Chapter 196 Even the Almighty is New to Being a Dad Chapter 197
Even the Absolute One is New to Fatherhood Chapter 197
Divine power clashed against divine power.
The very axis of the world trembled...
A deafening explosion roared through the air.
"You bastard—!"
The Savage God of War, forced back after the initial collision, adjusted his grip on his sword and charged forward like a madman once more.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
My hands burned as if they were being torn apart.
The sensation of flesh splitting was vivid.
Unconsciously, I gritted my teeth.
Meanwhile...
Kang-jun smoothly swung the spear he had forged using his black magic as a catalyst, effortlessly exchanging blows.
"Tch—!"
The Savage God of War, unable to withstand even ten consecutive exchanges, leaped back and raised his sword high, bellowing:
"Deploy the encirclement—!"
The moment he realized his opponent's martial prowess far exceeded his expectations, he changed tactics.
'When it comes to strategy and command, I have the upper hand.'
With that in mind, he intended to leverage his numerical superiority to crush his foe decisively.
Hiding behind the ranks of his soldiers, he immediately activated his divine authority.
[Divine Army Conscription]
The moment the Savage God of War invoked his power, a massive rift tore open in the sky—
And in the next instant, soldiers clad in resplendent armor, wielding magnificent weapons, and mounted on armored steeds poured forth from the other side.
Hundreds. Thousands. Tens of thousands.
An uncountable horde of warriors descended upon the battlefield.
Thud—
These were warriors who had once served him in life.
Or perhaps...
Prisoners of war sacrificed in his name.
The soldiers, forged from the divine relic of the star cluster—Mother's Bones—displayed such overwhelming might that even a ragtag force would seem insignificant in comparison.
"Relying on mere numbers, I see."
Kang-jun, now reduced to a skeletal figure due to the Lunar Eclipse's backlash, surveyed the army with eyes smoldering with crimson light.
"You must be well aware that fallen soldiers rise again as my limbs."
He raised his palm toward the enemy forces—
"You think such petty tricks will work forever?!"
The Savage God of War turned his head and roared at his rear:
"Stop death—now!"
As his command echoed, a figure hidden behind him stepped forward.
Cloaked in black robes, the being wielded a massive scythe gleaming with a chilling edge.
With a slight nod beneath the hood, it activated its authority.
[Halt of Death]
In that instant, a narrative reverberated across the battlefield.
[Ceres, the divine entity of Olympus, was originally the overseer of violent deaths in battle...]
[Whenever the Savage God of War took to the battlefield, she followed without fail—his loyal subordinate, his right hand.]
The air grew heavy.
[At the Savage God of War's command, Ceres immediately severed death itself across the battlefield.]
[No one would die.]
[Even as fountains of blood erupted and flesh was torn asunder, even as screams filled the air—none would perish.]
The Savage God of War grinned viciously and roared:
"All forces—advance!"
Countless soldiers moved in perfect formation, systematically dismantling Kang-jun's skeletal warriors.
They moved not of their own will but as extensions of the Savage God of War's command—flawlessly synchronized.
"KIIIIEEEEEEEE!"
"KIIIIEEEEEEEE!"
"KIIIIEEEEEEEE!"
Kang-jun silently watched as his skeletal warriors fell like autumn leaves.
"An impressive army."
As he observed, he recalled a conversation he once had with Nazgul, his former Minister of Military Affairs in Anux.
"An unbroken streak of losses, huh..."
Kang-jun had never once defeated Nazgul in chess—a man deeply versed in military strategy.
"Given your expertise in tactics, it's only natural you'd excel at reading the flow of the game..."
Nazgul had responded with a question:
"If Your Majesty were to step into the heart of enemy lines like the 'King' piece—what would you do?"
An interesting question.
But also...
A very simple one.
"Kill them all and walk out."
"That is the difference, I believe."
A seemingly nonsensical answer.
"Your Majesty possesses overwhelming power—so much so that you have no need for 'stratagems.'"
No matter how he thought about it—
"It was nonsense."
That day, as a reward for winning, Kang-jun had playfully tossed the imperial seal to Nazgul.
By now...
With his ministers gone one by one, Nazgul must be governing the empire alone.
"Today, I miss you more than ever."
Kang-jun's hollow gaze locked onto the Savage God of War.
"Now, your petty tricks have reached their limit!"
"Hm?"
"With no one dying, you can't replenish your forces!"
He added with conviction:
"Now—it's a war of attrition!"
The Savage God of War was certain Kang-jun's necromancy relied on divine power.
Therefore...
If he continued grinding him down, his divine energy would eventually run dry.
"How long can you last?!"
Once exhausted, victory would tilt in his favor.
A miscalculation.
Reviving and controlling skeletal warriors consumed not even a speck of black magic.
However...
Kang-jun decided to stop this meaningless cycle and step onto the frontlines himself.
"Do you know how to play chess?"
