Chapter 194
Chapter 194
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 194
Chapter Title: Attack
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An evil dance and song filled with malevolent intent continue endlessly.
“Heee— Eeee— Heuuya— Heuo!”
“Heeeee— Ehuh— Ahuh— Heyiroya!”
It’s the sorcery of the goblins stolen by the doeksini from the Thousand Gold Hall.
A wicked spell that corrupts the aspirations nestled between hope and illusion into desires that oscillate between madness and delusion.
The fourth tomb constructed in the center of Paju Samneung fills with bright red blood.
A horrific blood pit created by slaughtering innocent lives.
And the ley lines of Paju Samneung begin to be tainted by that blood.
Gugrrrrrrr—
A sinister, droning noise.
The earth goes mad, and the air corrupts.
“Yes! The great legacy that existed here before humans ever set foot on this land awakens!”
“Our captain, who has slumbered, shares his great power with us!”
“The time of feasting approaches! The time of feasting approaches! The time of feasting approaches!”
Irregular cheers erupt chaotically.
The Gourmet Expedition Corps isn’t a proper religious order. It’s more like a commune of lunatics sharing the same faith and ideology.
That’s why you don’t hear the kind of disciplined chants or unified incantations common in other cults.
‘Without the doeksini, none of this would have even been possible.’
But the Gourmet Expedition Corps worships the [Predator of the Mountains], whose incarnation is the [Blood Demon King], and it drew in the doeksini in his name.
An event that shouldn’t have occurred in the original timeline.
‘Why did this event trigger? Because I shattered the Masquerade? Because I destroyed the Sea Well, like Seo Cheon-seol said?’
My actions and choices inevitably ripple through this world’s predetermined future.
The only way for me to survive is to escape this world before an unmanageable situation arises.
“It’s rising. Watch out, Heavenly Gold Captain.”
“Watch out for wha—?”
Kwarrrrr rumble!
Finally, the Gourmet Expedition Corps’ aspirations and will begin manifesting in the physical world.
Crimson mana surges toward the sky.
It soon mingles with the air, forming a bright red blood mist.
“You mean... watch out for *that*?”
That! Yeah, watch out for *that*!
That’s what I wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come out.
[Everything around you begins to be dyed in blood— blood— blood— blood. The earth, the plants growing from the earth, the creatures standing upon the earth, and even the air trapped in this wicked barrier, unable to circulate—all will be dyed in blood.]
A foreboding script begins outputting on the message window blocking my view.
[System: Attempting resistance to delirium via Mental Strength stat. Mental Strength check...]
In any other situation, I might have screamed, but instead, I calmly awaited the result.
[...Success!]
I succeeded in resisting the delirium check.
‘So this success is the fake one, huh?’
My heart races in a way completely divorced from my thoughts and emotions.
‘I don’t know what’s happening deep in my body and mind, but it’s causing a huge uproar.’
The other personalities are suppressing the ravings from my fractured mind.
The structure holds, at least.
I’ve got a bomb in my gut that could go off anytime, but today’s me can ignore the madness and keep moving.
“You alright, Kim hubby?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. What about you, Heavenly Gold Captain?”
“Bahaha—no, I’m not alright.”
Seo Cheon-seol is covering his mouth with one hand.
“Kim hubby, do something about this. One wrong breath, and I’ll turn into a doeksini.”
Goblins who drink blood and become intoxicated by its taste turn into doeksini.
“Hold on!”
I’d anticipated this and prepared countermeasures. I’d meant to use it sooner, but the message windows had delayed me. Now I completed the spell.
[Barrier of Purification]
[Beacon of the Even Branch]
A wall of white flames envelops me and Seo Cheon-seol. A protective shield that repels the encroaching yin energy and incinerates the blood mist inducing corruption and madness.
“Good call bringing you along. You’re mine, I’m yours. That’s how we help each other. All according to King Manggeum’s design.”
“Hope that’s really the reason.”
“What now? The ritual’s underway. Isn’t it too late?”
“Well, the method’s simple. They used cows, snakes, sheep, and pigs to create the yin energy, right?”
It’s a technique that disrupts the harmony of yin and yang to mock the laws of reality.
