A few days before their scheduled hunt of one of the 12 generals, the heroes were discussing an unexpected topic inside the chatting channel.
[Lloyd H.K.: The Heaven Defying General. It fits him. After all, he's going around destroying cities. What exactly is his goal...]
[Ye Jin Jin: We talked about this before. That there were undead who acted against the Emperor...]
[Prince Altania: That doesn't prove anything.]
[Ye Jin Jin: But still... if there was an undead like that, wouldn't they cooperate with us? If our goals are the same, we can form an alliance with them.]
Before he entered the chatting channel, Lee Shin Woo told Ye Jin Jin that he was that Heaven Defying General. He'd told her without hesitating, as she already knew he was undead.After that, Ye Jin Jin tried her best to keep the other heroes from looking at him, or the Heaven Defying General too negatively. However, that wasn't the easiest job in the world.
[Seira Von Retadane: It's meaningless. All undead are the same. They're the enemy of all humans.]
[Ethan Cruz: It's a tough problem. Since all the undead in the Empire are obsessed with the living. Even if it looks like they're intelligent, they revert to their undead nature when it matters most. Cooperating, huh. How can you trust him enough to cooperate with him?]
How shameless! He himself was a Necromancer who controlled undead heroes. Lee Shin Woo decided that now was a good time to both ease the tension against the undead and take a subtle stab at Ethan Cruz.
[Lee Shin Woo: I think Ye Jin Jin may be onto something. Who's to say all undead are against us? What if there were a hero conscripted by God herself that could control the undead. Like a Necromancer?!]
[Seira Von Retadane: This is the only thing that Ethan and I agree on. The undead are impurities upon this world; they defy God herself! God would never create a Necromancer, as her penultimate goal is to eradicate the undead from this world. Regardless of whether they're with a Necromancer, the other 12 generals or the Heaven Defying General, if they appear before you, you must kill them.]
[Ethan Cruz: …]
[Lee Shin Woo: …]
Lee Shin Woo and Ethan began sweating at Seira's statement. Her hatred for the undead was beyond irrational. She was upstanding and righteous in an overbearing way.
[Ye Jin Jin: But still… the Heaven Defying General has done nothing to warrant hostilities from the heroes.]
[Erian Ruparte: I understand how you feel, Jin Jin. However, even I think that it would be impossible to cooperate with the undead. There's something you need to consider before relying on them. Can you be sure that they are not affected by the curse? Can they not be controlled by the Emperor like every other undead in the Empire?]
[Silene Viesa: It doesn't make sense to form an alliance with the undead. You should know since you've been here longer, that the undead are unapproachable. Even if we could form an alliance, God gave the quest to purify them all for a reason.]
Although Silene Viesa was the most recent hero, they had adapted to the Empire extremely quickly, as a result of actively fighting against the undead. Silene Viesa had done more in the Empire than Ye Jin Jin, causing them to look down on Ye Jin Jin.
[Lloyd H.K.: Silene, that's enough. Of course, I agree with you, but...]
[Prince Altania: Mm... Right?]
[Lloyd H.K.: What's with you?]
[Prince Altania: It's nothing. That's obvious. Mmm... I've never met an undead like that before, but I'm sure that that Heaven Defying General bastard has something else up his sleeve.]
[Seira Von Retadane: I think he's out of our league right now, so we should avoid him for the moment. ...Ethan Cruz, are you still going to proceed with your plan, despite everything that has happened?]
[Ethan Cruz: I think we should proceed because of what has happened. It'll become more difficult to hunt the 12 generals if the Empire's movements change, so shouldn't we go for it before then? With that in mind... everyone listen up. I've finalized the time, place, and the target. I know the way his troops are moving, so I plan on attacking first. I'll send the participants the location right away.]
[Prince Altania: Ooooh!]
[Silene Viesa: Keuk, I want to go too...]
Was it finally beginning? Despite an unknown force, the Heaven Defying General showing up in the Empire, it seemed like Ethan planned on going through with his plan. Soon, Lee Shin Woo was contacted by Ethan Cruz.
[Ethan Cruz: I believe in you, Super Rookie!]
[Lee Shin Woo: I believe in you too, Senior.]
[Ethan Cruz: Haha, flattery won't work.]
The battleground was a northeast area in the level 3 danger zone and was quite close to the level 4 danger zone, but because of the perilous mountain range behind it, there was a small possibility of enemies showing up.
It would be in three days at dusk when the Empire's artificial sun became dim.
Their target was the level 7 Beast General. Since Lee Shin Woo had never heard of him before, he assumed that Ethan Cruz had indeed picked the weakest amongst the 12 generals.
'I assume he has his undead mixed in with the enemy troops, but the issue is what else he has up his sleeve.'
As Lee Shin Woo contemplated all possible moves Ethan Cruz could deploy… A light bulb turned on in his head!
'What if he has another general coming from over the mountain? … If that's the case then they need a mode of communication to set up the ambush or time the reinforcements.'
