Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 241

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Genius Blacksmith’s Game
Golden Goblin (2)
“Kekekekekeke!”
Five hundred undead summoned by Necromancer Wei offset the numerical disadvantage.
Fearless and relentless, the undead surged toward the Knights without hesitation.
Wei had not forgotten the humiliation of that day.
The day when he summoned and commanded thousands of undead alongside Chinese Necromancers, overwhelming the Koreans.
When darkness consumed the world and Hyeon-su hovered in the sky, he obliterated every Necromancer with a single Twin Dragon Sword.
Wei was among them.
‘King of the Dead.’
‘The world’s greatest Necromancer.’
‘One comparable to Immortal.’
These were the titles Necromancer Wei once bore.
But now the entire world called him something else.
‘One of the Necromancers slaughtered by the Twin Dragon Sword?’
‘That guy who summons a lot?’
The Continental War had been a feast for many rankers.
The longer one survived and the longer one remained active, the greater the opportunity to demonstrate one’s standing before the entire world.
But Wei, logged out in less than thirty minutes after the Continental War began, had no choice but to fall from grace.
‘Damn Hyeon-su!!!!!’
Wei intended to transform the dead guild members and territory residents of Hyeon’s Forge into undead and display them before Hyeon’s eyes.
To accomplish this, he had grown stronger by consuming more Artifacts and Elixirs than during the Continental War.
There was only one reason.
To inflict unforgettable humiliation upon Master Craftsman Hyeon, broadcast his kneeling form to the world, and reclaim his glory.
But then came unexpected obstacles.
Wei did not retreat—he stood his ground.
“Kill them all.”
His even stronger undead were pushing them back relentlessly.
Did he realize it?
“Ugh, uaaaagh!”
“Khaaaaagh!”
“So many undead hordes… Kugh!”
That the harder he pressed forward, the more he was helping Hyeon-su.
And the same was true for the others.
[Yong-wol: I will deal lethal damage to the Knights and make them easier to kill. Please finish them off.]
Assassin Yong-wol.
Successor to the Assassination King.
She pulled her mask up to just below her eyes, short dagger in hand.
Around her stood approximately fifty assassins—her subordinates.
She too had not forgotten the humiliation of that day.
He was the master of the most influential assassin organization in China.
Yet even Yong-wol met his end in merely two moves, just as the saying goes.
It wasn’t only Yong-wol.
The finest assassins were cleaved in half by Hyeon-su’s combination, gathering, and the trinity of One Blade Two Cuts.
Yong-wol seethed with frustration.
She too had liquidated half her fortune to acquire superior Artifacts and had even supported the elite forces that came with her.
Gritting her teeth, she began weaving between the assassins and knights.
They appeared, vanished, appeared again—the assassins’ dance of death.
Their blades. Sharper than usual, infused with raw emotion.
[Yong-wol: Let’s slaughter all of Hyeon’s bastards and show them our true power!]
She was no different from Wei.
The more lethal blows she and her subordinates inflicted upon the knights.
The better it was for Hyeon’s Blacksmith Shop, creating golden Goblins.
Among them, Sword Emperor Pond and Poison King Liu were the most prominent.
Already, a considerable number of knights had weakened by twenty percent from their usual strength.
The legendary monster Hydra. Its absurd breath erupted like hydrochloric acid, causing smoke to rise from their bodies.
And with blood flowing from wounds across their frames, the knights were actually succumbing to fear.
Poison King Liu’s spear pierced two knights in a single thrust.
Whoooosh—
Beside Liu, who withdrew his weapon in one motion, Sword Emperor Pond’s blade swept down, felling five knights at once.
The average level of the knights was around 370.
It defied all conventional understanding.
[Liu: Their swordsmanship is on an entirely different level from any knights I’ve faced before. It’s as though we’re witnessing a knight order led by the Sword Emperor himself.]
It was Liu’s honest assessment.
They were extraordinarily skilled warriors.
Four thousand such knights could actually gather together?
To speak plainly, Hyeon’s latent power was terrifying.
‘To possess the strength to unite such warriors.’
That was why Poison King Liu felt elated.
Once he slew them all and captured Hyeon himself, his glory would only grow greater.
[Poison King.]
[For three minutes, anyone who attacks you will be afflicted with lethal poison.]
[Their movement speed decreases by thirty percent and they fall into various status abnormalities.]
