Chapter 249
Chapter 249
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 249
Chapter Title: Cornered (2)
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The jiangshi standing where the black thunder had struck melted away on the spot.
In the space that opened up thanks to them, bony white hands thrust out.
Pak!
The protruding hands strained with creaking sounds, dragging their own bodies free.
Krurrrk!!!!!
Thus, the North Sea's ancient dead burst through their graves, shaking off the dirt and snow piled on their skeletal frames.
They then reached back into the shattered coffins, pulling out the ancient weapons buried with them.
With crimson glows in their eye sockets, they fixed their gazes on me.
Krurrrr!
…Are they asking for orders right now?
'Yes.'
Heh. They said heading to the Ice White Hall would solve everything, but you had tricks like this up your sleeve too? Yong-un, your corpse arts never fail to drop jaws every time.
The skeleton soldiers with glowing eyes.
In truth, they were expressing their intent to receive commands from me, the legion's craftsman.
But to the North Sea Ice Palace warriors locked in fierce combat with the jiangshi, the sight must have seemed utterly eerie.
They instinctively stepped back, murmuring to themselves.
"……!"
"…Am I dreaming right now?"
"…I wish it were a dream. Not content with tormenting us with jiangshi, now the sacred bones slumbering in our holy ground are rising from their tombs. It's the very picture of the end times."
"…Is this how the North Sea Ice Palace meets its end?"
My younger brothers' reactions varied.
Some grinned upon seeing me launch the magic circle into the sky.
Others, having just spotted me amid battling the jiangshi, alternated glances between me and the skeleton soldiers without letting their guard down.
'No need to explain one by one.'
They'd figure out the situation soon enough.
I stared at the black magic circle hanging in the sky and murmured a single phrase.
"Sweep them away."
That murmured command transformed into a spirit word and reached the skeleton soldiers.
Krurr!
The moment the skeleton soldiers whirled around in unison and swung their ancient weapons at the jiangshi controlled by the Demonic Cult sorcerers—
Chwaak!!
The jiangshi were sliced apart like fish being gutted at a market.
Chwaaak!!!!
It was inevitable.
The black magic I had cast wasn't some low-level skeleton domination spell that merely made bones crawl from their graves.
Chwaak!!
Chwaaaak!!!
Beneath the black magic circle in the sky, it was one of the highest-tier domination spells, allowing them to partially recreate their martial prowess from life.
'Command Engraved in Bone.'
In truth, it was a spell with heavy restrictions.
Not only did the subjects need exceptional proficiency in a specific field during life,
but it demanded vast inner energy—something I couldn't even dream of attempting now that my contract with the Nightmare Lord had expired.
'But the North Sea Ice Palace's sacred ground made it possible.'
Those buried in this land were all warriors who had etched the Ice Palace's martial arts into their very bones.
The yin-chilled energy filling Ice Blood Mountain and the sword Regret amplified the black magic's efficiency.
Thanks to that, the resurrected skeleton soldiers were no match for ordinary jiangshi.
And their numbers weren't limited to a single unit—they kept growing.
Even now, more bones were rising.
Kruk!
Krurrk!
Vice Palace Lord Dam's face went slack as he watched the skeleton soldiers charge at the jiangshi, their crimson eye-glows trailing long.
He muttered to himself.
"…So this was the method? Now I understand why your brothers were so confident that as long as the dragon returned, all would be well."
One of the Ice Palace elders even shed tears.
"…Have our ancestors risen to protect the North Sea Ice Palace?!"
It wasn't wrong.
The fighting skeleton soldiers truly were the Ice Palace's ancestors.
It was a method only possible in the Ice Palace's sacred ground.
And I had Elder Dam Chang-gyu's help too.
So instead of correcting him, I sent a transmission to Vice Palace Lord Dam.
[Brother Dam. Palace Lord Elder has passed on.]
[…I see. Any last words?]
[Yes. He melted a Great Return Pill in the Ice White Hall and fell to heart demons, but he squeezed out his remaining strength to help… then told us to protect the North Sea Ice Palace before departing.]
[I see.]
[So that elder's words about the ancestors protecting the Ice Palace aren't entirely wrong. I just lent a hand. It's truly the North Sea's forebears watching over us. In this situation, it'll be a huge morale boost for your weary Ice Palace warriors.]
[…I understand.]
Hearing my thoughts, Vice Palace Lord Dam nodded with reddened eyes, then immediately addressed the assembly.
"Our ancestors are watching over us! Drive out the Demonic Cult scum and protect the North Sea Ice Palace!"
The Ice Palace warriors echoed his cry at the top of their lungs.
"The ancestors are aiding us! Cast out the heretics and Demonic Cult dogs!"
"Protect the sacred ground and the palace!"
And with renewed vigor, they swung their weapons.
That was the moment the defensive line, which had been steadily pushed back, began advancing southward.
I too swung Regret and leaped into the fray.
Swaaaaek!!
Chwaaak!!
I cleaved through charging jiangshi.
"I hear the bell from that direction! Attack there!"
For a moment, I pinpointed and announced the sorcerers' positions.
Then Uncle Jae-hyeok and my brothers flanked me left and right.
Uncle Jae-hyeok spoke first.
Kraaa!!
Chwaak!
Uncle swung his pitch-black blade, slicing jiangshi, and clicked his tongue in amazement.
"I've heard Brother Jeong-ung lament that it needed restoration, but were the Eon Family's corpse arts this formidable? The sorcery you showed against Mosan Sect disciples was just the tip of the iceberg."
"I've seen Young Master Eon use sorcery in fights at Sanshu, Lake Poyang, and Lake Wu besides crushing the Upper Clear Sword Guardians, but today is the most astonishing."
