Chapter 129: War Preparation (4)

[The Spirit Familiar has successfully evolved. The knight of death, Death Knight has been created.]

[You have achieved...]

[.....]

[Death Knight has pledged allegiance to you. Binded to the 'Despair of the Black King,' it will become your trusted sword and shield.]

[Will you assign it a name?]

"Shanon."

[The name 'Shanon' has been assigned to the Death Knight.]

[Allegiance has increased by 15.]

[Authority has increased by 5.]

[Greetings to my new master.]

Black armor and helmet. And with the Sword Breaker that he had used when he was alive planted in the ground in front of him, Death Knight was on one knee in front of Yeon-woo.

"Thank you for..."

[Please don't be so formal to me anymore. I am your servant and your knight. A master doesn't speak formally to their servant.]

With a firm voice, Shanon raised his head. In the dark helmet he was wearing, nothing could be seen, but Yeon-woo thought that Shanon was laughing.

[Of course, I plan to speak informally to you sometimes.]

Yeon-woo grinned at the humorous Death Knight.

He was going to be a different set of arms and legs compared to Boo. And so. Yeon-woo's military was increasing one by one.

***

"So focal points can only be sensed through senses?"

As Yeon-woo wanted, the first thing he did after completing Shanon was ask about the focal points he had suffered from in the past.

[Correct. Choosing one from the many possibilities. Unless you can read the future, you have to rely on your senses. Obviously, the senses we're talking about are different from the physical five senses we have.]

It was the sixth sense. Unlike the five senses, it was something that dealt with intangible things. Yeon-woo felt the sixth sense a few times.

Back to his time in Africa. When his back had felt cold for some reason. Or when he sometimes had migraines, it meant that there was danger nearby.

So Yeon-woo thought his sixth sense was pretty well-developed.

However, Shanon was speaking of a sixth sense that was sharper than that.

A decision based on sense. In a way, it was closer to predicting the future.

[Usually, this is easy for people of your level to understand. I guess it's a bit hard for you. Well. I was completely surprised when I learned that you only started learning martial arts recently.]

Shanon nodded like he understood.

From his viewpoint, Yeon-woo's growth and direction was different from others. While others created their own path from building a foundation, Yeon-woo's method was building from the very top.

Usually, growth like this was bound to fall. However, Yeon-woo's tower of growth was steady.

[The more you climb. The more skilled players you meet. There's greater chance you'll meet people who use focal points. So I recommend you learn it quickly.]

"Is there a way to learn it faster?"

[There is.]

Yeon-woo's eyes shined.

"What is it?"

Shanon nodded like it was obvious.

[Fight more, and experience it more.]

"That's obvious..."

[And memorize all the patterns.]

Yeon-woo exclaimed in amazement. Shanon's words made sense. If he couldn't memorize it, it was better to memorize it. It was something he frequently did.

[Memorizing is best in these situations. If you continue to memorize a lot, you'll be able to apply it when it's needed.]

Yeon-woo laughed along with Shanon. He realized what Shanon was trying to say.

"And you can teach me those patterns?"

[Right. You're clever, master. Subordinates are made to be used in these situations.]

Shanon slowly got up. He gripped his dark Sword Breaker.

[Since we're on the subject, let's get to it. You seem to be rushed on time too.]

***

But training with Shanon wasn't able to last too long. While learning about the focal points, the command to gather fell.

Yeon-woo, Phante, Edora, and the Foreign Legion moved to the center.

And at that moment.

Thump.

Thump.

Yeon-woo grabbed his chest, which was suddenly beating faster. His eyes hardened. He was even circulating his Magic Circuit, but mana was spinning around. His Draconic Eyes opened and looked at the sky.

When he looked at the sky.

Yeon-woo belatedly realized why his body was behaving this way.

A heavy atmosphere was filling the air. Like the sky and ground was only meant for it, it stood in the middle of it all.

Red scales. A firm chin and vertical eye slits. A body of 30 meters.

'.....Dragon.'

The Summer Queen had returned to her original form and was sitting there.

The namesake of Red Dragon, the second oldest person in the entire Tower after Allforone was releasing its aura.

Dragon Fear.

The skill out the many the dragon had, it was an aura that bent players over.

Yeon-woo tried to find his calmness again.

The reason why his heart was beating so fast was probably because the dragon in him had reacted to another dragon's presence.

But he couldn't reveal that. Yeon-woo calmed himself down to the best of his abilities. Thankfully, the Draconic Eyes settled down and his Magic Circuit became quiet.

But to enter an area where Dragon Fear was placed, one had to be very nervous.

Fortunately, she wasn't looking in his direction.

With vertical eyes that caused shivers, she was looking at the sky.

It was a pitch black sky. She seemed to be trying to peek at the shining moon. Then, she slowly lifted her body and spread her wings open.

[......It's opening.]

With the voice of the Summer Queen.

Along the sky, a large green portal spread open.

***

And in that moment.

"There's nothing you'll get from helping me. Rather you'll be labeled as traitors. For the last time, I'll give you the chance you leave. After this, I won't accept any requests to leave."

The Saber God was speaking to his subordinates.

Along with the Madodan at the center, 9 other legions like the Shindodan and Jindodan were there.

They were about to cross the bridge, so people who wanted to quit should stop now. That he wouldn't stop them. That's what the Saber God was saying.

It meant that he still had the ability to reason.

And that appearance of his only touched his subordinates more. He was full of the desire to save his son, but they felt his desperate want to still keep his logical mind.

Eventually. No one left. They just looked at the Saber God with firm eyes. The Saber God clenched his teeth. He could feel to the bone that he hadn't lived his life in vain.

