Steel bells throughout the streets of Ferrum rang endlessly to signal an attack.

“Air raid! Air raid!”

“Hurry to your stations!”

“Archers! Bring out the ballistas!”

The panicked dwarves of Ferrum quickly prepared countermeasures against the sudden air raid. The surprise attack had taken advantage of the dwarves’ lowered guards immediately after the Ferrum Festival. Tens of thousands of angels covered the sky, dyeing it black like the apocalypse.

“You! What are you doing?! Move your ass!” a dwarf shouted at a fully armored dwarf standing still.

The armored dwarf suddenly unsheathed his sword and stabbed the dwarf who shouted, saying, “I’m sorry. This is all for Master Hadafu.”

“Kurgh! You... bastard! You’re from... Blue Anvil!”

Similar events occurred throughout the streets. Dwarves, whom the others believed were allies, suddenly began to attack their fellow people.

“Y-you sons of bitches! You’ve betrayed your kind!”

“The Blue Anvil tribe has gone insane at last!”

The dwarves of Blue Anvil actively impeded the countermeasure preparations.

“We’re not insane! You’re the ones who bribed the A-rank artisans to drive Master Hadafu out of his position!”

“Yeah! There’s no way that single shabby arrow could have won! There had to have been a conspiracy!”

On top of that, Manfu Kosa, Ferrum’s chief of security, was a member of Blue Anvil. The security officers had already destroyed the ballistas and other siege artillery hidden throughout the city.

“T-the ballistas are broken!”

“Ahhh! Who the hell did this?!”

The dwarves had no way of defending against the angels flying down toward them, gathered like a dark cloud. The first angels to land on Ferrum were the giant Dynameis, the fifth-grade Virtues, between ten and a hundred meters tall.

“Glory to.”

“The God of Heaven.”

The Dynameis began to destroy Ferrum with their massive physique. A single swing of their temple columns leveled the streets, and casualties skyrocketed.

“Ahhh! Run!”

“Lord Bafor!”

“Steel King!”

The dwarves desperately called for Bafor, the guardian of Ferrum.

***

“BASTARDS!” Bafor screamed furiously once he came out of the Golden Iron Palace and witnessed the chaos.

“Ahaha! It’s been too long, Steel King!” someone shouted from above.

Bafor looked up at the sky and saw a handsome, red-haired, and red-eyed young man with nine pairs of wings, smiling widely as he stood at the vanguard of the angels raining down on Ferrum.

“URIEL! HOW DARE YOU ATTACK FERRUM?! WERE YOU NOT SATISFIED WITH ERADICATING SUPERFICIES?!”

“Haha! Superficies, huh? Do you have proof?”

“Of course not, because you killed them all! However, Ferrum is not like Superficies! Orbis will pay for what they have done!” Bafor shouted.

Uriel giggled and replied, “I agree, Ferrum is different. We cannot kill you all. Man, I was already being pursued, but it looks like the Sēmen will be on my case even more after this.” His red eyes shone chaotically as he continued, “None of this would have happened if you had accepted our offer! You didn’t even mention Orbis during the Faber conference. A king who doesn’t even bat an eye at his daughter’s death, huh? How heartless can you be?!”

Bafor refrained from answering Uriel’s taunts. There was no need to tell Uriel about Lilar’s survival.

Uriel examined Bafor as he smirked and continued, “Since Plan A has failed, it’s time to move on to Plan B. If negotiation is out of the question, we’ll have to take it by force!”

Take it by force? I knew it! They were aiming for Lilar—no, the Mineral Stone! Bafor shouted inwardly.

He did not know how they found out about it, but Creo, the God of Heaven, was after the dwarves’ Race Stone.

“Take it by force, huh? You dare to run your mouth like that before me? You are no match for me,” Bafor said as he grabbed a black hammer at his waist.

Only four first-grade angels were granted the title of archangel, and Uriel was one of them. Although they were World Rankers, Bafor was an upper World Ranker, numbered thirty-fifth. Uriel could never defeat him.

“Hahah! That’s why I called a friend!” Uriel shouted as he pointed at the sky.

Someone with a blue beard and blue hair flew down like a bullet from above with a roar. A magic circle was engraved behind his silver armor, emitting pressurized air that allowed him to move freely in the air.

“Hadafu! Not only did you betray your people, but you also brought a foreign army?! Have you lost your mind?!” Bafor shouted.

Hadafu glared crazily at Bafor and said, “Bafor! You know nothing about my despair, because you were always shining!”

“Was the king’s throne... so coveting that you would go this far?”

