Chapter 170 - No, This is a Dream (2)

Around that time, near the Dumangang river...

The monsters had invaded this location, and two fierce powers raged in this place. One of them was lightning; and the other, wind.

People could only watch the energy surge across the plains in a daze.

“My god! They already killed all of them. There were so many...!”

“Aren’t they Chun Yooha and Carly?”

In this location, Korea, China, and Russia shared borders. And all the disciples had quickly rushed to this location for one reason.

Defend the Dome until the end!

Another monster invasion!

This region was located north of the Korean Peninsula, and it was a dangerous region containing the Red Zone and the Black Zone.

Of course, barriers had been created to defend the cities. Domes were there. However, if the walls fell, the cities would be in danger. That was why the disciples from Korea, China, and Russia had quickly converged toward the dome. They had received information that the dome was under a fierce assault.

However, when they arrived there, they found that it wasn’t the case.

“The two of them killed all the monsters? All several hundred monsters!”

“Wow! The monsters are nothing in front of two members of the Ten Stars.”

“Isn’t it because Carly is here that they finished so soon?”

Everyone’s mouth fell open when they saw the monster corpses sprawled across the plains. Moreover, all these monsters were red zone rank.

These two ladies killing all the monsters was indeed surprising, but they were flustered for another reason. Carly!

“Why is the ‘Golden Rule’ in Asia? Why is she defending this place?”

“I’m not sure. There is no way Carly would offer her help to our side.”

If this dome fell, Korea would be immediately attacked by monsters. So, Carly being here was understandable.

However, Carly was a disciple of the Libra temple. She was on the side that hated Korea. That wasn’t all.

“Why are those two fighting each other?”

“Uh... They have never been on good terms.”

As soon as the disciples spoke those words, sharp blade-like winds surged into the air.

Kwahng!

The two beautiful women gasped as they aimed their weapons at each other. It was a fight where the best woman would win. As for why this fight had precipitated this way, one had to go back several days ago when the women were fighting for the position of Lee Gun’s Zodiac Saint.

***

‘Sungjae is only an S rank, yet he can use the Demigod state.’

Chun Yooha was feeling a bit down. She knew her brother was a crazy genius capable of threatening Zodiac Saints, but she never imagined he was this good.

Then there was Carly.

‘What is this girl’s true identity? For some odd reason, her energy feels similar to Uncle’s energy.’

Anyway, people called Yooha a genius, but in reality, Yooha trained more than anyone else. The real geniuses were people like her brother and Carly.

That was why Yooha felt dejected.

‘Compared to the two of them, I’m not good enough to become a Zodiac Saint.’

Of course, in Lee Gun’s eyes, she was good enough.

Her brother seemed to have read her dejected state. “Really! I don’t care if it’s Carly or Barley. You’re good enough. Why are you scared? If Noona doesn’t want to become the Zodiac Saint, I’ll become the Zodiac Saint! I’ll never lose Uncle even if I have to kidnap him and do a nighttime getaway!”

Yes, a Zodiac Saint was closer to the Zodiac than anyone. That person held the most loyalty toward the Zodiac.

Of course, Lee Gun’s disciples weren’t fighting in terms of loyalty. They were fighting to see who had more fandom. Anyway, the idea of losing the seat of the Zodiac Saint was very unpleasant, and it would hurt Yooha’s pride. Moreover, the other person was the hated disciple of the Libra!

As if to twist the knife, Carly had provoked her.

“Yes. We don’t even have to fight. You know the skill difference between us. You made the right choice. It’s a necessary virtue to know you’re over-matched and when to retreat.”

“!”

“Am I wrong? Amongst the Ten Stars, you’re the weakest.”

This had made Yooha angry. And Chun Sungjae’s eyes flashed as he charged Carly, “Hey! Are you done? Stop looking down on my sister! You have a horrible personality!”

“!”

“Only I can ignore my sister! You even have smaller boobs than my sister!”

Crunch!

Receiving the two older women’s beatdowns, Chun Sungjae was sent flying.

Only Chun Yooha and Carly were left in the area.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that? You want to fight? It feels like yesterday when I beat you up. You couldn’t do anything against me.”

“I’m different from that time. I’m an SS-rank now.”

“Good! Let’s make this uncomplicated. The one who comes out alive will become the Zodiac Saint.”

***

That was what had led up to this moment.

Kwahng!!

