Chapter 377: Inheritances Distribution is a Big Deal

How would the Thunder God feel if lightning were stolen right before his very eyes?

I was not sure, but it would probably be at least as intense, if not more, than what the Thunderarch was feeling right now.

The emotion the Thunderarch felt upon witnessing the theft of the lightning wasn’t anger or betrayal.

It was bewilderment.

When a robbery is carried out so brazenly, it leaves one speechless.

That was a lesson learned—the Regressor had taught them something new.

Meanwhile, the lightning that had reversed its course along the cloud waterfall surged into the Thunder God.

The godly form of the Thunder God flickered momentarily as if slashed apart by the branching lightning.

It was as if he was retreating. The Thunderarch watched him and remarked.

“Normally, the Thunder God would have withdrawn after reclaiming the lightning, but this time…”

The Thunder God did not disappear completely. His form merely wavered for a moment before turning noticeably paler.

After briefly glancing in our direction, he faded away beneath the Cloud Waterfall.

“Since you interfered, it won’t be long before he returns. I don’t know what you were thinking, but I assume you have an explanation?”

“Not so much an explanation…”

The Regressor leaped lightly from the Thundermill and replied.

“To kill the Thunder God, I need to lure him here first. If I send him away, he won’t come back for a while. I just wanted to save time.”

“You’re quite confident.”

“Because I can do it.”

｢I’ve done it in a previous timeline, after all.｣

The Regressor’s ability to socialize was extraordinary—she could engage in a life-or-death duel with someone she had just met for the very first time.

Let alone having just committed robbery right in front of them—it wouldn’t be strange if they became sworn enemies.

｢He’s completely certain. So, he too is someone chosen, like us.｣

Surprisingly, however, the Thunderarch found the Regressor’s audacity rather appealing.

Even though half of the city’s gathered power had been stolen, she simply smiled like a fool.

Who would have thought there existed someone whose compatibility with the Regressor was so high?

There were still surprises left in the world.

The Thunderarch turned to the children who had been guarding the Lightning Tower and spoke gently.

“Jerry. Tibi. Alka. Well done. We need to restore the Lightning Tower, so contact the repair center.”

“Y-Yes!”

The children, looking honored, bowed their heads to the Thunderarch and quickly ran toward the elevator.

The Thunderarch watched them until they disappeared completely before speaking again.

“Since we used it up, there’s not much lightning left in the Thundermill. If you don’t kill the Thunder God, Claudia will suffer great damage. From the moment you stole that lightning, whether we like it or not, we have no choice but to cooperate with you.”

“But if I kill the Thunder God, Claudia will be at peace forever, right? Sounds like a gamble worth taking.”

At the Regressor’s shameless response, the Thunderarch let out a small chuckle.

“So, even to kill a god, someone like me has to gamble, huh? It’s been a while since my blood boiled like this.”

Muttering to herself, the Thunderarch stomped on the Lightning Tower.

The power of thunder that extended to her very hair flowed down through her feet into the base of the tower.

Shaking out her long hair to return to her usual appearance, she coldly fixed her gaze on the Regressor and pointed.

“If it’s a gamble, I’ll accept. After all, I won’t lose, but you must bear an equal risk.”

“A risk?”

“Until the Thunder God is dead, all discussions will be suspended. That includes any negotiations, ceasefires, or anything else.”

Wait, hold on a second.

Sure, it was lucky that she wasn’t immediately trying to kill the Regressor for stealing the lightning.

But no matter how many times I’ve handled the Regressor’s shenanigans, killing the Thunder God isn’t exactly easy.

And if all negotiations are halted, that could be a problem…

Yet, as if none of that concerned her, the Regressor readily answered.

“I look forward to it.”

“You shouldn’t be looking forward to it!”

Hilde stomped her feet in frustration as she shouted.

“What is this nonsense?! Shei, do you even intend to stop the war?”

The Regressor responded casually.

“Of course. If I handle the Thunder God, the Thunderarch will actively support us. The negotiations will go even smoother.”

“That is not a negotiation! Hoping that someone will do something out of goodwill is not negotiation! That’s flattery! Why are you piling up gifts nobody even asked for? Are you trying to date the Thunderarch or something?”

“What?! No way!”

“There’s no way, huh?! You like men, after all!”

At the sudden accusation, the Regressor blinked in confusion.

“That’s not relevant. I just thought that if I granted the Thunderarch’s wish, it’d make it easier to get her help in the future.”

“Shei, you know nothing about politics, do you? The Thunderarch is the leader of this place! Just because she owes you a little doesn’t mean she’ll always help! Where’s the guarantee? Why are you handing out favors for free?”

“Then what should I have done?”

“You should have set conditions in advance, secured more benefits, and then, as if granting a favor, eliminated the Thunder God! If you rely purely on goodwill, you will not get what you want!”

From the perspective of the Military State, Hilde was absolutely right.

Entirely from the Military State’s point of view that is.

However, the Regressor simply scoffed.

“The Thunder God isn’t the Military State’s problem—it’s mine. You guys have no right to demand anything for it. I’ll give what I choose to give.”

Until now, they had been working together for the sake of negotiating a ceasefire with the Fallen Dominion.

But at her core, the Regressor did not belong to any nation—and even less so to the Military State.

If a war broke out between the Military State and another country, she would gladly take the other side.

…And Hilde, realizing that, went still.

The faint glimpses of her true feelings that had emerged earlier disappeared, hidden once again beneath a practiced mask.

‘Hilde’ resumed playing her role.

