Chapter 231: Episode 231

[A-rank Named Guardian Pluton has cast Cube Entrapment.]

[Enemies within a certain range have been trapped in a cube.]

Kalbent, Preisha, and the majority of the A-rank soldiers who had just breached the entrance were instantly sealed within a shimmering cube. The attack had effectively neutralized their main force, but its true purpose was to choke the narrow pass.

“Break it! Break it down!” a soldier roared.

The cube wasn’t invincible; with the combined might of their A-rank powerhouses, it could be shattered. But the trail was perilously narrow, preventing the rear guard from advancing. Without a Position Shift, they were stuck. Their only option was to deploy aerial units to seize control of the hills above.

[A-rank Named Keeper Solkarition has cast Irresistible Veil.]

[An impassable veil spreads in a straight line from Solkarition’s position.]

A moment later, a shimmering barrier materialized from the crest of the hill. Harpies and wyverns, soaring upward, slammed headfirst into the unseen wall and plummeted to the ground.

“Th-this is impossible!” one of them shrieked.

A cold, mocking voice echoed through the pass. “You said it was a mistake to come alone? I will make you regret ever thinking it.”

[A-rank Hero Soldier, Necromancer Meknalf, has cast Soul Harvest.]

[A-rank Hero Soldier, Cryomancer Connalf, has cast Extreme Cold.]

[A-rank Hero Soldier, Magmamancer Pannalf, has cast Lava Ground.]

[A-rank Hero Soldier, Electromancer Hyunalf, has cast Current Station.]

Unix’s A-rank Hero soldiers had arrived. The four mages unleashed a devastating barrage of area-of-effect spells that bypassed the enemy’s shields, inflicting direct damage. The Secret Faction’s priests desperately cast heals and buffs, struggling to hold the line, but as the four persistent spells stacked, their soldiers began to fall.

“Out of the way! We have to get through!” a faction member yelled.

“Dammit, the pass is too narrow! We can’t move aside without pushing our own men off the cliff!” another shot back.

“Damn it all,” Seokwoo snarled. “Golgotes, get to the front! Step on their heads if you have to! Everyone else, send only your main forces forward to provide support!”

Following Seokwoo’s command, the Secret Faction began funneling its elite troops toward the front. But Taehyun’s forces had no intention of letting them.

[A-rank Named Guardian Ragna has cast Binding Eyes.]

[Targets within sight are bound for a set duration.]

[Binding Eyes Use Limit 1/1]

Ragna’s second skill, Binding Eyes, activated. Though it was a single-use ability, it could ensnare multiple targets at once.

“Solkarition, drop the rocks,” a commander ordered.

“As you wish!” Solkarition bellowed.

Boulders materialized in the air and rained down upon the trapped soldiers. The movement shields protecting the Secret Faction were mage-cast abilities, fueled by mana. Unlike a priest’s holy barrier, they were incredibly vulnerable to physical attacks. Taehyun’s ranged units were mobilized, unleashing a coordinated volley to shatter their defenses.

Meanwhile, Taehyun watched the chaos unfold on his monitor, a deep sense of satisfaction washing over him as system messages flooded his vision.

[Priest’s Soulstone acquired.]

[5 A-rank Manastones acquired.]

[Intense Soulstone acquired.]

Special ability materials could be harvested from dungeon soldiers, not just raiders. His inventory was rapidly filling with a trove of resources. At this rate, he’d have all the manastones and soulstones he needed. Once the Secret Faction’s army was annihilated, he wouldn’t have to worry about materials for a long time.

“Satisfying,” he murmured.

“Satisfying? This is beyond satisfying!” Narae exclaimed, her eyes glued to the screen. “I can’t believe you can use the terrain to inflict this much damage. It’s incredible!”

Unaware of his special abilities, she was focused on the tactical brilliance of the maneuver. Blocking the pass with a cube was proving brutally effective, forcing the Secret Faction to either burn precious items or find an entirely new route.

“The first phase of attrition was a resounding success,” Taehyun stated. “It’s about time we pulled back.”

“What?” Narae balked. “You can still do more damage. Why pull back now?”

