I only let Hephaestus hear my voice. The leaders I had spared previously had been sent to his corps, and they were causing trouble in their union. It was ridiculous to see them shaking in fear. I called in my people who were on standby at a distance.
After a while, Seong-Il scolded sternly, “Hurry up and move! Do you not understand me? Who the fuck still doesn’t understand Korean in the Final Stage?”
The leaders of the group, who were still alive, were being thrown into a corner. The ashes on the ground hadn’t been washed away even by heavy rain. The lightning bolts were gone now, but the leaders still saw them as a sickle of death. I could still hear their inner screams of terror as they glanced at me.
I looked away for a moment and lifted my head up towards the sky, trying to wipe away the ash powder that had stuck to my face.
More people were being brought here by my admirers, and the air was filled with groans. Many tried to hold in their moans as they thought it would hasten their deaths, but it was no use. Despite the heavy rainfall, their groans could still be heard.
“There were sixty-one nearby, but there are more in the distance. Should we distinguish them by their position?”
“The number and their strength don’t matter as they were the leaders of each group.”
Seong-Il giggled and turned toward the captives. His eyes glistened with murderous intent as he stared at them. Although I didn’t have a mental attribute like Yeon-Hee, I could read his mind.
I nodded at him and turned around. The cries of those begging for mercy were soon buried by a louder groan. The sound of moaning began to ring louder than the heavy rain.
Crack!
That was the sound of skulls breaking apart.
Ugh!
And that was the sound of their screams.
The rain poured heavier than ever.
***
Soon after, I told the same to my admirers and Joshua’s attack squad. I said they could recruit those who surrendered, but they could also kill some if they wanted to. I also told them to take away as much as they wanted from the losers. They didn’t need my permission if they found something on the burnt ground. In the end, I also mentioned that they deserved everything.
I walked around. When I found people with ‘offensive captain’ badges on their clothes, I killed them on the spot. It was necessary to maintain my trait Passion and to make it clear how those who dared to confront me would be dealt with.
Two hours later, the people who surrendered and lost their fighting spirit were now gathered in one place. I thought I had killed a lot as an example, but there were still many who were alive and crowding the area.
Seong-Il came over with the report, “There are over forty thousand people.”
At that time, Seong-Il didn’t have any killing intent toward the remaining leaders. He was also cautious as he also was now thinking, ‘What’s the point of killing more when they have surrendered?’
However, that only applied to Seong-Il. My admirers and Joshua’s squad members were waiting for my orders. They were still pissed and determined to avenge their colleagues’ death.
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Their murderous intent was so obvious that surrenders couldn’t even turn their heads toward them. Therefore, thousands of capitulators had their heads lowered with their mouths clamped shut.
I watched the scene from a distance, then called Joshua in.
“Everyone wants to fight under you, Master,” he commented.
I snorted. “Anyone can say that. Send them first, but none of you need to be in command. Whether they join Hephaestus or join my corps, let them choose their real master.”
He nodded. “Yes, Master.”
***
“Kneel to Odin!”
“Kneel down-!”
I couldn’t tell who started it, but soon that shout became a chant. The surrenders flocked to Hephaestus’s camp and shouted, but none of them wanted to join them. Instead, there were many attempts to flee from his camp. The clashing of swords and the sparkling of shields could be seen and heard in that location.
Some of them managed to escape from Hephaestus’s camp. As the sound of people calling out to kneel before me grew louder, infighting began to escalate within Hephaestus’s camp. I made eye contact with Hephaestus, who was trying to quell the internal conflict. He finally found me on the hill overlooking the whole scene.
He pompously said.
- But you were once our leader. If you are still part human, give up and go back. That will benefit both of us! We, two hundred thousand Awakened…
I cut off his ridiculous telepathy. He surely believed that we were on equal footing, as he had the Guide on his shoulder. Even if there were actually two hundred thousand Awakened on his side as he had mentioned, he would soon realize how useless that number was.
I jumped down the hill. Those competing for whose voice was louder quickly quieted down. My Thunder Spear started emitting light with lightning power.
Whoaaaah-!
My people began to spring up with a loud roar. Only those who truly demonstrated their loyalty to me through their actions could remain in my army, instead of just professing their devotion to me with words alone.
Just a few hours ago, they were at the brink of being slaughtered by me, but now, they were under my command. Their faces had been filled with despair, but they now glowed with the spirit of fighters.
There were many reasons. They had thought I was dead, but I came back alive. Also, they could survive only if they fought under me. I saw these faces as I passed by them, and most of them were clenching their teeth.
