Chapter 440
An empty meeting room.
A space that used to be filled with activity and discussions was now completely silent, without a single sigh.
A strange air filled the room, and within this seemingly airless room, the sound of footsteps was heard at one moment.
Thump-.
Slow and heavy footsteps.
The black-haired man lying silently on the floor opened his eyes.
“…I’m feeling sleepy.”
Michael, with black hair and green eyes.
His eyes blinked slowly, as if he was about to fall asleep.
He wanted to collapse into his tired body. The process of becoming one had brought great fatigue with it.
-Beeeeh-.
The bleating was heard at that moment.
A bleating that penetrated to the heart of Valhalla. And within that bleating, a presence of unknown size.
Through the bleating, the form of a gigantic black goat appeared before Michael.
Even just by the sound of the bleat, one could guess what the creature was like.
Michael covered his ears.
The resonant noise that echoed in his head was not just that.
“…Understood. Understood.”
Michael responded to the unknown voice irritably and began to move as if he were fed up.
Steps heading out of the meeting room.
As soon as he crossed the door, Michael’s figure disappeared completely.
——————
Flap-.
Flap, flap-.
The Rankers who were fighting the goats one by one began to faint one after another. They were those with little mental resistance or those who were exhausted from a long battle.
“Hey, hey! Get a hold of yourself… Hey…!”
“If you faint all of a sudden…”
“Curse it. Someone come here and take their positions!”
The battlefield changed dramatically with a single bleat.
With the addition of Lee Rangjin’s army, the Rankers who had barely managed to push back the goats were shaken once again.
There was no obvious way to stop them at that moment.
Finally, it was Lee Rangjin who intervened.
Kwut!
He burst into the middle of the battlefield, wielding a heavy sword in one hand. The goats charged towards Lee Rangjin. Lee Rangjin swung his sword at the goats approaching from three different directions.
Kwagak!
The goats were cleaved into pieces and sent flying.
Beeeh…
However, in one direction, there was a goat he had not seen before.
“Should I let it pass?”
Kwak-.
Instead of dodging, Lee Rangjin reinforced his sword with power and struck the goat forcefully.
He preferred to rely on his sturdy armor and body rather than awkwardly dodging and risking an even stronger attack. That was his decision.
Lee Rangjin was about to take a step forward and strike with his sword when,
Swaaaah-.
A red slash appeared across the body of the goat running towards Lee Rangjin.
Puwhaaah-.
The goat’s body was cut into dozens of pieces, leaving a small scratch on Lee Rangjin’s cheek. The sharp sword strikes that pierced the goat’s body even affected Lee Rangjin.
“This cut feels familiar…”
Hundreds of years may have passed, but no one in the Celestial Realm would forget this cut.
“Asura.”
The spirit in front of him had challenged the Celestial Realm, knocking down the Heavenly Warriors one by one.
Thud, thud.
The torn pieces of goat flesh fell to the ground. Asura extended his four swords downward and looked around.
It seemed he wasn’t very interested in Lee Rangjin’s presence.
That meant there were powerful enemies on this battlefield.
“If you had made a mistake, my head could have rolled too.”
“It’s okay to say thank you.”
“If that sounds like gratitude at this moment, it’s a bit creepy.”
“Whatever.”
“Why did you arrive so late?”
“I had some enemies to defeat.”
Lee Rangjin observed Asura’s appearance.
There were traces of human blood on his body, probably from a fight somewhere.
‘That temperamental guy is still the same.’
Asura made no distinctions between friends and enemies. He fought for his life against the strong and always sought to fight.
That generated grudges everywhere. Even among the Guilds that participated in this Meeting, several held grudges against Asura. If Lee Rangjin had not intervened when Asura invaded the Celestial Realm, they could have become mortal enemies.
“Although thanks to that, everything calmed down…”
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——————
-Beeeh-.
For a moment, Lee Rangjin considered that, thanks to Asura’s help, he might fill the gaps left by the defeated Rankers.
But Lee Rangjin lowered his sword when he heard the bleating filling the air once again, and at the sight that extended before him, he exclaimed:
“What is that?”
———————
Sshh, sshh…
The color of the earth changed.
The Rankers’ bloodstained ground turned black. The seeds that fed on their blood grew, becoming small trees and then rapidly growing into giant trees.
A vast forest stretched before them. Inside it, the goats blinked repeatedly as they bleated.
-Beeeh-.
The bleat of Shub-Niggurath.
Hercules felt as if he were about to vomit when he heard it.
Hercules frowned.
“You look very tired.”
Odin patted Hercules on the shoulder.
“Just rest a bit. You still need to adapt to that power.”
“I can’t afford to rest.”
Hercules brushed off Odin’s hand.
“Don’t compare me to him.”
With a sharp retort, Hercules began walking in the direction from which Shub-Niggurath’s bleating came.
But soon.
Stumble~
As if he had lost his balance, Hercules stumbled.
