The Second Hammer Falls
I had to find Sian.
A female high schooler who, had she been born in hell, would have been discriminated against for being more vicious than Satan herself, let out a piercing scream.
A squad leader knight who, had he been born in heaven, would have become a devout environmentalist, barked out orders.
Examinees teetering on the edge of explosion from failing their entrance exams clashed fiercely with knights determined to spread love and justice in accordance with the World Tree’s will.
It was right around the time when the brutal collision between these two groups—one that made your chest tighten just from hearing about it—was reaching its peak.
A group of roughly ten people was making its way through a particularly eerie alleyway.
“Is this the right path?”
“Honestly, it feels like we’ve been circling the same spot over and over…”
“Don’t the voices sound like they’re getting closer?”
Their identity was a strike force meant to carry out a surprise attack on a surprise attack. A kind of shock troop. The second and final one.
The second hammer meant to shatter the front line.
And the first hammer was being led by Cheon Mari, already locked in combat with the knights.
In the process, the knights had received their first major shock. Negative emotions like fear and confusion had surged up within them. That was why the unit led by Kang Sian had to deliver the second blow.
They might have been shaken, but they weren’t broken yet.
This group was the detonator and gunpowder meant to set off those surging emotions.
They had to clash with the knights immediately. Only then could they collapse the front line. Only then could they drive a wedge into the chaos that was slowly beginning to subside.
But something must have gone wrong.
Kang Sian found himself lost, staring at a map that some idiot must have drawn.
“What the hell were the standards for making this thing?”
A map was supposed to be easy for people to read. So why were the followers of the World Tree carrying around something this impossible to decipher?
“Um, everyone wait a second. If we turn here and then go left… Ah, damn it, I don’t know!”
In his growing impatience, Kang Sian smashed through the window of a nearby house. He then proceeded to tear straight through the perfectly fine interior.
He had discovered the astonishing truth that wherever humans pioneered became a path.
Naturally, this straight-line approach was far faster than following the winding streets. The cleanup would be an absolute nightmare, but he could gradually sense the various voices growing closer.
At last, the scene he had been searching for appeared before his eyes.
Hunters and examinees. And knights.
“Rape the men! Rape the women too!!!”
“Rape the men! Rape the women!”
“Rape the men! Rape the women! Waaaaa!!!”
And on top of that, some very strange chants.
Kang Sian tilted his head at the slogans that were completely different from what he had taught them.
What the hell? Weren’t the chants supposed to be different? What happened?
He had clearly chosen the third-rate villain line, “Death to the false god! Burn Shareltea to the ground!”
Yet the slogan chosen for maximum psychological impact had vanished, replaced by something downright criminal.
The person Kang Sian had given the chant to was Cheon Mari. It made no sense for her to have forgotten.
She was a woman who remembered every single one of the nationally prohibited, peerless acts she committed on a daily basis. There was no way she would forget a single sentence and spit out something completely off-base.
I let her torture people because she said she wanted to torture them, and I let her take the lead because she said she’d take the lead, and this is what happens…!
Therefore, this change in the chant could only be the result of Cheon Mari’s own will.
At least, that was what Kang Sian thought. In reality, Cheon Mari had simply forgotten the original chant midway and changed it on the fly.
Of course, regardless of the truth, whether the psychological impact had been properly delivered was still questionable.
But what was done was done, and the chant had to be unified.
Kang Sian raised his sword high and shouted.
“Just rape them all!!!”
Act first, think later.
Immediately afterward, the ten examinees charged forward, turning the already chaotic situation into pure pandemonium.
It was so chaotic that it no longer looked like a battle but a simple brawl.
Everyone was tangled together in an endless melee of close-quarters combat. Chairs flew through the air, windows shattered, and magic spells scattered in every direction.
Amid that chaos, Kang Sian kept scanning his surroundings.
That was when something caught his eye.
One tall, red-haired female high schooler.
One short, green-haired knight.
They faced each other, and even at a glance, the overwhelming difference in power was obvious.
It was the kind of moment where you could instantly predict what was about to happen.
“I can never forgive a Shareltea who commits massacre!”
The female high schooler promptly grabbed the knight, lifted him up, and—
Thud!
—slammed him straight into the floor.
The horrifying sound echoed from the sheer force behind it.
“Degaaaah!!!”
The knight ultimately proved that he lacked the faith of a true transcendent. He screamed for mercy, but all that returned was a cold, merciless stomp.
The head beneath her foot burst with a sickening crunch.
Cheon Mari snorted and began searching for her next target.
Soon, the female high schooler’s eyes were filled with countless enemies. There were so many targets that she actually hesitated for a moment.
That was when a shadow fell over her.
A massive knight wielding a war hammer had appeared behind her.
…!
Kang Sian calmly heightened his senses. Then he kicked off the ground and advanced like the wind, step by step.
He drew his sword. He infused it with an appropriate amount of magic power.
By the time the flow of air had been sufficiently distorted—
The war hammer was raised, poised to crush Cheon Mari’s head.
The movement had been so silent that she didn’t notice until the hammer’s shadow fell over her. Naturally, by the time Cheon Mari realized it, it was far too late.