“Ahhhhk!”

The sword and the blade clashed against each other. Lightning and wind erupted.

Even as they fought, the two women were meticulous in removing monsters and picking up tributes for Lee Gun. Both of them stood at the top when it came to everything: movement, speed, and skills.

For the disciples, all this was a rare sight that they wouldn’t be able to see even if they paid for it.

“As expected, they are the strongest close-range fighting demons...”

Despite this being an amazing fight, the disciples looked on with disconcerted expressions. The reason was simple: someone was standing between the two women and screaming.

“Goat! Get out of the way!”

“I want to get out of the way— Kuh-huhk!”

Yes, the one standing between the two women was the Archer Saint’s SS-rank disciple, Goat. He was experiencing something odd right now.

[A threat directed at Disciple Chun Yooha has been detected.]

[“Get Hit Instead of Me” has auto-activated.]

[A shield is being summoned in front of Disciple Chun Yooha.]

Goat screamed as he was summoned in front of Chun Yooha. It happened every time Carly attacked Chun Yooha!

This pissed-off Carly. When the pattern kept repeating, she angrily ranted. “Goat! Really! Why are you being like this?”

“No! That’s not— Kuhk!” Goat was stomped on by Carly.

“There is a time and place for everything! Even if you like Chun Yooha— Oohp!”

“Ahhhk! No! That’s not it!”

Alarmed, Goat pressed down on Carly. He then glanced at Chun Yooha.

Carly didn’t care. She yelled out in a shrill manner, “Chun Yooha! You’re so cheap! Using some weird cheat summoning magic!”

Faced with Carly’s anger, Yooha felt aggrieved. She pouted with her cherry lips. ‘I didn’t summon him.’

Yes, she hadn’t summoned Goat.

In her case, Lee Gun had modified this skill a bit. Lee Gun knew Yooha didn’t like being a burden to someone else, so he knew she would never use the skill. Thus, he had turned the summon into an auto-skill. Yooha’s intention didn’t matter.

Of course, he had chosen Goat for a simple reason.

Back when Yooha had entered the temple of the Serpent Bearer, Lee Gun had suddenly kicked Goat into the restroom, asking, “Hey, Goat. You like Yooha, right?”

“W-What?!! N-No! There’s no way I would have such shameless thoughts! Cough...! I’ve never had such thoughts!”

“Is that so? You never thought about wanting to protect Yooha? Ah! That’s disappointing. I’ll have to tell Yooha that you don’t like her.”

“What?! Cough...! No!!! T-t-that is... This might be blasphemous, but it would be an honor to become Yooha’s shield...!”

“Good. You said you wanted to become a shield.”

“W-What?! What are you talking about?”

“You said it. You said it would be an honor.”

“W-Why are you recording this...?”

And that was how Goat got designated as Chun Yooha’s shield.

The overwhelming consensus was that Carly stood at the top of the Ten Stars. Goat didn’t want to fight her. However, despite a steep power gap existing between the two of them, Goat was also one of the only ten people in the world who were called the Ten Stars!

As if to prove this, he glared at Carly. “If you lay a hand on Ms. Yooha, I won’t stand aside!”

When Goat raised his bow, Carly hissed in anger. If she were a cat, her fur would be standing on end. “Phew! You have nothing to do with this! Get out of the way! Do you think we are doing this for fun? We are trying to determine who’ll become the Serpent Bearer’s Zodiac Saint!”

“!”

Serpent Bearer’s Zodiac Saint?

Goat’s eyes turned round.

As if to confirm Carly’s words, Chun Yooha rushed past Goat. She charged Carly as she emitted a crimson light.

In truth, both these ladies were competing by accomplishing tasks that would help the Serpent Bearer. They were doing all this to determine once and for all who deserved to be the Serpent Bearer’s Zodiac Saint.

Yooha had saved humans and also killed monsters to send EXP to the Serpent Bearer. Carly killed and gathered cores from monsters to give as tribute to the Serpent Bearer.

The competition got so heated that they had started fighting each other. At that point, the people observing them started to talk amongst themselves.

“Zodiac Saint? Did they just say they want to become the Serpent Bearer’s Zodiac Saint?”

“Carly? Carly is the Libra temple’s top general!”

“Also, I thought Lee Gun was the Serpent Bearer’s Zodiac Saint.”

“I thought there can be only one Zodiac Saint. Is Lee Gun planning on handing over the title of Zodiac Saint?”

