Episode 180 [Rebellion, counterattack – 1]
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A gray castle continued along the ridge of Mount Othris in Greece. And on top of it were people dressed in ancient Greek soldier uniforms.
At first glance, it looks like a recreation of the ancient Greek city of ‘Polis’.
However, if you notice that the greenery right underneath the castle is not a bush but a forest, it is only then that you realize how grand the castle is.
The fortress and soldiers are so overwhelmingly large that Mount Othrys, at an altitude of 1,728 meters above sea level, seems at first glance to be the back mountain of a neighborhood….
That place was the ‘Giant Castle’, the home of the Titans, and it was the so-called ‘First Battleground’, the northernmost of the four ‘Victory Flags’ that players had to occupy.
And on a hill about 3km away from there, players called the ‘Unified Humanity Army’ were lined up.
“Move quickly!”
It was a large force of 1,981 people in total.
however….
“…Seeing it up close makes it even more unrealistic. “How did it get that big?”
“Ha, shit, honestly, I’m a little scared.”
Even though the battle had not yet begun, their morale was clearly broken.
Everything in the enemy camp was so shocking that it seemed like it was only a few tens of meters away, even though it was a whopping 3km away, so it was natural to feel discouraged.
“And the problem is that we have to tackle that nonsense.”
“Well, honestly, I think I participated in this for no reason. Should I have just gone with Alain Giam? “Would you like to sneak out now?”
Previously, many player groups rejected Steelein’s command and postponed participation in this public election war.
And they were still claiming that attacking the ‘Giant Fortress’ was like hitting a rock with an egg.
Despite this, more than half of the players, led by Steel Rain and many other heroes, marched forward with great courage…
When I actually encountered it, I had no choice but to acknowledge the sharp expression of hitting a rock with an egg. My instincts were warning me that this was crazy.
“Ah, no matter how much I think about it, I can’t imagine that thing collapsing. That’s a cliff or some kind of castle wall.”
“And now that Steelaine’s Mowlay drop is useless, there doesn’t seem to be any way to take it down…”
At that time, a huge fireball flew in a curved line above their heads.
Huuuuu——
“The 13th group magic launch is complete!”
“Prepare to fire the 14th group magic!”
The wizard players on one side changed ranks and fired repeatedly, like line infantry musketeers.
The fireball they sent stayed in the air for a while before finally hitting the Titan’s fortress.
Kwa-a-ang——!
but…….
“…It doesn’t look like there’s any major damage.”
Still, no one seemed disappointed… because this scene had already been going on for 6 hours.
“Is this… is it right to continue?”
They were bombarding the enemy camp with mana right after they encountered the castle wall.
‘Large-scale area magic’ of all kinds of properties, such as fire, water, and lightning, is created high in the sky and then sent out a much greater distance with the help of link magic or wind elementalists.
As a result, they were pounding the walls unilaterally from a distance, like a ‘caterfield’ attack used in siege warfare.
bang! bang! bang! bang!
“Damn, it doesn’t work one bit.”
However, that ridiculously large wall did not budge, and the titan hoplites standing beyond it now seemed to have a bored expression on their faces.
And, of course, it was the wizard players who were most skeptical about this senseless attack.
“…As far as analyst players can observe, it has now been reduced by about 1/36th.”
A Dutch guild master who was leading the wide-area magic attack wiped his sweat and frowned at his lieutenant’s report.
“What? Then we have to do this for a few more days before the castle wall’s defenses are broken, right?”
“Yes, and before that happens, the wizard players will die from bone disease. Even now, they are exhausted and crying out for rest. If this continues, mana exhaustion may occur within today.”
In fact, it was nearly impossible to occupy a castle by force, and the history of war proved that.
Therefore, the most orthodox method of siege warfare was not to attack, but to surround and wait until the castle ran out of supplies.
However, even if they were properly sieging the giant fortress, they could never relax.
The reason was the ‘goal’ of this [War Quest].
1) Secure a total of 4 ‘Victory Flags’ for at least 1 hour within 168 hours (in progress)
– caution! When goal ‘1’ is failed, the morale of the ‘Titans’ soars and their combat power increases significantly.
“Now we only have 137 hours and 5 days left…”
And although they had to occupy a total of 4 locations, they were currently attacking only 2 locations due to lack of firepower.
