Chapter 180
Chapter 180: Looking Where to Lie Down (2)
Morning dawned.
Gangdo's residents tried to start their day as usual, but soon noticed something strange and began murmuring.
After all, rumors have no feet, yet they're faster than anything with feet.
The rumor that the site where the Seven Star Immortal Assembly had stood was completely empty spread throughout all of Gangdo in an instant.
It was literally completely empty. Not just the buildings—not even a foundation stone, not a single roof tile remained. Only a flat vacant lot remained, as if nothing had ever been there from the beginning.
"B-but until just yesterday......"
"The Seven Star Immortal Assembly was there. Right there!"
All of Gangdo was in an uproar.
At least the Iron God Society's ruins had left corpses and debris. But the Seven Star Immortal Assembly? It had evaporated without a trace.
Overnight, Gangdo's two great powers had disappeared.
Naturally, the government office also became busy.
Whether Seven Star Immortal Assembly or Iron God Society, both were unsightly, but from the government's standpoint, they were necessary evils. Their existence had allowed the use of barbarians to control barbarians against external forces like Northern Yan.
Overnight, both had disappeared.
Too futilely, both had vanished from the world, to the point where even the expression 'evaporation' felt insufficient.
Now in emergencies, the government would have to shed blood directly. They'd have to request more troops, more masters from the central government and the Imperial Court. Then the Imperial Court would rather provide only tighter budgets, tighter forces.
Was that the only problem?
Because the two powers had checked each other in evenly matched confrontation, the other wolves had been watching cautiously, but now Gangdo had literally become a jungle itself with the dragon and tiger gone.
It was as clear as day that a fierce scramble would soon break out to devour what the dragon and tiger had held.
And.
This was realized much faster than expected.
Before even half a day had passed, the remaining sects that had been quietly staying like dead mice under the two sects began moving all at once.
.
.
.
On the Western Road.
Single Eye Gate took over thirty percent of the Iron God Society's territory, Black Wind Hall claimed twenty percent, and the rest was divided among Fire Bell Society, Blue Snake Society, Ten Thousand Gold Tower, and others.
On the other hand, the Seven Star Immortal Assembly's Eastern Road side still had no one stirring. More precisely, they couldn't.
Because Bukgung Ri had ruled with an iron fist all this time. No matter how mad he was, no one could imagine that Bukgung Ri would have swept away his own sect and left Gangdo. Moreover, if Bukgung Ri had done so, he might still be around, which made them even more cautious.
But even that wouldn't last long.
Because the third, fourth, fifth-ranked powers and those below on the Western Road had already started forming alliances and coalitions, soon once all that chaos was settled, they would invade the Eastern Road with unified strength. In other words, the Eastern Road side couldn't maintain a vacuum for long either.
A predicted, no, 'prophesied' pandemonium.
It had originally been a lawless zone, but.
Before even a full day passed, all of Gangdo became ominous enough to resemble wartime.
On another note, a very small but hopeful wish also began to flow.
The original spreader of the rumor was a merchant operating a small shop on the Western Road.
"No, I saw it, I tell you. Every time that person moved, Iron God Society warriors fell like straw, I'm telling you? It was definitely that person. That person must have eliminated both the Iron God Society and Seven Star Immortal Assembly."
Of course, most dismissed it as crazy talk.
Who on earth could erase those two powers overnight in Gangdo? Alone at that? It was unimaginable.
Wouldn't it take at least the Ten Great Sects? Even if possible, could it really be done overnight so quietly?
"Ah, I saw it with these two eyes, I tell you? That Great Hero will definitely clean up this mess too."
Nevertheless, the small spark of hope called the unidentified 'Great Hero' was spreading its domain step by step, wearing the mask of rumor.
***
Magistrate Yo Han-myeong was truly perplexed.
Even when Bukgung Ri and Cheol So-a had exchanged what couldn't quite be called a conversation in his office, he hadn't predicted at all that the situation would escalate this quickly.
— I'll inform you in advance. Gangdo will be a bit noisy for a while.
As Bukgung Ri said, he'd thought there might be some bloodshed and noise in Gangdo for a while.......
But for the parties involved, Bukgung Ri and Cheol So-a, to be dealt with this instantly. He'd thought the noisy situation itself would just be them bickering among themselves for a bit before returning to normal.
Following the Government-Martial Non-Aggression Pact principle, the government had ordered them to stay silent no matter what noisy situation arose, but how could they have known the situation would be resolved this way?
'Ah, this is truly serious. What message should I send to the capital again......'
Though he'd experienced battles on land, water, sea, and even clumsily in the air, he had absolutely no idea where or how to start organizing this situation.
Then suddenly, Bukgung Ri's words came to mind.
— A new friend seems to have appeared in Gangdo. As always, may we handle it among ourselves?
