The morale of the Rhine Kingdom’s 5th Legion had hit rock bottom. It was all due to the reckless advance on the first day that had led them to being surrounded, unable to break out of their position.

Woohyuk instructed Gaius to gather the punitive expedition together and entrust them with different tasks to bolster their defenses.

According to the scout’s report, the monster’s army had already arrived before them, so a direct confrontation was no longer possible.

As he was overlooking the fortress in preparation for the upcoming battle, he received a message from Leifina.

[Monsters are invading the Guard camp.]

[How many?]

[About three thousand.]

They had left only 500 Guards to defend the camp. It would be difficult for them to hold on for an extended period of time. Even if they fought their hearts out it wouldn’t be long before they were defeated.

Woohyuk quickly summoned Aris and Irene to his side.

“You two go help out Leifina.”

“Yes!”

“....”

The Guard camp wouldn’t fall so easily because it was a well fortified military base.

As the two women disappeared, he spotted the monster army approaching in the distance.

Vast numbers such that they were surrounded on all sides.

Woohyuk looked down at the enemy from his position up on the watchtower.

‘Is that guy the boss?’

There was a huge Elder Troll that appeared to be leading the horde, escorted by Wild Ogres.

He was almost certain of his guess based on its size and well as its equipment that looked superior to its fellow monsters.

He considered sending some magic spells his way, but hesitated at the last minute. Trolls were a race that had an inherently absurd level of regeneration.

“I’ll have to wait until it approaches.”

Woohyuk placed the troops at their encampment’s entrance. They had a decently defensible position, having set themselves up on a hill, as well as digging a moat and building a rough wooden palisade.

It shouldn’t be a problem to defend this place for quite some time, so long as their supplies held up.

Shooshooshoo!

As the Orc rushed to cross the moat, the archers wielding longbows set up along the wall let loose their arrows.

Upon seeing this, the Elder Troll gave out new instructions, having them attack the encampment with a catapult.

Quuuang!

A large rock rained down from the sky, crushing a few soldiers upon impact.

“Aggh!”

“Help!”

The cries of the wounded rang in the air.

‘Looks like we will need to deal with that soon.’

Since they had no siege engines of their own, it was hard for them to retaliate.

Looking around to make sure he was unnoticed, Woohyuk secretly summoned the countless undead he had been collecting, assembling them on the other side of the moat.

A total force of 1,200 undead.

It was a mix of different types. From flying units like Gargoyles and Griffins, to Cavalry and even Mages.

“What are those?”

“They look like undead….”

The soldiers stared with wide eyes. It never crossed their minds that Woohyuk might be a Necromancer.

[Exterminate those monsters before you.]

Upon hearing Woohyuk’s order, the undead commanders led their troop in an assault against the enemy.

At first glance, it seemed like quite the reckless plan. However due to Isaac’s Death Templar ability that would summon his victims as Dark Knights, their numbers didn’t suffer too much.

His Leadership Stats had also increased, and he was now able to command 500 undead.

Whuiaaaak!

Every time that Isaac struck with Darkness Slash, a black wave flew out from his sword, felling any monsters before him.

He was mainly targeting the Ogres and Trolls, which due to their large size, were difficult opponents for most of the undead soldiers.

“Grrrr”

In response to this sudden counter attack, The Elder Troll ground its teeth and redeployed the army. Roughly half were sent to deal with the undead’s assault, while the other have pressed on to capture the encampment.

They had to cross the moat in order to take the camp, but they had come prepared.

Kuuung!

Large trees that had been recently uprooted were carried by Trolls, placed down as logs to create a makeshift bridge.

This allowed the smaller Orcs to make their way across.

ShuShuuShu!

Arrows continued to rain down upon them, put the Orcs pressed on fearlessly. This was because the Elder Troll had used a Battlecry to boost their morale.

Hwarrrk!

As the Orcs crossing the wooden bridge neared the camp’s entrance, a flame barrier blocked their path.

Yoo Kayoung had cast her Firewall.

Also, Undine summoned a dark cloud to rain above the wooden bridge. The rain made the wooden surface quite slippery, resulting in many Orcs falling down into the deep moat.

“Kahak!”

“Krrrrr”

Screams filled with pain resonated in the air.

Seeing that they weren’t making any progress in capturing the encampment, the Elder Troll attempted to call a retreat, in order to first wipe out the undead army.

