Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 191

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Genius Blacksmith’s Game
Continental War (3)
Zhuge was a User skilled in tactics and strategy.
With his competence, he served as a tactical strategist for a kingdom on the China Server.
Favored by the king, he had led numerous large-scale battles to victory on the China Server, which boasted the largest player population.
‘Korean Users?’
Compared to the battles Zhuge had led to victory thus far, they were utterly insignificant.
Everything favored China.
The average level of participants differed by more than 10, and the Artifacts were overwhelmingly superior among Chinese Users.
‘Those defending in territorial wars hold the advantage?’
This was true. Yet because of it, China had secured an additional 100 Users compared to Korea.
Victory seemed far too certain.
The world predicted the same.
One could tell just by looking at the Ares Play betting odds.
According to the Ares Play victory predictions, China was running at 92.7%.
And Zhuge himself was someone who had wagered his entire fortune on China’s victory.
‘In a situation this certain, what’s needed is an even more overwhelming victory.’
The advantage of being able to deploy an additional 100 Users.
He had filled all 100 slots with those specialized in quantity warfare, led by Wei, the second-ranked Necromancer.
Of course, Zhuge had devised the optimal strategy.
‘Korea has no User possessing any noteworthy holy power. Even if one exists, they cannot overcome this sheer volume.’
The clear limitation of skills.
Zhuge’s target time to occupy Korea’s Castle was two hours and thirty minutes.
Then Zhuge was bewildered upon seeing the white Bell that soon appeared.
‘What on earth is that Bell…?’
Zhuge’s plan had been perfect.
Rather, it had been perfect.
“We researched you extensively, Zhuge. Again and again.”
If not for the variable named Nel.
Days before the Continental War began, Nel had researched Zhuge’s tactics and strategy, preparing numerous countermeasures accordingly.
The preparations Nel and Hyeon’s Forge had made were far from over, and one of them now revealed itself.
The appearance of a woman atop the Castle Wall captivated viewers across the entire world.
-She is beautiful.
-Nobility incarnate.
-It’s as if we’re witnessing the very word “pure white” with our own eyes!
-The Saint’s Child, Belia, has appeared.
The Saint’s Child.
Korea Server’s finest Priest class.
Her palm, standing beside Hyeon-su, touched the Bell of Lamas.
“Deliver us from evil.”
[Holy power infuses the artifact.]
[A far mightier holy power surges forth from the Bell of Lamas.]
[Holy power infuses the artifact.]
[A far mightier holy power from the Bell of Lamas…]
As the system messages cascaded, Hyeon-su—who had forged the Bell of Lamas using the Skill Reversal within the fortress—drew his hammer back.
The undead were now mere moments from breaching the Castle Wall.
CLAAAAAANG—!
The moment the hammer struck, a tremendous wave of holy power erupted outward.
BOOOOOM—!
“Gasp!”
“Whoa, what is that!?”
The Users staggered backward from the shockwave.
Furthermore, the Bell of Lamas’s fundamental abilities were dramatically amplified by Belia’s holy power.
[Weakens all undead within a 10km radius by 48%.]
Keeeeeeeeek
Gyaaaaaaah—
Kiiiiiiiiik!!!!
The undead touched by the holy wave writhed as if swept up in a tide of radiance.
-I, I cannot believe this.
-An area debuff that engulfs roughly 2,200 undead!
-In all my years, I have never heard of a skill like this!
-Of course not—because this isn’t a skill. It’s an Artifact!!!
The astonishment had only just begun.
The Bell of Lamas’s true marvel lay not only in weakening the undead, but in bestowing strength upon those who slew them.
[You have heard the sacred bell’s toll.]
[Attack and defense power against undead increases by 18%.]
“U, uwaaaaaaaaa!”
“Waaaaaaa!”
In that instant, a thunderous roar erupted from the Korean Users.
Commander Lee Hwan was taken aback.
‘Our morale has skyrocketed beyond reason?’
