Chapter 90

CHAPTER 90

Chapter 90

Nickname: “ILikeTheDemonicCult.”

Following Seo Jun’s orders, he was hiding in the bushes a short distance away from Alpha Base.

At first, Seo Jun told him to stay hidden and only capture Alpha once the enemy was clearly visible in mid through the chat.

After that, he was told to retreat and hide again.

So now, he remained concealed inside the bushes.

‘They’re coming.’

Namgung Family Branch Disciple approached the distant base.

The enemy Banker started capturing it again, looking visibly exhausted.

‘He said if they leave after waiting, then capture the base immediately this time.’

Seo Jun never explained his full plan.

He only told each teammate what they individually needed to do.

But watching the current situation unfold, everything seemed to be proceeding exactly according to plan.

‘What should I do now?’

Should he go back to mid and farm experience?

Or head toward Alpha?

There wasn’t much he could do besides watch, but even that felt satisfying.

When he first heard the enemy had three Bankers, he’d been utterly dumbfounded.

To the point he wondered whether the developers had lost their minds.

Even if one teammate supposedly had historically high contribution scores.

The important part was—

‘We’re winning.’

It made no sense, but the streamer had defeated three opponents alone and systematically picked them apart afterward.

Exactly as he intended.

What was his nickname again?

Cheonma14.

‘Is he seriously the Heavenly Demon or something?’

Regardless of who eventually won this game, he felt Seo Jun had already proven his skill more than enough.

“Huh?”

Namgung Family Branch Disciple suddenly left the base with a startled expression.

Though he didn’t know why, following Seo Jun’s instructions, ILikeTheDemonicCult immediately headed over and completed the capture.

There were no further instructions, so he simply followed the previous orders.

A moment later, messages appeared, forcing him into a stunned expression.

[Cheonma14 → Cheonsalseong]

[Cheonma14 → Hanponman]

“Holy shit.”

Did he seriously kill them the instant they respawned?

That was insane.

Weren’t those opponents either top-ranked ordinary players or Bankers?

From deep within his heart, excitement began rising.

‘If it’s Cheonma-nim, then surely the Demonic Cult can finally...!’

No.

Maybe it was too early to get excited.

But for the first time ever—

He genuinely felt the Demonic Cult might actually prevail.

[Cheonsalseong Defeated!]

[Enemy Fortress HP -20]

[Hanponman Defeated!]

[Enemy Fortress HP -20]

Was 3 vs 1 burdensome?

No.

Hadn’t he won fairly easily?

Looking only at the remaining HP after the battle, calling it “easy” was slightly questionable.

But that was because Seo Jun forced the fight to end quickly using the most efficient attacks possible.

In combat, vision was the most important thing.

When surrounded, you naturally lost sight of your rear.

But if you continuously glanced around and predicted movements, it became manageable.

How else could he have known Cheonsalseong would attempt a counterattack?

And if all three had unlocked their full skill potential?

Even then, Seo Jun remained confident he wouldn’t lose.

“Now then, let’s head back to the center.”

Seo Jun deliberately spoke loudly enough for the dead enemies near the fortress to hear before taking the side path between Alpha and Yin instead of the main road toward mid.

-What mind game are you playing now, descendant of Zhuge Liang and lord of the Demonic Cult?!
-He’s even mentally destroying Jeomsoi now, truly the GOAT of psychological warfare!
-When was he ever part of the Demonic Cult lololol
-Manager, stop spamming GOAT and moderate the chat 

After reaching a point outside enemy vision, Seo Jun exited the side path back onto the main central road.

The side paths were narrow, and the branches obstructed movement too much.

“Alright. Time to level in mid.”

The moment he reached the road, Seo Jun even used lightness skills to increase his speed.

And the instant he arrived—

He jumped straight into the battlefield where the monsters were fighting.

“Cheonma-nim, you’re here?”

The teammate faithfully farming enemy monsters in mid according to Seo Jun’s request greeted him brightly.

“Yes. Hello.”

