### Chapter 362 – Room 205, The Cursed Room – ‘The Absolute Master’ (11)
—
– Lee Eunsol
Once upon a time, the poet Jo Song from the Tang Dynasty said, “When one general achieves greatness, ten thousand bones wither!”
I truly felt the weight of that saying while gazing down at the battlefield from atop the battlements.
Every moment, soldiers from the Empire and the Baehwa Sect vanished, becoming nutrition for the earth.
The mountain of bones piling up in real-time was soon to cradle a legendary hero; the laughter of superhumans cutting down a few soldiers with a single stroke echoed across the battlefield.
If there’s anything lucky, it’s that my comrades belonged to the ranks of legendary heroes, not just a pile of bones.
“Wahaha!”
The thunderous laughter of a giant reached my ears.
Cha Jinchul, leaping into the fray like a wolf amidst the sheep, looked less like a man and more like a killing machine.
Suddenly, old memories surfaced.
If I could turn back time to our first day in the hotel, would Cha Jinchul be able to laugh and rampage like this again?
Knowing it was a futile thought, I shook my head.
The “us” from back then and the “us” now were worlds apart, and that was not just the case for Han Kain.
“Wow…”
A gasp escaped me.
A moment ago, Cha Jinchul crushed a Baehwa Sect warrior’s torso, armor and all, with his bare fists.
I heard someone dubbed that punch an incredible name—“The Godbreaking Fist.” It sounded hilarious yet somewhat understandable.
I mean, how could smashing an armored warrior with a single punch be anything but extraordinary?
It looked like a legendary technique inherited through generations by the Great Commander of the North Star.
Cha Jinchul, who was embarrassed the first time he heard that name, now seemed unbothered.
He was shouting “The Godbreaking Fist!” while throwing punches.
Unlike Jinchul, I observed someone who seemed similar in “mental” strength to how he used to be.
Grandpa was fighting better than I expected.
While it might not be the most fitting word amid such hellscape filled with flesh, blood, bones, and brains, he seemed to be having “more fun” than Jinchul in this battle.
They say if the mind is dull, the body suffers, but conversely, if the body is dull, the mind struggles.
Grandpa had to strategize fiercely while Jinchul just wildly swung his weapon around.
Yet, in the middle of this thought, he started fighting against another Baehwa sect warrior.
A man draped in a dark cloak approached Grandpa, swinging a crescent moon blade that glowed white.
As the man shouted something while swirling the crescent blade, releasing dozens of sword winds, Grandpa curled up like a turtle to absorb the winds with his armor.
In the next moment, Grandpa’s coiled body sprang forth like a spring, propelling the Bazhuanhuake (a legendary weapon) he wielded at the Baehwa warrior.
The opponent tried to deflect it with the crescent blade, but I had confirmed this before multiple times from above.
Even a solid master couldn’t bear the strength of Grandpa’s right arm.
Crushed by that overwhelming strength, the opponent panicked as they rolled on the ground to narrowly avoid Grandpa’s onslaught.
Having barely escaped danger, the opponent wore a look of determination and began chanting something while gripping the crescent blade with both hands.
“What on earth kind of technique is that?!”
In that moment of extreme tension, transmitted to Grandpa and the Baehwa Sect warrior, and to me who had been watching—
Grandpa snapped his left hand out of his robe and, with a quick finger snap, blew the Baehwa Sect warrior’s head apart.
Well done.
With a physique that put youth to shame and clad in iron armor.
It’s unbelievable that a person can casually swing a legendary weapon like the Bazhuanhuake!
Grandpa stood like a mythical legend ready to partake in a divine duel.
Just by the aura alone.
If the opponent thought he was preparing some ultimate move, he quickly shot.
For the martial artists of this era, a 21st-century gun is pure demonic weaponry beyond imagination.
If displayed openly, some reaction would trigger danger, but if you’re like Grandpa and casually flaunt the Bazhuanhuake, then suddenly seize an opportunity to pull the trigger, the master could drop dead on the spot.