The participation of Hyeon’s Forge Guild had never held great promise in Lee Hwan’s estimation.
They were merely those who had hunted the First Calamity.
“All forces, fire—!”
The Users drawing arrows were the most astonished.
Originally, undead reaching level 340 would not fall even with four arrows.
Yet now they were shattering with merely two.
A complete reversal.
The undead’s advance had been overwhelmingly faster than the rate at which they could be slain.
Lee Hwan’s attention was fixed on something else entirely.
‘An area debuff that defies common sense.’
But it had its limitations.
Those with high resistance to status ailments could ignore this power.
As proof, the undead summoned by the highest-level necromancers continued to push forward relentlessly.
A significant portion of them had resisted the bell’s toll.
Boom, boom-boom-boom, boom-boom-crash!
Around two hundred Users hidden among the undead unleashed magic and skills indiscriminately.
Our forces suffered greater casualties.
Because so many undead still concealed them.
Lee Hwan spotted the necromancers hiding behind the melee Users on the far side of the bridge.
‘If we can’t eliminate them, this war of attrition will never end.’
At that very moment, Lee Hwan could see it.
‘They’re coming…!’
Between approximately 150 and 220 in number.
What China feared most was arriving.
Enemies clad in black armor—the reason they were so terrifying was that they received full support from the Black Dragon Blacksmith.
‘How many?’
Lee Hwan was taken aback.
What they wore, hidden beneath their robes.
‘Unique, unique, unique, unique….’
Defenders with defense that transcended all common sense, and again I surveyed the weapons they wielded.
These too were nothing but Unique-grade items.
“How do you assess the situation?”
A woman named Nel asked.
“At first we’ll hold the line evenly, but eventually we’ll be pushed back. Leading their vanguard right now is Kou, ranked 15th in the world.”
Lee Hwan continued with a bitter smile.
“Of course I can defeat him. But it will be difficult among all these undead.”
“As I thought.”
At that moment, the Castle Gate opened.
Korean Users were stepping forward to intercept Kou and his forces.
Soon Lee Hwan would join them as well.
Then Nel gazed at Lee Hwan with eyes full of trust.
“Then you must succeed. We will eliminate every last undead for you.”
Lee Hwan’s expression grew puzzled.
Then.
[Black Night]
Suddenly, as if someone had extinguished all light, darkness descended so complete that nothing could be seen even an inch ahead.
[Stimulating primal fear.]
[The enemy’s hearing is completely paralyzed.]
[Our forces’ hearing remains unaffected.]
“What, what is this!?”
“Ugh, ugggghhhhh!”
“Screeeeeech!”
Lee Hwan and the Korean Users’ hearing remained intact.
They could hear the screams of the China Server Users echoing through the darkness.
Lee Hwan imagined it.
‘Not being able to see ahead—that’s bearable.’
But having even hearing stripped away. That descended upon them as a profound terror.
Had something gone wrong with this game? Had my equipment malfunctioned? Where am I?
Claustrophobia and worse might overwhelm them.
Then Nel spoke.
“Our probability of losing exceeds 90 percent.”
Lee Hwan agreed.
Humiliating as it was, it was fact.
“This method should be able to raise our win rate to at least 10 percent.”
Lee Hwan’s expression grew puzzled in the darkness.
Then came Nel’s next words.
“This is a plan devised by Crazy Rookie. Everyone believes thoroughly that China attacks and Korea defends.”
What was she talking about?
“But from this moment forward, we will….”
Lee Hwan’s eyes wavered as he heard those words.
Then.
Crash—
The dark world blazed with light in an instant.
*
*
*
Zhuge was stunned.
He too trembled with terror in the pitch-black darkness and the silence that offered no sound.
The moment the world brightened and all abnormal conditions lifted, Zhuge experienced the greatest shock of his life.
“What, what is this…?”
And Wei, the Necromancer shining at 8th place in the world rankings, could not hide his bewilderment.