“I trusted you!”

Seo Jun started hunting monsters together with him.

No matter how many they killed, the front line wouldn’t advance much anyway, so there was no concern.

“Let’s kill all of them.”

He once heard that if three people fully committed to killing only enemy monsters, then before the next wave spawned, you could actually see the battlefield completely emptied.

He wanted to try it once.

[Enemy Fortress HP -5]

[Enemy Fortress HP -5]

[Enemy Fortress HP -5]

-As expected of a genius!
-He’s maximizing EXP after shaking them up once
-I believe you! You truly are the Heavenly Demon!
-But grinding this hard is a bit...

At first, reactions were like this.

“Looks like Alpha got captured.”

After confirming the base color change, Seo Jun shattered an enemy monster’s shield with sword energy before killing it.

[Enemy Fortress HP -5]

-Even his sword energy usage is perfectly efficient, Cheonma-nim!
-There was a reason he abandoned Alpha!
-He’s planned everything from the start!

But—

As time passed and Seo Jun continued stubbornly farming monsters in one spot, reactions gradually began changing.

“What do you mean I’m scared?”

Even while speaking, Seo Jun tilted his head to dodge a monster’s heavy attack, then pierced another monster’s throat through a weak point behind the shield.

[Enemy Fortress HP -5]

-If you keep farming this hard, nobody’s gonna believe you lolol
-Stop farming and go fight already!
-He actually seems serious this time
-He’s trying to widen the level gap as much as possible after baiting them once =ㅋㅋ
-This IS strategically valid though

Public opinion started swinging back and forth.

“I already showed you plenty, didn’t I? Me overwhelming three Bankers all by myself.”

-Ah yes. “Overwhelmed” them indeed
-His brainplay WAS sexy though lol
-Watching the Orthodox Sect guys get helplessly dismantled was fun =ㅋㅋ
-He’s only farming now because fighting’s probably harder at this point

Reading the comments, Seo Jun replied casually.

“There’s nothing to worry about this round. I already won.”

-Then stop farming
-Head to the bases already!

Ignoring chat, Seo Jun raised his sword toward the approaching enemy monsters.

‘But I’m not sure about the next round.’

Starting next game, the enemies would prepare for him, which meant the probability of psychological warfare increased significantly.

He was confident, of course.

But mind games always carried a high risk of failure.

Still—

The enemy fortress HP steadily continued falling.

Apparently, Jeomsoi at Alpha saw Seo Jun leave from the front of the Orthodox Sect fortress, panicked thinking he was heading there, returned to defend, then came back again together with all three teammates.

In Seo Jun’s eyes, that decision was a mistake.

If they had spread one person across all three bases from the very beginning, it would’ve been difficult for Seo Jun to properly respond.

But the game had progressed too far now.

Maybe because Martial Arts Soft completely lost their minds with balancing, but his teammates’ skill levels were surprisingly decent.

‘The tanker said they were around one rank below him, right?’

If Seo Jun remained in mid while sending the other three teammates together—

Then even the enemy could manage a 3 vs 1.

But only when levels were equal.

Against three Level 6 players?

Even the Bankers wouldn’t win.

“By the way, the Orthodox Sect Bankers seem more focused on reaching Level 6 somehow instead of dying pointlessly.”

-lol pathetic Orthodox peasants
-As a Demonic Cult player, today has been unbelievably satisfying lolol
-EEEE
-Demonic Cult players always end up crying later
-He’s right though
-With Babjam around, the Demonic Cult’s on a winning streak forever!

Exactly.

At this point, momentum had essentially completely shifted to him.

[Enemy Fortress HP -5]

[Enemy Fortress HP -5]

[Enemy Fortress HP -5]

Once again, all the monsters were wiped out, and the enemy fortress HP had dropped considerably.

“The enemy’s Level 5 now.”

Thanks to passive experience gain and maintaining at least one captured base, the enemy was still leveling naturally.

However—

Seo Jun was Level 10.

