Chapter 98: Invasion (2)
The legendary Sword God Arwen.
Her strength is already evident from the titles bestowed upon her.
The title of 'Great Hero' is a title given only to the truly powerful champions throughout this Continent.
The title of 'Sword God' highlights her strength even more than her title of Great Hero.
The title of Sword God implies that there is no one in this Continent who wields a sword better than her.
Moreover, her journey thus far has already proven her strength numerous times, placing her firmly in the realm of a Great Hero.
Therefore, the people of the Tolran could smile without disturbance upon hearing the news of the demons' appearance and even their advance.
For they had Arwen, the Great Hero.
And because they had thousands of well-trained soldiers.
Thus, no one entertained the thought of defeat by the demons.
Not the soldiers,
nor Arwen.
"Ah..."
That way, they did not think.
"Cough-!"
Arwen spit red blood out and lifted her head with a look of despair.
What she saw were the bodies of soldiers, their heads severed and strewn about.
"......"
Next to them, a lieutenant who had talked just this morning about eating meat stew with his wife lay on the ground, unable to close his eyes, only his head remaining.
But that was not all.
If one were to broaden their view, they would see that the place had turned into hell.
Humans being hunted by monsters.
The tragedy of soldiers, who had embraced the demon race and were emitting a purple aura, casually laughing while carrying out a massacre, was being etched into Arwen's vision.
And then.
"Hu-"
With blurry eyes, when she followed the direction of the laughter, Arwen could see.
The demon looking at her with a sinister smile.
"Hu-hu-"
The laughing demon was close to having human form but had a distinctly different appearance from humans.
Its skin was as hard as steel, with purple flames burning in its eyes, and dozens of blades fluttered on its arms.
The cape seemed to have eyes that constantly moved around, observing its surroundings, and the two long horns on its head, with purple magic flowing around them, indicated it was no ordinary demon.
And then.
"You truly are a Great Hero, you fought well. I acknowledge that."
It opened its mouth.
With a voice like grating metal, it spoke with a twisted smile on its face - no.
"But, after all, you are just a mere creature."
Agares, the Third Commander of the demon race, moved towards Arwen, who was kneeling with a look of despair, with a sneering laugh.
Even then, as if not giving up, Arwen swung her sword as if she had been waiting for this moment.
Clang-!
"...!"
The sword swung by Arwen was blocked by Agares' thumb and forefinger.
Startled, Arwen tried to withdraw her sword immediately, but-
Crack-!
"Kuhuk-!"
In an instant, the punch that extended towards her heart pierced through Arwen's body.
Thud-!
Agares shook his hand lightly, tossing the corpse far away.
Thus, Arwen, one of the Continent's greatest heroes, died without a decent fight, her heart burst open.
And then.
"I thought it would be a bit fun to have created a Great Hero to stop us... but it seems she wasn't much of a threat after all."
Muttering this while looking at Arwen's body, Agares casually turned to gaze at the devastated territory.
Agares, finding amusement in the sight, looked over the territory, now shattered to the level of being uninhabitable, unlike the territories of the Norba Kingdom before.
"...How pitiful."
He turned around to the voice behind him and opened his mouth.
"Kelva?"
"Yes. Was there really a need to trample it into such a state of despair?"
A sudden question arose from Kelva.
"What are you saying? The pleasure of war comes from trampling and destroying others' possessions. Why would I give up that joy, huh?"
However, Agares responded with a sinister smile of enjoyment. Kelva, watching him silently, soon replied.
"It probably doesn't matter."
A brief affirmation.
"Right?"
At that, Agares nodded in satisfaction.
"Now, then, let's take the offerings straight to the capital, and then head straight to the next region, shall we?"
With that said-
"You said Lartania, didn't you?"
He smiled wryly and started walking.
A few days after Kim Hyunwoo spoke to River about the missile.
Territory: Lartania
Territory Development Level:
2280
Territory Residents:
[Humans: 13,920]
-Owned Buildings-
[Castle LV1 >>> Upgrading 99% (Paused)]
[Walls LV3]
[Residential Area LV4 >>> Upgrading 1%]
[Forge LV4 >>> Upgrading 0%]
[Barracks LV4]
[Tavern LV3↑]
[Market LV2 >>> Upgrading 0%]
[Wood Processing Plant LV1 >>> Upgrading 32%]
[Restaurant LV3↑]
[Leather Processing Plant LV1 >>> Upgrading 35%]
[Stone Processing Plant LV1 >>> Upgrading 0%]
[Trading Post LV1 >>> Upgrading 0%]
[Second Wall LV3]
[Inn LV2 >>> Upgrading 0%]
[Administrative District LV2 >>> Upgrading 0%]
[Paved Roads LV0 (Under Construction 0%)]
-External Buildings-
[Mercenary Guild LV0 (Under Construction)]
[Mage Tower Branch LV0 (Under Construction)]
[Blacksmith Guild Branch LV1↑]
-Owned Forces-
-Regular Soldiers: 200
-Trainee Soldiers: 200
Kim Hyunwoo smiled as he looked at his territory, which was steadily growing.
