Episode 44: Fortress Entrance Subjugation (2)
KR Server Elf Fortress.
Radiance guild members sighed heavily.
“How long do we put up with this?”
“We have to endure. The moment we strike, we play into their hands.”
Son Tae-yeon calmed the frustrated guild members.
The KR server was struggling with the Elf Fortress raid.
Deathside, backed by Korea’s top three guilds, was blocking the entrance.
“How much time are we losing because of them?”
“That’s why we can’t act. If we get reverse-summoned, it’s game over.”
Resummoning a critically damaged summon takes time—longer for higher grades.
Legendary summons need a full day to recover.
With less than a week until the raid deadline, one defeat could be fatal.
‘We can’t stay like this forever, though.’
Son Tae-yeon approached the guilds pointing weapons at them, attempting dialogue.
“How long will you keep blocking us? Aren’t you afraid of a dungeon break?”
“You’re the ones interfering! Traitors camping behind us—our ‘elite raid team’ can’t advance because of you!”
Still harping on their elite raid team nonsense.
It’s an obvious lie.
What they really want is an apology, compensation, and someone to take the media’s heat.
Their pettiness and cowardice infuriated Son Tae-yeon, but she suppressed her emotions.
“Let’s be frank. What do you want?”
“Finally, someone’s talking sense.”
The Deathside alliance smirked arrogantly.
“Hand over command of your forces for this raid. Make a public statement that Radiance, responsible for this chaos, will serve under us.
And, of course, you won’t get away with just words. You’ll give up significant shares. Details to be discussed later.
Oh, and one last thing…”
The alliance member’s lips twisted.
“Your guild master, Yoon Hae-joon, needs to bow and apologize to our master. Maybe lick his boots, and we’ll consider it.”
“…What?”
“You deaf? Bring Yoon Hae-joon to grovel.”
Son Tae-yeon’s mind went blank.
Then it hit her.
This wasn’t a negotiation—it was a tantrum.
She’d thought the earlier conditions were the main point, but she was wrong.
‘All this because of pride?’
A childish, pathetic rage over being insulted by a group they thought they ruled.
That was the cause.
As Son Tae-yeon prepared to respond to their outrageous demands—
Swish.
A dark purple mist began descending from the sky.
“Huh?”
Her gaze lifted upward.
The adventurers behind her followed, looking to the sky.
“What are you doing? High or something—”
“Uh… boss, you need to look up.”
Even the smug alliance members started raising their heads.
“What… is that?”
A shimmering silhouette emerged from the dark purple mist.
A woman in a black dress with long silver hair gazed down imperiously.
Someone muttered.
“The… Witch of the Apocalypse?”
Silence fell over the fortress entrance.
The adventurers here, love them or hate them, were the nation’s top forces.
They all knew the infamous Hertia’s appearance.
Savoring the scene, Hertia declared to all present:
“Be silent. And fear. Those actions, I permit.”
Adventurers screamed and fled.
“Argh!”
“It’s Hertia! The real Witch of the Apocalypse! Run!”
The fortress entrance descended into chaos.
Hertia’s appearance didn’t just affect the adventurers.
《The elves within the fortress are shaken by Witch of the Apocalypse Hertia’s arrival.》
The elves inside grew tense, ignoring adventurer threats and focusing entirely on Hertia.
This upheaval also impacted the three guilds obstructing the raid.
“What do we do? Pull out?”
“Are you insane? If we leave now, it’s a dungeon break! We planned to extort what we could and clear it, but bailing now screws us!”
“So… we fight Hertia?”
“…Damn it. This sucks.”
As squad leader Choi Dong-pal cursed, intelligence agent Min Kang-hoon spoke.
“Boss, let’s just get out!”
“Didn’t you hear me, idiot? If we leave—”
“It’s not about getting screwed—it’s about dying!”
“Shut up and let me think!”
Min Kang-hoon, a master of stealth and tracking, once tasked with tailing the Unknown Adventurer.
He still couldn’t forget that day—Hertia’s face staring down at him as he snapped photos.
“Screw this, I’m out! I’m surviving!”
“Hey, Min Kang-hoon!”
