No Mercy for the Thunder God
As soon as Alexis returned to the battlefield, the first thing that greeted him was this.
The Heavenly God rages against you.
The Heavenly God cannot tolerate his contractor's pathetic defeat.
The Heavenly God demands better.
Alexis clenched his eyes shut.
Damn it!
White-hot fury swallowed his mind whole.
Ever since becoming a player, he had never once tasted defeat. His unique ability, Lightning Manipulation, had marked him as a rising star, and among all the constellations who wielded the lightning attribute, the greatest of them had chosen him.
Zeus. The God-King. An existence ranked even above S-class.
His life had been a smooth, unstoppable ascent.
Until now.
It’s been a long time since I felt this humiliated.
His teeth ground together audibly.
“Alexis! Are you all right?”
“Get lost.”
“Pardon?”
“I said get lost!”
Crackle—! Blue lightning slammed into the Greek player who had approached him. The man didn’t even have time to scream before he disintegrated into ash.
The others nearby stole nervous glances at Alexis.
“Useless fools.”
Alexis clicked his tongue in disgust. A moment later, he checked Yu Jinho’s location on the map. Sparks exploded from his hair.
His eyes burned with killing intent. The Greek players flinched.
“We move. Now.”
“We’ll gather our allies—”
“Idiots. The great Heavenly God desires a true one-on-one duel between me and Yu Jinho.”
“Then we’ll hold off the Korean players. Please handle him yourself, Lord Alexis.”
“If you insist.”
Alexis snorted and rose to his feet. The Greek representative swallowed a sigh. Alexis’s arrogance was infamous even among his own countrymen.
We have no choice right now.
To win this promotion match.
And because—
The Lord of the West Wind watches you.
The One Who Craves Power watches you.
The Watcher of Terror watches you…
Perhaps it was because he stood beside Alexis, but constellations that had never paid him any attention were now focusing their gazes on him. The Lord of the West Wind was Zephyrus. The terror-related constellation was Phobos. Many other Olympian constellations were watching this promotion match with great interest.
The player sponsored by Zeus, the God-King of Olympus!
Simply by being on the same team as Alexis Papandreou, he had drawn their eyes.
If we win this promotion match, I might even form a contract with one of them.
Even a C-rank constellation would be fine. Receiving a constellation’s sponsorship would put him a step ahead of ordinary players.
Led by Alexis, the Greek contingent advanced toward the center of the island. A player with exploration skills shook his head.
“Yu Jinho has already fled.”
“Hmph. So he ran away in fear of me.”
Alexis shouted in an exaggerated voice. The Greek players laughed along.
Whether his boast was true or not didn’t matter.
“What are your orders?”
“We charge straight ahead. We’ll repay our debt and seize their base while we’re at it.”
“If Yu Jinho appears, we’ll leave him to you, Lord Alexis.”
“That guy is beyond your level. Don’t get involved and die for nothing.”
Dozens of players crossed over to the eastern side of the island.
The Korean players waiting at their hilltop base were stunned by the Greeks’ sudden aggression.
“They’re abandoning their own base and coming at us with everything?”
“Are they insane? What if we raid their empty territory?”
Players often compared the Erdel Island promotion match to a tug-of-war. Both sides pulled on the same rope, exhausting each other rather than clashing with full force all at once. There were dozens of bases. Charging around in a single mass like the Greeks made it impossible to defend territory efficiently.
“You Korean bastards!”
Thunder God's Stride
A streak of lightning flashed, and Alexis appeared atop the base. The moment the waiting Korean players tried to swing their weapons—
BOOM!
Blue lightning rained down, turning most of the Korean forces into dust.
“I only need one of you alive to deliver my message.”
“What… what message?”
“Bring Yu Jinho here right now.”
“Understood.”
“No. There’s no need for that.”
Even though the sky was clear, a bolt of lightning slammed down from above. The last Korean defender guarding the base was struck directly.
Alexis straightened up from his crouched position.
“In the name of the almighty Zeus, I shall judge you all!!”
He bellowed at the top of his lungs. A red dot on the map was rushing toward his location at high speed.
“So damn noisy.”
Black hair. A man wrapped in darkness that matched his hair—Yu Jinho—appeared near the base. A Greek player who arrived a step late glared at Alexis, then drew his sword with a metallic ring.
“Don’t try anything stupid. I’ll kill you first if you do.”
“I’m simply preparing for any interference.”
“Hmph. As you can see, no one will interfere with our sacred duel.”
Alexis raised both hands slightly, speaking as if granting a great mercy.
“I’m so grateful I might actually cry.”
Yu Jinho yawned widely and wiped a bit of drool from the corner of his eye.
“I’m curious how long you can keep up that arrogant attitude.”
“Funny. I was wondering the exact same thing.”
Thunder God's Stride
Essence of the Thunder God
Instead of exploding in anger at Yu Jinho’s provocation, Alexis used his skills to exploit an opening.
Got you this time, you bastard!
He teleported beside Yu Jinho and condensed lightning energy into his fist to the absolute limit, aiming for his side. The moment it connected, the lightning would be released and turn Yu Jinho’s flank into—
It should have.
Doubt flickered in Alexis’s eyes. He clearly remembered teleporting and throwing the punch.
So why?
Instead of Yu Jinho’s exposed side, all he saw was empty sky.
“Ugh!”
Agonizing pain shot up his spine. Alexis realized what had happened a beat too late.
“I… lost?”
“Who would fall for such an obvious attack?”
Thousand Eyes
Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts - 8th Form
Dual Wings Great Peng Strike
The instant Alexis used Thunder God’s Stride, Yu Jinho had read the wave of magical power to predict his arrival point and deflected the Essence of the Thunder God with the Dual Wings Great Peng Strike. The force behind that palm didn’t just neutralize the attack—it completely shattered Alexis’s balance.
