"8 Quads. Head to the central island."
As they moved toward the center of the island where the Seyodong Stone was located, Seowoon didn’t forget to keep an eye on the map.
Watching the movents of Jecheon Daeseong, he stayed alert for any unusual behavior.
And then—he noticed sothing different. The enemy was moving in a way he hadn’t seen before.
The massive blue zone of the Azure Dragon’s range appeared, and, surprisingly, the enemy had stopped just short of entering it, waiting at the edge.
"The Azure Dragon is like the Blue Zone in Royal Ground. But why would soone that powerful avoid it?"
The Blue Zone was a dangerous area in the ga that appeared with warnings and bombarded a random area—a kind of environntal hazard.
To Seowoon, the Azure Dragon functioned exactly like the Blue Zone in Royal Ground—random lightning strikes that could instantly eliminate unlucky players.
"The Azure Dragon isn’t even a monster ant to be killed—just a natural disaster."
Jecheon Daeseong also didn’t seem like a monster ant to be killed, but unlike the Azure Dragon, which was rely marked as a zone on the map, he still had the title of "monster."
His eyes lit up with a sudden realization as he made the connection between the two.
—Enemy.—
KWA-GAGAGAK!
Just as he was thinking and scanning the map, white clouds split open and the ground cracked in front of him.
Seowoon quickly stepped aside and gave an order.
—Don’t counter! Just dodge!—
Seowoon had been scouting several dozen ters ahead of the team, so they were able to easily dodge the incoming magic thanks to his quick command.
As three enemy players appeared at the top of a cloud-covered hill, Seowoon stayed cautious, scanning the surroundings rather than reacting recklessly.
—We don’t know where the rest of their team is hiding.—
As they watched warily, the three enemies, who had only fired a single spell, vanished back over the hill, retreating as if to flaunt their escape.
—Feels like a trap.—
Kichan muttered. Seowoon nodded slightly and began climbing the hill with a doubtful look.
Once they took the hill, the enemy was already gone—having passed over the opposite side.
That’s when the team, who had been sticking close behind Seowoon, began to speak.
"This is way too..."
"...obvious for a trap."
Hearing limin and Jinryung’s exchange, Seowoon asked Hamit ntally:
’Hamit, any other eyes on us?’
—None. I only sensed their gaze after they cast that spell.—
Then Dump stepped forward and spoke up.
"How about using the Cloak of Concealnt?"
"We’ve already made our presence known the mont we entered this island. If Carn’s eyes are on them, using the glass cloak now is just asking for it to break."
Hearing that, Dump silently stepped back.
Still looking around cautiously, Seowoon moved on.
In any case, the presence of enemies was a good sign.
If there were enemies, it likely ant the Seyodong Stone in this area was active.
After advancing carefully for about ten minutes, another magical attack ca.
A simple fireball flew toward them, but Seowoon shattered it with a punch. Over the hill, a mage briefly appeared before disappearing again.
—Hyung!
—A priest!—
Kichan and Jinryung shouted at the sa ti.
Seowoon instantly understood what they ant.
—Make a run for the Sedong Stone!—
It could be a trap—but Seowoon, like the others, believed the enemies were stalling for ti rather than setting a true ambush.
Without hesitation, he began sprinting. Up ahead, a mage on an airboard ca into view.
As he unfurled Gale Step and drew his bow, a hidden mage from the side launched an attack.
—Ignore them!—
While Kichan blocked the spell flying in from the flank, Seowoon fired a piercing arrow toward the mage on the airboard.
SHU-KWANG!
The mage barely dodged the arrow, which exploded nearby. Though caught in the blast, the enemy held out with a barrier and only stumbled.
As Seowoon began to nock another arrow, a second spell ca from the opposite flank.
—I’ll take care of it!—
Hearing Juriel’s command, Seowoon resud his attack.
As her spell collided midair with the incoming enemy spell and exploded, Seowoon’s arrow pierced through the opening.
SHU-PIK!
The arrow grazed the enemy mage’s shoulder, drawing blood. Seowoon’s lips twisted slightly.
The mage, trying to pull out a scroll while riding the airboard, lost balance. A mont later, he tumbled off, rolling violently on the ground.
Lilngwi smiled as she watched.
—Used my poison.—
Seowoon gave a small nod as he passed by without stopping—his foot crushing the poisoned mage’s head.
CRACK!
