A vast plain. Behind trees made of monster flesh, the red moon hung low, spilling a dreamlike light.

Shadows pooled across the faces of five hundred goblins. Their eyes glowed red.

Step. Step. Step. The army advanced in lockstep, the clatter of armor more clean than clamorous.

Go Byeonggap led from the front. Five goblins followed closest at the king’s back — the strongest commanders, heirs to the power of ancient heroes. They looked half-mad to burn their fighting spirit alive.

‘If I hadn’t been short on crystals, I’d have roused all twelve heroes.’

The taste of bitterness lingered on his tongue.

Lately, large numbers of female goblins had been brought into Asvillam, leaving no surplus of crystals.

‘Still… I can’t shake the feeling we won’t lose.’

Five colossal presences at his back — it felt like carrying an ocean on his shoulders.

«So that’s it, Lord — what you spoke of.»

Dorma approached and spoke. Go Byeonggap drew his sword as he answered.

«Right. Hey, Dorma.»

«Yes, Lord.»

«The humans tangled in those tentacles — can you pull them out?»

«Of course.»

Dorma stretched his hand before him, opening and closing his grip. And something astonishing happened.

The humans bound by tentacles lifted into the air as one. But the tightly coiled tendrils did not let go of what they held. The people dangled like balloons on strings.

«I could tear them off like this, but the humans would take damage too.»

«Doran.»

«Yes!»

«Cut that all clean away.»

«Leave it to me!»

Doran unfurled her greatsword with a triumphant air. She crouched low, then shot forward at a speed that was difficult to track with the eyes.

In a single breath, she closed to the tree’s very edge and vaulted upward.

The secret art of the Mandala Knight Order.

The opening form of the Eight Martial Arts: Sever.

Thud-thud-thud!

Doran had become the blade itself, cleaving everything in her path. Thousands of bundled tentacles, twisted layer upon layer, collapsed and spilled helplessly to the ground.

The people freed from the tentacles drifted serenely, moved behind the legion.

Then it happened. The tree shuddered violently, its surface melting away like flowing candlewax.

Doran moved to strike at it, but Go Byeonggap hurriedly recalled her.

«Doran, come back.»

«Ah, yes! Understood.»

«It’s beginning.»

As the tree melted away, Alsharon within was revealed. His shattered arms had already been restored.

The melted pool on the floor took shape and transformed into the Divine Army.

‘Their numbers have shrunk a bit compared to before.’

Go Byeonggap raised his sword. Then he bellowed at the top of his lungs.

«Everyone, get into formation! This is a fight!»

«Woooooah!»

The goblins, who had been keeping silence, roared provocatively. The internal energy they emitted was so dense the air itself grew thick and heavy.

Go Byeonggap was genuinely surprised.

‘These bastards—their mastery rate was this high?’

He had brought only the picked ones, but he hadn’t expected this level. Then Landriol spoke from within.

<This is the king’s spirit.>

‘King’s spirit?’

<You call yourself a king, but you know nothing about kingship. This is only the beginning. I’ll teach you one more thing.>

Landriol tried to surface. Byeonggap, with instinctive resistance, blocked him.

<…I have no interest in stealing your body, so step aside and be quiet.>

Persuaded, Byeonggap yielded his body for a moment. Landriol acted as Go Byeonggap and harangued them.

«Listen! Those abominable, execrable things are Madmut’s minions, our sworn enemies! But do not worry. In our veins flows the blood that slays gods—your teeth will easily tear through their hides and flesh! After we sweep them away without a trace, let us raise a toast with their blood!»

«Kill! Kill!»

«Woooooh!»

The goblins chimed in and stomped their feet. Their roar was deafening.

«Your king stands beside you. As long as I stand firm here, what in the world could make you afraid? I will not look away for a single second—I will watch your struggle. Fight for me, fight for Asvillam. And die gloriously! Regard survival as shame! I will remember each and every death of yours for eternity!»

Landriol radiated his internal energy in all directions. It wove through the air like the aurora, seeping into the goblins.

At that moment, the goblins went almost mad.

«Waaaaaah!»

«Keurreuk! Keurreuk!»

Morale didn’t just boil over—it exploded. The goblins surged, channeling internal energy that effortlessly exceeded three or four times their usual limits. It was a phenomenon that could only be described as a miracle.

