Episode 457: Return to the Demon Sect
The warriors, hearing Sabikang’s rallying cry, clung to the last threads of hope and began to run.
Yet, nearly half of them had already perished, and another third were ensnared by the chains of desire, having succumbed to corruption.
Only those with profound inner strength, who had withstood the Seven Deadly Sins, retained their sanity and attempted to escape.
“Leader! We must retreat! Just as Sabikang said, the barrier has completely fallen!”
“Hmm… Yes, you’re right.”
Nung Unpa, who had been momentarily lost in thought, finally responded.
Seung Ryongdaeju glanced at the leader with a slight frown, concerned by his drained demeanor.
“Are you alright, Leader?”
“Ah… I’m fine. But Sabikang truly seems to have reached the realm of the divine.”
“He was incredible. Without him, our alliance’s warriors might have been annihilated here…”
Seung Ryongdaeju trailed off, noticing the leader’s somber expression.
Nung Unpa forced a wry smile and spoke.
“It’s alright. It’s the truth. I must blame my own shortcomings. It seems I still lack cultivation.”
“No, Leader! Without you, who would have led us?”
“Let’s set aside the flattery. Come, let’s return. It seems we’ve failed to stop their ritual.”
Nung Unpa turned to gaze at the towering fortress in the distance.
The Black Fortress loomed high, as if piercing the clouds.
Most of the warriors, fleeing towards the collapsed barrier, were too preoccupied to notice when the fortress had appeared behind them.
What had once been a massive green trunk had stopped growing, gradually turning ashen, shedding its skin like a snake to reveal a solid metallic structure.
Some warriors, in their fury, hurled themselves at the demons, unable to bear the sight of their comrades and subordinates falling into corruption and death.
“You wretched fiends! Come at me!”
Changshindan Leader Lee Jajun fought like a wrathful spirit.
With a single spear thrust, a demon’s head was severed, and with a single punch, the bodies of demon soldiers exploded.
Having endured the Seven Deadly Sins, he no longer needed to expend his mental and physical energy to maintain his sanity.
Thus, he fought like a wild beast, unleashing the power he had kept sealed.
“Changshindan Leader! Get a hold of yourself and retreat! It’s too dangerous now!”
Just then, Uk Cheongpung, who was running towards the collapsed barrier, managed to calm Lee Jajun.
Despite his subordinates’ attempts to stop him, he couldn’t ignore the words of the Elder Council Leader.
“Ugh!”
Lee Jajun bit his lip, swallowing his frustration, as Uk Cheongpung patted his back.
“I understand your anger, but there’s nothing we can do now. We must retreat and plan for another day.”
“Understood.”
With a resolute expression, Lee Jajun shouted to his men.
“Changshindan, retreat! Survive, every last one of you!”
“Yes, sir!”
Voices echoed in response from all around.
Reluctantly, Lee Jajun turned his steps away.
Uk Cheongpung, having sent him off, looked back.
The massive Black Fortress stood like a monstrous sentinel.
“To think it would truly descend…”
He had been skeptical of Sabikang’s words.
His thoughts had wavered countless times each day.
While it was true that Sabikang had reformed the Alliance, his claims seemed too far-fetched.
Even if the Demon Sect had summoned demons, it could have been some experiment with spiritual creatures.
At least, that’s what he wanted to believe.
A Demon King? It was too absurd to accept.
Perhaps his long years of experience had merely solidified into stubbornness.
In truth, he had only pretended to believe Sabikang’s words.
But now…
“It was true. It really descended… truly…”
He shook his head, muttering the same words over and over.
This battle had undoubtedly left a profound impact on him.
Just then,
Rumble… Boom!
The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck, and large mounds rose all around the descent site.
“What is that?”
Uk Cheongpung squinted in confusion.
“Kill them! Humans!”
“Attack!”
Demons charged, shouting in an unfamiliar language!
Unlike the demons they had faced before, these wore helmets, armor, boots, and gloves.
Moreover, they moved in a coordinated manner under the command of a figure wielding a large staff.
“New type of demon…!”
Unfamiliar with the demon realm, Uk Cheongpung could only assume so.
However, Sabikang was the only one on this battlefield who truly understood their nature.
“Goblins have appeared.”
Sabikang swiftly moved, slicing through the neck of an approaching goblin.
Swoosh!
“Kaaargh!”
“Anyone who wishes to die, come at me!”
As Sabikang’s voice thundered, the goblins hesitated, intimidated.
Unlike mindless demons, goblins possessed intelligence and emotions.
Sabikang smirked and said,
“Not that it matters. I was going to kill you all anyway.”
In an instant,
Sabikang leaped back, extending his hand and shouting,
“Hellfire!”
Whoosh!
A fiery inferno erupted before him.
The intense heat swept forward, reducing the hesitant goblin horde to ashes in an instant.
The warriors cheered and rushed towards the barrier.
