episode_0289

People gathered at the barracks in the occupied plains of Plain 4.

In addition to the red members who occupied the occupied territory, there were also those wearing blue and green armbands.

Those who are currently temporarily commanding the group. And some of those who are part of the main force.

They sat around the same round table, wary of each other.

“Now, let’s begin the so-called Demon King Castle conquest…meeting.”

The student standing next to the map stuck on the wall cleared his throat and gathered everyone’s attention.

He is Lee Ju-hyeok, a 4th year student and one of the leaders of the Red Group who held the strategy meeting for this Demon King’s Castle (tentative name).

Lee Joo-hyuk looked around at those sitting at the round table and began to speak.

“Is there anyone who says there is a special way?”

“No.”

“None.”

“None.”

Lee Ju-hyeok was speechless at the answers that came back one after another. He blinked and then closed his mouth again.

It was an answer that could be perceived as having a bad attitude toward meetings, but in fact, Lee Joo-hyuk also had no answer like them.

“… It’s to find that way, so it’s natural that it doesn’t exist now. I would like to hear various opinions. ”

But that doesn’t mean he can just sit still. Lee Joo-hyuk, who was eliminated in the lottery, had no choice but to lead the meeting.

“We tried to conquer the Demon King’s Castle about 2 hours ago, and were able to obtain some information.”

It’s not just Red that’s been teasing the Demon King’s Castle, but Blue and Green as well.

This is because they wanted to eat the 1 left alone in the tight 3:3:3 battle.

Also, I thought that no matter how strong the fortress was, there would be limits to defending it alone, so I was waiting for that moment.

but…

“There’s no sign of you getting tired?”

“Look at that wall that’s gone up. Is that all official combat? Ugh… ”

“Ugh… Golem’s reinforced terror regime is scary… ”

During the two-hour attack, the fortress of Ihayul showed no signs of collapsing. Rather, it was fiercely repelling the invaders.

Even if you work hard to break down a barrier, it quickly re-emerges and expands its range.

Beyond the barrier, countless spirits and golems pour in, and between them, a hundred-strong lieutenant spirits run rampant through the battlefield, assassinating cadets.

Even with such a large-scale force and offensive and defensive operations in full swing, Lee Ha-yul’s magical power shows no signs of being consumed.

“… … .”

Once the information was organized, silence fell over the round table. Everyone stared at the papers spread out on the table and kept their mouths shut.

“… Isn’t the president actually wearing a mask and acting?”

“Ugh, crazy… ”

“No no, honestly, I can’t believe it… ”

Several people swallowed their laughter at the muttering of a cadet who had been burned to death (4 times) during the conquest of the Demon King’s Castle.

Because the joke was funny, yet absurd.

It’s such an unrealistic power.

In common parlance, that citadel was a huge shock to the cadets.

I know that special admission students are strong. I also knew that if I tried to go it alone, I would get cut down.

At the moment when the commander of the twin-headed dragon was destroyed, it was known that he had surpassed the level of a typical Shiyoram cadet.

“But I never thought I wouldn’t be able to see a single face even if hundreds of people rushed at me… ”

That’s the point.

He was being attacked from all sides like this, but instead of shaking, his wrist, which was about to be stabbed, was grabbed and twisted, sending him rolling around on the floor.

I can’t even see the culprit’s face.

That’s why they’re all here together.

I felt the danger and the shame.

Risk.

If those commanders, golems, and spirits switch to the offensive and decide to stab one, the other two will take advantage of this opportunity and bite them.

If that happens, it will definitely sink.

Come on.

“Fuck, but I still need to see your face… ”

“Losing is okay, but no matter what, not being able to see the face is a bit… ”

There were emotional reasons as well as practical reasons.

Lee Ju-hyeok nodded inwardly at the angry expressions on the cadets he usually saw.

‘Just split it…’

Of course, I knew that special admission students were outside the standard, but it was a huge blow to my pride to not be able to see a single face when hundreds of them were rushing in.

Besides, this is an external broadcast tower. If I go out like this, I won’t be able to raise my head because I’m too embarrassed even if I win the game.

“… Anyway, this is all the information we have collected. Based on this, let’s come up with some strategies.”

Lee Ju-hyuk said, placing both arms on the round table.

“Honestly, it’s a bit far-fetched to say this from the perspective of someone who’s been fighting for two or three hours, but if we unfold a united front, can we really break through the offense and defense?”

It may sound lame, but not all three groups put all their effort into conquering the Demon King’s Castle.

Even so, a significant portion of the force had to defend the occupied territory in preparation for attacks from other groups, and periodically attack to prevent them from engaging in any maneuvers.

“Let’s join forces for a moment. We all know that if we capture the first occupied area, we’ll fight again, but how about we just cooperate until it falls?”

Even if I say this, I will eventually prepare. But for now, I will focus on joining forces on the surface.

