Junhyuk inspected his new items.
—
Steel Glove
Defense +5
Attack +5
The glove is made of steel, and one can use it directly to do damage. It can be used as a weapon, but it is suggested that it be used only as a glove.
—
As he read the glove’s attributes, he scowled. He could guess the approximate prices of equipment, and that glove couldn’t be more than 50,000G. If he sold it, he’d only get 25,000G for it. Junhyuk sighed heavily and inspected the next item.
—
Tough Leather Boots
Defense +5
Movement Speed +3%
These were made out of unknown leather. The leather is tough, and the boots are used for long travel.
—
Junhyuk looked at the boots and sighed again. Things were getting worse. Those boots were about 40,000G, so if he were to sell them, he’d get about 20,000G. Shaking his head, he looked at the last item, Ellencia’s bracelet.
—
Jade Bracelet (Low Level)
Magic Attack +5
The materials can only be acquire in hell. It is made out of special jade. However, the make is of such low quality that the stat boosts aren’t very high. It helps magic attack.
—
Junhyuk thought the item looked very cheap.
“Are these heroes destitute?”
He would only stand to gain about 20,000G from each item. A champion who helped kill an enemy hero earned 10,000G per kill. He had killed three heroes and gotten only about 20,000G for each.
After sighing heavily again, he put the items in his Spatial Bag. Then, he contacted his other allies.
The other heroes had to have met the enemy, so he wanted to know what was going on.
Balonte answered him
“Ah! You scared me. Why can I see your face?”
“I have a dragon friend who can upgrade the communicator. Anyway, what is going on over there?”
Balonte had just become a hero as well, and he answered calmly, “We are scoping each other out. I got the buff. Did you take the central tower?”
“I did and I also destroyed the enemies’ first tower.”
“What are you going to do now?”
“I’ll contact those who went right and contact you again.”
Junhyuk disconnected with Balonte and connected with Embla. She was a troll with buffing powers, so he thought she would be having an easy time.
Embla was surprised.
“Why can I see your face?”
“My communication orb is special. Never mind about that. How is it going?”
“There’s a hero here, but he’s hiding inside the watchtower. The watchtower is stronger than before, so I’m scoping things out.”
“You two can’t do anything?”
“We didn’t want to force it. The center must be under control. Now that we have the buff, I’m thinking of attacking.”
“OK. I’ll go help out Balonte.”
“What about the center?”
“Malone will revive and come this way.”
“OK. Do it.”
Junhyuk contacted Malone, who wasn’t surprised to see his face through the communicator and, instead, shouted right away, “Look here! Why did you not save me?!”
“If you had moved to the watchtower, Ellencia wouldn’t have followed you.”
“I didn’t have the time.”
Junhyuk sighed and said, “I going to the left path to help out Balonte. Come to the buff tower and protect it.”
“You mean for me to climb all those stairs again? I won’t do it!”
Junhyuk scowled. Malone was weak, but if he remained protected by the watchtower, the enemies wouldn’t come near him. Now, he was saying that the stairs were too much for him?
“Just protect the watchtower. I will go see Balonte and come right back.”
“I’ll go to Balonte! I’ll take the left path!”
“You really aren’t coming center?”
“I will go left!”
Junhyuk thought about disconnecting and sighed. Balonte was only facing a single enemy. Malone was weak, but two would be able to kill one. At least that’s what he thought.
“Fine. Then, send Balonte center when you get there.”
“Right.”
He made sure to disconnect that time and sighed heavily again. Malone looked different from Kaljaque, but he was stubborn just like the troll.
“I can’t keep Malone.”
Junhyuk told Balonte that Malone was on his way. As he stood next to the destroyed enemy tower, he looked down the mountain. He was at the peak of the mountain and he could see the enemy castle far away.
“Did the battlefield get smaller instead of bigger?”
Junhyuk looked to the sides, and that’s when things got farther away. The battlefield was wider, but whoever controlled the buff tower could reach the enemy castle within eight hours. The time for the straight distance was shorter than in the Valley of Death, but the paths right and left of the mountain took a much longer time.
“The center path is extremely important in many ways.”
Compared to the Valley of Death, the center path was incomparably important. One couldn’t afford to lose the buff tower to start with, and considering the distance, the center path would be the site of major battles.
Junhyuk looked toward the enemy castle, and he saw a group of enemies walking toward him. His vision had improved so much after becoming a hero that he could see enemies walking in the distance, four hours away from him. He didn’t need to squint to see or anything.
He looked at the number of enemies. There were about fifty lobsters and a hero heading specifically center, and his eyes beamed when he saw that it was Kamel bringing more lobsters. Since the hero was coming his way, the other sides might be getting hero reinforcements.
