Nel, standing on the roof, was engulfed in ecstasy.
“Amazing…”
She had thought that Guild Bright Future would not hold out.
Currently, Guild Bright Future’s forces were no more than ten people.
Members of the Gale Squad and their leader, Knight Luke.
Other users.
Anyhow, these mere ten people had defeated forces worthy of a lordship.
Of course, those of Guild Bright Future were already beaten to a pulp.
Their appearance was so wretched that it wouldn’t be strange if they died on the spot.
Crash-
Lisel, having taken down the last remaining knight, collapsed.
“Heave-ho.”
“Kuha!”
“Ah, I’m going to die.”
“Hehe, but we survived!”
Their teamwork was better than expected, making this possible.
While individual strength was important, they each diligently fulfilled their assigned roles.
Lisel was the most powerful dealer, and Bark was a solid tanker.
Bella was the supreme priest, and Ian continuously rescued guild members in danger while running on the roofs.
The synergy created by the four was tremendous.
Just then.
A black current flying from the audience chamber covered the sky.
The entire Ballas territory was engulfed in darkness.
[Calamity of Darkness]
[The minions of Ronso will become ‘mines’.]
[Only the instincts of slaughter and destruction will surge.]
[The dead will rise again with HP restored to 30%.]
Soon, Lisel could see the knight he had just defeated rising with strange movements.
Thud-thud-
Ignoring the movement of the broken bones, the skin of the one who got up began to turn black.
Mineification.
The bizarre power bestowed by the demons worshiped by the Disaster Cult.
It removes fear and dread.
Lower-tier mineification causes one to lose reason, while mid to upper-tier allows one to retain reason and become stronger.
[Knight Von Lv.341]
Knight Von, whom he had just defeated, became 10% stronger and pressured Lisel.
“Kugh!”
Already battered, they struggled to withstand the stronger mines.
Especially since they were recklessly attacking, seemingly unafraid even when cut.
Then.
Creeeeak-
Suddenly, about twenty hellhounds burst out from the opened space.
Grrrrr!
The hellhounds began to bite the necks of the nearby villagers.
Crack-
“Aaargh!”
Then they started to attack villagers all over.
In no time, the entire territory turned into a battlefield.
Originally, Ronso’s minions were only attacking the people of Guild Bright Future.
However, as their instincts of destruction and slaughter surged, the mines and the hellhounds began to indiscriminately kill the villagers.
“Aaargh!”
“Ugh!”
“Screaaam!”
The members of Guild Bright Future, struggling to endure, quickly made a decision.
“Move to protect the villagers!”
“Let’s hurry!”
The villagers were gathering in one place to escape from the hellhounds and mines.
Guild Bright Future’s members stood in front of them, struggling to hold them off.
Nel also joined them there.
Nel was speechless at the shocking disaster.
She saw the villagers gathered together, targeted by over a hundred mines and hellhounds.
Soon, the mines and hellhounds began to push forward.
“Bark!!!”
Tanker Bark stepped forward, blocking them as his body was battered.
Lisel stepped forward to protect Bark, and his body was bitten by the hellhounds.
“These bastards!”
Bang-
Crash!
Ian, who was shooting at the mines and hellhounds, soon got his right arm bitten.
Crash-
“Argh!”
With his arm mangled, Ian could no longer shoot his bow.
Then Bark plunged deep into the midst of the hellhounds and mines.
“I’ll buy time, take the villagers and escape!”
“Bark!”
Bark is a tanker.
Because of this, he possesses special aggro skills like no other.
Despite the overwhelming numbers, he was able to draw the aggro of the creatures for a long time.
Hahaha-!
With the activation of the tanker’s shout, all the aggro in the vicinity focused on Bark.
At that moment, all the hellhounds and mines began to attack Bark.
The sight was grotesque.
“Go, quickly.”
Bark, getting buried among hundreds of mines and a pack of hellhounds, clenched his teeth and activated his skill.
