Chapter 1875

'It is a situation where balance is important.'

The war between the gods of Asgard and Chiyou—Grid didn't want either side to win. He hoped that the fierce battle would continue until both sides were pushed to the limit. Of course, the longer the war lasted, the greater the damage to the city. Still, it was manageable. It was thanks to the gathering of the gods belonging to the Overgeared World.

Based on the information power of the No Offspring Tomb, they had looked for and appeased the human gods scattered across the continent. They each had extraordinary abilities. There was Garion, the God of the Earth, at the helm. This meant it was possible to minimize the amount of damage to the city.

'All the people have already fled.'

Mass teleportation was utilized. The message that Sticks and the magicians of the Overgeared Tower had been active had arrived right away. In fact, there was no big problem even if they didn't flee. It was because both Chiyou and the gods of Asgard were taking care not to injure humans.

'This is probably the biggest reason why the Tower of Wisdom didn't respond.'

The Tower of Wisdom also belonged to the Overgeared World. The tower members took Reinhardt's safety very seriously. However, no one came forward. They seemed to have decided that they weren't in a position to step up, and Grid respected their judgment.

'There is a risk that the intervention of the tower members will change the structure.'

At best, it was a situation where Grid created a confrontation between Chiyou and Asgard. He should take advantage of it.

'First... we need to whittle away as much power on Asgard's side as possible before Metatron joins again.'

By the way, Chiyou's feet were actually being tied up. Asura was so outstanding. First of all, his ability itself felt comparable to Chiyou. It was because there were often times when he chased Chiyou's movements and attacked first before the bells rang.

Jingle jingle jingle jingle...

The sound of bells rang non-stop. As the number of collisions between Chiyou and Asura overlapped, it became more and more noisy.

"At least I know what is going on thanks to that bastard's bells..."

Peak Sword stared blankly with a wide mouth for a while before muttering.

Chiyou and Asura's fight—in his eyes, all he could see was a flash of light from time to time on the 'battlefield where there was nothing.' Even with the status of a transcendent, he couldn't keep up with the movements of the two gods at all. If the bells hadn't been heard, he would've been swept away by the intermittent shockwaves without knowing why.

'It is strange.'

Grid's expression was strange. He followed Chiyou and Asura's movements exactly and even read their facial expressions. Therefore, it was possible for him to find something strange.

Chiyou's expression was dark. There had been a faint smile on his face when he fought Dominion, but now he didn't seem to be happy at all. No, he seemed displeased. Every time he exchanged blows with Asura, he frowned as if he was brushing off something dirty.

It was strange. Chiyou inherently respected and cherished the strong. The stronger a being was, the more likely they were to 'kill him.' In other words, for Chiyou, being strong was a necessary tool to fulfill his wish. Yet now he was showing disgust toward Asura, who was competing with him.

'...Is he reluctant because he thinks he is really going to die?'

It was the same with Baal. The one who longed for death because he couldn't achieve it. As death approached, he struggled to avoid it at all cost.

Chiyou resembled such an ugly guy...? It happened the moment when Grid was feeling disappointed...

"It must've been Judar who took you to heaven."

Chiyou pushed Asura's fist away with the back of his sword and opened his mouth. A sharp blade touched Asura's chest. The trajectory of the fist twisted and his chest was naturally exposed.

"Does he still not realize it? Due to his own greed, he left the Old Dragons and ended up reaching this point."

The gushing blood was black. It was too dark even considering the fact that he had his back to the sunset. Despite becoming a god of Asgard, Asura's blood still had an ominous color.

"...Kukuk." Asura laughed. Rather, he used his terribly damaged body as a weapon He snatched Chiyou's ankles with both hands that were drooping to the ground due to his chest being split in half.

"There is no need to try. Even if you learn my martial arts, you will only end up losing them to Judar."

"Who knows? You don't know that, do you?"

Asura gritted his teeth. He snatched Chiyou's ankle at a strange angle and swung it with all his might.

Grid's eyes widened. It was because Chiyou lost his balance for the first time. Of course, it was at the level of being fine. He just stumbled a little bit. No, the word 'stumble' was a bit vague.

