The things he held were a wire and a dagger, and the dagger wasn’t normal.
‘That item is…!’
Yes, Lee Gun held the dagger of his mortal enemy as he walked toward the helmeted man. It was the blade that had pierced him within the tower.
This surprised Hugo. ‘Why does he have that?’
The helmeted man also flinched when he saw the dagger. The reason behind his reaction was unknown. However, when he saw the emblem on the dagger, he got furious.
[Why does someone like you have that? The monarch’s seal is engraved on…]
Instead of answering, Lee Gun pulled out a wire from something that looked like a retractable key ring.
Everyone was wondering what Lee Gun was going to do with it when…
Kwa-jeek!
Lee Gun appeared behind the helmeted man. The helmeted man did a double-take at this lightning-like movement.
Lee Gun’s wire wrapped around the greatsword in the helmeted man’s hands. That wasn’t all.
[The wire is strangling the enemy’s arm.]
[The wire is damaging(causing laceration) the greatsword.]
Lee Gun had used something similar to catch “Torch” in the past. This wire was a sister item to the “Rope That Won’t Break.”
Bowstring containing the Archer’s Resentment – SS rank
– In extreme situations, it increases accuracy by 90%
– It is almost impossible to snap (Tough as one’s personality)! SS rank
– Sagittarius Data
After beating up Hugo, Lee Gun had been overflowing with Hugo’s data. He had used the data to create this “Key Ring Wire.”
Fire erupted from the wire tied around the helmeted man’s arm, shocking him. This rising flame was special.
‘This is the Red Monarch’s…’
When the flame caught alight on his arm, the helmeted man angrily looked at Lee Gun.
[Where did you acquire this fire? How do you have this?]
Lee Gun laughed in contempt. Where else would he have acquired it?
‘Hailey gave it to me.’
He had received it within his forge. It was one of the numerous items the Scorpio Saint Hailey had given him. She thought it would be helpful to him.
Of course, Lee Gun didn’t know what it was, but he knew it was a high-rank power among the unknown civilization.
[Ember that will never be extinguished (SSS)]
He had combined it with the wire he made through Taeksoo’s data. Since he couldn’t use magic, he made it a medium-range weapon. However, there was no reason for him to say this out loud.
‘Should I test the power of the blade that stabbed me?’
His opponent felt no pain even from a hit by Heaven’s Punishment. What if this man was hit with a blade containing the power of its king?
Lee Gun let out a wicked laugh as he raised the dagger.
The helmeted man ground his teeth as the fire tormented him.
‘Is it the Red Monarch’s daughter?’
This flame was something even he had a hard time acquiring.
‘Did she betray us?’
That couldn’t be it. That woman was more cold-hearted than anyone else. She also hated human males.
‘Even if she gave it to him, she must have a reason for doing that.’
However, Hailey wasn’t important right now.
‘This flame is nothing!’
The helmeted man pivoted as he cut off his arm. Although he had lost his grip on Lee Gun because of Red Eye, he just had to steal Lee Gun’s power once again!
However…
‘!’
The helmeted man had merely changed direction, yet Lee Gun had quickly created distance between them.
Lee Gun specialized in close-range combat, so there was no reason for him to create this much distance. This puzzled everyone, who looked at him, albeit with one exception.
The helmeted man glared at Lee Gun in contempt.
‘He’s merely a baby Zodiac without divine status.’
It seemed Lee Gun had instinctively learned the fact that he would lose his power if he got too close to the helmeted man.
Even though he was the type to go for close-range combat, he kept his distance, an unusual move for Lee Gun.
‘His ability to sense is scary. He realized it in such a short period.’
Lee Gun was quick on the uptake. In a short amount of time, he could accurately determine the safe distance that he had to keep from the helmeted man.
However, all of that was useless.
‘He has to get close if he wants to stab me with that blade.’
Thinking of this, the helmeted man called forth his magical energy in contempt. His monarch would be very happy if he could capture a Zodiac of this caliber.
At that moment…
‘!’
The helmeted man was surprised; the dagger in Lee Gun’s hand was gone. He wondered what happened to it when…
Poo-oohk!
[?!]
The helmeted man vomited blood. The dagger had pierced his body.
He was confused, but he soon realized what had happened.
‘That little kid…!’
It was Chun Sungjae. Chun Sungjae had appeared next to Lee Gun, then teleported the blade. This was all thanks to Lee Gun’s instructions.
[Stick this in his stomach, Sungjae]
The disciples of the Serpent Bearer could hear Lee Gun’s voice.
After the blade pierced him, the helmeted man fell over as he bled.
[Koo-oohk!]
However, that wasn’t the end.
Poo-oohk!!
[Koo-hoohk!]
Chun Yooha appeared behind the helmeted man, then stabbed him through the neck. It might have to do with the fact that Hugo had broken the barrier, but her attacks worked against the helmeted man.
The helmeted man screamed after suffering two knockdown blows.