"What kind of—?"
"Had this been chess, I would've lost."
The crimson light in his eyes deepened.
"Given your tactical prowess, I'd never have won in a game of chess."
Dismissing Kang-jun's words as nonsense, the Savage God of War bellowed again:
"Close the gaps—cut off their retreat and crush them!"
As Kang-jun ceased reviving his skeletal warriors, the tide of battle seemed to shift in the Savage God of War's favor.
[The Savage God of War of the Olympus Star Cluster stood at the forefront of battle, commanding countless warriors...]
[Skilled in strategy and leadership, he led nearly every battle to victory, his savage and cruel nature earning him infamy across the realms.]
Then, the narrative resounded once more.
[■■■, however, was no master of tactics—yet he stood at the vanguard of every battle, wielding unrivaled martial might...]
[With experience and insight rivaling even the Savage God of War, he had claimed just as many victories...]
Kang-jun remained utterly composed.
Surrounded by tens of thousands of enemies—
Yet completely at ease.
"A shame this isn't a chessboard."
He seemed infinitely relaxed.
"This is a battlefield."
Then he added:
"Moreover—"
His trailing words scattered into the air as his form stretched like taffy—
BOOM!
A massive crater formed where Kang-jun had stood, the delayed shockwave shaking the earth—
"GRAAAAAAAAH—!"
In an instant, Kang-jun tore through the sea of soldiers and appeared before the Savage God of War—
"CRACK."
—grabbing his throat with crushing force.
"I am not the King piece."
He tightened his grip and whispered:
"Checkmate."
The next moment—
CRRRRRRRRASH—!
The Savage God of War, seized by the neck, was hurled helplessly across the battlefield—
KABOOOOOOOM—!
Four spears materialized behind Kang-jun and impaled the god's limbs in one swift motion.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Pinned to the ground, the Savage God of War screamed—
And vomited a torrent of [Living Text].
[He was a belligerent being who once dallied with the Goddess of Beauty...]
[Alongside Deimos (Dread) and Phobos (Terror)...]
[He rampaged across battlefields, committing merciless slaughter...]
[Madman. Incarnation of Evil. The Destroyer. Bloodstained Butcher...]
His accumulated sins and legends cascaded like a waterfall—
Kang-jun forged chains of black magic and bound him completely, rendering him immobile.
"Say it again."
The Savage God of War, now fully realizing the gap in their power, gasped for breath and struggled to speak.
"Y-You turned your back—"
At this rate, annihilation was inevitable.
So...
He had to rely on his original plan—numerical superiority.
"F-Finish him—!"
But just as he spoke—
"Close-quarters combat is my specialty."
"Your army is already..."
"Annihilated—is that what you want to say?"
The Savage God of War assumed Kang-jun had stopped reviving his skeletal warriors because his divine power was depleted.
"Yes, surely they've been reduced to—"
Kang-jun shook his head.
"Originally, they were your soldiers."
He continued softly:
"If you're so skilled in tactics—"
In that instant, the earth twisted.
The terrain shifted—
And an ancient citadel rose.
A Necromancer who had reached the pinnacle.
The forbidden magic granted to those who attained the 9th Circle—
Necropolis.
"Overcoming numerical inferiority is trivial."
The sky darkened entirely.
RUMBLE—!
Black lightning rained down—
WHIIIIIIIIINE—!
An army of the dead astride spectral steeds emerged.
If the Savage God of War's forces numbered in the tens of thousands—
Kang-jun's summoned cavalry numbered in the hundreds of thousands—
No.
Millions.
They filled the space densely.
Amidst this, Kang-jun activated a stolen authority.
One plundered from the Wise Goddess of War.
[March of Predestined Victory]
From the rifts in the sky, countless weapons poured forth—
Each one a peerless masterpiece, worthy of being called divine arms.
They fell into the hands of Kang-jun's soldiers.
"Try overcoming this."
The Savage God of War let out a sigh.
"Ah..."
An uncountable host of soldiers now filled the skies.
Tens, hundreds, millions...
As he tried to comprehend the numbers, he finally closed his eyes in resignation.
"Damn it..."
He thought it was over.
Then—
The narrative echoed once more.
[The Savage God of War.]
[His true name—]
[Ares of Olympus.]
Kang-jun stared down at Ares with sunken eyes—
"Don't expect a clean end."
The narrative resounded again.
[He accepted defeat.]
The next moment—
[Now...]
Silence lingered briefly.
[It was time to pay for his sins.]
Kang-jun, standing atop Ares' body, smiled.
The most wicked smile in all existence.
Wiping the splattered Living Text from his face, he asked:
"Does it hurt?"
Kang-jun had changed.
But...
He couldn't change.
"Ab-ba."
Occasionally—
Just...
Very rarely.
"It's only the beginning."
Having prepared himself to become the most wicked being in existence—
It was time to unleash the darkness festering deep within.