“So if we replenish the missing yang energy around here, we can ruin their plans.”
“Yang energy? That stuff I told you to prepare? What made you think I’d hate it? Ah—I get it! Red beans! Ugh—the worst!”
“Red beans aren’t bad, but they can’t move on their own, so I asked for something else.”
Up till now, we’ve seen the powers of the twelve earthly branches and twelve divine generals. Suddenly throwing in red beans would break the theme.
“Heavenly Gold Captain, this is goblin sorcery. It’s not based on yin-yang five elements. Look over there.”
I pointed in the direction of the structures placed around the site of their ritual.
Crimson pillars forming blood-red gates.
“See the animal sacrifices?”
“Disgusting sight.”
The corpses of animals provided by Yeom Geum-ja hang from the blood-red gates.
Those are the cores of the barrier separating Paju Samneung from the outside.
“Right. But assuming they’re following goblin sorcery and the five elements—”
I pointed to the beasts hanging from each blood-red gate, naming them in order.
“Cows represent earth, snakes fire, sheep earth again, pigs water.”
“The five elements. So wood and metal are missing from fire, water, wood, metal, earth.”
Yeom Geum-ja talked like he was just asked for edible beasts, but in goblin sorcery—feng shui, yin-yang, I Ching, and so on—they’re finely tuned symbols.
“Yeah. They’ve created clashing energies with earth conquering water and water conquering fire, and like you said earlier, cows and sheep for the Chou-Wei Clash Kill, snakes and pigs for the Si-Hai Clash Kill.”
It looks complicated, but the key point is one thing.
In an Eastern worldview based on harmony and cycles, anything disrupting harmony and cycles creates discord, malice, and chaos.
The doeksini have gathered exactly that: discord.
Discord, discord, discord.
Continuing the Eastern philosophy, there’s only one way to resolve this.
“To block their ritual filled only with yin energy, you prepared animals imbued with yang energy, corresponding to metal and wood.”
“Right. But one animal suffices for both. This covers wood and has yang energy.”
I raised the Four Mythic Azure Blade.
“Oh, that tiger sword? Yeah, that’ll do. So what’s for metal with yang energy?”
“Why, the beast that drives away the night, calls the world-opening dawn, and draws in the sunlight.”
“Oh, hold on. You don’t mean the minions of General Migira, do you?”
“That’s right.”
“Hey, Kim hubby, I’m a goblin! I don’t wanna hear that!”
He whines even though he can bask in sunlight comfortably.
“I’ll handle that problem.”
I added an effect to the protective barrier around Seo Cheon-seol’s body.
[Sound Distortion]
“Hear me okay? If all sound was blocked, it’d be inconvenient in a fight, so I tuned the range just right.”
“Urgh. Kim hubby, this—”
I cut him off before he could complain more.
“No smell, taste, or sound can bother the great Heavenly Gold Captain now. Go show those doeksini traitors to the Thousand Gold Hall the authority of the Hall.”
Pleased by my words, Seo Cheon-seol’s expression shifts instantly.
“Alright. Time to show those rotten doeksini the power of a true goblin!”
Kwaaaaaang!
Realizing his role, Seo Cheon-seol kicks off the ground and launches forward.
“Wihwoooo! Heavenly Gold Captain arrives!”
He’d complained that he could only move one step at a time before.
“Fair complaint.”
In a single step, Seo Cheon-seol soars hundreds of meters into the sky.
Like a golden meteor rising from earth to heaven.
“Th-that thing! Look over there!”
“Th-the Heavenly Gold Captain!”
“Heavenly Gold Captain! Heavenly Gold Captain!”
Screams like cheers pour from the doeksini.
“Yeah, you traitors to the Thousand Gold Hall! If you don’t wanna taste the Heavenly Gold Captain’s Diamond Rod, flatten yourselves on the ground!”
Flying from west to east, the Heavenly Gold Captain becomes a golden thunderbolt, smashing into the ground of Paju Samneung.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
The golden Diamond Rod shakes the earth, sending doeksini flying in all directions.
“Heavenly Gold Captain! Heavenly Gold Captain!”
“Uwaaaak! Gyaaaaaak!”
The doeksini roil like they’ve lost their minds.
