13.

  ‘I almost died.’


  Hyrkan distanced himself from the Cockatrice as the Skeleton Warriors bought some time for him. He thought about what just happened.

  He didn’t even have to think about it. He was sure the magic thrown by the magician had headed towards him. The accuracy was so spot on that he wanted to give praise to the magician’s skill. If he exaggerated his compliment, he wanted to ask why the magician was a pitcher in the MLB. That was how accurate the magic hit its mark.

  However, there was a reason why he was able to survive despite the attack.

  ‘I’m glad I was prepared.’


  Preparation.

  He had prepared for this situation. He had stacked the expensive candy, expensive gum, and even the pricey Snake Essence! He had kept all three of them in his mouth.

  ‘Still, my HP went down to around 30%…… If I hadn’t invested in the Body Strengthening Skills, I would have died.’


  Again, Pelato had underestimated Hyrkan’s Stamina. Hyrkan hadn’t skimped on the Body Alteration Skills.

  There was the ’Skin Sewing’ Skill that increased his passive defense, including an increased defense against magic. There was the ’False Heart’ Skill that significantly increased his Stamina. Then, there was the ’Boiling Blood’ Skill that increase the rate of HP recover and, at the same time, mitigated the HP lost from burns and blood loss.

  He saw the true result of his investment into the Body Strengthening Skill Tree. It also helped that he had done his best to gather as many titles as he could. The titles were a big help in gaining a large Stamina Stat.

  Anyways, he was alive.

  Since he survived, Hyrkan had the right to take over the leadership role.

  “Did I tell you before? If you move without my permission, your severed wrists will be the only thing uploaded to my youtube page.”


  The 30 users all froze in place at Hyrkan’s warning.

  “The magician who threw the magic spell at me should especially take my words to heart.”


  The magician who had attack Hyrkan was frozen like an ice statue. Pelato’s expression also hardened.

  ‘Is it possible?’


  From Pelato’s perspective, Hyrkan’s words didn’t sound so innocent.

  ’Did he catch on……’


  Pelato was the commander, yet he was keeping his silence. Thus, the other members of the party couldn’t act.

  Everyone just glanced around and surveyed the situation.

  The progress of battle in front of their eyes were ever-changing.

  Keee, keee!

  The Cockatrice ignored everyone, and it was busy getting rid of the Skeleton Warriors attached to its body.

  Its fierce struggle dislodged the Skeleton Warriors from its body. When the Skeleton Warriors were thrown to the ground, it either ruthlessly stepped on the Skeleton Warriors or pecked at them as if it was eating corn from the ground. The beak broke apart the Skeleton Warriors’ skull.

  The Skeleton Warriors were pretty adept at dodging its attack. At times, the Skeleton Warriors were able to stab the body of the Cockatrice. However, it would be impossible for the Skeleton Warriors to change the tide of battle all on their own. The number of Skeleton Warriors decreased rapidly. There had been 10 of them, but now there were only four of them left.

  The countdown had started.

  The four became three. The three would become two then one. The Cockatrice’s attention would turn to others.

  ‘Don’t we have to move now?’


  ‘We should change our formation.’


  The party members kept looking at each other. They could continue to play this game of ice tag.

  “Didn’t I warn you? I told you not to move.”


  However, Hyrkan didn’t allow them to respond.

  There was a reason why he did that.

  ‘I will never hand over the command post.’


  Hyrkan decided he wanted to command this situation.

  He had already confirmed that Pelato was gunning for Hyrkan. It would be crazy for him to hand over the role of commander to Pelato.

  However, words were insufficient. He couldn’t take the command just by flapping his lips.

  He had to show them his skills.

  ’I show you what a real commander looks like.’


  Hyrkan took out a gem. It was more pitch black than black. The gem containing the thick, black light was gripped by Hykran, transforming into a black, murky liquid.

  Drip, drip.

  The black murky water dropped to the liquid.

  Koo-koo-koo!

  The ground let out a cry as it shook.

  Finally, a giant snake that boasted a length of 7 meters showed up. It was a Snake Golem.

  The ingredient and the owner of the gem was the Black Anaconda!

  There were many types of snake-type monsters in Warlord, but this particular one had the trick of squeezing its prey into two pieces.

  When the snake appeared, Hyrkan gave his attack orders. In a flash, it slithered towards the Cockatrice.

  Kwah-kwah-kwah!

