Chapter 211
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 211
Chapter Title: The Machine God's Fall
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Three tribe leaders and twenty-eight heirs launched an assault on the Machine God Copernicus.
Greeted mid-leap at 1,200 meters were rat tribe warriors in iron helmets.
“Jeeenjaaang!”
Wonshin plummeted from the sky, cursing up a storm.
His furry arm was bristling with thin needles.
“…….”
The iron-helmeted warrior gazed down at the falling Wonshin, then hurled hidden weapons at the other heirs.
This rat tribe warrior's throwing skills were top-tier among his kind. He used his specialty to pick off the heirs closing in on the Machine God.
‘Rats are always effective in ranged or chaotic battles.’
But right now, the rat tribe only had this one subpar warrior left.
With their pinnacle—the Twelve Heirs—wiped out, there was nothing to be done.
Boom!
Wonshin crash-landed amid the ruins of a mansion.
It was a house he knew well: Gisu-a’s place. Wonshin asked in confusion.
“Why are you guys here? Did the Tiger God come for a housewarming?”
“Can’t you see? It’s trashed.”
“Then where’s the Tiger God?”
Gisu-a pointed to the rear guardian carrying the Tiger God on his back.
“She’s calmed down now.”
“One problem solved. Now…….”
“We handle the other one.”
Gonghyeok climbed atop the collapsed mansion.
Against the backdrop of an airborne fortress larger than a passenger jet, the heirs waged a dazzling aerial battle.
Most eye-catching amid the fray was a writhing swarm of black bats like living mist.
Screeech! Screeeee!
The bat swarm shrieked noisily as they engulfed the heirs.
A bloodied sheep tribe heir plummeted, and Yangshin Taga’s twin blades sliced the unguarded Guardsand’s waist.
But Guardsand dissolved into blood mist and reformed into three copies.
“Uahaha! Where’re you aiming, you wild beasts!”
“This is my power!”
“This is my majesty!”
As the bats swarmed and snapped the fortress’s iron chains, the cow tribe warriors—who had no way to climb—could only hurl their hammers from the ground.
‘They’re fighting well.’
The three beastkin tribe leaders and twenty-eight heirs were equivalent to two archfiends and over fifteen Celestial Knights in firepower.
Even with Machine God Copernicus’s support, one former Celestial Knight and a zombie rat controlled by Ju Gonghyeok stood no chance.
“Kra ha ha ha!”
[SS-rank Vampire Authority activated!]
[「Dynasty Blood—Spears’ Surge」]
Crimson spears surged violently toward Taga and the heirs clinging to the Machine God.
“Urk!”
“Everyone, shake them off!”
But the situation was reversed.
Guardsand was overwhelming two tribe leaders and dozens of heirs.
Advantages in aerial combat.
Guardsand having learned the tribe leaders’ techniques.
The tribe leaders knowing nothing about Guardsand.
No explanation made sense.
Taga’s twin blades should have cleaved through an amateur Celestial Knight’s firepower and taken Guardsand’s head.
Especially with Ushin Sabon’s support.
“I am the lord of darkness! Kyahaha!”
Guardsand burst into mad laughter, drunk on power.
Crack!
Right then, Ju Gonghyeok latched onto the Machine God’s underbelly.
“Having fun?”
“Gasp!”
Guardsand startled so badly he forgot to turn to smoke.
Screeech! Skree!
The bat swarm instantly enveloped Gonghyeok and Guardsand.
Guardsand cleared his throat as if he’d never rampaged.
“Ahem. You’ve arrived?”
“I have.”
“……It’s been so long since I last drained blood that I got a bit excited…….”
“Don’t sweat it. Whether you’re excited or jonesing for a fix, just follow orders and I don’t care.”
“Yes, sir. As promised, I held back to avoid killing any beastkin warriors and dragged the Machine God here.”
“Good work. You played the demon part perfectly on the broadcast too.”
“Heh heh, all thanks to you raising me, Master.”
The vampire bared his fangs in delight.
As Guardsand said, Ju Gonghyeok had granted him power.
Specifically, by force-feeding him coins.
Blue, green, yellow……
Even orange ones.
Coins beyond what Guardsand could’ve dreamed of in his Celestial Knight days.
Guardsand’s stats all exceeded 900, with mana reaching god-king level at 1,000.
“Ufufufu. Back in my prime, even siphoning one off would get me decomposed into coins on the spot…….”
Guardsand fiddled with his sole remaining orange coin.
If he were in his right mind, Gonghyeok shouldn’t upgrade Guardsand so easily.
Their lord-vassal bond made outright rebellion unlikely, but if the thrall grew too strong and control slipped, trouble would follow.
Summoned while Gonghyeok hid his identity, one slip of the tongue could expose him. Or if Gonghyeok faced mortal peril or his blood dominion weakened, Guardsand might break the contract and flee.
But even risking that, Guardsand needed to grow stronger.
‘One hidden card ready. Originally planned to raise Kim Jintae or Soma Sangai like this, but……’
No chance—they’d all abandoned him.
Precisely because Ju Gonghyeok was humanity’s enemy, the “ruined” man.
Nathaniel, idle for a while, chimed in.
- Why raise a demon like that? Imir would be better.
Ju Gonghyeok shook his head.
“Imir’s no good. Way more dangerous than this guy.”
Imir seemed obedient at a glance, but it was control on thin ice.
Lured by the lie of delivering him to his mother’s killer, he followed Gonghyeok—but with no real leash, and his avatar eroding his mind, he was a ticking time bomb.
