Episode 325
Unfortunately or fortunately, there were fantastical illusions installed throughout the underground space.
It was good to be able to move more secretly, but on the other hand, it was impossible to know the opponent’s location exactly.
This was the reason why Cheon Ga-ryeong could not sense the presence of those coming from underground a little while ago.
“Aaaahhh!”
Cheon Ga-ryeong and I moved using the occasional screams as guideposts.
The voice belonged to one person.
A cry that oppresses the soul.
Just how cruel is the torture that is being carried out that makes people scream at the top of their lungs like that?
‘I guess I should memorize the route in case I need to escape.’
What can be confirmed by feeling is the approximate size of the underground space.
Because of the typhoon, it was impossible to grasp the detailed terrain, so we frequently encountered dead ends.
Fortunately, thanks to Cheon Ga-ryeong’s keen eye, no strategy or mechanism to repel the invaders has ever been activated.
-What are you going to do when you leave?
-well.
-The door to the outside opens only when the engine is activated. If you don’t know how to operate it, it will be difficult to escape in an emergency, right?
-You have to be as careful as possible to avoid being chased. In the worst case, you can just break the entrance and leave.
-In short, there is no solution.
-Do you have the courage to do so? I’m not some sort of prophet, so how can I anticipate and prepare for this kind of situation?
-Once upon a time, I heard you knew how to read Cheongi (天機).
-······Come to think of it, I’ve said something like that before.
I burst out laughing.
The small talk I had with her in the past flashed through my mind.
[Actually, I know how to read Cheongi. If you invest knowing what will happen in the future, it is natural to achieve success.]
[······It’s a joke, right?]
[Of course it’s a joke.]
[This is real!]
It was already six years ago that we had that conversation.
Ten years have already passed since I knew Cheon Ga-ryeong.
Time passed so quickly.
The skinny girl who was dying of despair suddenly became a woman with a mature charm.
I looked to the side with an emotional expression on my face, and a gaunt-looking woman in her forties came into view.
‘······I’ve matured to become an old woman.’
I had forgotten for a moment that I was in a state of confusion.
I shook my head to shake off the distracting thoughts and looked around while fiddling with my sword.
An alien noise penetrated my ears.
‘Sound of water?’
After exchanging glances with Cheon Ga-ryeong, we headed to the source of the noise.
Before long, an underground waterway came into view.
‘A waterway in a place like this. ‘Where does it lead?’
I felt like checking it out, but decided to hold back.
If it were possible for Se to escape through the waterway, it wouldn’t be a bad idea since it would mean securing another escape route.
However, that is only a hopeful observation.
Conversely, what if it is connected to a dangerous place?
There was no such disappointment.
I didn’t want to take that kind of risk.
The first thing to do was to uncover Sima Sega’s secrets.
There was no time to answer every single question, even the smallest one.
It was a time when I was ready to put aside my regrets and move on.
Cheon Ji-ryeong said, staring at the other side of the passage with an anxious expression.
-for a moment.
-why?
-Don’t you think you stopped screaming a little while ago?
-Come to think of it······.
It was as she said.
The screams that were heard occasionally stopped at some point.
Feeling ominous, I quickly glanced around.
A straight passageway.
Unlike the roads we had passed so far, there was no suitable place to hide.
‘······shit.’
Did you say that bad premonitions are never wrong?
A presence that I had not felt until just before suddenly caught my attention.
I immediately grabbed Cheon Ga-ryeong’s arm and jumped into the water.
‘Damn Hwanho-jin. ‘I can’t believe you didn’t notice until you got this close.’
About ten breaths had passed.
A group of people appeared in the passage.
The face of the man in the lead was familiar.
Because it was underwater, visibility was unstable, but it was clearly visible.
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‘Sama Segaju!’
The head of the Sima family, Sima Seohwan.
Damun’s biological father.
A samurai with his entire body covered in iron armor and seven men wearing bachelor’s robes were following him.
My shoulders were stiff from tension.
I knew it instinctively.
That the Iron Man is a superman who has reached the absolute level.
Even though Cheon Ga-ryeong and I were in the flowing water and had killed the spirit to the limit with the Great Technique of Return, I did not think that we would be able to fool the spirit of an absolute expert.
‘If things continue like this, we’ll get caught.’
I thought it would be better to take the risk and move along the waterway, but unfortunately, the holes in the walls on both sides were not that big.
In order for people to pass through, the wall had to be torn down to enlarge the hole, but if they did that, their location would be immediately discovered.
“Whoa.”
Suddenly, Sima Xuhuan stopped in place and sighed.
My mind became dizzy.
Why did it stop here?
Maybe they already know of our existence?
‘That’s quite possible.’
Iron Armor Man is a top level expert.
Since I had noticed his approach, it was reasonable to assume that he would have sensed my presence long ago.
I couldn’t figure out what response to take.
Should I try to escape before it’s too late, or should I continue hiding, pinning my hopes on the slightest possibility?
At that time, Sima Xuhuan staggered as if feeling dizzy and placed his hand on his forehead.
“Matriarch. Are you okay?”
“Damn it. There’s no way it’s going to be okay.”
“It would be best to take care of yourself first. “You haven’t been able to sleep properly for the past three days.”
“There isn’t much time. “We need to increase the amount of power we can use.”
“Don’t worry too much. The Allied Forces’ power is great, but this one is no different. Changgwi (槍鬼) and White Bone Demon Emperor (白骨魔帝). Aren’t there two people who are absolute experts? “If we stage a sit-in protest using the formations spread out around Sega…”
A young man who speaks hopeful words to comfort Sima Seohwan.
