Chapter 50

Regardless, this wasn’t something Zachary could solve alone.

No matter how much authority a leader held, they still needed the active cooperation of the settlers.

And unfortunately for him, nothing had changed among the settlers either.

“Still no one willing to become a pioneer?” Justin asked.

“One or two tried, but their families talked them out of it.”

“The rest just accept the mana stones and do nothing.”

“They’re not even bothering with the new labor quests.”

As expected.

Rumor had it that even within Zachary’s own faction, skepticism was on the rise.

Many were starting to think it would be better to keep the mana stones for themselves rather than waste them on settlers.

Even Nox’s faction had begun mocking Zachary’s leadership behind his back.

“At least there haven’t been any fights between pioneers since the election. That’s Zachary’s only achievement so far.”

“Why? You think there’ll be a war later?”

“Yeah. As much as they hate it, they’ll have to unite against any unknown threats.”

“Speaking of which, are you sure there’s another safe zone nearby? We’ve scouted everywhere and haven’t found anything.”

“There is. I’m sure of it.”

World Breaker was ultimately a game where the goal was to establish a nation.

It wouldn’t let them remain a small community forever.

Eventually, whether by agreement or force, they’d have to merge and expand.

“I was planning to look around once a few of you hit level 20. While searching for new hunting grounds, we might also find another safe zone—”

“Shit! What the hell is this?!”
“Just die already, you bastards!”

The team froze as curses and screams echoed from the distance.

The sound came from the opposite direction of their current safe zone.

If another faction had arrived, they would have run into them by now.

Which meant only one thing.

The screams were coming from another safe zone, on the far side of the gnoll territory.

Justin sprang to his feet.

“Grab your weapons. We’re going there—now.”

Justin led his team toward the direction of the screams.

Of course, curiosity alone wasn’t enough to make him rush recklessly. They still had no idea what kind of people they were dealing with. Charging in without any information would have been foolish.

‘At least the grass around here is tall enough to help.’

The grass in the gnoll territory varied in height—some reached only to their knees, while other patches resembled reed beds tall enough to conceal a grown adult.

Luckily, the area they were heading toward had the latter.

Once they were close enough, the team crouched low, hiding among the thick grass while suppressing the sound of their footsteps.

“Shit! These monsters are insanely strong!”

“Who the hell thought it was a good idea to come here?!”

“Does that matter right now?!”

“Kraaah!”

Through the tall grass, they spotted a group locked in battle.

Seven of them.

Considering that four to five people usually made for the most efficient party, this was an excessive number.

“They really packed their numbers, didn’t they? But why are they so weak?”

“Yeah, even the gnolls outnumber them.”

Derek and Nathan voiced the thoughts Justin had been silently considering.

Despite their numbers, the group was struggling against just six gnolls.

“Argh! My arm!”

“You idiot! Don’t drop your shield!”

“It’s breaking through! Someone help!”

“Hold the line! If it breaks, we’re all dead!”

Their formation was simple: six warriors supported by one mage. Each warrior was supposed to handle a gnoll while the mage provided ranged support from the back.

But strangely enough, the warriors were having trouble even holding their ground one-on-one.

“What’s their level? They can’t even handle a one-on-one fight with a gnoll?”

“Yeah, even at level 9, they should be able to win without too much trouble.”

“It’s not about levels,” Justin muttered, studying their movements carefully.

“Their combat skills are awful. Look at how they flinch every time an attack comes at them. They’re clearly not used to real combat.”

“What? But wouldn’t they have at least fought hobgoblins to make it this far?”

“They probably brute-forced their way through with sheer numbers. But now that the numbers are even, they’re falling apart.”

Even the mage’s body language revealed his fear—he had spells left but was too terrified to cast them properly, worried he might accidentally hit his own allies.

That said, not everyone in the group was useless.

“You bastards! Shut up and fight! You’re making it worse!”

Clang!

With a sharp voice, a female warrior on the far right forced a gnoll back.

Shield in one hand, mace in the other—a solid combination.

Her movements were efficient and precise, pressing the gnoll with confident strikes.

‘Her attack power is lacking, probably due to her level, but otherwise, she’s nearly flawless.’

Her fighting style was rough, clearly not the result of long training. Rather, she was compensating for her lack of experience with natural instinct and sharp awareness.

If she gained more experience and leveled up, she would become far stronger.

At this rate, thanks to her efforts, the pioneers might have been able to pull off a narrow victory—

“Kraaah!”
Thud!
“Ah! Agh!”

—Or not.

One of the warriors finally collapsed, rolling across the ground in pain.

Their frontline broke instantly, and the terrified mage panicked, hastily casting a spell.

“M-Magic Missile!”

Boom!

“Krragh!”

The spell hit squarely, but the gnoll only staggered for a moment. Worse still, it seemed to be the mage’s last spell—his face had gone pale, drained of all energy.

The female warrior gritted her teeth, furiously trying to push back the gnolls.

“I told you to hold the line!”

In that moment of desperation, her face, hidden by the angle until now, was suddenly revealed.

Justin froze.

The woman lunged forward to save her fallen ally, but she was too late.

The gnoll, its rusty blade raised in triumph, grinned as it brought the weapon down.

“Black Missile.”

Thwack!

“…!?”

The gnoll’s head exploded mid-swing, blown apart by Justin’s spell.

His increased magic stat after reaching level 20 made the attack devastating.

The gnoll collapsed without another sound.

“W-What the hell?!”
“Kreeeek!”
“Hyung?”

Three different voices—one from a human, another from a gnoll, and the last from his own teammate.

Justin simply shrugged, as if to say I’ll explain later, and rose to his feet.