Two hours before the Siege War ended.
I was gradually advancing south, capturing one castle every three minutes.
With my current abilities, I could capture much faster, but I deliberately chose not to.
“After all, it wouldn’t be fun if it was too quick, right?”
[That’s true!]
[For real, lol]
[Lololololol]
[“Let’s just wrap it up in five minutes, Lily.”]
[Slightly boring to stomp, huh? lol]
[Great Lily]
[Hmmm, Lily…]
[But really, they just can’t hold a candle to me.]
Since the Siege War is both a content and a festival, I figured it was best to maintain some semblance of balance.
With time still on my side, I planned to take my time with the captures.
‘Of course, there are probably many who don’t see it as a festival.’
The Medium and Small Alliance was pulling all available personnel into defense, but it was to no avail against me.
“D-don’t let them through!”
“How are we supposed to do that?”
“Use anything! Bind their legs… Hurry…”
Kwahaha!!!
With a light tap, the sturdy walls guarding the castle crumbled.
Guards and users rushed in with weapons drawn, but I ignored them all and pressed on toward the core.
“You! To pass through here, you’ll have to step over me…”
“I’ll just pass by.”
Thud.
I lightly stepped over the head of a man gripping an axe, who was burning with determination.
His bald head almost caused me to slip for a moment (but I didn’t), and as I gracefully passed, the core shattered in the confusion.
Beep!
[■Elbrite – Lily Elbrite – ▶ □Medium and Small Alliance – Boring Deadweight -]
[The stronghold has been captured!]
Wooong!
As the castle was captured, the color of the core and the flags rising from the castle transformed into those of Elbrite.
Using the authority of the lord, I expelled all users and placed small crustaceans around the core.
Some parts of Karabus that were stuck to Gapwoo.
They were a kind of weakened clone, but the user’s level wouldn’t be enough to block the fragments of Karabus.
“Just hold it for about two hours, okay?”
“Can you stop eating me already?”
“I might consider it if you guard well.”
“No, at this point it’s just ridiculous.”
“Where did you learn to say such things?”
[Right?]
[Lololol]
[NPCs learn all sorts of things.]
[Even the Progenitor’s sister used to say that.]
[Crabs are indeed tasty.]
[For real, lol]
[Easy peasy.]
[Let’s just wrap it up in three minutes, Lily.]
The fragments of Karabus clacked their claws and awkwardly turned away.
I turned around grumpily, keeping my distance.
“Even if I come out dissatisfied, there’s no need to worry since I do my job well.”
‘If it’s breached, we just conquer it again.’
“Sre!”
“Woo!!”
Flap!
A pure white pig… no, dragon stood before me.
Its size was overwhelmingly larger than a hill, commanding respect.
Yet its face resembled that of a baby, with wide, innocent eyes.
Sre licked its pink tongue and made a wooing sound.
I reached out my hand and petted Sre’s snout.
[Oooo]
[Sre, it’s Sre]
[So cute, lol]
[Lolololololol]
[For real, haha]
[You’ve eaten a lot, so it’s time to work]
[You’ve grown so big]
[Since you’re a king, you’re super cute]
[Are we riding Sre now?]
“Sre has to earn its keep too.”
Having played enough, it was time for some work.
To give some variation to the ongoing conquest, I planned to move with Sre from now on.
I jumped lightly onto Sre’s back.
A chilling cold crept up my body.
Even I flinched slightly from the frosty chill of the moment.
‘This hasn’t changed.’
“Woo.”
“Shall we go then?”
“Woo!”
Flap!
Sre soared into the sky.
■
“Damn those guys… I’ll kill them all.”
Crunch…
After suffering a major defeat to the Medium and Small Alliance at the beginning of the siege war, the Grim Reaper roamed the nearby castles, indulging in a massacre.
Having tried to keep a low profile since being attacked by the Black Sword, an opportunity arose when the Black Sword left and the Medium and Small Alliance weakened.
He quickly reclaimed his stolen castle and additionally conquered five more nearby castles.
After all, he had been aiming for the top tier.
Unless you were on the level of the Black Sword or a core executive of an alliance, stopping the Grim Reaper was almost impossible.
Thus, the Grim Reaper pushed north once again to conquer castles and encountered someone flying in the distance.
A pure white dragon with a blue-haired woman riding atop it.
‘…Lily?’
Lilyda.
The Grim Reaper’s enemy and arch-nemesis.
I heard she had declared her absence, but after being attacked by the Medium and Small Alliance for reasons unknown, she decided to join the battle.
Lily played a significant role in allowing the Grim Reaper to be active again.
Slash.
“It’s still the same, to kill that girl.”
