lpffa Chapter 260 : Invaders (3)
Chapter 260 : Invaders (3)
Chapter 260: Invaders (3)
While flying toward the city with the black tower, Jang Woo-hyun and Jin Ha-un pulled out half-skull masks that covered their eyes and noses.
Since Seo Ryeom and Cho-su were already wearing armor that concealed their entire bodies, the two intended to match them as closely as possible.
Once they neared the gigantic open gate, the entire group descended from the Flying Artifact.
As Jang Woo-hyun’s group approached, one of the four cultivators guarding the gate spoke.
“What brings you here?”
“We heard people were being gathered to head to the Central Heavens Realm.”
The cultivators guarding the city gate did not appear particularly wary of the group’s unusual appearance. Since magical artifacts and Dharma Treasures came in all kinds of forms, they probably assumed these were simply cultivators using strange equipment.
“Where are you coming from?”
The next question was asked casually, without much interest in the group. It sounded more like a formality than an actual interrogation.
“We’re coming from Goryeok Mountain.”
“Goryeok Mountain?”
At Jang Woo-hyun’s answer, a plump man standing beside the cultivator who had first spoken reacted.
“If it’s Goryeok Mountain, then I know the place somewhat. That should be where those fellows calling themselves the Seven Demons operate……”
Seeing the suspicious look in the man’s eyes, Jang Woo-hyun smiled faintly and replied naturally, having already anticipated this possibility.
“If I came from there, then you should know what happened.”
“Ah, I see.”
The man understood immediately and smiled as well.
“Well now, it seems your abilities are greater than your appearance suggests. The Seven Demons of Goryeok weren’t entirely lacking.”
“The cultivation method I learned is especially good at concealing my energy. Everyone lowers their guard because of it.”
“I see. Thank you for coming. If you’re looking for lodging, head right once you enter. There’s also a market further along if you need anything. Welcome to the Black Shadow Sect.”
“Thank you. Then perhaps we’ll meet again later.”
Exchanging farewells naturally, Jang Woo-hyun’s group entered the city.
Since people were already being gathered, there were no inspections or verification procedures.
“It’s more ordinary than I expected.”
At Jin Ha-un’s remark while looking around the city, everyone nodded.
From hearing only stories about the Corpse-Blood Realm, they had imagined it as a place inhabited solely by crazed monsters, yet the city looked surprisingly normal.
“That’s because they formed a collective.”
Rather than wandering around alone and fighting endlessly, groups could accomplish far more once gathered together. And if a powerful being led the group, its members could receive protection and support.
Even if they killed and absorbed one another, if they gathered under the same ideology, then rules and systems would naturally emerge to maintain the city’s structure. After all, the Corpse-Blood Realm was still a world inhabited by people rather than beasts.
Lee Ahn, who wandered around alone while treating his subordinates like summoned creatures, was simply an unusual case.
“For a city, it’s pretty crude and unimpressive.”
Just as Cho-su said, although the Black Shadow Sect’s city was enormous, it looked roughly constructed.
The massive walls surrounding the city were made entirely of earth, while the nearby buildings were little more than cube-shaped structures formed from packed soil.
There was absolutely no aesthetic sense involved. Everything looked hastily created purely for practical necessity.
As they walked while observing the surroundings, Jang Woo-hyun’s group eventually arrived at what appeared to be a market.
Large cages stood everywhere, and inside them were unfamiliar races and humans alike.
Those imprisoned all looked weak and sickly, either drugged or unable to withstand the power of the Corpse-Blood Realm itself.
“Customers! Come take a look! I’ll give you a cheap deal. These ones were captured from the Central Heavens Realm just a few days ago.”
A merchant with short horns protruding from his forehead waved toward Jang Woo-hyun.
“You should buy them while they’re still alive. If they die and get ground into pills, the medicinal effects weaken. I’ll sell them cheap, so take a few.”
“Come look at my goods too.”
An old man with pale skin from the neighboring stall also called out toward the group.
The scene resembled an ordinary countryside marketplace.
Except the merchandise was different.
