Overwhelming the Waves
Mu-hyuk had the upper hand, driving back the Dougui, but his expression remained grim. The moment he recalled their skills, a sense of dread washed over him.
Typical monsters specialized in offensive abilities, but these Dougui possessed something different.
He didn't dwell on it long.
There was only one way forward, after all.
Kill as many as possible before they could unleash it.
He immediately commanded his skeletons.
Skeleton Mages, magic attack.
Armor Archers, rapid fire.
Magic bolts streaked out, slamming into the Dougui at the rear.
BOOM!
As the explosions faded, the devastation came into view. Far more Dougui than expected writhed on the ground.
Up front, Zombie Ogres, Zombie Noble Vampires, Armor Cavalry, and Armor Knights kept up the pressure.
They'd been steadily pushing back when the Dougui finally activated their skills.
KIIIIIAAAAK!
A savage roar battered his eardrums, and at the same moment—
The Dougui's roar crushes the space.
Dougui's overall defense rises slightly.
A hologram popped up at the bottom of his vision.
The messages kept coming.
The Dougui's roar crushes the space.
Dougui's attack power rises slightly.
Dougui's attack speed rises slightly.
Dougui's stamina rises slightly.
Every Dougui that heard the roar gained boosted stats.
With over a hundred roaring in unison, the stacking buffs swelled their bodies to at least three times their original size.
In contrast, the Zombie Ogres, Zombie Noble Vampires, and skeletons slowed to half speed.
The Dougui's roar weighs on your shoulders.
Ally movement speed falls slightly.
Ally attack power falls slightly.
Ally defense falls slightly...
The debuffs stemmed from the fear woven into their roar.
As Mu-hyuk felt the overwhelming debuff weighing on his body, one Dougui lunged forward.
Whoosh.
It charged at blinding speed, swinging a fist.
BOOM!
The explosion erased three Zombie Ogres in an instant.
"Crazy..."
The roar's effect was too potent.
"Strength Increase, Stamina Increase!"
He hurriedly buffed his allies and cursed the Dougui.
"Weakness!"
But it wasn't enough.
"Revive."
He quickly resurrected the early-killed Dougui.
Zombie Dougui, roar!
He triggered their skill.
The Dougui's roar crushes the space.
Ally attack power rises extremely slightly.
Ally attack speed rises extremely slightly.
Ally...
The Dougui's roar weighs on your shoulders.
Enemy movement speed falls extremely slightly.
Enemy stamina...
It only packed 60% of the original power, but the stacking made it substantial.
Of course, the sheer number of enemy Dougui still gave their stacks the edge. They were losing ground, trading ten for one—but that was fine.
"Revive."
Every time a Dougui fell, Mu-hyuk revived it as a zombie.
Forcing their roar to stack buffs on allies and debuffs on enemies.
Bit by bit, the battle evened out.
Swish.
He peppered them with arrows while dealing damage.
"Ex-Change."
He converted some HP to restore MP when needed.
Can't let HP drop too low.
Aware of the risk, he monitored his rising HP and MP, balancing the ratio.
Revive.
But time was running critically short.
Dougui are the limit, huh.
Remaining time: 147 seconds
About 60 Dougui left.
He decided to wipe them out completely.
Wind Step.
He dashed to a Dougui at the left edge. Buffed and bloated, it was still just a humanoid monster.
Slash.
Mu-hyuk's sword raked its knee.
GRRAAAHH!
Dodging the agonized swing, he slashed the same spot again.
Repeating the process, the knee dangled loose. It toppled, off-balance.
He plunged his sword into its eye for a critical hit.
A few strikes cleanly felled it. He moved to the next.
"Hup!"
After downing about five—
Remaining time: 86 seconds
Checking the timer, Mu-hyuk fell back to assess the field.
How many Dougui left?
Scanning, exactly 17 remained. After 16, only 37 seconds were left.
His mind raced.
That'll work.
He checked the cooldowns on Armor Mages and Mages. Revived a Dougui as a zombie via Revive, then finished the last one.
You have cleared the third wave.
