CH 221

“Kyaaaaaaargh!”

The last satyr collapsed with a spine-chilling roar, and a system message appeared as if to indicate that Kim Jin-Woo had won the battle. He withdrew Gungnir without saying a word and looked around the battlefield.

The bodies of the satyrs, their limbs torn apart and covered in holes, were scattered as far as the eye could see. However, a few precious, albeit short-lived, Ancient Hero-Grade summons lay dead beside Kim Jin-Woo.

The monsters, which looked like a cross between goats, humans, and eagles, were as strong and ferocious as their vicious appearance implied. Due to them, Kim Jin-Woo had suffered unexpected damage in a battle he had thought he would claim an overwhelming victory in. Some of the Ancient summons Valicius painstakingly restored had been torn to shreds.

Only after losing some of his summons, which he estimated to be roughly equivalent in power to a Lesser Floor labyrinth master, had he finally acknowledged the might of his enemies.

It was fortunate that he had realized that before it was too late. If he had used Gungnir from the beginning, he wouldn’t have suffered any losses, but he wouldn’t have been able to accurately gauge the power of his enemies either.

With that, he was certain: The Nagas alone wouldn’t be able to deal with these new enemies.

Although the restored Ancient summons had yet to fully regain their past powers, they were still formidable in their own right. And yet, even with a numerical advantage, three of them had been killed in battle. If the Nagas had been the ones sent into battle, the losses would have been much more severe.

“Unfortunately, there are no survivors.” Morrigan came forward and reported the damage.

Kim Jin-Woo’s instructions to leave a few alive so as to obtain information seemed to have completely passed by Morrigan. After all, she was the Death Crow who had embraced the battlefield; thus, it was unreasonable to tell her to keep a few enemies alive for interrogation.

“How unfortunate,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked. Contrary to his words, however, he showed no hint of regret. That was because they had only dealt with one of the enemy’s reconnaissance units. There were still many more enemies that could take the place of the dead.

“Recover the Lifestones; we’re moving out right away,” he commanded.

***

The battles continued. With each passing battle, one or two more Ancient Hero-Grade summons were sacrificed. After ten battles, there were fewer than summons left alive, excluding the Nagas. Roughly half of the restored Moai had been sacrificed in a single day.

Although the damage was greater than expected, Kim Jin-Woo wasn’t all that pessimistic about the result. There were still hundreds of Moai waiting to have their bodies restored. Such losses were well within his ability to tolerate.

If they had been meaningless losses, he might have reacted differently. But what he had gained from the brutal battles was by no means small.

First of all, he had become more accustomed to Gungnir, which he had only used in the Mystical Spear’s memory world. The legends of the Mystical Spear, said to land every strike and never miss, had proven to be true, and with the added ability to detect weaknesses in its foes, a life was guaranteed to be lost every time he thrust the spear. Kim Jin-Woo had been using whatever weapons he could get his hands on until that moment, but finally, he had found a weapon to call his own.

If being able to use the spear in actual combat had been the lesser gain out of all this, however, the greater gain was seeing the truth of his new unit.

The restored Moai, which he had believed could be promoted to the main force of his army, were by no means perfect. They were as slow as they were powerful, and without significant intelligence, they were susceptible to pinpoint attacks and tactical assaults. As a result, every battle had resulted in accumulated losses. If he were to put them on the front lines, that was an aspect that had to be improved.

But those were just bonuses compared to the main benefit of the mission. His biggest gain was the fact that he had managed to get out of the labyrinth, and confirm with his own eyes how the restored Underworld Floors had changed.

But it was still too early for him to celebrate the fact that he had accomplished his own mission. The worst scenario he could have imagined had become a reality.

“We’ll have to meet the labyrinth master to know the exact details, but looking back at the history of the enemies we’ve faced so far, these aren’t Baron-level pushovers. There’s a strong possibility that, at the very least, these are enemies from a Count-level labyrinth or higher, perhaps even a Duke-level labyrinth,” Kim Jin-Woo said as calmly as possible while wiping off the blood on Gungnir.

