"There are 10,000 armored elite troops?”

"Yes, that’s right.”

“This is bad.”

Scott grabbed his forehead after receiving the scout’s report.

Armored elite troops. They were an elite army created by pouring Ares’ ‘Fostering Strong Soldiers’ skill and the capital of the royal family. They trained from the beginning with the motto ‘the Saharan Empire is the enemy’ and their strength was real. They mastered various skills, including advanced riding skills that were difficulty to obtain. They actually had a great record in the war with the empire.

‘The king must be very angry. I wasn’t expecting him to dispatch such strong troops.'

He thought they would leave them in order to respond to any attack from the Saharan Empire.

‘Indeed... They won’t have to worry about an empire raid if they overpower us quickly.’

The number of troops currently in the Ares Army broke a player’s common sense. It was a huge 30,000. It was three times larger than the armored elite troops. But that wasn’t comforting.

‘The average of the newly recruited troops after the war with the empire is only 170. On the other hand, the average level of the armoured elite troops has risen to 290 since the war.’

The 30,000 soldiers would just be good prey for the armored elite troops.

‘The soldiers are a poison rather than a help. The level of the armored elite troops will rise in real time during the war and will get out of control.’

Just like in the war against the empire.

One of the resources that Ares gave to the armored elite troops was to recover all their resources during a level up. This would exert tremendous havoc in a war. They would become stronger when fighting battles. The modifier ‘undead army’ could be attached to them.

‘It is better to confront the armored elite troops with a handful of elite soldiers. We will use guerilla warfare.’

He was referring to the Ares Army.

Ares Army. A guild with Ares as the master, there was a total of 200 members. Apart from 28 production classes, the remaining personnel all had combat classes and their average level exceeded 300.

‘On the other hand, the armored elite troops haven’t reached their third advancement yet. If I add the 162 members of Overgeared, we should be able to tie their feet for a while.’

Four days. Four days later, Ares’ Fostering Strong Soldiers would be activated again. They would win if they could buy time until then. Scott was convinced and then he heard a new report.

"The reinforcements from the Overgeared Guild have arrived. H-However.”

“However?”

“T-That... There are only five people.”

“What?”

Scott’s face distorted like a demon.

“Those fools!”

They arranged for this situation to happen in order to establish the alliance, only to not send enough power?

‘It is a plan to weaken our forces while building the alliance!’

Anger started to rise in Scott’s heart. The Overgeared Guild. He never thought that a group claiming to have the strongest players in the world would be third-rate people like this.

‘It’s frustrating to know that the people we are allied with aren’t trustworthy.’

Scott clicked his tongue and headed for the VIP room. He took a deep breath in front of the door and controlled his mind. It was an effort to suppress his anger.

‘I can’t leave any flaws in Ares’ honor.’

Ares asked him to treat the guests well. It didn’t matter if they didn’t respond equally. Scott barely suppressed his anger and knocked on the door of the VIP room. At that moment.

“Come in.”

‘What?’

Scott doubted his ears as he heard a woman’s voice coming from the VIP room. It was charming and attractive. It was the voice of the famous Jishuka.

‘Godly archer...!’

The actions she showed during the Eternal War were overwhelming. She was unmatched in large-scale battles. She was one of the few people Ares admired, as well as Grid and Kraugel.

‘Even if there are only five people, the story is different if there is the expert archer.'

It was fortunate. The Overgeared Guild wasn’t completely third-rate. Scott opened the door to the VIP room.

“Welcome...”

The moment he was about to sincerely greet the Overgeared members.

“Nice to meet you.”

He saw a man with shoulders broad enough to cover half the window. A black-haired man with an impressive nose, sharp eyes and high forehead.

“Overgeared King...!”

It was Grid. The person who broke the sky and eventually became the first player to sit on the throne. He was part of the reinforcements that the Overgeared Guild sent.

‘How?’

A legendary blacksmith and king. Out of the two billion users, Grid should be the busiest person right now. He was a star in the sky, just like Ares. He wasn’t someone who could be met easily. He came directly to the Ares Army who formed a temporary alliance out of necessity.

It was something that couldn’t be imagined. Grid laughed at Scott, who was baffled before he met a big shot without any preparations.

“I’m glad that you have accepted the alliance. I want to give a small gift as a memento.

“A small... Gift?”

Scott asked after hearing Grid’s words. Grid asserted confidently.

"I will deal with half of the enemies who invaded your territory within two days.”

“...Hat!”

Scott unintentionally laughed. Grid was too naive.

‘Doesn’t he understand the situation?’

The power of the Ares Army must by roughly known by the Overgeared Guild.

‘He saw that we couldn’t prevent the advance of the royal army so shouldn’t he be aware of the situation?’

Was the big shot Grid so lacking in wits?

‘No, it’s impossible. It must be a joke.

