The Red Moon Strategy
After Yoo Ji-sung gave his orders to Roa, the named conquerors of Marin gathered in one place.
“Monsters are approaching in large numbers. If things go as expected, the battlefield will be right here in Marin. We’ve already dispatched TCU guild members to other villages to request support from the conquerors there, but…”
“If what you say is true, those bastards will reach the Marin perimeter in three days. We’re short on time.”
“Yes. We need to buy as much time as we can. Or finish the conquest before the damage reaches Marin.”
Noah continued explaining to the gathered conquerors. Though TCU was still a small guild, she had earned the favor of many conquerors. By forming the guild and taking the lead in climbing the Tower, Noah had become the host of the current meeting.
Among those gathered in the small village hall was a conqueror who had cleared the 20th floor. ‘Never thought that guy would join TCU. Then again, he always was the romantic type.’
The man known to have cleared the 20th floor was a former ranker who had reached the highest floor before the remake—Tom Raymond. It seemed he had joined forces with Noah after their shared time wandering the 11th floor.
Yoo Ji-sung remembered him well: a man skilled in one-on-one combat who wielded a greatsword as his main weapon.
‘A few other familiar faces too.’
He scanned the party leaders who had introduced themselves at the meeting. Some names he recognized from his memories; others were new. But one thing was certain—they were all capable of looking beyond the 11th floor toward the 20th floor and higher.
The meeting continued as each party leader voiced their opinions. Noah’s gaze remained fixed on Lee Jin-ho even as she responded to their arguments.
‘Tsk… what the hell is love supposed to mean anyway?’
Yoo Ji-sung, Lee Jin-ho, and the rest of the trio were all present. Their inclusion was possible because they were future guild members of TCU—specifically, a party that had cleared the 20th floor and above. Yoo Ji-sung and Lee Jin-ho in particular were acknowledged by everyone as top-tier conquerors.
Seeing this, Yoo Ji-sung spoke up.
“So we’re supposed to join forces and conquer the Red Moon. I get what you’re saying. I’m guessing TCU already has some kind of strategy in mind. What is it?”
“We’ll build barricades around the village, hunt down monster forces to buy time, and hold out until reinforcements arrive before launching a counterattack. That’s the plan we’ve put together.”
“…I see.”
Noah nodded. Her eyes turned toward Yoo Ji-sung. She knew that while he was here, he had led the trio—including Lee Jin-ho—to save them on the battlefield. The magic he had displayed during the fight had already been impressive enough. But what truly astonished her was how he had commanded everyone so effectively.
Guiding people who had just met into working together seamlessly was a matter of talent. On top of that, he had been bold enough to suggest forming a guild—a difficult proposal to make lightly.
She sensed urgency in Yoo Ji-sung’s negative reaction and lowered voice.
“There are still many people who haven’t adapted to the 11th floor and are just cowering. A lot of them need time before they can fight again because of the aftereffects of the tutorial. Please lend us your strength so they can safely get another chance.”
‘She said she was forming a guild for the conquerors, but it wasn’t just for show.’
Yoo Ji-sung judged her words. Whether she was acting out of a sense of justice or had some other motive didn’t matter to him. Her request to unite so that the cowering conquerors could have time to adapt was worth listening to, especially from his position of needing to nurture them.
But she was missing something crucial.
‘As expected, she lacks experience. Hold out by turning the village into a fortress? That’s just asking to die together.’
Yoo Ji-sung sneered inwardly before speaking.
“That’s a nice sentiment. But using the village as a shield to hold out is impossible.”
“Excuse me?”
“Killing monsters will reduce their numbers. It’s not a bad idea on the surface. But considering how many of them there are, the effect will be minimal. No matter how hard we try, it won’t even make a dent. In the end, a massive army of monsters will descend on the village. We’ll be surrounded and forced to fight them with just a handful of conquerors. We won’t be able to stop the monsters pouring in from all sides, and all of Marin will turn into a battlefield. Our formation will collapse, and it’ll become a chaotic melee. The result? Defeat for us conquerors.”
“If we give it our all…”
“This isn’t a game. Give it our all? We only get one chance, and failure means death. Betting your life on an uncertain hand is something even gamblers wouldn’t do—it’s just plain stupid.”
Noah pressed her lips tightly shut at Yoo Ji-sung’s words. Tom Raymond frowned at the sight.
“Then I’d like to hear your thoughts. Do we have any other options?”
“Of course. I have a way to give those who haven’t adapted yet a chance while still securing a decisive victory. Care to hear it?”
Yoo Ji-sung’s eyes gleamed as he spoke. Everyone in the meeting hall was looking at him. Feeling their gazes, he smiled.
Yoo Ji-sung and the trio were fighting monsters.
Crack!
“Kik!”
Thud!
“Kyaha……”
Whenever Ma Dong-cheol swung his hammer, a monster’s entire head caved deep into its body. Monsters went flying through the air with every swing of his shield. Jang Su-ho’s arrows pierced monsters right between the eyes, and Jeong A-reum wasn’t about to be outdone as she unleashed her skills in rapid succession. Every time a Holy Bolt struck an undead, it spewed black smoke and stopped moving.
