Episode 94
094. Too Many
The moment Roentes finished speaking, an earth-shattering roar erupted.
“WAAAAAAAAAH!”
The wizards corps arrayed in the square. No longer did their eyes hold fear or confusion. Only the blazing determination to protect their city, their master, and the innocent citizens burned fiercely.
“Disciples of the Stars.”
Roentes’a final words to that wizards corps.
“Unleash your magic.”
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM—
Magic boiled over in an instant. Hundreds of wizards simultaneously released their magic, completing their battle preparations. The surging magic of the corps filled the square to overflowing and more.
The corps moved. A blue wave of magic began advancing towards the red wave of monsters.
golden hand watched this scene unfold. Turning towards him, Loentes wore a faint, mischievous smile instead of the solemnity he’d shown the wizard corps.
“Go ahead and try for first place. Of course, I can’t exactly tell my disciples to go easy on you.”
With those words, Roentes dissipated like mist. Left alone, golden hand let out a wry chuckle.
‘I’ve been had.’
golden hand, and indeed all players participating in this historic quest, had overlooked one crucial element. The presence of the wizards themselves. They had overlooked the existence of those who made Airtos the city of magic.
‘If the mages are also participating in the contribution race…’
His rivals weren’t just players anymore. The mages of this city—all of them were now competitors.
It was utter chaos. But golden hand’s footsteps headed towards the battlefield. Without any hesitation. Just as the players had overlooked something, Tower Master Roentes had also overlooked something about Golden Hand.
“Walker! Tia!”
Roentes had referred to Golden Hand as an ‘individual.’ But Golden Hand didn’t see it that way. Because Golden Handhad comrades: Iron Walker and Tia.
Moreover, another fact Roentes had overlooked: he hadn’t yet seen Golden Hands in combat. Golden Hands unique combat style, on a different level from other players.
“Walker, be careful of overheating when using the flame jets.”
“Wooalker! He… heat? Heating!”
“No, overheating. And Tia…”
Golden Hands pondered for a moment before speaking.
“Just chew them all up.”
— Tiiit! Tiat!
Whether delighted by Golden Hands words or not, Tia flew in happy circles above his head. It seemed Golden Hand’s hadn’t given up on first place yet. No, his footsteps only quickened.
[Title: (Breaking) Current Status of the Airtos Defense .jpg (Data Warning)]
[Title: Did you see the quest rewards? I told you to listen to golden hand’s!]
[Title: [Analysis] 3 Reasons Why the Airtos Defense is Doomed to Fail.txt]
[Title: Yeokcheon vs. golden hand’s, can he do it? lol]
[Title: But seriously, is this monster wave really connected to the Arachne Guild? How did they gather so many?]
[Title: Are those monster numbers for real? Can they even block this?]
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With the start of Roentes quest, Repinet’s posts began to be plastered with news about Airtos. Public opinion was split to extremes. Those cheering for the quest’s success, those blindly condemning and wishing for its failure, and even those predicting Airtos’s collapse and reveling in the chaos. The forum was a complete mess, much like the battlefield in Airtos.
└ [RegretMaximus]: Ah, why didn’t I believe him… When Geumson said something was strange around Airtos, I should have rushed there immediately…
└ [DungeonMania]: For real lol. I saw the post late in the first place! I went to the ‘City of Giants’ dungeon and came back to this chaos? That place was just a regular honey pot, and here’s a lottery-level event.
└ [Analyst]: Aren’t you guys getting your hopes up too much? The monster respawn rate is at least twice as fast as the players’ kill rate. At this rate, the defense line will be breached within 12 hours and Airtos’s collapse is certain.
└ [StomachAche]: Day 1 of wishing for quest failure. I hope both Geumson and Kang Moo-jin fail and get that 30-day login restriction lololol
└ [PatriotOnly]: I agree with StomachAche. Wasn’t he a traitor for selling an Ancient-grade item to Panteria in the first place? Whatever he’s doing in Airtos now is suspicious. He might be a Chinese spy trying to ruin the Korean server.
└ [Pragmatist]: That guy above still hasn’t come to his senses. Thanks to that chain, the whole world is watching the Korean server as Panteria takes on the Lich King. Is that treason? It’s boosting national prestige. If you’re stupid, just stay quiet.
└ [Realist]: Everyone, stop fighting. It can’t be blocked anyway. News just dropped that the first of three outer defense lines around Airtos has already been breached. It’s just a matter of time. The numbers are just too, too many.
└ [AirtosSurvivor]: Hey, I’m at the scene right now, and it’s literally hell. Even the mage corps is being pushed back. Kang Moo-jin and the Yeokcheon Guild are barely holding on… Honestly, it looks tough.
