“Were you nervous?”

The grandmaster was taciturn. After talking about how he failed to save humanity and received the stigma of the seven malignant saints, he had never brought up a private story. Such a being bringing it up first was luck. It was the precursor to a full-fledged quest.

Zibal calmed his excitement and responded politely, “I am fine. I waited and believed that Master would give instructions at a good time.”

The reason for Zibal’s attitude wasn’t just because he was conscious about affinity. It was respect for the forgotten old hero who fought against the gods to protect humanity and was preparing to fight again.

“In fact, I wanted to avoid futile killing. I felt like I would lose myself in the past the moment I hurt people completely unrelated to my purpose. I was afraid that the stigma of the ugly gods would really stigmatize me and make me wicked.”

It was on the way back to the inn. Grandmaster Zikfrector walked against the backdrop of the sunset and quietly looked at his hands. His hands were dyed with the red light of the sunset and seemed blood-soaked. “Then I realized. There is already a lot of blood on my hands.”

Saharan’s sword, which caused tens of thousands of deaths in the process of founding the empire, was given to Saharan by Zikfrector himself. Many of the wars that the empire fought was the imperial family’s response to Zikfrector’s desire to cross the Red Sea to the East Continent. In order to punish the imperial family for forgetting their promises over the years, Zikfrector gave a child the sword to defeat his father. The blood that Zikfrector had shed in the name of resurrecting the seven malignant saints and punishing the false gods had reached an irreversible point.

“There is no reason for me to hesitate anymore.”

He might hear the ridicule of the gods, but he had already crossed the river. It was irreversible and he had no choice but to move forward. To achieve his purpose, he must be evil. Instead of erasing the seven malignant saints from the world and regaining the honor of the good men, he would become evil.

“I have already commanded the other apostles. By now, Yangzhou’s palace must be burning. We will stay here to stop the king’s retreat.”

“...Yes.”

Zibal nodded after confirming that the quest had changed from ‘Whereabouts of the Expelled Gods’ to ‘6th Evil Zik’s Resolution.’ In the end, he wasn’t disappointed by Zikfrector’s choice to resolve everything using force.

‘This was the Xing King’s judgment. The grandmaster gave him a chance, but he didn’t yield.’

Sigh...

There was tension in Zibal’s expression as he took a deep breath. The Xing royal guards, who he witnessed a few weeks ago, were elites with an average level of 360. The grandmaster was here, but he might be beaten if he was careless.

***

“So why didn’t you listen to me?”

Her smiling face represented her mood. Susan was happy enough to fly away as she crossed the walls and broke into the palace. She felt a sense of liberation after a month of unconvincing work.

“We didn’t ask for money like thieves. We just wanted to know the location of the Hwan Kingdom. Why did you act like it was a difficult request and refused? Are all people in the east like you?”

The helmet of the last soldier guarding the entrance of the palace became crooked. It was due to Susan striking it with the handle of her sword. The smile on her face didn’t disappear despite the slaughter of hundreds of soldiers.

‘...She is deaf.’

She wasn’t a human with a normal mindset. The captain of the guards judged the situation and whispered to the king, “It seems that the unknown transcendent hasn’t come along. It is best to take refuge before he arrives and things become more difficult.”

“Isn’t he blocking the retreat path?”

“It is hard to imagine that he has found a secret passage that has been handed down through the royal family for hundreds of years.”

“Understood.”

The captain of the guards was the person responsible for the king’s safety. His judgment shouldn’t be questioned. The king nodded and obediently rose from the throne and the smiling Susan cried out, “Where are you running to? Tell me the location of the Hwan Kingdom!”

Grandmaster Zikfrector wasn’t just hundreds of years old. He was from before the world was destroyed once due to the agreement of the gods. Therefore, he was an ancient person who existed before humans of this era were born. His abilities used concepts that humans of this day could never understand and Susan had learned some of them.

In response to Susan’s anger, ancient runes emerged and rotated around her like sharp blades.

