The Heavenly King''s tattered cape billowed violently, streaming dark energy like ribbons. The aura he emitted was so powerful it seemed like a cocoon made of mist.


    His fury at a fully armored knight turning tail without hesitation radiated ominously. Ironically, that rage spilled over to the other adventurers watching cautiously nearby.


    "Kugh, fa-fall back!"


    "We''ll get caught in the aftermath, just run!"


    "But that one''s the boss...!"


    "Fuck that! Want to die like a rat crushed while scavenging for crumbs?"


    The dark mage''s prepared forces had been cleanly dealt with, and when this formidable figure burst from the fortress gates, something dark flew toward the adventurers hovering around watching the situation.@@@@


    The dark energy scattered like mist, transforming into various thrown weapons - arrows, spears, daggers - flying in all directions. Between this and trying to throw a spear at Katie earlier, he seemed to fight by creating weapons from dark energy.


    A battle junkie obsessed with honorable frontal combat. A raw stats boss who used massive mana to constantly change weapons and handle all patterns from melee to ranged. His whole being screamed at players to stop messing around and fight head-on.


    "Calling me a thug and scoundrel just because I''m not great with a sword is too-!"


    "That''s rich coming from a rat who steals treasures that should be won through combat!"


    The trainee commanders managed to escape without casualties since it wasn''t a properly aimed area attack. Though it wasn''t pretty, the sharp adventurers and self-preserving ones dragged everyone away, limiting the damage to injuries.


    I''d thought they might abandon us and run, but with such high quest rewards at stake, the mercenaries wouldn''t backstab us. Besides, they''d have no way to fence loot from a boss monster even if they betrayed us.


    As Irene''s sacred law expired and the holy Chunsiks reverted to mana stones, rolling across the dirt, people used their crumbling bodies as cover to flee outside the walls. The chaotic garrison before the fortress entrance became our dueling ground as the Heavenly King and I glared at each other, wildly swinging weapons.


    "You have courage and nothing else! Not a trace of skill to be found!"


    "You sure talk a lot for someone who keeps running!"


    "Isn''t this a common tactic for your adventurer kind? Hahah, if you''re unsatisfied then come in!"


    Though calling it a dueling ground might be generous given the chaos.


    He kept slipping away and retreating as if our player-boss relationship had reversed. Having realized the holy sword had a time limit and only ignored defense and resistance rather than guaranteeing hits or kills, he deflected it skillfully.


    This was personally my most annoying type of enemy - small, agile, and technically skilled. Judging that losing mana was vastly preferable to losing health, he kept creating dark energy weapons to block the holy sword.


    Like some wuxia novel character, he blocked each holy sword swing with two or three dark weapons while retreating. Watching this supposed Heavenly King flee sparked an odd irritation in my chest.


    Being a combat-obsessed character skilled in martial arts, he seemed sensitive to mana and holy energy flow. Seeing him duck and dodge attacks that suddenly extended in length like an acrobat made my blood boil more and more.


    "Roland, I''ll help!"


    "Finally showing up, little thief?"


    Han Se-ah must have seen this through the camera as she came running with the others. Irene also joined with Grace, looking slightly tired from overusing her sacred law but otherwise fine. RΑ??O???Е?


    "Still, since nothing else is coming out, he seems to be alone in there."


    -Of course the weakest Heavenly King doesn''t hesitate to run in his underwear lololololololol


    -We collected all the ogre stones so might as well upgrade weapons first?


    -Bosses are no joke from floor 60, look how he ran even after getting hit by the holy sword


    -Should we be impressed that a Heavenly King ran after taking holy sword hits or call the natural 6★ who made a floor 60 boss and Heavenly King run overpowered?


    -Can''t tell if enemies are strong or weak when the party has one natural 6★ lololol


    The viewers laughed at the ridiculous situation of a boss running away and locking the door. At least we collected all the mid-boss''s drops, so equipment enhancement wouldn''t be a problem.


    Excluding Katie who already enhanced her weapon with special stones, we needed 4 ogre stones for me, Han Se-ah, Grace and Irene. Of the 10 ogre stones, we''d sell 6 to the Magic Tower and 4 to the stone dwarves.


    As we discussed the mid-boss''s drops, people started approaching us.


    "Ahem, hem. It is truly an honor to witness the hero''s might."


    "H-hero. About the monster drops we handled..."


    Imperial commanders trying to get on our good side and adventurers and mercenaries eyeing the money. Well, though Irene''s sacred law played a big role, they did hunt the mid-boss''s minions. They''d cleaned up the miscellaneous monsters using the holy Chunsiks as meat shields.


    That led to a temporary camp forming, using the collapsed wall almost like we''d claimed it. Thanks to merchants spreading word below, people gradually gathered until the area before the boss''s fortress became busy as a marketplace.


    "He won''t suddenly burst out, right?"


    "It''s possible, but given how he tries to fight efficiently, he probably won''t rush into a crowd. Unless he''s preparing to face us from inside the fortress."


    -It''s kind of lame how this guy who kept calling us thieves and thugs just runs when he gets ganged up on


    -Okay we get it, when are we going to the dwarves and what are we enhancing


    -Can Roland''s weapon even be enhanced? He''s been using that hammer the whole time, wonder what happens to the holy sword if we enhance it


    -Forget swords, show us staff and bow enhancement, we already saw sword enhancement with the kid


    -Finally our mom did something, show more of her instead of these annoying Imperial guys


    The Imperial trainee commanders were noisy, the mercenaries arguing over their share while trying to stay on our good side were noisy, the priests gathering around Irene to praise her sacred law were noisy-


    In the midst of this real chaos, I spotted a large flag beyond the plains. Wondering if state forces had gathered as reinforcements after word spread, I glanced at the plains. One of the commanders about to speak to me nearly fainted in shock.


    "Wh-why is the Imperial Guard here?!"


    What the fuck is it now?