Bbah-gahk!!!

An incredible sound rang out.

The Taurus Saint Ivan had fallen to the ground, and the mouths of the other Zodiac Saints fell open from surprise.

“T-That weakling....”

“He sent Ivan flying?!”

This was especially true of Jean-Louis. His usual mirth was nowhere to be seen as he looked at the two men.

When he checked again, Ivan remained down, and Hugo had his fist out.

“No way!!”

“We know his skills better than anyone!”

There was a reason Hugo was called a paper doll.

Despite being weak, he had a strong sense of righteousness. And this led to him being beaten up by the monsters. He was all bark and no bite!

“Hugo...!! So cool!”

Sophie put a hand over her face as if she was about to have a bloody nose.

Ivan was having a hard time getting back up. He wasn’t injured, but he had suffered psychological damage.

‘I was hit and sent flying by that bastard??’

Hugo had been his personal sandbag. Ivan merely had to grab Hugo by the face, and Hugo wouldn’t be able to escape. All the Archer Saint could do was take a beating!

On the other hand, Hugo was also in disbelief. He merely stared at his fist. His reaction was understandable since he couldn’t even move Lee Gun’s arm by five degrees...!

“Teacher!”

“It’s as I've said. You just have to do as you were taught.”

“You were right, Teacher! He was slower than you!”

“Yes. I’m glad you reaped the result of being beaten by me.”

When Hugo yelled in delight, Jean-Louis glared at Lee Gun.

The other Zodiacs looked stricken with fear as they gazed at Lee Gun.

“Beaten... No, he did as taught...?”

“My god! I did hear he was learning under Lee Gun, but

“It has only been four months.”

Changing someone to this degree in mere months wasn’t possible.

“What kind of magic did you work on him, Lee Gun?”

Jean-Louis had an expression of disagreement when he heard Stevens’s words. He furrowed his brows. “There is no way to accomplish that through training. Did you guys secretly place a buff on him?”

When Jean-Louis looked at Heiji and Sophie, the two women became angry as if he were speaking nonsense.

“If such a thing were possible through buff skills, I would have long sold it to you guys!”

“If that was possible, I would have switched to being a close-range fighter!”

Their words made sense.

In truth, there was no sign of Hugo receiving a buff. That was why all of them felt chills run up their spines.

Lee Gun was able to build up a weak person like Hugo to this degree.

“If I ask Lee Gun to teach me, will I be able to get the same result?”

“Shut up, cat! I’m going to ask Teacher to instruct me first!”

Lee Gun smirked as he looked at Ivan, who was still in a state of shock. “Idiot! It seems an archer is a much better tanker than you.”

!!!”

“I’ll stick to my original plan. I’m delegating the mission to Taeksoo.”

Ivan felt a surge of anger, yet he couldn’t say anything. He was already having a mental breakdown because of the counterattack from Hugo, who used to be his sandbag.

At that moment, Jean-Louis let out an odd laugh. “You shouldn’t fly too close to the sun.”

As if it had read Jean-Louis’s thoughts, his shadow started to move.

‘I have to get rid of him before he oversteps his bounds.’

Heiji furrowed her brow when she saw this.

* * *

The night before they entered Russia, the Zodiac Saints broke off into their teams as they each made preparations.

At that moment, Sophie was biting her lips as she looked at Jean-Louis, who had called her out.

“What did you just say?” Sophie glared at Jean-Louis.

Jean-Louis laughed as if he was wondering whether Sophie was deaf. “I didn’t ask you a hard question. I’m merely asking about the current state of Lee Gun’s body.”

Sophie looked guarded. She furrowed her brows. “That orc... Why are you asking about the status of Lee Gun’s body?!”

“I’m asking because I’m curious.”

“I...I cannot discuss the health information of a patient with others. You must know this, right?”

“From what I know of you, you aren’t a stickler for the rules.”

“What did you just say?!” Sophie became angry, but she soon glared at Jean-Louis as if something bothered her.

Jean-Louis was considered the best strategist among them. Thanks to his plans, the Zodiac Saints could avoid taking damage during difficult raids.

Jean-Louis was someone they should be grateful to, yet that wasn’t the case.

‘He is a scary person.’

Since countless people approached her, Sophie was great at reading people through their auras. While Jean-Louis was exceptional, he emanated a dangerous smell.

So she said, “Lee Gun is being treated by me, but I cannot reveal any information about him.”

