Ranker Who Lives Twice

『Damn it…! How could I be this humiliated by mere mortals?』 Thor shouted in frustration. Fury bubbled in him, making it difficult to keep his temper in check. What he had suffered from the disciple and master pair Yeon-woo and the Martial King was the most outrageous humiliation he experienced in his entire life. He couldn't believe he could be embarrassed by creatures who weren't even demigods.

He wasn't the only one who'd suffered, even his entire society had been disgraced…! However, the consequences of their actions were even worse.

[The godly society <Chan Sect> criticizes <Asgard> for negotiating in bad faith!]

[The godly society <Deva> looks down on <Asgard>.]

[The godly society <Dilmun> begins a discussion to take back territory lost to <Asgard> in the past.]

…

[The demonic society <Niflheim> prepares for war against <Asgard>.]

[The demonic society <Jie Sect> responds negatively to <Asgard> being classified as a great society.]

…

[Vimalacitra flatly dismisses <Asgard>, saying they are not worth dealing with.]

[Cernunnos forgets about the existence of <Asgard>.]

[The allied forces hold <Asgard> responsible for breaking the negotiations and want the society to be penalized!]

Asgard had once been one of the key societies of the heavenly world, but they had lost this high regard, and their reputation plunged to the ground. Even the small societies that Asgard had ignored and disregarded questioned their power. Their subordinates were beginning to lose faith in them, and their past conflicts with Dilmun were rearing their heads again. Even their enemy, Niflheim, was searching for ways they could corner Asgard. The higher one was, the harder the fall. Asgard was already nothing more than a group of discredited losers.

However, what angered Thor further was the fact that the societies of absolute good and evil were silent.

[The godly society <Malach> defers their statement regarding this incident.]

[The demonic society <L'Infernal> expresses discomfort with the rude actions of <Asgard> and does not make any statement.]

Malach and L'infernal usually acted as arbitrators and tried to interfere whenever there was trouble between the societies. In fact, at times, they meddled so much that it became annoying. They had been eager to get involved when the allied forces and hostile forces were fighting, but now, they were deathly quiet.

It wasn't that they didn't have a reason to stay away. Asgard was sure that a prolonged war after the takeover of Olympus wouldn't benefit them, and so they asked Malach and L'Infernal to help them negotiate with the allied forces. However, at the same time, Asgard secretly worked with the Sea of Time to influence the negotiations and attempted to take Yeon-woo's close friends as captives.

This had enraged the Chan Sect, who accused Asgard of negotiating in bad faith. However, Asgard's biggest headache was that they had failed. Now, Malach and L'Infernal were furious to find that Asgard had used them and left the negotiations and turned their backs on Asgard. There was no one left to help.

Asgard was reaping what they sowed, but Thor didn't see it that way and blamed it on Yeon-woo and the allied forces' hostility to Asgard. From his perspective, the heavenly world was a place of idiots. How could they not be angered by the humiliation caused by this mortal and only plot ways to get on the mortal's good side? He didn't understand.

『Odin, where are you?』 It was during times like this that they needed a stronger being to defeat their enemies and stabilize the unnerved members of Asgard with powerful charisma. However, their supreme god was still missing. 『No. This is our…no…my chance.』

Thor decided to adjust his thinking. Sometimes, a crisis could lead to opportunity. What if he led Asgard through this threat? If he could show leadership as the new supreme god after steadying the wobbling Asgard? He could create a new legend, which meant he could be a new king! 『Yes. There's no reason for me to stay as second-in-command forever…!』

Thor clenched his fists. Odin had already abandoned his duties as the supreme god. Now that they were in this situation, Asgard needed a new king, and there was no one more suited for the role than him. What did he need to do now? Even though the allied forces were on the brink of declaring war on them, Thor thought the most important thing was to resolve Asgard's internal divisions. 『Hmph. Whatever. They'll quiet down if I give them a few territories.』

No matter how displeased Malach and L'Infernal were with Asgard, they couldn't allow the balance of the godly and demonic societies to be disrupted. Otherwise, the heavenly world would go up in flames. The two societies were busy trying to unite the heavenly world against Allforone, and they had no choice but to protect Asgard in order to maintain the balance. All Asgard had to do was toss them a few societies they had no use for. They could take back those societies once they were done arranging their internal affairs. In the meantime, they could simply consider it as letting others temporarily manage their territories.