Poison King Liu moved even faster through the ranks of knights.
Merely grazing or being cut by his spear caused the knights to succumb to stacked poison.
“Ugh….”
“Argh….”
Poison King Liu was proving himself a reliable right arm, much like Hyeon-su’s own.
Screeeech—!
The standout among them all was Pond.
The moment he drew his sword against the thirty Knights rushing toward him, they were sliced down in an instant.
“That man is their leader.”
“We must kill him first.”
Sword Emperor Pond was equally taken aback by this unexpected turn of events.
But he felt his blood boiling in his chest.
‘Since that day, I’ve acquired a new sword.’
A Legend Above Legend tier.
After that cursed Hyeon first created the Legend Above Legend tier, several such Artifacts had entered the world.
They still commanded astronomical prices, and Pond had spent considerable fortune to purchase one.
‘I’ve studied you thoroughly.’
One reason rankers were so formidable lay in their specialized ability to analyze opponents.
Because they analyzed with extraordinary acuity, they could counter before their enemies could manifest their skills.
Moreover, one of the subtle applications of the offensive Twin Dragon Sword was the ability to shatter Artifacts.
But a Legend Above Legend tier wouldn’t be easy to break.
Shing—
Pond’s eyes wavered as he cut down another Knight.
Sword Master Roman.
He was sweeping through the Users like autumn leaves with a sword rippling with aura.
He looked like a wolf that had entered a flock of sheep.
Pond could also see the desperation in the Knights’ eyes.
“Do not retreat! Slaughter them all. Show them what kind of continent this is!”
[Sword Master’s Wrath]
[The Knights’ morale surges intensely.]
“Uooooooh!”
“We obey your command!”
“For Sword Master Roman!”
“For the Goyad Kingdom!”
What astonished Pond was their desperation.
‘Are they fighting as if this were truly their final battle?’
That was it.
They were fighting for Hyeon-su as if this were truly their last battle.
‘Are they dancing their swords for Hyeon-su!?’
Pond was horrified.
These beings possessed the power to make them fight so desperately. The Sword King’s disciple, Hyeon-su.
Pond could not comprehend it.
What about Hyeon-su could make them fight with such desperation.
But Pond and the Chinese Users also staked their lives on this.
Crack—
Pond gripped his sword even tighter.
His blade cut through the Knights at an even faster speed.
*
*
*
What rendered Sword Master Roman and the Knights so utterly desperate?
‘If the rebellion fails, we all die.’
‘The common people who once shared our cause now turn their backs on us.’
This was why Sword Master Roman and the Knights of the Noble Houses fought as though it were their final battle.
They had nowhere to retreat.
From the moment the rebellion began, they had to give their absolute all.
“Uooooooo!”
Thus, Sword Master Roman danced with his blade ever more frantically.
Yet surprisingly, the enemy forces who had crossed the Continent fought with equal ferocity.
“Uraaaaaa!”
“Haaah!”
“Die!”
They too were fighting with every ounce of strength they possessed.
Roman did not know it, but they too would face far greater condemnation if they returned in defeat after coming all this way to capture Hyeon-su.
‘There he is.’
Sword Master Roman’s gaze locked with Sword Emperor Pond’s.
Those two were indeed formidable opponents for Hyeon-su to face.
Yet.
“You wield a blade with some skill!”
“I am the heir of the Sword Emperor!”
The two began clashing with fierce intensity.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-!
With each collision of blades, critical wounds multiplied.
“Uooooo!”
Sword Emperor Pond recalled his defeat at Hyeon-su’s hands.
“Uraaaaaa!”
Sword Master Roman challenged the false heir’s claim and forged onward toward the path of a new king.
Crash-crash-crash-crash-!
Violent sparks erupted between them as they exponentially depleted each other’s HP.
In essence, they were destroying themselves.
One man watched this spectacle unfold.
‘Ah, I could go for some popcorn.’
Consumed by rage and fierce combat, they failed to notice that Hyeon-su was hiding nearby.
And Hyeon-su found the situation utterly absurd and laughable.
Victory in the Continental War?
‘It was inevitable and a fair victory. Yet why do these fools act as though I won through underhanded means, drowning in inferiority?’
Designation as the king’s successor.
‘Prince Barad desires an unshakeable Goyad. A nation where Blacksmiths and Knights coexist. Knowing such a nation would be formidable, he designated me as his successor.’