“If the enemies are really from a Duke-class labyrinth…” Morrigan began.

“Then we’ll have to fight the Duke’s army without the inter-floor penalty,” Kim Jin-Woo finished.

Even if they had experienced war against the Deep Floor Nobles, the Nagas had only dealt with the corrupted Barons at best.

“Since it’s come to this, I don’t think it’s a bad idea for us to make the first move,” Morrigan said. She thought that it was better for things to have turned out this way, and advised that they should take the initiative to strike first. Kim Jin-Woo agreed.

It was best to avoid a wounded beast, but that was no longer the case if the wound itself was considerable.

If the Grand Labyrinth had suffered more than 50% damage, Kim Jin-Woo was certain that the other labyrinths in the vicinity would have suffered the same amount of damage at the very least, if not more.

And if the beast was wounded, it would be better to hunt it down, skin it, and pull out its fangs.

Of course, right now, that wasn’t a viable option. He hadn’t come prepared for an all-out war in the first place, and his opponent was too strong to bridge the gap in power with just the abilities of the Undefeated Commander and Conqueror.

“We’ll return to the labyrinth.” Thus, Kim Jin-Woo decided to head back to the Grand Labyrinth after destroying fifteen enemy reconnaissance units. But of course, things never went his way.

“We’re being trailed,” reported a Ranger.

Kim Jin-Woo frowned at the news delivered by the Under-Elf Rangers who had been scouting the area after detaching themselves from the main unit. “They haven’t yet given up, huh.” He had expected that the enemy’s reconnaissance activities would have died down after losing so many of their units, but he had miscalculated.

“There are around two hundred of the enemy, and their force doesn’t seem intended for reconnaissance,” the Ranger continued.

Contrary to Kim Jin-Woo’s expectations, the unit that had left the enemy’s labyrinth was a real combat unit, not an additional reconnaissance unit.

Should he turn around and fight the enemy? Or should he just return and prepare for the next engagement? If he had to make a decision, he had to make it now.

Once the battle started, he wouldn’t be able to retreat anymore. The title of ‘Undefeated Commander’ was a double-edged sword that didn’t tolerate even a single defeat or retreat.

Kim Jin-Woo looked at the faces of the Nagas who were waiting for his decision. They were truly beyond loyal, ignoring the fact that they were far inferior in terms of power. But war wasn’t all about loyalty. They were obviously valiant warriors, but they were definitely not strong enough to face Duke-level enemies.

“We’ll shake off the enemy and return to the labyrinth,” he finally decided.

The purpose of the mission had already been achieved. The enemy’s identity had been discovered, and the reconnaissance unit that had killed off the Under-Elf patrol unit had also been taken care of. There was no need to overextend his fight.

“Patrols, clear the traces of our troops and follow behind,” Kim Jin-Woo ordered.

[Your decision is commendable. It is said that a wise commander does not fight in an unfavorable battlefield.]

[Your choice has allowed you to avoid unnecessary battles.]

[However, your tactical prowess aside, your decision is somewhat at odds with your reputation as the Undefeated Commander. Although it was not that you turned your back on your enemy and ran away, it is a fact that you have wasted the opportunity to show your unknown enemy the majesty of the Undefeated Commander.]

[The amplification buff effect given to the Nagas has temporarily disappeared, and a penalty will be applied.]

[Due to their commander’s decision, the bodies of the brave warriors who have lost their chance to fight will become heavy. They will move more slowly than usual and will tire more easily.]

[The penalty will last until the troops return to the labyrinth. If there is a battle along the way, the situation may become rather dangerous.]

[If you return successfully, all penalties will be lifted.]

“Fuck.” Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t help but swear at the sudden turn of events. The system had denounced his decision, almost as if it had been mockingly waiting for him to make such a decision.

[It is not too late now. If you reverse your trajectory and fight the enemy, the penalty applied to your unit will be lifted, and the blessing of the Undefeated Commander will be with you again.]

[Are you ready to turn around and engage your enemy?]

The system was almost cornering him to engage in battle.

