[The party member ‘Mei Xiao’ has died.]

“No!”

“Dammit!”

The players were either disgusted or furious as they witnessed Mei Xiao falling without being able to resist. It wasn’t because they made friends with Mei Xiao during the short period of the National Competition though. Rather, it was because Mei Xiao had the power to persistently bind the opponent. She was one of the powers necessary to defeat the Demon King.

This was why Grid had suppressed the players’ movements with 100,000 Army Blockade Sword and snatched Mei Xiao instead of harming as many players as possible. Grid had recognized Mei Xiao as a threatening opponent and hit her as soon as possible to increase his chances of winning.

‘I won’t fall until I am left alone with you.’

Grid looked through the gray pillar, which was created due to Mei Xiao’s death, and gazed at Kraugel who was standing far away. A great number of blasts were heard as he used Fly. Dozens of arrows, daggers, and spears flooded toward Grid. The fortunate thing was that in this urgent situation, there was no magic. None of the magicians aimed attack spells at Grid. It was thanks to the effect of Duke of Wisdom that was properly activated during the Demon King’s Appearance, giving the distorted perception that ‘using magic against the Demon King will be poisonous.’

Lantier’s Cloak reduced the damage done by physical attacks such as stabbing, cutting, and throwing attacks by 20%, and it also had a 10% chance of blocking attacks. The Demon King version came in the form of wings that wrapped around Grid to minimize the damage.

[You have suffered 5,900 damage.]

[You have suffered 7,990...]

[The attack has been blocked!]

[The attack has been blocked!]

[You have suffered 7,540 damage.]

[You have suffered 4,620...]

Grid was able to withstand the intense bombardment of the players who were classified as ‘world-class.’ The time that the four heavenly kings endured had been one hour and 38 minutes. For the current Grid whose total health exceeded 1.9 million, his high defense became a more powerful weapon than usual.

‘I’m really going crazy!’

‘He doesn’t have any heals, right? If he can heal himself, this fight will last for more than half a day.’

The players tried not to show it, but they were greatly agitated. Their skills were either blocked or dealt less than 10,000 damage. It was absurd. They used basic skills with a short activation time to track down the Demon King trying to escape. Even so, the monster didn’t receive more than 100,000 damage...? Considering the fact that most players participating in the Demon King subjugation were using high strength unique weapons or legendary weapons, the Demon King’s defense was too high.

“Shit. What the hell? Is he covered in myth-rated things?”

“His stats are too high.”

“Get out of the way!”

The players’ momentum was dying down due to the high defense and fraudulent characteristics of the Demon King. At this moment, a white horse leaped across the rocks toward the Demon King in the sky. One of the 10 meritorious retainers of the Overgeared Kingdom was sitting on the white horse. He had curly hair, a neatly arranged beard, and eyes deeply set in bronze skin. It was the emergence of Pon, who had been popular for a few years with his typical South European good looks.

“I will go with full force, so be careful.”

The Overgeared members were aware of the identity of the Demon King, and Pon was the same. However, Pon didn’t hesitate at all. Grid had become the Demon King behind his colleagues back and instantly turned into an enemy. This was the National Competition. There was no need to discuss friendship on a stage where those participating dreamed of honor and rewards.

“Rail Spear!” Pon gripped the spear tightly, and it became a white line.

He wasn’t the slightest bit shaken. The perfect white light stretched out beautifully and created a white boundary in the sky. It was like a comet penetrating through the universe that was Demon King Grid.

[You have suffered 41,300 damage!]

“Kuek...!”

The greatest advantage of Rail Spear was the damage achieved through its speed and the certain amount of defense that it ignored. Grid couldn’t avoid it and felt a splitting pain in his back. The white horse staggered as it fell to the ground, and Pon grinned at the Demon King.

“Does it hurt? It is a spear made by our leader.” Pon touched a black spear made from Belial’s remains.

His words told of how proud he was. The Overgeared members, including himself and Jishuka, were able to become strong like this because of Grid. Grid laughed.

‘I was able to make such items because of all of you.’ He couldn’t say these words because he was currently the Demon King.

Grid avoided some of the wyverns’ breaths pouring from above and turned like a spinning top. He aimed his weapon at the eight players who took the lead to jump off the ground after Pon.

“Tear Apart.” (Link)

“...!”