Chiyou took one step sideways. That was all. However, it was Asura who induced that one step.

A rib sticking out of Asura's split-apart chest stabbed Chiyou's thigh. It came at a high price. Chiyou's sword was piercing Asura's face. However, Asura was persistent. He clung to the rib inserted in Chiyou's thigh and stuck to him. With one hand, he held onto Chiyou's sword that was embedded in his skull.

"First of all, your legs."

Then a strange thing happened.

Bubble bubble!

Asura's wounds boiled up like blisters. It was a disgusting sight to the point where it made people with weak stomachs look away.

Grid didn't avert his gaze. He witnessed Asura's wounds healing in an instant. There was even the fact that Asura's two legs had changed. It was like carving an ideal body. They closely resembled Chiyou's legs, which stretched out long enough to make people have this thought.

Chiyou staggered. This time, he really lost his balance and almost collapsed. His legs had also changed their shape. They felt a bit thicker. They were chubby.

Asura pulled out Chiyou's sword stuck in his head and broke it. Then he laughed as he stomped his feet a few times. "It feels a lot lighter."

"...Was it really taken away?" Grid murmured. He was dubious even though he had witnessed the situation with his own eyes. In the first place, it happened in a flash. For a moment, he had reason to suspect if he had seen it incorrectly.

"Judar... why are you doing this...?" Unfortunately, he didn't see it incorrectly. Dominion's reaction of frowning and gritting his teeth proved it.

Grid asked bluntly, "Is Asura's ability given by Judar?"

"...Probably." Dominion was about to turn away because he didn't want to answer. Then he changed his mind and nodded halfway through. "You might know from experiencing it in person in hell, but Asura's body has a strange variability. It must've been of great interest from Judar's perspective. It wouldn't be strange if he used the excuse of research to play strange tricks."

"I don't think he is in his right mind? Why does he believe in Asura and want to make him the Martial God? It is hard to believe that Asgard, which couldn't even control Chiyou, can control an Evil God who has become the Martial God."

"Chiyou is a god born from the desires of countless beings. He didn't belong to Asgard from the beginning, so they couldn't control it. On the other hand, Asura is in the grasp of Judar."

"Can Judar control him?"

"It is just Judar's thoughts."

"......"

It didn't matter whether Asgard could control Asura or not. It wasn't really an important issue. Grid wouldn't stand by and watch as Asura took away and replaced Chiyou's body. Grid held Defying the Natural Order, which Zeratul had returned to him, while Dominion stood beside him. He wasn't trying to disrupt Grid. The reason he explained the truth was to create a cause to cooperate with Grid.

There was no dialogue. The two gods leaped at the same time and entered Asura's vicinity without knowing who arrived first. A sword and spear stabbed from different directions.

"What is the situation here?"

Asura folded the leg that originally belonged to Chiyou and snatched Dominion's spear while looking like he didn't understand the situation. The spear blade changed trajectory and bounced off Grid's Defying the Natural Order.

"Dominion. Aren't 'we' fighting for the Goddess? Don't you know that we shouldn't be fighting among ourselves?"

"Coveting Chiyou's power isn't for the Goddess' sake."

"Judar's thoughts are different."

"He must've been too greedy."

Asura's body floated in the air. It was the aftermath of Dominion lifting the spear. Grid's next action followed.

[All stats will be distributed to strength.]

The six fusion sword dance was linked in a gorgeous manner. All types of trajectories drawn by Defying the Natural Order caused the illusion of lotus flowers blooming.

"Um." Asura was about to implement the footwork skills he had acquired while fighting Chiyou with the two legs he had stolen from Chiyou. Then he changed his mind. He stepped back as hard as he could to avoid Grid's charge. "I don't feel like I'm good enough right now. Can you give me a bit more time?"

"...I will."

"Huh? Then I should thank you..."

Asura was rather flustered by Grid's easy nod. Then he tilted his upper body in a surprised manner. He responded immediately, but somehow, it was too late.

