"Isn't it strange?”

The Ares Army had to occupy a total of 13 fortresses before arriving at the capital. It was a big war. The occupation difficulty of the fortresses were so high that the Ares members and Grid’s group were quite nervous. It should be a tough fight. But for some reason, all the fortresses were empty. All the fortresses on the way to the capital were empty, without even one rodent.

“What’s the reason for clearing the fortresses?”

“Have they already given up on the war?”

The fortresses were strategic points. There was no better base than a fortress to stop the enemy. Yet the fortresses were vacated? It was difficult for Grid to understand. He could only interpret it as the Belto Kingdom giving up on this war.

On the other hand, the Ares Army had a different hypothesis.

"The royal family thinks that Ares’ new army destroyed the elite armored troops.”

Yes, the Belto royal family didn’t know about the involvement of the Overgeared Guild. On the other hand, they knew about Ares’ Fostering Strong Soldiers skill. From the standpoint of the Belto royal family, it was natural to attribute the deaths of the armored elite troops to Ares’ new army.

"The royal family has clearly seen it. The armored elite troops raised their level and strength in real time in the war against the empire.”

“Fortresses are efficient enough to defend with a small number of people, but they will eventually succumb to overwhelming power.”

"It’s clear that the Belto royal family is afraid that our new elite army will defeat the troops deployed to each fortress and become stronger.”

"Thus, the king gathered all the troops in the capital and planned to intercept us at once.”

“Um.”

Ares nodded as he listened to the opinions of his people. It meant there was no disagreement.

"They acted wisely in their own way.”

The level of Ares’ new army, the ‘Iron Wheels,’ was still only 200. It was higher than the average soldier level of the Belto Kingdom, but their number was only 10,000. Ares wanted the level of the Iron Wheels to be higher and planned to use the conquest of the 13 fortresses as a means to level them up. But that plan was gone. The 10,000 level 200 Iron Wheels would have to go to the capital and deal with an army of 130,000 at once.

‘Hrmmm… I’m a little annoyed because the plan has become a little twisted.’

But it wasn’t serious enough to be frustrating. Ares had 30,000 troops in addition to the Iron Wheel soldiers. He was confident that he could lead them well to victory. It was natural, but the Iron Wheels also possessed the characteristic of ‘recovering all resources when levelling up’ like the armored elite troops, so the Iron Wheels could fight infinitely on the battlefield. It was okay as long as they weren’t hit by someone with an unusual attack power like Grid, Jishuka, or Euphemina.

‘And there are no such monsters in the Belto Kingdom.’

Those three monsters were currently on Ares’ side. It was reassuring. He thought that no matter how he fought, he couldn’t lose this war. But Ares wasn’t distracted. In a war, he could rule perfectly. The mild-mannered uncle transformed into a god of war.

“Shall we go and trample on the animal that opened its mouth without knowing that its guts are pulled out?”

"Ohhhhhh!"

The Ares Army didn’t need to be wary of the fortresses and sped up their march. They headed to the capital without a hitch.

***

“Breaking news! Urgent breaking news!"

The media all over the world, including South Korea and the US, were turned upside down.

Immortal. They introduced themselves as Agnus’ followers and sent a message.

-Today, Agnus will slaughter the Overgeared King and the God of War. Agnus will reign as king of the living and the dead.

Agnus. A person known to have one of the first epic classes who was shrouded in mystery. He never made any public appearances. This was the first time. However, it was publicly known that Agnus was strong. It was due to all the rankers who claimed to have been killed by him.

‘Crazy!’

He was someone who slaughtered a player just because they were standing on the street. It was natural for the attention of the world to be concentrated on him after he used the media to show his presence. In addition...

‘The target of his massacre is the Overgeared king Grid!’

Most people didn’t know about the ‘god of war.’ But even a five year old child knew who the Overgeared King was. Overgeared King Grid was one of the most famous and influential people in the world!

“He declared that he would kill such a big person!”

“Agnus! He truly is as mad as the rumors say!"

"Send people to the Belto Kingdom right away! Be prepared to write this scoop and don’t miss anything!”

***

『 At 10:24 a.m. in Korean time, an email arrived at media companies all over the world. Today, Agnus will slaughter the Overgeared King and the God of War. Agnus will reign as king of the living and the dead. As you all know, Agnus is the first epic hidden class and is currently 5th on the unified rankings... 』

『 We must focus on the expression of ‘king of the living and the dead.’ In the past, some people speculated that Agnus’ class is a lich. In other words, he’s likely to be immortal... 』

『 Veradin, who identified himself as Agnus’ follower, was named a genius of the 10 Rookies and is now 1st in the necromancer rankings. The fact that he is following Agnus shows how great Agnus is... 』

『 Immortal. There’s a high probability that it will be an undead army with Lich Agnus and Necromancer Veradin. They are probably the strongest group of players after the Overgeared Guild. He wants to use Overgeared King Grid as a target to prove his strength. 』

『 But does he stand a chance against Grid? I don’t think so. Agnus was only the 7th ranked player before Kraugel and Yura disappeared from the rankings, despite being the first epic hidden class. Of course, the 7th ranking isn’t low. But I don’t think he has the talent to reach the top-class players classified as geniuses. 』

『 I agree. The class called lich is supposed to exercise overwhelming power based on infinite power and survival, but Agnus’ nature itself will have limitations. He would be much lower than Kraugel if they share the same class. It’s arrogant to declare to the whole world that he could slaughter Grid, who only Kraugel has beaten. 』

Most of the media focused on the confrontation between Grid and Agnus. There was little mention of the mysterious God of War.

But those who had knowledge were very interested in the God of War. One of them was OGC’s director, Lee Gookrae.

‘The God of War... He can’t be a smallfry if he’s called a god.’

