The Siege of Wonbojin
He belonged to the Yojeong, and if the Black Flood Dragon dared to threaten or attack him, he had fully intended to confront him in the name of the Court. Yet, faced with such utterly unexpected words, he found himself at a complete loss for a reply.
"I... I belong to the Yojeong, and I am currently awaiting the Court's orders..."
"Awaiting the Court's orders? How sluggish, how soft. Fine. Sit tight and wait here. When those orders of yours finally trickle down, you can take your sweet time catching up. If fortune smiles on you, perhaps you might even scavenge some of the scraps I leave behind."
With those parting words, the Black Flood Dragon lashed his massive tail and vanished into the depths in an instant. The resulting violent undercurrent sent the colossal, hippo-like frame of the Great Yo-beast reeling.
That absolute lunatic!
The blatant provocation directed at him, even the insolent remarks about the Yojeong, suddenly felt trivial. Compared to the sheer madness of invading the Human Territory alone—grinning as if embarking on a casual hunt—such insults were nothing.
Should I inform the Court?
He hesitated for a brief moment before dismissing the thought. It was too much trouble, and he had no desire to poke his nose into unnecessary business. The Black Flood Dragon's madness was his own affair, and the Court's business was theirs. He had not joined the Yojeong by choice, nor was he marching to war out of any sense of loyalty. Why on earth would he go out of his way to file a tedious report?
He quietly averted his gaze from the horde of low-level water beasts trailing behind the Black Flood Dragon.
The less work, the better.
This was the golden rule of survival he had mastered over his long life as a Great Yo-beast.
Jekyeong made no effort to conceal his march, and quite a few Great Yo-beasts sensed his approach. Yet, even though an uninvited guest was trespassing through their territories with a massive army of water beasts in tow, rarely did any of them dare to block his path.
Even the few who summoned the courage to show themselves merely inquired about his business with utmost caution before promptly turning tail. It was clear they were only making a token appearance to save face as local lords.
"Getting tangled up with a lunatic like that is a losing proposition."
"If he wants to throw his life away, let him."
"I cannot move a muscle until the Court's official decree arrives, so..."
They comforted themselves with these plausible excuses, but deep down, they knew the truth. They knew exactly why they had failed to stand tall before the Black Flood Dragon, and why they had retreated in such a frantic hurry without uttering a single proper word. They simply lacked the courage to face the tempestuous demonic energy radiating from him, a force felt even from leagues away. Before the Black Flood Dragon—who dwarfed them by several times, if not dozens of times, in sheer size—their tongues clung to the roofs of their mouths. It was as simple as that.
Crash!
A colossal underwater cliff, easily towering hundreds of meters high, crumbled into rubble under a single sweep of Jekyeong's tail. At the display, the water beasts—who had been snarling and baring their fangs at one another, unable to suppress their feral bloodlust—instantly fell dead silent.
"Wait."
Jekyeong did not expect thousands of water beasts to maintain their patience indefinitely. Their savage instincts could be suppressed temporarily, but they could never be fully tamed. To keep them under control, their bloodlust had to be fed periodically. Yet, Jekyeong had done nothing but crush them with raw power throughout their long march. It was already a miracle that they had not succumbed to madness and torn each other apart by now.
It is fine. The time is nigh.
Having quieted the horde, Jekyeong swam toward the surface. He shot upward, and just as he broke the water, he assumed his human form and lightly stepped onto a small boat waiting above.
"Fellow Daoist. Seeing you in a place like this brings a unique sort of pleasure."
The stranger waiting on the boat greeted Jekyeong in a familiar, casual tone.
"Cut the chatter. What is the situation?"
"Three early Foundation Establishment cultivators. I have yet to map out all of the late Qi Condensation cultivators, but there appear to be six stationed at the array core. Aside from that..."
Myeong-ha rattled off the intelligence gathered by the Lost-Soul Puppet he had slipped into the outpost. Jekyeong felt a wave of relief as he confirmed the details aligned perfectly with the report Choi Ju-tang had sent him earlier.