His jaw was split in half. Chiyou was standing in front of the puzzled Asura. One leg was raised. Asura's flesh, which had just been torn off, was hanging from Chiyou's toe. This was even though parts of his body were forcibly replaced by Asura. Chiyou's martial ability was still intact.

"It is better to have changed it."

In the first place, Asura's body was perfect. This was because it was calibrated and reconstructed in real time while fighting Grid's group in hell.

Even Asura realized it. "Give it back."

'Crazy bastard.'

It was just changed and now he wanted to get it back? Grid clicked his tongue and slipped back.

He created an environment for Chiyou and Asura to focus on fighting again. The balance that had almost collapsed was corrected again.

Zeratul approached him and asked, "What are you going to do?"

"What can I do? I have to kill them with my own hands."

"What does that... Asura and Dominion were different from others. It is impossible for you to kill them in one blow just by attacking through the gaps."

"Of course, it will be difficult for me alone. But I'm not alone right now."

"You..."

Do you trust me to cooperate?

Zeratul's expression became subtle. He didn't want to admit it, but he was thrilled to realize that he was trusted by Grid.

A being who made even the arrogant gods of Asgard thrilled—that was Grid's current position. It was the majesty of the Absolute who killed Baal and purified hell.

Grid's explanation followed, "My apostles... in particular, Braham and Mercedes. They will cooperate even without me saying anything. Their personalities aren't that different from mine."

"......?"

Was he believing in the apostles, not me?

It happened at the time when Zeratul's expression crumpled in disappointment...

-...Grid.

Someone's thoughts flowed into Grid's head.

'This...?'

-Grid!

It is Bunhelier.

'He is more loyal than I expected.'

He was watching. Yes, he had a colleague who was an Old Dragon... Grid smiled in a reassured manner when Bunhelier urged him.

-What are you doing? Hurry up and send the tower members here.

"......?"

-Nevartan is going crazy...! I'm in danger!

"......"

Why was a dragon talking nonsense? Grid decided to ignore it and focused on the situation in front of him. There was a belief that if Bunhelier's words were true, the tower members would take care of it and respond well.

Chiyou gradually started to overwhelm Asura. Dominion and the other gods stood by and watched the situation. Indeed, many beings were guarding the scene, but Asura was isolated.

'Good. Look for an opportunity like this and defeat Asura.'

Grid had one more thing to believe in. It was the restrictions of the Overgeared World. It was enough to impose the restrictions when Asura was weakened. This would weaken Asura even more and Grid could kill him without any variables.

'Then when Chiyou and Dominion start fighting again, should I deal with them both at once...?'

Grid's thoughts stopped here. It was because he suddenly realized something.

Chiyou's movements. They were different from before. It wasn't that he was tired and dull. Rather, he was much faster and sharper. It felt like he was becoming stronger in real time.

Zeratul also seemed to understand. He muttered with an expression of incredible frustration, "Should it be around this level...? It is like that guy, Grid..."

It was to the point where he confided his honest feelings to his rival (?).

Zeratul was in a state of great shock. For the first time, he realized how much weight the name 'Martial God' carried and felt ashamed.

Grid comforted him, "From my perspective, you are like us."

He wasn't saying nice things because he liked Zeratul. It was given simply before he felt the need to conserve power. Zeratul would be a great boost in power.

"...That is natural. I am the one who is the true Martial God."

'Yes... it is better than being discouraged.'

Grid decided to think positively. It was a twisted situation in many ways. There were too many variables. At times like this, he needed more allies. Grid's strategy was indeed impressive.

"So what is the situation?"

As always—

Kraugel came out of the tower later than anyone else and rushed to the scene. The Tower That Grows Stronger As One Climbs It was an instance dungeon. He was half cut off from the outside world, so he needed an explanation of the situation.

Vantner eagerly explained it, "Um... Chiyou attacked Grid. Then Zeratul and the gods of Asgard came down to help. Grid took the opportunity to kill some gods of Asgard. Soon, Chiyou started to struggle with Asura. So Grid and Dominion worked together to help Chiyou..."

"......"

Kraugel suddenly remembered the past version of his mother.

He became worried about Vantner's health.

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Translator: Rainbow Turtle

Editor: Jyazen

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