Chapter 372
Chapter 372
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 372
Chapter Title: Rehearsal (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Kuh! What the hell is this?!”
“Fall back for now! Reform the formation!”
The Murim Alliance warriors hurriedly retreated and reorganized their ranks.
Although lightning had suddenly crashed down, fortunately no one had been hurt by it.
The bolts had avoided the humans entirely, striking only above the mass-produced Jiangshi.
But no one saw that as good news.
Crunch-crunch!
Splat—
Like moths emerging from cocoons, bizarre entities began rising one by one from the bodies of the twitching Jiangshi struck by lightning.
From humanoid figures resembling humans to outright beast-shaped monsters or even more grotesque forms beyond imagination.
Their sizes varied wildly too—from ordinary ones to colossal beings that seemed impossible to have emerged from human-sized Jiangshi bodies.
Clop—clop—
Taecheong Swordmaster Unhak, one of the Kunlun survivors who had pulled back amid the sudden chaos, swallowed hard as he stared at the creature approaching with the sound of hooves right in front of him.
A four-legged beast over three meters tall at the shoulder, its faded gray fur whipping in the wind.
A sharp black horn jutted from its head like a spear blade, gleaming wickedly, while hellfire-like flames erupted from its hooves pounding the earth.
‘...No way. Is that a qilin?’
The legendary divine beast ranked alongside dragons as one of the greatest auspicious creatures.
But there wasn’t a speck of the benevolence from the tales in its ominous appearance.
[Fuuuh—]
Abyssal mist poured from the qilin’s mouth, melting the ground where it spread.
Taecheong’s body flinched involuntarily as his eyes met the blood-red glare bursting with murderous intent.
He stepped back another pace without realizing it.
He knew for certain.
Someone like him couldn’t even hope to grab that thing’s ankle, let alone fight it.
‘To face a monster like that...’
At least the Fire Realm... no, the Transcendent Realm?
Of course, he couldn’t presume to judge battles in realms beyond his reach, but the qilin’s presence was that overwhelmingly intimidating.
And his guess wasn’t far off.
Even corrupted into a Jiangshi and diminished from its divine status, that qilin had once been one of the high-ranking members of the Golden Crow Island elite.
‘What the hell have those Demonic Cult bastards done?’
He gritted his teeth and gripped his sword tightly.
Not all the monsters could be Transcendent Realm level, and their strengths surely varied, but that offered little comfort.
Judging by the massive figures towering here and there, there had to be at least a hundred of the big ones.
‘...We thought uniting our strength would let us prevail. Was it already too late?’
While the Murim factions bickered and fought among themselves under the excuse of survival.
The Demonic Cult, silent for ages without showing its full hand, had already quietly completed its preparations to conquer the world.
Even uniting their power now wouldn’t be nearly enough to resist.
“Hoo, hoo—.”
“This is insane. What are those monsters? How do we even...?”
“Kuh, there has to be... some way...”
As the legendary beings they’d only known from stories appeared as enemies spewing killing intent, the morale of those who had clung to faint hope until the end plummeted sharply.
No matter how hard they tried to steel themselves, they saw no path to victory.
The Transcendent Realm experts locked in fierce exchanges felt the same.
Every one of them scowled in dismay.
“What’s wrong? The mood seems to have soured all of a sudden.”
The Heavenly Demon mocked them as he slowly scanned the surroundings.
“Heh heh—finally grasped your place, have you? You put up a decent fight, but alas. You never had a chance of winning this from the start.”
Flap—flap—
A massive bird circled leisurely above him.
Its wingspan alone stretched several meters, and inky ominous energy poured from its body—a black phoenix.
The power it emanated was far from negligible.
The precarious balance shattered completely.
With this gap in forces, the fight itself was impossible.
‘It’s over.’
Divine Victory, who had fought desperately with one arm.
Grand General Jeongcheon, matching him to face the Heavenly Demon.
Sword Saint, locked in a decisive clash to end his grudge with the Ghost Sword Demon Emperor.
Paecheondohwang, who had been slowly gaining the upper hand against the Blood Demon Jiangshi.
Asura Blood Lord, slashing through Fire Realm Jiangshi to join the Heavenly Demon fight ASAP.
The same thought flashed through all their minds.
Mission failed.
The final battle for this world’s fate would end in the Murim Alliance’s defeat.
