Vwooooooooooong—

The trumpet rang loudly, shaking the entire Valhalla Territory and its vicinity.

Valhalla Territory, under the leadership of Let’s Eat Sect, had transformed into something entirely new and became Valhalla Fortress. On top of the high walls of Valhalla Fortress stood the members of Let’s Eat Sect, together with countless territory soldiers, as well as NPCs. They were all geared up and ready for battle.

‘Minhyuk, you’re really a genius,’ Genie thought, a bitter smile on her face as she admired Minhyuk and his foresight.

The first one to suggest turning Valhalla into a fortress city was Minhyuk. He told them, ‘I don’t know which kingdom it will be, but I’m sure that plenty of people will want to devour us since we’re trying to build a kingdom.’

‘Wouldn’t the other kingdoms be kept in check by the Eivelis Empire?’ Genie, as the vice guild master, expressed her doubts about Minhyuk’s conjectures. However, the main reason why the other kingdom wanted to attack Let’s Eat Sect was because they wanted to take their resources, their troops, and their abundant and rich crop for themselves. As for the other kingdoms…

‘They’re not going to participate. They will divide up the Let’s Eat Sect and the exhausted kingdom that declared the war for themselves without using too much effort.’

Up until that point, Genie still doubted Minhyuk. She really could not agree wholeheartedly, since building a fortress required a huge amount of resources and manpower. However, Let’s Eat Sect still gave their all in remaking Valhalla.

The ones that participated in turning Valhalla Territory into Valhalla Fortress were Olger, Golden Hammer Dwarf Lant’s descendant, the very same person that Minhyuk had gained after successfully completing the Atlas Territory. There was also Roadol, the president of Ilhwa Construction. Roadol personally created the fortress’ blueprint. Olger was very shocked when he first saw the blueprint that Roadol had presented.

‘I… I have never seen a better blueprint than this in my entire life!’

A dwarf was as talented in construction as they were in blacksmithing. Shockingly, Dwarf Olger efficiently created and finished the sturdy and solid Valhalla Fortress, together with Roadol and the members of the Let’s Eat Sect. Although it only appeared as a simple circle, the power hidden within the Fortress City of Valhalla was immense.

[You have created a Level 9 Building for the very first time.]

[As a reward, the Fortress City of Valhalla’s buildings’ defense will increase by 2,000 and the siege weapons’ attack will increase by 2,000.]

[You have gained the Title: God of Architecture.]

This was an achievement that all of them got, but they were very shocked at Roadol who had led them. Roadol, or Taesik, had started from the bottom and worked his way up the ladder until he became the president of Ilhwa Construction, the top construction company in Korea. He had dreamt of creating a ‘Colossal Fortress’ and had always imagined its structure tens of thousands of times in his head.

And right now, he had finally achieved this dream.

Genie stared at the incoming cloud of dust as the trumpet rang loudly in the background. There were around 25,000 troops advancing towards Valhalla. They originally intended to launch a surprise attack but after hearing that the troops that attacked Atlas had been defeated, they knew that Valhalla Territory was already aware of their existence and had already prepared for war.

Then, Khan asked, “…What about Minhyuk?”

“He’s still logged out. I sent him whispers and even tried calling him several times, but I couldn't reach him.”

Genie bit her lips. She could not reach Minhyuk, the one that prepared for this war the most. In fact, he even told them, ‘Don’t worry. I gave it my all and prepared as much as I could. It’s my gift to you but it can also be a weapon and tool that will help you in this war.’ Minhyuk spoke proudly of his achievements. He did not go lazy and prepared for days and nights on end to prepare this something for them.

When he went off the radar, Genie could not help but wonder as she looked at the tense and nervous faces of the troops lined up inside the Fortress City of Valhalla. She thought, ‘They must be scared.’

It might be a game for the players, but for these people, it was their reality, something that would determine their life and death. On top of that, there were around 25,000 enemy troops rushing towards them right now. From what she heard, there were another 165,000 troops that had gathered today and were slowly making their way towards this place. It was clear that they wanted to head straight for Atlas after they trampled on Valhalla. Their total would reach around 200,000. But Valhalla?

‘We only have 6,000 troops.’

Could they even stop them? It would be hard but it had to be done. Genie, who was looking around the troops, suddenly stopped. Standing among the troops was a soldier with a smaller stature. At one glance, she could tell that the soldier was a woman. She was wearing a helmet and a mask that went below her eyes, shabby armor, and a fine-quality sword.

“Are you volunteering?”

Valhalla was also accepting volunteer soldiers.

The woman spoke firmly, “Yes. I want to protect Minhyuk! Long live Minhyuk!”

Genie smiled bitterly. She once again felt Minhyuk’s greatness. He could even make the people of this world volunteer for him. Even women started to volunteer for him!

The woman hesitated for a moment as Genie just stared at her. But she continued, “The lord is very handsome! Long live the lord!!!”

“Ah?”

That was when Genie realized that the woman in front of her was Minhyuk’s harcore fan! Genie smiled lightly as she moved back to where she was.

The hardcore fan’s identity was none other than Sword Emperor Ellie.

‘I will hide my identity from you as long as I can hide it.’

She used those rough and crude words to cover herself up and prevent anyone from recognizing her. If someone from the other kingdoms recognized her and knew that she had joined the war, she would incur their resentment and ire. So at this place, Ellie would act as Minhyuk’s extreme hardcore fan.

***

Everyone in Minhyuk’s home was bustling around when Minhyuk fainted while exercising after playing games. According to his personal doctor, Lee Jinhwan, it was because he was ‘overworked’.

“We’re not sure when he’ll wake up. It’s because his body is extremely tired. I’m sure Chairman-nim is aware of the fact that Minhyuk has been pushing himself too hard for the past month to prepare for the big things that would happen in Athenae.”

