Book 2: Chapter 168: Hae-il (3)
Raon. Ill need to look in the formation as well.
Cale got up and opened the door.
He could see the red dirt of the vast plains that had been trampled on.
Of course, this too was only faintly visible thanks to the moonlight.
Right this way, Hae-il-nim.
Human, follow me!
Cale followed Choi Han and Raon to where they saw the numerous jiangshis.
* * *
It was not very far away.
It was at the outskirts farthest from the castle wall and looked like a regular plain.
I can clearly tell now that I am up close.
The castle wall in the distance and everything he was looking at were all lies.
It could not be helped.
They had used invisibility magic and speed magic to stealthily move here.
He could see around him despite it being the middle of the night.
They were trampled on.
The vast plain responsible for the food of the citizens of Yunnan was destroyed.
However, what he was looking at right now showed no signs of being trampled on.
It was clearly a lie.
Human, over here!
Raons front paw was no longer invisible and Cale walked toward where Raon was pointing.
However, he only saw the same thing.
Wait a little bit!
Black mana that assimilated with the night started moving.
It then seeped into the air.
I studied formations a lot! I am great and mighty and know formations very well now!
Sssssssssss
There was a sudden gust of wind as if a blocked hole was opened.
Hmm?
It was a stiff and sticky breeze.
The type that would make someone feel suffocated.
Cale could see a hole the size of a palm starting to appear. He knew what he had to do.
He looked through the opening.
Very carefully.
Oh, this.
The Fire of Destruction. The cheapskate gasped.
Cale clenched his eyes shut.
He could understand why Raon and Choi Jung Soo had returned with such shocked faces that he had not seen in a while.
This is crazy.
He could not see much through that palm-sized opening.
Even that opening was just a crack, giving a faint view of the inside.
However, what Cale saw was beyond what he had expected.
Ha.
Underneath the moonlight
Although he knew that nobody was walking around despite torches being lit around the walls
There were so many corpses standing there that it was impossible to feel the light of those torches.
Yes, these were corpses.
They were different from the jiangshis he saw in Xiaolen.
Although he was certain that they had used dead mana to create these jiangshis, their appearances showed no signs of darkness.
In fact, a gentle blue light was sparkling on them from the moonlight.
The Blue Bloods household.
These jiangshis looked as if they would bleed blue to match that name.
The Blood Cult.
Just hearing that term would make Cale think of the color red, but starting today, he would only think about blue blood whenever he thought of the Blood Cult.
The jiangshis didnt even blink as they looked forward.
They looked like statues.
However, they looked completely human.
Living corpses.
That expression was quite an accurate assessment of them.
Cale, each of them look like they would be difficult to handle.
As the Cheapskate mentioned, all of the jiangshis were properly equipped.
The Blood Cult seemed to have not saved the significant profits they had earned through the Pure Silver Merchant guild and instead invested for their future.
The results of that investment was this endless number of jiangshis all being fully equipped.
There seem to be more than ten thousand of them.
Cale bit down on his lips after hearing the Cheapskates comment.
The jiangshis were standing extremely tightly next to each other.
The formation with a radius of one kilometer that surrounded Yunnan Castle
It was not an even circle with exactly one kilometer in all directions. Some areas were shorter than that while the place Cale was looking at was about 1.3 kilometers long.
At that moment
Rustle.
They felt someones presence behind them.
!
Cale saw the eyes of all of the jiangshis on the other side of the gap turning toward them, toward the direction of the sound.
As the gazes instantly headed toward them
Human, Im closing it!
Raons judgment was accurate.
Cale immediately moved back.
The opening was closed.
In the instant that the opening closed, the jiangshis were still looking toward them and he could see someone inside the formation approaching them.
Lets run away!
They needed to run away as Raon mentioned.
Of course, he grabbed the arm of the individual who suddenly made the noise.
!
He seemed surprised that someone grabbed his arm when nothing seemed to be around him, but
He followed without any opposition.
Human, Im going to turn the Heavenly Demon invisible as well!
The first to arrive here was the Heavenly Demon who had arrived much earlier than they had expected.
* * *
At dawn
Their surroundings were slowly getting brighter but it didnt feel as if the sun was rising. In fact, all they could see was a somber sight that became more visible with the light.
From within Yunnan Castle
Dokgo Ryeong, the young clan leader of the Dokgo Clan, a clan famous for their heavy blade in the Orthodox faction despite not being as famous as the Namgung Clan, raised her head.
She could see ash-colored clouds.
Those clouds made everything look so somber.
Rage filled Dokgo Ryeongs eyes.
It was at that moment.
Pow!
Ugh!
Dokgo Ryeong staggered and knelt down.
She then lifted her head.
There were two people looking down at her.
But for now, all she could do was wait for a small opportunity to turn this situation around.
* * *
In a small farmhouse
A couple people were gathered inside.
Wow. They are such crazy bastards.
The Pinnacle Demon gasped.
Mm.
Tang Yu, the matriarch of the Tang Clan, groaned.
Gulp gulp.
As for the Divergent Coalition leader, Sima Pyeongs daughter Sima Dan must be frustrated as she was gulping down alcohol. Nobody stopped her.
