Chapter 110

For a moment, I stared blankly at the world message.

“No way?”

This was really surprising information.

“Isn’t Haze not enough to catch a Thunderbird?”

Of course, Haze was a legendary swordmaster in Ardenia. She could be considered as the second strongest person of the Human Empire. However… it was only because she was ranked ‘second’. The difference in combat power between her and me was too great. We were on different levels, with me being able to break through alone and crush the head of a fanatic.

‘Haze is strong but just hero-level… Yet she caught a special boss that isn’t even a legendary elite or legend boss? Moreover, the Thunderbird is a flying monster?’

I turned Kasim’s head towards the west gate as we headed towards the guild tower and looked down at the city. The battle was almost over. Below, I could see knights cutting the reins of a fallen wyvern. The wyvern tried to resist by raising its body but couldn’t withstand the knight’s attacks due to the shock from falling and being bombarded with projectiles.

“Ah.”

I opened my inventory and changed clothes before anyone noticed. Anyway, there was no need for me to walk around dressed like this even if everyone had seen it already. It didn’t take long for Kasim to reach the west gate.

Below, I could see scattered soldiers and knights, healers busily running around them, and hastily mobilized laborers.

“Bring as much Songpyeon as you can! Tell them it’s for the knights!”

“Do surgery indoors! Dust will get into the wounds!”

“Use personal potions! If you bill later, we’ll compensate at 1.5 times!”

It was chaotic but not as bad as I thought. The groans coming from all directions ironically meant that there weren’t many fatalities. Above all else, this was inside the castle where human resources and supplies were abundant. Swift follow-up measures were being implemented.

‘The daily training has paid off.’

The endless production of wild boar meat from Wild Boar, ordinary grade clothes and leather items dropped by monsters, along with buildings constructed during castle construction allowed the Human Empire to perfectly provide for its citizens’ basic needs. In other words, the people of the Human Empire were completely free from the harsh labor they had experienced until now.

However, there was no country where life remained entirely comfortable forever. Previously burdened by arduous work, these individuals now faced rigorous training instead.

‘I must complete the training grounds quickly… Every citizen of the Human Empire should spend one month each year at the training grounds…’

If this plan were implemented on Earth, it might have sparked a coup, but remember, we’re not on Earth; we’re in Ardenia, aren’t we?

I arrived at my destination and canceled Kasim’s summoning.

Tap.

As soon as I landed on the ground, a knight clad in heavy armor ran up to me and saluted.

“Hail! This is Five, the West Gate Keeper of Iron Castle’s First Army. Currently, we are cleaning up after the battle.”

“What is the damage?”

“So far, there have been 87 deaths, 241 serious injuries, and 458 minor injuries confirmed.”

“That’s a big loss…”

The eyes of the gatekeeper widened, showing disagreement with my words.

‘Well…’

Considering they had faced tens of thousands of monsters, each possessing massive bodies and powerful abilities, suffering only 87 casualties could indeed be seen as an extraordinary victory.

‘However, our opponent was regenerating monsters. With a Mythical holy sword, there should’ve been fewer casualties.’

With this thought, I moved towards the injured soldiers. In their midst stood Haze, her skin severely burnt and blackened.

“You came?”

“Are you okay?”

“Not okay but…I feel like flying away. Surely, I didn’t eat that thunderber—cough!”

Haze’s body convulsed as she struggled to chew and swallow the Songpyeon. I caught the pieces falling from her mouth and put them back inside. Buff foods wouldn’t work if even one piece was wasted.

“Eat slowly.”

“I’m feeling rushed because it seems like I might die soon…huff huff!”

She managed to chew and swallow the Songpyeon before drinking a potion to aid digestion.

Once the Hero-level Songpyeon effect activated, the blackened skin fell off and new flesh began to grow underneath. Haze was amazed by this sight.

“Wow, with such injuries before, you would’ve died or been crippled.”

During this year’s Chuseok holiday, I had stockpiled Songpyeon like crazy, and my soldiers were reaping more benefits than me. Without it today, there would have been many more casualties.

“Well, we were lucky.” I turned away from Haze towards Stonestone sitting cross-legged nearby.

“Really…” Haze spoke while applying potion to her body. “I never thought we could really catch a Thunderbird.”

Unexpectedly, various emotions crossed Haze’s face: relief, sadness, despair, etc… I quickly guessed the reason behind it.

“You must have fought one before.”

“I wouldn’t call it fighting. We were chased, lost our comrades, saw our homes destroyed, and hid in shadows whenever thunder roared…” Haze leaned helplessly against the castle wall as she spoke.

Her armor was completely ruined, so jae-yeon covered her with a robe from his inventory to spare her some embarrassment.

“Thank you.” She chuckled softly before continuing. “Let me reiterate: You’re incredibly lucky. I haven’t encountered all the Special bosses, also known as Calamities, but at least now there’s the Thunderbird. Ah, I keep mixing up my terms.” Haze sounded frustrated.

“It sounds like those were the names used before the regression?”