└ [PopcornPopper]: But what’s Geumson doing in all this? He was talking to the Tower Master earlier, did he go AFK? Is he running solo?
└ [NewsFairy]: OMG, insane. Just got an alert. Golden Hand started streaming!!!!
└ [Anon]: OMG really? The title is even crazier? He’s definitely baiting lolololol
Player opinion began leaning towards failure. It was at this timing that a comment appeared. golden hand’s personal stream had begun.
“Phew… there’s really a filthy amount of them.”
Golden Hand downed a stamina recovery potion whole while checking his system messages. He had been hunting monsters like a madman at the forefront of the monster wave on Airtos’s outskirts.
[Level has increased! Lv. 66]
[Level has increased! Lv. 67]
[‘Infinite Chain Strike’ skill has reached Lv.4.]
[‘Giant’s Strength’ skill has reached Lv.5.]
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[Level has increased! Lv. 73]
[‘Sun Strike’ skill has reached Lv.5.]
[‘Insight of the Veins’ skill has reached Lv.7.]
[‘Perception of Boundaries’ skill has reached Lv.4.]
His level had skyrocketed to 73 in an instant, and the proficiency of his combat-related skills also rose steeply. Tia had awakened new attributes by eating the special items monsters carried.
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[Dark attribute has increased.]
[The Phantasmal Elementia ‘Tia’ absorbs the properties of ‘Desert Raider’s Poison Pouch’.]
[A new attribute ‘Poison’ blooms for Tia.]
[Poison attribute increased by 1%.]
[Held Attributes]
[Flame: 31%], [Light: 15%], [Dark: 8%], [Poison: 1%]
Not just Tia, but also Iron Walker’s combat, repeatedly pushed to the brink of overheating from spraying flames. As a result, Geumson managed to secure a vast number of material items from the battle.
[Acquired ‘Corrupted Forest Spirit Crystal’.]
[Acquired ‘Scalavan Scale’.]
[Acquired ‘Troll’s Blood’.]
[Acquired ‘Frozen Mane Fur’.]
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The results were clear. Even the players participating in the battle, while complaining about dying, seemed satisfied with the insane leveling speed. However, golden hand’s expression looked somewhat grim.
‘This… there are too many.’
The swarming monsters were simply too many. At this rate, just like the collapse of Seoul, the capital, during the Age of Ruin, Airtos would ultimately collapse as well. The reason Airtos had held out so far, unlike Seoul, was…
Thanks to the players.
Unlike the real-life defense of Seoul, where death meant the end, here in Lepione, you could revive even after dying. Because you could face monsters without fearing death.
‘Experiencing a large-scale siege battle like this is beneficial in itself.’
It was the kind of battle one would actually have to face during the Age of Ruin. From the perspective of experiencing it beforehand, it was clearly a positive factor. Moreover, the rapid leveling of players would undoubtedly help raise the overall level of Korean players. However.
‘We have to win. It only has meaning if we win.’
This battle absolutely had to be won. Protecting the Korean server’s city of magic was important. But more important than that was imprinting a powerful memory of victory upon the players.
‘Back then, many were scared and ran away.’
The players who hid in fear from the monster horde swarming Seoul. They couldn’t be blamed. Unlike Lepione, it was a matter of real life and death. But the memory of victory. If that memory were planted, many things would change. Players would stand firm even before the monster wave that struck Seoul.
For golden hand, preparing for the Age of Ruin, this quest was a battlefield he absolutely had to utilize. But what if they lost this battle? The devastation of the capital, Seoul, would happen even more swiftly. Because the memory of defeat would be imprinted in the players’ minds.
“We can’t go on like this!”
golden hand opened the contribution ranking window.
[Airtos Defense Battle Contribution Rankings]
1st: Kang Moo-jin (Yeokcheon) – 1,254,800P
2nd: Red Lion (Yeokcheon) – 687,100P
3rd: Delophin (Wizard) – 655,400P
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51st: Golden Hand – 412,300P
Contrary to his bold goal of first place, the result was somewhat humble. Contrary to his expectations, the gap with Yeokcheon wasn’t closing easily. In fact, as time passed, the gap with the Yeokcheon Guild, led by Kang Moo-jin, was widening. They moved as a guild, slaughtering monsters with seamless coordinated play.
Truly, Kang Moo-jin. He had expected it to some extent, but this exceeded expectations. No matter how exceptional the individual combat power of Golden Hand, Iron Walker, and Tia was, its limits were clear before organized force and numbers.
