Overgeared

It was after the start of the great human and demon war...

Using the media of each country as the main axis, people divided the continent into seven major sections. They were divided into the four directions of east, west, south, and north, and the three main bases, rather than nations. It was simply for convenience.

『 A total of 3,831 portals were observed in the north. Fortunately, there are no great demons there. Using the orc kingdom as the center, the nations and players are working together to easily prevent the invasion of demonic creatures... 』

『 The performance of Orc Lord Teruchan and his royal guards are amazing. I heard that many of the royal guards are players, right? 』

『 Yes, 99% of them are players. The rankers, who changed their species to an orc a few years ago, have grown to the point of taking important positions. The fact that there are very few named NPCs among the twilight orcs has played a role, but... there is no need to disparage the rankers' efforts. 』

Magician rankers were sensitive to magic power. It wasn't difficult to observe magical devices and phenomena. It was nothing to work together to count the portals.

『 The situation in the south isn't so bad. The number of portals observed is very large at 5,420, but the overall level of the south has risen significantly thanks to the opening of the warp gate in the Hemilton Principality several months ago. 』

『 Definitely. I remember that many quests in the principality attracted players. In particular, I heard a lot of vampires moved there, right? 』

『 They didn't move... all the vampire cities are part of the Overgeared Kingdom. Do they really need to abandon their Overgeared Kingdom nationality? 』

『 Haha, I was ignorant... 』

『 In any case, there are a number of top rankers and vampire players stationed in the south. They are responding to the invasion very well. There are no transcendent or super named NPCs around, so the balance might be broken the moment a great demon shows up, but... the comforting thing is Katz' presence. His recent growth is really dazzling. I think they'll be able to raid a great demon in the 30s with Katz at the center... 』

『 It doesn't sound like nonsense... 』

Peak Sword temporarily pulled the aggro of the 4th Great Demon and caused a lot of damage, while Ares temporarily fought equally with the 24th Great Demon. Jishuka, Regas, Pon, Scott, and the others were fighting hard against the 23rd, 28th, and 31st Great Demons...

The level of the named players active in the Behen Archipelago and the Abyss exceeded the expectations of the experts. There was an army of hundreds of thousands of soldiers armed with overgeared items, as well as Grid's apostles like Braham and Overgeared Skeleton Two (?) so there was unexpected publicity. The media of each country had no choice but to place confidence in the ability of the rankers.

『 The west doesn't need to be discussed. There are approximately 4,000 portals opened in the west, but some people are saying that grabbing a star in the sky is easier than seeing a demonic creature. 』

『 Haha... There is the Overgeared Kingdom in the west. The main temples of the Dominion Church and Judar Church are also located there, right? 』

『 Yes, fortunately or unfortunately, the suppression of religion in the Overgeared Kingdom is limited to the Rebecca Church. Therefore, both religions are playing a stable role in their own areas. 』

『 The problem is... 』

『 Yes, it is the east. 』

A scholar of Satisfy's history and the field of war—the Harvard university professor, Bahrain, paused and displayed a map of the continent on the screen. The map divided the continent into four sections and the area of the east, painted in red, was larger than the west, south, and north combined. This was because the center was included in the eastern part. It was reasonable to do this for convenience. All of the red territory was part of the empire.

『 A total of 11,090 portals are in the east. There is even the Abyss in the heart of the capital. 』

The three designated main bases of humanity. Among them, the place with the most stars was the Abyss. It happened to be located in the imperial capital.

『 The situation in the east is desperate. A considerable number of troops was consumed to respond to the demonic human incidents and the invasion of the dark elves. It is a deadly event for the empire that has a history of a shortage of troops. There are 11,090 portals and the subsequent invasions of Zepar and Gamigin... the empire has no power to defend itself. 』

『 Hrmm... I can't easily agree about the lack of imperial troops. Doesn't the empire have a population of billions? Many players have also acquired an imperial nationality. I know that the empire recruited players as troops with various quests. So why is there a shortage of troops? 』

『 The biggest problem is that the territory of the empire is larger than necessary. The empire was a flawed nation from the start. From the moment they claimed to be the master of the continent, they took on more responsibility than they could handle. There are hundreds of cities, fortresses, and 27 borders in the empire. Their troops are inevitably dispersed... 』

The professor harshly criticized the empire's system. The current Empress Basara recognized the problems of the empire and promoted reforms, but it was impossible for many of the reforms to be achieved in only one generation.

『...In conclusion, the empire won't be able to overcome this crisis on its own. They have to get support from the Overgeared Kingdom. 』

『 That's right. If it wasn't for Braham, Titan would already be devastated. 』

『 In fact, it is safe to say that from the time Grandmaster Zikfrector and Mercedes, the number one knight, were taken away by the Overgeared Kingdom, the empire's fortunes have fallen into Grid's hands... Eh? What? 』

『 There is breaking news. A new great demon has appeared from the Abyss. The balance of the Behen Archipelago is also beginning to collapse... 』

***

He was flooded with inspiration, the knowledge to support it, as well as talent and divinity. The mythical magic was completed based on the restored power.

