Chapter 523
Ssssss!
In the rising smoke.
Zeus grabbed the wound on his shoulder.
He barely avoided a direct hit, but it was all he could do to keep it from being fatal.
Throb! Throb! Throb!
Not in the war against the Norse, nor in any of the countless battles before, had he ever been injured like this.
Only once—when he challenged the ancient beings.
‘To think they could unleash a strike of this level…’
He must never again take them lightly or view them as something he could kill whenever he pleased.
To stand a chance, he’d need a careful, systematic strategy, assuming he was up against a massive force.
After all, it wasn’t just the Veteran Corporation—there were also the Demon Realm, Eden, and the Norse, all allied with them.
But.
The reality he thought he’d managed with minimal losses crumbled completely.
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
“L-Lord Poseidon…!”
“Brother! Brother!”
Urgent screams rang out among the main gods nearby.
A massive anomaly had struck the once-perfect Olympus.
Poseidon and Apollo, who were behind Zeus, had failed to avoid the attack.
No, it wasn’t just that—they hadn’t simply failed to dodge. The result was devastating.
“Kh…!”
“Cough! Guh… kuh!”
Empty breaths kept escaping Poseidon’s and Apollo’s mouths.
Half of Poseidon’s body was gone, and Apollo had lost his arms and legs.
The problem was, not only did the wounds refuse to heal, but they were being relentlessly devoured by the hellfire.
[The main god’s life force is rapidly weakening.]
Flames quickly burned out.
Two of the great pillars that supported Olympus were on the verge of collapse.
Their bodies, breaking down, started scattering as fragments.
At the same time, two shooting stars trailed across the night sky.
[Divinity ‘Master of the Ocean’ is extinguished.]
[Divinity ‘He Who Raises the Sun’ is extinguished.]
[A great event impacting the Tower has occurred.]
[Target: ‘Veteran Corporation’. And the greatest contributor is player ‘Kang Jinhyuk’.]
[This astonishing achievement will be recorded in the ‘Hall of Fame’ for a day!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[…Level up!]
[You have acquired the holy relic ‘???’.]
[You have acquired a large number of additional items.]
Watching the status windows pop up one after another, Jinhyuk tightly clenched his fist.
“No! Nooooo!”
“Aaaaagh!”
The remaining main gods shrieked in disbelief.
Especially Artemis, who had just lost her most beloved brother—she was so frenzied she looked ready to attack at any moment.
But.
“Stop.”
Zeus stopped them all.
“But, Father!”
“I understand how you feel. But it’s impossible to do more. You don’t want to lose more of your siblings, do you?”
The fissure caused by the ‘Sword that Divides the Era.’
Zeus instinctively sensed it.
He knew that powers from other floors were gathering here.
Just then.
“Father!”
Hermes’s urgent voice rang out.
It seemed his attempt to block Heimdall had failed.
[The gate opens!]
As all restrictions fell away, beings from other dimensions began to appear.
“Sorry I’m late, Anubis.”
“Olympus! You filthy bastards, so you were pulling this from behind!”
Horus and Osiris drew holy relics brimming with the sun’s power. (T/N: Shiiiiiiitttttt. I freaking love it!)
As the ‘Miracle of the Nile’ was reenacted, countless divine beasts loyal to Egypt surged forth.
On the other side, the Demon Realm’s minions appeared, led by Behemoth and the succubus Remia.
“Ahahaha…! There’s never a dull moment when I’m involved with that man! My whole body’s itching already.”
“Haa. Maybe that’s fine for an ancient being like you. For someone weak like me, just being here is suffocating.”
Behemoth and Remia gazed out at the chaotic battlefield.
The allied forces were swelling in an instant.
Finally.
“We’re leaving.”
Zeus made his decision.
Given the situation that unfolded the moment the fissure appeared, there was no telling what variables might emerge next.
One of the most painful things was that Hercules, their strongest offensive card, was being blocked by the Heavenly Horse.
‘For him to be that powerful without even the Crown of Conquest…’
This was a complete miscalculation.
“I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you all someday, no matter what.”
Artemis glared at Jinhyuk with bloody tears in her eyes.
But with Zeus’s decision made, the rest could only follow.
Then, just then—
“Hold on before you go.”
Jinhyuk called out to Zeus.
Zeus stopped in his tracks.
Displeasure seeped from every part of his body.
“Human… Be grateful we’re retreating quietly and enjoy your victory. Don’t cross the line. Honestly, I’d throw everything away right now just to tear you apart.”
“Ehey. Don’t be so touchy. There’s no harm in just hearing me out, is there?”
Jinhyuk shrugged his shoulders and continued.
“If you go back like this, you’ll become the enemy of countless factions. Uriel and Kali will have come here for nothing—there’s no way they’ll be happy. But if you just back down, you’ll lose too much, won’t you?”
In the worst-case scenario, multiple powers could join forces to attack Olympus.
So for Zeus, this defeat meant more than just losing the battle—he was facing tremendous risk.
“……”
Zeus swallowed his rage.
There was nothing wrong with what Jinhyuk said.
“So you have a plan?”
“Of course. If you make a deal with me, I’ll mediate a truce to help you minimize your losses. As you know, I’ve got ties to a lot of powerful factions.”
“That’s true… you do have enough influence for that.”
“Father!”
