〈 Geumo Island (2) 〉
Shaolin Temple after the demon cultists retreated.
“Wounded people, come this way!”
“Amitabha Buddha... may you be reborn in paradise...”
Of course, it was the Shaolin Temple that suffered the most damage from this incident.
Not only did the monks who were trying to defend the grounds suffer great damage, but there were also a number of monks who were caught up in the process and suffered harm.
In addition, wasn’t the grandson, Joo Kang-in, who was entrusted here, kidnapped by the demonic cultists?
Therefore, the leaders of Shaolin Temple were busy holding meetings over and over again.
‘Of course, the Murim Alliance meeting will also be canceled. They’ll probably all go back to where they came after properly picking up the injured.’
While everyone was busy sorting out the chaos, someone approached Hugo, who was lost in his thoughts alone.
“Hey, Prince, you are here.”
It was Namgung Soran, a woman belonging to the Namgung family who had roughly wiped away the blood and dust and had her clothes as neat as possible.
She carefully approached his side, took a deep breath, and then bowed her waist.
“I was late in greeting you because I was in a hurry. Thank you for your life-saving grace. “If Confucius had not helped me, I would no longer be a person of this world.”
Instead of the bright appearance I had seen so far, his tone became much calmer.
Well, this incident must have been quite a shock to her, who had grown up beautifully as a flower in a greenhouse, as countless people who were around her had died not long ago.
“you’re welcome. “Of course it has to be done.”
Hugo also politely responded to her gratitude with humble words.
And after talking with her for a while, people started to gather one by one to where they were.
They have one thing in common.
They were all people who received help from Hugo, no matter how big or small.
“Thank you again, Eunkong.”
“Wow, it was really great back then. “At that moment, I thought a kidney from heaven had come down!”
“I wore a life jacket. “If there is anything you need my help with in the future, please contact me at any time.”
Unlike others, Hugo, who was not affected by the strange methods of the magicians, was able to show steady performance without any fluctuations in his abilities, and this was of considerable help to the later exponents around him, who were mostly top-notch.
Didn’t he even later reach the pinnacle of excellence and perform very well across the battlefield?
Because of that situation, it wasn’t long before people with different intentions began to approach Hugo.
“So, Sohyeop, are you going to go to the Zhuge family again?”
“I would like to return the favor and invite Eun-gong to my family...”
In a way, this was a development that had been predicted in advance.
Hugo... So, Ha Seung-hoon is a genius who reached the pinnacle of excellence when he was only in his early twenties.
In this era where military power is valued above all else, it was natural that people flocking to him who wanted to establish a friendship with such a talented person in advance.
Moreover, didn’t he say that he was just staying at the Zhuge family as a guest due to some connection and was not officially affiliated with any power?
Then, if only they could somehow attract him to their side....
The eyes of the later indexes who approached with that mindset sparkled.
If we could take him with us, it would be of great help in consolidating our position within the force.
In particular, such signs appeared more strongly in some women.
‘What if we catch that guy?’
‘My brother’s succession competition may be helpful. Then to me too...’
His abilities were excellent, his character shown in extreme situations was excellent, and his appearance was also very respectable.
At the same time, since he didn’t have any special connections, there was no better condition than this from his son-in-law’s perspective.
As a strange atmosphere was forming among the women who had such thoughts, Namgung So-ran slowly stepped forward and got closer to Hugo.
As if to block the women’s gaze towards him.
While silent checks were going on among some people, various conversations began to take place among the late-stage indexes gathered around.
“Anyway, I’m worried. “The revival of the Demonic Cult... Isn’t this the end?”
“Wouldn’t you say so? Rather, we should see it as just the beginning. “There shouldn’t be any major damage.”
“These are the guys who even attacked the meeting held at the Shaolin Temple. “I wonder how much we have prepared so far... I’m worried that the world will fall into chaos.”
And most of the topics that naturally flowed were about the Demonic Cult, the subject of this attack.
These people all express concern about the coming tribulation.
Of course, that was a completely natural reaction, but...
‘Oh, that’s already over.’
Hugo, who was the only one who knew the truth, smiled awkwardly.
He kept his mouth shut while others were seriously discussing measures.
How can we reveal this in the current situation?
It is said that the leader of the Demonic Cult, who had just begun his activities after breaking his long silence, became a guest of immortality before he could even return after the first attack.
‘Well, for the time being, everyone will be careful and activities will be reduced... but it won’t matter because it will get better after a while.’
