Using Kinjo's schemes, he had systematically hunted Dungeon Masters with over 100,000 contribution points. In two days, he had killed four of them, extorting 80,000 points. Now, only one remained.

"Kinjo, any movement toward the forest?"

"According to the reconnaissance goblins, no Dungeon Masters are approaching, sir."

Fortunately, it seemed no one was interested in the forest; they were all too busy fighting near the bridge. Some had even begun killing each other regardless of points. It was safe to say Taehyun was the most secure person on the battlefield.

"That's a relief," Taehyun said. "It seems there were a lot of old rivalries on the continent. Seeing them fight even here, the relationships between Masters must be quite hostile."

"Of course, sir. Many Dungeon Masters fight over sources of Zen income like mines, cities, and ruins."

"Hmm. I suppose so. There must be tens of thousands of dungeons on the continent." Taehyun's gaze shifted to the members of the Resistance. They seemed to have finished their own hunt early, having already reached 100,000 points.

'Setting the others aside, that guy Seonghwi is an S-rank Dungeon Master. Is he not interested in the rewards? He should be in the top three for points by now, but he's not fighting anymore?'

Seonghwi, who had fallen back to the bridge, was simply watching the chaos with a gentle smile. The other Resistance members beside him seemed to be urging him to join in, but he remained motionless. The young man's true intentions were impossible to read. Taehyun re-evaluated the faction.

'There might be other factions, but for now, the Resistance and Mihye's group are the most prominent gatherings of the powerful. Then again, can I even call her faction 'strong' to begin with?'

It was still questionable whether Mihye even had a faction. She had certainly allied with the Holy Kingdom, but things might be different now. Furthermore, he couldn't rule out the possibility that she had been bluffing all along, pretending to have a powerful backing to manipulate him.

'Well, she must have allies on the Holy Kingdom's side, so I'll consider it a faction for now. In any case, the two are highly likely to clash soon. From what I can gather, the Resistance is composed mainly of A-rank Masters. In a direct confrontation, they would naturally win.'

Even the Masters who had gathered to greet him were mostly A-rank. They might lack in information or influence, but they had overwhelming firepower.

'Personally, I find Mihye's faction much more to my liking, but as long as she's targeting me, I can't do anything about it.'

He had no intention of becoming her plaything. His eyes hardening, Taehyun began searching for his final prey.

---

The floor shattered, sending fragments of stone flying through the air.

The A-rank Keeper, Mexian, slammed his staff into the ground again, the impact shaking the entire battlefield. "You bastard!" he roared.

Sipal, the A-rank Raider, used the Blessing of the Earth to soften the shockwave. As a heavy mace swung toward him, Mexian was forced back. "These buffs are a real pain," he grumbled. "An A-rank Raider fighting on my level… It's simply not fair."

"You're an A-rank Keeper yourself," Sipal retorted. "What nonsense are you spouting?"

"No. Believe it or not, I'm a Named Keeper," Mexian declared. "Normally, an attack like yours wouldn't even leave a scratch."

Under normal circumstances, he could have easily blocked an A-rank Raider, but this opponent was different. Sipal was already casting Paladin skills, his body shimmering with layers of buffs. To make matters worse, the constant support from the priests at the rear was making him a formidable handful.

"Quite the bark for a demon's lapdog," Sipal sneered.

"Ever been bitten by one?" Mexian shot back.

"I have no time for your pathetic jokes!"

The two clashed again, their skills erupting in a flash of light and force. Meanwhile, the Holy Kingdom's soldiers pressed their advantage, pushing back the dungeon's forces and reclaiming the entrance to the hill. Dozens of Golems and Basilisks crumbled under the holy power of the A-rank Raiders.

Standing at the rear, Kanghyuk watched the Dungeon Masters' formation slowly buckle. 'Should I bring them out now?' he wondered. 'No, not yet. Their troops are still mostly A-rank. They haven't played their final, S-rank cards yet.'

It was true that the A-rank dungeon soldiers were losing ground, but his own forces, along with Chanjae's, were holding firm. For now, they had to rely on their siege units to sustain the fight.

