Chapter 1244

Chapter 1244

[

Alliance Quest

: Join the Battlefield.]

Rank

: S

Requirements

: Citizens of the Five Kingdoms.

Rewards

: Battle God’s Army Swordsmanship.

Penalty for Failure

: The destruction of the kingdom you’re affiliated with.

Description

: The kingdom you built is on the verge of collapse. Join the frontlines and save your kingdom. If you join the battlefield, you might get a chance to use the Battle God’s Army Swordsmanship.

The quest window appeared before all the players from the five kingdoms.

Players would often be driven by profits and benefits. Even so, they still felt strangely uncomfortable when they saw that the Masserrati Kingdom was on the verge of collapse. Upon hearing the notification about the quest, their expressions changed. They all grew excited and looked forward to acquiring the Battle God’s Army Swordsmanship.

The universally distributed swordsmanship for swordsman and knight class players was the Athenae Swordsmanship, which was divided into different levels: the low level, intermediate level, advanced level, and master level. Whenever a player increased their level by 150, swordsmanship evolved.

At the master level, the Athenae Swordsmanship’s first chapter had the following effects:

[An additional 1,600% damage will be inflicted once your quickly drawn sword cuts your enemy.]

[Your critical hit rate will increase by 40%, and your cutting power will increase by 10% upon successful attack on the target.]

With every increase in the level of the swordsmanship, the first chapter’s power would exert a more potent force.

Meanwhile, all of the players, who were controlled by the system to mimic Minhyuk’s movements, were all left shocked when they saw the effects of the Crescent Moon after it was activated. Everyone knew that this swordsmanship was only at Level 1. Yet the power that it could exert was far superior to the master level of Athenae’s Swordsmanship.

Among the stunned players was PD Kim Daeguk. Through his earpiece, he was kept informed about the situation in the station in real-time.

[PD... Is this... real...?]

Of course, PD Kim knew that Athenae would never allow this. Otherwise, the balance would be broken.

[You have used the Battle God’s Swordsmanship for the first time. You can only use the highest level of the Battle God’s Swordsmanship once.]

[After learning and acquiring the skill, the Battle God’s Swordsmanship will be weakened based on your level.]

Even after considering that, the power of the swordsmanship was still at a ridiculous level.

PD Kim stared at the werewolves that almost flooded the collapsed gates as the players cut them down. The players slowly fell from the sky and began sweeping the enemies on the ground. PD Kim was also one of these players, but he could only laugh incredulously at the sight before him.

‘Minhyuk, this is crazy. If it’s like this, then...’

[Our viewership rating has exceeded 30%!]

[It exceeded 33%...!]

[The viewership rating is increasing rapidly!]

‘Isn’t this more like our ATV Broadcasting Station’s viewership rating is skyrocketing...?’

The previous viewership rating was only 14%. Of course, it was already considered high.

[The Allied Races have lost 800,000 troops.]

PD Kim’s gaze landed on Minhyuk.

‘Let’s go. Let’s do this once and for all.’

Before, their allies had only a few hundred thousand left, but had now grown back to millions. Except for them, a fifth of their numbers were NPCs. The rest of the allies had landed on the ground and were looking at Minhyuk, standing at the center of the battlefield.

Then, he began to move again.

[The Battle God holds his sword upright with both hands.]

The players also moved along with Minhyuk.

[The Battle God gathers his mana.]

Like Minhyuk, the allies gathered their mana, creating a silver light that wound around their bodies.

[You have acquired the Battle God’s Army Swordsmanship.]

[Battle God’s Army Swordsmanship.]

[All of your stats will increase by 14%.]

[Your sword’s attack power will increase by 10%.]

[Your cutting power will increase by 10%. Your critical hit rate will increase by 20%.]

[The swordsmanship is two times stronger than usual!]

The silver light surrounding their bodies made their hairs flutter briefly before slowly scattering with the wind.

PD Kim felt his heart thump wildly as he watched Minhyuk take one step forward and step on the werewolves’ corpses amidst the disappearing silver light. And just like Minhyuk, they also took one step forward.

