Spoils of War
Fortunately, I didn't die of some absurd cause like having my throat slit while I was unconscious. It made sense, of course. The people from the mine had already been wiped out by Kang So-ye's faction, and Ryeo-ah and I had personally slaughtered all the Qi Circulation experts. Besides, as dimwitted as Jeongha could be, she was still a Qi Circulation warrior. Honestly, if she lost a fight under those conditions, she wouldn't even deserve to be called a person.
Tap. Tap.
"...What are you doing?"
"...!"
When I opened my eyes, Jeongha was lightly tapping my forehead.
"N-No! I wasn't trying to hit you!"
"Master. Lady Jeongha was simply... performing a procedure to verify whether you were alive or dead. Yes, let's go with that."
Well, look at that. They've gotten quite close lately, to the point where she's covering for her now. Is there some sort of mutual understanding that develops between sex toys?
"Whatever. Help me up."
"Okay."
Jeongha rushed over and supported my shoulders.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"We're fine. You're the one who collapsed."
"A reasonable number of the Core Condensation Dokkaebi have perished."
"I'm so glad no one important was killed or injured."
It was a major battle in its own right, so the fact that none of my people had died or gotten hurt was nothing short of a miracle.
"But the other Dokkaebi were injured?"
"Who are they?"
"Who knows?"
"You don't know either, right?"
"Yes."
"Then you don't need to know."
As long as my own people were unharmed, I couldn't care less about the rest. The old man Chi-o? Gulyo? Or the low-tier Core Condensation Dokkaebi we dragged along, who could be conscripted at random from any city or village? Who among them was I supposed to worry about or mourn?
It wasn't some grand philosophical argument about how a single death is a tragedy but a million is a statistic. It was much simpler. Thus, I couldn't help but ask So-wol a question born of pure, pragmatic curiosity.
"Why on earth would I worry about them?"
I didn't have the luxury of time to sit around worrying about strangers. I was already busy enough managing my own life and the lives of my women—who doubled as my personal cum-sluts. Any concern beyond that was a waste of energy. The only kindness I could afford to offer others was a few spare coins tossed to a beggar crawling on the street. Like a game of pitch-and-toss. If I looked at it that way, it didn't feel like a total waste.
However, if my woman felt uneasy about the situation, I could at least ease her mind.
"So-wol. There are no victims here."
"Is that so?"
"This is just... a struggle for survival, so to speak. The weaker side fought the stronger side for territory and lost. That's all."
I laid it out for her. They knew we were coming to attack, and they had plenty of opportunities to run. Yet, they chose to hold their ground, and so they were weeded out by the law of the jungle.
"But beasts do not hunt others when their bellies are full."
"But territorial disputes are a constant in nature. Even if their bellies are full, beasts will fight to the death over a territory that guarantees clean water, abundant prey, and a comfortable nest."
"Indeed. I understand."
I wasn't sure if she actually got it, but So-wol nodded anyway. Man, I didn't expect my usually submissive maid to bring up such questions.
"Your maid is quite strange. Is it because she's a half-breed?"
"Uh-uh. No discrimination allowed."
"Ow! Why did you hit me?! Then what am I supposed to call a half-breed? A pureblood?"
"So-wol isn't a half-breed."
"Then what is she?"
"My sex toy."
"......"
Jeongha's gaze turned ice-cold.
"And you're my sex toy too."
"Ugh, gross."
Jeongha recoiled in disgust and stepped away from me. She acted like this now, but if I didn't pay attention to her when she clung to me later, she'd be on the verge of tears.
"Anyway, let's start looting."
"Looting?"
"Stripping the corpses."
"Ah."
The insolent Core Condensation grunts were already ignoring their elders and rummaging through the bodies. They didn't care if a corpse belonged to an ally or an enemy; they simply checked if it was breathing, and if not, they ruthlessly tore into it.
"I killed this one! Back off!"
"Hah! Hand it over, you bastard!"
"I'm not dead yet! I'm not dead! I'm on your side! Put that blade away!"
Watching them claw out inner cores with their fingernails like a pack of hyenas made me grimace.
"These motherfuckers!"
How dare they scavenge like rats right in front of their Qi Circulation superiors? I immediately unleashed a gale blade, decapitating the idiots who were hovering around the Qi Circulation corpses I had personally slain.
Thud, thud.
Heads rolled onto the ground, accompanied by a shower of blood. Feeling the oppressive pressure of a Qi Circulation master, the frenzied look in the eyes of those hyena-like bastards instantly vanished, replaced by cold sanity.
"H-Heh..."
"W-Warrior, sir. It's not what it looks like..."
As expected, violence was the only language these brainless beasts understood. Just because they had horns didn't mean they were allowed to behave like wild animals.
"Line up. All of you."
