‘The First Coalition has collapsed…’ 

In the end, Callian and Ares of the First Coalition failed to stop the invasion of the demons and the demonic beasts. Genie, or Im Jihye, started watching the video again. It seemed like the battlefield was filled with endless frost. She could see Callian raising his hands high up in the sky as he shouted while hundreds of hellhounds flocked to them.

“Everyone, fire!!!” 

At the frontline, the troops of mages and archers all prepared for the attack.

[Ah! That’s Paliar, he’s the third in the local Mage Rankings! He’s a mage whose specialty is fire magic!] 

[I can also see Rigurd, the fifth in the Archer Rankings!]

Along with those words, Paliar floated in the air.

[It’s Fly!]

[It’s the magic that allows them to fly in the sky!!!]

Bright light shone from Paiar’s wand as he waved it around. He shouted, “Fire Storm! Fire Wall!” 

A huge wall made out of fire started to cover their front as huge tornadoes made out of flames began to rampage toward the hellhounds. With his magic, countless other magic poured from all over the place. Even the archers’ arrows tore through the air as they attacked the hellhounds.

Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh!

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

Stab!

“Kiheeeeeck!”

Puhwaaaaaak!

“Kyaaaahack!”

AOE magic and plenty of arrowheads flew all over the place. It was only then that Ares felt that something was amiss.

“…Callian.”

“Yes?”

“How come those guys did not explode?”

According to Lev’s words, they were forced to log out when they encountered Alchemist Rufel’s hellhounds that caused abnormal states and explosions.

“I don’t know either. Maybe it was just a trap, or gimmick when they hunted my guild members?” Callian said, tilting his head in wonder.

‘Why bother doing something so troublesome?’

Right at that moment…

Kiiiiiieeeeeeeeeck!

“…!!!”

Ares and Callian’s faces crumpled in shock and disbelief.

‘Don’t tell me?’

Their eyes turned to look up at the sky. There, they saw hundreds of bone wyverns flying above them, with figures completely black as they flocked together, just like a figure of hundreds of migratory birds in the sky. Just like that, the wyverns quickly descended one by one.

“Kahaaaaaack!”

“Kiyeeeeeee!”

The creatures riding on top of those wyverns were none other than the hellhounds.

[Th…they’re coming down!!!]

[The hellhounds are falling straight down in the heart of the city!]

[Hundreds of hellhounds are falling from the sky!]

Callian hurriedly gave his orders, “Mages, archers!!!”

Following his words, the mages and the archers quickly took position. One arrow from an archer accurately pierced through one of the hellhounds. Then…

Puhaaaaaa!

Green smoke scattered and fell down on them. Starting with that hellhound…

Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh!

Dozens of arrows and magical attacks also accurately hit the falling hellhounds. It was a momentary mistake. Callian should not have given that order to the mages and the archers.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

The hellhounds that fell on the ground exploded.

Fwiiiish!

Fwiiiiiiiish!

As a result, the gas that escaped from their bodies began to cover the entirety of the city.

“Goddamnit!” 

“This crazy shit!” 

The demons loved to fight. For that reason, the players believed that the demons would only engage in ruthless slaughter as they treated these things like a game. 

Meanwhile, the commentators kept on shouting.

[The Allied Guilds are in chaos!!!]

[The city will be left in ruins in just a single move!!!]

[This is an unbelievable sight!!! The Coalition had lost with just the AOE debuff!!!]

That was when they saw Rufel’s mouth open into a shit-eating grin. Then, he raised his hand and pointed his index finger forward. He finally started the real plot of his devious game. With his movement, the three Slayers began to move.

The Slayer of Anguish was a woman of great strength. With just a flick of her fingers, the arrows that were embedded in the bodies of the hellhounds were pulled out as they disappeared without a trace. With just a wave of her hands, dozens of crazy spells floated around her.

Flash—

All of the magical attacks that were swirling and creating chaos in the area disappeared in a flash of black light. It was a large-scale Dispel! It showed that she was a high-ranking mage. 

After all the magic disappeared, the Slayer of Death moved. As soon as he moved the staff that was hidden underneath his ragged robe…

Chiiiiiiiiiiing—

…the bodies of the hellhounds started to melt, starting from their skin to their eyes, then their organs, until their entire bodies melted away. After everything melted away, bone hellhounds began to rise from the remains of their bodies. 

“Grrrrrrrrr!”

“Keong! Keong! Keong!”

Hellhounds made out of their own bones rose from the ground and began to run amok.

“Tankers! Stop them!!”

The tankers had drunk the Elves’ Stamina Potion and had their stamina boosted. As soon as they heard the order, they quickly formed a huge shield with their square shields. However, everything was already a mess.

Baaang!

Baaaaaaaam!

[Abnormal State. You have inhaled the ‘Demonic Beast’s Gas’.]

[Your physical defense has dropped by 30%.]

[A terrible poison has started to melt your skin.]

“Hiiiiik!”

“Uwaaaaa!”

The tankers finally lost it when an explosion happened above them and they were forced to inhale the poisonous gas.

Spurt!

Pop, pop!

“Grrrrrrrrr!”

“Keuaaaack!”

“Ugh, aaaaaargh!”

“Hiiiik! Sa…save me!”

It was just a virtual reality game, but the demons, demonic beasts, and hellhounds all looked disgustingly ugly. Goosebumps raised all over their bodies as fear started to encroach upon the players.

Slash!

“Stay in line!!!” 

At that moment, Valdar, widely known as the Golden Shield and the number one in the Tanker Rankings, shouted loudly as he slammed his golden shield on the ground. The players quickly gathered around him as they formed a defense team.

Bang!

Valdar shouted once more after a hellhound smashed into his golden shield, “Attack!”

