âI recommend going to the western front first. The battle is almost over there, but theyâre struggling to close out the fight because of their leader.â Dominique calmly recommended the next course of action, as if she had already anticipated Kim Jin-Wooâs decision.
âIsnât it better to go where weâre losing?â Kim Jin-Woo asked.
âIf Master makes your appearance there, the situation will definitely change without a doubt, but it will take some time. If thatâs the case, itâs better to capture as many labyrinths as possible and focus your efforts, given the same amount of time required,â Dominique replied.
Dominiqueâs reasoning made perfect sense. It was true that if Kim Jin-Woo were to follow her recommendation, the front lines would suffer even more than it had to. However, it was also true that the positives to be gained from concentrating the troops afterwards would be huge as well.
âAlright, Iâll follow your advice, Dominique,â Kim Jin-Woo said.
He didnât have to think too long. Nothing bad had ever happened from following Dominiqueâs advice thus far, and he didnât have much time to ponder matters either. His decision made, he hopped onto his Tiger Dragon.
âIâve split the main unit in half. The unit following you will be mainly composed of the swift Dragon Knights and Rangers, so they wonât be holding you back,â Dominique added.
âUrgh, I understand. Iâll allow it.â Feeling some pressure from Dominique to somehow rein in his desire to roam freely and admittedly recklessly across the battlefield, Kim Jin-Woo had no choice but to accept her request.
It seemed she was thinking of having the highly mobile unit join him in the battlefield while keeping up the whole time.
âTake care of Master. Donât fall behind.â Even as Dominique spoke to the Dragon Knights, her gaze was directed at Kim Jin-Woo for some reason.
âAhem. Iâll be off.â Kim Jin-Woo let out a cough and left the main unit. The detachment unit of a hundred Dragon Knights followed closely behind him.
***
The battlefield was silent. As per Dominiqueâs report, the allied forces rushed into the labyrinth, leaving behind only corpses and injured soldiers in their warpath. Thanks to their efforts, tiny corpse scavengers had gathered on the outskirts of the labyrinth, drawn by the smell of blood.
âOi!â Kim Jin-Woo swung his sheathed sword as he chased away the giant rats. The vermin that had been nibbling away at the corpsesâ limbs were startled and scattered one by one back into the darkness. He muttered, âWhat a mess.â
Kim Jin-Woo had thought that the situation would be great on the battlefield, based on the report that they had won, but judging from the corpses that lay across the battlefield, that simply wasnât the case. With the promise of huge rewards having blinded the allied troops with greed, it was no wonder that most of the corpses belonged to his troops.
Among them was a summon that was being eaten alive by the scavengers, as he bled from the stump of a lost arm. Seeing such a scene, Kim Jin-Woo left three Dragon Knights on the battlefield to take care of the corpses and the injured.
âThere will be a battle soon, so prepare yourselves,â Kim Jin-Woo commanded.
Even before he had given his instructions, the Tiger Dragons and the Naga Dragon Knights had already been driven into a frenzy by the smell of blood, closely following behind him with their eyes gleaming.
The western labyrinth was quite different from the Noblesâ labyrinths Kim Jin-Woo had seen before. The entrance, which had been excessively decorated with various luxuries, was completely functional and covered with all kinds of traps. But even those facilities and traps had already been activated, leaving behind only traces of allied troops.
Anyone could see how reckless the allied troops had been with their attack, as the passageway was filled with their corpses. There were a couple of enemy corpses here and there, but it paled in comparison to the number of dead allies.
Kim Jin-Woo was certain that the enemy had retreated not because of their casualties, but to secure a more advantageous position. As if to prove his point, the square just after the passageway contained a mountain of allied corpses.
However, the battle did result in some gains for the allied forces. Usually, the square would have served as the front line of the enemyâs defense; and yet, the front line was nowhere to be seen, and Kim Jin-Woo assumed that it had been crushed by the alliesâ invasion. If that werenât the case, there would be no other way to explain the faint screams and roars that could be heard from the depths of the labyrinth.
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âSpeed up!â Kim Jin-Woo commanded. He had been maintaining a moderate pace to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, but he decided to pick up his pace.
âThis isâŠâ After passing through several passageways, he finally joined the battlefield. He frowned upon seeing the situation for himself, finding it different from what he had expected.
The allied troops were standing close to each other along a corridor that was barely wide enough to fit five men side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder. The enemy was blocking the narrow passageway, easily preventing their advance.
âI see not a single one that catches my eye!â exclaimed a four-armed giant while slaughtering the allied summons at the front line, catching Kim Jin-Wooâs attention.
âSince you wonât come to me, Iâll go to you!â The giant swung the sword, the axe, the spear, and the shield in each of his four arms with great force as he ran toward the allied troops. Each time he swung his axe and sword, the cornered allied summons were killed, unable to dodge the attacks.
âWait here,â Kim Jin-Woo said.
Because the allied soldiers were filling the narrow passageway, there wasnât enough space for the Dragon Knights to pass. Ordering the Dragon Knights to hold position, Kim Jin-Woo squeezed through the long line of allied troops.
Krrr!