Lee Shin Woo was sure of it. As the city which sent a report while he was conquering it, as well as where the Vulture General had sent his scouts, was the city that Ethan Cruz was talking about!
Lee Shin Woo then remembered that he still had the communication device found on the city lord. If he used his Mana and just tweaked some of the device's functions… Yes! He could detect other similar devices within a certain area and interfere or even hijack their signal!
[Master, I can integrate the device's functions into my system.]
"That's a good idea Rem."
Now that he had the surveillance golem, Rem, Lee Shin Woo could use Assimilation and interfere with the communication remotely!
"It's time we start to prepare for the battle in 3 days."
[We are at your command.]
Lee Shin Woo sat Kratia behind him atop Jin's back. Once he'd looked over his forces one last time, he looked at the sky, even though he knew that there weren't any scouts in the sky through Rem.
"The Vulture General, huh... I guess we'll end up facing him after all."
"You have a good idea, Kratia?"
"If you attach wings to Jin, then we can take care of him ourselves."
"Hey, don't put anything on me!"
Lee Shin Woo ignored the quarreling Jin and Kratia and worked on something he'd been postponing. Training the level 6 staff, the Bone Winged Serpent's skill: Serpent's Whirlwind.
"Hoo... I should get a feel for this before I meet Retadane."
"You're going to try it out?"
"Yeah."
Seira Von Retadane. Apparently, she wielded light magic. Light magic was like poison to the undead, and it was a power that every hero wanted.
Lee Shin Woo was surprised when he obtained darkness magic, but he just accepted it and moved on. He had thought that the darkness element suited him, as he was an undead as well.
However, when he thought he might be able to use light magic by using his staff in tandem with his darkness magic, he suddenly felt a fear that he'd never experienced before.
"Why have you been postponing it for so long then?"
"...To be honest, I attempted it before the staff evolved, but at the time, the staff's output was too low, so I failed."
The darkness element was clearly different from the other elements. When he'd awakened the darkness element, it was definitely described as a 'great element'. If that's the case, then the light element, which was its polar opposite, should be a 'great element' as well. The power of light was much too great for the staff at the time.
However, once the staff had evolved into the Bone Winged Serpent, he came to the conclusion that it would be able to convert the darkness element as well. If that was true, then all that was left was Lee Shin Woo's decision.
"Even if it damages me, I want to see it with my very own eyes before someone else uses it against me."
"...Shin Woo, don't use that on me."
"Wow, how considerate of you... Anyway, let's go."
Lee Shin Woo grabbed onto one of the Breath of the Lightning Gods, which floated in the air behind him as if protecting him, and converted it into a Bone Winged Serpent. And he carefully infused a small amount of darkness magic inside.
[Activating the Serpent's Whirlwind.]
The bone wings fluttered, and the infused power began swirling. The old staff would've stopped and blown a fuse in the middle, but it didn't this time. Although it didn't amplify it by very much, the darkness magic was definitely being converted into light!
Lee Shin Woo carefully stretched out his hand and grabbed onto the light. But at that moment, it felt like a power he hadn't even been aware of began to well up within him.
[Holy Resistance is reacting to the light magic. You have acquired Light Resistance: MAX. Magic has increased by 100.]
[Through the power of extreme exposure to Light, The Light Element has been comprehended and Magic has increased by 1500.]
"...!?"
Lee Shin Woo could feel it. The Holy and Light elements were similar. Which is why when he got Light Resistance his stat gain was so low; he already had Holy Resistance: MAX. Yet he also started to comprehend what light truly was.
Lee Shin Woo was in a fantastical state of mind. Everything light suddenly made sense. It was the element that severed, much like how darkness was the element that bonded people. He felt that he could understand most of the good and bad of this world. The connections and bonds between everything and anything, and also sever it. Everything…
"Jin, come here for a sec."
"Shin Woo, why are you looking at me like that?! Like I'm some sort of lab rat?"
"Don't worry about it, I just want to test my new light element. I can see and sever many connections now… including your connection to your current body. I also have a better understanding of darkness now too... I think I can use Assimilation and disguise in tandem now!"
""...""
Both Kratia and Jin were speechless. Lee Shin Woo could now interfere with God! Moreover, Jin could finally take on a human appearance and not have to be quiet around other heroes.
Before Jin could say anything in return, Lee Shin Woo began to use Assimilation and disguise to revert Jin back to his former world's form. And soon after a flash of light…
"..."
"Wow, Jin I didn't know you were also a god?!"
Kratia was speechless. She was sure Jin was a female, but what stood before her was a cute young man. He was dainty for a male, almost like a bishounen. He had a beautiful complexion, slightly chubby cheeks, like his baby fat was still showing, short black hair that shone as if it were polished onyx, and wore a toga and sandals with cute little wings. He was the greek god from Earth, Hermes!
"H-hello…"
"..."
Jin blushed as he greeted Kratia.
Lee Shin Woo was amazed.
'So that's why I never heard of a sprinter named Jin Taylor… Even though I was sure he was from Earth, and even from a time before my own.'