Chapter 1287

Chapter 1287

Hephaestus clearly remembered when he was a child, Ares called him a monster and trampled on him in front of the other gods.

There were days when Ares would throw food on the ground and shout at him,

‘You’re my dog. So, you have to eat like this!’

If Hephaestus ever hesitated, Ares would grab him by the head and slam his face on the food on the ground.

There was also the incident when Ares took the woman Hephaestus adored and even brought her to his bed. Afterward, he even bragged about it as if it was a funny story. Ares also laughed at him when he cut Hephaestus with a genuine sword while saying he needed an undying scarecrow.

Ares had always regarded Hephaestus as his dog since the day the latter was born. Ares had thoroughly groomed Hephaestus, which resulted in much suffering on the blacksmith’s end.

Both men gritted their teeth in anger. Ares was furious because his old dog had bitten him in the ass, while Hephaestus was outraged when he not only mocked and laughed at his precious Beyond the Heavens Empire but also reminded him of his insulting past.

“You bastard!!! HOW DARE YOU!!!”

The NPCs’ abilities were combined and expressed through their levels. When Ares’ artifacts, armor, and even sword broke into pieces, his level dropped, and he became much weaker than before. On top of that, there was also the fact that he had been hit by Hephaestus’ hammer and sent flying back.

“Bark! Howl at me like you used to before!!!” Ares shouted maniacally.

However, Hephaestus laughed as he unleashed a powerful force from his hammer.

Crack, crack, crack!

At that moment, cracks began appearing on all of the artifacts Ares' troops wore.

Thud, thud, thud!

Just like with Ares, his soldiers' artifacts slowly crumbled into pieces. That was not the end. The force moved like an ebbing tide, washed over the troops, and destroyed their artifacts one after another.

BANG!

Nevertheless, Ares and his army still had strong physical prowess. Even without his armor and sword, it was still very easy for him to suppress Hephaestus. He raised his feet and pinned the blacksmith on the ground.

“BARK! Bark in fear like you used to!”

The memory of Hephaestus cowering and flinching whenever he raised his hand was still clear in Ares’ head. While acting like a dog, Hephaestus would rub both hands in subservience and look up at him with teary eyes.

However, the Hephaestus in front of him was different. Hephaestus held his hammer firmly and hit him on the shin with all his might.

Thud!

“Keheuk!” Ares groaned.

Furious, Ares raised his feet and stomped on Hephaestus’ face like mad. Dozens of people from Beyond the Heavens Empire hurriedly rushed in and attacked Ares to get Hephaestus out, but it was tough for them to inflict lasting damage. The worst part? He did not stop stomping on Hephaestus’ face despite their non-stop attacks.

“BARK! Bark quickly!!!”

The master and dog relationship they had established early on had now been broken. It seemed like this was too big of a blow for the God of War. In the end, Ares snapped.

Even if Hephaestus’ nose was already broken and his skull showed cracks, he just laughed at Ares and said, “I’m no longer your dog!”

Ares grabbed Hephaestus by the collar and dragged him up. He growled, “Come on, bark...!”

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

In response, Hephaestus bit his ear.

“Keuhaaaaaack!” Ares screamed from the pain of his ear being ripped apart while throwing Hephaestus on the ground.

Despite Khan’s continuous assault, Ares just stared at the gasping Hephaestus. When he saw the blacksmith gasping for breath, Ares felt his head cool down. He rubbed his hair roughly before shaking his head wildly.

Only then did he realize that Hephaestus was no longer his dog. He knew that no matter what he did, he could no longer make Hephaestus bark. On the other hand, he found it quite impressive.

“Trauma is not something you can get over just because you want to,” Ares said while shaking his head.

He could only admit that Hephaestus had truly integrated and became a part of the Beyond the Heavens Empire. Although he was loath to admit it, even he wanted to give Hephaestus a short round of applause for being able to stand back up after what he had experienced in the past.

Ares had lost his toy, and for him, things felt... empty. Even so, Ares was known for being petty and cruel. He did not know the meaning of mercy and generosity.

“Now, I know that I will not be able to get my toy back.”