  The Snake Golem moved across the floor, its movement rough and boorish compared to the Black Anaconda.

  However……

  Keeee!

  The Snake Golem was at a distance where the Cockatrice would have noticed it. However, it was still busy facing the Skeleton Warriors. In a flash, the Snake Golem encircled the Cockatrice. Its skill was surprisingly on par with a Black Anaconda.

  “Hardening!”


  Hyrkan immediately used the Hardeninig skill. The Golem made out of dirt hardened like a rock.

  Koo-oohng!

  The Cocatrice was unable to keep its balance, so its large body fell to the floor.

  Several users held their breath when they saw this sight.

  ‘Such a method was possible?’


  ‘Fantastic!’


  He used the Clay Play Skill to create a Snake Golem. The Snake Golem had encircled the target, and it had used the Hardening Skill.

  It was an amazing combination.

  They almost let out a sigh of admiration.

  Keeee!

  The Cockatrice, who was at the wrong end of this attack, was letting out a screech. The Snake Golem was wrapped around the entire length of the Cockatrice’s body, and it was having a hard time dislodging the Snake Golem, which had turned into stone.

  Bboo-dook, bboo-dook!

  Of course, one couldn’t ignore the Cockatrice’s power. Every time the Cockatrice struggled a crack formed on the Snake Golem.

  They once again swallowed their spit as they continued to watch the sight.

  ‘Should we head in right now?’


  ‘Isn’t our time to attack?’


  The Cockatrice was being tied up perfectly.

  At the same time, the countdown started. The Snake Golem could hold on for a finite amount of time. Even the users who weren’t a Necromancer could see that time was running out.

  There was less than 1 minute left.

  In truth, this fact in itself was amazing. In a Boss Monster Raid, a Boss monster had been restricted of its movement for 1 minute. This wasn’t something a user could do.

  Normally, this was the time used to prepare. The magicians would prepare magic spells, the Strikers would stick to the monster to get rid of the armor, or the party would change formation.

  However, no one could move right now.

  ‘What do we do?’


  ‘Should we move?’


  ‘Who’s giving the orders?’


  They were told not to move. Hyrkan had said so.

  During all of this, Hyrkan was operating his voice talk program.

  “Choose.”


  He tried a 1 on 1 chat instead of a group chat-

  What?

  Pelato was his conversation partner.

  “Choose whether you will fight the Cockatrice with me or do you want to fight me with the Cockatrice.”
-

  What are you……

  Boo-doohk, booh-doohk!

  While the conversation continued, the continuous struggle of the Cockatrice caused cracks all over the body of the Snake Golem.

  They didn’t have a minute. They were down to seconds.

  Pelato was getting desperate. Hyrkan continued speaking in a calm manner.

  “Who incited this?”


  At that moment, Pelato made his decision. He could tell Hyrkan wasn’t a normal user by his appearance. Moreover, he already knew about Pelato’s secret plans. In the end, if Hyrkan decided to actively interfere in this raid, Pelato would never be able to catch the Cockatrice.

  Moreover, he wasn’t in a position where he could take down Hyrkan.

  He didn’t even need to list the pros and cons of doing this-

  A……Apollo. It was the Apollo Guild.

  Hyrkan immediately switched to the voice talk option and yelled out to everyone.

  “Magicians get your magic spells ready. Priests give full buffs to the Strikers. After the magic strikes, the Strikers will run in.”


  Hyrkan had yelled out the instructions instead of the commander. Normally, they would just ignore any order that didn’t originate from the commander.

  However, an answer came as if they had been expecting this-

  This is the West magician team. We are short on time-

  Right! If we start casting now, we need at least 1 minute!-

  This is the priest team. Do you not realize how long it takes to cast a full round of buffs?

  They needed more time!

  Hyrkan had heard those words countless of times during his raids. He smirked as he spoke.

  He had to buy time.

  Hyrkan was very familiar with that work.

  “I’ll buy some time.”


  Hyrkan immediately summoned new Skeleton Warriors.

  Moreover, there was a specific Skeleton in the middle of the group.

  [Special Ability ’Chivalry’ was activated.]

  He had the Skeleton Knight.

  14.

  Storm Hunter’s Storm Princess. Red Bulls guild’s Matador. Hydra guild’s First Head.

