[Fourth Faction War Final Rankings]

[1. Bloody Lion (11 points)]

[2. Foxy (9 points)]

[3. Secret (8 points)]

[4. Nider (6 points)]

[5. Resistance (4 points)]

[6. Tarantula (4 points)]

[7. Lodria (4 points)]

The fifth Faction War began. The factions, having gradually figured out the ranking system, were now trying to maintain their positions in the lower tiers. The established top-tier factions struggled to defend their spots, while lower-tier factions matched against them used every item at their disposal to win. Amidst the competition, which had grown fiercer than ever, the Resistance faction conceded defeat.

[Victory for Lodria!]

[The victor of this Faction War is the Lodria faction.]

They had lost one Faction Point from being matched with another top-tier faction, but Taehyun wasn’t disappointed. In fact, it was for the best. The longer they stayed in the lower ranks, the higher the probability of gaining a massive number of points at once. For now, he just had to manage their Faction Points and aim for the endgame.

Taehyun stood up to leave the arena when Seunghoon appeared for the first time in a while.

“It’s been a while,” Seunghoon said.

“It certainly has. What’s going on?”

“The Yuda Raid Party is heading west. The reason is unknown, but Balak should be careful. They’re leading a force of fourteen top-tier A-rank Raiders.”

“I’ve heard of them,” Taehyun replied. “Yuda, the one who supposedly only targets the Velvet Dungeon, is ranked third among the top-tiers. Leading fourteen A-rank Raiders is certainly a frightening prospect. In any case, thank you for the warning.”

He had already confirmed the top-tier A-rank Raider rankings through Baron Momonte. It was puzzling that the Yuda Raid Party was heading west, but there was still no news of a raid on Balak. Taehyun gave a slight nod and left the arena.

Left alone, Seunghoon let out a low groan and glanced around at the murmuring crowd.

“I heard King Leopard of the Oneis Kingdom died. They said it wasn’t even a serious illness, but his condition suddenly worsened. The funeral has been going on for a week already.”

“Hmm. With the king dead, I guess the crown prince will inherit the throne. Not that it matters. That bastard Count Dinen will just turn the new king into another puppet. The west is as good as his already. Who knows? Maybe he’ll even try to swallow up Balak later?”

“What nonsense is that? The west revolves around Balak. I don’t like that Taehyun Yoo guy, but it’s a fact that because of Balak, the west is developing into a true Raider’s territory.”

News about the Oneis Kingdom was already spreading. The death of a king was an event significant enough to ripple across the entire continent.

‘Why do I feel so uneasy?’ Seunghoon thought. ‘It’s just one king’s death, but it’s weighing on my mind.’

As an easterner, he had no connection to it, yet an unexplainable anxiety was building within him. He tried to shake off the feeling and went to find Seonghwi.

—

[Loqueen has used To a Faraway Place.]

[Three A-rank Raiders are transported to the entrance of Balak’s territory.]

[To a Faraway Place Usage Limit: 1/1]

Three figures vanished. They had dispersed their members using Loqueen, who had been waiting in the forest.

‘D-Damn it! We even used the Peacock, but we had to collide with a familiar of all things. What rotten luck!’ the raid leader cursed inwardly.

He believed the collision was a coincidence, which was utterly pathetic. Taehyun had already experienced a visual confrontation via the Peacock once before. The familiar wasn’t a coincidence; it was just one of several he had placed in advance.

Now, four A-rank Raiders remained. Two of them still had single-use skills. Taehyun ordered the High Elves to bypass them, positioning them outside the detection net.

[An Explosive Trap has been triggered.]

[An Explosive Trap has been triggered.]

The traps attached to the trees detonated. The High Elves fired their arrows in perfect sync, and the ambush squad launched a follow-up attack.

“Damn it! I’ll break through with this skill!” one of the A-rank Raiders shouted.

Amidst hundreds of soldiers, he began to cast a spell, magical power spreading out in all directions. It was clearly an area-of-effect skill. Taehyun quickly ordered the activation of the remaining traps.

[An Electric Trap has been triggered.]

[A Binding Trap has been triggered.]

[An Illusion Trap has been triggered.]

