Chapter 106…
WEEEEEOOOO―!!!
A blaring siren shook the entire headquarters of the Cheonsun Guild.
I quickly leapt onto the fortress wall with Nam Woo-jin.
Countless Cheonsun guild members had already gathered there, each of them wearing a hardened expression.
“……”
I, too, momentarily lost my words.
What had appeared in the city… were monsters worse than beasts.
I’d only heard rumors, but I didn’t know it was this serious…
Torn guild flags, bloodstained weapons and armor, and hungry, predatory eyes.
Anyone could see they were not an official guild.
Raiders disguised as a guild…
China’s situation was nothing like Korea’s.
Because the land was too large, the government couldn’t function properly, and as a result, the strong ruled all in a lawless wasteland.
Of course, that didn’t mean they were scavengers who only fed on corpses.
“Forward—!”
THUD! THUD! THUD!
With the sound of war drums, the raiders began gathering one by one on the plains between the city and the fortress.
Judging from their precise movements, they were clearly well-trained players.
“Form—RANKS!!”
They aligned themselves in a perfect formation.
Seeing it this way, their numbers easily exceeded a thousand.
“At the end of the day, they show up now…”
Grit—
Ju Geon-ryul ground his teeth beside me.
His face was full of fury, but there was also a shadow of inevitability—like he’d known this moment would come.
I quietly approached him.
“Is their attack related to the Red Gate raid tomorrow?”
“Yes. They’re vermin—hyenas.”
“No way…”
“What you’re thinking is probably correct.”
As he said, I immediately understood the raiders’ intentions.
Ju Geon-ryul’s nickname is ‘Guardian’… but the meaning differs between the world and the Chinese people.
I still remembered the emotions flickering across his face when I first arrived in China.
Pride, affection… and a painful kind of regret.
To the world, he’s the Guardian because he blocks beasts and gates…
But to the Chinese, he was the great wall protecting them from the raiders.
The literal meaning—Guardian—was exactly what he embodied.
So of course, from the raiders’ perspective, Ju Geon-ryul and the Cheonsun (Heaven’s Shield) Guild would be an eyesore.
Their name meant the shield that blocks the sky.
Even if the current chaotic era was considered the “natural order,” the guild stood for protecting the weak from unjust fate.
The more righteous and upright Ju Geon-ryul was, the more enemies he would naturally attract.
There’s a reason the saying “the straight tree is cut down first” exists.
But Ju Geon-ryul was no mere tree.
He was a massive world tree that blanketed an entire nation.
And he was far stronger than steel.
That was the kind of person he was.
Which is why the world collapsed the moment he died…
I muttered internally, watching him.
Even I was moved by the size of his heart, one that could embrace so many.
I could never be like him.
I simply wasn’t that kind of person.
Still, I’m good at seeing things from above. Metaknowledge.
And because of that, there was something only I could do.
I just had to do what I could.
“The first reason they’re attacking is to weaken the Cheonsun Guild before the Red Gate raid…”
Ju Geon-ryul nodded.
The weaker Cheonsun became here, the higher the chance of failure in tomorrow’s raid.
And if the raid failed, the raiders would gain power.
“The second reason is to unite their factions while the Cheonsun Guild is still intact.”
“Correct.”
“Whoever is in charge… they’re clever.”
“A man named Qin Jiksa (Jin Geuk-sal). A wolf-like bastard.”
Raiders could only move for profit.
And when a group gathers under the pretext of “profit,” it’s even more fragile than a sandcastle.
That’s when they usually need a “powerful enemy.”
If the shared enemy is strong, the factions are forced to unite.
Though once the shared enemy disappears, the group’s future depends entirely on its leader…
Before Ju Geon-ryul even finished speaking, something happened on the plains.
The raiders pulled something forward from behind them.
My eyes sharpened.
“Those are…”
“Grit… those beasts…!”
They were Cheonsun guild members—taken hostage.
Probably captured while temporarily outside the fortress.
About ten guild members were bound and forced to their knees.
Their faces were full of fear and despair.
At that moment, one raider silently unsheathed his sword.
“No!”
Someone shouted from atop the wall—but it was too late.
SLASH—
Two guild members’ heads rolled onto the ground.
Their blood seeped into the dirt, and the remaining hostages trembled in terror.
The guild members on the wall erupted in fury.
“You bastards!!”
“Let’s go down there and kill them all!”
“Guildmaster! Just give us the order!”
But Ju Geon-ryul didn’t move.
He knew that acting recklessly would only endanger the remaining hostages.
“……”
Only blood dripped from his tightly clenched fist.
Then a short man stepped forward from among the raiders.
“JU. GEON. RYUL—!!”
His voice boomed across the plains.
He looked like the leader of the raider alliance.
So that’s Qin Jiksa…
Short, but built like a tank. A face covered in scars. Eyes filled with murderous intent.
“Come out alone! Or these worms die! You have 3 minutes!”
Ju Geon-ryul finally couldn’t stand it and tried stepping forward.
But I quickly blocked him.
He could not go.
“Guildmaster, wait. This might be a Mage Tower trap.”
“Even so, I have no choice. I’m the guildmaster. I must protect my people.”
“Let me handle it.”
“…You?”
