Chapter 484
Chapter 484
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 484
Chapter Title: Black Curtain Hunt (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Grand General Juryeong was one of the top martial powerhouses in the Hongshan Kingdom, easily countable on one hand.
She was the Iron Lady who had steadfastly held the highest position any military officer could aspire to for over twenty years since ascending to it in her mid-thirties.
The sole value she pursued was becoming even stronger.
'This won't cut it. No struggle, no progress. To grow beyond my current limits, I need an environment worthy of that challenge.'
Thanks to her lofty cultivation, she appeared as a well-preserved middle-aged beauty despite being over sixty. Yet her life—from starting as a penniless ascetic to reaching this point—had been marked by relentless, brutal struggles.
'Inertial peace only constrains and dulls human potential. The fact that double-digit Celestial Realm cultivators were active during the Hundred Years' War proves it.'
Her tumultuous saga of rising to Grand General as a woman was nothing short of heroic legend to the people of Hongshan Kingdom.
It even evoked memories of the now-legendary "Thunder Sovereign."
···The problem was that her reputation fell far short of truly comparing to that figure.
'War. That extreme environment is the ultimate stage where humans exceed their limits and unlock their true potential. Just like the Thunder Sovereign did decades ago.'
The Thunder Sovereign, who had reigned before she was even born, was both the person she admired most and the mountain she had to surpass.
But the taller the mountain you must climb, the larger the shadow it casts behind it—that was the natural order.
At this rate, no matter how hard she struggled, she would never escape that shadow.
'Heroes are born in chaos, after all. The coming war will surely elevate me to greater heights.'
The Thunder Sovereign had ascended to the pinnacle of the world in less than fifteen years after first touching chakra.
She had forced every Celestial Realm cultivator of her era—from Hongshan and Cheonghae Kingdoms to demonic path practitioners—to kneel, then paraded her might before the imperial palaces of both great powers, compelling them to the peace treaty table. A true heroine among heroines.
Records even claimed she had single-handedly defeated multiple Celestial Realm cultivators.
'And yet here I am, wasting time on this nonsense because of some idiot who can't even handle basic duties properly. At a time like this...'
Grand General Juryeong let out a deep sigh while inspecting the border regions of Hongshan Kingdom.
Yet she couldn't simply ignore it, as the external optics mattered too much.
After all, the Vice Commander who had foolishly provoked the Seongcheon Yun Clan—only to get burned in return—was practically her right-hand man.
"Oh, so this is where everyone's gathered?"
Amid all that, the sudden arrival of a bizarre intruder felt utterly out of place.
"Kahahahat! With so many people clustered together, it was easier to find than I thought!"
A massive brute bulging with ferocious muscles approached with a wide grin.
He let out a hearty, booming laugh that matched his hulking frame.
"What the hell are you? Do you even know who these people are?!"
One of the officers stepped forward, scowling and barking at him.
This was the Grand General's entourage, after all.
Naturally, the sycophants clinging to her side were no ordinary lot.
The air around the assembled generals and their elite guards exuded such overwhelming pressure that it made breathing difficult—yet the sudden giant intruder paid it no mind whatsoever.
"Hey! How did a barbarian get this close? What kind of security is this?"
"My apologies. We'll clean it up as quickly as possible."
"Discipline is in shambles. To cause a scene right in front of the Grand General... Everyone involved gets disciplined when we return."
"···We have no excuses."
One of the generals following her scolded his subordinates.
But even amid the commotion, Grand General Juryeong stared at the intruder with an odd expression.
'What is this? This ominous feeling? I don't sense any notable chakra from him...'
Her instincts, honed by countless life-or-death struggles, were screaming.
This brute was no one to take lightly.
And it didn't take long for her to grasp the true nature of that sensation.
"Guh... How is he moving so freely?!"
"He punched away lightning? What the hell is that monster?!"
"Fall back for now and regroup—Gahk!"
From elemental attacks like fire and ice to swords, spears, and raw physical force.
Nothing worked against this mysterious man.
No matter what law or principle stood in his way, he tore through the world with nothing but his body, roaring ferociously.
"Kahahahat—! That's it! Feels damn good to cut loose after so long!"
Ten minutes... no, five at most?
That was all it took for the officers surrounding him, farting around uselessly, to be sent sprawling across the ground.
Watching the one-sided carnage with a furrowed brow, the Grand General slowly opened her mouth.
"What are you? An otherworlder?"
There was no other explanation.
Not just anyone could dismantle an elite unit—including Deep Realm cultivators—with pure physical might and no chakra.
Deflecting manifested chakra barehanded was impossible without some other ability interfering.
"Well, for you to push this far means you've got some ill intent toward me. Guess I really do look like an easy mark."
A faint smile tugged at her lips as she cracked her neck.
She had tempered her temper since ascending to Grand General and making everyone tremble, but violence was always her preferred way to converse—for someone who thrived on struggle.
'How long has it been since my blood boiled like this?'
She hadn't expected a worthy opponent to appear before the real war even started.
Violent chakra surged from her entire body.
Celestial struggle fused with Deep Realm ferocity.
The wild aura was so savage that if she weren't in office, she'd be branded a demonic path cultivator.
"Alright then, let's have some fun!"
"Kahahat! Love that straightforward granny vibe!"
"···Sixty's prime time! You thunder-headed bastard!"
The two bared their fangs and charged at each other.
And...
Kwaaaang—!
That day, an entire small mountain on the outskirts of Hongshan Kingdom vanished.
It was a massive incident, occurring shortly after the kidnapping of Cheonghae Kingdom's Prime Minister.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Hah!"
Grand General Juryeong snapped awake and pushed herself up from the leather mat on the floor.