“Hmm… ”

“Um… ”

The leaders of the blue and green groups were also troubled by Lee Ji-hyeok’s words.

Currently, the barracks house three groups of commanders and part of the main force.

It is dangerous to allow such people into the occupied territory.

If you bring it this far and then run wild, you’ll suffer a lot of damage.

‘Those two in particular are dangerous.’

Lee Ju-hyuk glanced at the two figures sitting in the center of the blue and green formations around the round table.

Baek A-rin, with her blue hair braided, and Lee Ji-yeon, who is leaning against the back of the chair with her arms linked.

First and second year students respectively. However, behind them are characters with fancy labels such as the top student of the class and the next successor to Changhae and Taesan.

They can’t even stop the older students. Their skills are amazing, but when they properly use their unique abilities, most of them can’t even approach them properly.

Especially if Lee Ji-yeon decides to pour out the orders from within, it will be very, very difficult.

‘Even if they run wild, how can we stop them?’

To counter him, Hong Yeon-hwa was seated at the round table. She is behind the two in terms of Mercury due to the lack of environmental compensation, but she has the upper hand in a fight that starts at such close range.

Even if the two of them run wild at the same time, Hong Yeon-hwa can easily block them.

‘Besides, since we have that blond-haired junior, we can stop him even more.’

Lee Ju-hyeok’s gaze turned to the cadet sitting next to Hong Yeon-hwa.

Her beautiful yellow hair that falls below her waist and her body with incredible curves catch everyone’s attention.

Elia Sreyd.

Although she is widely known for living in Lee Ha-yul’s mansion, she is drawing attention for her skills in this match.

A unique recovery ability that encompasses both regeneration and recovery, while also having outstanding output.

The strengthening effect there is also quite strong, so you can imagine how easily the battlefield she is in progresses.

Although she was not able to directly display her skills like Hong Yeon-hwa, Elia was an invisible pillar supporting her allies from the rear.

“… We will cooperate until the occupied territory of Amsan is captured.”

The answer came back soon. Lee Joo-hyuk nodded as well since it was the answer he had expected.

In a 3:3:3 deadlock situation, where both sides are fighting a war of wits and are reluctant to deploy their power, the best option is to create a new external enemy.

“Anyway, if you have any sharp points, feel free to speak up.”

“… … ”

“… … ”

Somehow, we managed to reach a united front.

As we entered into a full-scale operational meeting, the mouths that had been opening little by little closed again.

“Well, is there a special way? You can either push in from one direction or attack from three directions.”

One of the cadets in the blue formation spoke up. There certainly isn’t any other clear way out.

“By any chance, do your juniors have any tips?”

After thinking for a moment, Lee Joo-hyuk opened his mouth and pointed to a few people.

Those who were pointed out blinked.

Hong Yeon-hwa and Elia of the Red Group.

Baek Arin in blue formation.

Lee Ji-yeon of the green formation.

“Yes, I know you’ve been close, so I was wondering if there was anything I could point out. ”

They are all the main force of their respective groups, and are also very close to Lee Ha-yul.

“Pointed Sura… ”

“Attack… ?”

Those who blinked for a moment glanced at each other. They had similarly strange expressions. When I looked at him, I thought that the thoughts that came to mind were probably similar.

The strategy for conquering the Demon King’s Castle… Even they think it’s extremely difficult to do it using the right strategy.

How much effort would it take to overcome those countless troops, dozens of barriers, and attack that fortress whose functions we still don’t know about?

I’m also skeptical that it will be possible to do it in time.

“Um… ”

But there is a way out for them. Strictly speaking, it is a very easy and overwhelmingly fast way.

Just put down your weapon. Just trudge towards the barrier defenselessly and you’re done.

Of course, it’s impossible for others. They’ll either get hit by artillery fire and oxidize as they approach, or get swept up in troops and die.

But Hong Yeon-hwa, Elia, Baek A-rin, and Lee Ji-yeon are different.

– Hayul, are you going to hit me?

… If you mumble something like this, the attack will stop and the door will open on its own.

– Harul, are you okay? Open the door, please~

… or you could say it like this.

Then it’s over.

Yi Ha-yul stopped the attack, opened the gate of that impregnable barrier, and withdrew the troops.

I’ll poke my head out through the open barrier, cautiously keeping an eye on things.

If it’s below this rate, it’s bound to happen. It doesn’t matter if this game is broadcasted to the world or if there’s a huge reward at stake…

“… Well? I can’t think of any.”

“Me too.”

That’s why they mumbled their words with a strange expression. That was really cowardly, and something they couldn’t do to Lee Ha-yool.

“I guess so… ”

Lee Joo-hyuk also nodded as if he had just tried it once. He could not envision a future where the castle would open up without any strength, within his common sense.

“Then… ”

– Bam!