“Zhuge… am I seeing this correctly right now…?”
Neither Zhuge nor Wei nor anyone present had imagined such a thing.
Wei’s face hardened like stone as he surveyed his surroundings.
Necromancers gathered together, continuously summoning Undead.
Gulp—
Wei swallowed hard.
Since entering the world rankings, he had experienced all manner of extraordinary events.
But this exceeded all expectations.
“Damn it… You’re defending, and we’re attacking, you crazy bastard!”
Yes, Territory Wars divided attackers and defenders.
But directly above them, Hyeon-su stood wielding the Twin Dragon Sword, looking down upon them.
This was Hyeon-su’s plan.
The Black Night born from the First Calamity dyed the entire world in darkness and numbed the hearing of all enemies.
But not the caster—Hyeon-su.
He could see everything and hear everything.
Through the First Calamity’s leap, he soared through the sky.
Patterns inscribed themselves upon Hyeon-su’s Twin Dragon Sword.
[Three Feet Oath to Heaven.]
[With a blade three feet long, I swear to the heavens.]
[Mountains and Rivers Tremble.]
[The mountains and waters shake.]
Whoooooosh—
A tremendous crushing force descended from the Twin Dragon Sword.
It crushed the Necromancers and their summoned creatures huddled together.
The Necromancers hastily dragged bone shields up from the earth, creating a massive wall of bone between themselves and him.
Zhuge’s face went pale.
The Necromancers’ weakness lay in their pitifully low HP, no different from mages.
No matter how many walls they erected for a thousand days, they were but children before a force that defied all reason.
Finally, the last line inscribed itself.
[One Sweep Annihilation.]
[With one swing, I sweep away all.]
[Blood Stains the Land.]
[Blood dyes the rivers and mountains.]
Hyeon-su knew better than anyone.
This was merely raising the win rate by 10%.
Eventually, Korea would still fall at an accelerating pace.
But with the Undead no longer appearing, Korea would advance one step forward.
Or rather, to be precise.
‘I draw closer to MVP.’
I was tired of hiding and waiting for my chance.
I wanted to show everything plainly.
I brought the Twin Dragon Sword, which I had pulled back with all my strength, crashing down upon some eighty Necromancers.
“Sword’s Cry.”
Kiiiiiiing—
Their thoughts paralyzed, screams and shrieks erupted.
“Ugh, uaaaaaaah!”
“What is that thing, kill it!”
“This crazy bastard!”
“You defend, and we attack! Attaaaaaack!”
At last it came crashing down. A devastating force that shattered the bone wall they had conjured with merciless power.
That force began tearing apart the Necromancers and Summoners gathered there, Wei among them.
At that very moment.
“Where is it!?”
“The VVIP Hospital Room!”
Doctor Kim Jin-seop and the nurses were running.
‘Please, let it not be…!’
With each stride closer, Jin-seop’s heart hammered against his ribs as the sound grew nearer.
Beeeeeep—
It was the sound of the vital signs monitor checking the heartbeat.
There were only two possibilities in such cases.
Either the patient had died, or someone had disconnected the vital signs monitor from them.
Upon arriving at the VVIP Hospital Room, Jin-seop’s eyes widened.
“….”
The bed was empty.
He could not hide his bewilderment.
Then he heard the mechanical sound.
The sound was as faint as a refrigerator’s hum, yet in this moment it reached Jin-seop’s ears with perfect clarity.
With an expression of disbelief, he slowly turned his head.
‘The Capsule….’
The Capsule for the virtual reality game Ares was operational.
*
*
*
Ren, the Blacksmith of the Beginner Zone, was taken aback.
A tall middle-aged man of 183 centimeters was smiling faintly at him.
“I’ve heard much about you. Your name is Ren, correct?”
The reason for his shock was that this man’s face was the spitting image of his master.
The middle-aged man spoke.
“I wish to see my son Hyeon-su. Do you know where I might find him?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————