The Sea's Fourth Part
Crack!
Kim Yeon crushed Buk Hyang-hwa's handcuffs and asked,
"Hey, by the way... aren't we getting caught up in the consciousness domain?"
Buk Hyang-hwa clicked her tongue.
"I didn't even think about it and just released them?"
"Ugh... I had that strange feeling that something could be done."
"Well, it's not wrong. After all, the Salt Crystal Ship is basically the same as the Seopmyeong Ship, with a massive nation inside it. Besides, the spiritual domain is already quite restricted by the waves from the Salt Crystals, so we couldn't sense what we're doing now."
"Hehe, I knew everything."
"Stop talking nonsense and help already, sis."
Buk Hyang-hwa loosened her fingers and reached out to touch the wall of the ship.
Crackle—
Golden patterns and half-mixed purple and pink patterns rose across her entire body.
"What? You're wearing tattoos now too?"
"It's not tattoos. It's a bodily characteristic."
"Ah, sorry..."
Kim Yeon scratched her head and slightly lowered her head. Buk Hyang-hwa watched for a moment, then began moving her hands.
Using the broken handcuff fragments as material, she crafted a small tool. From that, countless pieces of equipment began to emerge around Buk Hyang-hwa.
At first, Kim Yeon had yawned while watching Buk Hyang-hwa, but as time passed, her eyes widened.
"Th-this is..."
* * *
Ku-gugu-gu-gu!
In a small sea area of the Goryeok Realm.
Nineteen-headed Ghost King and his subordinates appeared there.
"Is this the place?"
"Yes."
The nineteen-headed Ghost King, the Void Shattering Ghost King Seo Eun-hyun, shone with eyes that pierced the sea below, a white soul thread tied to the vast sea.
"I feel the Wonderous Ghost King Kim Yeon down there. The Conqueror Ghost King Buk Hyang-hwa and the Guardian Ghost King Baek Rin should be there too."
"Then shall we go down?"
Jeon Myeong-hun, the six-armed God of Thunder, asked.
But Seo Eun-hyun shook his head.
"According to the locals, jumping into the deep sea of the Goryeok Realm is dangerous. The place where Kim Yeon is felt is not a coastal area, but one of the deepest seas."
"Then what do we do?"
Jeon Myeong-hun looked puzzled, and Seo Eun-hyun grinned and spread his arms wide.
Ku-gugu-gu-gu!
The heaven and earth spiritual energy near him began rushing toward Seo Eun-hyun through the Great Desert Dead Sea Formation.
"What else is there to do."
Who-woong!
He drew the Colorless Glass Sword and laughed.
[There's no choice but to cut through the sea and reach the deep sea.]
As his voice echoed, every executive of the Mugeuk Sect who had come with Seo Eun-hyun began exerting their power.
Jeon Myeong-hun smiled wickedly and spread out his six arms.
Ku-gugu-gu!
Jeon Myeong-hun's domain unfolded.
Harmonious Way Domain.
Heavy-Charged Lightning Great Rain Heaven.
Crack!
In an instant, the surrounding space transformed into another world where crimson lightning rained down like a deluge.
The crimson lightning covered the sky!
But following Jeon Myeong-hun's will, the crimson lightning pierced his own companions without any effect and fell to the bottom.
Ku-rururung!
The domain of the recklessly falling crimson lightning began pushing away the sea below.
And other executives of the Mugeuk Sect began exerting their power toward him.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-gwang!
Infinite human strength, ghost power, or demonic power poured out.
And curses and formation inscriptions began engraving onto Seo Eun-hyun's two hands.
Between the below sea dimension and the falling thunder, the energy of yin and yang five elements began to gather.
[Mountain Taishan!]
Pa-a-ah!
[Imperial Emperor!]
White light began to surge.
* * *
Jin Ma-yeol twitched his eyes.
Ku-gugu-gu-gu!
His Salt Crystal Ship was violently shaking.
Pa-a-ah!
Someone used the Qiazhifa to arrive at the captain's room where Jin Ma-yeol was.
Jin Ryu, the deputy captain and Four Pillars Integration realm expert of the ship.
"What's wrong, Deputy Captain! Is it an ambush?"
"No, Captain! The Salt Crystal Ship has gone crazy!"
"What?"
"The dragon bone of the Salt Crystal is shaking wildly and making strange sounds!"
"Is that the sound of a dragon chewing on bones!?!"
However, after a while, when Jin Ma-yeol moved to the dragon bone part of the ship with Jin Ryu, he understood what it meant.
Chiririririr!
The dragon bone of the Salt Crystal Ship, made of Salt Crystals, was emitting a sound similar to the mating cry of the Tuma clan.
Jin Ma-yeol stared at the Salt Crystals in confusion, emitting white light and strange sounds.
"W-what is this!?"
Jin Ma-yeol was startled.
Although he had lived for tens of thousands of years, he had never heard of Salt Crystals making such bizarre sounds.
