MTLNOVEL Chapter 294
Chapter 295. Failure is Treason, Success is Revolution (9)
Keter, who had located the future named monster, Green Wind, in an instant thanks to Toban’s power, was impressed.
“You blocked my arrow?”
As soon as he found Green Wind, he shot an arrow. It wasn’t an arrow fired with full power, but it was an arrow with the power assuming the opponent was a Grandmaster.
But Green Wind blocked it. With a not-so-impressive wind barrier.
Green Wind, who was ambushed, raised a staff with a strange statue high into the sky, but Keter ignored that and examined the wind barrier.
“Even if arrows are greatly affected by the wind, the wind volume here isn’t enough to block my arrow. Is this the realm of Authority?”
It was clear that the concept of ‘blocking projectiles’ was embedded in the wind barrier. A mere goblin, not even a Great Sorcerer, had unleashed such Authority.
‘The title Green Wind is given ten years later. Even now, ten years earlier, he can use divine power quite well.’
At that moment.
Wind gathered around Green Wind, and in an instant, a whirlwind descended from the sky and enveloped him.
“Oh, you can do this too?”
In the dry winter sky, a fierce wind suddenly began to blow. The wind was so strong that the surrounding trees and bushes began to be sucked in.
“Indeed, fitting for the future Goblin King.”
Green Wind grows his influence to the point of being called the Goblin King, beyond just a named monster.
A king among goblins. It’s something the whole world would laugh at.
But that complacency brought disaster.
Who could have expected that goblins from across the continent would unite and declare war on humans?
Moreover, who could have imagined that there wouldn’t be just one Goblin King, but nine, and that they all possessed Prime or greater Authority?
Ting.
Keter shot an arrow at Green Wind, who was enveloped in the whirlwind, as a test. This time, it was ‘Tusk,’ an arrow filled with considerable power, with penetration pushed to the limit.
In addition, he coated the arrow with multiple layers of Aura to protect it from being swept away by the wind, but-
“It doesn’t work at all.”
Futility. Tusk was swept away by the wind and disappeared high into the sky.
“He’s the natural enemy of archers.”
Not just archers, but also mages who primarily use long-range attacks.
Of course, even swordsmen don’t seem to have much of an advantage.
-Gerelek!
Green Wind made a strange noise and pointed his staff at Keter. Then, a whirlwind descended around Keter.
Kwaaaaaaah!
A whirlwind as big as a house tried to swallow Keter in the blink of an eye, but Keter leisurely dodged it and shot an arrow.
Not at Green Wind, but at the ground.
-Gelgelgel.
Green Wind thought Keter had gone mad from helplessness. What could he possibly do by shooting an arrow at the ground?
Thud.
But Green Wind’s head exploded. By an arrow that popped out from under his feet.
Keter’s arrow had pierced through the ground and emerged above.
“This works.”
And this was something Keter was trying for the first time.
He could make an arrow penetrate several meters of ground, but he couldn’t make it pop back up above ground.
To change direction, the arrow would have to turn its head, but how could it do that in the tightly packed underground?
He had tried it in water before, but this was the first time he tried it underground. This was entirely thanks to Toban’s ability.
“The nature of the ground changes so easily. Truly amazing. The performance is solid.”
The ground softened, allowing the arrow to easily dig in, and created space deep underground for the arrow to change direction.
Of course, even without Toban’s ability, Keter would have found another way to win, but there was no reason not to use Toban, who he had worked so hard to obtain even while dying.
Whoooosh.
As soon as Green Wind died, the strong wind subsided. The goblins watching around immediately scattered and began to flee upon seeing Green Wind’s corpse.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Keter didn’t let the fleeing goblins go. He scattered arrows in all directions from his fingers.
There were at least 500 fleeing goblins, and only eight arrows. It seemed insufficient, but eight was enough.
Celestial Infinity Technique No. 7, Drone.
The eight arrows pierced the foreheads of the fleeing goblins like living snakes in less than a second.
“Drone is now usable in real combat.”
Drone, which requires Ain to function perfectly, has become much more concise and faster in movement than before.
Leaving the goblin massacre to Drone, Keter examined Green Wind’s corpse.
Removing the mask he was wearing, he saw that apart from having a darker green skin tone, he was no different from other goblins.
