Chapter 181

A vast space enclosed by a giant barrier. As the expedition team arrived there, they could understand why attacks had been pouring in from the beginning of the game.

"Ah...."

"We could see everything from the outside."

Inside the barrier, several pig-faced creatureswere summoned, moving around chaotically.

Their appearance resembled the random matching that Seong Jihan experienced when he first played on the chaotic battlefield.

While inside, they were unaware of what was happening outside, simply marveling that they had been assigned to a new game.

But the race already participating in the battlefield could see those enemies and prepare to attack in advance.

'The difference between rehearsal and the official map is evident here.'

In the official games of Space League, all races start simultaneously when the game proceeds officially. Since the rehearsal map had different rules for the expulsion and entry of races, such differences seemed to arise.

"Seong Jihan, what do you plan to do?"

Seong Jihan carefully observed inside the barrier in response to the question.

Orcs numbering close to 500.

They seemed to be the lowest-ranking race, treated with only 1 point, similar to humans.

"It looks like the barrier will open soon, so let's wait."

"Yes!"

Although told to wait, the expedition's main team could only maintain a defensive stance.

But it was different for Seong Jihan, who was the damage dealer.

'I have time to prepare properly.'

Glug!

In front of the enemy's barrier, Seong Jihan inserted the Shadow Sword Eclipse.

Swish swish...

Then, the shadows seeped into the ground, spreading widely and completely surrounding the area around the barrier.

[With this coverage, powerful attacks may not be possible.]

"It's okay. I'll handle the central area, so just take care of the scattered enemies."

[Understood.]

Eclipse was installed to deal with fleeing enemies. The main attack would come from above in the sky.

"Summon Lightning Cloud."

Riding the cloud, he ascended into the sky.

'We're not the only ones here.'

In addition to humans, Seong Jihan could see two races approaching the barrier from afar.

Apparently, attacking newly summoned races was the easiest way to inflict damage.

'They all look like bugs.'

One of the incoming races was a swarm of winged gargoyles, while the other was a giant ants, each exceeding 10 meters in size.

-What, are these bug-like creatures also races?

-Do we fight against such beings in the Space League…?

-It seems that the only races similar to humans inside the barrier are orc-like ones.

Viewers who caught sight of the enemies in Seong Jihan's gaze realized that various races had participated in the rehearsal.

When the Space League opens, we'll be fighting guys like them too.

-Ah, fighting against bugs is so annoying.

-For real, why are they so bigㅡ

-The orcs are angels compared to them....

While viewers fully expressed their disgust towards the insect race,

While viewers openly expressed their disgust towards insect races, Seong Jihan, who had already played Space League once, calmly assessed the enemy's numbers without much enthusiasm.

'The swarm gargoyle race, around 150 in number. They don't seem to be a particularly strong race.'

It wasn't clear what level they started with, but if they were still around 150, it meant the race itself wasn't that powerful.

'Gotta wipe out all the approaching ones.'

Seong Jihan was determined to earn a massive amount of points here.

"Lighting cloud, spread out here."

The Lightning cloud, which had been a flying vehicle so far, could also become an excellent attacking tool.

In the sky above the barrier, the widely spread Lighting cloud received Seong Jihan's power and prepared to pour down lightning.

'That takes care of that.'

With the Lightning cloud's attack preparations finished, Seong Jihan faced the approaching gargoyle race and kicked off.

[Kee! Enemy numbers over 400! Lowest-ranked race!]

[Two preys at once!]

[Let's hunt before the giant arrives!]

The gargoyle race enthusiastically flew in after determining the humans' low numbers and lowest rank race status through the BattleNet translator.

Upon seeing the number of humans, they quickly determined them as the lowest-ranking race and energetically flew towards Seong Jihan.

Despite their broad spread, they aimed to crash into the humans all at once.

[One of them is approaching!]

[The speed is... no wings either...!]

[Deal with that one first!]

While they hastily prepared to deal with the rapidly approaching Seong Jihan, they couldn't prevent his spear from moving horizontally in the distance.

Nameless Divine Art, Triad of Martial Mastery – Total Annihilation

Swish!

The gargoyles were split in half in an instant. Despite being spread widely in the sky, dozens of individuals fell to the ground, torn apart..

And through the gap created, the flames of a phoenix burned everything, leaving no remains even of the corpses.

The enemies were shocked.

[What… what's this?]

[Their exoskeletons split instantly…?]

[Scatter, scatter!]

They were planning to spread widely and avoid attacks, but Seong Jihan realized that these creatures could be easily dealt with using basic attacks.

Once Seong Jihan assessed the enemy's level with just one attack, he jumped straight into the fray.

The Phoenix Flag, slashing horizontally for the seventh time.

With each movement of the spear, more than ten enemies were incinerated.

[What is this, why is there such a monster here?]

[There's not even 20 percent of the numbers left!]

[Wasn't this supposed to be a map only for Platinum participants?!]

The enemy's reactions vividly transmitted through the BattleNet translation device were very similar to those of Earth's players facing Seong Jihan.

-Lol the alien races are no different huh?

-Just like Japanese, even they falls with a single blow

-You Koreans... were keeping this joy to yourselves.

-Let's share the good stuff, alright?

-I hated him the most during international matches but he's the most reliable here....

The viewers from not only Korea but also the countries of the Northeast Asia League, who had suffered from Seong Jihan's usual mass slaughter antics, were also enjoying the spectacle. Despite being the most annoying opponent in national competitions, Seong Jihan, as the representative player of Earth, was a reliable force.

[Retreat...!]

