Chapter 72: Trampling of Pride

The soldiers of the kingdom were already hounding the earthen walls Hazel had made. They stood right outside, screaming demands like they owned the place.

Inside, Khamish, Patricia, and Therese moved to distribute weapons to everyone—copies of the Tree Knight’s sword.

Thanks to their repeated runs, they had more than enough to arm their thousand-strong army, once Patricia finished duplicating a mountain-sized stack of them.

Therese, using her skill, guided each sword to its owner, one for every player.

Everyone armed and ready for the fight ahead.

Defenses? Raive didn’t care about those. Offensive strength was all that mattered.

"Alright, everyone!"

Raive raised his voice once everyone had a Tree Knight’s sword in hand.

"We’re taking down the walls now! Remember your job! Don’t kill them—just cut off their arms!"

This was step one of the plan.

They needed to neutralize the soldiers blocking their path without killing them. Kill, and you die too, after all.

So cutting off both arms was the safest way to strip their threat to nothing.

Not that any weapon could cut through a limb so easily. Only a blade from a red dungeon, hard and sharp as steel, could pull that off.

The Tree Knight’s sword was practically their ticket to an easy life.

"Here goes..."

With Hazel’s word as the signal, everyone braced for battle.

The moment the walls came down, Shymine moved first.

"Permafrost..."

A casual wave of her hand, and the ground froze solid. The soldiers found their legs locked in place, instantly.

"W-What’s this?!"

"Help... My legs...!"

"Fuck! Move...!"

Their panic scattered in every direction, blinding them to the real threat.

"ORAAAA!"

The regular players surged forward, swinging their swords with care.

On average, these players had consumed only 5 to 10 stat-up candies—not much power, but useful all the same.

Raive wasn’t going to waste them.

Within seconds, arms and spears flew through the air along with sprays of blood. Screams echoed on and on as the soldiers were neutralized one after another.

"Good!"

By then, Raive already stood past the wall of fallen soldiers, smiling.

"Next, follow me! We’re handling the stuck-up king and his useless nobles!"

He said it, but he didn’t wait for the regular players to catch up. He just matched pace with Hazel and the rest, running at a steady clip.

"STOP!"

"INTRUDERS!"

"DON’T LET THEM IN!"

At the castle gates, the guards blocked their way. Though—

"You’re in the way." Shymine whispered, waving her hand.

A cold gust swept over the soldiers, freezing them solid from the neck down. They couldn’t even react before they became ice statues.

They might die of hypothermia left like that, but that wasn’t Shymine’s problem. Raive and the rest just marched past like they owned the place.

Every soldier they crossed paths with was silenced and neutralized in seconds.

They reached the throne room unchallenged.

"...Stop."

But before entering, Raive signaled for everyone to halt.

Because—

"Those five... are in there."

They’d managed to slip past his detection before. Now their presence was unmistakable. The five extraordinary soldiers who’d captured Hazel, Shymine, and the others in the first loop.

"I’m going in alone." Raive said, pushing the door open. "Don’t come in until I call for you."

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the others.

But against enemies this strong, going in alone meant a cleaner finish.

Raive stepped through and shut the door behind him.

The familiar throne room greeted him. The king sat above, looking down with arrogant eyes. The nobles laughed among themselves, like they’d spotted some country bumpkin making a fool of himself.

But this time, the laughter wouldn’t be theirs for long.

"Ignorant, fearless boy," the king said, without a hint of fear. "Are you aware you’ve walked somewhere you shouldn’t have?"

"I am."

Raive didn’t falter for a second.

Even under the weight of everyone’s judging stares, he stood tall, sweeping the room with a sharp gaze.

"But I don’t think you understand what my being here means, you foolish king."

He raised his sword once, and the air in the room shuddered. That was signal enough for everyone present to realize the danger they were in.

"Foolish child, stop right there."

"To think you’d draw your sword in the king’s presence..."

"What good is boasting when your power’s this weak? Let me show you real strength!"

Just as he’d expected, once his intent to fight was clear, the five powerful knights stepped forward immediately. The weaker ones fell back to shield the nobles and the king, weapons raised defensively.

"Just you five?"

Seeing it all unfold exactly to plan, Raive couldn’t help but laugh.

"If you want to beat me, you’d need a hundred times your current numbers...!"

The fight began in a flash.

The five knights moved as one, breathing together, swords, spears, and shields swinging in perfect sync. Raive watched them close in without blinking.

Their coordination was impressive, but—

"You’re full of openings!"

Whether it was his higher stats or the fact that they underestimated him, Raive spotted opening after opening in their offense.

Too many to ignore.

Not answering them would’ve felt like an insult to his own skill.

One swing of his sword, and the greatsword-wielding knight’s arms came clean off. Blood sprayed like rain across the red carpet.

As if avenging him, the spearman thrust his weapon straight at Raive. Raive didn’t bother dodging. He caught the spear, yanked it forward, and drove a straight punch into the man’s face.

Bone crunched as his nose, then the rest of his face, caved in.

"Khille! Arthian!!!"

Another one, wielding sword and shield, looking like the group’s leader, screamed their names in shock and rage. Then he turned on Raive, swinging his sword with everything he had.

A fast, angled slash, nearly impossible to dodge.

Raive just stepped forward, and the blade couldn’t so much as scratch him. That result stunned not only the leader but the two remaining knights closing in behind him.

"Like I said," Raive sighed, raising his sword overhead and bringing it down in a clean arc. "You’re all too slow!"

One slash, and the leader’s right arm dropped to the floor.

"A-AAAAGH!"

He screamed, clutching the stump where his elbow used to be, staring at Raive like he was staring down death itself. Raive’s blue eyes stayed sharp, but held no killing intent.

Just cold.

Colder than the darkest night.

SWOOSH!

Two more swings finished it.

The last two knights lost their limbs and hit the ground, helpless, bleeding heavily.

"Alright," Raive sighed, sheathing his sword and raising his voice.

"Everyone, you can come in now."

The main event was just getting started...