"Your lives, I'll gladly accept them."

The Saber God's eyes started to glimmer.

"Then let's go."

**

Madodan, Shindodan, and Jindodan first attacked the Hogumdan, who was watching over the Saber God.

"You....guys....!"

The team leader of Hogumdan trembled his lips at the knife under his chin. His eyes were asking if they knew the meaning of what they were doing.

"If we didn't know, we wouldn't have started in the beginning."

But the team leader of Madodan just flung his sword around without any hesitation.

The team leader of Hogumdan's head rolled on the floor.

Just a few hours ago, they were comrades that were drinking together. He expected to feel a bit guilty, but surprisingly, he didn't feel anything.

He thought it might be because he had expected to die. But he thought this kind of death wasn't too bad either.

He lived and died by his sword. If he was going to die by someone else's sword, it wouldn't be too bad to die for his master.

The team leader of Madodan looked around.

Except for a few members, they were all gathered around him. Like they were finished, their clothes were stained with blood.

"The location of the target?"

Target. He meant Leonte.

"Currently the honorable Sword God....No, the Sword God is protecting him himself in his office."

"The possibility of them being separated?"

"Not any right now. I don't know what they're talking about, but it's getting long."

Madodan's leader clicked his tongue.

"So is the only thing we can do attack the Sword God? It'll be difficult."

It would've been easy to just take out Leonte. But with the Sword God, things turned difficult.

He had the ability to take on all the other Martial Gods, but no one could guess what he was thinking.

To the rest of the Cheonghwado, the Sword God was equivalent to fear.

Of course, they weren't going to give up.

"Send the signal."

The vice leader exploded the signal. Boom. Red fireworks spread across the sky. It was the signal to begin now that everything was ready.

And as they had planned in advance, other legions got up from where they were waiting.

Kwakwang!

"Fire!"

"Bomb! Fire in the supplies attic!"

"Red Dragon has attacked!"

The strategy was simple. They were planning on raising chaos in their base. Then, while everyone was busy thinking it was an attack from Red Dragon, Saber God and Madodan would attack where Leonte was.

Thankfully, their first plan has already succeeded.

As fire soared high above the base, players shouting could be heard.

They screamed to bring water and that Red Dragon attacked.

Each of the legions was planning on running around to create even more pandemonium.

A lot of time would be required for people to finally realize what was going on.

Meanwhile.

Saber God slowly walked out of where he had been staying.

With his iron box on his box, his eyes were cold. And his aura was creating a whirlwind around him.

The Neidan from the Four Legendary Beasts were spinning around him. He had regained his strength from his old days. No, now, he was stronger.

He had activated his secret weapon just in case. It had the effect of pulling his magic power to its greatest potential.

Usually it was used by kamikazes or during times of danger, but the Saber God didn't care.

His body was already being broken from magic power leaving him, and he could do whatever to kill the Sword God.

And the effect of it was immense.

Magic power filled his body, and the energy of the Four Legendary Beasts he hadn't been able to digest mixed with it to strengthen his magic power.

He felt like he could destroy anything that came his way.

With his power, not only did he feel like he could break Sword God, but all the other Martial Gods who followed him including Leonte.

But he knew if he let go to his instincts, he would burn up. So he tried to retain his reasoning while walking.

His senses that became more sensitive told him where Leonte was hiding.

So Saber God unhesitatingly headed over to that direction. Madodan followed after him.

His pace was fast. Unlike his relaxed steps, his movement was rapid. It was hard to follow.

They saw some people, but they quickly fell to the Saber God.

Soon, they arrived to where Leonte's mana was wafting around.

"Saber Godnim!"

"You can't come here.....!"

Security around the Sword God's residence was more lax than normal thanks to the sudden chaos.

They could only be surprised at Saber God and Madodan's sudden arrival. But before they could act, Saber God swung his sword around.

They were crushed with his new power.

Tens of players disappeared into dust. Only Leonte and Sword God were left.

Leonte barely blocked the attack by putting his arms up. His clothes were just pieces of loose cloth, and his eyes were filled with fire.

"Saber God! To the end!

"Just hand over the stone. Then I'll save your life."

"How many times do I say I don't have it! That thing! I don't....!"

Leonte felt wronged, because he really didn't have it.

But he couldn't speak. Sword God extended his hand and cut him off. And with his lion mask, he looked at Saber God. Above his mask, wrinkles could be seen on his forehead.

[Do you really have to go this far?]

Sword God saw Saber God's condition. Digestion of the Four Legendary Beasts' Neidan, and strengthening of his magic power. Saber God wasn't the Saber God he knew.

If you compared just their aura, it didn't lose to Sword God's.

"I'll ask a question too. Hand over the stone now. Then I'll give my life if you tell me to."

[Like I always say. The Martial Gods are equal. Unless a life is given voluntarily, another Martial God can't ask for a life.]

Sword God spoke about their morals, but Saber God snorted.

"That's not it. Don't try to cover it up. That stone, isn't it something you need as well? And you were talking about that with his just now. Am I wrong?"

Leonte's eyes shook. Saber God had correctly guessed the truth. He had been speaking about the stone with Sword God.

[.....So you'll fight for it until the end.]

"I'm already here, there's no point in turning back. Hand over the betrayer."

[If you continue to be stubborn, there's nothing I can do.]

Under his lion mask, Sword God's eyes narrowed. And when he lifted his hand, his swords swirled around him.

Then.

The atmosphere shook and became blurry, then the defense mechanism broke and a new scene appeared.

Surrounding Sword God and Saber God were thousands of players holding their swords up.

[Even with this. Are you going to continue?]

Sword God asked with icy eyes.