Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Occupation War (1)
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# 108
Central Continent Advance!
It wasn't just the Golden Lion faction's affair. The Black Dragon Legion was also heading toward the Central Continent through various routes, with success reports coming in from all over.
However, even without Rokan's interference, there was still no news of any of them reaching the fourth city.
"If it's easy, it's easy, but if it's hard, it's even harder."
That was because the Golden Lion faction's "detachment" was stationed at the gateway to the fourth city.
The detachment operated deep in enemy territory, inflicting gradual damage, and the path from the pier to the fourth city fell within their operational range. If you were unlucky, you'd run into them and get wiped out.
Of course, there was the option of taking a long detour, but that would take far too much time and force you to pass through areas inhabited by monsters over level 200.
And Rokan intended to make that difficulty even greater.
"Hmm, you..."
Finding the detachment's location wasn't hard for Rokan, using his status as an investigation unit member, his knight title, and the influence of the "Council."
Even within the Golden Lion faction, their exact positions weren't pinpointed for security reasons, but there were a few key bases, so he checked those and found them.
Then he volunteered to join the detachment.
"Yes. I have a plan in mind."
"A plan, you say..."
Their average level was over 250, higher than Rokan's, but he spoke so confidently that they seemed to ponder it for a moment.
With the backing of the Council and the investigation unit, plus titles like the first knight and Nothing is Impossible!, he was certainly worth considering.
"Before we hear the plan, do you think you have what it takes to fight alongside us?"
"Of course."
Rokan answered the detachment leader's ice-cold question without a second's hesitation.
They weren't even level 300, so there was no reason for him to flinch.
"Bold one, aren't you."
"I'd appreciate it if you saw it as confidence."
But there was little resentment toward him. Instead, he just signaled with his eyes for someone to step forward.
"Then prove it."
"Gladly."
A one-on-one duel was exactly what Rokan wanted. He stepped forward with a grin, and his opponent openly showed his displeasure.
"Damn it, even if he's a crazy bastard, isn't it too much to make me scrap with some greenhorn whose knight commission ink hasn't even dried? Captain..."
"Save the whining for after the duel."
But complaints didn't work. Once they confirmed Rokan was a berserker class, a few dozen level difference meant nothing.
His opponent knew that too, but he trusted his own experience.
He believed there was a gap between himself, who had been at class expert for a long time, and Rokan, who had only been at it for a short while and probably wasn't adjusted yet.
It wouldn't take long for that well-founded belief to be shattered.
"Let's do it like this. Since it's just a test, I won't use Berserk. No equipment either—just weapons. Oh, and shields count as sub-weapons."
"What, you saying I'm gear-dependent?!"
His opponent bristled at Rokan's earnest proposal, but the next moment, he had to shut his mouth.
"Release equipment effect restrictions."
"Gasp!"
As soon as Rokan uttered the command, a blue aura began to ripple across his entire body. It was proof that the equipment gap overwhelmingly favored Rokan, not him.
"F-Fine, good. But you'll regret it."
Perhaps annoyed at flinching for a moment, his opponent growled through gritted teeth, but to Rokan, he just looked like a yapping puppy.
"Begin."
"I'm Maron."
"Rokan."
Clang!
With their introductions, the two clashed without any probing.
Maron to crush his momentum, Rokan anticipating it.
And unsurprisingly, it was Maron who was pushed back.
"Urk..."
"Ugh! Maron, you bastard, what the hell are you doing?!"
"Who's acting? You think throwing the fight gets you scraps?!"
His comrades mistook it for him throwing the fight, but Maron himself was in agony. His arm was numb from the full-force strike meant to flatten his nose.
"Shut up, you punks!"
"What punk? We'll settle this after you're done!"
He had no idea what trick Rokan had pulled, but he couldn't just take this lying down.
Maron lowered his stance and sidestepped to escape Rokan's line of sight.
"High Speed Movement!"
As Rokan turned to follow, he even activated a creation skill.
A technique to rapidly reposition and flank from behind.
Just as his eyes lit up thinking he'd hooked him, Rokan's figure vanished too.
"Escape. Strike."
"Gah!"
Boom!
Rokan appeared behind Maron and lightly swung his battle axe—not with the blade, but the side.
He was mindful that Maron had removed all his armor, but the power was still no joke.
Maron's body was sent flying, smacked away in an instant.
He tried to regain balance with his sturdy legs, but Rokan's next move came first.
"Bombardment."
As if once was enough mercy, a hand axe infused with terrifying explosive force flew toward his head.
An attack that would pulverize his skull to dust, even if it were made of real stone!
What blocked it was the detachment leader, Garun.
"That's enough."
Garun's spear trembled slightly from the heavy impact, but Rokan politely straightened his posture and bowed in respect.
"Damn! Guess I need some special training. To get caught by a visitor already..."