Gamigin was crushed by Braham's Punishment and collapsed without even being able to scream. Braham also paid a large price. He suffered internal injuries and bleeding due to the excessive use of magic. He even became dizzy, but he somehow avoided fainting. His body as a direct descendant sustained him.

'It is impossible to use Punishment again in this state. Time is needed.'

Unfortunately, he couldn't even use legendary great magic. Unlike his body that was holding on firmly, his magic power was experiencing a backlash. He barely controlled it. If he overdid it here, it was highly likely he would receive permanent damage to his magic core.

Braham saw that Gamigin's body had already started to regenerate and formed fists. It was an attitude of using physical strength because he couldn't use magic. He didn't like swinging his fists inelegantly. He also wasn't good at it, but it couldn't be helped since the situation was urgent. At this moment—

"Devote yourself to recovery," Kyle spoke politely and took over the baton from Braham. The momentum was fierce as he created a storm of lightning to prevent Gamigin from regenerating. He was reliable until his shoulder was blown away by a sudden sniping attack.

It was shot by the 8th Great Demon, Barbatos. Kyle was exhausted from dealing with Gamigin and was slow to respond.

This made Braham frown. "Hold on for five minutes, even if you die."

"...I will endure and survive." His one arm was rattling so much it wouldn't be strange if it fell off straight away. Kyle didn't care about it. It was because he always thought of the arm as 'not there.'

***

'Isn't Bow Saint actually the most fraudulent class?'

The 13th Great Demon, Beleth—he disliked troublesome things and had little interest in the surface. The reason he took the role of commander of the vanguard army was due to compensation. There were rumors that Baal's closest subordinate, Chepardea, had promised him a great gift. It meant that Beleth was such a competent great demon. It was to the point that Baal's closest subordinate would personally invite him.

In fact, Beleth's rule of fear played a huge role. He used force to bring together demons who didn't know solidarity. Hundreds of demons and four great demons were unable to stand up to Beleth's intimidation and joined the operation.

Rose thought that the power of the demonic army was tremendous. She believed there were no rivals unless Grid led his apostles as a group. Now that faith was about to falter.

Jishuka fired arrows to annihilate the demonic creatures, while hundreds of thousands of soldiers led by Valhalla's generals and knights, and high rankers like Regas and Pon, held out on the battlefield. Jishuka's baptism of arrows poured down fiercely. It poured down without a break. It was hard to believe it was a phenomenon done by one human being.

Even more surprising, it was impossible to predict the sniper points. Dozens of arrows flew at the same time, each with a different trajectory. It was hard to guess where the arrows would fire from. It was simply a superhuman feat.

"Dammit, these arrows are so disturbing."

The 31st great demon was the first to show his nervousness. He was also a newcomer. Too many great demons had died during Grid and Yura's hell conquest. Many of the new great demons who took over the vacant spots hadn't matured yet. They took the position with force and couldn't gain any experience afterward. Therefore, there was a simple side. Their patience was a bit immature.

"I will find and kill that human!" the 31st Great Demon yelled and rushed into the enemy lines. He wielded a huge guandao fiercely. He seemed to judge that he could easily break through the meat barrier built with the bodies of the humans. Some elite members of the allied forces responded quickly. They abandoned their weapons, pulled out harpoons as big as their height, and started throwing them.

'Dragon Harpoon?' Rose recalled the secondary weapon that Grid had used in the National Competition in the past and felt anxiety.

"Kuaack!"The great demon, hit by dozens of harpoons, stopped in the middle of the enemy lines and struggled. Looking closely, each harpoon had a sturdy rope attached. The fast-moving soldiers fixed the end of the rope with a stake, temporarily sealing the body of a great demon. It was a skill they had practiced more than once or twice. The power of the harpoons and the durability of the ropes were enormous.

"Good! Well done!" Pon shouted with a smile and his spear struck the heart of the great demon. Regas' lightning-like fists struck the face of the great demon dozens of times. They were armed with a shining silver spear and a shining silver pair of gauntlets.

Grid had made many legendary rated weapons ahead of the great human and demon war. They were the best items with high penetration that ignored defense and the option to weaken demonic energy. The power was so deadly that the screams of the great demons shook the battlefield.

'Wars in Satisfy are about quality, not quantity.' Rose stepped back without realizing it.

Soldiers who should've been easily killed by a great demon. They were armed with different items and were playing their roles under certain circumstances. They responded to the overwhelming force that originally couldn't be resisted with numbers. The situation that hadn't been seen in Satisfy so far was implemented purely due to the power of items. It was truly amazing...