“Ah. If it’s possible, I would like to ask her to be my wife…”

Lee Gun’s gaze headed toward Hercules.

The gods also looked at Hercules with dumbfounded expressions. The pillar gods had put the fate of Olympus in Hercules’s hands. Was he betraying Olympus for a woman?!

Hailey, the subject of his interest, was also angry. Who the hell was he to claim her as his wife? “Who gave you the permission to—”

When an angry Hailey tried to take matters into her own hands… 

Bbah-ghak!!!

“!?!”

Lee Gun moved first as he kicked Hercules. Surprised, Olympus’s fighting-type god looked at Lee Gun. Lee Gun had his arms crossed as his eyes flashed.

Bbah-gahk!!

He once again kicked the flustered Hercules, this time between the legs.

Kwahng!!!

“…!”

Hercules let out a soundless scream when his important place was battered.

Everyone turned pale at this sight.

“H-Herc!!”

Hugo, who had his bow drawn, winced as he closed his eyes. He didn’t want to think about the pain. No, the pain wasn’t the problem.

‘He 100% lost function.’

This was Lee Gun’s kick. It was powerful enough to kill monsters with a single blow! Moreover, Hugo had seen it. The kick was imbued with the power of Death!

Lee Gun had used Eliminate, which could get rid of defensive skills and other important things in a ruthless manner!

Lee Gun didn’t care. He had an annoyed expression on his face as his eyes flashed. “How dare you say that to my cat?”

“Kuh-huhk—?!”

Hercules had no idea what he had done wrong as he clutched the part between his legs. He felt like dying. Although he had the body of a fighting-type god, an attack of that nature might kill him. Moreover, his defense was down because of Lee Gun’s poison.

Hercules shook as he tried to endure the pain. “H-Hyung-nim, W-What did I do wrong…”

“You don’t know?”

“Yes! I don’t kn— Kuh-huhk!!”

Instead of answering, Lee Gun spoke to Hugo using “Construct Communication.”

“This is great, Taeksoo. I’ll take his junior and give it to you.”

Hugo was unable to speak.

[What? You crazy son of…]

He didn’t need such a dirty thing.

However, Lee Gun ignored Hugo’s opinion and looked at Hercules. “I have a high regard for your loyalty, so I’ll allow you to become my Construct.”

“!”

As soon as he spoke, a light appeared under Lee Gun’s feet. It was the symbol of the Serpent Bearer.

[Divine status “Hercules” became a Construct of the Serpent Bearer.]

<Herc>

[Divine status: Hercules (High-rank Zodiac)]

[Divine Name: Being that Smashes / Heaven’s Slayer / Hero of Gods]

[Abilities in Possession: Lift the Sky (5 star), Strongest Hero (5 star), Blood of Giganto Maxia (5 star), and 6 more]

[Fighting-type god’s attributes: Mind’s Eye, Inborn Predisposition, Weapon Master, Return, Slaughter, and 3 more]

The Symbol of the Serpent Bearer also appeared underneath Hercules.

[What would you like to name the qualified Construct?]

“Club.”

[Hercules has been nicknamed “Club.”]

The gods gathered there looked on in shock. Of course, they knew what that light meant.

“He made Olympus’s fighting-type god his Construct?”

“What?! That makes no sense!”

It didn’t matter if the gods were small or large. They were all involved in the flow of the universe. That was why Zodiacs usually employed Constructs to fight a proxy war. This allowed the Zodiacs to avoid Karmic debt and bloodshed.

This meant Constructs were considered the power of a Zodiac. The gods got stronger as they took in more powerful Constructs.

And fighting-type gods were the highest-rank power. They were so precious that they couldn’t be bought with money!

‘They are monsters that can change the tide of a battle! They can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat!’

In fact, the Olympus faction was able to survive the attack by the monarchs because of Hercules. Furthermore, the monarchs had been bloodied enough by the fighting-type gods. The fighting-type gods’ presence was the reason the monarchs had never invaded again.

Everyone was desperate to have a fighting-type god, but they were beings that couldn’t be brought on board.

‘Also, wasn’t Hercules being discussed as a candidate to become Olympus’s Great Spirit?’

‘A nameless and unknown god took him for a Construct!’

The gods had already forgotten about the bounties placed on the Olympus gods. The events that had unfolded in front of them were that shocking.

On the other hand, the pillar gods of Olympus reacted differently.

‘Herc! That crazy bastard!’

Was he backing out because he was blinded by a woman? Hercules was someone they had barely kept on their side by using debt.

