Chapter 63

Quest: Dawn – Defend the City

Objective: Defend the walled city of Iberia from the mighty Dark Army’s invasion. (Time remaining until invasion: 61 hours 23 minutes)

Hidden Objectives (Co-op):

• Kill General Kalkash. (Incomplete)
• Kill Captain Anut. (Incomplete)
• Kill 10 Skeleton Wizards. (Incomplete)
• Kill Supply Captain Buka. (Incomplete)
• Kill Vanguard Captain Rangdazal. (Incomplete)
• Kill Scout Captain Grunval. (Incomplete)
• Kill 10 Scouts. (Incomplete)
• Kill 20 Hyenas. (Incomplete)

All objectives are cooperative, not solo. The names on the quest list suggest a well-organized army, not just a random horde. General Kalkash is the final boss, and there are four named mid-bosses.

“Hoooh…”

Jun-sang took a long breath, trying to stabilize his body, which was clearly overloaded. However, the soldiers, startled by Jun-sang’s strange appearance—smoke billowing from his entire body—kept their spears pointed at him, threatening him.

“Wh-who are you?!”

“…”

Jun-sang turned his head to look at the guards. Their glittering helmets and studded leather armor certainly symbolized Iberia’s wealth, but their trembling knees indicated they were far from elite soldiers. Even if there were more of them, these ten or so visible guards were barely enough to face even the twenty hyenas at the bottom of the hidden quest list. Of course, with the gate, defense might be possible, but that was just wishful thinking.

“Hmm…”

He slowly stood up, gauging the targets’ positions on the minimap. Since no enemies were in sight yet, the red hidden quest markers were densely clustered near the minimap’s edge. Jun-sang pondered briefly: should he defend the gate, or ambush the enemy on the road? But truthfully, there was nothing to ponder.

“Huh!”

Suddenly, Jun-sang leaped off the city wall. The guards, taken aback, watched him intently. The smoke from his body had mostly dissipated, leaving only a faint shimmer. Jun-sang disappeared into the shadowy forest, and the guards looked at each other, wondering what to do.

“W-what now?”

“First… let’s report.”

“Right?”

Jun-sang’s Offensive Strategy

As soon as Jun-sang’s body was mostly recovered, he quickly moved through the forest, slowly running towards the quest markers. After about thirty minutes of travel, he finally spotted red quest markers gathering and approaching on his minimap. Their rapid approach in significant numbers suggested they were likely hyenas. Jun-sang immediately summoned his wolves.

“Wolf Pack.”

As the command left Jun-sang’s mouth, three wolves appeared around him in a burst of light. He sent them to block the path, then gave another order to ‘Breeze’.

“Breeze, block the way.”

This was a precaution in case the hyenas bypassed the wolves; he instructed Breeze to create a wind barrier. It might be difficult to stop many simultaneously, but temporarily holding them back would be enough for Breeze. He blocked the path and waited. The hyenas, seemingly chased by something, came rushing forward, then stopped when they saw the wolves blocking their way.

Grrrr!

The hyenas hesitated, eyeing the wolves, which were larger than them. But realizing their numerical superiority, they bared their teeth and slowly began to approach. Just then, Jun-sang, lurking by the roadside, lunged out like lightning and attacked the hyenas.

Thwack!

One hyena was instantly hit by Jun-sang’s Shoulder Charge and flung to the side of the road. Taking this as a signal, the wolves also shot forward like arrows towards the hyenas.

Roar!

One hyena, enraged by Jun-sang’s fearless surprise attack, leaped up. But before it could sink its yellow teeth into Jun-sang’s body, it was struck by a knuckle swung like a large hammer and tumbled to the ground like crumpled newspaper.

“Ugh…”

Jun-sang briefly held his breath, then lowered his stance, elbows tucked to his sides, and charged the hyenas.

Thump!

Thump-thump!

Two hits weren’t even necessary. Each time a hyena was struck by Jun-sang’s flying fist, it was sent flying, crashing, and dying. Once their formation broke, the hyenas’ numerical advantage vanished, and they were quickly slaughtered. One hyena, realizing its situation was hopeless, tucked its tail and quickly turned to flee.

