Chapter 2008
Annihilation energy was unprecedented. In Garam’s eyes, Grid was superior to most beings. Weren’t Rebecca, Chiyou, and a completely fine Trauka the only ones who had a chance of winning against him now?
Plus, Grid wasn’t alone. He had created a clone that looked exactly like him and trained it to become the ultimate spellcaster. He also had two old dragons and an unusually evolved Memphis.
Grid was certainly the most powerful individual in history. Garam truly didn’t want to confront him right away. If all went according to plan, he would destroy all the remaining Full Moon Fortresses in the East Continent and absorb the power of the cultivators. It was only after he would gain the faith of humanity that he planned on invading the Overgeared World or Asgard to gain more worship.
But things took a strange turn. The seven immortals, who were way more powerful than ordinary cultivators, suddenly appeared. They were quite mouth-watering prey. Garam didn’t want to miss the opportunity to kill them, so he didn’t move on to the next Full Moon Fortress. Instead, he hid his presence.
And that was how he got here.
Garam was honestly impressed. “I didn’t expect you to destroy them in an instant.”
Clap, clap, clap.
He even applauded Grid. The white divinity inherited from Hanul was dyeing the space white. Garam devoured the remains of the immortals slaughtered by Grid, becoming stronger.
The risk was worth it. From Garam’s perspective, it was difficult to give up on the remains of the immortals. It would be more beneficial to absorb the power of the seven immortals than to accumulate power the way he had initially planned. He had made it here and all his efforts paid off.
“Wow, he is a complete thief, nyang,” Noe growled. He bared his sharp fangs as if he was ready to bite and kill Garam at any moment. Of course, he didn’t attack.
Grid stroked Noe’s fur and hugged him tighter. “Are you here to die?” he asked Garam.
Grid decided to be blunt. He had just wrapped up a fierce battle. Of course, he wasn’t in peak condition.
This Full Moon Fortress had been here for a long time. Because of the influence of the space rift that gradually widened, the unique aura of the Overgeared World was weaker around here. The benefits that the Overgeared World granted Grid, such as no skill cooldown time, hadn’t disappeared, but they had become vulnerable to external pressure, such as the Hwan Kingdom’s influence.
The Hwan Kingdom was a divine world that had taken root in the East Continent before the Overgeared World had appeared, so it was still a noteworthy faction. It obeyed Garam, who had been reborn as Hanul’s direct descendant, and its influence was expanding. This would soon become a neutral zone.
Glance.
Grid examined the three masters standing behind Garam. They all looked rather nonchalant. They had surely been quite shocked by Hanul’s death, but they didn’t show any resentment toward Grid.
This was like the calm before the storm. The three masters’ unusually quiet killing intent was more intense than ever.
‘Most importantly, the duration of Dragon Knight is over. I don’t have the advantage right now.’
Grid examined Garam’s condition. A subtle purple energy was hazily emanating from him. It was Annihilation energy. The occasional flickering light was Rebecca’s power.
Garam was the perfect inheritor of light and the Annihilation energy that Hanul had stolen from Rebecca and Grid. According to the clone’s speculations, the absorption of King Sobyeol’s divinity had been of great help to Garam because King Sobyeol’s divinity also specialized in taking away the abilities of the target, like Hanul’s.
Garam was bound to have the knack for digesting other people’s abilities. Grid could tell just by the way Garam was wearing the Treasures he had stolen from the seven immortals like they were his self-defense weapons. Silver beads, bells, ships, pavilions, pestles, pots, fans, and so on. The Treasures of the seven immortals moved according to Garam’s wishes.
Considering that Garam had already destroyed over ten Full Moon Fortresses, he would probably have hundreds of mystical arts and treasures at his disposal. He was almost as powerful as Hanul.
If Grid was to fight him and emerge victorious, he would have to make some great sacrifices. He was especially worried about the old dragons, who had been in poor condition since he met them.
What if Garam took away the power of the old dragons? Then he would become as powerful as Rebecca or Chiyou.
Just imagining it made Grid’s head throb. Of course, this didn’t mean he intended to avoid a fight.
Garam trembled with laughter. “You still speak so bluntly. It has been a long time since we last saw each other. Why aren’t you greeting me properly?”
He seemed relaxed, as if he had read Grid’s thoughts. He seemed to notice that the old dragons weren’t in top-notch condition.
Grid reminisced for a moment. He realized he didn’t really care about all the humiliation and defeats he had suffered to Garam. He was familiar with contempt and losses. He had overcome them every time. In fact, it was none other than Grid who had killed Garam and sent him to hell.
Yes, his personal grudge had faded. However, the grudge of the blacksmiths, who had been exterminated by Hanul and Garam even though they hadn’t committed any crime, was still vivid…
“Please answer me honestly.”
Grid glared at Garam’s annoying face and turned to look at Raiders and Nevartan. The old dragons were a bit taken aback. They clearly knew what Grid was going to ask.
“Why are the two of you so weak?”
They found it absurd that Grid decided to just ask this openly instead of sending them a private message, but Grid didn’t seem to care.
Absolute Defense and Breath were still incredibly powerful. Grid knew this since they had fought together. However, their physical abilities had clearly declined. The dragons used to break mountains with a swing of their tails or create storms with a flap of their wings. This power was now gone.
