Chapter 432: Start of War
Callian once stood at the top of the country and received endless praise and admiration from the people. However, with the appearance of Kang Minhyuk, who created a stronger and bigger guild than his own, the people gradually forgot about his existence. Even his Iris Guild continued to exist in a state of decline.
What would happen if Iris Guild sessfully attacked As Territory and turned it into a wastnd? Without a doubt, his Iris Guild would be one of the best guilds in Korea!
But then, a madman suddenly appeared in front of him, spouting nonsense like, “Music… is the… only… unrestricted drug…!”
Callian felt goosebumps rise from his skin. Did he get goosebumps because the words were cool?
No. It was because he felt second-hand embarrassment from the man. The worst part was the song that he was listening to. It was Uncle Kim Heung-Kook’s <em>‘Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly’</em>. It was literally absurd!
Callian and the other rankers could not help but snicker at the absurdity of the situation in front of them. The 4,000 troops that Callian led had the most number of rankers. This was so they could quickly pierce through and break through As’ defenses the moment it was breached. The troops being led by Callian were the elites of the elites.
“Rovia.”
“Yes, master.”
Callian grinned and called for Rovia.
Rovia, together with Master Archer Root, were the two tall mountains in Korea’s archery scene. The only difference between them was that Root used a normal bow, while Rovia used a great bow.
Unlike normal archers, great bow users required a high STR stat, so it was a given that they would sacrifice their uracy rate. However, Rovia was as good as Root in archery in reality so she couldpensate for this loss. The greatest advantage of a great bow was its high prative force and destructive power. With an arrow that could pierce through the thickest of metal tes, what was the need for a high uracy rate? As long as they hit their target, then it was fine.
“Kill that man right now. This will mark the start of our Let’s Eat Sect hunt.”
“Yes.”
It was funny that the killer that would start their hunt for the Let’s Eat Sect was the strange man that was not too far away from them. But then, Rovia, who was pulling her bow, looked at the man weirdly and thought, <em>‘Where have I seen him before?’</em>
It was definitely a familiar face. However, Rovia did not have the time to ponder over this matter. She was a bit reluctant to kill this tiger swallowtail butterfly madman and make him the first victim in As Territory. However, it was inevitable. Rovia nocked an arrow that was asrge as a spear on her great bow.
<em>Shwaaaaaaaa—</em>
Then, Rovia pulled the strings of her bow tight before releasing it.
<em>Thwaaaaaaaaack—</em>
The arrow flew straight towards the man, apanied by the loud roar of wind. This was just a small pause in their march. So, Callian and his troops tried to advance again. But then, the man looked up at the butterfly fluttering in front of him with a soft smile on his face. This butterfly was in the path where the arrow would pass through. In other words, the butterfly would be torn to shreds soon.
The moment they thought so, the man gently wrapped his hand around the butterfly before twisting his body using his toes as the fulcrum and avoiding the arrow rushing straight at him. After that, the man gently unfurled his slightly closed fist and let the butterfly free. The man smiled as he watched the butterfly fly away while humming, “Assa~ A~ tiger swallowtail butterfly~”
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
Callian and his troops had no choice but to stop in their tracks once again.
<em>‘What the hell…?’</em>
<em>‘The man did not even move much but caused Rovia to miss?’</em>
They could not believe their eyes. The man just twisted his body slightly, by a mere fifteen degree, but he was able to avoid the arrow. That was so unrealistic! The more shocking part? The man was still looking and smiling at the butterfly.
“Hey, Rovia. Did you make a mistake?”
“I’m… I’m sorry, Master!”
Cold sweat dripped down Rovia’s back. She did not make any mistakes. She definitely aimed for the man’s forehead. Originally, the man’s forehead should have exploded from the arrow, but even if that was what she intended to do, she would be put in a difficult position if she tried to exin himself.
<em>‘Rumors about me missing my shot and failing to kill such a crazy guy will definitely spread if I exined.’</em>
It would be a stain to her honor, and be her greatest shame.
