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Chapter 185: Ares’ Army (4)
A vast divine realm—Asgard.
A legion was on the move toward a nearby mid-tier divine realm.
“There’s quite a number of them moving.”
“Huh… They’re moving from other places too.”
Another large-scale movement was detected on Okeanos’ map.
Legions converging on Asgard from all directions.
Only divine movements of significant scale were being counted, but even so, the number was beyond counting.
“Now that their plan has been exposed, it looks like they’re immediately launching the invasion of Asgard.”
“Then what about the divine realm next to it…?”
“Since it’s close to Asgard, they must be thinking of occupying it as a forward base.”
Already moving forward?
It hasn’t even been a day since I boarded Triaina and brought several divine realms under my command.
As expected of gods who are free from the constraints of time and space—their movements are swift.
“Whoa, are enemy legions actually emerging from that divine realm?”
“Same on this side.”
Artemis and Kuuga pointed at two planets.
From those, enemy forces were actually emerging.
“Looking closely at the map, there are three routes leading to Asgard. Each of the three divine realms is serving as a passage.”
The path through Okeanos, developed by Poseidon and Cthulhu.
This path wasn’t infinitely unrestricted like outer space.
It was developed to connect divine realms, so only the straight lines between points formed viable routes.
The enemy had already seized two of the three divine realms connected to Asgard, and was advancing to conquer the last one.
“Loki. It looks like the Black Thunder Legion is about to invade Asgard.”
[What? What are you talking about? Just a moment ago you said they were luring mid-tier realms.]
“Now that they’ve been found out, they seem to be launching a full-on invasion.”
[Damn it…!]
I informed Loki that the enemy intended to use the nearby three realms as bases of invasion. He furrowed his brow.
[Why are they so fast? You said it was Ares leading this?]
“Yeah. He seems to be the one spearheading it.”
[True to the god of war—quick to act. But anyway, the three nearby divine realms… Okeanos’ map, right? Didn’t you say it doesn’t show the names of the realms?]
“Yeah. Poseidon only marked the higher-tier realms.”
[Damn it. If they’re just randomly invading divine realms, it’s hard to prepare. And we don’t have much SP left after that whole SP Exchange Loan incident, so it’s tough to set up defenses…]
“Try requesting aid from the other major divine realms for now.”
[Good idea. Got it. Thanks for the info.]
Loki quickly ended the communication.
He was clearly feeling the heat.
“As expected of the war god—he’s moving swiftly.”
“If Asgard falls, Olympus will run rampant, unbound by their alliance contract…”
Enemy legions filled the paths of Okeanos.
Just when did they gather this many Black Thunder units?
Their movement was relentless.
“For now, let’s head to the divine realm that hasn’t fallen yet.”
“Got it.”
Triaina changed course.
Compared to the enemy troops shown on the map, Triaina moved much faster.
As I watched its movement, I recalled what Poseidon and Cthulhu had said.
[In the future, Olympus will send troops through the path we completed—Okeanos. When that time comes, if Triaina is there, it can be an annoying obstacle. It can delay their arrival and prevent full deployment.]
Is now the time to use that function?
“Triaina. Can you interfere with the enemy?”
[Yes. It is possible.]
The response echoed inside immediately after I asked.
“What kind of interference?”
[By Triaina’s authority, water floods the passage, temporarily blocking it. It’s not very effective as an attack, but it can effectively hinder movement.]
“Oh? Then…”
I was about to give the command, but hesitated as the next response came.
[If I interfere with the enemy’s movement, Triaina will be unable to move.]
“Really? That’s a bit of a problem. I guess we’ll head to that divine realm first.”
[Understood. Proceeding.]
Triaina continued its smooth journey.
With a little time left until arrival, I reviewed my items and skills.
As I looked through them, one skill caught my eye.
[Aegis Shield – Broken]
It was a skill, but marked as broken and unusable.
“This Aegis Shield… I really need to restore it.”
“Aegis? Isn’t that Athena’s?”