The old dragons exchanged looks.
[There are many reasons. First of all, Trauka’s death greatly undermined our status.]
Fire Dragon Trauka was known to be the strongest dragon. However, Trauka died. Everyone was bound to consider the other dragons weaker as a result. Raiders and Nevartan had been kept busy by Dragon Slayer Hayate at the time of Trauka’s death. The fact that a mere human being intimidated them so greatly that they couldn’t help Trauka had caused their status to drop significantly.
[Secondly, we didn’t get enough rest.]
Dragons slept for at least a hundred years because they were giant creatures. They consumed a lot of energy while awake. Naturally, they needed a lot of rest. Yet in recent years, they had been unable to sleep. Their dispersed consciousness overloaded them.
[Thirdly, we lost communication with the foreign god.]
The dragons knew providence from the moment they were born. There was nothing in the world they didn’t know. They always had the advantage when it came to information. They had this racial trait thanks to the influence of the foreign god, Morpheus. Unless Morpheus provided them with information all the time, they weren’t as powerful as usual.
After the thirty-three scientists returned to the S.A. Group, chairman Lim Cheolho became more focused on reality than Satisfy. This had a great impact on Morpheus. Morpheus no longer paid that much attention to the dragons.
The old dragons had lost their way. They deduced that the cultivators were the enemy of the foreign god and destroyed the Full Moon Fortresses, but they weren’t sure if their choices and actions were right. They hesitated and struggled every passing moment.
[…Of course we’re a lot weaker.]
Raiders and Nevartan realized what Grid’s intentions were. They caught a glimpse of the greed that flickered in Garam’s eyes.
“So that’s how it is. I understand that the two of you aren’t much help to me right now.”
Grid drove in a wedge between himself and the dragons. The greed in Garam’s eyes disappeared without a trace.
Raiders and Nevartan sighed deeply.
‘He is being baited.’
Garam couldn’t back down. He would try to devour the old dragons despite the risk. His greed disappearing from his eyes was just an act.
“This reminds me of what I went through in hell.”
Just as expected.
“When I was absorbed into the main body of the hell moon, I was accompanied by the humans I killed with my own hands. It was quite interesting to be next to people who hated and feared me. I was able to get a glimpse of their memories and emotions. Thanks to that experience, I have become a rather decent blacksmith. Since we met again, why don’t you take a look at my skills and give me some advice?”
Garam was provoking Grid. He took out a hammer and started to temper the Treasures he had just taken away from the immortals. He was a bit clumsy, but he was definitely acting like a blacksmith.
Grid didn’t disparage Garam’s skills. “Good enough for now.”
These were the skills of the blacksmiths whom Garam had slaughtered.
…The world was changing. The influence of the Hwan Kingdom colored the surrounding area. The energy of the Overgeared World was being pushed away. The whole area was reduced to ordinary land that didn’t belong to anything.
Garam said, “I understand how you feel. You surely want to expand the realm of your divine world as much as possible. However, the bigger the territory, the harder it was to manage. Take Asgard for example. The gods never extended their influence in Asgard to the surface. They knew they would be humiliated, just like you now.”
Garam wasn’t wrong. Reinhardt, the home of the Overgeared World, was too far from the East Continent. It was bound to have less influence than the Hwan Kingdom, which was rather close.
This was quite bad. Rumors could spread that the Overgeared World was weaker than the Hwan Kingdom. In turn, this could weaken Grid’s status.
However, Grid didn’t really care. He could just showcase his skills to get rid of this stigma.
“This isn’t humiliating enough compared to what you are about to go through.”
Grid had exposed the old dragon’s weaknesses to hold Garam from leaving, while Garam provoked Grid to prevent him from escaping so he could kill and consume the old dragons. They both still very much wanted to fight each other. Useless chatter was unnecessary.
Garam ambushed Grid at the speed of light and Multiple Weakening Barriers barely withstood it thanks to the mirror spells that the clone had placed inside the barriers.
It was obvious that Garam would do this. He had turned into light and shot forward to quickly close the distance. Garam’s hand, which collided with the indigo barrier, was imbued with Annihilation energy.
There was a loud sound. Grid appeared among the shattered mirrors and fragments of the barrier and performed a sword dance. The two men’s Annihilation energy collided, creating purple shockwaves.
[Hngh…!]
The old dragons lost their Absolute Defense because of the remnants of Annihilation energy that spread out in all directions. They quickly got as far away from the fight as possible. They looked like gold and black mountains on the move. The space between them looked like a huge canyon.
A canyon was where Grid’s epic had first been written.
Grid remembered why he was doing this. He took a deep breath.
‘Win.’
He needed to win. If Garam survived, then killing Hanul was meaningless.
‘If I’m not here…’
Based on various circumstances, Grid sensed that his time to leave Satisfy was approaching.
‘I have to eliminate everything that threatens this world.’
Therefore, he made a decision. He hadn’t killed Hanul out of mere ambition.
[All stats will be redistributed to Strength.]
The muscles all over Grid’s body were swelling. He was ready to go all out with his next attack.
[The effect of the Another Light title has been activated.]