40. compensation
The golden radiance disappeared, and imp bodies rained down.
Everyone who watched couldn’t believe what happened in front of their eyes. In particular, the soldiers under the castle wall shed tears while looking at the savior who saved them, confused as to whether this was a dream or real life.
Doyoon looked at the corpse of the imp and thought.
‘Obviously, the imp army has become stronger than 100 years ago.’
What does that mean?
Could it be that only these 18 imps have been strengthened? Or, was the entire imp army strengthened?
If Satan’s power became stronger, would other corps commanders become stronger? And, is it possible to mass produce such a powerful imp?
I came up with several hypotheses through the given clues, but not much was known yet.
‘I’m tired.’
Doyoon felt a sense of exhaustion enveloping his body.
The Hyeonsword (顯劍) was not a skill that a level 3 mana could handle. Due to the efficient mana and characteristics of the new species [the first loose ballnik], it was barely realized by pouring all the mana.
‘However, compared to the mana that went into it, the power was more than I thought.’
Do-yoon recalled some of the explanations for [the first loose ballnik].
[The etymology of the word Războinic is the courage to challenge a distant ordeal. And it is a will that will not be broken even in the face of death.]
[Your will becomes stronger.]
As expected, the effect of the [First Loose Volnik] was exactly what Doyoon thought.
The point of the hyeonsword, the most important thing in materializing the status quo is willpower. This trait strengthened its willpower. Thanks to this, despite the small amount of mana, the power of the hyeonsword was able to be demonstrated more than expected.
‘It’s far more valuable than the [God’s Beast] trait, and it deserves to be called the best.’
Doyoon smiled with pride. Then, I looked at the system message in front of me.
[The skill ‘Hyeonsword’ has been created.]
He suddenly became curious.
‘What is the skill rate of [Hyeonsword]?’
Busker’s and Hecleus’s were originally the highest A-rate skills.
S-rate is a skill that is treated as a kind of authority and has an effect beyond common sense. It was originally impossible for a single martial art to receive an S rate.
However, by the 18th round, the technique of the sword that Enoch had taught them melted into martial arts, and it was sublimated to the level of S-rate. This can be seen from the fact that the busker formula in the 17th round has an A rate.
Busker and Hecleus did not understand the realization of the Hyeonsword as much as Enoch did until the end of the 18th inning.
It was natural. No matter how geniuses they were in the century, there was bound to be a stark difference from Do-yoon, who received the demon’s divine power with his body.
An elusive, light and shallow understanding like a feather. The two expressed their realization about the hyeongeom like that. Just by melting that much, the two martial arts received an S-rate.
‘then.’
What kind of rate was the real sword? Is it the S rate that corresponds to the maximum?
The moment Doyoon tried to display skill information to solve this question.
aa!!
A thunderous roar erupted from above and below the walls.
Soldiers on the walls raised their weapons into the air and shouted cheers, while foot soldiers below the walls howled at their throats.
The knight also clenched his fists at the thrilling sight from earlier.
‘A man of that level!’
Firing a sword is not something anyone can do. It is a high level skill worthy of being called a special move as a swordsman, which can only be demonstrated when at least level 7 of the [Swordsmanship] skill and level 3 of the [Swordsmanship] skill are reached.
And that wasn’t all.
‘It was on a different level from the sword skill ejection I had seen before.’
That apostle’s was more subtle and heartbreaking.
It wasn’t just the release of mana wrapped around the sword, it was something more fundamental. It wasn’t like sword energy being ejected, it was just… too simple, it was more like a ‘cutting’ feeling.
The length of the sword he gave me was around 1m. However, his sword clearly cut farther. This was clearly a different phenomenon from sword fighting.
‘The sword… of martial arts… saw a new horizon.’
It was so far away that it was not something I dared to imitate, but just seeing it was a sight that would make me proud as a swordsman for the rest of my life.
‘He must be an apostle of the highest level, equivalent to a hero.’
If the knight had seen Do-yoon’s abilities, if he knew that none of Do-yoon’s skills exceeded level 3.
He was probably even more shocked than when he saw the scene just now.
The apprentice knight was the same. He, too, opened his mouth wide at Doyoon’s confidence, and did not know how to close it.
‘This fuck… I thought he was just a mercenary…’
The madness caused by the imp’s curse disappeared, and the memories of ignoring Do-yoon in front of him came to mind.
‘Fucked.’
His complexion, which had barely regained its color, turned white again.
As the soldiers screamed at their throats, the knight jumped down the wall and landed bluntly. The apprentice knight also hesitated, and followed him down, scratching the wall.
The knight with the apprentice knight behind him trudged and stood in front of Doyun.
And, he bent his back.
“thank you.”
“It was something I had to do.”
It wasn’t modesty, it was just a plain tone, as if it was too natural. The knight trembled in his bowl.
He straightened his upper body, turned around and shouted in a mana-filled voice.