Explosions tore through the battlefield as Catapult Drakes launched their payloads, followed by a volley of massive arrows from giant ballistas. Hundreds of the Holy Kingdom's soldiers were obliterated in an instant. The tide of battle shifted once more, the advantage swinging back to the dungeon forces. Guardians and Keepers surged forward, cutting down the Holy Kingdom's soldiers with renewed vigor.

Now that the first move had been made, the relentless push and pull of the battle would continue. The Holy Kingdom, with its ample supplies, was clearly prepared for a long war and would likely save its trump card for the very end. Having made his decision, Kanghyuk turned to berate the nearby Dungeon Masters.

"You bastards!" he bellowed. "You're getting steamrolled by Chanjae's alliance! Get your act together!"

---

On Day 14 of the Holy Kingdom Invasion, Pope Luminus once again summoned the Archbishops and Cardinals to the capital.

"The Archbishops' barriers are slowly reaching their limit," he announced, his voice heavy. "Our armies continue to march onto the plains to confront those demon fiends, but unless we destroy their siege weapons, the barriers will inevitably fall."

"B-but, Your Holiness," one of the Archbishops stammered, "our forces still hold the advantage."

"An advantage that was just nullified by the wide-area attacks of their siege units, was it not?" the Pope countered sharply. "If this continues, we will be locked in a fruitless stalemate until the demons finally set foot in our holy Partisan. Ugh. It was the right decision to block their advance at the Behel Bridge."

Though they held the high ground, the sheer number of dungeon soldiers swarming from the plains threatened to overwhelm the barrier in a single push. It was impossible to handle the combination of flying units and siege weapons from their hilltop position. In the end, they were forced to send their own armies down to the plains to fight. Stationing their troops on the hill had been a grave miscalculation.

Criobel, seated at the table, bit his lip and stared at the floor, unable to meet the Pope's gaze. In contrast, Wigan, who was leaning against a wall, allowed a smirk to curl his lips.

"Your Holiness, you mustn't be hasty," Wigan said smoothly. "The S-rank Dungeon Masters on their side have yet to deploy their Keepers and Guardians. For now, we must proceed with a war of attrition, just as planned. We will strike the moment the Archbishops' protective barrier shatters."

"I am aware of that," the Pope snapped. "What I want to know now, Sir Wigan, is how we are to defeat the soldiers of those demon bastards."

Silence descended upon the hall. All eyes turned to the Holy Knight Commander. Wigan chuckled softly, his gaze drifting to the magic circle shimmering in the sky outside the window.

"Do not worry, Your Holiness," he purred. "In the end, most of them will die. A few will flee."

---

It was Day 20 of the Holy Kingdom Invasion. Hidden in the forest near the barrier, Taehyun watched the plains with a bored expression. "When the hell is this invasion going to end?" he muttered to himself. "It's dragged on this long, and they're still going at it?"

Duke Nikunbel was undoubtedly watching. While it was true that neither the Holy Kingdom nor the Dungeon Masters had played their trump cards, this had gone on long enough. Since the invasion was a system event, it had to end soon, if only to tally the Contribution Points.

[Contribution Point Ranking (Partisan)]

[1. S-rank Dungeon Master Kanghyuk (1,425,000P)]

[2. S-rank Dungeon Master Chanjae Park (1,423,000P)]

[3. A-rank Dungeon Master Jieun Kang (980,000P)]

'Just as I expected,' Taehyun thought. 'The S-ranks and an A-rank took the top three spots.' The two S-rank Dungeon Masters were a given, and he wasn't surprised to see Jieun there either. Unlike the others, the A-rank woman had shown her hand from the very beginning. Just as he'd heard at the meeting, Jieun was completely unhinged—a Dungeon Master who had massacred thousands of soldiers with her undead army.

"That massive barrier looks like it's about to break," he mused aloud. "Will the Holy Kingdom make the first move?"

"The power of their siege weapons is certainly formidable, Master Taehyun," Kinjo noted from nearby. "Once that barrier is down, it'll probably be a full-scale siege."

"Of course, it might end before that," Taehyun replied, sighing as he checked his own points.