Director Lee Gookrae was curious about the identity of the God of War. While the other broadcasters were focused on Agnus and Grid, OGC had the sense that they should obtain information about the God of War and tell viewers about it.

***

“Unbelievable!”

The capital of the Overgeared Kingdom, Reinhardt. Lauel heard the news late due to being connected to the game and felt a chill go down his spine. Agnus? That crazy monster stood on the side of the Belto Kingdom to stop Ares?

‘No!’

They were caught up in the fight between Agnus and Ares. Grid would be tired and at a disadvantage if he collided with Agnus without any preparations.

‘How did this work become twisted so suddenly? No... I was played from the beginning.’

Veradin of the Immortal Guild.

Lauel belatedly realized.

“Veradin...! This is all your work! You predicted we would hold hands with the Ares Army!”

Veradin was a figure that Lauel was on guard against since his days as part of the 10 Rookies. Lauel thought of himself as the best genius in the world, but he had to admire Veradin’s brains and cold-hearted thinking.

‘The worst evil from my past life...!’

Lauel was convinced. Veradin expected the Overgeared Guild and Ares to hold hands and made a plan to destroy both at the same time.

‘It’s difficult to predict what traps will be set in the Belto Kingdom.’

Lauel sent Grid a whisper.

-Grid, come back right now...!

It was before he could even finish speaking.

-Why? Is it because of Agnus?

-...!!

***

Let’s go back to a long time ago, before Immortal’s message was spread to the media around the world.

“What’s this situation?”

The Ares Army and Grid’s group arrived at Belto’s capital. They were thinking about how to break through the formation of 130,000 troops, only to become surprised. It was because the gates to the capital were open, as if they were welcoming Ares. Even the walls were empty.

“A trap?”

"If this is a trap, it’s the most insignificant and stupid trap in the world.”

The enemy opening the gates wasn’t a trap, but a surrender. Ares was a prudent but bold person. In this case, he didn’t feel the need to think deeply.

"Everyone enter. I need to see if the enemy if foolish enough to intercept us in the city or if they have run away.”

Kung! Kung! Kung!

The Ares Army moved from where they were stopped in front of the gates. They entered the capital with Ares in the lead. There were 130,000 troops scattered through the streets of the city, not even in proper formations.

"H-Hik...!"

"The enemy! The rebel Ares has come to the capital!”

"D-Don’t fight!”

“...?”

The state of the Belto Kingdom was weird. There was no leader among them. The soldiers just rushed towards the Ares Army. Ares felt a big surprise at the abnormal situation.

‘What’s happening in this kingdom?’

The command system had completely collapsed. He didn’t know the situation, but something must’ve happened with the capital.

‘In any case, this is good luck for me!’

Ares and his troops concentrated in dealing with the enemies and the level 200 Iron Wheels started to increase their level dramatically.

“Hrmm.”

The Ares Army cut down the enemy for several hours and reached the front of the palace. Scott looked at the tranquil palace that didn’t look like it was in the midst of a war.

“Strange. I have a bad feeling.”

"Yes, it looks suspicious. But how can we stop here?”

Now they just needed to take the king. Then they would conquer the Belto Kingdom. In addition, the enemy’s army had already collapsed. Ares had no reason to hesitate.

Clink!

The moment Ares opened the entrance to the palace.

Piing.

There was a purple aura. The power of a death knight emerged from the darkness.

“Hup!”

Ares was currently leading an army of 40,000. All their stats had risen significantly. The death knight’s surprise attack was remarkable but Ares promptly evaded it. The purple light only hit air. However, magic immediately flew to the place where Ares had evaded.

Kuaaaaang!

“Ares!”

The Ares troops cried out when they saw Ares being swallowed up by flames.

“Kik! Kikikik! Kuhahahahahat!”

Laughter was heard from a dark place where light was completely blocked.

‘What?’

Grid didn’t know who the owner of this bizarre laughter was. He had never met the owner of this light. On the other hand, the faces of the Ares members, Jishuka, Euphemina, Pon, and Regas turned white.

“Agnus!”

At the same time.

Kwaaaaah!

Clack! Clack clack!!

From the inside of the palace, a large number of skeletons pushed out like a tide. In addition, the bodies of the Belto Kingdom’s army rose like zombies and struck Grid’s party and the Ares Army.

Chaaeng! Chaeng!

Kwaaaang!

“Agnus!”

The sound of yelling and screaming, as well as simultaneous explosions filled the ears. Pandemonium! Grid’s party and the Ares troops were in great confusion due to the unexpected event. Of course, this wasn’t everyone. In particular, Grid was fine. Grid had just blown away some skeletons when his gaze fell on someone.

“You’re Agnus?”

“Then you are the Overgeared King~? Yes~? Kilkil.”

Grid locked eyes with Agnus’ gold ones. Then...

Kuaaaaang!

A death knight broke through the formation of the Iron Wheels and swung the sword at Grid. It was different from the death knight that first attacked Ares.

Jjejeong!

Grid blocked the death knight’s sword.

Kuaaaaang!

Then a lich’s magic struck him.

[You have suffered 11,900 damage.]

At the same time.

-Grid, come back right now...!

A whisper came from Lauel. It was a whisper that stimulated Grid’s pride as he was surrounded by hundreds of cameras.

-Why? Is it because of Agnus?

-...!!

-Do you think I’ll run away? Is that what you were planning to say?

Suuk.

Grid’s equipped the Slaughterer's Mask on his face.

Kwajik!

Kwajijijik!

The four golden hands around him turned into Raphael's Spear.

"I didn't know today was a mad dog day.”

“Kik?”

Kuwaaaaaang!

A brilliant light. A white flash swallowed the middle of the battlefield.