CH 335

Nangong Hao bit his lips tightly as he watched his Qin Shi Huang’s Warriors being slaughtered by the soldiers that suddenly popped up from the ground. In just a moment, his 3,000-strong army had fallen into a state of great confusion. Nangong Hao’s vision turned black as he thought, ‘The people must be jeering loudly…’

This was a Continental War, a war between two countries, and Nangong Hao had confidently, no, arrogantly guaranteed his victory in an interview with a media outlet before. However, right now, he was actually losing the most important battle? The Soldiers’ Great Battle? The worst part was that his 3,000-strong troops were being ridiculously trampled on by just 1,000 soldiers!

After a while, Nangong Hao managed to rein in his emotions, and his breaths evened out as he grew calm. He thought, ‘Just who did you say was going to lose?’

Nangong Hao just lost his mind for a moment after seeing the enemy’s powerful display of force. However, they still had the upper hand. Besides, even their numbers trumped their enemies. Even though the enemy was doing well now, it was still a fact that their own strength was overwhelming. Nangong Hao also had the ‘Black Knight Order’ with him.

What was the Black Knight Order? They were a group of their most elite NPCs that had been formed ahead of this battle, albeit in a hurry. These were the people that the players of China had entrusted to go with Nangong Hao. There were around five people with the average level of around Level 480~490.

Nangong Hao had also succeeded in transferring into the High Class ‘Sword Master’. So, even though he lost his momentum for a while there, he was still able to easily get back on his feet.

“Spread out into a defense circle!” Nangong Hao issued his order as he dashed forward. Sword Master Nangong Hao’s specialty was none other than the sword. In addition, his sword was different from the sword of ordinary swordsmen.

[Aura]

[Your sword will ignore 50% of your opponent’s magical and physical defense.]

Nangong Hao’s sword turned blue as sword lights began to shoot out from it.

Fwish, fwish, fwish, fwish, fwish—

Dozens of sword lights scattered and slaughtered Nangong Hao’s enemies as his Qin Shi Huang’s Warriors dashed forward valiantly.

Shwaa! Shwaa! Shwaa!

The warriors all held square shields on their hands and formed a wall with that. Through the gaps in their shields…

Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh!

…they started shooting their arrows.

“Aaaaaaack!”

“Keuaaaack!”

Screams began to ring from their enemies.

[Ah, Player Nangong Hao responded calmly to the threat.]

[He looked like he was flustered and confused by the enemy’s tactic, but he was able to quickly come back to his senses.]

[As expected of the owner of Behemoth Territory.]

The Chinese commentators hurriedly launched back into momentum as they talked about Nangong Hao.

The moment Nangong Hao’s forces spread out into a defense circle, their defenses had increased by 40%. This skill was none other than ‘Qin Shi Huang’s Shield’, a skill that could only be used by plenty of people. With this shield, they could use the bow, the spear, and the gun safely, without receiving any harm or damage from their enemies. And there was also another tactic…

Crackle—

A gap appeared in between the shield as a noose stretched out and entangled a soldier’s neck.

“Aaaaaaack! S…save me!”

Once the soldier was dragged inside, the shield’s gap was closed and the soldier was stabbed to death. And just like that, they opened a gap in the shields from time to time, dragged the soldiers in, and killed them before closing the gaps once again.

“Keuhahahahahahaha! You won’t be able to pierce through this shield!” Nangong Hao cackled loudly as he watched Genie use a one-shot attack skill called ‘Unruly Whip’. It was a skill that increased Genie’s whip’s slashing force by 300% as well as an additional damage of 700%.

Shwaaaaaaa—

Alas, the Qin Shi Huang’s Warriors immediately used the ‘Shield Wall’ the moment the whip landed. The Shield Wall tripled their defense for ten seconds, a defense that was comparable to an Iron Fortress.

Nangong Hao chuckled from behind the shield. Their enemies might have shown a fierce momentum at first but they already lost over 70% of their men. The smaller the number of their troops remained, the more certain their defeat was.

Nangong Hao quickly led his stronger men forward, while commanding the weaker ones to fall back and shoot arrows. He thought, ‘Fufufufufu, our army has mastered archery, spearmanship and horsemanship!’

For an ordinary territory, it was hard for their soldiers to master just one thing! However, Nangong Hao’s territory soldiers had mastered everything that they could master. They were even equipped with weapons and armors that ranked from general to rare. More than a thousand of his men were wearing artifacts! At this juncture of the game, it seemed nothing could be as amazing as this.

Nangong Hao’s troops might have slowed down at first but their enemies remained weak. Once his main force stepped forward, he was confident that they would be done for. He ordered, “Kill them all!”

“Yes, sir!”

“They might be retreating soon enough.”

Nangong Hao was confident that they would never be able to break through his shield. And, if they could not break through, the enemies would never have any chance of winning.

Just then, a soldier in full armor standing to the left spoke up. He said, “Commander!”

“What?” Nangong Hao asked, turning to look at the soldier whose helmet was tilting down to his chin and covering his face.

“Do you put the noodles, or the soup, in ramyeon first?”

“Of course it’s the soup…”

‘Wait, isn‘t that too out of the blue? And why does his voice sound like that of a boy’s?’

Then, another voice piped up from Nangong Hao’s other side. The voice said, “Let’s get this over with quickly. I have to write the second volume of ‘Why Did the Prince Go Out Tonight?’. Hmmm.”

‘What? Write? What kind of bullshit title is this?‘

Then, the two people took off their helmets.

“I’m Conir!!! Wrong! Conir knows that you have to put the pot first!!!”

“I’m Aruvel!!! ‘Why Did the Prince Go Out Tonight’ is on a 50% discount!!! Buy it for only 15,000 gold!!!”

