Genius Blacksmith's Game

Did they arrive safely?

The old man, Pere, had forged an artifact closest to legend thanks to Hyunsoo, and risen to the level of a master craftsman.

He stared toward the place where Atlas’s army had departed a few hours ago.

Then he looked at the tower lords preparing to leave, and the Valas Territory blacksmiths who had fed the furnace flames with him for days.

I still can’t believe it.

A fresh weight settled in Pere’s chest.

Valas Territory had been on the road to ruin, trampled beneath the boots of blacksmith inspectors.

Even though it had been called a land of blacksmiths, hardly anyone came.

But the moment Hyunsoo arrived, everything changed.

Guests overflowed into Valas Territory, and the blacksmiths who had been falling apart like alcoholics were living new lives.

And there was something else he still couldn’t believe.

I’m going to forge a legend soon.

It hadn’t even been long since he’d produced something “closest to legend.”

The reason he could say it with such certainty was simple: his skill had grown explosively—and he’d witnessed other unbelievable things, too.

They’re reaching a new realm as well... or have they already reached it?

The blacksmiths who’d been ordered to forge artifacts from dragon materials.

They made armor and weapons for soldiers.

But their skill had already gone beyond the level of “working on soldiers’ gear.”

It’s all because of our lord.

In the end, even the blacksmiths of Ares received help from mystic power.

But the blacksmiths of Valas Territory possessed a strength no other blacksmiths had.

Their skill improved—because of Hyunsoo.

Which meant the blacksmiths of Valas Territory right now were, plainly put, one step above what they used to be.

And the proof was in this mass production run.

[Leron is crafting an Epic artifact.]

[Kal is crafting a Unique artifact.]

[Kolon is crafting an Epic artifact.]

Ever since the dragon armament production began, countless blacksmiths had reached a new realm and created artifacts they’d never been able to make before.

Why?

It was synergy—between their outstanding skill and the outstanding materials Lord Hyunsoo had provided.

Of course, the materials handed to ordinary blacksmiths were, at most, Epic-grade.

But in what territory could ordinary blacksmiths use Epic-grade materials to forge artifacts for common soldiers?

And then four thousand troops armed themselves with those finished pieces—and marched out.

“Is this the world Your Majesty wanted?”

At first, Pere had thought the Sword King was overestimating Hyunsoo.

How could he not?

He’d placed a man who wasn’t even the best user on the Asgan Continent as the king’s descendant.

Now, that had changed.

The advantage of dragon materials is that they’re light, harder than anything, and can’t be cut. Turn them into weapons, and they have tremendous cutting power and penetration. And because they’re dragon-made, their defense against magic is absurd. They maximize the swordsmanship of soldiers and knights.

Soldiers and knights equipped with such armaments had marched to war.

Atlas has become what the Sword King desired.

A territory where the strength of blacksmiths and the strength of soldiers created synergy.

A miniature version of what Barad had wanted.

Pere found himself curious.

Just what kind of power those soldiers would unleash, armed with those artifacts.

*****

[You are afflicted with the Overwhelm status ailment.]

[You stiffen under tension that makes it feel like your breath will stop.]

[It is not easy to move your body under immense fear and powerful pressure.]

The Chinese users, Pond included, nearly sucked in a useless breath of air.

They couldn’t believe the figures walking toward them.

What is this...?

They said it was only six hundred.

In the Continental War, every guild that took first was granted territory with only around five hundred troops...

How many thousand is this...?

It was accurate information—and reasonable inference.

The guilds that had built the highest contribution /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ in the Continental War.

The guild masters who loved showing off had announced what they’d received.

And the Asgan Continent was flooded with talk that Hyunsoo was suffering from aftereffects.

Sword Duke Roman was the witness to that.

“W-What in the world is this...?”

Sword Duke Roman knew better than anyone—because he wasn’t a user, but an NPC.

True to being the head of a famed sword family, he held power on par with the marquis class of Goyard.

Before raising his rebellion, he had checked whether any forces had been siphoned out from within the kingdom by Barad.

There were none.

So where had this monstrous number of troops appeared from?

Was this truly an army sent down by god?

