Chapter 114

A clean, absolute victory achieved alone.

It was an undeniable solo-wipe.

Whoosh!

The members of the organization stood frozen, watching Baek Jinwoo march back into the Arena with an overwhelming aura, completely speechless.

The guy is out of his mind.

A true freak of nature.

A monster capable of commanding other monsters.

While it was true that Hong Ari had previously pulled off a solo-wipe of her own, that had been against Venezuela—a notoriously weak nation.

This achievement existed on an entirely different plane.

They were up against France, a powerhouse country that had successfully broken into the Round of 16, boasting three titan-class world rankers on their squad. Yet, he had completely dismantled them.

And he did it using a single summon.

“Man, I know I told you guys to show me what you could do, but here I am taking all the spotlight instead. I really should have let you guys have a turn. My bad.”

The members could only stare at Baek Jinwoo’s embarrassed smirk, unable to find their words.

Right.

This spectacular figure is our Master.

The absolute leader guiding South Korea from the very front.

Step.

Hong Ari was the first to close the distance.

“…There’s no need to apologize. You did incredible. You did absolutely amazing.”

Following her lead, Kang Geonho and Ki Jaehyeok approached as well.

“That was a breathtaking display, Guild Master.”

“The moment you decided to step up, Hyungnim, the victory was already set in stone.”

At this point, it seemed they weren’t even shocked anymore.

Instead of bursting into loud, ecstatic cheers, the atmosphere felt more like having freezing water poured over them—a stark, sobering wake-up call.

I think I finally realize how incredibly inadequate we must seem to the Guild Master.

If I ever want to live up to Jinwoo’s high standards, I have to push myself way harder.

Celebrating right now is a luxury. I need to focus on training.

Baek Jinwoo had already made a public declaration to the entire country.

A spot in the semifinals was a certainty.

And this single battle proved once again that his words were backed by absolute reality.

To transform into disciples who were actually worthy of his grand ambition, the sole path forward was to continuously refine their capabilities.

“Alright, everyone listen up!”

Hwang Juwon shouted to get their attention.

“How much time do we have left before our next round?”

“Since it’s scheduled at one match per day, if you map out the brackets properly… we have exactly one week.”

Ahn Gijeong provided the answer.

“Germany is squaring off against Ethiopia. Whichever side claims victory tomorrow will be our opponent in seven days.”

Germany.

Ethiopia.

Both were formidable nations, but neither possessed the terrifying weight of France.

Which meant…

Winning the quarterfinals is practically a given, making our slot in the semifinals a near certainty, and…

Are we seriously about to step into the semifinals?

A sudden, intense fire ignited within the eyes of the group.

How many years had they spent desperately dreaming of reaching this exact stage?

Granted, once they crossed into the semifinals, the training wheels would be completely off.

They would be going head-to-head with the legendary five great nations.

“Hyungnim.”

Ki Jaehyeok squeezed his fists until his knuckles turned white.

“I want to commit to absolute, intensive training for this upcoming week.”

“He’s completely right! We want to secure a victory just as devastatingly dominant as yours, Guild Master!”

The rest of the members were instantly set ablaze with motivation.

Baek Jinwoo looked back at them, a wave of silent, deep pride washing over him.

“Is that so?”

This was perfect.

When the ultimate prize you desperately want is right there within your grasp, the productivity of your training scales up tenfold!

“Then let’s move out. We’re resetting all the way back to fundamental physical conditioning.”

Even though they were right in the thick of the grand tournament, nothing truly changed.

It was nothing but an unforgiving, endless loop of practice.

The days slipped away.

The official quarterfinal bracket was finally locked in.

England, Mexico, South Korea, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, America, Russia.

Every single slot was occupied by a superpower that the world had already predicted. Naturally, every country associated with the elite Five Emperors cruised through the brackets without experiencing a single upset.

[The battle between England and Mexico is scheduled to commence momentarily.]

[Will the competitors from both nations please make their way to the Arena.]

