『 The first legendary class! The first person to become a duke! The holder with the most medals in the National Competition! The master of the Overgeared Guild! The name of this brilliant person is Grid!! What’s the secret behind his level up that shot up forward 33 positions in the rankings? Are you curious? Do you want to know? Yes! I’ll tell you everything! In a while, Grid’s hunting video will be revealed on OGC Station! A live broadcast! You can watch it on TV, the Internet, or on the radio! Please use the OGC channel!! 』
OGC put a lot into this broadcast. They invested all their capital into advertising because they were certain it would be an unconditional success. As a result, OGC’s ads were repeatedly played in dozens of countries on the Internet, TV, newspapers, and magazines.
It was an excellent choice. The spread of the advertisements to the whole world was enormous. OGC’s Internet channel became congested with users and OGC quickly secured more advertising funds than they invested. OGC had a festive atmosphere.
"This is completely the best...! It’s way more than we expected!”
“It has no choice but to succeed. We have secured a number of viewers that is comparable to the National Competition.”
"One billion views will look funny in a few days.”
"Bunny Bunny’s private station has also gathered millions of people.”
“This is Grid’s influence! He really is God Grid!”
“Everyone is wondering where Grid is hunting and how he’s raising his level so quickly.”
“They dream of becoming a ranker by obtaining the secrets to levelling.”
“Okay! Let’s do our best for a perfect broadcast! This is an opportunity for OGC to secure the world!”
After a while. The live broadcast of Grid’s hunting began. The number of viewers continued to rise, while the number of users logged into Satisfy decreased. It was almost similar to the time of the National Competition.
This was Lauel’s intention.
***
“Move forward. Move forward. Move forward.”
Reidan’s army had Jude at its head. Their marching speed was very fast. They crossed the hot desert as if they were running. The soldiers felt like they were going to die. The hot sun shone down on them and the desert was sizzling. Armed with heavy armor and weapons, they didn’t rest and marched as if they were running.
It was hell. They couldn’t deal with the hardships. The field work under Piaro and Asmophel’s mental education wasn’t as hard as this.
“Pant... Pant! Th... Thirsty! Give me a break to drink water, please."
“Pant pant! Aren’t we going to die?”
“Hah... I see my dog that died last year in that haze over there... She’s calling me over...”
"Seeing an illusion of a dog, not a woman... This guy has never experienced love...”
The limit. The soldiers were covered in sweat and on the verge of collapsing. There were some who wanted to kill somebody, some who wanted to go home, and most of them had tears in their eyes.
‘An army that can’t maintain its rank has lost its role as an army.’
‘They still have stamina but morale has dropped to the worst.’
‘Unbelievable... In this state, there will be those who run away. The army will collapse before they even fight.’
'They’re also the elites of Reidan...!’
The eight young knights selected and trained by Piaro and Asmophel. They tried not to express it, but they were also tired. They followed Jude while looking at the soldiers and finally couldn’t bear it.
"Commander Jude, can I ask for the reason behind such a fast marching speed?”
“There is plenty of time before the arrival time that Earl Lauel specified. I don’t think we need to hurry. The soldiers’ morale has lowered and their stamina...”
Jude had been Grid’s knight for five years. It was rumored that Grid even specifically picked him. The ravaged Reidan that had turned into a desert. Grid was the great hero who saved their home, which had been abandoned. The young knights naturally envied Jude, who had been recognized by Grid for five years. They didn’t dare doubt Jude’s abilities. They believed in him and followed him.
But now they felt doubts. Jude’s way of commanding the army was too ignorant. It was illogical and inefficient. Maybe Jude was weak when it came to strategy?
Jude replied to the shaken young knights. He did it while moving forward.
"The meeting point. Quickly. Quickly. My Lord. He said it. Quickly.”
“...Hah.”
The battlefield where they would risk their lives was called a meeting place? The young knights were thrilled.
'For him, the battlefield is...’
'A place where he meets friends?’
‘Truly great...! This is the dignity of a veteran who has stood right beside the great hero...!’
“Heok?”
The young knights were suddenly astonished. For some reason, they thought the desert heated up even more and a sea of fire appeared in front of them.
“T-The desert is burning?”
"Heok! Stop! Stop!"
They didn’t know what was happening. The desert was burning and blocking the path to Patrian. It was impossible to jump into the fire with the precious soldiers. The young knights urgently ordered the soldiers to stop marching at once. But Jude continued to run. He didn’t shrink back from the raging fire and just advanced.
“What are you doing?”
“Please stop!”
The young knights tried to stop Jude. But it was too late. While they were taking care of the soldiers, Jude was already running into the flames.
“This is crazy...!”
Was he crazy? The moment that the young knights paled.
Swaaaah!
