“What are you bastards doing in my holy ground?”

A familiar face dropped in front of them. His movements were nimble.

This person’s appearance surprised everyone. The surprise they felt was probably greater than what they had felt when Kevin had shown up.

“Lee Gun!”

Kevin’s face brightened as if he was glad to see him. On the other hand, Hugo’s face froze. Agitated, the Archer Saint discreetly hid the broken bow behind his back.

The flustered Taurus Saint got up, having been sent flying through the air due to a kick from Lee Gun. He wondered why Lee Gun was here. “I’m pretty sure you went to kill Red Eye— Koohk!”

“Shut up! You came into someone else’s land like a thief, and who do you think you are bullying?” After throwing a steel rebar at the Taurus Saint, Lee Gun blew up in anger.

On the other hand, his enemies were dumbfounded. Their reactions had to do with the fact that Lee Gun had appeared in Korea, but above all else, it was the light that had just appeared along with him. That was the power of the thirteenth Zodiac.

That was why they couldn’t understand this matter.

‘Why would the power of the thirteenth Zodiac appear within the Archer Saint’s holy ground?’

The light appearing in the Archer Saint’s holy ground should be red. So why was that light green?

‘Green is the color of the thirteenth Zodiac.’

A foreboding color of calamity! The light of the Serpent Bearer had surged out of the Archer Saint’s holy ground.

‘Something like this should’ve been impossible.’

However, their surprise didn’t matter. When the light touched the enemy Constructs, the Constructs faded away.

[M-Master—]

[Huh-uhk. I am sorry!]

A Zodiac’s power had directly hit them.

Up until now, the Constructs had been boldly moving around the holy ground as if it were their territory. Yet now, they were wilting on the floor without any power, like flies. They looked like the bugs one had sprinkled pesticides on.

Crawling, they quickly got out of the building within the Archer Saint’s holy ground. Since the Archer Saint’s holy ground contained only one building, they could escape its influence if they could reach the road.

However, a direct hit from a Zodiac’s power was a critical hit.

[The Constructs of the Absolute Order are expressing their pain.]

[The Serpent Bearer’s holy ground defense skill has inflicted damage on the Constructs, and they have been sent back to where they had come from.]

[You have successfully defended the occupied territory.]

Lee Gun snorted at the alert. Who had told them to make requests in someone else’s holy ground like that?

In the first place, one’s Zodiac’s power couldn’t fully reach one inside someone else’s holy ground. Therefore, one had to be insane to be leisurely preparing spells in this location.

If Lee Gun had to make a comparison, it was like a fighter plane doing an aerial refueling above a different country’s airspace. Basically, these Constructs had been looking down on the Archer Saint.

[The holy ground’s protection is being maintained.]

Lee Gun looked at his skill window with a satisfied expression.

[Serpent Nest’s Royal Wrath (C)]

– Holy ground defensive attack skill

– All the energy gathered within the holy ground is consumed to create a powerful protection.

– A powerful mental magic will affect everyone opposing your temple.

– Range: Boundary of the holy ground

– Duration: 3 minutes (C)

– This skill is available for use when over 80% of the holy ground’s energy has been accumulated. You can use its full power at 100% accumulation. Below it, the effectiveness diminishes.

Lee Gun grinned.

He had returned to the Archer Saint’s holy ground using his Return skill, then used his holy ground defense skill as a test.

Of course, this was possible only because he had selected the Archer Saint’s holy ground as his first occupied territory.

[Serpent Bearer’s 1st Occupied Territory: Living Room of The Archer Saint’s Holy Ground]

Making the room his occupied territory hadn’t been difficult. It was an unused room, so Lee Gun had taken it over as his workroom. One Construct had been in charge of guarding this place, but Lee Gun had chased it out by beating it up.

Then, he had secretly made it his occupied territory. Of course, the Serpent Bearer’s energy circulated through the room, but Lee Gun had blamed that on the room being used as a workroom to make weapons. Hugo had believed the reasoning and not paid much attention to it.

Anyway, the defense skill was very effective.

[The defense skill is being maintained.]

[It has prevented the invasion of enemies.]

[The holy ground energy is falling.]

The Holy Ground Energy was dependent on the activities of the disciples and the Constructs. It was the accumulation of their contribution.

Normally, one needed many disciples to quickly fill up the energy. However, the rate doubled if the disciple’s Faith was high. Therefore, having only Sungjae was quite good, too.