[The Unyielding]
An extraordinary power that triples defense for 5 seconds.
Bark smirked bitterly.
‘I must save as many as possible.’
Bark slowly took in the sight of the terrified villagers as his vision was encased in mines.
‘Mr. President, you seem to be enjoying yourself lately.’
‘It’s enjoyable, having a new goal at my age is a joyful thing, haha!’
A new goal. To make Guild Bright Future the best.
For that, this territory is very precious.
A place they had worked on together. A place they must continue to develop.
Chomp-
Bitten by hellhounds, Bark grimaced bitterly.
‘Maybe we came too hastily.’
Others take a year for what they achieved in just a few months.
Still, they are far from sufficient.
As Bark was dying, his eyes widened.
Clang-
A window in the audience chamber shattered.
A spear flew straight, piercing through several mines and hellhounds.
Whizz-
Ssssssh
A great holy power emitted from the spear made them suffer.
“……!”
Soon, Hyun-soo who jumped through the window soared.
[Leap of Disaster]
[You can freely fly through the sky.]
Around his neck hung a necklace that Bark had never seen before in his life.
Bark could tell.
‘The notification of the fourth calamity that came earlier… Does that mean he killed it and obtained it?’
Bark’s eyes wavered.
An ability to fly? Truly marvelous.
Hyun-soo, flying in a straight line with his coat fluttering, landed in front of Bark, blocking his path.
Koo-ung-
Kheeeek-
Khaaaak
Twiieeek-
The monsters around Bark were retreating from the holy power emanating from the spear.
Hyun-soo pulled out the spear.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yes, I am.”
Bark was flustered. Hyun-soo’s back, as he protected him, seemed as large as a mountain.
Suddenly, he remembered the pitiable young man who was hunched over in despair when they first met.
But now, it was different.
“You can rest easy.”
The young man who had floundered in despair was no longer there.
‘When did he change so much…?’
Changed, right?
[Hyun-soo Lv.290]
Moreover, his level was now just shy of 300, a measure of high level.
However, the situation was not good.
There were too many enemies.
Then, obscured by Hyun-soo, Bark felt something from the spear.
‘What is that spear?’
A violent holy power surged from the spear held by Hyun-soo.
[Exterminate Evil (滅惡)]
[Additional damage against evil increases by 660%.]
At that moment, Bark saw a hellhound aiming for Hyun-soo’s side.
“Be careful…”
Hyun-soo moved the spear and slashed in one breath.
Kwajak
‘In one hit!?’
Swoosh-
Bark was astonished as he watched the hellhound disperse in one blow.
And he realized.
‘It wasn’t too early…’
It wasn’t that we came here too early; it was that Hyun-soo had grown too much.
Before he knew it, he had completely changed.
“I’ll be back.”
Fwoosh-
Hyun-soo moved.
***
[20 seconds.]
[19 seconds.]
The spear, a combination of a scythe sword and a trident, holds the advantages of two artifacts.
Some skills are newly born according to it, and some are existing.
Among them, Exterminate Evil (滅惡) is a power that existed in the original scythe sword.
Originally, it was a 400% increase in attack power against evil, now enhanced to 660%.
Can you imagine?
Even a normal hit attaches an additional 660% damage against evil.
Moreover, the necklace of calamity newly acquired by Hyun-soo was imbued with an additional 30% attack and defense power against evil.
Also, the attack power of this spear was superior to anything Hyun-soo had held before.
Hyun-soo’s eyes scanned the surroundings.
Around fifty mineified knights, about twenty hellhounds, and around a hundred soldiers.
The members of Guild Bright Future, already incapacitated, and the terrified villagers.
A legend beyond legend.
This spear also had aggro abilities.
Creak-
The noisy sound of scraping metal echoed from the spear, causing every creature to turn their heads towards Hyun-soo.
Swoosh-
Swoosh-
Fortunately, there was a silver lining.
‘They now have less than 30% HP left.’
Ding!
