The Sword That Splits the Earth
Enveloped in a thicket of plants, a space filled with nothing but darkness.
A single golden laurel wreath gleamed. Beneath it, a pair of eyes shone with a chilling light.
And then.
The crushing pressure.
A shiver ran down their spines.
No one could speak.
They could barely breathe.
Even a Level 9 boss—the worst kind of disaster—wouldn’t feel this overwhelming.
The Baekgeom raid team, which had been shouting just moments ago, fell completely silent. Even Kang Han-bi, who had been running his mouth at the front, quietly slipped toward the back.
Like herbivores before a predator, they instinctively focused solely on the movements of the Mountain King rather than their own.
Well, except for one person.
“Are you ignoring me too, sunbae?”
“……”
Kim Jong-pil’s gaze shifted to Park Gwang-seob. Perhaps he had calmed down somewhat; the killing intent that had been radiating from him earlier had been sheathed.
“What if I am?”
“……”
“Do you really think something like this can hold me?”
“Well, normally it might be difficult for you.”
Kim Jong-pil looked him over as if appraising him.
“But right now, it seems perfectly fine.”
In that instant, a flash of sword light pierced the darkness.
A vivid green-purple line carved into the wall of vegetation glowed faintly.
Then it exploded.
──────!
One strike to sweep away the darkness. One strike to reclaim the sky.
Beneath the sunlight Park Gwang-seob had restored, he was smiling.
See that? This is me. The Sword Master. Korea’s third-ranked hunter. There’s no way some relic from a bygone era could ever stop me…
But at that moment.
“Is that all?”
“……!!”
The moment a sneer formed on the Mountain King’s lips, the shadow on the ground expanded. As darkness surged forward, everyone looked up.
And just like that, as if on cue, they froze in place.
There stood Vita, no longer merely a high-grade tree spirit but the World Tree itself.
Tap. Tap. With golden horns gleaming, Vita looked down at them. Those arrogant eyes seemed to say:
Bow your heads, you insignificant creatures.
The moment her horns were fully dyed in gold, plants began to grow wildly around her.
Trees, vines, wildflowers, branches, blades of grass… A colossal mountain surged into the sky.
Thus, the world had its heavens stolen by vegetation.
A difference in class.
This was the true form of the king who had once lulled the entire world to sleep.
“Don’t test my patience. I have nothing to say to amateurs.”
“You—!”
“What? Want to try again?”
“……”
“Gwang-seob-ah……”
“Damn it!”
Unable to ignore Oh Kang-min’s plea, Park Gwang-seob reluctantly stepped back.
The Mountain King ignored him and began to walk.
Step. Step.
With every step the Mountain King took, the Baekgeom raid team retreated, bowing their heads.
They didn’t want to meet his eyes, but their trembling limbs were honest about their fear.
One by one, people began to gather behind the Mountain King.
Yu Ri-ra, who had been chattering away, took the left flank. Kim Yu-shin, shield in hand, took the right. Finally, Park Su-bin and Baek Yeon-woo guarded the rear.
It was a stark contrast to the chaotic Baekgeom Guild, which had ignored even Gwisal’s warnings.
Finally, Kim Jong-pil stood before Oh Kang-min.
And then.
“Hey, Baekgeom leader. Is this all you’ve got?”
“……!!”
He rebuked him.
“What kind of team management have you been doing that you let this kind of stupidity run wild? You couldn’t even shut up one excited sunfish and let things escalate this far.”
“……”
“Don’t tell me you also think what we did was cowardly, just like those idiots? If so, say it now so we don’t waste any more time.”
“……No, I don’t.”
“You know better… Hah.”
In a competitive raid, conflict was inevitable.
Just as Lee Shin had said, this was a stage set by the Bureau. They were practically encouraged to fight.
In some ways, it was even more blatantly a coliseum than the rival matches. After all, this was a field with zero ‘control.’
Therefore, the leader’s primary role was to prevent disputes from spiraling out of control. This was exactly why the Mountain King was criticizing Oh Kang-min.
“You should have stopped him even if it meant beating him. Even if it meant drawing the sword at your waist.”
“!!”
“Does that sound like a joke? Why do you think the rules say not to attack your own teammates? Because situations like this happen all the time. Do you think team members won’t get worked up and lose their minds in those fights?”
Attacking your own teammate.