[Contribution Points: 140,000]

He had easily surpassed the 100,000-point threshold and even had time to hunt two more people. For someone not aiming for the top rewards, the whole affair was becoming tedious.

"Ugh. When will this be over?" The magic circle in the sky remained, unwavering. Aside from an occasional flicker, it was perfectly stable. "...Huh?"

Just then, his eyes narrowed. The magic circle, which had been flawless until now, was starting to grow faint. He whipped his head around to check the barrier behind him. Sure enough, it was flickering too, mirroring the phenomenon in the sky.

"No way!"

---

Wigan's voice crackled through the communication device.

—"I've seized command. Are you ready?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Mihye replied, her tone light and airy. "The work is already done." She was lounging atop a mountain of corpses, communicating with casual ease. Every Dungeon Master assigned to the city of Hendal had been annihilated.

—"Ah. Right. You can begin."

Mihye ended the communication and rose to her feet. The bodies piled around her were those of Dungeon Masters, but they clearly hadn't been killed by the Holy Kingdom's soldiers.

"Are all the Dungeon Masters in Partisan going to die?" one of her A-rank followers asked, a grin plastered on his face.

"Probably," another answered. "Well, some of the smarter or stronger ones might escape."

"This will be a sight to see. First, the Dungeon Masters in Hendal, and now the ones in Partisan, all wiped out."

"What are you talking about?" a fourth chimed in. "We're the ones who killed all the whelps here in Hendal."

A-rank Dungeon Masters began to gather around Mihye, each of them looking delighted by the carnage.

"They probably never expected we'd kill our own kind," one of them chuckled.

"Huhu. Isn't it fun?" Mihye said, her eyes glinting. "Now, from here on out, let's just enjoy the show." She looked up at the slowly fading magic circle, a pleased smile gracing her lips.

---

A thunderous roar from the Holy Kingdom's soldiers echoed across the plains. At the vanguard was the Holy Knight unit, led by Commander Wigan himself. On both flanks, A-rank Raider units appeared alongside the Archbishops. In an instant, Partisan had unleashed its full military might.

"Th-those bastards! They're pouring out all their forces, and the barrier hasn't even broken yet!" one Dungeon Master cried in disbelief.

"Damn it! We have to use our hidden cards, too!" another shouted.

"W-wait! Look at the sky! Something's wrong with the magic circle!"

Amidst the confusion, every Dungeon Master looked up. The massive magic circle that had dominated the sky was rapidly disappearing.

[The Holy Kingdom Invasion has ended in failure.]

[You have failed to invade the Holy Kingdom's capital, Partisan.]

[Duke Nikunbel's magic circle is disappearing.]

[The item restriction has been lifted.]

[Duke Nikunbel's barrier is disappearing.]

[The qualifications of Dungeon Masters who did not achieve at least 100,000 Contribution Points will be automatically revoked.]

[Rewards for Dungeon Masters who achieved at least 100,000 Contribution Points have been sent to their dungeons.]

The barrier vanished along with the magic circle. Kanghyuk and Chanjae, who had been observing from a distance, scowled in unison.

"That bastard Nikunbel," Kanghyuk growled. "He even planned for this?"

"We need to get out of here," Chanjae said, his voice tight.

"Heh. Let's try not to run into each other again," Kanghyuk shot back.

"You're one to talk!"

Having come prepared, the two S-rank masters immediately used their return items and vanished, teleporting back to their dungeons.

"Ah, I didn't bring any items! How am I supposed to escape?" a Dungeon Master wailed.

"Weren't we supposed to be automatically teleported or something?!" another yelled in panic.

"Damn it! The two S-rank masters just left! This was a winnable war, and they just abandoned us?!"

The remaining Dungeon Masters, utterly unprepared for this turn of events, descended into chaos. Just then, another message materialized before their eyes.

[Reinforcements are arriving from the Holy Kingdom's third city, Hendal.]

Reinforcements from the nearby city of Hendal. Faced with one disaster after another, the Dungeon Masters finally understood why Kanghyuk and Chanjae had fled. But most of them hadn't brought return items, and only a handful of A-rank masters were able to escape.

---

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