Guild War: The Skeleton Horde Descends
Mu-hyuk, who logged into Illusion early, first sought out the knight captain.
"There you are."
"Yes, do you have business with me, my lord?"
"I brought some gear to lend you."
"Gear?"
"Yeah."
The knight captain smiled softly.
"What we use isn't bad by any means."
"Mind if I take a look?"
"Of course."
He showed off his sword, shield, and armor.
Hmm, not bad.
But it was exactly within his expectations.
Enhancement level zero, and the fine details put it at about what a level 130 user might wield.
They must have rushed to procure rugged gear on short notice, so quality had naturally suffered compared to their originals.
"You know I can enhance gear, right?"
"Ah, I've heard the stories."
"What I'm lending is enhanced."
"Pardon...?"
The knight captain's eyes widened.
He always seemed so cool and composed, which made the reaction all the more amusing.
"Looks like that surprised you."
"A bit, yes."
Mu-hyuk chuckled as he pulled out the gear.
"Try it on."
This time, the knight captain didn't hesitate.
Enhanced gear, after all.
The corners of his mouth trembled as he equipped it—he was clearly holding back a grin.
"I-it's... good."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. I can feel power surging through me just standing here."
"Glad to hear it, but unfortunately, I don't have a huge supply."
"Ah...!"
"Enough for about 200, maybe."
The knight captain's eyes lit up.
"Then the knights..."
"Bows, spears, swords, staves—the works. All kinds of weapons."
"R-right."
Outfitting every knight would throw off the balance.
If the knights charged wildly while the soldiers dropped dead, that'd be a disaster.
So he planned to distribute appropriately.
"I'll give you the exact counts. Pick the best ones and bring them."
"Understood."
Mu-hyuk listed the quantities for each weapon, shield, and armor set. The knight captain memorized them and returned with the top performers.
"Here they are."
"Thank you!"
"Next."
A cavalry soldier stepped forward.
"What's your name?"
"Ah, Sidnum, sir."
"Cavalry, right?"
"Yes."
"Out of 200 cavalry total, can you lead 50?"
"Pardon...?"
Sidnum glanced at the knight captain beside him.
But the captain, bound to follow Mu-hyuk's lead, simply nodded.
"Ah, yes. Got it."
"Skeletons go first when battle starts. Your four all-cavalry squads follow right behind. Then move by drum signals. One beat means frontal charge. Two short beats means..."
Mu-hyuk handed out items while issuing orders.
"Next."
This time, an archer.
"Lead the 50 archers."
"Yes?"
"Can you handle it?"
"Of course."
"Good. First..."
He briefed them on their roles.
"Understood!"
"Next."
In about an hour, he'd distributed gear and given detailed instructions.
A short while later.
He sought out the gangster necromancer users.
"Everyone online?"
"Yeah, looks like almost all."
"Count off first."
Mu-hyuk lined them up and tallied.
100. Full house.
"Truth is, you guys are the most crucial."
"Us?"
"Yeah. Picture it: 100 gangster necromancers. All level 130-plus. Calling their summons right now..."
He trailed off, letting it sink in.
To spark their imaginations.
"How many do you think?"
No easy math.
Even assuming 100 per user.
"At least 10,000. Skeletons swarming the plains."
"Whoa..."
"Every gangster necromancer who applied as Paradox mercs is with us now. Sure, regular necromancers stayed, but they're no real threat. Our summons alone can shatter their morale."
Nods all around.
10,000 strong.
Pride swelled inevitably.
"The grind was brutal raising those weaklings. But now? They look damn impressive. Sure, we're still grinding, but level 130-plus? Top tier right now."
"Hell yeah!"
"So let's show 'em. How strong we are. Make sure they never dare mess with us post-guild war."
"Wooo!"
"Let's do this!"
Finally, some fire.
"I'll be expecting great things."
Next, Sung Min-woo, Yerin, and Doran.
The trio looked a bit stiff.
"Nervous?"
"Ahem, a little."
"O-oppa. I'm super nervous."
Ignoring Sung Min-woo, he approached Yerin.
"It's fine. Just remember what I said and beat the drum."
"Yeah, got it."
"And cast spells if you get openings. Okay?"