It was a shocking statement.
But the Mountain King was dead serious.
“You don’t seem to realize how big this is. The moment that idiot grabbed someone by the collar, this became an unavoidable penalty.”
In a competitive raid where matches were often decided by a single point or two, a penalty was a decisive factor.
“Because of this penalty, your team will have to endure a brutal schedule. Less sleep, no rest. To make up for the lost points, you’ll have to run around and hunt more than anyone else.”
“And you’ll have to compete against the other guilds in that state. All because of one crazy bastard.”
The old-school Kim Jong-pil despised such unprofessional behavior.
The battles he knew were ones where you poured out sweat, effort, and everything you had. To see such pathetic nonsense in such a noble contest filled him with rage.
“Kang-min-ah, you’ve always been a gentle kid. That’s why I know you struggle to say harsh things. But Kang-min-ah.”
“Yes, sunbae-nim……”
“This is my final piece of advice. Give it everything you’ve got. If you keep going like this, you’re all going to be in serious trouble.”
Let’s go.
As the Mountain King led the raid team away, the Baekgeom raid team finally seemed to grasp the severity of the situation. A heavy silence descended upon them.
─ “We’ve finally reached the final stretch of the competitive raid. This is caster Baek Seong-jae. Joining me today is commentator Choi Moon-seong.”
─ “This is commentator Choi Moon-seong, who has been having the time of his life thanks to the competitive raids. I’m already sad it’s almost over. How long will we have to wait to see matches this entertaining again?”
─ “It was a competitive raid filled with controversy and drama, but that’s exactly why it created such a massive syndrome. Let’s jump straight into the match.”
A massive magic circle hovered over a field teeming with giant insects.
The moment multicolored lights burst forth.
A downpour of psychic lightning struck. Spears of glacial ice shot upward. Blades of wind howled. The earth trembled, and flames roared.
A large-scale magical bombardment.
And charging through the explosions were Yu Ri-ra and Baek Yeon-woo.
“Fox Yeonu, if you’re slow I’m leaving you behind!”
“You can rest if you’re tired.”
Wahahaha~
With Yu Ri-ra’s refreshing laughter, lightning bolts shot in every direction. Insects struck by the lightning bullets froze in place. Precision shots aimed directly at their eyes and brains.
Baek Yeon-woo was no less impressive. He had already drawn a blade longer than usual and was painting the moon. The full moon danced with brilliant light, and behind its graceful movements, trails of insect bodily fluids painted the ground.
─ “Yu Ri-ra and Baek Yeon-woo. The two currently considered Mir Guild’s strongest weapons are advancing.”
─ “Whoa, their offensive power is truly awe-inspiring the more you watch.”
─ “And supporting them from behind is Hwarang Kim Yu-shin!!”
If the two deadly fangs had carved a path, the next was Hwarang Kim Yu-shin.
“Don’t stop. Pick up the pace.”
Despite possessing world-class defensive power, he boasted unmatched stamina and speed comparable to the other two.
And that wasn’t all. He possessed the Super Synergy trait that boosted the two’s breakthrough power simply by existing, along with exceptional judgment.
According to Lee Shin, he was the most perfect tank, and he charged forward.
In sync with Hwarang’s shield charge, a massive silver shield slammed down from above.
The legendary overpowered technique that provided both defense and wide-area stun left the giant insects twitching in confusion. Without fail, Baek Yeon-woo’s full moon and Yu Ri-ra’s lightning followed.
─ “Kyaaaa!! Shoot! Slash! Smash!”
─ “It explodes. It severs. It crushes. The gun, sword, and shield move in perfect harmony, pulverizing the wave. They’re tearing through the giant insect tide with unstoppable momentum!!”
─ “We’re almost there! Let’s go! Keep pushing!”
While carving a frantic path forward, their destination came into view.
A hill beyond the horizon. What looked like a mountain from afar was the boss room of this gate.
Kim Yu-shin immediately radioed in.
“Boss room confirmed, Captain.”
― “I see it. Can you increase speed?”
The Mountain King’s voice came through their earpieces.
The three looked at each other and grinned.
““Confirmed.””
At that moment.
Yellow, white, and silver light exploded outward.
The lightning became true thunder. The silver shield grew as large as a building. And the full moon became the night sky itself.
The dramatically increased output began devastating everything around them.
