Loki and the other Pinnacle Strong Men had no choice but to look at the woman in confusion. She stood alone with her small physique, shabby leather armor, shabby helmet, and a fine-quality sword in front of the gates. And yet, every swing of her sword would make the gigantic siege weapons crumble into pieces.

Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack—

Baaaaaaaaaang—

Fine cracks appeared all over the siege weapons before exploding into pieces, causing the dozens of soldiers that operated them to fly back. However, the most shocking part here was the fact that the siege weapons broke down with only one strike.

‘What the hell is that woman?!’

‘Was there such a strong person in Let’s Eat Sect’s troops?!’

‘Who the hell are you?!’

Just when these thoughts crossed their minds, the woman who was blocking the gates suddenly said, “Long live Minhyuk! I will protect oppa’s territory!”

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

‘So strange?’

To most, the woman just seemed to be Let’s East Sect’s Guild Master Minhyuk’s Extreme Hardcore Fan. But for Loki, she was a giant barrier that stopped them from moving forward. Loki immediately sent thirty elite and well-trained knights forward. Six of these knights dashed through the army’s gaps and closed in on the woman, while the rest shot their crossbows at her.

Baaaaaaaang—

However, the woman easily dragged in the sword attacks that the six knights sent towards her. Yes, that was right. The woman changed the trajectory of the swords and forced them to collide with her own.

Claaaaaaaaang—

When she brandished her sword once again, a powerful storm of sword lights engulfed the six knights and killed them all at once. As for the arrows?

Swish, swish—

She just twisted her body and moved her head to avoid them. What about the rest of the thirty knights? It only took less than two minutes for them to meet their deaths.

“I. Will. Protect. Oppa’s. Territory.”

“…!”

Loki gnashed his teeth. The inevitable destruction of the gates in front of them was being blocked by the damn b*tch. However, even if that was the case, the Pinnacle Strong Men still could not hastily make their move.

A man stepped forward next. He was Barras Kingdom’s Master Swordsman, Ruad. A genius of his own era, he stood at the peak and became a Master Swordsman using his own swordsmanship. If he had been born in either Eivelis or Collodis Empire and not in Barras Kingdom, the kingdom of production classes, then he might have become the continent’s Sword King.

“I’ll kill that annoying chick.”

Ruad was extremely loyal to King Grain. His loyalty was ingrained deep within his bones. He could not bear to see the delay of Valhalla’s fall just because of a single, unknown woman.

“If it’s you Ruad, then I can entrust this to you.”

Ruad and the Pinnacle Strong Men were different. In the first place, he was a part of the Barras Kingdom. On the other hand, the Pinnacle Strong Men were only driven by the rewards that the kingdom had offered. Loki judged that it was more than reasonable for Ruad to cut down the woman that was blocking their path. Besides, Ruad was also not that far behind the Pinnacle Strong Men in power.

When Ruad stepped forward, the Barras Kingdom Troops regained their confidence. They immediately judged that the woman’s head would fall off the moment Ruad made a move. Then, Ruwad rushed towards Minhyuk’s Extreme Hardcore Fan.

Minhyuk’s Extreme Hardcore Fan, or Sword Emperor Ellie, grasped her sword tightly as she watched the rushing Ruad. She thought, ‘I can’t use Ellie’s Swordsmanship right now.’

Even if their opponents were dumb, they would know that she was Ellie the moment she used Ellie’s Swordsmanship.

Then, what should she use?

‘I’ll use the Overlord’s Swordsmanship.’

One of Ellie’s ancestors was called ‘Overlord’ and was a prominent figure thousands of years ago. The name Overlord was a name that was widely spread in the past. In fact, it was a name that was far more famous and well-known than Ellie’s name now. Overlord was the one that established the Eivelis Empire from a small kingdom before. Ellie respected him the most and considered him as the greatest emperor.

This was because Overlord was a person that was born with a body that could not house any mana. But even though he could not cultivate any mana, he was able to cut down all of the swordsmen in the continent through his sheer effort and genius. A body that could not house any mana could only possess a miniscule amount of mana no matter how hard they tried to accumulate mana in their bodies.

Thus, the Overlord’s Swordsmanship was a swordsmanship that helped someone with a small amount of mana fight against all adversities.

Ellie had been learning the Overlord’s Swordsmanship ever since she was young, in the event that she had to fight with a low MP. It was a sword technique that was passed down only to those that would sit on the throne and become the emperor. The greatest advantage here was that it was a swordsmanship that was completely unknown to the public.