“Open Psychokinesis.”

As the command left Jun-sang’s mouth, the Shoulder Charge card in his slot was replaced by Psychokinesis. Confirming the card was equipped, Jun-sang extended his left hand and made a grasping motion. The hyena was immediately pulled by an invisible force and flew towards Jun-sang.

“Hmph…”

Jun-sang took a short, deep breath, lowered his stance, and thrust his fist towards the hyena flying at him.

Thud!

When the kinetic energy from psychokinesis combined with the impact energy from Jun-sang’s hand in the hyena’s head, the frail beast’s head couldn’t withstand the force and exploded like a firecracker. The hyena’s hot blood and brain matter burst out, drenching Jun-sang.

“Good.”

Jun-sang again activated Psychokinesis towards another fleeing hyena. This time, it struck the stomach instead of the head, but the soft belly skin was ripped to shreds the moment it was hit by Jun-sang’s fist, scattering its steaming intestines into the air. Jun-sang now stood completely still, pulling and dispatching the hyenas one by one. Although he was still not accustomed to using Psychokinesis, often sending them in unexpected directions, Jun-sang quite liked this new skill.

Finally, after all the hyenas had literally turned into mangled flesh, their blood and guts splattered on the ground, becoming corpses, Jun-sang finally stopped moving.

“Hoooh…”

Despite repeatedly using Psychokinesis, the strain on his body wasn’t as great as he’d expected. Jun-sang realized this was due to the hyena blood covering his body. Honestly, he didn’t like the smell, but considering the battles ahead, getting covered in blood like this beforehand wasn’t a bad idea. The smell of blood might be repulsive, but at least it was better than the bodily fluids of the undead.

After confirming that the hyena kill objective at the bottom of the hidden quest list was complete, Jun-sang turned his gaze back to the minimap. There, unlike the hyenas that had rushed in a group, he found a group of quest markers moving widely dispersed. Jun-sang confirmed that the quest markers were slowly approaching, so he unsummoned the wolves, set Breeze to defense, and hid in the bushes.

“Open Stealth.”

As the short command flowed from Jun-sang’s mouth, the Psychokinesis card was removed and Stealth was equipped in its place. As soon as the card was equipped, Jun-sang immediately activated Stealth, concealing his presence. The monsters moved cautiously through the shadows of the forest rather than on the main road, then stopped when they saw the hyena carcasses scattered in the middle of the path. Jun-sang observed the monsters carefully. Their appearance was similar to the boss from the tutorial he’d faced before, or the boss he’d seen during the forest purification, but their bodies were much smaller and more agile, and their hands had long, sharp claws. The monsters carefully inspected the hyena corpses, and then one of them began to run back, as if to report.

“Tch!”

Jun-sang clicked his tongue and immediately broke stealth, standing up.

“Open Psychokinesis.”

He then immediately equipped the Psychokinesis card instead of the Stealth card and pulled the monster running backwards towards him.

Gasp!

The monster let out a startled, muffled scream as it was suddenly yanked back as if by the scruff of its neck, but then Jun-sang’s fist struck, shattering its head and sending it tumbling to the ground. In the blink of an eye, as their comrade fell, the remaining monster shrieked and charged. It swung its claws as if to instantly sever his leash, but Jun-sang ducked, grabbed the leg of the leaping foe, and slammed it to the ground.

Screech!

After being slammed hard against the ground two or three times, the monster couldn’t withstand the impact and stopped moving, like a centipede that had been pricked. Jun-sang crushed the fallen monster’s head with his combat boot, retrieved the seed, and slowly walked into the bushes. All the monsters were hiding in the dark shadows of the forest, but they couldn’t escape Jun-sang’s sight thanks to his minimap and his Discernment ability. Jun-sang, as if playing a hidden object game, used Psychokinesis to pull out the remaining eight monsters from the forest shadows one by one and kindly smashed their heads.