Meanwhile, while the United Human Forces were going through such trials and errors, Alain Giam and other proponents of the ‘uselessness of siege warfare’ appeared on broadcasts, broadcasting this scene and harshly criticizing it.
– …Look at this. Doesn’t it turn out that our opinion was correct in the end?
He appeared on a French broadcast, watching the siege live and commentating.
– It’s already been 6 hours. We’re attacking with all our might, but nothing has changed. This means that not a single titan could be killed.
– Still, given that ‘Archmage’ Choi Jeong-cheol’s ‘Semi-Armageddon’ has not yet been used, some say that Steele Rain is intentionally waiting for a certain timing. What do you think about this?
In response to the MC’s question, Alain Giam remained sarcastic.
– No matter how strong it is, how can it penetrate all four victory flags? It is known that Mr. Choi’s Sammy Armageddon cooldown is about 24 hours. And according to our [Grand Pinette] guild’s analysis, even that cannot destroy the giant’s fortress’s defense shield. You have to shoot at least 1.9 times.
– Ah, Grand Pinet’s analysis team is famous for its accuracy. Yes, it seems clear that the situation is darker than expected.
And even though the situation was not going well, the fact that ‘Steelrain’, the key figure in this operation, was never caught on camera was also acting as a factor of anxiety.
Also, Alain Giam was holding on to that point.
– …Where is he now? Isn’t Steele the one with the best ability to pound on the walls like now?
– Yes. Opinions are coming out one after another that it is a bit strange that he was never caught on camera firing a steel weapon.
-I think he’s stuck somewhere and struggling since his only weapon, Mogley drop, is blocked.
– That means… Steelein said there was a hidden strategy at the commander’s meeting. Does Monsieur Giam not believe that?
Alain Giam snorted at the MC’s question.
– Haha, it’s a strategy… Honestly, I don’t believe it. I made such a bold statement in front of the whole world, but there is no way to attack it, but I’m embarrassed to say it honestly, so I’m just wasting my time.
– ah…….
– So, it’s a bit weird to say this, but… he seems to be putting a lot of players at risk because of his ego. Please come to your senses.
His words were somewhat hypothetical, but as time passed, his arguments became more persuasive.
Meanwhile, gravity wizard Lee Seong-yoon and other [Zmunnarae] guild members were stationed at the ‘second battlefield’ on the northwest ridge of Mount Otris.
And they… as expected, did nothing and just watched the magic bombardment.
“…Lee Seong-yoon Shouldn’t we step forward now?”
The person who asked that was Kang Seo-yoon, the master of the [Zumunnarae] guild, and the guild members standing behind her also had expressions of agreement.
Together, Seongyoon Lee performed the ‘Hidden Quest’ and conquered the ‘Tartaros Labyrinth’, obtaining an anti-titan weapon called ‘The Power of Hecatoncheires’.
That weapon was currently the only weapon capable of breaking down the thick magic defense of the ‘Giant Fortress’.
And it was probably an item designed to be used that way in the first place.
However, Lee Seong-yoon, who had the right to use the weapon, rarely made a judgment, which was frustrating for his colleagues.
“There are about 5 days left, but if you wait any longer, the staff will have a cooldown and you will run out of time at the end, right?”
Seongyoon Lee nodded his head, but eventually uttered skeptical words.
“…We still have to wait a little longer.”
“So what are you waiting for?”
The reason he was in such trouble was because of the ‘note’ he received from Lee Hyun-wook last night.
‘He knew what this staff was.’
It was a secret operation carried out only by Guardian members, and it was questionable how Lee Hyun-wook knew about it.
Even… he told Lee Seong-yoon that he knew about the death of Nicholas Steele, who was like his father.
And he said he would tell you who murdered Nicholas Steele if you would follow his plan.
“…….”
At that point, Seongyoon Lee realized that his mindset, which had always been rational and cool-headed, could be influenced by someone else.
‘…How on earth do you know that? Is it really the power of a transcendent object? But even so, I don’t understand how it can reveal the truth of any past history.’
In any case, what he was worried about was whether Lee Hyun-wook was truly a trustworthy person.