“Of course! You always kept everything for yourself, even the Artisan’s Soul! If only I had that... there would be nothing different between you and me!” Hadafu unsheathed a gold sword from his waist and continued, “That’s why I joined forces with Uriel. Faber and Orbis will be allies from now on.”

“What did you promise him... in exchange?”

“Gahaha! Your daughter! I will hand that little girl over a thousand times over if it means I can obtain the Artisan’s Soul! You are unworthy as king, Bafor. A king shouldn’t prioritize blood over the benefit of the race!”

“You moron!”

Hadafu’s words had been to taunt Bafor, but Bafor only felt sorry for Hadafu, who had no idea that Lilar and the Artisan’s Soul were the same thing. He had allied himself with those who were after the same thing as him. The alliance was bound to collapse.

The dwarves didn’t follow proper procedure for attacks. Hadafu must’ve done something, Bafor thought as he watched the echoing explosions and pillars of fire throughout the city.

Enemies were both inside and outside, but he was as calm as a lake even in the desperate situation.

“You must have forgotten... why I came to be known as the Steel King,” he said as he raised his black hammer, Ustrina’s Hammer. Bafor’s immense Mineral Force focused on the hammer head, lighting the entire Golden Iron Palace. “You will pay for your foolishness of challenging me in my territory with death!”

He smashed Ustrina’s Hammer down on the ground. It did not leave a mark, but a brass-colored wave spread throughout Ferrum.

[Activating Unique Skill: Will of Steel.]

“I command all metal to rise and fight for Ferrum!” Bafor shouted.

Will of Steel was Bafor’s signature skill. Whenever outsiders visited Ferrum, they were always impressed that everything in Ferrum was made of metal, expecting nothing less from a city of dwarves, artisans from birth. However, there was a different reason why Ferrum was made purely of metal.

The city itself arose. Steel dwarf soldiers rose from the steel streets and marched with weapons in hand to protect the citizens. The fountains became turrets that fired red-hot liquid metal at the angels. The buildings became ballistas, the steel cables coiled to become bowstrings, and fired steel arrows at the countless angels in the sky. Bafor’s level of control over metal was unreal; the city itself defended against the angels.

“Ferrum is me, and I am Ferrum. To kill me, you will have to kill this city as well!” Bafor declared.

“Seeing it for the second time doesn’t make it any less insane. It’s no surprise, since you controlled an entire iron mine in Subterra,” Uriel remarked as he summoned a sword and shield of fire mixed with white and red.

The sword blazed with immense Holy Force, and the shield spun like a fiery windmill. Unlike Gabriel’s Lily Holy Force, Uriel’s Volcanic Holy Force was unmatched in physical destruction, which was why he was known as the God of Heaven’s flames, the Angel of Judgment, or the Angel of Destruction.

The sword in Uriel’s right hand was Iahav, a holy sword bestowed upon Uriel by the God of Heaven himself. The sword usually remained at the entrance to the celestial realm to intimidate intruders, but was summoned to Uriel during battle to burn Creo’s enemies.

“But Bafor! Why do you think I attacked Ferrum when I know it’s your territory?” Uriel smiled as he pointed Iahav at Bafor and said, “Here, you have much to protect. I’m curious to see how long you will last against the two of us as you mobilize the city!”

He flapped his nine pairs of wings, sending a downpour of fire toward Bafor. The walls of the Golden Iron Palace rose to become a steel giant but melted against Uriel’s Volcanic Holy Force.

“It’s time for you to step down!” Hadafu shouted as he charged at Bafor, borrowing the power of the Aer Plate Armor with S-rank potential. His gold sword, Chrysos, also had S-rank potential.

Bafor blocked the attack with Ustrina’s Hammer and shouted, “Hadafu! You dare attack me with the sword I made?!” 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

“Shut up! This is my sword now! The sword that will kill you!”

Uriel and Hadafu began to overpower Bafor.

***

Seong-Hwi sprinted through the streets of Ferrum, thinking, This is insane. They’ve lost their minds! Why are they... going so far?

He couldn’t understand the angels’ actions. He understood their rage that Bafor escaped their control because of Seong-Hwi’s interference, but their retaliation was overkill.

Do the angels need the item crisis to occur?

The item crisis negatively affected all races in his past life, but he did not believe it was crucial enough for the angels to antagonize Bafor and be pressured by the Sēmen as a result.

No matter how much I think about it, there’s nothing in it for them. I don’t understand.

The Race Stone was not even in Seong-Hwi’s thought process, resulting in him only viewing the angels’ actions as irrational.

But this is my chance to earn Karma and collect genes!

War always led to advancements. Seong-Hwi decided to upgrade his stats since he had five hundred million Karma. First, he restored every stat that had been lowered due to his heightened caliber, then continued to invest Karma into stats, skills, items, and traits as he considered the perfect balance. Cubes endlessly shuffled before him.