“Yes. Back then, unlike today, their titles weren’t displayed above their heads, nor did they have classes or anything similar. When monsters died, their bodies remained behind, and resurrection wasn’t possible.”

Haze was referring to the ‘scenarios’ in Revenge. In games, items would drop and experience points were gained to level up, but this system was primarily for players. Rarely did game scenarios mention elements like ‘[Level]’ or ‘[Item Drop].’ There might be some exceptions, but Revenge wasn’t one of them. Perhaps the world Haze lived in before was slightly more realistic than this current place.

“Anyway.” Haze shook his head and continued, “I was lucky. I had a good understanding of the habits and tendencies of Thunderbird and that crazy bastard Edward. Additionally, the adventitious events triggered by this castle were immense. The hailstorm of gunfire was brutal even from my perspective, forcing Thunderbird to land as the barrier blocked all long-range attacks. And…”

I turned to see Stonestone sitting cross-legged amidst the crowd that had made way for him.

“Seriously… You were lucky with your timing. To think you would reach it at this moment…”

Goooow…

A faint golden glow enveloped Stonestone’s body, indicating he had achieved the tenth rank of the Reverse Flow Water Visualization Technique—a testament to his mastery of the technique.

“I never expected someone to become a Sword Master.”

“Sigh…” Stonestone exhaled deeply, causing nearby dust to swirl from the force of his breath. After several more regulated breaths, he opened his eyes.

”…Ah.” I smiled at his dazed expression.

“Congratulations.”

“Thank…thank you, Your Majesty.”

After saying this, Stonestone collapsed to one side, and I helped him up. One of the steel shield knights who had been observing approached us.

“Take him to his accommodation since he’s asleep.”

“Yes, yes, Your Majesty! Loyalty!” A tall knight with tanned skin promptly rushed over, supported Stonestone, and disappeared with him. For some reason, the knight looked thrilled while escorting Stonestone away, but it might just be my imagination.

“Well, at least that went well.”

It was disappointing not being able to capture the Thunderbird myself. Considering the inevitable damage caused and despite having legendary luck items, even with Level 2 Aura, there would still be a significant difference in drop rates compared to average users.

However…

‘Still, it turned out fine.’

Capturing a legendary special boss without my help was quite significant. At this moment, my knights and soldiers had proven they could defeat such bosses even without me.

‘With cannons installed on the castle walls and the gigas army, it would be even easier. Still, I shouldn’t overuse them.’

Despite being siege objects like firearms, cannons and summoning gigas didn’t grant experience points. Considering that unlike me, soldiers couldn’t easily grow their gatekeepers or complete collections, it’s best to utilize these only when facing formidable adversaries.

“Phew. Finally feeling better now.”

After some time, Haze recovered sufficiently and rose from her seat. The soldiers gazed at her with admiration, recognizing her exceptional performance during the battle.

“Hmm… By the way, we now have two guild masters…” I was inwardly impressed when…

“Sir! Sir!” Hearing the shout, I turned to see a soldier on horseback galloping toward us at full speed. Based on his uniform and the flag he carried, it appeared to be a messenger from communications.

He dismounted before me and saluted. “Presenting Lieutenant Cloud of the Swift Hawks Regiment!”

“Yes, Lieutenant Cloud. What brings you here?”

“It’s an attack! The Wild Boar Castle is under siege by brain-type monsters!”

The Wild Boar Castle was located at Q-19, situated at the northernmost point of the continent, approximately 300 kilometers north of Iron Castle.

“When did the attack begin?”

Seeing my composed demeanor, the agitated lieutenant took a moment to catch his breath before responding.

“The assault started about three hours ago. They are currently defending the castle.”

“How many enemies are there?”

“Around three thousand.”

The fact that they had arrived here from three hundred kilometers away within three hours meant they must have used teleportation scrolls.

Wait, isn’t it too late to use teleportation scrolls?

Upon further consideration, each castle possessed only one scroll with no spares, so using them was not an easy decision. They likely attempted to fend off the enemy on their own first but ultimately determined defense impossible and called for help.

“A report, sir! I bring news!”

Another soldier appeared before jae-yeon.

“I’m Lieutenant Morningstar of the Swift Hawks Regiment!”

“An attack? Where?”

“A celestial army of about three thousand has attacked Blue Hammer Castle! It’s difficult to hold them back!”

And this wasn’t even the end of it.

“A report, sir! I’ve got news!”

“Huff…huff! Big Fang Castle is under—”

The commander narrowed his eyes as more messengers arrived with news.

“H-how dare they…”

It was a coordinated attack. Had this information come while Iron Castle was under siege, there would have been nothing he could do about it. In fact, they might not have received any notice at all.

“They’re looking for death.” But things were unfolding differently than expected due to the swift annihilation of the enemy forces invading Iron Castle.

“Well done on delivering these messages. There’s no need to worry too much, so go back and rest.”

“What? But we’re still at war…”

“There is no cause for concern.”

Indeed, there wasn’t, because the Human Empire intended to employ their ultimate weapon.

“I will personally take care of this.”

As Kasim materialized, jae-yeon resolved to use the Sword That Split the Sky ten more times before the day was over.