Chương 176: Master's Grace (8)

Wiiiiiing The sound akin to swarms of bees buzzing echo in my ears.

It isn't a hallucination.

Literally, from inside the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, countless bees emerge, flapping their wings.

Each of these bees have the power of the Qi Building stage, but I know that the terrifying aspect of these bees is not their simple cultivation level.

Boo-woong!

The bees cover the surroundings of the barrier, digging up the ground, moving through space, and filling the earth with puppets brought from within the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

Gradually, the vicinity itself transforms into a fortress centered around the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

The Left Hand of the Esteemed One becomes trapped in the center of such a fortress.

Wo-woong!

The Esteemed One's Left Hand, with corals sprouting on its surface, wriggles and shoots blood light in all directions.

Each one is a terrifying curse that shatters the target's mind!

However, the compatibility is too poor.

Click, click, click...

The puppets flinch for a moment under the mental attack launched by the Esteemed One's Left Hand, but then continue their work unaffected.

It's inevitable.

The artificial souls possessed by the puppets are ultimately fake.

Not possessing a high-level heart essence, they are the worst match for the curse techniques of the Blood Yin Realm's Esteemed One, aimed at sealing or controlling the heart essence.

Realizing that mental techniques are ineffective, the Left Hand of the Blood Yin Realm's Esteemed One starts gathering devilish energy, preparing a technique that involves physical force.

Kugugugu!

The sky turns red again, and the heavens and earth begin to vibrate.

'This is insane, is it intending to blow up the entire occupied territory!?'

Surely, this attack will exhaust a considerable amount of the Esteemed One's strength.

As proof, the eyeballs sprouting on the Left Hand shrink, emitting a serious intent.

But, it met the wrong opponent.

Creeeak...

The three gates of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress open simultaneously.

And, puppets begin to pour out from within.

Not the worker puppets that fortified the surroundings, but the true combat puppets of the Mad Lord.

Kugugugu!

'... Insane, is it because of the butterfly effect? To produce such puppets much earlier than in my past life...'

I look at the Mad Lord with disbelief, letting out a sigh of astonishment.

'I need to stay focused...'

Otherwise, I might get completely captured by the Mad Lord's strategy and end up being modified next to the Esteemed One's left hand.

"Ah... Is that really a part of a Star Shattering stage body? I'm so moved. I could somewhat grasp up to the Integration stage but beyond that to the Star Shattering stage, I have no clue how to grasp puppets of such caliber… And now, such excellent material has appeared before me…."

Shiver, shiver...

Hearing the Mad Lord's voice after a long time is one thing.

But more than that, the sight of the puppets brought out by the Mad Lord makes me feel even more goosebumps.

"Integration stage puppets, 9; Four-Axis stage puppets, 204; Heavenly Being stage puppets... 1050; Nascent Soul stage puppets... Ah, it's bothersome to explain. Anyway, bring all the Star Shattering stage research materials! Hehehe, finally..."

Drool, drool…

The Mad Lord, floating above the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, looks around with his eyes rolling in different directions.

And then, his eyes accurately capture me.

"Finallyfinallyfinallyfinally... Ah! Now, little one, it's time to keep your promise. You clearly promised in the letter sent by that puppet, didn't you? Are you ready? Don't worry, if you're not prepared, I'm very, very eager to evolve everything to properly prepare for it!"

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

The Mad Lord, crazily biting his fingers, shouts in all directions.

I, sweating coldly, send a telepathic message to Hyeon Woon.

[Military Commander, please evacuate the people…] From afar, [She] leads eight Integration stage puppets, surrounding the Esteemed One's Left Hand.

[The real battle between monsters is about to begin….] 204 Four-Axis stage puppets support the Integration stage puppets from below, forming a formation.

I can feel the Esteemed One's Left Hand rolling its eyeballs, gauging the opposing side's power.

Hyeon Woon, not lacking in perception, hurriedly begins to direct the human cultivators to evacuate.

