While Sang-woong watched the Children playing on the slide, he blew air into the Tube and Beach Ball with his mouth.
As expected from a Hunter, his lung capacity was impressive, and the Tube and Beach Ball quickly inflated to full size.
Seeing the Tube and Beach Ball, the Children ran back to Sang-woong.
“What’s this? Hawi!”
“This is a ‘Tube’ and a ‘Beach Ball’, toys for playing in the water.”
“Wow, it looks so cool! Fuka!”
The Children accepted the Tube from Sang-woong and examined it with wide-eyed curiosity.
Their eyes sparkled at the bright colors and soft texture.
Some Children hugged the round, air-filled Tube and rolled around with delight.
The Beach Ball also piqued their curiosity.
Even when they threw it lightly, it bounced and floated, making the Children burst into peals of laughter.
They threw and caught the Beach Ball, running and playing excitedly by the Pond.
“I want to ride the Tube too! Hawi!”
“Me too! Fuka!”
The Children each claimed a Tube and rushed into the Pond.
With their bodies afloat on the Tube, their faces shone with pure, innocent joy.
Some Children grabbed onto the Tube to swim, while others pushed each other’s Tubes, splashing around in the water.
Sang-woong watched their joyful antics from the edge of the Pond, an involuntary gentle smile spreading across his lips.
The Children’s clear, pure laughter seemed to cleanse his heart.
He stayed by the Pond to keep the Children safe, sometimes pulling one out of the water or helping another back up after a fall.
But Sang-woong’s gentle smile stiffened when a blue message window suddenly appeared before his eyes.
-In three days, the Red Moon will rise. Survive.-
‘The Red Moon will rise?’
He’d already experienced it once and expected it, but seeing the message still made his heart drop.
Last time the Red Moon appeared, the Red Gate opened and the Orc Army led by the Orc King had invaded.
This time, he couldn’t even guess what unknown enemies might appear.
Nothing was more terrifying than an enemy you didn’t know.
He had shed blood preparing for this day, but as the danger approached, everything suddenly felt insufficient.
“Master, are you alright?”
Aria, noticing Sang-woong’s stiffened expression, asked with a worried voice.
Unease also clouded her face.
Sang-woong’s fear had been transmitted directly to Aria.
Leon, who had been swimming in the Pond, also noticed something was wrong and rushed out to Sang-woong’s side.
Seeing this, Sang-woong realized his mistake.
‘It’s foolish to be afraid before the battle has even begun.’
When Sang-woong steadied himself and relaxed his expression, Aria’s face also brightened.
“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry either.”
With a gentle voice, Sang-woong reassured Aria and Leon.
“There’s no need to be too worried about the Red Moon. We’ve survived it once already. We’ll do it again.”
Hearing Sang-woong’s confident words, Aria seemed a little more at ease and nodded.
Leon also wagged his tail and pressed his head into Sang-woong’s hand.
Sang-woong immediately set about making his final preparations for the Red Moon.
He sold everything he could to earn more Points.
Now was not the time to worry about the future.
It was the time to face the coming danger with everything he had.
He built sturdy palisades centered around the core of the land and moved all the livestock inside.
When Sang-woong stood firm and took the lead, the Children and Residents trusted him and hastened their preparations for the Red Moon.
What Sang-woong focused on most this time was the ‘Giant Thorn Cactus’.
It boasted a hefty price of 20,000 Points each, but its offensive power had already proven itself during the last Red Moon, when the Orcs invaded.
Each Giant Thorn Cactus had about twenty sharp thorns.
Sang-woong spared no expense, purchasing as many as twenty of them.
And now, two hundred fully armed Wood Golems and a hundred and fifty Stone Golems were lined up, ready for battle.
“I really did my best.”
Sang-woong felt proud as he looked at the Giant Thorn Cacti and the rows of sturdy Golems.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Just before sunset, a Red Gate split the distant night sky.
An ominous aura poured out from the massive fissure.
And from within, a single black shadow slowly walked forth.
“What is that?”
The answer appeared in a message.
-A Lich has invaded the land.-
“A Lich?”
It was a monster he had never faced before.
He had no idea how strong it might be.
For a moment, judging by its appearance, he wondered if it might actually be an easy opponent.
It was about his height, skeletal to the point its bones protruded, and a sinister energy oozed from its entire body.
Its eyes, in particular, were deeply sunken, blazing with blue fire, and its skull-like face wore a chilling smile.
Though clad in a tattered black robe, only dry bones showed beneath.
It clutched a worn Book of the Lich, its thin, long fingers ending in claws.
It was unmistakably an undead, grotesque and utterly unlike a normal human.
In that instant, dozens more Red Gates burst open behind the Lich.
