The Legion Commander's Authority

The effects of Legion Command raise your fighting spirit.

…….

“Is this really okay?”

“Everyone agreed to it, Youngsoo-hyung.”

“Even so……”

The players participating in the promotion match.

I had placed every last one of them under Kim Youngsoo’s command.

“I’m not sure the people who joined the promotion match will actually follow my orders.”

“There’s a way around that.”

The Hundred Captain’s unique skill—command of the Ten Captains.

With players appointed as Ten Captains, we could share vision within a certain range.

And that wasn’t all.

We could exchange messages in real time without any communication items.

A skill literally specialized for command!

Using my Thousand Eyes, I picked out the higher-level players among them.

“From now on, all orders will come through Youngsoo-hyung.”

The ten people appointed as Ten Captains, including Oh Jiwon, nodded.

“Each squad will consist of twenty members. Give the orders accordingly.”

“Understood!”

Each Ten Captain would command twenty people.

The skill’s effect didn’t vanish just because the number exceeded ten.

The Ten Captains scattered to take charge of their assigned members.

“This should work, right?”

“Relaying the orders the team leader gives should be fine.”

“Aigoo, why are you acting like you’ve never had a proper job?”

Kim Youngsoo blinked, then made a face like he was about to scream.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. For this promotion match, hyung, you’re in command.”

Even in my previous life, there had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been many times I needed to lead groups of people.

But the thing was.

While I could see the whole battlefield clearly, I didn’t have the talent to operate multiple legions at the same time.

With my own capabilities, I could handle up to fifty people.

Once the numbers went beyond that, efficiency dropped sharply.

“This is a secret between us.”

“Understood.”

Kim Youngsoo’s expression hardened as he gave a quiet nod.

The first objective was the essences of the monsters inside the Ancient Canyon.

Once we rose to Bronze rank we wouldn’t be able to return here, so it was better to claim them quickly.

After traveling down the long canyon, the Japanese first fortress flickered into view ahead.

Kim Youngsoo looked around with clear tension.

“Isn’t this enemy territory?”

“Uncle, Master is always like this.”

“Krrng. He tried counter-jungling back during the Iron promotion match too.”

Counter-jungling.

It was a tactic sometimes used in promotion matches.

The word “sometimes” meant the success rate was abysmal.

Even if you stole the crystal from the enemy camp, you still had to cross the canyon to return to base. The odds of being pincered and wiped out were extremely high.

“All allied forces have reached their positions.”

“Youngsoo-hyung, just one question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Why did we leave our own monster camp alone?”

Attacking the monster camp in the early stages of a promotion match was common sense.

If your frontline collapsed and opened a path to your own camp, it would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be disastrous.

With stealth skill users on the field, the standard approach was to secure the crystal as fast as possible.

Yet.

Youngsoo-hyung had split our forces in half and stationed them throughout the canyon?

“It’s because of the team leader.”

“What about me?”

“If both countries are wary of the team leader, they’ll pour more resources into both lanes.”

“Aigoo, there’s no way the foreign kids would go that far.”

I laughed it off.

But the Japanese players we encountered in front of the monster camp screamed the moment they saw me.

“Yu Jinho! It’s Yu Jinho!!”

“Hurry and inform the main force! Yu Jinho has appeared!”

“At least one of us has to survive and get back. Otherwise we might lose every camp!”

The Japanese players scattered in every direction.

“See?”

“Damn it.”

I wasn’t some plague or deadly disease.

Did they really have to turn tail and run the second they saw me?

“You can come as you please, but leaving is another story.”

Condensed wind exploded behind me.

At the same time, I activated the movement art and gained explosive speed.

One wrong step and I wouldn’t be able to control the momentum; I’d slam straight into the ground.

I controlled that propulsion perfectly and caught up to the Japanese player’s back.

“Yu, Yu Jin……”

“This is purely personal, so don’t hold a grudge.”

Black energy shimmered in my hand.

I drove the Dark Shadow Soul-Chasing Sword deep into the nape of his neck. In a single strike he disintegrated into black powder.

“It is now this one’s turn to act.”

Nyx, who had remained in spiritual form, materialized.

The Polar ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Night split into five blades that transformed into black swords. Infused with internal energy, they sliced through the Japanese players.

One per strike.

The players fell without even having time to scream.

Nyx exhaled heavily.

“The energy called internal power. It is useful for a mortal body to wield, yet it is tiring.”

“It’s impressive that you can use that martial art at range.”

When I used the Dark Shadow Soul-Chasing Sword, I had to hold the manifested black blade in my hand.

