Chapter 75: The Assault
Chapter 75
The Assault
At the moment when all eyes were focused on him, Se-woon began to recount the story he had prepared in advance.
"As you all know, I was born with a congenital disability, which prevented me from achieving martial prowess for a long time. Because of that, I turned to integrating sorcery into my blacksmithing. In the process, I delved deep into countless ancient texts."
"......!"
"I apologize, but among them, there were occasionally forbidden books containing sorceries that should never have existed. Of course, I burned them immediately upon discovery, but..."
"Are you saying you learned this information during that process?"
"...Yes, that's correct."
Under normal circumstances, this would have been a problematic admission. But given the urgency of the situation, no one dared to question him.
"This is the Blood Rain ritual—a forbidden ancient sorcery that was thought to have vanished."
"S-Sorcery?"
"Alliance Leader! Then this must be the work of the Heaven-Piercing Gang!"
"The Evil Faction—those damn bastards, how dare they—?!"
"Everyone, silence!"
"!!"
With a single shout from Yoo Jin-hak, the uproar instantly died down.
The reason the elders of the Elder Faction were in such an uproar was simple.
If this truly was sorcery, the only ones capable of such a feat were the Heaven-Piercing Gang, one of the Five Evils of the Evil Faction.
"The monster known as the Nayeo—a fish with the wings of a bird—is a water demon that brings floods wherever it appears. And the Mist Moon Blade is a treasure capable of conjuring eerie fog."
However, neither of these artifacts alone had the power to create such a horrifying curse.
"But if a hundred young boys and girls are sacrificed as offerings, and a Dark Sorcerer of the Divine-grade conducts the ritual, these artifacts can be tainted with malice, unleashing this terrible curse."
"D-Divine-grade?!"
"Has the leader of the Heaven-Piercing Gang reached such a supreme level?!"
Their shock was understandable.
Dark Sorcerers were ranked into eight tiers, from the lowest, Sun-grade, to the highest, Light-grade.
But the Light-grade was a realm no one in history had ever reached, and even the Divine-grade had only been attained by the founding ancestor of the Divine Maiden Sect.
In martial terms, it was comparable to the pinnacle of the Mystic Realm.
As the elders were momentarily distracted by the revelation that the Heaven-Piercing Gang's leader had reached the Divine-grade, Yoo Jin-hak urgently asked Se-woon:
"If you know the activation conditions, do you know how to dispel the sorcery?"
"To sustain and maintain this sorcery, four ritual artifacts must be placed throughout Kaifeng. But..."
"...There's no way to locate them, is there?"
Se-woon slowly shook his head.
At that, Yoo Jin-hak and the others' expressions darkened.
If Se-woon was right, speed was of the essence—finding and destroying the artifacts was the key.
But the Blood Rain's domain stretched endlessly across the sky.
Even if the entire Martial Alliance mobilized to search, by the time they found all four artifacts, the civilian casualties would be unimaginable.
"Alliance Leader! Even now, shouldn't we follow the suggestion of the Young Lord and request aid from the Divine Maiden Sect?"
"It's too late! By the time word reaches the Divine Maiden Sect at Mount Wu, the damage will already be catastrophic!"
"Elder Ak, but what other choice do we have?!"
"We should instead pressure Hwangbo Geon further to extract more information—!"
As the elders poured out their opinions, Yoo Jin-hak sank deep into thought, weighing every possible option.
But time was slipping away.
Soon, he would have to make the final decision as the Alliance Leader.
'...How can I save them all?'
Yet no matter how much he agonized, no clear solution came to mind.
Without even knowing the size or shape of the four ritual artifacts scattered across Kaifeng, how could they possibly locate and destroy them in time?
'There's no more time to waste.'
In the end, Yoo Jin-hak resolved to throw all their forces into searching for the artifacts, even if it meant relying on sheer luck.
"Everyone, listen—"
Just then—
Whoooosh!
Crreeeak!
"—!!"
"What in the—?"
Yoo Jin-hak and the elders were stunned.
A sudden noise and an ominous surge of energy erupted from somewhere close—inside the Azure Dragon Hall itself.
They immediately rushed inside to investigate.
"—!!"
Se-woon had filled the hall with black threads.
While the elders had been arguing, Se-woon had also been racking his brain for a solution.
But like Yoo Jin-hak, he couldn't think of a viable method.
For a moment, he considered rushing to the Alliance's forge and using Divine Artifact Creation to craft treasures imbued with the power of 'Detection'—but...
'Damn it! Mass-producing enough treasures for the entire search party would take too long!'
The more he thought, the more he realized how impossible it was.
There simply wasn't enough time.
Creating a treasure with detection abilities was possible.
But to hold such power, it would need to be at least a 'high-grade' treasure, and even for Se-woon, forging a single one would take at least half an hour.
They needed dozens of them—by then, the situation would already be a catastrophe.
In the midst of this despair...
"—!"
Se-woon's eyes caught a glimmer of something.
'Wait—!'
A single object lying discarded on the floor of the Azure Dragon Hall caught his attention.
It was the low-grade treasure that an Enforcement Hall subordinate had brought from the forge.
'That's definitely...!'
