Beauden Fortress slowly started to fall and collapse. With this explosive power, even Helenia, at her full power, would be blown away all at once.

One of the reasons why Bichor’s bombs were so amazing was because no matter how powerful the explosion was, it would never go beyond the Beauden Fortress. He reduced the bombs’ radius of effect to create a more powerful and destructive bomb.

“Your Majesty…?” One of the Swords of the Gods mumbled in disbelief as he collapsed. It seemed like he had lost strength in his legs.

“Your Majesty!!!” Another Swords of the Gods member cried out loud as he watched the fortress fall.

Minhyuk was also very surprised when he saw the fortress collapse. He thought,

To be honest, Minhyuk did not feel like everything happening before him was real either. However, the notifications ringing in his ears made him realize it was the truth.

Minhyuk looked at the notifications in confusion. But then, he thought,

Arumbe was the main antagonist in the hunt for Helenia’s Fragments. He was also an NPC with a high level exceeding Level 800. With the potion’s effects, the EXP he could acquire from Arumbe had increased by fifty times. That was why it was hard to measure the exact amount.

Minhyuk’s notification window, which had grown quiet for a moment, suddenly rang loudly again.

The fact that the word “estimated” appeared meant that they just assumed the total number.

While the notifications rang repeatedly in his ears, Minhyuk checked the new title he had acquired.

The title was perfect. The 30% increase in total EXP acquired that he would receive once was a very sweet effect for Minhyuk, aiming to reach Level 650 by the end of this.

Minhyuk asked the system,

Minhyuk was left shocked by the notifications that rang constantly in his ears. He leveled up ten times all in one go? It had to be known that once Level 650 had been reached, the amount of EXP that Minhyuk needed to level up would increase by 1.5x. He would have to work hard for at least half a year to level up ten times to gain the corresponding EXP.

Then, another series of notifications rang.

Simply put, Arumbe was considered the king of Helenia’s Fragments. Because of that, Minhyuk could obtain a considerable number of fragment tokens. It was around five to six times more than he could get when hunting the previous fragments. However, he found the things he had acquired quite unusual.

Minhyuk could see that the Tempest Ore was just like the Sun’s Ore and the Mountain Ore, which was why Helenia was so strong. The best part? Minhyuk had the Transcendental’s Grinder with him and could turn this ore into a seasoning.

The notifications continued to ring. But Minhyuk decided not to worry about this for now.

Meanwhile, Brod, sitting in a daze after seeing Nerva’s bright smile as he disappeared from the rubble, felt anger rise in his chest. His eyes slowly turned red and bloodshot as he shouted, “Nerva! You f*cking bastaaaaaaaaard!!!”

Did Nerva think Brod would be happy because he sacrificed for his sake? Did he think that he would forgive him for all of the mistakes that he had made in the past? No. That was not the case at all. Brod’s fury had reached its peak now. For him, what Nerva did was to escape.

Brod gritted his teeth. He vowed to make the man pay the price for his sins, even if he had to chase him to the depths of hell. However, despite his anger, a single tear dripped down his cheek. Perhaps this was the last tear he would shed for his dear and pure friend, the Nerva of the past.

Minhyuk fully understood Brod's sense of loss.

Then, a notification, which arrived a bit later than the rest, rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

Valentino was left inside the fortress, so Minhyuk thought it was only natural. But then, there was something that he found weird.

But there were no notifications about Ali being forced to log out. Then, another set of notifications rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

“...?!” Minhyuk’s eyes grew wide from shock.

The notifications meant that a contract had been signed between Valentino and Nerva inside the fortress.Then, Nerva’s voice rang from behind everyone. “It would be a waste for you to shed tears for someone like me.”

“...”

Brod slowly turned his head. That was when he saw Nerva, who was exhausted, leaning on Ali as they got warped to this place. Brod immediately stood up and dragged his battered body toward Nerva.

“How dare you!”

“Don’t come near!”

The Swords of the Gods hurriedly shouted as they rushed to Nerva’s side. However, Nerva stopped them with just a word.

“Stay back.”

The moment Brod reached Nerva, he swung his fist and punched him.

Nerva fell on the ground while Brod punched him wildly like a ferocious beast releasing anger.

Blood dripped down Nerva’s mouth as Brod continued to punch him.

“You f*cking bastard! You have to pay the price for your sins before you die!”

As the Swords of the Gods watched Brod pummel Nerva, they thought their emperor would be beaten to death if they left them as they were.

“S- Stop!”

“Bastard!”

But the Swords of the Gods could not stop Brod. And because Nerva had ordered them to step back, they could not even make a move and could only stomp their feet in anger.

“Enough. That’s an order,” Minhyuk said as he touched Brod’s shoulder. And just like that, Brod stopped punching Nerva. Although his raised fists were shaking from anger, hearing Minhyuk’s voice had brought reason back to him.

