V54C2P3 – Dragon’s Attack

Under the blue sky over Vargo Fortress, Bingryong was in flight with its wings spread wide. Its icy skin reflected the sunlight and displayed a flouris.h.i.+ng wave of colours.

“Bingryong has arrived!”

“Reinforcements!”

The Elves and the Barbarians that were protecting the walls of Vargo Fortress and the nearby hunters cheered.

*Booom!*

The huge impact of its landing shook the fort wall that was quite a distance away.

“Tsk. A creature modeled after the great Kaybern-nim… Kill it!”

The draconic warrior that was leading the monsters gave the command. Then, the monsters that were attacking the Vargo Fortress changed target and charged at Bingryong.

< Winter’s Root >

Bingryong activated a magic spell.

Nearby monsters gradually froze, starting at their feet.

< Glacial Blade >

Bingryong flung its foreleg and a blade of ice about 20 meters long flew across, striking the monsters all at once.

“Kugh!”

“It’s extremely powerful.”

When Bingryong was first born, it had such low strength and stamina that it could barely move, and its magic was insignificant.

It was an inherent flaw of life bestowal. It was so disappointing that Weed restricted himself from animating large creatures for quite some time.

However, after steady growth, it demonstrated a combat level fit for representing the sculptural creatures, thanks to its ice and magic attributes.

“Scatter and attack!”

Monsters regrouped around Bingryong. There were at least several hundred, but they struggled with the temperature change as they got closer to Bingryong.

The cold winds that could only be felt in the winter mountains caused the temperature to fall, and their feet froze to the ground with every step.

< Cold Fog >

Bingryong activated another magic spell and a thick fog hazed among the monsters.

An ice magic spell that blocks vision and lowers temperature.

< Blizzard >

Bingryong did not desire close combat unlike the Black Dragon Kaybern. Since its birth, it stuck to a hunting style that prioritized utmost safety.

If it were like any other situation, it would have not even descended to ground level where the monsters were present. Fighting moderately from above fit its cautious and pa.s.sive personality.

“Go down to the ground, and fight.”

Weed’s thought process for this command was questionable. When Bingryong asked, he answered in the same peculiar manner.

“The dolls modeled after you are selling really well nowadays. Bingryong skateboards and tricycles for kids are ready for launch too. Shouldn’t you appear on broadcast more often at a time like this?”

Bingryong was always among the top 5 most popular sculptural creatures!

Bingryong hastily activated the most advanced spell in its a.r.s.enal.

The blizzard swept the monsters from within the dense fog, immediately killing those with low magic resistance.

Then…

Bingryong took a deep breath and…

Bingryong his breath swept over the entire horde.

Starting from the closest monsters, all of the enemies froze solid in a chain reaction!

“That’s enough for now!”

Bingryong flew up into the sky without any regrets after hearing the voice of its master.

The monsters that died revived as undead with chunks of ice still stuck to their bodies.

< You have acquired experience. >

< You have acquired experience. >

< You have acquired experience. >

…

< Heroic Combat Achievement! The loyalty of Vargo Fortress citizens is increasing. >

Weed took charge of the siege war against the monsters and swept up experience points.

The efficiency was 3 or 4 times higher than hunting in dungeons, and it was also great for building prestige and combat achievement.

Aside from Undead Summoning, arrows fired from the high grounds of the fort wall pierced straight through the throats of monsters.

“Hmm. I think this side is pretty much wrapped up.”

Weed a.s.sured victory as he scouted over the field.

The monsters around level 500s and 600s had pushed aside the Undead and were battering away at the fort wall.

*Boom. Cras.h.!.+*

The ones with enough force to shake the wall were focused and taken down one by one by the mages and archers.

“Hooray!”

“Killed ‘em. I did it!”

The morale of the defending users was at its highest.

Fundamentally, Vargo Fortress was a solid, strategic stronghold between the mountain pa.s.s. Furthermore, endless streams of Northern users joined the battle.

Whenever news of Weed in battle spread, users gathered like a swarm of bees!

They pushed back the monster legion in an intense battle at Vargo Fortress, and another battle was in progress further up the Northern region.

“Everyone, pull yourselves together!”

Seoyoon joined the battle with the gigantic sculptural creatures like King Hydra, Phoenix, Death Worm and the Countryside Snake.

Along with the Northern elite users that defeated the magic corps, they struck down the monsters on the cold plains.

It was not an easy battle and all the gigantic sculptural creatures except for Bingryong were mobilized.

– Eliminate them all.

The Baraags were responsible for handling the two streams of monsters heading for Castle Vent.

They were an excellent air force and reduced the monster count steadily by breathing fire. The users defending Castle Vent could see that the when the monsters had approached close to the wall, they have already been taken down to a third.

Moving away from the battles, there were many monsters roaming in the Northern Continent.

Excluding the major cities, there wasn’t a proper defense line of strongholds and fort walls. Therefore, the Avians and the architects combined their abilities.

“If the monsters were to approach, let’s start an avalanche.”

“That should be the way to do it, yes?”

“This is a rock mountain, so it should be very effective. If the plan works, we can buy some time.”

