Chapter 182 - For Crying Out Loud (1)

An incredible light spread throughout the holy ground.

This scene reminded the Archer disciples of something from a while ago.

[Hugo Otis has manifested Serpent Bearer’s power.]

[Will the Archer Saint leave the Sagittarius temple?]

[Or is he going under the Serpent Bearer as an affiliate?]

When those articles had come out, the officers and the disciples of the Sagittarius temple had all asked the same question.

“Saint-nim. Saint-nim. Are we going under Lee Gun-nim as an affiliate?”

Hugo had snorted in response. “Under Gun? You’re speaking nonsense.”

Despite being called the last-place temple, the Sagittarius temple had received offers for a merger from large temples like the Taurus temple and the Leo temple.

The Sagittarius temple was small with fifty elite disciples. However, these fifty were comparable to one billion Virgo disciples in terms of fighting ability. That was why the Sagittarius temple had never thought about becoming an affiliate.

Moreover, an affiliate under Lee Gun?

“Are you crazy? Why would I go under him?”

Hugo had blanched, saying he’d eat his hat if that happened. It was supposed to happen like that.

[The Serpent Bearer orders the Sagittarius to become an Affiliate.]

[The Sagittarius agrees to that if this contract is put away.]

The Sagittarius reacted as if he couldn't believe the contract.

Lee Gun snorted. “What? It’s cheap compared to what you did. You killed my junior. Also, you have to hand over your skills, holy ground, and Constructs to our temple.”

The Archer disciples were surprised. At this point, this was more than becoming an affiliate or a merger. Wasn’t this complete assimilation?

The unreasonable demands angered the Zodiac.

[It is best not to anger a god too much.]

The Sagittarius had his arm crossed as he glared. Then he raised his forefinger!

Lee Gun suddenly flinched.

Boom!

As soon as the finger went up, the Sagittarius’s eyes flashed, and a powerful red light surged from him.

[Warning! The Sagittarius has released his divine status.]

[Warning! The Sagittarius is trying to activate Death Instinct.]

As expected of a high-rank god, the Sagittarius’s divine status and divine power were beyond imagination. If he hadn’t decided to descend through Hugo, he would have been able to easily destroy several countries.

Well aware of this, the notification system desperately gave a warning.

[Warning! The Sagittarius’s divine status is very high.]

[You may cease to exist if you get burned by the fire of the sun.]

Burning Flame Archer! It originally meant “One who shoots the burning flame.”

However, it was synonymous with the Burning Flame Archer. As expected from someone with a nickname that implied he would immolate his enemy, the Sagittarius let out a frightening flame.

Seeing that, Lee Gun admitted it.

‘If I’m being honest, I can’t get rid of the Sagittarius with my current power.’

The Zodiac’s divine status was too high.

However, Lee Gun wasn’t one to get scared of such threats. “If you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to do it. I’ll just tell Taeksoo what happened.” That wasn’t all. “Also, it seems you’re mistaken. This isn’t a negotiation. This is the last rope that I am willing to extend toward you.”

[!]

“If you don’t like it, we can fight. However, I will steal Taeksoo from you, and I’ll just get rid of you like the Cancer.” When Lee Gun called forth the power of Death, the Sagittarius’s angry face lost a bit of heat.

[It... It is a misunderstanding.]

He brought down his finger awkwardly.

[Do we need a contract considering our relationship... Also, the content of the contract will look bad to my disciples...]

“You don’t have the luxury to say such words.”

The Sagittarius brought his raised finger all the way down.

[I... I want leniency.]

“Leniency?” Lee Gun laughed in an understanding manner. “Alright. I’ll give you leniency.”

[!]

When Lee Gun laughed, the Sagittarius’s face brightened. However...

The black light detonated on him, heading toward his head and the region between his legs! “You deserve to suffer the same as me.”

[The Sagittarius screams.]

[The Sagittarius says you said to give him leniency. He feels aggrieved.]