“Heiro!”

They fired in response to her order. It was reminiscent of Chain Lightning, but it boasted a performance beyond that of Chain Lightning in both range and power. It controlled the entire palace and temporarily paralyzed the body of the king and the guards.

The guard captain’s eyes widened. ‘The charms that block magic aren’t working?’

This was a place where the king of this kingdom lived. They couldn’t be lax in defenses when unknown foreigners were threatening the kingdom. They used a huge budget to install amulets that completely blocked the magic of the east and west all over the palace.

Yet it was all useless?

“Cough!”

The guard captain was stunned for a moment before snorting and getting up. He swung his guandao like he wanted to stop Susan’s attack. He aimed the guandao and Susan turned around as she shouted, “Keuk...! You dare to do such a lowly thing!”

It was to her, who was once a knight of the Saharan Empire. Trying to throw her, an apostle chosen by the grandmaster to the ground!

Susan’s scar on her forehead turned red as she used a shield to block the guandao flying at her. It was just that her imperfect posture couldn’t support the great weight and her small body flew back a few meters. In the gap, the guard captain pulled back his bowstring.

‘She is still trying to save face?’

A little while ago, Susan could’ve rolled her entire body to dodge the attack. In other words, if she rolled on the ground then she would’ve dodged the guard captain’s attack without the shock. However, she used a shield to absorb the shock and revealed a gap. She had such high pride that she could be called a fool. An arrow struck Susan’s shoulder as she was raising her body.

“Ugh!”

Susan frowned and fell to the ground. The guard captain and the king used this chance to run with full force to leave the palace.

“Catch...! Catch them!” Susan screamed with fiery eyes, but no one came out.

Her associates were tied up by the hundreds of guards and were fighting for their lives. In the first place, she wasn’t in a position to shout.

“Susan! We can’t afford to miss it just because you can’t handle it!”

The grandmaster had given an order. Learn the location of the Hwan Kingdom. His command must be fulfilled.

“Heiro!”

The ancient runes floated into the air and were absorbed in Susan’s legs. Shortly thereafter, Susan broke through the emergency exit that was 80 meters away in just one second. She followed the guard captain and king running down a dark corridor and swung her sword.

“What?!”

The guard captain looked disbelieving as he was cut in the back. He witnessed a speed that transcended the limits of the human species and there was no sense of reality at all.

“Hah... Hah... Tell me.”

Susan was from a side branch of the Vaintz family, one of the most prestigious in the Saharan Empire. Unlike the direct descendant Mercedes, she didn’t enjoy the luxury of receiving the family secrets. Nevertheless, she received a thoroughly elite education from a young age.

Her swordsmanship was sharp and as strong as steel. She quickly recovered from the side effects caused by transcending the limits of a human with the ancient rune technique. Then she pointed her sword at the king’s neck.

“Now, tell me. Where is the Hwan Kingdom?”

Why make things so difficult when it was just saying a few words? Susan was frustrated because she couldn’t understand. The king saw her furious gaze and slowly opened her mouth, “I can’t tell you. The moment I answer your question, the black tortoise’ protection will collapse and Xing will become a ruin.”

It was an act of acknowledging the Hwan Kingdom if he informed outsiders who hadn’t seen them about the Hwan Kingdom and the yangbans. Rather than forgetting them, it was promoting the existence of the Hwan Kingdom and the yangbans, contributing to their divinity.

Of course, Susan didn’t understand this. No, she would’ve ignored it even if she understood. She didn’t care about the circumstances of others.

“Yes, let’s see how long you can endure.”

Susan smiled and stabbed her sword at the king’s chest. She deliberately avoided a vital spot. It was just a loss if she killed a valuable hostage from the beginning.

“....!?”

Susan stepped back in a startled manner. The moment she shoved the sword at the king’s chest, the king moved his hand quietly and his dagger aimed at her heart. If she had avoided it one step later, there would’ve been a hole in her chest.

