Great Atlas War (Part 1) (3)
Expectations for the Great Atlas War among viewers worldwide weren't particularly high.
Even if a noble from a small kingdom had become a lord, it was assumed he'd command no more than a thousand troops or so.
So, what they were looking forward to boiled down to two things.
First: the growth of Hyun, the master craftsman who had led Korea to victory in the continental war against China.
Second: just how much power the world's top-ranked players could unleash.
The Great Atlas War was a gathering of the planet's strongest users on an unprecedented scale.
But Hyun's forge would have to hold out long enough for everyone to witness their superior control, skills, and artifacts in action.
The east gate.
Viewers around the world were dumbfounded.
All because a single tall man was blocking the most crucial path into Atlas.
The angriest and most baffled of them all was Pang.
Pang, legion commander of Agares, had been deeply shocked by Hyun's exploits during the continental war.
The fact that a puny country like Korea had produced such a master craftsman had set his blood boiling.
Even in a battle they were sure to win, Pang never let his guard down.
He'd been anticipating what kind of upset they might pull off this time.
But the moment he saw the single knight guarding the east gate, it hit him.
'Atlas was all just a show.'
Hyun had spent months dodging high-rankers.
His territory had taken shape bit by bit, and he'd sparked the Great Atlas War purely to buy time.
"Fine, I'll wrap this up quick."
Demonization
Pang's form twisted into something eerie.
Two large, pale horns sprouted from his forehead like a true demon's, and his skin darkened to black.
His veins bulged, and immense power surged through him.
At the same time.
Krraaaaa—
Thududududu—
Agares was a calamity demon capable of triggering earthquakes.
Though Pang wielded only a diluted version of that power, its scope was still astonishingly narrow.
An earthquake engulfs a 50m radius.
Craaaack, craaaack—
Rumble—
The ground before the east gate warped and twisted under the power of Pang, the so-called calamity wielder.
"Swallow him."
Pang had no doubt the man would be devoured by the churning earth.
'……What?'
Pang panicked soon enough.
The irregularly rising and sinking ground.
The man was stepping on the protruding sections, closing in at an impossible speed.
Rumblerumble—
The stones shattered instantly under his feet.
Yet with light footsteps, the man murmured as he leaped over them.
"God's Step."
It happened in a flash.
The man was right in front of Pang.
Demonized, Pang's level reached 564.
Even most legion commanders would fear him in this state.
But Hyun-soo had already run every simulation beforehand.
The east gate would face 'Pang' and 400 demonized high-rankers.
And Pang was exceptionally vicious even among demons.
You have killed 11,613 people.
Evil overflows.
The reason a mere human could become a legion commander was his demonic cruelty and the sheer number of humans he'd massacred.
But that very trait would prove his downfall.
Paaang—!
A light jab from the man sent Pang flying backward.
"Kuh?!"
HP drops below 89%.
Pang was stunned.
How high did someone's stats have to be to shave off 11% of his HP with a single punch?
"Butterfly's Thread."
Tutututut—!
In two seconds, the man dashed around them dozens of times.
The 400 users flinched at the sight of his dozens of afterimages.
Then he swung his sword.
"……?"
"……?"
"……?"
In that instant.
Exterminates all evil!
Pang's eyes went wide.
80% HP deleted!
HP drops below 20%.
Pang panicked.
He'd never heard of a skill like this in his life.
Even more shocking, the man's sword pierced his heart once more.
Shrr—
It took just seven seconds for Pang, pierced twice, to start fading into logout.
Before vanishing, he glanced around.
"……."
The man who had murmured "Butterfly's Thread" and dashed around them for two seconds.
Translucent threads connected between the users, woven by that man.
Splash damage triggered.
The man yanked hard on hundreds of thin threads.
Snap—!
All 400 rankers were dragged into the splash damage zone.
'He calculated all this?'
Deals 2,300% damage to all evil within 30m radius.
They didn't know it, but world rank 1 Bahala's 2,300% attack power defied common sense.
Kaboom—!
Flames erupted from the ground, devouring all evil in this world.
The 400 demonized rankers began crumbling to dust.
Astonishingly.
1 minute and 13 seconds have passed since Atlas began.
It had all happened in just one minute.
First Army: Pang's forces of 413 annihilated.
No one stood except that one man.
Reactions from viewers worldwide began to shift dramatically.
Those who had been slouched in front of their TVs, faces bored, now sat up straight, eyes locked on the unexpected twist in the Great Atlas War.
And then the screen switched again.
Asura Kabel Lv. 532
Viewers worldwide jumped to their feet upon spotting him.
Veiled second only to Bahala was this man.
He was known as the one who grasped all the world's information, the murderer who'd slain the most lives.
The Asura himself.
***
Grand Mage Rund knew the tales of the 'ghost.'
'There's a user who assassinates without a sound.'
'Already 30 world high-rankers have fallen.'
'Hiding is useless.'
'He knows every secret in the world, so you can't escape.'
'What's his name? Kabel.'
'If you meet Kabel, it might be better to accept death quietly.'
Even among top-tier users like himself, these stories sounded like tall tales.
Rund figured half was bluff, half truth.
He'd exaggerated his own life story by over 50% based on facts, after all.
But it was true that Kabel had suddenly job-changed into the lord of hell: Asura.