Lee Gun didn’t care as he spoke. “What about your servant, Taeksoo?”

[Sagittarius ran away when he caught wind of what was happening. I’m sorry!]

Lee Gun was nonchalant as he accepted the answer. He had already expected Sagittarius to act that way.

Crossing his arms, Lee Gun walked toward Hercules, who was dying, and extended his hand. “Detox.”

When Lee Gun used the power of stage 5 of Life, the vitality chipped away by the poison was recovered.

[Power of Life stage 5 has been used.]

[The strong power of Life has suppressed the poison of Death.]

[The vitality of the Construct, which was harmed by the poison, will continuously recover (for 1 hour).]

Of course, he hadn’t neutralized the poison, so the pain hadn’t gone away. However, that was none of his business.

Lee Gun’s eyes flashed as he smirked. “This is an order as your Zodiac. Capture all the gods from Olympus.”

“!!”

When Hercules turned his head, he saw the angry pillar gods glaring at him. “Herc! You might be a brute, but this isn’t it.”

“You didn’t become a slave despite your debt because we intervened.”

Lee Gun snorted. “Hey. If you capture them, I’ll pay off all your debt.”

“!”

Hercules looked at Lee Gun as if this was unexpected, while the pillar gods turned pale from fright.

Poseidon’s eyes flashed. For some reason, he had wrapped himself in a cloak. “Herc, I trusted you. It isn’t too late. We’ll take you back if you admit that you made a foolish mistake. It’s something only you can do.”

Hercules furrowed his brows. They said they trusted him, yet they had gotten the goddesses of fate to intervene.

Moreover, he couldn’t attack his Zodiac even though he had yet to be acknowledged as a Construct by the Divine world. It would be an act that could demote him to the status of a slave, yet they were boldly asking him to carry that out.

At this point, the pillar gods realized that things had become too complicated. They started backing away.

Lee Gun’s red eyes flashed. “Ah! That’s right. I don’t have to go through the trouble of paying it off for you. If I get rid of them, your debt will be written off, right?”

“…!”

The next moment, a wind erupted behind Lee Gun.

Tahng!

Hercules instantly disappeared and reappeared behind the pillar gods.

‘!!’

He swung his hand, and the gods gathered in the group screamed.

“Wait… Kuh-huhk!!”

The fierce strike sent the cloak that Poseidon had worn flying, and the sight that emerged surprised the gods.

“P-Poseidon is a woman?!”

“Hmmph. I was wondering why he had on that cloak.”

“The proxy for the Great Spirit of Olympus is…!”

On the other hand, Lee Gun burst out laughing. “I see. He’s the one who suffered the gender swap.”

“!”

When Lee Gun had used Cycle within Olympus, he had confirmed it. Someone’s sex had changed, and someone’s appearance had changed.

Lee Gun seemed pleased. He cheekily laughed. “You look a thousand times better like that. You should continue to go around like that. You should bow down to me and thank me.”

“You bastard…!!”

Poseidon didn’t even have the chance to grind his teeth. The nameless gods who had come for the bounties were sent flying by Hercules’s attack.

“Ahhhk!”

The gods who had come to see what was going on screamed when a building fell.

As the situation took a drastic turn, Poseidon quickly ordered Olympus’s gods, “Shit! Retreat for now!”

The pillar gods, who had become humans, quickly tried to move to a different location.

Kwahng!!

However, Hercules captured them in one fell swoop.

“Koo-ahhhk!”

The eyes of Hugo and Hailey turned round, since they had nothing to do.

“Wow! This is very convenient.” Lee Gun laughed in a buoyant manner.

* * *

“Herc! You won’t get away with this!”

“That damn snake god!”

The pillar gods captured by Lee Gun were dragged away by the civil servants, and 

Lee Gun immediately received the bounty.

[Will you use the deposited bounty to pay off your debt?]

“Yes. All of it.”

Of course, he couldn’t pay off all the debt just from catching them. The amount was too large.

However, Yooha had continued to commit evil acts and place the blame on the pillar gods. This was why their bounties had increased.

The amount Lee Gun was lacking was bridged by the numerous miscellaneous gods that Hercules caught.

This was why the debt that was over 50 billion was…

[Serpent of Beginning & End: +100 million]

[No Divine name (Pushover): 0]

Lee Gun’s debt had been reduced in an instant, and he was satisfied. A debt that ran into the tens of millions had been paid off in one sitting.

That wasn’t all.

‘Any shortfall was solved by selling their items.’

