Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Blood Cult
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One of the princes had been identified.
While the possessors were momentarily stunned by that shocking revelation,
Baek Hyun barely managed to compose himself and opened his mouth to clear up the chaotic questions flooding his mind.
"Up until now, have you ever been in contact with Carnivorous Dinosaur in any way?"
"No, this is the first time I've ever received a message from him."
"So, without any help from anyone else, he figured out everything about the Wheel-Breaking Temple on his own and identified the prince's identity? We still barely know anything about the princes..."
He's Carnivorous Dinosaur, alright.
At those words, Zhuge Seol-ha flinched for a moment before furrowing her brow slightly and speaking up as if making an excuse.
"That guy's starting point is the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains! There's no Hao Sect or Beggar's Sect there, so of course it's easier for him to gather information!! Plus, building a force is way easier for him than for me! If there's a prince nearby, he'd naturally notice!!"
"Hmm... yeah, now that I think about it, that starting point is ridiculously overpowered."
Though it felt like an excuse, surprisingly, Baek Hyun acknowledged that she had a point.
The Heavenly Demon Cult had been classified as an unrivaled OP starting faction in every tier list, regardless of remake, for newbies or veterans alike.
It was isolated in a remote, treacherous region, free from raids or interference by other factions.
It was more optimized for building one's own force than any other starting point.
Unlike orthodox arts that were weak early and strong late, or unorthodox arts that were strong early and weak late,
demonic arts offered immense destructive power from the start in exchange for slight risks, and in the late game, the infamous 'Heavenly Demon Divine Art' guaranteed overwhelming value—leaving no weak phases throughout early, mid, or late game.
And now, with the added advantage of neutralizing Falun Temple's intelligence networks...
It seemed the Heavenly Demon Cult hadn't been nerfed in the remake; if anything, it had become even more broken.
'But its limitations are still clear.'
The chronic weakness of the Demonic Cult was the immense distance and harsh terrain separating it from the Central Plains, making interventions there nearly impossible.
Thus, while it could identify a prince based in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains,
uncovering the identities of the numerous great armies scattered across the Central Plains, along with the remaining princes and crown princes, was virtually impossible from the Demonic Cult's perspective.
In that light, Kim Sam-soon's feat of identifying over half the great army-level executives without homeground advantages was in no way inferior to Carnivorous Dinosaur's achievement.
"Is that all the message said? It didn't just come with a single note saying he knows who the prince is, right?"
"Don't worry—the second note that came with it has the full details. That's where it explains why Carnivorous Dinosaur suddenly reached out."
Zhuge Seol-ha pulled out Carnivorous Dinosaur's second note from her sleeve and continued.
This one was much larger than the first, requiring multiple folds to store.
She slowly unfolded the neatly creased paper and showed its contents to the other possessors.
-Thud!!
Realizing she'd unfolded the page wrong again, she hurriedly closed the note and bowed her head.
An unbearably awkward silence instantly filled the room.
"……………"
"……………"
"……………"
"...I'll just summarize it for you."
She resolved not to unfold the note again to avoid repeating the mistake.
It's that concept-obsessed weirdo's fault for writing it like this, she thought to herself.
"Ahem, anyway, to get to the point... he sent the note to warn us of danger."
"If he's going so far as to warn us, is it a new main chapter?"
"Yes. He said the new main chapter will unfold at this Dragon-Phoenix Gathering... and that a 'prince'-level executive will intervene."
At those words, the possessors' expressions grew tense.
They'd vaguely anticipated something happening at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, but now that premonition was becoming reality, a heavy weight settled in their hearts.
"What's his basis for that judgment?"
"The person he identified as a prince has recently sent a significant portion of his forces toward the Central Plains, for no apparent reason.
And the one he confirmed as Falun Temple's 'prince' is..."
The leader of the 'Blood Cult'.
Blood Cult.
A derivative religion founded by those excommunicated from the Demonic Cult during the Great Righteous-Demonic War decades ago, after committing unspeakable atrocities alongside the Heavenly Demon of that era.
As it was formed by several of the Demonic Cult's top factions breaking away en masse, it wielded power that couldn't be ignored.
Created by some of the murim's most notorious scum, it was even more extreme and brutal than the Demonic Cult itself.
However.
"The Blood Cult... yeah, they're annoying pests, but isn't their scale a bit too small for a prince-level organization?"
Compared to the Nine Great Righteous Sects or Five Great Clans, the Blood Cult's known forces were clearly inferior, making it hard to imagine a Falun Temple prince-level cadre there.
Assuming the Blood Cult's public forces were their entirety.
"The Blood Cult is currently hiding forces incomparable to what's publicly known, and those forces are still growing.
He says even if the Demonic Cult threw everything it had at them... it might not be enough."