  There was a similarity between these users beyond the fact that they were leaders of the largest guilds in the 30 Great guilds. They were all Swordsman class users, and they always lead from the frontline. They commanded their troops while being always nearest to the monster.

  At this point, anyone would ask the question.

  Wasn’t it too dangerous for the most important party in the group to fight in the frontline?

  However, this was the wrong question to ask. They were considered to be important precisely because they fought in the frontline.

  Basically, the positions that received the most attentions were either the Strikers or the Tankers. Those in the frontline decided whether a Raid failed or not.

  When one was being commanded by a skilled Striker or Tanker, the Raid felt different.

  Currently, it was like that.

  “Did you see its body shake?”
-

  It did?

  “I’m sure it is a sign that it is going into phase 3.”
-

  What do we do? We don’t know what happens in phase 3.

  “Since we don’t know it, we do it by the book. The Tankers will be placed at the North, South, East, and West. This is in preparation for an unexpected situation. The magicians will ready their most powerful magic for a single strike.”
-

  Where should we sent the magic spells?

  “I’ll decide. My cute Skeletons are sacrificing their bodies to stall it, so if you miss, you better be ready to take responsibility.”
-

  Yes, boss!

  It was like the ocean with violent waves, and Hyrkan was basically the buoy floating atop the ocean. Hyrkan commanded on top of the Cockatrice’s back. His command skill was so great that everyone participating in the raid felt a feeling of admiration.

  The evidence was all over the Cockatrice’s body.

  When Hykran fell off the Cockatrice’s body, he immediately used the Skeleton Warriors to divert the aggro. Its entire body was covered in wounds. The armor it had been wearing was gone, even its gray leather was peeled off. Its appearance was appalling.

  It was evidence that Hyrkan’s command had been flawless. Now the Cockatrice basically had no defense.

  “We are starting the countdown.”


  The Skeleton Warriors, who had been acting as bait, retreated as Hyrkan started the countdown.

  Hyrkan counted down to zero! It happened when that word was spoken!

  Koo-uhhhhh!

  Three enormous flaming bears charged towards the Gray Cockatrice.

  Several dozen ice spears formed about the Cockatrice’s head, and the spears plummeted towards it.

  For the finale, clouds formed above the Cockatrice’s head and the black clouds spat out yellow lightnings.

  Gwah-roo-roohng!

  Everyone’s vision turned yellow when the level 120 Unique rank magic, Mega Thunderbolt, fell from the sky.

  The ground almost split from the power of the continuous magic spells. The surrounding landscape wasn’t able to hold out.

  Keeeeee!

  Even being assaulted by such attacks, the Cockatrice let out a cry as it let its presence known-

  Sick. I’m sick of this-

  Its defense should be almost 0. What kind of bastard could survive such a magical barrage?-

  What kind of bastard? Of course, it’s a monster.

  The party members spoke to each other as they watched the sight. Hyrkan made a tight fist once again.

  Drip, drip!

  Black liquid dripped down through his clenched fist.

  Koo-koo-koo!

  The ground shook, and a Snake Golem immediately appeared.

  The Snake Golem quickly maneuvered over the rocky terrain, and it was very close to the Cockatrice.

  The Cockatrice turned its head to look at the Snake Golem. The unsightly monster only had malice left within it. The Cockatrice used its large beak to peck at the Snake Golem’s body.

  Kwah-jeek!

  The Cockatrice’s beak was embedded deep within the Snake Golem’s body.

  At the same time, the Snake Golem moved its body to encircle the Cockatrice’s body.

  “Harden!”


  Soon, the Golem had turned into stone and the Cockatrice fell to the floor. The Cockatrice struggled, and the Golem’s body immediately started to crack. Hyrkan yelled out his instructions.

  “Thirty seconds. Strikers will be in charge of the finale.”
-

  Roger!

  After replying, the frightening Strikers with full buff started to move. They were going to end this. The Strikers were always closest to danger, so they were very suspicious of commanders. If they didn’t trust the commander, then they wouldn’t move.

  When Hyrkan’s word ended, the Strikers ran immediately towards the monster. It was evidence that showed the Strikers 100% trusted Hyrkan’s command skills.

  ‘We just need to finish it off.’


  He had been perfect in his command.

  ‘I’ll have to request a reimbursement from Pelato for all the money I spent today……’


  Hyrkan had just completed his calculations when his eyes picked up something.

  Poohk!