The flames swallowed up Jude faded away. A splendid oasis was present where the flames had been. It was clear blue water. The 3,000 soldiers of Reidan couldn’t close their mouths.
"The fire was an illusion...! Earl Ashur created a trap!”
"Commander Jude noticed it!”
“Amazing! Really amazing!”
Jude was soaking himself in the oasis. He plunged into the sea of fire only for it to be cool, making him smile.
“Water. Good. Clear. Jude. Thirsty. Drink.”
"Waaahhhhhhhh!"
The morale of Reidan’s troops pierced through the sky. Their weariness disappeared. The young knights were shocked by Jude.
‘He knew the resting point in advance? He’s thorough.’
'Earl Ashur was aware of Reidan’s rebellion and designed something to keep us in check.’
‘Commander Jude is in a different dimension from us. He truly is Duke Grid’s knight.’
At that moment, the young knights and 3,000 troops had complete trust in Jude. Jude obtained a new title.
[Trusted Commander]
The physical strength and defense of the troops he commanded would slightly increase, while the stamina consumption rate would decrease.
***
“Isn’t this amazing?”
"It truly is Sir Asmophel.”
"No wonder why he was called one of the pillars of the empire.”
At the rear of the 3,000 troops. The Overgeared members were escorting the supplies convoy and their speed was naturally slow. They were moving wagons and couldn’t keep up with the marching rate of the main army. The Overgeared members felt disbelief.
Asmophel was completely neglecting food transportation, one of the most important aspects. They suspected him of being an incompetent commander. However, these doubts disappeared after a while. The vibration and dust that occurred because of the 3,000 troops was huge. This disturbance was transmitted underground and suppressed the appearance of the giant worms.
‘He stopped the giant worms from showing up? It’s a strategy that fully understands and exploits the characteristics of the giant worms.’
‘Thanks to this, the rear of the army and the food supplies are perfectly safe.’
‘He lead the weary soldiers to an oasis and immediately gave them a break.’
‘He figured out the location of the oasis?’
Indeed, Lauel was great. He accurately identified Asmophel’s talents and boldly delegated 3,000 soldiers to him. The Overgeared members believed that the future was bright.
***
The fortified city, Patrian.
Earl Ashur perceived a mysterious atmosphere. Adventurers started to disappear from the streets and an unpleasant silence dominated the city. In addition, one of the traps he set up on the road between Reidan and Patrian had been destroyed.
“...Is Grid finally moving?”
It was natural for Grid to invade Patrian. Grid had killed Prince Ren who swung a blade at him. It was no different from announcing his hostility to the Eternal Kingdom. That's why Earl Ashur was well prepared. He thoroughly defended Patrian, the only route that Grid could use to advance to the north. The sea of fire was one of the defenses.
‘It was broken so easily... I can still stop him.’
Earl Ashur understood Grid’s strength very well. He had seen it for himself. But now the situation had changed. At that time, he had been careless when facing Grid. In addition, he was confused because of the swordsman who looked like a beggar. Now he had grasped Grid’s power. He was confident that he could beat Grid because he was fully prepared.
In the first place, a magician showed their overwhelming firepower in a war. In particular, the terrain was on their side. There was no chance that Patrian would be occupied.
‘There is one variable.’
The presence of his son Bland, who was taken as a hostage. The only remaining flesh of his wife.
‘Can I turn away from him?’
His family had served Eternal’s royal family for generations. From a cold point of view, it was right to chose the kingdom over family.
'My father, grandfather, and great grandfather would’ve all chosen the kingdom.’
Yes, he knew. It was possible to give birth to more children, but there was only one kingdom.
‘I know...’
His heart ached like it was torn. He hated his fate as a guardian that had been given to him since he was born. There was nothing more sad than having to turn away from the person he loved most in this world.
‘Bland... If this stupid father drives you to death, I will also die. Only after I smash Reidan!’
Earl Ashur stared out the window with hollow eyes. Then someone came up to him.
"I understand your sad heart.”
The man was covered by a robe. He was someone who had been staying in Patrian for a few months already. His identity? Earl Ashur didn’t know. The person was sent by King Aslan. Earl Ashur wasn’t feeling good and frowned at the robed man.
“Are you finally going to show off your skills?”
King Aslan said that this robed man was the ‘force’ that would defend Patrian against Duke Grid’s attack. In fact, Earl Ashur was aware that the robed man was someone great. But he wasn’t happy. He didn’t want a person with an unknown identity near him. The robed man faced Earl Ashur’s hostility and bowed respectfully.
“I will definitely rescue your son. Believe in me.”
“...?”
The robed man who made the ridiculous declaration. As he bent forward, his robe moved to reveal a blade that was strangely split into a Y character. It was the sword that had killed Prince Ren on a cold desert night last year. It was the emergence of the Solo Number Knight who defeated the Great Swordsman Chucksley.