He had been watching a rookie named Lee Hyun-wook for quite some time. I also expected that he would have rejected ‘Guardian Quest’.
However, his performance began to exceed expectations, exceed common sense, and go beyond the realm of understanding… Now, he has become much stronger than himself, and in fact, Lee Hyun-wook is now the number one player in the Korean player rankings.
How to deal with him in the future was a big task for the Guardian.
But one thing was certain.
‘No matter what purpose he has… humanity needs his power now and in the future.’
The person who truly hoped that Stillane would become a true hero was none other than the Guardian.
Seongyoon Lee held his staff and waited for the right moment.
***
In any group, a leader exists. Even if they are slaves under the control of another group.
Immediately after infiltrating the slave colony, Lee Hyun-wook asked the first people he met to take him to the leader, and they guided Lee deep into the ‘crypt.’
“…He is like our leader.”
Hans, the boy who led the way, spoke and soon a middle-aged white man with blond hair walked out of the dark room.
He was quite tall, but like the other prisoners, he was skinny and dressed in rags, a very ungainly figure.
But Lee Hyun-wook could immediately feel it the moment he looked into his eyes.
‘This man is the leader.’
His eyes were clearer than anyone else’s, or to put it another way, they contained a certain powerful will. That must have been the intention to get out of this place.
‘I stayed here for 6 years, but eyes like that are rare.’
And he was not surprised or intimidated by the visits of strangers.
Of course, it was impossible not to be nervous in the face of this unexpected situation, but even so, he did not act rashly.
“I am Joachim Volkov, the first strategy team leader of the [Löwe] Guild.”
And when he introduces himself like this, we can see that he is not complacent in this miserable reality.
‘And if it’s the [Löwe] guild…’
It was once one of the largest guilds in Europe, but it was the name of a guild that fell along with Berlin while responding with all its might to the third wave.
If he was the guild’s first strategy team leader, he would have been level 60 to 70 at the time.
In other words, it was the maximum power that could be obtained here.
“My name is Hyeonwook Lee from Korea.”
The two shook hands and entered the room. There was a crude wooden table sitting there.
“Please sit down. This is the most comfortable chair here, though.”
He joked like that, and when Lee Hyun-wook sat down on the chair, he sat on his side.
“So… you came from a foreign country to save us. And from Korea.”
In addition to Joachim Volkov, there were four other men and women in this room. They seemed to be the leader group of prisoners, but they could not hide their curiosity as they asked, “Korea?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Why did Korea take on such a dangerous task? By any chance… did our government request something?”
“Currently, a war event has occurred throughout Europe, so support has come from all over the world. I am also one of the volunteers and personally planned this prisoner rescue operation.”
Hyun-wook Lee thought about mentioning here that he was leading the player coalition called the ‘Unified Army of Humanity’, but he thought that could actually harm trust.
You would think that someone who was entrusted with such a grand mission would not be able to infiltrate directly like this.
‘And this man is measuring me now.’
His eyes were constantly scanning all over Lee Hyun-wook. He was probably trying to figure out if there was someone he could trust and entrust with his escape.
It was surprising that he still maintained his cool-headedness and was not quick to believe someone who appeared out of nowhere and spoke of salvation after 6 years.
Maybe he was suspicious that the dark elves were polymorphing.
“Well, it’s a bit hard to say this, but it’s been 6 years since I last heard about the world, so I haven’t heard of Lee Hyun-wook’s reputation. By any chance… what is your level?”
And since the most important indicator of trust was ability, he rather explicitly asked about the level.
“I have the ability to control metal as an ‘out-of-level growth trait.’”
At those words, the captive leaders became agitated. In the past and now, the S-class ranks are envied heroes, making it difficult to meet them once in a lifetime. Knowing that such a being had come to save me couldn’t help but feel completely different.
“…Ah, you are S-rank. “Then you must have gained a lot of fame while I was locked up here.”
Lee Hyun-wook neither confirmed nor denied, but Joachim Volkov nodded, perhaps thinking that he could be trusted to some extent if he was at the S level.
“Is this enough to pass the interview?”
“Haha, it’s an interview. I just wanted to know who the person who came to save us was.”
In some ways, it felt bad to come to the rescue and receive evaluation first, but Lee Hyun-wook seemed to like the fact that he took the initiative in making decisions.
