Golden Goblin (4)

"This is being recorded."

Those words made the Chinese players' hearts sink.

Fond.

'Hyun's Forge will be annihilated by our guild and its members. It'll be too easy. We'll appease the fury of our enraged countrymen.'

Wei.

'I'm one of the necromancers who got massacred. After server integration, I'll show you a screenshot of user Hyun-soo kneeling before me.'

Riu.

'My hydra is the strongest. During the continental war, Hyun-soo's artifact made it turn on our allies, but this time will be different.'

The Chinese players who had allied with them.

'We're thrilled to join this chance to wash away the humiliation of the continental war. We'll kill one more, crush one more, to vent your grudges.'

And their true inner thoughts.

Fond, Riu, Wei, Yongwol.

The conversation before getting trapped in the maze.

'If we catch Master Craftsman Hyun, how high will our standing rise?'

'I'm looking forward to this.'

Everyone had looked at Yongwol.

'What artifact will a master craftsman drop?'

'Ho ho.'

'I hope it's the Twin Dragon Swords.'

'Come to think of it, his guild members, soldiers, and knights probably have even better ones.'

'Here's the plan: we kill all the NPCs, then keep chasing Hyun's Forge. Slaughter them endlessly. Then Hyun and his guild will drop all their artifacts.'

'Hehe, such ruthless thinking.'

'You hate it?'

'We welcome it.'

Now, everything they'd said was about to change.

They could picture what would happen once the recording went public.

Four thousand overconfident Chinese users, and Sword Master Roman, who had incited the rebellion—they had walked right into their own doom.

The whole world would laugh. The whole world would mock them.

The Chinese players would rage even more, and there was one more spark ready to ignite it all.

'How could you not even kill a single one of Hyun's soldiers?!'

'Fucking hell, no other trash like this!'

'Disgrace to China!'

'Get out and go to another server!'

Facing Hyun-soo, who wouldn't even allow them a rat hole to hide in, they fell into fear.

He was different from them.

'Operating four thousand troops?'

'Did you see that DPS? Insane. That's got to be top-tier for any count.'

'Tactics and strategy were flawless. Made them fight among themselves, then wiped out six thousand without a speck of dust.'

'As expected of Master Craftsman Hyun.'

'Master Craftsman Hyun!'

'He's the best player.'

'The first to become king!'

He would walk a path different from ours.

Hyun-soo's name would rise even higher.

And that elevated Hyun would stand somewhere we could never reach.

Fond looked around.

Artifacts and gold piled up like mountains.

These would fund another development boost for Hyun-soo's territory.

Then Hyun-soo, gripping the Twin Dragon Swords tightly, dropped another bombshell that sank their hearts further.

"And this is the highlight."

The video had a highlight reel.

The moment that made the protagonist shine.

The instant when Wei, Riu, and Fond were reduced to mere extras.

"Ggrrrraaah!"

Fond's veins bulged as he thrashed wildly.

Even if their skills were on cooldown.

They were three top rankers representing China.

Undead swarmed in front of Wei, ready to protect their master.

Hyun-soo kicked off the ground and vanished.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Ghost Step."

The Twin Dragon Swords dealt absurd damage.

Unlike the others, Wei had taken almost no damage in the fight.

His class protected him from those around.

But Wei leaped up.

Stepping on air, appearing and vanishing like a ghost, leaving afterimages—the Twin Dragon Swords sliced him mid-sky.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Eleven times.

Fifteen times.

"Grr, grraaaahhh!"

Swaaaaa—

Tsukakakakaka—

In the 0.5 seconds that unfolded, only the sound of flesh tearing echoed in Fond and Riu's ears.

They stood frozen, unable to react, as Hyun-soo—who wasn't done—moved in, striking them one after another.

"Guh!"

"Khek!"

Kwararararak—

Exactly nineteen Ghost Steps.

Hyun-soo stood far higher than before.

The reason he called himself a lord.

He was no longer the old him; he was the parent of tens of thousands of territory folk.

And this showed he had the power to protect them.

Riu staggered, thrusting his spear in response.

Hyun-soo twisted away, already dragging the Twin Dragon Swords back, knees low.

His front foot dug into the ground as the blades let out a cry.

Kiiiiing—

Riu's pupils reflected it.

Dozens of blades erupting from a single Twin Dragon Sword, sweeping toward him.

And the Chinese users rushing from behind to help.

Kwararararak—

Damage they, already battered, couldn't withstand.

Hundreds of Chinese users and Riu scattering like ash—it was highlight enough for second place.

At that moment.

