(On 2024/6/21, at 12 PM, there was a mistake where Chapter 445 was uploaded instead of Chapter 433...!!!)

(If any readers happened to read the mistakenly uploaded chapter this morning... we recommend rereading from Chapter 433...!!!)

436 - Gathering of the Strong #5

"I am Atalante, Guardian of the Cadia Mountains, Boar Hunter, and the Swift-footed! Hassan, I challenge you to a duel for insulting me as a coward-!"

Seureuk-.

Atalante, who had challenged me to a duel, drew a short dagger from her waist.

Then, she lowered her stance and began to glare at me.

Her sharp, feline eyes gave off a fierce aura, as if she would pounce on me at any moment and plunge her blade into my neck.

She clearly seemed intent on killing me.

Seureureung-.

In response, I also gripped two swords and readied my combat stance, prepared to react at any moment.

"To challenge a god, do you know what that means before you speak?"

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It had been a long time since I held a sword, so it felt unfamiliar, but that very unfamiliarity heightened the excitement of battle, making my blood feel like it was boiling.

After the fierce confrontation with Achilles, to think I would immediately face another strong opponent like this.

How many times had I fought consecutively like this in a single day?

Normally, I would have grumbled, but now, with the expedition to Hell looming,

and not knowing what kind of formidable foes would flock there, considering this a rehearsal wasn't a bad idea.

Of course, that's assuming I could subdue that woman without getting hurt. If I got seriously injured or died here, everything would be for naught.

Jirit, Jirit-.

We faced each other for a long time, exchanging killing intent.

Perhaps it was because I had already experienced a confrontation with Achilles earlier, or perhaps this woman named Atalante's skill was inferior to Achilles', but it was quite bearable.

"...."

"...."

After glaring at each other for several seconds.

Several seconds.

When I thought about it, it was a short time.

However, if it was time spent aiming for each other's lives, those few seconds held a density longer and more fulfilling than several minutes spent resting in the shade.

━What? Why aren't they moving? No one's even twitching an eyebrow?

━You idiot, this is how masters fight. They seem to stop like this, then in a flash-poof!-it's over. Don't mess around, just watch-.

━Yeah, it's a showdown between a young god and a Gold Tier adventurer. You can't even pay to see something like this. Shit, I'm glad I live in Sodomora.

The people, watching us, quietly lowered their voices.

Their chattering voices diminished, and as if overwhelmed by the situation itself, they merely swallowed or blinked.

Time flowed in silence upon silence.

I suddenly recalled the earlier confrontation with Achilles, and a certain curiosity sprang up in my mind.

Achilles had said that I lacked experience in confrontations with strong opponents.

And because of that, I could fall victim to many variables.

It was obvious at a glance that this Atalante was a formidable opponent in her own right.

If so, wouldn't this Atalante also suffer damage from illusory attacks, just like Achilles had shown me?

This fellow must be a strong opponent with keen senses, so wouldn't she predict my movements just from the aura I emit, my momentum, or the twitching of my muscles, and then see illusions of her own accord?

It was a very plausible idea, even if I did think of it myself.

Therefore, to test it, I clenched my swords tightly and twitched my muscles, as if I were pouncing on the woman in front of me and cutting her down.

My target was her chest.

"Euh-heot-!"

At that, Atalante, greatly flustered, performed a backflip.

It seemed to be working.

On Atalante's chest, a wound identical to the one I had imagined appeared, bleeding red.

━What? What? What's happening all of a sudden?

━She's bleeding?

The people's reactions also suddenly heated up. They seemed to be questioning this unexpected situation.

I suppose it was because they were ordinary people, unable to perceive the powerful aura I had emitted.

Just then, Paulus, who was prostrate on the ground, spoke.

"You fools, that's Hassan-nim's Three-Sword Style ultimate secret technique, Hell Illusion Sword-! It's a secret art that Three-Sword Style swordsmen like us can ultimately acquire-! He's showing it to us directly right now. Watch carefully and learn-!"

━Hell Illusion Sword-?

━I've never heard of it-.

I've never heard of it either.

But could there be a more accurate description than 'Illusion Sword'? I decided to adopt the name of the special move that the man named Paulus had uttered.

Consider yourselves honored.

Seureuk, Seureureuk-.

I continued to unleash the Illusion Sword, slashing at Atalante's arms and legs.