“Yeah.”
“Then since it’s Hephaestus’ work, you should be able to restore it by buying Hephaestus’ Universal Kit from the SP Shop.”
“Oh, really?”
I searched right away, and sure enough, it was being sold for 1 million SP.
Not cheap, but the Aegis Shield wasn’t just useful as an S-grade skill—it also served as a communication tool with Athena…
I bought it immediately.
[You used Hephaestus’ Universal Kit.]
[Aegis Shield has been reactivated.]
The shield regenerated, and a round shield began floating around me.
“But that shield… is it really useful to you?”
“Well… if I enhance it with Soul Barrier, it creates a decent synergy.”
Its real use, though, is Athena’s messages.
The back of the shield was still blank.
No messages yet.
Even though she told me to repair it…
Well, I guess she’ll contact me when she needs to.
I looked away from the shield.
“We’ve arrived, my lord.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
We reached our destination in less than a few hours.
A divine realm with a beautiful blue sky.
No dark lightning in sight—a pleasant view.
As we descended, the scenery of the divine realm revealed itself.
A vast green plain.
On it, stones were crudely arranged.
Stones forming a structure shaped like the letter "ㄷ"…
Wait, isn’t this Stonehenge?
“Judging by its appearance, it must be a realm of primitive faith. Hmm. Interesting that it flourished enough to form a divine realm… But I don’t sense the presence of any gods.”
Hwanung commented with an intrigued expression as he looked around the plain.
Just as he said, there should be gods in a divine realm, but no one was visible.
Is Triaina not showing them?
“Let’s go take a look.”
We disembarked from Triaina and stepped onto the ground.
No Black Thunder in sight, and since enemy troops are heading here, it doesn’t seem like this realm has been conquered by Ares yet…
Even as we landed, no one tried to stop us.
[Kim Jiho?]
As I was looking at the stones, a voice suddenly called out.
That voice… sounded familiar…
Fwoosh.
A figure suddenly appeared in front of the rocks.
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A giant with a sword stuck in his chest appeared, and Artemis gasped in shock.
“No way—Hercules?”
"Yeah. Artemis, and… Kim Jiho too...? What the hell, Kim Jiho. Did you side with Olympus or something?"
Hercules glared at me as he said that.
Why is this guy even here?
"Artemis abandoned Olympus and became my apostle, you know?"
"You made Lady Artemis—no, Artemis your apostle? What kind of nonsense is that… Isn’t it the other way around?"
Guess chaos is slow on gossip.
I roughly explained the situation to him, and Hercules looked at me with a fascinated expression.
"You’re the one who took down Apollo? Wow... You?"
What a punk.
He really can’t believe it.
When I lightly showed him the power of the sun god, only then did Hercules finally look impressed.
He stared at me with envy.
"Should’ve stuck with the soul-type gods... You've gotten ridiculously strong."
"Well, I got some help from your mentoring too."
"Yeah, I can tell you’ve powered up... But what are you doing here? And how did you even get in?"
"That’s what I want to ask. Where even is this place?"
"I asked first."
What a child.
I explained about Okeanos’ path and Ares’ advance, and Hercules quickly caught on.
"So the Black Thunder’s invading... To destroy Asgard."
"Right. So now it’s your turn to answer. Why are you here? I assumed you were with some minor pantheon since you didn’t have a name."
"Hm… You see that?"
"That? Stonehenge?"
"It’s even older than that. The original form of humanity’s first temple of worship. That’s what this is based on."
Hercules tapped the stone pillars.
"Chaos is the mother of everything—the beginning of all. The domain of our Lord of Chaos defaults to this form. I hear other Lords of Chaos have made their own divine realms, but I like this form."
I tried to ignore his Chaos pride, but... a default form?
So Chaos existed even before Order and Neutrality emerged?
I gazed at the stone.
It really does give off a primitive era vibe...
Was Chaos born alongside that first spark of human faith?
"But why are you part of the Earth pantheons? And right next to Asgard, of all places."