If this was a trap set by Gobert Merlin’s disciples…
It was better I walked into it.
A trap for Ju Geon-ryul would hurt me far less.
Those Merlin brats… they were all prodigies.
They were meticulous and calculating.
The timing was too perfect to be a random raid.
The day before the Red Gate raid—exactly when Ju Geon-ryul was needed most.
Which is why this fight suits me better.
Ju Geon-ryul was best at facing visible enemies head-on.
In a pure clash of strength, he would never lose.
But dealing with hidden blades? Improvised traps?
That was my specialty.
My multi-dimensional experiences thrived in moments like this.
“But…”
“Trust me. I’m the right one for this.”
He didn’t know my capabilities, so of course he’d be worried.
But what mattered was that I knew what I could do.
I patted his arm reassuringly.
Then I turned around and subtly sent a whisper to Nam Woo-jin.
『Woojin.』
『Yes, hyung! What do you need me to do?』
Smart kid.
He already sensed I’d need him—he even knew how to use telepathy.
I gave him a small nod and moved my lips.
『When I give the signal, go wild. Just avoid the hostages.』
『Got it!』
With the simple plan set, I stepped off the fortress wall toward the plains.
[The user activates skill: “Step Art Lv.7 (A)”.]
Fwoosh—
Space folded, and I appeared right before the raiders.
I crossed the distance between the fortress and the plains in an instant.
“……!?”
“What the—?!”
“Where did he come from?!”
Both the Cheonsun guild members and raiders were stunned.
But I calmly spoke.
“Release the hostages.”
“Hah? Who the hell are you?! I asked for Ju Geon-ryul, not some worthless twig!”
Qin Jiksa quickly hid his surprise and burst into mocking laughter.
Then he ignored me and shouted toward the fortress.
“Is the so-called Guardian hiding behind trash like this?! Shameful! Kill a few more!”
“Yes!”
The raiders raised their butcher’s blades.
And at the very moment their blades gleamed—
KRRAA-BOOM—!!
Blue lightning crashed down from the sky.
Right onto the head of the raider trying to kill a hostage.
“GAAAH!”
“W-What the—?!”
“Lightning from a clear sky?! Heaven is angry!”
CRACKLE―!!
Standing in the center of the scorched ground… was Nam Woo-jin.
“You guys are hopeless. You need a beating.”
Blue currents spread around him, shocking and dropping the nearest raiders.
“This brat…!”
A raider swung a sword at him.
But Woo-jin became a streak of thunder and vanished.
In the next instant, his fist sank into another raider’s stomach.
“Gyiik—!”
Dodging and attacking in one smooth motion.
There was no wasted movement.
It was as if he’d watched someone and copied them perfectly—minimal moves, maximum effect.
And no one could underestimate him.
“Surround him!”
Four raiders with spears attacked from all directions.
A nearly unavoidable joint strike.
But Woo-jin slid under them, shocking two by the ankles as he passed.
“GRAH!”
“Gugh…!”
He rose and dodged a surprise axe swing behind him as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
“Do you think electricity is only for attacking?”
THUD. CRACKLE—!!
His spinning elbow struck the axe-user’s jaw, lightning bursting on impact and knocking him out.
“What the hell is this kid?!”
Three more raiders charged—dagger, mace, unarmed fighter.
Woo-jin still looked relaxed.
“I just learned something new. You guys are perfect target dummies.”
Lightning danced across his hands.
He deflected the dagger strikes with electrified palms, then kicked the mace-user’s knee the wrong way.
CRACK—!
When the last fighter punched, Woo-jin grabbed the fist—and discharged voltage directly through it.
“GYAAAAAH!”
The fighter collapsed instantly.
In less than 30 seconds, Woo-jin had defeated ten raiders.
Hard to believe that’s just an A-rank talent…
In my past life, this wasn’t revealed until long after he became the youngest Goblin Guildmaster.
His talent was [Lightning Goblin (A)].
Not low, but definitely not exceptional among A-ranks.
But the way he used it was genius.
Not just for attacks—mobility, crowd control, even sensory detection.
He was already proving he had the talent to become the youngest guildmaster.
“Now! Run!”
Thanks to Woo-jin’s ‘cleanup,’ a path opened for the hostages.
They sprinted toward the fortress.
“We’re done, hyung!”
Woo-jin gave me a thumbs-up.
Rather than panicking, Qin Jiksa laughed like he found this amusing.
“Hooh, not bad. But is that all?”
He raised his hand, and a hundred players stepped forward from the thousand behind him.
A literal wave of bodies.
“Good. If you ran already, it would’ve been boring.”
I smiled.
Because I finally had the chance to test a very special item.
I pulled a small hexagonal metal cube from my subspace.
Thanks, senior.
It was a custom artifact crafted by Julie Pearson.
When I first received it, I thought it was just geometric art.
But now I saw the countless micro-engraved magic circles on its surface.
“Kill him!”
“Crush him!”
The raiders charged.
No more time.
I activated my talent.
[Seal Wax Release]
The artifact released a brilliant light and attached itself to my body.
“What the hell?!”
“Artifacts can transform like that?!”
The raiders were stunned.
But the transformation had only begun.
When the artifact fully merged with me, immense power surged through my entire body—
and—….
