“It’s true that Lee Gun makes better stuff.”

Lee Gun was outstanding. His fighting ability was top-notch, but his ability as a Maker was special. For the Goat Saint, a master craftsman with skillful hands, this was a hit against his pride. Of course, Lee Gun’s weapons looked crude compared to his. However...

“My god! The blade hit steel, yet didn’t break.”

“I cut down a thousand monsters with it, yet this weapon is like new.”

“The blade Sebastian made became dull after I used it ten times.”

“At this point, it would be better to pass the title of the Maker Saint to Lee Gun.”

The other eleven Zodiac Saints had recognized Lee Gun’s skills. In fact, they chose Lee Gun over Sergeyevich, the actual Maker Saint. Moreover, they considered the royal holy items treasures from the gods and always tried to commission Lee Gun to fix these items.

All this had hurt the Goat Saint’s pride.

Lee Gun hadn’t received any power from the gods. He wasn’t taught by anyone either. Yet, he was skilled; he was overwhelmingly good with his hands. Lee Gun was in the 1% where hard work couldn’t catch up as if he had god-given instincts.

That was why Sergeyevich used to feel despair. Due to this, a desire grew within him. ‘I’ll make Lee Gun my slave someday.’

Sergeyevich was the Maker Saint. His main power came from holy items. However, his expertise overlapped with Lee Gun’s, and his pride wouldn’t allow Lee Gun to be better. So, he hated Lee Gun.

He secretly developed expertise in somatology, including human remodeling and the creation of homunculus. It became easy for him to make a corpse into a competent soldier. Sergeyevich had come up with this plan twenty years ago. He had moved his specialty to somatology, yet he still had unresolved feelings regarding manufacturing holy items.

‘I’ll become the strongest craftsman if I steal Lee Gun’s power.’ Sergeyevich had laughed, and the opportunity came knocking soon as well.

[Lee Gun would die in the Devil’s Tower.]

Of course, Sergeyevich had previously tried his best to make sure Lee Gun would die, but Hugo had always gotten in the way. However, once, Hugo had predicted Lee Gun’s death. When it came to Lee Gun, Hugo’s prophecies always misfired, but it didn’t change the fact that Hugo was great at predicting the future.

Feeling that Lee Gun would die, the Archer Saint had tried to stop his friend from entering the tower. He had refused to leave Lee Gun alone when they were within the tower. However...

“Hey, Taeksoo. Go outside and kill the monsters.”

“What?”

The group had reached the 90th floor of the Devil’s Tower. The tower’s monsters were dispersing toward human-inhabited regions at an alarming speed. Of course, this was all thanks to the item Sergeyevich had secretly planted at a population center, all for Hugo.

[Pheromone that calls in monsters]

The item was very effective. The number of monsters it attracted was more than he had expected. However, Sergeyevich didn’t care.

That situation had caught everyone off-guard. Amid this new development, the general manager of the raid, Lee Gun, had ordered Hugo, “If we let that be, they’ll breach Seoul. We’ll continue up. You should go by yourself and defend the city.”

“No! I want to go up with you! Send someone else for this task. Anyone amongst us can take care of those miscellaneous mobs of monsters...”

“They won’t be considered a miscellaneous mob if there are too many of them. Only one amongst us can kill all of those monsters.”

“No! According to the prophecy, you’ll die here—”

“Are you talking about your idiotic prophecy that’s never right?”

“...!”

“Stop talking nonsense and go out! Hurry up, and go protect the people.” Lee Gun had urged his friend.

In the end, the nuisance Hugo was gone, and Red Eye was successful in exhausting Lee Gun. However, a problem had occurred in the Goat Saint’s plan: Lee Gun had fallen into a trap at the crucial moment.

Due to this, the Goat Saint was unable to recover Lee Gun’s corpse. Sergeyevich had lamented that for the past twenty years. Therefore, he became the happiest person in the world when he heard of Lee Gun’s return.

***

“Is this everything you’ve prepared?” A bone-chilling smile hung on his lips. Then, Lee Gun’s snake eyes flashed.

Lee Gun’s laughter scared the Goat Saint. Lee Gun was far away from him, yet Sergeyevich felt a chill run up his spine. He didn’t know what to make of it. In the end, the Goat Saint desperately blew into his flute.

Bbeeeeek-

Almost inaudible like a dog whistle, the sound spread into the fog. The drooling Leo disciples rushed Lee Gun.

“Koo-ahhhhh!”

The Leo disciples were strong. Sergeyevich had studied the Beast form of the Leo Saint for a reason. He had created a virus specifically targeting the Leo Saint because Stevens was one of the top-three battle-type Saints and the king of the north.

‘Even Lee Gun doesn’t like fighting the Leo Saint.’

Lee Gun was excellent at fighting, yet there were several opponents he didn’t like to face. Among them were the Leo Saint and the disciples who had received generous amounts of power from their god.

