Chapter 133: Yu Il-Shin’s Qualifications

Swoosh!

Just as the flying spear was about to hit Akdol in the head...

-

Krr!

Akdol’s head jerked sideways, nearly snapping.

Bam!

Like a bomb, the spear created a huge crater in the ground.

“H-he dodged it?” Yi-Ho’s eyes went wide. He couldn’t believe it! He’d thrown the spear with all his might! Yet, Akdol managed to dodge it without even looking...

-

Kyak kyak!

Akdol snorted in disdain. He could be weakened, but such petty tricks wouldn’t work on him. Above all, he didn’t have time to play with Yi-Ho.

Flap flap!

Akdol sprinted forward again, his tail flapping behind him. He headed for the gates of the Holy Nation of Gayami!

Yi-Ho chased after them, screaming, “Close the gates! Don’t let him escape!”

Hearing Yi-Ho’s command, the soldiers jumped onto their feet and rushed to close the gate.

“C-close the ga

—

...

Hic!

”

Just as they were about to start the pulley on the gate, the soldiers stiffened.

Swaaaah!

Akdol’s serpentine eyes emitted murderous intent. He slightly parted his mouth, which held Anty.

-

Kyaaa!

Get out of my way if you want to live!

“

Aaargh!

” The soldiers guarding the walls screamed, scattering in all directions.

Akdol smiled in satisfaction. After staying here for a while, he didn’t want to kill the Gayami soldiers.

“

Eek!

Akdol! Please stop! I’ll be very angry if you don’t!”

Akdol didn’t heed Anty’s threats at all. She could be angry now, but once she realized that he was doing this to save her, she’d definitely thank him with more trout.

Now that Akdol had removed all the roadblocks, all he had to do was go through the gate...!

Chills!

Shiver went down Akdol’s scaly back.

Dangerous!

He snapped up, almost breaking his neck.

Swoosh!

Something was cutting through the air, flying straight at them. It looked like a small dot at first, but grew larger in no time.

“You monster! I finally caught up...!” Yi-Ho was now within striking distance, pointing his spear at Akdol’s neck.

Akdol responded by opening his mouth wide, roaring.

-

Kyaaak!

Run! Quick!

But it was too late.

“W-what’s that?”

The people of the Gayami Nation gaped, looking up at the sky.

Ruuumble, bam bam bam!

A spear as huge as a spire, engulfed in roaring flames, slammed into the castle walls. Moreover, there wasn’t just one of them.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Bam! Bam bam bam!

Five spears were embedded on the walls, causing an earth-shattering earthquake to sweep across the Gayami nation. The walls that stood strong and tall against the imperial army’s invasion now lay in shambles.

“N-no way. The walls that God Yu Il-Shin built to protect us...!”

The people stared at the sight with fear and despair etched on their faces.

Little did they know, the disaster had only begun.

“A-Akdol! Wake up!”

-

Krr...

Akdol could barely register Anty’s desperation to wake him up. He saw Anty wailing by what once had been the castle walls, torn by five fiery spars. Thankfully, she was unharmed. The same couldn’t be said about Akdol, who shielded her with his body before the spears exploded in their faces.

Crying, Anty reached out to Akdol’s back, which was severely burned, revealing the bones underneath.

“J-just wait a bit! I’ll heal you! Healing Ring Finger of God Yu Il-Shin!”

Tzzz!

Dazzling white light covered Akdol.

“W-why?” Anty was confused. Despite borrowing God Yu Il-Shin’s power, Akdol’s wounds showed no signs of recovery.

“No way...!”

There could only be one explanation. Akdol was struck by the divine power of another god who was equal to or stronger than God Yu Il-Shin.

“

Huff! Puff!

” Just then, a wounded Yi-Ho limped over to them. “Your Majesty! You must escape from here!”

“B-but Akdol...!”

“Just forget about that ungrateful beast...!”

Thump thump!

At that moment, ground-shaking footsteps trudged toward the fires. Yi-Ho was beyond shock. He saw five colossal crocodile monsters, all walking on their hind legs. Despite bearing resemblances to Akdol, they were on an entirely different level. Not only were they several times larger, they were battle-ready and armed with sparkling golden equipment.

They looked like an army from ancient Greek mythology. The crocodile soldiers extended their hands, and the spears wiggled, flying back into their hands.

Grab!

They cackled at the collapsed defense walls.

-Alpha was such a worrywart. He didn’t need to send a scout party to be on the lookout for mere insects like these?

-Yeah. We don’t even need to gather all our brothers. One of us is more than enough to destroy them.

-

Krrr!

Since we’re here already, why don’t we just kill them right away?

Shiver!

Yi-Ho’s hand, which held his spear, trembled badly. While he wasn’t at the level of Warrior Il-Ho’s, he could still gauge the enemy’s strength.

They’re all stronger than the apostles of the imperial army in the last war!

As if that wasn’t horrifying enough, the crocodile soldiers were also equipped with divine armaments. Their spears were clearly blessed by a powerful god of the empire.

The crocodile soldiers’ eyes sparkled.

-

Krr?

Look. I thought we won’t find anything here, but I found something delicious!

Yi-Ho turned pale.

They were looking at Anty, who was focused on trying to heal Akdol. The crocodiles bared their fangs, salivating.

-She looks delicious, indeed! But isn’t she too small to be shared among us?

-

Krr!

First come first serve!

One of them lunged at Anty, its eyes gleaming bright red.

