Episode 614: Return of the Demon Sect Leader
“Is that…?”
Gu Yoon’s eyes widened as he stared at Jo Shin-ryang.
Or more precisely, at the strange device in Jo Shin-ryang’s hand.
Sensing Gu Yoon’s gaze, Jo Shin-ryang nodded.
“Yes, this is the Qi Compression Device.”
“It’s finally complete. You’ve really outdone yourself!”
“The hard work wasn’t mine alone. Those out there have it much tougher.”
Jo Shin-ryang’s eyes drifted to the distant battlefield.
It was nothing like the battles he had imagined back at the Divine Beast Pavilion.
He had thought it would be a fierce struggle between demons and warriors.
But what was this?
The humans were being overwhelmed.
The Helmut Knights were doing their best to hold the line, but the massacre by the Great Demon was unbearable to watch.
Chaos. Hell. Pandemonium.
No words could fully capture the devastation before them.
And over there, where dark clouds gathered ominously, lightning flashed repeatedly.
Jo Shin-ryang instinctively knew.
“That’s the place!”
Surely, that’s where Sa Bi-gang was locked in combat with the Demon King.
“How’s the situation?” Jo Shin-ryang asked, turning to Gu Yoon, who shook his head with a troubled expression.
“Not good.”
A mild understatement. In truth, he wanted to say, “It’s over.”
But Jo Shin-ryang had arrived.
There was still a glimmer of hope.
The martial experts of the Jianghu gathered around Jo Shin-ryang.
“Is that device our hope?”
“It certainly looks impressive.”
“How did you create such a thing? Truly remarkable.”
Jo Shin-ryang replied in a calm voice.
“This is just a tool. The true hope lies in your noble resolve.”
The experts, including Yeon Gang-baek, exchanged glances and nodded faintly.
It was time to act on their decision.
Delaying any longer was pointless.
Eun Gi-ryung looked at Mu Rang.
“Then, Mu Rang, please instruct us. How should we gather our energy?”
“Follow the breathing technique I will teach you. And attach this talisman to your dantian.”
Mu Rang distributed talismans from his robe to the gathered experts.
With the talismans affixed to their dantians, the experts sat in a large circle.
In the center, Mu Rang placed the transparent Qi Compression Device, crafted from a magic stone.
He poured a concoction made by Jin Baek into the device and added the ashes of another talisman.
The mixture, filling half the device, contained rare ingredients like the essence of the Clear Sky Stone.
With preparations complete, Mu Rang addressed the experts.
“Let’s begin.”
The experts nodded and began to channel their energy.
A deep hum resonated…
**
“Aaah! Nooo!”
A warrior, ensnared by the Great Demon’s tentacles, screamed as he vanished.
“Tch!”
Maeng Ga-sook clicked his tongue and swung his nine-section whip fiercely.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The relentless tentacles were deflected by the whip’s energy.
Meanwhile, three werewolves lunged at him from behind.
“Growl!”
Just as their sharp claws were about to slash Maeng Ga-sook’s back.
Whoosh! Thud!
Three arrows pierced the vital points of the werewolves.
“Aaagh!”
“Ugh!”
As the werewolves cried out and fell back, Maeng Ga-sook exhaled in relief and turned around.
“Focus, old man.”
The archer was none other than Dan Ri-jeong.
He continued to draw arrows and fire them wildly at the surrounding enemies.
Maeng Ga-sook chuckled.
“You think I didn’t notice? I was just testing your loyalty.”
Despite Maeng Ga-sook’s jest, Dan Ri-jeong remained serious, watching the Great Demon absorb and kill the martial artists indiscriminately.
The Great Demon was a calamity.
It absorbed or killed everything in its path, friend or foe.
Nearby, an ogre fighting a warrior was ensnared and absorbed by the demon’s tentacles, while dozens of goblins were crushed beneath its massive body.
Dan Ri-jeong glanced back.
On a distant hill, a brilliant light shone.
There, the experts of the Jianghu were likely preparing the final strategy devised by the military.
Though he didn’t know the details, the battle here must not affect what was happening there.
The intense energy emanating from the hill was palpable even from this distance.
The warriors fought desperately, clinging to the hope that salvation lay there.
Thus, they had to hold this line.
Meanwhile, Maeng Ga-sook, who had been running back, paused and looked at Dan Ri-jeong.
“Why are you just standing there? Get moving!”
But instead of answering, Dan Ri-jeong slowly nocked an arrow.
Attached to the arrowhead was an explosive pellet.
Maeng Ga-sook dashed over, grabbing Dan Ri-jeong’s arm with a fierce expression.
“Are you insane? If you fire that here, we’ll all die. Friend and foe alike! How are you any different from that demon?”
Dan Ri-jeong glanced back, his voice cold.
