Chapter 71

She was truly like a fairy maiden.

‘Of course, it won’t be easy to hold this fairy’s hand.’

The conclusion remained the same as always: I needed to make more money.

‘Ah, how long do I have to keep earning…?’

Despite my sudden distress, the situation continued steadily. Haze completely drove away the monsters from the southern gate, and 30,000 troops entered the castle. I named the new castle ‘Hometown’.

‘It started here, no matter what else happened.’

Upon arriving at the castle, the soldiers moved smoothly according to the pre-planned operation. Assigned personnel diligently prepared for defense and distributed the brought supplies.

While they were diligently moving, I installed a watchtower, mana turrets and a large fountain to obtain drinking water in my hometown castle.

‘The original purpose of the fountain wasn’t this but… there is no well-like installation.’

In the central square, pots were lined up and everyone gathered for dinner. Afterwards, the soldiers stayed in buildings assigned by squad. Even though it was basic construction for Hero rank castles, they were built with clean bricks and had excellent insulation properties so nobody suffered from the cold.

One day passed like that.

The southern gate of the hometown opened, and soldiers poured out one after another.

“We’re marching!”

“Marching! Don’t let your guard down while moving!”

Two thousand archers and mages favourable for siege warfare remained behind to defend the hometown castle along with 10,000 regular soldiers.

Their mission was to prevent ice elemental monsters from amassing near the western gate and use their hometown castle as a forward base. More units trained at Wild Boar Castle and Starting Castle would continue joining them there.

“Monsters spotted ahead!”

“There’s about seventeen hundred of them.”

“Prepare for battle!”

The eight thousand elite soldiers and ten thousand regular troops mobilized swiftly. Naturally, the main fighting force consisted of the elites. The role of regular soldiers was support, such as transportation or assisting in combat. They could only become corporals or non-commissioned officers through extensive military experience or achievements, eventually transitioning into the ranks of the elite soldiers.

Crash!

The lines clashed head-on. Fearless tanks, wielding large shields, threw their full weight against the ice elementals.

With sufficient levels and stats gained from raiding dungeons under the Favor of the Goddess, these tankers were virtually impenetrable.

And they have skills too.

At guild level six, nine rare passive skills related to stats were unlocked, with each basic job class (three warriors, three rogues, and three mages) receiving one skill apiece. This was the skill assigned to the tanks, or more precisely, shielders:

Tank Body (Rare) (Passive)

Your tenacious vitality has been honed through battlefield experience.

[Detailed Effect]

Health +50

It may sound simple but had a significant impact. Every single tanker possessed this skill, along with a Ring of Protection (+6 Cold Resistance). As the most heavily invested unit, it would take much to bring them down.

“Stab!”

“Push them back!”

As professional soldiers who trained daily, my soldiers were unfazed by the monsters’ attacks. Instead, swords and spears emerged between shields to cut down the monsters.

Occasionally, elite monsters appeared among their ranks. Some ice golems proved particularly challenging for shielders to block amidst the chaos.

Boom!

A bone sword tore through the air, shattering one such ice golem and sweeping away dozens behind it.

“Sungchul is with us!”

“Waaaaah!” The soldiers roared, emboldened.

I adjusted my strength accordingly before hurling the bone sword. I didn’t bother retrieving it this time.

‘I have plenty more bone swords.’

As the Wild Boar Castle churned out wild boar meat, so did it produce bone swords in abundance. In fact, these bone swords were used as construction materials and furniture due to their commonality within the castle.

“Amazing! No casualties at all.”

“With this kind of numerical advantage against elite monsters, there shouldn’t be any losses.”

The soldiers with assigned classes, equipped with skills and weapons far surpassed the typical notion of ‘strong’ soldiers during medieval times. Each soldier was comparable to a newly minted knight, meaning they could advance towards our destination with minimal harm even without my presence.

“End of battle!”

“End of battle!”

“Gather all dropped items in one place, and we’ll depart again in an hour!”

The forces continued to move southward. They defeated monsters that occasionally gathered, stopping from time to time for meals and rest. We didn’t rush. Taking our time fighting and resting sufficiently allowed both my soldiers and myself to maintain peak condition.

-Kuaang!

After hearing the Thousand Dragon Roar, the soldiers setting up camp sneakily glanced over. I clapped my hands together.

“They learn quickly. Indeed, it is due to their realm?”

Hearing my praise, Haze smiled bitterly while dressed casually.

“Some parts of this overlap with what you taught me before. Still…it’s truly outstanding! You really taught this to your soldiers? It makes Starlight training seem like trash.”

“Actually, it is trash.”

“Actually, it is trash.”

My joking words made Haze choke up before he grumbled, “Seriously… Ha. It’s sad that I can’t deny it. Honestly, you’re relying on your realm to use this without grasping its essence. Such a profound training method!”

Seeing his amazement, I briefly pondered my response.

“Hmm. Are you planning to learn the Heavenly Dragon Sword Art?”

“Of course. Why would I choose Starlight training over this technique? During the metamorphosis, my aura - no, Inner Force completely scattered. Most of it was converted into stats due to the Class Card or something similar, so I need to relearn anyway.”