Lee Gun let out a shameless laugh as if he couldn’t understand the Zodiac’s reaction. “I’m being lenient! I’ll forgive you after I punish you!”

Feeling swindled, the Sagittarius screamed.

Lee Gun didn’t care as he laughed mockingly.

‘I used a thousandth of the power I used against the Cancer.’

Still, it was undoubtedly the power of Death. There was a chance that anything he wanted dead might die.

“Be sure to tell me how it all turns out. I want you to make sure you can use it or not.”

The Sagittarius screamed as it let out light. Did that happen because it was hit directly by the power of death, which even gods feared?

[The Sagittarius is upset.]

[He isn’t in a mental state to refuse the order to become an affiliate.]

[Time has passed.]

[The Sagittarius Temple has been designated as an affiliate under the Serpent Bearer Temple.]

[Your magical energy gauge has increased by 5% when you gained another affiliate.]

[You have leveled up.]

[Lv. 23]

Lee Gun didn’t miss this opportunity to get the thumbprint. Then, a change occurred to the Archer Saint’s holy ground.

[The Archer Saint’s holy ground has come under the jurisdiction of the Serpent Bearer.]

[You can upgrade the Archer Saint’s holy ground.]

Of course, the Archer disciples felt the change. Although enormous lights had clashed against each other within the holy ground, they had no idea what had occurred. This change had caused a commotion amongst them.

“Noona!”

“What the hell? Did we become an affiliate under the Serpent Bearer?”

The Chun siblings were surprised, and the Archer disciples, who liked Lee Gun, were happy.

Lee Gun looked satisfied. On the other hand, the Sagittarius looked like he had a lot to say after suffering under Lee Gun’s power.

[The Sagittarius protests. He asks if you have lost your mind.]

[He says the power of Death won’t be limited to him. His Zodiac Saint will be influenced by it too.]

The Sagittarius was anxious, so he brought up Hugo as an issue. However, Lee Gun didn’t show any concern. It was to be expected.

‘Taeksoo just has to use Super Regeneration.’

Any body part that suffered under the power of death would be completely undone. Lee Gun had already tested this theory on his body. Of course, he’d use Super Regeneration after the Zodiac canceled his descent.

‘The Zodiac won’t receive the benefit of Super Regeneration.’

“I don’t care! Fuck off before I use my power again.”

Suddenly, the Sagittarius grabbed Lee Gun as if he had something he had to say. Of course, the Sagittarius had never expected the power of Death to kill what he treasured the most.

[Don’t become arrogant because you killed the Star of Darkness with this power.]

Lee Gun wondered what nonsense the Zodiac was talking about, but the Sagittarius unexpectedly spoke the truth.

[The twelve Zodiacs are the noblest seats that denote the highest of ranks. Countless gods aim for those seats.]

“!”

[In the first place, the twelve Zodiac temples are seats for gods. When those seats become unoccupied, others will come to claim them.]

Naturally, these would rarely remain unoccupied. The gods who occupied the seats of the twelve Zodiacs were that strong. Their divine status was high.

[Why do you think we turned a blind eye to Giselle? The other deified gods aiming for the Libra’s seat were bigger trash. That’s why we turned a blind eye to her.]

[The unoccupied seat of the Cancer will cause a storm. All the gods will want to become a Zodiac, so a war will start.]

Of course, only one unique being could destroy the existence of the seat. It was the god of calamity.

However, Lee Gun didn’t have enough divine status.

[The gods aiming for that seat will try to aim for your power. The god of calamity’s power is worth the effort for them.]

The Sagittarius remembered the story Hugo had told him. It was the story of what had happened underneath the Devil’s Tower. The undead monarch had undoubtedly tried to recruit Lee Gun to their side.

[The unknown civilization covets your power too.]

The thirteenth temple wasn’t supposed to exist. Therefore, the thirteenth Zodiac was the only one that could become either a Zodiac or a monster for the other side.