Pon’s Rail Spear only created one straight line while Grid’s Link drew 30 lines. The attack power was low compared to Pon’s Rail Spear, and there wasn’t the ‘certain to hit the target’ effect. The advantage was that it was difficult to avoid, and it became more powerful as the energy blades overlapped. By default, Grid’s stats and items significantly exceeded Pon’s.

“Cough!”

“Cough...!”

The eight players had believed they could do it after seeing Pon’s great leap against the Demon King. Nonetheless, they were hit by the Demon King’s great blow and turned to gray. A large amount of blood spilled out as they died and froze on the ground. The commentators were in a stupor.

『 The players couldn’t respond to the Demon King’s attack just now? 』

『 No. The assassins reacted and tried to avoid it, but they failed. They don’t have any flying ability, and it is difficult for them to operate in the air. 』

『 A perfect tanking power and even higher attack power... I don’t know who can knock him down. I’m not a player, but my headache is getting worse. 』

『 The best way was for Player Jishuka and Player Mei Xiao to neutralize him. This is much more difficult now that Mei Xiao is dead. 』

『 Um...? No, this...? 』

『... 』

The commentators of each country fell silent at almost the same time. It was because while analyzing the Demon King, one person came to mind. He was durable, strong, could fly, and had field magic.

‘...Grid?’

Yes, the Demon King resembled Grid. However, the commentators didn’t let the name Grid emerge from their mouths. It was because the Demon King didn’t have golden hands that moved on their own. Moreover, the Demon King seemed much stronger than Grid. If they mentioned Grid, the absurd formula of Grid > Demon King > fighting 400 players would be made. Thus, they thought it was better to refrain from saying anything.

Meanwhile, some spectators and viewers were rioting. Most of them were Chinese.

“Kraugel, what the hell are you doing? Why are you only watching?”

“Kraugel killed Mei Xiao! Kraugel dropped the Chinese star!”

“Is he waiting to come out until his colleagues are exhausted by the Demon King in order to win medals? What a small-minded guy!”

“He is a despicable bastard who moved countries many times!”

The Chinese people claimed that Mei Xiao was dead because of Kraugel. They felt desperate after the death of Mei Xiao, China’s only hope, and were angry at Kraugel for ignoring Mei Xiao’s death. The people from other countries saw this and thought it was an absurd case of finger-pointing. There was no obligation for the players to help each other when the rewards for the event were based on contribution.

“Even so, it is a bit disgusting.”

“Yes. The other players are cooperating with each other while he is being blatantly greedy alone...”

“He doesn’t need to care about image anymore since he has already been pulled down from the top spot. Let’s see if he can win the gold medal alone as he planned.”

“He won’t be able to hold up his head anymore if he doesn’t win the gold medal.”

In the end, many people started criticizing Kraugel. Kraugel had anticipated this situation, but he didn’t care. In the first place, he participated in the National Competition because of Grid, not honor.

『 Ahh! The players have started fighting back! 』

In the midst of the tumultuous atmosphere, the commentators started shouting loudly. The Japanese representative, Katz, was gathering the blood of his colleagues.

“Blood Spear.”

Eight spears made of blood flew out and pierced the Demon King. Regas jumped up and hit the Demon King while Zibal rode the pegasus and pushed the Demon King with a mysterious magic power.

[The pegasus’ energy is slowly consuming your mana.]

[The pegasus’ energy is slowly consuming your stamina.]

[The pegasus’ energy is slowing down the accumulation rate of fighting energy.]

[The pegasus’ energy is slowing down your mana regeneration rate.]

[Resistance has failed.]

‘This is tricky. It isn’t a coincidence that he won against Yura.’

The pegasus had the peculiar nature to consume the resources of all enemies within a certain range while hindering recovery. This was a big threat to Grid. The benefits that Grid gained as the Demon King were his health and stamina. There were no mana-related benefits. The pegasus was a big threat to Grid, whose skills consumed a large amount of mana.

Grid thought for a moment before deciding it was better to use Transcend and strike at the pegasus. The battlefield was wide and the pegasus was fast. The shields of the magicians also overlapped in several layers, making it hard for him to penetrate through them. There wasn’t even a chance to aim for a gap. The onslaught of Chris, Jishuka, Regas, Pon, Katz, and the Overgeared members made Grid’s spirit rise.

“1,000 Ton Sword!” Chris’ powerful blow struck Grid in the chest.

[You have suffered 61,700 damage!]

