Chapter 1972

People were very shocked.

"A God of the beginning..."

With the exception of Rebecca, the prevailing theory was that the Gods of the beginning were practically dead. Had Yatan and Hanul been fine, hell and the East Continent would have still belonged to them.

Hanul, now appearing a few years after Grid claimed the East Continent as his land, left the people baffled. He claimed this land was his territory.

Hanul had targeted only the cultivators. The rest of the people survived because of this, however, they weren't exactly cheering and celebrating. They were rather anxious, unsure what would happen next.

Quick-witted as always, Hwang Gildong was the first to bow. "I am blessed to see the great God of the beginning," he said.

Hanu's gaze finally shifted from the hundreds of dead cultivators to the humans.

Old Sword Demon, the warriors of the Chivalrous Robbers, and the daoist immortals, including Yeo Yulan, also bowed their heads. Meanwhile, most players couldn't hide their excitement and observed the situation with interest. Fortunately, Hanul wasn't offended by their reaction.

Hanul looked around at the crowd. [All of you... Soon, you will worship me wholeheartedly,] he said before vanishing. Only a strong sense of will remained, echoing in the space.

This was a declaration of war against Grid.

"Amazing. We survived because of his interference."

"The Gods of the beginning are real."

"Yes. I thought Hanul was inactive because he stayed quiet after creating a few wide-area quests."

After Hanul left, the city was bustling. Unexpectedly, the players cheered. The cultivators had been insulting and harassing them for so long, so the players finally felt relieved that Hanul wiped their enemies, indirectly getting revenge for them.

Most players didn't care about the Gods to begin with. A God of the beginning, who was thought to be inactive, suddenly appearing and declaring war on Grid wasn't something that ordinary people cared about.

"...Wasn't light the symbol of Rebecca?" Old Sword Demon asked.

Only a few people knew that Hanul had been trying to take in some of Rebecca's power for a long time, and Grid was among those people.

Hwang Gildong was fed up.

"This is unbelievable. He moved at the speed of light, and I couldn't even see what he did. I worry that I might die before ever seeing such a display of power with my own eyes."

"It's concerning seeing Absolutes slaughtered without being able to fight back. It means that even Absolutes can't react to Hanul's speed."

"Certainly... I'm worried about the safety of the Four Auspicious Beasts. I don't know how God Blue Dragon was able to wound such a monster like Hanul in the past..."

Yeo Yulan chimed in. "In the past, Hanul couldn't control the power of light. By the time he arrived in the East, he was already seriously injured after being driven out of Asgard. I think he might've acquired some of Rebecca's power during the time he spent recovering his strength."

Hwang Gildong scowled. "Isn't power unique to an individual? How can he gain someone else's power?" he asked.

"But do we know that for sure? Thinking about it simply, Hanul's power might be replicating another's ability. Or perhaps he performed a miracle, since he's a God of the beginning. In any case, one thing is certain—currently, Hanul has no enemies other than Rebecca and the Refractive Dragon. Grid won't be able to handle him. This doesn't mean that Grid won't be able to deal with him because he's not strong enough. It's just that, in order to face someone who is as fast as light, you must also become one with the light."

"......"

Hwang Gildong and Old Sword Demon agreed with her. They thought about the worst possible scenario. If Hanul killed all of the Four Auspicious Beasts, and the East Continent fell into his hands again...

Hanul's next target was likely to be Grid. This wasn't just about the East Continent being in danger anymore. The whole surface would be. No, the entire Overgeared World could become Hanul's domain.

Once Hanul gathered enough strength, he would eventually overthrow Asgard. Rebecca was currently being chased by the Refractive Dragon and wouldn't be able to stop Hanul's advance.

'I don't care what happens to Rebecca and Asgard but... If Grid and the Overgeared World falls, humanity will fall into Hanul's clutches.'

Hwang Gildong frowned as he recalled the past. Hanul used to rule the East, and he used to spread distorted beliefs and twist history. He felt nauseated and afraid at the thought that history might repeat itself.

What had he fought so hard for...?

It felt like everything he'd ever worked for would be in vain. Hwang Gildong felt so hopeless, he was about to faint.

"The good news," Yeo Yulan said, "Is that Hanul will defeat the cultivators first. He wants to be worshiped, and as such, he will save humanity from the threat known as the cultivators. There is no better opportunity for Hanul to achieve his goal."

"Hanul will take down the sixty-two Full Moon Fortresses on his own. Until then, the Four Auspicious Beasts and Grid will get a moment of reprieve. The most important aspect is that Grid needs to prepare as much as he can during this time... There are too many uncertainties in this situation. I heard that there are more Full Moon Fortresses in the West than here. Therefore, all the power of the Overgeared World is focused there. Grid won't be able to afford focusing on Hanul, too."

"No matter how bad the situation is in the West, is it worse than here? Have you ever thought why Grid didn't send reinforcements here?"

"That..."

It was said that over a hundred Full Moon Fortresses had appeared on the West Continent. For that reason alone, Hwang Gildong was convinced that the Overgeared World were focusing their efforts in that region.

