It seems I wasn’t the only one thinking that way.
Perched atop the fortress wall, Go Yeon-ju suddenly wobbled, nearly losing her balance. She barely steadied herself, blinked rapidly, and glanced back at me.
“What’s she saying?”
“Is she crazy?”
Looks like someone else had the same thought.
“Well, well! Surrender? Ha! Ha ha ha ha!”
Kim Deok-pil laughed loudly, as if deliberately making sure everyone could hear. Eldora, who had been standing quietly nearby, narrowed her eyes slightly—clearly she caught every word.
—Who are you?
The voice echoed again, amplified and chilling, laced with hostility and deadly intent.
But Kim Deok-pil just snorted and strode forward, planting one foot between the battlements. Then he shouted:
“I’m your father!”
“Puhahaha!”
Jin Su-hyun burst out laughing first, and the laughter quickly spread around. Cha So-rim kept her usual solemn expression, but her shoulders trembled slightly, as if she were desperately holding something back. Honestly, I couldn’t help but smile a little too.
What Kim Deok-pil said wasn’t bad. After all, morale is the most important thing right before battle. Eldora must know that, which is why she was acting so cocky.
—They’re not worth dealing with.
The words slipped from Eldora’s twisted lips, vibrating with venom.
Yeah, she must be furious. It seems she was trying to turn the tide after yesterday’s defeat, but Kim Deok-pil met her head-on. The insult was so outrageous it had an unexpectedly strong effect.
As the laughter gradually died down—
—Shut your mouths!
Suddenly, a harsh curse rang out sharply through the air.
—You yellow monkey bastards, I’ll tear you apart!
It wasn’t Eldora’s voice. A dark-skinned man suddenly appeared, shouting furiously. What was unusual was that half his face was wrapped in bandages. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be from the Odin clan, though his features were hard to make out.
Right. Wasn’t he Akilov, the “Knight of Fierce Flames”?
—And you, the lightning-summoning mage from yesterday! Prepare yourself! I’ll personally cut you to pieces!
Lightning-summoning mage?
Ah.
“Hmm.”
My brother shrugged and calmly raised his right hand.
“Ah, no need to exert yourself, brother-in-law.”
At that moment, a languid, sweet voice interrupted his gesture.
“Using lightning for a trivial matter? Isn’t that a bit excessive?”
Go Yeon-ju smiled seductively, speaking softly and coaxingly. My brother seemed to consider it for a moment, then nodded as if it made sense. Her smile deepened. Still perched on the wall, she looked back at me.
“Suhyun? I want to shut their mouths for a bit. No, I mean, just stretch my legs for a moment.”
She seemed to have changed her words quickly in front of my brother, but I’m sure the first was her true intention—to firmly crush their morale before returning. Of course, there was no reason to refuse that request.
“If you’re confident you’ll come back alive.”
“Oh? Are you going to buff me?”
Go Yeon-ju beamed, clearly pleased by the concern.
Then, in an instant—
“…!”
Go Yeon-ju’s divine form vanished.
No—
In the blink of an eye, she melted into the shadows cast over the fortress wall. Then, a stealthy shadow surged fiercely toward the enemy lines.
Moments later—
“Gah!”
A desperate scream tore through the air. Turning my eyes, I saw a fountain of blood erupting among the dense troops. All that was visible were startled users and a fleeting shadow.
“Ahhh!”
Before the first victim even hit the ground, another scream rang out. A woman in a robe fell hard, landing on her backside twenty meters away. Both her ankles were completely torn apart.
“Ugh!”
Before she could even catch her breath, a third scream exploded. This time, a man in a white robe collapsed. The fourth scream followed immediately, and only then did the enemy begin to murmur in alarm.
Eldora looked genuinely flustered. She kept turning her head, clutching her gleaming sword. Then, a woman with violet hair suddenly dashed out, her horned whistle swinging at her neck… Wait, a horned whistle? That must be Natalie, the “Knight of Reconnaissance.”
As one of Odin’s top-ranked users among the Round Table Knights, I remembered her clearly. She was definitely not someone to underestimate.
But—
“Ugh!”
“Ahhh!”
She seemed outmatched against the Shadow Queen. Judging by how she was trying to track Go Yeon-ju’s movements, she was barely keeping up.
But she couldn’t match her speed. Go Yeon-ju flashed here and there so fast that Natalie couldn’t predict where she’d go next. She kept making awkward moves—trying left, then right, then back left again. Meanwhile, Go Yeon-ju was teasing her, having already drawn out her tenth scream.
Go Yeon-ju’s divine power was truly astonishing. Most of the enemy looked on in disbelief.
“Eek!”
Natalie’s face twisted in frustration. Suddenly grabbing her horned whistle, she took a deep breath and blew.
Pwooooooo!
It seemed she was using some ability in Go Yeon-ju’s direction.
Moments later, the continuous screams abruptly stopped. Natalie squinted and looked around, then ground her teeth and glanced back at the fortress. She had no choice—Go Yeon-ju was already back, sitting seductively on the wall, legs crossed just as before. In other words, Natalie’s effort was in vain.
Go Yeon-ju flicked the blood off her hands, caught Natalie’s gaze, winked, and even blew a kiss from her palm.
Less than a minute later, ten users had become casualties. They’d been completely toyed with. If I were in their shoes, I’d be furious too.
“Grrr!”
Natalie glared at Go Yeon-ju with fierce eyes, her fists trembling with rage. The morale boost was a complete success.
“Good…”
I was about to say it was a good performance when a strange killing intent prickled my senses. Among the Round Table Knights at the front, someone raised a crossbow, aiming high. The woman with braided hair had eyes sharp and fierce, like a predator stalking prey.
Before long, her body twitched slightly.
Screeeech!
