Leveling Up Alone

They quickly got ready.

The Black Orcs had already done some of the preparations, so it only took three hours for seventy thousand elite soldiers to get ready for battle.

“Let’s go!”

“Kheee!”

Whoosh!

Once again, Han-Yeol was in the lead. He flew on Mavros and led the Black Orc army.

“Let’s quickly get this over with and eat!”

Crunch!

Even though he shouted to go eat, he was munching on an entire bag of rice crackers he had packed in advance.

Han-Yeol had eaten earlier, but he still felt hungry. Granted, his hunger had been satisfied as he was a self-proclaimed gourmet after all. Ever since he became rich, all kinds of delicacies made him very happy. He still enjoyed simple foods like miso and kimchi stew, but the occasional gourmet meals made his taste buds dance.

He especially ate all kinds of delicious food right before or after a battle, but since he had slept for three days and had only eaten a normal meal, his stomach was protesting why it wasn’t fed luxury food.

Han-Yeol was very relaxed despite the fact that he was on his way to defeat the greatest threat to China, Emperor Qin.

The Demon King’s army and Emperor Qin’s army were quite similar in terms of power.

‘The Demon King was absolutely trash, so I doubt Emperor Qin is any different.’

He just wanted to get it over with and eat a good meal quickly.

‘Hmm, I want to have something good after the battle. What should I eat?’

***

Han-Yeol confidently headed west toward Emperor Qin’s army.

Since he set off right after he woke up, he didn’t see the urgent news that was streaming all over Chinese TV.

The western front line of China was currently a nightmare.

Chaaa!

[Khaaaa!]

[Execute Wang!]

Boom!

[Ahhhh!]

After the Demon King's army's demise, Emperor Qin's army, which had been inactive for a brief moment, marched toward the defense line around one in the morning. They attacked with a force that was incomparable to before, devastating the area.

Thump! Thump!

[W-What the hell is that?]

Liu Shibo, a Chinese high ranking Hunter leading the western defense line, was stunned by the sight of a giant terracotta army. Until now, the only difference between them and the terracotta warriors was their strength. Otherwise, they were nothing more than puppets made of clay. However, the terracotta warriors in front of him were giants that were at least twenty meters tall.

[C-Commander, w-what do we do about those giants?]

‘Damn it, how am I supposed to know?’

Despite his position as commander, Liu Shibo knew nothing about military strategies and tactics. He had only gotten this position in the first place because of his title as a high ranking Hunter and his family history of party officers, not because of his skills.

[...]

An officer asked once more when Liu Shibo didn’t answer.

[Commander?]

[Damn it, just use all the force you can to stop it! Stop that thing no matter what!]

[A-Alright,] the officer replied with a very confused look.

‘W-What kind of order is that?!’

The others looked at that officer as if to say, ‘Why’d you even bother asking?’

Even though it hadn’t been that long, the other officers who had served Liu Shibo ever since he took over as commander knew how clueless he was when it came to strategy and tactics. Therefore, they didn’t say anything even when the giant appeared.

‘We’d rather spend that time discussing this matter with the mid-level officers in the field.’

Unlike Liu Shibo, the mid-level officers currently on the defense line were very intelligent and quick to assess the situation, so asking them was much more efficient.

Honk!

While the officers were in a state of confusion, a loud horn blasted across the field.

[T-This is—?]

The horn rang once, but all the officers were filled with fear.

[I-It’s Li Yuxin. H-he’s here!]

Boom!

[Li Yuxin! He still manages to disgust me even after his death!]

‘How shameless, you’re the one who killed him.’

Only a few subordinates had negative thoughts. Even though they thought Liu Shibo was ignorant, most of them agreed with him because they had similar basic dispositions.

[What a shameless person. He couldn’t even protect his fiancée because of his incompetence, yet he’s still throwing a tantrum like a kid and succumbing to a monster that threatened China. Tsk tsk.]

***

Stab!

[Agh!]

[Kill all those who are not loyal to the Emperor. Kill all those who are not loyal to the Emperor. Kill all those who are not loyal to the Emperor.]

A terracotta warrior continued to chant the same sentence in the same creepy tone as it plunged its sword into a Chinese Hunter’s stomach.

The lower ranking terracotta warriors weren’t rational. They were merely puppets that only followed orders, so this kind of behavior was natural for them. However, the problem was that even if they were weaker terracotta warriors, they couldn’t be underestimated because Emperor Qin was strong and he had created them.

[Ugh, damn it!]

