The Oracle Paths

On the Southwest front of Havocspire Citadel, another bloody battle was unfolding. Regiment after regiment of Underworld Barbarians were being thrown into the meat grinder by the thousands, pitted against the well-trained, tightly-knit formations of Light Warriors.

The commander leading them was a far cry from Sank-Uk, more of a backseat general who preferred overseeing the battle from the cozy middle of her rear guard. She was a woman with short, graying hair but built like a polar bear, her thin lips perpetually curled into a condescending snarl. This snarl wasn't meant for her enemies, but rather for the cannon fodder—ignorant and foolish—who selflessly charged forward, roaring battle cries at her every command.

Since scaling the Outer Wall, her strategy had been basic yet fatally effective: drown her enemies under endless waves of attackers. Of course, this meant giving zero shits about the cannon fodder she sent to the frontlines to wear down the Shimmers.

Right now, as thousands of conscripts lost their lives for next to nothing, the gray-haired woman was comfortably seated on a velvet throne, perched atop a twelve-meter-tall mobile steel tower.

The structure itself was a bit special, having thrice awakened its spirituality on a semi-conscious level. The wheeled vehicle, which would normally need to be pushed or pulled by slaves or beasts of burden, could thus move autonomously—and then some.

This commander particularly relished her towering vehicle, which provided an exhaustive view of the battlefield and a sense of superiority she couldn't shake. But right at this moment, she was in a terrible mood.

"These damn peasants... It's too slow!" The leader vented, waving her arms frantically from her throne. Smashing her fist into her memory foam armrest for the umpteenth time, she yelled in frustration, "Fifteen thousand recruits and not one has broken through their first line of shield-bearers! I swear, if they cost me my promotion, they'll be on the front lines for the next ten years of war."

To her right stood a man who differed from the other barbarians—quiet, in handcuffs, but seemingly unconcerned.

Besides his composure, what set him apart was his physique—shorter, leaner, and more athletic, almost effeminate by Duskwight Lands standards. Oh, and another thing—he was incomparably handsome!

Tousled black hair, but somehow stylish, an angular face, almond-shaped piercing chocolate eyes capable of seducing and subduing with just a glance, and skin so perfect it was almost sinful. Too bad his seductive allure was marred by rags and shackles.

For any Player seeing him, the contrast with the other barbarians would immediately flag him as one of their own. Unfortunately, that was also true for the natives.

The commander and her Soulmancer had detained him as a foreigner upon his appearance, but because he was cute—the commander's guilty pleasure—he had been momentarily spared.

Most Players would have attacked rather than be imprisoned, but he saw it as an opportunity to score points. For nearly three days, he'd been quietly laying his trap, and now the time had come to spring it.

Clasping his hands and bowing with a flawless, feverish expression of idol-like adoration that made the female commander flush with pleasure, the man pretended to hesitate before suggesting confidently,

"If you give me the chance, I can win this battle for you in the next five minutes, without either of us lifting a finger."

Resting her cheek on her fist, the cruel warrior sized him up with cold malevolence, then curled her lips into an encouraging smile.

"Oh? Already negotiating, Cho Min Ho?" She sneered, her laughter failing to reach her eyes. "I've killed some of my playthings for less than that. But let's say I give you a chance. What do you want in return?"

Indeed, this person was none other than Cho Min Ho, the Korean idol at the helm of a massive conglomerate of factions collectively known as King's Idol Alliance. It was also the name of his own faction.

Instead of answering right away, he cast an unreadable yet pointed look at the burly officer in heavy armor standing to the left of the female commander. After a moment of lingering silence, he ominously stated,

"I want his position."

The targeted officer, who was the vice-commander of this regiment, suddenly changed his expression to one of rage. Drawing his sword with palpable murderous intent, he stepped toward the insolent worm and proclaimed loudly,

"Commander Kake, let me rid you of this impostor—"

"Granted," the leader apathetically authorized.

A sadistic grin twisted the brute's face as he received the go-ahead, but he froze when he heard the continuation,

"1000-Man Commander Luthron, you are temporarily lowered in rank to a 500-Man Commander. Cho Min Ho, you're taking his place for the duration of this battle. If the outcome disappoints me, the natural order will be immediately restored. Do we understand each other?"

"Crystal clear," the Korean responded confidently, ignoring Officer Luthron, who was glaring at him murderously as if he hoped to bore a hole through his heart with his gaze alone.

"Then… what are you waiting for? Tick-tock, tick-tock. Time's ticking," the leader teased him with a predatory smile as if she already saw herself breaking this exotic plaything with her rough methods. In bed, she could be pretty brutal…

"Just watch and learn," Cho Min Ho chuckled confidently, coolly waving his dainty hand at what remained of their regiment.

One, two, then three seconds passed in silence, and the Korean idol was already anticipating the commander's flabbergasted expression when it would all start.

"Is this happening anytime soon?!" The bitch prodded him impatiently, tapping her index finger on the armrest of her throne. She was undeniably skeptical.

Still with a confident smile plastered on his pretty face, Cho Min Ho dignifiedly responded,

"It won't be long no—"

"ARRRRRGGHHH!"

In the blink of an eye, the Lifemancer who had been tormenting their Soulmancer suddenly shrieked in terror as if possessed before spontaneously disintegrating into ashes. In the nanosecond that followed, the thousands of Shimmers, Pulsars, and Vitalists accompanying him met the same eerie and unsettling fate.

Gripping the armrests of her throne tightly to keep from fainting, Commander Kake, her face drained of all color and frozen in shock, swallowed hard as she replayed the absurd scene that had just unfolded. Then, in a dry and shaky voice, she questioned,

"Did you do that? Ahem… T-that was… Impressive."

But when she finally deigned to look at the supposed perpetrator, her face froze. The foreigner was also pale, although still smiling. The slight tremble of his clenched fists betrayed his inner turmoil.

'W-who the hell did this! A Player? Or some other native?'

Internally, the Korean was both furious and humbled. He thought he could easily assert himself among the Players of their camp by quickly climbing the ranks, but apparently, someone had beaten him to it!

To settle his racing heart, he immediately scanned his unit and the surrounding area far beyond with his mental sense. Finally relaxing, his face returned to its usual tranquility, and he thought with relief,

'No other Players around. Must be one of the natives. Perhaps the work of a Great General or one of those Abyssal Revenants.'

He knew it was just an excuse his brain came up with to reassure him, but it was also by far the most plausible. The notion that a Player of the same rank could suddenly kill so many troops from such a distance so soon after the Ordeal started was bone-chilling.

'I could pull that off too, given enough time,' Cho Min Ho rationalized one last time before confidently, with a touch of smugness, looking back at his commander.

Thankfully he didn't have Jake's eagle-eye view encompassing all of Havocspire, or he would have certainly not regained his composure so quickly.

"Pretty sick, huh? Yeah, that was all me," the Korean lied without batting an eye, deciding to capitalize on the situation.

Inwardly, he was sneering with disdain. In the end, the result remains the same.

Indeed, Commander Kake was so frightened that she stood up from her throne for the first time, falling to her knees without hesitation. The furious officer, Luthron, had also lost his swagger, promptly following the lead of his superior by prostrating himself face-first on the ground.

"Please! Mercy!"

In the end, despite this slight hiccup, the promotion still ended up in his pocket.

"And now, where are Amy and Lee Yoon?" He mused, peering into the mist enveloping his "new" troops. "Weird, I was sure I had detected their two sigils... Well, whatever. I'll find them soon enough."