After dispatching the last monster, he was leisurely extracting seeds while checking the quest when an unknown, chilling sensation suddenly swept over him.

“Hah!”

He quickly ducked and rolled forward, seeing something dark engulf the spot where he had just stood, only to be deflected by an invisible wall of wind. And only then, as the creature came into view, did Jun-sang finally notice a new red exclamation mark appear on his minimap. Jun-sang quickly tried to use Psychokinesis to pull the retreating creature towards him, but the next moment, it vanished into thin air in the forest, disappearing from his minimap again.

“This is…”

Jun-sang frowned. An ability that couldn’t even be pinpointed by the minimap. Furthermore, the ability to disappear as if melting into thin air, rather than just hiding behind terrain, couldn’t be considered a simple stealth technique.

“Wolf Pack.”

But Jun-sang didn’t panic and summoned his wolves again. Then, he commanded the wolves that appeared around him with light:

“Find it!”

As expected. The moment Jun-sang gave the order, the wolves fiercely howled towards an empty space a short distance away, bared their teeth, and immediately leaped.

Kiiiiek!

As the three wolves successively launched themselves, the monster, unable to bear it, finally materialized from thin air. Just as he thought. This monster’s stealth ability might have made it immune to sight, but it couldn’t evade detection by smell or hearing. Jun-sang followed the monster with his eyes and noticed something peculiar. He belatedly realized that a faint, illusory light was emanating from the black cloak it wore. Jun-sang, who understood this was a visual effect of his Discernment ability to quickly recognize valuable items, also intuitively realized that the monster’s stealth ability was linked to that cloak.

Jun-sang immediately reached out and tried to pull the monster towards him. However, the monster resisted the psychokinetic force on its body and began to run towards the forest.

“Tsk.”

Jun-sang clicked his tongue and activated a new combo.

“Fighter.”

Then, his existing cards rapidly swapped out, and new cards were equipped:

Frenzy (R),

Counter,

Shoulder Charge,

Smash.

When these four cards combined with the souls of the wolf, bear, and boar, the Dark Martial Artist Combo from the underground fighting arena was activated. Jun-sang immediately unleashed a Shoulder Charge towards the fleeing cloaked monster.

BOOM!

In an instant, the air split before Jun-sang’s eyes, and the fleeing monster’s image was greatly amplified. The monster frantically flung itself towards the forest shadows but was directly struck by Jun-sang’s shoulder, which flew like a cannonball, cutting through the air. The critical hit chance was increased by the Wolf Soul, attack power was enhanced by the Bear Soul, and attack power was greatly amplified during the charge by the Boar Soul. And that’s not all. With the three souls equipped, the destructive power of the Shoulder Charge, amplified again by three hundred percent by the Martial Artist Combo, was powerful enough to instantly pulverize a giant rock. It was truly a force that could only be described as a human cannonball!

KREEEE!

The monster, unable to withstand the impact that crushed its spine and tangled its internal organs, rolled across the ground and crashed into the bushes.

“Hoooh…”

As Jun-sang, overloaded from using a full-charge Crushing Blow, emitted smoke from his entire body, the three wolves and three spirits combined forces to hold back the charging zombies. The hyena blood covering his body had already dried, so it wasn’t maximizing his regeneration rate as it had initially, but Jun-sang could still confirm that his regeneration was happening much faster than usual. At this rate, he could manage. As soon as the overload on his body subsided, Jun-sang leaped back towards the zombies.

Iberia’s Desperate Hour

Meanwhile, while Jun-sang was luring the vanguard and inducing attrition, Jester and the administrator were sitting face-to-face in Iberia, discussing the declaration of a state of war.

“Hmm… The personnel are not as numerous as I thought.” Jester frowned as he surveyed the troop status, and the administrator replied with an indifferent expression. “Not numerous? We have a thousand men! That’s certainly not a small number.”