Deactivating his protection skill, Lee Gun quickly looked at Hugo. In truth, he had rushed here for one reason.

‘Royal holy item.’

The reason was the part Sungjae had handed him in the Leo Saint’s holy ground.

Surprised at his friend’s gaze, Hugo backed away from Lee Gun. He had to hide the broken Royal holy item before Lee Gun could see it.

Unaware of this, Kevin grabbed Hugo, who was trying to run away. “Where are you going? Lee Gun is here. This is great. You should tell him to quickly fix—”

“?!”

The flustered Hugo kicked Kevin’s shin.

Bah-gahk!

“Ahk!”

Having received a hit for no reason at all, Kevin grabbed Hugo’s leg. “What the hell are you doing?”

Hugo glared at Kevin as if he was telling him to shut up. “You should hurry up and fend them off! What are you doing? Aren’t you here to help me?”

The words left Kevin dumbfounded. His expression said he had no idea why Hugo was being like this. “He has to fix what is broken first!”

Lee Gun flinched in surprise. He looked at Hugo. “Broken?”

Hugo winced and shook under Lee Gun’s gaze. This frustrated Kevin, so he took the item from Hugo and handed it to Lee Gun. “This!”

It was a bundle made with a jacket. Hugo had wrapped the bow’s broken parts within it.

When Kevin opened up the content, Hugo screamed. “Hey!”

And when Lee Gun looked at the broken parts, Hugo screamed again, inside his mind this time. Hugo was sure he was dead.

However, Lee Gun started sweating as well. ‘It‘s as I had expected.’

When he had seen the part Sungjae had given him, he had known this might happen. However, he had never expected the situation to be this bad.

‘Shit! I thought it would hold up to some degree. In the end, it couldn’t withstand Taeksoo’s power.’

In truth, the part Chun Sungjae had picked up was the part that completed the royal holy item. Of course, it was not a must-have part, but it was one that helped with the durability of the bow.

Lee Gun had planned on swapping that item out for a better part. He had been replicating it when he had forgotten about it.

Hugo hadn’t been able to fight properly because the bow had broken apart. This had flustered him, and he had probably gotten hurt in the process.

Lee Gun inwardly felt guilty, so he discreetly activated his skill.

[You have activated your rental skill.]

[You have rented out the divine skill to Hugo Otis.]

At the same time, a sound came from Hugo’s watch.

[You have received a rental skill from the Serpent Bearer.]

[Super Regeneration!]

Hugo had thought Lee Gun would get angry; he had been ready to run away. Therefore, this act surprised him. When he looked at his badge, a Rental Skill had arrived. Well, this wasn’t odd.

Lee Gun was the thirteenth Zodiac Saint. Of course, he could rent out his divine skills.

‘Is he planning on beating me to an inch of my life? Is that why he lent me his regeneration skill?’

Hugo completely froze from fright.

However, it seemed Lee Gun felt bad. After clearing his throat, Lee Gun said, “The repair fee will be a hundred thousand won.”

This confused Hugo. “Hundred??? Are you sure it isn’t ten million?”

“I wouldn’t have a conscience if I took that much. You got hurt because this broke.”

Hugo couldn’t believe what he had just heard. At the same time, he felt deeply moved. “Thank you! I made a mistake, and I caused it to break!”

An odd expression appeared on Lee Gun’s face.

Mmm? What did he just say right now?

Ecstatic, Hugo used the rented Super Regeneration skill. “In truth, I was nervous. A while had passed, so I must have put too much power into the bow. I broke something you put so much effort into fixing.”

Lee Gun furrowed his brows. What the hell? Did Hugo think it was his fault for breaking the bow?

Sure enough, Hugo apologetically continued, “Thank you so much! Still, how could I ask to fix it for 100,000 won? Just the ingredients fee should be over a hundred million won...”

“Right?”

What?

He was flustered only for a moment when he heard the voice.

Lee Gun, who had been sweating until now, acted as if nothing had happened. He let out an evil laugh. “As expected, a hundred thousand doesn’t sound right.”

“N... No. That isn’t what I meant...”

“Deal! Let’s go with the original amount. It’ll be a hundred million won.”

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

“What?!”

“No. A hundred million won is too little. You dared break something I made. It’ll be two hundred million won. Also, everything between the first and the fifth floor will be mine.”