The development level of the territory had rapidly increased from the point it surpassed 2000, quickly reaching 2280, and the number of territory residents had also exceeded 10,000, approaching 14,000.
Even now, with the estimated number of mercenaries entering the territory nearly every day slowly exceeding 20,000 and heading towards 30,000, the reality was that nearly 40,000 people were engaged in economic activities within Lartania.
'Thinking of it as 40,000... That's about one-eighth of Lartania's population at its peak. Though it's still far from its heyday.'
Yet, considering it's been just under half a year since he seriously started developing his territory, its growth was tremendous, and the expansion was visible even beyond the terrace.
The scenery Kim Hyunwoo saw from the castle was changing significantly with each passing day.
'Once the paved roads are laid out, at least the inner parts will definitely start to feel like the old Lartania.'
He thought this while looking at the materials being piled up from the end to make brick paved roads. That was the conversation just a moment ago.
However.
"The demons are targeting and advancing towards our territory?"
"Yes...!"
Not long after, the story that reached Kim Hyunwoo, something that couldn't be laughed off easily, made him wear a blank expression as he listened to the guard's report, soon organizing his thoughts with a similarly blank expression.
"So, to simplify, the demons allied with Duke Landaron have devoured the territories of Norba Kingdom, and now those demons are heading towards Lartania?"
"Yes...! From the rumors we've heard, it seems they will arrive in about three days."
Upon hearing the guard's report, Kim Hyunwoo sighed deeply, lost in thought, and subtly shifted his gaze.
Seeing the mercenaries outside the terrace moving about busily, Kim Hyunwoo thought to himself.
'Why the demons, of all things?'
The first thing that naturally came to mind was a question.
He understood the situation itself.
Even when Kim Hyunwoo played the game, it was hinted that the demons, having allied with Duke Landaron, had overrun the territories of the Norba Kingdom.
However,
'Why?'
Kim Hyunwoo couldn't understand why those demons were coming to attack the Lartania territory.
If Duke Landaron had revolted and taken over the Kingdom, the very conventional thing to do would be to stabilize the country.
Especially in such a medieval era, legitimacy was an important aspect in many ways.
But instead of stabilizing the nation, Duke Landaron had sent his forces to attack Lartania directly.
It was as if he had no plans for dealing with the aftermath.
Kim Hyunwoo, deep in thought, asked,
"...What's the number of the enemy forces?"
"We haven't been able to properly estimate yet, but it seems to be a large number. Moreover, it appears that there are monsters among them."
"Hmm..."
Upon hearing the guard's words, Kim Hyunwoo seemed to ponder for a moment, tilting his head several times in silence before he sighed, completing his thoughts.
He realized that pondering alone would never uncover the reason why the demons were coming here.
Thus, Kim Hyunwoo was troubled, not because of the pondering, but because his current task was to fend off the invading demons.
'...Right now, Lartania doesn't have enough forces.'
Frankly, Lartania currently lacked the soldiers to repel the demons if they came.
The territory of Lartania had not grown properly yet, and it had only just taken its first steps as a Labyrinth City, still far from being a force to reckon with.
Therefore, Kim Hyunwoo, who was deep in thought,
"Ah."
Suddenly let out a low exclamation.
After all, there was one thing he had forgotten about.
Therefore,
"River, no - call the Guild Master of the Blacksmith Guild here."
Recalling River's invention he had seen a while ago, Kim Hyunwoo spoke up.
"Are you talking about the missile?"
"Yeah."
A while later, Kim Hyunwoo, who met with River who came to the office, was soon able to talk to her.
"Um... to be honest, launching the missile right now... is possible. As my friend said, if we can prepare it, it could definitely serve as the energy for the propulsion."
"Really?"
Kim Hyunwoo responded with a bright expression.
However, in contrast, River made a cautious expression before speaking.
"But, the missile... you're planning to shoot it at the demons advancing towards Lartania?"
"Right. You knew?"
"Of course, it's chaotic outside because of that. Once rumors start spreading throughout the territory, it's hard to control."
River said that, then hesitated for a moment as if choosing her words carefully before speaking again.
"To be honest, I think it's impossible to defeat the demons with just one missile, my friend. The firepower of the missile I made is tremendous, but a single shot... can't defeat an army."
"Hmm..."
Certainly, River wasn't wrong.
After all, the missile she created could indeed be launched, and with a warhead attached, it could mimic the effects of a real missile, but it was just a single shot.
Furthermore, even though the warhead could be made, it was uncertain how powerful it would actually be.
But.
"It's okay."
Kim Hyunwoo, despite River's concerned expression, responded with a smile.
"...Do you have a plan?"
Following River's question, Kim Hyunwoo smiled slyly before saying,
"In the world I lived in, there was a missile that ended a war with a single shot."
With those words, he smiled.
At that moment,
on a hillside close to Lartania,
"...Invade Lartania?"
The beastfolk and the half-demon murmured quietly.