I stepped on a guy’s head and jumped in the air. I found the magic traps that were hidden in the direction of my soldiers’ progress. The Thunder Spear flew straight ahead, and there were countless branches of lightning that came off of it, like twigs on old trees. They swept through the area where the magic traps were set up.
Then, I threw myself forward.
“Kneel to Odin!”
“Kneel to Odin!”
“Kneel to Odin!”
The shouts that had been in front of me were now behind my back. I advanced past those who were ahead of me and arrived at the entrance of Heaphaestus’s camp. My Thunder Spear, golden armor, and flames emanating from my back caught the attention of those at the gate, and none of them dared to make eye contact with me.
I stated, “The person in charge cannot avoid the punishment of death. However, the fate of those who surrender will be determined by the people who will come in later. It’s up to you if you want to kneel to them or not. But those who block my way won’t even have that opportunity. Yes, I am Odin!”
Spang!
I thrust my Thunder Spear upward in the air, causing thick stalks of powerful lightning, which could be mistaken for Indra’s Sword, to appear. They then spread out numerous branches of lightning in all directions.
More specifically, the lightning bolt had struck directly at the spot where I knew where Hephaestus was. The lightning energy still remained on the ground that the bolts had passed by. With each step I took, the lightning surged like a flame, illuminating the area around me.
***
The owners of the thirty seats and executives of the corps were not much different from the leaders. They often retreated after forcing their subordinates to fight on the front lines.
Two hundred thousand Awakened? Even if the number was real, it would require a strong conviction to kill me with them. They needed a determination that wouldn’t break like the Declan Corps. Basically, all two hundred thousand people were supposed to be willing to die and dedicate everything they had, under the belief that even the last one would fight to the death.
I put effort into training everyone. I made it possible for them to maximize their basic ability by letting them grow as much as they could freely. They were superior to the Awakened in the past around this time.
However, no one could touch me. I was the only one on the path of lightning that I built. All they did was look at me with stupefied faces as I passed right in front of them. The shouts to attack me came from afar as their superiors were hiding behind the human wall. They ended up being torn by my angry thunderbolts.
A fierce battle was now starting at the gate of Hephaestus’s camp. I could understand how Yeon-Hee would have felt, being treated as someone who existed but was invisible. I could only see Heaphaestus crawling on the ground at the end of the road. He had lost his nerve after one lightning strike.
The Guide seemed more anxious as it flapped its wings uneasily. Then, it flew away after seeing me. It soared into the air, so now I had something to chase after it.
I swung the Thunder Spear. It had the ability to strengthen lightning power, and Odin’s Wrath was also inside the weapon. The spear was wrapped in extreme force, referred to as the ‘Ender.’
I aimed the tip of the spear toward the Guide and swung it in a trajectory of a full moon. The lightning bolts that shot out from the spear scattered in all directions as if laughing at the uncontrollable power it held. They formed the wings I had mentioned earlier.
The lightning power that was clumped like a full moon frantically flew toward the Guide, but the Guide pulled its body out just before the spear thrust into it. Then, it hid in the air, just as the Grafs and Orca hid in the ground. I couldn’t tear apart time and space, but I could capture the movement.
That was when I started spraying lightning bolts into the air where it would appear.
Spang, spang, spang!
I stabbed the spear toward the spot briefly and quickly. The sparks of lightning stems that were vomited in the sky created colorful lines. The reason why I was mad at that moment wasn’t only because the Guide was avoiding them shrewdly. It was because of its mischievous attitude. Whenever it hid in the air to avoid lightning power…
[ (◔‸◔ )っ✄╰⋃╯]
Whenever it poked its head out of the hole…
[ (◔‸◔ )っ✄╰⋃╯]
It was causing misery for everyone, including those who were being ripped apart by my lightning, my admirers who had fought for me, and the leaders who were running away from me to survive. It was ridiculing even my genuine intentions of humbling myself to Doom Kaos for the sake of humanity’s safety.
It was mocking everything with a few messages. It felt like all the times that every Awakened, including myself, had struggled fiercely for our own purposes was being denied. How little did the Old One think of us and assign this motherfucker as our Guide?
[ (◔‸◔ )っ✄╰⋃╯. Be careful! I’m going to really cut it off.]
However, the reason it was trying to piss me off was not a big deal. It, of course, knew it couldn’t get away from me.
A thunderbolt finally grazed its wings the moment it came out of the hole in the air. Then, a clump of thunderbolts, which it had thought would have disappeared far away, shocked it. It fell head over heels. It tried to fly in a hurry, but I had already jumped in front of it.
“What are you doing? Why don’t you say that again?” I snarled.