"Why would a big shot like you……."
He swallowed the rest—follow Hyun?
Hyun was the enemy, after all.
"Today, I'll expose that tall tale to the world."
Rumble—!
The Storm Wand in his grip let out a howl.
At once, 400 mages prepared their casts.
> Rund: No wide-area spells. Focus on short-cast instant magic and stay ready!
Rund had crossed countless battle lines with these 400 mages.
The world's finest mage unit.
Tales of an empire trying to recruit them as imperial mages had caused a stir.
Rund's mage corps was that strong and elite.
'These 400 could raze a territory in 10 minutes…….'
Hell Path.
You are pulled into Asura's domain.
All skill use is restricted.
"……!?"
'Impossible…….'
Skills had balance.
No matter how legendary a killer he was, could he neutralize 400 people's skills entirely?
'……He can.'
This wasn't neutralizing 400 people.
It was dragging all 400 into his personal Hell Path.
The moment they stepped into his trap, they were helpless.
All defense drops by 50%.
Asura's attack power rises by 25%.
Hell Path lasts 1 minute.
But it only lasted a minute.
Impossible to kill 400 mages in that time.
'The moment this power fades, we're done for…….'
But once again, Rund couldn't finish the thought.
In the brief Hell Path they'd been trapped in.
5,000 hell troops emerged at Asura's command.
"Devour them."
Those 5,000 hell troops swept over the mages like a tidal wave.
And weaving through the gaps.
Pf, pfpfpfpf, pfpfpfpf, pfpfpfpfpf—!
The true murderer rampaged.
Yes, a massacre.
They were right in the middle of it.
Hell Path released.
As Hell Path faded away, Rund faced the killer Asura.
Of course, some mages had broken through the restrictions to cast spells once or twice.
Asura's HP was down to 20%, but that was still impressive.
Pf—
Heart pierced, Rund looked around.
The world's top mage guild, Golden Mage.
Annihilated by a single man.
***
We worship.
Tamer rank 1 Relli panicked.
Her monster army of nearly 2,000.
The world's top tamer users' creations knelt or pressed themselves to the ground, prostrating before some entity behind the mist.
"Move!"
"This is insane……!"
"Move, damn it!"
"What's behind that mist?!"
The tamers' faces drained of color.
Tamers had summoning chambers.
Twin Head Ogre flees to summoning chamber.
Giant Troll flees to summoning chamber.
Drake flees to summoning chamber.
"……."
1,300 of the 2,000 had fled to their summoning chambers.
Will not respond to summoning.
The escapees ignored all calls.
Then.
Whoosh—
A breeze blew, slowly parting the mist.
Relli and the tamers tensed.
What could possibly be guarding the gate to make monsters flee?
"P-Puppy?!"
Relli panicked at the revealed figure.
A brave little dog barking fiercely, snot dripping from its nose.
It was Bokdeongi of the Shiba Inu breed.
'All this because of that puppy?'
There was one other presence.
A trembling baby bird(?) made of bones perched atop the dog.
"Kyuu……."
Its cry was utterly adorable.
"P-Puppy!"
But Bokdeongi possessed a special power.
Bokdeongi had kept Kyukyu from succumbing to evil.
And it had breathed life into the skeletal Kyukyu, transforming it into a true hatchling.
In that process, Kyukyu awakened a power.
"What the hell are these punks……."
Relli nocked an arrow.
Her target: Kyukyu atop the dog.
The moment she loosed the bowstring.
"Kyuuu, kyukyu!"
Kyukyu screamed in terror.
But the arrow ignored it, aiming for Kyukyu's forehead.
Then.
Everyone's thoughts froze.
The feeble kyukyu cry warped.
Kraaaaa—!
Dragons possessed innate power from birth.
Dragon Fear
Kabooooom—
The massive wave spread across all of Atlas.
"……."
"……."
Monsters drooled and collapsed or fainted.
Afflicted with abnormal status: Fear.
All 400 users' movements were halted.
Cannot move for 1 minute.
An absurd debuff had activated.
All 400 tamers and their monsters were immobilized.
And then.
Step, step—
"Good job, Kyukyu."
He had finally arrived.
The man who orchestrated the Great Atlas War.
Purum Corp had granted Atlas various privileges and added elements for spectacle.
The lord appears.
North gate.
Hyun-soo, in his brown coat with Twin Dragon Swords slung over his shoulder, finally revealed himself.
Lord of Atlas Hyun-soo Lv. ???
At that moment.
Slash
Slaaash
Pf, pfpf, pf—
World rank 2 Kalli couldn't tear his eyes from the TV.
'Dragon Fear……?'
What the hell had happened in Atlas?
Right after that thought, in just over a minute.
Master craftsman Hyun-soo wove through the immobilized monsters and users.
No skills.
Just basic attacks, slaying them all, as dozens of cameras captured his every move.
"……."
Gulp.
Kalli realized it.
The Great Atlas War, which had seemed like an easy win.
11 minutes and 32 seconds have passed since the Great Atlas War began.
First Army: 1,800 annihilated.
It harbored massive variables.
Finally, Hyun-soo's cold face filled the close-up.
Through those eyes, Kalli could feel it.
Beyond the first army's small fry, to the second army's real heavyweights, he was saying:
'Come on in.'
The lord, Hyun-soo, awaited them.