Chapter 163: Leader of the Blood Ghost Troop, 'Yeomho' (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 163: Leader of the Blood Ghost Troop, 'Yeomho' (2)
"I made it just in time."
Jinhyuk brushed the dust off his clothes.
Running here at full speed had completely ruined his white coat.
He had paid a whole thirty thousand won for this at Dongdaemun Market...
"Kang... Jinhyuk."
Yeomho's eyes narrowed.
Unlike just moments ago, he was now visibly tense.
And for good reason.
The speed Jinhyuk had just displayed was far beyond the realm of common sense.
To think I... almost couldn't track him.
Yeomho swallowed hard, his throat dry.
Jinhyuk was at least two levels above what Moyong Su had described.
No, perhaps even higher than that...
But there was no need to be afraid.
Wasn't the opponent's defense completely nerfed right now?
Since even a glancing blow could deal critical damage, Yeomho held an absolute advantage in this fight.
Even that bastard Cheon Yu-seong couldn't break those shackles and fell to his knees. You will be no different.
Yeomho nodded to his side.
At his signal, the Blood Ghost Troop prepared for battle in unison.
A blue light enveloped their weapons—not just swords and sabers, but claws, axes, and scythes.
Pursuing extreme practicality was indeed a choice befitting the Demonic Cult.
* * *
"Be... careful. They are no pushovers."
Cheon Yu-seong, slumped on the ground, managed to squeeze out the words.
This guy... even in that pathetic state, he just can't drop the cool guy act.
"For someone called the Sword Saint, how come you get beaten up here, there, and everywhere, day in and day out?"
"W-What did you say?!"
"Don't get mad. Seriously, I can't even remember the last time I saw you win. Honestly, wouldn't it be better to give up climbing the Tower and just focus on your studies?"
Come to think of it, he had heard that medical school coursework was insanely brutal.
Yu-seong's transcript was probably covered in Fs by now.
"I went out of my way to worry about you, and the first thing you do when you arrive is get on my nerves?!"
Cheon Yu-seong gnashed his teeth.
Hmm.
Did I bruise his ego too much?
But what can I do? It's the truth. He's getting beaten up like a neighborhood punching bag.
Still...
"Seeing you get angry like that, I guess you still have room to grow."
With a smirk, Jinhyuk adjusted his grip on the Fang.
"Jinhyuk. Those people... they are strong."
Teresa chimed in.
For a Saintess who had stopped the outbreak in Amsterdam and survived countless life-or-death battles to say this, the fight must have been incredibly fierce.
Well, even Cheon Yu-seong had been beaten to a pulp, after all.
Finally, Alice pouted.
"Don't you dare say anything to me. I was separated from you, so my mana supply wasn't smooth."
"Of course, of course. If not for the mana issue, our noble True Ancestor would have run wild and torn them apart. How could trash like them ever be your match?"
"Stop being sarcastic! I'm telling the truth!"
"Who's arguing? I just said I know."
"..."
Alice glared at Jinhyuk as if she wanted to eat him alive.
But Jinhyuk casually brushed off her gaze and stepped forward.
About forty of them...
Judging by their attire and appearance, they were definitely from the Blood Ghost Troop.
They were the elites of the Demonic Cult and considered quite powerful even back in Murim... and the one leading them was probably the Blood Ghost Troop Leader, Yeomho, right?
As Jinhyuk was retracing his memories of the past, Yeomho spoke.
"This is not where your grave lies. Even if you don't rush to your death, we will deal with you soon enough. For now, do not interfere and get out of the way."
"I know," Jinhyuk replied. "You're waiting for Moyong Su. To be precise, you're timing it to use 'Protection of the Faction' through Liaoyu or Namgung Cheon."
"...You."
"Ah, don't look so surprised. Honestly, it's so obvious that even our Goguma figured it out. Right?"
Goguma, who had slipped out of the Subspace Inventory at some point, tilted his head.
"Mogi?"
"Ahem. That means he knows. Ancient species languages are all very similar, you see."
Even the same word "Mogi" could be interpreted in tens of thousands of different ways depending on the intonation and nuance. And only his master could understand it.
"I'll admit you're quick-witted. Thanks to you, our plans have gone slightly awry, but since it's come to this, we will dispose of you here instead of waiting for Moyong Su."
"I'd love to play with you too, but my schedule is a bit tight if I want to make it in time for when Seonleung opens."
At Jinhyuk's words, Yeomho's eyes widened to the size of saucers.
This time, he was genuinely shocked, his mouth hanging wide open.
"H-How do you know about Seonleung?"
It was only natural for him to be shocked.
Normally, clearing this labyrinth on the 25th floor would take at least forty days.
And that was only if one had a proper raid team and supplies.
However, there was always a shortcut.
Seonleung, where the bodies of kings were enshrined, could only be entered at a specific time through a specific method. If one took this route, they could escape the labyrinth in the shortest time possible.
Indeed.
This was the only way for players to clear the labyrinth.
But...
How on earth...!
How could a mere player who hadn't even climbed past the 10th floor know something that even the Demonic Cult's intelligence network—which dominated the 20th floor—had barely managed to uncover?
To call it a coincidence made no sense, especially when he had named it so precisely.
"I told you, didn't I? I don't have time to waste on small talk."
Jinhyuk's voice turned ice-cold.
He had no intention of dragging things out with bastards who had dared to hurt his companions and point swords at them.
So, he was going to use the most efficient method here.
Just like this.
Vroooom!
[The Subspace Inventory is opening!]
[The spirit beasts of the Five Elements are manifesting!]
"Fire!"
"Water!"
"Wi—Kyaah!"
Undine was smacked on the back of her head by Jinhyuk just as she was trying to strike a pose.
"Read the room. Is now really the time for that?"
