[The godly society has established a great holy territory!]

“I don’t recall having significant contact with most of you, right?” The Martial King looked at the gods with an exasperated expression. There were hundreds of them. The situation was bordering on the surreal. The gods must have used up a considerable number of laws of causality to create a great holy territory in the lower world. It would have taken the godly society at least a few hundred years to save up. Moreover, this was all just to assassinate the Martial King. The Martial King was left speechless, and all he could do was scoff. However, the gods of Asgard were all serious.

『Martial King, Nayu.』 The leader of Asgard ever since Odin fell asleep, Thor borrowed the Sword God’s body to speak. 『Our society has no specific grievance against you. You are a descendent of the great Shaohao Jintian and a talented entity in your own right. Although you possess the power to contend against the gods in the heavens, you have accepted your limitations as a mortal and understood your level. You have correctly chosen to stay in the lower world.』

Mortal? Limitations? Level? The Martial King’s eyes narrowed. However, Thor continued speaking loudly, adding greater energy into his voice without acknowledging or caring about the Martial King’s change of expression.

『However, this does not mean that you are free from wrongdoing. ###! You have allowed the great sinner, the one you call Cain, to run wild. Your crime is considerable since you allowed this to happen. The godly society of Asgard holds you accountable.』

It was only then that the Martial King understood the circumstances of this sudden attack. He smirked and chuckled. He did not know what had happened between his disciple and the godly society, but he understood that the godly society was focusing their anger on him after Yeon-woo slapped them around.

‘Ah. Damn it. I’ve really been away from the game for too long. How did my presence become so insignificant during my long break? I’m being dragged into a fight like a third-rate character who’s riding on the coattails of his talented disciple.’ The Martial King still took pride in being an active martial artist, and the implication of Thor’s words was humiliating. The fact that he’d been taken as a hostage to lure his disciple fueled his anger. The Martial King cocked his head in a more disrespectful manner.

As the Martial King was fuming, Thor continued to speak, using vocabulary that grew increasingly more complex, his tone stern and lecturing. However, the Martial King had already stopped listening. To him, Thor was just like a barking dog.

“Hey.” The Martial King cut Thor off.

『What…!』

“Are you done barking?”

『How could you use such vulgar…!』

“Anyway, shut that mouth of yours, and let’s get started.” Bam! Thinking that he had endured enough, the Martial King stamped hard on the ground. With the instincts of a warrior, Thor quickly moved back and applied more power to his lightning bolt. Since Thor was borrowing the Sword God’s body, the Sword God’s Consciousness quickly reacted to Thor’s shout and shot out the four swords in the air.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Lightning wrapped around each sword, which displayed its mighty power. The Sword God’s attack was something that even most gods were reluctant to face.

Pew! Pew! As if he were chasing away a flying insect, the Martial King gently waved his hand and knocked down the incoming strikes. Then, he suddenly appeared right in front of Thor.

Flinch! Thor was startled. He never expected that the Martial King would move so quickly and was startled. However, Thor’s reflexes soon kicked in, and he threw out a punch, condensing his energy in his fist and exploding it out. The blast shook the great holy territory.

Whoosh! Swoosh! However, with great ease, the Martial King maneuvered through the explosions, grabbed Thor’s wrist, and pulled him in. Like a howling wild beast, Thor’s energy rumbled and growled as it climbed up the Martial King’s back. However, the energy was not strong enough to break through barriers along the Martial King’s skin.

‘Such power!’ Infuriated that the Martial King would dare compete with him in strength, Thor tried to set the Martial King straight, but when he found himself being dragged away, Thor’s eyes widened. How could the Martial King contend with him so easily? He was one of the strongest warriors in the heavenly world…

Thor’s thoughts were interrupted by a strong shock in his stomach. 『Oof!』 The Martial King had swung his knee and connected with Thor’s solar plexus. Thor felt such excruciating pain that he wondered if his spirit had been permanently damaged. As Thor’s mind went blank…

“That sounded good.” Whoosh! Martial King chuckled as he twisted Thor’s wrist back and attacked all of his vulnerable points: philtrum, solar plexus, and the lower part of the abdomen. “Now, let’s sound the drum.”

