A single Player had waged a massacre. Or rather, a war, based on his ragged state. The battalion members’ eyes widened as they saw him. 

‘...He took out all those kobolds by himself? There must be hundreds of corpses.’

‘This is too much… He’s a monster.’

‘While I was hiding underground like a cicada, this guy was making a whole movie.’

There was a difference between killing ten kobolds and killing ten kobolds after already having killed a hundred. Of course, the latter was much more difficult. You had to deal with the fatigue of previous battles while taking on more enemies. 

Seo Jun-Ho had been able to do just that. The reason for it was simple... 

‘Even if I get a lot of Contribution, it’s not worth risking my life.’ 

‘Ah, damn. I hate elitists…But this bastard’s pretty cool.’ 

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Players and Adventurers didn’t know when they would die, so they lived by this creed. Of course, there would be ingrates who didn’t repay debts sometimes, but the members of the battalion were different.

“Geez, what have those stupid kobolds been doing? They only have one opponent.”

“I ate so much dirt because of them. Bet I won’t even need to have lunch. Pfft, what the hell? Shit, that was a worm!”

“Nice, I wanted to try fighting blood kobolds…Good timing!”

They had integrity, and they knew how to repay a debt. 

“Men!”

The two knights had survived, and they naturally took the lead, unsheathing their swords. They were the first to charge into battle.

“Defeat the enemy!”

“Chaaaarge!” 

The tide of the battle quickly turned. The battalion had more numbers and they were more skilled than the blood kobolds. As such, the blood kobolds started to back up as the Adventurers and Players charged. 

They wondered if they had been bamboozled.

“...That’s exactly how I felt earlier, you damn mutts,” Seo Jun-Ho muttered, grinning. 

Filled with vigor, the fighters’ swords and spears started to stab through the blood kobolds’ necks and hearts. 

“Kyaaaak!”

“Kung! Kung! Kieek!”

“Krr…Krrrr?”

The blood kobolds started to tremble feebly with fear, and fear gave birth to chaos. They couldn’t block the armed battalion’s charge, and their formation broke apart like straw. Seo Jun-Ho watched, pleased. He turned to Baek Geon-Woo. 

“Thank you. I’m embarrassed to say, but I would’ve been in a pinch if it weren’t for you,” he said.

“You would’ve been able to react even if I weren’t there.” 

As Seo Jun-Ho studied him, he could see a newfound softness in Baek Geon-Woo’s eyes. 

The older man looked up to the summit. “You should go.”

“...Go where?” Jun-Ho asked.

“To the blood kobolds’ leader. Rhode.”[1] His eyes fixed on the kobold covered in riches. “You deserve to fight him first, Seo Jun-Ho.”

Bam! 

He punched his fist into his palm and stepped forward. “Leave this place to me…No, leave it to us.” 

Baek Geon-Woo walked slowly at first, but then he started to pick up the pace. He ran at full speed and brought his fist back, slamming it into a kobold’s head. 

“Phew…” Seo Jun-Ho slowly let out a breath. He turned to the Frost Queen, who was flying over. “Frost.”

“Is your head alright? I used quite a bit of your mental power to wake those slowpokes[2],” she said.

“I didn’t feel anything. I think Shasha’s potion was really good.” 

As Seo Jun-Ho caught his breath, his stamina quickly started to come back, thanks to the effects of Bringer of Spring and the Blue Fairy Bracelet. 

“Just you wait, Contractor. I will be having some words with you after the battle.” She crossed her arms stubbornly, seeming angry in a proper way. She was so mad that she flew on her own instead of sitting on his shoulder.

It was probably because he had pushed himself too hard without even discussing it with her beforehand. But Seo Jun-Ho didn’t see it that way… 

‘I didn’t push myself “that” hard…’ 

If it really had been too much, he would have used Tempest or Final Horizon. If that still wasn’t enough, he would have also summoned an army with the Flute of Tidal Breath. 

Still, since the Frost Queen didn’t know that, her anger was probably justified.

“If you say that, I won’t want the battle to end,” Seo Jun-Ho mumbled as he slowly started to walk forward. 

