However, it was impossible to stop Dorian, who had already dashed out. As both sides were rushing towards each other, Kang Chul-In did not have a chance to cut in between them.

It’ll be up to your luck.

Kang Chul-In left Dorian’s life up to pure chance.

There was no doubt in the fact that Dorian would lose, regardless of his Mana Fire because a 3.5-meter-long mass of muscle was about to collide with Dorian, who topped off at 171cm tall.

Kwang!

Equipped with Mana Fire, Dorian’s fist collided with the Ogre’s fist.

Crack!

The sound of something breaking,

“ARGH!”

Dorian fell back with a single scream.

“Lucia!”

Kang Chul-In called out for Lucia as he rushed forward.

“Yes!”

Acknowledging Kang Chul-In’s call, Lucia removed a large shield, Aegis, from her back and shielded Dorian, who had fallen.

KWANG!!!

A loud noise rang out as the metal of Lucia’s shield clashed against the ogre.

“AGHHH!”

A painful scream exploded from the Ogre.

Surprisingly, the side that lost was the Ogre, while Lucia remained unwavering.

Especially skilled in shielding.

Kang Chul-In was amazed to see that.

Without even being pushed back a step, Lucia has perfectly defended against the Ogre’s punch. The only thing that happened was that there was a hole 10cm deep where she was standing.

However, there wasn’t any time to be marveling at that. The Ogre rushed to attack again as the fallen Dorian looked helpless.  Someone had to come and divert the Ogre’s attention.

Coming!

Pressed against his saddle, Kang Chul-In was storming towards the Ogre.

There!

Levitating in the air, Kang Chul-In looked for a point of attack, using the height advantage like a falcon’s eyes.

Puk!

With this, Kang Chul-In’s Blood Sword cut through the Ogre’s collarbone.

If this attack were to be judged, it would undoubtedly be given full marks.

The Ogre’s muscle fiber was overwhelmingly hard, strong, and elastic beyond that of iron. His skull was also as hard as steel.

Kang Chul-In had aimed at what seemed to be the least attractive point of attack and instead went after the most vulnerable area! If the shoulders had been targeted, the Wing bone and the muscles around it could not have been penetrated, and if the head had been targeted, the Blood Sword would have been shattered into little pieces.

Aaaaaaah!!!

The Ogre let out a painful scream after the unexpected attack.

Continue to hit the fatal wound…

Kang Chul-In quickly thought of delivering a fatal wound to Ogre using Mana Fire. However, he wasn’t able to do so. Unexpectedly, the Ogre executed an agile, reflexive move and attempted to crush Kang Chul-In by swinging both of his arms.

Retreat.

Calmly abandoning the attack, Kang Chul-In swiftly moved to Lucia’s side and out of the range of the Ogre’s attack.

“His condition?” Kang Chul-In asked while keeping his eyes on the Ogre.

“His right arm is broken, and he has even lost consciousness.”

“Pick out four soldiers and move him. He cannot die! You must keep him alive!”

“Yes, my lord! There, guards! This way! Take Dorian!”

Upon hearing Lucia’s commands, the four guards that were moving towards the Ogre quickly made their way towards them and took Dorian.

Meanwhile, suppressing the pain, the Ogre glared at Kang Chul-In and rushed to attack him.

“Let’s go, Lucia.”

“It’s my honor!”

Kang Chul-In and Lucia rushed towards the approaching Ogre.

The synergy between the two was perfect.

The collaboration between Kang Chul-In, who went on the offense, and Lucia, the master of defense, displayed perfect teamwork.

Paang-!

As Lucia’s shield blocks the Ogre’s attack…

Puck!

Kang Chul-In came forward and sought the Ogre’s vital point.

Lucia, to the left!

I will bypass my attack to the top.

Kang Chul-In and Lucia were communicating without speaking, using only their movements and their eyes while defending against the Ogre.

The coordination and harmony were incredible.

Even though they have never coordinated their movements before, Kang Chul-In and Lucia worked in perfect unison as if they have practiced for a long time. It was as if the Gods of War were in telepathic communication.

In the meantime, the confused adventurers came back to their senses and began to assemble, holding onto the rare items distributed by Kang Chul-In.

“Lucia, stay back!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Both, Kang Chul-In and Lucia simultaneously sprang.

Grrr…!!!

Immensely angered, the Ogre clenched every one of his muscles as if to explode. Having reached the limit of his rage, his wrath was uncontrollable, which indicated that the Ogre had raised battle capabilities to the limit.

In contrast, Kang Chul-In no longer had the intention of continuing the fight with the Ogre. Putting the Ogre down belonged to the adventurers, not him and Lucia.