The other side probably wanted the god of calamity to awaken as Death.

‘No, they probably want the power of regeneration. It’s an ability that none of the gods possess.’

Anyway, there was a high probability that they would try to kill Lee Gun to steal that power.

[When you brought in your Zodiac Saints, you became capable of using the power of Death. However, that is an extremely small part of it. If we put it in terms of levels, you’re still at the first level.]

So, the Sagittarius tried to sneak in the next words.

[In that context, the Sagittarius temple has the ability to develop heroes. I’ll help you handle your power. In return, you can modify the contract a bit...]

Lee Gun let out a bright smile. “Fuck off! Don’t try to weasel out of this.”

Tsk! It didn’t work. The Sagittarius pouted as he spoke.

[Alright. I’ll leave you with one warning.]

“?”

[Keep your mind intact. When your mind is broken, you will awaken as the god of calamity. You have to awaken that power through normal means.]

Lee Gun laughed. “There is no way my mind will break at this point.”

He had already encountered several hardships that could have broken his mind on the day he awakened. Another instance had happened within the tower. He had lost all his hair in the tower, and a part that shouldn’t have died had died. Yet his mind was fine.

It didn’t matter in the end.

[If you don’t want to modify the contract, you can at least remove the power of death...]

“Fuck off! You have nowhere to use it anyway. Just report to me if it works or not.”

In the end, the Sagittarius despaired as he disappeared, and Hugo regained consciousness.

“Huhk...!”

Hugo’s eyes remained fully open for a moment, and he knitted his eyebrows. “Gun. What are you doing?”

Lee Gun’s hand was infused with green light. He tapped Hugo’s head and leg.

“Gun?”

Lee Gun laughed. “I promised to send you to Ms. Jiwoo intact.”

“?”

“I can’t send you to her as an impotent bald man.”

“?????”

What nonsense was he talking about? It didn't take Hugo long to find something more baffling. Aside from the damage to the living room’s door, his disciples were happy for some reason. Moreover, they were talking about something bizarre.

“Since we are affiliates under Lee Gun-nim, will we develop bonus skills?”

“I think so. Also, we now have a head temple. That means we’ll be able to level up further. Maybe, our Zodiac Saint can move up to the ranks of the Constructs...”

“Should we tell the media about it? Should we tell them our temple is on the same side as Lee Gun-nim?”

“It’ll be great. Everyone is praising Lee Gun-nim right now.”

“I don't care about that. Does this mean we can take pictures with Lee Gun-nim?”

“Do we get to see Lee Gun-nim fight in person?”

The nearby disciples were happy.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

This surprised Hugo. He wondered why they were acting that way. “Affiliate? Our Zodiac would never allow it. What nonsense...”

At his friend’s mumbling, Lee Gun took out something and showed it to Hugo. It was none other than a contract.

Confused, Hugo looked back and forth between the contract and Lee Gun. “What the hell is this? It’s a damned contract.”

“Your Zodiac allowed it. Good luck!”

“Good luck with what?”

Instead of answering the question, Lee Gun pointed at the contract with the thumbprint.

One second! Two seconds! Three seconds!

Finally realizing what was going on, Hugo screamed, “You damn bastard of a god$%*#*!!!!!”

“S-Saint-nim! Please wake up! Saint-nim!”

At that moment...

[The Archer Saint is most treasured by the Serpent Bearer. He has received a special blessing.]

[His attributes have increased.]

[The affiliate Zodiac Saints may jump beyond their current level. They can achieve a special level up.]

[The existing Saint rank has opened a new EXP window as an SS-rank.]

[The Archer Saint is most treasured by the Serpent Bearer. He has received a special blessing.]

[His attributes have increased.]

Lee Gun didn’t care if Hugo fell unconscious or not. He picked up the completely deceased Heaven’s Punishment.

‘I’m not sure if it is possible.’

He had to revive it. Lee Gun headed somewhere.