〈 The Demon King of Kang Hwan-gye (3) 〉
Sasa-sak—
In a forest filled with pitch-black darkness.
A group of figures lined up in the middle of the place were moving quietly yet quickly.
“stop.”
Then, at one point, the person at the forefront of them raised one hand while saying something softly.
The personnel at the rear, who had been moving in unison, stopped their actions all at once without a single error.
“…….”
In a forest in the middle of the night where peace and gloom coexist.
The wind passed through the gaps between the densely grown trees, causing the bushes and leaves to rustle.
In the silence and the noise that flows quietly—.
“…Ready for battle.”
That voice put an end to the tranquility of the forest.
Chae Chae Chang—Chaang!
As soon as he finished speaking, they all drew their weapons, and the tension of the eve of the storm began to spread throughout the space.
No one questioned the sudden instructions.
The commander who gave the order had already proven his abilities a long time ago, and for them, top-down was a part of their daily routine that bordered on brainwashing.
just as expected.
“what? “Has this been discovered already?”
As soon as the entire group finished preparing for battle, a carefree voice that did not match the surrounding atmosphere full of sharp energy came from behind.
“It doesn’t work out the way you think, does it? Moving secretly is not for me! Kahahaha!”
A stranger slowly emerges from among the dense trees in the dark.
Even though he was under the caution of everyone present, the large barbarian warrior burst out into a lively laugh.
In a relaxed manner, as if he were out for a walk, as if he didn’t care how they reacted.
“…Express. Lift all prohibitions in Tianjiang City.”
However, those who encountered him could never look at him funny.
No, rather than looking down on him, I couldn’t even take my eyes off him.
Rustling – crunching –
A large man approaches, calmly stomping on the floor without any tension or anxiety.
My instincts kept screaming at the ferocious force rising from all over my body… as if if I looked away even for a moment, it would lunge at me and bite my neck.
“But the number is a bit smaller than you thought?”
As the suffocating tension was rising, the giant that was prowling and approaching like a wild beast about to be hunted—Harley tilted his head to one side and frowned.
His odd eyes, with their strange glow, slowly scanned the surroundings.
The approximate number of the group is fifty.
All of them were experts at least at the peak level, and including some of the jiangshi crawling out of the coffins they were carrying on their backs, the force itself could be said to be formidable… but it
was quite different from the number he had expected in advance.
And most importantly.
“…I can’t see the kid I was looking for. “When did you steal it somewhere else?”
In fact, among them, the person he was looking for, Zhuge Hyemi, was nowhere to be seen.
It wasn’t even in one of the coffins that contained that poem.
It was still quite subtle when he sensed it from afar, but there was no way he could fool his senses from this distance, right?
‘When I synthesized various information and tracked them all the way here, there was no sign that they were divided into several groups.’
Then he soon realized that he had been thinking too optimistically about things.
The reason he was able to track them down was because there were a lot of them, so he had no choice but to use the traces that were left.
So, if a very small number of experts in secret practices took her with them and escaped to another place…
“Keck! This is getting annoying. “It would have been easier if I had just finished it this time.”
Harley, with a disgusted expression on her face, rubbed the back of her head.
No matter how great the Demonic Cult’s power was, it was an inefficient venture to disperse its power in such a chaotic world where no one knew when, where, or what kind of crisis would come.
In addition, wasn’t the situation in which the Zhuge family they attacked specialized in defending bases using the formation method and lacked even a humble expert?
There was no way he would have known that Harley was pursuing him, so I thought they wouldn’t have to split up again since they had already spread a considerable distance.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it already happening like this.”
Harley, who was still talking to herself in the rigid atmosphere, licked her lips and shook her head.
Although I missed my goal, I still couldn’t see it as a wasted effort.
Because there were so many people in front of him who could be clues.
“Still. “I’m human too, so I can’t help but feel a little offended, right?”
Contrary to his light tone, an overwhelming force that made his body tingle exploded out.
It didn’t matter whether they obeyed or stayed true until the end.
If you cut it cleanly and search through that head, you’ll find something.
“So, please understand even if it’s a little rough? Kahahaha!”
Plop-plop-plop!
A muscular mass that instantly swells with maniacal laughter and the bizarre sound of bones twisting.