'!!'
The possessors couldn't help but be shocked by that bombshell statement.
Excluding massive alliances like the Murim Alliance or the Orthodox-Demonic Union, no single faction in the murim could surpass the Demonic Cult in scale.
Yet even the Demonic Cult's full might falling short?
'Is this the level of a prince-level cadre?'
They could only marvel at the capabilities of the Wheel-Breaking Temple organization.
This was just a mere cadre, not even a crown prince at the top.
That implied there could be several more forces on par with the Blood Cult lurking in hiding.
"Carnivorous Dinosaur judges the Blood Cult will become Falun Temple's most troublesome enemy in the future. He's preparing for all-out war within the Demonic Cult to suppress them as quickly as possible.
However, since he's only the young cult leader for now, it seems it'll take quite some time before he can start a direct war. Even though now is the perfect opportunity."
"Because the Blood Cult's prince is dispersing his forces for schemes at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering."
Only then did the possessors grasp why Carnivorous Dinosaur had sent the letter.
A chance—perhaps the only one—to annihilate a hitherto unidentified prince-level force.
Carnivorous Dinosaur intended to seize that opportunity firmly.
"He says with their forces significantly dispersed now, victory is possible. But if those forces heading here return to base..."
"The entire Demonic Cult could be wiped out. Even minimizing losses would leave irreparable damage."
"...Yes, so he asks us to handle the Blood Cult forces coming here."
With those words, a heavy silence descended.
The Blood Cult, possessing forces surpassing even the murim's largest single faction, the Heavenly Demon Cult.
A significant portion of those forces might have to be crushed by them.
The harsh reality left the possessors speechless.
"This... leaves us no choice, does it?"
Amid it all, Baek Hyun was the first to speak.
He stood up, meeting each possessor's eyes one by one, and continued slowly.
"We haven't even met him in person yet, but I don't think we can afford to lose Carnivorous Dinosaur. Whether for emotional or practical reasons."
Carnivorous Dinosaur.
More precisely, the Heavenly Demon Cult he would come to command, would be their strongest card.
Losing such a card without even playing it was absurd.
The Heavenly Demon Cult had fatal flaws like inability to preempt black幕 schemes and structural limitations.
But its unique trait covered even those weaknesses.
The overwhelming 'dominance' exercisable from the pinnacle of power.
Unlike sect leaders or clan heads who had to coax and lead subordinates,
the Demonic Cult leader wielded absolute authority incomparable to others, remaking the faction to their exact tastes.
A extreme command structure where faction power could exponentially grow based on the player's capabilities.
Unlike orthodox sects bound by codes or unorthodox ones lacking unity, the Demonic Cult dominated every aspect.
Already the top single faction by scale, it moved in iron obedience to one command, united under a single ideology, without even minimal restraint.
It wasn't for nothing that the Demonic Cult alone faced the entire murim in the Great Righteous-Demonic War.
Strong for beginners, overwhelmingly so for veterans.
A skilled Demonic Cult player could solo-clear the story by outlasting until the world's end.
And the player was Carnivorous Dinosaur.
Concept overboard, but skills undeniable—a true veteran.
Given time, he might build a force to rival Falun Temple alone.
Though his playstyle was 'get stronger than whatever they throw' rather than 'thwart plots,'
and solo-optimized, so benefits from crushing the Blood Cult would come much later.
For the future, the 'Demonic Cult' card had to be preserved now.
"You're right. No matter how mentally unstable he is, we can't lose such a massive force when even a cat's paw counts.
Crushing the Blood Cult forces heading here isn't a choice—it's a must."
"Well... I had no intention of running anyway, but there are two tricky issues first."
Having heard everything, Cheon-un pondered briefly before raising two fingers and speaking.
"First, if a prince-level cadre is intervening personally... it doesn't seem like he'd move alone. Won't other great army cadres move in significant numbers too?"
A prince who had never moved before now deploying his own forces—an unprecedented situation.
In such a case, the slim chance that Falun Temple's others provided no support was unlikely.
"Second, meanwhile, we can't make any official preparations or responses on behalf of the Murim Alliance. Not when they surely have moles there too.
So in the end, our four have to handle 'Blood Cult forces + extras'... Is counter-sweeping them realistic in this situation?"
At Cheon-un's sharp point, Zhuge Seol-ha smiled faintly and pulled out a new bundle of papers from somewhere.
"I figured you'd say that, so I prepared a full plan in advance. I'll explain the operation now—raise your hand if you have objections or questions."
"...Hasn't she only been out of seclusion for a few days? Why does she keep pulling out more?"
"Normal people can't understand, so she's a genius, right?"
"Yeah, fair."
And so, the one-sided operation briefing disguised as a meeting began.