Game’s Dogma

​​​​​​​Hades revealed the dagger held in his hand, his silhouette flickering out of existence the next moment. The Underworld members behind him also laughed like maniacs as they accelerated.

In no time, Hades had already arrived right at the wolves’ doorstep.

Shadowstrike!

An assassin was standing at the very front?

Even back in War of the Daemons, Hades had been playing as an assassin. Assassins were generally known for their ghostly movements and one-hit kills, diving in and out as they sought for the best opportunities. But why was Hades referred to as the Diabolos? If he had been an outstanding assassin, people might as well call him the Shadow Lord or Ghost Lord.

The reason was that his playstyle was the complete opposite of your usual assassin. It almost seemed like an entirely different class under his control, and people often called it ‘War Assassin’.

The dagger was like a warrior’s sword in his hands. After landing Shadowstrike on the enemy, Hades immediately sprung into action. There was nothing but wolves around him. Yet, he didn’t falter at all and swung his dagger around like the wind. His right arm which held the weapon was almost invisible with how rapid it was waving. Having improved his body coordination thanks to Drako Yau’s reminder, his reflexes and agile hands were now his greatest weapons.

A symphony of clings and clangs resounded throughout the battlefield. Hades was single-handedly blocking the flurries of bites and slashes from the wolves and tearing a path of blood through their ranks.

Diabolos’ Blade was a ‘formation’ that had no tactics whatsoever.

Breaking through tens of thousands of enemies with just a hundred of them? The pressure of this formation fell entirely on Hades’ shoulders; if he died the moment he charged through the enemy ranks, then the others would be truly throwing their lives away.

However, if the initial charge managed to penetrate and dissolve the enemy’s first line of defence, this ridiculous formation could be a destructive force to be reckoned with.

Just when Hades was about to be drowned by the sea of wolves, the Underworld elites behind him took advantage of the path he had cut open and busted through the wolves’ formation as well.

‘Now!’

‘Ahaha! Die!’

Skills were being used one after another in a disciplined manner. They didn’t slow down as they fired off their skills while running, cutting through the sea of teeth and claws.

Not a single one of them were clerics. They were a blade! They needed no defence! Their gazes were set only on the shadow that led them at the front, the shadow which was parrying and blocking countless attacks.

Sweat was trickling down Hades’ forehead. He could barely withstand the tremendous pressure he was under, and his right arm was starting to feel weak from fatigue. With pain perception level set to 50 per cent, his body was aching from within, though his mind was particularly calm.

This game… It’s nice. Such a realistic feeling, isn’t this the second life I’ve always wished for?

A demon kept murmuring to him in his head, telling him to stop and rest, telling him that he could respawn instantly anyways if he died. Still, he pushed forwards—he knew a hundred of his brother-in-arms were looking up to him.

His task was not to kill, but to defend.

It would be Underworld’s chance to counterattack after the wolves’ first wave of attack dwindled.

Under the awe-struck looks from Drako Yau, Zephyrwolf, the purplish young man, and the two beastmen that stood behind him, the squad of hundred players tore all the way through the wolves’ defences with just several casualties.

Hades’ eyes sparkled. The rain of blood and endless torrent of wolves were all now behind him. Having lost focus for half a second, he pulled himself together and tracked down his target.

Monoeyes!

‘Spread out, our target is the monoeyes, especially the ones with red eyes!’

Leaving that behind in the guild channel, Hades vanished from the spot again, the powerful movement effect of Shadowstrike bringing him straight into the face of a red-eyed monoeye.

‘Brothers! It’s slaughter time!’ Everlastor gave off a crazed laugh and used Dash to charge straight at the monoeyes. Soulsmith silently pulled out his bow and started firing away behind him.

Drako Yau quickly said to Zephyrwolf, ‘Order all players to charge! Right away! Tell the ranged players to fire at will too!’

Zephyrwolf didn’t bother asking the reason behind those orders, for even he knew every second mattered right now. He quickly passed Drako Yau’s instructions down the chain of command.

It didn’t take long for him to realise why Drako Yau gave those orders.

The army of beastmen and wolves suddenly turned around and rushed towards their rear, startling the melee players at the frontlines who had been gritting their teeth as they fended off the monsters.

At that moment, Zephyrwolf’s command was sent through the citywide channel for everyone to see. The players immediately set off in pursuit of the monsters. Meanwhile, the ranged players started casting magic, albeit noticing that the red barrier was still surrounding the army of monsters.

Eight… Nine…

Hades’ eyes were as cold as ice. It was the ninth monoeye he had killed, five of which had red eyes. Lifting his head to look up, the red barrier had indeed turned thinner and dimmer.

‘Onwards!’

A strange creaking noise blasted around him as he spoke.

As though struck by something, Hades could feel himself shudder momentarily. His movements… turned sluggish.

Two monoeyes ran at him. The duo looked a lot healthier than the rest of the monoeyes; at least they weren’t as skinny as their tribesmen. One had a crimson eye, and all it did was stare at the sky. The other one, though, had a sapphire eye and was staring straight at Hades. Pale blue waves traversed through the air to Hades from that eye, and he instinctively knew his body had turned sluggish because of the weird waves.

Hades made a mocking laugh and said, ‘Let’s see if you can keep up with me.’

Ignoring the two larger monoeyes, he used Shadowstrike and disappeared from their vision. By the time it finally figured out where he was, he had already killed another monoeye.

Hades knew they were short on time. Five minutes? Probably less. In the timespan of barely a few minutes, they had to kill as many monoeyes as they could. The names on his guild menu greyed out one by one. That was likely due to the beastmen troops and wolves that had turned back to support the monoeyes.

With just a hundred of them, even if a portion of the monsters’ main army were sent back as reinforcements, they would die out like a flickering candle put out by a massive tsunami. Their only goal was to deal as much damage as possible to the monoeyes before the reinforcements arrived!

The barrier shrouding the skies was gradually turning dimmer.

Soulsmith neglected the wolves and beastmen headed straight for him. He looked calmly to his front, where the red-eyed monoeye commander stood.

Whoosh whoosh. Whoosh.

Three arrows darted across the air in quick succession. Double Shot, Heart-Piercing Shot—those were the only remaining skills he could cast.

Immediately after the arrows left his bow, countless monsters flocked at him and turned him into a burst of white light that flew back to Yoda.

The three arrows cut through the wind and headed straight for the red-eyed monoeye commander. Heart-Piercing Shot struck first despite being cast later than Double Shot. It punctured the target’s chest, producing an explosion of blood and a massive number. The two shots that followed seemed to have strayed slightly, with one landing on its chest while the other struck its arm.

Hiller looked nervously at the battlefield. The red-eyed monoeye commander… didn’t die.