Just then, a monster slipped into Ma Dong-cheol’s blind spot.
“Ji-sung oppa!”
“I was watching!”
Crack!
A rock spike impaled the monster and sealed Ma Dong-cheol’s blind spot. Yoo Ji-sung then made more spikes erupt from the ground like bamboo shoots. They weren’t aimed at specific targets—just created indiscriminately. Even so, the instant forest of spikes tore the monsters to shreds, showcasing its power.
‘Now this is more like it.’
Yoo Ji-sung smiled at the carnage he had created. He couldn’t maintain it for long, but making a field of spikes like this didn’t feel too taxing. Just a few days ago, even creating one would have left him breathless.
Yoo Ji-sung raised a wall of rock when he saw a monster approaching his position. Then he toppled the wall forward, crushing the monsters beneath it. The ground rippled, and the monsters staggered and were herded into one spot. They fell into a suddenly formed pit. It was obvious what happened to them once the smaller spikes inside the pit extended outward.
“Hah! As expected of you, hyung-nim! Didn’t I tell you? I said you’d get stronger fast! It was tough, but that day definitely helped!”
Ma Dong-cheol slammed his shield down with a loud thud after the battle ended. He sat down and let out a heavy breath.
“Huu… The further we go, the more their numbers seem to increase! Well, that’s only natural. I gave up on leveling because of the monster standards, but raising proficiency is the best! Jin-ho hyung-nim must’ve thought the same when he jumped in!”
Ma Dong-cheol coated his shield with mana and looked at it affectionately. Jeong A-reum sat down beside him. She stared at the massacre Yoo Ji-sung had created with a disgusted expression and let her shoulders slump.
“I’m really at my limit now. If the 11th floor is this bad, what about the 12th and 13th? I’m seriously going to die.”
“Can’t be helped. If we want to get out of this damn place, that’s the only answer.”
Jang Su-ho spoke to Jeong A-reum, who was making a sour face. She let out a deep sigh at his words.
“You’re right. I don’t know how many floors there are, but conquering the Tower… that has to be the answer.”
After Yoo Ji-sung sent a signal with a firework, he joined his party members. He jumped into their conversation.
“Does conquering the Tower mean we can go home?”
“Well… it’s just a rumor. But it’s information everyone believes in. Nobody doesn’t want to go home.”
“True. If we conquer the Tower, we can go home. That’s certainly hopeful.”
Yoo Ji-sung gave a faint smile. He tapped the ground with his palm and continued.
“Whatever the case, the conquest will have an end. And even if we can’t go home, I think we’ll find a way. No, I’m sure we will.”
“You… think so?”
“Yes. I don’t know who it is, but they sent us into the Tower to stop a disaster, right? If we conquer a Tower like that, what’s there to fear from some disaster? Once we’ve fully proven our qualifications as conquerors, they should let us graduate.”
“Exactly! We have to graduate! Together with our guild members and as many conquerors as possible!”
Jeong A-reum, who had been looking glum, clenched her fist. Seeing her regain her spirit, Ma Dong-cheol reassured her that it would definitely happen. Jang Su-ho watched them before speaking.
“Avengers. The party name you gave us, Ji-sung, seems to have become pretty well-known. We’ll take revenge on the one who created the Tower and on the disaster that brought us here. That’s why we named it Avengers.”
“That’s right. Well… I’d like to get revenge on whoever dragged us into the Tower too, but they probably had their reasons. If we say we’re taking revenge on them, they might not even give us quests. They’d be too scared of us.”
Jeong A-reum chuckled at Yoo Ji-sung’s joke. He chuckled along with her, lightening her mood. Meanwhile, Kairas’s messages stung his eyes.
Disgusting human.
Filthy human.
Petty human.
Trash.
‘Why? What? Why?’
Yoo Ji-sung gave a crooked smile at Kairas’s messages and mulled over the Avengers trio’s words. The only hope the Tower’s conquerors held was the belief that conquering the Tower would let them return home.
‘Even with that hope, plenty of people committed suicide back then. There were so many who couldn’t climb higher because they lacked ability and barely survived. That’s why I didn’t just make a shelter for healing for no reason. I’ve got other preparations too.’
Seeing Jeong A-reum clench her fist with renewed fighting spirit, Yoo Ji-sung continued.
“Don’t worry about not being able to go home. No one knows who’s giving the quests or who trapped us in the Tower. But they definitely didn’t send us into the Tower just to kill us. We can definitely go home.”
“Right. Mom and Dad are waiting for me.”
Jeong A-reum answered in a trembling voice. She hadn’t fully composed her emotions, but she was holding onto hope once more.
‘What would’ve happened without me? Anyway, home… If someone has the talent to fully conquer the Tower, there’s no reason not to send them home. Would they cower in fear knowing Markrun’s feet would trample the home they barely reached? They’d be furious and go berserk.’
If that were even possible, that is. Yoo Ji-sung let out a hollow laugh. When the passage fully opened, the highest floor the top rankers had reached was the 80th. Conquering the Tower before the passage opened was, to him, an impossible task.
“The signal’s here. Let’s move again.”
Yoo Ji-sung spoke to his party members after their rest. The moment he finished speaking, they grabbed their equipment and stood up.