The Great Cataclysm was a massive event that changed the course of human history.
Naturally, it became the subject of countless studies and analyses. Scholars around the world identified three decisive reasons humanity had won.
First: the existence of Cheon Taemin.
Second, the emergence of the Awakened, who would come to be known as Hunters.
And third:
Human intelligence and will.
They were right.
If Cheon Taemin’s existence and the emergence of the Awakened had been unexpected salvation, human intelligence and will were what allowed us to overcome any crisis.
They were the reason humanity had won—and the monsters had lost.
Decades ago.
And… at this very moment.
CRRRRACK!
With a tremendous roar, a thousand Hunters surged forward like a wave.
The healers’ blessings rained down on the tanks, who had exhausted every ounce of strength holding back the monsters pouring in from all sides. The towering Grand Mage dispelled the defensive magic that had enveloped the area and revealed his true power.
“Burn as much as you like. Cut straight through.”
Mana surged at his boiling command.
A spell on this scale would have taken an ordinary mage several minutes to prepare. Yet Magic Johnson swept his staff through the air, and the Magic Formation that appeared above him activated after only a short incantation.
“Fire Wall.”
Fwoosh—WHOOOOSH!
Flames carrying terrible heat raced in every direction. They burned through thick scales, melted flesh and bone, and split the monster army’s ranks down the middle.
—Kyaaaaaah!
Cries of pain rang out as an acrid stench rose all around us.
The wide-area spell had torn straight through their packed formation. Amid the chaos, a higher-level monster that seemed fairly intelligent hurried to pull the broken ranks back together.
Or tried to.
—Alu. Karsh…!
CRUNCH!
I dropped onto it from above and burst its hard skull with a punch packed with internal energy.
Ding.
System
You have defeated the Lv. 101 Minotaur Warrior!
You have gained a small amount of EXP!
Stagger. Thud.
With the System notification, its stumbling body fell like a rotten log.
I spat a wad of phlegm onto the corpse, adjusted my grip on White Flame, and muttered, “You piece of shit. Way to ruin the moment.”
The monsters around me blinked at the sight of me dropping out of the sky like a comet. They had the innocent eyes of herbivores gathered by a stream.
But I knew better.
Those eyes looked gentle only because the creatures behind them were so stupid. The instincts hidden beneath that look were more savage and cruel than those of any other living thing.
—Grrk?
“Nice meeting you. Goodbye.”
With that first and last greeting, I spun and swung my spearhead.
CRRRACK!
Bone separated from flesh, and a haze of blood filled the air. Dozens fell to the first strike. I stepped forward and swung again, clearing the space around me.
Squish.
As I approached, stepping through the blood-soaked sand, the air around me gave a sharp, tingling hum.
Scorching Yang Qi stirred up intense heat, but the monsters’ eyes had gone cold long ago.
One Against a Thousand.
My overwhelming martial prowess and aura radiated outward. Intimidation, so palpable I could almost reach out and touch it, tightened around their bodies. Fear wiped away their ferocity and swallowed their instincts.
The Hunters had waited patiently for this moment. They didn’t miss it.
CRUNCH!
“Charge! Wipe them all out!”
“Die, you bastards!”
Clang-clang! Slice!
With a tremendous roar, a shining wave of steel crashed into the monsters.
The battle had been relatively short, but these elites had held their ground against a force more than ten times their size without taking heavy losses.
After holding back for so long against the endless tide, the Hunters seized their chance. They drove into the ranks Magic Johnson’s spell had broken apart, stabbing and slashing at every monster in their path.
Slice, thud-thud-thud!
“God damn it! Motherfucker!”
—GRAAAAAH!
Curses and screams mingled as aura and magical power, light and darkness, clashed all around us.
And with every passing second, the balance tipped further toward the light.
“Team Three, watch two o’clock! Circle around and break through!”
“Ranged unit, ready! Fire!”
“Fire!”
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—BOOM!
Arrows whistled through the air in a sudden rain. The mages’ wide-area spells swept across the battlefield.
Each team moved like a living organism, their tactics disciplined and aimed at the enemy’s openings.
The monster army had grown stronger than before as the concentration of magical power rose. But if the superior bodies and magical power they were born with were enough to win every battle, the monsters would have conquered the world already.
“Come on, you bastards.”
My voice came out cold as I shot forward. The moment I chose a target, I was already closing the distance and moving on to my next attack.
Slice, boom!
I cut the throat of a goblin shaman preparing a spell, then smashed the chest of the Orc chieftain beside it.
The Orcs lost their leader in an instant. As they milled about in confusion, a rain of arrows fell on their heads.
Whoosh, thud-thud-thud!
Aura-coated arrowheads pierced their thick hides and passed through their heads and chests.
A particularly huge Troll hurried to retreat as I approached. Just then, two streaks of light curved out from behind it.
Thud, slice!
The first sword pierced its chest. The second cut off its head.
The movements were coordinated, without a hint of hesitation or wasted effort.
The swordsmen chopped the Troll, still twitching despite its fatal wounds, into dozens of pieces. Then they spotted me and smiled faintly.
Xiao Shen. And Team Leader Choi.