The phenomenon looked like something that could not be considered human.
“…It’s a monster! Introducing Cheongangsi! “The blood-slaughtering demon demons are going to crush the heavens…!”
The commander, who was well-versed in fighting monsters, hurriedly issued an order but paused for a moment.
Having been trained almost to brainwashing to maintain composure in everything, his pupils began to shake and his gaze gradually moved upward.
The already tall 8 cheok (尺) tall body grew steadily and eventually reached a height of well over 20 cheok (6 m), following the face of the opponent.
“Khaat! “Then, let’s take a look at your skills, shall we?”
The giant, who had not only grown in size but had completely lost his human form, looked down and smiled cruelly.
Unlike a while ago, he looks like a predator with the elements of monsters from the Kangwhan world appearing everywhere.
***
“How did things end up like this…”
Ya Yul-hwan, the military Cheon Gi-Ma Seon, the general manager of external operations for the Cheon Demon Church.
No, now that the world has changed, he who should be called a former soldier was facing the biggest crisis of his recent life.
“Hehehe, this is so ridiculous. “I never would have thought that the cult leader… the Heavenly Demon, who was supposed to reach the Mythological Realm in the near future, would become so famous.”
A hollow laugh escaped his lips as he sat in the cave, where a few lanterns had barely managed to banish some of the darkness.
The calculation must have been perfect.
The composition and strength of those participating in the Murim Alliance meeting were already fully understood, and in order to get the job done, I had put in a lot of effort that seemed excessive….
“You mean the Gwangma, the Gwangma…? “We took steps in advance to limit the possibility of it becoming a variable, but I never would have thought that those two guys would join hands and invade the Shaolin Temple.”
That Gwangma… no, the existence of the monster now called Shingwangma was the decisive factor in the failure at Shaolin Temple.
If that guy hadn’t intervened, he would have been able to cleanly wipe out everyone in the room, including Shinseung and Geomseong.
The resulting bodies would have been reborn as lectures for the church, and the religious leader would not have taken any action while retreating from the army.
‘The one who calls himself the king of demons. The Lord of Death, who commands the forces of the Dark Gangssi, who covers the heavens with darkness just by appearing, uses high-ranking techniques that have never been heard of, and freely uses martial arts….’ In
addition, the being called the Demon King, who appeared immediately after that, shakes the very foundation of the plan. It was no different from a fatal natural disaster.
In fact, the level of failure at Shaolin Temple was not that big of a problem.
Although the plan had to be modified a bit as expectations were wrong, wasn’t the main goal anyway to secure the dragon child?
“But now that the cult leader has been harmed, the operation is meaningless. Hehehe… I can’t believe that the funeral will be held as soon as the first shovel is dug. “Who knew that it was my grave?”
There was no doubt about Cheonma’s death.
When the Demon King began to take control of the Heavenly Demon Church, the first thing he presented as evidence was his body.
Among the high-ranking executives at the headquarters, there was not a single one who was stupid enough to not determine its authenticity.
‘This time it’s back as bad news.’
The tragic end of a leader who boasted absolute authority based on overwhelming force.
The resulting fear had a great influence on the executives under his command in deciding to change jobs.
Thanks to this, the full-scale purge of the Demon King, who quickly began to take control of the church, began sooner than expected.
It was around that time that Tongcheongakju, who had been pretending to cooperate and secretly conveying information to the military, lost contact.
‘What a shame. I wish there was a little more information. ‘To prevent backtracking, all lines are disconnected and it is not easy to contact the other side.’
He lightly clicked his tongue and frowned.
Then he turned his gaze to the corner and quietly looked at the people in the specially designed formation.
‘Ira of the Dragon…’
They were the target that was the beginning and end of this operation, and the number of additional people they secured this time was a total of seven.
This is truly an achievement that can be said to be the result of many years of espionage activities.
Originally, they would have sent the retrieving family to the main mountain, the largest dragon vessel they possessed, and prepared for the ceremony, but since the place was already occupied, they had no choice but to change the plan.
Isn’t it impossible to bring these top-class sacrifices that we worked so hard to secure and offer them to the devil?
“But… that’s strange. “They are different from the other dragon children.”
Lee Chae was young in his eyes as he looked at them so quietly.