“They aren’t idiots,” Taehyun countered. “If we get greedy, we’ll be the ones getting wiped out.”

Sohee’s main forces were beginning to mobilize. The duration of Ragna’s and Solkarition’s skills was finite; they couldn’t keep up the pressure indefinitely. He also had to consider Pluton’s remaining mana. Taehyun opened a communication channel and gave the order.

“You can withdraw. Leave the Cube Entrapment and Irresistible Veil active, and return through the teleportation circle in the Crystal Cave.”

“Understood,” came the reply. “But what if they discover the cave?”

“Block the entrance with Solkarition’s boulders. Geonsun will handle the camouflage.”

“Got it.”

And so, the first clash concluded, leaving the Secret Faction battered and bloodied.

—

[You have entered Kant Gorge.]

After crossing the Collad Mountains, a vast gorge opened before them. The surprise attack had cost them two days of camping, but they had finally reached their destination.

’A member of the Resistance was here?’ the Dungeon Master of Livixiun mused. ’I know nothing of it. As long as whoever it was doesn’t cause me any trouble, I couldn’t care less.’

It was strange that the Master of Unix had been lying in wait in the mountains, but the Livixiun Master didn’t know the details. He had left Geonsun alone, but his suspicions lingered.

“Faction Leader, I’m telling you, that man has to be connected to Balak,” Seokwoo insisted. “The fact that he came all this way is suspicious enough. We should turn back and deal with Livixiun first…”

“Enough,” Sohee cut him off. “I am well aware that Livixiun is feigning ignorance, but we cannot afford to waste any more time. Our forces are engaged in battle across other regions. We must eliminate Balak, and quickly.”

“I know, but it’s still infuriating.”

“I’ve told you before, we can deal with him later. Seokwoo, are you going to disobey me?” she asked, her eyes filled with a sorrowful light. She looked so fragile, so unlike the leader of a powerful faction, and it stirred a powerful protective instinct within him.

Seokwoo immediately shook his head, banishing all thoughts of Livixiun. ’Sohee is relying on me. I have to be strong for her.’

Just as she said, Livixiun could wait. The battle in Kant Gorge was what mattered now. If Balak’s forces were waiting for them again, they needed to be prepared. He first assessed their losses.

’We lost nearly four thousand soldiers in the Collad Mountains. We’re down to twenty-five thousand, but that’s not a problem. Balak has twenty thousand at most. We still hold the advantage in both numbers and firepower.’

They had conserved their exclusive items on the side path, saving them for the battles to come. And while Hyuntae’s main forces had wasted their limited-use skills, the other members’ core troops were still at full strength.

’Besides,’ he thought, surveying the terrain, ’in a wide-open gorge like this, flanked by waterfalls, an ambush is impossible.’

Kant Gorge was a region carved out by a river and its waterfalls. Though forests bordered them on both sides, as long as they followed the river downstream, the risk of a surprise attack was virtually zero.

[Vision Expansion Scroll has been used.]

[The vision of all soldiers is expanded for a limited time.]

Their field of view widened dramatically. Seokwoo deployed a host of his best reconnaissance units, scattering them across the surrounding area.

“Everyone, send your scouts out,” he ordered. “If we secure vision of the entire gorge, we won’t have to worry about an ambush.”

“Good idea. I’ll even send in some of my main forces,” one member replied.

“I took some hits back in the mountains,” another sighed. “I’ll just send my regular soldiers.”

The scouting parties began to spread out. After placing vision markers on the scouts, Seokwoo turned to the slave raider, Lumia. “Use your skill.”

[A-rank Intermediate Raider Lumia has cast Vision Sharing.]

[The vision of soldiers with vision markers is now being shared.]

[Vision Sharing Use Limit 1/2]

A series of screens materialized before Lumia’s eyes. Seokwoo monitored the scouts’ progress through them as his army marched downriver.

—

[Invisibility Potion has been consumed.]

[You are now in a stealth state for a limited time.]

[S-rank Named Guardian, Assassin Krodin, has activated the special ability ‘Stealth’.]

[The stealth state will remain active until all mana is consumed.]