Each time, Atalante barely evaded with a tumble, but her slender arms and legs were already covered in red scratches.

Chwaaaah-.

"Kuh, this, this childish nonsense-!"

She seemed very angry at being subjected to such a one-sided offense and defense. I understood that feeling well, having experienced it myself in the fight with Achilles earlier.

When subjected to such a one-sided attack, one's blood inevitably rushes to their head, and they charge in.

"Stop playing around and come at me directly-!"

See, just like that.

Looking at it this way, I could almost understand how much of a novice I had been during the fight with Achilles.

And that, from his perspective, there had been countless opportunities to cut off my neck.

Just then, Atalante lowered her stance like a lioness crouching in the bushes.

Kkuu-uuk-.

"From now on, you won't be able to catch a single strand of my hair. You're about to taste my grace, received from Diana-nim!"

Bulttuk, Bulttuk-.

At the same time, her thigh and calf muscles visibly expanded.

My nape buzzed, and I vaguely felt that if I left her alone like this, something big would happen.

Therefore, I quickly kicked off the ground and struck Atalante's nape with all my might using the pommel of my sword.

Seureureureuk-!

My agility was 15.

I possessed enough agility and speed not to lose to any human.

And fast speed always creates the conditions to land the first blow, whether in a Pokémon battle or a clash between gods and heroes.

"Gu-eek-!"

Ultimately, Atalante, struck in the neck by my attack, ended up prostrate on the ground like a flattened frog.

As a bonus, a massive rumble of the earth, *Kuu-u-ung-*, occurred around her, leaving the area deeply indented.

"Ugh, oh, how could this beee-."

However, even after that powerful blow, Atalante did not lose consciousness and held onto her awareness.

Indeed, a strong individual worthy of wearing a golden necklace around her neck.

If I had waited for her strange crouching start stance to be completed just now, I don't know what the outcome would have been.

She had mentioned something about grace received from Diana.

She would definitely have been difficult to deal with.

"Hoo-."

Anyway, I reined in the killing intent that had been boiling within me.

After the fight with Achilles, I hadn't performed acupressure to get used to my transcendent specs.

Because of that, the boiling blood felt a little cooler.

Indeed, there's nothing like real combat for getting used to things.

"Alright, Atalante. You've lost. That means your right to life and death is now mine."

I gently stepped on Atalante's back, subduing her.

At that, Atalante gnashed her teeth, *Eudeuk-*, as if greatly frustrated, but having been attacked in the neck and pinned under my foot, she didn't seem able to resist.

Just then, the murmuring of the surrounding people began to grow louder.

━S-surely that stance, are we going to see *that*? The unofficial commandment, I mean.

━Hassan-nim's unofficial commandment, the first one. You mean 'Love thy neighbor'-right?

━That stance is unmistakable. Hassan-nim, it seems he's about to inject love into that audacious foreign woman-!

What the hell are they talking about.

I was more flustered by the reactions of the surrounding people than by the fight with Atalante. It seemed they were expecting something from me, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was.

Injecting love?

It's anyone's guess if Paranoy had spread strange sermons, planting weird fantasies about me in people's minds.

Shit, that's probably the answer.

Just then, Atalante, pinned under my foot, began to tremble violently.

"I-injecting love? G-get away-! I, I've sworn my chastity to Diana-nim! No matter if you're the victor of this duel, I won't tolerate being defiled!"

And then she struggled to break free from my restraint.

"Haaah, haaah-eut-."

Perhaps because of her vigorous movements, her thighs and the smooth parts of her hip joints were faintly revealed beneath her short, dolphin-shorts-like attire.

A subtle apple scent even wafted from her body, causing my lower half to suddenly bulge.

At that sight, people shouted.

━Hey, look-! Hassan-nim's third sword is showing off its presence!

━I didn't know why two swords were called the Three-Sword Style, but the third sword was that one right in the center-!

I felt like I was losing my mind.

So, as I hastily bent my waist slightly and stepped back, Atalante, on the contrary, screamed as if reacting to that action.

What the hell is this, damn it.

"Ung-haaah-! S-stop it-! Don't move your waist-! Th-that big thing-!"

She was clearly experiencing an illusory thrust from my waist movement.

"Aah, aaah-ang-!"

Her twitching waist and trembling body could only be explained by that.

