Genius Blacksmith’s Game

It was pandemonium.
The soldiers of Araham Territory completed basic training all across the Kingdom of Goyard and, only then, received their final training here in Araham.
After that, they would follow the knight they would serve, or else follow the nobles who intended to take them under their command.
Yes, their lives were only just beginning.
At most, they were in their early twenties.
Some were still fresh-faced boys in their late teens.
All of them had come to Araham Territory bearing the burden of their families’ livelihood and at least one personal dream.
But the fact that they were going to die before even stepping properly into the world plunged them into despair.
Glaring at the savage Ogres already almost upon them, they needed something.
Someone to blame.
He was going to stop Ogres with a single arrow?
But that arrow turned into twenty arrows and met the Ogres.
Ting, ting-ting-ting, ting—
The Ogres’ outer hide was hard. Those arrows bounced off.
But then—
KUUU-THOOM—!
All twenty Ogres were slammed into the ground at once.
Their massive bodies drove into the earth, splitting and gouging it. The soldiers, who had been in utter confusion, stopped crying and looked at Hyunsoo.
A mere blacksmith, or a mere Junior Baron knight.
A man whose level, they’d heard, wasn’t all that different from their own.
That man lowered the hand he’d raised and said:
“Begin the subjugation.”
Kan was the first to snap out of it and shout:
“Attack!”
The first to launch their attack—
Were the spear-wielding soldiers whose positions Hyunsoo had set.
The advantage of a spear lay in its long reach, and the thrust of a spear was overwhelmingly faster than the swing of a sword.
Their long spears stabbed the Ogres without a moment’s rest.
Stab, stab-stab, stab—!
Next.
The ten-strong archer unit that had been waiting on one side, raising their accuracy with a seated shooting stance.
They rained arrows down on the Ogres sprawled on the ground.
But it was not easy for the soldiers to pierce the Ogres’ thick hide.
Twitch—
The duration of Time of Thousand-Weight was only eight seconds. In reality, it had been even shorter.
Because the Ogres’ levels were higher than Hyunsoo’s.
The monsters began forcing their way out of the ground.
At that moment, the sword-wielding soldiers lying in wait atop the trees—
“Yryaaaaah!”
“Haaap!”
They leapt down from the trees and struck the monsters.
Slaaash—
SPLAAASH—
SLASH-SLASH-SLASH—!
Spears stabbed without pause, and sword strikes hacked down.
Between the arrows being loosed, four Ogres were killed in an instant.
For a moment, the soldiers thought they really might be able to kill all twenty.
But soon—
“Grrrrrr…”
The Ogres rose, eyes bloodshot.
Seeing the ones standing up with multiple arrows stuck in their bodies, the soldiers’ faces went ashen.
The Ogres had clearly taken heavy damage.
In truth, for soldiers barely around level 200 to shave the Ogres’ HP down to fifty percent was an astounding feat.
But that was as far as it went.
An Ogre forced its way up from the earth.
The monster raised the heavy axe in its hand to cleave down a soldier’s head.
“Hiiiieeeek!”
The soldier Rail felt it in his gut.
That it wasn’t just his head that was going to be split, but that his body would be cut neatly in two.
Rail, who had squeezed his eyes shut, made a puzzled face.
“Guhhhh…”
A strange sound reached his ears. When Rail opened his eyes, he was shocked.
The axe had stopped right above the crown of his head.
He looked around.
The weapons of the Ogres, which had been aimed at dozens of soldiers, had all frozen in place.
The Ogres’ eyes rolled in their sockets; only their eyes and mouths could move.
And then the Ogres shot up into the sky.
Fwump—
Rail could see him. Junior Baron Hyunsoo in his magnificent coat.
Standing in front of him with a sword in hand.
I need to show them overwhelming power.
Hyunsoo needed conviction strong enough that they could believe in him and follow him.
The simplest way to gain that trust was certification by sheer force.
Hyunsoo, who had hurled the Ogres into the air with Lord’s Command, bent his knees and leapt toward them.
WHOOSH—
Hyunsoo’s sharp eyes took in all sixteen Ogres that were still alive.
“Guh?”
“Grrr?”
