The light was like a laser beam. The clean light pierced through Abyss’s head in one stroke.
At the same time, the monarch’s violent roar shook heaven and earth.
[Kuh-huh-uhk!]
It screamed as blood erupted.
Shocked by the cry, the disciples covered their ears. It was such a pained cry that they had to wonder if they would ever hear such a sound again.
As for the monsters, they cried out when they heard the scream that was full of pain.
[Oh, my liege!]
After having its head pierced by the Archer Saint, Abyss thrashed around as it fell into the ocean. Everything had happened in an instant. Abyss had been in the air for less than one second.
“What the hell happened?”
“Arrow! An arrow pierced through its head!”
“It was the temple!”
Those possessing good eyes or sensing abilities were shocked as they yelled. Soon, everyone was shocked as they realized where Hugo had aimed for.
“Do you mean that small crack at the temple?”
Abyss was surrounded by armor. The armor was hard enough to destroy weapons made by the Genius Workshop. However, all monsters had a weakness, and Abyss was no exception.
Its body had a few locations that weren’t protected by the armor: the joints of the armor.
Lee Gun and the other disciples had realized that this was the monster’s weakness. However, every crack was about the length of a finger joint. It was tiny. One could compare it to threading a needle.
The size was a problem, and then there was the speed at which the monarch was moving.
Hugo had elevated hearing, so he could hear Lee Gun’s voice. In truth, several hundred meters of distance separated Hugo and the Abyss. He shouldn’t have been able to hit the monarch at that distance.
[Master!]
[Kuh-huhk! These bastards…!]
Hugo had been accurate. He had hit the target without even a 1-mm mistake.
In the end, Abyss ground its teeth as it submerged back into the ocean.
Therefore, cheers erupted from the area.
“Wahhhhhhhhh!”
“He hit it!”
“Archer Saint!!!”
Goat clutched his face when he saw Hugo’s exploit.
Even if one could see the target, whether one could hit the target at that distance or not was a different story. Even Goat might fail to hit such a target, but Hugo had hit it in one go!
‘As expected of Saint-nim…!’
In recent days, Hugo had been pushed aside because of Lee Gun-nim’s exploits, but Hugo was also on another level.
Goat inwardly wept in joy.
‘Saint-nim! For a moment, I was drunk on Lee Gun-nim’s bow. I am sorry for praising Lee Gun-nim.’
On the other hand, Chun Sungjae pouted. “Why are you surprised by such a thing? When he is eating, he can catch small fruit flies with a toothpick.”
Well, it didn’t matter in the end.
After he shot the EX-rank bow, Hugo’s eyes shook with surprise. It was to be expected.
‘What the hell? Did I just pierce a monarch’s body with this?’
In truth, he had located his target and shot his bow because Lee Gun had said to shoot. Hugo didn’t really think he would be able to pierce through the monarch. Of course, he had aimed for the location that the mighty Lee Gun had said to aim for, where the attack would work, but this was still unexpected!
‘Its sturdiness can’t be compared to that of other monsters…!!’
Abundance had wanted to infiltrate the dome, so it had entered a human’s body. In terms of sturdiness, it had been on the weak side. This monarch was different! Even the monsters that had accompanied Abyss were in disbelief.
[What is that weapon?]
[How dare he use such a lowly weapon against his majesty!]
Lee Gun grinned.
‘Grinding up and using the Zodiacs was worth it.’
Although it seemed as if the monarchs and Zodiacs were in each other’s food chain, this didn’t change the fact that the Zodiacs were strong. And Lee Gun had ground down those bastards whole to make offensive weapons. There was no way the weapons would be weak.
‘I filled it with the extract of the Pisces.’
“Hey, Taeksoo. That’s not the reason you should be surprised.”
“!”
Hugo wondered what nonsense Lee Gun was saying when…
[The affiliate Zodiac Saint has received a massive amount of EXP.]
[A portion of the affiliate Zodiac Saint’s EXP has been offered to the Serpent Bearer.]
[The Serpent Bearer’s EXP has piled up a lot.]
[Hugo Otis has leveled up a lot.]
[Lv. 5]
[When level 20 is reached, the rank will rise. Hero ▶ Construct(low rank)]
“Ahhhk! What the hell is this?”