“I’m a bit hurt that you’re so guarded toward me. The monsters in Russia are strong, and I’m trying to come up with a plan. I’m just trying to calculate if I’ll be able to count Lee Gun as a fighter or not.”

“If it’s something like that, why don’t you ask him yourself?”

“You know Lee Gun’s personality. He’s a psycho who’ll jump into a fight as if he is a moth drawn to a flame. He’ll do so even if his arm is broken. How can I expect to receive a normal answer from that crazy man?”

“Are you sure you won’t use the information I reveal to lure Lee Gun into a trap?”

“!”

Jean-Louis’s eyes turned round when Sophie made a pretty sharp observation. He burst out laughing. It was a condescending laugh, as if he hadn’t expected her to be able to think so far.

“I thought you didn’t like Lee Gun. I thought you wouldn't care if he gets hurt or not.”

“While I might not like him, I do not play with the lives of others!”

“Oh?”

“Anyway, you should never call me out again for this reason. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.” Sophie huffed in anger as she turned around.

Jean-Louis snickered as if he found this funny. It was obvious. She was saying this because of Hugo.

“She is foolishly pretending to be a hero.”

It didn’t matter in the end. He had many ways to find out about Lee Gun’s status. He didn’t need Sophie.

‘I’ll just have to check with Aquarius. That’ll be the end of it.’

Currently, everyone was looking up to Lee Gun, and Lee Gun was becoming the focal point of their group. A mutant was spoiling the mood.

Therefore, Jean-Louis laughed as he summoned his underling.

[Come out, servant that travels under the surface of the world.]

A black whale surged up from his shadow. This whale was a special Construct that could travel to the world of the gods. Jean-Louis was about to enter the whale’s mouth when...

Kwahng!!!

“!!”

A laser beam shot through the sky, piercing through the forehead of the whale. The whale let out a horrible scream as it went back into the shadow.

At the same time, a woman’s voice rang out. “How dare you try to lay hands on Lee Gun?”

Jean-Louis was dumbfounded to hear the familiar voice. He burst out laughing.

“Oh wow!”

The one to get rid of his Construct was Heiji. Moreover, she was using Fairy Monarch Raeriqueen, so she possessed a considerable amount of magical energy.

“If you try anything funny against Lee Gun, I’ll kill you first.”

Jean-Louis couldn’t help but laugh at her threat. “Can it be? You do like Lee Gun?”

“!”

Heiji’s face turned red as she nibbled at her lips.

“Pfft! I heard it from Yang Wei. Was it true? It seems you have a very low taste for a normal person

Kwahng!!!

Before he could even finish, a meteor fell on top of his head.

Thankfully, he was quick in dodging. If the meteor had flattened him, he would have been crushed to death.

An angry Heiji glared at Jean-Louis. “I’m going to kill you.”

“Oh my! How scary.”

“Anyway, I have no idea why you don’t like Lee Gun. You shouldn’t bother someone ailing.”

When he heard Heiji’s words, Jean-Louis let out a sigh as if he had no choice. “Alright. I’ll do as you wish.”

“Really?”

“In terms of destructive capability, you are number 1 or 2. Why would I go against someone like that?”

When Jean-Louis nodded, Heiji lowered her hand. “You promised.”

Heiji seemed to believe him. She disappeared using her teleport spell.

Jean-Louis smirked in contempt. “That makes it one more to get rid of.”

* * *

It was the second day, and they had reached the sealed eastern part of Russia.

Lee Gun became angry as they traveled through China to enter Russia. “What nonsense did you spout right now?”

“I’m saying you should give up on the eastern region. We should head west, where the capital is.”

Jean-Louis had suddenly stopped the group, and his words left Lee Gun dumbfounded.

The other fighters had already left for the south and west. The only ones left there were Lee Gun’s team (Lee Gun and Hugo) and Jean-Louis’s team (Jean-Louis, Sophie, Yang Wei, and Liv).

Out of nowhere, Jean-Louis’s team had blocked the path of Lee Gun’s team.

Lee Gun grabbed Jean-Louis by his collar. “Have you lost your mind? Do you not realize the situation right now? The most dangerous monster is located at the heart of Russia. The west is relatively safe because of the barrier around that region. On the other hand, the east is about to be overrun. It’s where the monsters are breeding!”

“Yes. That’s why the eastern region was sealed. We did it since we can’t let the monsters escape toward other countries.”

