Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Episode 27
The moment the system message appeared, the goblin horde and my undead collided.
The result was no different from before.
CRRRUNCH!
"SKREE!"
"SKREEEE!"
Horrific screams erupted from all directions as the goblins caught in the Heaven-Overturning Eight Formations Diagram's vortex began to shatter like grain being ground through a mill.
Over a hundred vanished in the first clash alone.
They were strong.
The undead under my command had grown noticeably stronger—enough to feel it.
This must be the power of the imperial throne.
Just like that, the goblin army was ground away in a single stroke.
Countless corpses were left behind.
They sprang upright!
They immediately rose through [Dignity of the Corpse Lord], became new undead, and joined the Heaven-Overturning Eight Formations Diagram.
And on the other side, were there any undead destroyed and rendered inoperable?
No. None.
Through the power of the martial formation and the throne, not a single one was destroyed while hundreds of enemies were ground away in an instant!
Now that was satisfying.
"This is insane......"
"Is that something a person can do?"
"The undead army keeps growing......"
From inside the earthen wall, the other hunters stared blankly.
No, I told those bastards to block the other side—what the hell are they doing?
Hah. Those hunters. What the hell are they even doing?
"They don't listen worth a damn."
A sigh and a grumble slipped out before I knew it.
-Hunters spectator mode ON!
-How can anyone resist watching this lololol
-Their own leveling and mining can't compare to watching this live!
-Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign is sighing lololol
I let out a sigh and lightly crossed my legs while seated on the throne.
The hunters spectating did put me in a slightly foul mood.
But aside from that, the goblins were being ground away so satisfyingly.
This was really nice.
Last time, it was a palanquin I'd cobbled together by smashing a cargo cart.
This time it was a real throne palanquin, so there was no shaking, and the view was excellent.
On top of that, the [White-Bone Palanquin Support] had the [Necromantic Mana Manipulation] skill attached to it, so my necromantic mana consumption was reduced as well.
Though I wasn't actually using any necromancer skills right now.
This is perfect for mining.
CRRRRUNCH!
"SKREEEEE!"
"SKREE!"
The screams continued without end.
And the vortex of the Heaven-Overturning Eight Formations Diagram did not stop.
A thousand.
A thousand-strong goblin legion.
In what felt like only a few minutes.
They were ground away and vanished like dry grass.
[You have withstood the goblin army's offensive.]
[A hidden trial of Dimensional Tower Floor 1 is activating.]
Oh.
Another hidden trial, just like last time.
And then.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
From far across the plain, the sound of drums rang out.
It was that scene from last time.
The Hobgoblin General.
The hidden boss of Floor 1, riding a wolf.
And this time, he had an elite goblin unit following behind him.
"Oh. We meet again."
I smiled faintly.
Last time, I'd actually won through a trick.
Hundreds of undead had swarmed him like ants and crushed him under their weight. That was all.
But this time was different.
Because I had No. 1 and No. 2.
Though calling them No. 1 and No. 2 felt a little off.
Hmm......
Heukgang. Baekgang.
Let's go with that.
The moment I settled on the names in my mind, the system responded.
[Experimental Jiangshi No. 1's designation has been changed to Heukgang.]
[Experimental Jiangshi No. 2's designation has been changed to Baekgang.]
Good. Then...... shall we try it?
The Black-and-White Twin Eccentrics' Black-and-White Eccentric Martial Combined Attack Art.
* * *
Park Il-chim swallowed hard in front of his monitor, glaring at the screen.
The Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign had returned today—and this time, he had appeared riding a throne palanquin.
"What kind of insane entrance is this......"
Park Il-chim had already been mentally wrecked once before, when the Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign cleared Floor 1.
Back then, it had been a makeshift palanquin cobbled together by smashing a cargo cart, but today it was a genuine imperial palanquin.
A throne studded with rubies and gold sat squarely atop a support woven from bone, and upon it sat the Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign, composed and upright.
And on either side of him, two undead stood like escorts.
What was especially strange was—
Those two undead seemed somehow different from before.
"Bro, you really came prepared this time......"
Park Il-chim started typing that into the chat, then stopped and froze his fingers.
This was not the time to type in chat. This was a moment to focus on the screen.
On the screen, the Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign, seated on his throne, gave a single flick of his finger.
[The Heaven-Overturning Eight Formations Diagram unfolds.]
Seven hundred undead began to move simultaneously, then started rotating like a massive whirlwind.
The entire undead horde became a single mass, spinning, and poured out beyond one side of the earthen wall.
And soon, the roar of collision flooded through the screen.
CRRRRUNCH!
"Holy shit, they're actually being ground up......"
Park Il-chim cursed without realizing it and shoved his face toward the monitor.
Park Il-chim's eyes grew wider and wider.
"This...... the numbers are actually increasing?"
Seven hundred became eight hundred, and eight hundred was becoming nine hundred.
The calculation ran through his head on its own: at this rate, they would easily surpass a thousand.
It was right then.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
From far across the plain, a heavy drumbeat began to resound.
