If you asked most people what Dark Elven Knights were, they would just say that they’re a little taller than normal dark elves. It was true that that was their only physical difference, but Seo Jun-ho knew all too well that there was more than that. 

Before they became corrupted, they were the protectors of the kingdom: the Elven Knights. 

In elven tradition, a strong tribal sword technique meant more spiritual power. But when the elves became corrupted, their spiritual contracts were terminated. 

“It’s a good thing for me.” At his current state, he wasn’t sure he could handle spiritual attacks. But the ‘knights’ were only good at swordplay. 

“I’ve never seen someone who was better with the sword than me.” 

Shing. 

On top of that, he had the outstanding Black Dragon Fang and Black Armor. He didn’t even dream about losing. 

“Seems like the stage is set,” Seo Jun-ho muttered. The area around him had emptied out at some point. An arena had been created for him and the five Dark Elven Knights, who wore skulls of beasts on their heads.

Well, even if dark elves lack intellect, they still have their instincts. In fact, their primal instincts were sharper. They realized that they would die if they interfered with the fight, and that’s why they’d backed away.

Seo Jun-ho gestured at the Dark Elven Knights with his finger. It was a childish gesture, like the neighborhood hyung was calling over the kids from the taekwondo school. 

“Hey, come at me.”

“……” 

Even though they’d thrown their honor away, they had once been knights of a kingdom. They growled as they unsheathed their swords from their waists. 

* * *

It’s been a while since I’ve been up against elven swordplay, Seo Jun-ho thought as he watched the Dark Elven Knights approach. Whether they be orcs, elves, or dwarves, each race had different beliefs, values, and desires; they also had their own principles when it came to combat. 

And elves value moderation and elegance. But that only pertained to normal elves. Dark elven swordplay was quite different. Naturally, if you gain power, you’ll want to use it. 

Perhaps it was because of the power they had received after betraying the World Tree, but they thought elegant movements to be restricting. Thus, their sword style deteriorated. 

Seo Jun-ho narrowly dodged the swords that came at him, making them hit the ground, ceiling, and wall instead.

While elves move as one with their sword, the Dark Elven Knights just swing them around with as much strength they can muster.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that one hit could break all your bones. If Seo Jun-ho allowed one to land on him, the battle would end. 

“…Mm.” His body shook, but not from fear or anxiety. When’s the last time I’ve felt this much adrenaline? 

Some might call him crazy, but he enjoyed the thrill of danger.

“I’m excited! Five times more than usual!” He licked his lips as he watched the knights. 

They’ll be a good first meal for him.

Seo Jun-ho glanced down at Black Dragon Fang and prepared to attack. He wasn’t the type to run away. 

Woooosh!

Even though he held a sword, the sound it made was like a bat. Seo Jun-ho stepped forward and lowered his head, a sword narrowly missing the back of it.

Slice! The arm of a knight flew into the air. It let out a sharp cry and started to back away. 

“No, no. Can’t do that.” Seo Jun-ho stepped hard on its foot. 

“We were playing by your rules earlier. Now it’s my turn.” 

Black Dragon Fang’s burning sword ki stabbed through its stomach. Seo Jun-ho swung his arm upward, a rip resounding from the knight’s body as blood flooded from it.

“Hm, it’s a little disappointing if this is all they have.” Black Dragon Fang vibrated in his hand, as if agreeing with its owner. 

But other than that, I really like this sword. He looked down at it affectionately. It cut through the Dark Elven Knights’ flesh like tofu and sliced them like paper.

“Yes, this is the sword.” He hadn’t been dissatisfied with his sword from the Association, but once he wielded Black Dragon Fang, he realized what he’d been missing. It made his old sword seem like a shabby club in comparison. 

– “Grrrr…” The knights started to growl. 

“Huh?” Suddenly, Seo Jun-ho’s face fell. The players’ situation didn’t look too great. 

Well, they’re all around level 30… Even if they’ve gone on raids before, it’s probably their first time in an all-out war. 

It was impressive that they’d lasted this long. They’d been fending off the dark elves so he could fight the knights. As Seo Jun-ho understood the situation, he realized what he had to do. 

* * *

“Gah!”

“Are there any healers available?! We need support!”

“Available? We don’t have enough!” 

The continuous stream of enemies was starting to make the players slow.