In terms of martial understanding, Nyx should have been far behind me.

Yet she handled the energy called Polar Night like her own limbs.

No—it was because she was the night itself.

“Scatter!”

“If we stay grouped up we’ll all die!”

“These insane Koreans!”

Aigoo.

Thank you for the high praise.

The few remaining players tried to scatter and flee, but they couldn’t escape me while I was using Cloud Flow Steps.

It took less than a minute to annihilate more than ten players.

“Let’s go secure the crystal.”

“Y-yes.”

“You didn’t even give them a chance to fight back.”

The team members followed, tongues clicking in disbelief.

The monster camp was located roughly three hundred meters from where we had encountered the Japanese group.

“The War God commands! Madness, blood, and fury!”

“Honorable warriors shall receive the glory of entering Valhalla!”

“Kill them! Our enemies! And die a warrior’s death!”

Figures draped in bear pelts.

The words Fanatic of Madness floated above their heads.

Nyx frowned.

“Truly undignified creatures. Are they worshippers of an evil god?”

“They are priests serving a god-king level being.”

The god of magic and wisdom.

The one who governs madness and the battlefield.

He had many names—Wodanaz, Wodan, or…

“Odin. The god-king who rules the Aesir gods.”

“That shameless wretch dares utter the great name so carelessly!”

One of the fanatics pointed a finger at us.

Look at those bloodshot eyes.

“We need to finish this quickly.”

I pulled the black book from the Pocket of Desire.

Ars Goetia.

One of the Lemegeton grimoires that recorded dark magic spells borrowing the names of the seventy-two demons.

Kwaaaaaaaaang!

The enormous dark mana surging from the Primordial Dragon Heart.

In an instant, it materialized into a mace longer than ten meters.

The moment I gestured, the completed black iron mace traced a devastating arc and crashed down on the fanatics’ heads.

The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck.

A violent wind followed the impact, sending thick clouds of dust flying in every direction.

“It’s good, but it’s way too flashy.”

I cleared the dust with Wind Bomb. The crushed remains of the fanatics lay piled inside a deep crater.

A barrage of constellation messages.

The master of Greed’s Protection and my enthusiastic fan (?)—Baal.

As expected.

The greatest among the seventy-two demons and the one seated at the head of Pandemonium.

I knew Baal would show interest the moment he saw Ars Goetia.

“Master, the constellations are sending a ton of messages right now?”

“I’m getting them too. This is a first for me.”

The two of them looked flustered.

A grimoire that borrowed the authority and power of the seventy-two demons had suddenly appeared.

It was only natural they’d be curious about its origin.

“Don’t bother answering either of them. You’ll only get caught.”

Any constellation interested in Ars Goetia was unlikely to be sane.

If they were paying attention to the seventy-two demons or devils, it was obvious what kind of beings they were.

I ignored Baal’s messages ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and approached the fanatics’ corpses.

They were too mangled to recognize, but Devour was still possible.

An incredible option that raised two crucial close-combat stats by twenty percent.

Unfortunately, it came with penalties that made the word “blessing” feel like a bad joke.

During the duration you fell into rage.

Once the blessing ended you fell into confusion. A half-baked buff.

No.

For an ordinary player this was an option you’d consider using as a debuff rather than a buff.

I cast Fior’s Blessing on myself.

Heh heh heh.

This is exactly what I wanted.

Cold Blood, which granted immense resistance to mental skills, was always active. It easily canceled out the blessing’s penalty.

“Youngsoo-hyung, please secure the crystal.”

“You’re not doing it yourself, Team Leader?”

“If I touch it, my name will pop up.”

At the very least, the Japanese camp was extremely conscious of me—just as Youngsoo-hyung had predicted.

If I put the less famous Youngsoo-hyung forward, we could delay the spread of information as much as possible.

But.

That Baal guy kept sending messages.

“Aigoo, it’d be rude to ask for information for free, wouldn’t it?”

“That was a fair trade. Who told you to barge into the tutorial?”

I shook my head.

What Baal wanted was the complete Lemegeton.

Telling him the origin of Ars Goetia would be easy, but I might as well get something out of it.

I couldn’t give away information for nothing.

Whoa, he’s playing hardball.

I had expected him to covet Ars Goetia, but I hadn’t thought he’d throw out a blank check.

I pretended to ponder, looking around, then spoke with a straight face.

“If you give me the Evil Snake God Statue, I’ll accept the deal.”

The Evil Snake God Statue.

It was a holy relic of Balak, the sixty-second of the seventy-two demons, known as the “Dragon General.”