1st Major Update – The Golden Plains Campaign
In the Golden Plains, the moment the imperial army marched in, the event video erupted into action.
Meanwhile, the papal army crossed the Golden Plains, heading north.
Right behind them came the imperial forces in a swift pursuit.
The knights and cavalry harassed the papal army’s flanks, but the papal forces could only retreat northward in panic, offering no real resistance.
[All units! Attack the papal army!]
With the emperor’s order ringing out, the event video ended.
[Morale rises.]
[Cat boost.]
The buffs applied to the imperial army were the exact opposite of the papal curse, turning the tide in our favor.
[Let’s go.]
[Yeah!]
[Yes!]
We targeted the rearguard of the fleeing enemies.
Slash.
Slash-aaaaaah!
It was ridiculously easy.
All we had to do was jab our blades into their backs, and they fell instantly.
The enemies seemed utterly paralyzed by their status ailments, unable to mount any meaningful resistance.
[Hahaha hahaha! This is straight-up honey EXP!]
Blood Demon was cleaving down enemies nearby as he laughed.
His words proved true—our experience points climbed rapidly.
As if the system itself were compensating for every hunt we had missed.
Kang!
While dispatching an enemy soldier, someone blocked my sword.
Kang! Kang! Kang!
The knight parried each strike, quickly backing away.
Kang! Kang! Kang!
We pressed relentlessly while he only defended.
[You’re just running away and swinging, huh!]
[Krrr…]
The knight looked furious, yet he had no choice but to retreat.
If he fell behind, he would be surrounded by our allied forces and finished off.
Kang! Kang!
[Dowoon, I’ve got your back.]
[Thanks.]
Thud! Kang! Thud!!
As Seolhwa joined the fray, blue aura flared around the knight’s sword.
[Seolhwa, be careful. He’s an intermediate knight.]
[Yeah!]
Thud! Thud! Thud!
[I’ll help too.]
Fersin charged in from the side, followed by a fireball launched by Sarah.
[Heal!]
Elena’s restoration instantly restored the health we were burning through from trading blows with the intermediate knight.
In any normal situation, our entire party would struggle to defeat a single intermediate knight.
But things were far from normal.
We enjoyed morale and cat boosts while the enemies suffered various status ailments.
Plus, the target knight was forced to retreat quickly.
[Attack harder! The enemy can’t counter!]
[Understood!]
[Yeah!]
Thud! Thud! Slash!
[Krrrk!]
The knight who had been parrying perfectly took Seolhwa’s strike head-on.
From then on, it grew embarrassingly simple.
Every passing second widened his openings, and we simply targeted them.
[Krrrrrraaah! Monsters like you…]
I drove my sword into the fallen knight’s chest.
[Huu… Let’s move on.]
[Yeah!]
[Understood.]
Even in such an advantageous position, we couldn’t be satisfied with just one intermediate knight.
With the plan of leveling up at least three levels higher than today, we kept pressing the attack.
The imperial army’s assault continued until the papal forces managed to escape the Golden Plains.
A red line stretched from the center of the Golden Plains northward.
A line drawn with blood…
[Everyone, form up.]
[Find your assigned units!]
Even after the pursuit ended, the imperial army did not rest.
We rapidly reorganized and began marching north toward the papal army’s retreat.
[Everyone leveled up?]
[Yeah. 109.]
[Me too…]
With just a few more battles like today, we could reach 150 in an instant.
The problem was that such favorable fights were extremely rare.
[Hahaha. Cain, you leveled up a bit, huh?]
Blood Demon approached and spoke.
[Yeah. I was lucky.]
[I wish we’d run into more enemies sooner. The morale and cat buffs are still active.]
[Yeah. I’d like that too.]
While the imperial army advanced under cover of speed, it halted.
[Camp here for the night. Everyone prepare to sleep!]
[Camping! Rest is here!]
[Now we can log out.]
[Right. See you tomorrow.]
[Yes, see you tomorrow.]
We finished preparations and logged out.
“Dowoon, you worked hard.”
“Yeah. You two did too.”
As I shut down the computer, we discussed everything that had happened in today’s game.
“You guys finished the game!”
Kim Sujin, the teacher, rose from her quiet spot in the club room and spoke brightly.
[Yes, teacher.]
[Yes.]
“Today is the last day of the first semester, so we should have a celebration party!”
[Eh? We already had cake at lunch.]
“That’s not enough. Let’s order fried chicken for late-night snacks!”
The teacher didn’t wait for our replies and placed the order.
We could only leave the club room after we had finished every piece of chicken.
“From tomorrow, it’s vacation.”
[Yeah…]
Most students had already gone home, leaving the school feeling deserted.
The study club room where people had stayed up late studying was dark, and the gym club members who trained at night were nowhere to be seen.
[Ugh… We need to split the 40 million won we earned selling in-game currency.]
When we were surrounded by the papal army at Leon Castle, we had sold currency to Blood Demon at a discounted price.
That 40 million won was now sitting untouched in my bank account.
I quickly transferred 10 million won each to Eunhye and Naeun.
[Wow… 10 million won…]
[Thank you…]
Naeun looked stunned by the amount.
Seolhwa, who had received 40 million before, remained calm.
[What? Did you guys earn 40 million?]
Kim Sujin’s voice came from behind, surprised.
[Ah… Yeah. We sold in-game currency. But 10 million is supposed to go to someone else.]
We couldn’t split the 40 million three ways.
It included Inhyungsulsa’s share.
[Still, that means 30 million for us. Tomorrow at lunch you three buy.]
[Yes!?]
[Got it, teacher.]
[Yes, teacher.]
I opened my mouth in shock, but Eunhye and Naeun answered as if it were only natural.
[Do you not want to, Dowoon?]
[No. Of course we should treat you.]