Of course, Minhyuk also wanted Nerva dead. But if Brod killed Nerva in front of everyone right here and now, then they would be forced into an all-out war. Even without Nerva, the current Beyond the Heavens Empire could not hold a candle to the Luvien Empire.

And the Swords of the Gods? All of them were left shocked.

This just showed how loyal Brod was to Minhyuk.

“Urk. The price that I have to pay for those crimes, I will accept them. Yes, I will wait for your judgment,” Nerva said as blood dripped down his bloody mouth.

The Swords of the Gods rushed to help Nerva when Brod stood up. Minhyuk looked around and thought,

Fortunately, they prevented all fragments and shards from reaching Helenia’s embrace. Only the most essential thing remained. Who would inherit the Battle God’s power?

Not long after, another notification rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

Minhyuk’s face twisted when he heard the notification.

When Arumbe was still in Duke Vlad’s shell, he stole the mobs that the Beyond the Heavens Empire had struggled to bring down with the Swords of the Gods.

A sense of helplessness washed over Minhyuk. Shockingly enough, the difference between the number of fragments hunted by the Luvien Empire and the Beyond the Heavens Empire was only five. If Nerva became the true Battle God, then would they be able to defeat his empire?

A notification rang again for Minhyuk, who had won the battle but lost the war.

Nerva and Minhyuk were warped at the same time.

***

Today would be a historic day. This would be the day when the new Battle God was born to the world.

Just like well-trained knights, the thousands of gods stood at attention. They all wore silver armor carrying the symbol of the Battle God, a sword. Behind them were the millions of troops of the Heavenly Army, who knelt on one knee and waited for the birth of the new Battle God. Standing at the lead was the greatest god, the Battle God.

Two men walked toward the Battle God. The one on the left was Luvien Empire’s Nerva, while the one on the left was Beyond the Heavens Empire’s Minhyuk.

The Battle God looked at the two men. They both looked haggard and were in a mess. This was especially the case for Nerva. He was completely covered in blood to the point that one would not be able to recognize him.

A bitter smile flashed on the Battle God’s face as he looked at the two. He thought,

No matter how he felt, the competition was already over.

Of the two men, the one that was covered with a bright light was none other than Nerva. As the light engulfed his body, his missing left arm slowly regenerated while the blood on his face cleared away. Even his dented and scorched armor returned to its original pristine condition. On the other hand, Minhyuk’s appearance remained unchanged. Everyone knew on the spot that the next generation Battle God was Nerva.

Holding a silver crown, the Battle God stepped forward to place it on Nerva’s head. At that moment, Nerva turned to look at Minhyuk. He thought,

Although there was a bitter smile on his face, it was evident that Nerva felt relieved.

He had betrayed Brod’s trust in him and killed his friend’s knights just because he wanted to become the Battle God. Because of that, Brod was deprived of the opportunity to become the Battle God, and he succeeded in obtaining the Battle God’s Sword position. Now, Brod looked happier serving Emperor Minhyuk than becoming an emperor himself. He even said that Minhyuk was the brightest Sun in the sky.

If Nerva had not betrayed Brod and he had become the emperor, then he would not have been able to meet Minhyuk. Fate. Although it sounded ridiculous, perhaps this was what fate weaved for them. At this moment, Nerva understood his options.

“Battle God.”

“...”

At his call, the Battle God stopped in his tracks.

“From this day forth, I, Nerva Sephiroth, will step down from my position as the emperor.”

“...!”

“...!”

Both the Battle God and Minhyuk were shocked by Nerva’s declaration. Of course, Nerva had already signed the contract with Valentino. However, he would still make the same decision even if he did not sign that contract. This was the fate that he wanted to weave. Brod and Nerva’s story would eventually reach its ending.

“Also… I, Nerva, admit that I have used unscrupulous methods to ascend to my throne. I poisoned Brod’s subjects.”

A buzz slowly grew among the gods. Everyone had heard rumors about it. However, it had been confirmed and was now the reality.

The Battle God remained silent as he looked at Nerva. He respected what Nerva wanted to do.

With those words, Nerva returned to his appearance from before. His left arm disappeared as the blood that stained his face appeared once again. He looked so fragile that it would not be strange if he collapsed and died on the spot.

On the other hand, a bright light surrounded Minhyuk’s body and healed him of all his injuries. Nerva looked at him before turning around without any regrets.

Nerva held his left arm as he limped away. Although the gods looked at him in disgust, a slight smile was on his face. It looked like he was delighted with the choice that he had made. He felt like this was the right choice.

Then, he stopped in his tracks. Nerva knew how the foreigners viewed the Luvien Empire and what they said about it. He pondered over their words briefly before turning to look at Minhyuk. Relief was evident on his face as he said, “Athenae’s Third Era now belongs to you.”