[You lowly humans! You guys aren’t even Zodiac Saints, yet you dare lay your hands on me!]
Black magical energy erupted around him.
Chun Yooha had to retreat from the powerful magical energy, but the magical energy ripped apart a small portion of her clothes.
Due to this, Chun Sungjae’s eyes turned round, and Hugo raged.
“How dare that bastard reveal my daughter’s skin!”
Hugo sent an arrow flying at the man, infused with murderous intent. With absolute accuracy, the arrow detonated on the helmeted man’s leg.
The helmeted man gnashed his teeth as he yelled out.
Boom!!!
The monsters roared with him. These were the tens of thousands of monsters he had brought here. They seemed to be reacting to the helmeted man’s command. The monsters started aiming for the humans once again.
Of course, Red Eye possessed the Domination ability that could allow it to command the monsters. However, this didn’t matter at all.
‘It can’t use Domination without the monarch’s magical energy.’
Red Eye could use the full extent of its abilities only if it received magical energy from a monarch.
Without the Domination ability, Red Eye would have a hard time handling this many monsters!
Boom!!
The monsters suddenly started attacking their comrades.
Kwah-jeek!
“Kee-ehhhhhk!!”
“Kee-ehhk!”
It was a surprising sight. The monsters were biting and killing their allies. Moreover, some of them started returning to where they had come from, the Red zone.
However, something more surprising was happening elsewhere.
Chul-suhk! Chul-suhk!
Lee Gun stood atop Red Eye’s head. Of course, this wasn’t the handsome Lee Gun. This was the disfigured Lee Gun from twenty years ago. It was the slime.
After changing into Lee Gun, the slime stood atop Red Eye’s head as it gave orders. The slime seemed to have concluded that Red Eye would listen to its order if it looked like Lee Gun.
[The “Clump of Creation Clay” has given an order to Yong Yong.]
Of course, the slime wasn’t giving orders because it was worried about Red Eye being unable to distinguish between allies and foes.
[The “Clump of Creation Clay” orders you to kill the ones that look the most expensive.]
[The “Clump of Creation Clay” says that one looks better.]
[Yong Yong asks, ‘Who the hell is this bastard?’ It is shocked.]
The helmeted man was baffled by the sight unfolding in front of him. This was to be expected since Red Eye was clearly using its Domination ability.
Domination was one of the abilities that the monarchs treasured the most. This ability allowed one to gather and command the independent monsters.
That was the reason for the helmeted man’s surprise.
‘It shouldn’t be able to use that ability without the monarch’s magical energy…!’
Could it be? The flustered helmeted man looked at Lee Gun.
A green light was surging from Lee Gun’s body.
[!!]
The helmeted man ground his teeth again. There was no mistaking it. Lee Gun was the one supplying Red Eye with magical energy.
Since there were too many monsters, Red Eye wasn’t able to command all of them. However, it was able to use the Domination skill!
‘What kind of bastard is this…!’
However, there was another problem.
“Kee-ehhhk!!”
“Kee-ehhhk!”
Even the monsters that humans couldn’t kill were being killed. The ones doing this were Stevens and Hugo. Hugo was obliterating his enemies with his arrows, while Stevens’s prosthetic arm sheared through the necks of his enemies.
The helmeted man was dumbfounded when his subordinates got killed in a gruesome manner. Red Eye could use the Domination skill, and these humans possessed skills that could kill the monsters.
He glared at Lee Gun. ‘This makes no sense. Even if they are soldiers, how could they…!’
Some others were surprised as well.
“What the hell? What is going on?”
“Why are their attacks working?”
Yes, these surprised people were disciples on the side of humanity. In truth, they were in an awkward situation since their attacks didn’t work at all against the monsters.
Therefore, Kevin had felt a sense of shame. He had used 100% of his Zodiac’s power to execute his ultimate skill, yet it hadn’t worked against the monsters. That was a skill he had thought he could crush Lee Gun with!
So what was happening right now?
Chun Yooha, Chun Sungjae, Hugo, and Stevens, these four people’s attacks were working against the enemies.
Kevin found it odd. ‘Why are their attacks working?’
Amongst these four, Kevin could find a common point with Chun Yooha, Chun Sungjae, and Hugo. There was only one—Lee Gun!
What about Stevens?
‘Could it be?’
Kevin seemed to have come to a conclusion. He lashed out at Stevens. “Cat!!! Where did you get that arm?”
“What? I got it from Lee Gun. What about it?”
The disciples became surprised.
Kevin furrowed his brows. He was sure about why their attacks worked now. He found the common point that linked the four of them.
“Caaaaat! Why did someone like you receive something like that from Lee Gun? I didn’t get anything!!”
Kevin’s eyes were filled with jealousy. He swung his sword as if he wanted to kill Stevens. “Give it to me right now! That arm is mine! You don’t deserve it!”
“Ahhk! What the hell are you doing? You realize this isn’t important right now!”
