Chapter 38
"From now on, I shall show you why this sovereign is called the Heavenly Demon."
Except for the word 'this sovereign,' it was a sentence that his worthless evil friend from his past life had enjoyed using.
Meaning he'd done a fairly good job of historical accuracy.
"Is now the time for that?!"
the Greatest Swordsman Under Heaven shouted.
Even roleplaying has its limits!
"Watch your back... huh?"
His eyes, which had been staring at Seo-jun with a dumbfounded expression, widened.
And he instinctively clenched his hand.
"Uh... uh?"
The enemy who had charged at Seo-jun after defeating him was likewise bewildered.
Three blades had flashed toward a single point from different directions.
So why was the enemy now behind him?
"How did he dodge and get here?"
"Careful! He's in Frenzy mode! Time's up!"
Man-nyang urgently shouted.
"I know! But I didn't see him!"
Having lost track of the movement, he had no way to deal with Seo-jun.
And because his stamina had been much more depleted than the other two from fighting the Greatest Swordsman Under Heaven, he was struck by Seo-jun's sword that had slipped behind him and died instantly.
[You have slain GiveMeFood]
[Enemy Fortress HP –20]
"Damn! Why is he so fast!"
Man-nyang used his lightness skill to flee from the pavilion that served as the capture point.
The way to deal with an enemy in Frenzy mode was to endure until it ended.
However.
They didn't know.
That Seo-jun predicted their movements and moved even before them.
"Where do you think you are going?"
Seo-jun overtook Man-nyang. And blocked his path.
It was a natural outcome. His speed was faster. And he had even started ahead of him.
Seo-jun's basic Taoist robe fluttered fiercely.
Man-nyang gulped dryly.
He had no confidence in breaking through Seo-jun to escape.
And Seo-jun, standing before Man-nyang, had a thought.
'They said the amplified movement speed in Frenzy mode is the same as when using lightness skill?'
He suddenly became curious.
"Everyone, how much faster do you get if you use lightness skill in Frenzy mode?"
-Ordinary people can't control their bodies at that speed and crash into walls lol
-Most only use lightness skill in Frenzy mode when chasing on open roads
-I've heard masters use it even during combat
Seo-jun checked the chat, adjusted his grip on his sword, and said.
"I see."
Frenzy mode didn't simply increase movement speed.
The speed of the body's overall movements increased.
To explain in game terms.
It meant his attack speed also increased. And that wasn't all.
"Where do you think you're reviving someone?"
Behind Man-nyang, who was facing him, Seo-jun spotted Cheon-nyang reaching out to revive the enemy who had fallen first.
And immediately, he put strength into his foot planted on the ground.
Crack!
He powerfully kicked off the wooden floor of the pavilion.
His speed was tremendous.
In an instant, he passed Man-nyang and slashed Cheon-nyang's body with his sword.
The enemy's health was already greatly depleted, so he died in a single blow.
[You have slain Cheon-nyang]
[Enemy Fortress HP –20]
However, even after cutting the enemy, Seo-jun's body didn't stop.
Rather, he flew with the momentum to crash into the wall.
'I expected this much.'
In that half-floating state, Seo-jun rotated his body.
Then he thrust his sword into the wooden floor and used that force to momentarily reduce his speed.
Skrrritch.
'That's fortunate. I tried it since the map could be affected.'
It went as he thought.
Once his speed was somewhat under control, Seo-jun again used his lightness skill, returned to his original position, and cut down Man-nyang.
[You have slain Man-nyang]
[Enemy Fortress HP –20]
In a flash, the battle had ended.
There weren't many viewers who accurately grasped the technique Seo-jun had displayed.
Still, everyone recognized that Seo-jun had shown an incredibly high-difficulty play.
-???? Went and came back and two are dead
-Kyah!
