Chapter 67: One-Man Army (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 67: One-Man Army (3)
"...Is that even possible? No, are you sure he'll really act like that?"
Alice's eyes widened in disbelief.
It was only natural for her to find it hard to believe.
Not only was he reading the moves of a seasoned opponent, but he also understood Muhon's personality as if they were childhood friends of ten years.
Above all, the final trump card he had prepared was a method Alice herself had never even imagined.
"What... are you, really? Are you even human?"
Alice swallowed hard.
She had known better than anyone how incredible Jinhyuk was ever since they first met. But this was ridiculous; the more she peeled back his layers, the more endless the surprises became.
"I'm just someone who loves this world."
Eleven years.
He had enjoyed this world more than anyone else. And because of that, he had clung to it more desperately than anyone else.
He wasn't some genius who could master everything in one go. Nor was he born with a blessed body and outstanding stats.
Just a worn-out, veteran player.
That was all.
"Whew. That is a very you answer."
Alice let out a soft sigh. She realized that no matter how much she asked, she would never get a straight answer about his true identity.
"Just make sure you protect what's on your head. That thing is expensive."
"Don't worry. I'm not the type to let anyone take what's mine once it's in my hands."
Jinhyuk smirked.
"Of course you aren't. Well, see you in a bit."
Bidding her farewell, Jinhyuk walked away from the center where Alice stood.
Weaving through the chess pieces, he arrived at a wide, open space on the far right. Jinhyuk whistled.
At that moment,
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Heavy cavalry armed with charging lances lined up on both sides of Jinhyuk.
"Did you call for us?"
An emotionless voice drifted from one of the mounted knights.
Unlike the other chess pieces, these were special units imbued with intelligence. They were the 'Knights' he had saved specifically for this moment.
From among them, a black steed clad entirely in dark armor trotted forward.
It's been a while since I last rode a horse.
Jinhyuk stroked the black steed's mane.
From relatively common mounts like horses and Dire Wolves, to mythical beasts like phoenixes and dragons—there were literally thousands of 'mounts' in the Tower of Trials.
Naturally, Jinhyuk had ridden every single one of them. In fact, because he usually rode such bizarre and rare creatures, riding a normal horse felt almost awkward.
Jinhyuk mounted the saddle.
"Neighhh!"
The horse thrashed wildly. But only for a brief moment. Under his gentle and experienced touch, the bucking horse quickly calmed down.
"Let's go."
Jinhyuk gripped his lance.
"Understood."
The Black Knight immediately bowed his head.
* * *
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Three hundred Knights began to charge through the bamboo forest. The thunderous sound of hooves echoed loudly.
Right then,
"Graaa!"
"Ooooh!"
Creatures with unusually long arms and legs came rushing out from between the stone statues. There were about three thousand of them. However, every single one of them was a powerful, mid-sized or larger entity.
They're aiming for our main camp.
It was an awkward number—too many to ignore, yet turning back to stop them would ruin his momentum. It was exactly that kind of force. Muhon had likely planned this as well.
"What are your orders?"
"Ignore them. Since three thousand of them split off, the enemy's defensive wall will be that much thinner."
Jinhyuk pointed to a gaping void in the center of the stone statues.
"The moment we penetrate, the forces on both flanks will cut off our retreat."
"Probably."
He knew. He knew all too well that this gap had been left open on purpose.
The opponent's goal was to lure them deep inside, trap them, and steal Alice's crown in the meantime. The intention was obvious just from how they placed large-sized units in the center and smaller ones on both flanks.
But that entire strategy relied on one major premise: that the three thousand-strong vanguard he sent to take the crown...
...would be faster than me taking his head.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Jinhyuk spurred his horse to go even faster. Before long, the enemy lines were right before them.
"Break through in one go!"
As he roared at the top of his lungs, he leveled his lance forward.
[Chess piece 'Knight' activates 'Wedge Formation'!]
[Collision damage is increased by 200%!]
A charging formation designed to maximize destructive power even with small numbers. Three hundred Knights plunged straight into the heart of the enemy lines.
Crash! Boom! Crash!
Debris from the stone statues pierced by the lances exploded in all directions. It was a terrifying display of power. The concentrated breakthrough, combining sheer weight and speed, completely shattered the layered defensive lines.
Leading the charge, Jinhyuk kept his forces tight as they penetrated deeper and deeper. A few stone statues fought back desperately, but unless they were named-grade monsters, they stood no chance of slowing Jinhyuk down.
After about a minute had passed, the Knights led by Jinhyuk reached the deepest part of the enemy camp.
Jinhyuk looked up. There, standing atop a stone statue adorned with jewels, was Muhon.
...He's smiling.
The twisted smirk of absolute confidence on his face was quite a sight to behold.
"You've crawled quite far, human. Leading such a pitifully small force all the way to my presence is indeed worthy of praise."
"Cut the nonsense. I already know you opened up a path on purpose."
"Oh? You knew it was a trap?"
"Something like that."
"Amusing. Then why did you walk straight into the jaws of death?"
"Huh? Jaws of death? To me, this looks like the Han River park on a midsummer night. Look, they're even selling chicken skewers and beer over there."
"...To act so nonchalantly even in this situation. At this point, I'm starting to think I highly overestimated you."
