[A B-rank raid party has appeared from Hyrone Forest.]

[A B-rank raid party has appeared from Hyrone Forest.]

Time flew. The raid party he'd been warned about had finally arrived. Using the vision of his summoned creatures scattered throughout the woods, Taehyun examined the monitor.

[Draxler]

[Rank: B (Top-tier)]

[Level: 58]

[Class: Spear Knight]

[Title: Raider of the Spear Sky]

[Affiliation: Decenter]

[Stress: None]

[Status: Calm]

[Relationship with Comrades: Unremarkable]

[Description: A top-tier B-rank raider nominated as an A-rank candidate. He primarily uses javelins and was hired by Gelix to attempt the conquest of Balak.]

The first to appear was Draxler's party. His information was completely open, with no signs of manipulation or disguise.

"Is he so confident he doesn't even bother hiding his stats?" Taehyun muttered.

"To be an A-rank candidate, he must be," Riel observed. "He's surely underestimating us."

He might be confident, Taehyun thought, but underestimation was a luxury he couldn't afford to count on. He moved on to the next party.

[Alex]

[Rank: B (Top-tier)]

[Level: 56]

[Class: Berserker]

[Title: Last Descendant of the Gariot Tribe]

[Affiliation: None]

[Stress: None]

[Status: Relaxed]

[Relationship with Comrades: Difficult]

[Description: A top-tier B-rank raider nominated as an A-rank candidate. He primarily engages in close-quarters combat using gauntlets and was hired by Gelix to attempt the conquest of Balak.]

Alex's party was next, his information just as transparent. Draxler's group was accompanied by a hundred C-rank raiders, while Alex had fifty. Taehyun's mind raced, calculating the numbers.

'The intel said four top-tier B-rankers. One party will head for the labyrinth, and another must already be at the second Balak. So where's the fourth?'

Draxler, Alex, and the one attacking the second dungeon. That only made three. Unless the information was wrong, one was missing. He began meticulously scanning the profiles of the C-rank raiders. Then he found it—an anomaly in Draxler's party.

[Yulina(?)]

[Rank: C(?)]

[Level: 57(?)]

[Class: Priest(?)]

[Title: Guardian of Faith(?)]

[Affiliation: Rendal(?)]

[Stress: 10/100]

[Status: Serene]

[Relationship with Comrades: Dissatisfied(?)]

[Description: A priest who joined the Balak conquest at the request of Branch Manager Gelix. She was mainly active in the Holy Kingdom before moving to Partren.]

For some reason, the information of a mere party member was completely obscured. He double-checked the others, but they were all normal.

"So it was this bitch," Taehyun growled.

"What is it?"

"This raider here has disguised her information. She has to be the last one. To attack all three locations at once, they'd have to split their forces—two for the main dungeon, one for each of the others. But right now, we can only see Draxler and Alex."

"But perhaps those two are heading for the main dungeon, and another party will go to the labyrinth later," Riel suggested.

"No. Gelix is too smart for that. He'll strike simultaneously to divide my forces." Taehyun had already anticipated that much, which was why he'd sent troops to the other two dungeons. By all rights, three top-tier B-rankers should be in Hyrone Forest right now.

He pulled out the True Identity Card.

"Riel, any word from Kinjo?"

"Not yet… oh, wait. Yes, yes." Right on cue, a call came through. After a brief exchange, Riel lowered the communication device. "He said a B-rank raid party just appeared."

"Whew. Good. For now, I'll leave the other two locations to the supporters."

He wasn't comfortable entrusting them with such a powerful enemy, but the main dungeon had to fend off two top-tier raiders at once. And while the other parties had fifty members, Draxler's had a hundred. Even with a thousand soldiers, it would be a brutal fight.

Certain that Draxler's party was heading for his main gate, Taehyun activated the card.

[You have used True Identity on the C-rank raider Yulina.]

[All of Yulina's disguises and transformations will be removed.]

In the forest, the figure of Yulina flickered and changed. Her disguise melted away, revealing her true form.

[Doll Madria]

[Rank: C]

[Level: 42]

[Class: Mage]

[Title: Puppet Mage]

[Affiliation: Roquin]

[Stress: None]

[Status: None]

[Relationship with Comrades: None]

[Description: A doll created using Roquin's skill. Mana flows through its entire body.]

"What?!" Taehyun exclaimed.

Yulina's true identity was a doll. The priest had morphed into a crude, lifeless mannequin.

"M-Master… that's a doll," Riel whispered, her eyes wide.

"Damn it! A doll disguised as a raider? Then where the hell is the last one?!"

There were no other anomalies in the data. Even the other C-rank raiders seemed shocked by the revelation. Just then, a teleportation circle flared to life in the middle of Draxler's party.

[Top-tier B-rank raider Roquin has used the Doll Swap skill.]

[The doll Madria and 14 other dolls will be swapped.]

Madria vanished, and in its place, fourteen new dolls appeared among the raiders. Taehyun stared in disbelief. He frantically checked their information, but it was all a jumble of question marks.

"Damn it! This was their plan?!"

Not only had he just wasted his True Identity Card, but now he had no way of knowing which of the fifteen dolls was Roquin. It was a repeat of his battle with Lexner, but this time, they had deliberately baited him into using his item. It was a complete and utter humiliation.

"These bastards," Taehyun snarled, grinding his teeth as he glared at Draxler's image on the screen. The man was smiling, clearly satisfied with his little trick. "They played me."

---

'You tried to be clever,' Draxler thought, a smirk playing on his lips. 'But you don't know our skills.'

