Chapter 1924

"......"

Martial God Chiyou—the strongest Absolute—was rarely silent. This situation was just that strange.

Chiyou's weapon was a divine object that repeatedly responded to the will of its master and achieved its current form. It shouldn't have been influenced by external forces. Yet surprisingly, it was significantly bent.

"It is like having an arm amputated."

The disfigured weapon was released from Chiyou's grasp. After spending eons with its master, it reached the end of its usefulness and fell to the distant ground.

"I didn't know your true potential."

Clear eyes contemplated Grid—at first glance, the orange divinity looked like a hammer. He thought that the dragon that appeared on the outside was nothing more than a pattern engraved on a hammer.

"I shouldn't have attacked you carelessly."

Grid ignored Chiyou's admiration and asked, "Where are the Old Dragons?"

[Ultimate Martial Art]

[Passive.

There is a high probability of it occurring when attacking an enemy or defending against an enemy attack.

It unconditionally destroys the item that the target is equipped with. At this time, it inflicts a stun that has a normal probability of being unable to be resisted or released.

This effect doesn't distinguish between the target's status, race, or rank.

The duration of the stun is from a minimum of 1 second to a maximum of 8 seconds.]

In fact, Grid was very surprised by the effect of Ultimate Martial Art that suddenly evolved, but... there was no reason to show it outwardly. It had been a long time since Grid started perceiving Chiyou as an enemy. It was a foolish thing to do to reveal his true feelings to his enemies.

"As you can see, the Old Dragons are gone. Your first apostle sent them away. You should talk down to me."

"......?"

Chiyou's response was gentle but he added nonsense. He looked like a lunatic to Braham.

"If it wasn't for me... the Old Dragons would've already... eliminated Chiyou and left..." Braham opened his mouth with difficulty and explained, but it had no effect.

Grid's gaze toward him was still chilly. He seemed to have completely believed that Braham was trolling. Braham felt it was unfair, but he also felt it was something he deserved. He decided to receive his karma rather than explaining in detail.

To be more precise, he was exhausted. He was using blood magic to stop the bleeding, but he had suffered too many serious wounds. He didn't have the physical strength to open his mouth while he was dizzy.

"How did you just do that?" Of course, Grid was also aware of Braham's condition. This was a place where the gaze of a God of the Beginning, who exerted a huge presence like he was the sky, was focused on. Additionally, there was Martial God Chiyou in front of him. He was an invincible man even with no weapons. The situation wasn't good. Grid had to figure a way out.

"Ma... gic..." Braham barely swallowed down his blood and replied. Every time he opened his mouth, he felt cold air blowing directly into his heart. It was the aftermath of the huge hole in his chest.

"Magic...?" Grid's eyes widened. The reason why Chiyou walked around with only a dopo was because he didn't need armor. He was a monster who tempered his colorless divinity so it was like the Absolute Defense and scales of a dragon.

However, Braham simply destroyed the Martial God's divinity with magic. It meant one thing.

"Have you finally become a complete Absolute?"

"Not... yet."

"Why?" Grid was taken aback and immediately retorted.

Just now, Braham destroyed the self-defense of the Martial God. He had accomplished an unprecedented feat, so it was natural for him to attain the supremacy of an Absolute. However, he didn't get it? Grid didn't understand it.

"I also don't know?"

It was the same for Braham, who was unconvinced.

Grid didn't know it, but Braham had caused a major incident by destroying not only Chiyou's self-defense, but also the magic of the Old Dragons. Moreover, there were the countless achievements he accumulated through his life. It made no sense for him to not become an Absolute.

Yet he was still incomplete. It felt as if the whole world was denying him, so Braham was resentful and angry. However, he didn't have time to explain it in length...

"I'm going to die soon... you might be isolated, so leave me here... hurry... escape from here."

Grid wondered, "Can't you use that magic again?"

"I can't use it... for me, now... I don't have... even a handful of magic power left."

Chiyou had figured out how to kill a magician. He pierced Braham's mana core with the first hit, so Braham's magic power wasn't recovering and was dissipating.

"......"

You never help when it is important.

Grid murmured in a very small voice. They were scolding words that linked seamlessly, just like his fusion sword dances.

Braham choked up again, but the pain was so intense that he couldn't say anything.

This scene was very interesting to Chiyou. "You are treating someone who brought trouble to me and the Old Dragons so many times in an unpleasant manner..."

"I have also suffered due to him many times."

Grid's relationship with Braham had started off as a bad relationship. Since they both aimed for pavranium, incidents such as the Golem Invasion War occurred. Grid went through several crises. Above all, Braham committed trolling like eating meals even after being on the same side as Grid.

"......"

Braham had many things he wanted to say. In fact, it was Grid who broke his promise first when they initially met. Originally, Grid didn't even know what pavranium was. It was purely thanks to Braham's teachings that Grid took everything he needed. Now Grid tried to place the blame on the person he tried to stab in the back. This crossed the line a bit.

"Da... mn," the stunned Braham finally cursed. He failed to maintain the etiquette that a person of noble status should keep. It was already the third time today.

"He has a very dirty mouth." Chiyou greatly misunderstood Braham and clicked his tongue.

Just then, Grid held Braham's waist and leaped. His stats were still invested all in strength. Thanks to the fact that he stepped on the God Hand he secretly moved under his feet and used it as a propulsion face, the distance he managed to jump was enormous.

'We have to escape from here quickly.'

The space created by Chiyou had a blurred part to it. It was difficult to activate Shunpo due to poor visibility. Therefore, Grid accelerated by continuously kicking off from the God Hands.

