Kou, ranked 15th in the world, charged amidst 200 knights clad in black armor, hidden among the undead. As the undead perished, he found himself in full-scale combat with the Korean players. It was disconcerting that the plan was derailing, but the actual battle seemed manageable. After about an hour of fighting, the Korean players had only managed to log out around 50 Chinese players.
The battle with Lee Hwan was particularly impressive. Lee Hwan, the only Korean player ranked within the top 50, was undoubtedly an outstanding player. However, Wangang did not get logged out in his fight with Lee Hwan. Instead, he forced Lee Hwan to flee into the castle.
Lee Hwan seemed out of place, as if wearing ill-fitting clothes. He primarily wielded a greatsword but seemed unable to find a suitable artifact. This was unsurprising, considering the number of legendary artifacts in Korea was only about 1/30th of those in China. Furthermore, the artifacts crafted by blacksmiths didn’t always have the desired effects.
Kou felt pity for Lee Hwan, thinking he was an unfortunate player who couldn’t even hold a proper weapon due to being born in the wrong country. Kou clicked his tongue.
Then…
“He’s back,” Kou said with a smirk. Although Lee Hwan’s level was higher, Kou wasn’t afraid. However, something was different this time. Lee Hwan was wielding a greatsword. Kou charged lightly.
Boom!
Kou was startled when their swords clashed. ‘What is this?’ His entire body tingled from just one exchange of blows. Kou had a high understanding of weapons; greatswords were hard to swing and slow. Typically, a regular sword could be swung three times for every one swing of a greatsword. But Lee Hwan’s speed allowed him to swing the greatsword twice for every three swings of a regular sword.
“I have regular sword mastery at advanced level 6 and greatsword mastery at ultimate level 7. Also, this Twin Dragon Sword is 40% lighter than a normal greatsword.”
Kou was taken aback.
“What kind of weapon is that?”
“Here.”
Boom!
It was real. The speed at which Lee Hwan swung the Twin Dragon Sword defied the common understanding of a greatsword. Even more shocking was its destructive power. The speed remained relatively stable, but the destructive power was several times that of a regular sword.
Boom!
When it directly struck his armor, Kou’s legendary armor began to crack.
“This was made by Blacksmith Hyun. You don’t have Hyun, do you?”
Kou was doubly shocked. Lee Hwan’s expression resembled that of a child proudly showing off a newly acquired treasure.
Lee Hwan looked around.
“Come on! Come on!”
“You don’t have Hyun, do you?”
“Artifacts made by our Hyun are the best!”
The battlefield had changed. As Lee Hwan continued to overwhelm Kou, he couldn’t believe it.
‘How did he get such a perfect artifact…?’
The strengths of the greatsword were maximized, and its weaknesses were minimized. Normally, artifacts included unnecessary features.
Additionally, Lee Hwan, the master of the Hwarang Guild, had been persistently sending recruitment proposals to Hyun, but they were always ignored. Due to this, he held a slight grudge and hadn’t subscribed to Hyun’s blacksmith services. However, his mind changed.
‘As soon as the Continental War ends, I’m subscribing.’
Suddenly, Lee Hwan got goosebumps.
“Ha ha ha, you don’t have Hyun, do you?!”
“These, these bastards have lost it!”
Hyun’s blacksmith shop sold weapons at about 40% higher prices than the market, but this gave Korea a significant advantage. Lee Hwan also decided to subscribe to Hyun’s blacksmith services.
‘Then… what about the viewers?’
He swallowed dryly. Even he had to admit it.
‘Long live Hyun.’
He suddenly recalled the duration he had been using his weapon.
‘1 hour and 32 minutes.’
In that time, the rental fee had surged to 30 million won.
“Ughhhhh!”
Lee Hwan gritted his teeth to make the most out of it.
***
Nel, observing the battlefield, saw that 8 hours had passed.
‘We’re starting to get pushed back.’
After the initial major clash, the battle had become a tug-of-war. High-ranked players’ battles tended to last longer than expected, and they had held out for several hours more than world experts predicted. Surprisingly, the Korean players were quite strong too.
