In the prisoner of war camp of the Praham Kingdom, about a thousand prisoners were detained.
More than 90% of these thousand were merely ordinary villagers.
The small village they hailed from was attacked by monsters.
Those who fled the village crossed the border and were captured by the border guards.
These prisoners were not subjected to torture or violations of human rights.
They received adequate food and were allotted enough drinking water.
However, they were all housed in a single large hall.
Eden, once the leader of the village’s self-defense group, thought to himself, ‘The two nations are negotiating…’
Most of the prisoners, including Eden, had given up hope.
Even if the negotiations proceeded, they believed that only about a hundred of them would be able to leave.
Therefore, they tearfully decided who among them would return to their homeland.
“Prioritize children and women.”
“My child… may you find happiness in the Kingdom of Goyard.”
“My dear…!”
Only about a hundred people.
Their separation turned the place into a sea of tears.
Then the door opened, and a soldier appeared.
Surprisingly, he was dressed in a uniform bearing the emblem of the Kingdom of Goyard.
The time had finally come.
Eden sighed.
The sound of weeping filled the hall even more.
And Soldier Kahn looked puzzled at the crying crowd.
“Why are you all crying? Everyone can return to their homeland now.”
Eden furrowed his brows.
“Of course, they are crying because they have to part with their families… What? Did you say everyone is going back home!?”
“That’s right. Now everyone will return to their homeland.”
Eden couldn’t believe it.
All prisoners released?
How was such a thing possible?
And Kahn. His loyalty to Hyun-soo was sky-high.
The release of the prisoners was connected to negotiation efforts and also to his role as an instructor.
He spoke loyally.
“It’s all thanks to my lord, Viscount Hyun-soo.”
“We’re saved…!”
“Wow!”
“We can all go back together!”
The prisoners hugged and rejoiced together.
Among them, Eden was the only one who thought about this man named Hyun-soo.
‘Viscount Hyun-soo. Such a gracious person.’
All the prisoners started moving outside together. And Eden felt a slight regret.
‘A viscount, no less…’
Viscounts do not own territories.
Even as they returned to their homeland, they had nowhere specific to go.
Their village had been ravaged.
Then Kahn asked.
“Most of the prisoners are from the mining village of Eitmin, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I see.”
Kahn then smiled enigmatically.
Eden could not understand that smile.
‘That’s good.’
Eden watched families embrace happily and smiled softly.
Then, something inexplicable caught Eden’s eye.
Suddenly, a figure in a black mask appeared from nowhere.
He plunged a dagger into a soldier’s neck and pulled it out.
“Screaaaam!”
Soon, dozens of figures in black appeared from all around.
They clashed with the fifty or so soldiers of the prisoner of war camp.
The average level of the Black Dragon members reached the 270s.
The soldiers were overwhelmed and began to fall one after the other.
And Eden ran out.
Eden’s level was around 280.
Though he was merely the leader of a small village’s self-defense group, he had led a force of about a hundred men.
Clash!
He joined the soldiers in fighting against the mysterious assassins.
But they were outnumbered.
A sharp dagger aimed for his neck.
Then.
Clash!
A sword lightly flicked the dagger away.
Five soldiers.
Wearing epaulets with the emblem of the Kingdom of Goyard.
They were members of the Gale Squad.
The moment the five soldiers intervened, the tide turned.
The previously unbeatable enemies began to fall.
Eden, witnessing this, was genuinely amazed.
‘What, what is this?’
It seemed as though ghosts were moving.
The assassins, trained in the art of killing from birth, were being overwhelmed by these unidentified individuals.
***
Kahn and the other four members of the Gale Squad.
They were Viscount Hyun-soo’s loyal subordinates, possessing the strength of knights.
Faced with suddenly appearing unknown enemies.
[Assassin Luke Lv.273]
[Assassin Red Lv.276]
As they cut down these assailants, Kahn shouted, “All forces, escort the prisoners and distance yourselves from these attackers as much as possible!”
Kahn assessed the situation.
Of the 45 soldiers from the prison camp, 20 had fallen. Out of 5 knights, 3 had perished.
And from the 20 soldiers of the Cradle of Hell, 10 had died.
A total of about 37 men were left.
And the enemies numbered around 70.
Kahn and the members of the Gale Squad knew they were outnumbered.
All they could do was hold off the attackers as long as possible.
The assassins were puzzled.
‘What are these guys?’
‘Where were they hiding? How could mere soldiers…?’
The assassins’ advantages were their speed and the power of their strikes.
Moreover, they were supposed to be superior in skill, being part of an assassin group.
Yet, these five soldiers were overwhelming them purely with their skill.
The assassins, who were scattered around killing prisoners, soon came to the same conclusion.
‘We need to kill these ones first.’
Around 40 of the 70 assassins surged at them simultaneously.
Clash, clash, clash!
A relentless exchange of blows followed.
True to the assassins’ unique movements, they disappeared and reappeared from different locations.
They threw throwing stars and shurikens at times.
With each attack, more wounds accumulated on the bodies of the Gale Squad members.
Blood, blood, blood…
Blood spurted from their bodies.
“Ugh, ugh…”
Just when it seemed like they were about to fall, Kahn gritted his teeth.
“Uooooooh!”
He didn’t retreat but continued to cut down the assassins.
“Huhhhhhk…!”
One of the assassins, with a demon-like expression, backed away after seeing Kahn.
The other assassins felt the same.
