A Village Appeared on My Desktop

---

Chapter 64 – Ascension (4)

“It seems the claim of an attack was indeed true. The traces of battle are vividly evident.”

Dismounting from his horse, he surveyed the ruins with a serious expression. All that remained in the desolate area, where the refugees had hurriedly tidied up and departed, were broken odds and ends. However, there were a plethora of unmistakable signs indicating that a fierce battle had taken place nearby.

There were spots where arrows had struck, and the ground was overturned and littered with broken rocks, leaving clear evidence of the struggle between warriors. The testimonies from those who had fled served as compelling proof that the events were true.

“Look here. This appears to be the gigantic hammer that fellow mentioned falling from the sky.” One of his subordinates pointed out the absurd remnants as he gestured towards them. He walked over and sighed heavily. The large, deep hole in the ground was big enough for a person to lie down flat.

The size was incredible, but it served as undeniable evidence that a massive hammer falling from the sky had killed both warriors and soldiers.

“I-I told you! It was absolutely not a lie!”

“Shut up! What right do you have to speak when you fled without fighting?”

The right-born subordinate, visibly bruised, yelled in frustration. Though the others nearby scolded him, they couldn’t deny the evidence laid out before them.

‘So there are those who claim to be from the Arin Tribe. I had no idea such a powerful tribe existed in this vicinity.’

Watching this, he fell into deep thought. If the absurd claims of the fleeing coward were true, this was not something to casually hand over to his subordinates; it was a matter that required the chieftain’s direct judgment.

Now that they had no rivals in this area, a new enemy had appeared before them.

“Everyone, let’s head back. We need to report this to the chieftain promptly.”

He ordered his subordinates to return. He intended to inform them of the facts he had discovered here as quickly as possible.

“Hmm?!”

Just as he was turning his horse around, he instinctively felt something and looked up at the sky.

Simultaneously, wide-eyed, he shouted at the top of his lungs.

“A HAMMER!!!”

Something sparkling in the sky—none other than a translucent gigantic hammer.

Panicking, he leaped off his horse just in time. His subordinates were startled too, but, upon hearing his words, they hesitated slightly as they looked skyward.

“Ugh.”

“AAAAAH!”

The hammer slammed into the ground, sending shockwaves that crushed them along with the horses they were riding.

Ksai, who sensed the hammer’s attack first, narrowly escaped by leaping, but most had already been turned into crushed corpses.

“Ksai! What on earth is happening?!”

“It’s not over yet!”

The hammer attack did not cease after one blow. As if it couldn’t bear to see them alive, it continued to rain down from the sky, pounding the ground where they stood.

‘These bastards…!’

Grinding his teeth, Ksai, despite being a highly skilled warrior, felt as powerless as a mouse chased by a cat, managing no more than throwing himself around to evade.

In that process, he lost all his horses and subordinates. Yet, the hammer mercilessly fell upon him from above.

‘This I cannot escape.’

Convinced he would be crushed if he didn’t act, he drew his sword and summoned mana to face the descending hammer. Immediately afterward, he was overwhelmed by a tremendous impact.

“Ugh, AAAAAHHH!!!”

Bones creaked and muscles tore. The hammer’s impact was enough to shatter the body of even a strong warrior. His legs, anchored to the ground, buckled and sank into it.

“GRAAAH!!!”

In the midst of the chaos, he entered a state of indifference, pouring all his strength into resisting. It wasn’t just his life at stake; this was a fight where he bared his pride as a warrior, risking everything for survival.

‘I won’t go down easily. I, Ksai, a high-tier warrior, refuse to be defeated by such magic…!’

In those brief moments, he truly fought for his life. At last, as the hammer’s force waned slightly, he grimaced with delight, blood on his lips, believing he had held on.

*

Click, click.

The sound of a mouse clicking filled my ears. Having decided not to spare the enemy scouts I had discovered, I clicked away, sending the hammer crashing down onto the foes.

‘Ah, did I get them?’

Using all five hammers available at once, it seemed I wiped out all the scouts. But upon closer inspection, the last enemy I took down was squirming and crawling up from the hole created by the hammer.

The foe identified himself as their leader. Wounded and bleeding, it was remarkable that he could still walk after being struck directly by a hammer.

Well, a hammer is the most basic weapon, so it must have its limits.

‘I can’t hide it for long.’

I sighed, observing the warrior named Ksai as he crawled out of the hole, muttering and laughing to himself while looking at the sky.

Just as Balun predicted, competition with existing factions was inevitable. Regardless of the outcome, a confrontation was, in essence, unavoidable.