The moment Lee Ju-hyeok was about to continue the meeting, the curtain covering the entrance to the barracks was roughly opened.

A cadet who had rushed in screamed.

“Enemy─! White formation! A mixed force of golems, spirits, and elementals is quickly approaching!”

“Huh?”

Everyone jumped up from their seats in excitement.

The Demon King’s army has switched to the offensive.

* * *

The 4th Plains occupied area was turned into a mess in an instant. Commanders and golems quickly rushed into the built defensive line.

“Stop the golem! Fight with your attack and defense!”

“It’s broken! It’s slow to repair! It’s also less effective outside of the workshop!”

“The wizard will handle the command! The rest will control the golems and spirits!”

A position where one is attacked rather than attacked.

The location and position changed, but the disgustingness of those Demon King’s Army remained the same.

The commander doesn’t collapse easily. Even if one of his limbs is blown off, he forcibly reattaches it and gets back up again.

If you render it incapacitated, it will explode with magical power, blowing everything away in all directions.

Golems are similar. They are slow now that they are far from the workshop, but even if you shatter them into pieces, they will soon rise again from the ground. They are also difficult to neutralize because they have no power core.

To completely neutralize it, you have to completely destroy it without leaving a trace, but only a handful of cadets can do that.

There, the spirit is immortal to begin with and cannot be neutralized.

At best, it can be summoned back and returned to its owner.

Even if you fall, you get up again, and even if you die, you come back to life.

“Not really the Demon King’s Army… ?”

“I admit it.”

It gets even more disgusting when it switches to an offensive. When you were attacking, you could just run away if you thought it wouldn’t work, but now if you retreat, you lose your base.

“Get back to the left! It’s going to be a disaster!”

“Only pour water magic on the right window!”

“Push the center!! Our commanders are much more numerous, so use them as meat shields!”

But they didn’t take it without a fight. Rather, at this very moment, the cadets were pushing back against the Demon King’s army.

This is a favorable location for the Red Army, as they have set up makeshift workshops and several formal workshops.

Thanks to the fact that a significant portion of our main force has been gathered there, we are able to push back those vicious forces quite a bit.

It was also thanks to Hong Yeon-hwa’s fear that the commander and golem were incapacitated.

The commander is burned to the ground and the corpse before it explodes. The golem is the same. Whether it’s a repair or something, it’s burned to the ground and the spell.

Even the immortal army was instantly consumed by fire.

Similarly, the ice of the sea that Baek A-rin manifested also froze the recovery ability, and the spirits that Lee Ji-yeon created were superior in quality and in number to the enemy spirits.

Also, for some reason, the spirit was not able to get along with some women.

‘Is it too late to join forces? No, even if we join forces, we won’t be able to take it away.’

‘If you hit the back of my head here, I’ll be grilled on a hot fire right away…’

Because of this, those who were thinking of joining the Demon King’s army and retaking the occupied territory quickly changed their minds.

– Woof woof!

“It’s a fairy tale!”

A single shout echoes through the one-sided battlefield, creating tension.

Spirit assimilation. A technique that is somewhat similar to a spirit magician’s secret.

In the past few battles, many cadets have been slaughtered by spirit-inflected golems.

What was particularly shocking was the golem that was handling the fire. Hong Yeon-hwa straightened her sword with her eyes shining.

– Phew…

A wind spirit in the shape of a bird landed on the golem’s helmet.

Before he could stop it, the spirit seeped into the helmet, the golem’s armor turned a light green, and a strong wind blew.

“Wind Spirit!”

A cry for those who hadn’t noticed. Immediately afterwards, three more spirits descended upon the golem’s helmet.

Blue seal, brown puppy, yellow wolf.

Water, earth, lightning.

The golem’s dark color changed, and each of its attributes spread out roughly in all directions.

The students who had learned spirit magic opened their mouths wide.

“Spirit Fairy Tale Object Net!”

“No, it was a fairy tale that became the majority… ?”

– Kwarrr!

“Kueeek!”

As if responding to the cadet’s muttering, the golem, transformed into the spirit of lightning, struck down the spear it was holding.

Kwarrurung! A bolt of lightning struck from the clear sky. Several cadets were instantly knocked out by the lightning mixed with white.

“Destroy the assimilated golem first!”

Hong Yeon-hwa, Baek A-rin, and Lee Ji-yeon, who were sweeping away the motley troops, also rushed at the golem that had been transformed into a spirit.

“Haat!”

Hong Yeon-hwa jumped up and swung down her sword filled with fear. Her target was the golem possessed by the water spirit.

Jeez! The blue golem conjured a giant shield of ice to block the sword.

A relatively small sword struck the huge shield. Crunch! The sword split the shield in half and struck the golem’s forearm.

– Chiiik…

The shockwave evaporated the ice and water surrounding the armor’s surface, melting the dented armor from the blow.

