〈 Rehearsal (4) 〉
Of course, the rescue of the dragon children due to Hugo’s activities had already been planned to some extent.
To create a more realistic production, no details were directly touched, but part of the effort was to adjust in advance the power of the demonic cults that would be encountered during the process.
However, as I suddenly received a gift from the Dragon God, my strength exploded…
‘I guess things will be easier than I thought?’
The result was what it is now.
“Hwa-gyeong! “It’s Hwagyeong!”
“Don’t rush in! “Prioritize holding on as long as possible!”
While the demon cultists blocking the basement passage continued to scream and shout, Hugo lunged at them single-handed and quickly swung the sword he was holding.
I was worried for a moment about whether I would be able to adapt quickly because of the sudden increase in skill level, but after using martial arts myself, I was able to clearly feel that it was all for nothing.
‘…Is this great?’
The sword in his hand moved freely as if it were a part of his body.
The moment his will was established, the sword had already reached the target point.
Shin-geom-union, the state of oneness with everything and everything, as if one has become one with the weapon.
It was an ecstatically exhilarating sensation.
“You idiots! “Are you not even able to hold on properly?”
At that time, among the demonic cultists, a large man well over 2 meters tall stepped forward, huffing and puffing.
Holding a viciously large mace in each hand.
‘You’re finally here.’
A transcendent demon in charge of protecting this ceremony site.
Originally, he was a person who would have been a formidable ordeal for Hugo, who had the advantage of being the main base and the help of his subordinates, and had a lot of baggage attached to him….
‘The situation has changed, so the plan will have to change.’
For me now, that level was just a rite of passage.
Kwaak—
He tightly gripped the handle of the sword in his hand.
Thanks to the ‘Gongyeongjiche’, the unlimited internal energy swirled around the sea of four limbs, awakening the body’s performance to its limit, and soon the enormous energy was sucked into the sword and began to transform into the essence of destruction.
“Strength…! “Hurry up and deploy…!”
The opponent was preparing to respond in an instant, with his subordinates ready to respond, but Hugo did not care at all.
Just immerse yourself more deeply into something that resides within you.
‘「Heavenly Dragon God Technique」.’
It was the new name for the “Unknown Gong (名功)” who blossomed under the touch of the Dragon God.
A culmination of Kang Hwan-gye’s martial arts, created by intertwining all the martial arts he had learned so far, as well as secrets he had not previously known.
‘If they block your way, just break it!’
Press and hold for a quick and strong attack.
Pajik—!
Several tricks were combined, and brain power surged in my hands.
It immediately swung around on its sword body and transformed into a thunder dragon, instantly growing in size.
Rumbling—!
A strong dragon made of large lightning bolts wraps around Hugo’s body.
It let out a roar like the sound of thunder and shot straight to the front along the tip of the sword pointed forward.
“Stop it…!”
“not…!”
Right after that.
Other sounds, including screams, were swept away by the loud roar.
It was a devastating blow that would not have been surprising if the passage had collapsed had it not been in a space with a special formation.
Pajik – Pajijik –
In the scene where residual sparks continued to bounce like residual fire, the only being standing on two feet was the supreme expert with his arms crossed and covering his face.
“Ugh…. This Inomom…!”
However, even after overcoming the sacrifices of his subordinates, he was never unharmed.
From the skin blackened by cerebral exhaustion and the entire body, including the mouth, to the hair and beard sticking out as if hit by a smoke bomb.
However, it seemed as if a demon was a demon, and even though it looked quite frustrated, the opponent did not give up its resistance.
“Off!”
Both eyes turned bright red and bloodshot, and the body that had suffered serious damage began to recover at a speed that was beyond common sense.
And then, as if he had lost his mind, he lunged straight at Hugo with only life left in him and swung two maces.
“die!”
It wasn’t a very wise decision as there was a side effect of lowering intelligence in magic attacks.
‘Well, the technique of losing one’s sanity instead of increasing one’s physical abilities is common everywhere.’
Hugo slowly raised his sword.
It absorbs and flows out with a gentle change.
The twin maces, which seemed as if they could break even a huge rock engulfed by the imperfect force that had been forcibly pulled up, slipped in the waves surrounding the sword and lost their direction.
The movement of the water dragon flowing through the sword did not stop there.
Syaaa—
A stream of water flowing arrogantly and swirling around the tip of a sword that drew a circle.
It soon became a rough tsunami and swept away the posture-disoriented giant.
“Bwak!”
Drop!
The giant, who lost his grip on the mace, hesitated and stepped back, wrapping his arms around his neck, which the water dragon had bitten off.
