Level Up Machine

Chapter 136 Siege of Leopold (1)

A week had passed.

The Abaddon Guild, which had attacked the Elnote Kingdom, had brought in the army of the Ixis Kingdom to completely seize Leopold, the capital of Elnote.

Kim Jae-hyun, the master of the Abaddon Guild, suggested to the remaining Elnote Kingdom soldiers in the capital that they join him.

No, to be exact, it would be more accurate to say he threatened them.

Naturally, the Elnote Kingdom army fiercely resisted his proposal and drew their swords for Luan’s revenge.

The result was disastrous.

The high-level summoners of the Abaddon Guild and Kim Jae-hyun laughed as if they were amused by the defiant Elnote Kingdom soldiers.

They slaughtered the kingdom’s soldiers cruelly, as if they were playing a game.

Having already lost their high-level forces, including the Andras Knights and the Royal Guard, the kingdom’s soldiers were unable to resist the overwhelming power of the Abaddon Guild.

Though their loyalty to Luan was exceptional, the kingdom’s soldiers could not withstand the indiscriminate massacre indefinitely.

The surviving soldiers, trembling with fear, had no choice but to join their army to survive.

“Hmm. It looks like we’re about ready.”

Kim Jae-hyun stood atop the 20-meter-high walls of Leopold, the capital of the Elnote Kingdom, smiling broadly as he looked at the assembled troops.

The Abaddon Alliance, a mix of the Ixis Kingdom army, the Elnote Kingdom army, and the Abaddon Guild, exuded an overwhelming aura.

The source of their intense momentum was ‘fear.’

Fear of Kim Jae-hyun.

Fear of his bizarre abilities.

This fear drove them to the edge.

With the single thought of not wanting to die by Kim Jae-hyun’s hand, they displayed an overwhelming momentum, trained to perfection like an elite force.

It was natural for them to think this way.

Anyone who witnessed Kim Jae-hyun’s abilities couldn’t help but feel a sense of revulsion and think, ‘I don’t want to die like that.’

“Guild Master, the Ha-nul Guild and Leviathan Guild have made their move.”

A large man in pitch-black armor approached Kim Jae-hyun.

It was Lee Doo-young, one of the high-ranking executives of the Abaddon Guild.

Despite being a strong ranker, Lee Doo-young looked at Kim Jae-hyun with a rigid expression.

No matter how strong a ranker was, they couldn’t help but feel instinctive fear in front of the demon that was Kim Jae-hyun.

Upon hearing Lee Doo-young’s words, Kim Jae-hyun twisted his lips into a grin.

“Good. Just as I thought, they’re coming together.”

He nodded continuously, seeming pleased that things were going as he had planned.

“Are you sure about this, Guild Master?”

“Huh? About what?”

Kim Jae-hyun asked, still smiling broadly and feigning innocence.

“The Ha-nul Guild and Leviathan Guild have joined forces. No matter how strong you are, Guild Master…”

“Hahaha! Do you really think we’re going to lose?”

Kim Jae-hyun asked in a mocking tone. Lee Doo-young shivered slightly as he replied.

“I-I didn’t mean that. I know very well how powerful you are, Guild Master. Besides, we’re defending, but… still, the difference in the quality of troops will be immense.”

The Abaddon Guild had brought in a massive number of soldiers from the armies of the two kingdoms.

But they were nothing more than scarecrows with sheer numbers.

Although the soldiers’ morale was quite high due to their fear of Kim Jae-hyun, it was only a temporary phenomenon caused by fear.

If a real life-or-death battle broke out, the kingdom’s soldiers, whose loyalty to Kim Jae-hyun was nearly nonexistent, could turn on them at any moment.

“Hmm. That’s true. But even if the Leviathan and Ha-nul Guilds combine their forces, they have about three thousand soldiers? With those numbers, we can simply crush them with our sheer size, so it doesn’t matter.”

The Abaddon Alliance, composed of the Ixis Kingdom army and the forcibly conscripted Elnote Kingdom army, had a force of thirty thousand soldiers.

Although there was an overwhelming difference in average levels, a tenfold difference in numbers made it a fight worth considering.

“But there’s also the possibility that they might have requested help from other guilds…”

“I’ve already contacted the Six Great Guilds. If they join this war, they should be prepared for their guilds to be annihilated.”

He continued with a sly smile.

As long as forces greater than the Six Great Guilds did not join, the Abaddon Alliance had the advantage in terms of power.

“And even if other guilds decide to cooperate, it doesn’t matter. We have a hidden weapon on our side.”

Kim Jae-hyun spoke with a voice full of confidence.

“Are you talking about… Lucia?”

Lee Doo-young asked, thinking of a peerless beauty with violet hair.

Kim Jae-hyun burst into laughter and nodded.

“With her, we can ruthlessly crush any significant variables.”

Lee Doo-young clamped his mouth shut at Kim Jae-hyun’s confident words.

Although his words sounded somewhat arrogant, it was an undeniable fact.

No matter how strong an individual was, the course of a war didn’t change easily.

Even powerful rankers like Kang Ha-rin of the White Sword Guild or Leviathan Park Si-a couldn’t overcome an overwhelming difference in numbers.

