What is this?

Even while the calamitous hammer was descending under the power of Ares’s Soul, the followers who had been shouting Long live the Martial God! and We believe in you! turned toward Ren in panic the moment Ares’s Soul was undone.

“Hiiiiiik!?”

“Martial God!?”

“O-our power is gone! Then what are we supposed to do!?”

“Hhk!”

The shock was even greater for Ren, whose use of the Martial God’s pressure points had left Ren wide open and lowered Ren’s status ailment resistance.

He ordered them to steal everything the followers possess?

There were well over tens of thousands of Followers of the Martial God spread across the world.

Raon, who had stayed close to Ren, knew that fact very well.

Everything those followers had built was meant to welcome Ren back one day.

Ren did not see it with Ren’s own eyes, but Ren could picture it clearly.

Everything Ren had built together with the followers.

All of it was being stolen away.

In truth, all across the continent—

[Grand Thief Raon hands over the roster of the Followers of the Martial God!!]

[They seize secret opportunities and begin stealing everything the followers have built!!]

The disciples of Dakuan—Named NPCs who had now been reborn as subordinates of Grand Thief Raon—were each leading hundreds to thousands of thieves as they moved toward the places where the followers were stationed.

And the even more shocking reality—

was the hammer falling above Ren’s head now that Ren was no longer wearing the armor.

[You are not wearing armor.]

[Physical Defense decreases by 220%, and Magical Defense decreases by 200%!!]

As the hammer came down with crushing pressure, the feet of Ren and the followers standing on the ground were driven down into the earth.

KRAAAAAK-!

“Gaaaah!”

“Uuuuuugh!”

At the force of that hammer smashing down, the ground was gouged out, and everyone within its radius—

Attack Power 1,815.

Strength x2 is applied.

[You produce 4,612 Strength.]

And on top of that, because it had been acknowledged as an ultimate skill, its additional damage had increased by 10%, and it came crashing down with four times its usual force.

KWAHAAAAAAAAAANG-!!

The ground collapsed, and a thick cloud of dust billowed up until even sight itself was obscured.

Srrr—

Unparalleled shrank back down to its normal size.

[HP falls below 40%.]

After the dust cleared—

“Huff, huff, huff.”

Ren lay sprawled out in rags.

Compared to the figure that had called itself a god, it was a pitiful sight.

The surroundings were even more horrific.

Despite losing the armor, Ren had survived.

The followers had still been wearing armor, but they had not been as strong as Ren, so all their armor and artifacts had shattered or their bones had broken, and the grievously wounded began to be forced out.

[HP falls below 25%.]

[The bones throughout your body have been broken.]

[Movement is difficult.]

The groans of their crushed and mangled bodies spread as though they were swallowing the whole of the Heavenly Realm.

Then—

[The execution ceremony cannot proceed.]

Moving swiftly, Hyunsoo cut through the ropes that had been binding Purung.

SNAP-!

“Yooou bastard!”

Ren’s teeth ground together.

Raon, once Ren’s dog, was presenting the Armor of Judgment to Hyunsoo.

[Mythic grade. You have obtained the Armor of Judgment.]

(Armor of Judgment)

Grade: Mythic

Durability: Infinite

Defense: 1,301

Restriction: Users above Level 500

Special Abilities:

· All stats increase by 9%

· All Attack Power increases by 5%

· Damage from all magic attacks is reduced by 50%

· Passive Skill Ares’s Soul

· Passive Skill Never Retreat

· Active Skill God’s Shield

· A special power dwells within it for true blacksmiths alone.

Description: The Armor of Judgment is granted by the god Ares to one examiner and one examiner only. The Armor of Judgment is crafted from Adamantium, a god-metal.

It’s no different from the Sword of Judgment.

It was Mythic because it was composed entirely of Adamantium and imbued with Ares’s power, but looking at the crafting process and the density of the work, it was hard not to question whether it really deserved to be called Mythic.

And—

The Sword of Judgment is definitely treated as superior.

At least among the examiners.

But to Hyunsoo, a blacksmith, it felt different in kind.

The Sword of Judgment had weighed around 1.5 kilograms, but this Armor of Judgment looked to be somewhere between 2.5 and 2.8 kilograms.

Which meant—

The amount I can extract is overwhelming.

One of the reasons Hyunsoo did not make much armor was that armor required far more mineral than weapon-types like swords did.

But with the candidates’ gear and this Armor of Judgment—

I might be able to make a perfect full set of armor made from Adamantium.

His heart gave a small thump.

But Hyunsoo was not stupid enough to stand there dreaming.

“Firebird.”

He needed to run. Fast.

