Great Atlas War (Part 2)

PvP god Lorander was one of the hottest figures leading up to the Great Atlas War.

There were several reasons, but the biggest was his mouth.

Lorander had declared it publicly in front of millions of subscribers.

In truth, Lorander's PvP skills were unparalleled—a crane among chickens.

No one could beat him in a 1v1, at least.

His skills, artifacts, and class were all optimized perfectly for one-on-one combat.

And his raw talent was incredible too.

Though there were few videos, experts comparing footage of world rank 1 Bahala—shrouded in mystery—with Lorander's claimed that Lorander wouldn't lose to Bahala in pure PvP.

So when this Lorander declared he'd kill Master Craftsman Hyun the instant the Great Atlas War began, he naturally drew massive attention.

People wondered.

'Can Lorander really take down Hyun in under a minute?'

Lorander was also dead certain of one thing.

"Hyun did shine in the continental war, that's true. But the Twin Dragon Swords were forged during that war—they only unleashed power suited to that specific situation."

His analysis was spot-on too.

He'd anticipated Hyun-soo using a "pull" maneuver and finished all his calculations in a mere 0.2 seconds.

Screeech—

Lost in triumphant thoughts, Lorander panicked as Hyun-soo's sword sliced him.

Hyun-soo had swung effortlessly.

In that instant.

Slaaaaash—!

The severed parts revealed clean cross-sections as Lorander's body split into thirds.

'W-what the hell?'

He'd allowed one attack.

Then planned to overwhelm user Hyun-soo with sheer force.

Lorander had seen this as his golden opportunity.

A chance to become a hero of the alliance army!

Killing Hyun-soo would essentially end the Great Atlas War.

But that single hit's damage was absurd.

A damage number he'd never heard before.

And Hyun-soo, smirking coldly, had read the entire flow.

The Five Peaks were quite cautious types.

In contrast, PvP god Lorander was hot-blooded, repeating the same lines like a parrot on every stream—easy to prepare for.

How to counter a passive like Ultimate?

The answer lay in one power from Gremory's Ring.

(Gremory's Authority)

Active Skill

Mana Cost: 1,000

Cooldown: 30 minutes

Effect:

You can borrow a legion commander's power and select one.

'But it can't be changed for 3 months.'

Hyun-soo had agonized over it for ages, reviewing the 22 legion commanders' powers.

And made his choice.

'I'll take Alpuo's power.'

Alpuo had no concept of "passive" skills.

Everything was active to him.

Because he had the power to convert passives into actives.

With a catch.

Restricted to once every 10 months for Ultimate.

But he could think of it this way.

'Ultimate barely procs once in thousands of hits—now I can trigger it once every 10 months?'

Hyun-soo was convinced it was the perfect pick.

That once-every-10-months Ultimate would let him hunt named monsters others couldn't touch.

A prime example stood before him now.

Hyun-soo couldn't guarantee victory over PvP god Lorander.

He had to admit the guy was that strong.

"......The PvP god's kinda lame, huh?"

"......!?"

Lorander had boasted he'd show what the PvP god's power really meant.

Now he was reduced to ash and gone.

-L-Lorander, one-shot logout!

"......How'd he take out Lorander?"

"This can't be real."

"Wooooaaahhh!"

Atlas forces' morale shot through the roof.

The Five Peaks, having witnessed Lorander's pathetic end, and the 800 rankers' eyes changed.

"Full power."

"No holding back—unload everything we've got."

The reason the second army led with the first line was simple.

They were insanely strong to begin with, a concentration of peak players.

Top users don't want to flaunt their full power publicly.

Obvious, really.

Future enemies would analyze those videos and counter them.

But now things had changed.

"They bet half their fortunes on the alliance winning ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Atlas tote, right?"

The alliance, down from 800 to 700, unleashed all their ultimates......

Rankers' ultimates are nearly impossible to resist.

And raw strength favored the alliance overwhelmingly.

"Imperial Dragon Roar!"

"Blizzard."

"Ceremony of Advance!"

700 peaks unleashing ultimates created a spectacle.

A scene etched into Ares history, never to be seen again.

High rankers' skills might look similar, but their base damage was on another level.

As they went all-out, the 20,000 Atlas troops started getting swept away.

Splaaat—!

"......!?"

The Peaks targeted Black Wind Corps Captain Bon specifically.

"You think we'll let him reach the lord!?"

Japan's peak, Musashi, was impressed.

Just like that general swinging the Twin Dragon Swords before.

'Why......?'

Musashi posed the question.

His guild was essentially enslaved to his power and influence.

Anyone stronger could call them away anytime.

Yet here were people stronger and greater than Hyun-soo, still crying out his name.

Musashi, in a grueling fight, downed Bon with Kalli's help.

'It's over!'

