Blood flowed under the blazing sun and screams echoed.

Grid wore a bizarre half mask that made it unknown if he was laughing or crying. Every time his sword swung in a half circle, 10 soldiers died. Sometimes it was 20 soldiers when he drew a full moon. The shark-shaped blue greatsword tore the soldiers’ armor apart.

"There were rumors that his swordsmanship is strong.”

Well, he already had a reputation for having great swordsmanship. But there was one thing that was hard to identify.

“What are the white spheres circling around him?”

Baron Duka. He was one of Eternal’s great swordsman that emerged after Chucksley. He earned Duke Lucilliv’s favor thanks to his strength and was promised the title of an earl after this war. Of course, this was on the premise that his performance was sufficient. If he could directly cut off Grid’s head, he would become a marquis instead of an earl.

Baron Duka watched Grid with interest while his deputy spoke up.

"According to the analysis of the magicians, it’s estimated to be Magic Missile. It’s probably through an artifact like Fly magic.”

“Hoh... Magic Missile that isn’t immediately launched.”

There were exactly 113 white spheres around Grid. The reason was clear. It was to help in combat. Grid intended to protect his own body and release a Magic Missile when he was in a crisis.

‘There are also the four golden hands called the God Hands.’

Every hand guarded Grid’s rear while holding hammers. The amazing thing was that the hammers swung by the God Hands killed the soldiers.

‘Strong.’

It was a perfect harmony between strong swordsmanship and overwhelming artifacts. Grid had great power as a legend.

'It might be different if he was armed with ordinary weapons. Still, I wouldn’t dare fight him alone.’

But Baron Duka wasn’t afraid of Grid. There were 100,000 troops here. Grid would kill the soldiers surging like a tsunami and become exhausted. It was impossible for Grid to block all the attacks. Right now, he was accumulating wounds by allowing the attacks from magicians and archers.

‘In the next few hours, he will become exhausted.’

Then he would bring the knights and easily overpower Grid.

“Hmm?”

Baron Duka smiled wickedly at the thought.

Step step.

He heard someone coming up the stairs. The clock tower in the central square. Baron Duka came him in order to see the battlefield at a glance and ordered his troops not to let anyone up. Then who was coming up?

‘Marquis Bera?’

There was no one else who would be authorized. Baron Duka naturally thought that the owner of the footsteps was a noble like himself. However, that wasn’t it. The clock tower had six floors. A soldier came to the spot where Baron Duka and his deputy were standing.

It was a soldier wearing leather armor. A private with a low status who was conscripted.

‘How did a soldier come here?’

The deputy went forward to question the soldier on Baron Duka’s behalf.

"It’s scandalous to leave your position during a war. What unit do you belong to? No, why did you come here in the first place?”

A non-regular soldier, Ars. He answered while pointing his spear.

"I am a soldier serving under Grid. The reason I came here today is to take Baron Duka’s head.”

“...?”

Bark bark.

Why did he hear the sound of a dog barking? The absurd introduction of the soldier made Baron Duka and his deputy go blank.

“Haha.”

Baron Duka regained himself and laughed. Of course, it wasn’t a laugh of enjoyment. His real feelings were expressed by his deputy.

“You’re crazy.”

The deputy made an angry expression and pulled out his sword without hesitation.

“Grid’s spy! I will have your head!”

Baron Duka’s deputy was also a master with the sword. He could easily kill one soldier.

Seokeok!

The sharp blade extended towards Ars’ neck. The sharp sword reached Ars’ neck in an instant. The deputy didn’t think much of it. The soldier in front of him would die without even realizing his head was separated from his body. But it was strange.

‘Eh?’

Where was the soldier whose head should’ve been cut off? And why was his gaze falling towards the ground?

Duk.

The head of the deputy fell to the ground. That’s right. The deputy hadn’t realized his head was cut off when he died.

“...What’s your identity?”

Grid’s subordinate had swiftly used the spear to cut off the deputy’s head. Baron Duka stared at the scattered ashes of his deputy and then the bloody spear. Ars picked up the sword and replied, “I am Grid’s soldier.”

"Nonsense!”

A person who could make a great swordsman nervous couldn’t be a lowly soldier! Killing intent filled Baron Duka’s eyes. His sword headed towards Ars. It was an incredible swordsmanship that cut from the left and right without a time difference.

Chaaeng!

However, Ars angled the spear to block the two swords at once and laughed at Baron Duka.

“Your swordsmanship is poor compared to other great swordsmen.”

Baron Duka had just recently become a great swordsman. It was lacking compared to when Piaro was a great swordsman of the empire. Ars had been growing steadily while serving under Grid and Baron Duka wasn’t a match for him. Baron Duka got chills as he realized the difference between their skills.

“You are...! Kirinus!”

The best spearman on the continent was serving Grid?

"Reidan’s Spearsmanship 3rd style, Splitting the Seven Seas.”

Peeeeeong!

Baron Duka’s sword was deflected and the golden spear moved in a straight line. This was the technique that Nautilus of the Red Knights couldn’t withstand, so Baron Duka was devastated.

"Kuaaaack!"

Baron Duka was swept up by the golden flash and disappeared. Ars finished his mission and descended the clock tower. His next target was Earl Carrion. The earl had become a great swordsman one step ahead of Baron Duka. Ars would wipe out anyone who could threaten Grid.

***

‘This is easier than I thought. Is it still early?’