[Lord’s Quest: Save the Villagers]
Grade: A
Restriction: Lord
Reward: Trust of the Lord, All Stats +2
Penalty if failed: Extinction of Ballas Territory.
Description: You have become the new lord of a territory. Save the villagers and become the true master of Ballas Territory.
[16 seconds.]
[14 seconds.]
“Khyoooaarrr!”
“Groooaaar!”
“Grrrrrr!”
At the sound of scraping metal, all the creatures rushed towards Hyun-soo.
Hyun-soo stretched out his spear, slicing through them, and with a single move, the creatures turned to ash.
Swoosh-
However, everyone trembled with anxiety as creatures swarmed from all directions, and Hyun-soo, already near battered to pieces, was seen.
“Hyun-soo…!”
“What are you planning to do!”
Currently, Hyun-soo was rushing towards 150 evils by himself.
Hyun-soo kept running, dodging the evils trailing behind him.
Meanwhile.
Crack-
Pop, pop, pop-
Crash-
He was constantly allowing attacks.
“Gulp!”
Fear and confusion were escalating.
Suddenly, the creatures chasing Hyun-soo formed a circle and the villagers’ faces turned pale.
The blacksmiths and Per also trembled as they watched him.
Hyun-soo did not take any action even as the enemies gradually closed in.
Then soon, Per realized.
‘Isn’t he moving, or is he waiting for them to come?’
And almost simultaneously, the evils swarmed in.
[7 seconds.]
[6 seconds.]
“Hyun-soo!!!”
“Screaaam!”
Many screamed or called out his name.
[5 seconds.]
Hyun-soo, combining two artifacts, heard a notification.
[You can imbue a skill containing the advantages of two artifacts.]
Hyun-soo looked afar.
He thought not only of the enemies surrounding him but also of the guild members and villagers outside.
He recalled an inspiration.
That inspiration came from a festival in Haman, Gyeongsangnam-do, which he attended as a child, holding his father’s hand.
‘This game was a folk play held to wish for the wellbeing of the townspeople.’
Watching the beautiful fireworks created at the festival, Hyun-soo thought to himself that it was indeed a beautiful game.
“Dodge it, please!”
[4 seconds.]
Hyun-soo forcefully stabbed the spear he held in both hands into the ground.
Whoosh-!
At that moment, the already dark territory became even darker, as if someone had drawn blackout curtains.
Piercing through the pitch-black darkness where not even an inch ahead could be seen, Hyun-soo’s voice spread.
“Firework display.”
In that pitch-black darkness, where even adaptation was blocked, a bizarre event soon took place.
Very thin, long threads connected from roof to roof, building to building.
The glow from these tiny threads momentarily lifted the darkness before it darkened again.
In that brief moment of visibility, the creatures had already reached very close to Hyun-soo.
Then, from hundreds of threads, flames began to rise.
These flames soon started dropping sparkles downward from the threads.
Whoaaa-!
The sparkles, though tiny like dust, brightly lit the surroundings within the darkness.
As tens of thousands of sparkles fell around Hyun-soo, touching the evil nearby.
Ssssssh-
All that evil began to melt away.
And soon.
Whoaaa-!
As if someone had drawn back the blackout curtains, the world became bright again.
In the center, there was Hyun-soo, watching the evil turn to ash and the spear dispersing gently.
The moment he smiled at the relieved villagers.
Symbols of an anvil and hammer began to be engraved on the villagers’ clothes.
Per, the master blacksmith of Ballas territory.
He, having crafted a sword for the lord, led hundreds of blacksmiths towards Hyun-soo and respectfully handed him the sword.
[Per offers you the Sword of the Monarch.]
“I greet our new lord.”
Following him, the surviving villagers also showed their respect.
[Respect for the lord embeds in 10,310 villagers.]
Hyun-soo looked at them silently for a long time.
He couldn’t quite grasp the reality of this moment, that he, who had been the lowest among them, had truly become their monarch.
Cliche Novel 