Chapter 71

: Awakening (1)     Many changes occurred while Muyoung was away from his territory.

Under Baltan’s direction, wooden buildings were built and they earned necessary items from exploring the dungeon.
Although there were less than 100 people, they were united for survival.
They might have had the thought that they needed to figure out how to survive by themselves.
‘There was no other choice.’
Irene placed her leather armor on a drying rack with the most sunlight as she shook her head.
She needed to prepare for the worst case scenario when the Lord didn’t return.
They were able to protect the village to a certain degree with the undead left beside by the man but she couldn’t be certain that this would continue.
Also, there was no way to know when a strong monster would invade the village.
These factors made the people worry.
Although this did help provide motivation to be united, that was only a desperate struggle to live.
Irene looked at Baltan standing firmly in front of the entrance of the village.
‘Baltan.’
He hovered between life and death after being poisoned by a murloc.
But, he became a knight of the Lord the next day.
However, Irene knew the truth which the village people were unaware of.
‘Baltan… died.’
Irene was the first to notice that Baltan was dead.
But when the Lord returned, Baltan’s consciousness came back to life.
When Baltan reopened his eyes, he became more quiet and stronger.
Incomparable to the past.
She thought he might have been turned into an undead but his memories were still intact.
His attitude towards other people including Irene didn’t change greatly.
He desperately tried to protect the village and even risked his life for the people.
It was clearly different from the time when Heidegger became a completely different person.
‘Are you really Baltan?’
A question she couldn’t bear to ask.
Even now when few weeks had gone by, she wasn’t able to ask him this one question.
She couldn’t find the right timing and had kept delaying it.
Irene tightly bit her lips.
Today, she was going to ask for sure.
However, as expected, she couldn’t ask him.
This time, it wasn’t due to an internal factor but an external factor.

The village, move it! Then your lives, will be saved.

Fifteen lizardmen came to the village.
The ones that walked on two feet with the face and the body of a lizard.
They looked around the village with greedy eyes.
It seemed like the newly created buildings stimulated the greed of the lizardmen.
Baltan who was guarding the entrance slowly placed his hands on his waist.
Swoosh!
Baltan held his sword up high and sliced off a lizardman’s head.
Grrrrrrr!
The lizardmen bared their teeth.
The claws that seemed like they could pierce through everything became longer and their heads turned red.
It meant that they were prepared for combat and that it was impossible to settle this with words.
Thud. Thud.
However, half of them fell to the floor before they made their move.
The undead hidden inside the shadows.
It was because the Avengers who Muyoung left behind appeared behind the lizardmen.
Kyaaaah!
The rest of the lizardmen shook their bodies and started to attack.

While I’m here, no monsters will invade our territory.

Baltan and the undead fought against the lizardmen as if they were a single entity.
The Guardian of the Territory, Baltan!
Through Muyoung, he was born again and was specialized in defending.
The problem started the following day.
The fact that these lizardmen weren’t the only ones.

You guys, are confined. I will slowly, starve you to death.

The next day, the one that introduced itself as the ‘lizardman king’ appeared. It was a huge monster at least twice the size of other lizardmen and brought 500 lizardmen to the village with him.
Did they need to thank them for not pouncing on them from the start?
After the lizardman king left, the expressions of everyone in the village stiffened.

Damn it, they are telling us to just die.


What should we do? With just us, we won’t be able to handle so many.


The lizardmen have very keen senses. If they are determined, it would be hard to leave the village.


First, let’s try to find the people who can fight against the lizardmen. We can’t just stand here and suffer.

However, they didn’t give up.
They didn’t have a way to run away either.
This was the Demon God’s Territory.
A land too barren for them to live on.
Another fight began and Baltan continued to show off his abilities.
Cry of the Guardian.
The effect that increased the ‘toughness’ of allies which made people think more realistically.
They divided themselves into groups; first, people who could fight one-on-one with the lizardmen formed a group and the rest were divided up into supporting roles according to their abilities.
The lizardman king tried to create disunity by frightening them but everyone cooperated even more than before.
They couldn’t just lose the sanctuary they finally gained.

Let’s think of a way.


Let’s make a trap.


We have the murloc’s poison.


We still have some leather left. Don’t you think we can plan some sort of disguise tactic with them?


Since they don’t seem like they will invade us right now, let’s work the fastest we can.

The lizardman king’s scheme wasn’t going as he had planned.
Abnormal for monsters, he was playing mind games but that actually gave them an opportunity.
If he suddenly charged in with 500 monsters, they wouldn’t have been able to hold them off and would have been annihilated instantly.
However, now that they had a day, they had the chance to make a last-ditch effort.
Kyeeeek!
The next day, 100 lizardmen raided the village.
However, no matter how keen the lizardmen’s senses were, they couldn’t avoid the skillfully made traps.
As they stepped inside the village, ten lizardmen were trapped inside holes or were poisoned by a strong poison.
And arrows rained down.
Ting! Tinng!
However, the skin of the lizardmen was tough. There was no way for a wooden arrow to pierce through them.
The lizardmen flicked their tongue.
Although they were skillfully made traps, if they experienced it once, the story changed.
They concentrated on the ground to avoid the traps.
Arrows? They didn’t care. If they were careful of their eyes, they thought they wouldn’t be afflicted.
However, that relaxing attitude didn’t last long.
Blaze!
Suddenly, the normal arrows were changed to flaming ones.