“What? Lee Gun will do that?”

The two women attacked each other at that moment.

Kwahng!!

Chun Yooha and Carly ground their teeth, both refusing to back off.

This surprised Goat. He knew Yooha was a fan of Lee Gun, but he had never seen her make such a desperate expression. Moreover, Carly also wanted to become the Serpent Bearer’s Zodiac Saint? She had the same expression as Yooha had.

Carly always had been a moody person. Right now, her arrogant expression was nowhere to be seen, a desperate expression having taken its place!

Goat’s surprise lasted only a moment as Carly’s blade sliced open Chun Yooha’s cheek.

“Koohk!”

The attack had been instant.

Chun Yooha reflexively tried to raise her left arm, but for some reason, she flinched as if she was traumatized.

Carly’s eyes flashed as she laughed. “It is my victory!”

Initially, Chun Yooha was a powerful S-rank awakened being who had taken a spot on the Ten Star(SS).

When she became an SS rank, she became powerful enough that Carly had to be on her guard.

However, this didn’t mean Yooha could fix her weakness overnight.

Carly had exploited Yooha’s fatal weakness, then she aimed her blade at Yooha’s body. “I will serve Lee Gun-nim with this!”

Suddenly...

Flash!

An incredible green light exploded out of Chun Yooha’s body.

[You have been chosen as the Serpent Bearer’s Zodiac Saint.]

On the back of her hand appeared an odd symbol, the Serpent Bearer’s symbol.

The light surprised the nearby disciples, Goat, and Carly.

Goat and Carly were the closest to their Zodiac Saints as they served them. They quickly realized what that light signified.

‘It’s the energy of a Zodiac Saint!’

Although both Goat and Carly were SS-ranks, their energies were fundamentally different from that of the Zodiac Saints, who were close to the Zodiacs. It was like a wall they could never climb.

Therefore, they had a realization.

‘Can it be? Yooha?’

“Noona!!”

Suddenly, Chun Sungjae’s voice came from a nearby location.

Chun Sungjae had teleported here with Hugo, Lee Gun, and Lee Jaewon in tow.

The group’s appearance surprised Goat, and he shouted, “Lee Gun-nim! You already chose your Zodiac Saint?”

The one to answer the question was Hugo. He clicked his tongue. “Yes. He did.”

At his words, Chun Yooha made a fist. She looked at her brother, who was running toward her, making a pose as if she had won. Then, she bowed her head toward Lee Gun. “Uncle. Thank you—”

“Noona! I won! I’m the Serpent Bearer’s Zodiac Saint!”

Huh?

The expressions of Chun Yooha, Goat, and Carly were a sight to behold.

Hugo ignored them. He looked at his son as if the young man were pathetic.

Chun Sungjae was jumping around in joy. “Look at this, Noona. I have the symbol of the Zodiac Saint! It’s on my back! I won!”

Chun Sungjae had taken off his clothes, surprising everyone. He was still small, but his back muscles were starting to develop. Everyone could see something inscribed there. It was the symbol for the Serpent Bearer’s Zodiac Saint! This shocked all of them.

Chun Sungjae tilted his head in puzzlement. Their reactions were different from what he had expected. His sister would have raged on hearing the news. Even her trying to strangle him would have been within expectations.

“Noona? I said I’m the Zodiac Saint. I’m the Zodiac Saint instead of you. Look at this!” Chun Sungjae did his best to provoke his sister, but his sister just looked dumbfounded. “Noona? I’m the Zodiac Saint! Zodiac Saint! Are you so shocked that you can’t even speak?”

Goat started to sweat. “N-No. Ms. Yooha also received it...”

“?!!”

This time, Hugo’s and Sungjae’s expressions changed. They rushed toward Yooha and were shocked to see the back of her hand.

“This symbol...!”

“Why does Noona have it too?! It really is the symbol of the Zodiac Saint!”

The surprised Hugo immediately turned to Lee Gun in anger. “Gun?!!”

Possessing two Zodiac Saints was impossible. None of the Zodiacs had enough power to handle two Zodiac Saints. A Zodiac Saint was supposed to be a special disciple with a massive amount of energy.

In the end, Hugo glared at Lee Gun as if to ask what was going on.

Lee Gun smirked. “What? I never said I’ll pick one Zodiac Saint.”

What the hell?!