The City Lord
The City Lord of Yagwi would not come out. For a man who had received a terminal diagnosis, stepping before that monster was tantamount to shoving his neck straight into a tiger's maw. The raw, violent waves of power—impossible to ignore—instantly froze everyone in their tracks, cutting through the tense atmosphere. It was an instinctive tremor, the kind that paralyzes the body at the mere roar of a tiger.
"This is driving me mad," Gang Baek-jin muttered, his eyes turning cold and vacant as he stared at the three Dokkaebi blocking our path. The fact that his gaze remained unshaken—devoid of anger or fear in a crisis like this—meant he hadn't given up. He had made a decision. He had already resolved himself to a certain path.
His eyes swept over the family members lined up behind him. A few elders of the Triple Extreme, his immediate family, loyal retainers who had served the clan for ages despite sharing no blood, and the exceptionally talented youths who held the key to their future. They had meticulously selected this group, packing their most precious family heirlooms to fit within the limited capacity of the teleportation array. Turning back was never an option. To hell with the City Lord; the clan had to survive.
A grim determination hardened in his steady eyes. The halberd-shaped soul treasure slung across his back hummed ominously, its tassels fluttering in the violent gusts of energy radiating from Sahabaek.
A shiver ran down my spine, freezing the back of my neck. If the previous sensation was a mere instinctive flinch upon encountering a wild beast, this was pure, unadulterated malice. Exposed to such overt hostility, my highly refined body did not tremble in fear; instead, my heart hammered wildly, pumping blood furiously through my veins.
"Come now. Surely you three have noticed by now? The City Lord is not in his right mind, nor has he recovered. His condition is so critical that a human fossil is casually loitering right on Yagwi City's doorstep."
"Are you daring to judge the City Lord on your own authority?!"
"As the City Lord's inner circle, I assume you know just as much as I do. So, let me be blunt. Just take the teleportation array and leave with me. Yagwi City is doomed."
His blunt words left everyone speechless. Not just me, but the clan members lined up behind us, and even the three loyalists who had just heard what could easily be construed as treasonous blasphemy. But then, the oldest of the three—an elderly scholar—stepped forward. He ripped a flag bearing the crest of Yagwi City from his back and roared furiously.
"All the more reason for us to unite and drive out the foreign invaders! Gang Clan! You and your kind have ruled over Yagwi City and our brethren for generations, fattening yourselves on our prosperity! It is only right that your lives are bound to the fate of this city!"
"I am the patriarch of my clan," Gang Baek-jin replied. "I cannot choose a path that ends in the annihilation of my people."
"This is your duty! The duty of any Dokkaebi! The duty of those who hold high privilege! The leaders of the Wave Gate and Snow Demon Valley have already received what is essentially a death sentence. If you and your clan's core forces abandon us now, our race is finished! We will never find a place to plant our feet in this world, doomed to wander forever without a home!"
The sorrow of a nomadic race without a home. The old man still remembered the era before a Creation Realm City Lord arose among the Dokkaebi. Aimless wandering inevitably led to the decline of an entire species. Flesh torn by greedy beasts along the way, family members snatched by ravenous fangs, until the final destination was extinction. Countless races had met their end by following that exact path.
"There is no peace in the place you flee to! You are throwing the entire future of our race into the gutter for temporary safety! I beg of you, will you not reconsider?"
That was why, even in a situation where death was certain, even in the depths of despair, he could not give up. If they lost this place—their only stable sanctuary, a home belonging solely to the Dokkaebi—nothing but endless regression awaited them.
"We can even allow a portion of your clan to use the teleportation array. We will let enough pass to guarantee your lineage's survival, so I beg of you, let the Gang Clan keep its noble banner flying high over Yagwi City."
The old man was not wrong. Men of such upright character were exceedingly rare, and the fact that he could make such an argument when pushed to the absolute brink proved his extraordinary nature.
"The moment you leave, our race will stand on the precipice of ruin. Please, humor this old man's stubbornness."
Most people of his kind held out until the very end, only to break and be buried in nameless graves. Yet, on rare occasions, some survived to make their stubborn convictions a reality. And history remembered those who realized such obsessive determination as heroes.