There was no need to exchange words amid the chaos of battle. Not when we understood each other without speaking.
They gave me a light nod, then charged toward another target. They were going after the higher-level monsters intelligent enough to control their respective groups.
Good choice.
Most people instinctively resist killing living things, especially other people.
I didn’t know whether that reluctance was an instinct ingrained over our long history or something we’d learned as civilized beings. Either way, it was real.
Monsters were different from the start. Born to struggle, they barely had a concept of their own kind.
Take out the monsters giving orders to each group, and that’s when the real chaos begins.
No. The chaos had already begun.
Four S-rank monsters, including the strongest of them, the Manticore Lord, had fallen. On my orders, Magic Johnson and the Hunters had stopped concentrating solely on defense. Now they were driving into the heart of the monster army and grinding it down.
The leaders of each group—lower-ranking commanders, in effect—were falling across the battlefield to A-rank Hunters led by Team Leader Choi and Xiao Shen. Yamamoto Genji was making his own conspicuous contribution.
“Hup. Gale Slash!”
The name of the technique, barked in a low voice, was pure Japanese bravado. But the power behind that single sword strike was no bluff.
Shwaa—slice!
A flash streaked across the battlefield, and dozens of monsters fell, spraying blood.
Hunters rushed into the space he’d opened and cut down every monster in their path.
CRUNCH! FWOOSH!
The formation slowly collapsed. The front line gave ground.
But waiting for the monster army as it gave ground, step by step, were the Skeleton King and a thousand Skeletons, blocking off their rear.
“Surround them! If you’ve got no teeth, hold them with your bones!”
Clack-clack-clack!
—GRAAAAH!
CRUNCH!
A massive monster several meters tall1 swung its mace, smashing a dozen Skeletons to pieces.
At the same time, dozens more latched onto it or climbed its body, driving rusty swords and teeth into its enormous frame.
Thud. Crack!
—GRAAAAAH!
Its furious roar became a scream of pain. When the massive monster finally met a gruesome death, a cold blue light appeared in its eyes.
—Grr. Ah. Ah. Ah.
Reborn as an undead, the massive monster charged off, dragging its heavy body along.
The Hunters flinched at the sight. Then they spotted the Skeleton King and went right back to fighting as if nothing had happened.
“Hit them! They’re breaking!”
“Their formation’s falling apart! Don’t back down—keep pushing!”
Less than an hour had passed.
But victory was already tipping toward the humans.
Thousands of monsters had already been wiped out. The force that had initially outnumbered us ten to one was now down to five to one—and the gap was shrinking by the second.
CRACK! THUD!
An Ogre Warrior more than four meters tall2 collapsed without a scream.
Its chest blown open, it pitched forward. I planted a foot on its shoulder and leaped into the air, taking in the battlefield below during that brief instant.
It’s over. Push a little longer, and we win.
There was no trace of the momentum the monsters had shown at the start, when they’d surrounded the Hunters and attacked without letup.
They’d lost four S-rank monsters and the lesser leaders commanding their groups. Now they were in utter disarray. The Grand Mage’s wide-area spells from the front and the Skeleton King’s undead soldiers pressing them from behind only deepened the confusion.
And the Hunters are fighting like hell.
The monster army was nothing but a mass of beasts now. Victory was only a matter of time.
Not one of those countless monsters could stop us. Could stop me.
Except for the one being that still hadn’t shown itself.
Where the hell are you?
Thinking of The Prophet, a mystery from beginning to end, I dropped toward the ground.
BOOM! Slice!
White Flame’s spearhead plunged down with me and split open another monster’s skull. Its body split cleanly in two and fell to either side. Between the halves, I saw eyes filled with fear.
“Die.”
I charged like a beast of prey and rampaged like a predator.
The lower-level monsters froze as though gripped by Fear, staring at the death bearing down on them. The higher-level monsters fought back with the last of their strength.
They fell in different ways, but the result was the same.
Death.
Thud!
I twisted the spearhead lodged between a Lycanthrope’s eyes and pulled it free. Brain matter ran down White Flame’s transparent blade.
A tingling ache rose through my arms and legs. They hadn’t stopped moving.
Damn it.
How long had I been fighting? How many monsters had I killed?
I didn’t know. Better not to. The moment my brain registered it, my body would feel even more exhausted.
And if The Prophet was watching me now, all the more reason not to show him any weakness.
Hoo. Hah.
I steadied my breathing and adjusted my grip on White Flame.
As I turned to face the next monsters, I realized the balance of the battle had finally tipped all the way over.
Rumble. Rrrumble!
—GRAAAAAH!
—Krrk. GRAAAAH!
The desert shook. With terrified cries, wave after wave of monsters were retreating.
They’re running. All those monsters.
The thought that flashed through my mind was exactly what I was seeing.
Their advantage in numbers?
The monster army had lost its will to fight and was fleeing at full speed. None of them cared about that anymore.
The Hunters stared, blinking, then raised their tired spears and swords. With bloodshot eyes, they raced after the monsters.
“Kill every last one!”
The only thing left on the battlefield was slaughter.
Comments
Comments need a network connection.