A single arc of sword-light slammed into a derelict commercial building. The half-collapsed structure surrendered to the violence and caved in without a fight, debris crashing down in a deafening roar.

Go Byeonggap and his eight goblins rampaged like mad dogs.

«They’re gathering fast.»

Dorma glanced over his shoulder to warn him. Go Byeonggap answered without breaking his sword-stroke.

«Must’ve startled the hell out of them.»

«Lord. Only a few of them — want me to sweep them clean?»

«Not yet.»

Go Byeonggap sprinted a few paces and then whirled. He added the spin’s momentum to his arms and flung out a massive blade of energy that blasted apart a nearby villa building.

The severed structure collapsed, burying several enemies alive who’d been chasing his party.

«We need to buy as much time as possible. Head up.»

«Yes!» / «Sir!»

They used the buildings like steps, climbing higher and higher. The pack of pursuers, already swollen in number, rushed after them.

Even as he ran, Go Byeonggap kept probing for signs of life nearby. For better or worse, he sensed nothing except the enemies on their tail. That let him cut loose without restraint.

‘Desolate, though.’

The ruined streets of Seoul were barren. Two weeks ago, they’d been crawling with monsters. Compared to then, even the monsters had thinned out — and that was no good sign.

‘It means they’re pushing south.’

From North Korea to Seoul, from Seoul to the lower provinces. The monster horde was advancing at a terrifying pace. The only reason they could move with such systematic precision — like a real army — was Illumission.

Brute force and force backed by intelligence were worlds apart. That was why above all else, Illumission had to be uprooted.

«My Lord. This is a strong presence.»

«Yeah. I feel it too.»

A massive presence wedged itself among the scattered pursuers.

«Kiriyan.»

«Yes!»

Go Byeonggap shot Kiriyan a glance. The albino goblin nodded and drew on his power. The next instant, lightning spikes erupted from beneath the pursuers’ feet.

“Aaaagh!” “Kueeeek!”

The enemies at the front of the chase were flash-fried, their screams cut short. But a few ignored the trap and accelerated.

‘Three humans. Two monsters.’

Go Byeonggap fixed his eyes on the two monsters. A spectral knight clad in black armor — that was nothing less than a nightmare made flesh.

One spectral knight exuded a baleful aura. It thrust a pitch-black longspear forward. A colossal explosion detonated beneath Byeonggap’s party.

—Boom!

The building sagged, plunging downward.

«Get to ground level!»

«Yes!»

At Byeonggap’s command, the goblins hurried down to street level. The eight-lane road was choked with half-wrecked vehicles.

There, Byeonggap’s party faced off against the enemies.

‘Five S-rank combatants. Maybe two hundred more grunts behind them.’

Byeonggap leveled his sword forward, glaring at the Illumission hunters. They seemed puzzled by the bizarre alliance of a human and goblins.

“What are you?”

A man asked. He held a tonfa fitted with massive blades in each hand.

“Why are you attacking us?”

“Seungheon. That bastard’s an unbeliever.”

“An unbeliever?”

“I think he’s the one. The puppet that’s been killing believers around here.”

“Then how’s he dragging goblins around?”

Another man studied Byeonggap’s hand closely.

“Look at his hand. He’s got the order’s ring. Probably took it off one of our believers. And it seems he knows how to handle monsters, too.”

“Stay sharp.”

This time, a woman stepped forward, equipped with an overly long curved blade that could only be a Sword God’s weapon.

“If he’s the one from the rumors, he’s a spatial-type. Don’t give him a chance to escape. We end it in one go.”

“Okay.”

“Kuuuuu!”

The two spectral knights advanced. Pitch-black smoke billowed fiercely from the gaps in their armor.

Go Byeonggap listened in on their conversation and snorted. The bond between him and his goblins wasn’t something some cheap ring had forged.

‘The grunts will be here soon.’

He glanced toward the rear and muttered.

«Everyone, harmonize with your souls. We’ll take out these ones first, then clean up the grunts following behind.»

«Yes, My Lord!»

«Understood!»