Lee Gun smirked when he heard the scream. When he had seen the ranks, he had realized a Zodiac Saint had a chance of advancing to become a Construct.
Anyway, finding the monarch’s weak point wasn’t difficult.
‘I have the Commandments I took from Abundance.’
The Commandments were the bibles of the unknown civilization. Written within them were their rules and sources of power. Therefore, seeing information about the monarchs was possible in the commandments.
That was why Lee Gun called it the Strategy Book. The commandments did contain one line written within Abundance’s note about the Abyss.
Since Abundance was in charge of the Proliferation of the other camps, the book had many stories about them.
For example, it said: “The region around the eyes, shoulders, and chin of the ocean beast shouldn’t be approached.”
When Lee Gun had killed Abundance, he had used the Commandments as a reference. Therefore, he was sure they would be effective once again.
Well, that wasn’t important right now.
“Sungjae!”
Chun Sungjae’s eyes flashed when his name was called. He threw the net created using the Serpent Eater skill into the ocean.
Kwahng! Kwahng!
The chains made out of green light passed through the water surface.
Koo-roo-roong!
The chains split as an enormous net appeared within the ocean. The net instantly covered Abyss.
Then, he tried to bring up the enormous net encircling the monarch.
[You impudent bastard!]
In the end, he imbued the net with his ability.
[Pain Revival]
Kwah-jee-jeek!!
The Abyss felt an excruciating pain at its temple.
[How dare a human…!!]
Of course, the pain wasn’t bad enough that it couldn’t be endured.
‘Impudent bastard.’
But the pain was unpleasant. Moreover, the monarch knew this power belonged to the Serpent Bearer, the thirteenth Zodiac.
This was why Abyss grated its teeth.
‘Since Time spent so much effort on the thirteenth, I took an interest in him.’
Yes, Abyss knew Time never did things at a loss. Time was a crafty bastard that moved only according to profit. Therefore, since Time had spent so much effort on this Zodiac, Abyss planned on stealing and eating the prey in-between.
That was why it had come here, but Abyss had never expected this.
‘This snake bastard is outrageous!’
Abyss was finally angry. Its eyes flashed.
[Abyss renews its own life.]
[Its parts that are scattered around the world are being called in.]
[Its gathered power has recovered a part of its strength.]
Aside from the physical ocean, Abyss traveled through the dimensional ocean, the ocean of other worlds, the ocean of the heart, etc. It lived in various ocean depths in many forms.
The Abyss that roamed around the earth’s ocean was one of them. While the various forms of Abyss roamed through various oceans, they stored their power and sent it to each other when needed.
That was why Abyss could temporarily top up on its power.
[Abyss has consumed energy to use the power of the Pool.]
A pitch black strait slowly appeared in the ocean! The dark water spread like black ink, and it was about to sweep over the humans.
At that moment…
Splash!
[!]
Accompanying the sound of water, Hugo entered the ocean. The other disciples quickly followed suit.
Was it thanks to the Bow made out of Fish (EX), which was made by grinding down a Zodiac?
[Reverse Ocean]
Because of the basic skills built into the bow, Hugo was able to easily move through the waters.
The humans held bows and spears that resembled harpoons, looking like they were here for whaling.
Abyss and the monsters laughed as if this had angered them.
[These humans know no fear!]
Abyss immediately twisted its body. The net made with Serpent Eater jerked violently.
“Koo-oohk!”
Chun Sungjae’s veins stood out. He stood above Drachma, holding onto the net. Thanks to the Constructs’ training, he had increased his physical stats, but his strength was still lacking when it came to dealing with this enormous beast.
‘Shit! I have to raise the level of Life!’
It was as the word implied. Life was living energy. As the level of Life rose, the stamina, energy, and strength would also increase. This was applied to the Zodiac, disciples, and Constructs.
Sungjae was barely able to maintain the net, and it lasted only a moment.
Koo-goo-goong!
The angered Abyss created a powerful ocean current. The net broke, and the current swept away the disciples who had entered the waters. This included Hugo too.
When the current swept away the disciples as if they were paper dolls, Abyss let out a sharp laugh.
[How dare you…]
Kwahng! Kwahng! Kwahng!
[Koo-ahhhk!!]
Suddenly, a laser beam flashed within the ocean as it flew toward Abyss.