Just as he was about to give the order.

“Kyaaaah!”

A squadron of Gargoyle and Griffons appeared from the sky, performing a vicious ambush. They were being led by the undead Lee Shinwoo, who as a Dark Shaman, could fight from atop a flying mount.

Hwuiiiic

The Ogres nearby swung their fists to knock them out of the sky, but the airborne undead were unharmed due to the corpse strengthening skill they had been buffed with.

As the Elder Troll continued to take damage, it began to fear for its life and began to retreat.

Just then, a dark blue wave appeared and hit it’s ankle.

[Bondages of Death]

A curse spell that reduced the opponent’s movement speed by 20%, for a duration of 10 seconds.

“Hyaaah!”

As Lee Shinwoo gave him the signal, Isaac spurred his horse forward by forward as he charged over with his Dark Knights.

Dudududu!

The plateau shook as if an earthquake had struck.

“Chuiic!

“Krawraw!

The surrounding Ogres and Troll did their best to escort the Elder Troll to safety. However, as soon as Isaac and James struck with their Darkness Slash, they quickly collapsed.

Eventually they had closed the distance with the group escorting the Elder Troll, and James lifted his longsword, casting Oathbreakers’s Curse.

A skill technique that targeted a party’s unity, causing you to betray your own allies. Although it didn’t cause any direct damage, its impact was enormous.

Monsters turned around to attack their colleagues nearby, sending the enemy group into complete chaos.

As victory was within their grasp, James headed straight for the Elder Troll. It wasn’t able to run away, because its escape route was being cut off by Dark Arrows sent by Lee Shinwoo.

Kalang!

His longsword surrounded by a dark aura, clashed with the opponent’s staff that was bathed in flames.

Although the Elder Troll had a magic class, it had a superior physique. Still, when it came to a close quarter combat, James that had previously been the Captain of the Imperial Guards, held the advantage.

Seizing an opportunity, he managed to plunge his longsword deep into the Elder Troll’s flank.

As he shook from the injury, Lee Shinwoo shot another Dark Arrow from atop his Griffon.

He aimed at its ankle which was undefended from its magic shield.

“Grrrrr”

The wounded Elder Troll roared as it dropped to its knees, demonstrating its unwillingness to admit its defeat.

It tried to cast a Fireball, but James’ longsword was faster, and didn’t give it the opportunity.

Suguk

Following a dark flash, its head was sent flying through the air. Jame’s longsword was enchanted with the power of darkness, giving it a superior sharpness. So much so that it was capable of cutting through the Troll’s tough muscles with a single strike.

“Chuiic?”

“Kraw?”

Seeing their boss be beheaded, the monster horde lost their will to fight, and fled in chaos.

Watching them flee, Woohyuk opened the gate and had the 5th Legion give chase.

“Don’t let a single one of them live.”

It was a good chance to cull the numbers of these monsters that caused problems every year.

Of course it wasn’t like he thought that this one victory meant that they would manage to exterminate all the monsters, but at the very least they wouldn’t have to worry about them for the next little while.

Woohyuk unsummoned his undead, and then gave chase along with the rest of the 5th Legion.

* * *

After a month of hunting, the Corcas Mountains Punitive Expedition had finally ended in success.

Upon exploring the network of tunnels they had discovered on the first day, they were able to wipe out several monster nests as the 5th Legion and Northeast Guards made short work of them.

Unlike previously, merit was properly assigned. Any commanders that tried to falsify reports were severely punished, and mercenaries weren’t discriminated against in this regard. The same went for any embezzlement of military supplies. The roots of such an absurd long standing practice were completely stamped out.

Although the expedition had come to a close, the mystery about the undead army and demons continued to be a hot topic among the soldiers. They simply couldn’t understand where they had come from.

It was all due to the fact that Woohyuk had properly hid his identity and skills the whole time.

“Where will you be headed to next?”

Aiden asked Woohyuk who was about to mount his golden maned swift horse.

Their Guard camp was currently busy with cleaning out any internal issues, and although he wanted to hold on to Woohyuk’s party for as long as possible, he didn’t have any justification to do so.

“Ionian Plains.”

“It’s a rich area. The harvest this year is bound to be plentiful as well since there won’t be many monsters invading.”

“That may be the case.”