The members of the battalion moved out of the way when they saw him, clearing the way to the enemies’ leader, Rhode. There were still hundreds of blood kobolds left on the battlefield, but their attacks couldn’t even come close to Seo Jun-Ho because the other members would kill them all, pushing themselves to the limits.

‘...This again. Things never change.’ 

Seo Jun-Ho had a faint smile on his face as he started to go faster. 

The remaining kobold mages had been defeated by the battalion mages, so there was nothing blocking his way. 

‘Kuuuh.’ 

A shortcut had opened to the giant kobold. The gems adorning its body glistened under the sunlight. 

As blood dripped from Black Dragon Fang, Seo Jun-Ho gripped his weapon and sprinted straight toward it. 

***

Rhode slowly reached for its hand.

Clatter. 

It pulled off the dozens of rings on its fingers and tossed them to the ground. It liked shiny things, but those things would only get in the way in a fight because it couldn’t make a proper fist. 

“Krrrrr.” 

The humans were strong. It had realized that a few months ago when it led the kobolds to their city, where its subordinates had been cut down by powerful beings. If they didn’t have multiple strong kobolds like itself, it would be hard to kill all the humans. 

So, they waited quietly in the mountains. They caught and ate human passersby, and waited as they increased their numbers. And then, the moment they had been waiting for had finally arrived.                                                  

The humans climbed up the mountain, not suspecting a thing, and then the kobolds activated the magic they had prepared months ago. The humans were caught off guard by the landslide and burrowed into the ground like worms. He had planned to send his soldiers to kill them all as they crawled out of the ground and win a great victory, but…

“Kah! Hah!”                                                            

But a single human ruined everything. Now, here he was, running toward Rhode while adorned in broken armor. 

The blood kobold turned its head with a crack and started toward Seo Jun-Ho. Its eyes were ablaze with fury and hatred. 

Woosh! 

Rhode swung its crude fist, grazing Seo Jun-Ho’s head. Despite its size, it was fast. 

The remaining half of Black Armor’s helmet was ripped off. However, Seo Jun-Ho swung his sword in exchange. 

Crrrrack! 

The gems protecting Rhode’s body were forcibly stripped off its body. 

“Hup!” Seo Jun-Ho attacked once more. Ignoring their size difference, he closed the distance between them and twisted his body, landing a back kick on Rhode’s chin. 

Bam! 

“Kuh…” 

However, Rhode didn’t even flinch. 

“...No reaction? Idiot.” With those words, Seo Jun-Ho slid down between Rhode’s legs. 

‘Huh? Is this the right move?’    

He’d moved on instinct, but he wasn’t sure if this was right. He simply had a strong feeling that he should do this.

Woosh! 

Thankfully, his instinct had been correct. Rhode reached down to grab his ankles, but Seo Jun-Ho was already rolling on the ground. 

‘I suppose Keen Instinct can even help me in battle now.’

Seo Jun-Ho stood up and grabbed Rhode’s hair, climbing up its back. 

Swoosh! 

From that position, he stabbed Black Dragon Fang into the thick nape of Rhode’s neck. 

“Kaaaahhhhh!” Rhode let out a splitting cry. It had hurt him, but it wasn’t enough to kill. Furious, Rhode thrashed furiously, throwing Seo Jun-Ho off its back. It began to rip off the remaining gems that were covering its body. 

Clang! Clatter! 

Once it had gotten rid of all the troublesome jewelry, its rippling muscles became visible. 

“...Royder, was it?”   

“Kaaaaahh!” 

Royder, or rather, Rhode, spread its arms wide and roared. The ground started to shake. 

“...!” Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes went wide. 

‘I was wondering how they caused a landslide with only four kobold mages…’   

It turned out that Rhode could use magic too. It wasn’t just normal magic, either—Seo Jun-Ho could sense that it was demonic energy. 

Crack! 

In an instant, three walls sprung from the earth, blocking Seo Jun-Ho from both sides and his back. The only opening faced Rhode, who was charging at him headfirst. 

‘He’s a kobold, but he fights like an ogre.’           

But that was just a testament to how powerful Rhode was. If those muscled shoulders rammed into Seo Jun-Ho, every bone in his body would undoubtedly break. 

Seo Jun-Ho checked the sturdiness of the walls with his hands, and he charged toward Rhode to meet him. 

“Kraaaaaah!” 