“He is the hero of this war, who saved the city and its citizens! Open the gates and make your way to the lord’s castle!”
aa!!
intervening profit. The city gate, which had been firmly closed in fear, opened slowly, and I saw the citizens who filled the streets and shouted cheers.
“Please go in.”
Doyoon nodded.
All citizens, including citizens and soldiers, cheered at the bloody hero’s entry.
Do-yoon walked along the central street toward the castle, listening to their cheers that rang through the land, the walls, and the air.
+++
It was extremely quiet inside the wagon of the World Tree that was running on the road above the city. The atmosphere was the worst.
Not to mention Eloa and Millain, and the World Tree’s elite corps, which were made up of reinforcements, were the same.
They also knew about the jockey’s super rookie who received 10,000 gold coins as a down payment. Such a person was caught up in the war.
Considering that he was an apostle who had just graduated from the cradle, if the city fell before they arrived, his chances of survival would be extremely low.
Besides, Muspelheim requested reinforcements. Through measuring long-distance energy, they strongly predicted that the city that was attacked would not survive for less than an hour.
At this point, Millaine was actually putting her mind together. Do-yoon’s chances of survival were too low.
Although she may seem a bit emotional in everyday life, she was a calculating person who thoroughly distinguished between public and private affairs when it came to handling work. That’s why he holds the position of secretary and sub-master of the World Tree.
But Elroa’s complexion looked really serious.
No matter what happened, he was a master who always led the guild in the right direction based on his calm charisma and 100 years of experience. However, this time, even before departure, she was exceptionally emotional.
That look only got worse over time. To put it bluntly, Millaine, who had been as upset as Elroa before departure, was embarrassed and worried about her.
“Oh, master…”
No matter how much Milaine tried to comfort her, Elroa’s condition showed no signs of improving.
She bent over, muttering something, biting her nails and shaking her legs.
“No… again… again… I don’t want to be separated… please… please…”
It really looked like something had gone terribly wrong.
The guild members shook their heads.
Among them, there were those who were forcibly brought in after the guild masters issued a general mobilization order. Even though they were a minority, they were dissatisfied with their hearts even before departure, but after seeing Eloa, their dissatisfaction disappeared.
“Master… We will arrive at the warp portal soon. You should calm down and prepare for battle… Huh?”
“I can’t do this… please…”
“Master…”
While Millaine was busy placating Eloa, they arrived at the warp portal in the Skeletonian capital.
The portal manager who had been contacted in advance disregarded all the procedures according to the wartime situation manual and let the wagon pass right away.
So the carriage arrived at the capital of Lockenmeyer. It was the nearest warp portal, about two hours away from the attacked city.
However, upon reaching the capital, someone stopped them.
“stop! Stop!”
The carriage stopped, and Millaine raised her eyebrows at the sudden situation and shouted.
“What are you doing! I didn’t hear from you!? It’s an urgent situation! Act according to the wartime situation manual!”
“I belong to the Royal Guard of the Royal Palace of Lockenmeyer. Are you the reinforcements of the Skeletonian World Tree?”
“You can’t understand by looking at the carriage insignia!? I mean Vicky!!”
She, now much more sensitive than Do-yoon because of Master’s worries, screamed.
The guild members felt the same way. They were heartbroken at Lockenmeyer’s stifling administrative handling. What kind of situation is it that you are doing a leisurely inspection?
However, the reason why the guards stopped them was completely different from what was expected.
“I will report you. The demon army that attacked the border city was successfully repulsed, and the city is safe. The situation is over.”
“Yes?”
Millaine, who was ready to scratch his face like a cat at any moment, relaxed her expression and let out a dazed sound.
“What, what does that mean? How the raid has already ended…”
At that time, Eloah opened the carriage door and jumped out, grabbed the guardsman and asked.
“repulse? Repulsed? Is the city all right? Then casualties! The casualty situation!”
“This is troublesome!”
“master!”
“What happened to the casualty status! Oh no…! Find only one person! Send a telegram to the city, make sure that one person is alive! yes!?”
The guardsmen were greatly taken aback by the unexpected and reckless momentum. Even the opponent was a huge mogul, so I couldn’t shake my hand or ignore it. What do we do?
He remembered the old man’s words. In this case, the correct answer was to just follow the manual unconditionally.
“Gye, keep reporting! The enemy raiding force was Satan’s imp army, the commander of the Demon King’s army, and was repulsed by one reinforcement of the Skeletonian World Tree!”
“Yes?”
“The apostle is unharmed, and there are no civil casualties! Urban casualties are yet to be ascertained! over this! I will finish my report!”
Upon hearing those words, everyone in the carriage, including Millaine, poked their heads out of the window. Their expressions were the same as Eloa’s, as if they were stamped on a plate.
What did that soldier just say?
‘Repelled by whom?’
They doubted my ears.