The Proatine Empire’s Iron Fleet unleashed an indiscriminate bombardment upon the horde of frogs swarming toward the empire’s second capital city, Vanquish.

The shelling continued until the barrels of the ships’ cannons glowed red-hot, and they had to pause to cool the barrels down.

It was truly a bizarre battle.

Had there ever been a time in history when an army unleashed artillery fire on frogs of all things?

The sight truly looked as absurd as it could get, but the Proatine Empire’s imperial army was desperate.

The frogs were unleashing a lethal sonic attack on the people of Vanquish.

Ordinary people without mana would instantly collapse simply by hearing the croaking from afar, and they would become paralyzed along with their hearts.

Thus, the imperial army had no choice but to unleash everything they had on the frogs.

Unfortunately, the frogs were like something out of a classic game called Starcraft. They resembled a swarm of Zerglings charging at the enemy base with reckless abandon, their numbers almost infinite as they swarmed the enemy.

Even after a staggering amount of artillery shells, enough to level a large city, were dropped on the frogs, not even a hundredth of the entire horde of frogs was killed.

Their numbers were so overwhelming that even the bombardment from five Immortal Battleships couldn't keep up.

To make matters worse...

“T-This can’t be happening...!”

“Oh my god...”

“What is this sorcery?!”

The soldiers aboard the Immortal Battleships screamed in disbelief after watching the aftermath of the bombardment.

Why?

It turned out that the frogs were unscathed.

They were certain that they managed to obliterate a fraction of the horde with their bombardment, but it seemed that their bombardment hardly made a difference to their seemingly endless numbers.

However, they soon realized that the tidal wave of frogs hadn't reduced in size at all.

One of the officers noticed something so horrifying that it made him turn ghastly pale.

The frogs that had been obliterated by the bombardment did not vanish—instead, they multiplied. Each frog that was killed in the bombardment multiplied into three, meaning that the bombardment only increased the number of frogs rather than reducing them.

When the discovery was reported, the Iron Fleet’s morale plummeted. How were they supposed to win when the frogs only multiplied the more they killed?

There was no way they could win against such an opponent with brute force alone.

Even if the Iron Fleet bought time for the imperial army’s field artillery brigade to arrive and set up their cannons, the commencing bombardment would achieve nothing but increase the number of frogs heading for the city.

By now, it had become clear that they were facing an enemy impervious to physical damage.

“All forces! Focus on firing in a straight path and form a barrier with bombardment! Stop their advance at all costs!”

The fleet commander composed himself and issued an order.

It was a stopgap solution, but it was the best thing they could do for now.

Rather than carpet bombing the entire area, the fleet commander decided to concentrate fire in a line, creating a wall of destruction.

The frogs would grow in numbers once they got bombarded, yes, but at least their march could be delayed while shells rained down on them.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Following the fleet commander’s order, the Iron Fleet proceeded to bombard in a straight line, slowing down the horde.

It was then.

Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash!

The Proatine Empire’s Mage Corps, led by Duke Decimato, warped in.

A flurry of incantations filled the air, and soon, a colossal barrier so large that it covered the entire city of Vanquish was conjured.

It was a barrier specifically cast to block off sonic attacks.

Of course, the Mage Corps was far from done.

“Raise the walls! Make sure they can’t get past them!”

Following Duke Decimato’s command, the magicians summoned walls of every element.

Ice walls, fire walls, stone walls, earth walls, and even lightning walls were erected around the city in multiple layers.

The walls were at least five meters tall and towered over the frogs, stopping their advance.

The frogs at the front were forced to a stop, unable to hop toward Vanquish anymore.

Thanks to the arrival of the Mage Corps, the imperial army finally managed to stop the horde of frogs from reaching Vanquish—or so they thought.

While they stopped the advance of the frogs, it was far too early for the imperial army to relax. For one thing, frogs were inherently natural climbers. Their webbed feet had sticky toe pads and claws that allowed them to adhere to surfaces.

However, their true strength lay in their overwhelming numbers.

Ribit! Ribit! Ribit! Ribit! Ribit!

The frogs croaked louder and rushed toward the elemental walls. They climbed over their own kind—one frog on another’s back, then another over that, and then another over it.

Soon enough, the frogs built a tower to scale the defenses and continue their advance.

“At this rate... we won’t last an hour...” Duke Decimato muttered under his breath, his face etched with concern.

All of the tactics employed until now were merely stopgap solutions to buy time. It was not a solution to the crisis, as the frogs’ self-replication ability made them enemies one could never win against.

It was then.

“Leave it to me, Your Excellency.”

A soft, gentle voice rang out.

Gringore stepped out from the warp gate, clutching his microphone as he walked toward the frontlines.

An eye for an eye; a sound for a sound.

The one and only person capable of countering this catastrophic disaster had finally arrived.

***

Gringore rushed to the warp gate and immediately headed for Vanquish. Roused from his sleep, he was still dressed in his silk pajamas when he emerged from the warp gate.

The situation was so dire that he did not even have time to change clothes.

Half-awake, he stepped into the battlefield.

‘Such devastating sound waves... Everyone in the city will die if those frogs manage to get any closer.’

As the Phantom Singer and someone blessed with perfect pitch, Gringore instantly recognized just how terrifying the croaking was. While he himself was immune to sonic attacks, ordinary people and even the most hardened soldiers stood no chance against it.

“Ahem! Ah! Ah! One, two!”

He cleared his throat, his voice still rough, as he had just woken up Gringore made it a habit to warm up his voice before a performance, but there was no time to waste right now.

He had to start singing this instant.

“Ah... Aaaah! Ahhh! Aaahhh!”

His skill, Song of Protection, rang out in the direction of the horde.