"Okay!"
After reassuring her, he checked the time.
"20 minutes left. I'll be in the prison."
"Right, auto-summon at 11, yeah?"
"Yep."
"Cool! See ya then."
"Oppa, see you soon!"
"Yeah."
Mu-hyuk headed to the prison and used the scroll. But fewer logins than expected.
The morale accumulated on the Red Dagger transfers to your character.
Agility (+0.1) has increased.
Just one point per stat.
Eh, nothing else to do anyway.
He'd kill time here.
"Hup...!"
One user logged in. Kill, wait—another.
The login jitters made them easy to sense.
One more stat point.
Killing sporadic loggers, the appointed time arrived.
Summoned to the battlefield in 60 seconds.
60 seconds...
Each one dragged.
Then.
Dozens logged in almost simultaneously.
"You bastard! Kill me! We're about to summon—try it!"
"Think you can kill us all here?!"
"Heh, you punk, we'll see you on the field...!"
Mu-hyuk smirked at their taunts.
No need to respond.
They'd learn soon enough.
Light engulfed him.
3, 2, 1. Moving to the battlefield.
This popped up for First Guild and Paradox members.
But Column Village prisoners got an extra one.
Bound and imprisoned. Battlefield transfer canceled.
The light faded.
"Aaaargh!"
"What the fuck...!"
"Shit! You motherfucker!"
Screams filled the prison.
*
Finally, the guild war arena.
"Whoa, this the place?"
Vast plains stretched before him, a massive drum to the right, and distant walls filling his view.
Paradox Guild was prepping inside those, no doubt.
Mu-hyuk turned, taking stock of his guildmates.
Doran, Sung Min-woo, Yerin.
100 gangster necromancers courtesy of Valsian.
1,700 NPCs in formation.
Not the guild master technically, but leading them, he spoke slowly.
"You know the rules, but I'll recap. We breach Paradox's gate. Attacking it chips energy by percent—zero, and it vanishes. Enter, follow the path to the throne deep inside. Occupy it for 3 seconds exactly, and we win. But..."
He planned endless guild wars by reforming and reapplying—time to show overwhelming dominance.
"No death penalties here. Paradox will fight tooth and nail for that throne. We crush them with sheer power. Show your full strength. Make sure they never look up after this!"
Eyes gleamed among the listeners.
"Follow pre-assigned orders. We will win."
That moment.
A drone materialized with a hum—Illusion's auto-recorder for battles.
Mu-hyuk pivoted on cue.
3, 2, 1. Battle begins.
Staring ahead, he declared:
"Let's begin."
The gangster necromancers summoned first.
*
Over 10,000 skeletons marched across the plains. Paradox members atop the walls gaped in disbelief.
"They're coming. But this real?"
"Insane."
"Hearing 10k vs. seeing it—worlds apart."
Guild master Taiken raised a hand.
Silence fell.
"Send all summons first."
"Yes!"
They countered with summons, but numbers lagged—maybe 3,000.
Collision outcome? Obvious.
"Rest hold. Group 1, stay sharp. When they enter range, rotate four squads for skill barrages. Group 1 fires, falls back for cooldown; Group 2 steps up. Group 2 on ground, ready to charge gate anytime. Group 3... ahem."
Taiken trailed off.
He'd said this yesterday.
"You get it."
Pre-planned and relayed, but his unease demanded repetition. Guild and mercs sensed it too.
"Hoo."
Realizing this wouldn't cut it.
"Rose."
"Yeah?"
"You're in charge."
He delegated to the female mage, Rose.
"Don't worry."
She grinned confidently, taking command. Tension eased as movements sharpened.
Soon, summons closed distance.
"Summon attack—go!"
"Go!"
Salvos flew centerward.
Magic clashed midair, exploded on ground—spectacle of epic scale.
Unaware observers might mistake it for the grandest fireworks ever.
But reality was ugly.
Spells cratered earth, shattered bones flew.
Some melted outright, others dusted.
First Guild dominated utterly.
10k vs. 3k—numbers told the tale.
DOOOM!
The drum beat once.
Frontal charge...!
NPC cavalry formed a spearhead and surged.
Wind Step.
Mu-hyuk dashed right behind.