"Those men stationed at the array core—can you eliminate them beforehand?"
"Certainly. However, doing so will alert them to an anomaly, making any subsequent attempts far more difficult."
Jekyeong pondered for a moment before shaking his head.
"Then do not bother. I shall handle it myself this time. We begin in half a day. Withdraw your puppet before then, or leave it to its fate."
"Understood."
Their discussion concluded, Jekyeong cast a brief glance up at the dark, heavy clouds blanketing the sky before slipping back beneath the waves. Exactly half a day later, the tranquil surface of the lake began to churn violently.
Wonbojin. This island, originally known as Wonbodo, had once been a small, uninhabited patch of land known only to a select few. However, as the Human Race sought to establish a bulwark against the Beast Race, they constructed an outpost here, giving birth to the Wonbojin of today. Currently, roughly a thousand human cultivators were stationed at the outpost. Most of them had been conscripted or recruited within the past month, and they had yet to fully adjust to life on this isolated island.
"Damn it all. What an utterly tedious place."
A middle-aged cultivator with a ponytail spat into the water, staring out at the endless horizon. Though several other cultivators stood nearby, none of them voiced any objection to his crude language. They all shared his sentiment, even if they kept their complaints to themselves.
"We don't even have a proper cultivation chamber, and the elixirs and spirit stones they dole out are a mere pittance. They might as well treat us like prisoners..."
Their grievances were shared across all outposts, including Wonbojin. Built strictly for military defense, these bases offered absolutely nothing in the way of comfort or utility for the stationed cultivators. The most glaring issue was the lack of a spiritual vein, which made gathering ambient spiritual energy for cultivation nearly impossible. While the authorities distributed elixirs and spirit stones as a stopgap measure, the supply fell far short of what the cultivators required.
If the leadership could not support their cultivation, they should have at least provided some form of distraction to appease the men. But what entertainment could possibly be found around a barren military outpost? Aside from the brief periods spent cultivating with their carefully rationed spirit stones and elixirs, their daily routine consisted of nothing but staring blankly at the horizon or casting fishing lines into the water.
"They keep saying the Beast Race is going to invade, but at this point, I'm starting to wonder if they'll ever show up."
"Shh! Say whatever else you want, but don't tempt fate. Boredom is infinitely better than mortal peril."
"Hmph! You think I don't know that? I'm just venting because I'm losing my mind here."
They whined and gossiped for a while longer. Most of their conversation revolved around their hatred for this tedious island, with the occasional hushed, cautious jab at their stingy superiors.
"I'm telling you, the second my mandatory service period is up, I'm leaving this place and never looking ba—hm?"
The cultivator who had been boasting suddenly frowned, cutting himself off.
"Hey... does it feel a bit warmer to you guys?"
"Huh? So I wasn't the only one who felt it?"
"Wait, look over there. Is that fog? But it hasn't rained at all lately."
Sensing something amiss, the cultivators scrambled to their feet. They were experienced men who knew all too well that any sudden anomaly in these waters demanded immediate vigilance.
"That's no fog. Is that... steam?"
"Go report to the commanders immediately!"
"Shouldn't we beat the war drums first?"
"Yes! Let's go!"
They moved with commendable speed, but by the time they reached the war drums, a dense, scalding shroud of steam had already rolled up to the edge of the docks.
Thoom! Thoom! Thoom!
The thunderous resonance of the war drums reverberated across Wonbojin, the shockwaves momentarily blasting the encroaching steam back into the lake.
"All cultivators, fall back behind the Anti-Demon Towers immediately!"
The booming voice of a Foundation Establishment master thundered across Wonbojin. At the command, the cultivators scrambled in a frenzy, retreating behind the massive stone spires erected across the outpost.
Hummmmm—!
Moments after the command, ten pillars of brilliant light erupted simultaneously from the spires. Anchored by these ten pillars, a shimmering barrier of pure energy expanded, enveloping the entirety of Wonbojin.
"Beast Race! The Beast Race is invading!"
