Chapter 554
BOOM! BOOM!
“Wipe them all out!”
“Charge! Forward!”
With ear-shattering roars, thousands of troops charged toward Olympus.
Led by Thor, Viking warriors swung axes and swords with brute force.
Crunch!
Snap!
“Gaaaah!”
“Aaargh!”
Shields were crushed, iron was torn apart.
In a battlefield reeking of blood, screams and war cries clashed together.
An indomitable army that feared no death surged forward with unstoppable momentum.
Their tactics were enough to make the defenders curse under their breath.
“Those damn brutes… Strategy means nothing to them, huh.”
Agamemnon ground his teeth.
He had conquered countless kingdoms in Greece and earned vast experience—but never had he dealt with an army that charged without any concern for tactics.
He wasn’t even sure this could be called an army.
The real problem was…
This disorganized horde had combat power far beyond expectations.
[The Valkyries activate ‘Charge of Dawn’!]
The Pegasi, maintaining a wide formation, stormed forward.
They expertly maneuvered their mounts, hurling spears and firing arrows.
Smack!
Whud!
Their assault was so fierce that even magically reinforced shields were pierced in a single strike.
“Don’t panic—fight back! We have far more troops than they do!”
Agamemnon shouted until veins popped from his throat, rallying his soldiers.
But once a frontline began to collapse, restoring it was never easy.
And the North wasn’t the only problem.
Another fierce battle was raging nearby.
[Alice activates ‘Apocalypse of Revelation’ – Crimson Bloom!]
A wide-area skill powered by the authority of blood.
Crimson flowers bloomed across the field, staining everything in sight blood-red.
“Guh!”
Shiva crossed his arms to protect himself.
The parts of his body touched by the petals were shredded instantly.
[Mandala Authority is nullified.]
The symbolic power of Celestial Order was ineffective.
…She was strong.
It felt like fighting the progenitor of Ataraxia in her prime.
The terrifying pressure of her magic and killing intent made it hard to breathe.
However—
“Did you think I spent all those years rotting in that corridor doing nothing?!”
That was all in the past.
After countless years of growth—
He could finally repay that humiliation.
Rrrrmmmm!
From Shiva’s body, a surge of gold and black mana exploded.
Dozens of vortexes converged into a massive storm, instantly obliterating Alice’s crimson bloom.
“Die!”
Shiva hurled the vortexes in Alice’s direction.
But just before the golden tide could engulf her—
BOOM!
The storm abruptly veered right.
“You’ll have to go through me first. Yup.”
Frey, having summoned his dolls, spun two spears around.
His one and only mission: buy time for Alice to recover her mana for the next attack.
And Frey was more than capable of fulfilling that role to perfection.
“Hmm. You’re not bad. Fine. Give it your all and serve me well.”
“I’m not doing this for you. I’m just fulfilling a request from someone important to me.”
“What? You… you!”
“You can’t even finish your sentence—guess my last attack rattled your brain. Or maybe you were just born stupid. Probability is fifty-fifty. Yup.”
“Who are you calling stupid—wait, more importantly, how dare a doll like you come onto me?!”
Alice screamed.
Of course, raising her voice wouldn’t work on someone like Frey.
“Statistics say people raise their voice when they’re feeling guilty. Also, most average men don’t like short stacks. And since the master falls within the statistical average, we can draw the same conclusion. Yup.”
“Waaaah! I’m the head of Ataraxia, and you’re just some brat who hasn’t even been alive for three years!”
It was a scene unthinkable in a battle against the divine.
To ignore Shiva and flirt in front of him was nothing short of an insult.
But for these two, Jinhyuk had long since become the only thing that mattered.
⁕⁕⁕
At the base of the mountain now within reach.
As they passed through the shifting surface, status messages began to pop up.
[You have entered the base ‘Olympus.’]
[All stats are reduced by 10% due to entering an SSS-rank base.]
[Various debuffs and penalties are applied.]
[Effects of the Sun Ring offset additional debuffs.]
[Some penalties are reduced.]
Two overlapping high-level bases on the same tier—
Naturally, advantages and disadvantages clashed endlessly.
“Jinhyuk.”
Andrea quietly called out the moment they entered.
“Yeah. I see it too.”
At the entrance to the base stood towering monsters.
Giants with tough skin and overwhelming destructive power.
‘The blackfoot clan, the most warlike among the giants, huh.’
The giants in the Fallen Paradise weren’t easy either, but these ones hunted and devoured even their own kind without hesitation. True savages, even among giants.
And the leader of their guardians was a Titan, the apex of the giant race.
Originally enemies of Olympus, the Titans had been subdued with a special item Zeus obtained from the Tower.
Now they were just puppets obeying his command.