<em>Shwaaaaaaaaaa—</em>
Rovia pulled the strings of her bow once again.
<em>‘He clearly avoided the shot.’</em>
She used her skill ‘Sure Kill Shot’. It was a skill that could increase her basic attack by four times the moment she hit his enemy’s vital point. Rankers that had been hit by her Sure Kill Shot would suffer a huge reduction in their HP. Finally, Rovia fired another shot.
<em>Thuuuuuuuuuuuump—</em>
A louder sound than before rang loudly the moment the arrow was about to fly out. However, the man, who was five meters away from Rovia, suddenly disappeared and reappeared, grabbing the arrow with his hand.
<em>Grab!</em>
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
Everyone present blinked nkly in surprise after seeing the man suddenly disappear from sight and appear in front of them.
<em>‘I… I couldn’t even follow him with my eyes…’</em>
<em>‘What the hell?! Did he use Blink?’</em>
Then, the man said, “You shouldn’t… hurt… the butterfly…”
Rovia looked at the field of reeds at the man’s words. There were plenty of butterflies fluttering around the field and they would definitely be torn apart from the shockwave of Rovia’s powerful arrows.
<em>‘He stopped us because of the butterflies?’</em>
Cold sweat dripped down Callian’s back.
<em>‘He’s dangerous…’</em>
However, if they did not pass through this field then they would not be able to reach As Territory. Cold sweat started to drip down Callian’s forehead as the silence continued to envelope them. None of them could open their mouths.
<em>Gulp—</em>
The sound of someone gulping rang loudly in the otherwise quiet field, and this sound became their signal to start their attack.
“Attack!”
None of them thought that this was some kind of joke anymore. Callian even took the lead to attack the man, who was of course, Elpis.
Callian was a master of the quick sword and was a yer that alsopleted his transfer to high ss not too long ago. He had been struggling and fighting desperately to protect his slowly weakening position. But now, he had the power to deal with at least one or two members of the Let’s Eat Sect.
<em>ng, ng, ng, ng, ng, ng—</em>
Callian’s sword lights shot at Elpis quickly, while other melee yers tried to attack him with their fists, feet, iron maces, and even spears. However, none of their attacks touched Elpis.
Then, Elpis gently pulled out a piece of reed and grabbed it with his hands. With that very same reed, he cut down one of the yers in front of him.
<em>Shwaaaaaaa—</em>
“Keuhaaaaaaaaack!”
Shockingly enough, blood spurted out when the reed in Elpis’ hand cut down the yer, as if it was a very sharp de. Then, Elpis swung his reed upwards, creating a crescent sword light.
<em>Shwaaaaaaaaaa—</em>
The crescent sword light released a powerful force that swept all the enemies that surrounded Elpis.
“Urk!”
“Keuaaaack!”
“Keheok!”
Those that received the force from the reed’s strike either copsed, stumbled on their feet, or gripped their heaving chests. Rovia’s eyes widened when she saw this.
<em>‘Where the hell did I see this guy before? He looks really familiar…’</em>
Rovia was sure that she had seen the man from somewhere from the very first moment that she saw the man. Not long after, her pupils dted in fear. She finally remembered.
“Le… Lesser Demon Diablo…?”
“Wha, what?!”
“What did you say?!”
“I, I think it’s true? He’s really Lesser Demon Diablo!”
A buzz spread among the troops. Lesser Demon Diablo was the Zero Monster that crushed the strongest global yers during the World War. After thepetition, he suddenly disappeared from everyone’s sight. But now, he resurfaced as a crazy guy that enjoyed music.
<em>‘What kind of variable is this…?! Lesser Demon Diablo is in Minhyuk’s territory…?!’</em>
Rovia and Callian knew that Lesser Demon Diablo was a monster that no one could control. Of course, he joined hands with Minhyuk during the World War but, given his strength, everyone believed that he was not the kind of being that would willingly go under someone’smand.