A single arrow set off a chain reaction. The mage who was about to cast his skill was instantly electrocuted. They had fallen for the traps despite having brought a Bounty Hunter. Now surrounded by the ambush squad, the damage they took was immense.

“This is bad! Use Position Shift first!”

“What are you talking about? They still have a neutralization item!”

“If I say use it, then use it! Stop arguing!” the raid leader, Bones, snapped, his stress levels clearly rising. He scowled and activated Position Shift. He had probably left his marker on the Revived Plains. Since their members had been scattered, their first priority would be to regroup.

[The Bones Raid Party has used Position Shift.]

[The Bones Raid Party’s location will be changed to the previously saved position.]

The Bones Raid Party vanished. They hadn’t used the neutralization item in the end. Taehyun calmly gazed at the Revived Plains. The raiders, not yet ready to give up, were communicating with their scattered comrades.

“Please have some tea while you work,” Riel said, handing him a steaming cup.

“Ah, thanks.” Taehyun leisurely sipped his tea while arranging his soldiers. Riel stood beside him, tilting her head as she watched the raid party.

“A-rank raid parties don’t seem to give up easily these days. Why is that?”

“Pride, probably,” Taehyun said. “They’re all hell-bent on conquering Balak. If they gave up now, their reputation would plummet.”

“I suppose that makes sense for A-rank Raiders. By the way, we haven’t had any for a while, but seeing them show up again… does that mean many are still flowing into the west?”

“Besides the low-grade ones, the top-ranking raid parties are starting to come, too.”

Even if they were in the same sub-grade, there was a difference in rank, which was mostly based on performance. However, bonus points were often added based on a raid party’s specific achievements. For example, the Yuda Raid Party’s performance had stalled because they only targeted the Velvet Dungeon. Their rank should have dropped, but they were still maintaining the third spot among the top-tiers. The reason was simple: the value of the dungeons they had conquered so far was far superior to that of other Raiders.

‘The Yuda Raid Party, huh,’ Taehyun mused, thinking of Seunghoon. It was natural for Seunghoon to be suspicious of them heading west, since he had always been the one to block them. The most likely reason was Balak. The second was Count Dinen. The third would be the funeral in the Oneis Kingdom. If the Yuda Raid Party were to announce a raid on Balak, a report would immediately come through Baron Momonte. But for some reason, he felt a prickle of unease. Taehyun let out a low groan as he checked the Oneis Kingdom on the world map.

—

[Intermediate Lacordic has been discovered in the Crystal Cave.]

[Superior Lacordic has been discovered in the Crystal Cave.]

[Inferior Lacordic has been discovered in the Crystal Cave.]

Lacordic deposits were slowly being discovered. Preparations were underway in the Crystal Cave, obtained through the contract with Livixiun. Soon, mining would begin in earnest. As planned, he intended to distribute a portion of it and hand the rest over to the dwarves.

Taehyun turned his gaze to the last Raider fighting alone.

“Don’t come any closer! I said, don’t come any closer, you damn bastards!”

His comrades had already been wiped out. He had barely survived, but death was inevitable.

“Die quietly by my hand,” Grai commanded.

“Gaaahk!”

Grai’s greatsword split the man in two.

[The Bones Raid Party has been annihilated.]

With that, all the Raiders were dead. As expected of an A-rank party, they had managed to break through to the 24th room, but they couldn’t escape annihilation. Taehyun checked the Zen and items he had acquired and dismissed his soldiers.

“Riel, send all the A-rank equipment to the dwarves. We need to extract the magic stones first.”

“Understood.”

Raiders of A-rank and above always had at least one or two magic stones embedded in their equipment. He had always relied on the dwarves’ skills to extract them, and this time was no exception. After Riel left the Master Room, Taehyun turned to another screen.

[Larkan is creating the structure of a castle wall using the magic of a Transmutation Circle.]

[Tupelus is grasping the detailed structure with his outstanding insight.]

The two technicians were making progress. They were building the castle walls for Balak’s territory as instructed. It was still in the planning phase, but he was continuously supplying them with materials. Once the framework was complete, construction would begin immediately.

‘It’ll cost tens of millions of Zen, but it’s better than having the passages destroyed first.’

