On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 109: Gods of the Fallen World

Like a torrential downpour, The Three Martial Association rained down attacks on me.

Then, with every ounce of malice and bloodlust, I commanded, “All of you, Die.” Amplified by the megaphone, my voice boomed like a thunderclap.

Claaaang!

Immediately, the enemy’s swords fell one after another.

“Cough cough!”

“Cough!”

The nearest elites of the Three Martial Association collapsed into a heap of blood.

Thud thud!

One by one, the other martial artists fell like dominoes. In the blink of an eye, most of the two thousand masters had fallen!

“Y-you! W-what the hell did you do!” an old man trembled as he stared dreadfully at me. He was bleeding from both ears.

-----

[Wang LiBao]

A male human. Around for 99 years.

One of the elders of Three Martial Association. An S-rank Hunter with three sons and daughter. Related to the head of a clan in Shandong...(omitted)...

Special note: A swordsman with potential for transcendence

-----

Ever since my power got upgraded, I could see more information, but they were mostly redundant. Basically, this guy was an S-rank Hunter. Many enemies remained standing and they were either S-rank or A-rank Hunters.

I scanned those who’d fallen. The B-ranks were dying, while the weaker A-rank Hunters had lost the will to fight, lying weakly on the ground. However, none of them were dead.

“Power of Words is an advanced ability that uses mental fortitude to make the opponent submit to your will.”

Earlier, Sung Mi-Na had mentioned this to me.

“Hence, it takes a great deal of mental fortitude for the skill to work, especially if you want to kill your target. Death is the most fundamental fear in life, so the resistance is going to be immense.”

She also said that her ability was ineffective against a large group of people. Besides, there were cases like Gustav, who was mentally stronger than her. Her Power of Words wouldn’t work against such people.

Thus, I became convinced. If her ability were omnipotent, she would be the strongest Hunter in the world. Sung Mi-Na reminded she wasn’t a Combat-type and that she took on more of a support role in battles. Of course, most S-ranks wouldn’t be a match for her.

Well, I don’t think I can use it again.

My hand, clutching the megaphone, trembled. I had exhausted my mental power to incapacitate 90% of nearly two thousand men—a considerable feat in itself.

Moreover...

Ugh, cringe.

I’d long passed my rebellious phase, yet I said lines like earlier... I could feel my hands and feet turning cold.

Thank goodness nobody knows me around here! I don’t want to add another dark chapter in the history of my life!

[All-Cutting Heavenly Sword scratched the goosebumps all over his body.]

[Infinite Abundance flushed slightly, avoiding your gaze.]

[Eternal Seeker shook his head, wondering why you’d embarrass yourself with that mouth of yours when you have perfectly good muscles.]

[Silently Crawling Nightmare cheers you on, saying that despite looking like a wuss, you’re still cool!]

...Dammit! I forgot the stalkers were watching!

“Just pretend you didn’t see anything.”

Embarrassed, I threw the megaphone aside. At my feet lay Lin Xiao Ming, with her tongue sticking out and her eyes rolled back. Her body was in shambles.

-----

[Lin Xiao Ming (Fanatic)]

A female human. Around for 36 years. A powerful follower equivalent to five S-rank Hunters, also under the protection of the King of Asura Versatility...(omitted)...

Special note: A masochistic pig. Try whipping her as a test. She’ll gladly receive it.

-----

“Haa.”

Seeing that special note made my head throb. The note was full of malice. Thinking back, that was always the case with the Fanatics.

Well, anyway...

“Why are you faking death? I didn’t even use the Power of Words on you.” I poked her with my foot and she quickly sat up.

“Because you ordered me to die with such a serious face. I thought it was only proper for me to pretend.”

I flushed when she mentioned what I did earlier. Fuck!

“Healing Ring Finger of God.”

A dazzling white light enveloped her.

[Calculating the causality rate of the healing target: Lin Xiao Ming...]

[A follower of Low-tier God Yu Il-Shin. Also a member of an 8th-ranked lower race. An existence with high potential for transcendence that might affect the rules between gods and the world.]

Ding!

[You paid 1,000 Gcoins for the healing.]

Lin Xiao Ming was a follower equivalent to five S-rank Hunters, comparable to the SS-ranked Apostle Gustav. As such, compared to an ordinary S-rank, healing her cost ten times more Godcoins. Regardless, it was only a thousand coins, so it didn’t really matter.

“Y-you even healed me! Aah, my merciful, gorgeous master! I shall repay this favor with my body!”

“Enough bullshit. Deal with them already!”

“Yes Sir!”

Trudge trudge—

Around thirty elites of the Three Martial Association, including S-ranks and A-ranks Hunters, approached us.

They were those who’d resisted my command. In other words, they were the best of the best, but that wasn’t all. Let’s not forget about the existence of the arrogant, self-proclaimed Three Pure Ones, sitting on the thrones.

“Hehe. Interesting! I never expected someone of such a high level on this planet! For the first time in hundreds of years, my blood is pumping with excitement.”

“Keeheehee! I desire that power! Sword Martial, can I have his heart?”

“Of course. But Dagger Martial, his brain is mine.”

Gulp.

I gulped dryly. Both their appearances and vibes were ominous. Nevertheless, that wasn’t why I was so nervous right now...

[Appraisal failed!]

[They countered the Blind Eyes of God with a cognitive impairment technique.]

My power didn’t work on them.

This is the first time... n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

I couldn’t assess my opponent’s strength or combat style.

