Genius Blacksmith's Game

TINGLE—

Kali’s adrenaline surges.

A battlefield where the haze of dust had made it impossible to see even an inch ahead.

“Ughhh.......”

“U-ugh.......”

“What is this?”

Allied groans fill the battlefield.

Among the famed, 246 were struck by the two dragons and forcibly logged out.

There aren’t even 200 left now.......

It’s unbelievable.

The ones who seemed like they wouldn’t be able to kill even a thousand out of three thousand participants killed 2,800. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

It isn’t an overwhelming gap in strength, either.

They gnawed at them, little by little.

Ridiculous.

Realizing that the weakling they thought was nothing was actually the strong one.

Now, silhouettes begin to move through the dust.

FSSSH—

FSSSH—

KRAK—!

As if Atlas’s forces also sensed the battle nearing its end, they slash with desperate ferocity.

And in the gap—

THUNK—

THUNK—THUNK—THUNK—THUNK—!

A massive greatsword can be seen swinging.

It’s hard to make out through the dust, but every time he takes a step, you can feel the rankers flinch.

And only now does Kali understand.

You—don’t tell me.......

Great Atlas War was broadcast to all the world.

A reversal in a situation everyone was certain would end in defeat.

And the most singular territory establishment among all users.

Are you trying to become king?

Kali’s breathing turns ragged.

Korea is a small country.

And Korea isn’t even counted among the great powers in Ares.

On the other hand, Kali’s homeland, the United States, is the strongest nation in Ares.

A king—someone from a small country, not Kali—becoming king?

“Get up.”

At Kali’s words, the rankers seem to realize the situation they’re in, too.

KRAK-KRRRK—

Kali’s body changes.

The true form he had been hiding is revealed.

“So that was your real appearance?”

Vietnam’s Mio, at his side, lets out a hollow laugh.

[You are transforming into a ferocious beast.]

[The aura of the White Tiger writhes.]

A 2.5-meter-tall white tiger crushes enemies—sometimes on two legs, sometimes on all fours.

Ferocious Beast Transformation, allowed only to an extremely small number of users.

And among them, the top predator: the legendary White Tiger.

Kali, in this state, is strong enough to beat most rankers to death in just a few exchanges.

A hidden card he’d been saving for the day he would defeat Bahala.

“We have to go all out, too.”

Vietnam’s Mio.

Ranked #1 in the world’s archer rankings.

A person on a completely different level from Korea’s #1 archer.

And though the world didn’t know it, recently she had become the one who proved that a “Bow God” existed in this world.

FWEW—

FSSSH—

FWEW—

FSSSH—

Mio.

Through the dust, she watches users getting logged out by Ian and Hyeji’s arrows.

“Let’s sweep them all away.”

Russia’s apex, Kassandra.

Known as the agent of the demon Dantalion, she, too, is special.

She was on a completely different level from Paeng, Agares’s legion commander.

A legion commander was ultimately just a subordinate, but Kassandra was someone who could borrow Dantalion’s power.

And France’s Frank.

He possesses a special class line: Grappler.

A Grappler was both a powerful damage dealer and a powerful tank.

As the four apexes prepare for battle, the 200 rankers remaining within the pandemonium see Atlas’s forces pushing through the dust.

Then ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ they move.

[Alliance Leader Kali: If even 100 of us survive, we win. Cut their numbers as much as possible!]

If they killed every last one of the 1,500 Atlas troops and more than 100 rankers survived, the rankers’ side had no choice but to win.

Punching through the dust, the rankers’ counterattack begins.

KAAANG—!

The Bow God Mio’s arrows slice the dust and kill dozens.

Every time White Tiger Kali dashes in all directions, tooth marks remain in Atlas soldiers’ bodies—and their bodies are torn apart.

“KRAAAAH—!”

“Khhhhh—!”

Demonic qi roils from Kassandra’s body as she stands before hundreds of Atlas troops.

“Dantalion’s brainwashing.”

[You are afflicted with a status ailment.]

[You attack your allies!]

Atlas’s troops begin attacking their own side.

THUNK—THUNK—THUNK—THUNK—

[41 of Atlas’s forces have died.]