Considering what we had received from Kim Sujin, offering more would have been the minimum.
[Good. Tomorrow at lunch, want pizza? Jajangmyeon and tangsuyuk? Or eat outside?]
[Teacher, outside is a bit…]
[That’s right? We can’t steal your game time, right? Then let’s order pizza tomorrow.]
The teacher thought for a moment and chose pizza.
[Yes!]
[Yeah!]
Eunhye and Naeun agreed.
I simply nodded my head.
My opinion clearly didn’t matter anyway.
We walked slowly toward the back.
And sent a message to Inhyungsulsa.
『Inhyungsulsa, I’ve cashed in the profits from the Apse Mountain Range. Send me your account number and I’ll deposit 10 million won.』
……
Vacation began.
From morning until evening, we stayed in the club room.
We ate three meals in the club room, and took light walks together.
In real life, regular schedules like this had repeated in the game for a while.
Pursuit and combat.
The imperial army marched steadily northward, systematically wiping out the lagging enemies.
We gradually reduced the enemy numbers until we reached Kasa, the papal army’s direct territory.
Kasa Territory.
A place heavy with nostalgia for the emperor and the lord.
In the world of Heroes, the story of the former emperor crawling barefoot to Kasa and prostrating himself before the pope was famous.
The “Humiliation of Kasa” event that once strengthened the papal power now served as a reminder of its former glory.
[That’s over there… Kasa Castle.]
Seolhwa pointed ahead.
A massive white castle stood there.
The pure white walls reflected sunlight in every direction, evoking an instinctive sense of reverence.
[Look ahead. Enemies…]
Before Seolhwa could finish, the event video transitioned.
[So it’s finally here…]
The emperor murmured while gazing at Kasa Castle from horseback.
[Your Majesty! Enemies ahead!]
[Attack!]
[Yes!]
As the video gradually zoomed out, the viewpoint shifted to the sky.
Kasa Castle stood white against the north, surrounded by countless papal forces.
They looked like the armies of the northern lords who had gathered after reading the emperor’s proclamation.
Behind them, the papal army appeared exhausted.
From the southernmost point, the imperial army charged straight at the papal forces.
In response, the northern lords’ soldiers defending Kasa Castle abandoned their siege lines and launched a counterattack against the approaching papal army.
The view continued to descend toward the ground until the imperial army filled the screen, and the event video ended.
[Charge at maximum speed!]
[Yeah!]
After the event video, we confirmed the overall situation.
Our side held overwhelming superiority.
The papal army ahead felt less like enemies and more like bonuses.
[Sarah and Elena, stay behind.]
[Got it!]
[Seolhwa, if you spot enemy knights, take them out first.]
[Yeah!]
[Understood.]
An intermediate knight alone gave us a massive amount of experience.
More than what hundreds of regular soldiers would have provided…
Slash! Slash!
I charged straight through the confused enemy ranks.
Slash! Slash!
Even inside the enemy formation, the soldiers couldn’t respond properly.
They seemed like lifeless dummies standing still.
Slash. Slash.
Slurp—!
[Knight ahead.]
[Yeah.]
While fighting a regular soldier, I spotted a knight.
Thud! Boom! Slash!
The enemy was a rookie knight. He died instantly from my shield bash and Seolhwa’s attack.
[Good. Keep pushing and focus on the knights.]
[Yeah.]
We carved through the enemy ranks, targeting only the knights for elimination.
We took out several rookie knights and around five intermediate ones.
And then.
Thud!!!!
[That’s…]
Enemy paladins and our own knights were clashing in fierce combat.
Both sides had crisp, glowing auras surrounding their blades.
[Supreme knight. Be careful.]
[Yeah.]
The level of a knight was immediately visible from how they used their aura.
Rookie knights could reinforce their swords with aura.
Without enough aura or control, it was hard to tell from outside.
Intermediate knights formed swirling aura around their blades.
High-level knights spat sword qi like threads, wrapping their surroundings.
Obviously far stronger than aura reinforcement from rookie or intermediate knights.
Supreme knights, who reached 250 levels, could form perfect sword qi.
Like the paladins and knights fighting ahead.
Thud! Thud! Boom!
Every clash of supreme knights produced explosive sounds, as if bombs had detonated.
Strong shockwaves radiated outward, keeping everyone else at a safe distance.
At that moment.
Boom-aaaaaah!!!!
A deafening explosion unlike anything before erupted.
The paladin flew straight toward me.
[This is… Seolhwa, get ready.]
[Yeah.]
I delivered a shield bash to the paladin who was losing consciousness in mid-air.
Then.
Seolhwa immediately drove the Ice Dragon’s Sword into the paladin’s neck.
Fersin struck the torso as well.
[Krrrk…]
The paladin regained consciousness, but it was already too late.
His neck and body had been pierced.
[You bastards!!! What kind of dirty trick are you pulling in a holy knight battle!!!]
An allied knight shouted in fury as he rushed over.
I hurriedly stood up.
[I’m sorry. Something suddenly flew at me and attacked.]
Of course, I knew the paladin was a supreme-level knight and had been hit by a powerful attack.
Even so, I played dumb.
The knight in front of us might have been allied, but a single wrong word could cost his head.
Right now, our power was too weak to resist a supreme knight.
[Y-you…!]
The knight glared with rage, but all he kept saying was sorry.
First, we had to get through the current situation.
Even among players, no one stole monsters while another was hunting them.
Although NPCs leveled differently, their victories over powerful enemies still granted experience.
In other words, we had taken the knight’s experience.
Of course, the term “experience” might not fit perfectly against NPCs, but the effect remained.
[Y-you… Damn it!]
The knight cursed and stormed off to find another opponent.
For him too, this moment was critical for growth.
It was a chance to defeat an equal-level knight more easily.