Chapter 825: The Last (58)
[Named entity Kim Hyunsung says he will obey the player’s orders and will do anything the player asks him to do. He expresses an intention that can’t be conveyed to the player. His intention has not yet been communicated.]
“It’s not too bad all in all.”
[The forces of the human faction have gathered, and the battle on the 15th Front will soon commence. The Sunset Swordsman and the Magic Swordsman recognize each other. The named entity Magic Swordsman provokes the Sunset Swordsman, engulfing in confusion and anger. He roars with evil and draws his sword.]
‘No, fuck, is this bad?’
[The Magic Swordsman laughs at and insults the Sunset Swordsman. The Magic Swordsman wants to fight. The player of the demon faction respects his will.]
‘I don’t think the atmosphere is an advantageous one.’
[The battle commences.]
‘Isn’t this a bug?’
With this, I thought about whether I should protest or not.
I knew that Kim Hyunsung was mentally weak, but it felt disconcerting to see that even his piece was like that.
He might have taken a penalty. Considering that he was as mentally weak as he was powerful, it was quite plausible.
‘We’re not the only ones having problems.’
Jin Qing’s named entity, Jung Jinho, also didn’t look sane.
I guess it would be advantageous to keep my mouth shut for now. If the war situation became unfavorable, there would be room to use the bugs as an excuse or directly protest against Jin Qing.
If it were Jin Qing, he would probably accept it…
It might seem a little dirty, but it couldn’t be helped. As it was a battle in which the lives of precious continental people were at stake, I had no choice but to ignore the notion of fairness.
‘Yeah, let’s go with this. If we’re ever at a disadvantage, let’s recover as much as possible with that excuse.’
While I was thinking of various possibilities, Jin Qing and Cho Hyejin were busy manipulating the dummy world expansion pack.
They both knew there was a lot to gain or lose based on the outcome of the first battle. Cho Hyejin, who sent Kim Hyunsung right from the get-go, seemed to have made a rather drastic decision, but in reality, that wasn’t the case.
She was like that.
It had to have come from her desire to minimize the damage on the human faction.
It was true that the 15th Front was important for supply, but there was no reason to send Kim Hyunsung there. If it had been confirmed that Jung Jinho was missing, there would have been a way to focus our forces on the other fronts.
Our gain would be small, but considering the efficiency, there was no reason to tie the Sunset Swordsman card, which had a wide range of capabilities, to the Magic Swordsman.
She also knew that he was specialized in mass destruction, and the thought of minimizing unnecessary sacrifices most likely created the current battle structure.
They were making quite a thrilling battle for just a small guy.
[The commanders of the human forces claim they need more troops. They request reinforcements.]
The soldiers of the human faction and the army of the demon faction were throwing spears at each other.
Wizards casted spells, and priests continued to chant holy magic.
The howling and trembling pieces collapsed, showing images reminiscent of real war.
[Some of the people in the human faction have fallen into fear. Priests of the Holy See sang for the glorious light, causing the soldiers to gain courage. They advance, saying they would not succumb to the demons. Status abnormalities offset despair. They roar for victory over fear.]
[The field commanders of the human faction warn you to spare divine power. The number of exhausted priests increases.]
Cho Hyejin bit her lip as she watched Kim Hyunsung and Jung Jinho swinging their weapons against each other.
She knew that the named Sunset Swordsman would never get tired, but seeing him collide with Jung Jinho directly, she seemingly became worried.
After strengthening himself with all kinds of magic, the Magic Swordsman looked happy.
I didn’t know if he had realized that there was no chance of winning in a head-to-head fight or if he thought he should use his special skill to keep others in check, but it was clear that he put Kim Hyunsung in a difficult position in an annoying way.
‘She chose the wrong battlefield.’
The method of continuously moving short distances and tying his feet was definitely effective.
Blood pooling on the floor grabbed onto the regressor’s feet, and his magic got on his nerves.
It was difficult to tell whether he was fighting with him or just enjoying the war while slicing away at anyone who stood in his way.
The Sunset Swordsman had no choice but to think that it would be hard for him to deal with the guy as he didn’t distinguish between friend and foe, turning everyone within his reach into corpses.
Like a psychopath killer, he had no hesitation in using humans as his shield.
If he felt he was at a disadvantage, he would hide behind a human wall or create a situation where it wouldn’t be easy for Kim Hyunsung to attack.
Laughing like a madman, he recklessly launched an offensive.
Considering my memories of the first round and the tutorial, I thought he might show a decent appearance. However, as the battle got longer, it seemed that he was putting his reason aside to show his true nature.
‘No. He’s different from Hee-ra.’
It wasn’t about letting go of reason. He was more rational than anyone else right now.
While Kim Hyunsung might not find this process enjoyable, he was the exact opposite. He was accumulating damage on both sides.
[Jung Jinho, the Magic Swordsman from the demon faction, laughs in joy and explodes with insanity as he charges on.]
[The troops of the human faction fall into fear of abnormal conditions. They have grown afraid of Jung Jinho. The field commanders insist on stopping him as the battlefield gradually falls into chaos and the forces of both camps begin to entangle. They have entered a state of confusion where they can’t distinguish between ally and foe. The heat of the battlefield rises, and all the soldiers have gone into a frenzied state.]
‘Fuck. I think there’s been a mistake.’