“Don’t you even know what tactics are? How pathetic,” he muttered derisively.

Even if he were to engage in a full-scale battle with the enemy, the odds weren’t entirely favorable; and yet, for Kim Jin-Woo to receive such an abhorrent system message was a slap in his face, and he was unable to hold his inner thoughts in.

[There are no excuses. The title of ‘Undefeated’ is not so cheap as to be obtained through winning only easy battles that are to your liking.]

[Would you like to reverse your decision?]

Messages appeared, as if to respond to Kim Jin-Woo’s words.

“No. I’ll choose who and when I fight,” he insisted. He emphasized the tactical judgment behind his retreat, as if he were complaining about the shallow system messages.

[Your entire unit has been penalized.]

[Movement speed has decreased, and stamina and physical strength have decreased significantly.]

[The morale of your unit has decreased. Anxiety has sprouted in their hearts, when they once knew no fear.]

[The reputation of the Undefeated Commander has decreased slightly.]

But nevertheless, the messages that followed were relentless.

As the Undefeated Commander’s amplification buffs were removed and replaced with penalties, the Nagas had anxious expressions that Kim Jin-Woo had never seen before.

No, it wasn’t that he’d never seen that before. He had simply forgotten how it looked. When he had first inherited the Naga’s Labyrinth, the Nagas had constantly suppressed their fear and had to fight desperately to overcome their enemies.

It had been the same in the battle against the Basilisk King, and it had been the same when the insignificant Horned Mice attacked the labyrinth. The Nagas, at that point in time, had just been one among the countless summons born on the 9th Floor.

Despite that, the reason why Kim Jin-Woo had always been overly confident in the power of the Nagas was likely because they had always had the blessing of the Conqueror’s charisma, as well as the Undefeated Commander’s amplification buff effects.

Kim Jin-Woo was left with a sour taste in his mouth. Was this the feeling of seeing the bare face of a lover without her makeup for the first time? It felt as if she had been stripped down to naked skin.

However, that didn’t mean that Kim Jin-Woo suddenly began to look down on his Nagas, nor was he disappointed with the limitations of the species. It was just that he had finally gotten a clear grasp on reality, and now had a clearer picture of the direction he should take in the future.

“Sigh. Looks like there’s yet another reason to hurry back to the labyrinth.” With a brief sigh, Kim Jin-Woo brushed off the complicated thoughts in his mind and hurriedly moved out with his troops.

[Your decision to avoid combat instead of fighting an honorable battle is no longer reversible.]

It was a message that he had seen multiple times before making a tough decision, but he had never felt as resentful toward it as he did now.

The message almost sounded as if something were slowly nudging him toward a battle, with that something itself itching for a fight to watch.

However, the feeling only lasted for a short while, and Kim Jin-Woo quickly got onto his Tiger Dragon’s back and sped up the pace of his troop movements. He didn’t have any time to waste to be caught up in such delusions.

***

The penalty was harsher than Kim Jin-Woo had expected.

His troops had become so weak that it was almost unimaginable to think that it was due to the loss of buffs and addition of penalties from a single title.

The Tiger Dragons, which had easily leapt across the 9th Floor while practically complaining about how small it was, were now exhausted before even two hours had passed. Their tongues drooped from exhaustion and their gait wobbled as if they were drunkards.

“We’re doing our best to hinder the enemy’s pursuit, but at this rate, it is only a matter of time before they catch up.” The Under-Elf Rangers reported on the situation, looking tired.

“Fuck, if it weren’t for the penalties…” Kim Jin-Woo had thought that he should avoid the massacre of the Nagas before he could use the Sea Dragon’s Heart.

His mind had yet to change, and he had never thought it was the wrong decision. Deciding to advance or retreat based on the need to conserve his power was something he had always done.

Moreover, this was not the first time he had performed a tactical retreat; thus, he was still unable to understand the reason for such system messages appearing.

It was as if the system that had supported him so well had turned its back on him.

But when Kim Jin-Woo entertained that thought, he felt his skin crawl, and a chill ran up his spine. “No way.”