[Is it real that Leo got a 3-second cut?]
[I saw it live. It's true.]
[Is that a performance? Did they arrange it together? What kind of performance is it?]
[ㄷㄷ Dumbass, can you crush someone like that as a performance?]
[Do that performance two more times and he'll get pulverized.]
[True;;;]
[Whoa, then he really got insta-deleted by Lee Gun???]
The outcome of the duel spread in an instant.
It had been a match the whole world was focused on from the start.
Not just live TV, but renowned commentators and streamers were all riding the wave of attention.
Analysis and highlight reels of high-ranking Holy City members were money-makers on their own.
So much so that some nations had even made analyst an official profession.
That was how important it was to stop the invasions from unknown civilizations.
And this involved the pinnacle of those high-ranks: Saint-level beings.
Of course, now there was the new Strongest Under Heaven, but you still couldn't ignore the original strongest.
In a sense, they were the symbolic command towers of modern humanity.
Moreover, it was the perfect chance to analyze what kind of deity the 13th God was.
Immediately, even the Holy Corps leaders were talking about it.
"Well, even so, Leo will win."
"Right. Leo may look like brutes who only use strength, but they're good at playing dirty tricks."
"Tsk. It's pitiful that Lee Gun is being used for marketing like this."
Holy Corps that had been out on subjugation missions also gathered in groups in front of broadcast channels.
But what was this?
- Oh my God! Leo is crumbling with a single blow!
- Aaah! What exactly happened 23 years ago?!
Even the Holy Corps leaders, who had been stealing glances while pretending not to care, were shocked and snatched up the PCs.
"Hey, what's this? Is this a real knockdown? From one punch?!"
"This isn't a hidden camera prank, right?"
"Wasn't Leo the god of battle?!"
The shocking conclusion had the world reeling.
Naturally, the Leo Holy Corps members, who had expected their legend to return, were completely out of it.
But whether they were or not, the one who had dealt a blow to the back of the world's head.
Lee Gun was smiling calmly.
Even while spouting terrifying words.
"Did you not hear me?"
"!"
"I asked, among all of you, who wants to become my Holy Corps member? Raise your hand."
The Leo Holy Corps members looked at each other, flustered.
Half seemed unable to comprehend Lee Gun's words, and half seemed dumbfounded.
It was only natural—who wants to become Lee Gun's Holy Corps member, he said!
'Don't tell me he's proselytizing right now?'
'In this situation?'
'After turning our Lord into that state?'
In their hearts, they wanted to demand if he was joking, but well.
'H-he doesn't seem to be joking.'
Lee Gun's eyes were menacing.
And as expected.
"Let me change the question. Who doesn't want to become my Holy Corps member?"
It was a question asked with a smile, but the Holy Corps members couldn't even open their mouths.
Because the sight of Steven being blown away with a single blow still hadn't left their minds.
If they said they didn't want to, they felt like they'd end up the same way for sure.
But it was at that moment.
"H-how dare you do that to our Lord!"
A cocky rookie charged at Lee Gun.
Seeing this, the face of a senior high-ranking Holy Corps member nearby turned pale.
"That fool…!"
"Hey!"
Seniors hurriedly tried to stop him, but it was no use.
"This is revenge for our Lord!"
But Lee Gun smiled as if he found it cute.
"You don't want to? Okay."
Fingers moving as if giving up. And the moment the cocky rookie thought 'oh crap'.
Bang!!
A sound like a firecracker going off echoed through the stadium.
At the same time, the rookie shot like a bullet and slammed into the wall. Then he went limp, as if his soul had been knocked out.
The punch wasn't even visible.
No, it wasn't even a punch.
"Oh shit… what is that…!"
Even those who never lost their composure were muttering curses.
And no wonder, what Lee Gun had just used wasn't a punch but a finger!
'...a f-finger flick?'
Did this mean he didn't even need to draw a weapon for ordinary Holy Corps members?
"What kind of finger flick has killing-level power…!"
However, the one who had sent his opponent flying, Lee Gun, let out a sigh.
A finger flick. It was the first time he'd used one since first meeting Seongjae. In his own way, he'd tried to go easy on the cute-looking rookie.
'Tch, even this has gotten way too strong.'
After his body had been upgraded, he couldn't control his strength at all.
Well, honestly, he didn't care whether he could control it or not.
Why?
[Obtained valuable potential data]
[]
[Effect: Guarantees victory in battle (Conditions required)]
Because the data he had expected had appeared.
'As expected of a battle deity.'
Even among battle deities, was this on a completely different level from Hugo's and Kevin's groups?
Virgo, being a bunch of crazed lunatics, kept spitting out obsession data like .
Hugo's group, being a bunch of close-combat eunuchs, kept producing nothing but cowardly data like .
