98 – Invasion (2)
The Great Hero, the Divine Sword, Arwen.
Her strength is already evident from the title she bears.
The title of Great Hero is a title bestowed only upon truly powerful individuals throughout the continent.
The title of the Divine Sword is a title that highlights her strength even more than the title of Great Hero she possesses.
The title “Sword Deity” meant that on this continent, there was no one better at wielding a sword than her.
In addition, her journey so far had already proven her strength several times, making her unquestionably enter the realm of a true hero.
Therefore, when news of demons appearing in the Tolran Territory reached her, she showed no particular disturbance. Instead, even upon hearing that demons were advancing, she could smile.
They had the renowned hero, Arwen, leading them.
And there were thousands of well-trained soldiers.
So, no one, not even the soldiers or Arwen herself, thought of losing to the demons.
“Ah…”
They never considered it.
“Cough-!”
Arwen raised her head with a helpless expression, spitting out red blood.
Visible were the bodies of soldiers with their throats slashed and sprawled on the ground.
Beside them, the officer who had talked about having meat stew with his wife just this morning was now writhing on the ground, only his neck remaining, his face unable to even close his eyes.
That wasn’t the only thing.
If one expanded their view a little more, there was hell.
Humans being hunted by monsters.
Soldiers accepting demons, emitting a purple aura, casually laughing and engaging in a massacre. The tragedy was etched in Arwen’s eyes.
And.
“Huh-“
With blurry eyes, Arwen was able to see where the laughter had flowed.
The demon who was laughing at her.
“hehehehe-“
The laughing demon was clearly humanoid, but had a very different appearance from humans.
Their skin was as tough as steel, their eyes were burning with purple flames, and dozens of blades were swirling on their arms.
The things on their cloak, resembling eyes, were constantly fluttering and looking around, and the two long horns on top of their head were flowing with purple magic, as if to say that they were not ordinary demons.
And…
“As a great hero, you fight well. I must admit that.”
It spoke, opening its mouth.
With a voice that sounded like scraping metal, it smiled with a twisted expression on its lips—not it.
“But in the end, you’re just a speck.”
Agaress, the commander of the third legion of demons, walked towards Arwen, laughing mockingly and wearing a futile expression as he knelt before her.
Even in that moment, as if not giving up, Arwen waited and swung her sword.
Clang-!
“!”
Arwen’s swung sword was blocked by Agaress’s thumb and index finger.
With a surprised expression, Arwen immediately tried to withdraw her sword, but…
Crack-!
“Ugh-!”
In the blink of an eye, his fist, extended towards her heart, pierced through Arwen’s heart.
Thud-!
Ageres casually brushed his hands, sending the lifeless body far away.
Thus, Arwen, one of the continent’s strong, a great hero, met her end without even putting up a decent fight, her heart bursting.
And.
“I thought it would be a bit amusing that he created a hero like us to stop us… Well, it seems not much of a threat after all.”
Muttering so while looking at Arwen’s corpse, Ageres turned his gaze towards the devastated territory.
Unlike the previous Norba Kingdom’s territory, Ageres, seemingly amused by the utterly ruined land where no one could survive, gazed at the ruins.
“…This is brutal.”
Turning his attention to the voice coming from behind, he opened his mouth.
“Kelbain?”
“Yeah, did you really have to tread so brutally like this?”
Kelba’s sudden question.
“What are you saying? After all, finding pleasure in trampling and destroying others’ wars is what war is about, how could I give up that enjoyment? Huh?”
However, Ageres, instead of responding seriously, chuckled as if finding joy in it. Kelba, who silently stared at him, soon replied.
“Doesn’t matter, I guess.”
A brief affirmation.
“Is that so?”
In response, Ageres nodded satisfactorily.
“Well, then let’s swiftly hand over the offerings to the capital and move on to the next area, shall we?”
With those words.
“Did you say Laritania?”
He chuckled and took a step forward.
####
A few days after Kim Hyun-woo talked to River about the missile.
—-
Territory of Laritania.
Territory Development: 2280
Territory Residents
[Humans: 13,920]
Owned Buildings
[Lord’s Castle LV1 ＞＞＞ Upgrade in progress 99% [Temporary pause]]
[City Walls LV3]
[Residential Zone LV4 ＞＞＞ Upgrade in progress 1%]
[Blacksmith LV4 ＞＞＞ Upgrade in progress 0%]
[Barracks LV4]
[Tavern LV3↑]
[Market LV2 ＞＞＞ Upgrade in progress 0%]
[Lumber Mill LV1 ＞＞＞ Upgrade in progress 32%]
[Restaurant LV3↑]
[Leather Processing Plant LV1 ＞＞＞ Upgrading 35%]
[Stone Processing Plant LV1 ＞＞＞ Upgrading 0%]
[Trading Post LV1 ＞＞＞ Upgrading 0%]
[Secondary Wall LV3]
[Inn LV2 ＞＞＞ Upgrading 0%]
[Administrative Zone LV2 ＞＞＞ Upgrading 0%]
[Paved Road LV0] [Under Construction 0%]
External Buildings
[Mercenary Guild LV0] [Under Construction]
[Mage Tower Branch LV0] [Under Construction]
[Blacksmith Guild Branch LV1↑]
Troop Composition
From Noble mtl dot com
-Regular Soldiers: 200
-Trainee Soldiers: 200
—-
Kim Hyunwoo smiled as he looked at the steadily growing territory.