However, Nel faced reality. There were 514 Korean players and 631 Chinese players surviving. The number of Korean players was decreasing faster than the number of Chinese players. Polarization had begun.
‘This polarization will accelerate like a collapsing dam at some point.’
Nel assessed the situation calmly.
‘We did well.’
They had been excellent. Anyone would praise their performance. In fact, members of Guild Hyun’s Forge struggled to shine here. They were among the strongest in Korea, but here, there were many of their caliber.
‘Everyone is satisfied…’
Soon, Nel realized how foolish she had been by looking at the expressions of Hyun’s Forge guild members.
“Just one more! One more!”
Ian gritted his teeth and shot arrows, while Bark desperately swung his shield at five players. Belia prayed endlessly, and Tae-hoon and Han-ul fought with already overloaded bodies.
“…”
Nel realized she had been complacent. Their competitive spirit was still burning. As she was not fighting, she hadn’t realized it.
“Ahhhhh!”
Even though they were starting to get pushed back, they fought desperately not to be pushed back. Nel clenched her fists and trembled with frustration, knowing there was nothing she could do for them. She felt their sorrow. Hidden behind Hyun-soo’s brilliance were feelings of inferiority, jealousy, and desire.
It was inevitable. Everyone wanted to be a star. But now, they were just one among a thousand.
… Boom
… Boom
At that moment, amidst the noisy battlefield, a sound reached only Nel’s ears. It was hotter than ever.
‘…Hyun-soo.’
Perhaps Hyun-soo was aware of such feelings. At that moment, Nel’s eyes wavered.
‘Pond, Liu…’
They had begun to move.
***
Pond and Liu were waiting for the Korean players to grow exhausted. Although Pond had been caught in a trap, he was still clever enough. Now was the time to push polarization to its extreme.
Rumble—
A green, dark sphere shot up into the sky. Liu, known as the Poison King, was a player who could cast the best debuffs in Ares. The green, dark sphere rose into the sky and fell like rain on the Korean camp, exploding like fireworks.
Boom, boom, boom, boom—
Crash—!
[You have been affected by the Poison of Despair.]
[Resistance is futile.]
[All stats decreased by 20%.]
[You experience nausea, chills, and dizziness.]
It was a power akin to that of a named NPC. Liu’s ultimate skill was a literal disaster. It was more than enough to stoke the flames of growing polarization.
“Ugh, arghhhh!”
“Gahh!”
“You bastard, I was winning just a moment ago…!”
“Hey, why are there two of you ganging up on me… ugh!”
Polarization became steeper because as the number of Koreans decreased while the number of Chinese remained the same, the Korean players had to face more opponents. Liu’s poison accelerated this process.
“Arghhh!”
“Gahhh!”
“Crazy…”
Korean players, who had been holding their ground in front of the castle gates, were being pushed back. Then another figure landed among them.
Slash—
It was Pond. His sword swiftly beheaded three Korean players. He landed on the ground and quickly drew his blade again.
Slash—!
In an instant, twenty Korean players were cut in half with 450% cutting power. Pond smiled gleefully.
‘The massacre begins now!’
As Pond raised his hand, Chinese players unleashed their skills.
Boom, boom, boom, boom—
The Koreans were scattered without a trace, laughed at by Pond.
Already, around a hundred Korean players had fallen to the Chinese. This wasn’t a deliberate act; they had simply collapsed helplessly.
“Hey, guys, have some mercy.”
“Public execution, this is too much!!!!”
“Shall we use skills?”
“Commander, permission to use skills.”
Liu shook his head.
“Kill them with basic attacks. We have many places to go.”
It was an excuse. The real reason was to broadcast the slaughter live, but saying they had many places to go gave it legitimacy. A horrific scene soon unfolded.
Crunch, thud, splat—
Some shot arrows to log out Korean players, some struck heads to log them out, and others slashed wildly. The number of fallen increased exponentially.
Finally, the gate opened.
Creak—
Pond, Liu, and over 500 Chinese players moved towards the broken gate. Pond then wore a puzzled expression.
Slash—!
Something surged from somewhere.
‘A blacksmith?’
It was too fast to pinpoint. When Pond spotted it in the sky, he squinted to see it clearly. But he couldn’t make it out.
