The Battle God watched the succession ceremony in interest. The war of nerves between Minhyuk and Nerva was fierce.

Latte, the Battle God’s aide, rubbed his chin and said, “It will start in an hour.”

The Battle God nodded slowly. “Nerva or Minhyuk. This will determine who will gain the power of the Battle God.”

He had chosen Nerva as his successor in the past, which was why he had given the man the position of the Battle God’s Sword, a position on par with that of a descendant. However, in the end, Minhyuk became his descendant. But during this succession ceremony, they could finally determine who would obtain the

The Battle God was fair and impartial. He did not give Nerva the position of his descendant because he saw more potential in Minhyuk then.

Ultimately, Minhyuk was in a similar situation to the other descendants. If Minhyuk could not prove his qualifications and show them that he had the ability to be the Battle God’s descendant, then he would be deprived of this position. On the other hand, if Nerva could show him satisfactory performance, then Nerva might be able to receive the Battle God’s Authority and become the Battle God’s Descendant.

Latte immediately understood what the Battle God meant after seeing that he did not respond to him.

An emerging emperor and the emperor of the strongest empire, only one among the two would be able to receive the

***

Minhyuk went out to finish his workout before the succession ceremony. Before he started his workout, he specifically reached out to both Ali and Death and told them:

–

Ali and Death just chuckled at him.

–

The two immediately turned to look at Minhyuk when they heard the word They thought simultaneously,

And Minhyuk? He grew furious when the thing he worried about became a reality. He wondered if there indeed was someone so petty and immature at their age. But lo and behold, there truly was one. The worst part? They made fun of Ali’s older brother’s legs and disability.

Minhyuk looked at everyone before turning to Nerva and saying, “Can I punch this guy in the face?!”

Nerva frowned. He immediately grasped the situation, especially because the gods had spoken up and confirmed the situation.

“It’s completely understandable. And knowing that you’re an emperor who cares about your subject, I feel very ashamed.”

“You deserve to be angry.”

The whispers of the gods grew louder. And Valentino? He could feel Nerva’s cold and piercing glare.

Minhyuk had been superficial when he asked Nerva if he could seek justice for his friends and sought Valentino's insult. Valentino knew Nerva would unleash his anger upon him once they returned to the empire. He could see a future that was far more terrifying than dying right away.

As for Nerva, he could tell that the crowd was starting to blame him. But as the emperor of the most substantial empire, he remained calm. He stood up and looked at Minhyuk and Valentino.

“I understand. But he is also my subordinate. Do you think it’s proper for the emperor of an empire at war with us to punish my subordinate in front of me like that?”

“...”

“...”

The commotion among the gods suddenly died down. They could not overlook the fact that the two nations were at war, and because of that, the gods understood that they could not come forward.

“Does the Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor wish to obtain an apology from me by using this as a pretext? If that’s the case, then you’re being petty.” Nerva thought of a way to turn the situation in his favor. “However, this emperor also understands your love for your subordinate. I believe it would be better for them to solve the matter between them amongst themselves.”

Perhaps this was the best solution. As for Minhyuk? He was very delighted with this turn of events.

Minhyuk nodded and said, “Then, one shot. Allow us to send one attack.”

Nerva looked at Valentino and Ali before nodding in agreement. He thought it would be better for him to concede this much rather than continue to avoid it by saying they were two nations at war. Unfortunately, this was Nerva's biggest mistake.

Ali and Minhyuk shared a smile. The only reason why Ali endured the humiliation was because he was afraid that it would harm Minhyuk since all of the gods were here. But they have now fully convinced the gods.

The gods slowly moved and opened a small space inside the dining hall. The God of Shields even provided a thick and solid barrier that surrounded Ali and Valentino.

“With this barrier in place, your powers will not be able to affect us,” the God of Shields said as he turned to Ali. He was compensating him because he felt extremely sorry that his successor had created this mess.Valentino looked at the God of Shields, the man whose position he would inherit, and Nerva, the emperor of the empire he served. There was only one thing that he could do.

“Can I block it?”

Nerva turned to look at Minhyuk when the question was raised. Minhyuk nodded.

Indeed. This might be an opportunity for him, too. Valentino immediately removed an armor set specialized in magical defense from his inventory.

“This is the God of Shield’s ‘Dragon Armor.’”

The thick and scaly armor could increase one’s magical defensive power by at least 200%.

“I can’t believe it. He has already obtained the Dragon Armor.”

The God of Shields just shrugged his shoulders. The gods often guided their successors on the right path and even bestowed upon them items they owned once they reached the right path. And this Dragon Armor that the God of Shields had bestowed was powerful enough to stop a dragon’s Breath.