‘Even Lee Gun can’t do anything against these numbers!’ The Goat Saint laughed.

However...

Lee Gun held up his blade. It seemed as if one could see only afterimages of his movements.

The disciples from the other temples, who had been on the sidelines, reacted in surprise. “What the hell is that?”

The Leo disciples got close to Lee Gun.

[Shell Stripping]

Kwah-jeek!

The disciples who were rushing in from all directions were instantly flung back.

“Kuh-huhk!”

Lee Gun had executed a technique he used when fighting armored foes. Of course, he normally used this technique to open walnuts.

All those disciples had worn armor for the fight against Thousand Eyes. Lee Gun needed a single strike to crack their armor suits. No, he had ruthlessly broken them.

Clank!

As soon as the armors broke, Lee Gun broke the bones of his enemies, all using just the power of his hand.

“Huh-uhk!”

He mainly broke the bones in their arms or legs. Since they were being controlled, he didn’t go for their neck bones. However, he made their bodies useless that of a patient in a vegetative state.

After taking care of the disciples surrounding him, Lee Gun disappeared once again. He reappeared in the gathering spot of the Taurus disciples, who were also under attack from the berserk Leo disciples.

“Kuh-huhk! Snap out of it! Idiots!”

“Really!”

“We can’t hold them back! They are stronger than usual!”

“What are you guys doing? Let’s use our bullrush skill!”

The Taurus disciples bunched into a group.

[Impregnable Bullrush (S)]

The Taurus was a defensive-type god, but the Taurus disciples had a few collaborative attack skills. To execute this skill, many disciples gathered in one place and rushed in a single direction.

The ground shook as the Taurus disciples aimed for the several hundred Leo disciples.

Boom!

The disciples of the two temples crashed into each other. It was a frontal assault. Golden magical energy clashed against brown magical energy. Heaven and earth shook.

Koo-goo-goohng!

In terms of penetrating ability, the Taurus was the best amongst the twelve Zodiac gods. The Taurus disciples could break through everything. Not even Saints could stop them in their tracks. However...

“Koo-oohk...?!”

It was ineffective. Upgraded by the virus, the Leo disciples now had a durability beyond imaginable.

“Shit! We are in trouble!”

The beasts letting out golden light were about to swallow the brown light when...

“Oh! I envy their Berserk skill.”

As that voice rang out, the Taurus disciples screamed.

“Kuhk!”

Lee Gun had kicked the Taurus general. Then, he stole the general’s hammer.

“Huhk! My weapon!”

However, he wasn’t done yet.

“Mr. Lee Gun! Not in that direction... Kuhk!”

Lee Gun catapulted forward, using the general’s face as a launching board.

Pahng!

Several hundred Leo disciples were gathered in that place. A desperate voice rang out.

[Caution! You need a defensive skill!]

[Caution! Your opponents have been imbued with the Bite attribute!]

[You are under a penalty! Your defense and resistance are lowered!]

[Even a single glancing bite can be dangerous!]

[Divine Status 30%! You cannot use Death Instinct!]

[You cannot use the Serpent Bearer’s skills.]

[You have to summon your familiars to get rid of your enemies.]

Lee Gun ignored the urgent warnings and charged forward like a beam of light. A madness-infused smile hung on his lips and eyes.

“I’ll put all of you into retirement.” He surged into the air with the hammer.

Bbah-gahk!

“Kuh-huhk!”

One!

Kwah-jeek!

“Ahhhhhk!”

Two! Three!

“Help... Kuhk!”

Ten! Twenty!

Lee Gun reached a total of 100!

[You have gained Saint EXP]

[You have gained Saint EXP]

[You have gained Saint EXP]

Several thousand disciples rushed toward him in waves, but it didn’t matter to Lee Gun.

Kwah-jeek!

He slammed the hammer against the ground. Cracks appeared on the ground, then the ground cratered to form a hole.

“Ahhhhk!”

Lee Gun ran toward the disciples falling into the hole.

Kwah-jeek!

“Ahhhk!”

The screams continued toward the cliff and the ocean.

Splash! Splash!

[Your Saint EXP has increased by a massive amount.]

[You have leveled up]

[Lv. 10]

[Many people are watching you.]

[Your achievement will be recorded in your bible.]

The Goat Saint was having a hard time breathing as he watched Lee Gun. Even if these disciples weren’t Saints, these were high-rank disciples of the Leo temple. Sergeyevich had never expected them to lose in an instant!

The disciples who Lee Gun had saved couldn’t speak either. ‘He’s a monster.’

The Taurus Saint was especially surprised. Defensive gear differed by rank, so he could overlook that part. However, once the defensive gears were destroyed, people still had basic physical abilities.

In comparison to a temple of a defensive god, the Leo disciples had less defense. However, they were currently using the Beast skill, so their innate durability should’ve been very high.