These pillar gods possessed weapons and Divine items that were beyond imagination in terms of price.

This was why Lee Gun sold them for expensive, premium prices. Of course, something that bothered him did pop up.

[Soul with no Divine name (Pushover) cannot accumulate wealth because of his soul’s Karmic Debt.]

Soul’s Karmic debt? If it were the soul’s karmic debt, it probably didn’t happen in his current lifetime.

‘Is this why Hades wanted Taeksoo so bad?’

Since Hades was the god of the underworld, he could analyze a soul.

At that moment, as he had resolved his debt, an immediate reaction took place.

[The sealed Divine abilities have been released.]

[You have regained the right to use your weapon.]

“!”

Lee Gun’s abilities were released, and he could use his items now. This was also true for Hugo. That wasn’t all.

[The basic powers of a Zodiac have been released.]

[Offering, Trade, Zodiac Descent, etc]

[You will now be able to receive territory from the Divine world.]

Accompanying those words, a light appeared before Lee Gun, and his Constructs became happy.

[Oh! It is the territory of the Serpent Bearer temple, Master!]

[It comes with the land document. You’ll be able to buy and sell it.]

“Oh. Land document?” Since “land” was mentioned, Lee Gun looked forward to it.

Flash!

However, when he saw the items that appeared while emitting light, his expression was a sight to behold.

[Serpent Bearer’s Territory]

[Lowest-rank territory (Newspaper)]

[Seed and Claypot for the Territory (C rank)]

The items were a clay jar and a newspaper.

[It is the size of the territory allowed to the Serpent Bearer. It is set according to your level.]

[Current Zodiac rank: 204989 (Low rank)]

[You should increase your cumulative rank by acquiring Constructs and Achievements.]

[Please put your name into the Divine world and grow your territory.]

Lee Gun’s eyebrows rose. 

As for Hugo, he held the newspaper and clutched his stomach as he laughed. “Your territory is a newspaper…! Newspaper!”

The Constructs were also taken aback.

[That is…! It is probably because you didn’t officially undergo the measurement!]

[That’s right! I…If you were probably measured, you would have been given a large palace…!]

At that moment…

[A Zodiac that claimed to be your guardian and elder recommended the territory for the Serpent Bearer.]

[Sagittarius recommended the 0-rank territory (Newspaper).]

[Word from the guardian: Nephew! It seems you don’t know much, so I chose something with the most potential!]

The Constructs screamed when they saw Lee Gun’s expression.

[M…Master! It is fine!]

[Yes! A golden object of the same rank could have been gotten. It is too bad, but the newspaper is great in the fact that all kinds of information about gods could be learned from it…]

“Ha ha ha! A dog house would be better than this! Kuhk!” An angry Lee Gun kicked Hugo as he asked, “Where the hell did Sagittarius run away to? You can’t locate him?”

He had no idea why Sagittarius’s bounty was 60 billion, but it didn’t matter.

‘If we want to get out of the Divine world, I have to find the Rule Book.’

Even if Yeonwoo was able to steal the Rule Book, the problem was the “Key.”

‘I need the goddesses of fate. I need their power to use the Rule Book.’

He had to kidnap the goddesses, take the Divine status, or receive the qualification to use it.

[The goddesses of fate will never come out of their hiding. Just dragging them out will be tough.]

[That is correct. They know they are a target, so they only meet others remotely. They never reveal themselves…]

The Constructs seemed troubled, but Lee Gun unexpectedly laughed. The reason was the words Satyr (Pan) had told him in a conversation earlier.

- What? Goddesses of Fate?

- Yes. Do you know what will make those hikikomoris reveal themselves?

- T-The goddesses of fate want to marry Louis-nim!

- What? They want to marry whom?

- Sagittarius-nim! It’s true! Please return my hair now!!

Satyr (Pan) was affiliated with Olympus, so he knew about the relationships between the Olympus gods.

Lee Gun smirked when he thought about that piece of information. “Where is that baldie?”

“He can’t be tracked.”

Lee Gun clicked his tongue. If he put his mind to it, he could probably find Sagittarius. However, his opponent wasn’t an easy mark.

“Where is that bastard hiding?” Lee Gun concentrated, yet he couldn’t sense Sagittarius. It meant that the god of the sun was determined to hide.

“It’ll be impossible to catch the goddesses of fate without him…”

At that moment…

“Shall we drag him out into the open?”

“!”

The eyes of Osiris and Anubis shone as they appeared.

Lee Gun smirked, raising his eyes in contempt.