Just then, something *Paseuseuk-* brushed past my head.

When I held up my fingers and twirled them, Hippolyte would also tremble uncontrollably and collapse like this.

Perhaps that delusion-like symptom Hippolyte had was also a type of this Illusion Sword.

Hmph, these warrior women-.

* * *

The next day.

"Hassaaaan-!"

I wondered why Elfriede had come to the Temple so early in the morning, only to find her thrusting a newspaper in my face and shouting.

"Are you crazy? You damn bastard-!"

"What the hell are you talking about? Why are you suddenly like this?"

"Read this-!"

Peolleok-.

As I unfolded the newspaper Elfriede handed me, I saw letters written like tiny ants. What was this that made her so furious?

「The moment I thought they stopped? Suddenly, wounds started appearing on Atalante's body. Wow, it was a confrontation that had truly reached a master level. - Witness Mr. H.」

「The duel ended in an instant. No, I don't even know if you could call it a duel. It was a scene of one-sided divine punishment. - Witness Mr. C.」

「After the duel? That was the time to learn the terrifying power of Hassan-nim's Three-Sword Style. It was a completely public act. The Three-Sword Style is strong. - Witness Mr. P.」

「Hassan-nim completely shamed Atalante, the great warrior of Diana, Goddess of Chastity. She might even be pregnant. Isn't this a declaration of war against the prickly Goddess Diana? - Witness Mr. G.」

「That is Hassan-nim's ultimate demigod production technique, 'Air Rowing'-imnidat...! Hassan-nim is a god who oversees life and death-! Just by Hassan-nim glaring, women end up pregnant-imnidat...! Ah, and I'd like to be listed as 'Just a Staff Member'-imnidat...! - Just a Staff Member.」

I furrowed my brow, reading the stories blaring from various newspapers.

All the newspapers were vying to cover the battle between god and human, a confrontation that had reached the realm of a superhuman.

It was evident how much they had agonized over how to write more provocative articles to sell more copies.

What the hell is 'Air Rowing' now?

Just a Staff Member?

Thanks to this, I could understand why Elfriede was so angry. Even without realizing it, Elfriede shouted as if she would breathe fire from her mouth.

"You, in broad daylight, raped a woman on the street!? You're insane!"

"No, that's a misunderstanding."

I had to explain myself well to Elfriede.

"Hassan-! W-what the hell is this-! And what's 'Air Rowing'-!"

And then Luna, who came with a newspaper-.

"Hassan, I've read an unbelievable article-."

And I had to explain myself even to Hippolyte, who also came with a newspaper.

"I didn't do anything. I just, fought, that's all."

I always feel this, but explaining myself was truly an immense ordeal.

To create a conspiracy or a false accusation, a single sentence chattered by a Nymph is enough.

But to defend and explain it, all sorts of explanations and modifiers have to follow.

Thanks to that, I had to dedicate about thirty minutes before I could finally smooth out the wrinkles on the women's brows.

"Shit...! I thought Hassan had completely fallen into the path of a fiendish demon! Paranoy said something useless-! Haven't you been hit on the head enough lately? Paranoy, let's have some delicious head-thumps-!"

"H-hee-eek-! H-head-thumps don't taste good-imnidat...!"

Kong-.

"Hik-!"

In the end, Just a Staff Member Paranoy got a head-thump from Luna and shed a few tears.

With this, Paranoy's nonsense-spouting should decrease for a while.

Hippolyte, who had been watching from the side with her arms crossed, chimed in.

"So, Hassan, you're saying you subdued Atalante?"

"That's right. She's probably resting at the infirmary right now."

"I see. Hassan, to think you would defeat that Atalante alone. Even if her skills had rusted from long seclusion, this is a tremendous achievement."

At her words, I once again realized the fact that I had defeated a Gold Tier adventurer.

Was I really that Hassan who used to be torn apart by Goblins and stung by bees, lying sick for days?

To think I've grown so much that my name is plastered all over newspapers now. The phrase 'a feeling of being separated by an era' seems too humble for this.

As I was feeling a little moved, Hippolyte added.

"Hassan, anyway, many heroes will gather today. There are many who are provoked by the challenging letter you sent, you see."

"Today?"

"Yes, I've rented out the Mars Guild's conference room for the day. I don't know how many will arrive, but since those fellows are gathering in one place, who knows what might happen-."