C16
After the battle, YuWon and Son OhGong returned to the Sun Chariot.
The wounded one was Son OhGong.
The injuries on his side, pierced by Nir, and those opened by the magic explosion would take some time to heal.
Pandora placed a jar of ointment in front of Son OhGong.
It was a signal for him to apply it himself.
"It's fine. It will heal on its own if I leave it alone."
"Doesn't it hurt?"
"I'm fine. It's fun."
"It would hurt for me."
"Don't you like to fight?"
"Yes."
"That's strange."
"Really?"
A simple conversation.
Normally, one would dislike fighting, but Pandora, faced with that indifferent response, seemed to consider herself strange.
"Don't talk nonsense. Your tastes are like those of a pervert."
At YuWon's reprimand, Son OhGong made a displeased expression.
His complaint was always the same.
"Both you and Hercules have strength but don't use it."
"You need a reason to use it."
"I've been so bored because of you two."
"If possible, be bored for the rest of your life. I think that's better for world peace."
Son OhGong, seeing YuWon sigh, picked up the medicine Pandora had given him.
"So, what are we going to do now? It doesn't seem like there's any Administrator here."
"Anyway, there won't be a battle soon."
"So?"
Son OhGong inquired about YuWon's thoughts.
The recent battle had shown him that he was strong enough.
With YuWon by his side, it seemed they could win even if Shub-Niggurath reappeared immediately.
The problem was the plan from now on.
"...First, we have to go back."
"Go back? Where?"
Until now, YuWon had been forgotten.
Even the Ranking Management Office had forgotten him, so he had disappeared from the Ranking, and in the normal course of things, no one would look for him in this urgent situation.
In the end, YuWon had no choice but to act on his own.
And the place YuWon was heading to now was...
"To the battlefield."
It was the place where the longest battle in the history of the Great Tower had taken place.
-------------------------
Grrrrrrr-.
A beast the size of a house with four horns growled. It had thick and tough skin that not even the swords and spears of the Rankers could penetrate, and horns that shot electricity.
It was the leader of the monsters that appeared on the 50th floor, a monster known as Noerang (雷浪= Thunder Sea)I.
"Push him to the west!"
"Don't get too close! It will electrocute you!"
"Hold onto it until the general arrives!"
"If we let it escape this time, it will take another few years!"
Urgent voices echoed in the chaotic battlefield.
Noerang was a monster of the Yokai Race that had existed for over a thousand years and had massacred countless inhabitants.
The Rankers of the Celestial Realm had gathered a great force to capture the beast that not even several Rankers had been able to catch.
Kaboom-!
A howl like that of a wolf echoed mixed with electricity.
Crackle, crackle!
The ground around cracked with claw marks under the blue electricity.
Rankers attacking Noerang were blown away.
Some, as if electrocuted, fell into the void with their eyes rolled back.
Krrrrrrr-.
Noerang, who had stopped for a moment, turned and looked at the Celestial Realm soldiers chasing him. His eyes narrowed, as if holding a smile. The fact that he hadn't escaped immediately and had stopped was because he was confident they wouldn't catch him.
"Curse it!"
"That damn bastard...!"
The speed and strength with which he deceived the Celestial Realm Rankers. It wasn't in vain that this guy had managed to survive for over a thousand years.
He was at the top of the food chain for a reason: he had the ability for it.
Of course.
It didn't make him any less despicable.
"Curse it. If we continue like this, we'll lose him again."
The Ranker Brothers, Golden Horn King and Silver Horn King, muttered under their breath.
To obtain the position of General in the Celestial Realm, they had been assigned the mission to hunt down this bastard.
They had started the pursuit five years ago.
However, the Yokai taunted them with his speed, enjoying the game.
It was as if he knew they couldn't catch him no matter what they did.
"The Celestial Net has been pierced!"
It was then that the news came like thunder.
"What?"
"Curse it!"
The Celestial Net: a net that linked sky and earth. The Golden Horn King and Silver Horn King Brothers had deployed this net with the help of the Celestial Realm forces to capture Noerang.
But Noerang tore it with sharp claws and lightning.
'Have we lost him again?'
'With this, our position in the Celestial Realm...'
At that moment, just before the two brothers lost Noerang...
"You did well."
A flash.
A broad cloak waved over the heads of the two brothers, while a silver line moved swiftly.
They couldn't see who it was.
So fast was it that Noerang's agile speed seemed ridiculous.
All the two brothers could see was a gigantic moon sword longer than any other treasure.
"No way..."
Shuaaack!
The moon sword soared toward Noerang's neck.
Clang, clang.
Blow after blow.
Feeling threatened, Noerang's body turned into blue electricity and began to disperse.
Before this sight, the green-haired man holding the moon sword watched Noerang vanish and left a final message.
"In your next life, be born as a benevolent creature."
Splash!
The sword mercilessly split Noerang's body in two.