I felt goosebumps rising on my back.
Based on its appearance, I thought that the identity of the iron armored man was the Iron Armored God, one of the eight great demons, but it seems that was not the case.
What a spear.
A truly unexpected star came out.
For some reason, he seemed smaller than I remembered.
‘Well, the iron-clad giant’s single-faced weapon was not a spear, but a pair of spears.’
I couldn’t figure out why Changgui, who was said to have died at the hands of Cheonakgun, was here.
It’s unlikely that he was converted by the devil’s religion.
“White Bone Demon Emperor, do you think that crazy old man will obediently help us?”
“······.”
“That’s not the real problem there. Since the world’s evaluation of the Sima Sega has reached rock bottom, it will no longer be possible for it to function as a Hundred Dao Sega. Even if the Allied Forces are defeated, there is no future for Sega. “It means you’ve already been tricked.”
Sima Seju pours out words as if he is lamenting.
I cursed inwardly.
If you’re tired, go back to your home and rest.
Why are you stopping here and making noises?
The young man with a pensive expression asked cautiously.
“If so, what should we do?”
“Whatever. Now the only option left to us is to turn to the magic path. “It is the only way to survive.”
“But aren’t there Shandong, Hebei, and Henan between Jiangsu and Maqiao’s sphere of influence?”
“So we’ll have to attack from here. “To avoid being isolated.”
“yes?”
“Once we engulf Shandong, we will have a way out. “If we attack from both directions in conjunction with the Demonic forces stationed in Shanxi, it will not be difficult to drive out the Wulin forces in Hebei.”
“Hmm.”
“First, we must eliminate the Heavenly Dragon. He is the intermediary that connects Shandong music and Hwangbo family. “If we just eliminate the Heavenly Dragon, the Allied Forces will be divided, and we can use our hidden power to exploit the gap.”
“······.”
“If we defeat the allied forces and even kill King Quan, it would not be impossible to use that momentum to sweep Shandong.”
As I overheard the story, I ended up with a blank expression on my face.
I never would have thought he had a plan like that.
At first glance, it seemed like a reckless plan, but it was realistic to some extent.
In what is now Sima Shiga, enough power was gathered to overthrow the Shandong Wulin Dynasty.
Two absolute experts and several top experts.
What if the bandits of Green Forest are behind you?
‘It turns out a pretty plausible picture.’
Even if he rots, he is still the head of the family.
He was not a person to be taken lightly, as he never gave up and found the best solution even in hopeless situations.
As the conversation between the young man and Sima Xuhuan continued, the outline became more and more clear in my mind.
“The top priority is to find a way to lure the Heavenly Dragon…”
Sima Xuhuan scratched the back of his head with an annoyed expression.
One thing was certain: he had not yet noticed my presence.
Even though he knew, he couldn’t have spread all his plans needlessly.
As the panic subsided, my mind became more relaxed and I was able to think calmly.
While I was organizing my thoughts in my head.
I turned my head in response to the hand grabbing my right arm.
‘this.’
Cheon Ji-ryeong’s face was very distorted.
It seemed like he had reached his limit after holding on underwater for a long time.
They could endure it longer than ordinary people, but even extreme experts would die if they couldn’t breathe.
‘Dangerous.’
I couldn’t let her float to the surface in this situation.
If they were discovered here, there was a high probability that they would be captured or killed.
‘I can’t do it.’
I grabbed Cheon Ga-ryeong’s face and pulled her towards me.
Then they kissed mouth to mouth.
“······!”
Cheon Ji-ryeong’s eyes widened as if torn.
When I breathed on him, his pale complexion recovered slightly.
I immediately pushed her face away and turned my gaze back to Sima Xuhuan’s direction.
Sima Seo-hwan, who had been having a long conversation with Gasol, finally took his step.
After confirming that the group was far enough away from the waterway, Cheon Ga-ryeong and I hurriedly put our heads above the water.
“Pooh!”
“Huh! omg!”
Cheon Ga-ryeong, breathing heavily, lay down on the ground.
Although not as tired as her, I was also exhausted.
Some say they want to sit back against the wall and relax.
-You didn’t have any selfish intentions, right?
-what do you mean.
-No, nothing.
Cheon Ga-ryeong, who let out an incomprehensible sound, struggled to get up from her seat.
Perhaps it was because of her mood, but her cheeks seemed a little flushed.
I stood up after him, used my inner energy to warm up my cold body, and muttered to myself.
‘By the way, Changgui’s condition was a little strange.’
[All three of them lived a regular life as if someone had decided it for them. I sleep, eat, and practice martial arts at the same time every day.]
[It felt like I was looking at a doll, not a person. He never interacts with other people, and always just does his own thing with an expressionless face. He didn’t even seem to feel anxious about the current situation.]
I remembered the report that Cheon Ga-ryeong had given me.
Characteristics that Yujeonggeom, Yeoyeongaek, and Baeksado had in common.
That’s exactly what Changgui looked like.
Standing silently behind Sima Seju, it felt like I was looking at a stone statue rather than a person.
More than anything, I was concerned that he did not notice the presence of Cheon Ga-ryeong until the end.
‘I don’t think he pretended not to know.’
A hypothesis came to mind.
A hypothesis that can most clearly explain the current situation is not easily understandable.
‘Perhaps the prisoners were not appeased by the Demonic Cult…’
martial arts,