As a result, as soon as a crisis occurred, the culprit was eliminated without anyone knowing, and peace came to the world.
Of course, the leaders of each force would be upset because they did not know what the devil’s plans were, but it would still be much better than if something really happened.
‘Rather than that—that’s not what’s important right now.’
In that subspace, there is the body of the person who was the strongest person in the world until recently.
***
Yongzhong Mountain, where the Zhuge family is located.
A huge man appeared at the mouth of the mountain.
“Tsk, is it already too late?”
The man, Gwangma Harley, glanced around and lightly clicked his tongue.
Although they flew in hastily using the “Hero’s Footsteps,” the messed up area indicated that a storm had already passed here.
Trees and rocks scattered everywhere, including scars from weapons left all over the remains of the forest.
Numerous formations that had been installed in several layers, starting from the beginning of the mountain to the center where Zhuge family’s family was located...
‘They were all destroyed.’
Harley’s eyes narrowed.
His steps, which had been slowly moving forward, became faster and faster.
A familiar smell that I had smelled not long ago came in through the burnt smell coming from all over the forest.
‘The smell of blood.’
And the smell of death mixed with despair, grief, and bitterness.
Harley climbed up a peak and looked in the direction of the Zhuge family’s headquarters.
‘The survivors... are not that few. It looks like they managed to defeat it somehow.’
I could feel the bustling energy of familiar people inside the building.
Although it seemed like they had suffered a lot of damage, they seemed to have somehow succeeded in repelling the intruders, as they are specialized in defense.
‘But I can’t detect Zhuge Hyemi’s presence. Are they hiding in another formation inside? Either that...’
...or the attackers achieved their goal and meekly retreated.
Even with such doubts in mind, Harley did not approach hastily and looked around with keen eyes like a hunter.
Now, they are in a very sensitive state due to the sudden attack.
In the current situation, if Harley, a stranger with a very unique appearance, barged in, it would only end up tiring them out.
‘hmm?’
Sniff—
Meanwhile, Harley’s sensitive sense of smell detected a subtle sense of strangeness.
Something hidden in the smell of the battlefield where all kinds of emotional residue are mixed together.
As soon as he sensed it, his body moved like a thunderbolt.
After covering several kilometers in an instant, his grip dug into some bushes
.
Clink!
“Huh?!”
With the sound of something breaking, a middle-aged man wearing an old uniform was dragged out from inside, grabbed by the collar.
And the corners of Harley’s mouth were torn apart, revealing vicious teeth like saw blades.
“What are you? Why were you hiding here? Is it related to the guys who attacked here?
“What about you?”
“Hmm, I’m late in answering. After all, it would be easier to just rip off one arm and start a conversation.”
“Now, just wait a moment!”
Hearing the hot-tempered Harley mutter coldly, the pale-faced monk opened his mouth, repeatedly waving his hands.
“I think there’s some misunderstanding! I belong to the Mosan faction... so I belong to Geumodo! yes! It has nothing to do with the devils! “In fact, you could say they are enemies!”
“ok? Geumodo?”
“Uh... it looks like that person is not a member of Geumo Island. Still, aren’t we compatriots? Let’s leave this aside and talk calmly...”
Harley momentarily paused at the sudden feast of unexpected words.
Perhaps thinking that this was a positive response, the monk who was being held by the collar breathed a sigh of relief and spoke again.
“Huu, I am said to be a blue official under the former Blue Dragon. “I was just about to report to my superiors when I went out on a mission and witnessed an incident that occurred at the Zhuge family...”
Judging from the fact that he gave special emphasis to the word ‘blue dragon’ in the middle of his speech, he must have been a very trustworthy ally. It was.
Even so, this person who didn’t know anything wasn’t impressed at all.
Harley looked strangely at the middle-aged Taoist who was being held by his collar.
‘They are of the same race... This is very sophisticated.’
Now that I think about it, the smell coming from this Taoist monk named Cheong-gwan was slightly different from the people from the Kang-hwan world I had encountered so far.
Apparently, this person was also a monster who hid his identity and hid in the human world.
This was an unexpected encounter, but...
‘Good, I can save time.’
Harley, who happened to pick up the monster, gently curved the corners of her eyes and turned up the corners of her mouth.
And, feeling satisfied, I slowly moved my tongue and licked my lips without thinking about it.
“Ugh! “I don’t have any taste! It’s from fresh water, so it has a bit of a fishy smell and...!”
Afterwards, it took some more time to resolve the misunderstanding.
Apparently, this monster friend was more timid than I thought.