“Hey!!!”

It wasn’t just the living room. Lee Gun wanted to make the whole story his holy ground.

In the end, the surprised Hugo lashed out at his friend. “Hey! I know I broke it, but that’s a bit....”

Lee Gun acted as if he was tired. “I didn’t sleep for several nights to fix it. I didn’t even fix my own items to fix yours. Yet, you destroyed such an item in a couple of minutes?”

The words took Hugo aback. However, he could say nothing, so he just pounded his chest. “Alright... Aside from the building, I’ll pay that amount.”

Two hundred million won would really hurt, but it was cheap considering his royal holy item would be fixed. Moreover, he considered it fortunate that Lee Gun wasn’t being angry. “I’ll deposit it as soon as possible.”

At that moment...

“He’s going to fix the royal holy item? As expected, Lee Gun fixed it?”

“!”

Three minutes had passed. The Taurus Saint stood outside the Holy ground protection skill, laughing mockingly. It seemed he had heard their conversation.

The Taurus Saint seemed amused. “The only one who would try to fix the Archer Saint’s holy item would be you, but it seems you’re over the hill, Lee Gun.”

“What?”

“Even if it is a royal holy item, the only talent that you have is to fix things, yet you weren’t able to fix it.”

“...!”

“That’s amazing. Your skill has deteriorated, so there’s no point in fixing it— Kuhk!!”

In a flash, the Taurus Saint had been sent flying. Lee Gun had slammed the Taurus Saint toward the ground, then grabbed his head.

Doo-doo-doohk!

“Koo-oohk!”

Lee Gun’s strong grip felt like it was about to crush his head. This shocked the Taurus Saint. ‘His strength...’

It was different from the past.

The Taurus Saint had never lost in terms of strength. What the hell was this monstrous strength?

Lee Gun raged. “You wanna die? How dare you say I couldn’t fix it! I forgot to put in a screw. That’s why it became warped!”

“?!”

Everyone’s eyes turned round.

Hugo’s expression was a sight to behold. What? What the hell did he just say?

Lee Gun continued to angrily speak. “It wasn’t broken. I just didn’t assemble it all the way. How dare you—”

“Gun!”

Oh, no!

Hearing his friend’s voice, Lee Gun started sweating.

Hugo was letting his magical energy out. “You didn’t assemble it all the way?”

“It isn’t like that.”

“The bow broke because it was an unfinished product? Is that how it is?”

In the end, Lee Gun embarrassedly put out his hand. “I’ll just take a million won for the repair fee.”

“One million won, my ass! I’m giving you ten thousand won! On top of that, I want a ten-year warranty!!!!!” Hugo raged.

Lee Gun pouted. ‘Damn it!’ He wouldn’t be able to purchase a single chicken with that amount.

In the end, Lee Gun angrily looked down at the Taurus Saint. It was all this man’s fault. “Since I won’t be able to make money because of you, you better pay me instead.”

“W-What?”

“Also, you have to pay compensation for damages to my holy ground.”

“What the hell?”

Lee Gun immediately clasped his hands.

The Taurus Saint realized what was about to happen.

[You have released Death Instinct]

As the voice gave the alert, Lee Gun raised his clasped hands above his head like an ax.

“Wait a—”

Lee Gun’s hands fell on the Taurus Saint’s head.

Too-gwahg!!!!!

Accompanying a thunderous sound, the ground broke. The Taurus Saint was sent burrowing into the ground.

Kwahng!!!

It was a horrifying sound.

Lee Gun’s incredible power had pushed the Taurus Saint below the surface, and the Saint was stuck underground.

Hugo’s and Kevin’s mouths fell open at this sight.

The Taurus Saint had been sent several hundred meters deep into the ground. One didn’t need to go down the hole to see what state he would be in. Even staying conscious after being hit like that would be crazy.

At that moment...

“I was a bit surprised by your holy ground protection skill.”

“!”

Kevin and Hugo were on their guard when they heard this voice.

Lee Gun’s holy ground protection skill disappeared, and the woman revealed herself.

“I never would have imagined the Archer Saint’s holy ground being captured by Lee Gun.”

Hugo became angry. “It wasn’t captured! That bully probably—”

“Whatever! I just have to call the Libra disciples here.”

A yellow light appeared around the Libra Saint.

However...

Bbah-ghak!

A fist suddenly landed on her face.