Humans, who had the concept of fatigue, had limits in fending off ten foes with one hand.

The only ones who could somewhat escape such absolute constraints were summoners like Kim Jae-hyun.

No, even Kim Jae-hyun couldn’t overcome an overwhelming numerical difference alone.

But she was different.

‘She’s… a monster.’

Lee Doo-young recalled the recent assault on Elnote Kingdom.

She single-handedly slaughtered the entire Andras Knights and the Royal Guard.

Despite being natives, she wiped out a powerful group composed of at least level 80 members without a scratch.

No, it was questionable to describe it with the clumsy phrase “without a scratch.”

She literally wiped out the kingdom’s elite in the blink of an eye.

They didn’t even know how they died, as they were beheaded in a single blow.

‘If only we have her…’

Thinking about Lucia’s terrifying power sent a thrilling shiver through Lee Doo-young’s body.

She had already surpassed the concept of an ‘individual’ and could be considered a tactical weapon.

‘Well… if it weren’t for her, the Guild Master wouldn’t have started this reckless war.’

Kim Jae-hyun was not a mere fool blinded by greed.

He had a greedy and cruel personality, but he was also a man who knew how to suppress his desires and wait to achieve his goals.

If he hadn’t, the Abaddon Guild wouldn’t have become one of the top three guilds.

In the early days of rapidly expanding the guild, Kim Jae-hyun engaged in illegal activities.

From human trafficking to drug distribution, prostitution, and gambling, there were very few areas he hadn’t touched.

However, as soon as the guild gained some fame, he immediately withdrew from illegal activities.

He knew that continuing to grow the guild through illegal profits would lead to self-destruction sooner or later.

He was a person who could restrain immediate desires for greater ambitions.

The only reason Kim Jae-hyun chose the reckless option of facing Ha-nul and Leviathan at the same time was because of one thing.

Lucia, known as one of the Eight Heroes of the past.

She was a powerful being who could overwhelm even Kim Jae-hyun, the strongest in the East, as if handling a child.

Literally a cheat code.

She was like a cheat code used in single-player games.

‘If the Guild Master couldn’t control Lucia with that strange rod…’

The horrible thought made Lee Doo-young’s body tremble.

Lucia harbored immense resentment toward Kim Jae-hyun.

Just being around her was enough to make one’s legs give out under the pressure of her murderous intent.

It wasn’t hard to imagine her pointing her sword at the Abaddon Guild.

Annihilation.

In front of Lucia’s power, it was not an exaggeration to say Kim Jae-hyun was insignificant.

She had that much power.

“…I understand what you mean.”

The Ha-nul Guild and the Leviathan Guild would organize their forces solely to check Kim Jae-hyun.

What if Lucia suddenly appeared in such a situation?

It wasn’t hard to imagine the outcome.

“Well, it’s hard to use her right away, so we’ll have to delay a bit.”

No matter how powerful Lucia was, she couldn’t defeat thousands of summoners alone.

Of course, she could kill most of them by herself.

If she conducted hit-and-run tactics, she might be able to handle thousands of troops alone.

But it would be impossible for her to selectively kill the leaders of each guild.

They would all flee before that could happen.

To draw the leaders to him and wipe them out in one fell swoop, the Abaddon Guild needed to ‘lose’ the war.

“As long as we kill all the leaders, the rest will be nothing but a disorganized rabble.”

As he said, it was a war they couldn’t lose unless something extraordinary happened.

It was like fighting a battle with victory already guaranteed.

“If we can just kill that bitch Park Si-a and the Han-ul brothers this time, the East will practically be ours.”

Kim Jae-hyun shuddered with excitement at the mere thought.

Without Han-ul and Leviathan, there was no guild in the East that could stop Abaddon.

‘And once I expand my power, I’ll take over the South too.’

His eyes burned with intense greed.

The danger posed by monsters on the continent was of no concern to him.

What mattered to him was the immense power that would have everyone kneeling at his feet!

And the dizzying pleasure that came with that power!

That was all that was important to him.

Working together to fight the massive threat of monsters?

Such dreamlike tales only existed in fairy tales.

Even looking at the actual history of Earth, it was easy to see how close to impossible cooperation was.

Even when the Mongol Empire was nearly massacring and conquering neighboring countries, the nations pursued their own ambitions instead of cooperating.

Even when the very existence of their nations was at stake.

‘Well, I’m not dumb enough to just sit around like those fools.’

After unifying the East and South, he intended to deal with the monster threat as well.

Unification by an absolute ruler.

The most ideal method where cooperation wasn’t needed.

-Puuu!

“An army is advancing towards Leopold in the front!”

“They’re finally arriving.”

At the sound of the trumpet signaling the enemy’s approach, the smile on Kim Jae-hyun’s lips deepened.

He chuckled as he looked at the thousands of summoners visible in the distance.

“Today is the day the East falls into my hands.”

He licked his lips with a confident expression.

At that moment, he couldn’t have imagined it.

That among those masses was a being that did not fall under the ‘extraordinary circumstances’ he spoke of.