Chapter 124

Chapter 124 – Power of Wealth (2)

4 .

The high and mighty walls of the Shezga castle came into the view of the Corrupted army . They maintained a singular focus on their task .

It had been 100 minutes since the Corrupted army had entered into its Siege mode . If this pace was kept up, there would only be 20 minutes left until they arrived . The monsters of Corrupted army would use their weapons to knock roughly against the castle gate and walls .

On one hand, there was still a long distance between the Corrupted army and the castle walls . They were moving fast, but they weren’t running . They were walking, so the distance they could cover in 20 minutes wasn’t that large .

This was why the Corrupted army urged their feet to move faster . Their foot speed was slowly increasing . If they had been taking 10 steps, they had increased their pace to take 12 to 13 steps .

Koong,koong,koong,koong!

There was no obstacles that could stop them, and there was increased power behind their charge . The sound of the ground shaking was getting louder, and the force they were pushing forward with got stronger . They were like a living bulldozer . They were shoving everything out of their way . After they plowed up everything in front of them, they trampled everything to finish the deed .

If this scene was seen from the front, it would be a terrifying sight . For example, this was like a person standing in the middle of a train track built to connect two cliffs . The train was coming towards the person standing on the track, and it was making a lot of noise .

Dizziness!

Moreover, this wasn’t a normal dizziness . It was a dizziness that threatened to swallow the kaleidoscope of thoughts that was in one’s head . This dizziness completely filled one’s mind .

There were times when a tragedy close at hand might seem comedic from afar .

The Corrupted army was a symbol representing tragedy .

A person looking from afar would liken the army to this description right now .

It was like a wild animal running crazily as if its tail was on fire!

As the figure of speech implied, the Corrupted army’s tail was on fire, and it wasn’t a pretty sight .

The most eye catching part was the grisly sight of monster corpses strewn about behind the Corrupted army . The corpses hadn’t been disassembled, and they hadn’t melted yet . The irrefutable evidence of the grisly process of the killing was on full display .

The next eye-catching part was a group of monsters dressed in similar gears . They were devastating the members of the Corrupted army . These monsters all wore similar armors, and they looked as if they had some kind of a dress code . The difference in terms of power was apparent between the two groups . The difference in power made the horde that symbolized tragedy to look almost comedic .

‘Six Bone Explosives and 3 Skeleton Warriors are needed for the Corrupted Armor Orc . ’

The one directing this comedy was Hyrkan .

The size of the bag containing his Bone Explosives had noticeably decreased in size . After he took out three Bone Explosive, he threw it towards a Corrupted Armor Orc . The Bone Explosives crumpled the Orc’s armor . The dishevelled Orc put on a rage-filled expression as it turned to charge towards Hyrkan .

Hyrkan gave the signal to three Skeleton Warriors, who had just arrived after finishing their battle . The Skeleton Warriors had just recovered from a broken knee, ribs and shoulders . They followed their owner’s orders as they ran in towards Orc .

Hyrkan didn’t watch the battle .

This was the reason why he couldn’t recall any memorable battle scenes from this protracted battle . The only scene he remembered was himself throwing the Bone Explosives . Basically, he remembered a variation of the same scene as if a camera was taking multiple shots at once .

Instead, Hyrkan remembered a number .

‘118 . ’

It had been 10 minutes since the battle had started, and he had caught 118 Corrupted Monsters . There were over a thousand of them, and the the number was closer to being two thousand . The number of monsters he had killed was like a thorn in the Corrupted Army’s side .

Hyrkan broke down the battle into numerical figures . He felt this approach left much to be desired .

‘Corrupted Werewolf . Use 6 Bone Explosives, and dispatch the Skeleton Knight . ’

He was like a finely tuned machine .

He honed in on a target, and he used just the right number of Bone Explosives to crush the armor . After he finished acquiring aggro and armor breaking, he dispatched the right amount of force needed to take down the monster .

This type of battle gave off a little bit of a different feeling than the any of the battles from before .

Intelligent .

‘The cool time of the Curses has been reset . I should get ready . ’

He calculated the cool time of all his skills, and he put the right number of underlings in the right locations . The way he was conducting the battle was possible not because of his experience or intuition .

Moreover, it wasn’t as if Hyrkan stood back as he commanded .

He stepped in when there was an emergency . If he determined his underling was about to be killed, he didn’t hesitate to step forward .