And so, the opening match of the quarterfinals began!

The ultimate outcome surprised absolutely no one.

It was a total, landslide victory for England!

The Mexican team didn’t even manage to force Rachel or Olivia out onto the field.

They were systematically wiped out by England’s seventh and eighth seeds—Walsh and White.

That was the true shockwave of the match.

Walsh held the world ranking of 24th, while White sat at 31st.

And yet?

Mexico’s absolute ace was Jonathan Pacheco.

A competitor ranked 20th globally—a position notably superior to both English fighters.

Despite that, Pacheco was utterly obliterated by Walsh.

It was a widely accepted truth in the community that at the highest echelons of ranking, even a minuscule variance in skill translated into a massive, insurmountable chasm in raw power. That reality made this blowout all the more jaw-dropping.

Walsh completely ran over Pacheco? That is utterly mind-blowing.

Man, England’s mechanical micro-control is just on a completely different planet! The global rankings can’t even accurately calculate their threat level!

Wow, the leaderboard is going to get absolutely turned upside down after this tournament.

There was a very specific reason this kind of upset was possible.

The official world rankings weren’t calculated in real-time—the system only updated them once a year.

While Pacheco might have been undeniably superior during the previous year, his opponents had completely closed the distance over the course of the last twelve months.

Baek Jinwoo, observing the broadcast live, couldn’t help but feel a minor pang of regret.

He had really hoped to catch another glimpse of Rachel’s signature summon.

For context, she was also notorious for deploying only a single summon.

The golden dragon.

An elite S-rank summon, one that Baek Jinwoo lacked comprehensive data on.

Back when Battle of Summoners was active, the user base was incredibly sparse, and S-ranks hadn’t even been unlocked or implemented yet.

The mere fact that the solitary S-rank Baek Jinwoo managed to secure across a whole decade was the Armageddon Dragon spoke volumes about the rarity.

How on earth did she manage to pull an S-rank in the span of just one year?

Considering she had been relying exclusively on that particular summon since the inception of the second World League, she had most likely acquired it roughly a year ago, give or take.

Regardless.

It was something he had recognized for a long time, but Rachel truly possessed absurd luck.

Then again.

Even if Rachel had actively joined the fray, the likelihood of her revealing a different asset was incredibly low.

It followed the exact same philosophy as Baek Jinwoo sticking solely to Drill Sarge.

When a solitary golden dragon was more than capable of handling an entire roster, there was absolutely zero incentive to expose the rest of her hand.

Just as Baek Jinwoo preferred to keep his strategic intelligence shrouded in mystery, she undoubtedly operated under the exact same mindset.

In any case.

More time trickled by, and the following day arrived.

[The battle between South Korea and Germany is scheduled to commence momentarily.]

The specific quarterfinal showdown that South Korea had been eagerly anticipating had arrived.

[The opening combatant is ‘Song Yeonhui’!]

Song Yeonhui, functioning as the vanguard!

“Whew!”

Her shoulders trembled slightly, a clear sign of her intense nerves.

“Song Yeonhui.”

“Y-yes, Guild Master!”

Baek Jinwoo looked down at her with a soft, encouraging expression.

Setting the veteran rankers aside, he could easily afford to show a bit of leniency toward Hwang Jiwoo and Song Yeonhui.

Their official rankings were virtually nonexistent, and they had only recently begun undergoing genuine, high-level training.

Though, of course, this safety net would only last until the conclusion of this specific tournament.

Once next year rolled around, all mercy would vanish.

It would be determined by nothing but pure capability!

An environment of unrestricted competition, with zero hand-holding.

“Just treat this as a learning experience. Your only goal out there is to discover exactly how far your specialized doll techniques can carry you when pushed onto the global stage.”

“Ah, I understand perfectly!”

“Go get ’em.”

Thump!

Baek Jinwoo gave her upper back a reassuring, gentle pat to send her off into the ring.

She ultimately went on to secure an incredibly impressive 2 kills against the German lineup.