Compared to them, the brave Leo was a paradise of pure combat data!
In other words, it was a no-loss business whether he obtained the Holy Corps members or not.
And as expected.
"Now. I'll ask again."
"……?!"
"Who doesn't want to become my Holy Corps member?"
This time it was his fist.
"Well, you can say no if you don't want to."
At Lee Gun's innocent smile, the Leo Holy Corps members felt chills down their spines.
Good God, who in the world proselytizes like this!
'Even the most heinous Saints have never resorted to direct threats like this!'
In the end, as Lee Gun approached, the startled Holy Corps members cried out.
"No, wait! We have to move our Lord first!"
"Yeah, okay. So you're saying no?"
"N-no, that's not what we...!"
Crack!
Lee Gun's delightful Holy Corps recruitment and data collection began.
* * *
It was around that time.
"What? The duel between Lee Gun and Leo has already started?"
"Yes... well, it ended as soon as it started, but... anyway, it already began."
At the stadium staff's words, Virgo's Kevin was enraged.
"That ungrateful bastard! How dare a mere cat fight Lee Gun when even I haven't fought him yet!"
Kevin, who still hadn't found Steven's waiting room, glared at the stadium.
He had been thinking of taking care of Steven and stepping into the ring himself.
But.
"That cowardly cat! He was so scared of me coming that he turned the stadium into a maze!"
Though Kevin raged, certain it must be a labyrinth spell, the stadium staff couldn't say anything.
'The waiting room is in the completely opposite direction...'
Well, anyway, Virgo's history of being directionally challenged was famous even among the Holy Corps.
Either way, it was fine.
Perhaps fearing Kevin would become a lost child if left alone, the staff cautiously asked.
"Umm, if it's okay, we can guide you to the two's arena."
"Do you take me for a kid? I can find their arena on my own."
As Kevin angrily turned his direction, the staff broke out in cold sweat again.
'No, that way is the exit...!!'
"Um, Kevin-nim!"
"Hmph, I told you not to follow!"
In the end, the one and only, heaven-and-earth-defying Kevin was walking while utterly ignoring his surroundings when.
"Yes? You're saying not to treat the Lord but to kill him?"
"!"
An unfamiliar voice came from a secluded alley.
At the same time, the staff chasing after Kevin was startled.
"Kevin-nim...! This is Leo's training ground... Ah!"
Kevin silenced the staff with a finger to their lips.
Then, without a sound, he walked toward the source of the voice.
[Frost Walking]
It was a stealth technique even Lee Gun acknowledged.
And as Kevin hid and looked at someone, he narrowed his brows.
'That's an SS-grade of Leo.'
It was the Saint's Proxy.
His name was definitely Oliver.
He was a man who had undeniably lost the position of the Ten Stars to Cheon Yuha. He was talking with a subordinate.
"How undignified to obsess over trivial items of Lee Gun's, and this time he even lost to that Lee Gun. Do you think such a person is fit to be the head of Leo?"
"But...!"
"No matter who is put in that position, it's a generational change. It would have been better if Lee Gun had killed him, but it can't be helped."
"......!"
"Tell the press this: The Lord died from acute hemorrhaging caused by the wounds inflicted by Lee Gun."
"You mean to frame Lee Gun as a murderer...!"
It was right then.
"What a load of shit."
"!"
"Who's there!"
Virgo was sneering at them as if they were pathetic.
"You dare try to pin the blame on someone?"
Upon this, the subordinate with Oliver drew his sword.
"I'll take care of it!"
At this, Kevin grinned menacingly.
"Take care? You? Me?"
"Huh. We've already heard about Virgo's internal turmoil! Thanks to that, Virgo's faith has hit rock bottom, and you even lost one arm. You think we'd be scared of someone like that?"
On the contrary, a Saint-level who had lost his power showed up alone, scurrying like that.
This was a perfect prey to increase contribution points for another deity!
And as expected, the high-ranking Leo Holy Corps member charged fiercely.
"Become a sacrifice for Leo!"
At that moment, the corner of Virgo's lips curled chillingly.
"Not even Lee Gun, but bugs like you. How dare you."
It was an eeriness like a virgin ghost.
The unique look in the Virgo deity's eyes that only appeared during battle.
At the same time, the sound of something slicing through the air was heard.
Pook!
In an instant, the drawn blade viciously dug into the Leo Holy Corps member's neck.
"K-kugh...!"
Without a single hair's breadth of error, without mercy.
The blade of Virgo, with his ghostly eyes, danced on as it was.
Crunch!
A feast of red droplets scattering in the air.
But the dance didn't end there.
Pook!
Finally, the drawn sword pierced Oliver's throat with lightning speed.
"Kugh!"
The blade that pierced through the roof of his mouth and out the back of his head twisted mercilessly.
Grrind!