The eight goblins merged with their souls in unison. Outwardly, nothing changed. But the aura they radiated was heaven and earth apart.

“W-What the!?”

“Crazy! Are those goblins?”

The faces of the Illumission hunters went pale. The killing intent surging in all directions must have made their skin prickle.

«Kill them.»

«Kereuk!»

The eight goblins burst forward as one. The two ghost knights immediately met their charge. The hunters, eyes blazing, joined the fray.

Blades clashed, and the sharp ring of steel clawed at the ears. Sparks flew now and then, embroidering the silent streets of Seoul.

Occasionally, short, thudding groans erupted. They all belonged to the enemy.

‘If you wanted to give us a hard time, you should’ve brought a balrog instead of ghost knights. Or at least matched our numbers.’

A ghost knight charged, thrusting its longspear. Turka raised his shield, blocking the charge. As the knight faltered, Changsik lunged into the opening. The knight pulled back instantly, withdrawing its spear, and split Changsik in half.

But instead of dying, Changsik dissolved into smoke. In the blink of an eye, the smoke coalesced at the back of the ghost knight’s neck, and Changsik swung his sharp claws, shearing off its head.

Elsewhere, Kiriyan and Doran worked together, cornering a hunter. Doran swung her sword with movements as graceful as a dance. The arc of her attacks covered every direction. The hunter facing her must have felt as if a storm of razor-sharp blades was raging around him.

Whenever a gap appeared, even the slightest, Kiriyan shot a bolt of lightning. The hunter held on stubbornly with a look of despair, then suddenly lunged at Kiriyan. He meant to take out the ranged attacker first.

Unfortunately, it was the worst of miscalculations. In an instant, Kiriyan was wreathed in electric current. Turned into lightning itself, Kiriyan struck the man’s abdomen with unbelievable speed.

“Kyap!”

The man coughed up blood and crumpled. Doran, who had been waiting, sliced his throat open before he could rise.

Thus, the tide of battle turned in our favor. Moreover, the party had the healer, Bamond. Unlike the enemy, whose wounds accumulated with each clash, our allies were always fresh.

“There!”

“Send the monsters first!”

Nearly two hundred troops appeared across the main street. A rabble of monsters with grotesque appearances charged ahead first.

The battlefield turning chaotic would not be good.

«Orka! Dorma! Don’t let them get close!»

«Yes! Wooooaaaaah!»

Orka let out a titanic roar and charged. At the same time, his body swelled. Within moments he had transformed into an eight-meter giant, swinging arms and legs at anything in reach. That wild, monstrous rampage sent lesser enemies flying like autumn leaves before a gale.

Dorma’s sorcery went without saying. He simply chanted his spell in silence, and the ground beneath the enemies turned into a dark swamp, sucking them down. Those beneath his notice were devoured by the mire without lifting a finger.

The few who managed to escape had their heads crushed between Orka’s fists.

Seized by chaos and terror, the enemies showed their backs and fled. Fear meant weakness. The goblins chased down and slaughtered the fleeing foes without a shred of mercy.

“Th-this can’t be. No way. How could mere goblins…”

The woman, caught in a frenzy as she swung her phantom sword, was riddled with wounds and collapsed. Go Byeonggap planted his foot firmly on her chest and pressed his blade to her throat.

“Ghk!”

“They’re not mere anything.”

“What?”

“They’re heroes and warriors. They’re fundamentally different from scum like you, who only wear human skin.”

“What the hell are you…”

“I’m saying it’ll be a thousand years before beasts like you are fit to face them.”

The blade snuffed out the woman’s life. Here, only Go Byeonggap and his party’s lungs were working properly.

‘Still not done?’

Go Byeonggap stared intently in the direction of the target. Right at that moment—

Boom!

A pillar of fire shot into the sky with a deafening explosion. Seconds later, searing heat radiated through the gaps between buildings.

Turka quickly raised a barrier to shield the allies.

«My Lord, are you all right?»

«I’m fine. Are you all okay?»

«Yes. Bamond healed everyone.»

Some had taken minor wounds in the fight, but even those were completely mended by Bamond’s healing magic.