Bam! Bam! Bam! The Martial King’s movements were neat and efficient. However, their effects were deadly: Thor’s flesh exploded, his bones shattered, and his legs flew off. The Martial King demonstrated his proficiency in using a tremendous amount of divine power.

Thor didn’t counterattack since he couldn’t even tell what was happening the entire time he was being beaten up. He was preoccupied with simply protecting his body, and the battle had revealed the huge difference in skill between the Martial King and Thor.

『Thor!』

『You bastard! How dare you!』

The other gods could no longer stand still and observe. They rushed towards the Martial King in a single file. Bang! Still smiling, the Martial King slammed his foot on the ground. A layer of earth rose from the shockwave, countless grains of sand scattering into the air. There was a tremendous amount of force compressed into those small grains of sand, making them as dangerous as a formidable weapon. Many of the attacking gods succumbed and exploded from the bombardment.

The Martial King reached out and gripped Thor’s face. He could see Thor’s wet eyes filled with astonishment between his fingers. Crack! The Martial King didn’t want to hear what he had to say, and he exerted strength and smashed Thor’s head into pieces. Bits of flesh dripped to the ground.

The Martial King was facing an enemy who had descended into the Sword God, but even though the Martial King had taught and nurtured the Sword God as a disciple, he did not hesitate at all. Even after defeating Thor, the Martial King still had a cold expression. The aura and energy he exuded were so bloody that the remaining gods were frozen stiff. They could not even bring themselves to move forward. The Martial King’s gaze turned to a different direction: a faraway hill.

Pew! Bright-yellow condensed energy gathered, and Thor appeared once more. Thor’s complexion was a little paler than before, but he looked relatively intact.

“How is your mouth? Are you still going to run it?”

Thor kept his mouth shut after the Martial King spoke with a cold smile. The other gods that had exploded and reappeared were also silent, shocked that a mortal could possess such an overwhelming ability.

‘A…monster!’ Only then did Thor realize what kind of being he had messed with. Since the Martial King was Yeon-woo’s master, Thor had planned to use him to oppress Yeon-woo. However, Thor soon realized that he had made a grave mistake—he had ignored the Martial King simply because he was a mortal residing in the lower world.

Thor clenched his jaw. He couldn’t retreat, and unlike Yeon-woo, the Martial King was alone. On the other hand, Thor’s allies were overwhelming in number, and inside the great holy territory, the descended gods could revive as many times as they wanted. In the end, whoever lost would be the one who collapsed from exhaustion.

‘Such an existence must be eliminated. If the Martial King is already this strong now, if he achieves exuviation or transcendence…we will have no place to stand.’ Once he sorted out his thoughts, Thor slowly took out Mjolnir and rushed towards the Martial King. A thunderbolt that Thor had set to its maximum grew high in the sky. Though he had been careless before, this time around, Thor would not take anything for granted. ‘If this doesn’t work, then I’ll use that as well.’ From now on, the Martial King was now the gods’ common enemy.

Whish! While hundreds of powers were poured out towards the Martial King…

“Vivasvat, that bastard. Why isn’t he coming? He acts so full of himself all the time, but whenever I need him, he’s nowhere to be found. So useless.” Even though the situation had reached a boiling point, the Martial King thought about Allforone’s glaring absence. However, he immediately pushed aside his thoughts and clenched his fists. “Alright. Let’s do this. I’ve always wanted to do some god killing, too, you know?”

Bam! After a great force that shook the great holy territory to the point of collapse…

As the Martial King dealt with Thor and Mjolnir, Heimdall-Spear God approached the Martial King from his blind spot and stabbed a spear deep in the Martial King’s left calf.

[The ‘Hydra’s poison’ is spreading rapidly!]

[The ‘Curse of Gaia’ is taking effect!]

***

As soon as the Martial King was trapped in the Illusory World, the village was thrown into chaos.

“Huh? What is this?”

“What did they do to the duel for the throne!”