—Don’t stop! Keep moving!—
Ignoring the mage who had now turned into a loot box, they charged toward the Seodong Stone.
As expected, the area was mostly deserted except for a lone Stage 1 goblin.
—Might as well be empty. Let’s take it in one go.—
They went with their usual strategy: while Lyle sustained Chain Lightning, Kichan summoned Call Lightning, and the warriors rushed in to finish the job.
Just as they finished off most of the goblins, about twenty of the remaining ones suddenly began to grow taller and their skin turned red.
—Fwoosh!
One of them, wielding a staff, launched a burst of flas.
Compared to the first stage, it was significantly stronger—but still no match for Seowoon’s squad.
Not long after they cleared out all the guardian goblins, Seowoon quickly activated the rally stone, and a fresh wave of one hundred red, second-stage goblins appeared.
Only then did the squad begin looting, and Jinryung spoke up.
"So this is why they were trying to stall us."
"Splitting up the squad... what a dumb move."
At liringwi’s remark, Seowoon shook his head.
"We were considering splitting up too, if we could enter without a fight and regroup later. It’s not a bad strategy, really. They probably made that call expecting squads to converge on the central island."
From a tactical standpoint, it wasn’t a terrible plan.
If it weren’t for the wildcard—Jecheon Daeseong—there was a good chance that by the ti Seowoon’s squad arrived, this island would already be guarded by a squad with third-stage goblins or buff monsters.
"Let know if any special items drop!"
With that, Seowoon also began weaving through the red goblins, picking up items.
"Over here! This one’s special!"
At liringwi’s call, Seowoon dashed over to her.
"Gingojoo? What’s this?"
Hearing the word "Gingojoo," Seowoon snatched the small parchnt from her hands.
Unfolding it hastily, he saw the phrase "First Half of the Gingojoo" at the top, followed by three lines of text in an unknown language.
"Damn it!"
At the sa ti, a lock icon floated above the item, and Seowoon crumpled the parchnt in frustration.
Then a notification ca to him like salvation:
[Ding! You can use coins to unlock this item. Cost: 25 coins.]
It was only a fragntary item, and an expensive one at that—but Seowoon had no intention of passing up a valuable clue just to save a few coins.
—Crack!
The mont he confird paynt, a shattering effect broke the lock, and the mysterious script began to transform into Hangul.
"Humnichinya chaphaha, humnichinya chaphaha, humchi humchi..."
He still didn’t understand it, but the three lines of incantation were now at least readable. Seowoon’s lips twisted into a grim expression.
"Hyung... is that...?"
"Yeah."
Kichan asked with a worried expression.
"But that guy we saw earlier wasn’t using the Gingoa, right? Will this even work?"
"He wasn’t, but he’s a crafty bastard. Might be hiding it."
"But this is just the first half. Is that even enough?"
Seowoon couldn’t hide his concern either.
"It’s better than nothing. If it can even slightly interfere with him, it could be useful in a pinch. Everyone needs to morize this spell. It’s short, so it won’t be hard."
While guarding the rally stone, they cooked so cup noodles for a quick al. Kichan recited the Gingojoo repeatedly until the entire team had morized it.
"Where do you think the second half will show up?"
Once they had all morized it, Kichan asked.
"Probably after we release the third-stage monsters here."
"Then we probably won’t get the chance, huh..."
"Even this much is a solid gain."
As the two talked, Juriel chid in belatedly.
"So what’s the plan now?"
"Now... we move."
Most of the squad looked puzzled at the sudden declaration, but Juriel understood at once.
"We’re heading for the central island, aren’t we?"
"Yeah. With that mad monkey rampaging around, we’ve got less than a week left. Soon, he’s going to storm the central island. Best-case scenario? We clear out as many players as we can there and end the ga before he arrives."
Avoiding that mad monkey entirely would be ideal.
"420 players still alive. From now on, everyone’s going to start converging on the central island. That monkey bastard is going to begin claiming the side islands one by one. We need to establish a foothold before it’s too late and prepare for the final fight."
"So we’re abandoning this rally stone too..."
Dump said regretfully, but Seowoon shook his head.
"With the monkey in play, forget about clearing the ga the usual way. We need to adapt. A new path might reveal itself."
With those words, the group made their way to the island’s edge, checked Jecheon Daeseong’s current location, and flew the Rally Cloud toward the central island.
As expected, Seowoon took the lead, with the rest of the squad flying in formation behind him.
