Chapter 431: Start of War

Dragon Knight Lantino was known to be the strongest among the dragon race. There was a very famous story about him riding on the back of a dragon and fighting against tens of thousands of enemies. He was also one among the few dragon races that lived scattered all over the continent.

Lantino had chosen to live a life in seclusion after getting tired of fighting. But one day, a man came to him. The man introduced himself as Black Dragon and according to him Broque, the king of the dragon race, had fallen into eternal rest not too long ago. The man also told Dragon Knight Lantino to believe him and follow him. However, Lantino was already tired of fighting. Nevertheless, Lantino ended up going with him after the man visited him several times in a row.

There were quite a few reasons why Lantino came with the man, but it was mainly because Black Dragon was an extremely amazing man. He single-handedly supported the collapsing dragon race and helped them stand up once again. On top of that, Black Dragon was also gathering the scattered members of the dragon race that lived cut-off from the rest of the world.

‘This man has an immense amount of charm and appeal.’

Before he knew it, Lantino had already arrived at the Forgotten Dragon’s Land’s training ground with Black Dragon. Lantino was left in shock with what greeted him there.

‘He has already gathered this many dragon races?’

There was no denying the fact that this man was a very amazing person. Sweat dripped down Lantino’s forehead as he looked at the man beside him. This man was more than qualified to lead the dragon race.

More than 5,000 members of the dragon race, a number that was a first for a gathering of a race known for their low reproduction rate, gathered and lined up in front of Black Dragon. Not long after, Lantino grinned widely.

“Fufu. Are you the one that will join us to command the world in the future? Just the thought is making my blood boil already. I can’t control myself! Keuhaha!”

“Kekeke! That’s right. Join us and let us show the world how fearsome the dragons are! Keuhahaha!”

“Keuhahaha!”

“Keuhahahahaha!”

A laughter, reminiscent of a chuunibyou, rang loudly in the area! By the end of it, Dragon Knight Lantino stood in front of the troops and knelt down on one knee. He declared, “Oh great and strong man, I, Lantino, will be delighted to stay by your side and paint the world in despair! I can already hear their screams of agony. Keuhaha!”

If someone heard Lantino’s words, they would definitely say: ‘

That’s the?chuunibyou?ambassador!’

But Black Dragon just smiled a dark smile and said, “Keuhuhuhu! Let’s use the power going berserk in our right arms to either save the world or bring it to despair.”

That was right. The most decisive reason why Lantino joined Black Dragon was because they were comrade-in-arms. After all, Lantino was also someone that had also reached the peak of being a chuunibyou.

In the end, the 5,000-strong troops knelt down on one knee and cried loudly.

“The power in my right hand is going berserk! My burning and passionate heart can melt even the strongest of enemies!”

“The power in my right hand is going berserk! My burning and passionate heart can melt even the strongest of enemies!”

“Keuhahahahahahaha!”

“Kekekekekekeke!”

“Keuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu!”

Their crazy laughter rang loudly in the area.

***

Ares was very shocked to see Death suddenly rushing straight at them.

“Wh… why is Death here?!”

Before they invaded, they assumed that Death would not appear anywhere near Atlas. After all, Minhyuk had refused him when he asked to join his guild during the Athenae: World War.

The truth was, Minhyuk refused Death’s request in consideration for his circumstances and dreams and Death felt very grateful for that. However, the entire world did not know that.

And Death, who was now running straight towards them, was just working hard on his mission to become Rocard Kingdom’s ‘Tsun-tsun Death’ as usual. He secretly tagged along the convoy headed for Atlas Territory to protect the people of Rocard Kingdom in case they met with a group of monsters. The reason why he was secretly following them was because the convoy still loathed and resented him deeply.

So, Death hid behind the convoy while eradicating the monsters that popped out near them to make sure that they would have no inconvenience on their way to Atlas.

Hundreds of skeleton knights riding on top of death horses made of bones sprung up from the ground one after the other as Death swung his staff. They were the Death Cavalry! The Death Cavalry acted as vanguards as they rushed forward and collided with the leading enemy cavalry.

Slaaaaash—

Grab!

“Hihihihihing!”

Stab, stab, stab—

“Keuhaaaaaaack!”

“Dieeeeeee!”

A violent and fierce conflict occurred. Ares quickly took command as arrows and magic rained down from the sky.

Crack, crack, crack, crack—

A huge shield, the size of a house, made of bones rose from the ground the moment Death stabbed his staff on the ground.

[Undead’s Shield]

[A gigantic shield with additional 500% defense will protect the undead.]

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!

The shield’s high defense deflected countless arrows raining down from the sky. Even the magic bombs could not break through the Undead’s Shield’s defense. Fifteen Death Knights also started to move from both sides, wiping out the enemy cavalry in an instant. By that time, Death was already standing in front of Ares.

“This is none of your business, Death. Stand back. If you don’t stand back now, even your Kingdom of Death will also be implicated.”