A true prodigy is a prodigy, there was simply no denying her innate talent.

Fire Puppet, Water Puppet, Wood Puppet, Metal Puppet, Earth Puppet.

Her overall mastery over her collection of dolls was already reaching terrifying heights.

“Hah, hah!”

Once her segment of the battle concluded, Song Yeonhui staggered back to the bench, desperately sucking in air.

Unlike the majority of traditional combatants, the specific summons that Song Yeonhui commanded exacted a ridiculously high toll on her VIT.

This was because she was required to manually govern every single individual thread.

“Excellent work out there.”

“Seriously, a standard national ranker locking down 2 kills in the quarterfinals? That is completely mind-boggling!”

“Incredible job! You did amazing!”

Baek Jinwoo alongside the rest of the crew erupted into cheers for her.

Heaving heavily with her tongue practically hanging out, Song Yeonhui clenched her small fists tightly.

An expression of profound realization washed over her features—something had clearly clicked for her during the fight.

[The second combatant stepping up is ‘Kang Jiho’!]

“Jiho, show them what you’ve got!”

“Let’s ride this momentum! Song Yeonhui set the bar, but you need to go out there and lock down a total solo-wipe!”

“Unleash the full devastation of that Mad Berserker the Guild Master tracked down for you!”

The formidable A-rank Mad Berserker.

Kang Jiho’s specialized warrior summon—essentially an unstoppable berserker pulled straight out of ancient martial arts lore.

Naturally, its baseline combat efficiency was heavily optimized thanks to the direct tutoring of Drill Sarge. Once its hidden, latent traits were fully tapped into down the road, there was truly no telling how absurdly overpowered this character could ultimately become!

ROOOOOAR!

The Mad Berserker instantly entered a state of pure frenzy.

Brandishing its colossal blade, it systematically butchered the summons deployed by the German rankers.

At an average pace of roughly once every five minutes, it completely eliminated another opposing player.

The final scorecard: 4 kills!

Because of the intrinsic mechanics of the Mad Berserker, its offensive output was absolutely cataclysmic, but it lacked any viable methods for self-healing… as a result, it was forced back into unsummoned status the moment its HP bar was entirely depleted.

Even so, it was a spectacular run.

Baek Jinwoo offered a slow, approving nod.

Securing four kills on this stage was a massive achievement.

While they were still a far cry from matching England’s terrifying baseline, Jiho and Ki Jaehyeok undeniably possessed incredible potential.

It wasn’t even a question of raw physical stats—they were simply exceptionally gifted when it came to mechanical control.

[The third combatant stepping up is ‘Hong Ari’!]

Hong Ari, flanked by her majestic A-rank Phoenix!

For the opposing side, her entry signified an absolute nightmare.

In all honesty, Hong Ari’s practical combat prowess had already drifted past Kang Geonho’s level.

If you excluded Baek Jinwoo himself, she stood firmly as the current second-in-command of the entire roster.

She hadn’t earned the title of vice guild master by accident!

SCREEEEEECH!

BOOOOOOM!

The Phoenix unleashed a piercing, deafening screech before spewing a torrent of hellfire that incinerated everything captured in its trajectory.

An additional 4 kills!

Utilizing a mere three competitors from their national roster, South Korea had utterly shattered Germany in a flawless, clean sweep.

Right.

He had fully anticipated that everything up to this specific milestone would be relatively smooth sailing.

However, from this exact juncture onward, the easy path evaporated.

In the remaining quarterfinal brackets, America and Russia were destined to collide…

And whichever superpower emerged victorious from that bloodbath would become South Korea’s direct opponent in the upcoming semifinals.

He couldn’t help but wonder.

How exactly would the clash between Xenos and MoscowMan ultimately resolve itself?

Two days later!

— AMERICAAA! The United States secures the win! Xenos brings down Beskoff with a solitary summon left standing on the field!

— Absolutely breathtaking performance, WILLIIIIIILLIAM! XENOOOOOS!

“Huh.”