The Overlord Swordsmanship was a technique that strengthened the body by utilizing the weak mana coursing through the wielder’s veins. Simply put, it was a technique that awakened the sealed senses in one’s body. The more the person’s senses awakened, the more sensitive their senses would be. Back then, when the Overlord awakened his senses, it was said that they reached the absolute peak. This very same power, the power that could awaken one’s senses, erupted and coursed through Ellie’s body.

[Overlord’s Swordsmanship Chapter 1. Lion’s Awakening.]

[All stats will increase by 23%.]

[All of your senses will exert far greater power than usual.]

Although Ellie cast the skill, no effect was shown. Ruad dashed forward and thrusted his sword towards her neck.

Shwaaaaaaaa—

Ellie, using her toes, twisted her body slightly and narrowly avoided the sword that was whistling through the air and aiming for her neck. Ruad immediately twisted his wrist and chased after Ellie with his sword. But it was not that easy. Ellie grabbed the tip of his sword with her thumb and index finger, pushing it away before tilting her upper body slightly away and looking at the swinging sword once again.

“…?!”

“…?!”

“…?!”

Loki and the Pinnacle Strong Men’s eyes went wide open in shock. The movements that the woman used were clean and precise. But the more shocking part was…

‘She did not take a single step away from her position.’

‘This is crazy…!’

Just when these thoughts flashed in their heads…

[Overlord’s Swordsmanship Chapter 2. Lion’s Stretch.]

Ellie lifted her sword up in the sky before slashing it down towards Ruad, who was still rushing towards her.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang—

Just like a lion stretching its body, the sword stretched out and made Ruad fly back.

“Keuaaaaaaaack!”

Despite being sent flying in the air, Ruad was still able to cast his skill and sent swordlights towards Ellie. But Ellie just slightly moved her neck, her toes, and her waist to avoid them, using the most minimal of movements despite the ground behind her being dug through and sunken from the harsh attacks.

Right now, Ellie’s senses had reached the pinnacle. The five senses originally included hearing, smell, taste, touch and vision. But the Overlord’s Swordsmanship’s senses were different. It excluded the ‘sense of taste’, which was the most useless in battle, and replaced it with a new sense in the form of reflection ability. The reflection ability could be said to be the pinnacle of the Overlord’s Swordsmanship, increasing the ability to avoid anything by two or three times.

Tap—

Ellie kicked the ground and flew up in the sky. Ruad took advantage of the opportunity and thrusted his sword up. However, Ellie easily changed the trajectory of his sword by touching it with her own sword.

Clang, clang, clang, clang—

Ruad’s sword narrowly missed Ellie’s flanks. But then, at that moment, Ellie stabbed her sword at the joints of Ruad’s armor. With a twist of her wrist, a powerful force appeared and gathered at the tip of her sword.

[Overlord’s Swordsmanship Chapter 5. Lion’s Roar.]

Clang, clang, clang—

Then, the mana that gathered at the tip of her sword entered through the joints of Ruad’s armor and spread throughout his body. And like a lion’s roar…

Baaaaaaaaaaaaang—

…Ruad’s armor exploded into pieces. The now armorless Ruad was in a daze. Loki and the Pinnacle Strong Men immediately dashed forward when they saw Ruad fall in a perplexed daze. But Ellie was a step faster than them. They aimed for her heart but…

[Overlord’s Swordsmanship Chapter 12. Lion Stalking its Prey.]

…Ellie’s sword accurately stabbed Ruad’s vital points five times in a row.

Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab—

“Urk!” Ruad groaned and vomited a mouthful of blood before falling on the ground. The Master Swordsman’s final breath was spent in vain. The Pinnacle Strong Men stopped in their tracks.

“Go in between the troops,” Loki ordered. The Pinnacle Strong Men immediately moved to hide among the troops. They joined this war to gain a foothold and an advantage, but if they tried to fight that woman then…

‘We’ll die.’

Who the hell was that woman? She stood in front of the gates alone to fight against 20,000 troops, but she was not losing her ground against them. She even looked like a ghost with her five senses awakened to the absolute pinnacle.

Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping—

With the soldiers falling down one after another, the troops had no choice but to take a step back and retreat. They could not come anywhere near her. Her sword was stained with the blood of thousands of enemies but she did not look exhausted at all.

