“Where do you think you’re going? You think you can leave without settling the score?”
With those words, screams rang out.
The one swinging the axe was none other than Yi Geon.
And the ones crying out under his axe blade were the divine servants.
[Ack, Master!]
Shoulders were hacked, arms were hacked—utter chaos.
Finally, the ten-odd dwarves who had seen blood glared with fury.
[T-this insolent whelp of a god with no sense of hierarchy…!!!]
[How dare you to us…!]
The divine servants belonging to a time-honored divine seat had towering pride and self-esteem.
And the 12 Divine Seats were constellations renowned among even the divine seats.
To them, who lorded over others like nobles, merely being backstabbed by Yi Geon was humiliating.
That was why, from the crafting duel itself, it had been a tremendously pride-wounding affair.
It felt like a challenge to their authority.
On top of that, their opponent was a mutant, a newly hatched chick who had just been born!
[How dare a human-born wretch, kuhk…!]
In the end, had even the master of the Capricorn constellation, who had been about to take his divine servants away, been thrown into confusion by that sight?
[Is that not excessive cruelty toward fellow artisans!]
At the booming voice that resounded throughout the hall, the artisans stirred restlessly.
‘A constellation god!’
The Capricorn lord seemed enraged.
As if on cue.
[Though those wretches are foolish, they are the finest artisans. Those hands are treasures of humanity, I should think.]
But at those words from the master, Yi Geon instead sneered.
“Finest artisans? Creatures who would falsify grades just to win a mere duel?”
[!]
Even if other things were forgivable, producing defective goods and labeling them S-grade was absolutely unacceptable.
Perhaps that was why.
“Blackie, Goldie. Handle them.”
At Yi Geon’s summons, light burst forth, and the divine servants screamed.
[Seizes the divine servants’ demonic power]
[The divine servants’ strength has weakened]
[The divine servants captured by ’s power can be reborn]
[Proposes to use the master’s design to rebirth them as objects]
[Says it will produce at least SSS-grade]
[Angrily insists that ‘s juice would be better for the master’s health]
[The two divine entities display their abilities for their own advantage]
In the end, the divine servants were caught by the chains of the flashing-eyed divine entities.
The dwarves, stricken with terror, sought their master.
[O Master! Please save us!]
At those screams, the Capricorn lord’s blood boiled.
Who told them to pull this kind of stunt without a word to him!
‘Pathetic wretches.’
He had already been on guard against Yi Geon because of his bizarre crafting abilities.
‘In the first place, could an ordinary human possibly craft a weapon that possesses an ego!’
Yet despite this, the Capricorn lord seemed to feel immense displeasure.
A menacing divine presence surged.
Well, perhaps he also bore some blame for hiding from his subordinates that he had been unable to copy .
[O Serpent Master, let them go.]
But Yi Geon raised Sky’s Punishment.
“Why should I? You lost. I’m just settling the account.”
[Settling?]
“The wager was that if I lost, I’d join your celestial seat, so if I win, isn’t the reverse supposed to happen?”
At this, the Capricorn lord’s eyes widened.
What? Why on earth should he suffer the consequences of a wager arbitrarily imposed?
But soon, the Capricorn lord seemed to relent.
[Fine. Those useless minions—roast them, boil them, do as you please.]
[Master??!!!]
[However, I take the position of acknowledging you. That is to say, I have no part in this affair, so just take those wretches and get lo—]
But it was then.
Crack!!!
Sky’s Punishment flew toward the Capricorn constellation god.
The flustered goat looked at Yi Geon in confusion.
“You bastard. Where do you think you’re running off to?”
[!]
“You irresponsible piece of filth.”
Before the words had even finished falling, Yi Geon aimed for the Capricorn’s head.
Hadn’t he come all this way precisely because he had something to wring out of this wretch?
Thanks to that, the goat-formed master of Capricorn flashed his eyes.
[You! I was about to generously turn a blind eye, and a half-baked wretch dares to challenge me in my sanctuary?!]
Within his sanctuary, even a constellation god could reveal his true power. Revealing his true strength incurred little penalty.
As if to prove it.
[Do not forget that this tower is my sanctuary!]
Crackle-crack!
As the goat stretched out his hand, something was summoned from the sky.
[Armament Summon—]
It was none other than a sword.
And the Capricorn constellation god’s divine domain was Völundr—the king of the finest dwarven smiths, the very creator of countless peerless demonic swords!
He was one of the renowned tower smiths of the divine realm who crafted weapons for the gods.
And he possessed many divine weapons of his own making.
As proof, a multitude of weapons began manifesting from the sky!
Rrrrr...