“Then don’t learn it for now. I will teach you something else. The Heavenly Dragon Sword Art is based on swordsmanship so it won’t suit you.”

Haze’s expression showed surprise at my words.

“There is another training method like this?”

“I need a moment. Yes…I’ll let you know tomorrow evening.”

”…”

We moved during the day and rested at night, continuing our journey. Initially, the soldiers stumbled but they found stability as we achieved repeated victories without much damage. Haze tirelessly practiced the Chana Technique (刹那訣), which I had memorized from reality, both day and night.

Four days later…

We arrived at our next destination after traveling south 100 kilometers.

[Ice Queen’s Paradise (Advanced~Hero)]

I saw pillars of light and swarms of monsters below them.

“Ugh… It’s cold.”

“It is summer now but…”

I heard the complaints from ordinary soldiers. Everyone had dressed warmly anticipating the cold, but abnormal temperatures always disturbed humans.

‘Well, it is around minus five degrees Celsius. It isn’t unbearable.’

Of course, the temperature would drop further once the sun set, making it not ideal for camping outdoors. However, it didn’t matter.

“We will spend tonight in the castle. Charge.” In response to my words, the flag bearer sent the predetermined signal. Actually, this could’ve been resolved through chat, but I wasn’t always commanding, so we followed established procedures.

“Silver Cross Knights! Raise your swords and prove your bravery!”

“Hah!”

“Steel Shield Knights! Be an iron wall that pushes down the enemy!”

“Yes sir!”

The knights began to move. It sounds grandiose calling them knights, but until recently, they were soldiers, farmers, or even married women taking care of children. Someone observing their composition might dismiss them as a motley crew.

However, their combat power was on another level compared to other elite soldiers with similar classes and equipment.

It’s because they possess innate talents.

They were superhumans who had awakened their aura! In this savage world, these individuals had craved strength all their lives, dedicating themselves relentlessly to training. Their achievements were undoubtedly significant, especially since most of them practiced Quick Advances, known for rapid growth.

These mana users possessed extraordinary combat power due to their increased mana reserves as bonus stats, surpassing even seasoned knights. No monster formation could withstand them!

And leading the charge was a swordmaster wielding a spear:

“Ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha! Try and stop us now!”

“She’s quite something… Where did she come from?”

This knight appeared more fearsome than most men, effortlessly sweeping across the battlefield. Naturally, no monsters could stand against her. The only way they could attempt to capture Haze would be by surrounding him and overwhelming him with sheer numbers, but that strategy was rendered impossible thanks to this human army pressing forward behind him.

Clomp! Clomp! Clomp!

The knights riding high-ranked pets charged forward with infantry following behind them. Unlike before, monsters were staying put and guarding their dungeon instead of rushing at us. This allowed the shield bearers to advance slowly while the Knights Guild initiated combat.

Before my soldiers clashed with the monsters, I tossed several bone swords towards some elite monsters nearby and addressed one of the soldiers waiting beside me:

“Shields.”

“Yes, Sungchul.”

Four shield bearers formed a square by linking their large shields together as per my command. I lightly leaped and landed within this protective enclosure. The purpose was to activate the ability ‘Dark Observer’ from Variant Ranger Class, which granted “Cost-free Intermediate Stealth if not observed for over 1 minute.”

I stood quietly until Stealth was activated, being shielded from everyone’s view.

“Open.”

At my words, the gap between shields widened. I emerged through this opening and started crossing the battlefield.

“Huh? What is it? Something just passed by…”

“Focus on what’s ahead! Ice spears are flying!”

A few sensitive soldiers detected my presence but due to the chaos of the battlefield, I reached the dungeon without any issues. Unlike the dull ice golems, the yeti and goddess sensed me and looked around. However, they were forced to reveal gaps as Haze plunged into their midst causing pandemonium.

Pop!

[Ice Kingdom]

I entered the dungeon. It was filled with ice structures as empty as deserted classrooms. Surprisingly, there were no signs of life within this vast space.

Pop!

At that moment, an ice elemental appeared out of thin air.

Woooomm!

A cold chill emanated from the core of the ice elemental. Without hesitation, it entered the pillar of light located at the center of the dungeon, exiting the dungeon.

‘It doesn’t stay inside the dungeon. It immediately leaves upon regeneration.’

As I followed the elemental, I noticed a figure standing blankly next to the pillar of light.

Slow Ice Golem (Rare)

Lackstar

‘A rare-grade monster as the boss…’

While it was convenient for me, this situation seemed quite peculiar. The original boss of this dungeon, the leader of the Storm Orcs, was Hero rank.

‘In other words, once a dungeon is occupied, there’s no longer a boss… It’s better than having the Ice Queen present in every dungeon, but… Hmm. There might be some hidden cost to this.’

With these thoughts, I drew my sword. Since the opponent was merely rare grade, Divine Roar wasn’t necessary.

Sword energy manifested.

Zzzingggg!

Finally sensing danger, the ice golem hastily braced itself. However, it was too late; my blade had already shattered its core.

Thud.

The ice golem collapsed. This marked the moment our guild alliance threatened the very existence of the Ice Queen.