A new friend.
Bukgung Ri and Cheol So-a said they'd handle it among themselves, but for things to turn out this way.......
It was the same as saying they themselves had been 'handled' in reverse.
"Are there any witnesses?"
Yo Han-myeong finally saw a light.
Let's trace back from the beginning.
To his question, the adjutant standing behind answered.
"I've heard that several merchants on the Western Road are spreading rumors about having witnessed various incidents before the Iron God Society's extermination."
Before the extermination?
"Before? Are you saying there were omens before this happened?"
"Yes."
Yo Han-myeong scratched his chin briefly, falling into thought. It was his habit whenever he fell into worry.
A moment later.
"You said Western Road?"
He made his decision.
"Yes, Western Road District Seven."
"Let's go."
"What?"
The reason the adjutant was surprised was that Yo Han-myeong said he'd go personally. Magistrates typically didn't step forward directly in such matters. Giving orders from behind was the usual custom.
"It's not to the extent that the Magistrate should personally......"
"No. I must go see for myself."
Yo Han-myeong cut off the adjutant's words and left Gangdo Prefecture without delay.
Swish—
Yo Han-myeong disappeared toward the west, deploying his Movement Technique.
That direction was, of course, where Western Road District Seven was located.
***
That moment when Yo Han-myeong was heading to District 7.
Dong Bong-soo was strolling through the core Seven Star Immortal Assembly—or what had been—area of the Eastern Road.
Just as expected.
The entire area had become perfect ruins.
Such a wide area couldn't become like this in just one night. Not unless it was done artificially.
'Perhaps he absorbed his entire Seven Star Immortal Assembly.'
Standing in the exact center of what had probably been the Assembly Leader's Hall ruins, Dong Bong-soo muttered lowly.
"This will get interesting."
Because if they met again, Bukgung Ri would have judged him as a 'place to lie down.'
Just up to there.
Dong Bong-soo now cut off his attention regarding the Seven Star Immortal Assembly.
Because.
【Main】Salvation of Jeon Ra-hwa
【Relationship】 : Please respond to the 'First Faith.' Faith always brings corresponding rewards.
․ Sever all threads of evil entangled with her.
├─ Progress: 18.18%
(Third evil entanglement 『Seven Star Immortal Assembly』 annihilated)
└─ Reward: History +100, Trust Level MAX
'What is Hero' had already declared the Seven Star Immortal Assembly's annihilation. There was no particular reason to track Bukgung Ri. For now, at least.
Well then, let's comfortably move to the next stage.
Before that, there was something that needed to be done first.
Originally something that should have been done right after eliminating the Iron God Society yesterday, but with various incidents, he'd only now had the leisure to properly examine it.
Click.
Dong Bong-soo immediately opened the Hero History skill tree.
≪Unlockable Skills≫
• Hero's Aura Lv.1
└ Required History: 10 (10/10)
『Y/N』
• Light of Faith Lv.1
└ Required History: 10 (10/10)
『Y/N』
Through a series of quest completions, Hero History had reached 10.
Now it was time to choose.
『Hero's Aura Lv.1』 [Passive][Buff][Radial] — A true hero must be able to boost all allies' fighting spirit just by standing on the battlefield.
The hero's spirit shining on the battlefield boosts nearby allies' morale and imposes pressure on enemies. The hero's very existence greatly changes the tide of battle.
Holds infinite possibilities depending on the number of people relying on the hero.
: All allies within range Attack Power +5% / Defense Power +5% / Status Ailment Resistance +10% : All enemies within range *Attack Power -5% / Defense Power -5% / Critical Hit Resistance -10% : Effect Range: 15m radius centered on hero Level Up Effect
Lv.2: Effect Range 20m, Stats +2% enhancement ※Always active, effects apply simultaneously with battle start.
『Light of Faith Lv.1』 [Basic Magic][Summoning Type][Holy Attribute] — Excellent heroes are always followed by light. That light is, of course, nothing less than divine punishment to the wicked.
Summons holy light to illuminate the battlefield, inflicting irresistible sacred wounds on undead and demons. The light also has a chance to blind ordinary enemies' eyes, weakening their combat power.
Mana Consumption: 20 MP Cast Time: 1.5 seconds Cooldown: 15 seconds Base Damage: 50 (+Faith Modifier) : Inflicts Blindness (Accuracy -50%) for 3 seconds on ordinary enemies : Effect Range: Forward fan shape 30 degrees, distance 12m Level Up Effect
Lv.2: Damage 220%, Blindness 4 seconds ※Inflicts Holy Attribute damage of Magic Attack Power × 200% to Undead·Demon type enemies
Passive type?
Or active type that can deal additional damage to Evil and Demonic categories?
Dong Bong-soo made his decision before long.
Click.
The 'Y' of one of the two was pressed.