Stop, Friendly Fire!

<Chapter 34. Heaven Defying General - 4>

Like he said, Lee Shin Woo attacked two cities in the danger level 3 zone simultaneously. His goal was to confuse the Emperor, as well as the 12 generals that followed his commands.

Although it was possible that two of the 12 generals could be sent to both cities, Lee Shin Woo was confident that he could finish his attack and retreat before they got there, so it wasn't really a problem. If the Empire were to be put on guard due to an unknown force, then... Ethan Cruz's plan either wouldn't work, or it would have to be altered, which wasn't bad by any means.

"Of course, that's not the real reason. I just want to use all the strength that I've acquired."

"I'm glad you're honest."

Lee Shin Woo, together with Jin and Kratia, led the Giants and attacked the city. Chi Paul, Shino Rendu, and Bisher Moon led the remaining Pauls and attacked a separate city.

Of course, he had divided his forces deliberately. On one side, there were the Giants, and on the other side, there were elite undead. There was no better way to sow chaos amongst his enemies. But there was one problem.

"It's too easy..."

Lee Shin Woo ordered the Giants to attack all at once, saw the castle walls go down in one hit, and smiled bitterly. Because Lee Shin Woo and Kratia had preemptively intercepted the magicians (Thunder Arrow was great for taking down low level magicians), there was nothing to stop the Giants' head-on assault.

"With these forces, I feel like I could easily take down a level 4 danger zone city as well."

"It's too dangerous."

If they went on to the level 4 danger zone, it would be impossible for them to conquer a city and retreat within a few hours. Not only did he have to take into account the higher level undead, but the cities were also huge! Moreover, they were so close to the capital that it wouldn't be surprising if one of the 12 generals suddenly appeared.

"I'll have to conquer those cities eventually, but it's not time yet. ...Though I think that that time will come faster than I anticipated."

Lee Shin Woo watched as the Giants, who had charged forward, use one hand to break buildings and the other to break the castle, and suddenly realized just how much he'd gained from the Giants' domain.

Not only had he recruited 3,000 of Metafel's troops, but he'd also acquired two level 7 Titan elites and the powerful Titans as his subordinates as well. Although it required a 60 day recharge time, the powerful weapon that increased his strength... the Titan Golem was also the same.

"If the Archmage saw it, then he'd be pissed. As I thought, you have to be cautious making big moves in the level 4 danger zone."

[Master, I believe the lord is attempting to run away unnoticed.]

"What?"

Rem reported as he watched the enemies' movements from the sky, and Lee Shin Woo's goblin fire swayed. However, he didn't even move; he simply shot a Breath of the Lightning God far away.

He saw the lord running away with a company of knights guarding him by borrowing Rem's sight. Although the lord was several kilometers away, he precisely controlled the Breath of the Lightning God and pierced his forehead!

[Kuaaaaahk!]

"Good, a direct hit. Jin, let's take our time."

Before he even heard the sound from afar, Lee Shin Woo saw, through Rem's eyes, that his attack had hit. His jawbone rattled, he smiled relaxingly, and patted Jin.

He'd been practicing that ultra-long-distance sniper shot lately. Lee Shin Woo would skillfully aim the bone with his will, and after ascertaining the enemy's location through Rem, he would shoot out a powerful attack!

It sounded easy to do, but he and Rem had different viewpoints, so getting a direct hit was difficult. He was, however, getting a lot of training by choosing where to summon the Breath of the Lightning God, as well as increasing his Assimilation with Rem. And this time, he definitely succeeded.

"It'd be amazing if I could do it with a huge weapon later on. ...Ha, wait a sec. If I were to send this to Rem's inventory, then..."

"You just keep making more and more weird techniques."

"Paul Zero, you're so cool."

Jin grumbled in amazement, but Kratia's eyes gleamed, as though she understood just how difficult Lee Shin Woo's technique was to use. Unfortunately, Jin hadn't realized that Lee Shin Woo was docking points from him because of this.

"Did you kill him?"

"No, I'd like to meet him face to face. I want to know if he reported to his superiors or not. Hey, break that more thoroughly! There are knights hiding inside, so get on top and stomp on it!"

[I understand!]

Lee Shin Woo and Jin advanced towards the city in a leisurely manner. He encouraged the Giants, who were unleashing carnage and destruction, and cut across without rushing. In less than an hour, they arrived before the lord, who was lying down with a Breath of the Lightning God sticking out of his head.

He was situated in a hidden passageway behind his castle, and Lee Shin Woo's Breath of the Lightning God had broken through the ceiling and pierced his head. The Giants had taken note of this, and rushed over, killing the knights that had been protecting the lord.

"Hello."

[You... I order you to remove this!]

Lee Shin Woo approached the lord, who was fluttering around like a fish who'd been struck by a harpoon, and as he wished, removed the blade. He struggled to upright his body, but a part of his skull fell to the floor and he was staggering. The lord had realized that he had no hopes of recovering.

[Do you even know who I am... Who the hell are you!?]

