Lee Shin-Woo knew that the choices he'd made had culminated into the situation at hand. He was also well aware that sometimes, instinct trumped sound logic.

[Lv8 Eater Metafel Rerdan]

[Currently being bestowed a new karma whilst evolving to level 8. The nature of that karma is 'eating', so he can easily eat anything that interferes with the evolution process. Approaching him is dangerous.]

[Your opponent cannot move for the next ten minutes.]

His intuition was telling him that attacking Metafel right now would be really stupid.

"All forces, listen up!"

[Paul Zero!]

[I await your orders, Master.]

Aside from Metafel, whose flesh was expanding and exposing his teeth in the process, everyone stopped at Lee Shin-Woo's booming command.

Some had long stopped cutting down their enemies and backed off when they sensed Metafel’s evolution, while others failed to notice what was going on with the general and kept charging. However, they all heeded Lee Shin-Woo and came to a halt.

[Y-Your voice woke me up.]

[What exactly was I doing...]

[Is that really Sir Metafel?]

[Shut your mouth this instant! The Mercenary King I serve is nothing like that!]

Moreover, Lee Shin-Woo’s shout had affected Metafel's troops as well. Though they had originally been enthralled by Metafel's absolute command, the unique circumstances had released them from the skill's effects.

They felt no loyalty when they looked at Metafel now, but sorrowful attachment or nothing at all.

"We're retreating to the Giants' domain. The battle's over!"

Lee Shin-Woo declared to no one in particular. He hadn’t thought he would have to rely on such a primitive method to relay his orders, but they must get out of here at once.

[The battle's over, you say...]

"All that is left is my battle with him. All of you, collect all the bones and retreat! Hurry up! Now!"

[U-Understood!]

No one hesitated to follow his order. The clash between two armies was over. All that was left to deal with was Metafel, who had eaten about 20,000 of his own soldiers. The thousands that remained looked on in shock. They had lost all the fight in them.

[Paul Zero, the Titan...!]

“You and your kind retreat too. If he eats the Titan's Heart, I won't be able to save you!"

[U-Understood!]

"The loot! Don't miss a single piece of Perium! Don't leave even a scrap for him!"

The enemy troops had dropped a considerable amount of Perium and bones. If Metafel was able to eat even those, there was a chance that he would become so strong that Lee Shin-Woo wouldn't be able to handle him. Looking at Metafel now, it seemed the general would be perfectly capable of eating them.

Would mana attacks work on him in this state?

In order to test this theory, Lee Shin-Woo infused a Breath of the Lightning God with lightning and threw it at him, but Metafel just ate it up. Even though it exploded, Metafel absorbed the resulting energy without issue. There was nothing Lee Shin-Woo could do while Metafel was evolving. He tried shooting fire, ice, and acid to make sure, but the results were the same.

...He won't be invincible like this after his evolution. At least, I have to hope for that.

This was what happened when the ‘eater’ part of his title evolved into a karma. It made sense that Metafel’s form would change to match it. He had become such a fearsome monster.

Lee Shin-Woo shook as cracks ran down Metafel’s fat body, and out of the cracks burst rotten tongues and teeth. Lee Shin-Woo was much happier being a skeleton, thank you very much.

"Shin-Woo, there's something I'll do for you before I leave," said Kratia.

"That guy can eat any and all magic right now. What do you intend to do?"

"Even so, I feel like I can slow down his evolution. I think I can slow it by a few hours!"

Kratia was likewise desperate. Lee Shin-Woo saw her assimilate her orb and begin an incantation for a spell. Then he looked at the enemy forces... To be exact, the remaining 6,700 soldiers of the Imperial Army. Lee Shin-Woo's black goblin fire calmly scanned them over... The flames swayed to convey disapproval.

"Are you just going to sit there?"

[We're still fighting. Don't listen to him!]

[H-However, right now...]

They were well aware that they had only survived because Metafel had begun his evolution before he could finish eating them all. Once the evolution ended, he would finish the job.

"Why are you hesitating?"

[We are...]

[What should we do...?]

"At the very least, I'm sure that if you stay there, Metafel will eat you all."

[...]

It seemed that the two level 7 Corps Commanders had failed to run away and were already eaten by Metafel, but there were still some level 6 elites remaining. There were a significant number of level 5s and level 4s as well. However, they were all too stunned to figure out what they should do in their current situation.

Lee Shin-Woo could understand how they felt. He even felt sorry for them. It was quite tragic to see their loyalty, which extended even after death, lead to something like this.

"Your only mistake was following the wrong person. The Empire sent you here so that you could be food for him. You were used. It would've been better if you had been used as chess pieces, but instead, you were used as supplements. How pitiful."

[How can that be!?]

[Don't you dare insult His Majesty!]

[The Empire wouldn't abandon us...]

Lee Shin-Woo was simply saying whatever worked for him, but this time, he turned out to be right. The voices of those who refuted his claims were weak. That’s only natural, isn’t it? How can anyone possibly stay strong when their general and leader suddenly turned against them and started eating them?

"I'll give you a chance. It's your last chance to choose your own destiny… Follow me."

[...]

Lee Shin-Woo's voice reverberated through the plain, reaching the surviving Imperial Army. He wasn’t sure whether it would work, but he felt like he had a chance now that their connection with their general had been cut.

"The situation's quite urgent, so I'll get to the point… I won't betray you. I'll turn you into warriors. I'll help you so that you can one day take revenge against those who betrayed you."