It seemed better to find a way to reinforce the breakwater before it collapsed completely, rather than patching it up hole by hole.

It was harsh, but it was also a reason for the residents who were still working hard without rest to work even harder.

“Ugh, I was thinking of taking a break.”

I had intended to relax a bit, but that thought proved naive.

Letting out a hollow laugh, I started the game. The game I launched was Dark Blood. I was planning to finish Chapter 2 while going together with Riena. I had already completed most of the side quests in Chapter 2 that offered decent rewards.

Like before in Chapter 1, if I kept her moving until she grew tired, I could finish the main quest swiftly.

“—.”

Riena was suddenly summoned and looked surprised. I hadn’t assigned her more than two tasks since she had stabilized.

Yet, despite her wide eyes, she didn’t show any dislike—it was as if she was a genuinely loyal knight ready to execute whatever I commanded.

‘Let’s keep it efficient and quick.’

What I could offer her was to progress at the fastest route possible without any fluff. The overarching storyline involved thwarting the Demon Lord’s schemes gradually encroaching into society across all chapters.

“What, what is happening?!”

“We are carrying out the sacred duties of the Order!”

To that end, they had ambushed us. Paladins transporting prisoners to serve as sacrifices to the corrupted bishop of this city, who had colluded with demons.

Though they were called prisoners, all were innocent. The problem was that the paladins serving this bishop did not know that nor believe it.

“Y-You bastards!?”

“Enemies!”

Meaningless words exchanged. To advance the story and summon the boss mob, we had no choice but to fight. I, armed with my staff, used a skill to initiate the attack, and naturally, they charged at us.

Riena, who was caught off guard, glanced at me, but seeing them rush at us with weapons drawn, her expression shifted.

In an instant, she lunged forward to subdue the paladins. Her innate exceptional skills were only getting better with experience, and with her steadily absorbing mana and skills, she was now capable of handling the paladins in Chapter 2 with ease.

‘Are the warriors of the grasslands stronger after all?’

Though I hadn’t encountered them much, it seemed that the enemy warriors I faced thus far were somewhat stronger than the paladins. Naturally, the game enemies would get absurdly stronger as the chapters progressed.

“Ugh, the Order won’t let this go unpunished, you criminal scum…”

After the battle concluded, I flashed a thumbs-up at Riena who was catching her breath as I approached a paladin rolling on the ground. He began to say something almost identical to the scripted dialogue.

“What does that mean? These people are charged with demon worship…”

Choosing my words carefully from the dialogue options, I revealed the truth to them. I told them that those they were transporting were actually innocent individuals, and that the bishop who gave the orders had fallen into corruption instead, shocking them profoundly.

Upon showing them evidence that proved I was a chosen one directly selected by the heavens, their astonishment left them unable to deny my words.

To me, it was merely a game, but considering it as their real reality made their simple reactions feel different.

‘I need to reach the midboss by today.’

Having ambushed the paladins, I had secured irrefutable evidence.

Now that I knew the growing absurdity and demonic influences in this area stemmed from the corrupted bishop, all that remained was to execute him.

To do that, there remained the process known as ‘clearing the path,’ where I must cut through hordes of enemies.

If I pressed a bit, I could even reach the midboss, the fallen priest, Low.

‘That would allow me to throw more people into hunting mode, farm more items, and be able to purchase skill enhancement materials and special equipment.’

The gains from achieving that accomplishment would not be insignificant.

For them, it was a precious reality that had to be changed, but from my perspective, it was just a game with no reason to care. Naturally, it was only expected that I would receive rewards if it was that substantial.

“–.”

Riena also had her reasons for not showing signs of exhaustion and putting in the effort.

Her loyalty to me was one thing, but she understood better than anyone that if she took the lead in clearing the way, the other residents would follow behind her and gain rewards and growth.

‘There seemed to be dozens of them.’

Now we had to charge towards the Order and eliminate all the corrupted ones and demons. From the gameplay videos, there had been well over dozens of enemies pouring out continuously, and now with multiple variables, it could potentially increase.

We had to go into those places just the two of us. Riena wasn’t in peak condition either, so there was a high chance we would be forced to abort midway, thus I checked the shortcut keys in advance.

‘I need to let her rest well tomorrow.’

Realizing what we were about to do, Riena was calmly preparing for battle.

Originally, the plan had been to send her into creature hunting the next day to learn equipment crafting and such, but it seemed that would be too taxing for her.

So, I decided to change the plan completely and send different individuals. I intended to teach them through Riena anyway, so starting from scratch wouldn’t change much.

While it would be slightly more frustrating for me to operate with rookies instead of Riena, it was a sacrifice I could accept.