Instead of chickens, ducks, or puppies, they were selling cultivators from the Central Heavens Realm.
Even the cultivators who treated humans like livestock or materials without hesitation had ultimately become victims before beings more powerful and vicious than themselves.
At the sight, Jang Woo-hyun let out a bitter laugh.
‘These bastards really aren’t normal.’
Every time he saw them, every time he met them, he felt it again.
Cultivators were insane.
The sight was so completely different from the Murim Realm that the entire group struggled to suppress the urge to smash everything apart.
They hardened their expressions and quickly left the market behind.
Only after arriving at an area filled with much larger buildings than before did they finally stop walking and secure lodging there.
Before arriving in the city, they had obtained plenty of Blood Spirit Stones—the currency used in the Corpse-Blood Realm—from the cultivators who attacked them, so paying posed no problem.
The group entered a large but poorly made room.
The furniture inside was crudely shaped from stone, while the beds were covered with blankets made from the hides of unknown beasts.
While everyone clicked their tongues at the bleak interior, Cho-su pulled out one of the items Lee Ahn had prepared for them.
A small blue tower made entirely of bone.
Standing near the palm-sized tower concealed their presence and prevented sound from escaping outside.
Although Cho-su possessed many magical artifacts of his own, he decided not to use anything he personally created within the city unless absolutely necessary. After all, he was still an artisan from the Central Heavens Realm.
“We should probably scout the surroundings, right?”
“They said there’s still about a month before they head to the Central Heavens Realm, so we do have some time.”
“We should wander around the city and gather information.”
At Seo Ryeom’s words, Cho-su nodded.
“That’s probably best. If we head directly for the tower right away, we might draw suspicion.”
Since the tower was crucial for maintaining the barrier created by Phantom King Baek Jeong-ak, it would not be easy for outsiders to approach and investigate it.
“Sneaking into the tower won’t be simple either. Captain, how about we just charge in head-on and smash everything apart?”
“This is enemy territory. That’s too reckless.”
Cho-su immediately opposed Seo Ryeom’s suggestion. After thinking briefly, Jang Woo-hyun agreed with Cho-su.
“There are only four of us, so it won’t be easy. We’re not pressed for time, so let’s think it through carefully first.”
They discussed several other ideas afterward, but none were particularly useful.
“Uh, Hyung-nim…….”
Just as the conversation was winding down—
Jin Ha-un, who had only been listening quietly, cautiously spoke up.
“What if we use the prisoners instead?”
“The prisoners? Which ones?”
“The cultivators we saw earlier.”
Jin Ha-un had not stopped thinking about those captives since they passed through the market.
Unlike Jang Woo-hyun, who had suffered at the hands of cultivators, or the experienced Seo Ryeom and Cho-su from the Central Heavens Realm, Jin Ha-un had little experience dealing with cultivators. Seeing humans bought and sold like livestock had shocked him deeply.
“I get what you’re thinking, but the captives and the sellers are all the same. Back in the Central Heavens Realm, those bastards would probably be imprisoning and selling other races too.”
Seo Ryeom opposed Jin Ha-un’s idea immediately. He knew how long the Beastkin had suffered under cultivators, and he fundamentally held no positive feelings toward them.
“It won’t help us. Think about when we first fell into this place ourselves. Even moving was difficult. Cultivators from the Central Heavens Realm won’t be able to use their power properly here either. They’re probably all dying already.”
The Corpse-Blood Realm rejected the living.
Even if they rescued the cultivators, those people would become burdens rather than assistance.
“If we save them for no reason and our identities get exposed, things will only become more troublesome. There’s nothing to gain.”
“I wasn’t thinking things through properly.”
Since both Seo Ryeom and Jang Woo-hyun’s reasoning made sense, Jin Ha-un quickly backed down.
But Cho-su did not agree with the two of them.
“It’s worth considering. I don’t think it’s a bad idea.”
“Huh?”
“What are you talking about? Maybe it’s because you were stuck inside that cocoon, Brother Cho, but even the Captain and I couldn’t properly use our strength here. What use would a bunch of half-dead cultivators be? We’d be lucky if they didn’t just drag us down.”