“Parvis, assemble.”

The thick, authoritarian voice of Kang Chul-In led the adventurers.

Tuck!

Eight adventurers with excellent physiques assembled, raising their Parvis shields.

“Spears, to the back!”

An adventurer, holding a Blackthorn spear, and six troops from Laputa stood behind the shields.

“Swords, next to me.”

Adventurers holding Blood swords assembled next to Lucia and Kang Chul-In.

“Podolski, iron shackles.”

Lastly, Podolski and 3 adventurers with powerful physiques grabbed onto the iron shackles of bondage.

With that, the lineup as Kang Chul-In designed for the purpose of fighting monsters was completed.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Kang Chul-In spoke to the nervous adventurers.

“We will win. Just focus on my commands.”

Due to the assurance provided by Kang Chul-In’s voice, the adventurers were reassured. It was the power of charismatic invocation that was only available to those with the Lord class.

Roar!!!

The Ogre catapulted his heavy body towards the humans, confronting them with a roar.

“Swords, this way!  Parvis, prepare for impact!”

The line of Parvis shields met the Ogre as Kang Chul-In sidestepped.

Kwang!

The Ogre and the Parvis line collided.

“Spear, pierce!”

25 Blackthorn spears pierced the Ogre’s abdomen.

“Iron shackle, restraint!”

Spinning the chain splendidly, Podolski tied up the Ogre’s left leg, using the iron shackle. 3 adventurers followed up by coming close and pulling the iron shackle with all their might.

Kwang!

The Ogre fell, having lost its balance. It would have kept its balance had it been an adult Ogre. However, it was not fully grown, so that much force was sufficient against it.

“Swords, let’s go!”

Lastly, Kang Chul-In led the adventurers, holding Blood swords, towards the Ogre.

Puck!

Puuck!

Crimson blood spurted out.

This is it, this is it.

This was the fight that Kang Chul-In wanted, which was training the adventurers with strong individual personalities to coordinate in a military formation to fight against the monsters!

After that, all that was left was just futile resistance from the Ogre. The result was…

Croak, croooak…!

Soon, honeycombed by the swords, the Ogre gave a death cry. It was the victory of the attack unit led by Kang Chul-In. It was Team Slayer’s victory.

After this day when the Slayers were triumphant, they kept hunting monsters like Ogres and Minotaurs.

Dorian, who was severely injured and unconscious, was rushed to Laputa territory for treatment. Kang Chul-In was disappointed by the absence of Dorian’s camaraderie, but he continued on with his agenda as he was satisfied that Dorian was not dead.

1 week passed.

As the adventurers reached level 20, Podolski eavesdropped on the adventurers working under Kang Chul-In. He was performing his secret duties as the security head.

“Hugh… this is insane, insane.”

“What is?”

“This crazy hunting is killing everyone.”

Some adventurers complained.

“Still, you are getting stronger.”

“Tough is still tough.”

“You are speaking like a rich man. How much was earned up to now? Just tallying up trophy items would be enormous.”

“That’s true.”

“However… what is the identity of our General, anyway?”

Other adventurers expressed curiosity over Kang Chul-In.

“Mr. Dorian seems extraordinary, but the General does not seem to be human.”

“That’s right!”

“For crying out loud, how can that be a human? When the General confronts an Ogre alone with a sword.”

“Just forget it. Thinking about it over and over would not give an answer. We should just sit back and enjoy the spoils. I have no interest in the identity of the General. Just do as you’re told, make money, and grow stronger, that’s all.”

Some 10 or so adventurers were busy murmuring around the bonfire.

“Still, isn’t it awesome?  We can destroy anything as long as we follow the General’s instructions.”

“That I agree. I’m thinking that we can hunt anything as long as we are with the General.”

“Now, our levels have gone up so high that we can even easily capture an Ogre, even without the General. On top of that, if the General and Lucia join forces, everything becomes a piece of cake.”

“Certainly! We are strong!”

“I’m not sure, but wouldn’t our levels be top-class among adventurers?”

The conversation of the adventurers was full of praise, trust, and extreme confidence regarding Kang Chul-In.

Ooooh!

Podolski, who was listening in, was elated as he ran over to Kang Chul-In to report.

“The time has come.”

Kang Chul-In nodded upon hearing the report.

This was what he wanted.

The respect, trust for the leader, harmony among the adventurers, and most importantly, strong confidence that anything could be overcome. Finally, the preparations to pursue his objective were complete.

Although it will be accompanied by sacrifices.

After ordering Podolski to assemble the adventurers, Kang Chul-In fell into thought.

I’m the lord. My territory is more important.

It was certain that someone would meet their death in the hunt for the Peacock Dragon.