“Just a goblin.”
That was Keter’s final comment.
After all, Keter’s goal wasn’t to kill Green Wind. Who would recognize him for dealing with a future Goblin King who would threaten humanity?
Heh heh heh.
Keter greedily looked at the staff Green Wind was holding. Then he grabbed the statue at the end of the staff.
Immediately, a scolding voice echoed in Keter’s head.
[You fool! How dare you touch the sacred body of me, Akashir, the God of Wind, with your filthy hands! If you kneel and apologize now and swear to serve me, I will generously forgive you this time!]
Keter shook his head at the angry voice of the self-proclaimed God of Wind, Akashir.
“No, how come these guys all have the same repertoire. Every one I meet says to serve them or calls me rude… Full of empty bluster with nothing to back it up.”
[What?! You truly need to taste the wrath of the wind to come to your senses!]
Rattle rattle rattle!
The statue trembled, and wind began to swirl around Keter.
Keter immediately invoked Toban’s power to pressure the statue.
[Ugh! This power? Could it be, are you a descendant of the Giants?!]
As the wind subsided, Akashir’s tone became much more humble. But it still wasn’t the reaction Keter wanted.
Thump.
Keter, holding the statue’s wings with both hands, applied a little force and said,
“I killed every single goblin who served you. If even this statue that embodies you disappears, what do you think will happen? My intellectual curiosity is piqued.”
[……]
“Humans and gods alike, live and die by their pride.”
Crack.
Akashir’s right wing broke.
Then a desperate voice came.
[Please calm down, descendant of the Giants… It was inevitable that I didn’t recognize you. You look perfectly human, after all.]
Crack.
The left wing also broke.
[Stop! Please stop now! Even I, the God of Wind, admit my mistake!]
Swish.
Keter fiddled with Akashir’s head with his fingers.
[I’m sorry.]
Only then did Keter smile with satisfaction.
“To summarize, Samuel plotted to eliminate you and other gods. Right?”
[Yes…]
After hearing from Akashir about how the once-great God of Wind had become so weak, Keter stroked his chin.
“Hmm. Target permanence.”
A god like Akashir cannot exist as a god without beings to worship him.
Long ago, everyone worshipped nature. Because they feared the overwhelming majesty, terror, and death brought by natural disasters.
Thanks to that, gods like Akashir always had followers without much effort, and through the offerings they regularly provided, they could enjoy divine power.
However, the ‘popularization of magic’ that started with the Empire, and the ‘Divine Eradication Operation’ brought decisive changes.
Natural disasters could now be defended against or dealt with using magic, and the phenomena once believed to be the work of gods were revealed to be nothing more than ‘natural phenomena.’ Scholars widely spread this knowledge.
“The wind blows not because of any god, but because of air pressure! This fan is a good example.”
Of course, at first, it had no effect. People who worshipped gods were furious, saying it was an insult to the gods.
But persistence and time are unbeatable. Even without worshipping gods, mages protected against natural disasters, and children learned about the principles of wind from teachers. How could they continue to believe in the existence of gods?
Eventually, Akashir and various other gods were completely forgotten in people’s memories.
[Then a goblin caught in a typhoon, fearing the wind, made a statue, and I, who had been dormant for a long time, was revived by residing in that statue.]
Sigh. My self-esteem is rising again. Should I become a godslayer?
[…Indeed…]
Not knowing when he might be revived if he disappeared again this time, Akashir didn’t spare honorifics.
Of course, if the opponent had been human, even if he were to disappear, he would never have done so.
‘Being a descendant of the Giants and possessing the Five Elemental Divine Artifacts, this person might soon become a god. It’s no shame for me to bow now.’
It was natural for Akashir to mistake Keter for a descendant of the Giants. The Five Elemental Divine Artifacts were divine artifacts exclusively for the Giants.
[But how did you know I was here?]
Akashir had hidden his presence as much as possible. At least until the goblins handling him gained enough divine power.
Keter answered without hesitation.
“Because I’m the master of the Five Elemental Divine Artifacts.”
The second reason Keter obtained Toban.
If anyone asked where he got information that others wouldn’t know, it was to answer like this.
[Indeed! But why did you come looking for me?]
“I came to give you a chance.”
