Awakening (2)
Red Dragon Squad Leader Kun.
He watched the entire situation unfold from a hill overlooking the prisoner camp.
When five soldiers of unknown origin, possessing immense strength, found themselves on the brink of death, Kun spotted Hyun-soo approaching in his brown coat.
The decisive factor that would bring peace between two nations.
When he telekinetically controlled 20, then all 70 members of the Red Dragon Squad, Kun let out a small gasp of admiration.
But Kun sneered at him.
'Struggling in vain.'
Incredibly foolish.
Did he, as a blacksmith, not know the basics of combat?
Those grapes in his mouth. Precious grapes grown from the small world tree, no doubt.
'He should have applied them to an offensive tool.'
As that thought crossed his mind, a crude single arrow formed around him.
He gazed at his subordinates.
With a flourish of his coat, he nocked the arrow to his bowstring and aimed it skyward.
"It's over."
That arrogant, absurd voice.
After loosing the arrow, he turned and walked toward his men.
At that moment, Kun witnessed it.
One arrow multiplied into over 70, striking the Red Dragon Squad members.
But the damage from those arrows was pathetically weak.
Yet suddenly, it was as if thousand-kilogram weights had been shackled to their ankles.
In other words, like bombs, they plummeted to the ground.
Kaboom-kaboom-kaboom-kaboom-!
Around Hyun-soo as he walked toward his subordinates, the 70 Red Dragon Squad members crashed down from all directions.
Each impact cratered the earth deeply, sending up thick clouds of dust.
The dust briefly obscured Kun's view, and when it finally cleared, Kun was stunned.
All 70 Red Dragon Squad members were embedded in the ground, writhing in agony.
"Guh... guh...!"
"Keurgh!"
"Ugh...!"
Fortunately, there were no fatalities.
But he knew their HP had dropped by nearly 40% from that single attack.
And even without death, such a massive impact would naturally cause blackouts.
Some frothed at the mouth, unconscious.
"...!"
Kun was shocked.
'Did he find the most efficient way to attack in that split second?'
No ordinary man.
But Kun soon saw his Red Dragon Squad members rising with their superior mental fortitude.
Even so, Hyun-soo would die here.
Excluding him, most of their forces were now incapacitated.
"1 versus 70?"
Kun soon burst into laughter.
"No, soon it'll be 1 versus 110."
Red Dragon Squad Leader Kun was a meticulous planner.
He always prepared contingency plans.
70 Red Dragon Squad members.
He believed that number was sufficient.
But just in case, for the truly unforeseen, he had backups.
Among the foreigners in this land, there were groups that would do anything for gold.
The Murderer Guild.
Among them, the Red Hood Guild was a collection of high-level misfits, about 90% archers.
They specialized in massacre battles.
In mass slaughters, they could kill the most people in the shortest time by rapidly firing their bows.
Kun had hired them with gold, and they were en route.
Of course, Kun expected Hyun-soo and his soldiers to be dead before they arrived.
Besides, the Red Dragon Squad were his precious subordinates.
Kun descended the hill and hurried toward the camp.
Kan and the Storm Squadron members couldn't believe the scene before them.
70 assassins embedded in the ground.
And their lord handed each a potion bottle.
Drinking it recovered only 15% of their HP.
It was just enough to blow breath into the dying.
The assassins, with broken or shattered bones in various places, pulled themselves from the earth.
Crack.
Crunch.
They manually reset their misaligned bones.
Then, all 70 charged at once.
From all directions, targeting only Hyun-soo, they surged in.
Zip, zip-zip-zip!
Wounds rapidly multiplied across Hyun-soo's body.
Kan and the members intervened, minimizing his damage as much as possible.
And Kan knew.
If it was the lord he remembered, he wouldn't last long.
At that moment, eight assassins rushed Hyun-soo from all sides.
"My lord...!"
Kan's vision spun.
He knew his lord would die instantly from attacks on eight points.
'What is this...!?'
Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.
Kan finally realized.
Nearly a month had passed since he last witnessed his lord's power.
Excluding the battle against giants in Arham Territory, he hadn't seen it.
But that month was but a fleeting moment.
Yet.
Ghost Step
In that split second, Hyun-soo moved like a ghost toward the assassins gathered around him.
With each motion, afterimages etched into the air.
Rrrrip!
Thud!
Slash!
Crunch!
Splurt!
Boom!
Snap!
Bang!
Exactly eight.
The eight assassins crumpled in 1.4 seconds—sliced, snapped, butchered.
Moreover.
Kiiiiing—
The sword in his grip hummed, and from the bodies of assassins rising elsewhere.
Sploooosh!
Blood erupted.
Flutter!
His coat billowing, Hyun-soo rampaged freely.
At times like the Sword King, at times like the Spear Heaven.
Splaaash!
Slicing an assassin, he flashed an arrogant glare.
In this moment, Kan and the Storm Squadron members understood.
'...Even in moments we didn't see, he grew endlessly?'
At that instant.
Extreme Kill
In a split second.
Kun appeared, trailing black energy, and plunged his dagger into Hyun-soo's solar plexus with all his might.
Extreme Kill
HP forcibly reduced by 80%.
You have been afflicted with the Bleeding status ailment.