Muhon slowly raised both palms.
"Well, no matter. Leaving the crown with a scrawny little girl, charging in here with a mere handful of troops... You are no longer worth my time."
He then brought his palms together.
"Let us end this."
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
It was at that moment that the stone statues on either side began to move. Jinhyuk's eyes narrowed.
He's even summoned the Greek statue of David and the Great Ucchusma Vajra.
Just like the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara, highly powerful named-grade monsters appeared one after another.
Crash!
Boom!
The Knights began to be smashed to pieces without even putting up a proper fight. Steel armor split in half, and lances shattered into splinters.
"Bwahahaha! Are there no decent opponents in Shiva's world?!" roared the Great Ucchusma Vajra, laughing boisterously.
"Hmm. I don't see any humans with perfect physical proportions either," murmured the statue of David, scanning the enemies' bodies from head to toe.
A battle maniac and a pervert in one place. This was certainly a rare sight...
But indeed, his mana pool was truly monstrous. Seeing how he could control such formidable beasts all at once, his mana pool had to be filled to the brim.
I guess a boss is a boss for a reason.
However, despite being at an overwhelming disadvantage, there wasn't a shred of tension on Jinhyuk's face. Instead, he looked at Muhon with a smirk.
"Have you lost your mind? Why are you smiling?"
"Let me point out two things you're mistaken about."
Jinhyuk folded down his first finger.
"First, those stone statues you sent. You chose the ones you were most confident in, right?"
"Of course. I handpicked only the elites. They are units I can trust with any mission."
"Same here."
"What?"
"The one I entrusted the crown to... is also someone I can absolutely trust."
The moment Jinhyuk finished speaking,
Rumble! Crash!
A geyser of crimson blood erupted in the distance.
"You filthy trash! How dare you... Who do you think you're reaching your hands toward?!"
Alice's face contorted in pure rage.
[Alice activates Lv?? 'Rain of Blood'!]
Hundreds of harpoons made of blood completely blanketed the sky. Though numerous, every single one of them was packed with an immense amount of mana. The sunlight vanished, replaced by dark, heavy storm clouds.
"Die."
Alice spat coldly.
That was it. The countless blood harpoons raining from the sky began to obliterate the stone statues. A carpet bombing scene straight out of a movie unfolded.
And that was with her mana supply restricted; if she could unleash her full power, this entire region would have been reduced to ashes.
"W-What is this?!"
Watching this, Muhon gasped in shock.
He had deliberately selected units specialized in single-target combat rather than group warfare, yet they were nothing but paper soldiers before the white-haired girl.
This made no sense. There were even named-grade statues mixed in among them! How on earth...?
While Muhon stood frozen, feeling as if he had been struck on the head with a hammer, Jinhyuk folded down his second finger.
"And second. Opening up a gap to lure me deep inside... that was exactly what I was aiming for."
The activation conditions were incredibly strict, but fortunately, every single requirement had just been met.
[Recalling 'Memory of the World'.]
Jinhyuk summoned the Great Library, where his unique abilities and skills were stored.
Hummmmm!
The materials for the fusion would be 'Blood Demon Qi' and 'Mandala'. By fusing two completely opposing abilities, he would create a skill to turn the tide of this battle.
[Unique Ability 'Blood Demon Qi' and 'Mandala' are fusing!]
[Fusion successful!]
[You have acquired the skill 'Double Agent (S)'!]
[Due to extremely strict activation conditions, the rank is downgraded from S to A.]
[Double Agent]
Acquisition Difficulty: A
Description: Brainwashes a portion of the enemies, forcing them to turn their blades against each other. However, the target of 'Double Agent' must be a 'summon' controlled by a boss monster, and the skill can only be used when the user is within 5 meters of the 'boss monster' controlling the summons.
"Thanks."
For pulling me right into the skill's range. Thanks to that, he was now able to use this skill.
[Lv1 'Double Agent' is activated!]
Crackle!
A transparent wave rippled outward from Jinhyuk's body. And at that exact moment,
"Graaa!"
An anomaly occurred within the tightly woven encirclement. The swords and spears that had been aimed at Jinhyuk and his Knights suddenly turned toward their own allies.
Thud!
Clang! Screeech!
Simultaneously, nearly half of the stone statues began to run wild, indiscriminately attacking anything in sight. Even the named-grade statues were no exception.
"Perfect proportions, my foot! You damn Western brat!"
The Great Ucchusma Vajra punched the statue of David square in the face.
Crash!
Ugly cracks spiderwebbed across David's face.
"W-What are you doing all of a sudden?!"
"Shut up! I hated your pretty-boy face, your toned abs, and your thighs from the very beginning!"
Now that he was under the influence of 'Double Agent', no words would get through to him. To the Great Ucchusma Vajra, David now looked like his sworn, mortal enemy.
In an instant, the battlefield turned into utter chaos.
"Damn it. Did you put on a show just for this?"
Muhon ground his teeth so hard they threatened to shatter.
"I laid a trap within a trap."
To catch a smart guy, a single twist isn't enough. So I added a little extra seasoning to make sure that no matter how full of himself someone is, they'd have no choice but to fall for it.
You know what they say—the pinnacle of a bluff is the double bluff.
In any case... the playing field was now level.
"Round two starts now."