Landriol snorted a quiet laugh and sank back into his inner depths.

<You see? This is the spirit of one who rules. They’ve transcended the fear of death. A warrior who does not dread death is formidable.>

‘…I can’t deny your ability. But telling them to fight to the death? That’s a bit harsh.’

<You speak like a fool again. Should I command them never to die before battle? A warrior who guards his own skin falls even to a mother’s feeble fist when she defends her child.>

Go Byeonggap swallowed his words. No, in this case, he swallowed his heart.

Landriol added, his tone tinged with pity.

<If you fear being wounded, how can you fight? If you dread fighting, what can you claim? An Emperor stands at the highest peak, grasping the world in his hand. Yet for that very reason, he is also one who loses everything he holds. I lost hundreds of thousands of loyal subordinates, and in the end, even my beloved wife. Did I crumble? No—I rose and sharpened my blade for revenge. …If you truly wish to become a king, you must endure the pain of loss. That is the fate of a ruler.>

‘I get it. I get it, so just get lost now.’

<I was about to do just that. Let me say one last thing: do not consider it shameful to use my power and aid. It is merely a weapon to make you strong.>

With that, Landriol truly vanished.

Go Byeonggap let out a long sigh.

«My Lord, are you all right?»

«Yeah, feeling absolutely fantastic.»

«Pardon?»

«Let’s fight!»

Alsharon moved. The Divine Army, over a thousand strong, began its advance in formation.

«Bamond.»

«Yes!»

«Bless the children. Your mission is to make sure even one fewer dies. Remember my words.»

«I will do so, even if my bones rot away to nothing.»

«Kiriyan, Turka.»

«Yes!»

«Speak your command!»

«Lead the army at the front. Grind those little ones following Alsharon into dust.»

«Understood!»

«Leave it to us!»

Go Byeonggap took a step forward. Naturally, Doran and Dorma fell in behind him.

«You two stick with me. We’ll take the enemy commander’s head together.»

«Yes, my Lord!»

«I shall support you.»

Go Byeonggap bellowed.

«Charge!»

«Waaaaaah!»

«Krrrrack!»

The goblins burst forward. Go Byeonggap stood at the very front, shouting the loudest battle cry of all.

The host of a god. And the host of a king.

Two colossal mountains collided.

* * *

Until this afternoon, Chobi had been nothing but a farmer working the fields. His job was simple: grow the best sweet potatoes he could in the plot he’d been assigned.

And the sweet potatoes he’d grown were downright impressive. He was, by all accounts, a pretty damn fine farmer.

But right now, Chobi was a warrior.

A warrior of Asvillam, killing the enemy and protecting his king.

«(Keurok!)»

Chobi was a hob goblin — he didn’t possess any outstanding battle instincts compared to his kin. But his diligence? That was something to brag about.

With practiced hands, he thrust his spear. The blade slipped through a gap in the Divine Army’s shield wall and drove straight through an enemy’s throat.

A section of the formation crumbled. Chobi didn’t hesitate — he was the first to charge into the opening.

Blades came at him from every direction. Chobi spun his spear wide, deflecting every strike. He was buying space for his kin to push in.

Shiik!

«(Kkyak!)»

An arrow flew in and lodged in his shoulder. A sword followed, slicing deep into his arm. Chobi lost his grip on the spear.

But he didn’t shrink back. Instead, he howled even more ferociously.

«(Keureureuk!)»

Like a beast, Chobi pounced on the enemy and sank his teeth into the Divine Army soldier’s throat. The Lord’s words were true — his fangs pierced flesh and hide all too easily.

Ashubi was a goblin who worked in the kitchen, helping Ea. Not that he did the actual cooking — no matter how charitably you looked at it, his culinary skills were atrocious.

But his strength as a giant goblin came in mighty handy for hauling ingredients and equipment.

And, as it turned out, for smashing enemy skulls just as well.

«(Uuoooooh!)»

A Divine Army blade grazed As hubi’s side. Without so much as a blink, he grabbed the enemy’s head and left shoulder — and wrenched his arms apart.

«(Keu… keueok!)»

«(Uwaaaaaaah!)»