‘Yes, it’s better than not knowing what variables will arise in the future and being careless.’
At that time, Joachim Volkov whispered in a voice so low that even the person next to him could not hear.
“So how are you going to rescue us?”
Now it was time to get to the point.
However, he noticed that his eyes, which had been clear until now, were shaking slightly.
“I have dreamed of escaping for a long time, but honestly… there is no way. Six years have passed.”
“There are at least 40,000 people here. And half of them are elderly and weak. Even if we open the wide portal to the outside… the man-eating vines from the ceiling will pour down and block our path. So. … The concept of escape is virtually impossible.”
Yes, escape is impossible. That reality seemed to make Joachim Volkov uneasy.
“Yes, escape is absolutely impossible.”
Hyunwook Lee also acknowledged that point.
“Uh, then…”
“So we won’t… escape.”
At those words, the prisoner leaders, including Joachim Volkov, looked puzzled, but those expressions changed to shock and bewilderment at Lee Hyun-wook’s next words.
“…Rather, we will take over this entire dark elf kingdom.”
“What?”
“Yes?”
In fact, as people who had been slaves for six years, it would be strange not to be surprised the moment they heard such words.
Still, Joachim Volkov seemed to be trying to understand the true meaning of Lee Hyun-wook’s words without saying anything, but the other leaders raised their voices impatiently.
“What did you just say?”
“So you’re saying we should fight directly?”
“Damn… Was I wrong for expecting…”
In response, Hyunwook Lee briefly explained his future plans.
Currently, they have joined hands with the Dark Elf royal family and are mobilizing the ‘Forest Elementalists’ among them to control water-containing plants.
Then, he gathers as many wizard players who can use flame magic, suppresses Green Wave, and holds a sit-in here.
“…And when the troops in the throne room escape, we will infiltrate and assassinate the general.”
But even as he said that, he knew that it would be difficult to convince them. Their eyes were colored with disbelief.
‘It’s probably a plan that’s hard to believe.’
Not only will they not have access to the reputation of ‘Steel Rain’, but they will also judge the player’s strength from 6 years ago…
‘How can I persuade you of this?’
But then…
“Whoa! Whoa! Joachim, you’re in big trouble!”
A man rushed into the room and shouted.
He was catching his breath for some reason.
“You have to avoid it right now!”
***
At that time, Park Jun-mo and Kim Se-hee were outside the crypt in the form of dark elves. They were monitoring the surroundings and preparing for any possible threats.
“Team Leader Kim, the man who just ran in… did something happen?”
“I guess so, but I’ll tell you if anything happens.”
Even as she said that, Kim Se-hee was paying close attention to the direction the man had run from.
Meanwhile, Hans, the boy who guided them, approached Park Jun-mo and spoke to him.
“Um… you’re the same person as us, right?”
I asked that question because the two were still in the dark elf polymorph state.
“Oh, that’s right!”
“Well then, I’d like to ask you something… Is the outside world still safe?”
They also heard that a war had broken out, but other than that, they had not heard any news about the world for six years, so they could not contain their curiosity and asked.
“I heard that the dark elves have invaded Europe. It was six years ago, but my family was in Leipzig. Are they safe there?”
Park Jun-mo did not know where Rachipzig was, and there was no way that it had not been overrun by titan hoplites.
‘But you still have to say something nice.’
It was difficult for him to suppress his bitter feelings as he watched the prisoners here.
And this boy, Hans, is now about 16 or 17 years old? From the time he was just over 10 years old, he would have been a slave in this underground place.
Thinking about that, Park Jun-mo felt the tip of his nose twitch and wanted to somehow say something hopeful to them.
“Haha, nothing major has happened yet to worry about. And players gathered from all over the world to stop it. “Maybe we’ll win and you can get out of here.”
“…I hope that happens.”
I felt darkness and light at the same time on Hans’ face.
“But of course you aren’t the only ones who came to rescue us, right?”
“ah….”
As Park Jun-mo was thinking about how to say this, Kim Se-hee, who was watching next to him, stabbed him in the side. It meant to watch his mouth.
“that is….”
At that time, Hyunwook Lee came out of the room, and after him, Joachim Volkov rushed out and shouted.