Jishuka’s arrow pierced Grid’s thigh and made him unable to trigger Revolve in time. This meant he suffered a severe blow. Chris swapped between Grid’s Greatsword and Yetima’s Greatsword while activating the power of a Tyrant. This made his strength comparable to Grid’s. The players confirmed that the Demon King’s health gauge was reduced by one-tenth and felt hopeful.

[The Sweet Candy has melted and disappeared from the tip of your tongue. All stats will return to normal figures.]

Grid was weakened, but a smile spread across his face.

Five minutes...

Grid praised himself for surviving this long alone. The five minutes were long enough for the golden cannon set up next to the organ to get ready.

[Cannon Aiming at the Battlefield]

[Rating: Legendary

Durability: Infinite

Attack Power: 6,500–11,300

* Takes 1–5 minutes to automatically generate, load and fire shells. The longer the time it takes to create a shell, the greater the attack power.

* Additional 50% lightning damage.

* Additional 10% divine damage.

* Additional 50% damage to humans or humanoid monsters.

* Additional 200% damage to facilities such as walls.

* Splash damage equivalent to half the damage will occur in a 10-meter radius around the firing point.

* There is a certain probability of generating a magnetic field at the moment of firing.

It is a cannon made by melting the blade created by Blacksmith Grid to enlighten a god.

Astaroth’s Horn was combined with the Enhanced Blue Dragon’s Breath to act as shells while the pavranium operate the cannon itself.

* The ego of the pavranium is focused on aiming and firing. The Cannon Aiming at the Battlefield will concentrating on firing at the target that the owner is aiming for, rather than protecting the owner.

Conditions of Use: Grid, Pagma.

Weight: 6,150]

It had up to 11,300 attack power, a minimum cooldown of one minute, and a maximum cooldown of five minutes. Taking into consideration the characteristics of the siege weapon called a cannon, it was an item with a huge attack power. First, the golden cannon smashed through the shields built by the tankers and magicians. Now it was aiming at Zibal who was riding the pegasus in Grid’s field of view.

“Shoot!”

“...!?”

Who was he calling it toward? The players were baffled by the Demon King’s abrupt roar. However, there wasn’t a single player who turned to look curiously. They were already tricked once by the Demon King’s laughter. No one would repeat the same mistake unless they were an idiot.

Zibal was the same. He ignored the roar in the sky and concentrated on maintaining the pegasus’ health. Thus, his reaction was slow.

“Zibal!”

“...What?”

There was something round giving off a dim light. A watermelon-like object was flying with lightning around it. It was the shell that broke down the original formation, and Zibal had no choice after belatedly realizing that it was aiming for him. A shell, that had broken down the shields of the magicians, was moving through the air in real time.

Zibal clearly read that it was aimed for the pegasus and shouted, “Raiders!”

Then something fell from the sky. The white magic machine, which was over five meters tall, served as a barrier to protect Zibal and the pegasus. The world seemed to collapse. Raiders was hit by the shell, and it leaned over, falling down completely.

“Crazy!”

As a weapon of war, Raiders greatly reduced the damage done by other war weapons. Yet it lost this much durability from one blow? Feeling astonished, Zibal released the summoning of the pegasus and hurriedly boarded Raiders.

“Scatter.” Then the Demon King sent out a dark wave of energy that caused all players to retreat, and he focused his eyes on Raiders. “Baal’s Eyes.”

[Checking the target item’s stats, options and production method.]

[The Item Replication skill has been activated!]

[Dismissing Triple Layers and equipping Valhalla of Infinite Affection.]

[The legendary rated item ‘Triple Layers’ will be used as the material for the artifact-rated item ‘Magic Machine: Raiders’.]

[The duration of the replication is one day! At the end of this period, the replicated item will be permanently destroyed!]

Grid had dreamed of this scene from the first moment he saw the magic machine. He had a hunch that Zibal’s brilliant comeback would be a good fortune for him.

A mount... In order to use an item that was unfamiliar to him, Grid freed a power that he had never used before.

“Soul Redemption.”

The exact name was ‘Granting an Ego’. It was a hidden piece that he had obtained from clearing the Behen Archipelago.

[The soul of the legendary great magician, Braham, has been implanted into Magic Machine: Raiders.]

A pitch black giant opened its eyes under the feet of the Demon King.

“Ah... Ahhh...”

The world became distressed.