Woohyuk agreed with a nod.

His eyes however gave off an unusual sharpness.

‘It’s right about the time they make a move.”

He didn’t know all the details, but many Clans had joined hands with the nobles in order to rebel against the Rhine Kingdom royalty.

His next goal was to put an end to their ambition. In order to avoid any disruption to his future plans, he needed to eliminate any unwanted competitors.

‘It was also said that they had the key to Medusa’s Temple.’

A hidden treasure within the Royal Palace. Before returning, he learned from his information network the palace held the key and map of Medusa’s Temple.

It was a place that held one of his much needed materials to craft the Seven Colored Rainbow Ring.

In order to get his hands on it, he would first have to assume control of the Rhine Kingdom.

Aside from the Arachne’s Curse, the other materials wouldn’t be discovered for quite some time, so he could afford to spend some time here.

“I happen to know Count Huntington personally. I’ll write you a recommendation letter which should allow to obtain a decent position.”

Count Huntington came from Hayswick, which was where Aiden originated from as well. With his help, things would go a lot smoother.

Woohyuk looked at Aiden in surprise.

“Are you close with the Count?”

“I once saved his life on the battlefield.”

Count Huntington was well known for his good faith, so he was sure to take good care of one who was sent by a person to whom he owed his life.

As he waited for Aiden to draft the recommendation letter, Tenon came over to talk.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“In the Corcas Mountain ruins… what kind of treasure did you find?”

Tenon had been interested in Historical Sites since he’d been a small boy. That’s why he couldn’t help but be curious as to what Woohyuk had obtained.

“Nothing special, some crafting material and a magic artifact.”

“Wow...:”

Tenon’s mouth was wide open as he looked at him in surprise. Until during the expedition, he appeared rather innocent right now.

‘Maybe in the past it had been him that discovered the Historical Site.’

It wasn’t an easy feat to see through the camouflage that hid the Cave entrance. One had to be quite the observant person in order to do so.

As Woohyuk merely stared back at him in silence, Tenon asked once more.

“Hmmm… then did you use a magic spell on commander Gaius, using the artifact you obtained that time?”

Tenon couldn’t wrap his head around how it was possible for a stiff and inflexible commander like Gaius to suddenly show such a performance.

Woohyuk must have used the same unique power like the time with those two mysterious women.

‘It’s such a waste to leave him rot over here.’

In addition to Aiden, Tenon was also quite talented.

Although he was still a bit rough around the edges, with the right training, he was sure to shine.

‘If I get the chance later, I should make him my vassal.’

Woohyuk’s plan for the future included not only his own personal growth, but also the development of talents that showed good potential.

As the battle for the Thrones would soon be underway, concentrating all the power in a single leader wasn’t the right path.

Taking the bigger picture into account, any internal conflicts among humans would be their biggest threat, so a fair system of competition was necessary.

The Overlords in the past however tended to be too focused on the interests of their own Clan, or secular power.

After much struggling, he had also finally succeeded, only to have missed out entirely on the purpose of this entire system.

Back then Woohyuk had realised this far too late, and as such had chosen to embark on a different path this time around.

For him, the Rhine kingdom was something he absolutely had to secure. He would establish a University of great renown, as well as an Internal system that attracted talents to his side.

“I can’t reveal that unfortunately, I have my own reasons.”

“I don’t believe that you did it with any evil intentions. Many things have changed for the better ever since you have intervened.”

Both Aiden and Tenon had a good impression of Woohyuk. Without him, they would never have achieved such a result. As such it was better to turn a blind eye, and not speak of certain things.

“We’ll meet again.”

After receiving Aiden's recommendation letter, Woohyuk and his party left the Northeast camp.

A new journey began once more. Although it will be a tough road ahead, his mind was at ease. At least so far, everything seemed to be going according to his plan.

“There aren’t many monsters in the Ionian Plains, right?”

“It is said that their dark beer is their specialty.”

Lee Jaesung and Jung Sanghoon discussed their destination as they felt things were too quiet.

Then, other members jumped in as well as they were drawn in by the hopeful atmosphere, talking about what they’d like to achieve in the future.

An unexpected moment of optimism considering their many trials to come.

The unknown path was more colorful and exciting than he had expected. Sharing a simple dream the party continued to discuss among themselves as a golden field unfolded before their eyes.