A full two-level threshold difference.

That was why mid control mattered so much.

Holding three bases for a long time was important, yes—

But it couldn’t even compare to the experience gained from endlessly killing enemy monsters.

“If the enemy reaches Level 6, I’ll probably be Level 11.”

Many viewers laughed.

Because once martial arts strengthened every six levels, the raw stat difference between levels became much less important.

Most viewers believed he was aiming for Level 12 instead.

‘Not really necessary though.’

Honestly, he just enjoyed farming them.

Then—

-Cheonma-nim, the Bankers at Alpha have engaged.

Checking the team chat, Seo Jun stretched lightly while his teammate quietly withdrew.

-Let’s turn this around! Babjam didn’t hit Level 12!
-A Banker with an actual viable martial art? That’s different =ㅋㅋ
-To begin with, it never made sense for martial-art-less Bankers to beat Babjam, Korea’s best swordsman in sparring arenas
-I seriously wonder how this’ll turn out

The true flower of Martial Arts for All was martial arts themselves.

Because the forms were complex and highly versatile.

But what game wasn’t difficult?

The true masters were always the veteran players endlessly researching martial art characteristics and applications through constant battles.

Forms weren’t simple “skills.”

They were realistic movements that could be utilized freely.

Which was why saying Seo Jun naturally won through “pure skill” wasn’t entirely correct either.

Martial Arts for All’s Bankers especially possessed monstrous mechanics, and many of them treated even pro-level 9-stage AI like a joke.

The problem was—

Seo Jun had defeated them far too easily during yesterday’s sparring match, shattering their pride completely.

“Swordsmanship! Let’s fight without skills!”

Whenever someone proudly demanded that, there was a high chance they were a Martial Arts for All player.

Players from other games usually reacted with, “Those lunatics are at it again,” while secretly acknowledging them.

But after the sparring match—

Their pride had been utterly destroyed.

The only thing left was their faith in martial arts themselves.

And so—

The phrase “Bankers trapped in a well” naturally formed in people’s minds.

Which was why everyone desperately wanted them to win this fight.

“Drink up! Strike!”

Hanponman’s fist technique surged toward Seo Jun after slightly modifying a Taegubunbeop form.

The martial art trait he selected was Drunken Eight Immortals Technique, so he couldn’t expect additional martial art effects.

But the form itself remained powerful.

Because it perfectly fit the current situation where Seo Jun was cornered.

“You really think that’ll work?”

But instead of retreating, Seo Jun leaned forward while moving his sword.

The moment he did—

Hanponman’s rear flank naturally opened up as he swung his fist.

The three opponents would eventually knock aside the fist and continue to cut Seo Jun down afterward.

Yet one question remained.

How did such a simple response create this kind of result?

Seo Jun’s sword deflected the fist diagonally and moved toward Hanponman’s neck—

Fortunately, support arrived from Cheonsalseong beside him.

Then Jeomsoi attacked immediately afterward.

‘Does this even make sense? There are three of us!’

Seo Jun, who had been suppressing their attacks the entire time, now reversed the flow and started blocking offensively instead.

A situation where none of them successfully landed attacks.

They were still losing overall.

But even maintaining a stalemate was humiliating for them.

“If we can’t finish him quickly—we’re seriously going to lose!”

Cheonsalseong shouted while drawing his sword, pouring internal energy into it and activating a martial form—

Seo Jun stabbed his sword into empty air ahead of time.

That exact point in empty space perfectly blocked Cheonsalseong’s future movement path.

“Come. Enter.”

Hanponman genuinely couldn’t understand why Seo Jun kept inviting them in while personally shutting down every single opening.

And then—

-He’s coming
-Been a while since we saw this lololol
-Couldn’t use it during Absorption Art fights since he needed quick kills
-Damn! This is hype!
-The blunt sword’s finally appearing again!

With complete ease, Seo Jun withdrew his sword and crooked his finger toward them.

Very soon—

The reason he sent his teammates away would reveal itself.