With Captain Bon down, Atlas forces collapsed rapidly.

Troops pushed to the lord's castle gates, desperately holding on.

Alliance leader Kalli rejoiced.

"No surprises."

Honestly, Kalli was shocked.

Facing 3,000 world elites. All thanks to one user.

'You're better than me.'

Ask if Kalli could build this army in 4 months? No way.

Not even a fifth.

'That's why you fall today.'

Good thing, too. Once Hyun-soo crumbled in the Great Atlas War, total collapse would follow swiftly.

Revealing such a massive army signaled he'd be the first king.

And the top candidate becomes everyone's primary target.

Yes, Hyun-soo's defeat meant his kingdom's end.

Slaaaash—

Spluuurt—

Kraaaah—

"We can't get in through the gates!"

Alliance ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠remnants: around 500.

Problem: average level in the 480s.

Not quite named NPC strength at same level, but near it.

Could shred most elite knights.

Enemy down to just 2,000.

"Not letting a single one through......"

"Shut up."

Spluuuurt—

Kalli and the Peaks butchered blockers, ascending the stairs relentlessly.

One soldier desperately grabbed a Peak's ankle.

Slaaaash—

Cleaved without mercy.

"You absolutely cannot enter here!!!!"

Kalli slammed another knight blocking them into the ground.

Boooom—

The knight, spine-first, gurgled in agony without a scream.

Kalli and the Five Peaks climbed the stairs, finally entering the lord's castle.

'Down to 1,500.'

These 1,500 couldn't possibly stop them.

Hyun-soo was utterly defeated...

"I said don't come in."

"......?"

Kalli looked puzzled.

The knight pinned to the ground.

Realizing the oddity in his words, despite barely able to scream.

'Why so desperate?'

They'd clung so desperately to stop them.

Because they couldn't enter the castle?

'No—were they pretending to lose to lure us in?'

Hundreds of desperate soldiers flashed in his mind.

"......Did Atlas not know?"

Kalli swallowed dryly.

"What're you talking about?"

"That if we went all-out with a total assault, their 20,000 would get wiped."

"Obviously......"

Musashi shut his mouth.

Others might not have known.

Maybe relied on numbers, thinking it'd be enough.

But the lord, Hyun-soo, was different.

He excelled at reading battlefields.

Memory flashed: a distant arrow in the continental war one-shotting China's head tactician Zhuge.

They scanned around.

The lord's castle entrance path.

1,500 Atlas troops gripped weapons, glaring at them.

Swish, swish.

Peaks' eyes darted.

Key target missing. He appeared behind the rankers.

Splaaat—

The lord plunged in instantly, blocking their rear.

1,500 Atlas troops ahead.

Hyun-soo smirked.

Kalli laughed.

He got the plan: trap and sweep the sandwiched group.

Only possible if enemies had overwhelming power.

But they held that power now—no change.

The Five Peaks thought simultaneously.

'Link up.'

'Master Craftsman Hyun's link and gather, the essence of bisecting foes.'

'That continental war power that cleaved hundreds in one go.'

They prepared counters.

Sure enough, Hyun-soo moved the Twin Dragon Swords.

"Gather."

"Now!"

The Five Peaks activated skills in their own ways.

Musashi boomed upward with a bang; Kalli maxed defense dramatically.

Mio drew her arrowless bowstring, firing an Arrow of Nullification to disrupt the gather.

Cassandra cloaked in her infinite-defense mantle instantly.

But... nothing happened.

"Bluff."

"......?"

"......?"

"......?"

All skills have cooldowns.

These 500+ high rankers were too elite—they'd countered simultaneously with retaliatories.

Hyun-soo wouldn't miss the chance.

Catch enemies with a power they didn't know.

"Fenrir."

"......?"

"......?"

"......?"

"Charge."

Kabooooom—!

The castle ceiling shattered.

Falling debris cast a massive shadow over the 500 rankers.

11 meters tall.

Over 10 tons.

The king of all wolves crashed down.

Kabooooom—!

The shockwave swallowed the rankers.

Each stomp shattered rankers' armor to pieces.

"Kraaaah!"

"Kuhuuuuh!"

Even more bewildering: splash damage hurt them even if others got hit.

[1 second.]

[2 seconds.]

[3 seconds.]

Rankers thrashed to escape Fenrir's range.

Musashi, HP at 50%, managed to break free.

Ninja class.

Assassin essence let him endure inside.

'If I hadn't escaped, I'd be dead. Lucky I survi—'

Musashi's face hardened outside.

"......"

Hyun-soo waited, gripping the Twin Dragon Swords like a baseball bat.

Hyun-soo swung with full power.

Craaaaaack—

Musashi's trajectory.

"You fucking bastaaaard!!!"

Straight into Fenrir's attack range.