“I have also learned martial arts for self-defense. I will not be hurt so easily.”

The king had a style of fighting that couldn’t be seen on the West Continent and watched Susan with a serene gaze. Susan had a gut feeling.

‘He is strong?’

At the minimum, he was a single digit Red Knight. It seemed to be around the same level as the old Seven Dukes. Still, in the end, it was just this much.

“Cute.”

Her surprise was only temporary. Susan snorted and pulled out another sword. She held two swords and became incomparably more powerful than before. She revealed the power of the Neo Vaintz-style swordsmanship that the grandmaster himself had personally enhanced.

The king’s expression filled with surprise before collapsing. It was because he saw Susan’s companions running down the corridor behind her. It was the moment when hope disappeared. Then...

“The queen of the Overgeared Kingdom is entering.”

The voice of a middle-aged man echoed through the corridor. A new person appeared. Her beautiful silver hair was tied up comfortably and she wore pants under her dress. It was an outfit reminiscent of the teenagers on the street. Nevertheless, she was dignified. It was due to her noble appearance...

“Hey. I am Irene, queen of the Overgeared Kingdom.”

“......”

“......”

Susan’s group and the Xing King doubted their ears and stiffened for a moment. The tone was too frivolous to be called the queen of a kingdom... no, it wasn’t just at the level of being frivolous. Did she belatedly see the reaction of the flustered people? The silver-haired beauty smiled awkwardly and spoke again, “I am Queen Irene of the Overgeared Kingdom. It is nice to meet you, everyone.”

“Catch her..!”

For Susan’s group, the tone or identity of the silver-haired beauty weren’t important. They didn’t want her to disturb this moment. First of all, they decided it was better to carry out the later work after capturing this uninvited guest. They couldn’t waste time. Anyone from the Neo Red Knights would be able to subdue such a delicate woman in just one second.

However, the situation turned out differently from what they expected.

“Where are you touching?”

“......!”

The silver-haired beauty who identified herself as the queen of the Overgeared Kingdom—she cut the neck of a Neo Red Knight who dared to place a hand on her shoulder.

“Do you have wicked thoughts?”

The Neo Red Knight collapsed with blood bubbles due to his throat being cut. Then the silver-haired woman’s knee struck the face of the man who attempted to use the power of the runes. A merciless blow solely focused on killing...

It was a really terrible sight. However, the sentiment that came to Susan and the Xing King’s mind was ‘beautiful.’ It was because the ends of the flowing silver hair turned red from the scattered blood, creating the illusion of petals blooming.

“Xing King, I’ll help you first. Hum hum, I’ll help you.”

Nod nod.

The soulless Xing King simply nodded.

“This bitch! What is your identity?”

Susan’s priority had changed. She was swinging her twin swords when the silver-haired beauty’s murmur permeated her ears.

“Who is calling my wife a bitch? You are the bitch.”

“....!?”

It was the moment when Susan got close to the silver-haired beauty with her colleagues behind her. Susan doubted her eyes. It was because the sword held in the hands of the silver-haired beauty suddenly turned red. The hot fire that it emitted gave Susan a warning.

‘Dangerous!’

The long corridor of the palace was burned.

TL Note: For those who haven't seen the post I made, I have changed War God Zeratul to Martial God Zeratul. This will also apply to Chiyou as well. People have been wondering why. The reason for making this change is at the beginning when I first translated it, there wasn't really a description of Zeratul and I picked the translation out of several options that I thought fit best. However, as chapters progressed and Zeratul became more involved in the story, it became clear that the word 'war' doesn't really fit the role he plays as a god e.g. all his followers wishing to reach the peak of martial arts/combat skills, rather than anything involved in wars/armies like Ares. I have been reluctant to change established terms, which is why I've kept it so far. However, as the story is progressing and the gods are becoming more involved with more things being revealed, I feel the need to change it so that it makes more sense in terms of the story.