Chapter 173
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: The Golden Spear and the Black Brush
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-Whoosh! Boom!
Every swing produced a heavy whoosh that reverberated through the air.
That sound was the complete opposite of the sharp keen of the Mad Wind Spear, not as transcendent as the Reverse Heaven Spear's sky-shattering boom, and far from the eerie subtlety of the Five Aggregates Plague Art.
Yet it was a weapon of magic that instilled fear in enemies and exhilaration in allies just by the sound of it.
That was the crescent moon blade.
A massive weapon called one of the imperial and military's exclusive armaments, alongside spears, bows, halberds, and iron armor.
It was also known as the "horse-slaying blade" for its ability to kill a horse in one strike, and named the crescent moon blade for its long haft held high like a half-moon slicing the sky.
With its overwhelming weight and length, it crushed down on cavalry, infantry, and even naval forces alike. Most famously, it was the beloved weapon of General Guan Yu—the Azure Dragon Crescent Moon Blade—known throughout the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, ensnaring the hearts of readers at least once.
'But its practicality in real combat is... still lacking.'
The legendary weapon from Greek mythology where I now stood—and from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms that drove teenagers and adults in South Korea mad.
Yet in my era of activity, even the military had long relegated it to half-ceremonial use due to its poor practicality.
Unless you were at Guan Yu's level, calling it a "pipe dream" was no exaggeration. Wielding it to dominate a battlefield was physically nearly impossible for anyone less.
'Honestly, even I'd just stick to a spear or sword—at least a greatsword.'
Its overall bulk, the excessively forward center of gravity at the blade, and its excessive length all restricted movement.
Riding through an endless battlefield on horseback with this thing? And if needed, dismounting to run, swing, and fight?
Even for a first-rate martial artist, it wasn't easy.
"...You're saying you turn those weaknesses into strengths?"
"My masters were all far from normal, Goddess."
The Divine Shield Aegis, a weapon I'd heard plenty about.
I hadn't expected it to neutralize the anti-god-demon art I'd devised to rival Poseidon.
In the very next exchange, I succeeded in astonishing Athena.
"I told you, didn't I? Goddess Athena would underestimate her foe and end up eating dirt."
"Urk..."
I twisted my body to barely deflect Athena's attack, and with that momentum, the crescent moon blade came crashing down toward her head.
If Athena hadn't hastily summoned Aegis, her head would likely have been smashed by my swing.
But even a divine shield couldn't fully negate the impact of a close-range crescent moon blade—especially one modified for anti-god use with brutal force.
"Lazy ass."
"...What did you say?"
"An old proverb from my homeland: 'The lazy donkey rolls on the ground.'"
-Crunch!
Haha! The goddess looks just like a donkey rolling on the dirt!
At my taunt, the goddess's pearly teeth ground out a pitiful scream.
"Very well. I'll have to raise my guard against you considerably."
"Oh dear. Should I have turned that pretty face into mush before the upgrade?"
Truly, teasing someone is all the more thrilling the more dramatic their reaction.
Bolstered by the power of my close ally, the God of War, and that rough seafaring god couple, I went all out in provoking Athena.
'When else would I get to toy with a renowned goddess like this?'
But as if to prove my words no bluff, the goddess reached toward the heavens, and in response, a brilliant radiance descended from beyond the sky.
-Swoooosh!!
"Mother Metis, protect your daughter."
⟨ Aegis Invocation ⟩
In her solemn prayer, the wisdom of her now-vanished mother responded, enveloping her in a dazzling pillar of light plummeting from the distant heavens.
I waited silently amid the radiant aftermath, and as the pillar faded, the goddess lifted her head toward me.
[You have already crossed the river.]
The goddess was clad in golden armor forged from the blood and flesh bestowed by her mother, Wisdom.
She led with the ultimate shield, Aegis, personally crafted for her by the unparalleled artisan Hephaestus.
Her golden spear blazed with the supreme god's lightning, flashing across all creation, proving she was Olympus's rightful heir.
Facing that dazzling glory, anyone would feel like a wretched sinner in comparison.
[Yet you, a mortal, have proven yourself worthy to challenge the gods' feats.]
[Thus, this Pallas Athena shall test you.]
Pallas Athena.
The divine title honoring her feat of slaying the war god Pallas in the previous era, empowered by her mother Wisdom's divinity.
With the glory of the gods at her back, her voice carried a sacred tone as the Goddess of War declared to me.
-Chill!
Splendid Olympus, great Olympus.
The mythic age where living gods reigned over mortals.
Its very embodiment now shone brilliantly before my eyes, gazing down—even a demigod who had dominated the Three Realms and claimed supremacy under heaven couldn't suppress his fear.
Yes, fear.
The emotion I despised most yet loved beyond all else—it was fear pounding at my heart.
A being who represented an entire era had declared herself my foe in full divine regalia.
How could there be no shred of fear?