“Hmmm~ It seems the Military State has gotten itself too deeply entangled with Shei to ever be considered a friend~”

“Of course. We were enemies from the start. The Military State even imprisoned me.”

“‘I’ know, but since we’ve been working together, ‘I’ thought maybe, just maybe it would be different. Guess that was just my misunderstanding.”

Hilde shrugged indifferently and turned to leave.

“Hilde? Where are you going?”

“Well, since I can’t rely on you anymore, I’m going to do things the Military State way—by gathering intelligence in a dark, creepy manner~”

Without hesitation, she waved a hand dismissively and walked away.

Watching her retreat, the Regressor frowned in confusion and muttered.

“What’s her problem? Is she sulking?”

“Yes. Most likely.”

“Tch, how petty.”

“You’re just thoughtless.”

“What?”

“This isn’t the important part right now. Mr. Shei, what was that just now? Was that really the Thunder God?”

The Regressor, who had been eyeing me skeptically, shrugged and answered.

“So, you caught on? That’s right. That thing isn’t a Divine, nor is it the real Thunder God. It may look terrifying and powerful, but in the end, it’s merely the manifestation of thunderclouds and lightning. It doesn’t exceed the level of lightning as we commonly know it.”

“Then it’s a fraud.”

“It’s not a fraud. At the very least, it’s a false idol created by the accumulation of fear or faith in lightning. Since lightning itself is powerful, that Thunder God holds enough strength to be feared.”

…A false idol? Hold on.

I subtly pushed my spade card deeper into my hand and asked.

“A false idol?”

“You should know. Beings that take form from human fear. Unlike Divines, they aren’t born from knowledge, but from ignorance and terror. Like the King of Wolves or Vampires.”

“Oh, that.”

I nodded along in agreement.

Ah, so that’s what she meant.

“Vampires originally only had blood magic, right? But after fighting against the Sanctum and becoming a symbol of fear, they gained the power to control darkness. Similarly, wolves were just ordinary beasts, but their ferocity spread far and wide, turning them into humanity’s archenemies. Just like that, this Thunder God was born from the reverence of Claudia’s people.”

｢I heard that directly from the Sanctum, so it must be true. They said as much when they handed me Chun-aeng and Jizan.｣

I had my doubts, but now I was certain.

Those bastards at the Sanctum had outright lied to the Regressor.

Not that the Regressor herself was wrong.

Ever since humanity became the rulers of the land, strange phenomena have begun occurring.

Some beasts had gained such overwhelming power that they twisted the world itself, turning the earth into something akin to a human plaything.

The prime example of that was the King of Beasts.

Each King, who should have been the representative of a species, had instead taken on a human form—that was one of the many bizarre changes that had happened to the world.

Since similar occurrences had been observed all over, the Regressor’s claim wasn’t false.

Still, the Sanctum shouldn’t be the one saying that.

Since they were the main culprits behind it all!

Anyway, I let out a sigh of relief and said,

“That’s a relief. I thought we’d be dealing with another monster like the Golden Lord.”

“No way. Lightning isn’t a Divine. That thing is just a phenomenon.”

“Haha. You never know. A Divine could pop out of nowhere.”

“You worry too much. There aren’t that many Divines in the world.”

…Right. There shouldn’t be.

The Regressor looked utterly confident as she declared.

“Either way, you don’t need to concern yourself with this matter. I can handle it all on my own. You can just relax and enjoy sightseeing around the city.”

“That’s the least reassuring thing I’ve ever heard…”

I was uneasy, but there wasn’t anything urgent I needed to do right now.

And it’s not like I could wrestle with clouds myself.

Might as well take a look around this City of Cloud.

With a newfound sense of leisure, I stepped outside.

Claudia had a unique structure, with buildings clustered beneath towering lightning rods.

Among them, the First Lightning Tower, where the Thunderarch resided, was the grandest.

It monopolized all the thunder energy provided by the Thunder Mill.

As I considered taking a look inside the Lightning Tower, I spotted Peru.

She was surrounded by the Dholes that had followed her, looking rather troubled.

“When is the Dominarch’s money coming?”

“Are you just going to keep delaying until you never pay up?”

“…Well, because of the Thunder God, the Thunderarch has been busy…”

“Do you take us for fools? We grew up in Claudia too! The Thunder God showing up is an annual event!”

“You’re saying there’s nothing to hand over for now? That’s no different from saying you won’t pay at all!”

The Dholes clamored for the Dominarch’s inheritance.

But with everything going on, Peru had no time to deal with them.

The survival of an entire city was at stake—some inheritance had been pushed far down the priority list.

Which, of course, only made the Dholes more desperate.

Like starving beasts, they pressed harder, fearing that if they didn’t get their share now, they never would.

Tch.

As someone with a commoner’s sensibilities, I could understand where they were coming from.

But still, I clicked my tongue and approached her. Peru, who had been flustered, subtly brightened at my approach.

If she couldn’t argue her way out, she needed to use force—but since she refused to do that, things had come to this.

“You see, Peru? What did I tell you?”

“…Huh?”

The best kind of acting is done with a silent audience.

That way, I can steer the conversation however I like.

I scratched my head as if this was all a hassle and said.

“Those Dholes are nothing but trouble. I told you I’d get rid of them before we arrived in Claudia. You refused, saying that wasn’t necessary. And now look at what they’re doing—what a pain.”

“…?”

Peru tilted her head, confused.

Of course, she had never heard such a thing before.

Because I had just made it up on the spot.

“You… You were going to kill us?”

Hearing such an absurd statement, the Dholes finally seemed to grasp the concept of restraint.