The hammer was perfect. Dodging it was nearly impossible.
Clang—!
Which was why Kang Sian blocked it.
He had struck the hammer away with his sword.
Under normal circumstances, the sword should have crumpled or the defender should have been violently pushed back. But Kang Sian showed no such signs.
Instead, the one sent reeling was the massive knight. He looked puzzled that his own swung hammer had bounced back.
Interestingly enough, Kang Sian felt the same way.
“An expert, huh.”
He had originally thought he could cut through a war hammer of that size. He had underestimated his opponent. He immediately readjusted his magic power.
More blue particles swirled around him. When combined with the afterimages created by his time distortion, they formed a kind of trajectory.
The moment the massive knight tensed up and switched to a defensive stance—
“?!!!”
Kang Sian swiftly swung his sword.
It was an attack launched in the middle of the transition.
The point of impact was the head of the war hammer. In other words, the metal mass itself.
Skreeeech—!
With the sound of metal being shredded, the hammer’s head was severed. It was because he hadn’t infused it with enough magic power.
“Not a mid-to-high-rank expert, then.”
According to what Cheon Mari had told him before, “true experts” never had their weapons cut. Since this one had been cut after only a slight adjustment in magic power, it seemed the knight had only just risen from squire.
Without the slightest hint of pity, Kang Sian swung his sword in a wide arc.
With a metallic screech, the knight’s armored abdomen was sliced open. Blood poured from the gap, but the massive knight endured it and threw a punch.
Truly remarkable mental fortitude. Just as expected from an expert who would never open his mouth even under torture.
Of course, that wasn’t particularly practical.
In the first place, you just have to win the fight and avoid getting captured. What’s the point?
Following that logic, Kang Sian caught the fist.
The hands they used were different. The opponent used his right, while Kang Sian used his left.
The massive knight was right-handed. Kang Sian was also right-handed. So Kang Sian using his left should have put him at a disadvantage.
Yet there wasn’t even a sign that he was losing in raw strength.
It was only natural. Thanks to cutting-edge technology and the help of his regressor friend, he had trained for five full years. If his physical abilities fell short of a low-rank expert’s, that would be even stranger.
“Ugh—Gack?!”
“Ugh.”
He immediately stabbed his sword into the knight’s chest with his opposite hand. It wasn’t the heart, but it was precisely centered. The spine had probably been severed.
Kang Sian casually withdrew his blade. The massive knight collapsed pathetically.
He wasn’t dead, but he could no longer fight. A future more terrifying than death loomed over him.
Capture. Torture. Betrayal. Especially if he was caught by those American-looking bastards with whom he shared zero physical similarities—they supposedly violated people from behind. And if he was caught by those British-looking real demons, he would suffer horrific culinary torture.
That could not be allowed.
Letting out a scream filled with rage and terror, he tried to force himself up.
“World Tree! Please! Grant me a miracle—!”
Thwack!
“Kweeeh.”
“This bastard’s too loud.”
One smack to the head and he finally went quiet. The massive knight drooled as he collapsed completely onto the floor.
“Oh.”
When he turned around, there was Cheon Mari, grinning while holding another knight by the collar. It seemed she had caught one more while Kang Sian was dealing with the big guy.
She then smiled at him as if to thank him for blocking the attack.
Kang Sian gave her an expressionless nod that said “no problem.”
But apparently that wasn’t enough for Cheon Mari. She sent him a gentle smile along with a wink. As a bonus, she even made a little heart with her fingers.
“Ugh.”
Kang Sian pretended to vomit. Then he spun his finger beside his head as if to say she was crazy.
They were both idiots, but that was the extent of their communication. There were still many knights left, and everyone was caught up in the melee, making escape nearly impossible.
For now, it seemed they needed to end this brawl as quickly as possible.
The battle dragged on. But the victor and the defeated were gradually becoming clear.
First, the knights fell into despair. Due to insufficient support, they died quickly. Supplies had to be taken from the enemy. Unrealistic strategic objectives had dragged the battle into a quagmire. Excessive interference from above had reduced the plan’s flexibility.
The hunters, on the other hand, were different. The injured were quickly evacuated to the rear during brief openings. The hunters on the front line received constant supplies. Their fundamental qualitative superiority was maintained as much as possible. Additional reinforcements continued to arrive from the rear.
The plan had been sloppy, but they had somehow held on until now. As a result, the opportunity for a counterattack was rapidly approaching.
Naturally, the number of personnel being funneled in to not miss that opportunity was increasing even more.
The same was true for the woman of fierce cold who had just crossed the World Gate.
Long white hair that gave off a chilling aura. Golden eyes barely visible through narrowed slits. An originally bright and modest appearance that used to smile warmly. A figure that stood out even in standard-issue mage gear. Pointed ears that revealed her elven heritage.
“Why… of all times, why…!”
Na Sua, the newly appointed Ice Magic Professor of the Ice School at Palaestra Academy, who had rushed over from Fonse, widened her narrowed eyes the moment she crossed the World Gate.
Right now! Right now!! I have to find Sian!!!
Her legally betrothed husband was apparently in danger.