As the swarm race swiftly retreated, the next target was the giant ants. Seong Jihan immediately changed direction and flew towards the approaching giant ants.

"Be careful of the ground!"

"Create a barrier on the ground. The ants are digging!"

"Uh, what is this? Tentacles?"

"Save meee!"

The attack of the giant ants turned the human forces into chaos. Nevertheless, with a combination of warriors and supporters, they managed to withstand the attacks from the underground enemies quite well.

'Since their numbers are small, they should be stronger.'

Around 40 giant ants were seen. Seong Jihan infused more energy into the Eclipse, which was embedded in the ground.

Nameless Divine Arts, Dark Shadow Technique – Dark Soul Vortex

Swooosh…

Shadows permeated the earth, and the color of the ground turned completely dark. From there, a deep shadowy aura intensified.

"Oh..."

"The enemy's offense has stopped...."

The movements of the giant ants, which had been vigorously attacking the human forces from the ground, simultaneously came to a halt.

Shuuuuu…

The shadowy aura that had stained the ground rose into the sky, forming ten black pillars in an instant. Within each pillar, a giant ant was trapped, unable to even struggle.

[Crunch… Crunch… for a diamond to come here....]

[This is Beyond diamond!]

[NO.4212… Do not approach them…]

[They violated the rules of the game. We should protest to the Battle Net…!]

The giant ant, leaving a warning not to approach humans, disappeared. In an instant, ten entities were annihilated.

Kururur…

The giant ants that had been rushing towards humanity withdrew along the same path they had come.

[Mas… Master. Was your power at this level? When did you advance so much?]

"This is just it. I used Dark Shadow technique after a long time, and it unfolded below my expectations."

[…This is below your expectations?]

Seong Jihan expressed regret that the Dark Soul Vortex didn't work as well as he hoped compared to his Martial Soul. Ariel found this incomprehensible.

As the attack of the ants concluded, a giant was spotted approaching from the west, the same one that had retreated when the barrier opened.

"Ah, there's that giant from earlier…!"

Thud! Thud!

[It's those guys from before.]

[Retreat.]

Seeing the human expedition team, or more precisely, Seong Jihan. He quickly retraced his steps.

"The giant is... leaving...."

-Lol, that big giant is running away.

-This is… the might of humanity…

-Humanity??Seong Jihan handled it all alone lol

-Entering the chaotic battlefield, he defeated three races right away

-He's like a one-man army, just like on Earth.

Perhaps because the map was limited to Platinum participants, there was no race that could withstand Seong Jihan's overwhelming power.

"Oh, the barrier is opening!"

At that moment, the barrier opened.

[So this is the rehearsal map!]

[Kruk, kruk! Orcs, let's dominate this battlefield!]

The pig-faced Orc race, number 500, came out from the barrier vigorously but

"Lighting cloud, begin."

Tziziiziz...!

Lightning rained down from the Lightning cloud already spread wide in the sky.

[How easy. Yes, this is the level of the lowest-ranking race.]

As the Eclipse raised shadow swords from the ground to slice the Orc' necks.

[What, what was that...?]

[Attacking as soon as the game started, this is cheating...!]

The enemy race collapsed instantly.

"Looking at this, it reminds me of when humanity first played rehearsal."

"Back then we got hit with Dragon Breaths at the start too and were confused as well."

"Wow, the points are accumulating quickly… We've already surpassed 1,000."

"7th place? We might be able to break through this time!"

Including Orcs, they had already encountered four races, but relying solely on Seong Jihan, the human expedition easily defeated them all. If things continued like this, aiming for 10,000 points didn't seem impossible. Most people were delighted with this situation, but there were those who couldn't smile.

* * *

"Cap, Captain. Could this be, are we finishing today?"

"Uhm, umm...."

The Platinum warriors formerly of the People's guild 2nd Division looked at each other.

The way the game was progressing seemed too smooth, whether it was dealing with giants or repelling giant ants.

'Seong Jihan really is insane.'

'No way, he's a Platinum player....'

'It doesn't make sense.'

From defeating giants, ants, and even Orcs, Seong Jihan seemed inhuman. If they continued like this, clearing the game seemed possible.

The People's guild warriors thought.

'…Stats points are tempting, but we have to follow orders from above.'

The People's guild was not a simple guild.

It was an organization representing China, established and led by the country.

They could not defy orders from there.

'440 people are remaining....'

The People's guild captain checked the number of people.

Despite the expectations of many deaths due to the ant attack, Seong Jihan's response was so quick that there were still a considerable number of survivors.

'We have about 50 people on our side. Even if we withdraw, we can maintain about 10% of our strength.'

Maintaining 10% was crucial; falling below that would result in elimination from the game. Strangely, the remaining force seemed quite solid. If this continued, the game would end just like that.

"Um... should we just commit suicide now?"

"No, wait. That would be too obvious!"

"But if the game ends like this, won't we be kicked out of the guild?"

"Not necessarily. Wait for an opportunity. We've only earned about 1,000 points!"

'Oh-ho'

The Chinese warriors whispered to each other in hushed tones, trying not to be heard. However, Seong Jihan, who had expanded his senses to their maximum to detect the enemy's position in the Chaos Battlefield, could hear them from above.

'I never expected the People's guild to back out so easily in the first place. So that was their intention.'

The Earth's representatives deliberately ruining their team in a Space League game?

'These guys... can be helpful.'

Seong Jihan smiled.

The game was progressing far too easily with defensive personnel.

I wondered if we might clear 10,000 points before exploration ended, but....

'I'll have to make good use of them.'

Seong Jihan decided to prepare a flamboyant place for them to die.