Starting with the robbery of the mythical weapon, Yellow Raider, Lily had been obstructing the Grim Reaper at every turn, including Teshiniria.
Though to be fair, the Yellow Raider was taken away while trying to steal Sre, and Teshiniria was originally aimed at killing everyone, which Lily prevented.
The raider tried to take Sre, but ended up getting taken himself, and Teshiniria originally aimed to kill everyone, which Lily thwarted.
For the Grim Reaper, who nonchalantly considered the death of a raider and an NPC, such things were irrelevant.
What mattered was that his path was blocked.
That alone was enough reason to attack Lily and that dragon.
“I’ll kill.”
The Grim Reaper pulled out his scythe from the shadows.
Most of what happened in Teshiniria had been failures, but he hadn’t been stagnant.
He had strengthened himself through much interaction with the Dark Priest and improved his personal skills while handling various powers.
The key item of the operation, the Stone of Reversing, was still in small quantities, though.
The fact that the Black Sword was pushed back also greatly benefitted from the Stone of Reversing.
“There’s a risk, but… I can’t afford to be picky right now.”
He gripped his scythe and waited.
The target was to slice through when they passed above him.
Given Lily’s skills, it was likely she’d easily block the attacks coming from all sides.
On the other hand, if the attack came from directly below, beneath that heavy body, it would be difficult to respond.
The Grim Reaper held his breath, and finally, just as Sre was about to pass.
“Wha—?”
Swoosh!!
The sweeping scythe struck Sre.
‘!’
The White Dragon distorted its face and raised its arm, drawing Lily’s gaze to that arm.
It inflicted a wound, but it couldn’t be called a fatal blow.
‘…shallow. Looks like I’ll have to use that.’
Whether it was the dragon’s natural protective shield or not, the attack hadn’t properly hit.
Its palm had been significantly cut as it instinctively reached out, but that was all.
Sssss…
One of the ultimate moves the Grim Reaper had newly acquired.
“Marking Slash.”
A slash that inflicts a guaranteed critical hit on a harmed opponent.
There’s a condition that it must cut once before inflicting the wound, but it was a powerful skill with immense might.
Here, the critical hit wasn’t just a damage amplification.
“A lethal strike.”
Anyone hit by this attack would “definitely” suffer a critical hit.
If aimed at an arm or leg, that limb would surely be severed, and if aimed at the heart, the heart would certainly be cut.
The Grim Reaper’s slash rose toward the sky again.
“This time, it won’t be just a hand but the heart…”
“Grrr…”
Crumble!
“What, what…?”
The slash shattered.
As Sre swung its hand in anger, the slash broke apart as if it had been smashed.
The Grim Reaper muttered as he watched the aftermath of the futile scattering of the true strike.
“That can’t be.”
This wasn’t just a simple attack; it was a kind of upper-level technique that was almost like a law.
Since it was called ‘必ず’ (mandatory), no matter how strong someone was, if the conditions were met, they had to hit.
Even if they later healed or resurrected, they still had to get hit first.
Meeting the conditions would be hard, but that Lily’s technique was supposed to hit for sure…
“Why?”
Kwahk!!
White teeth bit where the Grim Reaper had just stood.
The Grim Reaper barely managed to dodge into the shadows, and immediately, countless scythes surged toward Sre.
“It’s not as powerful as the last attack, but it’s definitely effective…”
Wuuung…
“!”
“Grrrr…”
As the purple gem embedded in its front paw shone, a chilling barrier formed around Sre.
Kagagagakang!!!
The scythes were so easily blocked.
The chilling air began to dominate the Grim Reaper’s surroundings.
‘…This is dangerous.’
There’s something in that front paw.
The fundamental source of dragons and a substance that summoned eternal coldness.
Back then, with lower skill and rank, he couldn’t fully gauge it, but having wielded great power, he could feel it now.
‘Overwhelming power.’
The claws embedded in the front paw had a higher authority than any material he had ever seen.
‘If only I could somehow remove that…!’
“…That one’s been left for that guy.”
But now he had to look at the bigger picture.
The Grim Reaper pulled a fist-sized stone from his pocket and swallowed it.
A stone made by condensing the Stone of Reversing about 50 times.
There would be incredible side effects, but to pull out the disappeared Lily and that dragon’s claw, he had to take this risk.
“Kraaah!!!”
“Grrrr…”
“Cough… Cough… Hoo… I feel so powerful…”
The overwhelming force sensed from his soul.
At this level, even Lily could somewhat hold her own!
Just as the Grim Reaper felt this overwhelming strength and was about to launch an attack.
Crack!!!
Sre’s claws pierced through all defenses before crushing the Grim Reaper.
“Why are you hitting me!!”
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