"God of War Ares and War Goddess Athena..."
In the ten-thousand-year history of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, had anyone ever clashed with gods equivalent to those enshrined by the cult?
Probably not.
Then, as the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's leader facing this unprecedented challenge, what should I do?
How should I face it?
If Olympus's supreme god's eldest daughter, embodying its authority, sought to punish me in her beautiful form, what qualification should I use to challenge her?
The answer was already within me.
Infinite Struggle, Endless Advance.
Struggle endlessly and advance without respite.
The opening verse of the Great Scripture, memorized by every Heavenly Demon Divine Cult follower.
It encapsulated the cult's history—a challenge to heaven's mandate by humans born of the earth, branded sinners, defeated, and wicked from birth.
-KABOOOM!!
Answering the goddess's divine authority over this world's skies was the pinnacle of reverse heaven.
The asura's will, who had drawn his blade against the heavenly gods without hesitation.
"...Is that your answer?"
"It's plain compared to the goddess's armament, but it should suffice to thrust my blade against Olympus's glory."
Asura Reverse Heaven Spear Secret Art - Asura Divine Manifestation
The Asura Reverse Heaven Spear, which chose its master through its own will.
I'd never thought I'd witness this secret art before mastering it, but here it answered.
Just as when facing the era's greatest heroes, twelve authorities gripped in twelve hands, and the three faces that had beheld the three realms quietly opened their eyes.
"How can a human possess such divinity?!"
"Only a human can wield such divinity."
Because it can be shown.
Mighty demonic energy surged up the spine, spreading to the limbs, while the asura core pressing on my shoulders whispered in my ear.
[Fight, and prove it.]
[In this era, with this body.]
[Whether I deem you worthy to lead the next.]
[Is the fear you feel submission as the weak, or joy as the strong?]
[Prove it.]
[Or the twelve authorities will pierce your back themselves.]
Hey, I was the one who diligently learned and mastered you, you know?
"...Anyway, what the hell did that mad old Demon Sovereign create?"
Despite being a demonic art I'd fervently studied and perfected, it threatened to stab me if I didn't fight right now. I couldn't help but sigh.
Well, the grudge in my dantian—fiercer than even the Heavenly Demon Divine Art—had been like this for more than a day or two, so I lightened my grip on the crescent moon blade and gazed up at the goddess once more.
The goddess, still clad in golden armor reaching the heavens, was radiant and beautiful, but her light no longer blinded my eyes.
"Then, shall I go first this time?"
"Wait...?!"
-BOOM!
The goddess cried out in surprise, but my feet had already shattered the mountaintop, launching me toward her.
What was needed now wasn't an all-encompassing authority, but power concentrated to a single point.
To challenge her city-wall-like shield Aegis, a massive strike like before wouldn't cut it.
One Complete Face.
[Twelve demonic arts, twelve authorities, twelve insights, and the faces of the three realms converge as one.]
The twelve demonic arts, twelve authorities, twelve insights, and faces of the three realms merged into one in an instant.
Each the essence of peak techniques that dominated an age, all contained in a single swing.
This is called One Complete.
Daring to claim perfect singularity.
Mountain-Shattering City-Breaker
"Wha... what?!"
Containing the essence of all insights and brutal force, the crescent moon blade soared like a helicopter, smashing into the goddess's shield.
-KABOOM!
If tens of thousands of bronze bells rang in unison, would it sound like this?
The crescent moon blade that shattered mountains and cities clashed not in direct contact with the divine shield that blocked any attack, their divine powers colliding in a metallic wail.
-Wrrrrrring!
"Ah, Aegis?"
"Nngh!"
The goddess couldn't hide her distress at the scream of the miracle shield that withstood any assault.
The asura demon couldn't conceal its shock at the roar of the ultimate technique that pulverized any defense.
The goddess who blocked the attack staggered under the pressure.
The demon who struck the defense gritted its teeth against the recoil surging through its arm.
"Tch...!"
"Urk!"
In that eternal instant between them, the warriors who finished their calculations moved at once.
-BOOM!
This time, it was the thunder spear's clash and a graceful single kick.
Twisting my wrist to aim the crescent moon blade at the goddess's head, slicing empty air—then kicking away the golden spear she thrust through the gap.
-Clang! Boom! Crunch!
The crescent moon blade made its blade-tip a brush and the sky its paper, dashing off a poem in one stroke; the golden spear flashed chaotically, adding its own hue atop it.
When the golden shield acted as a paperweight halting the brush, the hand that set down the brush struck the jade hand lifting the weight.
This was no longer mere combat.
It was art, a masterpiece.
Splendid civilization and glory intertwined with somber ink and strife, adorning the heavens—Orpheus would surely lament his misfortune at missing this sight.
The mountaintop's starlit realm where fierce questions and answers had clashed had long crumbled. Against the vast sky, gold and ink fiercely vied to fill it without yielding an inch.