The song interfered with the frequency of the croaking, nullifying its lethal effects.

‘Argh... I can’t hold this for long...’

Even as the Phantom Singer, Gringore knew he couldn’t maintain the Song of Protection indefinitely. The sheer number of frogs croaking all at once was simply far too overwhelming for him, and it was impossible for him to hold them all back alone.

‘At best... two hours. I can’t hold on any longer than that. I won’t be able to protect Vanquish.’

While Gringore was the perfect counter for the lethal croaking of the frogs, he could do nothing to address the root of the problem. As long as the frogs were still heading toward the city, he was bound to lose to their sheer numbers.

‘I place my trust in you, sire...’

Gritting his teeth, he held out with everything he had, trusting that Siegfried would slay the boss monster and bring an end to this hellish nightmare.

***

Meanwhile, Siegfried had circled wide around the horde of frogs and made his way behind them.

Ah... Aaaah... Ah... Aaaah! Ah-aaaah!

Just then, a familiar voice resounded from the direction of Vanquish.

“As expected of Gringore!” Siegfried grinned and exclaimed.

When he noticed that the croaking of the frogs no longer carried the same paralyzing effect, he knew that Gringore was the reason behind it.

“Kyuuu! Now’s our chance, owner punk! The croaking got weak!” Hamchi exclaimed from his shoulder.

“I know,” Siegfried replied with a nod. Then, he said, “But he can’t hold out forever, so we need to find the boss monster and take it down fast.”

“That’s right! Gringore can’t hold them off alone! We have to find the boss monster and kill it! Kyuuu!”

“Let’s go.”

Siegfried accelerated and flew at a speed rivaling a fighter jet's as he made a beeline for the place where the horde of frogs had first appeared. At the same time, he activated Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance and searched for the boss monster on his mini-map.

‘Over there!’

On his mini-map, a red dot labeled Lord of the Pond: Tuareg appeared, located on a massive nearby pond.

From its name alone, Siegfried knew this had to be the boss monster, and he immediately flew toward it.

The pond was huge, easily three times the size of the Seoul World Cup Stadium[1].

‘A frog?’

Siegfried came face-to-face with an enormous frog, one clad in regal robes and even wearing a crown as if it were some the frog king.

[Lord of the Pond: Frog Lord Tuareg]

[One of the ancient monsters once sealed in Purgatory.]

[In ancient times, it drowned the world in frogs, causing an uncountable loss of life.]

[Type: Demon]

[Species: True Frog]

[Level: 700]

[Class: Frog Lord]

[Nite: One of the Ten Calamities. Extreme caution is advised.]

“Who are you to appear before me so brazenly?” Tuareg asked, looming over Siegfried.

Buzz~ Buzz~

One of the flies orbiting around Siegfried caught Tuareg’s eye.

Slurp!

With a whip of its tongue, the Frog Lord snapped up the fly and gulped it down. Then, with a satisfied look, it said, “You must have a death wish to appear before me, human.”

“Nope. The one dying here is you,” Siegfried replied calmly. He had no intention of engaging in banter this time, as his comrades were desperately doing their best to stop the frog.

In an instant, he unleashed Karma Flare and Embrace of Despair. Then, he drew his +10 Sky Piercer and lunged at the Frog Lord.

“Pitiful insect!” Tuareg bellowed, puffing out its massive cheeks.

Bwaaak! Bwaaak! Bwaaak!

The sheer size of its body made its croak far deeper and louder than the croaking of an ordinary frog.

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: Your character has been paralyzed!]

[Alert: You have lost control of your character!]

The Frog Lord could unleash the same sonic attack used by the frogs, but it was far stronger.

To make matters worse, Gringore’s singing couldn't reach Siegfried.

“Argh...!”

Siegfried’s movements turned stiff and sluggish.

“Die! Bwahaha!” Tuareg bellowed and opened its massive maw wide..

Pshwaaaaa!

The Frog Lord spewed a torrent of toxic green gas straight at Siegfried.

However, Siegfried possessed a body immune to all poison, so he suffered no damage.

“Ughhh! Ptooey! Disgusting, shit! It smells like rotten fish!” he spat, grimacing.

“Kyuuu! Hamchi will help!” Hamchi exclaimed.

He grew bigger and unleashed a flurry of attacks with his giant paws, but...

Bwaaak! Bwaaak! Bwaaak!

Hamchi, too, was paralyzed.

Whoosh!

In the next instant, Tuareg lashed out its tongue like a whip and sent Hamchi flying into the distance.

That tongue was not just long. It was unbelievably tough and elastic, almost indestructible, like a steel cable.

“Argh...”

Siegfried fought to shake off the paralysis effect while Hamchi kept Tuareg occupied, but the sonic attacks were so powerful that his body refused to move freely.

“Bwahahaha! I’ll turn you into jerky and suck on you all day!” Tuareg exclaimed with a guttural laugh.

It was then.

Ding!

A star lit up above the Frog Lord’s head.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

Four additional stars lit up in sequence, making it five stars in total.

Whoosh!

The Frog Lord launched itself high into the air, then came plummeting down like a tactical missile.

It curled up before spreading its arms and legs, body-slamming Siegfried.

BOOM!

A deafening blast echoed.

“G-Gughaaah!”

Blood gushed from Siegfried’s mouth; the bodyslam had utterly crushed him.

The Five Star Frog Splash, a skill of the Frog Lord, dealt a minimum of fifty percent of the target’s max HP as True Damage. When used against weaker targets, it could kill them outright in a single hit.

1. Seoul World Cup Stadium, also known as the Sangam Stadium, is a 66,000 seater used for various events. It was built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seoul_World_Cup_Stadium ☜