The architects and the novice users that had joined for the 2 gold payment, changed the terrain. They took advantage of the monsters’ tendency not to scout even in the mountains and collapsed a cliff.

Stronger monsters were less likely to die in the avalanche, but it would damage them and slow their movement speed.

“It’s fun around here.”

“It is quite a refres.h.i.+ng scent indeed. Quite giddy as well.”

The Central Continent users had ascended to the Northern Continent with expectations. Some of them enlisted and became knights of the Arpen Empire.

Upon being promoted to a knight, they had several other advantages like being able to acc.u.mulate honor and prestige, as well as contribution points.

Even if they had no money, they could become lords by acc.u.mulating contribution points. These users had faith in the future of the Arpen Empire and became knights as a long-term investment.

The Central Continent users eagerly partic.i.p.ated in the battle and contributed to the protection of the Northern Continent.

“Let’s use the river here to our advantage.”

Architect Mibullo devised a daring plan.

The monsters had a tendency to not cross rivers as much as possible. They were alright with walking in shallow water, but hated swimming.

They used that fact and built a bridge, luring the monsters to tread on top of it.

“Kugh!”

“Kurrgh!”

The monsters marched proudly above the installed bridge.

They were relaxed and even enjoying the scenery, and that moment Mibullo activated his skill.

“Building demolition technique!”

The bridge crumbled instantly and the monsters were swept away by the current.

The Avians roamed the sky endlessly and scouted for any movement of monsters, luring them into a location that was advantageous for the users.

All the users of the Northern Continent were carrying out their own tasks.

“Bring it on sc.u.m!”

“Kaybern is stupid!”

Even so, some monsters that were difficult to crowd control were personally lured back by users on horses.

“How dare they insult Kaybern-nim. Go after them!”

The draconic warriors leading the monsters were loyal, but did not use their brains.

Vargo Fortress, Castle Vent, Morata, Varna and the Earth Palace!

The battles continued every day at these choke points in order to defend against the waves of monsters.

***

Reverse unexpectedly got the chance to observe Weed from a close distance.

‘To meet Weed after Bard Ray in Morata, what are the chances? I mean, it was more surprising to see Bard Ray in the North, even though it was from considerable distance.’

Weed was patrolling the vital locations for defending against the monsters in the North.

Even in Morata, he stood on the peak of the fort wall and made a speech to the public. The content of the speech was ridiculous.

– Everyone, I have great news. The monsters are headed to this city. To offer us experience points and various collectibles. Leather, horns, meat!

“Leather, horns, meat!”

– Eat. Scavenge. Get rich!

“Eat. Scavenge. Get rich!”

The origin of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult, the cradle of the Arpen Empire was Morata, and those members were obsessed fanatics. Anything Weed said, they would follow with zeal, as though they had been hypnotised.

Their behaviour was that which the leaders of all pseudo-religion Cult leaders around the world wished for.

“His abilities as an orator are extraordinary.”

Reverse stood at a distance and continued observing.

He was tired of whipping dummies, and such an event was a good spectacle to watch.

‘Those stupid dummies. It takes too much effort and I’m just fed up with this.’

*Rumbling!*

He was feeling hungry as well. That moment, a man with unbelievably thick belly fat approached him.

“Sir.”

“…..!”

Reverse thought that his ident.i.ty was exposed when he was approached by a stranger.

Even within Unicorn Corp, there were only a handful of people who knew of him. But, that would still mean that he would have been revealed inevitably.

“Haha. It looks like you’ve just begun Royal Road. If you are hungry, would you care to eat this?”

The item that the man brought forth were grapes.

They were so ripe, the dark grapes were almost as if they were slick and s.h.i.+ny.

‘This is the Morata grape that I could only look at around the market!’

Reverse could not stop his mouth from watering despite his pride.

“Why are you offering this to me?”

“Pardon? It’s just helping out one another. This is the common culture in Morata.”

In Morata, if someone was in need of a.s.sistance, people willingly offered help no matter if they were novice users. There were well-spread theories that claimed the reason for the sudden growth of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult was due to this culture created by novice players in Morata.

Compared to the Central Continent where users discriminated according to level and connections, users could experience the consideration and warmth of the people in Morata.

“If that is the case, I will gladly accept it.”

Reverse obtained grapes and convinced himself that this did not hurt his pride because this was the culture of Morata. He could taste the sweet and sour flavor upon placing a grape into his mouth, and that was the best thing he ever tastedin his life.

< You are consuming nutritious grapes.

Stamina recovery speed is increasing.

Strength is temporarily increased by 1. >

In the novice period, one was grateful for even the smallest change while eating.

‘Yes. How many years has it been since I last ate grapes? I must buy a few boxes right now.

I have no money in Royal Road, so I should in real life…’

Cocoa had already stacked up boxes of treats from all around the world and was picking away at them. From now on, he would collect and eat grapes as well.

Then, he heard the soft voice of the man.

“Sir. If you ever consider building a shack in the future, give me a call.”

“Huh…?”

“A man ought to have a home in Morata, no? At Mapan construction, we will take it upon ourselves to guide you through the process of construction.”

(To be continued…)