Overwhelming Force
"Aaaaaaaargh!"
Mok Rayu's eyes, the eyes of the current head of the Mok Clan, trembled violently.
From the moment Jin Somyeong had stood on the ground to the instant he broke through the enemy lines and seized an Insectoid by the nape of the neck, she had been unable to react at all. It felt as though her senses had simply failed her.
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
Blinding lightning scorched the Insectoid, and a scream thick with agony rang out amid the terrible heat. Every time she blinked, Jin Somyeong—who had vanished like smoke—reappeared somewhere else, and someone's head dropped to the ground with a dull thud.
It was as if he alone were walking through a different flow of time.
Speed. That one thing alone was enough for Jin Somyeong to overwhelm everyone present.
"Keeeeek!"
The Insectoids spread their thin, insectile wings and rushed him with shrill cries, but it was useless.
Slice!
A slash too fast to properly see swept past them, severing not only limbs but torsos as well. Red blood sprayed without end, scattering through the air like falling petals.
The Insectoids whose arms and legs had been cut away regenerated in an instant, whole once more—but that was all.
"..."
Like moths flying into a campfire, they were mercilessly carved apart.
It was overwhelming.
A single clash had made it painfully clear who the stronger side was. If not for their divine ability to regenerate by sacrificing the lesser insects around them, the gap between them was so vast that the Insectoids would have been exterminated in an instant.
As Mok Rayu stared, entranced by a sight that seemed to collapse common sense itself, a voice suddenly echoed in her mind.
He truly is a monster. I misjudged him.
She flinched at the sound transmission from Mok Saheon, the previous clan head.
Pardon? What do you mean by that?
Jin Somyeong has already grown several times stronger than I anticipated. If we try to use him carelessly, our clan may be the one devoured instead.
Even Mok Saheon, who stood at the Peak of Nascent Soul, found him difficult to handle?
Then what should we do? We must seize the Deity Transformation spiritual object he possesses.
This has become troublesome...
Her expression darkened at his admission, and just then Mok Saheon, who had been looking down at the carapace covering his upper body, brought up a different subject.
The race known as the Insectoids bears certain similarities to puppets.
Puppets?
Look.
Mok Saheon pointed toward the swarms of flying insects that kept charging in only to burst apart and die.
No matter how insignificant a creature may be, the natural order is that it values its own life. Yet these insects are flinging themselves into death.
Ah...
It was certainly strange. The insects of the desert behaved as though life and death meant nothing to them.
Absolute obedience to hierarchy. When a superior rank gives an order, they will throw away even their lives to follow it. They are a race born with the relationship between higher and lower carved deep into their bones.
Rumble!
Mok Rayu flinched at the sudden crack of thunder and turned her gaze. She watched Jin Somyeong closely as he continued to fry an Insectoid that had already been charred black as coal with lightning qi.
Indeed... Their behavior is too extreme to be explained as mere ferocity.
The Insectoids continued to rush him without pause. While four or five who charged first threw themselves at Jin Somyeong bodily, the others tried to stab at his vital points. Each time they regenerated the bodies ruined by that suicidal tactic, countless insects were sacrificed.
Absolute obedience to hierarchy is an extremely powerful trait, but it is also a weakness. If one could interfere with their command structure, one could control the entire race at will.
It sounded like a dream. If the Mok Clan could command a race as powerful as the Insectoids, even Seongdo would not be able to treat them carelessly.
Of course, it would not be easy.
Mok Rayu frowned and stroked the back of her hand. She had tried to interfere with the command structure through the fingernail-sized carapace growing from her skin, but the signal was so faint that she could not grasp even the beginnings of it.
Then, suddenly, she remembered the carapace covering Mok Saheon's entire upper body, and her eyes widened.
Surely... you didn't allow your race to be twisted just to understand their command structure?
If one wishes to gain something, one must be willing to bear risk.
It was a common saying she had heard countless times throughout her life, yet hearing it now left her unable to answer.
Whatever else he might be, Mok Saheon was her family.
She went blank for a brief instant before knocking aside a fragment of rock that came flying from somewhere, regaining her composure.
Have you achieved any results?