[A chance, you say?]
“A chance to be worshipped by humans.”
[You will make humans worship me? That would be more than enough… But you must want something in return?]
“Rather than wanting, it’s a fair exchange. I’ll make the House of Sephira serve you. In return, you become Sephira’s guardian deity.”
Keter implanted memories of Sephira into Akashir, and upon learning that it was a massive family with tens of thousands of members, Akashir’s voice became cheerful.
[Protecting followers is a god’s duty. But are you really satisfied with just that?]
No matter how you look at it, only Akashir benefited. Being worshipped by humans is much better than by goblins.
This was also a thought born from not knowing the crisis Sephira would face, but Keter spoke as if doing a favor.
“You think so too, right? Even if you’re weak now, you’re still a god. Giving you favors without any cost would be an insult.”
[Yes… Do you need something?]
“Do you have anything?”
[…Not right now. When divine power weakens, past memories and Authority disappear.]
“But you can still bestow blessings on me, right?”
[You, a descendant of the Giants and master of the Five Elemental Divine Artifacts, need my blessing?]
Akashir, seeing Keter as a potential god, didn’t quite understand why he would need his blessing.
Keter, who believes ‘the more usable things, the better,’ encouraged Akashir.
“Don’t underestimate yourself. You’re the god who blocked my arrow and created wind. How could you not be helpful?”
[Hoo, hoo hoo. That’s right. Even though the goblins were stupid and got caught, before that, no attacks worked. Ahem, then- I will bestow upon you the greatest blessing I can.]
The Akashir statue trembled. Then, a gentle whirlwind descended from the sky onto Keter’s head.
[From now on, the wind will only blow from behind you, Keter.]
Meaning, he could run faster, and even arrows could be fired with the wind’s assistance.
At first glance, one might think, ‘Is this a god’s blessing?’ but Keter judged this to be a tremendous advantage.
‘No more headwinds. Heh heh heh, what a windfall.’
Keter, who didn’t expect such a good blessing, was delighted, but Akashir’s presence suddenly disappeared, as if he had run out of energy.
“Good job. Rest for a while.”
It wasn’t time to return to Sephira yet.
Just as Keter was about to move, the space in front of him split left and right, and a person walked out.
“I heard the master of Toban had appeared, and wondered who it was… It’s you again, Keter.”
Though he had never seen him before, Keter recognized who he was.
Ivan, the Great Sorcerer of the Syndicate. The one who had been desperately searching for a regressor had appeared before Keter.
Ivan suspected Keter was a regressor.
Although he had let it go before, persuaded by Keter, now Ivan’s eyes were filled with determination to hear no more excuses.
“You are definitely a regressor. Otherwise, how could you know about Toban’s trial, known only to a very few in the Syndicate? Passing Toban’s trial must be the result of hundreds, thousands of attempts using regression.”
Keter silently looked at Ivan. Ivan approached without hesitation and said,
“Moreover, I sense divine power from the statue in your hand. A statue imbued with divine power. You, who take such a precious thing as if digging potatoes in your front yard, what else could you be but a regressor?”
“Ivan. I’ve been thinking.”
“Have you thought of an excuse?”
“Clearly, last time you were convinced by my words, and we agreed to become friends. Since then, I thought we were in a cooperative relationship… Were you deceiving me?”
“The one deceiving is you, not me.”
“Want to know something interesting? Sometimes when people talk, it feels like the conversation isn’t getting through. Do you know why?”
Keter, putting the Akashir statue in his pocket, brushed back his hair.
“It’s because one side thinks the other is weak. They don’t want to have an equal conversation with the weak. The solution is simple. Show them who’s weak.”
Previously, Keter didn’t fight the Syndicate out of fear.
The burden of fighting a group full of Transcendent Beings when he wasn’t fully prepared. Worried that Sephira would definitely be involved, he used the Special Operations Unit to create a negotiation table.
So now, does he confront the Syndicate because he can win?
No.
‘Even if I can’t win, I won’t submit. That’s who I originally was.’
Since when did I fight while considering the opponent?
Keter found his past self pathetic.
“If someone can’t have a conversation, they need to be beaten.”
In Keter’s hands appeared the excellent means of conversation, ‘Maximum Output Milky Way.’