The commentators were left breathless at the majestic sight, and the chat window had already passed out.
The moment they emerged from the forest into the wide-open plains, a similar cloud of dust appeared on the other side of the Mir Guild.
“……?!”
“Sunbae-nim! Over there!”
“They’re here.”
It was the Baekgeom Guild.
As if by some cruel twist of fate, they were heading toward the boss room at the exact same timing as Mir Guild.
Mir Guild and Baekgeom Guild.
The two groups recognized each other.
Before they knew it, they were running side by side like it was a race.
In particular, Baek Yeon-woo and Park Gwang-seob couldn’t take their eyes off each other even as they swung their swords.
You damn rookie…
What are you looking at?
The Baekgeom Guild made the first move.
─ “Wedge formation. It’s the sword array that Baekgeom Guild is famous for, right?”
─ “As always, the Sword Master, Baekgeom’s franchise star, stands at the apex. Immediate magic resonance. ‘That’ is about to come out.”
─ “Here it comes!”
The moment the commentators finished speaking.
A faint shape formed in the blue sky. Sleek lines were drawn in a chaotic flurry, and when the separate lines finally merged into one.
The completed form was a sword.
A massive magic sword large enough to cleave the heavens.
The Sword Master raised his blade overhead in a perfect stance. The magic sword rose into the sky with him.
The two moved as one.
The moment the Sword Master’s blade came down, the magic sword swept across the earth with its colossal mass.
──────!!
With an indescribable roar, explosions and dust clouds erupted all the way to the far end of the plains. When the dust finally cleared, a perfectly clean path had been carved all the way to the other side.
With a single strike, the situation could be completely reversed.
That was the tactical weapon known as the Sword Master’s might.
The Baekgeom Guild shot forward, taking the lead in an instant.
But right at that moment.
A surge of magic power erupted from the other side. Were they responding to Baekgeom’s move? Everyone was wondering, but the Sword Master’s expression was grim.
“You arrogant little…!”
It wasn’t a line. It was a star.
The star Baek Yeon-woo had created twinkled. One became two, two became ten, ten became a hundred. A galaxy of stars was forming in the sky.
That’s right.
What those stars had gathered to create was.
A colossal magic sword.
In that brief moment, Baek Yeon-woo had completely analyzed the Sword Master’s technique.
“Hah, this is my limit.”
But a Sword Master was still a Sword Master. The depth and essence contained within the technique were on a completely different level. For the current Baek Yeon-woo, this was as far as he could go.
That was why he left the rest to him.
“Bokchi.”
Park Su-bin shot forward with an explosion at his back.
Just like Lee Shin with his coat, the mink coat fastened with a brooch fluttered over his shoulders. Behind him, a milky-white giant rose halfway from the ground.
The giant’s upper body grabbed the hilt of the sword.
Crackle—!
Sparks flew as two different types of magic power collided.
─ “Are you kidding me?! What are you doing! This is impossible! You have to stop right now!”
─ “Commentator, please calm down and explain.”
─ “Magic power originally carries its own will. It’s like DNA. These things don’t mix easily. Especially completed techniques like that almost never mix. But look at them. Those two are synchronizing their wavelengths on the spot. If they mess up, it could explode!”
It was an impossible feat.
If even one of them failed to match the wavelength, both could suffer severe injuries.
As proof, the sparks blooming from the giant’s grip on the hilt were now flashing like lightning.
Blood splattered across Park Su-bin’s face. Tears flowed from his bloodshot eyes, and cold sweat dripped from his chin.
After what felt like an eternity in a single instant.
The lightning stopped, and the magic power finally stabilized.
The giant lifted the hand holding the colossal sword.
Wiping away his sweat, Park Su-bin spoke.
“Hah, how did it go again? I don’t know swordsmanship.”
― “Listen carefully.”
“Yeah.”
― “Burn with passion in your chest.”
“Burn with passion in your chest.”
― “Keep your head cold.”
“Keep your head cold.”
Baek Yeon-woo spoke. Park Su-bin followed.
The giant gradually began to move, assuming a proper sword stance.
― “Strike toward a single point!”
“Strike toward a single point……”
STRIKE DOWN—!!
It spun as it slammed downward toward the ground.
─────!!
It split the earth. It split…….
Huh? Huh……??
Huh…… Was that too strong?
The ground was collapsing.