320. Time Attack (4)
When I was young, I had a conversation with a local elder.
The result was obvious.
There was a time when an elderly man who was cornered without even being able to do more than a few moves picked up a piece of swordsmanship and argued that his swordsmanship was ‘the plum blossom swordsmanship of the volcano’ and that he could make two moves in a row.
It was not a very nice sight to see an old man using his skills to fight against a young child and trying to win.
On the other hand, I used to think that way.
Is there really a general who can beat the strategy?
If you listen to stories from the martial arts world, it is said that the strongest men in the martial arts world can walk through the air, fly through the sky, and split mountains and seas with a single sword strike.
I wasn’t very interested in using my body, so at the time I didn’t know much about martial arts and thought it was all nonsense.
As always, stories of heroism that are passed down through word of mouth tend to be exaggerated.
It was not easy to meet a strong person in a rural village who had reached the point where he could walk through the air.
The only martial people that I could meet were third-rate warriors who went out of town with the promise of a golden return, but returned to their hometown after being injured by Noklim.
Then I met the religious leader.
I, who was completely ignorant about martial arts, once followed the leader and asked that question.
Has the leader of the 2nd Blood Demon reached the stage of walking in the air?
The religious leader who heard my question laughed out loud.
It turns out that traversing the sky is a state that only immortals can do.
Depending on martial arts, there may be a skill to fly through the sky, similar to stepping on empty space, but he said that there is no human being who can truly fly on empty space without any stepping stone.
Still, it is said that aerial combat is quite common in fights between strong players. He said that there are many people with strange leg strength who can reach the middle of a mountain in a single jump.
I was able to understand the explanation.
Although the story was a leap forward, I thought that a scene similar to a bridge in the middle of nowhere would have unfolded.
So I changed the question.
‘Then are there really strong people who can destroy a flawless and perfect strategy?’
‘Of course it’s real. ‘Isn’t it right in front of your eyes?’
‘What if the people who follow that strategy are also strong people who have learned martial arts? There are more numbers.’
In response to my question, which reached the point of finding fault, the religious leader once again laughed out loud and said to me,
‘Ah, haven’t you ever heard of the saying, ‘Cheonoecheon?’
‘Cheonoecheon?’
‘There is a higher sky above the sky.’
Why did this memory come to mind?
The cause was the screaming that came from the small sphere in front of me.
[ Wow!! ]
Another unknown believer died.
I don’t know whether he died by being cut in the chest by Inrang’s sharp nails or by being stabbed by a blind man’s sword.
What is important is that only the screams of the believers were heard.
In this unreasonable world, there are hundreds of pieces per person.
It means that one human being has the power to deal with a hundred people.
But being able to deal with a hundred followers of a blood religion is another story.
What kind of people are the believers of blood religion?
Every single one of them is a blood magician, and in terms of their level, most of them belong to the first-class warriors.
You may wonder if a first-class item can be that common, but if you use bloodstone, it is not that difficult.
Bloodstone was a privilege of blood magicians.
When ordinary warriors worked hard, shedding blood and sweat through training and all, blood magicians were able to become stronger much more easily by sacrificing the lives of others.
That is why the Murim Alliance was afraid of blood religion.
Hyolgyo is like a deadly poison that poisons the martial arts world.
Martial arts seek strength.
Always want to become stronger.
I want to become a strong person.
It was blood religion that provided that ‘strength’ more easily and safely.
Even a random kid passing by on the street is able to defeat a strong man whom he thought he would never be able to defeat, and soon doubt turns into trust.
That belief later transformed into a religious belief and reached the point of worshiping humans.
The blood religion was rebuilt based on the foundation laid by the first blood demon.
The blood magicians who were scattered all over the place gathered at the Black Sea Castle under the leader.
I accepted it even though I was not a blood mage.
Even though it was difficult to enter the old file room and learn martial arts, it was very easy to eat bloodstone powder and become a blood magician.
In this way, the believers whom the religious leader had put so much effort into preparing and nurturing are dying mercilessly.
I’m not even sure how many times the screams are heard. I have no idea how many troops were lost.
All I can do is hope that I can hear the words of the blind man, not the screams of the believers.
I gave various orders.
However, at the scene of chaos, my voice was easily drowned out by the cries of the screaming believers.
It was difficult to describe the scene where the crystal ball would be rolling around on the floor.
I couldn’t picture in my head a picture of a hundred blood magicians being slaughtered by a blind swordsman and a blind horse that suddenly appeared.
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How on earth are we supposed to fight?
In other words, how strong do they have to be to lose?
It was all his doing.
“Whether you are blind or blind, you must hold on somehow…!”
I couldn’t control my anger, so I slammed the desk and screamed, but…
[ Kaaa!! ]
[ It’s so… So fast I can’t see it… Ugh…! ]
…The only thing that could be heard was the fearful voices of the believers.
Paradise Exile.
It was the work of that blind swordsman.
It didn’t matter how he was able to attack the scene or when he had known that the blood cult had infiltrated Jihwaseong.
This guy was trampling on my plan and my strategy without even giving me a chance to catch my breath.
Unable to interfere, they burned it down and reduced it to meaningless ashes.
‘I knew long ago that this guy was not an ordinary person, but this makes no sense.’
There are about a hundred people.
The two of them were carrying out a massacre against a hundred people.
‘It’s tricky to have a helper, but that helper is Inrang…’
He honestly thought he just had to be careful of black blood.