Minhyuk, who had moved closer to the gates to protect it, looked up at the sky with a cold and piercing glare. Up in the sky, hundreds of thousands of dragonkin with an equally cold glare shot down toward them.

[The Battle God puts his sword back in his scabbard.]

The players moved along and put their swords in their scabbards.

[The Battle God bends his knees.]

They, too, followed along.

[The Battle God draws his sword.]

The players also drew their swords.

At that moment, dozens of sword lights shot out from Minhyuk’s blade. At the same time, similar sword lights shot out from the players’ blades, numbering tens of thousands and spreading from the area near the gates to the rest of the battlefield.

[You have acquired the Battle God’s Swordsmanship’s Second Chapter: Sword of Flaming Destruction.]

[Sword of Flaming Destruction.]

[Fifteen sword lights carrying an additional 2,800% attack power will extend and cover an area with a radius of fifteen meters and cut down all enemies.]

[The sword lights will not stop its advance even after cutting down the enemies and will release blazing flames that will inflict an additional 150% damage per second.]

[The swordsmanship is two times stronger than usual!]

The fact that the swordsmanship was two times stronger than normal was already considered highly ridiculous. Nonetheless, the effects were even more unbelievable.

Millions of silver sword lights spread out and shot toward the hundreds of thousands of dragonkin descending from the sky. They looked like missiles shooting down an airplane. Despite having thick, durable, hard skins and a high HP volume, the dragonkin were left helpless against the sword lights and could only fall one after another.

[Our viewership ratings have exceeded 41%... This is crazy. PD...]

“Awoooooo! Awooooooooo!”

Reikan’s loud howls resonated all over the battlefield. As if on cue, the other races also began to cry out.

“Awoooooooo!”

“Chwiiiiiiiik!”

“Keuhaaaaaaaak!”

[Berserk Howl.]

[Emperor of Races Reikan has activated Berserk Howl.]

[All of the races’ stats have increased by 44%.]

[The races’ attack power has increased by 56%.]

[The races’ defensive power has increased by 43%.]

[The races’ movement speed has increased by 30%.]

[Reikan can no longer use Howl.]

When the other players appeared through a warp, their numbers had already surpassed the number of the troops of the Allied Races several times. After the two chapters of the Battle God’s Swordsmanship were activated, the number of the forces of the Allied had dwindled even more.

Although they had inflicted massive damage upon the enemies, they faced a huge problem. That was because many of the players who appeared had low levels.

Instead of nullifying any further buffs upon the Allied Forces, Reikan activated the Berserk Howl to strengthen his troops. Now that Allied Races had become at least 1.5x stronger, they began slaughtering these players. Because of that, many of the players died.

PD Kim, who skillfully dodged one of the attacks, fell behind along with many other players. Now, the scattered players have gathered in one place. The players, who were standing on the collapsing walls, also quickly came out and joined them.

Even though the Allied Forces had two million troops, they struggled to cope with the Allied Races, which only had 800,000 surviving troops.

[The Kingdoms’ Allied Forces have lost 60,000 troops.]

[The Kingdoms’ Allied Forces have lost 80,000 troops.]

[The Kingdoms’ Allied Forces have lost 120,000 soldiers.]

[The Kingdoms’ Allied Forces have lost 140,000 soldiers.]

What was worse was that the Allied Races’ speed continued to increase.

“Awoooooo!” Reikan howled, a sad cry that mourned the loss of the troops of the Allied Races. Meanwhile, the rest of the Allied Races’ troops turned their sadness into anger, pushing them further.

Regardless, Minhyuk stood still and did not budge.

[The Kingdoms’ Allied Forces have lost 180,000 troops.]

In an instant, the Allied Forces’ troops dwindled to 1.5 million.

[The Battle God holds his sword with his right hand and brings it to his left hand.]

The players raised their hands and followed Minhyuk’s movements.

[The Battle God swings his sword horizontally.]

The players' swords cut down the Allied Races' charging troops.