Baek Jinwoo, who had intentionally paused his strict training regimen just to observe the live broadcast, let out a soft grunt of genuine admiration.

Wasn’t there an old adage stating that watching two closely matched competitors scrap was the peak of entertainment?

The two titans were so perfectly balanced against one another that the match was an absolute joy to watch unfold!

“Xenos undeniably possesses superior combat instincts. MoscowMan’s performance left a bit to be desired—if I had been the one steering that match, I would have walked away with a 100% guaranteed victory.”

America had scraped through to the next round.

That being said, both factions had been pushed to their absolute limits, dragging out every single hidden asset in their repertoires during a brutal war of attrition, leaving every single one of their primary summons completely exposed to public analysis.

The ultimate takeaway from that?

I win. Without a shadow of a doubt.

Baek Jinwoo felt an absolute sense of certainty.

He harbored zero doubts about his ability to overcome everyone on the board, up to and including Xenos, without running into any major roadblocks.

That was operating under the assumption that Xenos didn’t possess some hidden, trump-card summon stashed away in the dark, of course.

Even so.

He had absolutely no intention of letting complacency creep in.

This marked his very first time participating in a physical, real-world iteration of the World League. There was simply no predicting what kind of wild, unpredictable variable might detonate when going toe-to-toe with someone operating at the level of the Five Emperors or higher.

Furthermore.

Starting from the impending American showdown, he would likely be forced to rotate in a summon other than Drill Sarge.

The inherent drawback to that move was that he would be actively leaking strategic data directly to England right before going up against the undisputed strongest nation in the tournament.

There was only one specific outcome he needed to pray for.

I need my name to be drawn as late in the lineup as humanly possible.

The ideal scenario involved the core South Korea national roster holding the line for as long as they could manage. Then, once only a handful of opposing players remained, he could step in like a freight train, steamroll the remnants, and close out the match.

That represented the absolute pinnacle of strategic efficiency.

“Phew.”

If that was the play, then his course of action was crystal clear.

He would need to thoroughly hammer into his guild members every single piece of behavioral data and tactical analysis he had collected on the American roster.

Swish.

Baek Jinwoo retrieved his smartphone and dialed a familiar number.

“Vice Guild Master.”

— Yeah?

Hong Ari’s voice echoed through the speaker.

“What’s your current status?”

— The whole group is just taking a breather and going over the tournament broadcast. We were just about to head back out to regroup for our next practice block. Why do you ask? Did something come up? I thought our intensive training block officially wrapped up yesterday.

“Before you guys kick off the physical training, instruct everyone to assemble in my quarters. There’s one final strategic breakdown I need to run through with the team.”

— Oh, really? Perfect! Understood, we’ll be right there~

Click.

Baek Jinwoo disconnected the call and set the device face down. On the main monitor, the global tournament broadcast continued to play out.

— And with that definitive result, the semifinal bracket is officially locked in!

— That is correct. England! Japan! South Korea! America!

— While England, Japan, and America were universally anticipated to be here, South Korea has undeniably solidified its status as the ultimate dark horse of this tournament.

— That’s exactly what makes this bracket so electric! Can South Korea actually pull off the impossible and dethrone America?

Unsurprisingly, the entire global community now had its collective gaze fixed entirely on South Korea.

So it’s finally time for the semifinals.

Based on the internal whispers and data from headquarters, the ultimate rewards distributed for securing first, second, third, and fourth place were completely tier-segregated.

The core logic behind that was incredibly obvious—they wouldn’t bother hosting a dedicated third-place consolation match right before the grand finals if the prizes were identical.

If the loot was uniform, why waste the energy formatting a third-place decider?

Exactly. It would be entirely pointless.

Let’s wait and see.

Exactly what kind of game-breaking compensation this twisted system decides to hand out.

What specific catalyst allowed Rachel—someone recognized as one of the legendary Five Emperors—to skyrocket in power the way she did.

This was shaping up to be an incredibly entertaining ride.