Of course, since it's difficult to escape to the surroundings, the Human Army's refuge is determined to be one place.

The cave with the Void Spirit Pond, located underground of the 8th occupied territory.

Kugugugugugu!

Quickly, as we are evacuating, the Esteemed One's Left Hand collides with the Mad Lord's legion.

Despite the backlash from the mental curse, Being part of the Esteemed One, the Esteemed One's Left Hand begins to push back with tremendous strength even when surrounded by Integration stage puppets.

However, both before and now, the Mad Lord's tactics have always been consistent.

Puppet wave tactics.

Wo-wooong!

As more than two hundred Four-Axis stage puppets simultaneously form a formation and shine, an enormous burden is visibly placed on the Esteemed One's Left Hand at the center of the formation.

With [Her] and eight Integration stage puppets launching a joint attack from outside the formation of Four-Axis stage puppets, the Esteemed One's Left Hand is seen being pushed into a defensive position, spreading a red curtain.

'Damn it.'

Ko-woong!

A tremendous shockwave causes the barrier, which had been ragged from the Esteemed One's assaults, to completely collapse.

The Human Army, while seeking refuge, is crushed by that shockwave, each coughing up blood.

'The barrier is broken…'

I turn my gaze to the center of the barrier.

Sure enough.

Kurung, kururung!

Thunder roars, and something is seen rising from the center of the barrier.

'Jeon Myeong-hoon… His seal has been undone' If he starts rampaging now in his crazed state, it will truly become a scene of utter chaos.

'Might as well take advantage of this chaos to do what I intended.'

Having called the Mad Lord, what's important starts from now on.

From the beginning, when I wrote to him to confront the Devil Race Integration stage Grand Cultivators, I had planned this.

Of course, considering the Mad Lord's unpredictability, I had to think of significant variables, and indeed, many arose, but the overall plan remains unchanged.

Riding on Oh Hyun-seok's back as we evacuate, I look up at the sky.

The Mad Lord is controlling the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress from above, and the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress is commanding the battlefield under the Mad Lord's orders.

Within the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, I can feel the presence of 'General Seo.'

'Good.'

From what I can sense, General Seo has been controlled by the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress and further modified by the Mad Lord.

When I sent General Seo to the Mad Lord, I anticipated this result from the beginning.

And because I anticipated it, I sent him.

'General Seo spent a thousand years inside the Mad Lord's Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.'

I know everything about the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, including the commands that control the puppets, the system of the Fortress, and everything inside.

It isn't too difficult to secretly input commands inside General Seo's circuit that can disrupt the command system of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

And the Mad Lord, without any suspicion, embedded such a General Seo into the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, so the poison I had planted inside General Seo has already spread throughout the entire Fortress.

'Now, it begins.'

The original plan was to cause chaos in the command system of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress using the commands I had inputted into General Seo, while the Mad Lord and the Integration stage Grand Cultivators of the True Devil Realm clashed.

Using that chaos, I planned to activate Yeon's Play using Kim Yeon's abilities and my understanding of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, to awaken the Mad Lord's sanity and seize control of the Fortress, ensuring our survival with Kim Yeon.

However, instead of the Integration stage Grand Cultivators of the True Devil Realm, it is the Left Hand of the Blood Yin Realm's Esteemed One at the Star Shattering stage that clashes with the Mad Lord. Along with the variable Jeon Myeong-hoon involved and Yeon's consciousness sealed, the situation has deviated greatly from the original plan.

But it's okay.

'Now, I'll go to Yeon, who's taking refuge, and release her from the seal.'

Originally, I planned to break Yeon's seal using the madness of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress when it came near, but now I can do so with my own hands.

There is no need to take a risk unnecessarily.

'Besides, Jeon Myeong-hoon is in a crazed state right now, so he might be able to buy us time against the Mad Lord.'

Kurung, kururung!