Rhode let out a valorous cry right before they made contact. 

“Hup!” 

Seo Jun-Ho kicked off each wall and leaped over Rhode’s head. 

Rrrrrip!

As he started to fall, Seo Jun-Ho stamped his foot on the handle of Black Dragon Fang, which was still stuck in the nape of Rhode’s neck. 

“Kaaaaaaah!”      

Slam!    

Rhode fell back hard from the force of its charge, and let out the scream that Seo Jun-Ho had been waiting for. 

Unlike before, it was a fearful cry that signaled its approaching death. The tip of Black Dragon Fang peeked out from the front of its chest. 

‘Now I just have to end this…’                     

Seo Jun-Ho quickly checked his status. His body was still hot, and even though a lot of his stamina had been restored, he still wasn’t in his optimal state. 

‘...3 seconds.’ 

He decided; that was how long he could maintain Booster. He would have to land a decisive blow within 3 seconds. Seo Jun-Ho went through his inventory. 

‘A spear… There’s not enough space between the walls, so it’s not the best option.’ 

He couldn’t use any of his weapons from his days as Specter, either. If he did, he would have to delete the video he was currently recording. 

“So it comes down to this.” Seo Jun-Ho held a short dagger in his hand. It was the only weapon that he would be able to use to its fullest in this confined space. 

As his fingers squeezed the handle, heat bloomed across his body. He stumbled as he stood up and charged at Rhode. 

“Kaaaaah!” Rhode swung its hand desperately. As it did, sharp earthen spikes flew up from the ground and from the walls.

‘That’s nothing...’ 

Woosh! Woosh! 

Seo Jun-Ho stepped off the spears as they shot toward him like stairs, closing the distance even faster.  

“Hup!” He stepped on the last earthen spike and flew through the air, holding his dagger in a reverse grip. Rhode crossed its arms in front of itself to protect its body, but Seo Jun-Ho’s dagger slipped through it like a snake and sunk into its chest. Rhode desperately started to swing its fists, trying to save itself.

‘His movements are too predictable…’ 

Seo Jun-Ho easily dodged and struck out with his palm. 

Slam! Bam! 

Following the flow of Rhode’s movements, Seo Jun-Ho swiftly diverted his strike, and it struck the wall instead. 

Ssssszz! 

Seo Jun-Ho deactivated Booster and took a step forward. He pulled out the dagger buried in Rhode’s chest.

“Ku…Krrr…Krrr…!” Rhode’s face twisted with indescribable pain. It raised its arms with great difficulty, trying to protect its chest. 

‘An opening!’ 

Seo Jun-Ho moved like a ghost, leaping over Rhode’s head and grabbing onto the handle of Black Dragon Fang, which was still peeking out from the nape of the latter’s neck. Seo Jun-Ho released his magic. 

“Krrrr!”

An aura exploded from the blade, tearing Rhode up from the inside. 

“...!”

Rhode’s mouth fell open, but the pain didn’t even let it scream. A moment later, black blood started to spill from its eyes, ears, and nose. Its hand fell, but Seo Jun-Ho stabbed its heart one more time, just to be sure.

“Phew…”

It was over. Once he realized that, the fatigue he had been holding back came rushing in all at once. The Frost Queen turned to him as he fell to his knees. 

“...Who told you to go so far?” she muttered. Still, she cooled off his body with her skill, worried. 

Seo Jun-Ho stared at Rhode’s body with hollow eyes. Except for the small part that had crumbled, the earthen wall was hiding him from the eyes of others. 

“Frost. Go out and stand guard for me.”

“Stand guard?”

“I couldn’t use it last time because Mister Hakan was there…”

Rhode had definitely used demonic energy during their fight. 

‘Someone must have injected Royder with demonic energy, just like the time with the blood kobold champion.’ 

Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t even able to check the champion’s name. 

‘But it doesn’t matter...’ 

Seo Jun-Ho put his hand on Rhode’s forehead. He didn’t have time. 

“Hurry,” he whispered. A white line began to shine under his palm as Confession of the Dead was activated.

1. This can also be read as ‘blood kobold lord’, but they call him Lord/Rhode as if it’s a name instead of a title. ☜

2. She calls them cicada larvae, which is also slang to refer to someone slow ☜