Grid didn’t really think he could deal with the army. Scott smiled as he was confident that he grasped the person called Grid.

"It would be really dependable if you could halve the royal army in 30 hours. I really ‘will believe in you.’”

“Really.”

“Hrmm, okay. You will do it.”

“Yes. Point out the unit that you want me to handle.”

Currently, the royal army had split into eight and were advancing. Some of them were particularly difficult to deal with. Scott picked four units and pointed them out.

"The 1st, 3rd, 4th and 6th battalions of the armored elite troops are especially outstanding. Their average level is the same as the other battalions, but their combat ability is outstanding. They don’t just rely on brute force. Their tactics are very sharp.”

Right now, the routes chosen by the four battalions were very tough. They were areas that would be heard for the Ares Army to reach. But Grid didn’t seem to know the circumstances of the Ares Army.

“Okay. Let me handle it.”

Grid nodded as he prepared to leave. The silently watching Jishuka, Pon, Regas, and Euphemina all rose from their seats after him.

Scoot was once again surprised.

‘Pon and Regas?’

He had been so overwhelmed by Grid’s presence that he hadn’t looked around. He only saw Pon and Regas now.

‘The Overgeared King, the divine archer, the white horse prince, and the asura... If Yura and Katz were here, then it would be the Overgeared Guild’s best power.’

Perhaps Grid’s confidence in handling half of the royal army in two days wasn’t baseless. Grid, Jishuka, Pon, and Regas all had experience with large wars. In particular, Grid had confronted 100,000 enemies alone. From their viewpoint, 10,000 troops might seem ridiculous.

‘They will soon realize their mistake.’

The armored elite troops weren’t usual soldiers. Every one of them was as powerful as a ranker and their ability to move in an army was greater than the top rankers. The godly archer Jishuka who burned the whole battlefield by summoning a red phoenix? It couldn’t be used against all the armored elite soldiers. Grid, Pon, and Regas weren’t worth comparing to Jishuka when it came to large-scale battles. They wouldn’t be able to perform well and would sooner or later be pushed back.

‘But that is enough.’

They only needed to buy time until Ares’ Fostering Strong Soldiers skill was activated.

‘Four days later, we can defeat the armored elite troops and induce a ceasefire.’

While the Belto Kingdom was recovering from the damage, they would lay the foundations for strengthening their army and occupy the Belto Kingdom with Ares’ power. Scott was convinced. His eyes shone with strong confidence as he dreamt of a radiant future.

However, Grid misunderstood.

'We seem to be reliable. The vision of Ares’ number two is very high.’

Grid smiled with satisfaction.

***

"Grid? Jishuka? Pon? Regas?”

Luck’s eyes gleamed as he checked the list of reinforcements from Overgeared.

"The founding heroes of the Overgeared Guild? What a surprise?”

The form of the alliance proposed by the Overgeared members was very unpleasant. It was because Luck felt they were puppets who were forced to accept the alliance due to the situation created by the Overgeared Guild. Luck thought that the alliance with Overgeared wouldn’t last long. He wanted to overcome this crisis and destroy the alliance.

However, the details of the members sent by the Overgeared Guild were too flashy. He didn’t like the way this alliance was proposed, but he felt proud that the Overgeared Guild was taking it seriously.

“The Overgeared Guild wouldn’t dare jeopardize this. They won’t stab us in the back while the empire is still strong.”

It was Scott’s thoughts and Luck agreed.

"It should be fine. The problem is that the empire will always be strong.”

Luck clearly realized that the empire was on a another dimension after the war. The power of the contemporary Red Knights was much stronger than predicted and the 1st knight was overwhelming.

'I can’t compete from the 5th knight onwards.’

From the 4th knight, it was like meeting a wall. Then the third knight was on a completely different dimension. They could easily overpower Kraugel in his prime with only one hand.

“Anyway, the most curious thing is the ability of the Overgeared Guild’s founding heroes.”

How long could they hold out against the armored elite troops? Luck decided that it would be three days. Of course, this was just a story of one battalion.

‘If they use guerrilla warfare well and drag out the time...’

Luck and Scott were looking forward to seeing it. Then the two of them saw the guild chat window.

@ The third armored elite troops battalion...!!

“What?”

It had been less than half a day since they received news that Grid arrived. Luck and Scott didn’t understand and asked at the same time.

@ Did Jishuka’s red phoenix work on the armored elite troops?

@ Did Grid summon two red phoenixes?

No, it wasn’t just that. It was highly likely that Grid, Jishuka, Pon, and Regas all poured out their ultimate skills.

‘But even so...’

To defeat one battalion of armored elite troops in half a day... Scott and Luck couldn’t understand it. Then a shocking answer arrived.

@ No, Grid summoned four red phoenixes!

@ Yes, four...

@... Red phoenixes?