Chapter 195: The Invasion  

Back in the accommodation provided by the country, Lee Shin closed his eyes as he lay on the bed, trying to relieve the fatigue that had been accumulating for a long time—if it weren't for the sudden visit of an unwelcome guest.

‘Tsk.’

People did not let him have a break. After clicking his tongue, Lee Shin opened his eyes and formed a blue current over his palm. As soon as he was ready to shoot it, there came an urgent voice.

"Wait! It's me, Yu Jia!" Yu Jia shouted, looking at Lee Shin.

Holding back the current that he was about to fire out, Lee Shin looked at the intruder. It was Yu Jia, with her black hair cut short, standing by his bedside.

"Don't you know how to knock?" Lee Shin said.

"Ah? Oh, um... sorry about that," Yu Jia replied.

In fact, she had come straight into his room through a black hole, so there was no need for her to knock; but this was just his way of cracking a joke to ease the tense atmosphere.

"Anyway..." Lee Shin scrutinized her slowly.

Lee Shin checked to make sure whether there was any trace of malice hidden within her, whether she was still under the influence of evil. However, he could not sense anything like that.

"What happened to Belial?" Lee Shin asked.

"He's still inside. I guess he’s afraid of you, Mr. Lee Shin, because he is not resisting much," Yu Jia replied.

As she spoke, she furrowed his eyebrows.

"What’s wrong?” Lee Shin asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Belial keeps making noises…” Yu Jia replied.

"Well, as long as there's no problem, it’s all good. And what about Reverse?" Lee Shin asked.

"We’re in the process of resolving this problem. I actually thought about wiping out all the people who were part of Reverse, but there were just too many of them to kill," Yu Jia replied.

Her casual tone left Lee Shin momentarily speechless. Killing all those people would undoubtedly cause chaos all over the world.

"I don’t think killing them is the best solution,” Lee Shin said.

"Yeah, I thought so too. So that’s why I'm trying to reform them, but it's taking quite some time. Originally, I planned to resolve everything first before coming to you, but as you are aware, the situation on Earth is a mess right now. So I came to see if I could help. Besides, things are going pretty smoothly on my end as well," Yu Jia replied.

Yu Jia had kept her promise. In exchange for Lee Shin sparing her life, she said she would reform the remnants of the group Reverse and work for Earth.

"Well, what a nice timing,” Lee Shin said.

"Sorry?" Yu Jia asked.

"I have a task for you," Lee Shin replied.

She was the most suitable person for this job, because she had an organization to back her up and the ability to move around easily through black holes.

"What is it?" Yu Jia asked.

"By tomorrow, I'll send you a mana control detection device. Go around the world and use this to find certain techniques,” Lee Shin said.

"You want me to go around the entire world? I think that’s a bit too much even for me,” Yu Jia replied.

"Don’t worry too much. You can take your time. Just focus on places with a lot of people first. And then, places with less people can be dealt with later when there's time," Lee Shin explained.

"Oh, I see. So, what are these certain techniques?” Yu Jia asked.

"I'll send you that too," Lee Shin replied.

"Okay, I'll do my best," Yu Jia said.

"Thanks," Lee Shin replied.

Yu Jia smiled brightly as if she was pleased. What Lee Shin had asked her to do was to remove the mana circles that were secretly placed on Earth by the people of the Empire. Lee Shin was not sure if they had prepared such things this time as well, but in the past, those individuals had definitely placed those mana circles secretly on Earth and triggered them during their invasion.

The sudden terror attack caused a sharp increase in casualties, and the people of Earth could not respond to it properly. This time, the situation was going to be a bit better than in the past, but Lee Shin thought it would be better to stomp out the potential threat preemptively.

‘It would be even better if these things were not here on Earth in the first place, but I don't think that will be the case.’

Would those thorough, prepared folks not have made their moves this time? They must have been cooking something up, without a doubt.

"I'll send you some locations to consider as well, so do your best," Lee Shin said.

"Okay!" Yu Jia replied with confidence.

The next moment, Yu Jia disappeared into a black hole. It was then that Lee Shin could finally lead his tired body back to bed and fall asleep.

***

After the match with Lostria was over, the atmosphere on Earth became even more relaxed. Until recently, there had been a sense of tension, especially after China was brutally defeated by the Empire, and the United States barely managed to secure a victory. The figure known as Lee Shin gave confidence to the Earthlings that no matter what adversaries appeared, they would be able to come out victorious.

Finally, an event occurred on Earth.

Bababam—!

In a factory site in Brisbane, Australia, explosions occurred one after another, causing massive damage and a surge of casualties.

"What is going on here?"

"Well, you see... the magical devices that we received from the Empire suddenly malfunctioned..."

