There were 3,000 lizardmen that appeared so suddenly in front of the players. This was the Legion of Despair that Vormon personally commanded. They were an army that brought despair and hopelessness across the continents and all over the world.

They had been trained and nurtured for a long time, and even wore armor made out of Vormon’s own scale, as well as possessing weapons imbued with his power. Their father was none other than Vormon, which meant that their power was also bound to be tremendous. Each one of them had levels around Level 547~570. It was comparable to some of the high rankers.

On the other hand, the players’ army only had 9,000 troops remaining. However, surviving and remaining on the battlefield did not mean that they were strong. The truth was there were only a few high rankers left among them.

“Kireeeeeeeeeeck!”

“Keuryaaaaaaaaaack!”

The remaining troops looked at the Legion of Despair as they gathered together. They screamed strangely as they ran together. Both Carr and Mei Wei still had the role of commanding the troops. And since Vormon was mainly dealt with by the members of the Let’s Eat Sect Guild and Minhyuk…

“Let’s go!!!” Carr shouted as he took the lead in dashing forward and facing the Legion of Despair.

Mei Wei immediately followed behind while summoning a pegasus. Pegasus! This was a noble and amazing horse!

“Neiiiiiiigh!”

Clip— clop— clip— clop—

Mei Wei sat on top of the pegasus before raising her sword high up in the sky with the remaining 9,000 troops. The remaining 9,000 troops of their large army followed behind her.

“Haa!”

Carr flew forward and attacked the ones taking the lead. He also made sure to link his attacks to increase his attack power.

Ping—

Puhaaaaaa—

As Carr fought with the Legion of Despair, he could tell, ‘This is not an army that we can fight against…’

One, their defense was too high. It was very hard for Carr to cut down even a single one of them despite the fact that Conir had possessed his body. What more if the ordinary troops were the one to fight against them?

Two, they were veterans. On top of being experienced, their enemies were systematically trained, fast, and very strong.

Three, they did not have any fear. Even if Carr cut them down, they would just continue to attack without any hesitation.

Slaaaaash—

Then, the large troops behind them finally clashed against the Legion of Despair. However, all that followed were screams and shrieks.

“Keuaaaaaack!”

“My… my sword won’t pierce through! It can’t get through!”

“It’s like I’m fighting against the rankers…”

“Shit…!”

Even if they were being overwhelmed by despair, Carr still continued to swing his sword with all his might. They still had to charge forward. They did not have anywhere to retreat to.

Even those that were trying to stop Vormon were also in despair. Cerberus, with Locke riding on top of them, ran swiftly, while avoiding the magic spells that Vormon had fired.

“Grrrrrr!”

“Graaaaaaa!”

“Love! Hope! Happiness!!!”

Cerberus was desperately running with all its might to protect Locke. However, one of the magic spells struck Cerberus straight on its side.

“Whine, whine, whine.”

“Whineee!”

Cerberus rolled on the ground from the pain. However, it still struggled to get up. Seeing this, Locke hugged it tightly. He said, “Hyung will protect you.”

Locke grabbed both of his gigantic axes, as he began to cut down the magic attack spells that were coming down on them like a tidal wave. But he was quickly pushed back. The magic that Vormon sent out became more and more powerful, to the point that he could not stop them anymore.

Baaaaaaaaaaaang—

Locke rolled on the floor after receiving one of the attacks. Still, he stood up once again. After all, he was a player. On the contrary, Cerberus was a being that lived here. It would definitely feel the intense, burning pain that would bring it misery and despair.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!”

Locke triggered his skill as he ran forward with all his might. Even though he ate the marrow bone broth that Minhyuk made for him, it was still hard for him to fight against Vormon.

Fall—

Is this the end?

Locke’s strength left him as he sank on both of his knees. He could see his friends still struggling as they rolled on the ground. Genie flew back and vomited a mouthful of blood after being struck by one of the magic spells. Fire Fist Ace leapt high in the air only to fall down after his entire body was frozen by Frost Magic.

“Hoo…” Locke sighed shakily. Was it truly impossible for them to raid Vormon? But then, at that moment…

“How can you younglings sink and collapse like that?”

…a gentle voice rang in his ears. When Locke turned to look at the source of the voice, he saw Black Dragon, Minhyuk’s father. Black Dragon stared at the battlefield before striding forward and telling Locke, “Stand up. This is not the time for us to collapse yet.”

“Yes, sir…!” Locke answered loudly as he forced himself to stand up.

Black Dragon walked in front of him as he ordered the warriors of the Dragon Race to soar in the skies and attack the Legion of Despair.

“Kihyaaaaack!”

“Kieeeeeeeck!”