The Hunter with a sword stuck in his stomach struggled to stay alive. Normally, he would’ve been able to escape the power of a lower ranking terracotta warrior, but there was a problem.

[N-No way…!]

‘I-It won’t move. Why?’

The Hunter was extremely confused as the terracotta warrior that was supposed to be weaker than him was actually overpowering him.

[Kill all those who are not loyal to the Emperor.]

Squeeze!

[Agh!]

While he remained confused, the terracotta warrior silently twisted the sword in his stomach, turning the Hunter’s intestines around.

[A-Argh!]

Gush!

No matter how strong a Hunter’s life force was, if their internal organs were completely destroyed, it was impossible for them to stay alive.

The Hunter stayed relatively calm, but he was instantly killed.

[T-This can’t be…!]

The Hunters around him looked petrified. Seeing their comrade defeated by a lowly terracotta warrior he should have easily defeated made their already unstable mentality begin to shake uncontrollably.

Step.

One Hunter in particular, the most cowardly among them, took a step backward as he trembled.

[I-It was definitely a low ranking terracotta warrior, b-but why…]

[...]

The Hunter took a few steps back, but his fellow Hunters around him were too shocked to realize and stared blankly at the terracotta warrior and their dead comrade.

Bump!

[Huh?]

The Chinese Hunter who was about to run away felt something bump into his back.

‘W-What is that? I-I’m pretty sure I’m standing all the way in the back…’

Up until a moment ago, there was nothing behind him, but as soon as he bumped into something, he felt eerie.

He slowly turned his head and looked behind him, trembling like an aspen tree.

When he realized what he had bumped into, he screamed to alert his comrades.

[Ah…!]

Slice!

But before he could fully scream, a sharp blade sliced through his throat and he toppled over to his death.

[What the hell?]

The other Hunters turned around at the sound of something falling, and they were shocked once again.

[W-When did the terracotta warriors get all the way over there?]

Even if there were terracotta warriors in front of them, it was impossible for them to appear from behind.

[Why are they coming from the back too!]

One Hunter let out a piercing scream, but screaming didn’t change their hopeless situation.

Whoosh! Chuck!

[Ahh…]

They didn’t have the courage to face the terracotta warriors. They were the lowest ranked Hunters in the Chinese army, and their role was to drain the enemy’s strength from the front lines.

With no confidence in their strength to begin with, they lost the will to fight when the enemies were incomparably stronger than any other enemy they had fought before.

Step, step!

[What is that sound?]

Just then, from the other side, a terracotta warrior emerged from the group. Though it was hard to distinguish due to its black color, this warrior wore fancy armor different from that of ordinary terracotta warriors and stood a head taller than the rest.

[General, these people are terrified and don’t even have the courage to fight back.]

[Oh, really?]

The terracotta warrior called the general was different from the other terracotta warriors who were like expressionless puppets.

It could change its expression as if it were a real person. It touched its neck and looked at the Hunters still cowering in fear in amusement.

[I will give you guys a chance to become loyal to the Emperor.]

[W-What the…?]

Chuck!

The general terracotta warrior raised its palm.

[Obey!]

Shaaa!

[Ahhh!]

As the general terracotta warrior raised its hand and used a skill, an unnamed mana emanated from its palm.

The Chinese Hunters were terrified and tried to flee as soon as they felt this energy, but it was too late. The Hunters who came in contact with this energy instantly hardened and transformed into terracotta warriors.

[Ahahaha! This is the power that His Majesty has bestowed upon me, and now he doesn’t have to bother making soldiers himself.]

Surprisingly, a mid-level general could wield the same power as Emperor Qin.

How was this possible?

Dududu, boom!

The Chinese army and their Hunters were holding off Emperor Qin’s army.

[C-Commander, w-we’re in trouble!]

[What now!]

Liu Shibo was already fuming from the appearance of Li Yuxin, the god of death who was said to be a nightmare on the battlefield and had wiped out the Chinese army.

In such a situation, when one soldier came in shouting that something was wrong, he instinctively reacted in a harsh manner and unknowingly released a powerful mana unique to high ranking Hunters.

[Ah!]

Thud!

The soldier fell to the ground.

[D-Damn it!]

Unfortunately, the soldier who received that mana was not a Hunter, but an ordinary person. He was still a soldier, but to Hunters, soldiers and ordinary civilians were equally weak beings.

In any case, when the aggravated mana of a high ranking Hunter suddenly reached the body of such a weak soldier, his racing heart suddenly stopped.

The surrounding officers didn’t know what to do about the sudden accident.