Mm. All the Insectoids here are at Nascent Soul. The fact that those of equal realm can move like one body means that a higher rank exists.
A higher rank... Are you saying it may be Deity Transformation?
Most likely. Of course, it is not in a normal state. If it were intact, we would have been subdued long ago and become insect feed.
That is...
Was that not ultimately nothing more than speculation? Mok Rayu had been about to object, but instead she sighed. The words about bearing risk to obtain something had resurfaced in her mind.
I can feel it vaguely. Not far from here, there is a being that commands the Insectoids. It feels like an unhatched egg—or something closer to a plant, like the nest we destroyed earlier.
Will you be all right? If it truly is on the level of Deity Transformation, it will be far too dangerous. No matter how passive a being it may be...
My lifespan is nearly exhausted anyway. Even extending it through secret arts has its limits.
Ah!
If this goes well, even if I die, the Mok Clan will obtain a Deity Transformation-grade puppet.
As she failed to hide her unease, Mok Saheon's voice turned gentle for the first time.
Our Mok Clan has already reached its limit. We have grown too large to remain a mere clan. Is that not so?
...It is.
We have no choice. Seongdo pretends to be noble, but they are more cold-blooded and merciless than anyone. If things continue like this, our clan will be annihilated by Seongdo.
After a moment of silence, Mok Rayu sent a sound transmission to the Mok Clan cultivators. They flinched, shoulders trembling, then one by one began to nod.
"Stop! You damned thing! It's useless, so let me go!"
"Useless?"
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
"Grrrk...!"
"Seems useful to me."
Jin Somyeong, who had been carrying around one of the arrogant Insectoids like a favorite doll and injecting lightning qi into it whenever he grew bored, surveyed the battlefield.
The Nascent Soul cultivators, who had fallen into confusion after their comrades' sudden attacks, had formed a sturdier formation as time passed. They subdued the cultivators who had been trapped in the nests like Seo Hyeongeuk and gone mad, then sealed the arms and legs covered in carapace that moved of their own accord—or simply cut them off altogether.
Thanks to Jin Somyeong's reverse charge at the very moment they were ambushed, they had managed to bring the chaos under control without suffering significant losses.
Not bad.
The situation was not unfavorable. When he saw them holding their own against the enormous centipede spewing poison mist, the giant swinging mountain-sized arms like flails, and the Insectoids who had seized the sky and were raining down spells, he gave a slight nod.
At this rate, they would be able to secure the teleportation array without much difficulty.
Just then, a cheer rose from somewhere.
"Ooh!"
Someone had cried out in admiration at the sight of the three thousand puppets unleashed by the Mok Clan.
It was certainly a spectacular sight. Three thousand puppets moved in perfect order and deployed a formation.
"Puppet Dao soldiers!"
Their numbers were few compared to the insect swarm, which was impossible to count in the first place, but even the weakest puppet was at Foundation Establishment, so in terms of combat strength they were extremely powerful.
The cultivators battling the Insectoids cheered, saying this was exactly what they expected from the Mok Clan.
And then the Mok Clan, positioned at the center of the puppet army, broke through the insect swarm and flew off across the sky.
Without a single word.
"...?"
"Where are they suddenly going?"
The humans were not the only ones thrown into confusion. The Insectoids, too, paused their offensive for a moment and rapidly exchanged words among themselves.
Then half of the Insectoids gave chase after the Mok Clan.
"What in the world..."
"Do any of you know where the Mok Clan is going?"
"I do not."
Everyone was bewildered, but Jin Somyeong remained calm. After glancing once in the direction the Mok Clan had left, he paid them no further mind.
It was not because he had anticipated such a situation. It was because he had never intended to rely on the Mok Clan in the first place.
To put it in the extreme, Jin Somyeong was confident he could survive and return even if he were left alone here.
That was why he could maintain his composure from beginning to end.
Shrrrk!
The Myriad Thunder Chaotic Heaven Blade Jin Somyeong unleashed melted into the empty air, and illusory dark clouds spread across the sky.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
Starting with the first bolt of lightning, thousands more followed. The bolts crashed down like flashes of light, tearing apart the giant formed from a mass of insects.