Even if the Dungeon Master knew they were coming, he couldn't possibly know their individual abilities. He and Roquin had planned this gambit from the start. They knew he would anticipate a four-person team splitting up. When only Draxler and Alex appeared, he would naturally become suspicious and search for the hidden members. Yulina was the bait.

And he had taken it. He'd wasted his True Identity Card on a worthless doll. Roquin had then used the opening to swap places, joining the party while already concealed among fourteen identical decoys, all with their information scrambled.

They had successfully baited out one of his most valuable items while perfectly concealing their own trump card. It was a flawless victory in the opening round of their psychological war.

"With this, his True Identity is gone," Draxler said aloud.

"Huhu. So this is the man who defeated Sebastian," Roquin's voice echoed from one of the dolls. "Can I kill his little spies now?"

"Go ahead."

Draxler launched his spear, a silver blur that streaked through the trees.

"Kyuk!"

"Kwek!"

One by one, the familiar summons Taehyun had hidden in the forest were impaled and died. The C-rank raiders, still reeling from the sudden appearance of the dolls, could only stare in awe at Draxler's pinpoint accuracy.

Roquin's voice explained the situation to them. "So that's what it was. A meticulous plan to make him waste his item."

"As expected of a top-tier raider. He'll never find Lady Roquin now."

"Shh! Quiet! Lady Roquin said to keep this a secret."

The raiders looked at their leaders with newfound reverence. Draxler, however, turned away in annoyance. "Was it necessary to tell them? What if one of them slips up?"

"It's fine," Roquin's voice replied breezily. "It's better this way. There's a big difference between getting caught because you're ignorant and getting caught when you're already in on the secret."

"…Do as you please," Draxler grumbled.

The puppeteer Roquin. A true top-tier talent, but her tongue was far too loose for his liking.

"Yawn. This is boring," Alex yawned, showing no interest in their scheming.

Draxler let out a heavy sigh and stared ahead. They were leaving Hyrone Forest and entering the arid plains.

"Looks like it's time to part ways," Alex announced. "I'm off. Let's go, guys." He and his party split off, heading toward the labyrinth.

'I wonder how he'll handle the maze,' Draxler mused. Alex was a combat monster, but he was also surprisingly adept at navigating labyrinths. A C-rank maze would be child's play for him.

Draxler tore his gaze away from the labyrinth's distant entrance and addressed his own troops. "We proceed to the main dungeon. We've used a Vision Expansion Scroll, so report the second you see any soldiers."

"Understood!"

---

[Draxler's raid party has appeared at the edge of the arid plains.]

[Alex's raid party has appeared at the edge of the arid plains.]

The two parties emerged from Hyrone Forest. As expected, Alex's group veered off toward the labyrinth, leaving Draxler's party to march on the main dungeon. Suddenly, Taehyun's monitors began to go dark one by one.

[Top-tier B-rank raider Draxler is killing C-rank familiar summons with his javelin.]

It was Draxler's incredible marksmanship. 'He's a javelin specialist. Sending flying units would be suicide. Should I send a reconnaissance squad?' With the raiders using a Vision Expansion Scroll, Taehyun was already losing the battle for intel. He clutched the Vision Priority Right item, weighing his options. He had to thin their numbers before they reached the dungeon entrance.

"Master, we have the Catapult Drakes," Riel reminded him. "If we send them with a surprise attack unit, we can wipe them out before they even get close."

She was right. The Catapult Drakes were powerful, especially after their modifications. Their only drawback was that they couldn't be used inside the dungeon.

"True, we might be able to annihilate them," Taehyun conceded. "But I'm hesitating because I still don't know their skills. If I send my troops in blind, they could be slaughtered."

Roquin's doll trick was a perfect example. Rushing in without knowing their abilities was a fool's errand. Worse, with his forces split between the three dungeons, he only had about five hundred soldiers left to defend the main core.

"Then what is your plan?" Riel asked.

"First, we test the waters."

He dispatched a contingent of soldiers, including the Catapult Drakes, toward the Silent Forest.

"But you just said they could be slaughtered," Riel pointed out, confused.

"I need to see how they react," Taehyun replied calmly. "I can pull them back. Don't worry."

Draxler's party appeared on the reconnaissance team's monitor. Taehyun sent his remaining familiar summons charging forward.

[C-rank familiar summon Purple Eye has discovered Draxler's raid party.]

[C-rank familiar summon Purple Eye has been killed by Draxler's javelin.]

[C-rank familiar summon Red Eye has discovered Draxler's raid party.]

[C-rank familiar summon Red Eye has been killed by Draxler's javelin.]

The familiars died almost instantly, but they bought him precious seconds of vision. Taehyun immediately ordered the drakes to fire.

[A projectile from the B-rank Catapult Drake (Modified) is in the air.]

[Direct hit!]

[9 C-rank raiders have died from the unexpected bombardment.]

The bombardment continued, the modified projectiles raining down on the unsuspecting raiders. They were scrambling to retreat, but they were still within range. Taehyun kept sending in familiars, sacrificing them to maintain his line of sight.

"Master, fifteen C-rank raiders are already dead!" Riel reported.

"Not yet. We have plenty of familiars."

"Oh! Master, Draxler is charging forward alone!"

Suddenly, Draxler broke from the formation. He sprinted ahead, raised his spear to the sky, and unleashed a skill.

[Top-tier B-rank raider Draxler has cast Meteor Spear.]

[Javelins are falling over the entire sky of the Silent Forest.]

The heavens opened, and from them fell a rain of a hundred spears.

---

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