The Ogres let out puzzled sounds. Suddenly, they were being packed together into one spot.
But the Ogres sneered.
The instincts of monsters and animals were far keener than those of mere humans.

The strength they felt from him was only somewhat better than that from those pathetic soldiers.
What did it matter if some guy like that dared to bunch them together?
And soon, the lips of that mysterious man watching them twisted.
He had been waiting for their HP to plummet and had deliberately lured them to cluster like this.
Viiiiing—
The sound was clear and pure.
To the Ogres, that clear sound was unfamiliar, and for a brief moment, it soothed their hearts.
Shiiing—
The sword at the man’s waist flashed free of its sheath.
KRRRRA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-BOOM—!
Sword King’s subtlety shredded them without rest.
The strength of Sword’s Cry lay in the fact that it ignored all defense.
No matter how hard the Ogres’ outer hide was, their entire bodies were minced.
It also attacked every enemy within a twenty-meter radius, and when enemies were clustered, it unleashed even greater power.
Thump—
Soon after, Hyunsoo landed on the ground.
Once down, Hyunsoo used Lord’s Command to sweep the Ogres’ shattered corpses into one pile.
Rattle-rattle-rattle—
Then, for good measure, he grabbed the lapel of his coat and brushed it off.
Tap, tap—
Hyunsoo turned to the soldiers with a casual expression and asked:
“Is everyone unharmed?”
“…!?”
All the soldiers stared at Hyunsoo with stunned faces, and Rail was honest.
“Woooow…!”
And Hyunsoo checked the notifications that were chiming endlessly.
[The subjugation squad has successfully hunted 20 Ogres.]
[Based on contribution, the soldiers share the experience.]
[All soldiers level up by 2.]
[You have acquired 103 gold.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[Subjugation rate increases by 30%.]
Ding!
[Not a single one of your soldiers has suffered serious injury.]
[You gain an additional 5% subjugation rate.]
A 35% subjugation rate.
Originally, Philip had said that he only needed to raise the subjugation rate by 20%.
Of course, he still had to hunt the monster called the Ogre Chieftain.
If I hunt the Ogre Chieftain, will it go up by about another ten percent?
Even then, it would be 45%.
That was still twice the figure Philip had mentioned.
But he couldn’t help feeling a twinge of regret.
Just then, a notification rang in Hyunsoo’s ears.
[Your subjugation squad has hunted many Ogres in a short time.]
[A new episode never before seen is about to begin.]
[If you complete the new episode brilliantly, you will receive a special reward from ???.]
A special reward from ???…?
Hyunsoo made a puzzled face.
By now, the notification of a new story was familiar.
But receiving a special reward from ??? like this was strange.
Is it unrelated to Philip, the one who gave this quest?
If the one granting the special reward had been Philip, the notification would have said Commander.
At that moment, Hyunsoo saw a soldier approaching him.
It was none other than the soldier named Kan.
 
*****
Kan was in a position where he had to find a master.
But ironically, Kan hated nobles.
At the time of the Storm Brigade’s dissolution—
You want to raise soldiers to the level of knights?
Your Majesty, withdraw that command.
Other countries will reproach us if they find out.
It doesn’t seem like there’s any need to go through such trouble.
With many nobles opposing it, the unit was disbanded.
They had survived only because Barad had exerted his power against nobles who had even gone so far as to say they should all be killed.
Nobles had hated that people like them existed in hiding.
That was why Kan hated nobles.
And yet, in one corner of his heart, he had also hoped.
For a noble who was strong, and who knew how to value his own people or vassals.
With such a lord, he thought, he might be able to give his life.
And something flashed through Kan’s mind.
…Lead the soldiers and run.
He had tried to sacrifice himself.
But that man had ignored his words and chosen not to run.
In truth, it had been a somewhat reckless decision.
If sacrificing a single person meant everyone else could live, that was the better path.
Kan was curious.
Had it been confidence in his own strength?
Just like that, the soldiers had crowded behind Kan’s back.
That man saved us.
If not for his command and strength, we would have been dead without a doubt.
Out of thirty of our allies, not a single one was hurt.
They endlessly blamed and reproached themselves.