The Heavenly Demon Church was a leading force not only in martial arts but also in martial arts, and the military Ya Yul-hwan was a person so well-versed in this field that he personally performed the burnt offering ceremony for the cult leader.
There’s no way he wouldn’t know that, right?
Unlike other dragon children, the faint traces of heterogeneous power remain in the bodies of the two men and women, who are full of life.
‘It was definitely a bloodline between the daughter of the Zhuge family and the royal family.’
His eyes flashed sharply, as if he was looking through something that was not revealed.
No matter how I looked at it, it was an alien energy, not of this world.
Haven’t we already seen it flowing out of the cult leader’s body several times right after the ceremony was over?
‘Of course, the nature itself is quite different. ‘I think we’ll need to look carefully in the future.’
He slowly looked around, taking in the poor environment of the cave, and then looked at the people in the camp again.
In any case, since the religious leader had passed away, the rituals that had been held until now had no meaning.
In that case, if you use all seven of them for yourself…
“…I guess I should prepare an altar first. Even if it’s not as big as the main mountain, it would be better to have a dragon vein that is as large as possible. “There’s a useful place nearby…”
The light illuminating the darkness flickered, and his shadow reflected there wriggled strangely.
As if it were some kind of non-human being.
***
Animal head and furry torso with long, sharp nails.
A beast-type monster similar to a werewolf, Jiangshi, rushed forward.
[Kaaaa—!]
The body, which had already lost its life and knew no pain, rushed forward at a speed that exceeded its limits, opened its strong jaws, and strongly bit down on something in its mouth with its sharp teeth.
Sigh! Crack!
However, instead of the sound of flesh being torn, only the noise of something hard grinding was heard from inside the mouth.
“Khaha! This works well! I never thought it would be this bad! After all, you have to try everything yourself, right?”
Hissing— Kwaang!
[Kkekeke!]
Harley swung the monster jiangshi that was hanging around her forearm like a whip and hit it on the ground, bursting into laughter.
Both of his forearms were covered with pitch-black shells resembling turtle shells, rather than the dark red dragon scales he usually wore.
‘If it’s just defense, this one is much more superior. It’s not flexible or elastic, so it’s unsuitable to wear all over the body, but it’s enough to wear around a few areas and use as a weapon and shield.’
This was the shell of Hyeonmu that I had only heard about.
The Son of Hyunmu, one of the internal orders that I obtained through Hans, who recently learned the Celestial Demon Church.
Actually, it’s been a while since I got it, but I didn’t really use it in the fight with the scribe because I wasn’t used to it yet.
Isn’t it impossible to recklessly bring out a weapon that hasn’t been properly tested against an opponent of that level?
In that sense, this situation was the optimal opportunity for a practical test to utilize this new weapon.
“Play again…! “Wow, this monster!”
“You can’t even get hurt unless it’s a strong attack, but even that heals so quickly?”
“Avoid that black shell! “This side suffers greater damage due to the rebound force!”
The violence that comes from an overwhelming physique well over 6 meters tall.
It didn’t care about the opponent, be it a jiangshi or a human.
“Wow!”
“Bwak!”
The demonic cultists who could not withstand him began to fall one by one, and the number of those opposing Harley decreased drastically.
Moreover, what he wanted to use this opportunity was not just physical mutation.
“…the number of effective hits is decreasing.”
“Growing? “More here?”
Not only was his physical strength, which was his main force and reason for existence, but he was also gradually becoming more proficient in his newly acquired skills.
‘I didn’t know that Harley would benefit from the Heavenly Demon Art before Hugo. As expected, the famous Shin Gongjeolhak is different.’
The essential knowledge of the Heavenly Demon Divine Technique, obtained while studying the body of the Heavenly Demon not long ago, was of great help in the use of the Gwangje Trial.
Perhaps this is possible because both sides have something in common: they both use rough and strong energy.
As it was refined again through actual combat, it was soon able to bear the long-awaited fruit.
《The entity has achieved enlightenment through repeated training. The skill “Gwangje Deliverance (改)” has been acquired.》
A combination of overwhelming physical ability that can only be called transcendent and the technology that can use it most efficiently.
It didn’t take long for the person who stood until the last moment to collapse in front of that synergy.