One-Man Legion
Solbern Count's orders remained steadfast.
"So you're just going to keep staying here!"
In truth, he had a point.
There had to be a reason the summons were harassing them.
But they couldn't afford to waste time here dragging their feet. It might even be the enemy's main goal.
"Whew, time to move."
The leader of the Red Sky Guild, the player Yuram, agreed.
"We can't just keep taking hits from those summons. I think we should maintain scouting parties while pushing downward. What do you say?"
Nods of agreement came from all around.
"That's right."
"Staying here is exactly what they want."
"Let's head down as fast as we can."
Yuram nodded in response.
He promptly received command authority from Solbern and divided the group into squads, leading them onward.
"Scattering could make it even more dangerous, so let's stick together and descend. I'll assign recapture zones to each squad at suitable spots."
With the decision made, it was time to act.
They picked up speed, heading south.
Along the way, they picked up a few pieces of intel.
"You found a hidden spot?"
"Yeah, it was posted on the homepage."
"Let's check it out."
But no one was there.
Once, twice, three times.
All the info turned out to be fake.
"Just ignore the homepage from now on."
"Tch, guess we have to."
After that, they stopped checking intel altogether.
They pushed through the relentless harassment.
They kept sending out scouting parties, but the enemy was like ghosts—never showing themselves, just scraping at their nerves with summons alone.
"Hah, damn it...!"
"This is bullshit. Where the hell are they hiding?!"
Their advance slowed to a crawl.
A serious crawl, at that.
"Hmm."
All the players realized the gravity of the situation, but there wasn't much they could do.
"Maybe..."
That's when someone approached Yuram.
"Yuram."
"Ah, yeah."
It was Arkason, a top-tier player even Yuram couldn't brush off easily.
"How about scattering now? Sticking together like this is slowing our advance to a snail's pace, and with the harassment on top, we're basically standing still."
"I know, but..."
"Staying like this will just make things worse. Let's split up."
"..."
Yuram had no reply.
"Tch."
Arkason clicked his tongue.
"I'll take that as agreement. Tell us where to recapture."
"Sigh, alright. Then..."
Yuram assigned a small city to them, and Arkason returned to his squad, immediately accelerating with his team.
He gave other squads their targets too, and they scattered in all directions like they'd been waiting for it.
Not long after.
------!
They felt an enormous backlash.
"Wh-what is it?"
He urgently dispatched scouts to assess the situation.
"R-right now, the Kaiyon continent's main army is massacring our scattered forces!"
At the report, Yuram squeezed his eyes shut.
Through the Skull Snake's vision, he took in the movements of the Kaiyon continent's allied forces with his own eyes.
"Phew."
Only then did he relax, letting the tension drain from his shoulders.
"Situation clear. Good work, everyone."
"Ooh, really?"
"Whew, that was exhausting."
"Haa, intense..."
There hadn't been any major threats, but the constant minor harassments, movements, and mental strain had built up fatigue.
Many collapsed where they stood. Mu-hyuk sat comfortably like the rest, a satisfied smile on his face.
"Good job, oppa."
"You too."
"Hehe, the squirrels were tougher than I thought."
"Yeah, they helped a ton."
Sung Min-woo and Kang Ji-yeon were chattering sweetly in the corner.
Anyway, the mission was done.
Now they could rest up and join the main battlefield.
Of course, no slacking off.
Mu-hyuk kept checking the battlefield via Skull Snakes even while resting.
Overwhelming.
Kaiyon continent players were melting away.
Contribution (1) increases.
Contribution (2) increases.
Contribution...
His squad members were racking up points too, as notifications kept popping non-stop.
About 20 minutes passed like that.
"Alright, shall we get moving too?"
"About time!"
"Ugh, for those contribution points...!"
They headed to the late-stage battlefield.
Squad 1 was closest.
"Let's clean this up first."
They appeared behind the retreating Kaiyon players.
With a horde of summons.
Borrowing their power, they inflicted massive damage.
Then sent in the melee summons.
"I'll head out too."
"Oppa, don't die!"
"Got it."
Mu-hyuk drew his dagger and kicked off the ground.
Wind Step
He caught up to the summons in an instant and wedged himself among them.
The melee summons pierced through the Kaiyon players.
They panicked, squeezing out their last reserves in a frenzy. But the numbers were so lopsided they had no chance of survival.
Hmm, this much should...
In truth, his summons wouldn't make a huge difference on their own.
Alright, Summon Absorption.
A skill that absorbed part of his summons' abilities. The summons didn't vanish, but their stats dropped sharply—in exchange, Mu-hyuk's physical prowess surged dramatically.
Summon Absorption
Select summons to absorb.
Thanks to item enhancements boosting all his stats massively, MP wasn't an issue.
He had plenty left even after absorbing the Death Skeleton and all the rest.