The factory managers searched for the cause of these explosions, and most of them attributed the cause to the magical devices sent by the Empire. The series of explosions was not just happening in Brisbane, Australia. Explosions were happening simultaneously all over the world.

People from around the world were reporting damages ranging from minor incidents, like a light on a cigarette growing into a huge fire that burned one’s hair, to factory explosions. The explosions occurred not only in places where the Empire's technology was applied, but even in parks where there were only ordinary passers-by.

"Damn! I knew this would happen! I shouldn’t have trusted those Empire bastards! What will happen to our company now? There are items with the Empire technology all over inside our company. Damn it! How bad is the damage? What's the extent? Did any buildings collapse?" The CEO of a hextech equipment company, who was on a business trip overseas, gritted his teeth, clearly taken aback by the sudden news.

"Um, well..." The secretary hesitated.

"Damn it! Did the buildings all collapse after all? Ugh... How could this happen to the company I've built for life...?" The CEO seemed devastated.

"Please calm down. The company buildings are safe," the secretary who brought the news spoke with a nonchalant voice.

"What did you say…?" The CEO asked.

"The magical devices with Empire technology inside our building are perfectly fine," the secretary replied.

"But… Why is that? I heard there were problems everywhere else." The CEO seemed confused.

"I'm not exactly sure. We're currently investigating the cause and we've isolated the magical devices just in case," the secretary replied.

"Well, that's a relief. Let's go back quickly then," the CEO said.

"I've arranged a private plane," the secretary replied.

It was not just them. Unlike what people had expected, major corporations and central areas with many people, especially places with technology related to Earth's combat power, were mostly unharmed. People had no idea what was going on, but Lee Shin and Yu Jia did.

"I'm sorry sir," Yu Jia stood in front of Lee Shin with an apologetic expression, lowering her head.

"It's all right. You've managed the situation much better than I expected,” Lee Shin replied.

"The certain?techniques were more widespread than I thought. I've handled everything starting with the crucial areas and the locations in your predictions," Yu Jia said.

"Good job. This incident taught me something. It's clear how far-reaching Reverse is across the world."

Lee Shin clicked his tongue. Despite the fact that the incidents unfolded much faster than he had anticipated, Lee Shin and Yu Jia managed to prevent most of the damage. Of course, there was still damage, but compared to the past, the extent was minimal.

Even though Yu Jia had the skill of traveling around the world easily through the black hole, it was impossible for her to handle these incidents alone. Therefore, this outcome implied that there were many people affiliated with Reverse.

"Would you like the list?" Yu Jia asked, referring to the names of the people affiliated with Reverse.

"It's fine. Let's just head there," Lee Shin replied.

Lee Shin pointed to the Gate that appeared on the TV. Many wizards were suddenly pouring into Earth through that Gate.

"Hold my hand," Yu Jia said.

She extended her hand, and Lee Shin took it.

"We’re leaving," Yu Jia said.

A black hole suddenly appeared in the empty space, and the tremendous force sucked the two of them in.

***

"Is this the place called Earth?" The Apostle with blond hair looked around and smirked.

He was irritated that he, the messenger of God, had to intervene in such a situation. The Apostle wanted to bring Lee Shin immediately to God and make him kneel in submission.

"There are quite a lot of humans here," said the Apostle.

"Don't worry about them. They're nothing but insignificant humans who can't even use magic properly," a wizard, who came with the Apostle to support him, said, standing beside the Apostle.

"So, where is this guy named Lee Shin?” the Apostle asked.

"Since you, Apostle, have arrived, he should reveal himself soon," the wizard replied.

"How arrogant! He’s not showing up immediately when the messenger of God has arrived?” The Apostle said.

"Yes, indeed. He's an arrogant human," said the wizard.

At that moment, a black hole appeared in the air. From it emerged Lee Shin and Yu Jia.

"Who's that guy?" the Apostle asked.

"The one with violet hair is Lee Shin," the wizard replied.

"I see," the Apostle said.

As soon as Lee Shin saw the man with blond hair, he furrowed his eyebrows.

'An Apostle...?'

Lee Shin had been wondering what the wizards would have come up with, but he did not expect to confront an Apostle. The divinity class of the Apostle seemed quite high. The Apostle with blond hair floated up in the air and approached Lee Shin.

"Are you Lee Shin?" the Apostle asked, looking at Lee Shin.

"Yeah, that’s me,” Lee Shin replied.

"The God of the Golden String commanded me to bring you. If you kneel before me and apologize before I make you regret, you will have the privilege of serving the God of the Golden String," the Apostle said.

"The God of the Golden String...?" Lee Shin asked to clarify.

"Yes, that's correct," the Apostle replied. Lee Shin laughed at the Apostle and looked at him. Lee Shin did not expect the name of the God to be this ridiculous. Even without an actual confrontation, he could already tell the extent of this God’s class.