Almost simultaneously, a bolt gleamed in the sunlight as it shot forward, aimed directly at Go Yeon-ju.
“Aegis System!”
Kaaang!
A white hexagonal shield generated by Baek Han-gyeol blocked the bolt just in time. Not only did it stop the attack, but it reflected the bolt straight back toward the woman.
The shooter’s eyes widened in shock—she hadn’t expected it to be reflected. But before she could react, a white-haired user dashed in, raising a white shield to block the returning bolt.
As a pale, misty barrier formed around the shield, the bolt was deflected. Then, suddenly, a crimson flash struck hard.
Pzzzzzt!
“Ahh!”
A scream burst out. The shield seemed to hold at first, but the crimson arrow pierced through like a needle, shattering the barrier like an eggshell.
The white-haired woman collapsed, hit in the abdomen by the arrow and bounced off the ground. Watching her roll, I suddenly realized who had fired that arrow.
Glancing sideways, I saw Seon Yu-woon lying on the watchtower, licking his lips. Good. This should be the turning point.
Below the fortress, the Southern Continent’s forces were in chaos. The momentum of the siege had shifted. They had charged in confidently at first, but after taking hit after hit, confusion set in. Odin’s Round Table Knights were being pushed back one after another. Even Eldora’s indifferent gaze was quietly shaken.
Realizing this couldn’t continue, a towering figure stepped forward. His bulging muscles suggested a warrior, but his neat white robe marked him as a priest.
“Hey, why is Jae-ryong uncle over there?”
Ansol tilted her head innocently. The real Shin Jae-ryong smiled wryly.
Meanwhile, the giant priest drew a massive mace and raised it high. Wait, I remember “Knight of Judgment” Edward too.
“Face judgment!”
At that moment, a stern shout rang out, and a flash of light exploded—
Bang!
The fortress wall where the light struck crumbled and collapsed. Baek Han-gyeol, tense and ready, looked stunned. He must have been preparing to reflect the attack, but the spell triggered instantly as it was cast, leaving no time to block.
“Face judgment!”
Bang!
Another flash struck somewhere, and a terrible scream echoed from the wall. Below, the commotion quieted, and a slow cheer began to rise. The giant swung his mace left and right as if taunting, then opened his mouth wide.
“Deliver divine punishment!”
Flash!
Just as someone suddenly shouted out of nowhere, three or four streaks of white lightning tore across the clear sky. Those struck directly by the bolts crumpled silently, emitting pale steam as they collapsed. In that stunned moment, my eyes caught Ansol stepping forward.
“Huuuu…”
Ansol exhaled deeply, then gulped down air until his cheeks puffed out. Clenching his eyes shut, he let out a fierce shout.
“Let divine punishment fall upon them!”
Flash!
Another lightning bolt, similar to before, struck the formation again. Geohan, who had been turning around in surprise, quickly gripped his mace. At the same time, both our side and the Southern Continent began hastily chanting defensive spells.
“Face judgment!”
Bang!
“Let divine punishment fall!”
Flash!
“Face judgment!”
“Let divine punishment fall!”
“Face judg—!”
“Let divine punishment fall!”
“Face judg—!”
“Let divine punishment fall!”
“Fa—judgment…!”
“Let divine punishment fall!”
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Flash, flash, flash, flash!
—Ha ha, ha ha ha! Oh my, this is hilarious!
Hwajeong was laughing uncontrollably, as if this fierce battle between Judgment and Divine Punishment was the funniest thing in the world.
In the end, the goddess of victory smiled not on Judgment, but on Divine Punishment. Every time Divine Punishment activated, it tore through the enemy’s shields like paper, dealing damage, while Judgment was blocked three out of four times.
It made sense, really. Though the two powers were similar, their strength depended on the user. According to the Third Eye’s reading, Geohan’s magic power was 88 points.
Ansol, however, boasted a full 100 points. This was a fight destined to have a gap from the start. Three wins, three wins.
I looked down with satisfaction. The Southern Continent’s formation had turned into a mess, and Geohan had stopped chanting, retreating with a pale, shaken face. Meanwhile, Ansol was—
“Let divine punishment fall! Let divine punishment fall! Let divine punishment fall! Let divine punishment fall! Let divine punishment fall! Let divine punishment fall! Let divine punishment fall! Let divine punishment fall! Let divine punishment fall! Let divine punishment fall! Let divine punishment fall! Let divine punishment fall!”
Zza-za-za-za-za-za-za!
It was as if he’d been possessed by an outsider—or no, this was over the top. His face was flushed bright red.
Bang!
“Ah!”
Suddenly, with a loud explosion, Ansol tumbled to the ground. Eldora, hair standing on end, gritted her teeth and aimed Excalibur at him. She must have taken matters into her own hands, unable to stand the situation any longer.
“That guy, seriously!”
I turned to see Ansol sprawled on the floor, breathing heavily but fierce. His eyes sparked with fiery determination.
“Ah, Miss Ansol! Are you alright?”
“Let me go! I said, let me go!”
Shinjaeryong rushed over, but Ansol pushed him away roughly.
“Interfering in a one-on-one fight? That’s cowardly!”
“Just you wait! You’ll regret this!”
Shouting that, he sprang up and plunged his hand into the baby Chaos Mimic slung over his shoulder. Before anyone could stop him, he pulled something out and threw it with all his might, as if daring someone to catch it.
Perhaps infused with magic, the object traced a long arc through the air, flying powerfully.
Suddenly, Lee Yujeong clutched her head, then reached out too late.
“No, no! One million gold points…!”
She sounded regretful, but the object had already dropped smack in the middle of the formation.
Hmm, one million gold points? What did he just throw?
Come to think of it, it looked like some kind of monster summoning box…
“……”
…Huh?
—Huh?
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
Huh?