Thuuuuuuuud—

One of the enemies flew up and fell down like a bomb in the middle of their camp. With every swing of her sword, dozens of her enemies would fall down.

Slaaaaaaaash—

Dozens of heads would be separated from their bodies the moment she threw her sword out. After losing her weapon for a moment, she grabbed the dagger from her waist and…

Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab—

…one, two, three, four, five, six, seven… fifty people around her died with a single stab on their necks. It was both shocking and worthy of admiration. The blood from the soldiers’ throats dyed her helmet red. It was like the advent of an evil spirit.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Ruuuuun!!!”

“Hiiiiiiiiiiik!”

“A demon! She’s a demon!”

[The troops’ morale dramatically decreases.]

[A nerve-wracking terror engulfs their entire being.]

[All of their stats will decrease by 25%.]

The 20,000 strong troops ran away in front of a single woman. This was a very shocking feat. Then, at that moment…

Vwooooooooooong—

A loud blare from the trumpet rang loudly in the battlefield. Ellie looked around coldly. A sea of black appeared and surrounded Valhalla. It looked like it was a huge army of 130,000 troops. A flag with the crest of a ‘hammer and kitchen knife’, symbolizing the Barras Kingdom was raised high up in the sky. And the shocking army shouted all at once…

“Victory!”

“Victory!”

“Take the enemies’ necks!”

“Take the enemies’ necks!”

Everywhere was surrounded by a sea of black. The shocking momentum of their reinforcement was enough to make even Ellie cringe. Cold sweat started to drip from Ellie’s hands as the enemy troops slowly advanced forward. However, she still continued to cut down the enemies in front of her.

‘Minhyuk, where on earth are you?’

***

[Minhyuk’s Extreme Hardcore Fan is bringing terror to the 20,000 strong troops all by herself!]

[What in the world is that woman?!]

[Some are assuming that she is Ellie, but the swordsmanship that she is using is completely different from the swordsmanship that Ellie uses.]

[But there is one thing that we are sure of. She alone is terrorizing the 20,000 strong troops.]

[Huh? Huuuuuuuuuuh?! Is that the sound of a trumpet?!!!]

[More than 100,000 troops have appeared and surrounded Valhalla!!!]

[Their shouts have shaken Valhalla, bringing them to the depths of despair!]

Trudge—

Minhyuk, who finally opened his eyes, staggered to the living room and headed straight towards the television that Changwook had turned on to watch.

‘Noona.’

Minhyuk could already tell the situation in Valhalla with just one look at the video presented on the TV.

“Minhyuk?!” Changwook shouted in surprise as he hurriedly stood up to support the struggling Minhyuk.

Minhyuk’s father, Kang Minhoo, also hurried out of his room after hearing the commotion. He said, “Minhyuk, you’re awake?!”

“I have to go, Dad.”

“You can’t! You need to calm down!”

He had been working too hard. He would not have collapsed if he simply pulled up an all-nighter. The problem was that Minhyuk had also pushed ahead with his ‘diet’. On top of playing in Athenae, he had also been exercising for five hours every day. The amount of time that he slept was only the bare minimum. He should be in a completely stable state, but more than 100,000 troops had suddenly appeared around Valhalla.

“I want to show it to them.”

The results of his one month of hard work could turn the tides of war. His father, Kang Minhoo, could no longer dissuade Minhyuk after seeing his firm will and determination. Minhyuk immediately went into his Athenae capsule to access the game but…

[Your psychological state is unstable.]

[You will not be able to connect.]

[It is recommended that you take a good rest before logging back in the game.]

Athenae was a virtual reality game and every capsule in production was equipped with the function to recognize the person’s brain waves and check their physical condition. Minhyuk, who woke up after being unconscious for a few days, was in a dire state, both physically and mentally. In fact, even now, his vision was shaking.

“Why…?!” Minhyuk shouted, his face turning ugly.

Kang Minhoo could only smile bitterly at Minhyuk after seeing him get out of the capsule in frustration. He said, “Your Dad will stop them first.”

“…”

Minhyuk looked at his father in guilt. His son had just woken up but he was already trying to play games. However, Kang Minhoo, as his father, knew that Athenae, the place that helped cure his son, was like another reality for Minhyuk. It was a world filled with people that he wanted to protect and cherish. Kang Minhoo, or Black Dragon, had also prepared a lot during Minhyuk’s absence so he wanted to show it to his son too. Then, he entered his own capsule.

The king of dragons, Black Dragon, had connected to Athenae.