– Squeak…

“No, why are you crying so much… ”

A puppy’s whining could be heard between the golem’s helmets. Hong Yeon-hwa’s expression naturally turned pale.

Hong Yeon-hwa glanced around.

The expression on Lee Ji-yeon’s face as she faces off against the golem possessed by the spirit of earth is also trembling, and the expression on Baek A-rin’s face as she attacks the golem possessed by the spirit of lightning is also strange.

“… They can’t attack us properly?”

Hong Yeon-hwa soon realized that the spirits were not attacking them properly.

At best, a plausible counterattack is possible. An active offensive cannot be taken. It is not simply because there is no opportunity to do so, but because there is a clear sense of reluctance.

They didn’t know this because they didn’t go to the Demon King’s castle to defend their base.

“Is it because of the owner’s influence?”

Baek A-rin muttered with a strange expression. She cut off the arm that was spreading ice and nodded her head as she watched the golem recover.

“After all, it could be because the orders are coming from Lee Ha-yul. What is it? If the contractor raises the level, the contractor is greatly influenced.”

“… Then it’s a bit touching.”

Baek A-rin giggled as she heard Lee Ji-yeon muttering from afar.

“I’m really touched. Ugh, I guess I’ll have to feed you when I’m done.”

“Uh… Are you saying something like that?”

They were free to even make simple jokes. They continued to fight diligently, even while feeling strange emotions.

‘…Why did you turn it into an offensive?’

At the same time, questions were forming in my head.

Lee Ha-yul, who had been focusing solely on defense, switched to offense.

What is the reason? Is it because you plan on taking over the occupied area later? If you tie up the main force like this and focus your attacks on other areas, you will definitely have a chance of winning.

However, no news of an attack has been heard from the chloride-type ability users deployed in each occupied area.

So you plan on taking this place? There are quite a few main forces gathered here. It doesn’t seem like Lee Ha-yul sent his troops with full force either.

‘What is the purpose… ’

“Uh.”

It was at that time that the ears of those who had sharpened their senses for battle heard the exclamation of a cadet.

He is a red-affiliated person with the ability to sense. He seemed to be groping for something for a moment, then suddenly opened his eyes.

“Okay, self-destruct! That golem─!”

“What.”

The cadet who was protecting him from the side asked back. But before that, countless yellow lines were drawn on the surface of the golem that was fighting in front.

A cross-section of a complex and detailed technique. This is the ‘shotgun ray’ that Lee Ha-yool personally modified to increase its output to the extreme.

“Kkw! It’s self-destructing!”

“This beauty, I’m so sorry!”

The golem’s surface lit up brightly. The surrounding cadets were startled by the surging magical power, kicking the ground behind them and raising their defensive measures.

– Kwagagagagagagang!

The ‘bomb ray’ that was flying towards me appeared right in front of my nose. The golem’s body exploded, and hundreds of rays poured out onto the battlefield.

The ground shook with a tremendous explosion. My eyes squinted involuntarily at the light that bathed the surroundings.

– Crackle, crackle!

Amidst the noise of the explosion, a few powerful men heard the sound of lightning exploding in their ears.

Immediately after, a brain wave flew out of the senses at super-speed. A few people who sensed the sound of it rushing forward with tremendous momentum prepared for the collision.

“Ah?”

Most of them were unable to react. Elia, who was treating the injured in real time in the rear, opened her mouth.

Suddenly, something wrapped around my whole body and I felt like I was floating. A rough wind hit my body.

As soon as she realized him, Elia grabbed the pendant and her eyes widened as a thought suddenly occurred to her.

‘Oh.’

The pendant did not manifest automatically. Since entering the Tower of Growth, this pendant has always protected Elia from threats.

But now it’s not like that. And the feeling of it wrapping around my body is very familiar.

A feeling of relief and happiness without me even realizing it. A pure affection and obsession that suddenly appears…

After a moment, the light-filled vision returned. Elia immediately lowered her gaze.

The ground and tiny people are seen moving away.

And then, I could see the familiar blue band wrapping around my body.

This is the Wings of Heaven, an artifact that was reborn with the characteristics of Lee Ha-yul.

It now served as another wing of the bird made of brain tissue, wrapping around Elia’s entire body and carrying her safely and quickly.

“… Huh.”

At the sudden situation of being kidnapped, Elia smiled brightly.

* * *

The lightning spirit that had caught Elia quickly moved away. It was so fast that even an afterimage was visible on its back. At the end of its path was a small rocky mountain.

“씨… ”

A few cadets in the red formation screamed as they were robbed of their precious recovery manpower.

In the meantime.

Hong Yeon-hwa, who was dealing with the golem and blankly staring at the lightning spirit flying across the sky, suddenly crumpled her expression.

“Fuck, why aren’t you taking me?”

Hwaruk! The sticky liquid stuck to the blade rippled.