“Don’t ever stop me from drawing my bow again. Not even you.”
“You madman… Do you want us all dead?”
“I don’t shoot without thinking.”
With that, Dan Ri-jeong suddenly shouted.
“Soso!”
Out of nowhere, Neung Soso landed gracefully beside him, like a fairy riding the wind.
She raised her staff and shouted.
“Silphid! Blow that monster away!”
In an instant.
Whoosh!
A powerful gust swept over the warriors’ heads.
Some were caught in the wind and blown away like autumn leaves.
Realizing the situation, Maeng Ga-sook shouted with all his might.
“Damn it! Everyone, get down!”
The warriors, engaged in combat, dropped to the ground at his command.
Whoosh!
The wind grew stronger.
Rumble!
The Great Demon was pushed back by the gale.
Its massive size made it difficult to withstand the direct force of the wind.
Neung Soso could see Silphid, enveloped in a blue aura, pushing the demon with all its might.
The demon flailed its sticky tentacles, but they were useless against the invisible Silphid.
The demon continued to be pushed back.
The warriors on the battlefield lay flat, holding their ground.
Some used techniques to anchor themselves, while others dug their hands into the earth to stay put.
The wind blew over their heads, occasionally sweeping some away.
Large trees were uprooted and sent flying.
The Heavenly Destruction Squad members, skilled in magic, used gravity spells to anchor themselves and their comrades.
How long did they endure?
Finally, when the demon had been pushed back a hundred yards, Neung Soso saw Silphid beginning to tire.
She shouted.
“I can’t hold it any longer!”
“That’s enough!”
Dan Ri-jeong, still under the gravity spell, stood up.
The wind was so strong that even with the spell, he was being pushed forward.
Had Silphid flown any lower, the gravity spell wouldn’t have worked.
Dan Ri-jeong slowly drew his bow.
The arrowhead trembled violently.
‘Focus…!’
He exhaled slowly.
His racing heart began to calm.
The Great Demon, still being pushed by the wind, let out a furious roar.
Dan Ri-jeong recalled a past event.
The time he saved his special unit comrades near Mount Toisan.
He tried to recapture the feeling of shooting his bow in real combat for the first time.
As the memory surfaced.
Thwack!
The arrow flew from the bowstring.
Whoosh!
The arrow, trailing a blue light, shot toward the Great Demon like a meteor.
The demon’s mouth opened wide, swallowing the incoming arrow.
”…!”
All the warriors watched, swallowing hard.
Moments later.
Rumble…!
With a strange sound, the demon’s body began to swell.
The demon turned a dark crimson.
And then.
Boom!
With a tremendous explosion, the demon’s body burst apart.
Despite the explosion, the wind did not cease.
‘Silphid! Hold on until the end!’
Neung Soso, extending her staff, gritted her teeth.
Silphid, enduring the powerful blast, continued to fly.
Whoooosh!
The wind, charged with explosive energy, swept past the colossal demon, engulfing the monsters and demon soldiers trailing behind it.
“Aaaaargh!”
“Uuuuurgh!”
Screams erupted from the demons and monsters as they writhed in agony, their bodies scorched by the blast.
Whoooosh!
Finally, Sylphid soared up to the canyon, then gently dispersed into the air, vanishing without a trace.
A vast path of destruction stretched from where the giant demon had stood to the canyon, marking the aftermath of the explosion.
Thud!
Only then did Neng So-so’s legs give way, and she collapsed to the ground. Meng Ga-sook hurried over to support her.
“Are you alright?”
“Ah… I’m fine,” Neng So-so replied weakly.
Meanwhile, the warriors who had been lying on the ground erupted in cheers upon realizing the giant demon was dead.
“Yeah! We took it down!”
“We turned that monstrous thing to dust!”
Dan Li-jing approached Neng So-so.
“You did well. Thanks to you, we made it through.”
Of course, this didn’t mean the tide of battle had completely turned. It would take considerable time for Neng So-so to recover her strength and summon Sylphid again. Until then, they would have to endure another grueling fight.
For now, they had to be content with having pushed the front line forward a little. They had only managed to take down one giant demon, and many more still roamed the battlefield.
But at least it was a step forward. In a battle that seemed lost, they had found a glimmer of hope.
“Now, what’s left is…”
Dan Li-jing’s gaze shifted back to the distant hill. The light and energy emanating from there had grown even more intense.
A dazzling array of colors. The combined force of countless martial experts, regardless of their allegiance. It was beautiful and powerful.
At that moment, a shadow swiftly approached, flying toward them.
Finally, the shadow landed gracefully in front of Dan Li-jing, tracing a gentle arc.
“Master Dan Li.”
The clear voice belonged to Bi-ryeong, the guardian of the Grand Strategist.
“The strategist is looking for you,” she said, her eyes fixed on Dan Li-jing.