Everything would bend to the Heavenly Demon’s will, and the Murim world, losing most of its forces in this rout, would never recover.
Realizing that, no one could speak.
“Kahahat! Bullshit!”
All but one.
The madman who had stood at the forefront throughout.
Kaboom—!
He wasted no words.
He just charged the Heavenly Demon and slammed a fist into him.
“Pointless resistance.”
The Heavenly Demon twisted his sword to block, continuing leisurely.
He had barely held even against three opponents before. Alone, he stood no chance.
“Ah, I don’t care about that! It’s not over till it’s over, so let’s go again properly!”
But Harley didn’t give a damn about the odds.
He just did what he always did—what he wanted!
“Snap out of it, you idiots! We won’t get another shot like this—gonna sit here moping just ‘cause things look grim? Throw away this perfect stage just like that?”
His roar echoed thunderously across the battlefield.
Yet his assault on the Heavenly Demon never slowed.
“Knowing when to yield can be a virtue too.”
“Kahahat! What, you think quitting makes meat rain from the sky? Better to charge in and smash!”
If the outcome was the same either way, he’d decide the process.
Accept defeat humbly, or thrash desperately till he shattered.
And Harley always chose the latter at such crossroads.
“I’ve got a nasty streak, see? Can’t stand watching others thrive!”
Even if my end is set, you won’t achieve yours comfortably.
If you toast victory, do it with a battered body.
Step barefoot on my sharp shards.
I’ll make sure of it—.
A selfish declaration to the core.
As his words boomed across the field, those steeped in despair blinked in stunned confusion.
“Ha, haha...”
“Impressive. In every way.”
“...I get what he means, at least.”
Not everyone agreed with his rant.
But they understood his intent, his will.
“Yeah, we can’t just give up like this.”
“If I die, I’ll take one more with me.”
“...My kid’s only three. I have to go back.”
The air heavy with defeat began to shift.
Motivations varied wildly.
Frustration at not ending it here, hatred and rage at the Demonic Cult, sheer tenacity to find a way out and survive.
“Kuhahaha! Now that’s more familiar! Let’s play more, friend!”
“...Thunderbolt Head’s being a pain.”
Harley’s sudden surge against the Heavenly Demon, like he’d awakened, fueled it too.
Plus, Jiangshi were puppets moved by the caster’s will.
Cut off the head, and no need to fight the body.
What if, just maybe.
If they held out till those heroes slew the Heavenly Demon...
Wasn’t there even a sliver of hope?
The warriors and sorcerers on the field exchanged glances.
The formations, divided by faction and alignment since the initial clash, had long since mixed chaotically.
Thanks to the Jeon clan’s spells, they’d reformed with nearby groups after theirs collapsed, but fighting alongside former enemies was inefficient at best.
‘But now...’
‘...Tch, no choice.’
Now, everyone’s lives hung by a thread.
The undeniable archenemy threatening their lives, their families’ futures, the world itself was right there.
Unsettling as it was to sync with former foes, the Demonic Cultists were far worse.
“Hey, black spear over there. I’ll take the front. Support from behind.”
“It’s Phantom Moon Spear. Give me an opening, and I’ll pierce their skulls in one go.”
Everyone’s resolve united.
They shed lingering wariness mid-battle, fully entrusting each other’s backs.
If one fell, the next was their ally.
True unity forged only at this desperate brink.
Like a flame’s final blaze before extinction, ferocious momentum erupted from the entire Murim Alliance.
Even the Transcendent Realm masters, who knew the battlefield best, felt it.
“Pahat! I like that guy. Shame if we can’t spar later.”
The man in metal gauntlets with blades on his fingertips—Asura Blood Lord—licked his lips and charged a yokai three times his size.
The others recommenced their battles too.
Of course, a new mindset couldn’t overturn the overwhelming disparity.
It only delayed the inevitable end that would’ve come sooner.
Eventually, their renewed resolve would waver again... or so it seemed.
Before the fated doom arrived.
Another change came first.
———!
A silent beam of light streaked from the battlefield’s edge.
Toward the black phoenix circling above the Heavenly Demon, disrupting joint attacks on him.
Kwaaaang—!
[Kieeeek!]
The sniper shot like a ray of light blasted off one of its pitch-black wings entirely, as it focused below.
The black phoenix tumbled from the sky, crashing to the ground.