“This doesn’t count!”
“You can’t even control your own power properly.”
“If I had fought seriously…”
“Come back and try again next time.”
Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts - 10th Form
White Marsh Dominating Kick
Crack!
The qi-infused spinning kick killed Alexis instantly.
“Ah, looks like they’ve got numbers on their side.”
Yu Jinho clicked his tongue and retreated. The Greek players snapped out of their daze and chased after him.
“Don’t let him escape!”
“Surround him! In a war of attrition, we still have a chance!”
Alexis had fallen so pathetically. Having witnessed the battle, the Greek players now carried fear in their hearts. If they let Yu Jinho leave this place alive, they would never be able to shake that fear off.
“Teaming up is against the rules, you know.”
Yu Jinho maintained his relaxed demeanor as he fell back. Using Cloud Flow Steps and full-speed sprint at the same time made it impossible for the Greeks to catch him.
Soon after, the gathered Korean forces began to arrive.
“…We retreat for now.”
“If we pull back here, we’ll lose all the bases we captured!”
“Do you think we can hold them?”
The Greek representative bit his lip hard. If it turned into an all-out battle, the Greeks—who had already lost multiple bases to Yu Jinho—would be at a severe disadvantage.
The Greek players slowly withdrew. The Koreans simply watched without giving chase.
* * *
The Master of the Corrupted Throne bursts into laughter.
The God of War from Olympus observes the situation carefully.
The Evil of the Heavens examines your martial arts in detail.
The Heavenly God clenches his fist tightly.
The constellations’ reactions grew heated after Alexis was defeated for the second time. The man himself couldn’t even lift a single finger. It had been a flawless victory.
“Why did you show mercy in the first duel?”
I shook my head at Nyx’s question.
“It wasn’t mercy. I was just gauging how strong he actually was.”
“Seeing how boldly he challenges you again, it seems he is no match for you after all.”
“He’s just a brat who can’t even handle his own power properly.”
In my previous life, he had been far more troublesome. A being fused with lightning itself. He had wielded overwhelming destructive power and speed freely, launching relentless assaults. Among the High Rankers—just below the Monarch rank—he had been one of the top five most difficult opponents.
The current Alexis was nothing but a novice.
“It’s basically a free bus ride.”
“I heard doing missions with Player Yu Jinho is easy, but this is something else.”
“We might actually promote just by standing around!”
“I couldn’t promote for an entire year. I’m finally reaching Silver!”
The Korean side had already turned into a festival. Because the Greeks had abandoned their western bases to rush us, we had scored massively from the very beginning. It was now almost impossible for us to lose.
“We just need to avoid giving up the center,” the Korean representative said.
“Ah, that reminds me. I have one request.”
“Please speak, Sir Jinho.”
“The factory zone in the center of the island. Could you yield it to the Greeks?”
The player listening to me made a blank face.
“…Pardon?”
“What is this factory zone that makes him react like that?”
“When a team is behind in a double-score situation, occupying the factory allows them to produce War Golems.”
“War Golems? They must be quite powerful weapons.”
“They give the losing side a chance to turn the tables when the power gap is huge.”
“No wonder that mortal looked so shocked.”
Nyx nodded in understanding.
“Sir Jinho, you don’t seem to be joking.”
“Correct. I’ll take full responsibility.”
“Responsibility? If it weren’t for you, we would’ve been wiped out by Alexis.”
Surprisingly, the Korean players didn’t strongly oppose my suggestion. Having a high reputation really made things convenient at times like these.
“Then how long must we wait?”
“It won’t be long.”
I activated the map function and waited leisurely. The Greeks didn’t have many strategic choices left. In fact, occupying the central factory was the only way they could possibly win.
If I fought seriously, I was confident I could win even if every Greek player on the island came at me at once.
“They must have realized by now that War Golems are their only remaining hope.”
“Everything is unfolding exactly as you planned.”
“Good thing the skill gap is so large.”
After waiting for some time, the red dots began moving toward the center of the island. The fact that Alexis was moving meant the Greeks had drawn their swords.
“Why are they moving when their positions are shared?”
“They can’t hide the occupation of the central area anyway.”
Alexis was the Greeks’ core fighting force. Even if they held him back, the map sharing meant they could only buy about a minute. It was better to include him in the main force and clash head-on.
“Let’s move slowly.”
“We trust you completely, Sir Jinho.”
Accompanied by the Korean players, I headed toward the central area.
The Greek side has occupied the factory located in the Erdel Island basin.
The score difference between the two factions is now more than double. War Golem production is now possible.
The Greek side is manufacturing War Golems.
“You cannot enter here.”
Greek players blocked the entrance to the basin. Alexis stood at the front, raising his voice.
The factory surrounded by mountains would be difficult to defend, so meeting the enemy head-on was the best option.
“Can you even hold out until the War Golems are finished?”
“I swear on the name of the great Heavenly God—I will stop you no matter what.”
“Your constellation is going to hate this. You’re just going to lose again.”
Alexis’s eyes blazed with fury. I chuckled and drew a line on the ground with my foot.
“…What is this?”
“I won’t cross this line until the War Golem is complete.”
“Are you serious, Yu Jinho?”
“Why would I lie when I’m going to win anyway?”
“You will regret this.”
A smile bloomed on Alexis’s lips. He had no confidence in beating me, yet he still put on such a brave front.
The only essence I could devour on Erdel Island was the War Golem’s. I had no intention of missing it.
I crossed my arms and watched the factory spewing smoke.