The Emperor, who had passed away, suddenly came back to life one day

The story told by the spear soldier was one already familiar to Seong Jihan, who had cleared this map before.

It spoke of the former emperor of the Wind Empire who died a year ago but suddenly resurrected.

This emperor reclaimed his throne from his son and launched a massive invasion against the Cloud Empire.

His primary objective in doing so was to obtain the Divine Beasts.

The Emperor said he sought a Divine Beasts to offer to the Phoenix that resurrected him. As you know, when we talk about Divine Beasts, its the Cloud Empire, right? Hence, the Emperor broke the non-aggression treaty and prepared for a full-scale invasion.

And he specifically ordered that the Azure Dragon and the Phoenix be secured at all costs. There was a spell on the entire Phoenix Corps, but it seems I was fortunate enough to escape it When I saw the Phoenix, I lost my mind.

For an NPC pleading for his life, this Awakened Black Spear Soldier sure was verbose.

The character seemed like a lore dump.

When will this damn lore end?

This map has the most dialogue, damn it.

Now that Seong Jihan summoned the Phoenix, theres even more dialogue.

Just tell us the bosss weakness already!

Given that even Diamond rankers played on this map, the viewers were familiar with the NPCs dialogue.

Although a few lines had been added because Seong Jihan summoned the Phoenix, in essence, it boiled down to the Wind Empires resurrected emperors invasion.

Hmm, is that so? Emperor Chojyo resurrected using the power of the Phoenix?

I didnt even know a real phoenix existed.

One thing Im curious about: Why did they not use the original phoenix flag and instead use a blackbird flag? Wasnt it originally red?

The Phoenixs symbolic color was fiery red. Yet, the banners and the undead from the invading Feng Empire all bore a blackbird.

When Bijang inquired about this, the spear soldier replied, Because the phoenix that appeared was black.

A black phoenix?!

Yes. So, the Emperor ordered all flags within the empire to be changed If not, the phoenixs offspring would punish them.

The moment the spear soldier mentioned the phoenixs offspring, a loud flapping noise resonated from the sky, and he screamed in terror.

Theyre here! Those creatures!

Those creatures.

The final bosses of the One-Leg map had appeared.

Theyre here.

The bosses of the One-Leg map, the Phoenixs Offsprings.

Rather than a single entity, it was a swarm of large birds, all merged together.

Seeing the approaching flock, Bijang murmured in disbelief.

What the hell? Those sizes Theyre the offspring of the Phoenix?!

Yes Those are indeed the Phoenixs offspring

How can they be offspring!

Bijang and the spear soldier were both in shock, but for Seong Jihan and the viewers, it was a familiar scene.

He came this far In Gold

Not surprising anymore, lol.

Can they clear it?

But since Hojo is dead, its almost a guaranteed win, right?

Yeah, if theres no Hojo, Bijang will probably help out.

While the Phoenixs offspring were not weak, Hojo, the leader of Phoenix Corps, had been a notoriously challenging opponent in the game.

So, with his absence, the games outcome looked promising.

Moreover, there was another factor assisting in countering the Phoenixs offspring.

They look pretty strong!

I I know their weakness!

The spear soldier mentioned a fatal weakness.

The real one has a blue beak!

While all the Phoenixs offspring looked identical, their beak colors were diverse, each sporting one of five different shades.

The genuine offspring changed its color randomly with every game.

So the real ones blue this time.

Is the number the same, 5?

Yeah, same number. 25 divided into five colors.

When the real one is attacked, the fakes also get damaged and vanish along with it.

Theres such a weakness, so even though the Phoenixs offspring is the final boss of this map, its been considered weaker than the Hojo.

Blue color How do you know about that?

Only the chick with a blue beak ate the sacrificial offerings. The rest were becoming transparent from behind.

Hmm, okay. Lets start the attack with the one with the blue beak.

Ah, and about mixing the Phoenixs power into Striking Thunderbolt, its best to refrain as much as possible

It seemed that due to the floating phoenix, the spear soldier was about to add something more.