And Roman’s suspicion—that this was a god-sent army—deepened for another reason.

Are those really things soldiers are meant to wear and swing?

At a glance, the ivory-like armaments they wore were anything but ordinary—something that shattered common sense.

Of course.

Every territory fitted soldiers with the most common gear possible.

Even the best gear a territory provided stayed within the “normal” class—just higher-quality normal.

That was what soldiers were.

So why were these soldiers wearing glittering artifacts?

Is Count Hyunsoo an idiot?

The reason you didn’t arm soldiers with exceptional gear was simple: on the battlefield, they were inevitably consumables.

So to arm them with gear this good...?

But that was wrong.

It wasn’t because Hyunsoo was an idiot.

If you were buying gear and outfitting soldiers, then yes—this would be madness.

But Hyunsoo was the only one who could forge it inside his own territory and outfit them that way.

The moment Roman realized that, he took a step back.

I desire a nation where blacksmiths and knights coexist.

A statement Barad had made before the pillars of the kingdom.

Roman had thought Barad truly had to be insane.

But it was being realized right in front of his eyes.

An achievement Roman couldn’t have pulled off even if he’d dared to become king.

That was why—

Under pressure so intense his breath felt like it would stop, he couldn’t even move.

Why can’t I move like this?

NPCs and users alike questioned it, and the answer was the Legendary stat Overwhelm.

The users analyzed and calculated Hyunsoo.

But they were wrong.

Hyunsoo had obtained many new powers.

No. It just looks flashy.

Yeah. Outfitting soldiers with high-grade artifacts is nonsense.

Unless their territory is drowning in money!

They rationalized it to themselves.

That rationalization shattered in an instant.

The moment Hyunsoo lowered the hand he’d raised—

Four thousand dragon baby bolts slotted into barrels fired simultaneously.

PFF-PFF-PFF-PFF-PFF—!

The ones who took the volley head-on.

Their bodies were pierced through by the baby bolts, and the ones behind them were skewered as well.

SHHAAAAK—!

With a single baby bolt volley, a thousand knights and users scattered into a handful of ash.

CLICK—.

And another volley.

PFF-PFF-PFF-PFF—!

This time, two thousand scattered.

Just four seconds.

Pond and Roman lost three thousand allies in an instant.

They had no choice but to stiffen even more.

Hyunsoo watched the enemies scatter, cold-eyed—like a golden goblin.

[Soldier Kon has leveled up.]

[Soldier Den has leveled up.]

[Soldier Kalam has leveled up.]

[Soldier......]

[Soldier......]

The soldiers’ level-ups weren’t a one-time bump. On average, it was two to three times.

The enemies are, on average, knight-class.

Meanwhile, the allies were only soldier-class.

Whether NPC or user, it was only natural to gain far more levels when you killed or hunted those of a higher grade than yourself.

And you got that much more gold and artifacts as drops.

And Hyunsoo knew it.

They decided I only had around five hundred troops.

So they’d meant to wipe all five hundred out.

In fact, Wei—who had marched out this time—had said it.

After we kill every last one, we’ll broadcast Hyunsoo kneeling to the whole world.

Hyunsoo’s teeth ground.

If they’d known he commanded four thousand—would they have said that? Would they have invaded?

No.

They’d only smelled a chance because they thought him weak.

Hyunsoo decided he’d swing the butcher’s blade.

There were no five hundred troops who would “almost die” to them.

“Draw swords!”

SHIIING—!

Four thousand blades came free at once.

“Charge!”

At Hyunsoo’s command, his army surged forward.

Roman’s knights—still stunned—twisted their mouths.

“Soldier trash like you—!?”

A charging knight’s blade swept across a soldier’s chest, and the knight froze.

CLANG—!

“......”

The bone armor had small gaps between plates.

But piercing it wasn’t easy.

Dense bone packed between the plates blocked the blade from biting in. Cutting was even harder.

It was too hard, too thick, and too light.

And even if they were knights, they were exhausted and wounded right now.

THUNK—!

The soldiers’ swords punched through the weary knights’ bodies as they advanced. Mages rained wide-area spells down among them.

“Explosion!”

“Wind Cutter!”

“Firewheel!”