And from them, Skeletons poured forth like a waterfall.
There were so many Skeletons streaming out, Sang-woong gave up counting.
The Skeletons emerging from the Red Gates wore rusty armor, but the bones exposed through the gaps shone stark white.
Some Skeletons, with sharp fangs visible in their skulls, exuded a ferocious aura as if they’d attack at any moment, while others gripped broken, battered swords with grim determination.
Their wrists and ankles creaked with each movement, and though their steps were unsteady, their empty eye sockets glowed with an ominous red under the moonlight.
A few Skeletons held long spears diagonally, standing at attention, while others awkwardly formed ranks with battered shields in their bony hands.
Their movements were clumsy and slow, but their sheer numbers made them a massive threat to Sang-woong.
After the Red Gates had spewed out all their contents, the gates vanished, leaving thousands of Skeletons filling the ground.
At that moment, the Lich’s black cloak fluttered as it floated up into the air.
“Kuhahaha! Foolish human! My Undead Legion will trample your feeble land!”
Its strangled voice tore through the stillness of the night.
“Shut up, you bony bastard! I’ll make this place your grave!”
Sang-woong’s powerful roar shook the night sky, refusing to be outdone.
At his shout, the Golems stomped forward—thud, thud, thud!—announcing their presence.
With each step, the ground trembled.
“How dare you! A mere human like you dares defy me, the immortal Lich!”
Offended by Sang-woong’s taunt, the Lich trembled with anger.
Unfurling the Book of the Lich in its hand, it shouted,
“Kill them all!”
At the Lich’s command, the Skeletons filling the ground creaked and began advancing toward Sang-woong and the Golems.
The pressure from thousands of Skeletons was immense, but Sang-woong didn’t even blink.
As the Skeletons drew near, Sang-woong shouted,
“Attack!”
At Sang-woong’s command, the Giant Thorn Cacti all launched their spear-like thorns at once.
Swaaak!
The thorns shot toward the Skeletons like arrows.
Crack! Crash! Smash!
The power of the thorns was overwhelming.
They pierced through the Skeletons’ bodies, smashing the ones behind as well.
The first attack alone neutralized at least a thousand Skeletons.
“You dare—!”
Enraged by the devastating assault of the Giant Thorn Cacti, the Lich screamed.
“Kill them all!”
At the Lich’s command, the Skeletons brandished their weapons and charged.
The earth shook, and the creaking of bones shattered the silence of the night.
Skeletons wielding rusty swords, spears, and battered shields rushed forward like starving beasts.
Though their bodies were light, made of only bones, their sheer numbers made them surge forward like a massive wave.
“Block them! Don’t let a single one through!”
Sang-woong’s deep voice rang out.
At his command, the Golems lumbered into action.
Soon, the two forces clashed head-on.
It was a staggering sight.
Thousands of Skeletons and hundreds of Golems met in a collision that looked like a massive gray wave crashing against a wall of stone cliffs.
The Skeletons rushed with creaking bones, swinging rusty swords and spears, while the Golems met them head-on with their massive frames and heavy steps.
The first strike belonged to a Stone Golem.
It swung its massive stone club.
With a thunderous crash, several Skeletons shattered to dust at the impact.
It was as if a giant hammer had been swung—splinters scattered everywhere.
The Wood Golems also smashed Skeletons with their wooden clubs.
Dust swirled thick in the air, the sound of breaking bones, snapping wood, and shattering stone filling the night.
The Skeletons, relying on their superior numbers, continued to hurl themselves at the Golems, but the Golems, with their solid defenses and powerful attacks, didn’t fall easily.
It was like a scene from an epic war movie, a desperate and overwhelming battle unfolding beneath the night sky.
“Kukukuk… Not bad, human.”
The Lich, hovering above, looked down with a cold smile.
“But your power ends here!”
Holding up the Book of the Lich, the Lich muttered an incantation, and a vivid red light radiated out from the tome.
Exposed to the red light, the Skeletons’ eyes shone blood-red, and suddenly dozens of them surged toward the Golems at increased speed.
It was as if their abilities had been temporarily enhanced.
“Damn, Buff Magic.”
Sang-woong quickly realized what was happening.
The empowered Skeletons’ rusty swords and spears stabbed relentlessly at the Golems’ bodies.
Even the sturdy bodies of the Stone Golems, once so proud of their toughness, began to show more and more cracks under the unending assault.
Each time sharp blades bit into them, dull sounds rang out.
Arms and legs that had been holding on eventually began to lose pieces of stone, the faint light in their empty eyes flickering.
At last, after enduring dozens of strikes, a Stone Golem’s leg broke off with a snap, and its massive body collapsed to the ground with a crash.
The shattered pieces of stone scattered lifelessly, no longer moving.