Declaration of War (3)

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Schilten, an awakened warrior of the Baraten faction, looked at the battlefield with a slightly admiring gaze.

It was because the human who appeared one day saying he would help their war and received the [Token of Trust] from a member of the tribe, his comrade, who took the lead in the all-out attack, was showing a series of amazing exploits.

‘He’s strong.’

There had been a bit of trouble during the pre-deployment strategy meeting, but now Schilten did not doubt him.

He was a strong and capable human.

Even when he summoned a sub-dragon to charge and was surrounded by enemies, his life seemed to be in danger at first, but before long he was finding his own way out of the crisis.

By this point, he had no choice but to acknowledge it.

‘He’s more impressive than I thought he would be based on the Record Crystal Orb.’

He had already proven his ability through the [Record Crystal Orb], but the abilities he was showing now were much more diverse than back then.

The first of those was his flashy and intense magical attack.

What seemed to be an ultimate skill – a circular water barrier for defense followed immediately by a devastating strike.

Just seeing that was enough to leave one’s mouth agape, but on top of that, he added a lightning-attributed magical attack to increase the destructive power.

Instant death.

It was a truly annihilating performance that instantly killed more than 15 Virgens.

‘And…’

Kwaaang–!!

Auuuu-.

As Schilten pinned down and easily knocked over a Virgen in front of him, he still kept his eyes fixed on Do Jae-hyun.

Even after the preemptive strike was over, Do Jae-hyun did not leave that spot despite being able to break free from the encirclement with the help of his allies.

That was because of the second ability he displayed.

His overwhelming physical abilities and destructive physical attacks.

Do Jae-hyun was fending off and deflecting attacks from more than 10 Lycan warriors and Rak, an awakened warrior, while guarding the front line.

No matter how much help he got from his allies…

It was an unbelievable tanking ability.

‘That’s almost like…’

And Schilten’s gaze upon watching this became somewhat unsettling.

Concentration, endurance, recovery, agility…

His unusually outstanding abilities were somehow familiar.

Those who selectively enhanced only the important points for combat assistance.

Schilten knew well of those beings.

‘…Barbarians.’

The barbarian tribe.

Warriors who sought to become one with beasts by embracing only the strengths of beasts.

The ‘enhancement technique’ they used produced a power just like this.

And as far as Schilten knew, only barbarians and their king could use that ability.

If someone other than a barbarian used this power…

There was only one possibility.

It had to be those cursed ‘fellows’ who had sent the Lycan tribe to ruin.

‘…I won’t jump to conclusions like last time.’

Schilten shook his head and focused on the battle again.

Though there was something peculiar about the force and power Do Jae-hyun displayed, he could not doubt and make hasty judgments based solely on that.

If his suspicion was correct, there would be no reason for Do Jae-hyun to bother beating and killing the warriors of the Clark faction.

Aside from the slightly unsettling part.

In this battle, he was the comrade who had earned the greatest merit.

***

Ippotranslation

***

“Waaahh!!”

“We’ve annihilated the enemy! Victory!”“Baraten! Baraten! Baraten!”

The battle, whether short or long, was now over.

The allied wolfkin troops and our assault team flooded in like a rising tide, providing rear support.

With the difference in troop numbers and firepower, securing victory was easy.

Especially now, to the point where they could be considered a combo, the flashy magic of Kim Chae-eun and Kang Juyeon.

The contrasting combination of the two’s magic cut off the stubborn Lycans’ breath, signaling the end of the battle.

‘…We really almost lost.’

Amid the cheers of victory from the Lycans, I quietly exhaled alone.

It was indeed too much for me to solely tank in the center of that battlefield, practically a hellscape, without a shield.

The rage-filled Lycans of the Clark faction truly charged at me with the ferocity to tear anyone apart.

If our allies’ support had been even a little late, we would have genuinely lost.

‘Ah, I overdid it recklessly.’

[True Flowing Sword] and [Chain Lightning].

The combination magical attack of those two skills was perfect.

I instantly killed 15 Virgens at once and perfectly broke through the seemingly impenetrable enemy encirclement.

But the problem was what came after.

Foolishly getting carried away alone with thoughts like ‘After the magical attack, it’s time for physical attacks!’ I ended up facing the enemies attacks all at once, even though they still outnumbered me.

No matter how awakened, a Lycan is still a Lycan.

If S-grade top monsters cooperate and rush me all at once, it is bound to be dangerous.

I don’t know how much I debated whether to use [Berserk] in the middle.

‘But I managed to endure thanks to the auxiliary runes.’

What held the situation together when it seemed like it would collapse was thanks to the auxiliary runes.

Since I had so many runes, they automatically assisted me in combat without me even being consciously aware of it.

[Descendants of the Barbarian King] raised my physical specs.

Lower-tier runes like [Lizard Scales], [Sturdy Fangs], [Strengthen], etc. that were integrated were all beast-inspired enhancement runes… Even after being bound to the superior rune, they boosted all my physical abilities.

On the other hand, there were also runes that assisted combat itself.