Kang Minhoo could only sigh after hearing Lee Jinhwan’s words.Minhyuk had fallen into a deep sleep and they were not sure when he would wake up.

Minhyuk’s usual daily routine would consist of playing Athenae for twelve hours and exercising in reality for around four to five hours. But these days, his routine has become stricter and harsher. He even personally stepped things up in preparation for what was to come.

Meanwhile, on the TV placed in the corner of the room.

[This is Ronnie, ATV Broadcasting Station’s reporter. Right now, the Barras Kingdom and the allied guilds have joined forces and waged war against Valhalla Territory. We can expect a major war soon.]

[Many of the experts said that they can only see little to no chance of winning for Valhalla.]

[This is a war between 6,000 troops and 200,000 troops. There’s no denying the fact that Player Minhyuk has reached the top, not only in our country, but also in the world. However, no matter how strong he is, the difference in their forces is still big.]

That was right. The difference in the size of their troops was extremely big. Six thousand men was not enough to stop 200,000 strong troops.

‘What have you been preparing all this time, son?’ Minhoo thought as he smiled softly at his sleeping son. The truth was, as a father, he did not want his son to participate in this war and just take a good long rest even if he woke up.

‘But I know that this is not what you want.’

But more than that, Minhoo wanted to cheer for his son, Minhyuk.

“You have to wake up quickly to protect your friends and your territory,” Kang Minhoo said bitterly.

Meanwhile, on the TV…

[With the sound of the trumpet, the kingdom troops that waged war against Valhalla have started to advance!!!]

[The ground is shaking with the march of the 25,000 strong troops!]

…the enemies finally began to advance. Today was the day where they would determine whether the Let’s Eat Sect would become a kingdom or would just be devoured.

***

The 25,000 troops on standby in the vicinity of Valhalla Territory began their attack. The Shield Unit, consisting of thousands of troops, took the vanguard and advanced forward, while the archers and the mages hid behind them and constantly sent attacks. There were also melee classes that were hiding in between their layers with their bodies curled up as much as possible.

Among them, someone was watching the battlefield very carefully. He was Amoure, the man hailed as the number one Pinnacle Strong Man. He stood at the peak of the strongest men in the continent as an assassin and a sage. In fact, not many knew of Amoure’s existence. This was because he was great at being covert. He could even hide in the emperor’s residence and assassinate the emperor without anyone knowing.

‘However, I will not be able to assassinate Sword Emperor Ellie.’

Amoure smiled weirdly. The only person that Amoure would not assassinate was Sword Emperor Ellie. He was sure that he would not even be able to pull off an assassination because of how powerful she was.

‘However, it would not be that difficult to assassinate Valhalla’s commanders over there.’

The ones that he was looking at were none other than Vice Guild Master Genie, the key figures of Valhalla, as well as Conir, the boy with a sword. Amoure was a master of assassination and stealth. Even Da Zhuang, the best assassin that had learned a pinnacle skill, would be no match against him in terms of stealth. Amoure quickly cast his skill.

‘Covert Shadow.’

This skill allowed him to move a thousand meters in one go and even allow him to use someone’s shadow to change his position. And it was not just Amoure who joined from the Pinnacle Strong Men. Many others had joined because of the significant amount of silver, gold, and treasures that the kingdom had promised them. They participated as mercenaries because the promised reward was large enough for them to buy several territories for their own.

Amoure had already discussed it with the kingdom troops’ commander. The moment the 20,000 strong troops moved, he would move through the shadows and go over Valhalla Fortress’ walls and assassinate the key figures of the Let’s Eat Sect.

‘In the first place, an army without a commander would be useless.’

The troops would be thrown into a whirlwind of confusion soon enough. In fact, there were countless people that were stopping the enemies from approaching Valhalla Fortress’ walls.

“Child’s Tempest!”

Ramyeon Boy Conir cast his skill from atop the walls of the fortress and let out a storm that tore the incoming shield units into pieces.

“Punks! Where do you think you are?! Ghost’s Dance!”

When the old man with long hair stabbed forward with his spear, the shield in the middle broke apart, effectively making their ranks collapse.

‘Rumor has it that Ghost Spear Ben has become much stronger than before. It seems like it's true.’

Of course, Amoure had connections with Ghost Spear Ben. After all, he was once the eighth among the Pinnacle Strong Men. Right now, Ghost Spear Ben’s current skills were strong enough that it could allow him to compete against the second Pinnacle Strong Man. Amoure looked at them and decided on his first target.

‘I’ll start with that woman. Their commander.’

Once their commander collapsed, the army would follow. Amoure would start with her and reduce the number of their key figures one after another. He hid behind one of the shields, and moved towards the Valhalla commander’s shadow. When he appeared again, he was already right behind Genie.

“Mages! Use your fire magic to stop the advancing shield unit!”

She was still commanding her troops, unaware of the fact that Amoure was already emerging from her shadow. Amoure intended to slit Genie’s throat in one go and take advantage of the noise and chaos of the battlefield to move to other shadows. But just as he stopped to pull out his dagger…

Pat—

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaa! For Lord Minhyuuuuuuk!!! Lord Minhyuk, I love you!!! Please take me!!!”

“Huh?”

Genie, feeling a pat on her back, turned to look at the direction of the shout of an unknown woman. That was when she saw Minhyuk’s extreme hardcore fan.

“…?”

At first, she could not understand what was happening, but that was when she found Amoure emerging from her shadows.

“…!”

Both Amoure and Genie were in shock as they made eye contact. Meanwhile, Amoure felt goosebumps rise from his body.

‘It, it was deliberate…! She did it to tell this woman about my existence…!’