Chapter 210
Chapter 210
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: Since It's Come to This... All-In with a Thousand Won
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Since it's come to this... I'm going all-in with a thousand won."
The time had come to take down the Wraith Dragon and conquer the final star point.
* * *
Ardania's board, structured like a 19-line go game, has 361 intersection points, nine of which are star points.
The Human Empire controls about one-fifth of them. This was the result of occupying eight star points, along with dungeons that drop materials for equipment crafting, dungeons that provide essential food supplies, and dungeons ideal for newbie training and efficient EXP grinding due to their easy hunting.
And naturally, the Human Empire's strongest foes had reached legendary grade.
That was why I'd upgraded Hell Castle.
[Groooaaar--!]
"Field boss! Field boss confirmed!"
"Legendary-grade field boss, Basilisk of Madness Dehakan!"
Splash!
A massive monster burst forth, spraying water in all directions. The field boss that appears twice—once at 12 o'clock and once at 9 o'clock—on the first underground floor of Hell Tower.
In Revenge, guilds would wage wars over it every time it spawned, but in Ardania, there was no reason for that.
Instead of competing or interfering with each other, thousands of soldiers stood in orderly ranks along the walls.
"It's coming!"
Flash!
The Basilisk of Madness Dehakan unleashed its petrifying beam.
Pop!
But the barrier blocked the attack.
The mythic-grade barrier blocked all ranged attacks until the castle's stored mana ran dry! Reinforced with overflowing funds, especially Hell Castle's All-Poison Barrier maxed out to level cap, it was so sturdy even I would need an hour to break through it.
[Grah!]
Giving up on ranged attacks, Dehakan roared and charged toward the walls.
"Soldiers, forward!"
At the commander's shout, soldiers stepped forward with their anti-materiel rifles.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
Thousands of bullets slammed into the charging Dehakan's body. Despite bullets embedding in its hide and blood spraying, it pressed on undeterred.
"Archers, forward!"
As the distance closed, a new order rang out, and high-level archers nocked their arrows.
"Striking!"
"Holy Weapon!"
"Double Pain!"
Priests behind the archers cast their buffs.
"Fire!"
At the command, a volley unleashed.
The power in this salvo was on another level compared to the earlier gunfire.
"Grk!?"
Dehakan halted in shock mid-charge, but over half the arrows had already struck true.
And that was just the beginning.
"Slow!"
"Breaking Armor!"
"Confuse!"
"Darkness!"
Even as the archers kept firing, debuffs within range rained down.
"Flame Strike!"
"Gust Strike!"
"Thunder Strike!"
Finally, attack spells battered its body.
That was the end.
"Clear!"
"Don't let your guard down for the next hour! The one from underground floor two might come too!"
The battle ended in seconds. Field bosses had far more HP and special abilities than same-grade monsters, but even so, it hadn't reached the walls before being hunted.
The onslaught from thousands was beyond imagination—even a legendary-grade monster couldn't withstand it.
Of course, if it could burrow straight through or bombard from range, that would solve it.
'Mythic-grade walls aren't there for show.'
Ranged attacks were blocked, teleportation sealed. It had to scale a 50-meter wall while dodging the barrage—not an easy feat.
Of course.
That only applied to legendary grade.
"Field boss! Field boss confirmed!"
"Mythic-grade field boss Behemoth Krute!"
"Alert! Alert! Mythic-grade field boss incoming!"
"Sound the alert!"
Splash!
The massive hole in the ground drained of water in an instant. A colossal monster already loomed in the sky.
Pop.
Its enormous form vanished from midair for a split second.
Boom!
The air exploded, space rippling.
"The barrier's holding."
It was mythic-grade, but so was the barrier. A mythic-grade castle barrier didn't block direct approaches, but... Behemoth's insane speed got it classified as a [projectile].
'Since this is reality, not a game, it's a glitch born from that... Well, in a game, leaping the walls would be banned outright. Smashing the gate is the standard, but none of them even glance at it.'
[Groooaaar!]
Behemoth landed with a furious roar. Its feral yellow eyes, brimming with murderous intent, locked onto the guild tower's top.
'It sees me.'
A transcendent being would know I was the only one in this castle who could challenge it.
'Arrogant beast.'
But even transcendent, it wasn't my match. I could handle special bosses one-on-one without issue—some level-20 transcendent upstart glaring at me?
Instead of leaping down, I sat by the window.
And then.
"It's coming every day lately!"
Light flashed. A knight of light, radiating brilliance, now stood atop the walls.
[Grrrr!]
The earth beast Behemoth growled. The Light Knight Edward, upon arrival, pulled gear from his inventory and equipped it. Legendary plate armor enveloped him, the light flowing through his body spreading into the armor.
"Everyone, focus from your positions-!"
"Grk!"
Behemoth roared and charged. The clever beast didn't use its full speed this time. It had gauged the barrier's nature from that single clash.
But slowing down meant eating arrows and spells.
Boom-boom-boom!
It bulldozed through every attack with brute force, leaping onto the walls. It couldn't avoid all damage, but it minimized it by channeling power into its two horns.
Behemoth was a powerhouse. As if a mythic-grade could be weak? In truth, its first appearance had killed hundreds of All-Poison Castle players despite perfect prep.