This was the exact situation he was in . A Kobold has swung its hammer, and it had destroyed the knee of a Skeleton Warrior . The Skeleton Warrior fell in place, and the Kobold’s hammer was about to fall like thunder on top its head . Hyrkan was already next to the Kobold as he used Body Slam with his sword placed right in front of him . He sent the Kobold flying .

Kwah-jeek!

He had a powerful weapon called the Black Kobold King’s Sword . For this battle, he looked the other way as he purchased the weapon for a slightly higher price than its usual market price . The weapon, which he had paid a hefty sum, pierced through the Kobold’s armor and skin .

He carried the Skeleton Warrior on his back, since it hadn’t recovered for its injury yet .

The magical energy consumed in repairing the Skeleton Warriors wasn’t a problem . However, if a Skeleton Warrior was destroyed, there was a cool time before it could be re-summoned . This was why Hyrkan had stepped forward .

It was very hard to participate in a battle, and think at the same time .

Furthermore, the situation on the battlefield changed a lot when Hyrkan participated in the battle field . Every move he made required a new calculation, and Hyrkan was able to quickly carry out the calculation . Hyrkan would survey the battlefield, and he was able to finish his calculation based on this information .

It was an incredible feat .

Moreover, it was something very unusual .

So what made Hyrkan different from the normal Users? Moreover, why did this difference allow him give an effort of 120%?

‘I have to get my money’s worth . No matter what…’

Of course, the answer was very simple .

5 .

In life, a person’s voice was an incredibly important tool . On a brutal stage like a war, if one’s voice couldn’t reach other’s ears easily, it would lose its worth . This was why people used other tools in battle . They used tools like horns or drums that mimicked the rising heart rate of men to communicate .

However, there was a tool that was worth more than one’s voice in Warlord .

“What’s the current status of Team 8 and Team 9?”

– Team 9 is on standby .

– Team 8 is on standby .

Voice Talk .

Warlord allowed the use of this endlessly useful program . It was able to transmit one’s voice in the midst of the very loud and bone chilling sounds of battle . Its worth as a tool was highlighted in battle .

“It is up to the discretion of Team 9 and Team 8 to join the battle . Aside from Team 1 to 5, the rest of the teams will move after Team 8 and Team 9 moves . ”

Big K spoke as he looked forward .

‘They are finally here . ’

It would be false to say the Corrupted army was far away . One could now see the advancing corrupted army .

Big Kay was part of the team that’ll defend the region in the front .

of course, this sector was the hardest to defend . It was a stage where everyone didn’t want to be, and at the same time, it was the region that required the most skilled Users . Since this stage held such significance, Big K was put in charge of this stage . He’ll also have the final say in what happened .

“Hoo-ooh . ”

In truth, Big K didn’t want to be in charge of this stage . If it wasn’t for the orders from Red Bulls, he would have used the tips disseminated to everyone by the Hahoe Mask to hunt . He would have been out there doing the Gnawing method .

This was one of the reasons why Big K let out a sigh with the battle in sight .

‘Jeez . What kind of a game…’

Red Bulls didn’t allow guild members to join the great battle as representatives of the guild . They were allowed to join as individuals .

The guilds were looking at the big picture . Several big factor were preventing them from participating in the great battle in earnest . However, none of the 30 great guilds had given up on the great battle . Naturally, they expected a time to come when they would have to enter into the fray in earnest . This was why the 30 great guilds were doing advanced work .

There were two tasks they were trying to accomplish .

Goodwill . The guild members had to unhesitatingly do the dirty work as individuals . This will naturally build the trust of the Users .

Experience . While they were doing the hard work, they would gain more experience compared to the Users, who only did the easy work . This was a given .

On top of it all, the two tasks were also a measuring stick for the guilds . Every company had to choose people, who had the potential to move up in the corporate structure . One had to separate out the elite amongst the workers that had just entered . After separating out the elites, these Users had to mature and be tested on a special stage . This was such a task for Big K . There was no reason why he should feel bad about it . If his results were good, he would move into the 1 . 5 Raid team at the end of the great battle . This was where the flower of the Red Bulls guild was placed . He would be placed in a rank that would give him a lot of face .

Of course, he felt pressure . A test was a test . Currently, several dozen Users like Big K was spread across Warlord . Seeds were spread far and wide . The ones that grew the best would be place where there would be most light .