The warriors of the Dragon Race’s level were also quite high. Together with the player troops in a united front, they fought desperately against the Legion of Despair.

Meanwhile, Black Dragon stared at the four dragons that he had summoned. These dragons trusted and relied on Black Dragon the most. The same was true for Black Dragon, he loved and cared for them the most too. He looked at them and said, “Kids, there’s something that I want to protect.”

Black Dragon’s eyes turned towards Minhyuk, who was fighting against Vormon. As Minhyuk’s father, he felt that he had not done anything properly for his son when he complained of hunger after he had contracted and suffered from eating addiction. He felt like he was a very useless and stupid father. Minhyuk had always trembled and shook with pain, but now, he had discovered this new world and finally had the chance to search for a new hope once again.

This world was none other than ‘Athenae’.

“I want to protect this world.”

Black Dragon’s will was conveyed to Britney, Destiny, Breaker and Poison. These four dragons cried in reverence.

“Kiyeeeeeeeeee!”

“Kiyaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Graaaaaaaaaaa!”

Black Dragon also had a power with an extreme penalty like Ghost Spear Ben. Once he triggered this power, Black Dragon’s strength, as well as the four dragon’s power, would increase by 1.7x. However, for one entire month, the four legendary dragons would not be able to make an appearance.

“I’m sorry.”

However, the four dragons just affectionately rubbed their heads on Black Dragon’s body when they heard his voice. Then, the four dragons ascended to the sky.

[Black Dragon’s four dragons have flown to the skies!!!]

[Four dragons ascending the heavens!!! This is a once in a lifetime scene!!!]

[What a spectacular sight. Four dragons with the colors red, blue, green and black ascending to the skies together!!!]

[Aaaah! The sky! Look at the sky!!!]

The troops that had been fighting paused for a moment to turn their attention to the soaring dragons. They all looked at the sky where the four dragons had ascended! A blinding light flashed in the skies. The light slowly shifted until a huge cloud was created. This huge cloud sucked the four dragons that were flying in the skies.

Minhyuk and the members of the Let’s Eat Sect Guild were unaware that Black Dragon had used and cast his most powerful skill with an extreme penalty. However, even if they were not aware, the scene in front of them was telling them that there would be a tremendous power that would appear soon.

“Mister Black Dragon! There’s a jewel! A jewel has appeared on the bastard’s forehead!!!”

“A jewel?”

That was right. The members of the Let’s Eat Sect Guild were not there just to get beaten. Even though the guild members were suffering from tremendous damages, they were still constantly seeking the reason for Vormon’s regenerative powers. Even if Vormon was the most vile and evil of monsters, there was no way that he could continue to regenerate on his own. There must be a reason for his regeneration. If they could stop him from regenerating his injuries, then their odds would increase tremendously.

That was when they saw the black jewel that was cleverly hidden in between the black scales on Vormon’s forehead. The signs were so subtle that it was hard to find even for the Master Archer, Root. However, they were now sure. They were sure that the jewel on Vormon’s forehead was a hint.

And finally…

“Kiheeeeeeeeeeeeck!”

“Keuaaaaaaaaaack!”

“Kiryaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

The majestic roars of the four dragons resounded in the area and shook the entire world. The huge cloud made of light began to clear away to reveal Black Dragon, who had spread his dragon wings as he jumped down. When the cloud made of light finally disappeared, what appeared in front of everyone were the four dragons, each half the size of Vormon.

Black Dragon climbed on top of Britney and said, “Poison.”

“Kiheeeeeeeeeck!”

Poison descended on the ground and attacked the Legion of Despair.

Crunch—

Poison immediately gobbled up one of the enemies. Then, gigantic poison arrows started to form around Poison which he promptly sent out towards the Legion of Despair.

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

“Graaaaaaaa!”

“Keuaaaaaack!”

The soldiers from the Legion of Despair, which was composed of troops over Level 547, began to melt one after the other. Then, Poison roared.

“Kiheeeeeeeeeeeck!”

[The abnormal status that you have been subjected to has been cleared.]

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

The abnormal state that pressed down and wrapped around the entire allied army had been cleared. Carr trembled at the sight.

‘Very, very strong…!’

Poison’s power might not be as much as Carr’s power after Conir had possessed him, but he could tell that Poison was several times stronger than him without the possession.

Then, Black Dragon, who was riding on top of Britney, finally moved.

“How dare such a wild and puny dragon be so impudent!” Vormon cried in rage.

However, contrary to his words, Vormon was fully aware of the infinite potential that these dragons had. Vormon also knew that this was a different power and they had not yet awakened to their true power. These four great dragons would eventually reach godhood but as of now, they were still not there yet. Once they advanced and reached that point, they would gain a magical defense that could allow them to ignore hundreds of strong magical spells, while having a tremendous amount of magic and powerful magic spells.