“We still have the pills Lee Ahn gave us.”
At those unexpected words, Jang Woo-hyun and Seo Ryeom widened their eyes.
“They don’t have bracelets, so they won’t be as stable as us, but if they take a few pills, they should be able to move somewhat. We brought plenty of pills too. If we feed them to the captives, cause chaos throughout the city, and then carry out our own mission during the confusion… it might actually work.”
“How many pills do you even have?”
“A few hundred, probably.”
“You got that many?”
“That friend Lee Ahn is surprisingly generous. Hold on a moment.”
This time, Cho-su used his own Inner Robe Artifact rather than something Lee Ahn had given him.
As he attempted to pull out a box containing the pills, his body suddenly trembled.
“Huh? What the hell is this?”
A confused voice rang out as Cho-su abruptly pulled out a sword instead.
Wooooong.
The sword taken from the Inner Robe Artifact vibrated as though alive.
“That’s the Mountain-Breaking Sword, right? Why’d you suddenly pull it out?”
“W-wait a second.”
Flustered, Cho-su removed the helmet covering his face.
His third eye between his brows shone brightly as he examined the vibrating Mountain-Breaking Sword.
As time passed, Cho-su’s expression grew increasingly grim.
Seeing his face darken so severely, everyone quietly waited.
After some time—
Having fully inspected the Mountain-Breaking Sword’s condition, Cho-su tightly shut his eyes.
“Woo-hyun… this is bad.”
---
Flower of Destruction.
A unique flower containing immense energy and used as a material for magical artifacts and Dharma Treasures.
It was extremely difficult to obtain in the Central Heavens Realm, yet Lee Ahn possessed a large quantity. He gave every Flower of Destruction he had to Cho-su, who then used them to create Mountain-Breaking Swords.
“How many did you make?”
“Two hundred and fifty.”
True to the name Mountain-Breaking, the Mountain-Breaking Sword possessed enough destructive force to obliterate an entire mountain peak.
Two hundred and fifty such swords could erase entire mountain ranges and reshape the terrain itself.
Up to this point, Cho-su had calculated everything properly.
But contrary to his expectations, a massive problem arose.
“My calculations were wrong.”
The Flower of Destruction originally grew in the Corpse-Blood Realm.
The ones Cho-su previously used had already lost part of their power.
But now, using them within their original environment, their power amplified tremendously.
The Mountain-Breaking Swords he currently possessed could destroy not just a single mountain peak, but three or four at once.
And the even bigger problem—
“These things won’t hold together much longer.”
They had not stabilized.
Unable to endure the condensed energy within them, the Mountain-Breaking Swords were about to explode.
Before they could even be used.
“I’m sorry. I think we should retreat and dispose of these first.”
“You’re saying we should withdraw now? From here?”
“If things go wrong, they could all detonate. This is already beyond my ability to control. There are simply too many.”
“Hah…….”
“How strong are they exactly?”
“There are so many that even I can’t calculate it properly. If all of them explode at once…….”
Cho-su shut his eyes tightly as he continued.
“……This entire region will disappear.”
He had underestimated the situation too easily.
He should have been more careful and focused, but instead he got carried away simply making Mountain-Breaking Swords, and now the consequences had returned to haunt him.
“I’m sorry, everyone. Because of me.”
Cho-su lowered his head deeply.
Believing that his mistake had ruined their entire plan before they even truly began, he could not raise his head again.
“Cho-su.”
Jin Ha-un looked at him sympathetically, while Seo Ryeom remained silent.
Jang Woo-hyun simply thought quietly about what to do next.
A moment later—
Jang Woo-hyun spoke casually, as though it were no big deal.
“Cho-su, lift your head. Honestly, this might be better.”
“What……?”
Cho-su raised his head in confusion, while Seo Ryeom immediately understood what Jang Woo-hyun meant and burst into laughter.
“If things turned out like this, then let’s just blow everything up. No reason to wait anymore.”
At those words, Cho-su’s expression stiffened even more than before.