The detection array spanning the waters around Wonbojin flared to life, registering a massive swarm of aquatic monsters closing in on the island.
"What are their numbers?" a sharp-featured Foundation Establishment master demanded, rushing over to the cultivator stationed at the array core.
Drenched in cold sweat and trembling violently, the array master desperately channeled his Divine Sense into the formation.
"Two thousand... three thousand... there are at least six thousand of them!"
The commander's face paled. He let out a low, grim groan.
"So, the Yangseo Demon Court has finally made its move."
The greatest strength of the Human Race lay in siege defense. While they might have lacked the raw, explosive offensive power of other races, no species in the Changram Realm could match their ability to fortify a position and hold their ground.
Jekyeong understood this concept in theory, but he had never witnessed it firsthand. The only time he had ever fought humans entrenched in a stronghold was during his raid on the Black Flood Dragon Gang. Even then, he had bypassed their defenses through infiltration using his human form rather than launching a frontal assault, leaving him with no real appreciation for their defensive prowess. Later, when he clashed with the forces led by Gwak Jeong-sin, Jekyeong had been the one defending his own territory. Thus, this was his very first time orchestrating a siege against a human fortress.
The Ten Pillars Thousand Directions Grand Array. An Island Protecting Grand Array anchored by ten Anti-Demon Towers. Breaching it through a frontal assault is virtually impossible for anyone below the Core Formation stage.
Jekyeong recalled the intelligence provided by Choi Ju-tang.
They plan to turtle up and wait for reinforcements. A sensible strategy.
Jekyeong focused his gaze, scanning the magnificent defensive formation for any structural weaknesses, but as expected, he found none.
"Roaaar!"
In the distance, a massive water beast unleashed a savage, bloodcurdling shriek. Its patience pushed past its breaking point, the creature began blindly tearing into the smaller water beasts around it, desperately trying to sate its frenzied bloodlust.
"Go."
Jekyeong finally released his tight grip on the horde's reins. Freed from his suffocating pressure, the water beasts surged forward, driven entirely by primal instinct. They sensed that a massive concentration of humans—and the precious spiritual energy they possessed—lay just ahead. Spurred by prolonged starvation and the irresistible call of prey, their feral bloodlust reached a fever pitch.
"They are coming!"
Due to the thick steam blanketing Wonbojin, the average cultivator on the island remained oblivious to the approaching threat. However, the array masters and Foundation Establishment commanders tracking the horde via their Divine Senses knew better.
"The monsters are swarming! Release the Demon-Slaying Hounds!"
Dozens of mechanical puppet beasts, their eyes glowing with a cold, blue light, charged toward the perimeter of the Island Protecting Grand Array. A strange, pungent odor wafted from their polished metallic bodies—a specialized scent designed to instantly trigger the aggression of any nearby water beasts.
Crash!
The moment the mechanical hounds plunged into the water, they were instantly swamped by the ravenous horde, torn to shreds before they could mount any resistance. But as they shattered, a brilliant blue mist erupted from their remains, spreading through the dense steam.
"Target locked! Activate the Flawless Spears!"
A dozen cultivators formed a circle around a human-sized stone pillar. Placing their palms against the stone, they closed their eyes and chanted a solemn mantra in unison. A shimmering, ethereal light surged from the pillar, shooting straight into the heavens.
Rumble!
The sky groaned as a torrential rain of giant, illusory spears cascaded down, homing in precisely on the coordinates marked by the blue mist.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each illusory spear struck with the devastating force of a lightning bolt. The water beasts, still crazed by the lingering scent of the lure, were obliterated instantly, leaving not even ashes behind.
Jekyeong watched more than a hundred of his vanguard perish in an instant without so much as blinking. He had recognized the Demon-Attracting Incense coated on the mechanical hounds the moment they appeared, but he had deliberately chosen not to intervene. The beasts needed a harsh lesson. While their feral nature granted them immense ferocity, it also stripped them of all reason. The horde he had dragged here was already half-mad with hunger; if a bit of bloodshed could cool their heated heads and teach them caution, it was a price well worth paying.