Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Completion of the Liquor Spirit and Bow Spirit, and the Beginning of Peng's Revenge
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Having perfected the Heavenly Brain Multi-Mind Spirit Subduing Jiangshi Technique, Geon-woo's mental link with Ilryeong's spirit was at its absolute peak.
Even a Lerazige executive couldn't withstand it.
The commander's mind shattered in an instant, spilling forth a flood of information like a burst dam.
= Ahh, this is bad!
Ilryeong, overwhelmed by the sheer volume that left no time to process or filter, floundered for a moment due to how easily the mental barriers had crumbled.
Now, information from foes subdued by the Monster Emperor Talisman no longer flowed straight to Geon-woo; it was first sifted through Ilryeong before being passed along.
But the Lerazige commander's mind had collapsed too swiftly, unleashing a torrent of data that exceeded Ilryeong's capacity.
‘Ilryeong, I'll handle some of it. Calm down.’
Geon-woo's reinforcement of their spirit link gradually soothed Ilryeong's panic.
Thus, fragments of the commander's memories filtered through Ilryeong to Geon-woo, and soon after, the Lerazige commander was fully subjugated by Ilryeong's spirit.
= Now we just need to turn him into a jiangshi. Whew.
Ilryeong wiped its forehead with the back of its hand in a theatrical gesture beside the blankly standing Lerazige commander.
It was a lighthearted attempt to brush off the earlier fluster.
“Haha. Good work.”
= Did you uncover any new intel? Some unverified bits got passed to you, my lord.
“Hmm. A bit on the Lerazige tribe, some fresh details on other demon expeditionary forces that entered Onbiroad. That's about it.”
= I see.
“Still, the new info should help in finding a suitable tribe for the Bow Spirit jiangshi soul.”
= Ah, that's fortunate.
“Though this guy knows nothing about Earth.”
Geon-woo gazed at the dazed Lerazige commander with a hint of regret.
= Is that so?
“Yeah. You know how the plan was for simultaneous invasions of Onbiroad and Earth, but Onbiroad opened first, splitting the expeditionary forces?”
= Yes, my lord. Gongryeong and the Liquor Spirit's memories contained that.
“Right. But once split, cooperation ended completely. They turned hostile instead, cutting off all info exchange.”
= Didn't you say demons unite multiple tribes and decide by majority vote? It's surprising cooperation fell apart like that.
“That's why majority vote matters so much. Violate it, and you're the common enemy—their last bastion.”
= Because if even that's ignored, demon society couldn't hold together?
“Exactly. They're lone wolves who see everyone, even kin, as rivals and enemies by default.”
= So expeditionary forces split between Onbiroad and Earth have zero communication now? If anything, they're at odds.
“Yeah. The ones on Onbiroad know next to nothing about the Earth assault.”
= I see.
“The most they know is that a new expeditionary force was being assembled for Earth. Nothing after that.”
= Makes sense. The demons here have been on Onbiroad for over a decade already.
“Yep. Unlike us, Onbiroad demons can't return to their dimension.”
= At least we achieved our goal of capturing a jiangshi soul for the Bow Spirit. No need to be too disappointed.
“Not hugely. Like you said, results are solid.
Regardless, this battle netted a Bow Spirit candidate, reinforced demon intel, and yielded satisfying souls and loot.
Not a bad haul.”
“Alright, shall we hunt some more? What next?”
= Don't we need a sturdy tank? Dark Spirit, Phantom Spirit, Poison Spirit, Liquor Spirit, Bow Spirit—all our prepared jiangshi lean light on defense.
“Tank? I'm the ultimate tank with Indestructible Divine Body perfected.”
= Hehe. True, but we can't shove you out front as a shield. So let's swap in a Shield Spirit next.
Ilryeong had to concede Geon-woo's claim to top tank status.
But it insisted they couldn't use their lord as a shield, pushing for a Shield Spirit instead.
Geon-woo nodded.
“Fine, if that's what you want. Let's see—which tribe fits a Shield Spirit?”
Geon-woo scanned demon tribes suitable for a Shield Spirit while opening his dimensional space to store the loot his jiangshi had collected.
= Dimensional space makes long expeditions so effortless now, my lord.
Ilryeong admired its utility once more at the sight.
Since acquiring dimensional space from the underground cavern giant, burdens had lightened considerably.
It could house his jiangshi retinue, mature reserves in dozens of stone coffins, and store all manner of gear.
Especially welcome: no more digging hideouts to guard maturing stone coffins.
That saved so much time.
= Hehehe. When you awaken next, you'll be my lord's loyal limb. I'll call you Bow Spirit then.
Ilryeong remarked as it shoved the stone coffin containing the Lerazige commander into the dimensional space.
“Alright, next up: the Vual tribe.”
Geon-woo announced their next prey to Ilryeong after stowing the Lerazige commander's coffin and the rest of his jiangshi.
= Vual this time?
“Biggest bulk of any demon tribe. Thick carapace makes 'em perfect tanks.”
= Ah, those Vual. But since we're implanting jiangshi souls into user jiangshi bodies anyway, physique won't matter much, right?
“True, but they'll bring Vual-specific abilities. Plus, if one's got system-granted powers specialized in defense from crossing dimensions, jackpot.”
= Hehe, it'd be great if such a one exists.
“We'll see when we get there.”
With that, Geon-woo took to the air with Ilryeong in search of fresh prey.
* * *
“Demons shifting bases just to dodge us—total waste of time.”
Geon-woo scowled as he set his teacup on the table from the sofa.
= Who'd have thought the Lerazige spread word of us to all demons.