WHOOOOSH—!

KABOOOM—!

KRRRRAK—!

Pond and Roman expected to see Hyun’s army torn apart by the explosions and blades of wind.

But the troops who emerged through the blast shockwaves had taken damage—yet were still largely intact.

“......!?”

“......!?”

[You are wearing Dragon Armor.]

[Magic Defense has increased by 73%.]

They didn’t know.

The armor Hyun’s army wore.

It wasn’t ivory—it was dragon-made, and it possessed defense against magic that shattered common sense.

SHRK-SHRK-SHRK—!

SHKAAAA—!

Each time Hyun’s soldiers cut through the enemy lines with disciplined posture, ash was born.

Ten minutes into the battle—

[Not a single ally has fallen!]

[4,434 enemies have fallen.]

[Atlas’s forces are writing a new legend!]

A battle that lacked nothing to be recorded as legend continued.

Meanwhile.

It wasn’t that Roman and his knights couldn’t cut Hyun’s soldiers because their skill and artifacts were too great.

I can’t use aura...

They had exhausted all their mana. They couldn’t use aura. The Chinese users were the same.

We’re stuck in skill cooldown...

All we can rely on are passive skills.

You can’t even use potions in the endless maze.

They had burned through all their ultimates.

In the fight against the knights.

One example among those ultimates was Liu’s hydra summon.

If the hydra summon had been available and swept over four thousand soldiers, this would have been easy.

How did he time it this perfectly...?

Don’t tell me...?

They were horrified by the timing Hyunsoo had chosen.

At that moment, Hyunsoo moved.

To stop Hyunsoo as he leapt high, a woman launched herself up after him.

[Yongwol: I’ll stop him. While I do, fill your skill cooldown.]

True to being an assassin, Yongwol was more thorough than anyone in analysis.

She calculated everything: the speed of the Twin Dragon Sword, Hyunsoo’s skill, damage output, stats.

Even the artifacts she’d specialized for fighting him.

FLAP—.

As Hyunsoo’s coat tails snapped in the air, Yongwol drove in—and felt exhilaration.

Just as I thought. My calculations are correct. Considering his speed and mine, I can hold out long enough!

Her dagger extended, aiming for Hyunsoo’s chest.

SHKAAAA—!

She faltered.

Hyunsoo’s sword cut first—faster than she’d predicted—and passed through her.

The Twin Dragon Sword was a blade that inflicted massive damage.

Once she’d been cut, Yongwol stared at Hyunsoo with eyes that couldn’t accept reality.

This isn’t right... what is this?

She didn’t know it, but their calculations had been completely wrong.

Through the effects of Give me your blessing, Hyunsoo had become explosively stronger.

And there were the level-ups from hunting the Bone Dragon, too.

Without them noticing, he’d become at least twenty percent stronger.

My analysis was perfect... There were even tons of posts saying Hyunsoo isn’t showing up at hunting grounds at all.

Hyunsoo had risen into stardom.

There wasn’t even a single post claiming someone had seen him at a hunting ground.

Watching him draw the Twin Dragon Sword back once more, a great many things collapsed inside Yongwol.

A sense of loss because of him.

Frustration because of him.

She had been overwhelmed by him.

[You have taken a critical hit.]

Along with that message, Yongwol—split in half—fell to the ground.

Of course—

[Palao’s Dagger has dropped.]

—showing the side of a golden goblin all the while.

Step.

As Hyunsoo landed, the surviving high rankers were thrown into confusion.

Liu, Pond, Wei.

Three people were being overwhelmed by one.

Normally, it wouldn’t have gone this far.

They could already tell what was about to happen, because of their skill cooldowns.

All three thought at the same time.

We weren’t wiped out.

Let’s say we never even met Hyunsoo and just returned from the endless maze.

Yeah. Who would’ve seen it? If we all match our stories, then nothing happened.

If their defeat became known, the consequences would be the worst possible.

Then Hyunsoo, walking toward them, narrowed his eyes.

Hyunsoo decided to dance the butcher’s dance.

The first blade the butcher swung was their annihilation.

And the second blade the butcher swung—

“This is being recorded.”

—was leaving them not even a rat hole to hide in.