Quickly! Quickly roll the oil tanks!


Like we practiced, roll the oil tanks to the places we’ve designated!

The oil they extracted from murloc corpses had many uses in everyday life.
However, they were also useful in defending the village.
Keruk? Keeeruk?
As their surroundings were instantly covered with fire, the lizardmen became flustered.
It wouldn’t be easy for them to overcome their instinctive fear of fire.
In reality, there were a few lizardmen that were painfully being burned to death.

Now is the time! Attack!

Now. Baltan didn’t lose this chance.
Around 50 people held their own weapons and started to attack the lizardmen.
Most of them were weapons Lord Muyoung left behind but they weren’t bad.
At least, they were enough to pierce through the scales of the lizardmen.
Slash!
Clash!
All kinds of battle sounds filled up all around them.
As their spirits collapsed, the lizardmen ran about in confusion.
Shortly after, they started to run away in retreat.
The people cheered as they raised their weapons up high.

We won!!


Don’t ever come back, you damn lizards


Kyaaack! Ptui!

Victory was always sweet.
As the people were drunk with that word, they shouted out their feelings, embraced each other and danced.
However, they couldn’t always feel the sweetness of victory.
There were about 500 lizardmen in total. Even if they reduced their numbers by a few tens, they were still over 400 left.
And as the numbers slowly increased and they were getting used to their tactics, people were getting nervous.
Even though they were still holding on, people secretly knew that they would be at their limit soon.
‘Is there no way?’
Late at night. Irene was preoccupied.
‘Like this, it will be difficult. We won’t last long.’
It wasn’t just the lizardmen that died.
More than 10 people had died already.
It was obvious that within time, the rate of deaths would increase.
However, no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t think of a way to solve this.
‘I’m… powerless.’
Irene hung her head.
She could only guard the entrance, make traps and use a bow.
At most, 2 people’s worth of work.
With just that, she couldn’t turn the current situation around.
At that moment, Baltan, who was sitting with a few men near a fire, stood up from his spot.

Baltan?


The enemies are here.


Enemies…?!

Zing! Zing!
Irene quickly shook the small bell-shaped item on her neck.
It was an item she earned from the murloc dungeon and if she shook it, it would produce a loud sound.
The people who were asleep hastily gathered.
About 70 in total.
However, everyone was completely exhausted.
It was because, for the last 3 days, they weren’t able to sleep well.

A lot of enemies. Standby.

However, Baltan didn’t order for them to attack unlike before.
Soon, hundreds of red eyes sparkled in the darkness.
In the middle, the lizardman king showed its huge presence.

It finally came.


Damn it…

People clicked their tongues bitterly.
Their only hope was for it to make a miscalculation.
However, it seemed like that last hope disappeared.
About 400 lizardmen and 70 villagers.
There was no need to compare who would out on top.
Their only choice was to negotiate.
Baltan walked forward with heavy steps.

Lizardman king, face me one-on-one. Let’s end this as representatives from each side.

This was their only option.
For Baltan and the lizardman king to fight.
Of course, the probability was very small.
Baltan could hold him off for a long time as his stamina was high but it wouldn’t lead him to victory.

N, O.

Thump!
However, it even refused to talk.
The lizardman king lifted its tail and smacked Baltan.
Baltan’s body lifted up into the air and crashed down near them.

Baltan!

Irene went to look after Baltan but he raised his hand and stood up from his spot.
She could feel his will to protect the people and the village until the end.
Irene burst out into tears as she watched him.

Baltan, it’s too difficult. From the start, this was a fight we couldn’t win.

If they were a bit stronger.
This was also something that had occurred because they weren’t strong.
If they had strength, the lizardmen wouldn’t have been able to threaten them.
For survival, they combined their strength but this was their limit.
To be honest, you could say they were amazing to hold them back for this long.
But, Baltan shook his head.

No, we can win.


What do you mean we can win? How?


He’s here.

He?
Baltan was looking towards a faraway place.
Following Baltan’s gaze, Irene turned her gaze towards the location and immediately, her body shivered.
You would have to call it ghastly.
Chills ran down her spine.
A fierce dusty wind blew and from afar, many things were approaching.
Lizardmen were able to feel it as well.
They turned their heads and couldn’t help but stiffen their bodies.
Before they knew it, tens of thousands of dokkaebis had encircled the lizardmen.
And in the center, a person who Irene was familiar with appeared.
‘Ah…’
She now realized who he was.
At least at that moment, she couldn’t be happier to see him.
The lord who left them had returned.
Within the darkness, his eyes were sparkling with an especially red shine.

What are you lizards up to?

The lizardmen didn’t reply.
That was why Muyoung spoke coldly.

Kill them.


Oom has ordered us! Kill all lizardmen!

As the blue skin colored duaxini yelled, about 20,000 dokkaebis started to move.
A massacre occurred afterwards.
No other words were necessary.
The lizardman king felt that the situation was dangerous as the dokkaebis suddenly barricaded them from behind.

King, of dokkaebis! Fight me, one-on-one!


No.

Swoosh!
Anguish made a quiet sound.
From his body, thousands of black specters soared out.
Everyone trembled at the sight.
In just one month.
The lord returned as a king.