Death in the game wasn’t comparable to death in reality. It didn’t mean a complete ending. But users who played the game were more afraid of death than anything else. They were frightened of losing their level and hard-earned items.

Yes, Grid was amazing. He thought he was crazy when he plunged into 100,000 troops alone. But his fear disappeared as he fought. He displayed his overwhelming power and felt pleasure rather than fear.

[Critical!]

[The +9 Failure’s option effect is activated, causing the skill ‘5 Joint Attacks’ to be generated!]

[You have dealt 155,900 damage to the target.]

[You have dealt 149,540 damage to the target.]

[You have dealt...]

The level, stats, and items of the general soldiers were poor compared to Grid. Grid’s basic damage was like skill damage and all the soldiers within range of the attack were killed in one blow.

"Magic Missile."

Grid refrained from using skills in order to preserve his stamina. He used Magic Missile which didn’t consume any stamina because it was the lowest level magic. His maximum mana increased and it wasn’t difficult to use. He also wanted to raise the level of Magic Mastery that he learned from the Behen Archipelago.

“You monster!”

“Die!”

Puk! Puuok!

Grid wasn’t Kraugel. He had ranker level control, but that didn’t mean he was a god. He couldn’t completely block the attacks of all the soldiers. But it didn’t matter.

[You have suffered 230 damage.]

[You have suffered 155 damage.]

“Good, good. You’re doing very well. Hit me more.”

The benefits to Grid were significant after receiving damage from many people at once.

[Weapons Mastery has risen to Lv. 5.]

[The experience of Tiramet's Belt (Unique) has increased by 0.01%!]

His skill experience and item’s experience rose at a tremendous pace. Grid was becoming stronger in real time.

‘If this continues, Weapons Mastery will hopefully gain one more level today and Tiramet’s Belt might accumulate 30% experience.’

Weapons Mastery was a passive skill that raised his attack power and speed no matter what weapon was worn. Magic Mastery was a passive skill that raised the power of magic. Tiramet’s Belt reduced damage and allowed him to summon the vampire Tiramet if it reached the legendary rating.

Grid was pleased with this growth. He was able to reduce the stress of having demonic power rise every time he killed a person. At this moment, Grid perceived the battlefield as a workplace. There was no tension. Why?

‘None of them are a match for me.’

The 100,000 troops. It was literally just numbers. There were no enemies who could threaten Grid.

‘Are there no knights?’

Braham spoke to the curious Grid. ‘The enemies are waiting for you to become tired. Then they will commit their true power.’

‘I know.’

He needed to be vigilant. Grid controlled his mind and saw the soldiers rushing at him with shields.

‘Now they are using tactics?’

Use the shields in the lead to block Grid while attacking Grid from the rear with spears. Duke Lucilliv used basic, but efficient, tactics to press at Grid. It was a means to reduce losing troops and accelerate Grid’s stamina consumption. But what if he pierced through?

“Do you want to stop my sword with these cheap shields?”

Seokeok!

Grid wasn’t burdened by the shields. From the public’s point of view, the soldiers with large shields seemed very strong. But Grid slashed at them without hesitation. Then.

“Kuaaaack!”

The sword pierced through their shields and armor, killing the soldiers.

“Heok.”

The spearmen who believed in the shields panicked. Their upper bodies were exposed and Grid rotated, cutting at them.

Seokeok!

“...!”

An overwhelming attack that made the combination of shields and spears useless! The morale of the Eternal army fell rapidly after they witnessed this.

[The morale of the soldiers is at the bottom. The soldiers’ attack and defense will drop by 20% and their recovery speed is reduced.]

“Wow.”

The Eternal players were shocked by the warning windows that appeared before them. They couldn’t catch the timing to attack Grid. They coveted the rewards for the ‘Fight the Rebel Leader’ quest, but could they really obtain it? It was more likely that they would be killed by Grid.

Grid’s momentum shot to the top.

Pepepepeok!

Then the magic bombardment from the rooftops of the two-story houses surrounding the central square began. Duke Lucilliv grabbed Grid’s eyes with the shield infantry and used the magicians in this gap.

[You have suffered 2,200 damage.]

[You have suffered 930 damage.]

[You have suffered 1,660 damage.]

[You have suffered 3,490...]

...

...

“Ugh.”

Grid’s face became tense for the first time. The magic damage was quite burdensome because he was wearing Triple Layers, not the Holy Light set. The bombardment poured at him from all directions. It was difficult to avoid or stop. However, did he replace his battle gear with the Holy Light set? No, it was meaningless. The damage from the pouring arrows would just increase instead.

The reaction of the viewers was updated in real time.

-Crazy;; Hundreds of magic spells are pouring down. It’s a big hit.

-The Overgeared members wouldn’t be able to withstand that. ㅡㅡ; It seems really dangerous.

-A reversal... It’s the end for Grid.

-5,000 people is nonsense. ㅋㅋ He couldn’t even kill 2,000 people. ㅋㅋ Kraugel would’ve killed way more. ㅋㅋ

Pepepepeok!

In the midst of the magic bombardment.

“Item Transformation.”

Grid transformed two of the God Hands protecting him. They changed to a bow. The Red Phoenix Bow. One Red Phoenix Bow was held by two God Hands while the other was held by Grid.

“Fly Up!”

Kiiiiiiing!

Bairan Castle. Two red phoenixes appeared in the sky above it.