"Huh? Did you just laugh?” the Apostle said, irritated.

"Yeah. It's so funny that I can't stop laughing,” Lee Shin replied.

The Apostle frowned at Lee Shin's words. Unlike Lee Shin, the other challengers who had come to this place to stop the wizards seemed nervous and tense.

The Apostles were individuals chosen by the gods; they possessed tremendous abilities and were able to exercise the power of a deity. They were individuals whom challengers wanted to avoid meeting as an enemy.

The challengers, who had never thought that the individuals from the Empire would bring an Apostle, were so tense that their bodies were stiff, yet Lee Shin was provocatively teasing him, as if he did not care at all.

"So… Basically you are an Apostle of a minor God who could not even enter Astria, right? Honestly, I would have been more afraid if Para McMatain was the Apostle,” Lee Shin provoked him.

"What nonsense are you saying! How dare you insult God and me! I will make sure you pay the price for it," the Apostle shouted at Lee Shin.

Lee Shin started contemplating.

‘They don't know about Astria? The Empire's capabilities are being wasted. How can they put their belief in such a minor God…’

Astria is a world where the superior and higher-level gods are gathered. Those minor gods, with insignificant names like the God of the Gold String, would not be able to enter in the first place. If Para McMatain knew he was groveling before such beings, he would probably want to bite his tongue and die.

"Die!" Suddenly, the Apostle pulled out a golden string in the air and threw it at Lee Shin.

‘It’s not even worth using the Divine Realm Breaking Force against him.’

Lee Shin raised his index finger and pointed it at the sky. All of a sudden, a current made of blue mana emerged from his fingertip and shot into the sky. Simultaneously, thunderbolts crackled within the gathering clouds and a resounding thunder echoed through the atmosphere.

"Finally you’re captured, you arrogant wizard," said the Apostle with a smirk.

Although the Apostle's golden string coiled around Lee Shin’s left wrist, his expression remained calm.

[Dark Thunder]

The whitish blue thunderbolt entwined in black mana was shot at the Apostle's head.

Baaam—!

"Arrgh...!" the Apostle groaned.

The Apostle trembled violently. The next moment, he dropped the golden string and fell to the ground weakly. It felt like a massive punishment from the sky, as if the world had been split into half by the dark thunder.

Both the challengers and the wizards of the Empire found the scene in front of them to be very strange. It felt like the Apostle and Lee Shin had switched places. They even began to doubt if the Apostle in front of them was really the messenger of God.

"A-Apostle!" The wizards who stood around him were so shocked that they quickly approached him.

The Apostle slowly rose to his feet. His face was trembling. At that moment, his aura changed, and his tone of voice changed as well.

"Who are you?" said a voice inside the Apostle.

Lee Shin quickly noticed that something else inside the Apostle’s body was controlling the voice.

"I'm just an ordinary Earthling," Lee Shin replied.

"You're spouting nonsense. I can see that you possess divinity class,” said the voice as if it could look through Lee Shin.

"Not a lot. Why? Does this look like a lot to you?" Lee Shin asked.

"You arrogant human. How do you know about Astria?" the voice asked.

Lee Shin knew immediately that it had appeared due to his mention of Astria.

"I know quite a lot of stuff. Do you want to know about that place?" Lee Shin asked.

"Stop being arrogant just because you defeated my Apostle,” said the voice, who seemed to be the God of the Golden String.

"It was you guys who invaded this place," Lee Shin replied.

"Let my Apostle go. If you do so, I’ll stop bothering Earth,” said the voice.

"And if I refuse?" Lee Shin replied.

"... Don’t try to test my limits. The moment you touch the Apostle again, I will cross over to Earth and turn this place to ashes," said the voice.

The threat made the surrounding challengers uneasy, but Lee Shin just chuckled.

"Alright, why don’t you give it a try," Lee Shin said.

With that said, Lee Shin summoned the thunderbolt once again.

"You arrogant...!" said the voice.

Baaam—!

It was a dark thunderbolt that was even stronger than the one before. The dark thunderbolt that shot into the Apostle’s body turned him into a pile of ashes.

[You have killed someone with a Divinity Class of 5 or higher.]

This message appeared in front of Lee Shin. Just as he had expected, the achievement for [The Path to Become an Adversary] would go up even while he was on Earth.

'I wish God himself would come.’

No matter how minor of a god this was, their divinity class would probably be at least 10, because even this guy who was the Apostle had a divinity class of 5.

"A-Apostle..." the wizards muttered in shock.

The wizards who were standing near the Apostle looked at him with pale faces. Lee Shin spoke while looking at them.

"If you don't want to die together, just kneel down and raise your hands. Don't think about running away because there's no way you can escape anyway."