But he was actually guarding As? Then, that meant that there was a very huge variable in front of them. After all, he was a tall mountain that was very hard to fight against.
“We are 4,000 strong! No matter how strong Diablo is, he can’t win against our numbers! Kill him and advance to As!”
There were only around forty rankers during the World War. But right now, there were 4,000 of them, a number that was a hundred times more than the number during the World War. That was why Callian thought that they could do this, that this was worth a try.
But then, Elpis pulled out the sword, the Devil Judge’s Sword, that was hanging on his waist and said, “A threat to the lord… I am Let’s Eat Sect’s shield.”
That was when Callian realized that it was his actions that goaded Elpis into bringing out his full power.
“Everyone, attack tog…”
But before Callian could even finish his words…
<em>Stab!</em>
“Keuaaack!” A yer screamed and died on the spot.
<em>Ping—</em>
While another one fell down.
<em>Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping—</em>
Then, ten yers fell down all at once.
<em>Baaaaaaaaang—</em>
And it did not end there, Elpis sent his scythe flying towards them, killing another thirty enemies in one go before reigning it back again.
“Mages!”
High-tiered mages immediately used Blink and appeared in the skies.
<em>Fwoosh, fwooosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh—</em>
However, despite escaping to the skies, Elpis’s sword moved swiftly and made the dozens of mages fall back down on the ground.
<em>Baaaaaaaaaaang—</em>
Elpis raised his sword high up in the sky and swung it down. Then, disastrous sword lights flew towards the enemy troops, breaking their armors and weapons.
“Hiiiiiiiiik!”
“De…Demon…!”
“You’re a demon!!!”
The kingdom’s soldiers either peed or burst into tears after facing actual death.
Elpis, who stood on the ground, took out the MP3, pulled out his earphones and turned on the full listening function. The full listening function was a game function where the MP3 user could st the music that it was ying in the small MP3 for everyone in the vicinity to listen to.
The music that was ying right now was <em>Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata 3rd Movement</em>. It was a music that could unknowingly captivate the listeners’ hearts with its rapidly changing tempo. Sometimes it would be slow, and sometimes it would be fast. This very same captivating melody was now ringing in the battlefield which brought a sense of urgency to survive in the listening troops. And with the fast tempo of the piano…
<em>Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping—</em>
…Elpis’s sword also moved swiftly and decapitated dozens of soldiers, causing heads to fly up in the sky before falling and rolling on the ground.
Dozens of rankers rushed at him. One person’s body got cut down, two people got their heads cut off. and three got their bodies split in two. As <em>Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata 3rd Movement</em>, Beethoven’s signature song, rang calmly in the field, blood spurted out from their bodies as if they were the ensemble and Elpis was the conductor.
<em>‘Are we in the orchestra right now?’</em>
<em>‘Is this the orchestra of death?!’</em>
More and more troops died as the tempo of the song got faster and faster.
“What the hell is this…?”
Callian lost his voice as he watched the troops die helplessly under Diablo’s sword. He thought that it would be possible for them to kill such a monstrous existence with 4,000 of them working together. He thought that their number was enough to deal with him. But, seeing Diablo move with the music made him realize that he was not someone that they could handle.
As the music approached the climax, the part where the piano yer’s hand moved faster and faster across the keys of the piano, Elpis’s movement also became faster and faster. And when the <em>Moonlight Sonata</em> approached the end, at the part where the performer would often raise their hands high to y thest key, he also raised his sword high up in the sky. And the moment he mmed his sword on the ground…
<em>Baaaaaaaaaaang—</em>
Elpis opened his arms wide and savored the lingering melody, as a powerful explosion engulfed a fifty meter radius area. The remaining troops from the original 4,000 that came with Callian exploded and died. And the same was true for Callian.
Elpis looked around the myriad of artifacts that surrounded him. He suddenly remembered what Minhyuk always said when there was food in front of him. So, he mumbled, “What a huge gain…”
Elpis, the man who wiped out 4,000 troops all by himself, was Let’s Eat Sect’s shield.