"This is next to Asgard? I was just told to conquer a divine realm as part of the Earth campaign, so I invaded. Originally... what was it, Celtic? I don’t even remember."
So it wasn’t originally Hercules’ divine realm.
He just took over someone else’s and made it his own.
Left only stone in this barren plain...
"Anyway, so this is your base of operations now. Perfect. Since it’s a Chaos stronghold, we can gather Chaos forces here and launch a counterattack."
"Hm… Gather Chaos forces? That’s not going to be easy. All the other Lords of Chaos, except Hades, are against expanding the conflict with Zeus. They’re clearly colluding with Olympus. They keep saying we should wait and see, now that he’s become a Creator."
Hercules ground his teeth.
"Those bastards... All they do is keep talking. They think now that Zeus is a Creator, it won’t take him long to conquer Earth."
"So what, we just let the enemy attack without doing anything?"
Hercules grinned slyly.
"Not at all. I just can’t rally the other Chaos forces. I can still fight. If someone hits me first, there’s no reason for me to just take it."
"Good. Then help us out."
"Of course. I’ve already contacted Hades. He’ll help too."
Oh?
Even Hades?
With Hades and Hercules, we might be able to wipe out the Black Thunder.
"A battle against Lord Ares... Sounds exciting. What do you think his next move will be?"
When I explained how Ares was turning minor pantheons into Black Thunder and trying to trigger Ragnarok, Hercules nodded.
"Makes sense. From Olympus’ perspective, Asgard’s alliance is probably the biggest nuisance. But... is that really all?"
"What do you mean?"
"Ares is the god of war. I doubt he’d just use such predictable tactics. You shouldn’t let your guard down."
Whoosh.
With that, Hercules vanished.
[I'm returning to my main body.]
Leaving only those words behind.
Ares’ intentions...
So he’s not just planning Ragnarok by quietly absorbing minor pantheons?
There must be something else...
I need to think this through, but first—we need to put out the fire right in front of us.
"Let’s prepare for battle. Hwanung, please head to the Apostles’ Garden. If you’re able to contact any divine realms from within, send us a message."
"Yes. I understand. I wish you luck."
Hwanung disappeared toward the garden.
"My Lord. The Apostle Gods have all pledged to join the battle."
"Hm... Really? That’s good. Though they didn’t have to."
"Everyone understands how serious this is. Please allow us to fight. With our soul-reaping skills, we’ll be a real asset."
"Alright. Then I’ll summon you in Asgard. For now, let’s see what Hercules does. Since Hades is coming too."
"Yes, sir."
An hour after preparing for battle—
Rumble...
The sky began to darken.
"They’re here."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Black lightning crashed down.
A barrage of bolts poured from the sky.
The once-blue sky was swallowed in darkness, and the sunlight vanished.
[Who goes there.]
Ssshhh—
Hercules, who had been hidden, revealed himself.
But it’s not his usual human form—it’s a giant.
So tall he could touch the sky.
He swung his mountainous arms, tearing apart the heavens.
Crack!
The Black Thunder tore like broken webs.
His size was overwhelming—even Black Thunder, which holds the power of a lesser god, was easily wiped out.
Despite being massive, his movements were fast, and the sky started to clear up quickly.
"Doesn’t look like we need to step in."
Artemis lowered her bow, shrugging.
Honestly, she’s right.
Hercules is so overpowering that we haven’t even had a chance to act.
He’s just flailing his arms, and everything disappeared.
"Looks like we can leave this to him... Huh?"
As Artemis and I were casually chatting, the sky began to shift again.
"Huh. They’re retreating?"
The blackened sky grew bright again, and the Black Thunder vanished.
[Oh no. Hercules is here? Scary… So scary.]
And left in the clearing sky was a man rubbing his hands together.
A beard like a schemer.
A cunning-looking face.
He kept rubbing his hands and waving at us.
Artemis, dumbfounded, muttered:
"Odysseus?"
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