The other man was humanity’s strongest swordsman, and he had lost his dominant arm. Yet, his swordsmanship was still sublime.
“Give it to me! You have muscles for a brain! You can’t even comprehend the worth of Lee Gun’s item! How dare you wear it!”
The two of them had always been on bad terms, so they bickered as they fought the monsters. As the magical energy of the two men clashed, Kevin’s attacks got influenced by Lee Gun’s magical energy. This allowed Kevin to be able to kill the monsters with his attacks.
With all this, the path to victory came into view.
They were getting close to whittling down the monsters to a manageable number.
[As a price for loaning out your magical energy, a portion of the EXP earned by the three disciples has been sent to you.]
[The usage fee and EXP for using the manufactured item “Black Prosthetic Arm” have been sent to its parent.]
Lee Gun laughed in a satisfied manner. His EXP situation was in a good place. Although, his body wasn’t doing so well.
[Warning! You are supplying power and magical energy to your disciples.]
[Since the power of Saint ranks is mixed in, it increases the amount of magical energy consumed.]
[Warning! Prisoner Yong Yong is using its Domination skill. It is consuming a massive amount of magical energy.]
[Your divine status has plummeted when the enemy attacked you.]
[Current Divine Status: 35% (Very Low)]
[Your divine status is recovering through the contribution being sent by your disciples.]
[The consumption of your magical energy is extreme. You have to grow the size of your temple to increase the quantity of the magical energy.]
That’s right. Lee Gun was becoming stronger through the exploits of his disciples and prisoners. However, it had a downside: the consumption of his magical energy.
‘This is especially true of Red Eye’s skill. It is formidable.’
The consumption of his magical energy was so severe that he felt exhausted. The amount of magical energy in his body had always been small. He would similarly get exhausted in the past.
He usually replenished the magical energy by consuming food, then siphoned magical energy through the red horse sculpture he gave to Hugo. However, Hugo was his disciple now, so he couldn’t steal magical energy from him.
Lee Gun furrowed his brows.
‘It would be great if my body could contain enough magical energy that I can fight alongside them.’
At that moment, he heard a voice.
[I recommend you find a tribute that’ll allow you to grow your magical energy, or you can acquire more disciples.]
Lee Gun was showing interest in what he heard when…
[You are amazing for a mere low-rank god.]
“!”
Lee Gun flinched at the unfamiliar voice. To be precise, he flinched because of the energy he felt alongside the voice.
‘I have felt this energy earlier.’
It was the energy of the being that had smashed him.
[Monarch!]
The helmeted man made a gesture with one arm. This gesture looked similar to the prayer that the Zodiac Saints made to their Zodiac.
The helmeted man yelled out loud.
[Please send that power to this place! Please take off the restriction placed on me!]
The ground shook as if it were responding to those words.
Boom!!
The rumbling of the earth couldn’t be compared to the earthquake that had accompanied the appearance of the monsters.
Finally, a black light appeared from the helmeted man’s body.
Boom!
The helmeted man’s helmet started to crack.
‘!’
There was no time to be surprised. As soon as the helmeted man activated his skill, a black circle expanded outward.
Doohng!
Everyone fell over in front of that power.
“Koo-oohk!”
The power was so strong that one couldn’t even stand up. It felt as if one’s soul was being sucked out.
Even Lee Gun collapsed.
[Warning! This is a monarch rank power.]
[A monarch rank has descended personally.]
[Humanity cannot survive against the power of a monarch rank.]
The Zodiac Saints and disciples became disoriented. However, there was a bigger problem.
Poo-oohk!!
“Gun!”
The helmeted man’s hand pierced through Lee Gun’s body. Then he activated his skill!
[Nightmare]
Lee Gun vomited blood in pain. The attack had severed the magical energy he was sending toward the Chun siblings and Hugo.
“…!”
At the same time, Kevin was surprised.
“Hey!”
When Lee Gun fell, all of his disciples lost consciousness; they looked like they were having nightmares.
Stevens’s prosthetic arm also lost power, and it hung there limply.
The helmeted man grabbed Lee Gun’s neck.
[Did you see it?]
His voice had changed. This was the voice of the unknown being the helmeted man had called forth.
[This is the power of a monarch. It stands above humanity.]
The helmeted man looked sick of Lee Gun.
[You being able to make Red Eye use its skill was really surprising. An underdeveloped Zodiac kept pace with the power of a monarch-rank. I never expected someone like you to exist amongst the Zodiacs.]
However, this was at an end. The man smirked as he looked at Lee Gun.
[Your abilities are outstanding for a Zodiac, but humanity will end today. You seem the strongest amongst them. Humanity will surely end when I kill you.]
Suddenly…
Tuhk.
“!”
Lee Gun, who looked to be unconscious, grabbed the man’s arm. Then…
[Penalty: 50% Reduction in Physical Ability]
[Remaining Time: 0hrs 0m 11s]
[8s]
…
[5s]
…
[1s]
[Your penalty has been lifted.]
