Chapter 2035

"It's finally over..."

"We did it...! We did it!!"

"Waaahhhhhhhh!"

Hundreds of thousands of people cheered in unison. The moon fell and scattered jade-colored meteor showers. The collapse of the Full Moon Fortress decorated the night sky. Something ugly at its core brought a beautiful ending to the people watching it collapse.

After a few days of struggle, humanity had triumphed. The players, who had taken the lead despite getting killed over and over again by the thousands of cultivators, gathered at the Full Moon Fortress. Their contribution was enormous. They escaped with their lives by using return scrolls just before dying or drinking potions and instantly restoring their HP.

If their weapons were destroyed because they couldn't withstand the power of the enemy's Treasures, the players bought a replacement from the auction house to fill their empty hands. If they died, which was inevitable, they resurrected and rejoined the battlefield.

The players' traits were unimaginably strong in a war of attrition. They had exhausted the cultivators who had lived for hundreds to tens of thousands of years. The cultivators couldn't understand the players, whose number didn't decline no matter how many times they died. The longer the war went on, the more the morale of the cultivators decreased to an uncontrollable degree.

This was the result.

[Pitiful... Heartbreaking... I never thought that what I have spent all my life building would end up in vain...]

The lament of the immortal, who was left alone and fought to the end, was his shabby final will. The weapons and spells of the Apostles, Tower members, and Overgeared members stuck like porcupine thorns in his body. He finally turned to ash. The thorns were so poisonous that they destroyed what he had built for tens of thousands of years.

"Is this the end of this situation in the East Continent? No, there are still some bugs left."

Braham shifted his gaze. He still hadn't retracted his magic. He was staring straight at the three masters. They were the three gods who could move the clouds and summon the wind and rain. They surrounded the wounded Four Auspicious Beasts, threatening them. The Four Auspicious Beasts were in tatters after holding out against the immortals without pause until the reinforcements from the Overgeared Guild arrived.

"You dare."

Braham's magic power fluctuated as he raised his eyes fiercely in that direction. The magic in his hands was on the verge of being fired.

The Blue Dragon barely managed to speak. "Wait, this is a misunderstanding. They helped us."

Braham looked puzzled as he tilted his head. "...Did they really?"

The reactions of the other beasts weren't much different. The last gods left in the Hwan Kingdom, loyal to Hanul, surely resented Grid. Yet they helped the Four Auspicious Beasts who served Grid? This seemed illogical.

The three masters couldn't cope with the hundreds of people asking them for an explanation and sighed. Pungsa was the first to speak.

[We planned to go and meet the farmer god according to the will of God Grid.]

Unsa said, [But we didn't feel like it. Even though we look like this, we have served a God of the beginning. How can we go and help with farming? Does that make sense?]

Usa also chimed in. [...So while we were in the Hwan Kingdom, where no one was around, thinking what we could do, we witnessed the war between humans and cultivators. The Four Auspicious Beasts were in trouble, just like when we got invaded. They looked so pathetic that we couldn't stand it.]

However, no one replied to them.

"...What is this nonsense?"

Braham kept his violent tone even after becoming a god. He seemed to be on the verge of swearing as he demanded a more detailed explanation.

"Why are you following Grid's will? Going to the farmer god? Did you seriously consider the idea of helping Piaro with farming?"

[Grid said we could be quite useful and to try and make use of our specialties. We agreed after thinking that it was better for us to do that than die.]

"......"

Braham shut his mouth. Grid had always greedily tried to get skilled people on his side. The importance of agriculture had recently emerged. The value of the crops and herbs from the cultivation world was enormous. These crops were very sensitive to the environment, so the abilities of the three masters was essential in order to easily grow them.

Unlike Braham, who lost interest and retracted his magic, Mir asked a question. "But why didn't you let the Four Auspicious Beasts face their crisis alone? I don't think you have any loyalty left that would make you save the Four Auspicious Beasts, right?"

The Hwan Kingdom considered the Four Auspicious Beasts a thorn in their side. Thanks to their resurrection, the Hwan Kingdom lost the worship of humanity. There surely was a great deal of resentment left behind.

Of course, it was the Hwan Kingdom who made a mistake first. Hanul and the three masters attacked the Four Auspicious Beasts, who were living well on the East Continent. They sealed the Four Auspicious Beasts away and covered the continent in false myths.

Mir looked at them with suspicion. "...Did you help the Four Auspicious Beasts after reflecting on your wrongdoings?"

The three masters had been worshiping Hanul, a God of the beginning, from the moment they were born. Thus, they were the most arrogant among the gods. Would they admit their mistakes and reflect on themselves? That was hard to believe.

Just as expected, the three masters had helped the Four Auspicious Beasts not because they reflected on their past wrongdoings.

[Reflect...? You are saying something I don't understand. This was simply a matter of pride.]

"Pride...?"

[Imagine that the Four Auspicious Beasts are unable to withstand the invasion of beings we have never heard of before and are facing disaster again. Doesn't that mean our previous feat of sealing them away would be reduced to nothing?]

"......"

Mir was speechless. His eyes became cold.

Hanul and King Sobyeol had died. Even Garam, who inherited their divinity, had died. The three masters had really lost everything, but nothing changed about them. They were still selfish and stupid.

Mir felt disgusted and struggled to process this. Would the gods be able to adapt to the changing world? Forget about being beneficial to humanity. Wouldn't they only be a hindrance? Maybe Grid misjudged this time...

Mir had these small doubts. He was releasing killing intent.