“Hehe. I, Fist Martial, shall test him first.”

The Grand Pure One, wearing a mask of Lao Tze, stood up from his throne. At first glance, he looked like a hunchbacked old man without any fighting skills, but...

Sss—

His wrinkled hand moved lightly like a dancing butterfly. Then, he clenched and directed it at me.

“Hehe. Am I a butterfly or is the butterfly me?”

Bam bam bam!

“Cough!”

All of a sudden, I was flung several meters, as if hit directly by a dump truck.

“Eeek! Master!” Lin Xiao Ming tried to rush after me.

“Traitor! What are you trying to do?!”

“Everyone, unleash the Big Dipper Diamond Sutra Formation! Don’t let that bitch interfere with Master Fist Martial’s battle!”

The masters of the Three Martial Association attacked Lin Xiao Ming all at once.

“Haa, haa!”

Meanwhile, Fist Martiallooked down on me as I laid on the ground.

“Is that it? I didn’t even use half of my strength. Did I overestimate you?”

“Argh!”

Pain-wracked, I clenched my teeth and forced myself to get up.

“Good, good. I haven’t met an opponent like you in five hundred years. Now, put up a good fight and entertain me.” The old man smirked, descending from the stairs.

Click clack!

Each step he took on the stairs with his clogs echoed like thunder. I was facing an old man a few distance away from me, yet I was overwhelmed by his menacing aura.

...What just happened? He’s far away, so how did he attack me?

-This is the legendary Hundred Steps Technique!

“Elder, do you recognize the skill?”

-Of course!

Tsss!

In my hand was the outraged Demon Lord.

-They are gods!

His words shocked me.

“What? Gods?”

-Scratch that! These unscrupulous bastards don’t deserve to be called gods! They were the first to flee after hearing about the descent of the God of Destroyer!

“Huh?”

The old man stroked his beard under the mask, staring at Demon Lord with an unusual look.

“That sword emitting evil energy... Is that you, Demon Lord?”

-Yes, you fucking traitors!

“Hehe. That’s a bit harsh. Even animals instinctively seek shelter during a forest fire. Is it really wrong for us to avoid a great catastrophe?”

-If you call yourself gods, then you should’ve realized that you’re the parents of all creatures!

Demon Lord let out a thunderous roar.

-Think about the people who once worshiped you! You should be ashamed!

“Hehe, but why? Why should us gods feel ashamed toward those worms?” the old man tilted his head. “We exhausted our divine power and forsook our godhood just to escape that fallen world. Isn’t that sacrifice enough? Still, Demon Lord, I have to salute you. Despite being a worm, you’ve risen to the level of a martial god.”

Then, he pointed his wrinkled finger at the kitchen knife, Demon Lord.

“Take a look at yourself! The fact that you've been reduced to a spirit trapped in a sword says it all! Seems I didn’t make a mistake in forsaking that world ages ago! Hehe.”

-Soon, the God of Destroyer will descend upon this world as well! Are you going to run away again?

“Hehe, of course. That’s why we’ve amassed enough divine power to cross the barrier of the world once more.”

Then, the old man clenched his fist.

Woooong!

His fist emanated a holy, white light.

“To cultivate our divine power, we passed on our martial arts to the lowly worms and granted them the power of transcendence. It's a shame that it took 500 hundred years, and now we’re about to lose it again.”

-Ha! Lowly worms?! Are you referring to yourself?! You aren’t gods! You’re just parasites!

With that, the old man’s mood shifted. “Demon Lord. There’s a limit to my patience. Insult me again...”

Crack crack—

The old man straightened his back. “...And I’ll break that wretched body of yours into pieces with my sword!”

At the same time, a ferocious aura akin to a typhoon emanated from him.

-Go ahead! Do your worst! Do you think a scum like you can defeat my disciple?!

“Huh? You have a disciple?” I interjected their conversation.

-You fool! I meant you! Strike that old man down, now! This is your master’s command!

“But Elder, I’m not aware of this! Since when did I become your disciple?!”

-From now on! This is an emergency, so let’s skip the formalities!

“Hehe. Why don’t I beat some sense into you?”

Soon, the old man transformed into a 3 m tall giant. His arms were as thick as boulders and moved like a hawk’s powerful wings.

“Take this, Demon Lord’s disciple!”

Ruuuumble!

White light exploded from the giant, and the entire building shook as if it had been hit by an earthquake.

“This is the strength of the 12-star power, Hundred Steps Technique!”

The giant slammed his fist down.

Slam!

A ten-meter-tall white fist stretched toward me with terrifying force! Instinctively, I realized that was the fist of a god-killer.

Demon Lord yelled at me as I panicked from the tremendous force.

-What are you doing, you fool! Prepare to counterattack at once!

“Yes, yes!”

I clenched my jaws, fully prepared to swing the knife at my opponent...

-Are you going to block with just a sword?! I clearly wrote it in the book! Fists are mightier than swords!

Flash!

-Receive my enlightenment!

Suddenly, I saw images of the greatest master since ancient times raising his iron fist into the sky.

Ah, how can the fist of a pathetic excuse for a god who forsook his world compare to such a majestic heaven?

Crack!

I clenched my fist and used a stance from the Demon Lord’s skills at the giant.

“Third stance of Demon Lord’s Heavenly Technique, Demon Lord’s Heaven-Splitting Fist!”

“W-what?”

The giant was astonished.

Baaam!

My fist smashed through his Hundred Steps Technique and pierced his head.