Chiyou chased after him. "Are you going to leave like this?"

Of course, Grid didn't answer. This time, he leaped while using the Wave sword dance. However, Chiyou easily disturbed the wavelength of the sword dance with a hand gesture and kept chasing him.

"Trauka will have to rest for at least a few hundred years. Bunhelier is only obsessed with the Goddess. The only ones I can count on are Nevartan, Raiders, and you guys."

You guys—Chiyou was referring to both Grid and Braham. It was a clear testament to Braham's growth.

Grid suddenly felt very moved. He was filled with greater joy than when Ultimate Martial Art evolved.

A being who was originally far ahead of him—the development of Braham, who was a friend and teacher, was what Grid had been longing for more than anyone else. It was just that the situation wasn't suitable for caring about this.

Grid unleashed the six fusion sword dance and Chiyou struck it with the back of his hand. It was a method of blocking the sword attack before it reached full power.

"Your potential has finally blossomed. Unfortunately, no matter how great it might be, it isn't very good against me and the Old Dragons."

Weapons and armor—they weren't very important concepts for Chiyou and the Old Dragons. Grid's martial ability, which didn't allow the enemy to be armed, was actually inferior against the strongest Absolutes.

"Let's compete fairly. Stop running and face me squarely."

Chiyou's right fist struck Grid's side. He shook Grid's entrails with his skill that made armor meaningless. Then he stretched out his left hand, intending to use a grappling technique to grab the back of Grid's neck and spin him around.

"...You dare." Braham bit his lip and swapped positions with Grid. It was the overlapping utilization of Blink. He squeezed out the minimal magic power barely remaining in his dying body. The target of Chiyou's grappling technique changed from Grid to Braham.

"The two of you are a good match." Chiyou's eyes met Braham's, only to let out a feigned laugh.

In the place where Braham used to be, Grid swung his sword. Once again, it was a six fusion sword dance. Chiyou failed to fully react to the first two strikes. It was because he was caught off guard by Braham.

However, he escaped major damage thanks to his self-defense and he smashed the remaining linked parts of the sword dance with his hand. It just wasn't a complete defense. This was right after Chiyou had fought the Old Dragons. Additionally, he was hit by Grid's six fusion sword dance a little while ago.

His body didn't move as he intended. Above all, the mistake of losing his weapon against a swordsman was huge.

"...Hah."

In the end, Chiyou's chest was cut and he was pushed backwards. He became somewhat dumbfounded. This was the first time he had been so purely overwhelmed, even if it was only for a moment. Therefore, he was overwhelmed with joy and other unfamiliar emotions.

Grid picked up the unconscious Braham and spoke coldly, "We will decide when to kill you."

Chiyou's eyes widened and he slowly smiled. "You are finally speaking down to me. You deserve to do this."

A lunatic—this was Grid's sentiment. The words didn't come out smoothly. He took out King Daebyeol's Bow and quickly fired it.

"Be respectful to me the next time we meet."

"...You are acting to this extent?" Chiyou cocked his head as he snatched the arrows made of divinity. Then he soon shrugged as if he liked it.

"It is a great spirit."

Grid's choice to confront the madman with madness was excellent.

"I'll give up today's flimsy opportunity for the sake of future joy."

Chiyou stopped pursuing him. In the first place, the distance had widened considerably when Grid fired his bow.

"Please make me bow to you." Chiyou made a sincere request.

Grid could only give one answer to this. He raised his middle finger. He soon left Chiyou's domain and used Shunpo repeatedly.

"Thank you for your hard work. Additionally, congratulations," Grid said his belated greeting to Braham, who was in a daze. The reason he previously scolded Braham wasn't out of resentment. He wanted Braham to shut up while he was dying.

Meanwhile, the guild messages he hadn't been able to check were constantly being updated.

***

"I think they are being pushed back again...?"

On Reidan's outer wall, the crowd roared. All of them had magic telescopes held up to their eyes, except for the archers with advanced eyesight. They were watching the battle in the desert. The elite members of the Overgeared Guild who dragged the Trauka raid to the brink of success—they were pushed to the limit when angels came down from heaven and attacked them.

People thought that the Overgeared Guild would suffer devastating damage today.

This was when the world messages appeared. The rapidly strengthened Overgeared Guild started to fight back against the army of angels. The one-sided battle changed and became more intense. This was until iridescent magic rained down from among the angels.

"What is that monster...?"

Among the angels, there was one existence that particularly stood out. He seemed very adept at strategy and tactics, using unprecedented forms of magic to isolate Zeratul and the apostles at the right time and place. It felt like he was adjusting the flow of the battlefield.

Thanks to this, the movements of the angels were organically linked. The members of the Overgeared Guild were gradually put on the defensive.

"Judar is the God of Wisdom for a reason." Vantner clicked his tongue.

Judar—it was clear that he even calculated that the members of the Overgeared Guild would become stronger after receiving the settlement rewards. The proof was that the hundreds of angels in the army were maintained at a level that properly overwhelmed them.

The fact that they had no time to rest was fatal. Resources such as health, mana, and stamina were on the verge of being depleted. There was absolutely no solution to this unless the colleagues who were forced to log out came back using a bug...

Lauel also seemed to have realized this.

"We have to make every effort to open the way for the tower members."

Don't carelessly seek victory.

It happened at the moment when Lauel made the well-being of the tower members his top priority...

[Only One God 'Grid' has appeared.]

The sky turned red. At the same time, waves of sword energy poured down and crushed all the spears of the angels. The sight of scattering metal fragments spreading like snowflakes was unrealistically beautiful. It made people forget that this was a battlefield.