"AAAHHH!"
Chae YeonJoo stomped on the ground.
Dozens of chains hit the ground and lifted her up.
On her way down, the red chains smashed the head of a demonic monster leading the horde.
"KIIEEKK!"
The demonic monster that looked as if its body had melted exploded after being hit with the chains.
Then magic-class players began to pour their attacks.
BOOM-!!
A loud explosion sounded.
The demonic monsters screamed, and the smell of their burnt flesh wafted over the battlefield.
Hot air hit the players.
They stepped on the corpses of demonic monsters and leaped forward. Tanker players moved to the front.
The Chinese players had also begun fighting.
Although they didn't have many magic-type players, there were many martial artist players who had the unique stat Qi.
They swung their weapons with a physical ability that went beyond humans.
The corpses of demonic monsters increased quickly.
"Come, you bastards!"
TaeSoo, who was wielding a giant shield, smashed the demonic monsters with it.
Due to his hideous appearance and size, it looked as if a demonic monster was hunting other demonic monsters.
"Captain, we're going to move, too."
"Ahh~ There doesn't seem to be an end to this! Ms. HwaYeon, when this is over, why don't we have dinner…?"
"Captain Goo HyunMo, I'm going to leave the right side to you!"
"Ah…"
Baek HwaYeon began running while covered with the wind.
Goo HyunMo began following her, disappointed.
"AAHH!"
The battle against the demonic monsters kept going on.
The players had the advantage because most of the demonic monsters had come from the 1st hell.
Of course, there were some strong monsters like kerberos, but there were quite strong players as well.
"Come, you bastards!"
Chae YeonJoo extended both hands, and the red chains swept through the demonic monsters.
Baek HwaYeon went running toward where she was.
"YeonJoo! I came to help you!"
"I'm okay! But more than that, how are the Chinese doing?"
"With the Thousand Sword Gate at the center, they're going through the demonic monsters."
"Ah, they're going too fast." Chae YeonJoo mumbled anxiously.
China had many close-range class players, so Korea couldn't catch up with their charging speed.
"HwaYeon! Tell that fox-like girl to go a bit slower!"
At that rate, the Korean and Chinese players would become isolated.
If that happened, there was no point in fighting together in the first place.
Baek HwaYeon nodded and took out a crystal ball.
She wasn't planning to contact her personally. First, she had no way to do that, but even if she could, she probably wouldn't listen to her words.
"KangWoo, I have something to ask."
[Yes, what is it?]
"Tell Cheon SooYeon to make the Chinese forces move a bit slower. They're going too fast, and we can't catch up."
[Okay.]
The conversation ended.
Baek HwaYeon swung her sword with a hardened expression. The body of a demonic monster was split into two.
At the moment, they were winning.
If things went on like that, she thought they would be able to win easily.
'The problem is the demons.'
It wasn't just demonic monsters that had appeared from the fissure.
She'd seen demons in the video. To make things worse, there were about a hundred of them.
As more information about the Demon Cult became public, she could tell the difference between demonic monsters and demons.
In terms of physical specs, demonic monsters were stronger.
But demons had intelligence.
It was hard to see how they would act.
'He should be able to do it.'
She looked in the direction that KangWoo had gone.
He hadn't taken part in the fight yet.
He would be in charge of getting rid of the demons.
'I'll trust you.'
She stepped forward and swung her sword.
Wind appeared at the sword's tip and cut through the demonic monsters.
* * *
"Yes. Move a bit slower."
[Okay, Mr. KangWoo.]
After receiving the call from Baek HwaYeon, KangWoo told Cheon SooYeon to make their forces move a bit slower.
Cheon SooYeon accepted without hesitating.
He turned around and looked at the Chinese players.
He saw them starting to move a bit slower at Cheon SooYeon’s command.
'Did they say Cheon MooHyeon couldn't participate because of the shock?'
He laughed after recalling how Cheon SooYeon had become the commander of the Thousand Sword Gate.
Cheon MooHyeon had become sick after being overwhelmed by an unknown Korean player.
It wasn't that he was physically sick. It was the effect of mental shock.
'He's an extra-like character until the end.'
He had the feeling that he wouldn't hear about him anymore.
KangWoo stood up, looked at Han Seol-ah, who was taking care of the wounded players, and called Echidna.
"Echidna…"
"Yes."
"Stay here and protect Seol-ah."
"What about you, KangWoo?"
He turned his head. He looked at the players who were fighting against demonic monsters.
He started to warm up.
"I'm also going to participate."
"Didn't you say you'd wait until demons appeared?"
"It seems like they won't make an appearance."
KangWoo narrowed his eyes.
There were lots of demonic monsters, but he didn't see anything that looked like a demon.
He used the Authority of Sky and looked at the battlefield from up in the air, but he wasn't able to see any demons.