The low-grade treasure, forged by a blacksmith under Se-woon's guidance as a practice sword, had the power of 'Perception.'
Snap!
The moment he realized this, Se-woon lunged toward the hall.
Yes, 'Creation' would take too long.
'But if I approach this from a completely different angle...!!'
Whoooosh!
Fwooosh!
Gripping the low-grade treasure in one hand, Se-woon scattered golden threads in all directions.
At the same time, dozens of golden threads lifted the sword above his head before—
Crreeeak!
Snnnap!
Countless threads fluttered wildly, reshaping the practice sword into something new.
It was the ultimate pinnacle of craftsmanship—the same skill he had used to repair Do Ye-cheon's sword.
And it was at that exact moment that Yoo Jin-hak and the elders rushed in to witness the spectacle.
Clang!
Ak Ho immediately drew the spear strapped to his back, ready to charge at Se-woon.
"What are you doing, Elder Ak?!"
"Alliance Leader, can't you see?! He's openly performing dark sorcery! That bastard must be another spy from the Evil Faction!"
"You need to get a grip!!"
"......!!"
"Can't you see that boy is staking his very life on this?!"
Staking his life?
What did that mean?
Instead of focusing on the threads, they scrutinized Se-woon himself—and their eyes widened in shock.
"......!!"
"H-He...!"
"H-His innate qi—!"
Indeed.
While the dozens of black threads writhed and fluttered like living things—enough to be mistaken for dark sorcery—what was being expended from Se-woon's entire body was none other than his innate life force.
Realizing this too late, Ak Ho swallowed hard and lowered his spear.
But Se-woon, oblivious to the commotion around him, remained wholly focused on his task.
'Just a little more... Just a little more!!'
The 'Perception' ability of this low-grade treasure was an inferior version of 'Detection.'
It could track traces left by martial artists but couldn't follow the powerful energy of ritual artifacts.
So Se-woon concentrated on his Golden Thread Eyes.
The Golden Thread Eyes were, after all, a martial art of willpower.
'The Blood Rain happening in Kaifeng instead of Sichuan is a change caused by my regression. So I have to protect them all—!'
His unwavering, ironclad determination—to locate the artifacts and save the innocent civilians—
Whoooosh!
Fwooosh!
Pushed his Golden Thread Eyes beyond the Five-Star Wall, reaching the Six-Star realm.
And at the same time, Divine Artifact Creation gained a new ability.
Whoooosh!
Crraaack!
Dozens of threads multiplied into hundreds, dancing like celestial maidens as they wrapped around the treasure.
Snap! Snap-snap!
The intact sword was cleanly split into one hundred fragments—each as beautiful as a gemstone, each retaining the same power.
This was the first new ability he had gained—Transformation.
'Th-That's impossible!'
'...A l-low-grade treasure?!'
'It can become a high-grade treasure?!'
The elders were stunned as they watched the hundred fragments shimmer with a milky-white glow.
How could they not be shocked? A low-grade sword had, in an instant, effectively become a hundred high-grade treasures.
But to Se-woon, this was only natural.
Thanks to the second ability of the Six-Star Golden Thread Eyes—Enhancement—the fragments had truly become high-grade treasures.
Each of these fragments now possessed the power of 'Detection,' capable of tracking the ritual artifacts.
'...I was mistaken.'
Yoo Jin-hak watched Se-woon and reconsidered.
He had thought it would take time—until the day the boy ascended to the rank of Divine Craftsman.
But he had been wrong.
Very wrong.
There was no need to wait.
Because the Divine Craftsman of this era...
'Was already standing right here from the very beginning!'
Whoooosh!
Fwooosh!
At that moment, all the writhing threads returned to Se-woon's hands.
Simultaneously, his body swayed as if he were about to collapse.
Thud!
Yoo Jin-hak instantly moved to support him.
His pupils trembled as if shaken by an earthquake.
'...The Alliance owes you a great debt.'
Having exhausted his innate qi to such an extreme degree, internal injuries were inevitable.
Even breathing must have been difficult, yet Se-woon, his face drained of color, looked at him and spoke.
"...Hah... Hah... Please... distribute these fragments... to the search teams. Each one... has the power to track the artifacts..."
"...Rest easy. We will do so without fail."
Before Se-woon had even finished speaking, the elders were already scrambling to collect the fragments scattered across the floor.
If these hundred fragments were distributed among the search teams, the time needed to locate the artifacts would be drastically reduced.
Though his body felt as heavy as lead, Se-woon let out a sigh of relief.
...But then—
"Alliance Leader!"
Someone burst into the Azure Dragon Hall in a panic.
A low-ranking Martial Alliance warrior staggered inside, gasping for breath—his face pale with terror.
"What is it?!"
"W-We're under attack!"
"—!!"
Everyone was stunned.
They assumed this meant enemies had infiltrated Kaifeng and were slaughtering people amidst the Blood Rain.
"Are enemies running rampant in the Blood Rain?!"
"N-No, it's not that!"
The warrior shook his head violently.
But for some reason...
At that moment, an image flashed through Se-woon's mind—
"The entire former Nine Dragon Spear Division is being pursued and attacked by unknown enemies!!"
—The Blood Demon's inscrutable smile from before his regression.