"Kuh!"
Hyun-soo staggered.
Hyun-soo looked at the man who had stabbed and withdrawn his dagger from his solar plexus: Kun.
[Red Dragon Squad Leader Kun Lv.351]
"It's all because of you. You and your subordinates will die last."
Kun vanished in an instant after pulling out the dagger.
He reappeared 12 meters away and began massacring the prisoner camp soldiers.
In the blink of an eye, he slaughtered them all, then turned on the Hell Cradle soldiers.
Prisoner camp soldiers all KIA.
A significant number of Hell Cradle soldiers KIA.
Hyun-soo's vision blurred.
'Forcibly drops HP by 80% in one hit?'
The status ailment made it hard to even open his eyes.
With his trembling body, Hyun-soo hurriedly popped a grape from the small world tree into his mouth.
HP and MP recover by about 60% instantly.
His HP rose again, but Hyun-soo realized.
'No chance of winning.'
Out of over 70, he'd only killed 10.
Hyun-soo recalled the notifications that rang each time he killed an assassin.
Negotiation value increases.
Negotiation value increases.
Negotiation value...
The assassins' deaths were linked to double negotiation value.
But something more important loomed.
'I'll lose the entire Storm Squadron.'
Hyun-soo took in the Storm Squadron struggling against the onslaught from all sides.
They might seem like NPCs, but they were irreplaceable assets to Gwangmyeong.
Then Kan, on the verge of death, approached.
"Tear a return scroll immediately, my lord."
"...I can resurrect even if I die."
Hyun-soo looked at Kan with incomprehension.
Kan knew he could revive.
Why then did he so desperately prioritize his safety?
Moreover, on the way here, Hyun-soo had heard notifications.
Vassal Kan overcomes his limits.
Vassal Barem overcomes his limits.
Vassal Pelo overcomes his limits.
They had surpassed physical and mental limits multiple times.
Death wouldn't be surprising.
Plus, their achievements in the Hell Cradle—Hyun-soo knew they'd given their all.
Kan's voice cracked.
"My lord, we want to protect you even if it means death. Our greatest sorrow now is failing to protect you."
Hyun-soo's lips parted.
And though he didn't fully grasp it, memories of the grace they'd received from him flashed through Kan and the Storm Squadron.
On their first day at Hyun's Forge, Nel had said,
'I've secured one inn room. Stay there together for now.'
Her words, as his minister, were curt.
But the entire Storm Squadron was content.
Raised by the state, abandoned by nobles—their lives had known no warmth.
To them, treated as living dead, even that was more than they deserved.
Yet Hyun-soo, the blacksmith, had said,
'I'll give you the money, so find a large house for them to live in.'
'Hyun-soo, you haven't even paid off your hospital bills yet—do you really have to go that far...?'
'Please do it. Now I have confidence. At least confidence to protect my people.'
Hyun-soo had smiled at them then.
"It's infuriating. We want to protect you but can't—this pathetic state of ours, these cursed bodies!"
Hyun-soo knew.
They were born with mana incompatibility.
And now, facing death, in a hopeless situation, they still burned with will.
Suddenly, something flashed through Hyun-soo's mind.
"Thank you, Kan."
All Hell Cradle soldiers KIA.
Ally count: five total.
Excluding the Storm Squadron, all KIA.
Hyun-soo eyed Kun and the assassins charging again.
Kan couldn't comprehend.
'Thank you?'
With a small smile, Hyun-soo patted his shoulder.
"You inspired me."
Ores surged beside Hyun-soo.
Kan and the Storm Squadron staggered forward to block.
Kun at the center of the 60 assassins.
He beckoned with a finger.
60 surged at once—Kan saw it clearly.
Suddenly, a massive blade formed above Hyun-soo's head.
Glowing red-hot.
It fused with a single grip.
Hyun-soo passed them, facing the enemy.
"There was a great general in a small kingdom."
Kan and the Storm Squadron took in the weapon he'd forged.
A mysterious greatsword descended into his grasp.
"The enemy kingdom was far stronger, and the king sensed defeat in the war."
Hyun-soo gripped the vertically held sword with both hands.
Clank!
He presented the blade face toward the enemy.
"The king of the small kingdom knew."
Characters filled the blade.
[Cling to Life and Die]
[Embrace Death and Live]
"We are defeated." But the small kingdom and great general spoke.
Hyun-soo pulled the sword back with all his might.
At that instant.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
All five Storm Squadron members felt an unknown power welling from their bodies.
A warm, maternal force that sometimes surged fiercely. And the great general Hyun-soo admired.
"To the gods, we still have..."
Hyun-soo swung the sword forward with everything he had.
Slaaaash!
"...five loyal retainers remaining."
Cling to Life and Die activates.
Applied to vassals.
Mana surges from your body.
HP recovers to 50%.
You surpass your limits.
You surpass your limits.
You surpass your...
Storm Squadron members rival knights but cannot wield mana.
Mana infuses these named NPC-grade elites.
Measuring levels.
Unable to measure.
Unable to measure.
System completes measurement.
Ding!
Blue mana swirled around Kan and the Storm Squadron.
When the rampaging men regained their senses, 50 assassins lay reduced to ash piles.