At my chilling command, the Core Condensation grunts quickly fell into formation. Seeing them line up so orderly proved they weren't complete amateurs, which made their lack of patience even more grating. A few of them were still sniffing the air or rolling their eyes, unable to resist the scent of blood and the dense demonic energy wafting from the inner cores. Watching them whimper like dogs staring at a treat was pathetic. Was this a racial trait of Dokkaebis? Come to think of it, Dokkaebis were never known for their rationality. They were violent, unnecessarily cruel, and easily frustrated, usually dumping any task requiring delicacy onto their slave races. Well, if they were going to act like beasts, I just had to beat them harder.
"Keep your eyes straight."
Slash!
I instantly crushed the throat of a bastard who dared to flare his nostrils and pant with his tongue out right in front of me. Even if I was exhausted to the point of collapse, killing a low-tier grunt like him was child's play. But this wasn't enough to drive the point home.
"Stop sniffing. And you, did you just look at So-wol's thighs? Huh? Who said you could look up?"
Crunch. Snap. Slice.
After three more heads were severed, sanity was finally engraved into their eyes. Well, perhaps "engraved" was too generous—it was more like they desperately forced themselves to act rational just to stay alive, but a win was a win.
Yet, even in a group like this, there was always that one absolute idiot.
"Hey."
"H-Hic! S-Senior!"
"Who's your senior?"
"W-Warrior, sir!"
"That's more like it."
Did surviving a life-or-death battle awaken his libido? Despite trembling in fear before me and witnessing three decapitations, this bold bastard was still casting furtive glances at Jeongha's lower abdomen.
Crack!
"You must be begging to die. Oh, wait, you're already dead."
That should do it.
"If there's any other dumbass here currently overwhelmed by greed or lust, raise your hand."
"......"
"None. Good. That's how it should be."
Soldiers are always at their most undisciplined during the post-victory looting. Having just walked the tightrope between life and death, their greed to plunder anything they can find, along with primal urges like lust and hunger, inevitably explodes. Frankly, even I wanted nothing more than to roll around like a beast between So-wol and Jeongha right now. I was only suppressing it because there was too much work to be done.
"Now, let me calmly explain what you need to do."
"Make it quick. I'm tired."
"Now, now, Jeongha."
I'm trying to set the mood here.
I reached out and caressed the breasts and hips of the two women standing on either side of me.
"All the corpses belong to me. Touch them, and you die. Got it?"
"......"
"Got a problem with that? Too bad. I'll let you keep whatever Dharma treasures they had on them as a special favor."
The corpses were mine. To be precise, I was going to feed them to Ryeo-ah. Rather than letting these grunts butcher them like pigs in a slaughterhouse, having Ryeo-ah consume them was far more aesthetically pleasing.
"In exchange, you can take all the spirit stones you want. I won't stop you."
At those words, the Dokkaebis' eyes lit up.
"However, you can only go in after I've taken my share first. Until then, take a break. Keep watch or go on a patrol."
Raise.
Amidst the silence, a bold fellow raised his hand. He was at the peak of Core Condensation. A guy with at least some right to speak—I'll give him that.
"What is it?"
"Warrior, sir. What should we do with the female prisoners we captured?"
"...You had time to take prisoners?"
"Once the tide of battle turned, quite a few surrendered."
I turned my head and saw blood-soaked male and female demons rolling on the ground with broken limbs. Tsk. If they were going to capture them, they could have at least done it neatly. What was with all this bone-crushing? I suppose I should be glad their limbs weren't completely severed.
"I wonder."
"If you plan to dispose of them anyway... would it be alright if we played with them for a bit?"
The man's eyes burned with an unmistakable, boiling lust as he spoke.
"You bastard, I guess your dick is standing proud just because you're a man?"
"...Just to be absolutely clear, we wouldn't dare lay a finger on your women, Warrior. We're only asking about the prisoners."
"Hmm."
I scanned them briefly, but none of the female prisoners could get my dick hard. It was only natural, considering they were covered in bruises, lacerations, and blood. Some even had crushed faces or dislocated jaws.
"...You guys actually find that hot?"
"Yes!"
"...Do whatever you want."
I wasn't cruel enough to punish my subordinates just because they had low standards.
"While I'm gathering my loot, you can do whatever you want with the prisoners. Abuse them, fuck them, it's up to you."
"Thank you, sir!"
"Have fun. I'm heading down to the mine."
If they could get hard over those wrecks, they were welcome to them.
"Hehehe. Come here, bitch!"
"Kyaaaak!"
"Brother Bang! This bitch's hole is incredibly tight. Do you want to try her backside?"
"Haha, I won't refuse."
"Ufufu... I'm getting a bit excited myself. I need a man's cock, so I'll just cut one off and take it for myself."
"Aaaargh!"
"Ah, don't just slice off the shaft, make sure to take the balls too!"
Good grief, it wasn't just the men who were crazed with lust. Once a woman's desires were awakened, she could become unimaginably violent.
"What?"
"Nothing."
If she ever gets stronger than me, she's not going to try and cut off my dick, is she?
Amused by the ridiculous thought, I stepped into the mine.
"Wow."
Massive chunks of ore emitting a dull, grayish luster filled the warehouse. The space was easily half the size of a soccer field, and it was packed to the brim with spirit stones.
