novelzi Chapter 149: Gather Around, Forest of Beasts! (1)
Chapter 149: Gather Around, Forest of Beasts! (1)
Chapter 149: Gather Around, Forest of Beasts! (1)
“Do you have a death wish?”
I am an emperor and a supreme god, who reigns over the continents! How dare this insect treat me this way!
Anger surged in me like an active volcano. Meanwhile, in the back of my mind, a lingering voice of reason wondered uncomfortably.
...Uh, why am I the emperor?
At first, Gal Joong-Hyuk was puzzled by my threats, but then grew amused and smirked. He thought I was acting.
“You’ve got some nerve. You’re the first to say something like this to me—Cough!”
Soon, I wiped that smirk off his face by delivering a punch to his guts.
“Haa! Haa!” Gal Joong-Hyuk clutched his abdomen. He regained his composure in no time and swung his fist at me in return.
“You punk!”
Wooong!
His fist, the size of my head, instantly flew toward my face, ripping the air. His punch was much faster and stronger than S-rank Reinforce-type Hunter Choi Kang-San’s.
Baaam!
A loud bang ensued, as if a truck had crashed into a wall.
“Impossible! H-how? Aren’t you a Creation-type Hunter? How did you manage to stop my fist with just one finger!”
I had blocked his blow with my outstretched index finger. His arm quivered, yet his fist wouldn’t budge. His eyes were bloodshot, showing how much strength he had packed into his punch.
“What the hell did you do?!”
Instead of giving him a reply, I sneered.
Look, only the domineering, strong one could mock their opponents—like me!
“You bastard!” Gal Joong-Hyuk gritted his teeth and swung another fist at me, but my foot was faster. I stopped him before he could hit me.
Crack!
With the sound of bones cracking, his huge body spun around like a squirrel’s wheel, and he fell headfirst to the ground.
Slam!
Now that I was both a Mid-tier Malevolent and Benevolent God, my divine power gave me the physical strength above an S-rank Reinforce-type Hunter, even without equipping a title.
“Koff! Koff!”
Gal Joong-Hyuk coughed as he caught his breath, stunned by my actions. Seeing that, my heart suddenly ached.
Riiiip!
The heavyweight man had ruined the floor of my beloved suite room! This tragedy happened because he ate too much when he was younger, resulting in a bigger build than others!
Gal Joong-Hyuk coughed and spat blood, before muttering, “...Come, Soul Mecha Lazenca.”
Flash! Baaam!
With a white beam of light, a booming sound echoed through the air.
Shiver!
I felt an indescribable terror swept over me, and slowly looked up.
Swoosh!@@@@
In the chilly, clear sky was an iron-clad giant looking down at me with flickering crimson eyes.
Crack crack!
A black aura rose from the giant, distorting the surrounding space in its wake.
“To force me to put on my soul armor... I’ll admit your strength! But it won’t last for long!”
I groaned in despair.
Another tragedy!
“...The ceiling. Again.”
The word bankruptcy flew in my head like the wings of my Angel Soldiers.
“Let me show you, the full power of the strongest man in South Korea! Now, unsheathe your weapon!”
Instead of answering him, I stretched my hand out.
Clunk! Swoosh!
Demon Lord, which I had kept in my desk drawer, flew into my grip. I read Demon Lord’s memory, then slowly raised my foot into the air.
My feet moved in the air step by step, as if climbing an invisible staircase. This was Void Steps, a technique exclusive to martial artists in Demon Lord’s world.
“I-I’m not saying that this world is being destroyed, so don’t be scared!”
Light returned to Rollie's eyes, and it clapped its tiny hands to its chest. “You surprised me! I thought I wouldn't be able to roll anymore!”
“I-I'm sorry.”
“Il-Ho, if you're bored, why don't you roll with me?”
“I'm good. I'm not in the mood for that.”
“Then I'll do a few laps around the island first! See you at the banquet later!” Rollie rolled off again and left at tremendous speed.
Il-Ho watched Rollie roll away in the distance and let out another sigh. He was about to fall into deep thoughts again when...
“Il-Ho~”
“Warrior Il-Ho~!”
There was Tohsoon, the rabbit who’d gone to harvest carrots from the farm; Masoori, the eagle who invited Il-Ho for a ride together in the skies; and even Groundie, the mole who invited Il-Ho to the opening ceremony of the underground tunnel.
None of these Divine Beasts would give him a moment to himself.
“Haaa...”
Despite being a small island barely 20 km wide, Eden was a heavenly place abundant with nature. Its dense forest, full of vitality, was abundant with fruits. Its soil was so fertile, crops could be harvested within a day. According to Il-Ho’s investigation, Eden housed a total of 665 Divine Beasts.
Il-Ho even tried to look for signs of destruction amongst its habitants but...
Growl—
He heard a low, bleak cry of a beast. Il-Ho turned around in a hurry and saw a huge white sheep with cotton-like wool. It whimpered as it struggled along with a huge basket. Following behind her was a wolf the size of a house, salivating as it stared at her intently. The wolf swung its sharp claws at her.
It was clearly a flashpoint, but Il-Ho didn’t care.
Pounce!
“Mongsil, peekaboo!”
“Kyaaa! Gosh! You surprised me, Wolfie!”
A sheep and wolf was certainly an unusual pair, but they were in fact a couple, and the most cringy one at that!
“You seem to struggle carrying this basket. What's in it? Sniff sniff— Oh? Isn't this the cabbage from your parent’s farm?”
“I'm going to use it at the banquet. Do you want to have a taste?”
“Grr! Sure!”
“Here, aaah~”
“Aaah~”
The wolf took a bite of the cabbage that the sheep fed him.
Crunch crunch!
Unlike his appearance, the wolf was a vegan like the rest of the beasts living on this island.
Wolfie raised a thumb. “Your cabbage is always the best!”
“Hoho, really...? Eep! Stop licking me, Wolfie!”
“I love you, Mongsil~!”
Watching the couple walk away in the distance while doing public displays of affection, Il-Ho felt a part in his heart grow numb. He missed Anty more than ever that day.
Then, he wondered to himself. Eden was an island full of peace and blessings, where carnivores and herbivores lived in harmony. The word destruction didn’t suit that heavenly place in the slightest.
“Geez! I should stop overthinking it! I should just train my muscles! God Yu Il-Shin said it before, good muscles make it easier for the mind!”
Dismissing all thoughts, Il-Ho began doing raises with the dumbbell sword slung over his back.
“Muscles! Muscles!”
As a warm-up, he completed about 3,000 lifts of the 100-ton dumbbell sword. Now, it was time for muscle squats!
Ding ding ding!
Just then, a clear, silvery sound of bell ringing came from the center of the island.
“It's the banquet!”
“Already? Let's hurry!”
The Divine Beasts all across the island stopped everything they were doing and rushed to the source of the sound.
“Il-Ho, what are you doing there! Come over quickly!”
Even Rollie came to rush to Il-Ho. He must’ve finished rolling a lap around the island.
“Alright...” Il-Ho stopped and followed after Rollie, muttering to himself, “I haven't even started proper muscle training yet.”