The moment the attack failed, he reacted quickly and dodged backwards, but that only saved him from instant death and could not change the future.
This is because he had no means of regenerating even though more than half of his neck and heart had been torn off.
The supreme demon stumbled with his eyes wide open and eventually collapsed and lay lying down.
It was an unusually vain ending that was set up to be difficult.
‘It was a little different from what I expected, but it wasn’t bad.’
Hugo glanced at the messy passageway and slowly nodded.
In fact, it felt a bit ambiguous as an ordeal at the level of an extreme expert.
The higher and more rugged the obstacle that stands in your way, the more impressive it is when you overcome it.
If this side’s power increased, it was enough to raise the enemy’s level accordingly.
“Let us hurry. “Since the escape is already known, there is no benefit in staying here.”
He looked back and spoke quietly to those following him.
They were a little distance away and only approached after the battle was over and were walking cautiously, trying to ignore the devastation around them.
“It must be a battlefield outside… Can we join the Murim Alliance in the middle of that battlefield?”
Among them, Zhuge Hyemi, who was relatively calm, opened her mouth in a worried voice.
Thanks to her ability to use divine power, even the sickly dragon children were able to move around on their own, but at least they were only at a slightly lower level than ordinary people.
It was impossible to cross the battlefield where the battle was so fierce.
“Let’s try it first… and if it doesn’t work, we’ll have to find another way.”
Hugo nodded slowly and answered her words.
Meanwhile, in one part of my mind, I was having a hard time discussing how to effectively modify this scenario, mobilizing egos of various tendencies.
Since he had already received the advance payment, it was his duty to do his best to satisfy the investor’s needs.
‘If you receive investment in cancer, you have to pay for it.’
Not only will this allow you to attract additional investment, but won’t the reputation of existing customers have a positive influence on new investors when you go to other markets?
He had no intention of being satisfied with this level.
Of course, in order to do that, it will be important to finish this stage successfully.
“Thank you, Daehyup. “The only thing we can trust is Daehyeop.”
“…Yes. “Anyway, we have nothing more to lose, so we have no choice but to do something.”
“Still, the demon cultists want to capture me alive without even a scratch, so wouldn’t there be a good chance?”
Hugo tilted his head slightly as he watched the dragon children each say a word, as if trying to shake off the tension.
The war going on outside was important, but managing it was equally important.
The ultimate goal of Kang Hwan-gye’s scenario is the reconstruction of Dragon’s Heart.
They were absolutely necessary in the process.
***
Chang— Chang—!
“Ouch!”
Kaaaaagh—!
Kwaaaaang!
In a battlefield where all kinds of noise are mixed together.
“Heo, heo, heo, heo…” A
series of heavy breaths came out from the mouth of Unhak, a Taecheong swordsman who participated in the battle as a member of the Murim Alliance.
Because of the harsh environment of the demonic world, even a brief intense fight would quickly cause one to become suffocated.
It was a shame because I was receiving help from magic techniques, including Jinbeop. If it weren’t for that, I would have been exhausted long ago.
“Whoa.”
He let out a deep sigh as if taking a deep breath, looked down at the Jiangshi lying on the floor as his sword stopped functioning, and bit his lip again.
‘…Rest in peace, priest.’
The identity of the lecturer was a priest who studied with him.
Just six months ago, we broke up with the promise of a reunion in the future to avoid the sword of the Demonic Cult.
‘I never thought we’d meet again like this…’
His monk was a member of the now extinct Kunlun sect.
Because it is closest to Xinjiang, where Magyo is located, the Murim breakwater often suffers the most damage whenever they visit.
Before the imperial palace bloodbath occurred, there was not only respect from other forces for such efforts, but also considerable practical support, but as the world fell into chaos and everyone was busy looking after themselves, that has long become a thing of the past.
It can be seen as a natural progression that the Kunlun faction, which was isolated in a remote area, eventually collapsed.
It was purely by chance that he, a survivor of Kunlun who had been moving around the world, was able to come to this place.
While staying as a guest at a family with whom he had a small relationship and consulting with his family, he heard the news that an all-out war would soon be launched against the Demonic Cult.
Having crossed the line of fire and reached the pinnacle of excellence, he joined the Beijing expedition without hesitation.
We want to continue Kunlun’s will to protect until the end.
To let the world know that Kunlun’s descendants still remain.
Above all, this was the best opportunity to get revenge on the Demonic Cult.
‘…What on earth have the demonic cults done?’
