I thought it didn’t make any sense.
Being able to summon the heroes I’d consumed without any penalty seemed too good to be true.
“The more heroes you summon, the lower your level gets.”
Which means…
“It’s not his own power, but rather an additional ability he gained after becoming a 7-star.”
With this assumption, everything starts to make sense.
I had seen many techniques that temporarily strain the body, but I had never seen one that comes with a permanent penalty.
“So those who fall to him are unable to find peace, even in death?”
Wiryung, gripping the railing of the Lucette, burst out in anger.
Had I not restrained her, she would have charged out by now.
And she would have been burned out gloriously. Maybe she could have done something when she was a max-level 6-star, but the current Wiryung is just a low-level hero in the 40s.
In any case, the forces of the punishing expedition continued to assault El Cid’s flagship like water pouring into a basin.
Once one party was dealt with, another Master’s party landed, and after fending off that party, dozens of raids would advance next. This war of attrition might be painful for mid- to low-level Masters, but it’s not much of a blow to high-level Masters.
They have thousands of heroes waiting in their lobby.
They selectively send out the less useful ones as sacrificial pawns.
While keeping their true elites hidden.
Once you reach a certain level, it’s not difficult to raise a newly summoned hero to max level.
The same goes for promotions. Even if they all get annihilated here, you can just summon and train them again.
The rewards from clearing a raid far outweigh the losses of losing worthless heroes.
I used to operate like that as well.
Absolute efficiency-centric management.
In a way, those guys learned it from me.
‘To me, El Cid and the other Masters don’t seem that different.’
I chuckled.
One of the reasons the exchange rate between El Cid and the raid forces wasn’t favorable was because the morale of the raid forces had plummeted. To other Masters who were hammering away at their virtual keyboards in chat, these heroes were just game characters, but I knew all too well. They weren’t just simple game characters.
Even those landing on the Himena knew.
They knew they were being used as mere disposable tools, thrown into death.
‘Treat the heroes in your lobby as if they were real people. They will reward you accordingly.’
This was one of the pieces of advice El Cic had given me during the early days of Pick Me Up, back when it was a single server.
Treat your heroes like people.
If we do, they will respond to us, the Masters.
‘If I were one of the rankers over there…’
I would still use sacrificial pawns but in a slightly different way.
Throwing them out like trash doesn’t suit my style.
Well, it’s pointless to think about it when I’m just watching from the sidelines.
[Dimensional Channel (Advanced Players Only) – 58 Participants]
*Iclios* > This is a war of attrition. Look at the boss’s level. It’s dropping every time he summons more minions. If we keep at this, it’ll be over. I’ll bring out one more fleet, so everyone else, bring out whatever you’ve been saving up. The rewards this time are too good to miss.
In the midst of the ongoing war of attrition between both sides, even the leader of the raid noticed something unusual.
The Army of Conquest might keep reviving no matter how many times you kill them, but El Cid’s power wasn’t infinite.
[Danger!]
[Conqueror of Fate]
[Raskanda El Seed Lv.588]
His level had dropped into the 500s.
[Dimensional Channel (Advanced Players Only) – 58 Participants]
*Iclios* > If we kill all the minions, it’ll move to the next phase. Stay calm and watch the patterns.
“Patterns, huh?”
El Cid sneered.
The wolf fur coat he was wearing was soaked with red blood.
[Dimensional Channel (Advanced Players Only) – 58 Participants]
*Iclios* > Just a little more, and…
El Seed flicked his coat.
A mist-like wind spread from his feet, swirling across the deck of the airship. Dozens of wind currents coiled and scattered, enveloping the entire deck. Then, they began to greedily devour the corpses of the heroes lying on the floor.
The masses of blood and flesh transformed into particles of light, which were absorbed into El Cid’s body.
The level tag floating above his head rapidly climbed. From the 580s to the 590s. From the 590s to the early 600s.
“…Synthesis.”
He was absorbing the souls of the dead.
Like a wraith. The fallen Army of Conquest rose to their feet simultaneously.
At this rate, his power is limitless.
As long as the raid forces continue to suffer casualties, El Cid’s Army of Conquest will keep reviving.
The difficulty of the pattern strategy just skyrocketed.
“You know it too, don’t you? To the Masters, you’re nothing but expendable tools. Even knowing you’re destined to die and be discarded, you still rush at me? Is the Master’s command really that important to you?”
El Cid said to the heroes of the raid forces, who were locked in a fierce battle on the deck.
“Shut up! If you just die quickly, it’ll be over! Acting so high and mighty…!”
A female archer growled as she aimed her bow.
Ping! The arrow sliced through the air like lightning and grazed El Cid’s cheek.
Soon, a thin line of blood appeared on the right side of El Cid’s face.
“…Pity.”
A trickle of blood ran down El Cid’s cheek.
“The Masters are sacrificing your lives just to gain a few pieces of data.”
“What do you want us to do about it? Just die already if you’re going to talk so much crap!”
“I suppose.”
El Cid’s expression remained indifferent as he glanced around the deck.
I'm currently Translating the following novels: Pick Me Up! | A Frontline Soldier Awakened as a Gamer In The War! | The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!