Kwajaaaak—

Hyun-soo's back was slashed deeply. Massive ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠damage poured in.

"I'll kill you before I go."

It was the Sword Emperor's passive skill, Raging Bull, activating.

Fond was a peak player, after all.

Some said a user's strength was 20% level, 20% stats, 20% gear, 20% actives and passives.

Passives were indeed part of their power.

Especially Raging Bull—once it procced, the odds skyrocketed exponentially, getting stronger each time.

As Hyun-soo, back slashed, lurched forward.

Kwajaaaak—!

"Guh."

"Kuhaha, hahahahaha!"

Fond laughed.

Our annihilation was certain.

But he could kill this damn bastard before leaving.

1.2-second stun activated.

40% exponential rise.

Just 2.5 more hits, and it'd proc again, trapping him in infinite stun.

Fond, seizing the momentum, pulled his sword back.

The very idea of taking them all solo was...

"Not watching your back?"

"...!?"

Fond realized too late, his head slowly turning.

Click—

Fifty knights in dragon helms and armor loaded Baby Arrows, aiming at him.

Fond let out a hollow laugh.

"Ha, haha..."

That instant.

Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwa—!

Fifty Baby Arrows pierced Fond's body everywhere.

And Fond had a revival that healed him to 10% when HP hit 1%.

But his mind was already fading, the stun broken as Hyun-soo pulled back his sword.

Seeing the knights beside him and the massive army behind, Fond felt terror.

It was the dignity of a lord itself.

Sgaaaak—

As Fond's vision blackened, Hyun-soo's voice rang out.

"You'll never set foot here again. More than your greed deserves."

Fond desperately wished.

'Please, please, please...'

His hope shattered.

"Huh? Isn't this the sword you were using? Jackpot!"

For today, Fond had bought a Legend above Legend sword.

Even with many legends out there, these superior ones numbered under twenty worldwide.

'Uwaaaaaah!'

He'd dropped his most prized artifact.

Truly the king of golden goblins.

***

Sword Master Roman and his knights were exhausted.

Bombarded by Fond and the users' wide-area skills, they'd countered with their advantage: auras.

But it had overwhelmed them.

Just two volleys of Atlas soldiers' Baby Arrows had swept away three thousand of six thousand.

Of course, the dragon Baby Arrows were potent too.

Many knights, like Roman, had barely any aura left and were swept away like autumn leaves.

'How... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠how...'

What shocked Roman more was that Atlas's army grew stronger as they fought.

Even if just finishing blows, the soldiers had steadily leveled up hunting high-level knights.

And as allies dwindled and enemies strengthened, collapse accelerated.

"Hiiik!"

"I-I wanna live."

"These bastards, where—!"

Knights fled the maze in droves.

And Sword Master Roman knelt, weapons lodged all over his body.

"It wasn't a rebellion for the kingdom, so of course no one stood to defend it."

Hyun-soo's words after everything ended, with four thousand troops at his back.

Hyun-soo was certain.

Roman wouldn't have rebelled if he'd known Hyun-soo commanded this force.

Plus, Roman was an NPC.

One of the kingdom's top NPCs, sparking this quest.

"A fitting end, brought by your greed."

Roman let out a hollow laugh at Hyun-soo's words.

"You think this is the end? Stronger rebels will rise, exceptional ones will target you. Plenty won't accept a slippery outsider as king."

Slippery.

Hyun-soo knew what that meant.

Yes, he was slippery.

But not to others.

Hyun-soo felt a pang in his chest. But he knew this was the path to kingship.

"I exterminated your clan."

"...!?"

Roman's eyes widened. His "slippery" words choked in his throat.

'Wh-what...?'

Immense mental agony shattered his belief in Hyun-soo's slipperiness.

His bloodshot eyes fixed on Hyun-soo.

Hyun-soo severed his head in one stroke.

Sgaak—!

Thud.

Hyun-soo felt he needed to toughen up more.

Just as Roman said.

The rebellion was just beginning; stronger foes would come.

'Even users.'

He'd only repelled one group of Chinese users so far.

And today, Hyun-soo had grown another step.

Mentally—learning to make strong, righteous decisions to protect what was his.

Only then could he keep it from being taken.

And other things lay before him.

'Come at me. I'll get even stronger.'

Piles of gold, junk items, and artifacts.

And Hyun-soo knew.

'Beating this rebellion at my original level wouldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have been easy.'

But he'd done it.

He knew the consequences it would bring, proven by the alerts.

The alerts confirmed it.

This battle was unprecedented, the pinnacle.

And it would bring insane rewards.

The alerts went wild.