Ares stretched his hand and snatched Khan, who was trying to punch him, by the neck.

“Then, I’ll just leave you with more trauma.”

Ares did not intend to prolong the war in the Land of Ebeia. He did not even want to participate and had indeed planned to send everyone who was able to endure the attacks of his soldiers for a day. Now, he changed his mind. He was going to participate in the war, and he was going to kill all of them here.

[The contents of the quests have changed!]

It was a notification that all of the players heard at the same time.

The contents of the quest remained similar. As long as they could endure and survive for a day, they could return safely. The only part that was changed was the addition of Ares’ participation in the battle. Regardless, it was a distinct difference. Because of that, the rewards also changed. Those who survived would be able to receive a +4 increase in level.

Everyone present knew what this meant. Ares wanted to kill everyone present here.

Khan, who was caught by the neck, struggled fiercely.

[God of War’s Prison.]

[Trap a chosen target in a prison with a four-meter radius.]

The force still continuously breaking apart the artifacts worn by Ares’ soldiers suddenly stopped as he trapped Hephaestus inside a translucent pillar-like prison. Ares wanted to show the trapped Hephaestus how he would kill everyone here.

“Hey, you f*cker...!”

Ares snapped Khan’s neck until it bent into a lifeless form. He stared at the body that slowly turned into ashes and disappeared with the wind before stepping forward.

Boom!

Ares grabbed a sword and swung it, creating a powerful shockwave that blew the heads of tens of thousands of Beyond the Heavens’ soldiers and left severe injuries upon the high rankers.

“This is an order! All vassals, stand back!” Genie shouted as she realized how grave their situation was.

Ares was already tough to deal with in the first place, even when Hephaestus had weakened him. Now that he was determined to slaughter them all, it would even be more difficult for them to deal with him. They might just lose many of their beloved vassals with one wrong move.

“But...! How dare we...!”

“Grandpa Ben! You should know how sad Minhyuk would be if you died, right?!”

Ben gnashed his teeth, his eyes bloodshot as he held his spear. Even his entire body was trembling with rage. He felt highly frustrated that they had to step down and hold back from fighting the same person who mocked their dearly beloved Hephaestus.

“We have to endure and survive for a day no matter what. Just one day! Endure for a day, and Ares will be unable to make any changes!” Genie cried out.

Ben nodded stiffly as he led the other vassals to the back. It was not the time for them to step up. It was time for the Beyond the Heavens’ high rankers to step up.

The Luvien Empire’s high-rankers, watching the situation from behind, also stepped forward and charged toward Ares. Like the rest, they also did not want to lose the Swords of the Gods or the troops of the Luvien Imperial Army.

“Get lost! So annoying!”

Swoosh!

Ares swung his sword. This one swing reaped the heads of several of the Luvien Empire’s high-rankers. It was an incredible sight to see. Regardless, Ares seemed to be treating the Beyond the Heavens Empire kindly. Why?

‘I will step on you and kill you one by one.’

He wanted to toy with them. That was how cruel and gruesome Ares was. As blood dyed the Luvien Empire’s camp, Ares finally turned around and looked at the high-rankers arrogantly.

[God of War’s Oppression.]

[You are overwhelmed by the powerful force and might of the war’s strongest god.]

[You will not be able to move for four seconds.]

[You have fallen into a deep and overwhelming terror.]

“...!”

“...!”

Everyone was shocked. The high rankers, who were guarding the vassals, all turned stiff. As if to mock their efforts, Ares appeared in front of the vassals that the immobile high-rankers were protecting.

Thud!

Ben did not even have the time to react or panic. In just a blink, a sword was stabbed straight through his abdomen. Ares then pulled out his sword roughly and walked past the old man, who had collapsed on the ground from the impact of the pull.

[God of Snakes... system...]

[The God of War neutralizes all types of power that can control the system.]

The sword pierced through Elizabeth’s abdomen, too. With a dazed expression on her face, she collapsed on the ground just like that. Ares grabbed the two people by the ankle and dragged them into one place.

