time passed, the skill Counter began to reveal its true worth.

Counter was a power that would remain pitiful forever if the Descendant of the Blacksmith God remained pitiful.

But the more that god continued to strive and forge exceptional artifacts, the greater power it could unleash.

Babylon was the clearest example.

Hyunsoo could use Babylon’s Annihilate Evil, the power imbued with the ability to exterminate all evil.

And now, in the present—

Even Hyunsoo himself had been left in awe when he saw the ultimate technique of the Great Bow of Demon-Slaying he had forged.

Of course, that was a synergy made possible by the masterpiece created by Peru, the blacksmith who had lived in Balas Territory for so long.

And Hyeji was an archer.

The higher an archer’s level and stats rose, the more dramatically the attack power and destructive force of their arrows increased.

At present, Hyunsoo was around thirty levels higher than Hyeji.

And in total stats, Hyunsoo overwhelmingly surpassed her as well.

But if the two of them fired arrows under the exact same condition, wearing the exact same artifacts, Hyeji would still deal at least twice as much damage as Hyunsoo.

That was the difference between classes.

Even so, Hyunsoo could use Counter to recreate Massacre Bow, and he could fire exactly one shot.

And he wanted that one shot to carry at least as much power as Hyeji’s Massacre Bow.

That was what led him to the idea.

He would arm all nine artifact slots with artifacts designed for one purpose only: maximizing a single arrow.

So he issued an order to the entire guild.

[Hyunsoo: Bring me every artifact that can maximize the power of a single arrow.]

The response was immediate.

[Nell: I’ll move.]

[Takashi: I will give the blacksmiths their orders.]

And right there, Hyunsoo immediately summoned Kkoko.

“Kkoko.”

“SKREE?”

“Take word of this to King Antro.”

FWOOOOOSH—!

A king of a nation.

Borrowing something like that from such a man was close to impossible.

But Antro, now, could probably pretend to die if Hyunsoo asked him to.

The question was only how far that pretense of dying could go.

And only thirty minutes later—

Carrier birds could be seen flying in from all directions, with Kkoko at the very front.

FLUTTER-RUSTLE-RUSTLE-RUSTLE—!

Seeing the artifacts pouring down, a strange light rose in Hyunsoo’s eyes.

Because what had gathered was far more extraordinary than he had expected.

*****

Kim PD’s eyes shook as he received the shared list of Hyunsoo’s artifacts.

How is this even possible?

There were many reasons he had thought Hyunsoo arrogant.

Filling all nine artifact slots with items that produced only a single kind of effect—

From an ordinary perspective, it was extremely difficult to squeeze out exceptional power that way.

The first reason:

The artifact parts couldn’t overlap, and if you used items of middling grade among them, you’d be better off not having them at all.

The second reason:

The number of artifacts that boosted bow effects was limited to begin with, and the number of truly exceptional ones among them was even more limited.

And the final reason:

These are all loans. Master Blacksmith Hyun borrowed them from people. And they handed them over this easily?

If an ordinary user asked to borrow these?

There was a good chance they would be blocked on the spot.

Blinking, Kim PD stared at the gathered artifacts, and in the end there was only one thing he could say.

“What do you mean, you built a nuclear bomb...?”

That was how overwhelming the items assembled here were.

“How were you able to gather things like this?”

“You must have forgotten. The nation of Hyun is a place for blacksmiths.”

Even so, there was still too much he could not understand.

“But some of these didn’t come from the nation of Hyun.”

Hyunsoo explained them one by one.

“This gauntlet was made by a blacksmith who said he was inspired by my Gauntlet of Power. And these boots were sent by a blacksmith named Bantin after his lifelong friend died while the forges in Balas Territory were being destroyed this time. He sent them because they were a family heirloom passed down for generations. This elf necklace was sent to me by a user who told me to save the nation. The rest include things sent by guild members, and items sent by the first allied nation of the nation of Hyun. And this—”

Kim PD’s eyes trembled as he looked at him.

It was the most exceptional item among them all.

[Transcendent Grade. Baneka’s Armor.]

“Guild member Ian is Baneka’s successor, and apparently he said this to Baneka: this is the chance to get on the good side of Master Blacksmith Hyun, the man who forged a Mythic bow.”

Kim PD’s gaze swept across them.

The eight artifacts spread out before him each carried a story of their own, and together they created a deep resonance.

While time passed like this, what exactly had he been doing?

How could a single user forge something like ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) this?

“I’m ashamed of myself for mistaking you for arrogant, even for a moment.”

Kim PD watched Hyunsoo smile awkwardly.

And Kim PD loved stories.

“So these are the wishes of the nation of Hyun.”

A mere single arrow was bearing the wishes of the nation of Hyun.

“AJ Internet Broadcasting Station will handle the exclusive broadcast. We’ll proceed under whatever contract you want.”

AJ Internet Broadcasting Station showed its determination to capture this broadcast no matter what.

And Kim PD found himself wanting to ask—

“What kind of life have you been living?”

These weapons proved something.

And Hyunsoo, whom Kim PD had thought had lost his初心, gathered the artifacts back up and said,

“I only wanted to live.”

I only wanted to live.

He was still in motion.

FWOOOOSH—

A single blaze surged upward.

The one who had wanted to live was now moving like a flame, carrying the wishes of countless people whose eyes were fixed on him alone.

And Kim PD—

[Kim PD: Director.]

[Director Lee: What is it?]

[Kim PD: We’re taking this one. Even if we have to give up every bit of profit.]

Just as other people’s wishes had been poured into the path of a blacksmith who had once been wretched, who had only wanted to live, he chose to help.

At once, a new channel was added to the screens that had until now shown only the User Kingdom Union.