“D-Did Lee Gun receive a blessing from a god?”

“That’s right. His magical energy is markedly different from the twelve Zodiacs!”

“I bet there is a thirteenth god!”

This caused a stir amongst the crowd.

“That’s right! A new god must have been born!”

“I’m sure Lee Gun is a Saint who worships the thirteenth god!”

Cheers rang out in the surroundings. However, Lee Gun didn’t care. He threw away the hammer as he headed toward the Goat Saint with a disgruntled expression.

‘As expected, my technique isn't as effective.’ Since Lee Gun didn’t have an AOE skill, he had to fight each opponent. It meant he ruined any weapon quickly.

‘The Taurus Saint didn’t have any AOE skills before. It must be the benefit of having disciples.’ It seemed having disciples made one’s life easier.

[You can use the skills that your disciples have learned!]

‘It won’t be easy to find a disciple with 100% faith.’ Moreover, not everyone could keep up with him. Lee Gun felt frustrated.

Of course, none of that mattered right now.

“Is that all you got?” Lee Gun stood in front of the flustered Goat Saint.

“Wait a moment! Lee Gun! Listen to me.”

Lee Gun raised his sword in contempt.

Spittles flew as the Goat Saint added, “If you kill me, you’ll never find the culprit who tried to kill you!”

“Oh!”

“Someone told me about your death beforehand.”

“Wow!”

Sergeyevich realized his words weren’t taking hold of Lee Gun. The Goat Saint became scared and planned to run away. “It was Hu— Kuh-huhk!”

He felt extreme pain. The feeling was like a fiery spark as he felt a blade pierce him somewhere. That somewhere was his eye.

“Ooh-ahhk!”

Lee Gun’s blade stabbed the Goat Saint’s eye.

Poo-oohk!

Black blood flew into the air. With his remaining vision, Sergeyevich could see Lee Gun’s bloody smile.

[The space where the Black Goat was hiding has been destroyed.]

[The Black Goat is in pain.]

The Goat Saint was shocked. ‘How could he find where the god resides...!’

He was the Maker Saint. His god constantly possessed a part of his body so that he could use its skill. However, the body part that the god possessed changed from time to time. So how did Lee Gun accomplish that?

Lee Gun grinned with an unconcerned expression.

[You have activated ‘Gaze of a God’!]

‘As expected, having abilities is the best.’ Lee Gun extracted his blade.

The Goat Saint groaned as he sank to the ground.

Lee Gun said to him, “Don’t even mention my friend’s name. It’s contemptible. Tell me the name of the real culprit.”

The Goat Saint clutched at his eyes as if he was in pain. ‘It seems there is no longer any backlash to using his abilities.’

In the past, Lee Gun’s body would deteriorate whenever he used his abilities. This was the reason Lee Gun couldn’t win against the Zodiac Saints. However, that weakness was gone.

‘This is troublesome.’

This was why Sergeyevich had sent presents to the returned Lee Gun and asked for forgiveness. He wanted to curry favor with Lee Gun. After making Lee Gun his ally, Sergeyevich would steal Lee Gun’s body and turn him into a Maker slave.

‘If I can have Lee Gun’s abilities, there is no reason I can’t be placed above the battle Saints.’

“Alright! Before I do that...” The Goat Saint laughed as he looked somewhere. His eyes headed behind Lee Gun. ‘Stevens.’

The Leo Saint had finally climbed up the cliff. He stood there, glaring at Lee Gun with a spear in his hand. The spear was aimed toward Lee Gun.

‘He arrived with great timing.’ Sergeyevich thought that The Leo Saint was probably furious. As if to prove this, there was significant murderous intent in Stevens’ eyes, directed toward Lee Gun.

Therefore, the Goat Saint spoke. “Lee Gun, I don’t know how you fixed your body. However, it seems your goal is revenge, right?”

The Leo Saint raised the spear, and the Goat Saint laughed and continued, “However, you can’t win against the other Zodiac Saints. We have the gods’ support. They are on a different level than humans.”

At that moment...

Shweek!

The spear flew at a frightening speed. After the Goat Saint’s laughter, a groan rang out.

“Huhk...!”

The one to receive that hit was the Goat Saint.

Sergeyevich looked at the spear in his stomach, then at the Leo Saint. “Stevens... Why?”

“Why? Do you think I’ll let you be after you harmed my subordinates? Also, Lee Gun is my prey! He also has to make me a weapon!”

“You idiot muscle brain— Kuh-huhk!”

The Goat Saint was about to raise his voice in frustration when...

Poo-oohk!

The spear lodged in his stomach was pulled out. It was Lee Gun. He had made a life-saving move.

Therefore, Sergeyevich asked, “Why would you—”

Before he could complete the question, however, the spear once again pierced through him.

Poohk!

The one doing it this time was Lee Gun.