Chapter 248
Chapter 248
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 248
Chapter Title: Cornered (1)
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Even as I uttered the words suggesting we head to the Frostwhite Hall, the jiangshi kept pouring in.
KRAAAAAH!!
While pulling back and slashing at them...
SPLASH!
SPLAAASH!!!
Dam Yong-ju turned to me and spoke.
"You mean that Frostwhite Hall, the sacred site and ancestral shrine of the Ice Palace?"
"Yes, that Frostwhite Hall."
"...That place won't be prepared for battle at all. Aside from the guards, there's no garrison. No walls to rely on, no provisions to sustain us. Heading there now would be like walking straight into a corner with our own feet."
Having broached the subject like that, Dam Yong-ju proposed an alternative.
"Why not break through head-on instead? If we form the Pursuit Formation and punch through at a single point, we might open a path. We could escape Palace Island, rally the forces guarding the outskirts of the North Sea lands, and bring back the support troops. What do you think?"
It wasn't incomprehensible.
Dam Yong-ju's idea was something anyone who hadn't experienced me as a black mage would suggest.
'No matter how much they've heard of my reputation, black magic is hard to believe without seeing it with your own eyes.'
However, at this point, moving our forces to the Frostwhite Hall was the only way to turn the tide.
"Brother Dam—no, I suppose I should call you Little Palace Lord now."
"Call me whatever you're used to. The title 'Little Palace Lord' still feels awkward to me too."
"Your words aren't wrong, Brother Dam. If the enemies were just ordinary rebels. But the foes we're facing are Demonic Cult bastards. And even Palace Lord Dam isn't ordinary."
There was no need to bring up past lives or anything like that.
"If we break through as you suggest and reach the island's outskirts, only for them to have sunk our ships, wouldn't that be the real corner then?"
"......"
"Whether we procure new ships or swim across, there are still plenty of variables afterward. The outer forces don't even know what happened at the main hall. They might side with anyone. And above all..."
In truth, the situation left no other options.
Pointing that out logically was enough.
"Above all, it's about abandoning the elders and the people. I was shortsighted in my panic. Of course, the Palace Lord would have anticipated my plan long ago."
And even without delving into past lives, he had a reputation as a formation master in the Central Plains and a track record against the Demonic Cult.
"...And yet you see a way out through the Frostwhite Hall."
"Well, yeah."
"You're the world's foremost expert on jiangshi and the one who's faced the most Demonic Cultists... I'll follow your lead."
Having conveyed his decision to me, Dam Yong-ju announced it to those around us.
"We're heading to the Frostwhite Hall!"
In response, the Ice Palace warriors silently saluted.
Dam Yong-ju issued specific orders to them.
"Those from the Frostwhite Hall and Enforcement Hall, secure the path! Snow Wolf Captain, move ahead and prepare the defensive line!"
"Understood!"
Then he turned to me with a request.
"Black Dragon and friends from the Central Plains, help me escort Father from the main hall."
"Got it."
I nodded lightly.
Then, together with Dam Yong-ju, I returned to the main hall and briefly reported the outside situation.
"The jiangshi horde has invaded the palace grounds. The Black Dragon and I have decided to retreat to the Frostwhite Hall."
Hearing this, Elder Dam Chang-gyu waved his hand dismissively.
"You go on ahead. High Elders, support Yong-ju well."
"Father! How can you say that?!"
"The Little Palace Lord's words are right. That's absolutely not acceptable!"
Dam Yong-ju and the high elders expressed dismay at the elder's words.
But...
"I'm just an old man with little time left anyway. If I stay here, I might get one more chance to speak with that boy, the Palace Lord. As his father, I'll scold him once more."
He seemed unlikely to yield easily.
I decided to deliver some cold words and opened my mouth.
"I'm sorry, but Elder, you must come with us."
"I know you're working hard for the North Sea Ice Palace, Black Dragon—a fact this old man won't forget even in death—but the master of the Ice Palace is me."
"Yes. Even knowing it's impertinent, I'm begging you to make the choice befitting the Palace Lord until the very end."
"......"