However, the goblins’ numbers were vast, and Sabikang alone couldn’t fend them off with just a sword.
He needed to use wide-area magic, but with allies and enemies mixed together, he couldn’t risk it recklessly.
Then,
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Light swirled in various parts of the descent site, and large shadows began to appear.
“Damn, ogres?”
Sabikang frowned deeply.
With the true descent underway, it was clear that the monsters residing around the Demon King’s castle were being summoned in succession.
Starting with the lower-ranked summons, they were being transported one by one.
These creatures, loyal to the demons, inhabited the area around the Demon King’s castle.
Ogres, unlike goblins, weren’t particularly intelligent, but their combat prowess was formidable, making them a challenging foe.
As if to prove this, the ogres, upon being summoned, roared wildly and began swinging stone hammers at the people.
Thud!
“Argh!”
Thud! Thud!
Warriors were instantly killed as their heads were smashed by the ogres’ stone hammers, while others were left incapacitated with shattered shoulders or spines.
Some warriors bravely fought back even as they fled, but with the endless goblin horde joining in, they were overwhelmed.
Just then, Churyang and Akcheongoe rushed to Sabikang’s side.
The two had been fighting nearby when they saw Sabikang use magic and hurried over.
“Master!”
Churyang called out joyfully, and Sabikang, frowning, asked,
“Why are you still here? I told you to retreat to the hill.”
“There are too many stragglers. We have to save as many as we can.”
“Bah, damn it! Save as many as you can? Just use your magic or whatever and burn them all to death!”
Akcheongoe interjected, shouting.
His entire body was drenched in blood, resembling a bloodthirsty demon.
Even as they spoke, the three of them fought off the goblins and ogres charging at them.
Churyang, having just beheaded a goblin, shouted back at Akcheongoe.
“We can’t do that! If we use wide-area magic here, we might burn everyone, friend and foe alike!”
“You brat! How do you expect to save our allies by killing them one by one? People are dying even as we speak!”
“But we can’t sacrifice our own people with our own hands, can we?”
“Damn it! Then what do you suggest? We have to save as many as we can!”
With a burst of speed,
Akcheongoe leaped onto an ogre’s shoulder, wrapping his legs around its neck, and spread his fingers wide.
His clawed fingers, imbued with energy, tore into the ogre’s neck, severing it.
Thud!
Standing atop the fallen ogre, Akcheongoe strode over to Churyang, grabbing him by the collar and shouting.
“Do you know how many of our people have died?”
“Is it only our people? Many alliance warriors have also fallen!”
“You insolent brat! How dare you talk back to me like that! I’ll…!”
Swoosh!
Suddenly, a chilling sound of flesh being torn was followed by a spray of blood, drenching both of them.
The one who had sliced through the ogre’s back diagonally, just as it was about to attack them, was none other than Sabikang.
Sabigang watched the two with a calm, steady gaze and spoke.
“Enough. I have a solution.”
“What kind of solution…?”
Instead of answering, Sabigang raised his voice, calling out to the sky.
“Natas!”
In an instant, a vivid green light burst forth from the cranium embedded in his collarbone.
Whoosh!
The beam shot up into the night sky, arcing like a comet before descending back to earth.
Boom!
Where the beam landed, a swirling green mist rose, forming a shadowy figure.
It was Natas, the skeletal knight draped in tattered black robes.
With his twisted face, he glanced sideways at Sabigang.
As expected, the voice resonated directly in Sabigang’s mind.
“Ah…!”
Churyang gasped at the sight of Natas, having seen him during the last Great War.
In contrast, Akcheongoe, who had never encountered Natas before, recoiled in horror, his claws instinctively extending.
“Damn it! Another bizarre creature has appeared!”
He was about to spring into action when—
Thud…!
A corpse, which had been lifeless just moments ago, suddenly sprang up and grabbed Akcheongoe by the collar, lifting him off the ground.
“What the…!”
Akcheongoe stared in shock at his assailant.
The face was half-collapsed, clearly that of a corpse.
“What is this? Damn it!”
With a swift kick to the chest, he severed the wrist holding him.
Yet the corpse continued to flail as if still alive.
Finally, Akcheongoe leaped forward, grabbed the corpse’s head, and crushed it, halting its movements entirely.
He panted, not from the sharpness of the attack, but from the eerie sight of the dead rising.
But then…
Rustle… rustle… rustle…!
The surrounding corpses began to rise, encircling Akcheongoe.
“What in the world…?”
He furrowed his brow in confusion, while Natas turned to Sabigang and asked.
The question implied whether he could kill and control the person.
Sabigang shook his head.
“Leave him be. He’s on our side. Don’t provoke Ak Makju either.”
With that, the advancing corpses dispersed.
Akcheongoe stood there, bewildered, as Sabigang sliced through a goblin and spoke.
“Don’t harm a single human. Focus on dealing with these creatures.”
With that, Natas led his legion of the dead, charging fearlessly at the monsters.