Jin Qing would have judged that it was an area that had no choice but to surrender. Considering Cho Hyejin’s disposition, it would have been obvious that she would be obsessed with this front. I could probably understand why he put Jung Jinho on a battlefield that had to be won at any cost.
“He’s just provoking you to have a dogfight. You know that, right?”
-…
He intended to accumulate damage as much as possible and cut us down. That was very like him.
They thought of getting benefits even if they had to keep making a snowball and giving away what they had while continuing to undercut the other party.
Of course, there was no way Cho Hyejin would let them just do it. In addition to reorganizing the troops quickly, field commanders with high leadership levels were immediately sent in to encourage the troops.
[Named entity, Sunset Swordsman Kim Hyunsung raises the Sunset Sword.]
[The forces of the human faction are released from their frenzied state.]
[The named entity, Shield of Faith, Park Deokgu, shouts a cry to regroup.]
[The forces of the human faction rallied once more. They raise their flag and begin rebuilding the ranks.]
-I will reconfigure the plan and deliver it to each field commander.
That wasn’t easy.
It was virtually impossible to reorganize the already ruined battlefield and reorganize the camp.
No matter how much Kim Hyunsung and Park Deokgu woke up the spirits of the troops, it was difficult to separate gravel and sand and put them back in their place.
As expected, the forces that started to move organically were strange even to me.
Personally, I thought Cho Hyejin was weak in improvisation, but now that I got to see her in action firsthand, I realized that that wasn’t the case.
Apart from the troops moving according to the manual, it looked like she was giving instructions directly to places where the situation wasn’t ideal.
-We will not be shaken. Those who have rebuilt the magic square will advance.
[The field commanders of the human faction applaud the player’s decision.]
[The moral of the human camp rises.]
-Soldiers, drive out the armies of the demon faction. Gather survivors and fallen soldiers and form ranks once more. Raise your shields and unleash your protective magic to advance. We will line up and drive out our enemies.
[The shield users of the human faction raise their defenses and moves forward. The Shield of Faith roars with cheers. He encourages the troops to win. He activated the special skill Instigation. All allies trust the instigation of Park Deokgu.]
[The morale of the demon faction has been broken.]
—Hahahaha!
‘That bastard is laughing…’
—This is fun. This is so fun.
‘Fun, my ass. Fuck. Fuck you, bastard.’
At this point, the reason for sending Kim Hyunsung became evident.
-We will deal with the named entity Magic Swordsman Jung Jinho first.
[Kim Hyunsung agrees with the player’s opinion.]
He immediately jumped, swinging his sword at him. Jung Jinho pulled his body back, disappointed.
[The demon faction retreats, dragging their troops back.]
-Don’t miss them.
‘Short-distance teleport magic. Fuck. I thought that would be annoying.’
[The Rangers of the Black Swan Guild say it is dangerous to push in anymore. They warn the player that this is an unpatrolled area.]
[Named entity Kim Hyunsung says he can complete his mission. He shouts to leave everything to him under the notion that he is not in danger. He strongly and desperately expresses his will that he can solve the quest.]
-We’re not going to go any further.
Cho Hyejin murmured in disappointment. Nevertheless, the ally troops made a reasonable decision. She checked the damage immediately because the battle had been won, but the casualties had to be severe.
Messages kept coming in saying that the morale of our allies was skyrocketing and that we had to attack the enemy at this moment, but it was more important to rearrange the frontlines and secure a supply route.
We had to build solid defensive lines and walls and lay the groundwork for an advantageous battle.
They stated the so-called second-half blow operation. I felt like I could clearly see her disposition whenever she played chess. When she locked the door like that and looked back, Cho Hyejin was especially terrifying. I couldn’t see any weak side.
Jin Qing was nodding as if he understood it.
He might have predicted roughly what type of person she was, but as time went by, wouldn’t he get to know the human Cho Hyejin better?
Unsurprisingly, as the match progressed, he slowly started to measure Cho Hyejin. He was like a viper trying to figure out her traits to take advantage of her little by little.
—You look like an upright person.
-…
—It’s not easy to find someone with such a clear characteristic… as this war progresses, it seems I’m learning more about who you are.
-I do not want to talk about useless things.
—Your intention is understandable, but you probably won’t fit in here. As I said, you can’t get anything without sacrificing anything. Even if you keep your beliefs and live, you will only lose. Think about what you got.
-That’s why you gave up your honor and took the demon’s hand?
—…
-I am neither as upright nor as righteous as you judged me. Have you ever wondered why you lost the Republic War?
—…
-Because there were people who remained true to their beliefs and lived the way they wanted to. The continent continues to develop after overcoming numerous crises because of them. They did not succumb to temptation or force and held in their hearts what they valued until the very moment of their death. It is their kind that made the present continent.
—…
-You sold your soul to the demon so you wouldn’t understand, but… I believe.
‘The demon summoner who sold his honor. You’re dumbfounded, right?’
—…
‘You can’t say anything, right? You can’t say anything because you see a really honorable person, can you?’
-It’s not people like you who really change the world.
‘Look at how cool our Hyejin is. Really. I think I’m going to have a crush on her.’
Jin Qing, quietly looking at Cho Hyejin, seemed to be getting serious.
Enough to admit that Cho Hyejin did a good build-up.
-I… believe so.
I had no choice but to speak up.
“Hyejin. Change slowly. Change. We’re going to backstab that bastard. He completely believes in you. He got caught!”