“Exactly. Better a noble vampire like me than that psycho brat by a hundred—no, a thousand times!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Beaten in his youth and harboring grudges, Guardsand had grown stronger than ever on Gonghyeok’s scraps. He seemed content to wait for more.
Boom!
A roar from inside Machine God Copernicus made Guardsand glance up.
“Looks like without me blocking, the beastkin are dismantling the Machine God.”
“Then you exit stage left too.”
“Yes, sir. Reverse summon me quick…….”
“Hold on.”
Ju Gonghyeok raised Iron Claw.
“You need a realistic exit too…….”
[Vampire Princess Ring restricts ‘Guardsand’s’ authorities.]
[「Mist Form」, 「Bat Form」, 「Blood Form」 disabled]
Unease flickered in Guardsand’s eyes.
“No way?”
“The way.”
Slash.
Three claw strikes raked Guardsand’s face diagonally.
“Gurk!”
Guardsand’s head split like sliced squid.
“Grraa…….”
“Sorry. No traces if you mist or bat out.”
“You little…… shit.”
Slash, slash, slash.
With the bats gone, the scene revealed a wolf-headed figure mincing the damned vampire to bits.
“Mm! Wolf Head! You drove off those bats splendidly!”
“Up close, they’re nothing special.”
After a casual reply to Ushin, Ju Gonghyeok extracted the vampire’s heart—his true core—and returned it to the ring.
“Hmm! Time I showed my strength!”
Crack-crunch!
Ushin spun his hammer viciously, splintering the Machine God’s hull.
Steam and flames erupted everywhere as it began descending.
“This thing’s gonna be fine crashing into the city?”
“Mm! They’ll dodge!”
Irresponsible as ever, Ushin hammered it again.
Boom!
Gears sprayed out like entrails from the opposite side.
Red warning lights wailed—beeeep, beeeep—signaling dire peril.
A photon comms transmission from Copernicus reached Gonghyeok’s prosthetic.
[Critical damage to key systems. Estimated flight time: 3 minutes 40 seconds.]
The crisis was nearly over.
Tiger God subdued. Rat God smashed by Wonshin’s hand. Guardsand gone.
But one final show remained.
Clang!
Copernicus’s underbelly hatch opened, revealing a white missile.
[Warhead 1 launch prep complete.]
[Firing in 10 seconds. Machine God core will detach and escape as planned.]
Boom!
The God core plummeted amid flying debris.
One of fewer than thirty mega-deus class cores for the entire Machine God tribe.
‘I’ll collect it later.’
The missile ignited and streaked off.
Straight toward the city.
“That thing!”
“Stop it!”
Heirs who’d seen similar Machine God weapons charged the missile.
Closest was the sheep-tailed Takchung, who whipped out his twin blades in a flash.
“Raaargh!”
Sheep God Art: Chaotic Blades—Hundred Board Cuts.
True to its name of carving a hundred go boards, the missile shattered into cubes.
Better to dice it small before it blew unpredictably.
As heir Takchung predicted, the missile popped feebly with no incident.
Thud!
Taga praised Takchung as he hit the ground.
“Well done, Takchung! I’ll block that falling scrap heap! Rewards later!”
“No need! *Cough*! Easy work.”
Taga, about to leave, glanced back at Takchung.
“Takchung, you look pale.”
“Huh? It’s just *cough*! *Cough*! From inhaling some smoke.”
A tiger tribe heir who’d smashed the missile hacked violently.
“*Hack*! *Hack*! Something’s wrong with me too?”
“My skin itches!”
Nearby heirs scratched furiously.
Copernicus’s Warhead 1.
No nuke.
A mundane biochemical warhead, modified by the Machine Gods and tweaked by Imir’s SS-rank avatar, 「Conquering White Knight」.
Gisu-a’s mansion was in dog tribe territory.
She shouted urgently.
“Hey! Help us here!”
“Grrr! Grraaarr!”
Undevacuated dog tribesmen foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
“Gisu-a! Gisu-a! Look, my fur’s falling out in clumps! Eek! Bubbles on my skin!”
“Gisu-a, my eyes hurt. My head’s splitting…….”
Tribesmen screamed amid rising blisters, blood streaming from eyes and noses. Gisu-a paled.
“What…… what do we do…….”
Mild itch for her and the heirs—but not for regular tribesfolk.
“Damn! It’s bugs—use fire!”
“Healers, help now!”
The sky lit with heirs’ flame spells as healer heirs desperately tended victims.
But infection outpaced them.
Amid endless screams, Gisu-a broke into cold sweat.
‘If this plague spreads unchecked?’
Dog tribe losses would be the least—corpses would pile across all southern tribes.
“Germs! Stop the plague…….”
Looking up, she saw a white net enshrouding the area.
Something writhed at the net’s edges.
“Plague spread halted.”
The wing-spread wolf head’s ivory horn gleamed on his forehead.
“A bit late, but we’ll treat them inside bit by bit.”
“Wolf Head…….”
Gisu-a asked, entranced.
“Are you a god?”
“No god here.”
“But you can do anything?”
“Guardian Divine Beast, that’s why.”
“…….”
Gisu-a was speechless.
Ju Gonghyeok, wielding true god-king authority and peering into gods’ minds, could adapt any power or principle freely.
Without such versatility, he couldn’t have beaten the Four Heavenly Kings—who wielded authorities freely—or world-law-defying Dragon Gods.
To speechless Gisu-a, Ju Gonghyeok smiled fakely.
“Of course, I’m busy maintaining this barrier—so ask that young friend there.”
Ju Gonghyeok pointed to the juvenile guardian divine beast stuck right behind Gisu-a.