Yes, whether it was the Continental War or the designation of a successor, there was nothing Hyeon-su had done to warrant their wrath.
The reason they raged and sought to crush Hyeon-su.
‘Greed.’
The Chinese Users sought the Achievement of capturing the first Legend.
Sword Master Roman and the Knights coveted the throne’s succession and the riches and glory that came with it.
Not a shred of guilt touched them.
Rather, watching their HP bars plummet at such a rapid pace, I too felt the stirring of greed.
Yet mine was a justified greed, unlike theirs.
They were the ones who had targeted me, sought to tarnish my name and rise through my ruin.
Hyeon-su turned his body.
*
*
*
“Kugh!”
“Hah!”
Roman matched Pond through skill alone, while Pond matched him through equipment and level—neither yielding an inch.
As the battle reached its crescendo, both their HP bars plummeted.
[Your HP has fallen below 30%.]
And with each passing moment, their fury reached ever greater heights.
Curses erupted simultaneously from both their lips.
“You lackey of Count Hyeon-su!!!”
“I shall bury you and Hyeon-su together!”
The eyes of both men, who had raised their swords, widened. They exchanged glances.
As the fierce battle neared its end, the Knights bled profusely, and a considerable number of Users approached the threshold of Logout.
“Were you not the close friend of Count Hyeon-su from across the Continent?”
“What nonsense? Aren’t you the lackey the Sword King sent to protect Hyeon-su?”
Both men realized something had gone terribly wrong.
“Everyone, cease!”
“Halt your attacks!”
As the two commanders spoke, the fierce battle ended.
They exchanged a few more words and realized their objectives were aligned.
Though their fury toward each other had grown with each exchange, they both understood.
‘One side must be annihilated for this to end.’
‘The side that achieves annihilation will suffer losses nearly as devastating.’
Pond, being a User, showed flexibility by backing down slightly.
“Our true target is Hyeon-su. What if we joined hands?”
“…A sound proposition.”
Sword Master Roman agreed.
“We must tear Hyeon-su to pieces to satisfy our rage.”
Conversely, Hyeon-su’s actions had only strengthened the bond between the two groups.
“Do you know of the Divine Territory?”
“Of course. But there’s no need to worry. Their average force should be no more than 400 soldiers. I know well, being an Outsider myself.”
“400, then combined with our original 200 soldiers, that makes 600.”
“Hah, so Hyeon-su’s forces amount to merely 600 even when combined.”
The NPC and User shared information.
Thus it instilled certainty in both of them.
“6,000 soldiers. Hyeon-su will crumble so pathetically in our hands.”
Then.
Thud-thud-thud-
“…?”
Both men felt the earth trembling. A force was approaching.
Their eyes grew sharp.
“What trick is he pulling this time?”
“Could he possess some ability to maximize his marching speed?”
This was not the sound of footsteps that a mere 600 could produce.
Both men let out hollow laughs, their gazes fixed on the source of the sound.
Their laughter gradually faded.
Knights clad in armor fashioned to evoke pristine ivory. Pure white tusks.
They even wore horned helms crafted from what appeared to be the same ivory.
Their number easily exceeded one hundred.
Behind them, a force vast enough to fill a labyrinth carried banners emblazoned with the crossed emblem of Anvil and Sword.
Not a single soldier faltered, each moving with disciplined precision, their feet striking the ground in perfect rhythm—left, right, left, right.
Thud, thud, thud, thud-
Standing at the very front.
He had once felt shame calling himself a lord, a ruler.
His territory and forces had been so pitifully meager.
But today was different.
“Greetings. I am Hyeon-su, your lord.”
[You have been afflicted with Overwhelming Presence.]
[You stiffen from breathless tension.]
[Immense dread and crushing pressure make it difficult to move your body.]
The stat known as Overwhelming Presence demonstrated its perfect timing.
They were truly overwhelmed by the appearance of Lord Hyeon-su.
And at the lord’s elegant gesture, 4,000 soldiers demonstrated their loyalty to him by loading Short Arrows.
Click-
Whoooosh-!
The moment his hand fell, 4,000 Short Arrows pierced through 6,000 enemies.
Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-
Dozens of gleaming Artifacts and Gold dropped among the annihilated masses.
Meanwhile, from the 4,000 soldiers of Atlas’s army, notifications of level-ups surge forth in an overwhelming cascade.
Six thousand golden Goblins—that is what they have become.

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