But face that attack once or twice a day, every day, and countermeasures emerge.
Flash!
As Behemoth crested the wall, Edward blocked its path.
"Grah!"
Behemoth's foreleg whipped like lightning. Five claws sharper than any sword sliced through space like beams of light.
But.
Clang.
Claws met sword.
Wobble!
Behemoth's massive body spun around. Its strike whiffed into empty air, the momentum flinging its bulk aside!
Of course, Edward wasn't unscathed.
Slash!
His armor tore, blood spraying.
"Great Heal!"
"Great Heal!"
"Great Heal!"
"Recovery!"
Priests unleashed recovery spells. And not just that.
Boom-boom-boom! Kaboom!
Midair and stalled, Behemoth ate thousands of arrows and spells. Even a transcendent monster couldn't endure that unimaginable violence and plummeted.
Crash!
Of course, Behemoth kicked off the ground and leaped back up.
"Hey there?"
Edward, fully recovered, blocked again.
Boom-boom! Boom-boom!
For a full two hours, Behemoth tried everything. Dodging Edward by circling, smashing at the walls, even burrowing underground.
But Edward relentlessly stood in its way... and if he faltered.
[The Tower of Divine Punishment (Mythic) activates!]
[The Prison of the Void (Mythic) activates!]
[The Ruin Cannon (Mythic) activates!]
Mythic-grade defense towers and siege objects triggered.
The outcome was inevitable.
[Congratulations! One guild has defeated Behemoth Krute!]
[Top Contributor: Edward.]
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Level-up effects bloomed everywhere. Items dropped before the soldiers.
With so many people, individual rewards were negligible, but as a mythic-grade raid boss, Behemoth dropped [Raid Reward Chests] from even single hits.
"...Yeah. It's possible."
I turned my gaze from the walls.
Over ten years.
The Human Empire had grown strong.
Ardania's players were all free-to-play, but even F2P players get legendary classes and gear after a decade in Revenge.
Ardania lacked [events] or [event logins], but guild logins existed. As guilds proliferated, more pulled classes, and now nearly everyone in Ardania was a player.
And so?
Empire citizens synthesized spare player cards, pulling higher classes. They farmed walls-climbing monsters for top legendary gear, reinforced it, completed collections.
And more.
They adopted 34th Earth's advanced psychokinesis, training desperately. Real combat was effortless. They delved dungeons daily for money, honor, strength.
'But what if mythic-grade cards enter the mix?'
I had five mythic-grade class cards, nine mythic-grade pet cards, five mythic-grade guardian cards.
Even non-transcendents could wield transcendent-level stats and skills—at least five, plus four more with mythic pets.
The one thing I lacked from the mythic-grade Death Temple dungeon.
[Numerical superiority].
'But I can't just hand them out.'
Mythic cards were immense power. Even Ardania's lowliest gaining one would elevate them to the elite.
Even I, with Combat Foresight's unfathomable authority, had incomparable combat power before and after my mythic card.
"Flower."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Flower entered the office at my call.
Now effectively empress, she still handled work by my side. I'd told her to hire help, but she wouldn't budge—I'd given up.
"Who won the Hunting Festival?"
The Revenge 5th anniversary event [Complete the Golden Skillbook], a contest for most clears. It netted the Human Empire absurd numbers of legendary skillbooks.
"Edward, Your Majesty."
"I see."
I nodded. I planned to reward him anyway. Even picked the class.
"Right. Then... let's hold a tournament."
"A tournament, sire?"
"Yeah. Call it [Empire's Strongest]. A martial arts tournament for the entire Human Empire. Also, [Grand Magic Tournament]. A magic duel contest. And... [Healing Holy War]. To select the top priest."
"...The prizes will be key."
"Mythic cards."
"...!"
Ten years ago, dangling legendary cards in a contest had the whole empire buzzing.
'Impossible now.'
Class cards were plentiful; top empire elites synthesized their way to legendaries. It took massive time, money, effort—but the vast player pool made it feasible.
But [mythic] was different.
Synthesis capped at legendary. Only star point holders could attempt mythic synthesis, limited to one card—and it deactivated if they lost the point! Brutal.
Revenge was on year ten—why was I the ninth mythic?
Insane whales dumping billions per card, and me stacking dozens more to forty mythics? Even Nemesis CEO Bae Sarang couldn't have foreseen it.
"Your Majesty. That's power beyond measure."
"But only that power can create forces worthy of aiding me."
"...No literary or music festivals, then."
"Literary and music festivals?"
I paused at Flower's words. Winners there couldn't be my [forces], so exclude them—but I didn't see the need.
"Well, that's fine too."
"Pardon? But—"
"Instead, winning isn't required here. They just need to exceed the score I set."
Pulling a mythic card in Revenge costs about 100 billion won probabilistically.
If their works earned me over 100 billion, I'd lose nothing. Plus, the 99.999% [superior summons] remain mine?
'Just dangling it—no one will claim a mythic.'
Obvious. Even massive hits rarely hit 100 billion. Genre fiction's best-sellers can't touch it.
But.
"Huh? Ooh? This song's amazing. What's it from?"
Unexpectedly.
Space Star F·D asked about it.