The ultimate spear technique: Meteor Spear. It was a skill only attainable by a Spear Knight who had mastered their javelin proficiency to its absolute limit. It had taken Draxler five long years to acquire it. The skill could rain hundreds of spears upon a designated area, but it came with a heavy restriction: it could only be used once per conquest. He had planned to save it, but the current situation forced his hand.

Explosions ripped through the raiders' ranks. They had fallen back at the sight of the siege weapons, but the enemy's range was far greater than they had anticipated.

"Aargh!"

"Keuk!"

"Kyaaaak!"

Healers desperately threw up barriers and cast recovery spells, but more than ten C-rank raiders were already dead.

'Using familiar summons as bait to secure a line of sight for bombardment?!' Draxler thought, his jaw tight. He hurled his javelin again and again, picking off the swarming creatures, but for every one he killed, two more seemed to take its place. The Dungeon Master was clearly sacrificing his summons to conserve his Vision Priority Right.

"It seems he knew we used the Vision Expansion Scroll," Roquin's voice noted from one of the dolls.

"Tsk. Instead of engaging in a proper vision battle, he's using cannon fodder to aim his artillery. Cunning," Draxler admitted grudgingly.

"Oh my, how terrifying!" Roquin cried out. "Did you see that? A projectile landed right next to me! You have to do something!"

Draxler hesitated for a fraction of a second, the thought of using Meteor Spear weighing on him, before he broke into a sprint. 'If I can take out those siege weapons, it's worth it.'

His decision made, he slowed his pace, taking a deep, steadying breath. He took one final step, leaned forward, and channeled all his energy into the arm holding his spear. With a glint in his eye, he launched the javelin into the sky above the Silent Forest.

The spear tore through the air, blossoming into the Meteor Spear. It multiplied, becoming a storm of hundreds of lances that arced downwards.

"Haaah. That should be the end of his siege weapons," Draxler panted.

"As expected of the Raider of the Spear Sky," Roquin praised. "Look at them, the siege soldiers are… huh?!"

Her voice faltered. The soldiers in the forest, who had been moments from annihilation, had vanished.

"Wh-what happened?"

"…No return circle. It must have been a position shift," Draxler deduced. "He had a marker placed inside the dungeon ahead of time. Impressive."

He had forced the Dungeon Master to use a valuable item, but in exchange, his own ultimate skill was now spent. Draxler wiped the sweat from his brow, a grim smile spreading across his face.

"This is getting interesting."

---

Meanwhile, Taehyun let out a long sigh of relief.

[Dungeon Master exclusive item 'Position Shift' has been used.]

[The position of the Balak soldiers will be changed to the saved previous location.]

Thank goodness he had saved a location inside the dungeon. If he had sent them in without that failsafe, they would have been wiped out by the Meteor Spear. He had managed to save his catapults and the rest of the troops just in the nick of time.

"A skill like that exists?!" he marveled.

Draxler's Meteor Spear was terrifying. Hundreds of spears raining from the sky. Even Riel stood beside him, mouth agape, a testament to the skill's sheer power.

"S-surely he can't use a skill like that repeatedly, can he?" she whispered.

"…Fortunately, I don't think so," Taehyun replied, re-reading the system message. "From the looks of it, Draxler used it specifically to take out my siege weapons."

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

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

[Meteor Spear Usage Limit 1/1]

A skill that powerful was bound to have a strict usage limit. Taehyun watched the raiders setting up camp just outside the Silent Forest and took stock of his remaining items.

[Effect Reversal Card]

[Return Item]

[Item Nullification]

[Buff Item x 5]

[Vision Priority Right]

[Information Disguise]

[Information Manipulation]

[Disguise]

'Their stress levels and relationships are stable. This is going to be a psychological battle of items.' He had to use his Vision Priority Right in the Silent Forest to land a decisive blow. The C-rank raiders were down to eighty-five. With his newly summoned B-rank soldiers, he could still inflict significant damage.

Taehyun began deploying his troops into the Silent Forest, preparing for the next engagement.

---

At the second Balak dungeon, Kinjo was more on edge than usual.

"It's only a C-rank dungeon, but a B-rank raid party is here. This is very dangerous, it is," he fretted.

The soldiers Taehyun had sent had bolstered his forces, but the dungeon itself was still C-rank. Its traps, installations, and modifications were all capped at that level. Even with six hundred C-rank soldiers, stopping them would be difficult.

Kinjo watched the raiders enter, his hands nervously clutching his items. 'I have to stop them, no matter what.' This was the dungeon his master had entrusted to him. He couldn't fail after being shown such faith.

First, he pulled up the raid party's information.

[Shape]

[Rank: B (Top-tier)]

[Level: 56]

[Class: Storm Archer]

[Title: Poem of the Storm]

[Affiliation: Dominion]

[Stress: 30/100]

[Status: Fatigued]

[Relationship with Comrades: Bothersome]

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

The raid leader, Shape, was an archer. A hidden class like Storm Archer could have any number of unknown skills.

"This one is fatigued, with a stress level of thirty, he is," Kinjo noted. "And his relationship with his comrades is marked as 'bothersome.' I must exploit this."

Even on the monitor, Shape was yawning constantly, looking completely uninterested in the conquest. Kinjo muttered to himself as he positioned his soldiers in the first room. The raiding party had a lot of mages, so the Mana Interruption Trap would be key.

"First, I'll use the trap in the first room to take out the mages, I will."

Soon, the party entered the first chamber, a room decorated like an elaborate garden. The raiders looked around, impressed.

[Top-tier B-rank raider Shape keeps his distance from the raiders.]

[Top-tier B-rank raider Shape is annoyed by his comrades.]