"You're worried about your eldest son. Heaven's mandate cannot be broken, as they say. I understand. But Elder, you are not just the father of Palace Lord Dam—you are the father of all the North Sea lands' people."
"......"
"Among the jiangshi outside, there was one called Elder Kyung—a former Demonic Cult executive. They turn even their most loyal limbs, who served them to the end, into those things."
He could guess the rest without me spelling it out.
Instead of more examples, I reiterated my plea.
"You must come with us."
The elder let out a long sigh and nodded.
Without delay, I called U So-rung and Jeong Hyeon.
"So-rung, you carry the Elder on your back."
"Yes!"
"Jeong Hyeon, support from behind."
"Yes! Young Master Eon!"
Thus, escorting the elder, we hurriedly headed to the northern part of the palace grounds.
Along the way, my master asked a question.
- Judging by how you've been watching that direction, that mountain over there must be where the North Sea people's sacred Frostwhite Hall is, right?
'Yes. It's called Frostblood Mountain. It's the land where North Sea folk are buried after death, treated as holy ground entirely, and the ice cave at its peak is called the Frostwhite Hall.'
While conversing with my master, we arrived at the summit of Frostblood Mountain.
So-rung and Jeong Hyeon settled the Palace Lord elder inside the Frostwhite Hall and came back out.
"Use anything that can serve as a barricade—bring it all!"
"Yes, Little Palace Lord!"
Dam Yong-ju began reorganizing the Ice Palace's front lines to form a defensive formation.
Hoorook!
In the meantime, I tied a message to the leg of Flying Response, who had flown in.
"You can dodge arrows or the Demonic Cult's hawks on your own, right?"
Horook!
"Good. Head to the Each Palace Fortress."
After sending Flying Response off.
I was about to apologize to Uncle Jae-hyeok.
Sending disciples into battle must be the last thing he'd want as their uncle.
"...You."
But the hot-tempered uncle spoke first.
"Hmph! If you're going to spout apologies, save it! After I tear all those Demonic Cult bastards to shreds, I'll give you a proper scolding!"
"Yes. I'll take the scolding then."
With that, I said a word to my Eon brothers too.
"Cooperate with Brother Dam and hold out until I return."
At my words, the Azure Bamboo Hall crew spoke up one after another.
"Yes! Don't worry about us, big brother. We've been through plenty of scrapes now."
"...Truth be told, I'm a bit scared."
"You know how Woo So-hyeop gets nervous but pulls off the boldest feats? Don't worry about here—go on in, Young Master Eon."
"Yeah. Hurry in so you can hurry out."
"...Young Lady Dang meant don't worry, but 'hurry back' sticks in my mind. Please don't rush. Hasty meals lead to indigestion. We'll hold out until you return, Young Master Eon."
The others were similar.
"Safe travels, Yong-un."
"Why the look? Ahem. I can do it when it counts."
Aside from Jeon Jeon Seolji and Cheon Jang-ho, they seemed embarrassed and didn't say much.
But each conveyed with their eyes that they had it covered.
"Alright. And don't go dying on me."
I nodded and left my Eon brothers behind, heading into the Frostwhite Hall.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ As night deepened, the glow in the eyes of the jiangshi controlled by the Demonic Cultists grew even redder.
Naturally, their momentum sharpened further.
KRAAAAAHHH!!!
Thus, the initial defensive line set up midway up the slope was gradually pushed back, drawing closer to the Frostwhite Hall.
The jiangshi horde blackened the once white and blue Frostblood Mountain.
KRAAH!!
For Dam Yong-ju, it was a sight that made him swallow dryly.
'His tone suggested it, and the situation demands it. But thinking about it, the Black Dragon plans to handle all that alone...'
He had witnessed a few of Eon Yong-un's spells.
'The spell that slipped into the darkness and the one that unlocked the iron door in Mount Deungyong's underground.'
They had been truly wondrous experiences.
But gazing down from the high ground at the pitch-black jiangshi horde surging forward, the thought 'How does he plan to handle that alone?' inevitably crossed his mind.
'I heard he took down the seven Upper Pure Sword Guards of Mount Mosan single-handedly... But that looks like it would take all of Mount Mosan's Taoists just to barely manage...'