As soon as Kim Jin-Woo laid his hands on a summoned beast, it opened its eyes and bowed its head hurriedly as it stepped aside.
âThanks,â he said, tapping the shoulder of the summon who had made space for him.
Crash!
Krrr!
The same situation reoccurred. The summons in Kim Jin-Wooâs way, initially angry that their already cramped space was getting narrower, immediately gave up their positions one after another, and the other summons also followed suit and stepped back to make space as he continued to move forward.
Kim Jin-Woo slowly but steadily approached the enemy. He could have jumped across all the summons in one leap, but he chose not to. He saw no need to put the enemy on guard.
About two-thirds of the way through the ranks, someone who recognized Kim Jin-Woo said, âPlease be careful. The enemy is rather formidable.â
Kim Jin-Woo was unable to remember his name, but he was one of the 8th Floor labyrinth masters. He paused to ask, âWhat happened?â
The labyrinth master answered, weariness showing on his face, âAt first, we succeeded in entering the labyrinth with our numerical superiority, but many of our troops were killed in the square. Now, there arenât many troops left, but the situation is difficult and the enemy is the same as ever, so weâre trying to look for a solution.â
âLook for a solution? It seems to me that everyone is waiting for their turn to die,â Kim Jin-Woo remarked.
The enemy boasted overwhelming strength in the narrow passageway, and the long procession of allied soldiers looked like death row inmates waiting for their turn to be executed.
Instead of making excuses, however, the labyrinth master pointed to the giant who was slaughtering the allied troops in front of them. âThatâs the labyrinth master, Baron Gorgon the Valiant.â
***
âOho, finally some competition.â
Gorgon, the 10th Floor Baron and King of the Valiant Four-Armed Giants, watched on as his enemies started to revive their fighting spirit. He had thought that they were all helpless bastards waiting in line to be executed, but the further he plowed through the ranks, the more formidable enemies he saw.
âMove! Iâm finally starting to get excited!â he exclaimed. But just as Gorgon was about to let loose from the high of battle as he swung his sword and axe around, he froze when he saw one small soldier popping out from the ranks.
âIf you donât move, Iâll make you move!â Sensing that his burning fire for battle was going to get extinguished by this interference, he felt himself getting impatient and struck.
âHuh?â Gorgon muttered. Instead of the enemyâs head cracking from his attack as he had expected, the soldier was somehow perfectly fine, continuing to stare back at him.
But then, Gorgon noticed the sword in the soldierâs hand. And it wasnât just that sword that seemed familiar. The arm that was in the hands of the small soldier also seemed familiar.
âU-urghâŠâ At that moment, he felt an excruciating level of pain in his arm, as if it had been ripped offâŠ
But it wasnât just his imagination. One of his arms had actually been ripped off.
âThis isnât my size. Take it back,â the soldier said in a subtly taunting fashion.
Gorgon quickly grew alert. His face contorting as he looked back and forth between his opponent and his severed arm, he gritted his teeth as the severed arm flew back toward him.
Even though he had been caught off guard and had lost one of his arms, he was still the King of the Four-Armed Giants, the most valiant being in the Underworld. He didnât scream and fumble about at such an insignificant injury.
âAre you the leader of these soldiers?â Gorgon asked. Realizing that his opponent was no ordinary being, he quickly readjusted his stance.
âI was aiming for your head, but youâre better than you look.â The small soldier smirked as he spoke. But now, the aura he emanated was totally different from mere moments before. And that wasnât all.
The demoralized enemy soldiers were now starting to come alive, ready to fight once more. No, it was almost as if they were being reborn into totally new beings.
âNice to meet you, Gorgon,â the soldier said.
As he looked at the blue streaks of light flowing from the corners of the soldierâs eyes, Gorgon felt fear for the first time in his life.
***
Gorgonâs attacks felt different. They seemed like ordinary attacks, but the sheer power of them reverberated throughout the labyrinth. It was no wonder that the allied soldiers had lost their fighting spirit.
Kim Jin-Woo twisted his body to dodge the enemyâs attack, and quickly drew the sword from his waist to strike back. Although it quickly cut through an arm, he had been aiming for the enemyâs head.
âHuh?â Gorgon let out a short, slurred moan before quickly regaining his composure and putting up a cautious stance.
Kim Jin-Woo couldnât help but slightly admire him. He said, âI was aiming for your head, but youâre better than you look.â Although Gorgon was an enemy, Kim Jin-Woo couldnât help but praise his enemy with sincerity, as he decided to fully unleash his power.
[The Undefeated Commander has entered the battle.]
[The morale of the allied troops, who were overwhelmed by Gorgonâs formidable majesty, has soared at once. They have forgotten all the sacrifices they made and all the fatigue they have accumulated, and have regained their fighting spirit as if they have just entered battle.]
[The allied troops have escaped the inter-floor penalty and will receive the amplification buff effects of their Commander.]
Kim Jin-Woo canceled the forced deactivation of his Undefeated Commander title. His buffs instantly enveloped the battlefield, reviving the fighting spirits of the exhausted soldiers.
âNice to meet you, Gorgon.â He smirked as he saw the morale of his troops rising.