They had looked down on him.
But what were the first words he spoke when all the Ogres lay dead?
Is everyone unharmed?
It was a phrase that struck the heart.
He could have boasted of himself, but instead he worried about them first.
Because of that, Kan asked:
“Why did you make this choice? Wouldn’t it have been easier to use me as a sacrifice and run?”
Had it been because he was absolutely certain of victory?
No, Kan was quick on the uptake.
The Junior Baron named Hyunsoo in front of him had also taken a gambit.
To that, Hyunsoo replied with a look that said he was dumbfounded.
“Are you out of your damn mind?”
“Sir…?”
At that sharp remark, Kan made a puzzled expression.
His tongue was quite rough.
Was he always like this?
“You’re my people.”
No, he wasn’t rough.
Kan had made him sound that way.
“If I’d needed someone like that, then I’m the one who should have drawn them away. Don’t cross the line, Kan.”
The soldiers had heard many things.
“Nobles treat us like objects.”
“They say Count Puruso threw a hundred commoners to the monsters to save his own skin.”
“Nobles think of our lives like flies!”
All the soldiers were living in a world where nobles were supreme.
A world where if nobles told them to die, they died, and if they told them to live, they lived.
But Junior Baron Hyunsoo was speaking.
As if it were only natural.
He didn’t waver in the slightest.
And Hyunsoo truly thought that way.
His own life was infinite, and theirs were finite.
At those words, filled with his conviction, Kan smiled faintly.
“I will give my life while I serve you.”
It was a lie.
Kan would not serve him merely “while” he served.
He would serve him for the rest of his life.
Now, only five members of the Storm Brigade remained in the world.
He would run to the four remaining Storm Brigade members and tell them:
We’ve found our ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ sun.
The soldiers behind them shouted out with strength as well.
“We will give our all in loyalty!”
They held the same thought.
Unlike Kan, they were powerless soldiers.
The best they could do—
That best was merely to raise their hands with all their might at the soldier assignment ceremony, but still.
[30 soldiers swear to devote their lives in loyalty to you.]
[If it is your command, they will not hesitate to leap into even the flames.]
Ding!
[Hidden Piece: Existence of the Storm Brigade completed.]
Hyunsoo made a puzzled face.
You could only hear a Hidden Piece notification when you fulfilled certain conditions.
[You have won over the heart of Kan, the deputy commander of the Storm Brigade abandoned by nobles.]
[You became a paragon among nobles and shook his heart.]
[There exist five members of the Storm Brigade in the world, and they possess combat power on par with level-280 knights.]
Hyunsoo was impressed.
On par with level-280 knights…?
And they were soldiers.
He immediately understood the advantage of the Storm Brigade.
They’re people who can secretly protect Radiance and me, aren’t they?
They absolutely needed people like that.
The core fighting force of Radiance was entirely users. Users could not always stand guard over their base.
But NPCs were different.
They could live around it and guard the base at all times.
And they were as strong as knights.
Originally, Hyunsoo had been supposed to take three soldiers around level 200 with him.
I’d be taking soldiers who wield the power of level 280…?
Soon his face twisted.
[But due to the promise between the king and Commander Philip, if you do not achieve a 60% subjugation rate, you cannot take them with you.]
[Kan is an exception. Due to his heartfelt loyalty to you, you may take him.]
[You need a total subjugation rate of 60% to take three members of the Storm Brigade.]
[You need a subjugation rate of 80% to take the entire Storm Brigade.]
Hyunsoo’s face twisted.
He wanted to take all five.
But even if he hunted the Ogre Chieftain here, his total subjugation rate would only reach 45%.
Is there no way?
A method to raise the total subjugation rate and take all the Storm Brigade members.
At that moment—
[A new story begins.]
[Sudden Quest: Hunt the Giant King has been created.]
Hyunsoo opened the quest. Right now, two things were important to him.
Whether this quest awarded subjugation rate, and who the one granting that earlier special reward from ??? was.
As soon as he confirmed who that person was, Hyunsoo’s face twisted.
Marquis Lukburk?
He was the man who had been the kingdom’s foremost noble, the one Hyunsoo had demoted and sent here.