“Yet you want to ignore the east and go to the west?”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“Do you not realize the newly hatched monsters consume a lot of humans?!”

“I never expected you to be so dumb. Why are you trying to go and save people who are already dead? We have no idea what’s going on inside the eastern region. It makes more sense to go through the west to reach the central region.”

“It seems my words aren’t getting through to you. Get out of my way. I don't care if you guys head toward the west. I’ll enter through the east.”

Jean-Louis laughed in derision as he looked at Lee Gun. “We were barely able to seal the eastern region. If you enter through there, the monsters will be able to come out. It will harm other countries.”

“I’ll kill them all before they can exit that place.”

“Wow! I’m not sure if you’re full of yourself, brave, or bordering on stupid. Are you always this confident?”

“I wouldn’t have moved like this unless I was sure I could take this place. I’ve already assessed the level of the monsters inside. Buzz off!”

“Ah. Is that so?”

Lee Gun didn’t want to waste any more time, so he pushed Jean-Louis aside and entered the sealed region.

The politicians and the soldiers murmured to each other, looking worried. It was to be expected.

While countless Russians were stuck inside this region, it had been sealed, so it wouldn’t threaten the rest of humanity around the world.

“Are you sure we should let him go in there? He was barely able to seal that region. If things go sideways, it’ll endanger the outside....!”

“The one entering the place is Lee Gun. We can trust him.”

When Jean-Louis tried to get in the vehicle, a flustered Sophie ran up to him. “A-Are you sure it’ll be fine? The monsters in the east are young. While they may be easy to kill, there are too many of them! Just two of them won’t be enough!”

Jean-Louis let out an odd smile. “I already gave him a warning. You heard what he said. He insisted on going in, so if he fails, he’ll take responsibility for his actions.”

“What?!”

Sophie quickly tried to chase after Lee Gun and Hugo, but Jean-Louis grabbed her. “I’m joking. He is someone who hasn’t lost yet. Moreover, do you think he’ll fail the raid when several countries may be endangered?”

“Well, I do agree he’s skilled even if he is ugly.”

“Yes. If he fails, it would be mud on his face. They’ll call him the arrogant fallen hero.” Jean-Louis smirked as he walked towards the west.

Around that time, Lee Gun had entered the sealed region through the east, and he was killing the monsters without much difficulty.

Kwah-jeek!

“Teacher!! We finished cleaning up after you! At this rate, we’ll be able to finish our work in two days. We’ll be able to rejoin— Ah! Teacher!!”

“!”

A monster shot out from the bog. It was a high-level monster.

Lee Gun laughed as he held up Heaven’s Punishment. “This is nothing—!”

At that moment...

Throb!

“Oohk!!”

“Teacher?!”

Lee Gun lost his grip on Heaven’s Punishment and collapsed to the ground.

“Teacher!!” A surprised Hugo ran toward him.

Lee Gun clutched at his chest in pain and vomited blood.

“Kuh-huhk...!!”

“Teacher! What’s wrong?”

Lee Gun ground his teeth as he had trouble breathing. The pain was emanating from his chest!

‘Shit! Why is it...!’

Suddenly, Lee Gun remembered what Sophie had said.

- Yes. Overall you’re in good health except... Cysts have grown inside your chest. Here, here and here.

- Cysts?

- Yes. They won’t cause you too much trouble if you drink the medicine I give you. Unless you pop them, you won’t feel much pain. You must never pop them. Alright?

- You think I’m crazy? Why would I pop them?

- Why else? You are a masochist— Kuh-huk!!

- I’m just good at enduring pain. I don’t like pain.

At that moment, Lee Gun gritted his teeth. Of all the places, the locations pointed out by Sophie were causing him pain. He couldn’t even move.

‘Shit! Did the bedwetter do something to me?’

No, it wasn’t Sophie. It was faint, but this energy felt like...

‘That damn crab bastard...!!’

For some reason, Jean-Louis had grabbed Lee Gun when he had been trying to convince Lee Gun to go to the west.

‘He’s trying to make me fail this raid by weakening my body.’

As expected, the monsters attempted to eat Lee Gun and Hugo before they could exit the barrier.

Lee Gun tried to grit his teeth as he tried to get up, but he fell over when he felt the horrible pain.

“Huh-uhk...!!”

“Teacher!”

In the end, Lee Gun’s consciousness was about to fade when...

[My blood flows in you. Rise.]

Scorpio appeared in front of him.