“Should've seen it when those cowards fled. Didn't expect this backstab.”
Geon-woo was back on Earth now.
Reason: consecutive failures hunting demons after Lerazige.
He'd planned to bag diverse demon types for specialized user jiangshi based on utility.
But fleeing Lerazige had broadcast his info to demonkind.
They promptly relocated bases, deeming single tribes no match for Geon-woo and his jiangshi.
After striking out at several sites and snagging one stray demon by chance, Geon-woo learned of the Lerazige treachery.
Learning demons had already moved, he returned straight to the Belloca Sanctuary and logged into Earth.
Thus, he was in avatar form now.
“Fully completed jiangshi: Dark, Phantom, Poison, Liquor, Bow. Five in total. Liquor and Bow Spirits need fresh jiangshi souls fitted to user bodies.”
= With multiple completed user jiangshi ready, we can slot 'em right in.
“Love how demons grow differently from us users. We need capsule soulstones to boost potential; they don't.”
= Demons just build raw power without limits. User jiangshi fitted with demon souls grow the demon way.
“And like users gain unique powers crossing dimensions, demons do too. Jiangshi souls carry those over seamlessly.”
= Yes, my lord.
Geon-woo summarized his grasp of jiangshi souls thus far.
“Dark: blink. Phantom: phantom shift. Poison: blood-based abilities. Liquor—surprisingly telepathy. Plant lore's just racial. Finally, Lerazige excel at archery, perfect for Bow Spirit.”
= Bow Spirit's system Marking's solid too. Tag prey with invisible marks—ideal for tailing.
“Yeah, all good abilities. And they'll grow stronger over time—that's exciting.”
= Poison Spirit's poison output skyrocketed with blood use. But absorption for detoxification is even...
Ilryeong brimmed with pride over demon jiangshi soul refinements.
It seized every chance to tout each jiangshi's strengths.
Poison this time.
“Enough. Let's prep user jiangshi for Liquor and Bow Spirits.”
Geon-woo cut in, summoning the jiangshi souls for Liquor and Bow.
= Yes, my lord.
Ilryeong raised two prepped stone coffins, bodies rising.
“Hmm. Want Liquor and Bow as females?”
The two jiangshi from the coffins were unexpectedly female.
= Highest mana affinity for Liquor, best archery build for Bow. Didn't factor gender.
Ilryeong replied nonchalantly.
Geon-woo was briefly surprised but figured females in the crew wouldn't hurt for public-facing ops.
Mixed-gender user parties were common, often drawing less suspicion and more goodwill.
“Yeah, looks good even to outsiders. Let's do it.”
Geon-woo decided swiftly, beginning soul implantation into the two user jiangshi.
Anchoring souls to alien bodies—especially cross-species—was no easy feat.
Rejection was inevitable.
Yet the Heavenly Brain Multi-Mind Spirit Subduing Jiangshi Technique's power shrugged it off.
Per Geon-woo's will, the demon souls swiftly merged with the user jiangshi.
Whooooom!
Intense aura from the technique swirled around the two user jiangshi.
Soon after, focus snapped into their vacant eyes, turning to Geon-woo.
Rumble!
Spotting him, both dropped to one knee, heads bowed.
A show of submission and loyalty—Ilryeong's default for new jiangshi.
“Perfect!”
Spirit-linked, Geon-woo instantly knew the Liquor and Bow Spirits had settled flawlessly.
Completed jiangshi now numbered five.
* * *
France's Jules Alphonse, Britain's Arthur Pelian.
Overnight, their names dominated media.
Reason: both lost user status.
“24 hours flat—Ark Capsule soulstones yanked from England and France? From top-security facilities?”
Geon-woo shook his head at the reports.
= Peng pulled off a big one, huh?
Ilryeong peered at the screen from Geon-woo's shoulder.
“No Peng name or trace, but insiders'll know. This screams Peng's revenge.”
= Cheonsuwan, Ivan, Tucker must be on edge?
“They'll hide their capsules first. Peng nabbed Arthur's mid-meeting in England, then hit France for Alphonse's. If they'd guarded personally, even Peng would've struggled.”
= But my lord...
“What?”
= Taking those two soulstones means Peng fused over 50,000 souls, right?
“Ah! Yeah. Peng can avatar now—way more freedom than before.”
Avatars allowed revival even from death's worst.
Earth avatar access was a massive edge.
= Peng's only weak spot left is the capsule. Like you, my lord.
“I'm different. Even sans capsule, Heavenly Brain Multi-Mind stays. Jiangshi too, naturally.”
= Ah, right.
“Issue's whether technique mastery holds if I lose my soulstone.”
= Fused potential drop could lower technique realm?
“Doubt it'll regress that far, but who knows. Anyway, not the point. Curious how Arthur and Alphonse respond.”
= Aren't they out of the race already?
“Out? Sure, but not dead. Soulstones gone, but snag new capsules, fuse user-qualified soulstones, and they're back online?”
= Even after losing their own?
“Back when mine broke, seven years offline. Now? Days' recovery, then new capsule. Getting user soulstones is the hurdle, but those two'll manage.”
= Man, you got the rawest deal.
“Early days—no helping it.”
= Even if Arthur and Alphonse regain user status, they're declawed, defanged, debearded cats, no?
“Rotten fish still stinks. Bet they're grinding teeth.”
Geon-woo chuckled, picturing Alphonse and Arthur Pelian.
Then—
Beep beep beep beep beep beep!
His smartphone chimed.
Geon-woo headed straight to the bedroom with his comms gear.