If he couldn’t take root in the stage called the great battle, he’ll be returned to the dirt . Even if he was able to germinate and sprout, he wouldn’t be picked if his stem thin, his roots weren’t deep, and his leaves were dry . He wouldn’t be pick, and he would have to wait for the next opportunity .

He had to do well .

No, he had to do better than everyone else .

‘Hahoe Mask . ’

This was why Big K was having a hard time forgetting about the Hahoe Mask . No matter how he thought about it, he felt as if the existence of the Hahoe Mask would give him a chance .

Of course, while Big K was thinking this through inside his head, the battle started . The battle couldn’t be delayed .

6 .

“Hold out!”

The Tankers linked shields to make a concave battle line, and the priests stood behind that line . The magicians were lined up behind the priests . The group leader, who directed the battle, was behind the line of magician . This was the Centurion .

They had created a crescent-shaped line, and the armored monsters with pitch black eyes swarmed against it .

Kwah-ahng, kwah-ahng, kwahng!

The monsters tirelessly banged against the shields, and the power of the monsters’ weapons were incredible . The blunt weapons crushed the shields, and the sharp weapons ripped through the shields . The Tankers had placed their shield in front of them, and the shields were losing their luster as it turned unsightly .

Of course, there were few shields that still held its dignified appearance as it shone against the fierce attacks .

The Tankers next to the owners of the shields made comments towards them .

“The Albino Beetle Shield is amazing . ”

“Unique Items are quite something . ”

The owner of the shield spoke with a proud smile on his face .

“This is why people use all their money to gain this type of Items . Instead of buying three mediocre shields, it is better to just buy one good shield . ”

“You whined when you bought that shield . You said you regretted buying that… . ”

These three Users proved they could joke around even in a tight battle .

– Casting complete!

While this was going on, the magicians started whispering into the Centurion’s ears that their casting was complete .

One, two, three…… When he counted to ten, the Centurion raised his voice .

“Ready the magic bombardment!”

The sound increased the nervousness felt by everyone .

The ones who were the most nervous were the Tankers . Explosions will be going off in front of their shield . The powerful magical spells would start to destroy the monsters, and the after effects would spread to the surrounding . This was worse than taking a fragments from a grenade . The monsters, who were attacking would trip, fall or be pushed back . The strength that emerged from this process would be enormous . Any living organism displayed its strongest power in its struggle to live .

‘There is no way I’ll make a Tanker ever again . ’

‘I have to do all hard work . It is the best to be a healer . ’

When the Tanker’s nervousness passed, the priests prepared themselves .

“Fire the magic!”

Ten magicians threw various magical spells as they synchronized with the Centurion’s signal . They threw it over the line as the magical spells fell on the head of the monsters .

The first spells to take effect was the electricity magic . Two lightning marbles fell on the head of the monsters, and the electricity was discharged .

Pah-ji-jeek, pah-ji-jeek!

Armor was useless against electric discharge . Some parts of the armors acted like lightning rods as it took in the electricity .

Koo-uh-uh!

The monsters let out a roar as they took in the electrical discharge .

As this attack was taking effect, two fire marbles fell on the floor .

Hwah-roo-roo!

Each fire marble created a sea of fire about 330 meters in size . Its immediate damage wasn’t that high, but it damaged the monsters over time . It was the strongest Persistent spell available . It was the most useful magic when maintaining a face to face confrontation .

Ice was synonymous with magic in Warlord, and it wasn’t missing from the party . One Ice marble fell to the floor .

Pah-jeek!

It broke against the floor .

After it broke open, the Ice Fog that was filling the marble started to spread to a wide area . The fog disappeared as fast as it had appeared . However, when the fog disappeared,it left behind completely frozen monsters . There were only ice statues left .

The ones to break the ice statues were the nearby monsters . The monsters didn’t hesitate to trample over their comrades . The frozen monsters were broken completely like glass or they were broken in piecemeal . However, there were almost no traces left when the heavy footsteps of the monsters trampled over the broken pieces .

A mayhem ensued, and this mayhem was pounding against the Tankers . The Tankers yelled out with their shields in front of them .

“Endure!”

“Ooh-raht-cha-cha!”

“Someone sing me a song!”

Even now they were cracking jokes .