[Examiner Ren Lv.589]

[Follower of the Martial God Kass Lv.503]

The only reason Unparalleled Sovereign had been able to render them temporarily incapable of fighting was because of its sheer power.

Tingle—

The sensation running through Hyunsoo told him clearly that Ren was an opponent he could not dare face head-on.

The flames of Firebird began to burn.

The fire swallowed Raon first.

FWOOSH—

Raon vanished, and just as Hyunsoo was about to scatter as well, Hyunsoo froze.

[Examiner Ren exercises authority.]

[Heavenly Punishment begins!]

[While Heavenly Punishment is in effect, Return Scrolls and any power that exits the Heavenly Realm cannot be used!]

[Those marked by Heavenly Punishment will pay for their sins!]

[If you die in the Heavenly Realm, the amount of dropped EXP is tripled.]

[If you die in the Heavenly Realm, two of the artifacts you possess will be dropped without fail!!]

[The duration of Heavenly Punishment is 5 minutes.]

Hyunsoo’s face hardened.

With Purung slung over one shoulder, Hyunsoo realized the situation had turned ugly.

If death meant two artifacts would be dropped no matter what, it was a penalty whose cost could not be predicted.

Fortunately, Grand Thief Raon had warped away safely.

That had been the original plan from the start—do exactly this, then use Firebird to escape.

Hyunsoo had known from the beginning that the odds of outright victory were low.

Just then—

Ren, who had been lying collapsed across the shattered ground as if after an earthquake, managed to haul Ren’s body upright.

“Martial God... khhhaak...!”

KWAJAAAK-!

Ren smashed down one follower writhing nearby, stripped off that follower’s armor, put it on, and spoke.

“Get up.”

At that gurgling command, the followers whose bones had been shattered and bodies broken began to stir.

SLASH-!

Ren struck one follower’s head.

At the spray of blood bursting from the neck and the head rolling across the ground, the followers forced themselves upright.

The sight made Hyunsoo tense.

Unparalleled Sovereign was undeniably powerful.

But it had one unmistakable flaw.

Its mana cost was a staggering 20,000.

Even for Hyunsoo, whose total MP far exceeded that of ordinary high-rankers, it was an exhausting amount.

GULP, GULP, GULP—

Hyunsoo poured down MP potions, but his MP recovered only to around 20%.

Run for five minutes?

It did not look easy.

But this was the only chance.

Ren and the followers were starting to get back up.

Seeing them rush toward the entrance Hyunsoo had come through, Hyunsoo moved.

PAPAPAPAPAPAT-!

One thousand trained elites.

Warriors who, even with broken bones or on the verge of death, had been taught how to keep supporting themselves through mana control.

PAPAPAPAT-!

With Purung over one shoulder, Hyunsoo drove power into the soles of his feet and moved, dodging the enemies closing in from every direction.

BOOOOOOM-!

Like a beam of light, Hyunsoo shot forward, and the Sword for the One Who Follows the King in one hand struck aside everything in its path.

And even in the middle of that—

THUD, THUD-THUD-THUD, THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-!

A sickening sound reached his ears.

“Kill Purung.”

Those taking Ren’s command were slashing at unconscious Purung on Hyunsoo’s back.

I’m already low on MP. Fighting while carrying Purung is even worse.

Hyunsoo’s face went pale.

He had not even made it 500 meters before Ren’s sword came flying in.

KWA-RRRR-!

It pierced Hyunsoo through the chest—

THUD, THUD, THUD-THUD-!

—then stabbed again and again, before carving a great slash across.

KWAHAAAAANG-!

Hyunsoo and Purung were blown backward, separated from each other.

And just as Hyunsoo’s complexion turned deathly white—

Purung opened Purung’s eyes.

Coming to, Purung saw Hyunsoo in front of Purung and realized that Hyunsoo had come to save Purung.

Purung forced out the very last scrap of strength left.

[Purung reaches into the secret vault.]

“...?”

The words came a beat too late.

[Chain Quest: Purung’s Execution complete.]

“You are one who comes back even after dying... the deathless. Please... with this, the Ironclad Corps...”

Before Purung could pull it out—

Hyunsoo had already glimpsed the truth.

The reward for the execution quest was Purung’s identity.

[Purung is connected to the quest you possess and was once a loyal retainer who served Overlord Baroque.]

[You have discovered the one who possesses the king’s royal seal!]

With Purung squeezing out the last of Purung’s strength, Purung tried again to pull out the royal seal hidden in the secret vault—but failed.

Because every last bit of strength had already been spent.

And even then, the followers were still endlessly hacking at Purung with their swords.

[Purung’s HP falls below 20%!]