Tai Qing Sword, who had already given rest to several Jiangshi from Kunlun, including the priest he had just defeated, ground his teeth.
These were by no means ordinary jiangshi.
As a Kunlun Taoist who was on the front line against the Demonic Cult, he was well aware of the jiangshi they wielded, but there was something inexplicable about the individuals mobilized for this war.
‘In every way, it is a reinforced version of the existing Gangsi. Not only does his physical ability but also his resistance to internal energy become stronger, so he won’t be able to even scratch a top-class player. … If you go further than that…’
His eyes turned to one side of the battlefield.
The warriors of Hwagyeong, who were experts above him, the demons, and the jiangshi of the same level as him were constantly clashing violently.
‘Jang Mun-in….’
Among the river poems of the flower world, Jang Mun-in of Kunlun was also included.
Not only that, but how long have they been collecting the corpses of masters? The number of jiangshi of a similar level is twice that of this one!
Therefore, the number of Hwa-gyeong-class forces was overwhelmingly inferior to that of the Murim Alliance, but fortunately, the situation of the war itself was not that bad.
That’s because the Murim Alliance had Surahyeoljon, an expert in Hyeongyeong from Sapa.
‘At this level… even if the damage is great, we can still win.’
Taecheonggeom’s gaze, which was examining the battlefield, caught the fight going on in all directions.
The Emperor of Paecheon collided with the Sword Saint and Blood Demon Jiangshi who faced off against the Ghost Sword Demon Emperor.
And Shinseung and General Jeongcheon exchanging fierce attacks against Cheonma and…
Kwaaaaang—!
“Kahahaha! This is so hot! “It’s also fun!”
A madman who bursts into laughter even though he was pierced by the Heavenly Demon’s magic sword that seemed to split the sky and left a huge hole in his abdomen.
‘…Shin Gwang-ma. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have been able to come this far.’
Indeed, the majesty of the Heavenly Demon was greater than just hearing about it.
If it weren’t for Shin Gwang-ma, at least three, maybe four, police officers from this area would have had to step in to stop him.
If that had happened, other battlefields would have exploded in an instant in the aftermath and would have been annihilated a long time ago.
This was all thanks to Shin Gwang-ma, who displayed immortal-like majesty and spared no effort to serve two people.
‘What we need to do is create an environment where they can defeat the Heavenly Demon. If only we could stabilize the battlefield as much as possible and allow more people than now to join the fight against the Heavenly Demon…’ After
taking a breath, Taechung Sword firmly grasped his sword again and took a step toward the battlefield.
Since I had enough rest, I planned to burn my body again and do my part in dealing with the demonic cult.
‘can do. ‘If I keep this up, I can do it!’
Amidst the fiery desire for revenge, hope slowly sprouted.
A sense of elation arose as the heroes continued to advance toward their goals without collapsing even in the hostile environment of the devil.
And I felt proud of myself for participating in this great journey, as if it had been a long time since I had been tormented by the guilt of abandoning the monastery and running away.
‘This is the power of martial arts. No matter how dark the night, eventually dawn dawns—.’
With our own hands, we will clear away the dark clouds hanging over the world and achieve a bright future.
like that.
A moment of optimism.
Rumbling—
Something strange began to occur in the dark clouds that were covering the sky.
A purple lightning flashed loudly from a gap in the dark clouds that made an unusual sound.
So much so that even those who were concentrating on the fight in front of them couldn’t help but pay attention.
Quagwagwagwang!
And finally.
From heaven to earth.
Purple lightning fell all over the battlefield along with a roar that shook the heavens and the earth.
***
‘I guess I can slowly pick up the pace.’
Hans, who was controlling the battlefield while hiding behind a curtain, smiled vaguely.
So far, everything has been going as planned without any problems.
This space, where a large-scale barrier was spread, was already under his control, and he controlled the amount of abyss supplied to the Heavenly Demon through it, helping him to function at an appropriate level.
‘But this isn’t enough for a climax.’
Hope should not come this easily.
In order to unite everyone who is divided, it is essential to not give up and fight together to achieve even in the face of uncontrollable despair and trials.
And for that, something a little more overwhelming was needed.
Hans nodded happily as he looked at the giant beings rising one by one from the spot where the purple lightning had struck.
Kaaaaaa—!
Oooooh—!
Monsters the size of houses, showing off their presence with ferocious roars, continued to twist their bodies.
A look of despair began to appear on the faces of the people who had somehow maintained their balance until now.
Giraffe, nine-tailed fox, goblin, etc…
It was the moment when the top-level monsters that had been created with great effort were revealed.