"Look here, did you ask the Emperor to send one of the 12 generals?"

[Keuk, you already knew about that, yet you attacked the city regardless? Are you insane...? That's right, the moment you broke through the castle walls, I reported in! The Vulture General will be coming!]

"Vulture...?"

A Vulture. [1] He was definitely one of the 12 generals, but the word 'Vulture' really bothered him. There was the possibility that it just meant that he had a bald head, but... perhaps he was the second opponent (after the Archmage) that they would have to worry about.

"It would be different if Feotane Von Seldin came, but I'm not particularly afraid of him."

[Hahaha. I've seen so many that said the same thing about the general. But they all had their heads cracked out by the Vulture General's arrows!]

"Oh, like you?"

[Keuk...!]

For now, he knew that the Vulture General used a bow. Lee Shin Woo was taught just how annoying archers were from his previous experience with Setoin. He furrowed his brow, raised his head, and looked at the sky. He couldn't stop worrying, so he asked the lord about him...

[Kik, you're so arrogant. It seems like you're afraid of the general's sharp wings!]

"Ah, so that's how it is."

[Huh? Kuheok!]

The lord had taken the bait. Although he didn't know the specifics, his opponent flew in the air! Lee Shin Woo had gotten the answer he'd wanted, so he immediately swung his sword and cut off the lord's head.

[You have completely purified the Intermediate City, 'Semillan'! You have acquired 2 permits to God's secret shop. You have acquired 100,000 Perium. Proficiency in all combat-related skills has increased. As a reward for faithfully doing your duty as a hero and purifying several cities, the size of your inventory has increased, and from now on, all quest rewards will increase.]

[You have completely purified a city at an unprecedented speed! Destroying a city with a corps is karma much too great for one person to achieve. All stats have increased by 5.]

"With this, we're done. An air strike, huh...?"

"Is that what you thought of when you heard the word 'vulture'?"

"To be honest, the first thing I thought of was a bald head."

That's right. To Lee Shin Woo, who had an army now and had leveled up to level 7, the only things he had to worry about were the Archmage Feotane Von Seldin and his spatial magic, or an air strike from the sky.

As proven by Rem, flying through the sky granted much more utility than moving on the ground. He thought that the Empire would have something like this, but to think that his hypothesis would be proven this way. Moreover, to think he's coming now of all times.

"To fight, or not to fight... Alright, let's fight."

"Didn't you decide too fast!?"

Jin, who'd heard Lee Shin Woo mutter, felt drained. However, Lee Shin Woo didn't change his stance at all.

"Although fighting a flying opponent is tough, it's best if I take him down while he's alone."

But he didn't have enough forces with him. Lee Shin Woo contacted Bisher Moon and instructed him to gather all his forces here as soon as they were done purifying the city.

But once he relayed that order, he got a message that they had finished purifying the city, followed by a list of rewards. There was one thing that he took notice of.

[You commanded an army and purified two cities simultaneously. You have proven that you are powerful enough to single-handedly take on the Empire. Everyone in the Empire, including the Emperor himself, will know about you and will pay special attention to you.]

[You have acquired the title, 'Heaven Defying General'. All stats have increased by 20. The High Rank Command skill has become Lv6 and all stats have increased by 5. When you fight against the Empire's 12 generals, the power of all your skills will increase by 20%. The stats of your troops permanently increase by 5%.]

He'd acquired an extraordinary title and simultaneously, his stats had increased significantly! Lee Shin Woo, whose stats had surpassed 9,000 (they were now at 9,086), was slightly excited.

"Ah, wait a sec. If I had only divided my army into five groups and made a cute star, then...!"

"No matter how strong your troops are, splitting them into five is a dumb idea, you idiot!"

Lee Shin Woo was barely able to calm down due to Jin's retort and cool-headedly checked his new title. Whenever he fought against the 12 generals, his skills would become 20% more powerful, which was simple enough, but when he thought about it, it was even more hacked than a 20% stat increase.

Rather than raising his stats, raising the power of his skills, which used those stats and amplified them, was obviously superior. Because of that, his elemental equipment would become more powerful as well.

"What system bestowed this title onto me...?"

"Didn't God give it to you?"

"No. It's not that simple. It seems more like it's been influenced by something..."

The Heaven Defying General. It was a title that really fit him, as he possessed the Rebellion skill. But he wondered if he was considered an ally of the 12 generals because of the term 'general' in his name.

"So long as I don't talk about it, it should be fine. Alright boys, get ready for battle. Apparently, he flies in the sky, so make a catapult!"

[Understood!]

"Hey, will a catapult really work against a flying opponent?"

"It'll definitely work. Want to make a bet?"

"...Nope."

Jin was about to accept, but when he saw the Giants begin to make a 30 meter tall catapult by stripping the castle walls, he shook his head.

They soon created dozens of those monstrously sized catapults, but strangely, that air strike they were waiting for didn't appear for several hours.

[1] T/N: This can mean 'eagle' as well. Toy Car gave us the Chinese characters early on this time.