It was a flashy shield art using his flashing shield! The players' spears and swords stretched in the gaps between their shields!

[Golden Sun!]

[The mighty golden sun is shining brightly upon your forces.]

[Guild members within a 30-m radius will have an increase of 30% in their defenses!]

Sure enough, the number one in the Tanker Rankings was clearly a cut above the rest. Just then…

Crackle, crackle, crackle—

…a huge bolt of lightning struck down on Valdar’s shield.

Bang!

Valdar tried to stop himself from being pushed back but…

Bang!

“Keoheok!”

…A hellhound that snuck behind him suddenly exploded and dealt him a huge amount of damage. Valdar was caught up in a chaotic mess, and everything around him seemed to play in slow motion.

He saw Callian and Ares stuck in a fierce battle against the three Slayers. Unfortunately, no matter what they did, their foes were too strong.

Ares and Callian were even knocked unconscious by the sudden bolt of lightning from the Slayer of Anguish. Along with that strike, the Slayer of Death brought the dead back to life, as he pressed on with great fanfare.

Then, a man suddenly appeared in front of Valdar. It was none other than Conir, the Slayer of Frustration. Strangely enough, he was wearing full body armor with his body wrapped in bandages and his hand holding a sword.

“Stop him!!”

“Protect Valdar!!!”

The players all flocked towards Valdar with their shields raised up high. However, at that moment, the sword in the demon’s hand moved.

Shwaaaaaaaa—

It was just a single slash, but dozens of black sword lights flew out from it and pierced through their shields. The players’ bodies were all stabbed through by the sword lights. Their shields could not even stop the attack one bit.

“…”

It was at that moment when Valdar realized...

‘Allentian is finished…!’

Flop—

His head fell off of his body, as Conir’s intermittent voice passed through Valdar’s ears.

“Hung… ry… Haz…”

Then, a black screen appeared in front of Valdar.

Im Jihye could not help but sigh after watching the video. The Iris and Ares Guild both faced a crushing defeat against the demons. Meanwhile, the demons and demonic beast legion were already preparing to push through.

***

The people that were walking on the street stopped as they looked at the electronic display. Through the screen, they could see what was left of the once glorious Allentian. It had turned into a barren wasteland.

They knew that the three Slayers and the hellhounds that brought about a huge and terrible debuff had the greatest contribution in Allentian’s fall.

“The Slayers are too strong, right?”

“Shit… How do you even kill them?”

“According to the information from the operators, there would be a huge reward for successfully hunting the three Slayers, right?”

“…But, is it even possible? Right now, their next target is…”

The demons stopped for a while after they conquered Allentian. The next target that was waiting for them was…

“It’s Legend.” 

“Will Legend Guild be able to stop them?” 

“They can’t stop them. How can they even stop them? They’re less than 20 people.” 

“What guild did they ally with this time?” 

“No. They can stop them. All of the guilds located in Area A are in danger. Since Ares and Iris are not the only ones, they could still make another allied force. They should form a new coalition that is built around them. I reckon since the Legend Guild is composed of the elite minority, then they should be the one to kill the Slayers, while the other guilds hunt the hellhounds and the swarm of demonic beasts.”

However, not long after, someone more sensible appeared. He said, “…Do you think the other guilds will do such a thing just for Legend Guild to outshine them?”

***

The largest guilds in the country were known as the Four Great Guilds. Right below them, those guilds that were ranked 5~10 were known as the ‘Sun Guilds’.

Currently, the guild masters of the guilds ranked 5th, 7th, 8th and 9th were gathered together.

“Miss Alicia said that she wouldn’t come.”

“She’s pretending to be nice all by herself.”

The story that they told was simple. While Legend Guild bought them time, they would attract other players and build a new defense coalition that would become the third line of defense.

They believed that the first battle encounter failed because they did not expect aerial warfare. In addition, they also believed that Legend Guild would slaughter a lot of those demons before they died.

“It’s unfortunate, but Legend Guild will fall here.” 

“…Well, it can’t be helped.” 

That was what they were saying, but the reality was different. The reason why they did not form an alliance with Legend Guild in Philip Village was simple. Legend Guild was a guild packed with the best rankers. If they lose this war, then they would all receive penalties. Then, once the breaking point was reached, the guild rankings would naturally follow and fall.

Why would these players want something like that? Simple. That was just how people were. If there was someone higher than them, they would not hesitate to kick them in the stomach and step on them just because they were jealous.

Meanwhile, one man suddenly said, “I don’t think Kaistra and Player Minhyuk are currently with Legend Guild. I wonder how long they will last?” 

It was one of the guild masters who spoke. Just like he said, they believed that Minhyuk and Kaistra were the strongest powerhouses. Since the two of them were not present, Legend Guild would eventually fall. Of course, the guild was still made out of the best rankers, but they did not stand a chance just based on their numbers.

***

Genie sighed deeply after logging in to the game. Just like she had expected, the Sun Guilds did not have any intention of helping them. She also got a call from Artheon that they wanted to help, but were sorry that they couldn't, since they needed to put a lot of effort into their current defense.

Just then, Ascar approached her with a glow on her face. She said, “Ge…Genie…!” 

Ascar usually maintained a calm and composed expression on her face but right now, she could barely contain her excitement.

“S…someone came to help us!” 

“How many people?” Genie asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Ascar hurriedly said, “No, not people. Just one…” 

“Huh?” 

‘Just one? Ascar is so surprised just because of one person?’

Ascar led her to the person so she could check it out for herself. Then, Genie saw the members of Legend and Black Dragon and the Boys gathered around.

“What I’m going to draw for you is our token.” 

“Oh, what a cool token!” 

“What does this token mean?” 

The man standing in the middle of them said, “It means friendship.” 

The country’s, no, the best mage in Athenae, Black Mage Ali had appeared.