Min Kang-hoon kicked away Choi Dong-pal’s grip and fled.
As guild members moved to chase him, Choi Dong-pal, rolling on the ground, shouted:
“Stop, you idiots! Min Kang-hoon’s expelled as of today. Anyone who follows—”
“—Quiet.”
A chilling voice pierced the alliance’s ears.
“I clearly said silence and fear.”
“…Damn it, everyone, prepare for battle!”
At Choi Dong-pal’s command, the alliance adventurers clumsily summoned their forces.
“How pathetic. Do you dare attack me?”
“What?”
A strange message appeared before Choi Dong-pal’s eyes.
《Hertia’s Law is applied! No commands can be given to summons before Hertia attacks.》
‘This is insane!’
Choi Dong-pal panicked.
To think this absurd effect persisted even after the Cataclysm!
Worse, it wasn’t just him—hundreds of summons at the scene were frozen in place.
“…You monster.”
“Heh. So frightened, yet you think you can face a monster?”
As he spat curses, Hertia approached, her sharp nails leaving a scar on his rough skin.
A chill ran through him, but he screamed defiantly to shake off the fear.
“Stop bluffing! Your debuff ends the moment you attack!”
“You know well. Then…”
Hertia smiled ominously.
“Do you know this?”
Swish—Thud.
Something sharp grazed Choi Dong-pal’s ear.
Then—
《Your summon has taken critical damage!》
“…What?”
Confused, Choi Dong-pal realized it wasn’t Hertia’s doing.
Who, then?
No time to think.
Thwack-thwack-thwack!
A rain of arrows blanketed the sky.
As shadows fell, the alliance’s summons turned into pincushions.
《Critically damaged summon is reverse-summoned!》
《Critically damaged summon…》
《Critical damage…》
“What… what the hell is this…?”
Annihilation. The alliance’s summons were wiped out.
Instinctively, Choi Dong-pal looked toward the source of the arrows—behind him.
There…
Twang—
Elves lined up on the fortress walls, nocking their next arrows.
Choi Dong-pal stood dumbfounded.
Hertia, shielding herself with a black barrier, laughed as if delighted by the chaos.
“Many seek your death. I don’t even need to act.”
***
Elf Fortress Outskirts.
The appearance of ‘Witch of the End Apocalypse’ silenced everyone.
But one person, Radiance Guild Master Yoon Hae-joon, had a different thought.
“Master, you’re really going in?”
“Now’s our only chance.”
A guild member suggested an alternative to Yoon Hae-joon’s resolve.
“Why not strike from outside Law’s range—”
“Not yet. We don’t know how Hertia views us.”
“Seeing Deathside’s alliance get crushed, she doesn’t seem friendly…”
Most guild members agreed.
Hertia, infamous for genocide and burning the World Tree, couldn’t possibly be an ally.
But Yoon Hae-joon thought differently.
‘She’s more… rational than expected.’
If Hertia wanted to wipe them out, she wouldn’t have made such a theatrical entrance.
Like with Deathside’s alliance, she could’ve activated ‘Law’ while they were gathered, using them as arrow fodder for the elves.
‘Instead, she announced her presence with flair, as if targeting those obstructing the raid.’
Her goal was unclear, but Yoon Hae-joon felt he had to confront her.
This episode’s main enemy was the elves.
And their nemesis? Hertia.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Her appearance might be the key to this episode.
Sharing this with his guild—
“So, Master, you think Hertia might be this episode’s gimmick?”
“Exactly.”
“Then… we’re with you.”
“You can’t go alone—it’s too dangerous!”
Yoon Hae-joon appreciated their passion but knew this was a solo mission.
He had to show Hertia he meant no harm.
“I’ll take the sentiment. I’m meeting Hertia alone.”
The guild wanted to stop him but couldn’t.
They knew their master never backed down once decided.
“If anything happens, we’re stepping in.”
“That won’t happen. Oh, one thing before I go.”
Yoon Hae-joon smiled faintly at their concern.
“Their main force is crushed. Regroup and clean up the remnants.”
With that, he headed back to the Elf Fortress entrance.