After flying a distance equivalent to crossing two islands, a massive central island finally ca into view.
"It really does look like a world for immortals..."
Jinryung’s genuine awe earned nods from the others.
Once they disembarked from the Rally Cloud, the squad stayed alert while still marveling at the surreal scenery around them.
Strange cloud-based architecture and exotic plants were visible throughout. Cloud cliffs poured down white mist, and a rainbow-colored lotus floated serenely above a pond—regardless of what dinsion they hailed from, it was a breathtaking sight for all.
Back when they had shared Ascro’s vision, the cloud cover had made it hard to get a clear view of this terrain. Now, seeing it up close, Dump voiced his concern.
"What if all the loot zones were centralized here?"
"Now that you ntion it, we almost destroyed our Rally Cloud just from running around the side islands!"
Hearing them, Seowoon nodded.
"That makes sense. The side islands let you move freely using Rally Clouds, but item farming is limited to hunting. anwhile, the central island gives you the right to loot—but no Rally Cloud, so it’s hard to leave."
"What a pain-in-the-ass set of rules."
Dump scowled and grumbled, unable to hold back.
But once Seowoon had figured out all the rules, he finally understood. He now realized why the players who had gathered on the central island hadn’t co out to the side islands this entire ti.
"Let’s move."
They began heading toward the island’s periter, planning to scout the terrain and keep watch as they advanced toward the center.
***
—Clank!
A knight in red armor shoved his sword into its sheath with an irritated motion and slumped to the ground.
"We’re out of options now!"
"Yeah... it’s seriously frustrating."
The knight in blue armor looked just as annoyed, his face taut with irritation.
For a while, they’d been gleefully mowing down intruders who entered the island—but now, they couldn’t find any enemies.
Although more than half the players were still alive, the ones on this island had completely given up the center and were lying low, turtling.
"Maybe we should just activate the rally stone?"
At the red-armored twin’s suggestion, his brother firmly shook his head.
"Even for us, if all the remaining squads team up, there’s no way we’ll hold them off."
That was exactly why they had guarded the area around the rally stone without actually activating it.
The mont the central island’s rally stone was activated, every player on the island would stop at nothing to stop it. That much was certain.
They knew this, which is why they’d held out this long—securing the periter while leaving the stone untouched.
"But if we don’t draw enemies in sohow, we’ve got no play. If things stay like this, it’ll just drag on forever. And that epic monster flying around out there? It’s no joke."
"Then we’d be better off splitting up the team and sending out a strike force."
His brother’s response made the red-armored knight’s eyes sparkle.
Though they looked identical, the older twin had a fiery expression filled with competitive spirit, while the younger twin’s face remained composed, his cool, deep eyes betraying little emotion.
Their surrounding teammates turned their attention to them, watching the brothers exchange ideas.
"No need to be so hesitant. All I need is a mage and a shield. That’s it."
As the red-armored knight casually stood up and spoke, a knight and a mage reluctantly stepped forward—caught by his gaze, they had little choice.
"Don’t overdo it. And don’t get carried away like last ti and cause a scene. I’m tired of cleaning up your sses just because we’re brothers."
"Tch! And you better not wipe us with a stray AoE again."
With that, the man pulled out a crimson tal airboard, climbed aboard, and flew off.
As the small strike team of three faded into the distance, the younger brother’s expression remained grim.
Co back before that epic monster clears more than half the side islands.
Yeah, yeah. I know.
The red-armored knight—Skers—responded through the team voice chat, his eyes burning with battlelust, then pushed the airboard to fly even faster.
***
"We should assu that Skers and Bereth are both on the central island."
Looking through the kill list on the survivor nu, Juriel spoke while scanning it carefully. Seowoon asked in return:
"Are they famous or sothing?"
If she was bringing them up unprompted, there had to be a reason—so he asked.
"They’re knights from Kraern. Known as the Demon Twins. Even among the regular knights of Kraern, they were the ones the king cherished most. Any war they led from the front... never once ended in defeat."
Hearing her words, Seowoon recalled the berserker he had seen in the first round.
But he chose not to ntion it.
"Now that I think of it... aren’t you from the sa country?"
"That’s right. But our families never got along. Politically, we’ve always stood on opposite sides."
"If they’re regular knights... then that makes them Sword Emperors."
Juriel nodded in place of an answer.
"Two Sword Emperors, huh..."
[T/L: Read extra Chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : sko-fi/pokemon1920 ]
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