'The plan has changed.'
He wasn't expecting that he wouldn't be able to see any demons.
KangWoo clicked his tongue.
'I made a mistake.'
He couldn't see any demons.
He realized many things based on that alone.
'Their goal isn't war.'
If they were trying to make war, it didn't make sense that demons hadn't taken part in the battle.
No, if that were the goal from the beginning, they wouldn't have used such a brute-force strategy.
'These demonic monsters are also probably just fodder to them.'
It was as if they were throwing them away.
They wouldn't have wasted them like that if they thought that demonic monsters were an important part of their forces.
'There's another goal.'
They weren't trying to do something by summoning demonic monsters and demons.
At that point, he couldn't help but think that the summoning by itself was the goal from the beginning.
'Throw the useless demonic monsters away.'
It was as if they'd sent the workers to the enemy's territory after they'd finished obtaining all of the minerals.
For the Demon Cult, those demonic monsters were just annoying beings they didn't want to deal with.
"Tsk."
He didn't like that. It was as if they were getting rid of the leftovers.
Having to move as they wanted made him annoyed.
'So they moved all of the demons elsewhere?'
He wasn’t sure, but he couldn't see any between the demonic monsters.
His appetite, which had grown because of how much he'd been waiting, lingered around his mouth in vain.
"Okay. I'm going to make sure no one can hurt Seol-ah," Echidna said while snorting.
She patted her hair.
The snort became louder.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"Okay."
He left Echidna behind and moved toward where the fight was happening.
The demonic monsters and players were fighting intensively.
KangWoo walked relaxedly among the horrible battlefield as if he had gone for a picnic.
"KIIEEKK!"
'Where are you?'
The demonic monsters charged toward him.
He swung his hand, and the demonic monsters that were charging toward him exploded.
He kept walking. Although his steps were relaxed, the speed was incredibly fast.
He entered the enemy's territory almost instantly. All of the demonic monsters that were waiting their turn to fight charged toward him.
"KRRRR."
"KUAAA!"
'They probably aren't that far.'
He flicked his finger.
The ring changed forms. The Key of the Demonic Energy Sea transformed into a shield, and the demonic monsters hit the shield.
Crack-!
"KIIKK!"
The demonic monsters’ teeth were destroyed as they tried to bite the shield.
The claws that tried to cut him were ripped apart and deflected away by the shield, and blood poured out of them.
He took a step forward.
'Even though they rushed in recklessly, they were lumped together.'
"KUAA!"
'Seeing how they aren't eating each other, it's obvious that someone is controlling them.'
"KIIEEKK!"
'Where are you hiding?'
"KUEEKK!"
The demonic monsters charged toward the food that had penetrated deep into their territory.
Thorns appeared on the shield, and the Key of the Demonic Energy Sea began rotating.
CRACK-!
The demonic monsters were cut as if they'd been put inside a mixer.
Flesh poured in all directions.
The kerberos, who was hidden among the demonic monsters, emitted flames toward KangWoo.
He raised his right hand and hit the flames, causing them to splash on the demonic monsters.
"GRRRR!"
Kerberos opened its mouth.
A mouth big enough to easily devour a person targeted KangWoo.
Tap-
"Arf?!"
He grabbed a tooth the size of a person and pulled it out.
The kerberos cried in pain.
He cut and moved through the crowd of demonic monsters, but it didn't matter how far into the horde he went—he didn’t see any demons.
KangWoo was starting to get annoyed. That wasn't what he'd expected.
'Should I at least eat these guys?'
He used the Authority of Predation.
A black fog spread out and covered the kerberos.
Crunch-!
Its bones were crunched, and the skin was torn apart and absorbed by the black fog.
"As expected, it doesn't work on these guys."
Not only had the effect of the Reaper of Souls not activated, but his stat also hadn't increased.
Its quality was too bad.
It was like a high-level player couldn't gain experience by hunting in an area with low-level monsters.
'I need demons.'
He was feeling hungry. His lips were getting dry.
There was no way he would be satisfied with creatures like that.
A hunger he shouldn't feel stimulated him.
He went there expecting delicious food, so seeing the situation made him angry.
"GRRR."
The demonic monsters moved back; he could see the fear in their eyes.
KangWoo began walking; the demonic monsters backed off.
It was at that moment…
Swoop-!
A black hand appeared out of nowhere and targeted him.
KangWoo frowned and grabbed the black hand.
It was an attack the demonic monsters around him couldn't see.
"Hmm?"
KangWoo realized there was a piece of paper on the hand that’d targeted him.
He picked the paper up.
Something written in crooked Korean was on the paper.
[I want to talk to you.]
KangWoo's eyes narrowed.
"What's this?"
‘Is it a meal ticket?’