Sima Dan then offered her bottle to Elder Ho Song Yi of the Beggars Gang who was next to her.
Would you like some?
Im fine.
He then brushed his face with both hands.
There are over ten thousand jiangshis. And the formation cast inside Yunnan Castle-
Is beyond our imaginations.
The Sage Demon calmly commented.
The Triumvirate
The core members of each faction, a group that would make any martial artist gasp in astonishment if they were seen together, sat around a map on a table as they continued their conversation.
In such a situation, it is difficult to determine whether we can be victorious even if we bring all of the forces that are currently awaiting our instructions.
Tang Yus comment was met with silence as the others agreed.
They had rushed over and had not been able to bring their forces with them, but a large group of martial artists were currently stealthily waiting with their respective factions.
Of course, they were quite far away as they could not come close to the formation, however, they would all quickly gather at the boundary of the formation if told to do so.
It is not enough.
As Elder Ho mentioned, they still did not have enough.
I think we will need to bring in more troops from our respective territories to attack Yunnan Castle.
Nobody disagreed with Sima Dan, who stank of alcohol as she spoke.
They all agreed.
The Martial Arts Alliance.
The Divergent Coalition.
The Demon Cult.
The three factions were going to take on the Blood Cult while the Imperial Palace handled the jiangshis all around the Central Plains.
That was why the core forces of each faction were gathering at Yunnan one by one.
However, the problem was that the number gathered right now was not enough.
And there are young Blood Demon candidates?
Yes maam.
The moment Sima Dan answered the Pinnacle Demons question, the Pinnacle Demon sighed.
She ignored the Cleave Saint, who was looking at her with discontent, and continued to speak.
By the way, what is the point of us just worrying about it like this?
The moment she said that
Screeeeeeeech-
The door opened and four people walked in.
The Heavenly Demon.
He was the first to arrive with the Sage Demon and the Demon Laws Battalion and had assessed the situation.
After him was the Namgung Clans Sword Saint.
He came with the Heavenly Guardians and had not released his sword from his hand since his arrival.
Finally, Sima Gong.
He walked in while rolling dice in his hand and made eye contact with the Sage Demon.
Smile.
The Sage Demon saw the person standing in the middle of those three people as soon as Sima Gong smiled.
Young master-nim. How was it?
Cale.
He motioned to Sima Gong with his eyes.
Sima Gong stepped forward and started speaking.
It was as the great and mighty Dragon-nim and the Sage Demon said.
The Sage Demon and Zhuge Mi Ryeo were said to be the smartest people in the Central Plains.
The Sage Demon had inspected the formation with Raon and realized something.
After confirming this, he contacted the youngest of the House of Sima, Sima Gong, as their family was called the Unorthodox factions Zhuge Clan. As the smartest of their House, he was tasked with the final verification.
Raon, the Sage Demon, and Sima Gong.
The thing that the three of them had confirmed
Sima Gong started to explain.
The core of the formation is the castle wall.
The formation. The abilities of the person casting the formation was important but the formation became more effective based on the quality of the materials used.
Yunnan Castle.
The long history of these castle walls would impact the level of aura embedded within them. It would definitely help a lot in maintaining the formation.
That is why there are two formations with the castle wall at the center and the castle wall is maintained without any issues.
The Pinnacle Demon nonchalantly commented.
Does that mean that destroying the castle walls will make the formation crumble?
Yes maam. It would definitely do something if the core of the formation was destroyed.
Sima Gong licked his lips. Tension that was incomparable to what he felt during gambling seemed to burn away at his body.
He looked at Cale with a gaze full of anticipation.
The Sage Demon asked with a stiff expression at that moment.
Young master-nim, are you planning on going through with that plan?
Yes sir.
Cale calmly answered.
Plan? What plan?
The Pinnacle Demon asked in confusion, and as the others looked confused as well Cale calmly answered.
I will just share the big picture.
Since they were planning on creating jiangshis at night time
Why wait until then?
The plan starts at noon.
They might as well move efficiently while the sun was up.
Step one. Mess with the formation outside the castle wall to temporarily get rid of the illusion.
Then they should clearly see the jiangshis as well as how it looks outside the castle walls.
Step two. Push the jiangshis aside, attack the castle wall and destroy it.
Excuse me?
Elder Ho Song Yi blankly asked, but Cale didnt even pretend to hear him.
Step three, infiltrate the castle while the castle wall breaks and the formation is shaken. Suppress the Blood Cult.
Tang Yu stuttered as she asked.
U, umm, how do we push the jiangshis aside and destroy the castle wall?
Cale thought about the poison he looted, no, was gifted from the Tang Clan, and happily answered.
He had a smile on his face.
Ah, I will do that. My people and I will take care of that, so please just prepare to enter the castle.
Nobody could say anything.
* * *
Noon arrived.
Translators Comments
Ah noon, the perfect time for a duel out in the wild wild west
TCF is currently posted Mondays and Fridays at evening time GMT. Join our discord to be notified as soon as the chapter posts!
If you cant wait, please subscribe to advanced chapters on our EAP website to get access to up to 8 chapters!