Nangong Hao looked at the two in a daze for about two seconds, from the sheer ridiculousness of their words. He looked at the demon named Aruvel silently as the man said, “Ah. I wanted to copy Conir too.”

Only then did Nangong Hao’s expression turn to one of horror. He shouted, “Hurry, there are rats hid…”

Stab!

Conir’s sword stabbed Nangong Hao’s sides.

“Keuheok!”

Nangong Hao safely twisted out of the attack’s range, thanks to his fast reflexes. Then, Aruvel aimed his spear towards the soldiers that formed the shield.

[Demonic Dragon’s Spear Arts]

[Exploding Spear.]

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

The soldiers forming the shield were all concentrated in one area. With that single attack from Aruvel who was above Level 600, more than 200 soldiers were killed instantly, while the lucky few were severely injured at the very least. The shield collapsed just like that.

Meanwhile, Conir continued to attack Nangong Hao.

“Don’t think that you’ll get me that easily!”

“Yeah! Conir will get you!”

Nangong Hao quickly narrowed the distance between him and Conir. In fact, Nangong Hao was someone that held a sword in reality. To be precise, he was someone trained in various martial arts ever since he was young. And in Athenae, opponents on a similar level could easily be dealt with and overwhelmed by the other, depending on their control on their bodies and skills. No, he believed that he would be able to overwhelm Conir with his control.

However, when Nangong Hao’s sword, which was dyed in blue, stabbed Conir, the boy just lightly struck the tip of his sword and easily offset his sword skill. Then, Conir stabbed Nangong Hao in the thigh before swiftly moving around to attack his Achilles’ heels.

[You have received an attack on your vital point.]

[Your movements have been restricted.]

“Noona told Conir not to kill you!”

“Keheok!!!”

Nangong Hao looked at the boy ridiculously. It was much harder to keep an enemy alive than to kill one. This was because in a fight between life and death, showing mercy towards one’s enemy was being cruel to oneself. However, doing this meant that the boy was far stronger than what he had expected.

Nangong Hao had no choice but to plop down and nurse his Achilles’ heels, while watching the situation on the battlefield with a dismayed expression. He saw Aruvel jumping around the soldiers.

“I’ll tell you why the Prince went out tonight!!!”

“What bullshit!”

“Dieeeeeee!!!”

Spurt!

Stab, stab, stab, stab!

The soldiers continued to rush forward, only to fall down in front of Aruvel, who continued to chime in, “A few days ago, the wild and free-spirited Prince snuck out of the Imperial Palace and pretended to be a beggar roaming around the city. By chance, a woman graciously served the Prince a meal. She was the poor commoner, Benjamin! The Prince fell in love with her and went out every night to meet with her and get hot in bed… Creak, creak!”

“Uwaaaaaack!”

“Aaaaaack!”

“Crazy bastard!!!”

Aruvel freely gave a spoiler to the book that he wrote! It seemed like he hoped to pique their interest, so they would buy his book! However, strangely enough, the soldiers were actually listening to Aruvel, despite being in the middle of a war.

‘Aaaaah! This is a story between a commoner and a Prince! The story might be filled with spicy hot scenes, and it arouses curiosity!’

Then, Aruvel said, “It’s on a 50% discount!!! Buy one for 15,000 gold! Buy two for only 40,000 gold!!!”

Stab!

Stab! 

Stab!

“Keheok! Why does it get more expensive if I buy two books!!!”

“It’s up to me to decide!”

‘This, this bastard is crazy too! What the hell!’

The demon wrote spicy bed stories, but the problem was that he was strong too! Nangong Hao tried to regain his calm as he looked around.

‘This is a war between soldiers. Even if they pierce through our shield, they still won’t be able to deal with thousands of soldiers with their numbers alone.’

Then, the troops collided. However, something very surprising happened.

Stab!

Stab!

Stab!

Spurt!

The enemy soldiers were extremely powerful! They jumped into the fray and slaughtered the Qin Shi Huang’s Warriors mercilessly.

‘This…this…! How can this be possible…!’ 

Nangong Hao could hardly believe his eyes. His troops were completely overwhelmed. Even the arrows they shot…

Stab, stab, stab!

…accurately stabbed through the chests of Nangong Hao’s troops. They even dealt fatal and critical blows to his troops with countless explosions.

This was the power of the Atlas soldiers that had undergone strict training from excellent instructors! They were even equipped with amazing artifacts created by the collaboration of Hyemin’sDaddy the Hepas’ Descendant, and Golden Hammer Dwarf Lant! Their artifacts were far more superior than those belonging to the soldiers of Behemoth Territory. After all, their artifacts were equipped with a 20% chance of ignoring the enemies’ defense as its most basic option.

‘Wh…what the hell…!’ 

Nangong Hao could not understand what was happening at all. His territory was hailed as the second-most powerful territory in the world!

‘Are you telling me that this territory is the number one territory in the world…?’

Nangong Hao did not know where the strongest territory in the world was and he was only making his own assumptions.

Atlas Territory was still pretty much at the bottom of the Integrated Territory Rankings. For the Territory Rankings, there were various factors that needed to be met for them to increase their rankings, like activities in the territory, EXP, etc. Basically, Atlas Territory was still at the bottom of the food chain, since this was their first ever appearance.

In other words, for all intents and purposes, the second most powerful territory in the world was being trampled and beaten by the lowest ranked territory.

***

Meanwhile, Minhyuk had just entered the Innocent Hero’s Trial.

A man, with sharp, handsome and refined features and standing at a height of 185 centimeters, stood in front of a crystal ball and watched Minhyuk. The man watched as Minhyuk stood in front of his statue in shock.

[Why did Conir suddenly appear here…?]

“…!”

The man was in disbelief. The challenger that entered his own trial actually knew about his identity! That was because the tall and handsome man was none other than Conir.