[165 of Atlas’s forces have died.]

[213 of Atlas’s forces have died.]

Between them as they turn to ash and vanish at high speed—

BOOOM—!

Hugging a single Atlas soldier, Frank shoots high into the sky.

With an enemy clutched in his arms, Frank rises—then drops straight down in reverse.

KWAHHHHHHHANG—!

Atlas’s troops caught in the shockwave are erased at high speed.

Starting with the Bow God Ian—

Hyun’s Forge guild members respond, and they, too, become desperate to cut down the rankers’ numbers.

Both sides feel it.

Atlas’s forces know that if they can’t drastically reduce the number of rankers, they will lose.

And the rankers’ side knows that the more of them survive, the higher their chances of victory.

In that group clashing with everything they have, the side that begins to show an overwhelming advantage is the rankers.

The formation of 1,500 Atlas troops collapses in an instant, accelerating rapidly toward annihilation.

Now, only 200 Atlas troops remain.

And the rankers still have 150.

The difference between having 200 children left and 150 adults left is the distance between heaven and earth.

The four apexes, seizing the momentum—

FSSSH—

[One of the enemy commanders, Ian, is logged out.]

Pierced by Bow God Mio’s arrow, Ian slowly dissolves into nothing.

Resil, who had swung the two dragons and killed fifteen rankers, is torn apart by Kali’s claws.

[One of the enemy commanders, Resil, is logged out.]

Watching them get logged out at high speed, Kali praises them sincerely.

Yeah. Just lasting this long is impressive.

But now it’s over.

[Kali: Full assault. Use all skills.]

All the rankers decide collisions are unnecessary.

The power of skills unleashed by 150 rankers stretches toward the remaining Atlas troops.

The 200 Atlas troops swallowed by it were scattering in all directions.

We won......!

Kali is swept into rapture.

This is the moment every Atlas soldier meets death.

All attacks concentrate on Hyun, left alone.

Another pocket within the dust, formed as everything tangled together.

The forces forged by 150 rankers fill the sky once more.

And then Kali saw it—Hyunsoo’s eyes, standing firm beyond the dust.

“.......”

Those eyes were still shining, solid and unwavering.

Even alone, the eyes burning told him he still hadn’t been defeated.

How?

How can he make that expression while staring at the combined force of 150 users?

Atlas’s shield had been waiting for this exact moment.

“Do you know what a tank is?”

A voice driving in through the crack in the dust.

A tank is a shield that protects party members, no matter what.

Bark rushes past Hyunsoo, raising Aegis and charging.

Bark was the same.

After the second Ares opened, Bark didn’t sit around sucking his thumb, hoping Hyunsoo would do everything.

Absolute Shield Peya.

Bark pursued the quest to meet him.

[Growing One Bark Lv.475]

Even if his level was similar to those 150 users.

Here, he was nothing special—just an unremarkable existence.

But through Peya, Bark learned his secret art.

-What is that?

-Is he really going to face that concentrated force alone?

The world laughs in disbelief.

Because of the sight of him charging with nothing but a single shield.

But then, Bark hoists the shield high and shouts.

“ABSOLUTE SHIELD!”

[You borrow Peya’s power.]

[Absolute Shield manifests.]

[You receive a penalty.]

[Due to the penalty, after use, HP will remain at only 1%.]

The instant he drives the shield into the ground with all his might—

RRRRRUMBLE—!

The world is hit with a staggering spectacle.

His shield expands, forming a gigantic wall like an iron fortress.

[Absolute Shield does not collapse!]

KRAK-KRAK-KRAK—!

An iron fortress created by a single user.

Reaching 8 meters high and 12 meters long, it doesn’t even tremble.

And this was Bark’s last move, for Hyunsoo’s sake.

Hyunsoo—go.

[Some of the force from incoming attacks is stored in the body!]

It’s the same principle as Hyunsoo’s skill, Gather.

The forces that struck the shield directly become Bark’s strength and are stored.

Damage carrying the power of 150.

Carrying it, Bark lunges toward the rankers standing behind the wall.

Kali sensed the danger and cut Bark down.

[You do not die while in the Absolute Shield state.]

But Bark ignored everything.