While he was momentarily stunned, he seemed to think of something and shuddered.
"I see. Is it a deep sea monster?"
"Is there a deep sea monster that makes Salt Crystals go into heat?"
"Well, since the deep sea of the Goryeok Realm is filled with the records of countless worlds, such things are possible... Since there might be deep sea monsters nearby, I will activate the Great Concealment Technique. Tell everyone to prepare."
"Yes, Captain!"
After clicking his tongue, Jin Ma-yeol moved back to the captain's room.
And in the center of the captain's room, in the middle of the massive formation, he began forming a mudra.
Who-woong!
His domain began spreading around.
And as his formation activated, it amplified his domain and began covering the entire Salt Crystal Ship.
Harmonious Way Domain.
Great Concealment Dragon Spirit Sea.
At once, the roar of a dragon seemed to echo, and Jin Ma-yeol's domain instantly covered the hull, and soon the hull of the Salt Crystal Ship merged with the scenery of the nearby deep sea, hiding it so well that no one could see it.
Jin Ma-yeol sat in place, concentrating in the domain, and sent telepathic messages throughout the ship.
"The captain's order. There is a suspicious deep sea monster estimated to be near the Salt Crystal Ship. Because of that, the dragon bone of the Salt Crystal Ship is making bizarre sounds. Until the deep sea monster completely passes and the reaction of the dragon bone disappears, the concealment domain will cover it. All crew members, remain silent..."
While sending telepathic messages for a moment, Jin Ma-yeol suddenly stopped talking and closed his mouth.
After sitting and concentrating, Jin Ma-yeol's eyes widened.
"Damn it! The prisoners are doing something suspicious! Everyone, go to the cells and suppress them!"
Since the Integration realm experts' domains fused with their consciousness, anyone with the level of a Four Pillars expert could sense the actions of those who entered the domain.
And Jin Ma-yeol, who covered the Salt Crystal Ship, gritted his teeth while watching Kim Yeon and Buk Hyang-hwa doing something suspicious in the cells.
'Damn it, the Conqueror...!'
He wanted to stand up immediately and suppress them, but since the suspicious deep sea monster was stimulating the dragon bone of the Salt Crystal Ship, he couldn't move recklessly and could only clench his lips.
* * *
Deputy Captain Jin Ryu led his subordinates toward the lower levels where the cells were with a bored expression.
'They're all boring anyway. No point in fighting.'
The Conqueror and the Wonderous Ghost King were experts in puppet manipulation.
That's why the Tuma clan pirate members fighting them had to fight puppets and only the Tuma clan members who mixed flesh with the opponent and fought could satisfy their lust. So the puppet manipulators weren't attractive opponents for them.
At best, what Jin Ryu liked was the Ghost King Baek Rin who he had captured while fighting, but since Baek Rin was a ghost creature, he couldn't mate with him unless he was the same ghost creature.
That is, every member of the Mugeuk Sect was a person who didn't have the desire to fight from the Tuma clan perspective and had no meaning to fight.
"Puppet manipulator? What kind of talk is that! In my day, if it was a puppet manipulator, puppets were only used as auxiliary tools, and the real warriors who fought themselves were the ones. But nowadays, all puppet manipulators are weirdos!"
Jin Ryu entered the cell area, cursing Kim Yeon and Buk Hyang-hwa, who brought out puppets.
And the first thing Jin Ryu's eyes saw when he entered the cell area was thousands of complex machinery devices.
"Th-this is..."
Clank, clank, clank...
Soon, their cell area had been remodeled into a bizarre labyrinth.
The labyrinth stretched in a straight line, but clearly powerful machines and weapons protruded along the entire straight path, and numerous grotesque puppets stood between them.
And at the end of the labyrinth, Kim Yeon had her arms spread wide with a lewd smile.
From her fingertips, soul threads shot out and connected to countless puppets, and behind Kim Yeon, a spider-legged puppet equipment was already being installed on her back, and Buk Hyang-hwa was continuing to modify behind her.
Jin Ryu laughed dryly and said,
"Conqueror and Wonderous Ghost King. I heard of the fame of these two races, but I didn't expect this. But it's useless. If you surrender now, I'll just lock you in the cells quietly, but if you resist, I'll pull out your limbs and restrain you."
However, Kim Yeon simply wiggled one finger without a word.
Who-woong!
Flash!
And three Yangshan-style General Bows that Kim Yeon had remodeled from those taught by Seo Eun-hyun shot out beams from their mouths.
Kwa-a-ang!
Jin Ryu, who received the beam of the Yangshan-style General Bow at the level of the Original Soul Four Pillars Integration, twitched his eyes and took a step forward.
"Oh, good. If you insist on drinking punishment liquor, I'll give it to you."
Ku-woong!
The Tuma clan was almost identical to the human clan in appearance.