Golden light instantly shot out and covered Valentino’s body when he slammed his square shield on the ground.

“Oh…”

“Ho.”

“The God of Shields is truly reliable.”The gods marveled at the scene quietly. The shield that could defend against almost any magical attack was like an iron castle in front of them.

Valentino, who had equipped the magic-resistant armor and hid behind his shield, laughed at Ali. Meanwhile, Ali was on edge with so many gods surrounding them, and the God of Magic was watching him. However, Valentino mocked his brother. He could not fold here.

“Frieeeeeeeeend!!!”

At that moment, a loud cry erupted behind him. Regardless of the gazes the others shot at him, Minhyuk raised his left arm and stood proudly. Death, who was shocked by Minhyuk’s sudden outburst, also hurriedly raised his left arm, which was carrying the X symbol.

“Frieeeeeeeeeend!!!”

Minhyuk smiled as he nodded slightly at Ali. For a moment, Ali felt like Minhyuk was telling him it would be alright even if he did not meet the expectations of the people around him.

Ali chuckled. Then he asked, “Sir Valentino has received the buff effects of a magic-resistant armor set. However, I am only allowed to use one magical attack. May I borrow the power of several other spells for this attack?”

Nerva nodded when he heard the question. With explicit permission, Ali grabbed the staff he summoned with both hands and slammed it on the ground.

A golden and blinding light flashed, the wind brought forth by the light making his hair flutter.

“Friend,” Ali responded to Minhyuk and Death’s calls. Then, he raised his left arm high. Like the two, the X symbolized their friendship. Then, he said, “Meteor.”

“Ho…”

“The human summoned a Meteor.”

“Hoho.”

The sky was torn apart as meteors began to fall. However, the gods were not impressed by the size or number of meteors that appeared. They were only impressed that a human cast the spell. After all, only five meteors were falling from the sky.

“Magic Duplication.”

The meteors that were falling from the sky doubled. The gods, watching the scene, gawked when they saw the five meteors turn into ten as they continued to fall toward Valentino. But the surprise did not end there.

“Magic Compression.”

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

Gather was a magic that Ali had been using since he was a low-tier mage. Gather, a magic that gathered everyone or everything in one place, was not used by most of the mages. Why? Because they could not utilize it properly. But Ali continued to use it, applying it in many ways. And just like that, Ali mastered Gather magic and succeeded in developing and creating a new magic called This was a power that not even the God of Magic had.

The meteor located at the center of the formation of meteors sucked in one of the meteors falling beside it.

If Meteor was gathered, then it should have weakened in power.

However, there was one crucial factor to consider here. Meteor was the strongest AOE magic attack skill, and if appropriately used, it could slaughter almost 100,000 enemies. Now, the strongest AOE magic attack skill had been turned into a single magic attack skill.

Then, another meteor was sucked in by the central meteor.

Just like that, the meteors were sucked in by the central meteor one after another. And the central meteor? It slowly grew bigger and bigger.

Now, the central meteor had turned into a gigantic meteor twice the size of the meteor that the God of Magic could summon.

The God of Magic gasped.

The other gods were also shocked and overwhelmed by the gigantic meteor falling from the sky above them. They watched in trepidation as Ali raised his fair and slender finger and pointed it at Valentino.

Valentino hurriedly lifted his square shield above him. Then, the attack collided with his shield.

The ground on which Valentino was standing cracked, forcing his feet to go deeper and deeper under the ground.

“A- aaaaaaaaaaack!”

But the gigantic meteor continued to crush him with its overwhelmingly heavy and colossal force. High magical defensive power? The highest total HP among the tankers? Those counted for nothing. They were all useless in front of Ali’s Meteor. The damage that Ali’s magic dealt him was beyond imagination. To put a rough estimate, the Meteor Ali cast had over 20,000% additional magical attack power. It was something that he could not deal with what he had.

“Keuhaaaaaaaack!”

In the end, Valentino was crushed by the meteor. He was almost ground to dust by the attack, and he heard an extremely ridiculous set of notifications in his ears.

The gods turned mute when they saw the aftermath left behind by the meteor after it devoured the ground in front of them. They watched as Valentino, who managed to recover to some extent, stumbled and struggled to stand up.

“...”

Nerva clenched his fists tightly when he saw Minhyuk standing across from him. He could see the mirth in the man’s eyes and the smile teasing the corners of his lips.

Meanwhile, Valentino made eye contact with Ali after he finally stood on his shaking feet. He saw Ali mouthing something at him. It seemed like he was saying,