"How am I supposed to carry all of this?"
I had planned to loot the place clean, but even if I filled my bags to bursting, it would be like scooping a single bucket of water out of a lake.
"What's the plan now?"
"Don't I get anything in return?"
Ryeo-ah's voice turned slightly sharp.
Tsk. Maybe I was being a bit too greedy.
"What about Jeongha? She just reached Self-Circulation. If you help her, wouldn't she be able to break through to External Circulation in no time?"
Ah, well. It wasn't like I could do anything useful with the remains of those Core Condensation grunts anyway, so I decided to just feed them to Ryeo-ah.
"Ah, right."
The bow I had acquired, the Red Agate Bow, was a rechargeable Dharma treasure. To be precise, it had been modified so that even a Qi Circulation cultivator—rather than a Samgeuk master—could use it. You could say its versatility had been increased at the cost of its destructive power. However, doing so required an immense amount of spirit stones. So many that it would turn someone like me into a beggar overnight.
"Okay."
Following Ryeo-ah's instructions, I fed the spirit stones to the Red Agate Bow. Soon, the piles of spirit stones filling the warehouse lost their luster and crumbled into sand. Watching this, Ryeo-ah clicked her tongue in disapproval, finding the whole display pathetic.
"Is it really that bad?"
But if they hadn't gone to such lengths, a mere Qi Circulation cultivator like me wouldn't have been able to use it. With that, I performed the sacrificial ritual using the spirit stones and corpses in the warehouse.
"Are you trying to seduce me?"
As I walked through the mine, I suddenly sensed a presence. Having reached the External Circulation stage, my heightened senses could easily detect the faint breathing and body heat of living creatures.
"Hmm."
It was a prison. Inside, several decent-looking individuals were locked up. Even in a place like this—or rather, precisely because it was such a place—it made sense to have a prison. The unusual part was that, aside from a single old man, they were all women. And their quality was surprisingly high.
"Not bad at all."
"H-Hic!"
"Do you know me? I doubt you do."
"Warrior, sir. We are..."
"Old man. Give me one good reason why I should let you live."
"I... I was the assistant to the Chief Overseer of this mine. I know the location of all his hidden treasures."
"You pass."
Looking around, it seemed Kang So-ye's vanguard had locked up only the women they wanted to use as sex toys and the few men who possessed crucial information.
"I'll spare you."
"Thank you, thank you!"
"I'm about to have some messy, wild fun with these girls. Keep your eyes down and cover your ears. Got it?"
"I understand completely."
Thud.
The old man slammed his forehead against the ground and covered his ears with both hands. He certainly knew how to read the room. I guess that quick wit was how he managed to become the assistant overseer. I leisurely strolled past the iron bars, evaluating the women trapped inside like a customer inspecting goods.
"Your breasts are a bit too small. Hmm, you're not bad. You, on standby for now."
Every time my hand or gaze drifted toward them, their bodies trembled. Their pale skin shivered, and their well-groomed, glossy hair swayed gently. It almost looked as if they were wagging their tails to seduce a man, didn't it? Being locked in cages like this only heightened the delicious sense of depravity, making me feel like a king choosing from a buffet of flesh.
"Ah, you're perfect."
My choice fell on a Dokkaebi woman with horns that curved like a ram's. She had healthy, sun-kissed bronze skin, looking like the perfect appetizer to enjoy before the main course. Her horns were curved at just the right angle to hold onto during a blowjob, and she had a wonderfully fit, athletic build. If Jeongha was the type who got hot when psychologically tormented, this girl was the type I wanted to beat up and dominate with brute force.
"Come here, bitch."
"Ngh!"
Screeech—
I bent the iron bars apart with my bare hands, reached inside, and violently ripped her clothes to shreds.
"Ngh!"
No woman would just stand still when she was about to be ravished. She instinctively twisted her body, offering a futile, desperate resistance—but that was exactly what I wanted.
Thud!
"Gah?!"
A single punch to her gut sent the bronze-skinned woman rolling across the dirt floor. Her gray hair instantly became a tangled, messy nest.
"Cough! Gasp! Ah..."
Tears welled up in her eyes as an involuntary reflex, and a string of saliva drooled from her half-open mouth.
"Ah... pant... please..."
Goosebumps broke out across her beautifully tanned skin, practically begging to be abused. I smiled with pure satisfaction. A deep, primal sadism welled up from the depths of my monstrous nature—a raw, sticky ecstasy born of violence. I guess I really was a Dokkaebi after all.
"Thanks for the meal."
Perhaps my subordinates weren't the only ones who had grown wild and beastly in the aftermath of battle.
Slide.
"Aaaaargh!"
"Shut up."
Squelch, squelch, squelch, squelch.
I drove another fist into the convulsing, tanned Dokkaebi girl's stomach before thrusting my hips like a madman. I couldn't tell if it was because of her athletic build or the gut punch, but her tight cunt clamped down on me with an incredibly dynamic, delicious grip.