[AJ Internet Broadcasting Station will begin broadcasting shortly.]

Viewers who had been disappointed that Hyun’s Forge did not share its feed with any broadcasters began flooding in.

After hearing the whole story, Director Lee of AJ Internet Broadcasting Station, the network that had grown thanks to Hyun, said,

“Damn it, there are already plenty of bastards trying to kill him. Shouldn’t there be at least one bastard willing to help the guy who just wants to live?”

Would Director Lee gain nothing from this?

No. Even if they gave up the money, reputation would remain. So would the honor of AJ Internet Broadcasting Station.

But he did not care about calculating that.

It was the heart of an adult.

Director Lee was an adult.

From the earliest days, he had watched Hyunsoo. He was still watching him now.

He would contribute one arrow to what those eight wishes were forging.

“If Atlas wins, tell every reporter to write this headline!!”

“What?”

“The blacksmith who wanted to live becomes king.”

Even before victory, the title had already been chosen—born from the heart of one adult.

And after all preparations were completed at breakneck speed—

[AJ Internet Broadcasting Station begins a broadcast titled “Wish.”]

[Your vision is now being shared with User Hyunsoo.]

Hyunsoo’s field of vision began to be shared with the viewers, and only the sound of his quiet breathing filled their ears as AJ Internet Broadcasting Station turned frantic.

“Director, viewer inflow is rising extremely fast!”

“Most of them are users who were sick of seeing things only from the User Kingdom Union’s side!”

“What you said—‘Right now, what they need is Hyun’s point of view’—it’s working perfectly!”

What filled the viewers’ screens was a roaring blaze.

The flames parted, and Hyunsoo emerged atop Atlas Castle and began to walk.

His gaze swept over Atlas in every direction, taking in the hundreds of thousands of troops pressing in from all sides.

“The reinforcements will arrive soon.”

“Push forward!”

“Hyun can’t hold out much longer anyway!”

A world shown through a single pair of eyes became more vivid than ever.

Through Hyunsoo’s sight, the viewers watched dozens upon dozens of User Kingdom Union rankers closing in from every direction.

And through Hyunsoo’s eyes, they saw allies dying.

When Hyunsoo turned his head—

The viewers felt as though they were turning with him.

His gaze captured a young soldier fighting desperately to protect Atlas.

“Haa... haa...”

The tremor in his breathing seemed to pass directly through the viewers, filling them with tension.

And then—

“DON’T FALL BACK!!!!”

A single knight rode out to defend Atlas, charging on horseback and cutting wildly through the users.

Blood-soaked, with his horse screaming as it collapsed and threw him to the ground—

He grabbed the spear of a dead comrade and took one step.

THRUST—!

Two steps.

THRUUUUST—!

Three steps.

THRUUUUUUST—!

With every step he took, more weapons pierced into him, until his entire body was bristling with steel, and the knight met a magnificent death.

“Those sons of bitches.”

Hyunsoo’s voice shook. The sound burrowed into the ears of tens of millions of viewers.

Through his eyes, the viewers felt it.

The battlefield they had yawned over and casually asked, Who’s gonna win?

Seen through Hyunsoo’s eyes, it was hideous, agonizing, and unbearably hopeless.

And yet Hyunsoo’s gaze then captured the dawn arriving after the night.

The light breaking through the darkness illuminated those defending Atlas.

“What is he trying to do?”

Director Lee had heard from Kim PD that the arrow would carry nuclear-bomb-level destructive force.

But even so—

There were limits to what a single arrow could do.

For example, even if it dealt with everyone here, what about those who would come afterward?

And the viewers, too, were beginning to sense it.

Seeing the battlefield from Hyun’s point of view really hits different.Yeah. Being a monarch isn’t easy.The viewers watched the light dispelling darkness alongside Hyunsoo.

What’s he trying to do?Seriously, this looks unwinnable.Isn’t this way too much for one Hyun to handle lol?All the viewers agreed.

Then—

“Firebird.”

FWOOOOOOOSH—

A massive blaze swept past, and four figures appeared before Hyunsoo.

Seeing those who emerged with the flames, the viewers gasped.

[Bella Lv.475]

[Blackwind Captain Borne Lv.495]

[Commander Luxiu Lv.498]

[Pirate King Akao Lv.493]

Whoa... it’s Bella...Luxiu’s here too.Borne? Who’s Borne?Wasn’t that person originally from the Parion Empire?But why call over the ones who were already fighting?The four were Atlas’s core military power: Bella, Luxiu, Borne, and Akao.

And behind them, endless flames rose again, and every knight under Atlas’s command gathered in full force.

[Knight Les Lv.432]

[Knight Rade Lv.429]

The number of knights surpassed one thousand.

As all the knights appeared, Bella stepped forward as their representative and raised her sword upright in salute.

“Loyalty!!!”

Those present could not help but marvel that a single user commanded beings this absolute.

But even they were still not enough.

The reason became plain on the battlefield.

Then—

One sharp-eyed viewer appeared in the chat.

Anybody remember that interview with the world’s top users the other day? Fond said it then too. Said Hyun makes artifacts and keeps them all instead of selling them.Yeah, but that was bullshit. The real reason was that the Parion Empire had been blocking artifacts from leaving Hyun’s Forge this whole time lol.Then where did all the artifacts forged in the nation of Hyun actually go?Well obviously......They’d be in Hyun’s Forge, right?Uh...???????At that very moment, more than a thousand blacksmiths began appearing behind Hyunsoo, each carrying artifacts in their hands.

Hyunsoo spoke.

“Artifact distribution begins now.”

At that instant, led by the four knights at the front, every knight present knelt.

Only then did the viewers fully realize it.

The nation of Hyun was a nation of blacksmiths.

And it fought like blacksmiths.