Kwahng!!
It was Hugo.
Hugo had looked like he was about to get swept away by the current, but he had soon read the direction of the current and sent an attack toward Abyss.
Tahng!!!
There was more. His arrows couldn’t be seen with the naked eye as they ruthlessly attacked Abyss’s weak points.
Kwahng! Kwahng!
The monarch’s flustered underlings tried to converge on Hugo.
[The Serpent Bearer’s maximum strength is being drawn.]
[Bow made out of Fish (EX) is being changed to the maximum output.]
[“Death” readily lends out its attribute.]
[Disassembly!]
[Abundance is a power Life likes. Since Abyss is a power that can grow Death, Death has lent out its power for this particular instance.]
[It says the Serpent Bearer will advent as the god of Death.]
[The power of Death and the Bow made out of Fish resonate with each other.]
The arrows emitted a light, whose intensity couldn’t be compared to before. The light was large enough to swallow the ocean whole! Finally, it crossed the critical point and went shooting into the ocean.
Kwahng!!!
The sound of heaven and earth shaking rang out.
The enormous energy beam Hugo had shot instantly killed all the monsters in the ocean, going on to hit the monarch. Then something surprising happened.
[Abyss’s body is being disassembled.]
[Abyss’s shell has been obliterated.]
Abyss screamed when its body was being disassembled. This was a terrifying power. Of course, the power of the Zodiac wasn’t the only reason this was happening.
A monarch’s body wasn’t that simple. Its sturdiness was on a different level than that of a Zodiac’s body. Not only could a monarch’s body repel outside attacks, but it also allowed the monarch to contain the power it emanated. The monarchs possessed the perfect body.
However, the magical energy of the Zodiacs wasn’t the reason Abyss’s body was cracking….
‘It is the weapon…!’
The problem was the weapon that had been created by grinding down a Zodiac.
‘His weapon is dangerous.’
The power of a Zodiac had been upgraded to make a weapon that was on a different level. And this weapon worked against both Zodiacs and monarchs. It was a weapon that could kill all divine existence.
‘He isn’t a simple Maker.’
It wasn’t just the weapons. Every item Lee Gun made changed the order of the world. No, it changed the order of the universe.
At that moment, an amazing light surged forth from the ocean.
[You have successfully gotten rid of a portion of Abyss.]
[You have acquired a part of Abyss’s ability.]
[Abyss’s Pool]
[It is a power that can grow Death]
[“Death” has leveled up.]
[Lv. 3]
[“Death” lets out a shout of joy.]
[“Death” says Disassembly will now count as Death’s EXP.]
[“Death” says this bastard should also be put in the blast furnace. It says you should advent as the god of Death.]
Abyss was about to sink to the floor of the ocean when a hand appeared from the black water the monarch had released earlier. The hand quickly tried to take Abyss. It planned on taking back the monarch’s body. However…
Tuhng!!!
The loud sound made the hand flinch.
Had Lee Gun expected this? Was that why he had let Hugo take care of Abyss?
[How dare you try to cheat me out of my prey!]
Lee Gun was inside the ocean, and he kicked Abyss. His holy item shoes and buoyancy skill sent the corpse to the surface in an instant.
Kwahng!
The disciples screamed when the enormous body surged into the air.
“Ahhhk!! It is falling!”
Boom!!!
After sending its prey above the water, Lee Gun quickly looked to where the hand had come out from, but the hand was already gone.
After confirming this, Lee Gun placed the Taurus over his shoulder and climbed to the surface.
“Uncle!”
“Yes.”
Lee Gun then looked at the trembling disciples of the Taurus temple. The disciples’ gazes headed toward the Taurus, who was draped over Lee Gun’s shoulder.
“Ah!”
Lee Gun smirked. “Now that I think about it, you guys don’t have a leader anymore, right?”
“!!”
“If the temples merge into one, there is no reason for us to fight. That’s why I plan to merge all the temples.”
“…!”
The words sent the Taurus disciples into turmoil. What? Merge? Merge the twelve temples?
They were shocked since they had never thought about such a thing happening.
When they became agitated, Lee Gun continued, “It is fine. Just give me an answer.”
“!‘
Lee Gun’s eyes flashed as he spoke. “Do you like the cow, or do you like the snake?”