All stats greatly increased for 10 minutes.
Mu-hyuk didn't hide his excitement as he powered his legs.
Pwoosh!
Tremendous force exploded into the ground.
His body shot forward at terrifying speed.
"Hup!"
The results were overwhelming.
Stunned, Mu-hyuk held his breath and swung the dagger at the now-close enemy player.
"Gurk...?"
One strike was enough.
Contribution (18) increases.
Stat, Stamina (0.0218) increases.
Next, the one after, and the one after that.
Stat, Strength (0.0218) increases.
Stat, Knowledge (0.0218) increases.
A few tougher ones needed two hits, but not many.
Most players died just from Mu-hyuk brushing past them.
This is freaking awesome!
He couldn't hide his glee as he tore through the battlefield.
Mu-hyuk moved like lightning.
Slash, shlick. Stab.
The dagger swings and vanishing players replayed like a looped video. The overwhelming scene spread outward.
"..."
The range widened.
Eventually enveloping all of Forma continent's Squad 1.
"Incredible..."
"As expected of Mu-hyuk."
Soon, everyone stopped attacking.
They were mesmerized by his skill.
"Still, that's... over the line, right?"
"Too strong?"
"Yeah. Rank 2, and it's no joke."
"Didn't you see the videos?"
"Thought it was editing magic. Who'd believe it was this level?"
"Fair. He's a monster."
"One-man army, straight up."
"He must've taken out two, three hundred alone?"
"Probably."
"Still going."
The summons helped occasionally.
But it couldn't overshadow Mu-hyuk's brilliance.
Everyone dreamed of being the best in the game, soloing hordes of players—but Illusion made that brutally hard.
Yet here was Mu-hyuk making the fantasy real right before their eyes. How could they not be entranced?
"So cool..."
"Damn, I wanted to be like that."
"Not too late."
"Yeah. We've got decades of Illusion ahead."
"Right, right."
That's when Mu-hyuk suddenly halted.
"Ah...?"
All the Kaiyon players were dead.
Swipe.
Mu-hyuk's head turned.
Summon Absorption had 1 minute left.
Barely enough to relocate.
No choice.
Time to play it safer now.
"Hm? What're you all doing?"
Mu-hyuk finally noticed the awkward vibe, tilting his head. Come to think of it, they'd stopped fighting at some point.
"Haha, well..."
Awkward laughs rippled through the players.
Thwack.
Sung Min-woo dashed up and smacked Mu-hyuk's head.
"Ow, what?!"
"Idiot, you went ham solo, so we all just watched like dummies."
"Oh, uh, yeah...?"
Mu-hyuk smiled sheepishly and bowed his head.
"Ahem, sorry. Got too carried away."
"It's fine."
"Yeah, great show."
"Heh."
No need for rest.
The adrenaline was still pumping.
"Let's move out now!"
"Right. Plenty of Kaiyon left."
"Gotta take down Quennum Empire too."
"Let's go!"
They shifted positions, massacring scattered Kaiyon players.
Most other areas were already cleared, so not much left to do.
They regrouped quickly, and Duke Amur immediately ordered the advance.
"We'll occupy Quennum Empire like this!"
The noobs at Quennum's south gate freaked and fled.
But they couldn't enter the empire.
"Crazy, the gates closed!"
"Hey, let us in!"
"Ah, damn it...!"
They scattered left and right.
"Halt!"
Duke Amur stopped upon confirming the gates shut.
He summoned artisans to build siege weapons.
They were disassembled for mobility and assembled only when needed, so it took time—but the skilled artisans put them together in a flash, no complaints.
"Commence attack!"
"Yes, sir!"
The siege weapons' mighty power began battering Quennum Empire.
Boom, kwang!
The shield magic protecting the walls blocked the siege power. But Duke Amur's expression didn't change.
This was expected.
"Squads, prepare to attack!"
If siege alone wasn't enough, borrow the players' strength.
"Attack!"
The eagerly waiting players unleashed skills.
The walls' shield shook violently under the rain of power.
Meanwhile.
Quennum Empire's emperor, Barta-o III, had his eyes closed.
Rumble.
Even amid the ongoing vibrations, nothing changed.
"Your Majesty..."
Chief Steward Nio and the nobles peeked up fearfully. That's when Barta-o III opened his eyes.
Flash.
They bowed hastily at the piercing glare.
"The situation is dire."
Their main force was the outlanders.
Elite soldiers could hold them off.
But most would die.
"Heh..."
A hollow laugh as he eyed Chief Steward Nio.
"Contact the empires."
"The empires...?"
"The other two we're allied with."
Nio grasped the intent.
"You know what I mean, right, Nio?"
"Of course. You're asking for aid from the empires."
"Yes, exactly. Proceed quickly."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
But things didn't go as Barta-o III hoped.