  He saw the scene of an arrow flying towards the Cockatrice, and the arrow was planted on the Cockatrice’s body. A single arrow shot had ended the life of the very tenacious Cockatrice-

  What?-

  Who shot the arrow?-

  No user in Warlord uses a bow!

  Everyone was taken aback.

  Hyrkan was the only one who wasn’t taken aback. He was running towards the direction of where the arrow had come from.

  A sound was heard in Hyrkan’s ears.

  [The Corrupted Elf has appeared. Please track him down.]

  The announcement that helped the Quest Progress was heard.

  15.

  Heh-bibin was in a good mood.

  ‘The situation is finally on the mend.’


  Big Smile had been backed into a wall by the Triple Wing, but recently, they had come across some favorable news. They had developed a live channel program involving a popular Chinese actor. It would be shown on public television in China.

  In truth, this program had been long in the making, but they hadn’t been able to get anyone to back it. They had started airing it recently, and the result was better than expected.

  Moreover, there was a lull between the war with the Triple Wing. The two guilds still had a bad relationship, but for now, they avoided getting into a war that would lead their guilds into life or death situation.

  It wasn’t as if they had come to a special agreement. It came to be because they heard rumors indicating the Underfoot guilds were gunning for the spots occupied by the two guild. They didn’t want to become sacrificial lambs in these trouble times! This was how they came to a tacit agreement.

  ‘If we build up our fighting power again, we’ll be able to climb to the top again.’


  Of course, it wasn’t as if all the problems had disappeared. Still, it gave them time to rebound so Heh-bibin was thankful.

  He was in a good mood until he had heard the news-

  Excuse me. Do you perhaps know about this?

  The employee in charge of keeping the Big Smile guild’s items in storage was called Hae-bibin.

  “What are you talking about?”
-

  When we last spoke, you told me to loan out items to the Apollo guild if they asked. Do you remember?

  Apollo guild.

  Heh-bibin’s face crumpled a little bit at the word, then his face relaxed again.

  “Yes. Yes, I did.”


  Heh-bibin’s weakness was being exploited by the Apollo guild. He tried to give some preferential treatments towards the Apollo guild. This was why they had loaned out the items. He hand made an extra effort so the Apollo guild could get the loaned items.

  Truthfully, he thought no problem would arise out of it. The biggest problem that could happen in loaning out the items is the loss of the item. If he considered Apollo’s financial coffer, he didn’t need to worry about that.

  So why was it being mentioned right now?-

  Recently, the Apollo guild borrowed a lot of Unique items.

  “Did he perhaps lose all of them?”


  At this point, Heh-bibin wished Apollo had lost all the items. If so, he could secretly tie off their relationship-

  That isn’t it…… It seems the Unique items were moved to the Red Lake.

  Unfortunately, Heh-bibin’s wish went up in smoke.

  “What?”


  Red Lake.

  Of course, Heh-bibin knew about that location.

  ‘Why did the Apollo guild go to the Red Lake?’


  Heh-bibin tilted his head in confusion as he thought about the level of the core users in the Apollo guild. It was a location that was accessible to the Apollo Guild, but Apollo’s personality didn’t suit that location.

  First, the Apollo guild couldn’t act like he was a king in that location. If Apollo acted like he did in the regular field, he would be smashed into pieces at the Red Lake.

  Moreover, Apollo didn’t have the skill required to hunt there.

  ‘No. That pig bastard has no reason to go there……’


  Items weren’t the only thing required to succeed in a Boss monster raid. One’s own personal skill was important. Apollo didn’t have the requisite skills. If he went to the Red Lake himself, he would only realize that he was trash. All he was capable of doing was eating EXP from the back.

  At that moment, Heh-bibin suddenly remember something.

  It was the latest news.

  ‘Maybe……’


  A Corrupted Gray Cockatrice had appeared at the Red Lake, and someone was gathering an attack force to take it down.

  Moreover……

  ‘.……He is trying to catch the Hahoe Mask?’


  There was new that the Hahoe Mask had appeared there.

  Once he combined the two news, it made Heh-bibin frown. A terrible hypothetical situation appeared in his mind.

  ‘Maybe. No way……’


  What if Apollo was using the borrowed Unique items from Big Smile to catch the Hahoe mask?

  If so, who would take the blame for the incident?

  ‘.……no way.’


  Heh-bibin desperately tried to contact Apollo.