He thought he would be able to successfully complete his plan until he heard that one of the remaining dark bloods on Mars was drinking.
He also knew that there were paradise outcasts.
However, I believed that he would come forward only after the raid by the Blood Cult had begun.
But now it was time to admit it.
That he read my entire plan.
It felt like he had cracked open my skull and revealed my plan.
I don’t know the reason.
Anyway, the Blood Cult’s plan was discovered by this guy, and we had to gather up some troops and escape from their clutches before they were annihilated.
I can’t breathe.
I couldn’t let everything return to nothingness like this, without anything achieved.
Because of me.
Because of my arrogance.
I couldn’t let the leader’s plan fail.
I opened my mouth, stroking my face with trembling hands.
“…Retreat.”
There were no tears.
It wasn’t even sad.
I was left with nothing but helplessness, and my entire body was gradually losing strength.
“…I tell this to those who are listening. Retreat somehow and survive. You must survive…”
We will be able to revive the blood religion once again.
‘If all goes according to plan… I just need to bring the troops from Saeju Palace to Jihwaseong Fortress…’
It is undeniable that the current defeat was a painful blow, but it did not mean failure.
“……”
So, I stared blankly at the map, waiting endlessly for my subordinate’s voice to be heard through the crystal ball.
The place where the gaze was directed was the ‘Bonghwadae’ near Jihwaseong Fortress.
***
“…
A blood wizard vomits blood foam and collapses.
“I don’t have to chase it? I can track it by smell now.”
Volk, who pulled out his nails from the blood mage’s chest, sniffed his nose and asked.
ㅡKwasik!
I responded by stepping on the crystal ball on the floor.
“We missed about six people. You don’t have to chase them. That’s part of the plan.”
“By the way… Whose arrows belong to? Did you recruit an archer while I was away?”
Volk pulled out an arrow from a corpse near the window.
He smelled the arrowhead and thought, ‘It’s a silver arrow. ‘Can I sell this?’ Muttering things like that.
“Well, it looks like one archer with good eyes saw us fighting. He wasn’t an ally, but he wasn’t an enemy either.”
I shifted my gaze to the building on the other side visible outside the window and smiled.
During the battle, Biryu’s order to retreat was given, and the blood mages who were trying to push us back with their numbers began to run away in perfect order.
They didn’t even listen to other orders, but they listened to the order to retreat.
Anyway, among those who were running away, there were some who tried to escape through the window, and suddenly an arrow flew out and hit them in the head.
Judging by the trajectory, it was an arrow fired from the rooftop of the building on the other side.
Fortunately, the speed of the arrow was so fast that none of the people enjoying the festival noticed it even though it crossed the square.
A grotesque scene comparable to a slaughterhouse unfolded inside the building, but outside, a joyous festival was still in full swing.
I thought I knew who the owner of the arrow was.
Archers of this level of skill were not common, and hadn’t such an archer been encountered before during the festival?
Dane Wacker, an archer who will kill the knight commander in the near future.
There was nothing else.
It didn’t matter to him if he got caught.
He doesn’t seem to be the type to talk about this incident.
I asked Shady to clean up the scene where I felt like vomiting, and then I approached Volk, who was covered in blood to the point where my silver hair was visible, and opened my mouth.
“Volk, don’t you feel like you’ve become stronger than before?”
“What are you saying? I was originally strong.”
Volk shrugs his shoulders in a cocky voice.
“…Yes, that’s right.”
A whopping 90 blood mages were killed.
I also raised my level, so of course Volk’s level also increased.
Volk was the ‘companion’ I put in next to Yuri.
So, even if you fight together like this, the experience points may not be a waste.
‘Lycanslope is not a playable race, so I was curious what happens when the level increases.’
It seems difficult to resolve this question right away.
There is no choice but to watch slowly.
“Hmph, it’s refreshing to see blood after a long time.”
Volk, who had already hidden his ears and tail, sat cross-legged and laughed.
The scent of blood is so thick that it makes your nose hurt.
The limbs and heads of ‘things that were blood wizards’ were scattered here and there on the floor.
It wasn’t a very helpful sight for the young boy’s education, but I won’t touch it because I like it.
[ Disciple, I have a question. ]
Sierra, who was observing me while smoothing her chin, asked me a question.
[ Since there were a lot of enemies, it would have been sorted out faster if Chapter 1 had been written… Is there a reason why it wasn’t written separately? ]
“If you organize it so quickly, you won’t inevitably feel like you missed it.”
[What does it mean? ]
“It shouldn’t have felt like they let him go on purpose. As I said, Biryu is quick-witted. What’s more, the saintess has also been called. Only if ‘part’ of their plan goes ahead will the blood demon appear at Saeju Palace.”
[ Ho-oh, that’s what it means. Our student is worse than he looks. ]
“I’ll take it as a compliment.”
[ It’s absolutely certain that he’s a man you don’t want to have as an enemy. ]
“Master, you are very lucky to have such a dangerous man as your disciple.”
[ Phuhu, how can I just be a disciple? ]
Sierra, who was hugging me, covered her mouth with her sleeve and smiled slightly.
Volk, who was watching Sierra and I flirting, opens his mouth and frowns at her.
“Huh…”
“Why is that so?”
I tilted my head while maintaining a smile at Volk’s lament.
“It’s nothing special. I was just thinking that I shouldn’t grow up to fall in love with a ghost.”
“……”
Was it me being a terrible adult that was not good for education?
Ahahaha, don’t fell in love with ghost, kids.