But when he thought about it, he felt he wasn't giving Grid enough credit. Grid was one of the strongest beings in existence. If he went all out, he would be able to destroy dozens of the fortresses by himself.

Even though time was running out, Hwang Gildong found it strange that Grid had chosen not to send a single troop in the East.

"It's a bit puzzling. No matter how bad the situation is in the West, wouldn't it be better than here as long as Grid is over there? Why didn't he send reinforcements? Could Grid have predicted Hanul coming back?"

"That's a bit far-fetched... He might have decided that our powers here in the East should be enough. Now, let's think about something else. Why did the cultivators invade our city?"

Yeo Yulan's gaze shifted to the bloodstains on the battlefield, left behind by the cultivators who had been killed by Hanul's light attack.

"Isn't the erosion ritual only possible when the Full Moon Fortresses are complete? Since our goal is destroying the fortresses before they are completed, their mission is to protect them, right?"

"Ah...!"

Hwang Gildong and Old Sword Demon's mouths dropped open at the same time.

"Those cultivators had already lost the Full Moon Fortress and had nowhere else to go!"

"Yes. They came all the way here to slaughter us because they didn't fulfill their mission and needed to vent out their anger somehow. It also wasn't Hanul who destroyed the Full Moon Fortress they were guarding. Wouldn't someone who is able to move at the speed of light deal with all the troops there? He would have never overlooked them, or let them get away."

"In other words, someone powerful enough to deal with the Absolutes is operating separately from Hanul?"

"There is a high probability that this is the case. To put it bluntly, this isn't the work of the Four Auspicious Beasts. Even though the cultivators have their flaws, it's difficult to say that they are weaker than the Four Auspicious Beasts."

"Then perhaps..."

Someone capable of dealing with the cultivators, but who wasn't part of the Overgeared World...

There weren't that many beings who fit that criteria. Hwang Gildong and Old Sword Demon came to the same conclusion.

"...The old dragons!"

Yeo Yulan thought the same. "That's right. Aside from their relationship with Grid, it's clear that the old dragons have shown a favorable attitude toward humanity. I think they must've been hostile from the beginning to the cultivators because they threatened humanity. The dragons must have struck some kind of deal with Grid—they would deal with the fortresses in the East, while Grid would take care of the West."

It just so happened that the members of the Chivalrous Robbers were collecting the loot left by the dead cultivators at this time. There were many players around, so some of the loot had already been taken, but the Chivalrous Robbers wasn't an ordinary organization. They didn't miss any of the pouches belonging to the Absolutes.

A bitter smile appeared on Yeo Yulan's face as she took out colorful talismans and examined them.

"I can see how low-level our talismans are compared to theirs."

There were only a few dozen daoist immortals living in the Peach Blossom Spring. The place was bound to be in poor shape in every way compared to the cultivators' culture, which they claimed had hundreds of thousands of years of history.

If only a handful of immortals put their heads together to develop their own civilization, would they be able to make some actual progress? Even if their numbers were much lower compared to the cultivators?

She realized that she had a lot to learn just from looking at the cultivators' talismans.

"Let's find the old dragons and assist them as much as we can. In the process, if we study and polish the cultivators' techniques, then we might be able to have a bit of an impact when the old dragons and Hanul will inevitably fight."

"Are you sure that will happen?"

"We have to make sure it happens. We have to tire Hanul as much as possible so that Grid can stand a chance against him in the future."

They didn't need to discuss this any further. Yeo Yulan's group took the necessary items from the pouches of the cultivators and immediately left the city. They planned to investigate the Full Moon Fortresses to find the whereabouts of the old dragons.

Meanwhile, in the Hwan Kingdom...

"Hmm...?"

Grid, Grid, Grid...

Chiyou had spent a boring time longing for only one person. He stood up for the first time in a long time.

He was standing in front of a pond with a bird's eye view of the East Continent, and remained still as a statue for quite some time.

Four figures caught his attention. They were the ones with unrivaled energy among the group supposedly dispatched by the foreign god.

Chiyou witnessed Hanul getting beaten up by one of them and muttered with an expressionless face, "You are blinded by faith, and you hate Rebecca more than anyone else, and that's why you are suffering such humiliation."

Chiyou watched the situation carefully.

The one beating up Hanul was likely to be dealt with by Hanul in return, while the other two were watching the movements of Raiders and Nevartan.

In the end, there was only one figure that Chiyou could challenge. It just so happened that the other person also seemed to feel Chiyou's gaze. Strangely enough, his colorful eyes looked up at the sky and he met Chiyou's.

[Stop delaying and come down already.]

A silver robe fluttered.

The man trampling on the Rising Moon Fortress revealed his thin wrists.

Thump!

A huge pressure crushed Chiyou. A rare smile appeared on his face at the surprise attack.

Jingle.

Only the sound of bells could be heard.

A few seconds later, the image of Chiyou descending to the ground was reflected on the surface of the rippling pond.