Breaching the Iron Wall

The Paradox Guild members who had been charging toward the rider on horseback came to a screeching halt.

"Boss...?"

"You fucking idiots!"

"N-no, sir?"

"That bastard's obviously just luring us in, you morons!"

"Huh? Why would he lure us...?"

"Goddamn, you're all so fucking useless. He's the chief of Column Village, right? He'd hate for us to head straight there, dumbass. And you—can you even catch up if he bolts on that warhorse?"

"Uh, well..."

"The rest of you—speak up! Can you catch him?"

"No, sir!"

"Then why the hell are you chasing?"

"W-we're pissed off..."

"Hopeless, all of you. Whatever. We're heading to Column Village right now. We'll trash the place, and he'll come running. Move out!"

"Heading to Column Village!"

The Paradox Guild members fell into formation and began marching. Daepotan, at the front, suddenly felt a twinge of curiosity and called over the scouting team leader.

"Walk me through the combat situation in detail."

"Yes, sir! We spotted Mu-hyuk and engaged immediately. He used Revive on some monsters, but we melted them quick ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and surrounded him, unloading skills. We clearly confirmed dozens of skills hitting spots his shield couldn't cover..."

"And?"

"But he slipped away without dying."

Daepotan furrowed his brow.

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"Round up the scouts."

The scouting team assembled in seconds.

"You all have damage logs on Mu-hyuk, right?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Call 'em out one by one."

"Yes! I landed 697 damage once and 631 once."

"Mine was just 519 once."

"I got 575..."

Daepotan listened with his eyes closed.

"511 and 519—two hits for me!"

"That's all?"

"Excluding the dead guildmates, yes."

"Heh, unbelievable."

"What is it, sir...?"

"That's over 13,000 total damage..."

Everyone blinked in shock.

"Okay, fine, let's say that's possible. He probably has recovery skills. But you lot."

"Yes, sir!"

"You used skills, right?"

"Yes!"

"Skills that only did 500-600 damage? That means the bastard's defense is over 1,000! What the fuck? No, shit—the logs don't lie. But it doesn't make sense!"

Daepotan's expression turned grave.

Is that even possible?

Paradox Guild had a few top rankers, but even they weren't this stacked.

"Haa... gonna lose my mind."

A foreboding chill crept up his spine.

*

Column Village was just a short way off now.

"Boss."

"What?"

"You really gonna wreck Column Village?"

"What else?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"It's under the Hemil Empire, and we're leaving a huge trail. Feels like it'll bite us later."

"Kid, we've done shit like this a hundred times. Why pussy out now?"

"Just got a bad feeling."

"Haa..."

Truth be told, Daepotan felt the same.

Ominous. Unsettling.

That nagging itch in his throat wouldn't quit.

"No choice. Hesitate now, and all our ruthless momentum goes to shit. Ah, even Paradox is watching us hawk-eyed. You think the pussies we've been bullying won't smell blood?"

"Ugh, just thinking about it..."

"That's how precarious things are. Time to remind 'em."

"Remind them of what?"

"How goddamn vicious we are."

"Ah..."

"What? Spit it out."

"No, it's just... Mu-hyuk. Keeps popping in my head. He's too strong. This even real?"

"Fuck, tell me about it. But pin him down fair and square, we win. It's that skeleton guerrilla bullshit screwing us."

"Those skeletons are too..."

"Strong?"

"Yeah."

"No helping it. First Gangster Necromancer and all. Back when the class was unknown, he swept up every skull hitting the auction house. Swap skulls on a regular gangster necro's weak-ass skeletons, they evolve into beasts—you know that. Top ranker plus pioneer? Gotta expect that level."

"Ah...!"

"Don't sweat it too much. He's solo. We hit Column Village, trash his pet project—he'll show. Surround and squash. Still over 200 left; proper encirclement seals it."

That was when it happened.

"Crazy bastard!"

"Fuck! Gonna lose it!"

Shouts erupted from the rear.

"What?"

Turning, he spotted Mu-hyuk far back, unleashing arrows.

"Hah, that fucker...!"

Mu-hyuk was mounted on a warhorse. They fired back spells and arrows, but inflicted no damage. Meanwhile, a Paradox guildmate dropped dead already.

"Tanks to the rear! Focus defense, push to Column Village."

"Tanks rearward! Defense priority!"

