Chapter 1997
“Are you certain?”
“Yes, it just disappeared.”
Unlike immortals, cultivators still had a society. There were cultivators who belonged to factions called sects and cultivators who wandered alone, also known as rogue cultivators. They interacted and relied on each other whenever they needed to. It wasn’t because they had good intentions. It was simply because they were weak.
Unlike immortals, who could deal with powerful opponents by themselves, cultivators were imperfect beings. Depending on their level of cultivation, they resembled mortals to some degree.
Thus, the cultivators joined forces this time as well. They had to complete the constructions of the Full Moon Fortresses to establish a solid foundation for the erosion ritual, so they communicated with each other as much as possible even though they belonged to different factions.
“It’s true that the detection method of the Bonghyeol Sect detected signs of an immortal. An immortal has punished the monster.”
The monster was no one else other than Grid, the founding emperor of the largest empire in the world, and someone who was revered as a god.
The cultivators weren’t exactly impressed when they first heard of his reputation. They thought Grid had deceived and misled the public to worship him as a god. This tended to happen in the lower world. Nobles, kings, and emperors possessing unbridled power became the protagonists of false legends and myths all the time.
They thought Grid was like that as well. He was just an emperor in a lower world, so no one took him seriously. They knew that a few Full Moon Fortresses had been destroyed incredibly fast, but they didn’t think Grid was the one behind that. They thought the fortresses’ destruction was owed to the greatest power in the world, the Overgeared Empire, who had made great sacrifices to dismantle their fortresses.
That alone was surprising. A nation of mortals fought against cultivators and... won? This had never happened before.
Well, they wouldn’t last for much longer. The empire surely lost everything in exchange for destroying a handful of Full Moon Fortresses. At least, that was what the cultivators thought...
“They say that the Full Moon Fortress of the Eunseon Sect has been destroyed.”
“There are reports that the Full Moon Fortress of Cheoljirim has been destroyed...”
“The Full Moon Fortresses of the Paehyeol, Hagwa, and Taebi Sects...”
New reports came in succession only one or two days apart. That was when the small number of survivors started mentioning the name Grid. They said they had witnessed unbelievable things, such as Grid single-handedly defeating the cultivators and splitting a Full Moon Fortress in half.
Many cultivators didn’t believe them, not because they didn’t like what they were hearing, but because they couldn’t find any reliable evidence that Grid was indeed the one behind such things.
It wasn’t until a few days later when they came face-to-face with Grid personally. They died realizing that the rumors were true. Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m
The cultivation world was on alert. The elders of various sects emerged from closed door training and issued an official notice to respond as defensively as possible when encountering Grid.
However, this was useless. Grid continued destroying the fortresses. In addition, his subordinates also became stronger and more distinguished. As a result, many Full Moon Fortresses, which should’ve turned the sky of this world a jade color, ended up destroyed.
The cultivators were so terrified, they were trembling.
Humiliated, they resorted to installing all types of stealth formations so as to not expose the Full Moon Fortresses. They were hiding like rats. Some people prayed that the monster named Grid wouldn’t find them.
The cultivators naturally denied gods. Therefore, they prayed to the immortals of the upper world instead.
Not long ago, rumors spread that an immortal had descended. Then today, Grid’s energy completely disappeared. Did the immortal have anything to do with that?
Detection systems installed in various parts of the continent provided convincing evidence.
“This is our chance to restore things. Let’s select the elites from each clan and launch a counterattack.”
The cultivators had been concentrating their energy on protecting their own Full Moon Fortresses. Now, things had changed. Grid, who even destroyed a Full Moon Fortress guarded by a great ascension cultivator, had disappeared.
Hanul was well aware of Chiyou’s condition and tried to persuade him. There was no other way than to talk him down. He could not suppress Chiyou using force. The power of light that Hanul had copied from Rebecca wasn’t complete. It was possible for him to move at the speed of light and shoot destructive rays, but...
Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to master the method of turning into light itself to completely nullify physical damage.
The biggest problem was that he hadn’t learned how to convert magic power into light. Turning into light didn’t prevent other phenomena from intervening because his magic power remained intact.
The same could be said now. Every time Chiyou’s sword released a fan-shaped sword energy, it sliced right through Hanul’s magic power. Hanul kept turning himself into light to avoid magic damage, thus consuming his magic power.
Of course, a God of the beginning had infinite magic power. His total amount of mana consumed didn’t change. However, the form was lost.
Let’s recall the principles of magic. It didn’t matter whether one relied on external help, such as magic circles, or if they just chanted spells that they could cast. In the end, shaping magic power into the desired spell was magic.
Every time Hanul’s magic power got hit, the casting time of his spells inevitably slowed down. This was very embarrassing for Hanul, who had to rely on magic unless he dared compete in martial arts against Chiyou.
[You have been working so hard, only for you to run your mouth.]
It was clear that Chiyou had gone completely insane.
Hanul grumbled and attacked. In the end, he gave up on persuading Chiyou and had only one option left—escape.
However...
Flash!
Hanul had shot high into the sky at the speed of light only for him to return to his original position. Because of this, Chiyou hit Hanul once more. Hanul finally saw what was happening.
Mirrors forged by magic power appeared all over the battlefield. This was the work of Grid’s clone.
[How dare this dying bastard...]
Hanul held a deep grudge against Grid. He naturally hated Grid’s clone as well. Therefore, he was furious that the clone was holding him back.
Flash!
There was a flash of light.
Flop!
Grid’s clone fell to his knees after being struck by a beam of light. The clone’s limbs twisted in many weird angles. He looked despicable.
[Don’t be overconfident because you are invincible. I can pull out your core and kill you right away.]
“Do you think that will work?”
[......?]
Hanul, who was dishing out threats, and Chiyou, who was continuously swinging his sword elegantly, as if he was dancing, stopped at the same time.
Grid had shown up. Both the furious God of the beginning and the insane Martial God had their eyes trained on him.
“Let’s settle things today,” Grid declared as he struck the clone a few times with his hammer.
The clone, who had been sprawled on the ground with its twisted limbs, stood up without issue. This was the prestige of Grid’s repair skills included in the god-level blacksmithing skill.
This was the end. Grid alone constituted a complete party. Grid the swordsman represented the frontline, while his magician clone was the backline.