[The ones...]

[Who betrayed us...]

"My name is Paul Zero. The one who will bring the Empire to its knees. All those who have been betrayed by the Empire, follow me!"

At that moment, a soldier in the center of the Imperial Army, who had quietly listened to Lee Shin-Woo's speech, began to glow. Lee Shin-Woo felt a single strand of his darkness mana form a connection with it.

It was the level 6 elite, Skeleton Knight Leader. No, he had a different name now.

[Lv6 Dark Knight Leader (Elite)]

Once Lee Shin-Woo made his offer, and the Skeleton Knight Leader accepted, a master-servant relationship was formed, and his darkness mana influenced the skeleton, creating an existence that had broken free of the Empire's curse a little... The skeleton was now something similar to the Pauls!

[My head is... I feel like my head has gotten clearer. I will follow your orders. Rather than become food, I'd take my revenge on the Empire who put me in this position.]

He pushed his way through the nearby idiots and bowed before Lee Shin-Woo. Jin hadn’t expected Lee Shin-Woo to profit off this disastrous situation where their enemy was leveling up. Speechless, he stared at Lee Shin-Woo.

Ignoring his gaze, Lee Shin-Woo said to the knight, "I bestow upon you the name Paul 1,000."

[It's an honor.]

Lee Shin-Woo hadn't expected the undead to come to his side. The Dark Knight Leader had been part of the Imperial Army just a little while ago. Previously, Lee Shin-Woo's power alone wouldn’t be enough to release the undead from the curse, as its roots had grown too deep.

However, it was different now. He knew his darkness mana and could use it quite effectively. With it, he uprooted the curse from the undead that had responded positively to him. And in its place, he filled the vacancy with his darkness mana.

Cut the unnatural connection. No, I'll smother it and turn it into pure darkness...

With just that, Lee Shin-Woo was able to preserve most of the Knight Leader's intellect, memories, and will, which had been buried underneath the surface. This had all become possible because of Lee Shin-Woo's awakened darkness mana, once again proving to him how special it was.

"You're my subordinate now. Together, we'll take revenge on and purify this twisted Underground Empire."

[Understood.]

[Wait a sec... M-Me too!]

[And I!]

Once the ball started rolling, it wouldn’t stop. Everywhere, light surged as the elites became even more powerful elites, while those who hadn’t been elites joined their rank. Even the common soldiers were no exception.

Lee Shin-Woo was caught off guard by how rapidly his darkness mana was being drained, so he absorbed the ambient mana to replenish his reserves and looked back at Kratia. He had only planned on taking a few of them with him, but things were different now. If he wasted too much time, he would have to fight Metafel soon!

"Kratia, can you really delay him?"

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Now!"

Kratia, who'd concentrated all of her magic in one place, finished casting her spell and threw out both her hands. At that moment, a great wave of cold air erupted from her palms and expanded, enclosing Metafel. Soon, it looked as though Metafel had been encased in a coffin.

[Gu...Kuaaah...?]

Metafel flinched for the first time once his body and swelling energy were trapped in the ice coffin. His evolution had been slowed!

"The more energy he absorbs, the slower his mana becomes. It's something I came up with by studying the Bone Core."

"Nice job. You're the best!"

While they had both studied the same Bone Core, one of them ended up coming up with a new spell! Lee Shin-Woo was in awe, but Kratia just shook her head. She seemed close to tears.

"It's still not perfect. Obviously, it won't last very long. And I even used such precious magic materials..."

"You did enough. You bought us enough time to retreat with these guys and reorganize our ranks."

Lee Shin-Woo turned around confidently. Once he'd named the Dark Knight Leader, or Paul 1,000, the number of troops that decided to follow him increased exponentially.

A little less than half of the enemy troops had turned, which amounted to around 3,000. Since all of the soldiers that were level 5 and higher were among them, he had actually gained about 80% of their combat force.

[Please tell us what we have to do from now on!]

"Alright. This is your first order."

Lee Shin-Woo looked at the remaining 3,700 soldiers he hadn't been able to convert and spoke firmly.

"They are your enemies now. Kill them and collect the loot. Kill them quickly, so we have enough time to escape before Metafel awakens."

"You devil! Demon!"

[Understood!]

To an outsider, Lee Shin-Woo may seem cruel. However, his resolute order made his converted soldiers feel that he was trustworthy.

[Kuhahk!]

[Sir Metafel...!]

The converted soldiers turned towards the foolish, hesitating weaklings and cut them down. Their only path of retreat was blocked by Metafel, who was wriggling around in his icy coffin, so they didn't have anywhere to go.

"Good. If you've finished collecting the loot, let's go!"

[Understood!]

Lee Shin-Woo had suddenly gained a force of 3,000 strong. Taking into account the Dark Knights and Dark Soldiers as well, he now had a new force of 5,000. He hurriedly led his forces back to the Giants' domain. His retreat had been a clean and perfect one; even the other twelve generals would learn a thing or two by watching him.

[Ku....aaaaaaaaah...!]

Three hours later, the level 8 Eater, Metafel Rerdan broke free of Kratia's icy coffin and began to move. His evolution had caused all rational thought to cease. He simply longed for more magic and more delicious bodies. Metafel had become a walking disaster.

What was Lee Shin-Woo doing, you ask?

[Master, analysis of the core is complete.]

"Good... Shall we begin manufacturing?"

He was building a weapon of mass destruction.