Go Byeonggap nodded in satisfaction.

«Good work, everyone. But we should dissolve the assimilation—»

Crackle!

Before he could finish, the radio at his hip spat out a voice. He quickly brought it to his ear.

A moment later, the radio broadcasted Seo Sihui’s voice.

-This is the infiltration team. We’ve successfully destroyed the target. We’ll shake any pursuit and return to Asvillam.

‘Perfect timing.’

Go Byeonggap shoved the radio back into his belt. He opened the gateway to Asvillam and spoke.

«Everyone, drop the assimilation. Time to head back.»

* * *

The operation was a resounding success. They had turned one of Illumission’s strongholds into a shambles without a single casualty.

Of course, the goblins who had absorbed the soul and fable were laid up for half a day from the backlash.

Even though the operation succeeded, there was no celebration. They had only taken a single step on a thousand-li march.

Time slipped past without a trace, and before he knew it, it was the last month of the year.

Go Byeonggap and the hunters raided a few more Illumission bases the same way. But their enemies weren’t complete idiots, either.

Once again, Illumission’s crew and monsters gathered in Seoul.

Once, they nearly took heavy losses from an ambush. Byeonggap and the hunters decided to lie low for a while and watch how things played out.

Go Byeonggap set aside Earth’s chaos for a moment and focused on cultivating Asvillam. That’s when the tenth day of December rolled around.

A change came over some of the goblins.

Their hunched backs straightened, and their ugly features smoothed out. Overall, they began to resemble the image of the ‘Saraon.’

Like, say, a 0.7-version Saraon?

The phenomenon only appeared in goblins who had lingered long in Asvillam. The newly arrived ones remained exactly as they were.

Go Byeonggap headed for Somnium after a long while. Sure enough, from the very entrance, Gobungi came running out to greet him.

«My Lord! It’s been a while since you visited!»

«Yeah. Long time, Gobungi… You’ve changed a bit too, haven’t you.»

Gobungi knew what Byeonggap was asking. The creature sheepishly scratched his cheek.

«Yes. All the goblins in Somnium have changed.»

«Hmph.»

Go Byeonggap headed to the spot where he’d planted the Seed of Enlightenment. It felt like just yesterday the sprout had emerged, and now it was a proper sapling.

‘Just as I thought. As this grows, the goblins are getting closer to their former selves.’

«Ah! My Lord, greetings.»

A normal goblin passing by suddenly offered a greeting. Byeonggap was a little taken aback.

Even the Tiny ones no longer acted like Tiny. Their bodies had grown to the size of hob goblins, and their speech and manners had become dignified.

This was clearly a good sign, but he couldn’t help a tinge of regret sprouting in one corner of his heart.

That the goblins’ quirky, foolish charm was now vanishing into the back alleys of history.

‘Still, to survive, being smart is better than being stupid.’

Go Byeonggap let out a mix of relief and wistfulness in a puff of cigarette smoke.

«Hey, Gobungi.»

«Yes, My Lord. Speak your command.»

«When that sprout becomes a full tree, are you all going to turn stiff and rigid like Landriol and the other Saraons?»

«…»

Gobungi blinked his big eyes and stared at Byeonggap.

The creature stayed quiet for a while, lost in thought.

«My Lord. Much has changed as my kin and I have journeyed here. But one thing has never changed.»

«What’s that?»

«That you are our Lord!»

«……»

This time, it was Go Byeonggap who blinked.

«My Lord, have you not led us well and kept us from harm until now? So long as you are at our side, we will not stray. And have we not learned from you? Even in the distant future, when you depart, we will follow your will. So please, do not worry too much.»

«Heh heh!»

Go Byeonggap chuckled. He roughly tousled Gobungi’s head.

«Kid. Got a silver tongue, huh?»

«Hee-hee-hee.»

«When I’m gone, you’re Lord.»

«Hee-hee. Gladly!»

«This bastard’s got a hidden hunger for power, doesn’t he. Tch-tch!»

Go Byeonggap decided to let his worries go.

And so another day in Asvillam slipped away.