“Dammit, they’re not even that strong…”

“There’s just too many of them.”

“Fucking roaches.” 

There was a big difference between one person killing four monsters and one hundred people killing four hundred monsters. The players who’d gone all-out in the beginning had started to realize this too late. 

“Those bastards are fighting in rotations and taking time to recover.”

“Dammit! If we could just take them in a more open area, we could take them all out in an instant!” 

The dark elves were moving around like soldiers. They would change formations to fight the players. They’d taken out over a hundred dark elves up until now and hadn’t been in much danger, but they were starting to feel the pressure. 

If it keeps going like this, we’ll run out of energy first. 

One round. We have to push through one round before they can switch. The players exchanged glances. 

Claaaang!

There was a loud roar from dozens of meters in front of them, and the dark elves’ movements started to become strange. 

“Huh? What? What are they doing? Why are they acting like this all of a sudden?”

The dark elves had suddenly started pushing at each other, and their attacks became weaker. The players didn’t know why, but they cheered. 

If there’s an opening, we’ll take it. 

But I’m a little nervous because we don’t know the reason why they’re acting like this. 

What’s going on? They were fighting frustratingly well…

It didn’t take long for their questions to be answered; the loud noises started to get closer. 

“Wh-what’s that sound?”

“It was coming from far away before…”

It was getting closer. A few minutes later, they spotted the source of the sound. 

Crash!

“Hup!”

Four tall dark elves were carrying large swords and chasing Seo Jun-ho like they were trying to kill him. He nimbly wove his way through, narrowly avoiding them. Every time they missed, they hit their surroundings instead. 

Boom! 

A roar exploded from them. 

But that wasn’t all. 

– “Kyaak!” The dark elves were starting to act irrationally, not caring if their own allies died or not. Seo Jun-ho would briefly clash swords, and then slip into the ranks of the dark elves, as if to mock them. 

Slice! Slice! 

While he dodged the Dark Elven Knights’ brutal attacks, the dark elves’ formations fell apart. In front of them were the players, and behind them were the monster Seo Jun-ho and the knights that didn’t care about their lives. The dark elves had decided that the players were the best option and had started to blindly rush forward. 

A middle-aged veteran watched him, eyes sparkling. He realized why Seo Jun-ho was fighting so recklessly. “He’s doing that because of us.”

He was helping them with the dark elves before there could be casualties. The other players looked at him in disbelief. 

“No way.”

“No matter how amazing the Black Knight is, do you think he’d be able to think that through with those monsters behind him?”

“Then why do you think he’s fighting so inefficiently? Because he’s not skilled enough?” 

“……”

The players were silent. They’d seen with their own eyes how outstanding Seo Jun-ho was. 

He was born with it. 

He might be one of those players that only come every hundred years—like Kim Woo-joong or Shin Sung-hyun.

If his skill were B-grade instead of D-grade… things would be vastly different. 

No one doubted his skill. They started to see his movements in a new light. 

He’s intentionally going to places where the dark elves are concentrated. 

He’s messing up their formation… Wait, he’s killing dark elves too?

If that were me, I would’ve died in an instant. 

It didn’t take long for them to realize that the veteran was right. Their faces became red.

The monsters following him are probably Dark Elven Knights. I’ve never seen them in publications before. 

They’re much stronger than normal dark elves. 

He’s been paying attention to the backlines while fighting them…

How pathetic must we have seemed for him to come help us. 

Damn, this is embarrassing.

They were all certified as pro players by their respective Associations and had pride in their skills. 

“We can’t just stand idly by. We’re not that pathetic.”

“He’s not just setting the table, he’s spoon-feeding us.”

“We weren’t strong enough, but we still have our pride.” 

A fierce fighting spirit was ignited in the players once more. The dark elves were in disarray. 

He’s doing everything for us… But this much should be enough. 

Seeing the players’ determined expressions, Seo Jun-ho fell back, luring the knights away. There were roughly four hundred dark elves left, whose battle formations were completely destroyed.

“If you guys can’t win even after I did all that, you’ll all have to kneel in the hall and do some self-reflection,” he muttered as he aimed his weapon at his opponent’s temple. He swung his sword with a vigor.

He pulled it out without even needing to look down. 

“Don’t look at me like that. I know you worked hard to chase me around.” 

He was going to give them a small reward for their efforts. 

“I’ll kill you painlessly.”