At that moment, the black dragon, Breaker, opened his mouth and created a gigantic black barrier.

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

The black barrier that Breaker created stopped all of Vormon’s magic spells.

“…!”

This was the power that hundreds, even thousands, of the players failed to stop. Then, the blue dragon, Destiny, spat out a huge cloud of frost.

Puhaaaaaaaa—

Crack, crack crack, crack—

The powerful frost froze parts of Vormon’s body and restricted his movements. That was when Black Dragon leapt up with all his might and soared through the skies. Then, Britney took the opportunity to wrap his body and entangle himself around Vormon’s body.

Clench—

That was when the ‘Fire of Extinction’ was triggered. The Fire of Extinction was a skill that could only be used when their sealed power had been released. Simply put, it was a skill that they could only use once they awakened the power, in return for a tremendous penalty. The Fire of Extinction was more powerful than Hellfire, stronger than Vormon’s magic, and hotter than any existing fire in the world.

Puhaaaaaaaaa—

A huge and blazing flame engulfed Vormon’s body.

“Keuaaaaaaaaaack!” Vormon screamed. He could feel his hide melting. His hard, tough, and shiny black scales were melting off!

Black Dragon knew that he only had one minute to use and control this power at will. At the same time, Poison, who had killed more than a thousand of the Legion of Despair, Breaker, who was protecting Black Dragon, and Destiny, all turned into clouds of their own color, before getting sucked into Black Dragon’s Dragon Tear Sword.

Shwaaaaaaaa—

Finally, Britney, who was clashing with Vormon and made Vormon scream from pain, was also sucked inside the Dragon Tear Sword.

[Britney’s power has been added.]

[An explosion with 2300% additional damage will occur upon successful attack.]

[Destiny’s power has been added.]

[The opponent’s body will freeze for three seconds upon successful attack.]

[Breaker’s power has been added.]

[You will have the power to ignore your opponent's defenses and a power that can completely break down whatever is on your path.]

[Poison’s power has been added.]

[A strong and fearsome poison will encroach and devour your opponent.]

Then, Black Dragon flew forward.

‘Son, don’t protect me.

A world where his son could laugh freely. A world where his son could eat whatever he wanted. A world where his son could meet people that could become dear and important to him. These things were enough. This was the reason why Black Dragon existed.

Black Dragon’s sword tore down more than a dozen of the shield that Vormon had hurriedly casted.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—

And finally, Black Dragon used all of his strength to stab the black jewel embedded in the middle of Vormon’s brows.

Piiiiing—

Britney’s power created a huge explosion while Destiny’s power froze Vormon’s body. Poison’s power released a powerful toxin that ate away at Vormon’s body while Breaker’s power assisted his sword.

‘Thank you, kids.’

“Kiheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!” Vormon roared wildly.

And finally…

Crack—

The jewel cracked…

Shatter—

…and fell off. Black Dragon’s lips curled up in a small smile as Vormon continued to shriek. However, Black Dragon saw the corners of Vormon’s mouth quirk up in a sinister smile of his own.

“…!”

Black Dragon felt immense frustration. He could see the injuries on Vormon’s body start to regenerate quickly.

‘He… deceived us…?!’

That was right. Everything was just a trick. The black jewel on Vormon’s forehead was just a trap! Vormon opened his huge maw to devour Black Dragon.

“Dad!”

“Mister Black Dragon!!!”

“Stop him!!!”

Black Dragon slowly turned his head. He looked at his son, Minhyuk, with a bitter smile on his face. This was his final blow, but he had fallen for Vormon’s deception. Vormon’s mouth slowly started to close. When Black Dragon turned around, he saw Minhyuk try to jump up and save him. However, he was already too late.

But then, something completely unexpected happened. Vormon’s jaw completely stopped moving, no, he could not move his jaws anymore. This was because someone was preventing him from doing so.

“Keuaaaaaaaaaaack!”

Vormon shrieked as his jaw got restrained. Black Dragon’s attention was caught by something. It was there that he saw a very small thing. A sword that was far, far smaller than Vormon’s existence. This sword pierced through Vormon’s lower jaw and was being pressed by a hand.

The hand belonged to a woman with silver hair. She pressed Vormon’s jaw with one hand as she turned towards Black Dragon, her gaze and movement not even wavering in the slightest. Then, she said, “Nice to meet you. Father. I’m Ellie who wants to become Minhyuk’s ‘noona’.”

The Continental Empress Ellie has appeared. Then, she glared at Vormon.

Flinch—

It was the first time. For the first time in Vormon’s life, he felt fear and terror after being stared at by those eyes.