Assassins don’t usually show emotional changes.
They were trained to suppress fear and terror. Yet, the high morale of these foes was palpable.
Still, the assassins continued to attack.
Cut, cut, and cut again.
But they kept coming at them.
‘How are they still standing?’
‘What exactly are these guys?’
Covered in blood, it was unbelievable that they weren’t falling back.
The assassins couldn’t understand how Kahn and the Gale Squad members refused to go down.
And the reason Kahn and the Gale Squad members didn’t fall.
‘Lord, I don’t want to go out like this.’
It was all for Hyun-soo.
“Why won’t they fall! Why!”
They gritted their teeth, seeing the blood spurt from their bodies.
But that was the end.
Crash-
One with a shattered head rolled on the ground.
Slice-
One collapsed with a sliced abdomen.
“Aaaaah!”
Two pierced by daggers fell.
“Kuhk!”
Kahn collapsed.
Bloodied Kahn.
He saw about 20 assassins flying towards him simultaneously.
‘I’m sorry.’
There was so much he hadn’t repaid.
They hated their damned bodies more than anything at that moment.
Every member of the Gale Squad possessed talent befitting knights.
But they all shared one common trait: bodies incapable of harnessing magic.
At that moment, they felt the greatest despair in their wretched bodies.
‘If only I had stronger power…’
‘If only we could wield magic…’
Kahn braced for the chilling sound of bloodshed to come.
But then…
“…It’s too late.”
A familiar voice was heard.
Kahn slowly opened his eyes.
Hyun-soo was approaching, his brown coat fluttering.
Kahn saw the dagger stopped right in front of him.
Twenty assassins were frozen mid-motion, halted altogether.
But Kahn knew the power of his lord’s command.
The more individuals controlled, the exponentially shorter the duration of control.
Twenty or so individuals.
The time they could be controlled was merely 3 seconds.
And then, Kahn saw it.
Beside Hyun-soo, a tendril of wood was sprouting.
‘Counter?’
A power whose number of creations was determined by chance.
Kahn’s expression was grim.
Their lord had only been able to urgently create a single artifact due to failing the odds.
It was despairing.
In this situation, having more artifacts could have increased their chances of victory.
They couldn’t block or kill.
Kahn was certain.
But then…
Their lord put a grape in his mouth.
***
[Counter is activated.]
[One artifact can be created.]
Hyun-soo, arriving late, could see that not everyone was dead yet.
[Controlling too many individuals.]
[Psychic power duration reduced to 3 seconds.]
The situation was dire.
The chance-activated Counter allowed for the creation of only one artifact.
Furthermore, the 20 assassins they barely managed to catch.
Their levels were not low, and their numbers were large enough to limit the control of the Command of Monarch.
In this moment, he thought, ‘Even if I can neutralize these with just one urgently created artifact, what about the other 50 or so?’
The enemies were scattered.
They weren’t clustered together.
They were clever.
Moving in anticipation of a wide-range attack.
And indeed, the assassins knew this, their eyes showing they understood that once the psychic power wore off, they would kill him and his followers.
“Hehehe.”
“Huhuhu!”
But at this moment, Hyun-soo had an idea.
He pushed a grape into his mouth.
[You have consumed a grape from the World Tree.]
[The Command of Monarch is maximized.]
“Lord, please move away!”
“There are about 70 enemies.”
“You can’t handle them alone!”
70 enemies.
Hyun-soo alone must reduce their HP as much as possible.
Was it possible?
[The Command of Monarch is maximized.]
[Level up.]
[Level up.]
[Level…]
[The Command of Monarch Lv.6]
The Command of Monarch, now in a frenzy.
The action chosen by Hyun-soo.
It wasn’t just the 20 assassins he was controlling.
Hyun-soo controlled all the assassins rushing at him and those scattered around.
70 individuals stopped in their tracks. It seemed foolish.
It would have seemed better to use the maximization to enhance a wide-range skill to kill them.
At that moment.
Swoosh-
Hyun-soo forcefully swung his arm upward from below.
70 assassins were sent flying into the sky.
Kahn couldn’t understand his lord’s actions.
Neither could the other assassins. One yelled, “Crazy, sending us into the sky, how does that change anything?”
The power would soon be lost, and the 70 would not suffer significant damage.
But then, Hyun-soo gritted his teeth.
“Ugh…”
He focused intensely, sending them higher and further into the sky.
30m from the ground.
45m.
50m.
55m.
60m.
[The Command of Monarch is released.]
The assassins in the sky.
They felt as if they had become birds.
“Assassins essentially have the weight of assassins, what idiots.”
It was a mystical power.
Assassins could reduce the impact even if they fell from high places.
Soon, they saw it.
A shaft of wood beside Hyun-soo formed into an arrow.
He pulled out a bow labeled as “Thousand-Pound Bow.”
He placed the newly formed arrow on the bowstring and pulled back.
[Time of a Thousand Pounds]
Everyone had a similar thought.
‘What will one arrow do?’
At that moment.
“It’s over.”
The arrow released from the bowstring soared towards the assassins.
They scoffed at the single arrow.
But then.
[Glory Gold Ghost Arrow.]
[One arrow hits a thousand enemies.]
The single arrow split into 70, hitting all the assassins.
The assassins thought.
How many seconds will it take to fall from this height?
At least 2 seconds.
But then…
0.1 second.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
70 of them crashed to the ground.
Cliche Novel 