Thor felt more at ease after coming up with a new plan. He was still furious at Yeon-woo, but there was a phrase the Chan Sect and Jie Sect used for this situation: it is never too late for a gentleman to take his revenge. Thor decided to think of it that way. He'd have the opportunity to pay back the humiliation later.

『First, I should go console those who are struggling because of the penalty.』 Thor slowly got up as he organized his thoughts. The penalty they received after their manifestations were interrupted was immense. His own divinity was unsteady, so he could only imagine what the other divine beings were feeling. He needed to soothe their indignation.

But as he was about to leave the temple, he paused. 'Wait. What about Olympus…? Why are they so quiet?'

The messages describing the reactions of the various societies were still updating. However, Thor didn't see anything from stupid Olympus, those idiots who decided to accept Yeon-woo as their supreme god. Suddenly, chills of anxiety ran down Thor's spine.

[The objective of <Olympus> has been changed to 'the destruction of Asgard'!]

Olympus' message immediately popped up.

A society's objectives determined the course it would take, how had it changed to something so harsh?

[The godly society <Olympus> declares their new objective to all the societies of the heavenly world!]

[They announce that they will disregard views that express concern about or object to their policy.]

[They declare they will not allow anyone's interference in this war, and they will consider anyone who supports Asgard as an enemy.]

…

[<Olympus> has declared war on <Asgard>!]

[The <Chan Sect> of the allied forces expresses their support!]

[<Niflheim> of the allied forces expresses their support!]

[The <East Demon Army> of the allied forces declares they will participate actively!]

[The allied forces will send soldiers for support.]

…

[The godly society <Malach> announces they will not interfere in this incident.]

[The demonic society <L'Infernal> asserts their detachment from this war.]

Thor could only think of one thing as he looked at the messages that appeared one after another: Asgard had been abandoned. The resistance from Olympus and the allied forces was worse than he thought, and even Malach and L'Infernal were deserting them!

Thor was headed for the other divine beings when the great holy territory of Asgard shook with an explosion. Boom!

[<Olympus> has invaded the great holy territory 'Third Branch of Yggdrasil'!]

* * *

[A message has arrived from the celestial scribe of <Malach> Metatron.]

[Message: We will not interfere in this situation. Although our usual policy is to mitigate large-scale events including those that involve destruction, leaving Asgard unpunished will compromise our authority. We have decided to sacrifice Asgard to prevent this from happening..]

[A message has arrived from Metatron.]

[Message: We only request that the battle not spread to other societies.]

[A message has arrived from the head of <L'Infernal> Baal.]

[Message: We have no reason to oppose the destruction of one of the pillars of the godly societies. However, we wish that this situation be contained in order to decrease the risk of new conflict. And as for Agares…ha! Take care of that damned fool. This is a personal request.]

Metatron and Baal, the leaders of Malach and L'Infernal, immediately sent messages as Yeon-woo declared war. Their point was simple: they didn't plan to interfere at all, but they wouldn't allow the chaos to spread to other societies. It was clear that they had decided to allow Asgard to be eliminated, but they didn't want the war to expand and increase Yeon-woo's influence.

Since the purpose of this war was revenge, Yeon-woo didn't have any complaints. In fact, he was grateful that the Chan Sect and Niflheim had sent soldiers, especially since the Chan Sect was probably in a frenzy due to the Jade Emperor's disappearance. Despite this, they had offered to help.

Athena led Olympus' forces and invaded Asgard. Their mission was total destruction. It was an entirely different war from the one that Uranus had waged in the past. At the time, they had wished to annex new lands and gain more forces, but this time, they had no intention of leaving anyone in Asgard alive.

Fighting this war wasn't going to bring back the Martial King, but Yeon-woo hoped it would be a source of entertaining distraction. In this way, the Martial King's funeral began.

* * *

Fwoosh! The One-horned tribe was represented by fire because their ancestor Shaohao Jintain was the sun god. Red fire signified the purification of souls and the brightening of a dark world. They believed cremation was the only way for an individual to return to Shaohao Jintian's side.

The flames blazing in the center of the village burned for three days, accompanied by the sobs and wails of the tribe members, which eventually died down to silence.

Yeon-woo entered the cave where the Martial King had found enlightenment, cutting off all communication with the outside world to learn all the teachings the Martial King had left behind and comprehend the Yin Sword.