A power that ignores all attacks for a set duration.

And soon Kali could see where Bark was.

After blocking 150 people’s attacks alone, he was standing in their midst.

Then he leapt above them and brought the shield down—

[The force concentrated into Absolute Shield for 30 seconds strikes the enemies.]

[It fuses with Aegis’s Frost Flower.]

KRRRRT-KRRRRT—!

Centered on Bark, every user’s body froze at high speed.

The users frozen by that concentrated force couldn’t collect themselves.

That included Kali and the surviving apexes.

[You are afflicted with the status ailment: Frostbite.]

Shivering, his mind turning hazy, Kali barely managed to swing with the White Tiger’s hand and smash Bark in front of him.

FSSSH—

“.......”

[One of the enemy commanders, Bark, is logged out.]

Turning to ash, Bark was smiling.

And in Kali’s eyes—

From this attack, around 120 rankers were shattering into broken ice statues.

And those who weren’t logged out—

SLICE—!

THUNK—

THUNK—THUNK—THUNK—THUNK—

[Atlas’s forces have been annihilated.]

[Only Lord Hyunsoo survives.]

The one remaining existence was smashing the frozen statues apart.

And Kali could see it.

“Ughhh......!”

Russia’s Kassandra, enduring with her high status resistance.

“Dantalion’s aut—”

Before she could manifest the skill and kill Hyun as he approached—

CRASHCLASH—!

Struck head-on by Hyun’s Twin Dragon Sword, she shattered like a glass cup.

[Enemy commander Kassandra is logged out.]

And France’s apex—Frank the Grappler.

With status resistance still relatively high, he broke free faster than anyone and rushed Hyun.

But—

[Movement is slowed.]

[Attack speed is slowed.]

[Because the body is frozen, damage taken increases.]

A frozen target takes greater damage.

They break easily. They die easily.

SLICE—!

[Enemy commander Frank is logged out.]

“Ugh......”

Bow God Mio, right beside Kali.

With frozen fingertips, she tried to draw a single arrow toward Hyunsoo.

Then—

WHIRRRR—!

The Twin Dragon Sword flew in and struck Mio’s body head-on.

KRRRRT—!

Cracks spread through her freezing body.

Mio spoke in a shaken voice.

“Such an absurd way to—”

CRASHCLASH—!

Kali’s eyes tremble.

His body, which had been freezing, melts little by little, and his blurred mind returns.

Only now does Kali realize why this happened.

They had set a single goal: protect Atlas.

The rankers were the opposite.

They entered the battle driven only by individual greed, obsessively determined to receive artifact crafting from Hyun.

Those with something clear to protect can sometimes unleash stronger will—and the power of pride.

Failing to see any of that, charging ahead anyway—that’s the reason for what happened now.

And then—

[The status ailment is removed.]

FLASH—!

Kali fully comes to his senses.

With his mind clear, Kali sees the speed—seen like slow motion—return to normal.

To Kali, it felt like long minutes.

But it wasn’t.

These were events that happened in an instant.

A mere 2 to 5 seconds.

Using Ghost Step and other powers, Hyunsoo shattered every remaining enemy.

And only now does it become visible.

FWOOM—!

Thanks to Tank Bark, 120 users burn into ash.

And those who had survived were also shattered into ash by Hyunsoo.

Kali tenses.

TUK, TUK—

Hyunsoo lightly dusts the dirt off his coat and walks toward him.

In front of him had been hundreds of mountains too high to climb.

But thanks to Hyun’s Forge guild members and Atlas’s forces who believed in him and followed him, he could stand here.

It’s impossible.

He can’t.

He’ll lose.

Amid the laughter of the masses—

He’s insane!

Hyun’s Forge is unbelievable!

Hyun’s Forge is amaziiiing!

Now, he can feel himself standing in the gap of cheers.

He forces out strength and slowly aims the Twin Dragon Sword at Kali.

A small man who had stood amid mockery, laughter, scorn, and condemnation.

A single flower, fallen after being burned.

The whole world witnesses the moment its petals become seeds and bloom in riotous profusion.

Before the world, Hyunsoo will cut Kali down and declare it.

“Let’s end this.”

That he will become the first king of this land.