It was such a clean strike that not a drop of blood splattered.
The Golden Horn King and Silver Horn King Brothers looked in amazement at the person who had killed Noerang almost as soon as he appeared.
"We salute the General Chief of Celestial Realm!"
General Lee Rangjin looked at the two saluting him with exaggerated reverence. Judging by their manners, they seemed to be Generals of Celestial Realm, but he didn't recognize them.
Suddenly, Lee Rangjin remembered the report he had received about external Rankers participating in the hunt for Noerang.
"Are you... the Rankers known as Golden Horn King and Silver Horn King?"
"Yes! We have long aspired to become Generals of Celestial Realm, but our skills were insufficient, so we have devoted ourselves to improving them."
"Really? You've worked hard."
Palm, palm~
Lee Rangjin congratulated the two men by patting them on the shoulders.
Smiling broadly, the two men stayed behind as Lee Rangjin turned around.
Next, General Buk Cheon, standing beside Lee Rangjin, asked:
"What do you think?"
"Their skills are usable."
"Then..."
"Let's accept their request, but let's suspend the appointment as General."
"Is there something you don't like?"
"Their eyes reveal a corrupt mind. More than the spirit of a General, I see in them the desire to covet something."
Looking at his own face reflected in the Unbreakable Sword, Lee RangJin continued speaking calmly:
"If they want to become Generals, they must first reform their mentality."
Having heard Lee RangJin's words, Golden Horn King and Silver Horn King would have shivered.
However, General Buk Cheon, as if he had anticipated this reaction from Lee Rangjin, nodded and replied:
"Understood. And..."
"Is it almost time?"
"Yes. It starts tomorrow."
Upon General Buk Cheon's response, Lee RangJin sighed and looked up.
Fortunately, the annoying hunt for Noerang had been a success.
However, that was just one of the preparations for the success of the upcoming event.
For Celestial Realm to regain its former glory, it was crucial that the event starting tomorrow be a success.
'Please...'
As he remembered Golden Horn King and Silver Horn King, whom he had recently met, his sigh deepened.
'I hope those useful guys participate.'
--------------------------
The Great Celestial War.
That was the term used to refer to the great battle that took place long ago when Son OhGong and the Bull Demon King invaded Celestial Realm.
However, that was a long time ago.
This tournament, inspired by the Great Martial Arts Tournament, was held for the first time on the 50th floor, located in the center of the Tower.
And today was that day.
"Can we really use this name?"
"What's wrong?"
"I mean Great Celestial War. I'm sure it was a taboo topic until a few years ago... "
"What do you know? It's been over ten years since the Jade Emperor passed away, and our relationship with The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, and The Great Sage, Who Pacifies Heaven is not bad."
Conversation among the Generals watching the gathered crowd in Celestial Realm from the sky.
Great Celestial War was a word that had long been taboo in Celestial Realm.
It was not convenient to keep talking about the fact that a giant like Celestial Realm had struggled with just two people.
But now the situation was completely different.
"Moreover, is The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal the same as before? Now, the story that we fought against The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal is not a shame for us."
The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal.
Even at the beginning of the Great Celestial War, his ranking was outside the Top 20.
However, as the Great Celestial War progressed, and finally as a result of the even battle with Celestial Realm, the ranking of The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, and The Great Sage, Who Pacifies Heaven rose several levels compared to the beginning.
And now...
"That guy is now in third place."
Son OhGong, The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal.
Originally, he was in the fourth place after Zeus, Vishnu, and Hercules.
But due to Vishnu's death, his ranking rose one position, and now he was in third place.
"It really gives me a bad feeling. At a time like this, with Vishnu dead according to the Administrators' report, to celebrate a festival like this?"
"Here, they only talk about distant worlds. However, probably the Guilds near Deva will not participate in this tournament."
"There should be useful participants."
Apart from the name, the essence of the Great Celestial War was not very different from the Great Martial Arts Tournament.
A place to find talented Players and recruit them for each Guild.
And a place to increase their value before joining a Guild.
Celestial Realm sought to attract new Rankers through this tournament.
"Excuse us."
While the two Generals of Celestial Realm exchanged words like this.
"I am here to participate in the Great Celestial War, where should I go?"
A man approached the two and asked for directions.
He was wearing strange clothes.
He definitely did not seem to be a Ranker or Player residing on the 50th floor ruled by Celestial Realm.
He seemed to have come after hearing about the Great Celestial War.
"Go down there and look for the red flag."
"Thank you."
"I wish you a good result."
After exchanging greetings, the man walked away without hesitation.
It was nothing special.
It was something they had already experienced dozens of times just today.
However, for some inexplicable reason, the two looked at the place where the man had passed for a moment.
"That man..."
And then.
"Don't you feel like we've seen him somewhere before?"
The General who was lost in his thoughts asked about the identity of the unease.
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LWTG (Novel)