“Out of the way, you idiots!”
“What can one goblin do?!”
The Gourmet Expedition cultists charge toward Seo Cheon-seol.
“Come on, then! I’ll show you what that gold you saw in your dreams really is!”
Kwaaaang!
Seo Cheon-seol’s Diamond Rod spins at tremendous speed, creating a massive vortex.
“Alright. My turn.”
I channeled mana into the Four Mythic Azure Blade, constructing a spell.
Wood summons lightning and, with wood birthing fire, ignites flames—
[SSS-grade weapon Four Mythic Azure Blade (Verdant Lord)’s unique function, ‘Heavenly Fire Phase,’ activates.
// Heavenly Fire Phase: Effect of all fire-based spells increases by 100%.]
Pajijijik— Rumble—
Flames and lightning burst from the Four Mythic Azure Blade, blanketing the sky and producing an intimidating roar.
‘I can skip most of the incantation process, but constructing a spell this scale inside this barrier isn’t easy.’
But that barrier will shatter soon.
[Fire-Lightning Smoke Heaven]
Kwarrrung! Kwaaa! Bang! Kwagagagagaga!
Magic circles covering the sky unleash a torrent of firebolts.
They seem random, but I’ve targeted precisely where they need to strike.
First, the Gourmet Expedition cultists charging toward Seo Cheon-seol!
“Dodge!”
“Uwaaaak!”
“Gyaaaaaak!”
“Magic! It’s a mage!”
The cultists retreat, fleeing the lightning.
“Nice one!”
Seo Cheon-seol dances to the drumbeat of my lightning’s thunder.
And the doeksini trapped in the lightning cage with the Heavenly Gold Captain.
“The tiger’s power is plenty now.”
As tiger energy spreads from the west, the barrier set by the doeksini begins to warp.
‘About time you showed up?’
Should I call and hurry them?
To check Yeom Geum-ja’s status, I activated a spell.
[Heaven’s Eye]
Whoosh—
Hundreds of meters close in an instant, bringing Yeom Geum-ja into my view.
Vroom vroom rumble!
Trucks revving to life all at once.
Two hundred beasts rampaging in the truck beds.
Yeom Geum-ja’s sharp, as expected.
He must have sensed it was his move from my lightning and the weakening barrier.
Kwaduduk!
No roads in the forest, but the trucks bulldoze through lesser trees, charging ahead.
Their destination: the easternmost tomb in Paju Samneung, Sunneung.
Kwaaaaang!
The trucks burst into the area around Sunneung.
A few doeksini controlling the snakes blanketing Sunneung hiss like serpents.
“Who’s there! Who dares disrupt our ritual?!”
Doeksini with snakelike scales and forked tongues.
“Uwaaaak!”
Yeom Geum-ja’s men scream.
Madness? No chance.
I adjust the lightning to pour down on the snake-headed doeksini.
Kwaaaaang! Kwaaaaa!!
[Nearby people are inspired by your heroic actions. Nearby people’s rationality checks are temporarily waived.]
Seeing that, Yeom Geum-ja bellows quickly.
“See that, you XXXs! I told you XXXing idiots! The Three Heads Society’s Destruction Demon is helping us! The bomb demon who drove out the Red Heads! The tiger hunter who killed Blue Tiger, that crazy XXX mage is our ally!”
Wait, what? What nonsense is that?
“Waaaaah! Destruction Demon Kim Shin-hwa’s on our side!”
“Waaaaaaaah! Destruction Demon Kim Shin-hwa!”
“Destruction Demon! Destruction Demon!”
“Mow down anyone in the way! Let’s go get our Thousand Gold Hall tickets!”
Tududududu!
Machine guns and assault rifles spit fire.
Under the snipers’ cover, the beast cages on the trucks open in unison, unleashing two hundred beasts.
Warrururururu—
Fwooodududududu!
The deafening roar of four hundred wings on two hundred beasts.
And at the head of those beasts, a massive one lets out a proud cry toward the wicked ritual unfolding in Paju Samneung.
“Kko—kki—yo!!!”
The minions of General Migira, who chase the night, summon the dawn, and draw light and sunlight, raise their battle cries in unison.