Everyone watching the field intently turned toward the shot’s origin.
Including Jeon Ho-won, the Jeon clan head representing them...
‘Wait, this aura?’
He’d felt it before.
Hae Ri-soo, the otherworldly expert who’d brought guest chef Ha Seung-hoon to the Jeon clan initially.
After vanishing without word, he’d finally appeared amid the crisis.
‘Phew, late but better than never. Thank goodness.’
Delighted, he scanned for him eagerly...
But what caught his eye was an utterly unexpected sight—not Hae Ri-soo.
“...What in the world?”
His spell-enhanced vision spotted something flying from the distant sky.
A dragon roughly 20 feet long, formed from coalesced vast energy.
Carrying multiple people atop its body.
“...Did they really pull it off?”
Jeon Ho-won’s eyes trembled faintly as he examined the faces.
Two familiar ones were there.
Ha Seung-hoon, the guest chef who’d gone dark after promising to find a way to save the sacrificial victims.
And his beloved daughter Jeon Hye-mi, kidnapped by the Demonic Cult for being a “child of the dragon,” forcing their separation.
“Ha, hahaha... Unbelievable. I never dreamed they’d actually do it. But what is that? Some kind of summoning ritual?”
As he marveled, the unidentified flying dragon-shaped craft hurtled toward the Murim Alliance.
Numerous flying yokai and Demonic Cultists tried to intercept, but ultra-long-range snipes from somewhere obliterated every obstacle.
“...How?”
The Heavenly Demon’s face hardened as he confirmed it.
“What are you doing? Stop them!”
A frantic order clashing with his usual composure.
He tried to move toward it himself, but Harley clung relentlessly, refusing to allow it.
“Kuhahat! We were just heating up—where you going?!”
“You insolent cur!”
Even with parts blown off, his reckless spirit forced the Heavenly Demon to engage.
Divine Victory and Grand General Jeongcheon, grasping the situation, pressed harder too.
“It changes nothing! I’ll slaughter you all and reclaim the sacrifices!”
As the dragon phantom craft finally landed amid the Alliance formation, the Heavenly Demon snarled furiously.
[Kraaaargh—!]
[Grrrroar—!]
In response, yokai Jiangshi spewed dark energy and roared savagely.
The battlefield’s demonic qi churned wildly, sharpening like blades.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult still held overwhelming superiority.
Rescuing the dragon children changed nothing in their encircled state—just futile defiance.
Unless some massive game-changer flipped the board.
And the heavens... no.
The stage director’s choice was already set.
Crackle—!
As the Demonic Cult’s morale soared amid the surging demonic qi.
A shattering sound echoed across the entire space.
At first, no one pinpointed the source.
It was too vague to trace to any object.
Kiririk—!
But as it repeated, the sharp ones looked up one by one.
The sky choked with storm clouds.
That was the origin of the successive cracks.
Crack-snap—!
Spiderweb fissures spread through the black clouds, faint light leaking through.
A single ray piercing the world’s gloom to illuminate the humans below.
And finally.
Kwaaaaang——!
A thunderous boom shook the space entire as the sky’s rift exploded apart, scattering the clouds in all directions.
[Kroooaaar—!]
[Grroooar—!]
Accompanied by roars laden with immense pressure.
Whoooosh—
A fierce gale swept away the foul demonic qi blanketing the earth.
“Ah...”
“What... is that...?”
Vast beings emerged through the parted clouds, gliding gracefully as they gazed below.
Unlike the corrupted yokai Jiangshi swarming the ground, auspicious energy radiated from them, spreading outward.
Azure Dragon of the East, Crimson Dragon of the South, White Dragon of the West, Black Dragon of the North.
And at the center.
[Kraaaargh——!]
A strangely shaped Golden Dragon, distinct from the others.
With their arrival, the unstable demonic realm aura forcibly stabilized and locked in place.
A staggering feat no one had achieved before, even if temporary.
And in that gap, yokai slipped through space one by one, appearing around the Five Dragons.
‘Now that I see it all together, it really is a sight.’
Hugo, who’d endured twists and turns to finally reach the Murim Alliance’s heart, looked up at the horde of yokai in the sky and let out a sigh of admiration.
This stage’s goal was to unite all of Ganghwan-gye’s forces.
Naturally, that included Golden Crow Island and the yokai.