"I see. I was mistaken. I am ashamed," Gang Baek-jin said, lowering his head. He looked as though he couldn't bear to meet the old man's eyes, yet there was immense power in his clasped-fist salute.
Then, Gang Baek-jin looked up at the sky and placed his hands behind his back. The old man's gaze naturally followed his, looking up into the distant heavens. It was only a split second, but it was more than enough time to give us the signal.
Whoosh—slash!
The halberd-spear, bearing the fluttering banner of the Gang Clan, severed the old man's arm in a single stroke.
"You... you treacherous dog!"
"Personally, I hold you in high regard, Elder Chun," Gang Baek-jin said.
Crunch!
He ground his heel into the severed arm, crushing it completely, his eyes flashing with a menacing light.
"Which is why I find this regrettable. I would rather be branded a traitor to my race than remain as the final patriarch of a dead clan. The Gang Clan must prosper infinitely, long after my time."
"You... you race-selling traitor!!!"
Flutter—crackle!
The other flags planted on Elder Chun's back flared to life. The blue and red banners—one bearing the character for 'Night' () and the other for 'Goblin' ()—unleashed arcs of crackling lightning. They surged violently, reflecting the old man's burning hatred. Yet, Gang Baek-jin merely leveled his halberd, expressionless, and let out a savage growl.
"Step aside. If my clan's full might clashes with you here, the three of you will barely manage to hold your ground. Do you intend to fight us and drag us both down to mutual destruction? If even you three fall, there truly will be no turning back."
"For betraying the City Lord's grace! For the crime of treason against our race! As the Inspector General of the City Administration, I shall execute absolute judgment!"
"Tsk. I've always thought highly of you, but this stubborn, pigheaded side of yours is something I've detested since the old days."
There was no time. Sensing the urgency, both sides swung their weapons without a shred of hesitation—aiming at those who, until yesterday, had been their brethren and comrades.
Clash! Boom!
The Gang Clan's halberd and the twin banners of Yagwi City collided in a destructive, discordant screech. Instantly, the forces of the Gang Clan and the loyalists of Yagwi City clashed in a chaotic melee.
Thoom!
"Fuck."
A bone-chilling impact echoed, sounding as if a meteor had struck the earth. It wasn't a sound we had made. It came from the outside—the war-horn-like roar of that crazy human fossil.
Having said that, the old man sliced his hand through the air, cutting open space as if snipping it with scissors. Beyond the severed rift lay a bizarre, swirling void of distant colors. Soon, a brilliant, golden pagoda ship emerged from the tear. It was a vessel resembling a battleship, packed to the brim with human cultivators.
From the largest and most ornate pagoda ship, a heavily wrinkled old man stepped forward and bowed deeply to Sahabaek.
"Sa Gun-rap, the thirty-first sect master of the Heavenly Human Sect, pays his respects to the Celestial."
"With the Celestial's aid and the combined might of the seven great human sects gathered here, how could a mere barrier possibly stand in our way? I shall order the preparations at once."
Sahabaek's gaze drifted past Yagwi City, locking onto a specific location at the very heart of the fortress. With an eager smirk he made no effort to hide, he descended onto one of the pagoda ships. Resting his arm casually over his raised knee in a haughty posture, he exuded an undeniable, overwhelming confidence.
"Just die already!"
"..."
Clang!
A middle-aged man deftly parried my Dokkaebi club with a pair of scissors. I wasn't joking. He was literally fighting me with a giant pair of scissors that served as his soul treasure. The annoying part was that despite its bizarre appearance, it was incredibly lethal. Because of a strange phasing ability that bypassed my blocks, my body was already covered in numerous shallow cuts. If I hadn't reached the absolute peak of physical refinement, I would have suffered fatal wounds by now.
"Tsk. Of all things, you had to have a fully refined body," the man muttered.
It was a powerful soul treasure. Against anyone who hadn't reached the physical peak, a few snips of those scissors would easily sever a limb. It was easily one of the most threatening soul treasures I had ever seen. The only saving grace was that he had only reached the Double Extreme. Of course, that didn't mean I had the upper hand.
"You lack experience. I've never seen you before. Who are you?"