At that remark, Seong Jihan tilted his head.

Striking Thunderbolt?

How does the NPC spear soldier know of the existence of the Striking Thunderbolt?

When Seong Jihan looked at the spear soldier with curious eyes,

Suddenly, his mouth stopped.

No, not only his mouth,

The entire world had stopped.

[The system detects an anomaly in the NPCs dialogue]

[An unauthorized terminal of the Constellation has infiltrated the game.]

[Expelling the opponent.]

What?

And then,

In the paused world, the spear soldier slowly brushed his hair back.

* * * * *

Damn. I wanted to talk to the head for a moment.

Spear soldier, referring to Seong Jihan as the head.

Such an opponent was predictable.

The Constellation of the Dead Star, huh?

How did it get in when it was prohibited from approaching Earth?

I briefly possessed the body of an old servant, but you caught on.

[Expulsion procedure in progress. 5. 4]

Ah, got it. Hey head, be careful with the birds! They are dangerous, so dont get caught! Especially, dont mix in the power of the Phoenix! The tree can detect you!

Spear soldier urgently warning Seong Jihan.

It was advice filled with genuine concern.

See you next time!

With a final wave, the spear soldier, the only moving entity in the paused world, also stopped.

[Resuming the game.]

Only after this system message appeared did the game resume.

Huh Why?

The spear soldier, who had warned against using the power of the phoenix, looked puzzled and then wondered aloud,

Why did you stop talking?

No, nothing.

Whats up with him?

Was there a mismatch while adding dialogue in real-time from BattleNet?

Lol, since when did BattleNet become such a fancy game platform?

It doesnt seem like BattleNet has been perfect since the last Top 100 game, right?

The viewers watching the game, apparently not having heard the earlier dialogue, were only commenting on the spear soldiers stuttering.

BattleNet Isnt it too easily breached?

It hasnt even been a week since the end of the Top 100 match, yet another intrusion?

There was definitely a hole somewhere in the BattleNet system.

And, was that spear soldier originally a servant of the Constellation?

Expository spear soldier.

It was strange that the pleading soldier calmly explained the situation and even knew the enemy bosss weakness.

He thought it was just a conveniently created NPC by the system, but it seemed that wasnt the case.

Whats the problem with mixing the Striking Thunderbolt and the White Flame of the Phoenix?

If the Phoenix itself was the problem, he would have told him to put away the floating Phoenix he was currently using as a buff.

What he pointed out was specifically mixing the two powers.

Could this be related to how the Hojo was so easily defeated earlier?

As Seong Jihan was contemplating these recent events,

Master.

Ariel, who had been left at the entrance of the bridge, approached and spoke.

Can you use me to catch those birds?

Why?

Those creatures are under the protection of the World Tree and are the enemies who prey on our kind.

Seong Jihan recalled the warning given by Karlein.

The advice that the tree can detect you.

Did the tree signify the World Tree?

In the last life, the World Tree Alliance and Kill the King acted in tandem to destroy the Earth werent they not on good terms?

Upon reflection, they didnt have a direct connection.

The World Tree Alliance only caused Earths league ranking to plummet in the Space League.

Kill the King had sprung from the dungeons and eradicated Earthlings.

Otherworldly forces are also complicated.

As Seong Jihan was contemplating this,

Ariel, perhaps sensing his discomfort, said anxiously, If you capture that corrupted phoenix with Eclipse, your Shadow Sword stat will increase.

Really? Then I have to catch it.

Seong Jihan suddenly stopped pondering.

Whether its the World Tree Alliance or Kill the King,

If his stats would increase, he couldnt resist.

Seong Jihan reached out to Ariel.

Shhhh~

The shadow elf disappeared, and a shadow sword was held in Seong Jihans left hand.

You What is that?

As the solemn shadow elf transformed into a sword, Bijang widened his eyes in surprise.