The tribe members had been ready to enjoy the duel with a light heart, and now, they were filled with surprise. A huge, dome-shaped barrier had appeared over the arena, and even though the Head Elder and the other elders swung their weapons on the barrier with all their might, the barrier only absorbed the energy of their attacks. No one could see what was happening inside, so they had no idea what was going on.

Even Faceless’s supporters, like the Baekseon family, grew frustrated as they frantically ran around, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Baekseon family head!” The Head Elder shouted roughly as he stepped forward. All the tribe members stared at the head of the Baekseon family, whose complexion had turned ghastly pale. “You’re going to have to explain what the hell is going on!”

“I-I believed what Flanc was saying…!” The head of the Baekseon family hastily tried to come up with an excuse. The duel for the throne was a sacred tradition. It was unthinkable to sully it. Even the head of a large family would not avoid severe punishment. Even a great family’s head was nothing compared to the Martial King. If the Head Elder and the other tribesmen blamed him for what just happened, he would not escape great punishment. However, the head of the Baekseon family did not have a chance to speak further. At that moment…

Bam! Bam! Bam! Explosions resounded at the outskirts of the village, and four pillars of fire soared up to the sky. As the barriers protecting the village and the defensive systems shattered, everyone felt the cycle of qi, which had smoothly circulated within the village, grow twisted.

“Phante!”

“I know, hurry!”

Edora hurriedly called out to Phante before leaving her seat. They did not say much to each other, but the two already knew what the other was going to do. Phante made his way towards the outskirts of the forest, where the enemies were infiltrating them. Edora headed for the Spirit Pond where the Psychic Medium was. The fact that the barrier had suddenly broken meant that someone had covered the Psychic Medium’s eyes.

‘Mother is in danger!’ Edora held Divine Evil tightly and cast magic spells with all her might.

***

“What is this…?” When Anastasia sought her urgently, Freesia thought that Anastasia was just being annoying. Recently, she had been growing busier. Along with the world of the Tower, where she did most of her business, there were many disturbances and conflicts taking place throughout the universe and other dimensions. The causes of these disturbances and conflicts were different, but the biggest culprit was the reorganization of the entire universe around the world of the Tower.

Freesia had been summoned while conducting an investigation on the reason for the reorganization. If Anastasia weren’t a major shareholder of By the Table and a close friend, Freesia would not have come. A single line in Anastasia’s letter asking her to come had convinced Freesia: “I found Kronos.”

Freesia knew right away that Anastasia was telling the truth.

『It’s good to see that you’re doing well, like Popo. I feel at ease.』

“Are you really…Kronos?” Freesia’s eyes fluttered behind her wooden mask.

『Who else could it be?』

“Ah!” Freesia briefly exclaimed out loud before she crumpled to the floor and burst into tears. Long after Rhea had given up her divinity to search for Kronos, he had finally come back. Kronos had also told her that Freesia’s investment, Yeon-woo, was his and Rhea’s son. Freesia could not help feeling a rush of emotion. They conversed for a while.

“Are you talking about Adamantine Nova?”

『Yeah. I think I have to remake Scythe. I need as much Adamantine Nova as possible. Will there be any issues?』 Kronos did not miss the embarrassment that flashed across Freesia’s eyes.

Freesia hesitated instead of giving a quick answer. It was a completely different expression that one would expect from the person who led By the Table. After a gentle sigh, she answered, “Adamantine Nova’s main materials, like Blood-Tear Stones, are very difficult to find in the Tower and even in other dimensions and the entire universe.”

『Huh? It’s that special?』

“There may be another reason, but from what I know, the lack of Blood-Tear Stones and adamantine is due to an organization buying everything that’s put up for sale on the market. They also pay a high price.”

Kronos’ and Yeon-woo’s eyes widened. It was true that adamantine was a precious ore, but it was still something that could not be easily handled since it could cause a serious injury and tremendous damage. Who was…?

『Which organization?』

At Kronos’ question, Freesia’s sigh deepened. “It’s the Sea of Time.”

Yeon-woo instinctively jumped up from his seat.

『Hyung! We have a problem!』 Yeon-woo’s Channel with his Apostle suddenly opened. It was Doyle.