“Grandpa? While doing that, what was it you were espousing about true martial arts to Sanghyun? Wow, I’m just glad you’re fighting well.”
The situation on the battlefield wasn’t bad.
The Empire’s military was holding the battlements against Baehwa Sect invaders storming the capital.
Although their numbers were immensely overwhelming, it didn’t quite matter in this theater of battle; the sheer numbers of their general soldiers were less significant.
What mattered was the number of ‘masters,’ and with the arrival of the Thousand’s Righteous, the quality of our forces had become equal.
I spotted a man.
He was a middle-aged man, seeming to be in his 40s or 50s, clad in a rather stylish robe and surveying the battlefield.
Noting that his description matched Elena’s, I focused intently—
He was looking at me.
The leader of the Baehwa Sect, Jo Wonhong, was looking right at me.
The soul of a nameless soldier fading like a feather and the two figures on opposite ends met gazes.
From a woman’s perspective, the man appeared as if he could have been a movie star in modern times, showing signs of aging.
From the man’s perspective, the woman maintained a haughty demeanor as she looked down from atop the massive battlements, akin to a deity.
The man’s lips moved.
Though I didn’t learn any tongue arts, it was simple enough to read.
“Greetings?”
In the next moment, an unfathomable malice gripped my neck.
“Gah! Ugh!”
Someone was shaking me viciously by the throat!
“Lord, Commander! Is anyone there?!”
Nearby guards panicked and rushed in to rescue me, but their efforts were useless.
How could these ordinary humans even begin to imagine?
That Jo Wonhong, more than three kilometers away, was trying to kill me!
“Gah!”
Is this how I die in this round?
Did I really make the fatal mistake of making eye contact just because Jo Wonhong was this far away?
What the—
“Taah!”
A single piercing scream resonated with a warm spring-like energy enveloping me, freeing my body.
The malevolent grip around my neck vanished without a trace.
Ija Seong had arrived.
“T-thank you.”
“Gather yourself. I can’t believe the commander would apply the Baekbo Killing Technique this way…”
“The Baekbo Killing Technique? Is it the technique that kills an opponent from a hundred steps (about 100 meters) away?”
“That’s what I thought, but now it seems the condition for execution was merely visual contact.”
“…”
“The wrong synergy with the Thousand’s Righteous eyesight produces poorly aligned outcomes. In my absence, do not meet the commander’s gaze.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you for the rescue.”
“The men from the Alliance have suffered greatly, haven’t they?”
“I apologize.”
“What for?”
“…”
“Them wielding swords to save the kingdom was their own choice. Why should you feel guilty? You didn’t coerce the men of the Thousand’s Righteous into battle, did you?”
“No, of course not.”
“Over the past eight months, the Baehwa Sect has risen from its seclusion and caused upheaval. With that, many warriors from the Alliance sought to take their swords and engage in battle with the evil demons.”
“Did you stop them, Commander?”
“I believed this Empire needed to be shattered from its roots. Was my thinking incorrect?”
“…”
“Even now, you seem unsure. Can you truly say that the Young Emperor is superior to Jo Wonhong?”
“I will strive to prove that to you.”
“Commander, let me give you one piece of advice.”
“Please, I am listening.”
“The potential of Jo Wonhong and the Baehwa Sect is truly limitless… They have been receiving the assistance of an ominous deity for eight hundred years. Don’t forget this.”
“…”
With those words, Ija Seong departed.
“Phew…”
As the tension subsided, I let out a light sigh.
A few days ago, Sanghyun expressed his puzzlement over how easily he had garnered the Thousand’s Righteous’s cooperation.
It was far too easy for what he expected.
Grandpa dubbed it “the physiology of martial artists,” but there were probably layers to that, as he said.
However, there was a bigger reason at play.
Thinking back, it’s only natural that most warriors in the Thousand’s Righteous were also subjects of the Radiant Empire.
Didn’t they have a sense of “patriotism”?
Even if the imperial family had shown incompetence for long years, when the nation stood in jeopardy, someone would surely rise to defend it.