During the clash with the Leviathan Dungeon, his territory’s interior had been attacked by siege-type soldiers. To prevent that from happening again, castle walls were essential. Taehyun checked the gradually filling structural diagram and headed to the last room.

[Random S-Rank Soldier Summon Card]

He still had the reward from the fourth Faction War. Taehyun used the summon card near the crystal orb.

[You have used a Random S-Rank Soldier Summon Card.]

[A summoning circle is being generated.]

[The summoning circle is generated near the crystal orb, stabilizing the magic.]

A summoning circle formed.

‘My first S-rank soldier. Please be a good one.’

As if in answer to his small wish, a knight clad in armor appeared on the circle.

[Great Success!]

[The Rank S Named Nightmare Knight, Grizzle, has been summoned.]

He was the perfect image of a Death Knight, with blood-red plate armor, a menacing light gleaming from his dark helmet, and even plumes of white breath.

‘A Named one is good, but this is my first undead soldier. I should check his information.’

Unlike Balak of the Labyrinth, the original Balak had no undead soldiers. Taehyun opened Grizzle’s status window.

[Nightmare Knight Grizzle]

[Rank: S (Named)]

[Level: 1]

[Race: Undead]

[Class: Knight]

[Title: Nightmare Death Knight]

[Affiliation: Balak]

[Loyalty: 50]

[Favorability: 30]

[Obedience: 30]

[Skill: Nightmare Cleave]

[Special Ability: None]

[Strength: 24] [Endurance: 14] [Agility: 10] [Stamina: 15]

[Magic: 9] [Divinity: 1] [Affinity: 1] [Luck: 1]

[Status: Hatred]

As expected of an S-rank soldier, his stats were very high for level 1. The lack of a special ability was a flaw, but he would be useful once he was leveled up. Taehyun tilted his head as he looked at the status section.

“Hatred? Who does he hate?”

“…I hate my son.”

“Whoa! You scared me. When did you wake up?”

“My son! My son, Granzle, betrayed me!” the Death Knight roared, his voice echoing through the chamber. His hatred was so deep that he couldn’t quell his anger even in death. Taehyun clicked his tongue as he looked at the fuming knight.

“Tsk, tsk. You should have treated your son better.”

“Grrr! I invested everything in Granzle! Whatever he wanted, I gave him. Whatever he desired, I brought to him. But that ungrateful wretch killed me and inherited the throne!”

“Hmm. This story sounds familiar, but I guess it doesn’t matter. So, you hate your son?”

“Of course!”

“You want to kill him?”

“Absolutely!”

“Then go level up.”

And so, the first S-rank soldier was dispatched to Yuslan’s Ice Palace.

—

[Nightmare Knight Grizzle]

[Rank: S (Named)]

[Level: 35]

[Race: Undead]

[Class: Knight]

[Title: Nightmare Death Knight]

[Affiliation: Balak]

[Loyalty: 54]

[Favorability: 27]

[Obedience: 29]

[Skills: Nightmare Cleave, Pandemonium, Mounted Charge, Lord’s Vigor]

[Special Ability: None]

[Strength: 51] [Endurance: 25] [Agility: 21] [Stamina: 38]

[Magic: 17] [Divinity: 1] [Affinity: 1] [Luck: 1]

[Status: Hatred]

‘So this is the power of an S-rank. He’s only level 35, but his stats are already starting to rival Grai’s.’

Aside from the fact that he was rampaging madly with hatred, he was a powerful Death Knight.

“Granzle, I will never forgive you!”

“Hey, you’re being too loud!” a dungeon soldier yelled back.

“Aaaaaargh! Granzle!”

Even after returning from the Ice Palace, Grizzle’s rage showed no signs of stopping.

“Master, the dungeon soldiers are complaining about Grizzle,” Riel reported.

“…Should I just lock him in the prison?”

“Umm. Still, locking up one of our own soldiers in prison seems a bit much.”

“Haaah. Then let’s leave him for now and move on to other—”

Just as he was about to open the shop, a red message flashed before his eyes.

[A ?-rank raid party has appeared on the Revived Plains.]

[A ?-rank raid party has appeared on the Revived Plains.]

A new raid party had arrived.

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