The guild shifted swiftly, forming an ironclad tank wall in seconds.

"Maintain formation, pick up speed!"

"Speed up!"

Ignoring Mu-hyuk, they charged full throttle toward Column Village like it was their final mission. Mu-hyuk scowled, closing the gap. Arrows flew nonstop, but the rear tanks shielded effectively—no real damage.

Those bastards...!

Let them reach Column Village, and they'd rampage.

Not happening!

One way to stop them.

Infiltrate.

Mu-hyuk kicked off the ground hard.

In a flash, Mu-hyuk latched onto the Paradox rear. His eyes met a user's through a shield gap. Ignoring it, he stomped the ground, vaulted off the shield, and leaped again. Landing amid the packed Paradox guildmates, he swung his sword wildly while murmuring.

"Revive."

35 wandering souls.

All resurrected.

Monsters erupted everywhere.

"What the—?!"

"Revive, looks like!"

"Mu-hyuk's infiltrated!"

Seizing the chaos, he closed on a priest-like user.

Storm Slash, Cross Cut...

Sword raised for the swing, but the priest thrust a shield. Without triggering Cross Cut, Mu-hyuk swept upward from below. The Storm Slash blast hurled the shield skyward. He targeted the gap, slashing down.

Storm Slash, Cross Cut.

Luckily, a critical proc'd.

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He partially shielded himself with the dropped shield right after.

Nearby foes hammered his body.

Bam! Boom! Kwang!

But the damage was lighter than expected.

Peering through shield gaps, Mu-hyuk smirked. Frontline Paradox members blocked rear sightlines and skill shots for their own. One misfire, and allies died—they had to play cautious.

"Fuck! Can't see shit!"

Thanks to that, Mu-hyuk only worried about the dozen or so at the formation's front. He flung himself right, slashing with his dagger. Blocked by a shield, he rebounded backward.

Storm Slash, Storm Slash.

Coldly assessing, he rampaged on.

"Fucking annoying!"

That instant, a user approached from the right.

Storm Slash, Power Dash.

Shoulder-checking the user with a skill burst. No breather—he slashed relentlessly.

Storm Slash, Cross Cut.

Unlike the priest, no instant kill. Higher defense and HP, plus rear heals.

"Kukuku, what? Gonna do? Come at me, punk!"

But Mu-hyuk didn't stop.

Provoked?

Somewhat. But bigger reason: attacks landed true. Heals couldn't full-restore.

So, you're mine.

He hammered the man exclusively. The guy ate hits but stood firm amid the barrage.

"Think you can kill me, punk?!"

Rear heals kept firing. Surroundings assaulted Mu-hyuk nonstop. But he ignored the tremors, fixated on his target.

Yeah, hold on.

Storm Slash, Storm Slash.

Waiting for cooldowns.

Exp Exchange.

Swapped MP for HP once.

Created distance.

Drew Sunset Longsword, morphed to bow.

Storm Slash, Powerful Arrow Shot.

Storm Slash, Rapid Fire.

Arrows loosed, bow holstered, dagger redrawn. En route, Blessing of the Dead on the foe.

Storm Slash, Power Attack.

Skill to his shoulder.

Storm Slash, Cross Cut.

Dagger plunged into the flailing man's chest, eyes wide. Peak burst overwhelmed standard heals.

"Fuck... shiiiit..."

"Die."

Yanked dagger, scooped falling item.

No time to check—Mu-hyuk rolled, shield-forward, dodging body blows.

As attacks eased, he stomped and leaped. Stepped a dazed user's shoulder, kicked a rear shield for relaunch—but incoming spells and arrows clipped him midair, shoving him back.

Damn...

Landed in a worse spot.

Mu-hyuk's face hardened coldly.

Again.

Leaped to escape once more—failure. Airborne, every arrow and spell targeted only him. No dodging. Took hits, crashed down.

"Let him slip here, you're all dead!"

"Kill him no matter what!"

HP left: around 7,000.

Exp Exchange.

Burned remaining MP for 2,000 HP.

9,000 tops. No—fresh hits dropped to 8,200. Rolled, twisted, maxed shield, but HP plunged fast.

7,500...!

Might die here.

Sudden defiance surged.

Go out swinging.

Dull eyes reignited. Gripped dagger tighter, fixated on one point.

Break through.

Shield-covered charge.

Wind Step.

To shatter that iron gate.