At that moment, it rapidly descended. The mysterious object pierced into the castle.
Slash—
A massive greatsword, over three meters long, engraved with red patterns appeared.
[Geumshin Jeonseon (Present Time Warship)]
[Even now, to God.]
[Still remaining are twelve.]
[Twelve ships are left.]
“Kihaha, hahaha, hahahaha!”
Pond laughed. Jegal had thoroughly investigated Hyun’s Twin Dragon Sword.
Geumshin Jeonseon Sanyu Sibi.
The power of this sword was to imbue Blacksmith Hyun’s strength into one person, temporarily granting them legendary status, just like it had done for Ian.
“What do you plan to do with just one person?”
Sure, they might kill someone, but what could one person really achieve?
Then.
[Heugya (Dark Night)]
Once again, darkness descended upon the world. Humans are creatures of habit. The fear of a first encounter diminishes by the second.
Even engulfed in darkness, Pond laughed. And soon, the world brightened again with a clatter.
‘…What?’
Pond’s laughter faded. Bark, Lisel, Belia, Hye-ji, Tae-hoon, Han-ul, and Ian were all placing their hands on the Twin Dragon Sword. Some held the blade, some the grip, others the edge.
-What, what is this?
-Guild Hyun’s Forge members are gathering around the Twin Dragon Sword.
-What is happening here!
The entire world was focused on their close-up.
***
‘President, you look well these days.’
The once dull daily life of real estate tycoon Bark seemed to find new purpose.
‘…Participating in the Continental War? I believe you’ll shine.’
The youngest of the Hanseong Group, Lisel, had the expectations of Chairman Lee Taeseong.
‘The genius trio? Even so, in the Continental War…’
Hye-ji, Tae-hoon, and Han-ul still carried deep trauma, fearful of public scrutiny.
‘I’m scared…’
Belia, who hated fighting, fought to protect her guild members.
Each had their reasons, sharing a common thought.
‘I’m powerless…’
‘I didn’t realize I was so insignificant.’
‘Damn it…’
It was a series of despair. Just like common people believe they are special, they had hoped for their own brilliance. But their contributions were minimal, merely one among a thousand participants.
Yet, amidst the darkness, Hyun-soo’s guild chat appeared.
[Hyun-soo: I’ve imbued the true meaning of the Twin Dragon Sword.]
Drawn as if mesmerized by the glowing sword even in the darkness, they approached.
‘The true meaning of the Twin Dragon Sword…?’
‘What could it be?’
[Hyun-soo: Become the twelve ships.]
Twelve ships.
‘We, who couldn’t do anything here?’
Before they knew it, everyone had gathered in front of the Twin Dragon Sword.
[Hyun-soo: The power I’ve imbued this time is different from the one I gave to Ian. I was inspired by a flame I encountered recently.]
Bark was the first to reach out, and then one by one, the others also extended their hands to grasp the Twin Dragon Sword. The sword emitted a massive resonance.
[The most perfect twelve ships are completed.]
‘We are not such extraordinary people.’
Bark, having much, often felt an emptiness each night. Lisel was ridiculed by executives saying, ‘Isn’t the young master playing games these days?’ The Olympic trio endured common jealousies with people saying, ‘Aren’t they living off their past earnings?’
[Hyun-soo: Protect them.]
He and they shared the same sentiment. They were not driven by patriotism but by selfish desires. They sought the spotlight and pursued a better future for Hyun’s Forge than the day before. But that was not what the Twin Dragon Sword saw in them.
[A legend that saved the nation responds.]
The Twin Dragon Sword questions: why did you board this ship? By boarding this Turtle Ship, you might face death from the 500 Chinese players beyond those gates. The answer was simple.
‘Because we had to.’
‘We had to protect this sea. No, we had to stop them from crossing this castle.’
Finally, the flames spreading from the Twin Dragon Sword engulfed them.
[It burns the hottest.]
They became the twelve ships colliding with over 500 ships.
[It will be recorded in history.]
When they came to their senses, they had etched a new mark in Ares. And they realized.
[Legend: Those who had to board are recorded.]
That day, Joseon might have had to board the ship, just like them.
Cliche Novel 