His opponent spat roughly, but the atmosphere now showed respect for Rokan. He was just angry at his own pathetic showing.
That short but intense clash left such a strong impression that no one else dared treat Rokan lightly. They wondered if they could have done better.
"You talked a good game. Get ready, everyone—hellish training's coming soon."
Garun's warning, laced with anger, followed them. He acknowledged Rokan, but separately, his pride was wounded.
"Now then, let's hear it—that plan of yours."
But a promise was a promise.
Garun's expression twisted strangely as he heard Rokan's plan. Like, what kind of guy is this?
* * *
Clop clop, clop clop.
Amid the sound of horse hooves, a group of riders charged fiercely across land littered with corpses.
The terrain was eerie enough, but what they exuded was truly terrifying.
Proof of that: the already dead trembled like aspen leaves.
"Crazy, again..."
"Ah, failed again. If I die this time, I'm losing levels!"
"Try rubbing up against them once..."
"You know those guys? Over 250, what the hell you gonna rub?!"
They were undead users who'd just crossed into the Central Continent.
Trolls and orcs were mixed in here and there, but undead made up the overwhelming majority.
The reason was simple: one undead user's "crazy stunt" had succeeded.
'Damn, there sure are a lot of lunatics.'
He was a YouTube streamer—not top-level, not geared with high-end items, not even in a major guild—but through repeated insane attempts, he became the first individual Black Dragon Legion user to set foot on the Central Continent.
His method: "Walk to the Central Continent underwater."
Using the undead trait of not being affected by "breath" when submerged, he tied heavy weights to his body, dodged sea monsters, and walked across.
'And they haven't even patched it.'
After that, the method spread like a fad among users eager to reach the Central Continent, and now quite a few undead users were showing up there.
Plus, judging that even if they reached via this method, without the skill and levels to back it up it was pointless anyway, the supercomputer Condor hadn't applied any restrictions.
'But from here on, numbers mean squat.'
Thanks to that, attempts to push through with sheer numbers or hitch a ride when high-level users advanced on cities increased.
The obstacles up to the fourth city, including the detachment, didn't allow it, though.
In truth, the difficulty was such that even Rokan would have despaired a few times if coming via another route instead of the sea tunnel, so it was perhaps natural no first arrivals had emerged yet.
"Let's begin."
Standing before them was Rokan alone.
"Bombardment."
"Th-That guy's...!"
"Rokan! It's Rokan!"
"Crazy! Why's he popping up there?!"
Since it was a stage to prove his true power, Rokan unleashed everything without restraint.
He bestowed irresistible violence, butchering the users in an instant.
Combo skills, class combos, tactics—none of it mattered.
Before overwhelming violence.
The detachment following him simply surrounded them to prevent escape, not striking a single neck themselves. That was the promise with Rokan.
"You just might... pull it off."
Rokan shrugged at Garun's wide-eyed surprise and spurred his horse ahead.
As if to say watch this, he boldly shouted before hundreds of foes.
"This place!"
All eyes focused on him.
Not just the users—the NPC guards at the pier included.
"I'm here to claim it."
[The Occupation War begins.]
[A 'Flag' has been added to your inventory.]
[Eliminate all enemies or plant the flag in the flagpole to complete 'Occupation.']
[ Pier Occupation War ][Quest]
Occupy the Black Dragon Legion's Haones Pier.
-Success Condition: Plant the occupation force's flag in the flagpole
-Success Reward: Massive Merit Points, Massive Fame, Title 'First Occupier'
It was a chuunibyou declaration, but the effect was certain. A sudden quest generated for Rokan, and the Occupation War began.
The pier Occupation War, no less.
Among upcoming Occupation Wars, it was one of the most basic and simple, but in the current situation, its meaning and difficulty were immense.
Occupying or destroying the pier meant halting regular ship service, blocking new user advances for that period.
In other words, the fastest and most effective way to weaken the enemy faction.
"Good luck."
So how would this Occupation War succeed?
With the detachment's full support, maybe, but as soon as it started, they fell back.
They'd leave all combat to Rokan and just watch—that was the deal.
But Rokan didn't hesitate or falter.
Whether users with the "Pier Defense" quest approached or level 200+ guards gathered, he ignored them and strode forward.
"Try stopping me if you can."
[Title 'Heavenly Fighter' effect: Critical hit chance +5%.]
[Title 'Man of 17 vs 1' effect: Defense +20%.]
[Title 'PKK' effect: Attack +10%, Critical hit chance +10%.]
[Title 'Tyrant' effect: All stats +15% against enemy faction.]
[Title 'Tyrant' effect: Attack +15%, Defense +15% against enemy faction NPCs.]
[Title 'Tyrant' effect: Attack and Defense increase based on number of enemy faction foes...]
Heh.
A chilling smile spread across Rokan's face as he charged, something like heat haze rising behind his back.