Minimum 10, maybe 20 deaths in an extreme case could be possible. In the worst case, Kang Chul-In and Lucia might be the only survivors.

However, for that purpose, this army of slayers has been organized. They were the mercenaries that would preserve the power of Laputa and become the future customers of the territory.

Although it was callous, to a lord, other than towards his own citizens, being merciful towards non-citizens of his territory was not a virtue. Besides, as it was unavoidable for the lord to cast his own people into hell, Kang Chul-In had assembled the adventurers to hunt the Peacock Dragon without hesitation.

“We are setting out to hunt a level 40 monster.”

Kang Chul-In announced.

“That’s a strong monster. As a subspecies of a Dragon, it is a monster on a different plane than anything else that we have faced.”

If it had been just 2 weeks ago, such a speech would be considered explosive. However, there was now not even a single adventurer that showed fear or stirred any unrest.

“Death is possible, no, someone right here will certainly die. Maybe 10. Maybe more.”

Kang Chul-In raised the stakes.

However, it was the same.

No one stirred up unrest.

Some adventurers even showed expressions of feeling bored.

“What is the problem?”

Billy, an American adventurer, standing 190cm tall, shouted. He had become a devout new believer and admirer of Kang Chul-In since some time ago.

“We will do it! Being adventurers, are we not staking our lives anyway?”

In a short time, Billy had realized what being an adventurer was all about.

That was it.

Putting his life as a pawn, moving around the great land of Pangaea, was what being an adventurer was all about.

“I’ll do it! With the General, what is there to fear? Besides, the more dangerous it is, the more we have to gain! Isn’t that so?”

“That’s right,” Kang Chul-In responded.

Then, he spoke of the spoils to gain once the Peacock Dragon was defeated in order to mesmerize the adventurers.

“The meat of the monster that I wish to hunt is a medicine that gives a weakling health and longevity, and drinking its blood will increase mana. The feathers of its tail can be used to make an item that can cause strong hallucinations. Its eyeballs are ingredients for making an anti-magic item.”

It was like throwing a double-edged sword, both carrot and stick.

However, the responses of the adventurers were…

“We will do it.”

Another adventurer led the chant.

With that, every member of Team Slayer came forth, committing to the hunt for the Peacock Dragon.

“I will do it too.”

“General, count me in too!”

“We can do it!”

“With you General, what is there to fear?!”

“You only die once, not twice!”

“Let’s turn our fortunes around!”

“We will do it. We will do it!”

With the exception of three that put family matters for their reasons, everyone said that they would follow Kang Chul-In.

For the adventurers that had been exposed and mesmerized by Kang Chul-In’s power and control, fear was nowhere to be seen.  Even the confidence that death could be overcome, which Kang Chul-In wanted, existed among Team Slayer.

“All right.”

Showing a satisfied smile, Kang Chul-In nodded.

“It is my honor to be with you.”

He was sincere.

Kang Chul-In used to think highly of those who would jump into the fire for one’s own ambitions.

“The monster that you will be hunting is called… the Peacock Dragon.”

Thus, the Slayers led by Kang Chul-In left the dark forest and headed towards the Dragonia Mountains to search for the Peacock Dragon.

The Peacock Dragon was an easy monster to track.

An Asian-style dragon, this monster displayed well the integrated features of a dragon and a peacock. Hence, it would often shed its tail feathers in and around its habitat, unknowingly exposing its location.

“There is a basin in the cypress forest, about 7km straight ahead of here. That appears to be the nest area of the Peacock Dragon.”

Mr. Paschurmers, a veteran hunter from the Laputa territory, who was ordered by Kang Chul-In to track the Peacock Dragon in advance, provided the decisive intel. As a result, Kang Chul-In did not have to search the wide area of the Dragonia Mountain Range.

“Have you seen it yourself?”

“I have not seen it. Otherwise, I might’ve come close to my death…”

Mr. Paschurmers did not finish his sentence. He appeared to be fearful of the certain imminent chastisement from Kang Chul-In.

“Well done.”

“……!”

“….. !”

“It took a lot of guts for sure.  I shall reward you soon. Return to the territory and wait.”

“M-my lord!”

“Hurry.”

“I’m overwhelmed, your highness!”

After being promised a reward, Mr. Paschurmer bowed to Kang Chul-In many times before returning to the territory.

We shall meet within the day.

It had been 10 hours since he started lying in ambush with the adventurers. Kang Chul-In felt the imminent face-off against the Peacock Dragon.

Such a feeling had never proven untrue. Kang Chul-In had that which was often called a “sixth sense”.  And… that feeling soon materialized.

Flap, flap!

The sound of wings was heard.