The Divine Army soldier caught in As hubi’s grip got the rare experience of being torn apart alive, his head ripped from his body — not that he had time to register it before dying.

As hubi rolled his eyes, scanning for the next target. And then — light flashed in the distance, and in an instant, an arrow was on him.

He threw his arm up to shield his face, but the dense karma-infused arrow punched through his arm and gouged out his right eye.

Half the world As hubi saw went dark. But he didn’t despair or lose heart.

That searing pain only stoked the fighting rage inside him.

«(Wuuooooh!)»

«(Uuh? Keo-heok!)»

Gave up an eye, so he’d better take at least one enemy head to balance the account.

Ashubi found the archer who had shot him and tore his head from his shoulders. Blood geysered up, drenching Ashubi in red.

He licked the blood from his lips. Lord had said to toast with the enemy’s blood… but it tasted only of iron and copper, flat.

Shrugging, Ashubi scanned for the next head to collect.

Go Byeonggap cast a glance over his shoulder. The Divine Army and his goblins were a chaos of limbs and blades, a tangle so thick it looked like a storm-whipped sea.

Friend and foe blurred together in the melee, impossible to tell apart at a glance. Yet the goblins didn’t seem to be losing ground.

They were outnumbered three to one, with no walls to lever their defense, and still they held even. Maybe the night was made for miracles.

‘<i>And if I want to finish that miracle, I’d better push harder.</i>’

Go Byeonggap turned back to his own fight.

Alsharon, the Divine Warrior, was a monster. By hunter rank, he might’ve been SS-rank.

But the repeated battles had worn the bastard down. More than that—this time the monster had drawn the short end of matchmaking luck.

«Kuoooh—!»

«Dorma!»

«Yes, Lord!»

Dorma vented power in all directions. In a heartbeat, pitch-black vines burst from the earth in clumps and shot for Alsharon.

The giant swung his polearm, snapping several. But the surviving vines coiled around his arms and legs like serpents.

No matter how strong an enemy, if they can’t move, they’re just a sturdy scarecrow.

Byeonggap and Doran lunged in, tearing into the bound Alsharon.

Dorma supported from behind while they hammered in front. The pattern held for tens of minutes.

Alsharon fought back hard, but it was thrashing against the inevitable. Victory had already tilted to this side.

The iron smell of blood thickened across the battlefield. Byeonggap felt it in his bones—time to end this.

He gathered his internal energy into his blade. Golden light rippled and took shape, condensing into a massive hammer.

Gripping a war-hammer with a haft two meters long, Go Byeonggap leapt into the air.

‘<i>For something clad in armor this thick…!</i>’

He readied his final strike. Then Alsharon’s left arm, which Dorma’s vines had bound, tore free.

The monster reached for Byeonggap.

«KUUOOOOOH!»

The giant’s fist flew toward him, layered in a density of karma that made the eye sick to look at.

Midair, Byeonggap had no good way to dodge.

‘<i>That looks dangerous. Hell with it—do or die!</i>’

He held his nerve, raising his hammer overhead. Then a flash of light burst from below, streaking upward.

It was Doran.

«Lord! Keep going!»

«Well done!»

Doran had used ‘Severance’ to slice off Alsharon’s left arm. The path was clear.

Go Byeonggap dropped straight down onto Alsharon’s head and brought his hammer down.

A secret art of the Mandala Knight Order.

The fourth form of the Eight Martial Arts.

«Explosion!»

CRACK! BOOM!

The hammer and the helmet collided, unleashing a deafening roar. A shockwave rippled in all directions, shaking the very ground beneath them.

«……»

Alsharon’s head — no, the entire front half of his upper body — was blasted clean off. Bereft of a mouth now, the enemy couldn’t even manage a groan.

Alsharon’s colossal frame lost all strength and toppled over.

Yes. He was dead.

With Alsharon’s death, the Divine Army under his command crumbled to dust. The goblins, deep in the throes of battle, looked around in bewilderment.

Go Byeonggap collapsed onto Alsharon’s corpse. He had used his greatest techniques too many times; there was no strength left in his body.

Still, he couldn’t just lie there. He had started this war, so it was his duty to finish it.

He forced himself to his feet, then declared to the goblins gazing up at him:

«The battle is over. We have won!»