Honestly, clueless fools who didn't know when and where to act always ended up asking for a beating.
Undine shot him a resentful look, silently asking why it had to be her, but Jinhyuk flatly ignored her gaze.
* * *
"How can the spirit beasts guarding the royal tombs... obey a human?"
"T-That's impossible."
"I can't... believe it."
A massive wave of agitation swept through the Blood Ghost Troop.
Even martial artists from Murim knew about spirit beasts.
They were creatures of immense pride that treated humans like insects.
That was what spirit beasts were.
Furthermore, weren't the intermediate spirit beasts of the Five Elements standing before them the very symbols of this labyrinth?
Yeomho was equally bewildered by the situation.
"I have never heard of the spirit... beasts of this place obeying a human! What kind of trickery is this?!"
His voice erupted in sheer outrage.
But once again, Jinhyuk did not give him a satisfying answer.
He merely patted the spirit beasts on their heads.
"I'll take care of the loudmouth over there, so you guys clean up the rest. Goguma will support you, so it shouldn't be too hard."
"U-Understood!"
"We'll do our best!"
"Fighting!"
The spirit beasts nodded frantically to avoid getting scolded.
And with that, the battle began in earnest.
The opening move was Salamander's flames.
Rumble!
A massive crimson blaze tore through the air.
It possessed a destructive force that felt as though it would reduce everything to ashes upon contact.
However, the Blood Ghost Troop were the elites of the Demonic Cult.
Though momentarily flustered, they did not collapse easily.
Using their sword winds, they seemed to contain the flames, quickly and drastically reducing their power.
Oh?
I thought they were only good at close combat, but they've actually prepared countermeasures against magic attacks to some extent.
However...
"Ah, and there's one thing I forgot to mention..."
Jinhyuk shrugged.
At that moment...
Swish!
Whoosh!
Two shadows darted out from the passage and plunged straight into the Blood Ghost Troop.
"W-What are these things now?!"
Yeomho gasped in shock at the appearance of the new enemies.
If the intruders had been mediocre, he wouldn't have been this startled.
But these new foes were not mere flies; they were more like furious, venomous hornets.
Whoosh!
Boom!
"Argh!"
"Watch out! These guys are ridiculously fast!"
"Damn it!"
Their movements were nimble, stemming from their small statures.
Yet, the halberds gripped in their hands were brutally heavy.
Above all, because they had coated their spear blades with a uniquely colored killing intent, they did not fall behind even when pitted against sword qi.
"We barely caught up. We almost missed the party."
"Seriously, you're way too fast, big brother."
Casey and Judro grumbled.
However, seeing that there were still plenty of enemies left to play with, bright smiles quickly bloomed on their faces.
"Since big brother told us not to kill people recklessly, let's go easy on them and just chop off their arms and legs. That should be fine, right?"
"Yeah. Life is precious, after all."
Armed with their absurd logic, the two swung their halberds.
And...
Standing slightly behind them, Jinhyuk raised an eyebrow at the huddled spirit beasts.
"What are you guys just standing around watching for?"
"Huh?"
"Don't 'huh' me. Now that you're out, you need to earn your keep. There are five of you, so if you fall behind those two... consider yourselves forcibly enrolled in 'Fake Spirits Season 1' hosted by our Instructor Goguma today."
"W-What is 'Fake Spirits'?"
Gnome, who looked like a cute little golem, asked back.
Perhaps out of fear of the unknown term, his body trembled slightly.
"If you're curious, just wait and see."
If the number of Blood Ghost Troop members they defeated was even one less than the other team's...
Something very interesting would happen.
This was no joke. He had been watching a lot of ViewTube lately.
Shiver!
The five spirit beasts instinctively felt a sense of crisis.
They didn't know exactly what 'Fake Spirits' was, but they were certain that if they ended up there, something beyond their wildest imagination awaited them.
In that case...
They had to move right now.
They had to defeat at least one more enemy than those humans to avoid falling into that hell.
"L-Let's go!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
"Wipe them all out!"
The spirit beasts engaged in battle with more enthusiasm than they ever had since their birth.
Good.
Now that everyone seems to have found their match and started fighting, it's time to open the major leagues.
[Unique Ability 'White Beast' is activated!]
It looks like he enjoys using a spear. In that case, I'll face him with the same.
Jinhyuk picked up a spear lying next to a corpse.
Crackle!
A pure white energy completely enveloped the spear.
"Our subordinates are fighting to the death, so shouldn't we get started too?"
"You arrogant brat... Do you really think you can beat me in a one-on-one duel?"
Yeomho's face contorted fiercely.
His pride was bound to be wounded.
In the Demonic Cult, where survival was strictly determined by strength...
A mere brat had challenged him, the leader of an entire troop, to a one-on-one duel.
But what could he do?
No matter how much Yeomho tried to look imposing, he just looked ridiculous.
"Stop acting so tough when you're just a mid-level executive of the Demonic Cult."
Jinhyuk beckoned with his finger.
"If you want a real fight with me, bring someone higher up."
"Someone... higher up?"
"You know, the Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult. The guy who's cooped up in his room doing closed-door training or whatever."
By the way, doesn't eating Fasting Pills 365 days a year cause muscle loss? What kind of training is he even doing without eating any protein...
Or...
"Or go find the Heavenly Demon, who's probably rolling around somewhere suffering from a severe case of eighth-grade syndrome."
These days, there were so many Heavenly Demons around—some were chefs, some were streamers, some were blacksmiths, and some were even raising kids.
He wondered what the Heavenly Demon was up to now.
Maybe he was playing soccer this time?
"Aaaaargh! I'll tear you to shreds!"
Yeomho let out a piercing shriek.
It seemed the provocation had worked a little too well.