Crushing the First Wave
Of course, it wasn't just the skeletons encircling the hostile users. Players from the Forma Continent had also surrounded the scattered groups from the Kairon Continent in small teams. Thanks to that, they could handle them leisurely, one by one, without overexerting themselves.
"You bastard...!"
One user in this group was particularly hot-blooded.
His mouth was especially foul.
"If I come back to life, I'm targeting only you, no matter what!"
"Do that, then."
"You son of a...!"
A bone arrow flew toward the hostile user as he spat curses.
-1,219 HP
"Guh!"
The startled man hurriedly pulled out his shield to block it.
"You little sh...!"
As he tried to continue cursing, an Armor Cavalry charged at him.
Staggering from the impact, he found Mu-hyuk already behind him, slashing repeatedly at the nape of his neck with a dagger.
The panicked hostile user spun around, but Mu-hyuk used footwork to follow in the opposite direction. He stayed glued to the man's back, relentlessly striking with the dagger.
"S-Stop...!"
The man's face twisted in agony.
-146 HP
-2,155 HP
-258 HP
-HP...
His HP was already nearing zero.
Crazy, what the hell is this!
One attack triggered four messages.
Pure damage once.
Attribute strike from that damage once.
Storm damage once.
Attribute strike from that once more.
Four HP deductions from a single dagger swing—it had to be mentally crushing.
Two swings made eight, three made twelve. Normally, a heal would have come in by now, but all the priests were already dead.
"P-Please...!"
This was his last bit of life force.
If he died here?
24 hours logout penalty.
That was terrifying.
Knowing that only made him more scared.
"Hmm."
But Mu-hyuk had no reason to show mercy.
This was war.
And a game.
He'd worked harder than others to grow stronger, and this was the result. If Mu-hyuk had been weaker than the guy in front of him, he'd be the one dying.
Slash.
As he slashed once more with the dagger, the man faded away.
Stamina +0.0218
This one was lower level than Mu-hyuk too.
Well, he was rank 2.
There was only one user higher level than Mu-hyuk. Even those at the same level numbered barely over a hundred in the vast world of Illusion.
Expected value: 0.0218.
About 50 kills for one stat point.
It'd be a tough road.
But being able to raise stats at all was something. And war would shorten that path considerably.
Whoosh.
Mu-hyuk turned his head, locking eyes on another prey.
Wind Step.
A hostile user pinned down by three Armor Knights' shields, unable to move properly. Mu-hyuk closed in and thrust his dagger.
The last group remaining.
About 11 hostile users surrounded by some 50 skeletons.
"Can't even log out!"
"This is insane, for real...!"
Of course not.
The entire village was under the effect of a Sacred Battle Scroll.
Mu-hyuk soon arrived after finishing the other group.
"This the last group?"
"Yeah."
Sung Min-woo nodded from behind.
"Whew, let's wrap it up and rest."
"Roger."
Mu-hyuk moved forward with dagger in hand.
"One."
He dispatched a priest in an instant, then pivoted.
Another one.
The users died so pathetically.
"Hah..."
The hostile users could only feel bewildered by the situation.
This was rank 2..!
A true ranker's prowess sent chills down their spines. Even without the skeletons, Mu-hyuk's personal skill was overwhelming.
By the time they snapped out of it, five were already dead. The survivors had given up resisting, awaiting death.
As Mu-hyuk advanced toward them, he suddenly smirked and murmured low.
"Oh, my strength went up?"
His stats had risen, naturally.
Sung Min-woo, catching on, joked.
"Flexin'?"
"Yeah, flexin'."
At that, Illusion TV heated up once more.
*
It was definitely a remark out of place for the situation.
Even amid the weird misunderstanding, Mu-hyuk swung his dagger.
Slash.
He finished off the rest.
And so, the first battle ended in a crushing victory.
*
While they rested, the knight planted a flag on the lord's castle in the small city. He then brought in soldiers to stand guard on the walls.
Soon, other mercenaries arrived. Their joining made up for the dead users, so it didn't even show.
No, the numbers actually seemed higher than before. Morale naturally soared, and the knight read the mood perfectly.