The Movement type runes like [Agile Agility], [Strong Stamina], and [Gaze of Stiffness] were like that.

They don’t have noticeable special effects or derivative skills like other runes, but they definitely exert the power as their names suggest.You become much more agile, persistent, and less easily lose focus than others.

It was thanks to these auxiliary runes that the reckless battle from earlier was possible.

Moreover….

[You won the duel! … Please select a rune to duplicate.]

[You have selected the ‘Power of the Boiling Werewolf’ rune.]

[The rune is duplicated! Due to the ‘Rune Hunter’ linked special effect, only the derivative skill can be duplicated.]

[The derivative skill ‘Black Force Howling’ has been newly added.]

[You won the duel! … Please select a rune to duplicate.]

[You have selected the ‘Agile Reflex’ rune. Since it’s a rare rune level 14, the level will decrease to 7 when registered.]

[Due to the rune’s attribute, you gain 3 Speed.]

[You won the duel! … Please select a rune to duplicate.]

[You have selected the ‘Precise Kinetic Vision’ rune. Since it’s a rare rune level 15, the level will decrease to 8 when registered.]

[Due to the rune’s attribute, you gain 3 Speed.]

The reward was as sweet as the risk I took.

In fact, in the previous small-scale battle, although I contributed greatly to defeating Duke, I lacked contribution in defeating the other Lycans.

That’s probably why, even though there were four Lycans at the time, I didn’t obtain any runes.

However, this time, since the battle where I solo-tanked at the frontlines ended in victory, my [Rune Hunter]’s contribution to the victory was fully recognized.

Rak, an Awakened Warrior, had used [Black Force Howling], which was added as a howling skill, and through hunting other Lycans, I also obtained auxiliary runes [Agile Reflex] and [Precise Kinetic Vision].

‘Finally 100….’

However, I was touched by another fact.

The stat enhancement effects of the new auxiliary runes I obtained this time.

Thanks to them, my ‘Speed’ stat finally reached 100.

It’s the first of all my general stats to reach 100.

Although the importance of stats has somewhat diminished since becoming an A-grade Holder, stats are still one of the important factors in measuring a Rune Holder’s combat power.

Of course, it’s never easy to raise a stat to 100, and I felt a new sense of emotion.

Moreover, considering that none of the existing S-grade Holders have their main stat below 100… I felt like I had taken a step toward becoming an S-grade Holder.“Jae-hyun! Are you hurt?”

“…Are you okay?”

As I was briefly indulging in these emotions,

Our unit members who finished the battle came running to me.

At the forefront were Kim Chae-eun and Kang Juyeon.

They asked with worried faces faster than anyone else, not even using the Commander title or honorifics as I had requested before.

Seeing that, they must have been quite worried.

“I’m fine. Were any of the other members injured?”

“This idiot…!! Who else would get hurt besides you? You charged forward like a bulldozer all by yourself.”

Another unit member gave me a harsh scolding without hesitation.

It was Moon Ga-eun, who joined belatedly.

…Hey.

Is it okay for them to just flock around me like this in front of everyone?

I had that thought for a moment, but since I was at fault, I just cleared my throat and changed the subject.

“Ahem. Holder Moon Ga-eun? Perhaps you should show some respect to the Captain…”

“Tch- You really want to die?”

“My apologies.”

In situations like this, it’s best to just lower my head and apologize.

Even though I felt that I had fought a bit recklessly in the battle, from their perspective watching from afar, it must have looked quite dangerous.

I reassured them with the excuse that it was an important battle, so I took a slight risk.

“Captain, you worked hard.”

“Wow, Brother! That was really awesome. How did you take down so many Virgens all by yourself…!!”

Other members also greeted me with admiring looks from a distance.

Do Seung-min was all excited, calling me Brother again.

With almost no casualties on our side, and zero casualties in <Ripple Raid>,

The members looked elated at this unprecedented great victory.

It was only then that I realized the intense battle had ended.

“Do Jae-hyun.”

Another gruff voice came from beside me.

This time, not from an attack squad member, but from a lycanthrope…

One of the Baraten Warriors, Schilten.

“You did well. You exceeded expectations.”

“Thank you. It was possible thanks to everyone’s help.”

“I’m about to report to Tol, would you like to come with me?”

While we were fighting the battle, Enrichten’s main force had already arrived.

Schilten invited me to join him in reporting to Enrichten.

I looked around for a moment, then shook my head.

“Please go ahead. I have something to take care of first, and I’ll report any additional details separately.”

“Hmm…”

Schilten made an odd expression at my polite refusal.

Then he nodded.

“Understood. I’ll see you later then.”

With that, Schilten left first to make his report.

And I too, after asking the squad members for a moment, moved to a spot without people around.

The reason I delayed reporting to be alone for a bit…

[A rune combination is currently possible! You can acquire a superior rune using the mystical power of the Rune Hunter.]

[Superior Rune: Warriors’ Enhancement Art / Inferior Runes: Agile Movement, Strong Stamina, Gaze of Stiffness, Rapid Recovery, Agile Reflex, Precise Kinetic Vision]

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