Indeed, it was fitting to vie for the top two spots among the deities rumored to be the cruelest.
Virgo spoke.
"There's a limit to disrespecting a Saint. Against someone like you, I don't even need my abilities."
Of course, whether Leo died by his subordinate's hands or not, he didn't care at all.
But still, he had planned to kill him himself for the crime of being obnoxious. However, having the blame shifted onto Lee Gun was quite infuriating.
Why?
'I went to the trouble of suppressing rumors, it'd be troublesome if they grew further.'
Actually, after Lee Gun's death.
When rumors about Lee Gun had been rampant, Kevin, too, had helped suppress them like Hugo.
Of course, it wasn't from start to finish.
It started 10 years ago, after Hugo had no choice but to wash his hands of everything related to Lee Gun.
It ended when Lee Gun's hidden action footage trampled over Kevin's own highlight reel and claimed first place in popularity polls.
Well, anyway, back then he'd wondered what son of a bitch would pull such cowardly rumors.
"Now I think I have a rough idea who the culprit is."
With those words, the SS-grade Oliver's appearance changed.
Flash!
His face melted away, and the emblem that appeared on his neck was none other than .
Thanks to that, Kevin sneered as if it were pathetic.
'As I thought, his guard was too easily broken for a Ten-Stars level.'
That was it.
The Oliver here had been someone else.
Moreover, the tattoo on his neck was .
It was a mark only those favored by the Deity could possess.
Saints all had it large somewhere on their bodies, and those who caught the Deity's eye had it as well, though smaller.
It was all good.
'So this time he was scheming to get rid of Leo.'
Virgo shook the blood off his sword and clicked his tongue.
Whether Steven got killed by his subordinates or not, he didn't care, but he had to settle his own grudge.
"First, I should head to the infirmary."
It was as he strode forward with that bravado.
"Dumbass! The infirmary isn't that way!"
"!"
When he turned at the familiar voice, there were Hugo and his subordinates.
Hugo was looking at him with a face that said 'that figures' as if he was worthless.
"Our kids said they saw Scorpio and Libra near here."
"What?!"
Especially Libra was an enemy to both Kevin and Hugo.
"So those two have come to kill Lee Gun after all."
It was right then.
[I'm not involved at all, though?]
"!"
Along with a laugh, a tingling air coiled around the building.
Boom!
And at that killing intent, Kevin and Hugo felt their breath choke.
'This feeling is...!'
They quickly turned their heads.
The one speaking was the corpse with the tattoo that Kevin had killed.
The voice sneered at the two Saints.
[Anyway, congratulations to someone? Your subordinate who was a vegetable for 10 years is up and moving full of life, impressive, Hugo. Or is it just good luck. Since he only received Lee Gun's power.]
"......!"
At that voice, Hugo's face hardened.
And no wonder, because the voice was Libra's.
He didn't know why, but the strongest woman among the 12 Saints!
[Well, that said, the wife side probably can't even get up easily.]
Instantly, they were on guard.
The opponent being the top-ranked deity was one thing, but more than that, the skill of speaking through that corpse.
'Isn't that something only the Deity could use?'
Of course, Libra was strangely the closest to the Deity among them.
It wasn't strange.
And this power they felt.
She had definitely gotten stronger than 10 years ago.
In the end, Hugo snorted.
"Was it you who used Perio to commission Lee Gun for the monster subjugation? What are you scheming? Have you finally come to kill Lee Gun this time?"
At the same time, a queenly, overbearing laugh burst out.
[What frivolous nonsense. I just came to place a bet today. Since it was obvious the idiot Leo would lose.]
"Is that what you call speech!"
[I won't do anything.]
The woman smiled meaningfully.
[I.]
There was no need to ask what she meant.
Boom!
The stadium shook violently. And screams erupted.
"Monsters!"
Simultaneously, those who confirmed the monsters through the window were startled beyond belief.
It was only natural.
'Rare species...!'
The mysterious new species against which no attack worked.
The kind that had appeared in the Sky City of Drakhma had appeared again.
'And five of them at that...!'
They had struggled with just one in Drakhma.
But again, the sense of pressure was completely different.
'Stronger ones...!'
It was just as they grew tense and were about to lose hope.
Boom!
The wall next to where they stood came crashing down. Something had shot through like a cannonball and lodged there.
"?!"
What came flying was a Leo Holy Corps member bleeding from the nose.
Though they were startled and looked for a moment, the Leo Holy Corps member shouted.
"L-Long live Lee Gun-nim! I-I will join."
"Okay. One more Holy Corps member added."
"......?!"
Just as they wondered what was going on and looked toward where the Holy Corps member had flown from.
"What's this. I needed materials to make a banner, perfect timing."
A snake's eyes were gleaming.
(To be continued in the next chapter)