She clutched her ringing head and quickly assessed the situation.
'···A prison?'
Iron bars lined one wall, and the stone walls were densely etched with unrecognizable runes.
It was obvious at a glance.
They were designed to restrain a Celestial Realm cultivator like her.
Frowning, she carefully reviewed her recent memories.
It wasn't complicated.
She had fought with everything she had and ultimately lost consciousness after defeat.
'···I lost. I, Grand General Juryeong Chae Mihwa, to some unheard-of bastard. What the hell was he? ···Could it be Cheonghae Kingdom's doing?'
Few factions had both the motive and ability for something like this.
Suddenly, her business partner's face flashed in her mind.
She didn't like the man much, but she figured compromising temporarily was necessary to achieve her goals.
"Kursi, that bastard... He actually stabbed me in the back..."
"Did you call for me? Grand General."
She froze mid-mutter.
Then whipped her head toward the voice, only to tilt it in bewilderment.
"···Prime Minister Kursi?"
Looking closely, there was a haggard old man imprisoned in the cell opposite hers.
No presence had registered before—likely dulled by the barrier here.
After staring blankly at each other for a moment, she spoke first, her voice strained.
"···What? Why are you here?"
"Who knows? Maybe for the same reason as you."
"······."
"······."
A suffocating silence stretched between them.
Face-to-face like this, both sides had complicated thoughts swirling.
But fortunately, the awkward air didn't last long.
Clunk—
Along with the heavy iron door opening.
A group approached their prison cells.
Cheonghae's Prime Minister and Hongshan's Grand General turned sharply, eyes wide, and saw it.
A familiar figure striding confidently at the front.
The suspected culprit behind it all.
"So it was you after all, Black King...!"
"Heh, your balls have swollen, huh? Must be the head rush from commanding demonic path cultivators and playing shadow king."
"You think he'll just sit still if you pull this? You won't get out unscathed either!"
"No idea how you lured those existences over, but..."
Rat-faced middle-aged man Black King halted as their enraged voices rang out in succession.
He looked at the imprisoned pair and curled his lips in a sinister smirk.
As he opened his mouth to unleash some sly retort—
"Oi, hurry the fuck up and get in? We let you walk on your own two feet. Want me to carry you?"
"Khuhm, my apologies. Just got excited seeing some familiar faces after so long. Heading in right now."
The savage threat from behind flipped his expression from sleazy to groveling in an instant.
He scurried around the approaching musclebound giant and slipped into an open cell.
Clang! Click—
He even locked it himself.
The two who had been hurling abuse at Black King fell silent at the sight.
"······."
"······."
Any words now would just make it more embarrassing.
As the uncomfortable atmosphere began to settle—
"Heheheh— Perfect, now we've got everyone. Shall we get started?"
A sweet feminine voice, contrasting the brute's roughness, echoed softly through the prison.
In this dim, dreary dungeon far from any pleasant view, her selfish beauty sparkled as if under a personal filter and spotlight.
"The final black curtain hunt."
Hela—one of the two who had captured the demonic path representative Black King—flashed a radiant smile as she surveyed the bait trapped in their cages.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Even Hela alone would have sufficed, but bringing in Hari too was a declaration of intent to wrap this up quickly.
No matter how formidable the Demon King's abilities, the physical limit of a single body was unavoidable.
'If the wary ones catch wind and start moving elsewhere, things could spiral.'
Cheonghae Prime Minister's kidnapping couldn't be hidden from the start.
The same went for Grand General Juryeong leveling a mountain.
The best move was to strike them all at once before it became public.
And so far, the plan was proceeding smoothly.
"Hmm, chakra of delusion, you say?"
"That's what's been confirmed so far. They infuse it into specific objects and distribute them to agents on missions. It's so insidious that even Deep Realm cultivators don't notice. They gradually succumb to heart demons without realizing it."
Hela watched Black King eagerly spilling "his" intel with a subtle expression.
Unlike a Celestial Realm cultivator, he had instantly gauged the power gap when she first approached and surrendered unconditionally.
That's why he arrived intact, unlike the others—
'But I just can't trust the guy.'
His flippant demeanor made it impossible to take him seriously.
One had to wonder how such a man earned the grandiose title of Black King.
Anyway, the key point was that cross-verifying the three separately yielded no discrepancies.
Not that they could lie under interrogation with the "Seven-Colored Demon Eye" in play.
'At least they believe it's true. ···Whether it actually is, who knows.'
Hela crossed her legs and toyed with her plump lips, deep in thought.
Their stories matched on nearly everything—except one issue: each had a different method of contacting "him."
Given his excessively cautious movements, nabbing him wouldn't be easy.
'Chakra of delusion... delusion.'
As she pondered deeply—
Bang—
Hari burst through the door, glanced over, and scowled deeply.
An instinctive reaction.
Hela flinched, uncrossed her legs, and sat demurely.
'I didn't notice when controlling in first person, but...'
Avatar tendencies led to natural behaviors she often didn't consciously register.
Like not thinking about every blink or swallow.
'From a third-party view like this, it's... a bit much.'
Through super-macho Hari's eyes, Hela's feminine traits were anything but pleasant.
It was herself in there, after all.
Born to seduce, it was inevitable, but...
'Hm? Wait. Delusion?'
Hari looked at Hela again.
The succubus-hybrid female Demon King, brimming with unreal allure.
Her very existence was the epitome of delusion.
'Which is stronger—his delusion chakra or Hela's charm?'
And if they clashed?
No— if she could turn it against him—
The two avatars paused, arms crossed in serious contemplation, then nodded in unison.
'This could really...'
Turn her into a Demon King who devours the entire world.
···Though she already was one for real.