“You’re not actually thinking of accepting his proposal, are you?”
“Poseidon and Apollo are dead! That man is our enemy!”
The other gods, infuriated, poured out their objections.
Just one person.
‘…No, if I’m being rational, Father is right.’
Only Athena agreed with Zeus’s words.
Letting emotions run wild would only lead to even greater loss; it was time to accept the damage already done and plan for the future.
“Smart of you. Then, can I take that as your agreement?”
“State your terms. I doubt you’d mediate for free.”
“Ah…! Terms, right. There’s nothing much. First, just lend me a few books from Olympus’s vault. And give me a few keepsakes of the deceased. They’re of no use to the”dead anyway, right?’
“W-What? Don’t tell me you mean Poseidon’s Trident and Apollo’s Sun Chariot?”
If he meant the books stored in Olympus…
He was clearly talking about skill books recording the foundations of each divinity’s unique abilities and skills.
In short, he was demanding the powers of the main gods for free.
“What a lunatic…”
At this point, there were no words.
He’d be angry if he could—if there were even a place for anger to fit.
But this wasn’t just a proposal.
It was a threat disguised as a proposal.
Jinhyuk’s lips twisted ever so slightly.
“It’s fine if you refuse… but if you do, I’ll go straight to Eden. After that, I’ll head to Heavenly Realm. Of course, you’ll never know what I plan to say there.”
“Y-You bastard… You really think we’ll fall for such a transparent trick? Are you serious?”
“Hmm. Just my guess, but I’m sure you will.”
Crash!
Zeus stomped the ground.
Once again, sparks from Astrapē scattered everywhere.
But he couldn’t do anything more.
If Jinhyuk really went to Eden or Heavenly Realm and stirred things up, it would become an extreme headache.
Above all, that man was more than capable of causing chaos.
‘……’
Zeus gritted his teeth so hard they almost broke.
Then, he turned sharply toward the gate.
“I’ll take that as a yes. See you soon. Oh! Tell Gapellius not to leave yet. I still have business with him.”
Jinhyuk took his actions as a sign of agreement.
With that, all battles were over.
Since Olympus admitted defeat, there was no longer any reason to keep fighting.
“I’ll remember this. Gabriel.”
“Huhu. You’d better run along now.”
A mix of relief and joy appeared on Gabriel’s and Uriel’s faces.
“Phew…”
“That was close.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help.”
Karakal, Andrea, and Abraham all let out sighs of both relief and regret.
They’d suffered heavy losses, but it was a relief to have helped Jinhyuk.
“Oooooh!”
“We won! Glory to Odin!”
“May true warrior Kang Jinhyuk be blessed by Valhalla!”
The Norse warriors blew their horns, celebrating victory.
At the end of a long, hard war, they had finally seized the victory they longed for.
Odin also looked warmly between his warriors and Jinhyuk.
Thunk!
He did not forget to show his gratitude by pressing his spear to his chest.
And finally…
The fight between the Heavenly Demon and Hercules stopped.
“If you want to keep going, I won’t stop you… but it seems meaningless now.”
“It seems so. My side’s all run off. Still, I got to enjoy myself plenty, so I can’t really complain.”
Hercules slung his club over his shoulder.
Thanks to meeting such a powerful rival on the fiercest battlefield, he was able to cut loose like never before.
It was rare to find an opponent who could take his full power.
“I hope our next fight is somewhere with no interruptions, Supreme Master of Murim.”
“I look forward to it as well.”
—
“Uuuuugh…”
Godirak, the mid-tier administrator who had completely sided with Olympus, trembled.
His lifeline had rotted away completely.
It was time to run without looking back.
But—
“Heh heh, where do you think you’re scurrying off to like a rat?”
Rick gripped Godirak’s shoulder.
“Kee! L-Let go. Let go of me!”
Godirak struggled, but Rick had him firmly restrained.
Step.
Jinhyuk walked up to Godirak.
“Heek!? Hic!”
Godirak squirmed frantically.
With all he’d done, he couldn’t help but be terrified.
“Don’t worry too much. There’s still a way for you to survive.”
“A way to survive…?”
“Yeah. Our bet. You remember, don’t you?”
The condition was that whoever won the carriage race would be the victor.
That bet still wasn’t over.
“So if I win… that’s all it takes?”
“Right. If you win, I’ll put my name on the line and let you go home in one piece.”
“I’ll do it! I’ll do anything!”
Godirak nodded his head so hard it almost fell off.
At least when it came to carriage racing, he was absolutely sure he could win.
“Good. Then let’s decide where to start.”
“Well…”
Godirak hesitated.
“Hmm?”
“Could we start from where the race was stopped earlier? Since the war interrupted things, that would be fair. Heh heh…”
The horse led by Gapellius had been far ahead.
If he could start from there, he was certain of victory.
“Are you stupid? You really think he’d accept something so ridiculous—”
“Sure, that’s fine.”
Contrary to Rick’s expectations, Jinhyuk readily agreed to Godirak’s suggestion.
“Player Kang Jinhyuk…?”
“Heh heh heh! You promised, right? You really promised!”
Godirak started bouncing on the spot.
He couldn’t go back on his word now.
But about fifteen minutes later, when he saw what lay before him…
‘Huh…? Wh-What?’
Godirak’s face contorted in shock.