Before long, Jeon Myeong-hoon, having completely regenerated his body, enters the battle between the Mad Lord and the Esteemed One's Left Hand, scattering lightning.

The Mad Lord laughs gleefully, showing interest.

"Hehehe! What are you, as well? Oh, I see. You too have experienced sorrow. Ah, yes. A rotten heart essence from enduring such horrible events of losing many people…"

The Mad Lord, wiping tears from his eyes, speaks to the rampaging Jeon Myeong-hoon.

"Don't worry, to ensure you no longer feel sorrow, I will evolve you into a superior being in this world."

[Just... die!]

"I will accept you as a general of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress. What's your name?"

[This filthy world, I'll sweep it all away!]

"Yes, yes, since you use lightning, how about General Jeon (Lightning) for you? From tomorrow, your name will be General Jeon."

[Die, die, all of you die!]

"Ah, are you seeing this, dear? Today, we've found another with a sad story like ours. And by tomorrow, this young one will no longer suffer…"

Though they are speaking, astonishingly, not a single word of their conversation makes any sense.

'... Don't worry.'

From now on, if my plan succeeds, everyone will find peace.

The Esteemed One will be annihilated, the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress will become Yeon's, And Jeon Myeong-hoon will be sealed again and find peace.

'Just wait a little longer…'

I enter underground, leaving behind the battle enveloped in lightning between the Thunder God and the countless puppets in the sky.

If everything goes according to plan, it will be perfect.

Yes, my plan is perfect.

Although the situations deviated a bit from what was assumed, the overall framework didn't change, and neither will the outcome.

It was somewhat unexpected for the Mad Lord to clash with the Esteemed One's Left Hand instead of the Devil Race Grand Cultivators, but nevertheless, the fact that the Mad Lord's attention is diverted remains the same.

Therefore, I believed everything would go well.

I thought everyone could be happy in the end.

However, results are not everything in this world.

"..."

I get off Oh Hyun-seok's back slowly, looking at this scene, where the outcome I had hoped for twisted midway through the 'process' that occurred before me.

Stagger, stagger…

I feel dizzy.

Why...

Why did this happen?

No, why didn't I anticipate that this could happen?

If I had somehow collected information that the Blood Yin Realm's Esteemed One's Left Hand uses mental techniques, maybe I could have prepared!

Crunch...

In the underground of the 8th occupied territory.

The huge cavern with the Void Spirit Pond.

There, the weak Devil tribes, unsuitable for combat, had been evacuated in advance.

That's why.

I let down my guard because they were in hiding.

Even when fighting the Esteemed One's Left Hand, I thought they would be safe.

But, why am I so foolish?

A sea of blood!

Everywhere is a sea of blood.

The devils I tried to protect were all torn apart and scattered.

Even in their torn state, they are still wriggling alive.

"Ah, uh, ahhhh…"

All of them seem like they will die soon, but they survive tenaciously.

Yet even in this state, they are tearing each other apart, scattering red lights from their eyes.

"Ah…uh…ah…"

It was that.

The mental technique used by the Esteemed One's Left Hand.

It wasn't just unfolded against us who were fighting on the front lines.

The devils in hiding were all subjected to it, influenced by the malice unleashed by the Esteemed One, killing each other.

Even in their state of killing and being killed, they are still alive due to the influence of the curse and are biting and tearing at each other.

Squelch, squelch...

I walk through the sea of blood with a dumbfounded expression.

Then, from afar, I feel a clear pulse of consciousness ringing.

'Ar-are there still… some who are sane?'

I hurriedly run towards the location, only to be met with a hollow laugh.

Gyeon Shin, as well as the couple Su In and Hong Yeon.

These devils, with whom I had become closest since coming to the 8th occupied territory, are holding each other.

The female devil, Su In, had her eyes gouged out, and the male devil, Hong Yeon, had his legs severed.

Above them, Gyeon Shin, with all the tentacles grown on his body plucked out, is barely alive.

"This, this is…"

I move towards them slowly.