Thirty barbarians and a single assassin vanished from sight. They were Balak’s elite, dispatched to the gorge on Taehyun’s orders. Fortified by Larkan’s invisibility potions, they were undetectable to anything short of a dedicated sensor network.

“Kukuk’… blood calls to me,” Krodin rasped. “You lot are in my way. Get lost. I work alone.”

“Massacre. Massacre. Massacre!” one of the Pargal warriors chanted.

“Yes,” Krodin hissed, a cruel grin spreading across his face. “It is time for a massacre. Time to teach these fools the true meaning of terror, the terror of the King of Assassins!”

With that, Krodin melted into the shadows. As the King of Assassins, he would stalk the gorge alone, picking off their scouts one by one. The warriors of the Pargal Tribe would not be idle either. They readied their weapons and began selecting their own targets.

[Pargal Tribe Kentimos has cast Prey Detection.]

[Ranged soldiers have been discovered moving through the forest.]

A squadron of Lizardman scouts came into view, bows in hand, cautiously scanning their surroundings. They were perfect prey. Komelu, the tribe’s chieftain, scaled the trees ahead, positioning himself for the kill.

“Death!” he roared.

“Eternal rest!” another warrior cried.

“Screams of pain!” a third bellowed.

The moment the warriors’ eyes glowed crimson, the hunt began.

—

[The Lizardman reconnaissance unit has been annihilated.]

[The Human Hunter reconnaissance unit has been annihilated.]

[The Hawk Tribe Kukri reconnaissance unit has been annihilated.]

They had just passed the gorge’s midpoint when the video feeds began to flicker and die. The faction members stared in alarm at the few remaining screens.

“Where… where are you!”

“Over there? No, here?!”

The hobbit scouts in the forest were thrown into chaos by an unseen predator. They desperately used their skills to track its movements, but they couldn’t mount a proper counterattack. A moment later, the throat of the hobbit at the head of the formation was pierced through.

[A-rank Hobbit Nomer of the Hyuax Tribe has died.]

It was an instant kill. Nomer collapsed, and not a single piece of information about his killer appeared.

“An A-rank soldier, killed in one blow,” Seokwoo muttered. “It must be an assassin-type. But even then, a one-hit kill should be impossible.”

“It seems they’re using stealth,” a faction member suggested. “Should we deploy the radar detection network?”

“What are you waiting for?” Sohee snapped. “Deploy our rogue soldiers as well. We need to conserve the radar network if we can.”

Rogue soldiers who had reached the highest sub-rank also possessed stealth abilities. Deployed alongside their main forces, they stood a decent chance. To Seokwoo, however, using the radar seemed far more efficient. If Sohee hadn’t intervened, he would have activated it instantly to pierce their concealment. Left with no choice, he deployed the rogues with the other main units.

“Their numbers seem small. If we can just corner them, we can finish this quickly,” one member declared optimistically.

“Some of our main forces have skills to detect stealthed enemies. It won’t be a problem,” another added.

“An enemy with that level of stealth must be one of Balak’s greatest assets. Killing them here would be a massive victory.”

As the faction members watched, a guerrilla war erupted across the gorge. On one side, two thousand rogue, ambush, and reconnaissance soldiers. On the other, an estimated forty of Balak’s elite. The outcome seemed all but certain.

[A-rank Named Guardian, Ruler of Speed Senmus, has cast Piercing Sight.]

[Identifies invisible enemies for a limited time.]

[A-rank Named Guardian, Ruler of Speed Senmus, has cast Dual Acceleration.]

[Begins tracking the stealthed enemy.]

A deadly game of cat and mouse began between Senmus and the assassin. As the Ruler of Speed, Senmus was rumored to be the fastest guardian in the entire Secret Faction. He would not lose his prey, especially not an assassin focused purely on killing. Senmus closed the distance, his spear a blur as he lunged.

In that instant, the assassin before him vanished.

“Ah,” a voice whispered from behind him. “A pathetic worm like you is no match for me. Now, die.”

A blade plunged into his back. The assassin, having somehow teleported behind him, looked down with an expression of pure contempt.

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