Indeed, a force of a thousand men was by no means small. Moreover, Iberia was a relatively wealthy city, and it maintained this many troops because it was located right in front of the forbidden forest, a demonic land. Most other cities of similar size operated with only four or five hundred troops at most, and often only two or three hundred. Jester understood what the administrator was saying, but he couldn’t help but feel uneasy internally. However, the administrator was equally dissatisfied. The very act of having to seek confirmation from a mere local chieftain in this backwater, despite holding a position appointed by the central government, was unpleasant.

“Hmm…”

Just then, a messenger rushed in, panting, to report to the administrator. “R-reporting!”

“Speak.” The administrator replied irritably, and the messenger, with a trembling voice, read the report in his hand.

“Enemy forces confirmed. Estimated 10,000 or more!”

Both the administrator and Jester, who had been stroking his chin, were startled. “Wh-what did you just say?”

“T-ten thousand or more…” The administrator’s face turned pale at the messenger’s trembling voice, and Jester also couldn’t close his gaping mouth.

“Where… did this report come from?” At Jester’s question, the messenger checked his report again and immediately replied, “Third Northern Outpost!”

“…” Jester quickly got up and checked the map on the wall of the administrator’s office.

“One day at the earliest, two days at the latest, then.”

Only then did the administrator regain his composure and ask Jester with a trembling voice, “W-what should we do…?”

“…” Jester inwardly clicked his tongue, seeing the administrator’s face, which looked ready to burst through the door and flee.

“We must immediately issue an evacuation order for all villages within the gate and stockpile all possible supplies within the city walls. Also, declare a state of war and gather all available troops for conscription.”

The administrator, with a pale and flustered expression, hesitated for a moment, then said, “The troop difference is too great. In this situation, it might be better to evacuate this place first…”

“Nonsense!” Jester flared up, angry, and spoke to the administrator. “This is our home, our homeland! Where do you propose we go, abandoning this place?!”

“…”

“You are the administrator responsible for protecting this city! Why don’t you understand that if you don’t keep your wits about you, we will all die!”

Pressed by his dignity, the administrator dared not retort and bowed his head. Jester hastily left the administrator’s office to inform the Elder Council of this critical situation.

“Tsk…” Jester clicked his tongue and returned to the mansion, where he explained the situation to the assembled members of the Elder Council and requested their cooperation. However, an event occurred that poured cold water on Jester’s efforts.

“Wh-what did you just say?”

“The administrator… has fled!” The commander of a collateral branch of the Brea family, who was in charge of the south gate, uttered these words, leaving everyone with stunned expressions.

“Fled…? That can’t be…”

“He claimed he was going to call for reinforcements, but there’s no reason to take all his family and property with him just to call for reinforcements, is there?”

“Hmph…” Jester closed his eyes, biting his lip, and suppressed his anger for a moment before quietly speaking. “How many troops… did he take with him?”

The commander hesitated for a moment, then replied, “Five hundred… men.”

“Hah!” Considering the troops stationed at various outposts and gates, the actual number of soldiers remaining in this walled city was only about a hundred. Everyone’s expressions sank in grief.

“Has… God truly abandoned Iberia?” A small lament from someone’s lips made their hearts ache even more.

But just then, another soldier rushed in, breathless, and delivered news. “B-big trouble!”

“What is it?!”

“Th-that is… just come and see!”

“…”

It was incomprehensible, but people followed the soldier’s words as if enchanted, heading to the mansion’s terrace.

“Th-this is…”

They saw it. Throughout the darkening city, white lights, as if stars had descended from the sky, flickered.

“What… is that?” The soldier replied to Jester’s question, “People in unknown attire… are appearing throughout the city with those lights.”

“People…?”

People looked bewildered by this incomprehensible phenomenon, but Jester had already seen such an outpouring of light before. The mysterious man brought by his adorable youngest daughter, whom he loved dearly. The very man who claimed to be royalty from a country named Silla! Jester had seen the light emanating from his body right up close.

Could it be… people with abilities like his?!

If so, there was a chance. If those people had mysterious abilities like that man. This fight could be well worth it. God had not yet abandoned Iberia! Jester immediately spoke to the people, “Let’s go! We must meet them!”