I will handle it Gatekeeper. Please take care of the barriers.

Do you not need help?

Dont worry!

Seong Jihan firmly asked not to intervene, and even stuck his Phoenix Flag into the ground.

Hmm. Isnt that too reckless? Maybe I should help

I told you Im fine!

Nameless Divine Arts, Footwork Technique Flashing Sky Thunder Steps

If hes on the ground, will Bijang help him?

Seong Jihan quickly soared into the sky, using his Footwork Technique.

To anyone watching, he was clearly eager about the stat.

Is he rushing because he thinks Bijang will help?

Why did he leave the Phoenix Flag behind tho? LOL.

Diamond rankers form teams to catch bosses like this. Isnt he being too reckless?

Its Seong Jihan, after all.

He even defeated Hojo~

Kiiiik!

As Seong Jihan soared, shadowy grotesque clones started to charge at him one by one.

Maybe they deemed that a single human-like Seong Jihan didnt require all of them at once.

The Phoenixs offspring seemed relaxed.

However,

[This is my speciality.]

Whoosh!

As the extended shadow sword touched the Phoenixs offspring,

Before even slicing their skin, they started to get absorbed directly into the shadow sword.

Kiik! Kiiik!

The grotesque beings twisted to escape as they were pulled into the sword.

But they couldnt resist the swords absorption, and were completely drawn in.

Huh. They cant resist at all?

[They are mere shells that had their immortality taken away by the World Tree. They are nothing but shadows left from the original Phoenixes.]

Saying that they cant resist the shadow sword, Ariel spoke confidently.

[Ill keep catching them.]

Kiiiik!

And so, after easily swallowing ten of them with the shadow sword,

[Your Shadow Sword stat increased by 1.]

A message made Seong Jihan smile.

Today, its quite easy.

Meanwhile,

Kiiiiik

Unlike before, the Phoenixs offspring hesitated upon seeing the shadow sword.

[They are trying to flee. We must catch them quickly.]

Ah, I cant let them go.

Nameless Divine Arts, Dark Shadow Technique Dark Soul Vortex

Seong Jihan approached the Phoenixes, using the Dark Soul Vortex.

As the shadow sword swirled and grew in size

Kiiiiiiik!

One by one, the horde of monsters was sucked powerlessly into the Dark Soul Vortex.

Among them, the main body with a blue beak held out a bit longer.

[Stop this futile resistance!]

As Ariel said, it didnt last long and vanished without a trace.

In this manner, the 24th monster was absorbed in an instant.

Finally, only the monster with the blue beak remained.

Kiiiiii

Even while being disintegrated by the Dark Soul Vortex, the last monster resisted for quite some time.

But it was just prolonging its inevitable fate.

Then,

Whooosh!

The monsters eyes blazed as it fixed its gaze on Seong Jihan.

It was a piercing look, as if trying to see through him.

But soon, flames erupted from its eyes.

From the beak of the monster, words were spat out.

<"Shadow. Worthless.">

[What?! Were worthless?!]

Rarely showing such emotion, Ariel became angry.

The Dark Soul Vortex began swirling even more quickly.

The monster could only stare at Seong Jihan for a short moment before being swiftly absorbed.

<observation value.="" none.="">

[You little!]

Even till the end, the Phoenixs offspring chick continued to provoke Ariel.

As the last monster met its fate in the Dark Soul Vortex, a system message appeared before Seong Jihan.

[Your Shadow Sword stat increased by 2.]

[You can no longer absorb the power of shadow from this monster.]

Such restrictions are always so precise.

They should focus on security instead of placing these kind of limits.

While Seong Jihan was satisfied with gaining Shadow Sword stats, the subsequent message made him slightly regretful.

Well, at least it increased by three.

Plus, the real reward is something else.

Seong Jihan looked down from the sky.

What he was looking at was the Thundercloud Spear held by the Empires Imperial Gatekeeper, Bijang.

It was time to claim the reward from the epic quest.