You acquired temporary stat points (1,500).
Total temporary stat points: 2,800.
The fourth wave begins.
Remaining time: 33 seconds
With 33 seconds left, thirty level 150 Orc Riders appeared.
Orc Riders were monsters that shattered innate limits: orcs transcending their limits astride wolves of monstrous strength, their synergy pushing boundaries further.
"Hoo."
Treating it as the finale, Mu-hyuk ordered the assault.
Mage magic and—
BOOM!
Archer bone arrows targeted the thirty Orc Riders.
Clang, clunk!
But the Orc Riders took negligible damage. Renowned for sky-high defense and HP.
Remaining time: 26 seconds
Could they even take one down in time?
Better to act than doubt.
Zombie Ogres, Zombie Noble Vampires, and Zombie Dougui crashed into the Orc Riders.
Wind Step.
Mu-hyuk joined in for maximum effect, managing to fell two Orc Riders.
Remaining time: 4 seconds
Mu-hyuk used Revive once more.
Resurrecting the two Orc Riders as zombies, he dismissed all summoned skeletons and revived zombies to the Demon Realm.
"Hoo."
He'd rushed in case the zombies vanished post-bonus stage.
Remaining time: 1 second
As time expired—
Bonus Stage (Human Wave Tactics) complete.
Total temporary stat points: 2,900.
You may convert points to stats.
Time limit: 120 minutes
The hologram appeared as darkness filled his vision. When sight returned, he was in a vast hall, spotting Sung Min-woo and Yerin scanning their surroundings.
*
The skeletons and zombies summoned to the Demon Realm.
Roughly 60 skeletons, 90 Zombie Ogres, 60 Zombie Noble Vampires, 40 Zombie Dougui.
Adding two Zombie Orc Riders made over 250 troops.
A teeming horde. Their power rippled through space momentarily. The northern Demon King sensed it first.
"Hm?"
"What is it, my lord?"
"A tiny force from the outskirts."
His succubus advisor bowed.
"I'll investigate."
"No need."
Suspicious, sure—but trivial to him, not worth a fistful.
He dismissed it.
But the advisor couldn't. Her role demanded perfect grasp of every detail, however minor.
"Report."
"Yes. Frequent battles at the western border."
"Routine. Next."
"A group attempting to flee north..."
As the succubus reported, Burtan led the zombies, drawing on past experience.
Spotting five Demon Realm monsters ahead.
-Attack!
Battle erupted.
KIIEEK!
Normally, it'd cost heavy losses to down five, but overwhelming numbers crushed them.
-Impressive.
-Amazing.
Armor skeletons clacked jaws at each other.
Clack, clatter.
That excited.
-We win.
-We can do anything.
They pushed into areas once unthinkable.
En route, dozens of 9th-grade Demon Realm beasts fell, but couldn't halt them.
After 15 minutes of skirmishes, they spotted 8th-grade beasts.
-Looks strong.
-Lots of them.
-No problem.
-Attack!
Skeletons and zombies charged the ten beasts.
Dougui roars empowered allies first. The 8th-grade beasts weakened.
Orc Riders, Noble Vampires, Ogres, and Dougui piled on—even elite 8th-graders buckled.
-We can win!
Burtan's ki blast fired.
KIIAAAAK!
They pummeled the staggered 8th-grader.
-Powerful Strike!
-Accelerated Thrust!
-Power Shot!
-Fire Wall!
-Ice Fist!
-Wind Storm!
-Thunder...
A barrage of skills unfolded.
Downing the 8th-grader.
-We did it.
No time to rest.
Onward.
Next, seven 7th-grade beasts.
Dougui roars weakened them again.
Orc Riders tanked upfront, making them manageable.
Victory seemed assured—until Zombie Ogres vanished en masse.
Remaining Ogres followed, then Noble Vampires within a minute. Dougui and Orc Riders next.
-Damn.
Surviving skeletons eyed each other.
-What now?
-No choice.
-Next time...
The 7th-grade beasts' skill hit.
Crack.
Unable to withstand the wide-ranging blast, skeletons shattered like twigs.