I’ll pass on Rust of Ruin since its stat rose through the Primordial Dish. I’ll upgrade the two Queen Consort Muryeong items to A-rank, and...

There were many places to invest Karma into. Seong-Hwi completed the preliminary touches to his status window.

[Cheon Seong-Hwi

Health: A(10+20) Strength: A(10+20)

Dexterity: A(9+20) Sense: A(11)

Magic: A(12) Destiny Force: A(11)

Karma: 287,920,253

Coins: 570,034,225

Destiny Weapon: Tarot Deck of Destiny A(10)

Skills (6) Traits (6) Items (9) Cubes (2)]

[Common Skills: Rust of Ruin A(56)]

[Unique Skills: Symbol Embodiment, Borrowing Destiny]

[Item Skills: Myriad Faces, Bucephala’s Steps, Steel Plate]

[Traits: Natural Enemy of Chaos A(6), Thousand-Man Killer B(7), Scorn for the Weak C(99), Mystery Killing D(99), Savior's Hand D(99), Foul Play (D(99)]

[Items: Wings of Evolution A(3), Silver Bracelets of Queen Consort Muryeong A(5), Gold Necklace of Queen Consort Muryeong A(5), Myriad Cheoyong Mask C(10), Bucephala Hoodie D(99), Zanaka Karambit D(99), Steel Tortoise Heart Guard D(99), Tom’s Leather Boots F(0), First-Class Murder License Ring F(0)]

[Cubes: Item cube (A), Item cube (B)]

He was now a Hexa-A, though he could also be called a Hepta-A if his D Weapon were included.

The Queen Consort Muryeong set never fails to disappoint. It raised the stats by A(20) points!

The amount it raised was reduced compared to thirty points when it was B-rank, but the total power output had increased. Seong-Hwi also upgraded the trait, Natural Enemy of Chaos, to A-rank, and upgraded the Wings of Evolution to A-rank as well. Despite that, he still had 280 million Karma to spare.

Now, it’s time to choose whether to maintain balance or take a gamble.

Seong-Hwi thought momentarily, then smiled. “Yeah... I prefer to gamble rather than play it safe. It might be William’s influence.”

He immediately spent 180 million Karma to raise Destiny Force to A(99).

And I’ll use the remaining hundred million Karma... to open an S-rank stat cube!

[Destiny Force stat cube (S) obtained.]

...

[Destiny Force stat cube

Rank: S

Description: An 8x8 diamond cube made up of 512 small cubes. The user’s Destiny Force stat will rise randomly between S(0~5).]

“Open,” Seong-Hwi said.

He did not borrow William’s destiny before opening the cube because, unlike other cubes, an S-rank stat cube could give zero points. He had learned his lesson after the Steel Rice Grain incident, hence decided to not rely on the destiny excessively.

The cube, made of smaller 512 diamond cubes, shuffled. The cube stopped with a clear sound, and the smaller cubes scattered to reveal a light that flew into Seong-Hwi’s solar plexus. He felt something intense changing.

“Ahhh!”

He was met with a moment of powerful orgasm and epiphany. He felt anticipation for the future, a premonition that good things would happen, positive certainty, and more. His heart pounded intensely as if he had drunk a love potion, and he felt like his heart was about to burst from the overflowing hope. He dreamt that he could do anything he set his mind to.

[Destiny Force S(1) obtained.]

[Destiny Force A(99) → Destiny Force S(1)]

Although it was just a one-point difference, the difference between A and S was like heaven and earth. Seong-Hwi had become a Single-S with superior caliber. Destiny Force was required for activating his unique skills, Symbol Embodiment and Borrowing Destiny, and was also fuel for the Wings of Evolution.

It was equivalent to switching to premium gasoline after using cheap, fake gasoline for all of one’s life. He felt like a significant load had been taken off his shoulders.

Ten iridescent wings sprouted from Seong-Hwi’s back. It looked as if the colors had become more vivid.

[Operating Wings of Evolution.]

[Ten Wings.]

The wings flashed, and Seong-Hwi vanished.

“Charge! Do not fear! The Steel King is soft! He will not kill his people—Kurgh!”

Seong-Hwi appeared behind a shouting Blue Anvil dwarf and grabbed his neck.

“Cough! Gah!” The dwarf suffocated, struggling to break free.

“I’m not a dwarf, so I’m fine to kill you, right?” Seong-Hwi said as he broke the dwarf’s neck, making him look like a straw. “I was wondering how to obtain a dwarf’s genes, but... this is the perfect opportunity!”

Seong-Hwi’s goal-driven eyes shone with crimson bloodlust.