Shape, however, hung back, clearly irritated by his companions. Kinjo seized the opportunity and ordered his soldiers to attack.

[C-rank Mana Interruption Trap has been activated.]

[Raider magic is blocked throughout the first room.]

The trap, hidden beneath a corrupted pond, sprang to life. The C-rank raiders panicked as they found their spells fizzling out.

[The Elite High Mage Fairy has cast Flame Spear.]

[The Elite High Archer Fairy has cast Rapid Fire.]

[The Elite High Spirit Master Fairy has cast Ice Crystal Shot.]

A barrage of attacks rained down from the far side of the room. The party's shield-bearers scrambled to block the assault, but some of the raiders were hit.

[The stress of the B-rank top-tier Raider Shape is increasing.]

At the same time, Shape's stress level ticked upwards. Kinjo cackled with glee. "Just as I thought! This one finds his own comrades a nuisance. The more trouble they're in, the higher his stress will climb!"

As expected, Shape made no move to help his beleaguered team. The C-rank raiders fought back with their own skills, but without their mages, their damage output was pitiful. The melee fighters bore the brunt of the assault, and the battle dragged on before finally concluding.

[You have been defeated in battle.]

[The loyalty of the second Balak soldiers has decreased by 1.]

[The obedience of the second Balak soldiers has decreased by 1.]

Kinjo looked at the report of his fallen soldiers, but he was satisfied. "Muahaha. This is but a minor sacrifice. This is precisely what I was aiming for."

New messages appeared before his eyes.

[The C-rank shield-bearer Raider Holdan is beginning to feel distrust towards Shape.]

[The C-rank warrior Raider Balderk is feeling anger towards Shape.]

[The C-rank mage Raider Lolita is growing suspicious of Shape.]

The raid party's unity began to splinter almost immediately. Their collective fury turned on one man: Shape. He had done nothing, simply watched as his comrades fell into the magic-blocking trap. He hadn't offered a single item, leaving them to fend for themselves. It was an infuriating betrayal.

Kinjo cackled, his unique laugh echoing in the tense air. "Muahaha. Just as I thought. These C-rank whelps were leaning entirely on their top-tier B-rank leader. Now that their precious trust has been shattered, their camaraderie is in ruins."

The tension that had gripped him began to ease as he watched the cracks form. Shape was stewing in his own stress, and the raiders' resentment was festering. For Kinjo the Schemer, the situation was perfect. "We may lose a few soldiers," he mused, "but that bastard clearly has no intention of conquering this place, so who cares? If this keeps up, we might actually be able to stop them!"

With five mages already dead in the first room, Kinjo allowed himself to relax, beginning his leisurely assault on their crumbling morale.

---

On the second day, the raid party broke camp at dawn and pressed forward. They plunged into the Forest of Silence, steadily closing the distance to their target.

[The Draxler raid party has entered the Forest of Silence.]

Taehyun watched their progress, a plan already forming. 'Those dolls are a nuisance,' he thought, 'but a ranged spear knight like Draxler is at a disadvantage in the forest. This is my chance to deal some real damage.'

Grai's ambush squad, bolstered by B-rank soldiers, moved silently through the dense woods. The raiders had used a Vision Expansion Pass; discovery was imminent. Acting first, Taehyun activated his own item: a Vision Priority Pass.

[Using Vision Priority Pass.]

[You have secured four numbers on the Win/Loss die.]

It was a narrow margin, but he had secured four of the six possible outcomes. As Grai and his unit closed in on the raiders, a spectral die materialized in the air.

[The vision of Balak's soldiers clashes with the vision of the Draxler raid party.]

[The Win/Loss die is being rolled.]

A cascade of orange messages followed as the die began to tumble. 'Anything but a two or a four,' he pleaded silently. 'Please.'

Tension coiled in his gut as he watched it clatter to a stop. He swallowed hard and checked the result.

[The number on the die is 3.]

[Victory for Balak's soldiers, who held the numbers 1, 3, 5, and 6!]

[Balak's soldiers gain the upper hand in the vision battle.]

His desperate plea must have worked. Balak had won the battle for vision. A triumphant grin spread across Taehyun's face as he stared at the screen.

[45 Elite Archer Evil Goblins draw their bowstrings.]

[Accuracy: 68%]

Having already spotted their prey, the Evil Goblins nocked their arrows. Deeper in the shadows, Werewolves and Harpies tensed, waiting for the signal. At the head of the ambush, Grai's raised hand sliced down.

[An arrow from an Elite Archer Evil Goblin has hit the C-rank Spirit Master Raider, Babilan.]

[An Elite Warrior Werewolf has used Bite.]

[An Elite Infiltrator Harpy has used Rapid Descent.]

Dozens of arrows flew as the B-rank soldiers and the ambush squad surged forward. The C-rank raiders reeled, stunned by the sudden assault. They had been sweeping the area with their Vision Expansion Pass, yet the enemy had materialized from both flanks.

"Damn it—Werewolves! Shield bearers, now!"

"Aaaah! A Harpy's got me! Help!"

"Arrows from the front! Get a barrier up!"

Chaos erupted as the raiders scrambled to mount a defense. Taehyun watched the pandemonium unfold, a cold smirk on his lips. 'Any time now, Draxler. Your grunts are dropping like flies. Aren't you going to use an item?'

Draxler and his fourteen dolls fought back alongside the surviving raiders, but their losses mounted with each passing second. His famously accurate javelins lost their potency in the thick woods, and the dolls were fully occupied holding back the B-rank soldiers. Losing any more C-rank raiders would cripple their ability to progress deeper into the dungeon.

Finally, Draxler fumbled for an item. Taehyun's smirk widened.

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