“Everyone, you must avoid right now!”
What does this mean all of a sudden?
“What’s going on?”
When Kim Se-hee looked at Lee Hyun-wook and asked, she answered instead of Joachim Volkov.
“They say unannounced patrols have started now.”
It meant that the guards who managed and supervised the slave colony here were coming this way.
And the bigger problem is…
“Oh, by the way, the ‘chief jailer’ himself is said to be patrolling!”
Hans, who was listening next to him, spoke.
“Huh! Then aren’t you going to use the ‘Search’ skill? The warden even accurately counts the number of people and even recognizes people who are missing or dead…”
Among the dark elves of the ‘jailer’ lineage who supervise this place, the highest level had appeared.
But Lee Hyun-wook still had a calm expression.
“Is that elite monster coming from over there now?”
“Yes, we estimate that they are analysts who are at least level 90 or higher, so if they are caught, it will be the end.”
“As you probably know, one player cannot deal with elite monsters around level 90, even if they are S-rank, even if they are always accompanied by a group of elite monsters called the ‘Special Inspection Team.’”
His standard of judgment may have been six years ago, but it was true that there was not much difference between then and now.
In other words, it was a very dangerous situation.
“And… honestly, if you were an S-rank that I didn’t know about six years ago, I think your awakening would have been relatively recent and you wouldn’t have had such overwhelming growth in your abilities.”
Lee Hyun-wook nodded his head as he listened to his explanation. All of them were reasonable thoughts. No matter how S-level it was, its limits were clear depending on the situation.
However, the current Lee Hyun-wook was, so to speak, on a different level. He never knew that.
“I told you earlier that I would assassinate the general. “You couldn’t believe it.”
“Why are you talking about that now…?”
Lee Hyun-wook answered that question by turning toward the direction the guards were coming from.
“I will prove it now.”
“Uh… wait a minute!”
“You shouldn’t go that way!”
Dissuasion poured in from everywhere, but Lee Hyun-wook paid no heed and walked forward, and lamentations poured out from here and there.
But I couldn’t stop him, and he could only stare blankly at his back.
“Damn, where did these crazy people come from?”
“If this continues, bloodshed will ensue for us too!”
“You have to stop Joachim! “Don’t you know that if we show up like that, we’ll all die?”
However, Joachim Volko hesitated and looked conflicted as to what he was thinking, and slowly shook his head.
“…Let’s wait a moment.”
“what?”
“That person’s eyes… they weren’t eyes that could be stopped. And there was some confidence in his eyes.”
Just as Lee Hyun-wook felt when looking at him, he also knew that Lee Hyun-wook was a special person in some way.
Like that, Lee Hyun-wook slowly moved forward, and before he knew it, a black crow named Hugin was riding on his shoulder.
Soon, I felt footsteps approaching from far away.
‘A total of 14….’
He used the ‘clairvoyance’ of the Insight Lens to see through the darkness.
– Dark Elf Elite Jailer (LV: 64)
– Dark Elf Elite Jailer (LV: 63)
– Dark Elf Elite Jailer (LV: 65)
There are 13 of these…
– Dark Elf Jailer (LV: 97)
It was definitely a group of monsters that could not have been easily dealt with six years ago.
“huh?”
“Stop right there!”
I spotted Lee Hyun-wook there and shouted, and he stopped and raised both his hands. He then looked at the captive leaders, held his head, and muttered something like “This is the end.”
“…Why is this kid dressed like this?”
“What are you and where do you belong?”
Lee Hyun-wook’s clothes were not suitable for a slave. It was a suit made of black dragon skin…
And at that time, Park Jun-mo lightly tapped Hans, the scared boy, on the shoulder and whispered.
“You asked earlier how many people were involved in the rescue operation? In fact, we are the only ones who came to rescue you.”
“Yes?”
Hans was so surprised by the sudden confession that he asked back in a fairly loud voice.
“But it’s okay. It’s a bit awkward to say something like this, but…”
Park Jun-mo raised his index finger and pointed behind Lee Hyeon-wook, who was standing facing the guards in front.
“…In fact, you can think that the strongest human being has come to save you.”
At that moment, Lee Hyun-wook stretched out his left hand to the side, and a large sword appeared in his hand.