‘Lucky there’s only one…’
Titans were an absolute nightmare.
Their size aside, their physical and magical resistance were ridiculous.
Not to mention the [Contempt for the Strong] trait common to all Titans—which let them grow stronger in proportion to the strength of their opponent.
“Looks like we can’t pass through here quietly. Do you agree?”
Chun Yoosung quietly reached for his sword.
Teresa and Andrea also prepared to unleash their unique abilities.
But—
“No.”
Jinhyuk firmly shook his head.
If they revealed themselves here, future battles would be that much harder.
They had to find a way through without drawing attention.
In that case…
Jinhyuk nodded toward the trees.
A hidden figure began to move.
Step.
“Is it my turn?”
It was the captured Primordial God—Artemis.
She looked utterly worn out, ready to collapse at any moment.
But she hadn’t lost her divine dignity.
“You understand, right? We need to get through quietly.”
“I understand. But if I succeed… my brother…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep my promise. Oh, before you go.”
Jinhyuk called her back.
“…?”
“It’s nothing. Just one last thing. Let’s stamp this.”
Fwoosh!
A sinister flame flickered at Jinhyuk’s fingertip.
[‘Flamebrand of the Soul’ is activated.]
A cursed fire.
Just standing near it, one could feel the instinctive fear that touching it would strip away everything.
“You want me… to become a slave?”
“If you really want to see your beloved brother again, you’ll do anything, won’t you?”
“…Tch.”
Artemis clenched her fists.
The rage was instant, but short-lived.
Pride didn’t matter right now.
In the end, she silently extended her arm.
Jinhyuk immediately branded her.
Sizzle!
With acrid smoke, a clear mark appeared on her arm.
It was the proof that she was now one of the employees of the Veteran Corporation.
“Congrats. Ask your seniors about the benefits later. We’ve got vacation days now, even performance bonuses. Things have improved.”
“…I don’t care about any of that.”
Of course, Artemis had only one goal.
‘She does look a little pitiful like this.’
Still, if she played her role well, it wouldn’t be impossible to grant her wish.
If they could recover a piece of Uranus severed by the scythe, reviving Apollo was technically possible.
But given the cost, he planned to charge her several times over.
⁕⁕⁕
“Grrr…!”
“Who goes there?!”
“Enemy spotted!”
The giants immediately reacted.
They raised clubs and axes made of stone, ready to crush the intruders.
“You fools. Don’t you recognize your superior? How dare you point weapons at me?”
But what appeared was a Primordial God—
Artemis.
“…!?”
“Grr?”
“Wh-Why would a great one like you walk all the way out here…”
The giants were visibly shaken.
They rarely ever got to meet a Primordial God face-to-face.
“I’ve brought prisoners. Open the way.”
Jinhyuk, Chun Yoosung, Teresa, and Andrea appeared, fully cloaked.
Their hands were bound in heavy-looking chains, their eyes and mouths covered with blindfolds and gags.
Their staggering steps made them look severely wounded.
“Of course, we’ll step aside. Please, go ahead.”
“Commander Babich! It’s Artemis!”
The giants reported to the Titan.
The massive being sitting under the cliff leaned on his fist, studying Artemis and the supposed prisoners.
“Hmph. So, you’re saying those are all prisoners… and you captured them alone?”
“Why ask?”
“It’s just… the mana I sense from them is unusual. It seems strange for one person to capture so many.”
“You insolent cur. Are you suggesting I’m lying?”
“Haha! Of course not. I’m the gatekeeper of Olympus, you see. I’ve grown overly cautious, that’s all. Lady Artemis, you are free to pass—but given that the Valkyries have been launching raids over this area, allow me to escort you.”
Babich rose from his seat.
Rrrrmmmm!
It was like a small hill had stood up.
If giants were around twenty meters tall, Titans were ten times that.
Artemis looked toward Jinhyuk, flustered.
But there was no justifiable reason to refuse.
Soon, a procession formed behind Babich.
Boom! Boom!
The ground shook with thunderous footsteps.
At this rate, they’d be announcing their presence to the entire world.
If the Valkyries were nearby, they’d swarm in.
The plan could fall apart entirely.
But surprisingly, no Valkyries appeared.
‘Well… can’t blame them. No one wants to charge that hulking beast head-on.’
They climbed through the dense forest.
As they got closer to the top, a strange sensation began to blanket Jinhyuk’s body.
‘…Something’s wrong.’
He wet his lips with his tongue.
Even blindfolded, he knew—they weren’t going the way they were supposed to.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart began to pound.
A subtle shift in mana could be felt on either side.
And the Sun Ring on his finger pulsed with an unfamiliar sensation.
A sticky, ominous dread clung to his brain.
…Something was wrong.
Very, very wrong.