"There are still many villages and small cities we need to reclaim!"
They needed to boost morale even more.
Charge ahead with that momentum and retake the lost villages.
That was the top priority.
"We'll start by reclaiming the small village 5 km from here!"
"Ooh!"
"We're heading out immediately!"
Everyone mounted the warhorses summoned by the Gangster Necromancer and headed northwest. With the knight leading, there was no worry of getting lost.
It wasn't far.
The small village was already visible in the distance.
"There it is!"
The knight and users sped up.
Smaller than expected?
Seemed easier than the last fight.
Still, no room for carelessness.
Upon reaching the destination, users infiltrated the village. Mu-hyuk and his allies stayed back at a distance.
"Oppa, gonna scout first?"
"Yeah."
After dismounting, he sent Skull Snakes inside.
"How's it look?"
"Hmm."
The mercenary users were overwhelming them.
"Easy peasy?"
"Yeah? Then let's hurry and rack up contribution!"
Sung Min-woo dashed off with his spirit.
Huh?
At that moment, a group emerged from the village's back gate.
Exactly 15.
They emitted a faint red glow, instantly marking them as hostiles.
The problem was their attitude. Despite the disadvantage, they closed in without hesitation.
Confidence?
Where from?
That nagged at him.
Top rankers?
Then, a blue light emanated from the 15 users.
Area buff...!
They started running, but not particularly fast.
Not physical enhancement.
Allied users snickered.
"What're those guys?"
"Just kill 'em!"
Attacks poured onto the three tank users up front. Close-range users closed in and swung weapons.
Sung Min-woo was among them, linking attacks with his spirit, but his face twisted.
"Crazy...?"
The damage was pathetically low.
He retreated hastily.
Widened the gap and returned to Mu-hyuk.
"Hey, those guys are no joke."
"Why?"
"One attack does like 30 damage."
"30...?"
"Yeah, does that make sense?"
No skill used?
Even then, it didn't.
"Skills?"
"Of course I used 'em!"
Then it was truly incomprehensible.
Not 3,000 or even 300.
Just 30.
Mu-hyuk frowned and eyed the mages.
Magic attacks.
Myriad spells filled the sky.
Boom, kablooey!
They struck the 15 new hostiles precisely.
Armor Mage 1 deals 23 damage.
Armor Mage 2 deals 22 damage.
Armor Mage 3...
Mu-hyuk's expression darkened.
Regular mages did even less.
Barely over 10.
22 Armor Mages totaled around 500 damage; 19 regular mages about 200.
Combined, barely 700.
One priest heal would nullify it all.
"Hah."
Sung Min-woo asked at Mu-hyuk's reaction.
"No damage going in?"
"Nope."
"Not a bug, right?"
"Game with no bugs."
"Tch."
Seemed like some cheat skill.
That blue light?
If wondering, just check.
Storm, guided arrow.
Mu-hyuk nocked an arrow himself.
A combo of Powerful Arrow Shot and mental link—never used till now, no need.
But against users? Very useful.
Trajectory already visible.
Aimed at the rearmost priest.
Twang!
The arrow shot out, brimming with power, passing over hostile heads. Ignored, it suddenly curved. Drawing a semicircle, it embedded perfectly in the priest's back.
31 damage.
Additional 55 damage.
Additional 6 damage.
Not blocked by shield, yet damage minimal.
Dispersing it entirely?
No, that didn't make sense.
Then what?
Mu-hyuk ordered all cavalry archers to use Power Shot and Multi Shot.
Bone arrows arced straight ahead. The three front tanks blocked with shields.
Clang, clack.
Bone arrows lost power and fell.
Hmm.
He scrutinized the minimal damage messages. Simultaneously, vision-shared on the hostiles.
Eh...?
Then he spotted something odd.
Range?
The priests weren't focusing on the three tanks—they tended to the whole group.
Their follow-up heals were area-wide, not single-target. Watching more confirmed it: mostly area heals.
Ah...!
Now he got it.
Damage sharing.
Beyond possibility—near certainty.
Then...?
Mu-hyuk pondered how to break it.
Soon, his eyes gleamed.