-Is that a Thunderclap Flash lol
-Why does this guy keep doing acrobatics instead of playing the game? lolololol
-I'm an 8,000-hour veteran in 'For the Sake of the Alliance', and you can control lightness recoil in Frenzy mode like that? Learned something new
-I can't forgive myself for doubting Seo-jun-nim and making a traitorous bet. What do I do?
-This is patriotism! This is the nation!
-Not a nation, you bastard
"What's going on here."
The now-corpse user Man-nyang looked back.
The one corpse had become two—no, three.
"You. Are you a noob-hunter?"
Noob-hunting was short for 'slaughtering the innocent civilians,' a term often used in the gaming world when an expert preys on beginners.
He was suspicious that Seo-jun was a malicious user who stayed in the beginner zone, specifically without joining any sect, and kept getting matched with beginners to fight.
In order to answer that question, Seo-jun thought about how his friend would respond in this situation.
'Kneel before us, you insignificant insects.'
Ah.
He really is a madman.
Seo-jun simply gave any random reply.
"This sovereign is the Heavenly Demon."
Man-nyang thought.
Madman.
"Sigh, but we still won the game. Your fortress will be destroyed soon."
Hearing that, Seo-jun looked at the chat window.
Wondering if there was some rule he didn't know.
-Oh really?
-Well, the fortress HP is indeed low
-But so what? The game only ends when you kill them directly
-It's funny he's mistaken for a noob-hunter but understandable lol
Fortunately, it didn't seem like it.
"Anyway. Let's try reviving someone."
The capture gauge of the point that had stopped began to rise again.
Seo-jun approached the Greatest Swordsman Under Heaven and started the revival.
"Wow, Heavenly Demon-nim. That was awesome. Amazing. This sovereign is impressed!"
-Not even 'the company commander was impressed,' what is this lolololol
-Please stick to one role lol
-A guy who lost a 1v1 is roleplaying now! All roleplaying confiscated for 10 minutes!
Green light swirled around and gathered toward the Greatest Swordsman Under Heaven.
And on the body of the Greatest Swordsman Under Heaven, a green timer also began to fill.
"But, Heavenly Demon-nim, is this really your first game?"
"Yes."
"No, but we might actually win this?"
[Capturing Point Eul (乙)]
[Enemy Fortress HP –100]
Seo-jun realized that in the game, the capture points were called Gap, Eul, and Byeong.
At that moment, dire news arrived.
[Blue: 0] vs [Red: 281]
[Your team's fortress has been destroyed]
[From now on, players cannot respawn]
Hmm.
"It seems you can finish reviving even if the fortress is destroyed while reviving."
The Greatest Swordsman Under Heaven added an explanation.
"When the fortress is destroyed, people can revive one last time. For me, it's because Heavenly Demon-nim is still reviving me. Otherwise, I would have revived at the fortress. But... there's one enemy who's pretty skilled, so he's probably waiting near our fortress to end things quickly..."
[Baekho--> Dealer]
[Baekho--> Church is a Spiritual Void]
More dire news arrived.
"See. I told you, right?"
"Hmm, so our teammates who just died can't respawn anymore, correct?"
"That's right. From what I see, the real noob-hunter is on the enemy team. He was taking on three of our team members by himself."
-Isn't that a questionable standard? lol
-<<
-But the streamer is worse than a noob-hunter. Keeps saying it's his first game, dealing massive self-deprecation damage
-But it was Baekho?
-Seo-jun-nim, that guy's more famous than you think
-He's still doing that lololol
-Jealous of the nickname
The user with the nickname Baekho really did seem to be a noob-hunter.
After reading the chat, he learned that fortunately, in 'For the Sake of the Alliance,' noob-hunters weren't a big problem.
The reason being that you quickly leave the beginner zone after playing the game just a little.
If the duration of staying in the beginner zone were long, noob-hunters could have become a game-ruining existence.
'Setting that aside, noob-hunting is definitely not a good thing.'
['That Person' has donated 10,000 won!]
[Became a bit famous after beating rankers in private 1v1 matches. Also called a newbie guillotine.]