Perhaps it was because Jin Somyeong was rampaging so freely, but the cultivators' morale began to return.
"Leave the Mok Clan alone and secure the teleportation array first!"
"Damn it. This is why you should never deal with clan bastards. Selfish scum!"
The Nascent Soul cultivators spat curses and focused on the battle, and the tide turned in an instant.
"Still, it's fortunate that ten of them went after the Mok Clan."
Originally, there had been ten Insectoids assigned to deal with Jin Somyeong alone. In that situation, when half vanished to chase the Mok Clan, what else could happen? The number assigned to Jin Somyeong had also been halved.
Only five.
It was impossible to stop Jin Somyeong with that number, and the human side gradually found room to breathe.
Boom!
Each time a fierce thunderclap battered the ears and pale slashes split flesh and bone, a section of the sky was cleared. Countless insects were sacrificed so the mortally wounded Insectoids could regenerate.
"...This won't do."
Perhaps sensing that the situation had turned against them, the Insectoids' eyes changed.
"We shall see how many years you can endure in territory we control."
After spitting those murderous words, the Insectoids kicked off the air. As though they were nearly throwing their lives away, they forced their way into the human formation and dragged the battle into chaos.
At the same time, several of them poured spells toward the teleportation array.
"They're trying to destroy the teleportation array!"
"As if we'd let them!"
Under the bombardment that poured down like a storm, the barrier surrounding the teleportation array shook violently. An offensive powerful enough to warp the very air came crashing down.
They were trying to smash the teleportation array even if they had to pay an enormous price, but that was a fatal mistake.
Because the more their attacks concentrated on the teleportation array, the freer Jin Somyeong became.
Bang!
A single bolt of lightning like a meteor painted the sky. A blade moving at an unseen speed flew in and cut through the Insectoids bombarding the teleportation array.
In the span of a single breath, hundreds of slashes were unleashed, and the insect swarm—so vast it had darkened the sky—fell in clumps.
Crack, crackle!
As many insects as died were replenished by those hatching from the eggs, but they could not keep up with Jin Somyeong's speed. Quite literally, they were sacrificed and killed the instant they hatched.
So many eggs disappeared at once that the ground itself became a sunken basin.
"Urgh... you monstrous bastard..."
The Insectoid he had been carrying around like a favorite doll writhed in agony before Jin Somyeong's combat power, which transcended realm.
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
He injected lightning into it one last time, burning it black as charcoal, then tossed it away like trash. Sweeping across the battlefield in every direction, he cut down every conspicuous enemy, including the enormous centipede.
Amid the one-sided massacre, the cultivator who had been opening the path at the front finally reached the teleportation array safely.
"Ah! I was worried because there was a barrier up, but fortunately we can just enter."
Perhaps because he was human, he was able to enter the barrier with ease. Letting out a sigh of relief, he turned around and formed hand seals.
Boom, boom, boom!
As if providing cover, he used the barrier like a fortress and poured long-range spells at the Insectoids. He was helping those who had yet to enter.
Before long, everyone, including Jin Somyeong, had entered the barrier, and their faces brightened. They had secured the teleportation array, which meant they could leave at any time.
"Grrr!"
As the Insectoids fumed after being absurdly broken through by Jin Somyeong's overwhelming combat power, one of the Nascent Soul cultivators looked in the direction the Mok Clan had gone and spoke.
"Could there be some treasure over there, perhaps?"
"...There may be."
"Even if not, this is the Insectoids' main territory. There should be treasures here."
Perhaps because they had secured the teleportation array more easily than expected, greed began to raise its head alongside relief.
"Wouldn't it be a shame to leave like this?"
"Mm."
"Then let us do this. We install additional formations here to reinforce the barrier and use this place outright as a fortress."
"Oh, that is a fine idea."
"Frankly, it would be a shame to leave as we are. As long as the escape route is properly secured, there should be no danger."
"Indeed. If things look troublesome, we can simply leave."
At that moment, Jin Somyeong, who had detected something through his vast Divine Sense, snapped his head around.
"Mok Saheon?"
Beyond the horizon, he saw a familiar face. But... his condition was more than a little strange.