“I told you to rest a bit.”
“I’m fine.”
“Tsk.”
Odin clicked his tongue briefly and looked at the forest that stretched before him.
A Black Woods. It was the right place for Shub-Niggurath, known as “The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young.”
In a short time, a vast forest had spread, enough to destroy an entire country in this short span. There was an eerie feeling emanating from the trees that covered the forest.
“They’re trees…”
-Beeeh-.
Along with the continuing bleating.
Grrr-.
Cutting a path through the Black Woods, a gigantic male goat appeared.
Thud-.
It was a completely different presence from the previous one. Hercules finally understood why he suddenly felt so weak.
In addition to the energy consumed by using the Lightning Bolt for the first time in his life.
“Is it because of that goat?”
A gigantic male goat with purple eyes.
Hercules felt instinctive fear toward that entity.
Step~
Odin approached Shub-Niggurath.
Hercules, as he did a moment ago, reached out to Odin while watching Odin advance toward Shub-Niggurath.
“You can’t do it.”
Squelch-.
Hercules grabbed Odin’s foot and raised his head.
He was exhausted too. It made no sense for him to try to face Shub-Niggurath alone in his current state.
“What do you plan to do on your own?”
“You were alone too.”
“You and I are…”
“I am Odin.”
Hercules’s response, which couldn’t continue with the word “different,” was as if Odin had understood him and spoke with irony.
“The King of Asgard. The Great Ruler of the Five Worlds.”
Anyone who heard it might think that Asgard was the largest Guild in this Tower.
And Odin, the Ranker who founded Asgard. For some, what he said might sound like arrogance, but for him, it was pride and self-confidence.
And Hercules knew that, so he couldn’t stop Odin.
Besides…
“It’s an unnecessary concern.”
Even Odin’s closest friend.
Even Mimir approached Hercules and held him, trying to dissuade him.
Tumble, tumble-.
Hercules could no longer stop Odin as he advanced toward Shub-Niggurath.
“I must recover as soon as possible.”
Since he boasted that his physical endurance yielded to no one. Hercules was determined to regain his strength quickly to join Odin.
And his thoughts were clearly reflected on his facial expression.
“Tsk. You don’t have to be in such a hurry.”
Mimir looked up when he saw Hercules’s expression.
Hercules couldn’t understand it.
The opponent was Shub-Niggurath. Furthermore, he had revealed his true form, displaying an even more imposing presence.
In contrast, Odin…
“He can throw Gungnir only one more time at most.”
He had taken a breather, but he had already thrown more than two Gungnirs.
It was clear that he was quite exhausted.
“Even to launch Gungnir again, they need to give him time.”
“Do you think that guy only has Gungnir?”
“It’s not like that, but…”
“His Rank was not obtained overnight.”
Mimir knew Odin better than anyone.
They had climbed the Tower together, risen in rank together, and founded Asgard in the Tower together. As they had reached the top together, they knew each other better than anyone.
Odin to Mimir.
And Mimir to Odin.
“Even so, Odin. His magic doesn’t compare to mine, and in terms of physical ability, only you surpass everyone.”
And what Mimir knew about Odin didn’t make him such a grand figure to be revered as such.
It might not be the same now, having passed more than ten thousand years since they arrived in the Tower.
Until then, he had a long way to go to deserve the title of King (王).
“Yet, why is that guy so great? Do you know why?”
An unanswered question.
It was then that a cold sensation ran through Hercules’s skin as he waited for the next answer…
Shoosh-.
‘The smell of wood.’
The scent that pervaded the bright air, making his nose tingle, was clearly the aroma of a living tree.
For Hercules, who had been trapped in the forest for a long time after the Gigantification’s collapse, this was a familiar smell.
Hercules looked around, trying to identify where the smell was coming from.
However, all around him were the dead trees created by Shub-Niggurath in the Black Woods.
Despite searching extensively, he couldn’t find any trace of a tree emitting this refreshing scent, even after rubbing his eyes.
“Many people don’t understand. What truly makes Odin great is his ability to activate Gungnir.”
Mimir said with a mocking laugh.
“No, that’s just one of the many amazing aspects that describe him.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Look at that.”
He clicked his tongue, and Odin, who was heading toward Shub-Niggurath, grabbed a dead wooden column.
And at that moment…
Color spread over the wooden column that had previously been completely black.
A moist brown pillar. Branches that regained life and green leaves that sprouted on them.
Hercules’s eyes widened at the sight.
A tree that had died came back to life thanks to Odin’s choice in the midst of the Black Woods. In the heart of the Black Woods, this tree, which had regained its strength, displayed its color.
“Odin’s greatness lies in this.”
Odin, the King of Asgard.
The reason he could reach this position was not only because of his robust body or the tens of thousands of magics he learned from Mimir.
The main reason was…
“It’s because Yggdrasil grows inside his body.”