Since the development score of the territory had surpassed 2000, there had been a rapid acceleration. It had already reached 2280 in no time, and the population of the territory had exceeded 10,000, approaching 14,000.
Moreover, considering the estimates of mercenaries gradually coming in, which were now looking towards over 20,000 and even reaching 30,000 at the current rate, in fact, those engaged in economic activities within Larutania’s borders were close to 40,000.
‘If we consider 40,000… It’s only about an eighth of the population of Larutania at its peak. We’re still far from reaching our peak, but considering it’s only been about half a year since I started seriously developing the territory…’
Despite that, when considering that it had been just over half a year since he had truly started expanding the territory, the pace at which his territory was growing was truly remarkable. Even looking beyond the terrace, the growth of the territory was strikingly visible.
The scenery Kim Hyunwoo sees from Yeongjuseong is changing significantly day by day.
“Now, if they just lay a paved road, it will definitely give off an old Larthania vibe, at least on the side facing the fortress.”
This was his thought as he observed the materials being piled up from the far end to build a brick-paved road just a moment ago.
However,
“Mazoku are targeting our territory and advancing?”
“Yes…!”
The story that reached Kim Hyunwoo shortly after was no laughing matter, and as he listened to the guard’s report, he made a vacant expression, soon turning it into a contemplative one.
“So, let’s simplify the story. The Mazoku allied with Randalon Duke have devoured the territory of the Norba Kingdom, and now those Mazoku are coming to Larthania’s territory?”
“Yes…! According to the rumors, they might arrive here in about three days.”
After the soldier’s report, Kim Hyunwoo sighed and thought, turning his gaze subtly.
Observing mercenaries outside the terrace moving around with what seemed an obviously uneasy demeanor, Kim Hyunwoo pondered.
‘Why the Mazoku, after all?’
The first and obvious thing was the question.
He understood the situation.
When Kim Hyunwoo played the game, only a hint about the Mazoku had come out: they allied with Randalon Duke, devoured Norba Kingdom’s territory.
However,
‘Why?’
Kim Hyunwoo didn’t understand at all why those Mazoku would come to Larthania’s territory.
If Randalon Duke had rebelled and devoured the kingdom, the proper course of action for him would be to stabilize the country. Especially in this medieval era, authenticity became an important factor in various ways.
However, the Duke of Randalon had sent his army not to stabilize the nation, but to immediately attack Lartania.
It seemed like he had no intention of dealing with the aftermath.
Kim Hyun-woo, who was contemplating, asked,
“…Do we have an estimate of the enemy’s forces?”
“It hasn’t been properly calculated yet, but it seems like there are a lot. There might even be monsters among them.”
“Hmm…”
Listening to the soldier’s words, Kim Hyun-woo briefly pondered in silence, tilting his head several times, but soon sighed and finished his thoughts.
After all, he realized that he would never be able to figure out the reason why the demons were coming here, no matter how much he thought about it.
In other words, at this point, what Kim Hyun-woo needed to do was not to contemplate, but to stop the invading demons. And so, he fell into contemplation.
“…Currently, Lartania doesn’t have that many forces.”
Honestly speaking, if the demons were to come to Lartania, there were not enough soldiers to stop them.
The Lartania territory had not yet properly grown, and it had only taken its first steps as a labyrinth city. It was still insufficient to become the strength of Lartania.
That’s why Kim Hyun-woo, who was contemplating, suddenly let out a quiet sigh.
Now that he thought about it, there was one thing he had forgotten.
That’s why.
“River… no, call the Guild Master here.”
Recalling River’s invention that he had seen recently, Kim Hyun-woo opened his mouth.
“Talking about missiles?”
“Yes.”
A little later, Kim Hyun-woo, who met River when she came to the office, could soon have a conversation with her.
“Well… honestly, launching a missile right now is possible. If we can prepare it as Maeng-woo said, it can definitely serve as the energy source for the propulsion system.”
“Is that so?”
Kim Hyun-woo responded with a bright expression.
However, in contrast, River, with a cautious expression, spoke after a moment.
“But, the missile… is it intended to be fired at the demons advancing towards Lartania?”
“That’s right. You knew?”
“Well, it’s hard not to know with the chaos outside right now. Once rumors start spreading in the territory, it becomes uncontrollable.”
River said that and, after carefully choosing her words for a moment, cautiously opened her mouth.
“To be honest, Maeng-woo, defeating demons with just that missile is impossible. Surely, the firepower of the missile I created is tremendous, but with just one shot… it won’t be enough to defeat a legion.”
“Hmm…”
Certainly, what River said was not entirely wrong.
In the end, the missile she created could undoubtedly be launched and, at the same time, by creating a warhead and attaching it, it could produce an effect similar to an actual missile. However, it was just one shot.
Moreover, even if it was possible to create a warhead, it was uncertain how powerful the actual firepower would be.
But.
“It’s okay.”
Kim Hyun-woo, instead of expressing concern at River’s words, smiled and spoke.
“…Is there any solution?”
In response to River’s continued inquiry, Kim Hyunwoo let out a subtle laugh.
“In the world I lived in, there was a missile that could end a war with just one shot.”
With those words, he smiled.
At that moment, on the hills in Lartania,
“… Invade Lartania?”
Sirens and half-beast tribes murmured quietly.
Man the MC is doing it the American way