At that gruesome sight, Kevin inwardly thought, ‘Oh no.’
Especially the red sword at the very center was the problem.
‘That weapon is a treasure treated with the utmost reverence even in the divine realm…!’
In the divine realm, there were sacred artifacts prized like cultural treasures.
And that one was an object capable of shredding a divine essence directly!
‘What’s more, against a newly born god like Yi Geon, even a graze would be a fatal wound.’
That wasn’t all.
‘Though Sky’s Punishment is EX-grade, its strength likely hasn’t been properly tested yet.’
In other words, Yi Geon would undoubtedly die.
Because of this, Kevin hurriedly attempted to use ice to check the enemy.
But it was then.
‘!’
Kevin’s hand wouldn’t move.
had blocked his actions.
The reason was even more absurd.
[Leave him be. If he dies by that weapon, then that is the Serpent Master’s fate.]
“……!!”
Had this constellation god gone mad!
‘Yet all this time, you’ve been sucking up to Yi Geon like that!’
And the moment the enraged Kevin tried to shake off his own constellation god.
Boom!!!
A thunderous roar echoed through the hall.
A brilliant flash accompanied it.
“Ugh!”
And after some time passed, they witnessed an astonishing sight.
“L-Lord!”
Gwisun, who was beside Yi Geon, nearly had his jaw drop.
And no wonder—the sword that the Capricorn had swung, , had collided with Sky’s Punishment and developed a crack.
“The, the divine realm’s treasure…!”
Yi Geon grinned.
Thanks to that, the goat master, now at a distance, wore a flustered expression.
‘Gram cuts through divine essences, bypassing weapons.’
Yet Yi Geon’s divine essence was unscathed.
The attack seemed to have no effect.
No, it was beyond simply not working…!
“!!!”
At that instant. The Capricorn constellation god, locking eyes with Yi Geon, felt a chill run through his body.
As if to prove his intuition right.
Right at that moment, as Yi Geon wore an ominous grin!
Yi Geon closed in on the constellation god with invisible speed.
And then.
Clang!!!
The axe, swung brutally, mercilessly crushed .
One of the treasures designated as a cultural relic of the divine realm had been shattered!
The divine servants were aghast at the sight.
[Im-impossible! The master’s unbreakable weapon!]
[By that wretch’s weapon…!!!]
Once the divine realm learned of this, there would be an uproar.
At the same time, , who had been observing Yi Geon through Kevin, smiled.
Just as she thought, Yi Geon was connected to them.
‘If the divine realm learns of the existence of that maker, chaos will ensue.’
And had she perhaps known from the start that Gram would not work on Yi Geon?
She recalled the 13th seat’s serpent, whom she had helped escape.
‘Indeed, a serpent that would choose such a one.’
The serpent had been betrayed and murdered by the gods, but in truth, she had secretly aided its reincarnation.
And this life was no different. Even after reincarnating, it had faced the danger of discovery, but she had safely smuggled it away.
‘Well, I didn’t foresee that the result would be meeting Yi Geon, though.’
Thanks to that, fate had completely changed.
And it was then.
“Now, then.”
[!]
Yi Geon, having shattered the weapon, smiled chillingly.
And the surging power of the Serpent Master!
[Battle God Instinct]
[Releases controlled power to 100%]
[The ring that controls power screams that he isn’t listening again]
As the controlled power was unleashed, a violent earthquake shook the castle.
Rumble-rumble!
Simultaneously, a colossal light assaulted the Capricorn constellation. The light instantly bisected the goat’s torso and sheared off its horns.
[Aaagh!]
Yi Geon laughed.
For the wretch’s horns were no mere ornaments.
[You have obtained from the Capricorn constellation god]
And that had been Yi Geon’s aim from the very beginning.
‘With this, I can also grasp the divine realm’s god-grade weapons.’
Simply put, it was the gods’ classified intelligence.
And with this, he could freely produce even SSS-grade (god-grade) and above items that only gods had used.
‘Well, the knowledge I possessed had some limitations, after all.’
And perhaps flustered that his secret designs had been stolen.
In the end, as even Kevin joined the pressure, the Capricorn constellation god, about to draw another weapon, was red with rage.
[If it is to be like this, our Capricorn constellation will no longer craft equipment for humanity!!]
“!”
That was a threat.
And that wasn’t all.
[Who do you think designed the dome that humanity trusts and relies upon!]
The Capricorn constellation god smiled.
In the end, humanity could not refuse the crafting constellations.
For they were a celestial seat absolutely essential to humanity.
But it was then.
“We’re not handing our gear over to you bastards anymore!!”
“Why would we trust wretches who even swapped Sky’s Punishment’s family register?”