[You have acquired the Battle God’s Army Swordsmanship’s Third Chapter: The Butcher’s Sword.]

[The Butcher’s Sword.]

[The enemies will fall into a four-second stunned state. No one can resist this power.]

[Your attack speed will increase by 40%.]

[Your first attack will have an additional 1,600% attack power.]

[The swordsmanship is two times stronger than usual!]

The enemies, who had been hit by an absolute stunned state, were cut down. Although they followed the same movements as Minhyuk, the players chose their targets. The players were not stupid. Knowing that they would not be able to kill an enemy alone, they decided to work together in teams of two and attack a single target.

Slash, slash, slash–!

The players swung their swords at the troops of the Allied Races. Since the swordsmanship had become two times stronger, the duration of the stunned state had increased from four seconds to eight seconds. Not only that, but their attack speed had also grown almost twice as fast as usual.

Like a river stopped by a dam, its waters would not overflow but ripple and fluctuate if disturbed. The Allied Races, which had blocked their path, crumbled and collapsed miserably. In just an instant, the number of enemy troops dropped to 300,000.

[You have completely mastered the Battle God’s Army Swordsmanship.]

The players, controlled to follow Minhyuk’s movements, were finally set free. The fact that a single swordsmanship skill could make them stronger left them all in disbelief.

[PD, our ratings have exceeded 52%. This is the highest rating so far this year.]

PD Kim Daeguk was delighted. More than half of the country’s population witnessed the miracle that Player Minhyuk had created.

“Huh...?” PD Kim muttered, his tone filled with confusion as he looked at the blood spurting out of his chest.

[Your HP has dropped from 100% to 5%.]

A bright, blinking red light filled his vision, signaling that he had suffered enormous damage. Looking around, he realized that most players had been forced to log out.

[Emperor’s Claws.]

[Your claws will grip and tear apart the hearts of all individuals recognized as your enemies.]

[You have inflicted an additional 13,000% damage.]

[You have ignored all of your enemies’ defenses.]

PD Kim Daeguk’s level was at Level 600. He was considered to be one of the high-level players in attendance. However, many players who came here to acquire the Battle God’s Army Swordsmanship were below Level 600.

In a blink, 90% of their allies turned into ashes. At this moment, they realized that they had forgotten something.

They watched as Reikan took one step after another with Orc King Borlon, Dragonkin King Hadon, and Werewolf King Deinen.

The experts had judged that Reikan did not personally join the vanguard because of his ability to propagate, which was true. Reikan’s ability to propagate and reproduce would basically have no problems as long as the Allied Races could continue killing the humans. If the Allied Races were left in a dangerous situation, the story would be completely different.

[Emperor of Races Reikan. Level 921.]

The Allied Forces, which had lost 90% of their troops, were left in chaos as they continued to move forward. Fortunately, the people and soldiers of the Masserrati Kingdom were unaffected by the skill. They seemed lucky enough to escape its radius of effect.

Even so, the damage that the Allied Forces have received was incredibly ridiculous.

“Humans are just like that.” Reikan looked at them in contempt. “Just because you have gotten a bit stronger, you think you’re already at the top of the food chain and have already won the victory. What a foolish race.”

Then, his eyes turned to Minhyuk. Minhyuk was now finally standing side by side with the three other people, Ben, Brod, and Rundalk, who would fight alongside him according to his promise to the Luvien Empire.

At this moment, Reikan knew that the war of attrition with these soldiers was already meaningless. He looked at Minhyuk and said, “Your performance as you fought the battle with the Allied Forces was excellent. However, it was very disappointing.”

They finally clashed against each other. In a blink, Reikan’s claws slashed toward Brod. The man stumbled as blood gushed out from his chest. Immediately after that, Orc King Borlon jumped forward and began to pressure the injured Brod with his gigantic greatsword.

Bang, bang, bang–!

Reikan continued to move forward.

“The Beast’s Step.”

In a flash, Reikan, moving like a beast, appeared before Ben and sent him crashing to the ground. The Dragon King swooped down and grabbed Ben’s collar before soaring.