While the Thousand’s Righteous had been suppressing them all along, there was a limit to that.
In essence, the Thousand’s Righteous longed to fight in defense of the Empire.
They merely lacked justification to forgive the imperial family and charge into battle.
“Shall I suggest to Seungyub to compose a handwritten apology to the Thousand’s Righteous before starting the next round?”
*
– Yu Songee
Upon arriving near the Cheonjang Mountain where Kain oppa was sleeping, I finally realized—
Cheonjang Mountain wasn’t just some backwoods hill.
It’s like Everest! Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but it was so vast that it was hard to take it all in at once.
Of course, to scour such a mountain, we’d need to prepare a ton of supplies starting with food, but we had no money for any of that.
“Pero, bring that cart over.”
“Please! If you take the cart, how will we conduct business? Oh, Miss…”
“… Fine. Let’s get that cart from the stall over there—”
“Urrgh!”
I tried my best to ‘fairly’ forage.
If I took everything from one person, how would they survive?
If I grabbed everything from the stall, the vendor would practically be told to drop dead!
This felt way too guilt-inducing, so I’d “appropriately” siphon from multiple individuals.
As a result, many people started crying and crying.
“… It’s all because of the hotel!”
I mean, if I had filled my pockets with gold and silver coins beforehand, I wouldn’t have to be such a bad person!
While I was flustered and stuck in my thoughts, Miro managed everything quickly and efficiently.
“Fill that cart with whatever you think is necessary for climbing the mountain!”
“Sir! How can we be doing things like this?!”
“Haaa… I tried to be patient, but there’s no other choice. The wrath of the White Dragon is upon me—”
“I-I’ll fill it!”
What on earth is this talk about the White Dragon’s wrath?
Why is she so engrossed in this robbery?
Just when I was about to give up and sit down in exhaustion, Ahri came back with a pure-looking man.
“…”
“He’s someone who has gathered herbs around Cheonjang Mountain for a long time. He should know the lay of the land, so I brought him along.”
“Hello.”
“I swear I’ll do my best to serve you if you spare my life!”
“I’ll let you live, but…”
“Yes?”
“You got any money?”
Suddenly, my mind went blank.
By the time the looting finished, one fact gave me a little solace.
At least I didn’t kill or injure anyone.
*
That evening, while climbing Cheonjang Mountain, I exchanged opinions with Ahri.
“Where do you think it might be? I can’t figure it out from the map either.”
“Hmm…. I have a few places in mind, but none feel certain.”
“Ugh…”
“That aside, I feel worried.”
I share the same sentiment. I recalled the warning Kain oppa had given about two threatening powerful individuals.
“Two intimidating foes. He warned us to be cautious of ambushes, right? At least in Hanam, they didn’t attack us.”
“They’d want to conceal the fact that Cheonjang Mountain is a den of evil demons from the likes of us. They likely didn’t want to escalate the matter by fighting us in broad daylight.”
In other words, they intended to finish us off quietly in this vast and dangerous mountain.
“Demon Punch!”
— Boom!
With an earth-shattering noise, a thick tree toppled behind us.
“…”
“Wow, Ahri! Look at that, I broke the tree with my punch!”
“Wow~! Miro, that’s awesome!”
That response was far too monotone; yet, Miro gleefully began demolishing nearby natural objects.
“… What the heck is wrong with her?”
“It’s her first time wearing protective clothing. Children often react that way when given special powers.”
“Seungyub wasn’t like that at all.”
“Miro seems to possess a more innocent heart.”
“… Aren’t we making too much noise?”
“Are you worried we’ll get discovered now?”
After we flipped the market upside down, our stealth scenario was out the window.
In truth, even if we didn’t do a single thing, the sight of the mighty ‘White Dragon’s Iron Armor’ was impossible to hide from anyone.
“You all should come this way!”
Then, a tiny, timid-sounding voice reached us.
The herbalist we brought as a guide started leading us down a narrow path.
“Hmmm…”
Ahri let out a thought-provoking sound.
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