Elpis, with demonic energy running wildly around him, ran toward Ares. At that moment, the sound of a sword being swung rang in Elpis’ ears.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Ares kicked Elpis, who had been cut a dozen times and who was covered with blood, and sent him flying to where Ben and Elizabeth were taken.

[Guardian God Obren is descending...]

[The God of War prevents the reckless entry of the other continent’s Absolute God on the battlefield.]

Obren, who was made aware of the danger, immediately tried to descend but was instantly blocked by Ares.

“What... the Beyond the Heavens Empire’s vassals are dying...?”

“How can they die so easily like that?”

“They’re dying in the hands of a war maniac...?”

Even the players of the Beyond the Heavens Empire failed to understand the situation that they were in. Only at this moment did they realize that the people of the Gaia Continent were not someone they could go head-to-head with right now. And because they were on another continent, they could not get the help of the strong and outstanding Obren.

“Is Minhyuk not coming?!”

“What is the Pillar of the Gourmands doing?!”

The players clamored.

The vassals of the Beyond the Heavens Empire were not merely strong people in everyone's eyes. To the players of the Beyond the Heavens Empire, they were like idols. Their deaths were something that they would not be able to accept.

At that moment, Ares’ cold gaze landed on a boy. He sneered, “Where’s Herakel?”

This was the same boy who blew one of his mother Hera’s arms. This boy had an intellectual ability just like Herakel but had reached the end of the sword's path. Nevertheless, that was a story from another continent. These stories usually did not have much impact here. Conir’s Heart Sword could not even reach Ares.

“It seems like I have to kill you in a special way,” Ares said as he hacked Conir’s shoulder with his sword.

Fwoosh!

“Conir! Conir will not back down!”

The young boy named Conir rushed toward Ares. This time, it was the boy’s thigh.

“Conir will scold Hephaestus’ bully...!”

Thud!

This time, Conir’s flanks were slashed. Ares hit Conir with his sword in places just a few centimeters shy of his vital points.

The bleeding Conir was terrified. At the end of it all, Conir was still a young boy with intellectual disability. And compared to others, he was very honest.

“C-Conir. Conir is very scared...”

Ares felt delighted when he saw Conir shake and tremble.

“This is good! That’s a good reaction!”

Ares continued to hit Conir with his sword. He stared at the bleeding Conir in delight and shouted, “Where’s your friend Herakel, huh?!”

As mentioned before, Ares had a massive inferiority complex toward Herakel.

During Herakel’s prime, Ares had always been second. That was how strong the God of Heroes Herakel was. He was so strong that none of the Twelve Gods of Olympus could dare to imagine how powerful he would become if he ascended and became one of the Twelve Gods.

Nonetheless, that was no longer the case. Herakel had chosen to have an intellectual disability himself and has personally joined the Beyond the Heavens Empire. For Ares, this was a delightful thing!

“Huh?! Where’s your friend, Herakel...?!”

Then, someone appeared in front of Conir. Ares’ eyes snapped open.

“Ho?”

Herakel appeared. He blocked and protected Conir with open arms.

“H-Herakel! Conir’s so scared. Conir is very, very scared!” Conir cried.

Meanwhile, Ares wiped the cold sweat off of his forehead. From what Ares could see, Herakel still had some intellectual disability.

“Herakel. I wasn’t freaked out. Huh? I thought you would suddenly overpower me. Hahahaha!”

Herakel, who blocked Conir, laughed and said, “Herakel heard the story. Conir used Heart Sword to protect Herakel when Herakel was in danger! Herakel promises! Herakel will also protect Conir!”

At that moment, Ares’ mocking laughter came from behind him. And Conir? Conir saw Ares raise his sword and cut off both arms of the ever-reliable Herakel, Conir’s only friend!

Alas, he was not yet done. This time, Ares raised his sword and aimed it at Herakel’s neck.

“Unseal.” A gold light appeared in Herakel’s eyes. Then, both of his arms, which had already fallen on the ground, rose and attached themselves to Herakel’s body.

[God of Heroes Herakel has released his sealed powers.]

[The true Herakel has awakened!]

[God of Heroes Herakel. Level 1,413.]

The true God of Heroes had awakened!