Lauel descended from the Tomb of the Gods and interrupted the conversation. "You are just saying that, but in reality, you wanted to help those from the same world as you, right? It would be inconvenient for the three masters to stand by and watch as invaders from outside hurt the people of this world."

[Bah, nonsen...]

"That must be the case."

[......]

The three masters were about to deny Lauel's one-sided interpretation but fell silent. The best of the Overgeared World had killed the immortal, who was difficult for the three masters to fight even if they combined their strength.

The Transcendents, who had become amazingly strong, and the Absolutes, all listened to Lauel. They felt as if all sorts of threats would pour down on them the moment they disobeyed Lauel's words. That was how influential he was.

As a mere human being, Lauel was the backbone of the great Overgeared World. This meant he had extraordinary abilities and had earned Grid's trust.

In the end, Usa confessed.

[That's not it. It just so happened that, at the time when Grid gave us a new chance to put down roots in this land, beings we have never heard of before were causing confusion.]

The faces of Pungsa and Unsa turned red. This was embarrassing in many ways. No matter how many times they lost and failed against Grid, suffering all types of humiliation, they were still gods after all. They weren't about to bend their pride for anyone other than Grid.

However, Usa was being honest. He was depressed because he felt that his miserable life had become even more unremarkable.

Mir said, "If you are going to live with us in the future, give up on your useless pride."

[The traitor knows how to talk.]

"Just as you have decided to follow Grid, I have also chosen the path I believe is right."

Mir's attitude of giving advice further angered Pungsa and Unsa.

[You... Were you always so shameless?]

The atmosphere became increasingly tense. Usa was restless. The Apostles and Tower members didn't respond. They didn't really care what would happen next. They had immediately joined the battlefield of the East Continent after destroying the Full Moon Fortress on the West Continent, so they were exhausted. They didn't want to waste their energy getting involved in a petty quarrel.

"I think it's right to give up our rights to the loot obtained here," Laurel said.

Braham agreed. "Of course. We can't take away the rights of those who fought for days and sacrificed so much. I feel like they would've won even without our support..."

Braham looked down at the ground. The mental world of someone he had been worried about was now gone. What appeared in its stead was the army of God of War Ares and Valhalla. This was an army that was thoroughly equipped with the weapons that Grid had personally given them over the years.

The soldiers were usually majestic, but now they were all in a terrible state. Apparently, they had lost a large chunk of their forces. Still, the situation couldn't be seen as bad. Each soldier seemed to have an extraordinary air about them since they achieved great results in return for their sacrifices. They could be compared to the elite knights of the Overgeared Empire.

'Grid was trying to minimize the damage in real combat, but he managed to obtain an elite army that will be difficult to acquire in a lifetime.'

After using the spoils of war from killing the cultivators, perhaps an army worthy of being called the strongest on the continent would be born. Even so, they would be placed in the same line as the Overgeared Guild.

"For how much longer are you going to keep arguing? Just draw your weapons to decide the hierarchy," Braham asked Mir and the three masters in an irritated manner.

He descended to the ground. Braham intended to help those who weren't able to enjoy the victory and were organizing the situation. He had become a god, so now he paid attention to his image. It wasn't yet possible for him to act like Grid by sincerely worrying about and helping people he didn't know, but Braham was trying hard in his own way. He left.

Damian let out a breath and made a suggestion to Mir and the three masters. "If you are going to fight anyway... Why not make the scale of the fight bigger?"

Ever since the update, he had consumed a large amount of consumables and artifacts while fighting the cultivators, so his funds were under pressure.

"I'm sure there will be a lot of eyes watching. We will promote your battle extensively."

Damian was excited at the thought of gambling and couldn't hide it. Pungsa and Unsa were embarrassed by the reactions around them and sobered up.

[...Even though we managed to survive thanks to God Grid, we are still gods in name. We have no intention of participating in your trivial games.]

They clicked their tongues and approached Piaro.

Piaro greeted them.

"There is a lot of farmland that needs to be worked on. I am happy that you are joining. If the three of you learn farming, I will be able to do my part and feel as if there's four of me going around and doing my tasks."

[...You are praising us too much...]

Instead of being suspicious or wary, Piaro was already excited to make them work? Did they really have to do hard labor at this age?

The three masters were already tired after noticing their superior's temperament and stiffened. Mir drew his sword and glared at the three masters.

"Let's compete. As Braham said, we need to establish our hierarchy. I am no longer a yangban. I am Grid's apostle. You must respect me."

He had grown a lot after consuming elixirs produced by the alchemy facility, elixirs obtained after killing the Absolute-level cultivators, and even the herbs of the cultivation world that Piaro had recently grown successfully.

The Overgeared members were watching with interest and sighed.

"The power of medicine..."

Mir was Grid's Apostle. He already had the power of items, but now, he also had the power of medicine. It was safe to say he had no conscience when suggesting the fight. The three masters saw the reactions of those around them and had a bad feeling about this.

[We have already made our intentions clear, right? We don't want to be a spectacle.]

"There is a training hall inside the Tomb of the Gods. Please follow me. We can fight privately."

[Even if we do it privately, won't the results be made public?]

"Does that matter if you win?"

[I guess you are feeling proud because you have accumulated a certain amount of divinity after becoming a complete god. But you will get seriously hurt if you become too arrogant.]

"So let's fight."

[No... You also have your reputation...]

"Why are you worried about my reputation?"

After falling toward the horizon and exploding several times, the Full Moon Fortress disappeared, leaving only a pile of ashes behind.

[The world quest Stop the Erosion Ritual has succeeded!]

The emerging world message announced the newfound peace to the world.