-

Kiiieeek!

Don’t you dare cut in line!

Ruuumble!

With that, the crocodile soldiers rushed for her all at once like a huge tidal wave. Yi-Ho gritted his teeth until his gums bled. He stood before Anty, pointing his spear against them. He knew how reckless it was.

“Your Majesty! Flee and help God Yu Il-Shin and Warrior Il-Ho!”

***

On the 42nd floor of the Tower of Warriors, in the world of Waternia, now turned into a desert...

Il-Ho and the cactus girl had been digging away for half a day now, and made a progress of a few hundred meters thanks to the former’s strength. Nevertheless, they hadn’t found a single droplet of water, let alone found the Water Goddess.

The two were working on saving the Water Goddess, who went underground to avoid the Sun God’s aggressive heat. She fell into deep sleep in an attempt to recover her powers.

The appearance of the cactus girl also wasn’t a coincidence. She’d been trying to rouse the Water Goddess all along.

Il-Ho, who was shoveling the ground at immense speed, stopped all of a sudden.

“What’s wrong, Warrior?”

The cactus girl, covered in dirt from all the digging, tilted her head to the side.

“I have an ominous feeling.” Il-Ho felt anxious.

Did something happen to God Yu Il-Shin or his hometown? Even if time flowed differently in his world and the god’s realm, was it alright for him to be shoveling without care here?

Seemingly guessing his mind, the cactus girl shouted in a hurry, “P-please help me for a bit more! When the Water Goddess wakes up, she’ll definitely help you!”

“...I’ll hold on to your words.”

Il-Ho returned to shoveling the ground. It was the only thing he could do right now.

Ruuuumble!

“

Hmm?”

Just then, the ground shook.

Flick flick!

“

Aaaah!”

Tentacles shot out from the ground, binding the cactus girl.

“

Keugh!

”

The tentacles tried doing the same to Il-Ho, but his astounding reflex allowed him to avoid them in time.

“

Eek!

Save me, Warrior!” the cactus girl screamed at the top of her lungs.

In fact, those weren't tentacles.

Swish swish!

They were snakes. Not just one or two, but thousands after thousands of them, uniting to form a single body. Il-Ho threw his shovel and pulled out his dumbbell sword, pointing it at the bizarre monster before him.

“Who are you?! Release that girl now!”

Sss!

The giant snake that was at least a hundred meters long spread its jaw at Il-Ho.

-I am the First Apostle of Ruler of the Abyssal Swamp, and the older sister of Hydra, who your people killed back in Antrinia.

Ruler of the Abyssal Swamp?

Il-Ho jogged his memories. The Ruler of the Abyssal Swamp was clearly one of the malevolent gods that the Empire serves.

He recalled a snake that served the Ruler of the Abyssal Swamp during that last war back at his hometown.

“What is an apostle doing here?!”

-I'm here to avenge my sibling and gain more divine power!

The apostle revealed its forked tongue, cackling.

-Following the orders of my master's ally, Fire Shining in the Highest Skies, I shall begin exterminating all minions of God Yu Il-Shin!

Swoosh! Swish!

The giant snake's body leaned over, and a black tidal wave loomed over Il-Ho.

“

Argh!

”

***

At the temple of Fire Shining in the Highest Skies...

-

Keke,

is that all? Are you a Mid-tier God at best?

The half-human half-bird giant mocked while looking down at my bloodied self.

“

Huff! Puff!

” I fell into despair. My opponent was overwhelmingly strong.

I had defeated the Three Pure Ones who were otherworldly gods as well in the past, but this time it was a miscalculated move on my end to think that I could defeat him.

...Was this the true power of a High-tier God? Even the powers I had gathered up until now did not work on the giant a single bit. I felt like a kid asked to have a go at an adult. And to make matters worse...

Ding! Ding!

[10,202 followers from the Holy Nation of Gayami had perished.]

[23,210 followers from the Holy Nation of Gayami had perished.]

[231 Yaksha Soldiers dispatched to the Holy Nation of Gayami had perished.]

[301 Skull Chickens dispatched to the Holy Nation of Gayami had perished.]

[Your Temporary Apostle and Warrior Il-Ho challenging the Forty-Second Floor of the Tower of Warriors is in danger!]

My divine power was dwindling along with the never-ending messages of God-Maker. What on earth happened to my followers?!

Ziiing!

[The innate power Blind Eyes of God has been activated.]

I

saw

it right away. A panoramic view of what was happening in the Gayami nation and Il-Ho appeared before my eyes. Five invaders were attacking the Gayami Nation, massacring my followers and guardians. Each of them wore a set of armor from the Greek mythology hero, Achilles, purchased from the Hunter Shop. They were also blessed with the Sun God’s power.

Meanwhile, Il-Ho was also fighting for his life against an apostle sent by the evil god.

-Young god, enough dilly-dallying.

Birdhead reached out and picked me up, opening his beak.

Kwaaa!

Flames erupted from within his beak, reminding me of a furnace.

-Consider this an honor. You shall become a part of my flame.

The heat was so intense that my hair and skin began to burn. But within me, an anger even hotter than his flames surged.

How dare he massacre my precious soldier... Now that it's come to this, I won’t hold back!

I was determined to use every means at my disposal to crush the Birdhead and deal with any bastard that touched my children!

-What are you doing?

Birdhead stared at me in disbelief as I pointed my thumb toward myself.

“Proliferating... Thumb of God!”

Flash!