Death looked at Ares and the people around him sharply. These people were the best guild leaders of the country. This meant that a considerable number of guilds in the country joined hands and came here with the determination to thoroughly destroy the Let’s Eat Sect. No matter how strong and excellent the Let’s Eat Sect was, it would be hard to fight against dozens, no, perhaps hundreds of guilds that have joined hands together.

Hyenas were no match for elephants, but if hundreds of hyenas ganged up to fight against an elephant, the story would change. Ares had given Death a warning. He was warning him that if he did not step back at this point in time, then their alliance would destroy him.

But Death’s gaze remained indifferent.

“Shall we go first?”

Screech!

“F*ckers! A single person is scaring you?! Kekekeke! Keuhahahahaha! Hihihihihihi!”

The players turned pale after hearing Death’s grating laughter. Ares even gulped dryly as he said, “Your Death Knights can only exert 80% of their power from when they were alive. With plenty of rankers on our side working together, we will definitely be able to kill them all in one go. And the same is true with your liches.”

That was right. It did not matter if Death was strong. No matter how strong he was, he would be no match against several of the best Korean rankers gathered here. But then…

“Kihyeeeeeeee!” One of the skeleton knights burst out in an eerie laughter. Then, it flew fiercely while swinging its greatsword. And with the skeleton knight as the start…

Crackle—

The black robe that covered Death’s body disappeared in a burst of black flame.

Crack, crack, crack—

Bones sprang up from the ground and crept up his body, forming a bone armor. And finally, a giant scythe appeared in Death’s hand.

“Wipe them out.”

Ping—

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Following Death’s orders, the Death Knights brandished their swords as they dove deep within the rankers’ ranks. And it did not stop there. Five liches flew up into the sky and dispelled the magic that was coming their way.

Slash—

“Keuhaaaaack!”

Ares’ face distorted in pain after blocking the Death Knight’s sword.

‘What the hell…?’

Death Knights were literally knights of the dead and only Named NPCs could be made into one. However, even if they were Named NPCs before, they would lose most of the power and strength that they had in the past. After all, they have already died and they had to pay a price for eternal life. However, the Death Knights in front of Ares…

‘They still have their entire power?!’

In fact, the Death Knights really did not do much during the World War. This was because the Kingdom of Death had already swept away the enemies. And even if they missed some, the soldiers stationed inside the kingdom would deal with them. The ones that made wild assumptions about the Death Knights were Ares and the other rankers.

In an instant, hundreds of undead had squeezed into the gaps of their troops.

“Keuheup!” Ares groaned as he staggered back from the two attacks that he unwillingly allowed on his body. Even the other rankers were breathing hard. Then, Ares and Death made eye contact.

“Ahihihihihi!”

Chills crept up their spine after hearing Death’s eerie laughter. Only then did they realize that something was wrong.

Alas, it was already too late. Hundreds of undead had already squeezed through the gaps of their troops. Then, Ares turned to focus at Death, whose mouth started to open and say, “The Undead’s…”

Ares immediately used his skill to break away and escape as Death spat out the end of his words, “…Sacrifice.”

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

Hundreds of undead exploded from within the 4,000 strong troops. The explosion that burst out was beyond anyone’s imagination. It was to the point that even the elites of Barras Kingdom had been sent flying away, while those that were weaker disappeared without a trace.

“Do you realize who you’re trying to touch? Huh?! Kihihihihihi!”

Death’s upper body bent back as he howled loudly. In the eyes of the dying soldiers of Barras Kingdom, he looked like the devil incarnate.

“Ugh, uuuuuuuuuuugh…”

“Mo… monster…”

They either peed, turned pale, screamed, or ran away from fright. Meanwhile, Ares and the rankers all turned mute after seeing the explosion. Death was not just the ‘devil’, he was a disaster in and of itself.

***

Iris Guild’s Callian, together with his troops, headed towards the rear of Atlas Territory. The path that they chose to walk through a large field covered with reeds that were two meters tall.

Callian, who was walking low and slow, raised his hand. The thousands of troops behind him immediately came to a halt. When he looked forward, he saw a very tall man brushing his palms against the reeds and moving about with his eyes closed. Upon closer inspection, he saw the earphones stuck in the man’s ears.

“Who’s that?”

However, even if they did not know who the man was, they were certain that this man was a citizen of Atlas Territory. Everyone held their breaths and watched the situation just in case the man did something.

The man was thoroughly absorbed in the music, his eyes closed, clearly intoxicated. Then, tears began to drip down the man’s cheeks as he said, “Music… is the only drug allowed by the kingdom…!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Amidst the heavy silence, Archer Rovia used her ‘Enhanced Hearing’ and hummed the song the man was listening to.

“Assa~ a~ tiger swallowtail butterfly~ sat on a flowerbed~”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

A Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly crazy man appeared!

1. From Kim Heung-Kook’s song ????. You can listen to to the song here: