Before the black vortex had begun to glow, there were two giants who clashed with their axes at formidable speeds in the middle of the brutal carnage.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
They were the two largest and strongest of the warriors.
The white fur coat was stained with blood, and the black fur coat was smeared with flesh.
“Thrymrrr!”
“Thjaziii!”
The shouts of the two giants pierced through the heat of the battlefield and echoed in the air.
Clang!
The four axes collided at the same time again, and sparks flew through the air while blood poured down like rain.
“You’ve gotten stronger!” Thrymr shouted.
“You’ve stayed the same!” Thjazi laughed.
Squelch!
However, a huge wound appeared on Thjazi’s shoulder right after.
Thrymr hadn’t progressed at all, while Thjazi had grown stronger.
Nevertheless, Thjazi still wondered if he still wasn't able to reach the other giant. His face contorted in pain.
Thrymr had been hailed as one of the strongest warriors in all of the tribes of the frost giants. He had been an honorable warrior and was spoken about with respect regardless of who mentioned him.
“Why?! Why did you betray your people?!” Thjazi screamed, asking Thrymr a question he had never asked before.
Squelch!
The ax wasn’t a weapon made for slicing flesh. It was a weapon meant to cleave through flesh and sunder bones.
Blood spurted from Thrymr’s forearm—Thjazi’s attack had been successful.
"Why?! Why have you forsaken us!" Thjazi cried out as he rampaged forward with an even greater speed.
Clang!
Thjazi’s and Thrymr's axes collided, and Thjazi's ax was shattered by Thrymr's force and fell to the floor. Thjazi had suddenly lost his weapon, but the giant clung onto Thrymr as if he didn’t even need one.
Boom!
He fell onto the land covered in ice with Thrymr.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bloodthirsty slaughter that was waged through axes held and flesh torn had now turned into a fight–no, a brawl.
“Are you telling me that I should just allow that bastard to act as if he was our king?!” Thrymr finally shouted.
All of sudden, the top and the bottom had reversed.
Thjazi, who had been attacking Thrymr indiscriminately, fell to the ground, and Thrymr mounted on top of him and started slamming his huge fists down.
"That motherfucker changed everything for us all!"
Thrymr also said something to Thjazi that he had never said before.
“Did you even know?!”
A blue light blazed from Thrymr's fist.
Bang!
His fist slammed toward Thjazi. It was an attack that could kill anyone in a single hit.
However.
"…"
Thjazi was still alive. Thrymr’s fist had smashed into the ground instead of Thjazi's face.
"He’s the one…"
Thjazi's eyes trembled as he heard Thrymr's words.
"That bastard is the one who killed my brother and your father, Avaldi.”
"What…?" Thjazi looked at Thrymr with a look of disbelief.
"Loki! That motherfucker is the one who killed Alvaldi!"
Shhhhh.
At that instant, light began to spew out from the black vortex.
***
It felt amazing. His body was so light. Even though he hadn’t moved yet, he could tell that his body had become lighter, and his senses were magnified.
The mana around him was aiding him.
“...”
And just like that, Lee Jun-Kyeong opened his eyes.
Before his eyes, a harmony of gold and darkness was unfolding with a red light glinting between them. Lee Jun-Kyeong moved.
His legs had been floating in the air and now touched the ground.
Throb.
As he made contact with the earth, the dense mana that filled the ground around him came rushing in.
"Mr. Won-Hwa."
Won-Hwa had regained his vitality by eating the apple of Idunn.
However, it looked like the full effects of the item were not being shown yet.
The apple of Idunn was, in some ways, more effective than the Elixir.
After all, it induced growth.
It was a treasure among treasures that could increase one’s stats just by eating it. However, with Won-Hwa, the changes to his body could be said to have only been slightly better than before. There was no significant increase in ability that could be seen.
‘Is that because of me?’
Since Lee Jun-Kyeong had been trying to absorb all the mana that was inside the formation, apparently, he had even absorbed the mana that was contained in the apple of Idunn.
As proof of that, Lee Jun-Kyeong clasped his hands and spread them out.
He marveled, "I can't believe it."
Flames appeared and disappeared. He had gotten incomparably stronger compared to before.
He felt as though he could even beat Heracles now.
“Mr. Won-Hwa.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong called the physician again, but there was no answer.
Most likely, Hua Tuo was either still in the process of healing or he was unable to wake up due to some side effect of maintaining the formation.
Lee Jun-Kyeong slowly tried to gather the scattered mana.
He had to take Won-Hwa to Utgard and…
“...!”
As if he hadn’t fully come to his senses till this point, after Lee Jun-Kyeong had absorbed the remaining mana, he had finally felt a presence outside of the vortex.
There were dozens of auras outside of the vortex he was within.
‘No, it’s not dozens.’
As the veil of mana faded, beyond the rotating mana that began to swirl more and more, he could finally see something. He gasped involuntarily, “There are hundreds… no, thousands?”
He could feel the energy of a huge number of people, including those with great power.
Some of them were familiar.
‘Mr. Jeong.’
There were even Jeong In-Chang and Thjazi.
Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered why there was a battle. But then, he felt their energies exploding outward fiercely.
Lee Jun-Kyeong hurried to absorb all of the mana. The rotating and swirling types of mana began to clash with each other and began to spit out light. As the emitted light grew stronger and blocked his view, finally, the formation had been lifted.
"…”
"…”
Then, in front of the gaze of everyone, someone opened their mouth and said, “Mr. Lee…?”
It was Jeong In-Chang, speaking to him with a face covered in blood.
“What a relief!” Jeong In-Chang continued.
Lee Jun-Kyeong scanned his surroundings.
It was the scene of a gruesome battle, but it was a battle that had been put on hold momentarily due to his appearance.
Most likely, they had stopped fighting for a moment due to the strange energy that had been emitted from the destruction of the formation.
Within all that, Lee Jun-Kyeong noticed something.
‘Those people are the Chinese Hunters.’
They were Hunters who had opposed the warriors of Utgard. He also noticed Jeong In-Chang and even Thjazi and Thrymr.
The eyes of countless giants were gathered on him.
“Grr.”
A blood-stained Fenrir snorted and greeted Lee Jun-Kyeong. However, things didn’t end with just the gazes upon him.
[<The Sky of the Apocalypse> expresses his dissatisfaction with you.]
Lee Jun-Kyeong was bewildered.
Why was his Sponsor expressing dissatisfaction all of a sudden…?
At that time, a voice rang out.
[You have completed an unbelievable achievement!]
[The level of the mana stream has risen by one.]
[The level of Harmony, Purification, and Demonic Mana Resistance has risen.]
[Harmony, Purification, and Demonic Mana Resistance have combined into Purity.]
[Hyeon-Mu has grown by one level.]
Moreover, Lee Jun-Kyeong's bracelet glowed.
[The seal of Fenrir is released by one stage.]
The white wolf also radiated light.
"…"
Without anyone noticing it, the battle had stopped.
However, with the shout of a Hunter, the battle ensued again.
"Now is our chance! What are you doing?! Move!"
The giants of Utgard, who had lost their minds for a while, were distracted by the Hunters’ attack, and the Nar came to their senses and mustered to drive their warriors forward again.
"Hyeon-Mu!" Lee Jun-Kyeong shouted.
When the light illuminating the battlefield disappeared, the light from Lee Jun-Kyeong's bracelet soon turned into darkness that stood in front of Lee Jun-Kyeong.
–I await your order…
Suddenly, a Skeleton appeared in front of Lee Jun-Kyeong—no, it seemed too hard and too agile to call it a skeleton, and knelt down on one knee while emitting a black aura.
Soon after, the skeleton said again.
–I have received it.
A set of troops then appeared behind Hyeon-Mu's back.
Although their numbers hadn’t increased, each individual soldier seemed to have grown even stronger and more sturdy. In particular, blue flames emitted from their eyes, and their bones seemed to have gotten thicker and stronger.
Lee Jun-Kyeong handed Won-Hwa to Hyeon-Mu. The skeleton’s job was to protect Won-Hwa, who was still unconscious.
"Fenrir!"
Lee Jun-Kyeong then immediately called Fenrir. The pure white wolf exuded an even purer beauty.
"Grrroar!"
He ran to Lee Jun-Kyeong. The Nar who were blocking his path all fell down at once and rolled on the ground.
Lee Jun-Kyeong quickly climbed on the wolf's back.
"Let's go!" he shouted
Fenrir started running.
"Thjazi!"
The first destination that Lee Jun-Kyeong had chosen was to reach Thjazi, whose life was in danger.
The giant Thrymr had been gazing at Thjazi with an indecipherable expression and looked over at Lee Jun-Kyeong.
However, Lee Jun-Kyeong had already arrived by Thjazi and Thrymr’s side like a sudden gale before the giant could react.
"Ha-a-ap!"
Lee Jun-Kyeong jumped off Fenrir's back and immediately hit Thrymr's face. His fist ached as if he had hit a rock, but soon a sound rang out.
Boom!
Thud!
With the sound of a leather drum popping, Thrymr collapsed.
It was an incredible power, impossible to describe.
“Thrymr has…”
The giant Thjazi looked at Lee Jun-Kyeong again with an expression of disbelief. The Hunter came and stood next to Thjazi.
But, soon, he had no choice but to draw Muspel’s Spear because of the powerful bloodlust he felt from behind him.
Swish!
"Fenrir. It's okay to run free."
As if he had been waiting for Lee Jun-Kyeong's permission, Fenrir rushed into the battlefield. The warriors of Utgard, who had been pushed back, soon saw hope.
As for what Muspel’s Spear was blocking.
"Who the hell are you?"
It was a sword—a Hunter, the Chinese Hunter, had slashed his sword at him.
Screech!
However, he was facing Lee Jun-Kyeong who had the power to defeat even Thrymr in one blow. With a flurry of sparks, Muspel’s Spear flung aside the opponent's sword.
“...!”
Lee Jun-Kyeong pierced forward toward his confused opponent.
Swish!
His target was the man’s shoulder. The moment he had thought about stabbing the Hunter in the shoulder, Muspel’s Spear had reached that point.
Creak.
As Muspel’s Spear was about to break past the man’s armor and pierce through the skin with a groaning sound, someone knocked the spear tip aside.
Clang!
“Hyungnim!”
There wasn’t just one intruder as there was another Hunter as well. A total of three hunters were looking down at Lee Jun-Kyeong.
One held a sword, another a long serpent spear, and the last a guandao.
They shouted at Lee Jun-Kyeong, "Who are you?!"
"That’s…"
Lee Jun-Kyeong changed his stance and prepared to attack, after which he said, "That's what I wanted to ask. Who are you?"
He had felt the strength of the opponents when he had blocked the attack previously. These three Hunters were strong.
In particular, the strength of the two men, the two who used the guandao and shemao as weapons rather than a sword, was not something he could ignore.
If he had fought any of them individually, they wouldn’t be able to stand up against him. However, if he had to face all three of them at the same time…
‘Could they reach a similar level to Heracles?’
However, Lee Jun-Kyeong couldn’t even guess who they were. At their level of skill, he felt as though there was a chance that he had heard of their identities in the future.
“I am…”
It was the man who had attacked him earlier with a sword. His big ears flapped as he said, “They call me Liu Bei.”
1. This brother is referring to a bosom friend, not a familial brother.
2. If you remember back when Utgard was introduced, this is referring to Utgard-Loki, the Jotunn, not Loki the Asgardian (but also still a Jotunn).
3. Skeleton the monster, not the bones.
4. The guandao is famously a weapon created by Guan Yu, and was known to be an imposing weapon that terrified all that saw it. Visualizing it, it is essentially a massive saber connected to a heavy and long handle, forming a terrifying halberd. Guan Yu’s guandao was called Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
5. The shemao is an odd weapon. As referenced above by the name serpent spear, it is a triangular spear, but not in the way one would expect, with the spear point being the tip of the triangle. It’s more of an inverted triangle blade, with the blade edges themselves being wavy like a kris. The shemao is most famously the weapon of Zhang Fei.
Before the black vortex had begun to glow, there were two giants who clashed with their axes at formidable speeds in the middle of the brutal carnage.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
They were the two largest and strongest of the warriors.
The white fur coat was stained with blood, and the black fur coat was smeared with flesh.
“Thrymrrr!”
“Thjaziii!”
The shouts of the two giants pierced through the heat of the battlefield and echoed in the air.
Clang!
The four axes collided at the same time again, and sparks flew through the air while blood poured down like rain.
“You’ve gotten stronger!” Thrymr shouted.
“You’ve stayed the same!” Thjazi laughed.
Squelch!
However, a huge wound appeared on Thjazi’s shoulder right after.
Thrymr hadn’t progressed at all, while Thjazi had grown stronger.
Nevertheless, Thjazi still wondered if he still wasn't able to reach the other giant. His face contorted in pain.
Thrymr had been hailed as one of the strongest warriors in all of the tribes of the frost giants. He had been an honorable warrior and was spoken about with respect regardless of who mentioned him.
“Why?! Why did you betray your people?!” Thjazi screamed, asking Thrymr a question he had never asked before.
Squelch!
The ax wasn’t a weapon made for slicing flesh. It was a weapon meant to cleave through flesh and sunder bones.
Blood spurted from Thrymr’s forearm—Thjazi’s attack had been successful.
"Why?! Why have you forsaken us!" Thjazi cried out as he rampaged forward with an even greater speed.
Clang!
Thjazi’s and Thrymr's axes collided, and Thjazi's ax was shattered by Thrymr's force and fell to the floor. Thjazi had suddenly lost his weapon, but the giant clung onto Thrymr as if he didn’t even need one.
Boom!
He fell onto the land covered in ice with Thrymr.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bloodthirsty slaughter that was waged through axes held and flesh torn had now turned into a fight–no, a brawl.
“Are you telling me that I should just allow that bastard to act as if he was our king?!” Thrymr finally shouted.
All of sudden, the top and the bottom had reversed.
Thjazi, who had been attacking Thrymr indiscriminately, fell to the ground, and Thrymr mounted on top of him and started slamming his huge fists down.
"That motherfucker changed everything for us all!"
Thrymr also said something to Thjazi that he had never said before.
“Did you even know?!”
A blue light blazed from Thrymr's fist.
Bang!
His fist slammed toward Thjazi. It was an attack that could kill anyone in a single hit.
However.
"…"
Thjazi was still alive. Thrymr’s fist had smashed into the ground instead of Thjazi's face.
"He’s the one…"
Thjazi's eyes trembled as he heard Thrymr's words.
"That bastard is the one who killed my brother and your father, Avaldi.”
"What…?" Thjazi looked at Thrymr with a look of disbelief.
"Loki! That motherfucker is the one who killed Alvaldi!"
Shhhhh.
At that instant, light began to spew out from the black vortex.
***
It felt amazing. His body was so light. Even though he hadn’t moved yet, he could tell that his body had become lighter, and his senses were magnified.
The mana around him was aiding him.
“...”
And just like that, Lee Jun-Kyeong opened his eyes.
Before his eyes, a harmony of gold and darkness was unfolding with a red light glinting between them. Lee Jun-Kyeong moved.
His legs had been floating in the air and now touched the ground.
Throb.
As he made contact with the earth, the dense mana that filled the ground around him came rushing in.
"Mr. Won-Hwa."
Won-Hwa had regained his vitality by eating the apple of Idunn.
However, it looked like the full effects of the item were not being shown yet.
The apple of Idunn was, in some ways, more effective than the Elixir.
After all, it induced growth.
It was a treasure among treasures that could increase one’s stats just by eating it. However, with Won-Hwa, the changes to his body could be said to have only been slightly better than before. There was no significant increase in ability that could be seen.
‘Is that because of me?’
Since Lee Jun-Kyeong had been trying to absorb all the mana that was inside the formation, apparently, he had even absorbed the mana that was contained in the apple of Idunn.
As proof of that, Lee Jun-Kyeong clasped his hands and spread them out.
He marveled, "I can't believe it."
Flames appeared and disappeared. He had gotten incomparably stronger compared to before.
He felt as though he could even beat Heracles now.
“Mr. Won-Hwa.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong called the physician again, but there was no answer.
Most likely, Hua Tuo was either still in the process of healing or he was unable to wake up due to some side effect of maintaining the formation.
Lee Jun-Kyeong slowly tried to gather the scattered mana.
He had to take Won-Hwa to Utgard and…
“...!”
As if he hadn’t fully come to his senses till this point, after Lee Jun-Kyeong had absorbed the remaining mana, he had finally felt a presence outside of the vortex.
There were dozens of auras outside of the vortex he was within.
‘No, it’s not dozens.’
As the veil of mana faded, beyond the rotating mana that began to swirl more and more, he could finally see something. He gasped involuntarily, “There are hundreds… no, thousands?”
He could feel the energy of a huge number of people, including those with great power.
Some of them were familiar.
‘Mr. Jeong.’
There were even Jeong In-Chang and Thjazi.
Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered why there was a battle. But then, he felt their energies exploding outward fiercely.
Lee Jun-Kyeong hurried to absorb all of the mana. The rotating and swirling types of mana began to clash with each other and began to spit out light. As the emitted light grew stronger and blocked his view, finally, the formation had been lifted.
"…”
"…”
Then, in front of the gaze of everyone, someone opened their mouth and said, “Mr. Lee…?”
It was Jeong In-Chang, speaking to him with a face covered in blood.
“What a relief!” Jeong In-Chang continued.
Lee Jun-Kyeong scanned his surroundings.
It was the scene of a gruesome battle, but it was a battle that had been put on hold momentarily due to his appearance.
Most likely, they had stopped fighting for a moment due to the strange energy that had been emitted from the destruction of the formation.
Within all that, Lee Jun-Kyeong noticed something.
‘Those people are the Chinese Hunters.’
They were Hunters who had opposed the warriors of Utgard. He also noticed Jeong In-Chang and even Thjazi and Thrymr.
The eyes of countless giants were gathered on him.
“Grr.”
A blood-stained Fenrir snorted and greeted Lee Jun-Kyeong. However, things didn’t end with just the gazes upon him.
[<The Sky of the Apocalypse> expresses his dissatisfaction with you.]
Lee Jun-Kyeong was bewildered.
Why was his Sponsor expressing dissatisfaction all of a sudden…?
At that time, a voice rang out.
[You have completed an unbelievable achievement!]
[The level of the mana stream has risen by one.]
[The level of Harmony, Purification, and Demonic Mana Resistance has risen.]
[Harmony, Purification, and Demonic Mana Resistance have combined into Purity.]
[Hyeon-Mu has grown by one level.]
Moreover, Lee Jun-Kyeong's bracelet glowed.
[The seal of Fenrir is released by one stage.]
The white wolf also radiated light.
"…"
Without anyone noticing it, the battle had stopped.
However, with the shout of a Hunter, the battle ensued again.
"Now is our chance! What are you doing?! Move!"
The giants of Utgard, who had lost their minds for a while, were distracted by the Hunters’ attack, and the Nar came to their senses and mustered to drive their warriors forward again.
"Hyeon-Mu!" Lee Jun-Kyeong shouted.
When the light illuminating the battlefield disappeared, the light from Lee Jun-Kyeong's bracelet soon turned into darkness that stood in front of Lee Jun-Kyeong.
–I await your order…
Suddenly, a Skeleton appeared in front of Lee Jun-Kyeong—no, it seemed too hard and too agile to call it a skeleton, and knelt down on one knee while emitting a black aura.
Soon after, the skeleton said again.
–I have received it.
A set of troops then appeared behind Hyeon-Mu's back.
Although their numbers hadn’t increased, each individual soldier seemed to have grown even stronger and more sturdy. In particular, blue flames emitted from their eyes, and their bones seemed to have gotten thicker and stronger.
Lee Jun-Kyeong handed Won-Hwa to Hyeon-Mu. The skeleton’s job was to protect Won-Hwa, who was still unconscious.
"Fenrir!"
Lee Jun-Kyeong then immediately called Fenrir. The pure white wolf exuded an even purer beauty.
"Grrroar!"
He ran to Lee Jun-Kyeong. The Nar who were blocking his path all fell down at once and rolled on the ground.
Lee Jun-Kyeong quickly climbed on the wolf's back.
"Let's go!" he shouted
Fenrir started running.
"Thjazi!"
The first destination that Lee Jun-Kyeong had chosen was to reach Thjazi, whose life was in danger.
The giant Thrymr had been gazing at Thjazi with an indecipherable expression and looked over at Lee Jun-Kyeong.
However, Lee Jun-Kyeong had already arrived by Thjazi and Thrymr’s side like a sudden gale before the giant could react.
"Ha-a-ap!"
Lee Jun-Kyeong jumped off Fenrir's back and immediately hit Thrymr's face. His fist ached as if he had hit a rock, but soon a sound rang out.
Boom!
Thud!
With the sound of a leather drum popping, Thrymr collapsed.
It was an incredible power, impossible to describe.
“Thrymr has…”
The giant Thjazi looked at Lee Jun-Kyeong again with an expression of disbelief. The Hunter came and stood next to Thjazi.
But, soon, he had no choice but to draw Muspel’s Spear because of the powerful bloodlust he felt from behind him.
Swish!
"Fenrir. It's okay to run free."
As if he had been waiting for Lee Jun-Kyeong's permission, Fenrir rushed into the battlefield. The warriors of Utgard, who had been pushed back, soon saw hope.
As for what Muspel’s Spear was blocking.
"Who the hell are you?"
It was a sword—a Hunter, the Chinese Hunter, had slashed his sword at him.
Screech!
However, he was facing Lee Jun-Kyeong who had the power to defeat even Thrymr in one blow. With a flurry of sparks, Muspel’s Spear flung aside the opponent's sword.
“...!”
Lee Jun-Kyeong pierced forward toward his confused opponent.
Swish!
His target was the man’s shoulder. The moment he had thought about stabbing the Hunter in the shoulder, Muspel’s Spear had reached that point.
Creak.
As Muspel’s Spear was about to break past the man’s armor and pierce through the skin with a groaning sound, someone knocked the spear tip aside.
Clang!
“Hyungnim!”
There wasn’t just one intruder as there was another Hunter as well. A total of three hunters were looking down at Lee Jun-Kyeong.
One held a sword, another a long serpent spear, and the last a guandao.
They shouted at Lee Jun-Kyeong, "Who are you?!"
"That’s…"
Lee Jun-Kyeong changed his stance and prepared to attack, after which he said, "That's what I wanted to ask. Who are you?"
He had felt the strength of the opponents when he had blocked the attack previously. These three Hunters were strong.
In particular, the strength of the two men, the two who used the guandao and shemao as weapons rather than a sword, was not something he could ignore.
If he had fought any of them individually, they wouldn’t be able to stand up against him. However, if he had to face all three of them at the same time…
‘Could they reach a similar level to Heracles?’
However, Lee Jun-Kyeong couldn’t even guess who they were. At their level of skill, he felt as though there was a chance that he had heard of their identities in the future.
“I am…”
It was the man who had attacked him earlier with a sword. His big ears flapped as he said, “They call me Liu Bei.”
1. This brother is referring to a bosom friend, not a familial brother.
2. If you remember back when Utgard was introduced, this is referring to Utgard-Loki, the Jotunn, not Loki the Asgardian (but also still a Jotunn).
3. Skeleton the monster, not the bones.
4. The guandao is famously a weapon created by Guan Yu, and was known to be an imposing weapon that terrified all that saw it. Visualizing it, it is essentially a massive saber connected to a heavy and long handle, forming a terrifying halberd. Guan Yu’s guandao was called Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
5. The shemao is an odd weapon. As referenced above by the name serpent spear, it is a triangular spear, but not in the way one would expect, with the spear point being the tip of the triangle. It’s more of an inverted triangle blade, with the blade edges themselves being wavy like a kris. The shemao is most famously the weapon of Zhang Fei.