Hong Yeon and Gyeon Shin look at me.

Gyeon Shin speaks in a weak voice, […Through the Mysterious Bizarre Gu... I tried to block the Blood Yin... curse as much as I could. But… with my ability, I could only protect these two… from the spell used by… that being….] My hands tremble as I place them on the shoulders of Su In and Hong Yeon.

"You two…"

I can feel it.

Gyeon Shin did his utmost to protect the minds of the two, but that was the limit.

The Devil Race around them all fell into madness due to the curse used by the Left Hand of the Esteemed One, and it was likely that these two were caught up in that frenzy.

It was probably thanks to Gyeon Shin's efforts to protect them that they managed to maintain their physical forms to this extent.

But that was the end.

"The core…"

Devils also possess something akin to a Demon Core, similar to the Golden Core of human cultivators.

This core is essentially the source of a devil's life.

But their cores had completely shattered in the recent frenzy.

The lives of the two are visibly draining away.

"Governor… have you come?"

Su In calls out to me in a feeble voice.

Her beautiful eyes are now rendered incapable of seeing anything ever again.

"Yes, I'm here. I'm right here."

Over the past 18 years, I have watched these two devils grow.

My feelings for them are akin to family, having seen them grow up.

But how did it come to this!?

As I lament, Su In holds Hong Yeon's hand.

Hong Yeon moves his lips slightly, holding her hand in return.

His condition seems even more severe than Su In's.

Without a doubt.

These two weren't overtaken by the Esteemed One's Left Hand, but they are dying soon.

As I tremble, Hong Yeon speaks.

"You… witnessed our engagement, right?"

"... Yes."

"May I ask for one more favor?"

"Speak."

"Today…"

Su In smiles faintly and says,

"Before we die… please grant us our marriage."

"Yes, we want your blessing, Governor."

I clench my teeth at their words.

"Governor, please bless us."

"That way… we think we can go peacefully."

Looking at them, I am at a loss for words.

All I can do is grasp their shoulders with my trembling hands.

I force myself to speak.

Something streams down my cheeks.

"... Yes."

Calling forth the White Orchid Blessing Incantation, I bless the two of them.

"Do you both swear to love each other from now on?"

"... Yes, from now on, I will be Yeon's legs."

"From now on, I will be Su In's eyes."

Su In and Hong Yeon, the two devils, receive blessings in front of me and form a bond (In Yeon).

They swear to become each other's eyes and legs, becoming one.

And, with all my heart.

I sincerely pray for their blessing, holding both of their hands.

"In the next life as well, may the love between the two of you continue, I earnestly pray for so."

"Yes, thank you."

"Really... truly..."

The two souls look at me and smile brightly

"Thank you for your kindness."

Thus.

The two devils I wished to protect died with smiles.

[So... this is goodbye.]

"... Rest peacefully" Gyeon Shin too, his tentacles writhing, gradually weakens in consciousness.

It's time to say goodbye to him as well.

[Thank you for everything until now.]

"... Me too."

I see off the last moments of three devils.

No, three friends.

Chalalalak!

The White Orchid Blessing Incantation spreads in all directions, freeing the minds of the devils still captured by the Esteemed One.

They all meet their ends within the blessing.

"... May you all find peace."

I'm sorry.

It's all because I am weak, foolish, and powerless that I couldn't protect you.

But at least...

"Those who remain."

Those who are still alive.

"I will ensure you do not die."

I don't know if it's pretentious to say so.

But those I still have to protect, I will absolutely not let die.

I approach Kim Yeon, who is at a corner of the Void Spirit Pond, unaffected by the technique used by the Esteemed One's Left Hand, rendered idiotic by the seal.

"Yeon, it's time to wake up."

It's time to end everything.

Woowoo-woong!

I grasp the Starting Form, recalling once again the moment I used that technique.

Severing Mountain Swordsmanship.

The 25th Move.

"Sea of Righteousness and Mountain of Grace!!!"