The only difference was that Tuma clan members were born with full muscles throughout their bodies, and as they grew, their muscles swelled enormously, and horns grew on their foreheads.
Those with more horns were considered to have more talent among the Tuma clan, while those with fewer horns were treated very lowly even within the Tuma clan.
The royal family of the Tuma clan had seven horns, the top nobles had five or six, the middle nobles had four, the lower nobles had three, the commoners had one or two, and the slaves had their horns removed and had none.
Tuma Pirate Captain Jin Ma-yeol was the top noble with five horns, and Deputy Captain Jin Ryu was the middle noble with four horns.
Who-woong!
Jin Ryu's horns trembled, and strength began to flow into his muscles.
Kwang, kwang!
Jin Ryu, with a bored expression, smashed the approaching puppets and began walking through the labyrinth.
Gradually, the distance between Jin Ryu, Kim Yeon, and Buk Hyang-hwa began to close.
Kim Yeon looked at Baek Rin lying beside her.
Since Baek Rin had just been released from the restraint device, it would take time for his power to recover.
"How long has it been, Buk?"
"Almost done, sis. And call my name properly!"
"Okay, ing ing."
"Ugh...!"
Kim Yeon giggled and focused her consciousness on the soul threads extending from her fingertips.
―Listen well, disciple.
Go-gun, who was teaching the Strange Star-Mind Scroll and puppet manipulation while going mad with ecstasy, seemed to be speaking next to her.
―What do you think is the reason our Wondrous Castle continues to win against the forces it fights?
A strange ecstasy began to appear in her eyes.
―Is it simply by overwhelming the opponent with superior technique and quantity? Of course, that's also true. But the most important thing is this! It's ecstasy! Anyone who fights our Wondrous Castle gradually gets infected with the 'mind' of the Wondrous Castle without knowing it during the battle. That is! The ones we fight with have the possibility of 'evolution' gradually opening while fighting!!
Kwang, bang, kwang!
The face of Jin Ryu, who was gradually smashing the silent-faced General Bows and approaching, began to twitch.
―Yes, my Wondrous Castle... is 'love'! It's the 'love' that leads everyone to a new world! It's the very essence of sublime [Affection]! Aaaaa! How did I create such a great work!?!
Those who fought the puppets of the Wondrous Castle, while breaking the puppets, fighting the puppets, and facing the Wondrous Castle.
They unconsciously faced the circuits of the Wondrous Castle.
Continuously, the circuits of the Wondrous Castle were imprinted in the subconscious, and gradually they were stained with the ecstasy of the Wondrous Castle.
The more they faced the Wondrous Castle, the more they lost their sanity and went mad.
And if both sides of the Wondrous Castle and the opponent went mad, in the end, only Go-gun's camp, which had adapted to ecstasy for a long time, would win.
Crunch, crunch, crunch...
Kim Yeon began chewing her lips wildly.
Blood began to flow from her lips, and gradually, excitement and ecstasy began to settle on Jin Ryu's face, who was smashing the General Bows.
"H, ha ha! Huha ha ha!"
Jin Ryu was laughing.
He must have been like this even when capturing the previous Wonderous Ghost King.
It's not fun to fight puppets.
But while fighting Kim Yeon's puppets, at some point he would get excited.
"Huhi ha ha ha ha!!!"
Who-woong!
Chiririririr!
Jin Ryu's horns were trembling so much that they were making strange sounds and he began to cry.
Jin Ryu's face flushed red.
The muscles filling Jin Ryu's entire body began to swell even more.
Soon, in Jin Ryu's eyes, the faces of the General Bows and Jin Ma-yeol began to overlap.
"Captain! Captain! Master! Aaaaa! Oppa Jin Ma-yeol!!!"
Jin Ryu, with a flushed face, began beating the General Bows wildly.
"H, huak! Huha haak!"
While falling into ecstasy, she held on to her sanity and approached Kim Yeon.
'Ah... it's just before going into overdrive.'
Jin Ryu sighed inwardly.
That's why the Tuma clan members didn't like to fight against puppet manipulators.
Even if you thought you had enjoyed the opponent to your heart's content, when you came to your senses, what remained was not the opponent's flesh but hard puppet fragments.
After coming to your senses, when you remember that you fought the puppets, instead of a sense of accomplishment and joy, self-loathing and disgust poured in extremely.
However, Jin Ryu, looking at the puppets rushing at her, eventually sighed and swung her fist.
'Oh well, I don't know. Tools or whatever, what's the point. Let's enjoy and think.'
Chii-ik!
Her entire body flushed red, and her muscles swelled wildly.
The four horns on Jin Ryu's forehead rang madly.
Chiririririr!
"Hu-kaaaah!!! Kya aaaa!!! Kkya aaaa aaaaak! Kruweee!!!
She simultaneously spewed out a seductive cry to her opponent and, with her eyes rolled back, smashed the surrounding puppets and advanced.