-lololol he's a known name?
-'For the Sake of the Alliance,' a game famous for its noob-hunters.
-Rumor has it he's high-tier in other games.
"Thank you for the 10,000 won donation. I see."
Seo-jun conveyed his thanks without much thought, and the Greatest Swordsman Under Heaven, who was watching from the side, urged him.
"Heavenly Demon-nim, let's quickly go capture another point now."
He had grabbed his sword right after Seo-jun revived him.
But Seo-jun didn't budge.
"Why?"
Seo-jun looked at the Greatest Swordsman Under Heaven with genuinely uncomprehending eyes.
"Ah... well, it's because in this game you have to capture points?"
"Even if we just stay and hold the point, doesn't the enemy fortress HP keep ticking down anyway?"
"That's true, but."
"Then, we can just wait here."
"If we stay here, all four enemies will come at us together?"
"What's wrong with that?"
"Huh?"
-lololol
-Move a little, streamer!
-So lazy as always
"But..."
If we're outnumbered, we should roam the map and do guerilla warfare to create some variables, why stand still!
"It's fine. Would we lose just by doing this?"
-He's just confident he'll win no matter what lol
-As expected, if your body (skill) is good, your head doesn't have to suffer!
-A famous noob-hunter? Over here is the greatest GOAT in Assassin Order history!
-Ah lol, can you beat noob-hunters like Ettore, Drake, Magic Tower Lord, Knight King, Queen lololol
-Add the Assassin Order too
The viewers who had been watching Seo-jun's battles so far did not doubt his victory.
Even if the opponent was a famous user who had beaten rankers.
* * *
Someone burst out from the bushes.
An ID was displayed above their head.
It was a user.
[Baekho]
He prepared to slash diagonally with his sword.
The enemy who had spawned at the ruined fortress spotted Baekho and took a stance to parry.
In 'For the Sake of the Alliance,' if the parrying force wasn't sufficient, the one parrying would get staggered.
So the enemy made a large motion.
"Nope. Not happening."
However, Baekho was a noob-hunter who had played 'For the Sake of the Alliance' since its earliest days.
To him, 'For the Sake of the Alliance' was just a pastime.
When he wanted to lightly toy with people while playing other games, he'd log into 'For the Sake of the Alliance'.
Baekho smoothly retracted his sword mid-swing.
"Uh. Uh?"
It was a feint motion.
He had never put force into it from the start.
He had merely pretended to.
The enemy's sword failed to control the recoil, and taking advantage of that opening, Baekho pierced the defenseless enemy's throat.
Using sword energy.
The enemy's flustered face was visible.
"Goodbye."
[You have slain Dealer]
And while someone attacked Baekho from behind, he had known it from the beginning.
He used his lightness skill, and then used his martial arts again.
Actually, it was hardly martial arts.
In capture battles, your level rose based on contribution as you played, and as your level rose, the skills you could use also increased.
In the beginner zone, the usable skills were limited. Using sword energy was the extent of it.
Of course, if you joined a sect and refined your build, combat would gradually diversify, but that was annoying.
That was one of the reasons he stayed here.
Complicated games were enough with other games.
Here, he just wanted to mindlessly hunt noobs.
"Urgh."
Without even looking back, the extended sword energy pierced the enemy's stomach.
[You have slain Church is a Spiritual Void]
"Let's finish this quickly."
He checked the game interface.
Three of his teammates were dead.
"What's this?"
Looking at the kill log, three had been taken down by one person.
"Hmm. An interloper user. Another noob-hunter? Or just luck?"
He used his lightness skill and quickly ran towards the center.
Since his level had risen, his other stats had also increased accordingly.
It wasn't a game where growth was hugely important, but in a battle between experts, that subtle difference couldn't be ignored.
Same with skills.
"Well, it doesn't matter, but I hope they're another noob-hunter."
Because things that are too trivial aren't any fun.