Then, Reikan appeared before Supreme Rundalk, his hands stabbing through his chest. As if on cue, Werewolf King Deinen jumped in from a distance and began to rip and bite Rundalk’s body apart.

Reikan swiftly moved and collided with Minhyuk. He said, “So, the Battle God is like this.”

Reikan knew Minhyuk was strong. However, he had previously felt that he could overwhelm him as long as he became the Emperor of Races, which was the case right now.

A groan escaped Minhyuk’s mouth as injuries of varying degrees appeared all over his body. Reikan threw him aside after dealing such huge damage. He smiled and thought,

‘We have to deal with them immediately and initiate the propagation process to raise our army again.’

Reikan looked around. The injured Brod was being pushed back by the Orc King’s strong and mighty greatsword. Rundalk was unable to escape Werewolf King Deinen’s strong bite. And the old man named Ben was being toyed with in the sky.

PD Kim, who watched everything, was in despair. He thought,

‘The Battle God is being humiliated in front of more than half of our population.’

Even Brod, Ben, and Rundalk, the people who they believed to be extremely strong, were being played with by the kings of the other races. It seemed like Battle God Minhyuk’s display of power earlier was nothing to them.

‘Is this the limits of a human...’

PD Kim bit his lips.

However, even though he was sent flying by Reikan, there was still a smirk hanging on Minhyuk’s lips.

[Battle God’s Voice.]

The Battle God’s Voice could be displayed and shown in various forms. He could draw pictures in the sky or allow his voice to ring everywhere. This time, he chose to display letters and words.

Letters made of light appeared in the sky above them.

[All of the Battle God’s power has been released.]

Everyone was dumbfounded.

‘Are you trying to show off right now?’

Then, the letters changed and turned into a notification window.

[Your transfer to become the Absolute God is completed. Penalty will be applied.]

When they saw those words, everyone realized Minhyuk was not showing off. They focused their attention on the letters that appeared in the sky.

[The Absolute God’s Pockets will be filled for three days.]

‘Absolute God’s Pockets? Wait. It hasn’t been three days since Minhyuk unlocked the Battle God’s powers, right?’

As the question appeared in their heads, Minhyuk began a countdown, “Five.”

“...?!”

In the sky above them, the letters changed into a notification window.

[The Absolute God’s Pockets will also be applied to subordinates recognized by the system with levels exceeding God's rank.]

The eyes of everyone present grew wide. This meant that it was not just Minhyuk who received the penalty. It meant that all of his vassals present here had received penalties.

“Two.”

[Your stats and skills will determine the weight of your filled pockets.]

This implied that one of the penalties was a decrease in their movement speed.

“Zero.”

Something huge fell from the sky. This huge thing was none other than the Absolute God’s Pocket that the notification window just mentioned.

THUD–!

When the large, invisible pockets wrapped around Minhyuk’s and his vassals' ankles and wrists fell to the ground, a colossal dent appeared. This caused a vast tremor that affected the entire area.

Stab– Stab, stab, stab–

The scream echoing in the sky above them changed. It was no longer the old man's groans but the dragonkin's shrieks.

“Keuhaaaaack!”

Dragonkin King Hadon fell to the ground. However, Ben’s spear followed right after him and pierced through his body several times per second.

“Keuhaaaaaack!”

The spear, which could not be blocked even if Hadon wanted to, pierced through the tough skin of the dragonkin and fixed him on the ground.

BANG–!

Like that, Dragonkin King Hadon was skewered to the ground by the spear in Ben’s hands.

[The Battle God shares all of the penalties that he received.]

Everyone turned to look at the sky and the letters that appeared once again above them.

[All of your stats will decrease by 30%. All of your skill levels will decrease by 2.]

[Because of the added weight in your pockets, your attack and movement speed will decrease by 9%.]

“Oh... oh... oh...” PD Kim sputtered, words unable to leave his mouth.

At that moment, the trembling voice of the staff at the broadcasting station rang in his ears.

[The viewership ratings have exceeded 60%.]