Junhyuk called Balonte and Embla and told them about the situation. After that, he gathered the allied minions, who looked scared. However, he saw that the previously injured minions had received treatment, which meant that the health recovery boost from the buff applied to them as well.
A minion stared at him and asked, “Are you the Dark Knight?”
Junhyuk was surprised, and he changed the subject quickly.
“Who is the Dark Knight?”
“An Earthling who wears the same armor as you.”
Some minions had a deep interest in the Dimensional Battlefield. They knew the person standing in front of them was a hero, and they hoped that the Dark Knight would also be one. If he were, he could save them. That’s what they believed.
Tapping his armor, Junhyuk said, “This is the most basic armor you can acquire in the Dimensional Battlefield. Many people wear this same armor.”
“What?!”
He continued calmly, “If you want to survive, don’t depend on anyone. Only those who struggle to stay alive will survive.”
Junhyuk held tightly to his swords and added, “We are going to destroy the second tower.”
He was facing a single hero, so he should push forward and destroy their second tower. As Junhyuk took the lead, the minions looked at each other. They were worried and thinking to themselves, so Junhyuk stopped and looked back at them.
“Don’t think for a second that only the enemies want you dead.”
Raising his sword, he let energy emanate from it. He was displaying his killing intent through his sword, and the minions were terrified.
“Do as I told you, or I will cut you down,” he finished.
The minions started to follow him, and he took them down the stairs toward the next enemy watchtower.
He could only see one hero, but he wasn’t sure whether the other enemy heroes went elsewhere, or if they were hiding in ambush. However, he was confident that he could kill three of them by himself.
He took the minions with him. The slant of the stairway had been steep, and if one ran through it, one might roll down it. As he walked down, he learned that the buffs had definitely affected the allied minions. He was able to get down faster than usual.
He had taken the minions with him so that he could destroy the watchtower faster than on his own.
They neared the second watchtower almost at the same time as the enemies, and Junhyuk thought he should have hurried. If he had left the minions behind, he would’ve been able to destroy the tower by himself. However, if he had done that, the enemies might ambush him, so it was still better to travel with the minions. It was safer.
Junhyuk had prepared for the worst, but no enemies stepped forward, so he smiled. Kamel was hiding within the watchtower. The hero couldn’t deal with him alone.
Junhyuk looked at the minions and said, “Advance into the watchtower’s range. Form two groups. One group deals with the lobsters, and the other deals with the flying arrows. Your duty is to distract the lobsters.”
He continued calmly, “If you want to live, hold fast to your shields. Don’t attack. Defend yourselves instead.”
The minions’ hands turned white by holding their shields tightly, and he shouted, “Let’s go!”
As he did, the minions followed him and ran. He took the front, and Kamel frowned. The hero had not expected the allied forces to come within range of the watchtower.
“Attack!”
The lobsters ran toward Junhyuk. Kamel had sent them alone and was still holding tightly to his bastard sword, frowning and a little scared.
Kamel’s goal was for Junhyuk to lose health fighting the lobsters, but Kamel was wrong. Junhyuk teleported by them, and as he closed in quickly on the hero, Kamel’s eyes beamed and he swung his bastard sword.
The swing came from the left, but a translucent bastard sword slashed from the right. At the same time, the archers loosened their first volley.
Junhyuk quickly raised his force field.
Clang, clang!
Kamel’s attacks bounced off of it, and Junhyuk shrunk the force field to cover only his body. As he did, he swung his sword. However, Kamel was also a hero, and he blocked Junhyuk’s regular attack.
Clang!
The swords clashed, and Junhyuk followed up with a second attack. That time, he triggered his acceleration. Reading the path of Kamel’s sword, his sword slid against the bastard sword, sinking deeper through the hero’s defenses.
“Ugh!”
Junhyuk sword pierced Kamel’s armpit, and the hero frowned, stepping back. Junhyuk chased after him. He had to finish Kamel within ten seconds, and because he was buffed, he closed in fast.
Kamel knew he couldn’t run away, so the hero gritted his teeth. Junhyuk swung again, and Kamel took a step forward to parry him. The swords clashed, and Kamel pressured his bastard sword to push him away.
Junhyuk hadn’t expected that and ended up taking unintentional steps back. Then, Kamel distanced himself, raising his hand above his head.
Suddenly, pure white energy sprinkled over Kamel, and the hero recovered all of his health. Junhyuk frowned at the sight. It was the power Junhyuk hadn’t seen from the hero, and he had not expected it to be that.
Kamel pointed the bastard sword at him and said, “You think I’m alone? You are so dead!”
Junhyuk saw a group coming out of the forest. Ellencia was leading thirty lobsters.