After Jeong-hyeon chimed in on Uncle Jae-hyeok's words, Jeon-gal Seol-ji added her piece.
"Exactly. I thought you'd use sorcery to seize or nullify control over the jiangshi like in Sanshu. Who knew you had something like this? You could rightly be called a One-Man Army."
Instead of responding to their words, I explained the immediate situation.
"Uncle. More importantly, we need to make a decision."
"What decision now?"
"The demonic figure leading the North Sea Ice Palace takeover seems to be Yeon Ok-ran."
"Who's Yeon Ok-ran? From the Demonic Workshop? Do you all know her?"
My brothers shook their heads in unison at Uncle Jae-hyeok's question.
It wasn't unreasonable.
At this point, Yeon Ok-ran's name wasn't known yet.
But for me, it was the perfect excuse to reveal original story info.
"She's the martial sister of the demon Gwak Sa-hong, whom I killed in Sanshu. He feared her greatly. Seems like the heir to the Ghost King Division, the Demonic Cult group handling jiangshi."
"Martial sister? Ah, then that giggling voice earlier, the one teasing you to play…?"
"Yes. Probably her."
"So what you're saying about deciding…?"
"From what Sa-hong said, she seems sharp as a blade. At this rate, by the time we descend the mountain, both people and intel will have scattered."
"…You mean break through."
"As you see, with skeleton soldiers interspersed, it's not too reckless. We'll just be separated from the main force a bit."
"If we hesitate here, we won't have the face to meet the cult's altar! Let's do it! Any objections?"
My brothers answered by shifting from a wing-like formation to a sharp wedge.
* * *
A pitch-black sorcery circle unfurled like an umbrella in the dry sky.
And with a bolt of inky lightning, the bones buried in the earth rose.
At the same time, Yeon Ok-ran's jiangshi legion, which had nearly reached the Ice Blood Mountain summit, began crumbling helplessly.
It was the moment her painstaking plan unraveled.
Even a demon should panic or rage at such a sight.
But Demon Army Lord Yeon Ok-ran was genuinely impressed.
"Jo, look at that! Our jiangshi are getting swept away! Those aren't even gliding jiangshi, yet they're using martial arts?!"
"…I'm watching."
"Hahaha. It's literally 'borrowing corpses to return souls.' Right?"
"…Yes."
"Ahahaha. Now I get how Sa-hong and Gil-joon ended up like that! I can hardly believe it even watching now—how could they handle a guy who's hidden a move like this?"
Yeon Ok-ran cackled for a while as if it were someone else's affair.
"The tales of 'Night Parade of a Hundred Demons' weren't exaggeration! Eon Yong-un really is a genius among geniuses, not just empty talk."
Then she suddenly turned serious and looked at Jo Gyeom.
"Jo."
"Yes, my lord."
"I want Eon Yong-un. Is it possible?"
"You mean capture him alive?"
"Obviously."
Yeon Ok-ran, who had once caught the Lightning Demon's eye, possessed exceptional intellect.
But sometimes she went off the rails like this.
Jo Gyeom steeled himself to speak plainly, ready to forfeit his life.
"…Frankly, even conquering the North Sea Ice Palace seems uncertain now. We failed to catch the messenger bird he likely sent. He tore down all our cult falcons."
"Hmm."
"This operation has consumed significant cult resources. Regardless of the current battlefield, with the palace cornered, we can't afford such luxuries… It would be difficult."
At Jo Gyeom's words, Yeon Ok-ran stroked her chin thoughtfully.
"Haha, true. Now I'm the one cornered."
When she first heard of the inner palace coup in the Ice Palace's main hall,
Yeon Ok-ran had thought it perfect.
She could claim the upstart Central Plains youngsters from the Demonic Workshop or whatever had gotten caught in the infighting and died.
But now that things had reached this point, her mind completely changed.
Yeon Ok-ran shared her new thinking with Jo Gyeom.
"Then… just hand the North Sea Ice Palace to Eon Yong-un."
"Pardon?"
Jo Gyeom's eyes widened in shock at her words.
Undeterred, Yeon Ok-ran grinned and continued.
"It's over here anyway. Vice Palace Lord Dam couldn't properly seize the Ice Palace."
"……."
"Even if they win with our help, they'll face rebellions, and soon war with the Martial Alliance. Does the cult have the strength for all-out war with a united orthodox murim right now?"
"…It would be difficult."
"So let's withdraw without giving excuses. We can make more jiangshi, and though pricey, we can procure Ice Palace goods elsewhere. Let's wash our hands of it cleanly."
"…However, will the other altars or divisions stay quiet? As I said, this was a resource-heavy plan. Harsh punishment awaits."
At Jo Gyeom's words, Yeon Ok-ran dropped her smile and furrowed her brow.
"Are you scared of that, Jo?"
"How could I fear such things? I'm worried the backlash might reach Reverse Heaven Demon Gu and you, my lord."
"I'm not scared either. Take the punishment, die if ordered—what's there to fear? But this could actually advance the cult's grand plan."
Eon Yong-un wasn't just any upstart.
He was the biggest obstacle to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's grand scheme and the most needed asset for the Ghost King Division.
She had to acquire him somehow.
"Handing him merits will boost his influence and range in orthodox murim. That'll create openings to snag him."
"That may be true."
"Capturing that one is worth more than slaughtering all of Shaolin's monks—it'll hasten demonic rule over the world."
With that, Jo Gyeom pressed his sleeve to his chest and bowed.
"If that's your will, my lord, I shall obey."
Yeon Ok-ran nodded and turned back toward Ice Blood Mountain.
"Hmm, but honestly, it's a bit of a shame. Vice Palace Lord Dam… where's our little palace lord now?"