[Purung may soon meet death!!]

At that, Purung screamed at the top of Purung’s lungs.

“PLEEEEEEASE!!”

Purung wanted that utterly spent arm to move.

The man before Purung was one who would live again even after dying—the deathless.

Purung did not care what happened to Purung’s own death. Purung only wanted that man to embrace the pitiful citizens who had once lived under the Overlord’s rule.

Purung wanted that man to lead the Ironclad Corps, who had lost their king, been betrayed, and wandered the world without a home.

Only this one action needed to be completed.

Grip the royal seal, pull it out with all remaining strength, and hand it over.

But there was no strength in Purung’s arm.

“Why did you abandon us!!!!”

At that deathbed scream, Purung clenched Purung’s teeth and tried to pour the last of Purung’s strength into the task.

Purung managed, slowly, painfully, to grasp the royal seal that seemed close enough to touch yet not quite there.

Trying to pull that royal seal closer, Purung cried out.

“I resent you! I resent you and curse you, and yet now I want to tell your people to live for that man! So please—if you have any shred of shame left—lend me your last strength!”

There was no time.

[Purung’s HP falls below 7%!]

Purung would die soon, and if Purung died, this royal seal would vanish forever.

Yet even in that desperate cry, god did not grant Purung’s wish, and the strength kept draining from Purung’s hand.

Then, before Purung’s eyes—

Purung saw the king Purung had acknowledged.

The king to whom Purung, as an examiner, had given the highest score.

The king Purung had wished would possess this royal seal.

SCHHK—

THUD.

THUD-THUD—

“How dare a worm like you mock me!”

Between Ren and the followers, that king was thoroughly trampled, slashed, and swallowed up by the press of bodies until vanishing from sight.

Just as the screaming Purung was about to give up on pulling out the royal seal—

the king disappearing into that crowd wore a small smile and murmured,

“Firebird.”

Hyunsoo had already seen the truth.

Heavenly Punishment was a power that prevented one from leaving to the outside. It was not a power that prevented something outside from entering in.

“Overlord.”

At that word, Purung doubted Purung’s own ears.

And then, together with flame, a man in the plain attire of an ordinary blacksmith appeared in the sky.

At the man’s waist hung a certain sword—the one he always carried.

The noble gaze of the Overlord [N O V E L I G H T] fell upon Purung lying sprawled below.

The moment Purung met that gaze and realized the king Purung had not seen in hundreds of years was still alive, an indescribable joy surged up.

It was the king Purung had resented so deeply.

The king Purung had hated so fiercely.

But that joy lasted only for an instant.

A tremendous rage burst forth instead.

[Purung’s HP falls below 2%.]

Even while dying, Purung’s teeth ground together, and if Purung could have moved Purung’s hand, Purung wanted to seize not the royal seal now, but that man’s throat.

And the man before Purung had once been a madman.

A man who did not treasure his retainers and abandoned them all. A man drunk on power who had marched to war even in the face of Prince Barsen’s death.

And on top of that—

if that man had cherished the people, and Purung, and the soldiers, and the Ironclad Corps, then that man would never have disappeared the way he did.

From the beginning, that man had been a conqueror drunk on personal strength.

A monster who believed nothing mattered except power.

And yet—

Srrrng—

“Who dares...”

After losing Prince Barsen, the Overlord who had gone mad had met a certain benefactor and recovered the lost memories.

That man had come to know the atrocities that had once been committed.

And the power-mad lunatic Purung’s people remembered was only one part of a lie.

The truth was that if that man had failed to stop it, every citizen, every soldier, the Ironclad Corps, and the child named Purung—whom that man had loved, cherished, and taken in from the battlefield—would have died. So that king had taken everything upon that king alone and gone to war.

And now, faced with Purung on the brink of death, the Overlord drew the Most Beautiful Sword in the World in true fury.

SHWAAAAAK-!

Crude, uneven, unimpressive, and shabby—

and yet beneath the sword forged from the happiest memory and the dearest person in all the world to its wielder—

“You would dare try to kill Purung...!”

PHWAAAAAAAAAAK-!

The followers attacking Purung were torn to pieces.

That voice was not the voice of the mad king Purung remembered.

Will you come with me?

It was the gentle voice of the king who had once held out a hand to Purung on the battlefield.

Purung denied it.

Denied it again.

That mad lunatic king.

That king who had turned away from the prince’s death.

And yet something was strange.

Purung was seeing something strange in that sword.

The king who had not shed a single tear before the prince’s death—

[To my beloved son Barsen...]

—was holding the Most Beautiful Sword in the World, engraved with the prince’s name, and using it to protect Purung.