However, there was a place where jokes weren’t forthcoming .

7 .

– Team 10 has fallen!

It was a one-sided communication given to Big K as a report . They weren’t asking for help . They were just telling others that their work was done, and they’ll be high tailing it out of there . It was a missive that expressed support to the rest of the teams left .

Big K didn’t get angry at those words . It would be great if they could all enjoy the battle as they laughed . However, even if all the troops of the 30 great guilds were sent in, Users would still suffer Game Overs . This will make the Users drink alcohol for 48 hrs . Tragedy happened no matter what work you did in this world .

Moreover, one couldn’t feel anger or relief at such news .

“Good job . ”

– You did well Team 10 .

– Please get ready for the next battle .

He decided they should stay to defend their region . It was the right answer to leave alone the location of the breach . If they split apart their forces to patch up the breach, a lot of Users will suffer Game Overs . They’ll receive a long reflection period of 48 hours . This had been proven time and time again in other battles . The report card on this strategy was dismal . It would be stupid to follow the same failing formula again .

At that moment, Big K assessed their chance of winning .

‘It’s been 10 minutes since the battle started yet the Corrupted Army broke through one place . ’

The pace wasn’t that great . The fact that they hadn’t been able to hold out for 10 minutes wasn’t the important part . The fact that they couldn’t last 10 minutes meant that they weren’t able to kill many monsters .

There were only 1000 Users gathered at the Shezga castle, and the defeat was already preordained before the battle even started . It was clear that they’ll have to do the street battles soon .

Basically, this was a long-drawn-out battle . There was the outside of the castle, castle gate and inside the castle . These were the three stages where battles would be fought . Of course, every monster one kills in the earlier stage meant it would be a boon in this protracted battle .

‘As expected, we can’t do this . ’

They had taken down far less than expected . This was why the probability of victory was lowered in Big K’s head .

It happened at that moment…

– This is Team 11 .

Team 11 contacted him .

‘Huh?’

Team 11 and Team 12 held slightly different roles than the other teams . These were the Users with styles that was was least useful in the great battle . It was a group made out of Strikers . Instead of exchanging blows, these teams were made out of Users adept at doing hit and run attacks .

“What is it Team 11?

These teams had been in charge of carrying out the Gnawing method .

If they weren’t careful, these were the teams that would suffer catastrophic accidents like Team 10 . Since they were doing a hit and run, there was no way they would be annihilated . Of course, they were also the teams that spoke the least on Voice Talk . When someone who rarely speaks says something, there was more weight to their words .

Moreover, the content of the words also added to the weight of the words being spoken .

– The Hahoe Mask is active in the rear of the the Corrupted Army . What should we do?

At the Team 11 Centurion’s words, it was as if a well full of frogs were croaking at the same time .

– Wow! The Hahoe Mask is really at the rear?

– I thought he left after throwing couple Bone Explosives . Was he perhaps been at the rear this whole time?

– Wow . The Hahoe Mask is really a crazy dude . Was he just on the tail? Or was he fighting the whole time?

Croak croak .

Voices were coming from every avenue, and it almost made Big K lose his mind . It didn’t matter for others if people kept speaking . However, it was Big K’s job to hear everyone out . He had to parse through even the meaningless words . There was nothing more annoying than to have a job where one has to listen to garbage .

“Quiet . ”

In the end, Big K spoke a word .

– How many monsters did the Hahoe Mask… . Ah . I’m sorry .

When one person stepped up to act as an inquisitor, it extinguished the fired that had roiled the atmosphere .

Big K spoke again when the atmosphere had settled down .

“So how many did the Hahoe Mask take down?”

He had spoken in a manner that was akin to how an inquisitor spoke .

– Pffft .

A laughter leaked out of the Voice Talk . Since Big K didn’t know the reason behind the laughter, he wasn’t in a good mood . It was quite fortunate that the others couldn’t see his expression . A small relief bloomed in his chest from the fact that this wasn’t a video chat .

Fortunately, the Centurion of Team 11 was a man of few words, and he hadn’t been carried along by the atmosphere of others . He answered in a calm fashion .

– The number I witnessed is 11 . He is catching one per minute . It’s been 110 minute since the Corrupted Army went into its Siege mode . If he had maintained this pace, at the very least, he would have caught over a hundred of them .

At those words, the frogs could no longer croak .