[!!]
The people, who he thought would be shaken, gritted their teeth.
And that wasn’t all.
“We shall all cease following the Capricorn constellation god.”
[……!]
Even the artisans of the Genius Workshop, who had fought Yi Geon, rose up in revolt.
Especially when Taylor, a Ten Star and their leader, took the lead, the Capricorn constellation god seemed deeply disconcerted.
For they were the core holy cities among those that composed the Capricorn constellation.
Indeed, his own strength began to wane.
The reason was simple.
‘Their faith in the Capricorn constellation is plummeting…!’
Undoubtedly, it was because of Yi Geon.
And that signified the doom of the Capricorn constellation.
Sure enough, Yi Geon, holding the severed horns of the constellation god, smiled.
“I’ll put these Capricorn materials to good use.”
And with that smile, a black circle spread beneath the goat’s feet.
It was a skill whose cooldown had just ended.
The screams of the constellation god rang out.
* * *
Meanwhile, around that time.
In the sanctuary of the Sagittarius constellation, Hugo, looking at his phone, was screaming.
“No way. This isn’t real. This is so not real!”
He wore an expression as if he’d seen something utterly vile.
What he’d seen and recoiled in horror at was none other than this.
[Meteoric Shift in Constellation Rankings]
1st Ophiuchus Constellation (Taurus)
2nd Virgo Constellation
3rd Aquarius Constellation
4th Gemini Constellation
5th Pisces Constellation
6th Scorpio Constellation
7th Libra Constellation
8th Leo Constellation
9th Aries Constellation
10th Sagittarius Constellation
11th Capricorn Constellation
12th Cancer Constellation
“No way!!! This isn’t real! There’s no way that bastard Yi Geon is the 1st ranked constellation!”
Hugo looked ready to breathe fire.
No, his subordinates had been weeping, ‘Lord! We’ve finally done it!’ ‘We’ve finally entered the top 10 of the constellation rankings!’ ‘It’s a miracle!’, so Hugo had gone to check the rankings, feeling pleased as well.
Well, the rankings might not be a measure of pure strength, but it was only natural to be mindful of them.
And the joy of entering the top 10 for the first time, swelling within him—was only for a moment.
“What the hell! Why is that bastard Geon 1st!!!”
At Hugo’s cry, his son pouted.
“Why? He’s our uncle, so of course he’d be 1st.”
“That’s not the point!”
At Hugo’s fury, Perrin smiled brightly, as if he understood perfectly.
“Ah, don’t worry! This was the ranking at its peak last night, when the incident at the World Workshop occurred. It was when the Ophiuchus Constellation’s fame skyrocketed because of the Capricorn holy cities. Since so many factors go into the rankings, it’ll change soon. Rest assur—”
Perrin was kicked by Cheon Seong-jae, and Hugo’s blood boiled.
‘I thought once we hunted down the runaway Aries constellation god, 8th place wouldn’t be a pipe dream.’
But 8th place wasn’t the issue at all.
Hugo gnashed his teeth as he recalled the expression Yi Geon would use to mock him.
‘At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before Geon becomes an immovable 1st place.’
Hadn’t they said the Capricorn constellation would soon be annexed like Taurus?
‘But well, maybe it doesn’t matter.’
Unlike the Taurus, the Capricorn artisans were fiercely proud.
‘There’s no way they’d be easily annex—’
But it was then.
“Please accept us as your disciples!!! Yi Geon-nim!”
“Yi Geon-niim! We’ll do anything!”
“?!”
At the sound from outside the Sagittarius constellation, Hugo was horrified. Outside the Sagittarius sanctuary, a swarm of artisans had gathered.
Their numbers alone were several hundred.
Because of this, Hugo, looking out the window, could only drop his jaw.
“Wha-what the! Who are those guys!”
“Yi Geon-nim! We fell for you watching you craft in person!”
“?!”
But beyond that, Hugo couldn’t help but recoil when he saw the handsome man at the very front.
‘Heavens. Are you telling me even those star artisans want to come under Geon?’
The head of the Genius Workshop, Taylor, along with the best in each field, had gathered.
They were figures whom even the saints regarded like celebrities—all top-star level popular figures. Indeed, everyone was abuzz at their appearance.
And yet, such figures were kneeling, begging Yi Geon to take them as disciples!
‘Well, knowing Geon’s personality, I don’t know if he’ll accept them.’
Back in the day, he’d half-kill those who wanted to become his disciples.
In the end, Hugo, partly to report this news, called Yi Geon, who was probably with Hayley right about now.
But it was then.
“Ah!”
Hugo was startled.
It was because of a notification.
(Continued in the next chapter)