His fighting style was entirely different. He was a veteran of countless battles who had reached the Double Extreme. Since we were in the same weight class, I could hold my ground, but if I were alone, I wouldn't have been able to win.
But fortunately, I'm not alone.
Boom!
A massive, roaring sphere of light slammed into the scissor-wielding man. Soul treasures—dozens of war-grade treasures stored within the Gang Clan—unleashed their fury all at once. Combined with the relentless onslaught of the clan's Qi Circulation experts and the Triple Extreme elders, the three loyalists were slowly forced to retreat, overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Driven back like prey to the very edge of the teleportation array's control chamber, their faces twisted in desperation. If they retreated any further, they would yield control of the array entirely.
"We are leaving!" Gang Baek-jin barked. "Go back and deal with the humans hammering at the barrier!"
"You... how could you..." Elder Chun's eyes welled with tears. "You, who were born into our race and enjoyed the greatest privileges of all..."
Tears of frustration over his own helplessness, and the sting of betrayal from one of the three major factions whom he believed should be the most devoted to their race. He was the very definition of a diehard patriot.
Well, he certainly wasn't someone I wanted to emulate. I couldn't afford to give up either. I barely had enough hands to keep myself and my women alive; the safety and future of our entire race felt like a far-off luxury.
Having completely lost control of the teleportation array, the three loyalists lowered their soul treasures in despair, staring blankly beyond the fortress walls.
Crack! Shatter!
The grand barrier that had protected Yagwi City for over a thousand years was crumbling, shedding fragments like the roof of a dilapidated pavilion. Perhaps pricked by a final shred of conscience at the sight, Gang Baek-jin, who was busy operating the array, spoke up in a passing tone.
"Will you come with us?"
"...I shall bury my bones alongside Yagwi City."
"What about the rest of you?" Gang Baek-jin asked. "We can make room for a few of you if we discard some cargo. The world beyond this array won't be as welcoming as Yagwi City... We could use your strength."
At those words, one of the three stepped forward, his head hung low. It was the man who had been wielding the giant scissors against me earlier. His face was deeply flushed with shame, bowed like a ripe stalk of grain—or perhaps a rotten one—unable to look us in the eye.
"Seo-ga..."
"Elder Chun. I'm sorry. I... I just want to live a little longer."
What could anyone say to a man begging for his life with no other excuse than the simple desire to survive? It was a plea so fundamentally natural that the old man could only lower his head in silent acceptance. He then turned to the woman beside him.
"What about you? This is your last chance."
"...I have received great grace from the City Lord. How could I abandon him?"
"Is it not merely blind loyalty?"
"I do not believe so."
"Good. We will hold off the bastards outside, so hurry up and get the hell out of here."
It was at that exact moment.
The scissor-wielding man, who was trudging toward us, suddenly had his entire abdomen hollowed out.
"...Huh?"
Staring down at his midsection, where not a single bone, shred of flesh, or drop of blood remained, the man gasped. "C-City... City Lord..."
"P-Please... spare... spare m—"
With those final words, the man crumbled into dust, leaving behind nothing but his scissor soul treasure. The invisible gaze of the City Lord then drifted toward the kneeling woman and the old man.
"City Lord...!"
"As you command."
Crash!
The grand barrier shattered completely. Yet, no one in the room dared to make a reckless move over such a trivial development.
The sheer, bloodthirsty ferocity of that ecstatic human fossil in the distance was enough to make one's flesh crawl, but the danger right before our eyes was far more immediate.
Haha, fuck. We are absolutely screwed.
I thought I was choosing a slightly better option, but now it looked like I was about to lose even the little I had. Of course, I wasn't the type to gamble with my life.
This is partly your fault for leading us to this point, so I think you bear some personal responsibility. What do you think?
No, actually, forget that. Let me just be blunt. Help me out here.
A strange, reverse surge of power coursed through my body. Instead of resisting, I surrendered myself to it. And then—
Crack!
Dozens of colorful eyes sprouted across Hayun's body. Pupils resembling those of various beasts all locked onto the haggard, pale face of the Yagwi City Lord.
After a brief pause, Ryeo-ah smirked.