Even absorbing the Great Return Pill, could Eon Yong-un handle it alone? The doubt crept in.
"Hold the line! Just a bit longer! A little more, and victory will be ours!"
Yet the Central Plains students called Eon brothers truly believed that once Eon Yong-un returned, they could turn this around.
"Yes! Reinforcements will come!"
To the point where Dam Yong-ju wondered how they could be so certain.
The sight of the Eon brothers, almost fanatical, stirred both hope and curiosity in Dam Yong-ju's chest.
When the coolest-headed one, Namgung Yun, came nearby, Dam Yong-ju asked him.
"...Young Master Namgung. Can the Black Dragon really turn this around when he returns?"
"If it's him, he can."
"Hard to picture. Have you actually seen the spells he uses in situations like this?"
"Those who followed him on the Shanxi trip seem to have seen something, but I've never witnessed it myself."
"...Then how can you look so certain?"
"Eon Yong-un. When that guy says he can do something, he always delivers."
Namgung Yun's answer didn't fully satisfy Dam Yong-ju's curiosity.
But there was no time for deeper talk.
"Little Palace Lord! Snow Wolf Captain is wounded! We need to fall back to the next defensive line!"
One section of the line had been breached.
"Pull the formation back thirty paces!"
After issuing the urgent order, Dam Yong-ju stared at the Frostwhite Hall where Eon Yong-un was.
'Black Dragon. Hurry back.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I don't know how long it had been since I entered the Frostwhite Hall and sat in the lotus position.
'...Expelling the poison from my body went quickly enough.'
The problem was absorbing the Great Return Pill.
Was it because the grains were so thick?
It felt like it would take quite some time to absorb.
'Normally, I'd store it in my dantian and melt it down gradually...'
But not this time.
I needed to absorb it all as fast as possible.
'Things must be chaos outside... and the absorption is so slow.'
Even I couldn't help feeling anxious.
As my calm began to fray, the thought 'What if I lose my Eon brothers here?' suddenly struck me.
The worry grew, turning into a heart demon, and at some point, my mind went pitch black.
Immediately after, my consciousness fully detached from my lotus-positioned body.
How long had I been standing alone in the darkness?
'No sign of Master's voice... Should I just smash through these black spaces?'
As I cracked my knuckles in my mindscape to break out somehow.
A bone-chilling cold seeped in from somewhere.
Crack-
Suddenly, the black walls in my mindscape froze, then shattered in an instant.
"!"
At the same time, my sinking consciousness snapped back to my body in the lotus position.
- You fool! I praise you for doing well, and you get caught by a heart demon... You nearly caused a disaster!
I clung to my senses amid Master's angry voice, but only briefly.
Then I felt a warm hand on my back.
The one who saved me in that crisis was none other than Elder Dam Chang-gyu.
He had apparently squeezed out his remaining strength to help me.
"Elder?!"
The moment I realized it, the elder toppled over like a falling tree.
I turned and caught his body.
But...
"...Protect the North Sea Ice Palace."
His time was already up.
"......"
I offered no eulogy.
I simply laid him out properly and left the Frostwhite Hall immediately.
I knew he'd want me to save the North Sea lands from the Demonic Cult's grasp sooner rather than mourn inadequately.
KRAAAAAHHH!!!
Stepping out of the Frostwhite Hall, the defensive line was now right upon us.
Amid the wounded, my Eon brothers and Dam Yong-ju greeted me.
"Brother Eon!"
"Black Dragon?"
I lightly acknowledged them, then pushed my inner energy to my upper dantian, weaving a spell.
Woooong-
I launched it toward the sky.
The black magic circle I shot up gradually expanded, and by the time it hung in the heavens, it was vast enough to cover the entire Frostblood Mountain.
"Rise."
Confirming it, I uttered the incantation.
Then, dark lightning bolts rained down from the magic circle, striking various points across Frostblood Mountain.
RUMBLE!
BOOM! BOOM!
KWAAAAAANG!!!!
It was the moment the North Sea people's skeletal remains slumbering in Frostblood Mountain rose as skeleton soldiers.