Park Il-chim pressed his body even closer to the monitor and swallowed dryly.
"Here it comes...... the Hobgoblin General has appeared!"
The boss that had appeared at the very end when the Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign first cleared Floor 1 was revealing itself again.
Wielding a massive axe and riding a wolf, it was the true hidden boss of Floor 1.
"Still, at that level, the Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign will handle it easily, right?"
Because he had done so before.
"RAAAAAAGH!"
The Hobgoblin General let out a roar toward the sky.
Then, the one that looked like a shaman following behind raised the staff in its hand high.
And the next moment—
Whoooosh!
A crimson light surged like a massive wave and coiled up around the Hobgoblin General and the wolf he rode.
THOOM. THOOOM. THOOOOM.
The Hobgoblin General's body began to swell like a balloon.
His bulging muscles swelled further, and the axe in his hand grew massive along with him.
"What the hell kind of giantification is this on Floor 1? This is insane."
This was a pattern he had seen once before, but it looked far more brutal now.
And the giantified Hobgoblin General charged straight toward the center of the undead formation, swinging his massive axe.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble!
CRUNCH! CRRRUNCH!
For the first time, part of the Heaven-Overturning Eight Formations Diagram's vortex was severed, visible on the screen.
The giantified wolf also leaped in and began biting undead with its jaws.
"Up to this point, it's the same as before......"
It was right then, while he was watching the screen with full concentration.
"Heukgang. Baekgang."
The Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign's calm voice flowed through the channel.
On the screen, the two undead standing like escorts on either side of the throne kicked off the ground simultaneously.
Fwoosh!
Park Il-chim rubbed his eyes once more and looked back at the screen.
It was enough to make him wonder if that movement had really just come from lowest-grade undead.
Even a person couldn't move like that—so how could a corpse move that way?
Those footsteps gliding across the ground like ghosts were the peerless lightness art called Soaring-Heaven Corpse-Spirit Ghost Step. Park Il-chim had no way of knowing that, so his astonishment was understandable.
Heukgang blocked the Hobgoblin General's left side as if snatching it away, and Baekgang blocked the right.
The Hobgoblin General, who had been attempting a central breakthrough, had both flanks sealed simultaneously in an instant.
"SKREE!?"
The Hobgoblin General instinctively swung his axe horizontally.
The power was clearly enough to split an ordinary mountain.
But the next moment, Park Il-chim's mouth fell wide open.
Swish.
Heukgang's body flowed beneath the axe's trajectory as softly as water.
"Holy shit!? What is that!?"
Park Il-chim, who had watched close-combat dealer footage for nearly ten thousand hours, could recognize it at a glance.
That soft flow that did not meet the opponent's force head-on but let it slide off to the side.
It was a soft-style fist art that only a handful of martial-skill users could use!
It was said to require the passive skill "Overcoming Hardness with Softness" along with a related martial skill!
"Is this even a sight that makes sense......"
It was right then, as Park Il-chim muttered in a trembling voice.
On the screen, the Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign opened his mouth again and issued a new command.
"Heukgang, Baekgang. Deploy the Black-and-White Eccentric Martial Combined Attack Art."
"?!"
Park Il-chim's hands moved to the chat window on their own and struck the keyboard.
Clack-clack.
-Black-and-White Eccentric Martial Combined Attack Art!? What the hell is that!?
That question was not Park Il-chim's alone.
In an instant, similar questions flooded the entire chat window.
-No, what the hell is that?
-Combined attack art? A martial art used by two people together?? How is that different from a formation?
-Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign pulling out something novel again lololol
-Black-and-White Eccentric Martial?? Is it because the jiangshi are named Heukgang and Baekgang??
Park Il-chim watched the chat scroll rapidly upward, then turned his gaze back to the screen.
And there, Heukgang and Baekgang were taking up perfectly mirrored, symmetrical stances.
In Heukgang's two palms, a dense black energy was condensing.
The yin Corpse-Spirit Heavenly Jiangshi Blood-Rending Palm was taking shape there.
On the opposite side, in Baekgang's two palms, a pure white energy was gathering as if coiling around them.
The yang Corpse-Spirit Soul-Shattering Palm was swelling to full force.
The two jiangshi drew a perfect symmetry and stepped forward simultaneously.
Heukgang aimed for the Hobgoblin General's flank, and Baekgang took a stance aimed at the crown of his head.
And the next moment.
BAM! CRRRUNCH!
Four palms drove into the giantified body at the same time.
"G-ghk!"
The Hobgoblin General's body froze on the spot.
Watching the sight, Park Il-chim felt goosebumps race down his spine.
"This...... they're not just hitting him at the same time."
Park Il-chim's eyes saw it clearly.
In the instant the yin palm force penetrated inward and churned his organs, the yang palm force could be seen descending from above his head, riding down his spine.
And the two energies met precisely at the center of his body and collided.
The moment the two different energies met, an explosion erupted on the spot.
BOOOOM!
From the giantified Hobgoblin General's eyes, mouth, nose, and ears, dark-red blood sprayed out simultaneously like fountains.