Chapter 90
Eventually, the promised Hour of the Pig with the Blood Demon Corpse King arrived…
“…”
“…”
“…”
Since everyone knew the battle would begin at the Hour of the Pig, a tense silence settled deeply over the Mountain Stronghold.
However…
“…He’s not coming?”
…Even though the promised Hour of the Pig had arrived, the Blood Demon Corpse King’s Jiangshi Legion did not reveal itself.
Don’t tell me this bastard was bluffing about the Jiangshi and everything? Was it just to stop us from doing business for two weeks?
“…Let’s wait and see for now. Coming at the Hour of the Pig doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll arrive exactly on the dot.”
The Haomun Leader also spoke in a doubtful voice, as if finding it strange.
“If any movement is detected, the Scout will first come to report. Please wait with an easy mind.”
“…right.”
For reference, the Scout role was taken by the one with the best Lightness Skill among the Haomun Martial Artists. It was a choice made because, other than me, there was no one skilled in Lightness Skill among our Green Forest Members.
Anyway, the Scout was currently scouting the area at the front of our Mountain Stronghold, so if any Jiangshi were seen, he would report back immediately.
Therefore, I decided to take the Haomun Leader’s advice, relax my mind, and wait for the Scout’s report.
And…, the moment I thought that and sat down…
“…!”
No lie, the moment my butt touched the seat, my senses immediately caught something rapidly approaching this way.
It wasn’t an evil energy, so I just watched in that direction, and soon the Haomun’s Scout revealed himself.
“Leader! General Stronghold Master!”
When we first met and exchanged greetings, he was a Scout who truly felt like an Assassin because no emotion showed on his face.
But now the face I met again contained clear fear and confusion.
Just by looking at his face, I could predict what had happened. And…
“Just now at the front, a Jiangshi Legion suddenly…”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
…Before the Scout could even finish his sentence, they revealed their silhouettes along with a sound that shook the earth.
Grrrrr-!
Those who possessed human bodies but could never be called human.
Corpses that had long been dead were forced to move using evil Dark Arts.
Jiangshi.
“N-No…”
“My God…”
The Subordinates with good eyesight had already confirmed the appearance of the Jiangshi and their faces stiffened in shock.
It was certainly a bloody visual that would make one’s breath catch upon seeing it for the first time.
But to me, who was already living a second life, they just looked…
‘They look exactly like zombies.’
…Zombies.
Right, they looked similar to the zombies you’d see in a movie.
Hundreds of Jiangshi that looked like zombies were relentlessly sprinting up the rugged path to conquer our Mountain Stronghold.
Now, the real war has begun.
“Huu…”
I took a deep breath and looked back at all the Subordinates standing on the Wooden Palisade.
With the battle ahead, everyone was tense, and some were even trembling.
It is now.
Is it now the time?
You know how it is. In movies or novels, there’s always that scene where the commander gives touching words before a war to give the Subordinates a Morale Boost.
In fact, that was a romantic ideal of mine. Whenever I saw such iconic scenes, I never failed to think that I definitely wanted to try doing that once.
And…, it seemed the perfect time was now to fulfill my romantic ideal.
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat, put on an unprecedentedly serious expression, and turned around.
And the moment I solemnly opened my mouth…
“Boys! We are now!”
“…Um, Great Hero.”
“…Hmm?”
…Suddenly, the Haomun Leader grabbed my sleeve and cut me off. Naturally, I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.
‘Damn it, Haomun Leader!’
I wanted to show my Subordinates the appearance of a dignified Leader for the first time in a while!
But I could quickly understand why the Haomun Leader had interrupted me.
“Great Hero…, please look over there.”
Where the Haomun Leader pointed as she said that…
Rumble rumble-!
“Kiiii-!”
“Kuaaaa-!”
…There were Jiangshi charging mercilessly while letting out bizarre shrieks.
“Whoa…, why are they…”
“…Yes, their marching speed is faster than expected. I believe we need to hurry and prepare…”
“Right…”
We’d all die before I could give a Long Speech or whatever.
Holding back tears, I had no choice but to modify and abbreviate the words I was going to say to my Subordinates.
“You bastards-! If we win today, I’ll give every surviving bastard one silver tael as a reward-!”
“Waaaaaah-!!”
Yeah, well…, they were just ignorant and greedy Bandit bastards. Just telling them I’d give them more money was a Morale Boost…
The Subordinates must have been thrilled just by the promise of receiving one silver tael each, as they all let out a thunderous roar.
I clicked my tongue at their display, but even so…
“Yeah, I’m counting on you. You bastards.”
…On the other hand, their brave appearance somehow made me feel reassured and relieved.
* * *
“Kuaaa-!”
If there was a silver lining, it was that all those Jiangshi seemed to be moving on instinct rather than being individually controlled by the Blood Demon Corpse King.
If they were ordinary humans, or even if they had a little bit of intelligence, they definitely would have marched while keeping guard on their surroundings.
But right now, the Jiangshi are just sprinting along the shortest route without a single thought, solely to kill us.
Thanks to that, they were blocked by the obstacles we had set up in advance and naively ran along the path we had guided them to.
“…”
We just held our breath and watched the sight.
And the moment they finally entered our firing range…
“Now.”
Fwump.
“Kuaaak-!”
“Aaaaak-!”
The ground beneath the Jiangshi bastards' feet gave way and opened up. Just like that, they had no choice but to fall into the deep pit we had dug.
“Kya.”
Thud thud thud.
The Mindless Jiangshi fell deep into the pit without even knowing what was happening.
That sight, which looked like penguins diving into the sea, was truly a spectacle.
Since we had slathered the pit with oil, it would be too slippery for them to climb back up.
Furthermore…
Crunch-! Crunch-!
There was a grinder installed by the Mechanism Formation experts at the bottom of the pit, so things were turned into dust one after another.
‘As expected, the beauty of a Defense Game is auto-hunting.’
The Haomun Leader next to me was serious, unlike me, who was watching the sight with satisfaction.
“Great Hero, it seems that alone won’t be enough after all.”
What the Haomun Leader was looking at as she said that was…
Leap-.
…Jiangshi that were simply jumping over the pit in a single bound.
Looking at those guys, I could tell at a glance.
The Amount of Qi flowing through each entity varied wildly. While there were Jiangshi that just charged mindlessly, there were also ones with outstanding physical abilities like those.
Not only that…
Squirm squirm.
Perhaps there was a limit to killing them with the grinder, as the pit had already filled up. And the Jiangshi in the back were using the ones that had fallen into the pit earlier as stepping stones to cross over to our side.
Thanks to that, the Jiangshi bastards recovered their marching speed and charged toward our Mountain Stronghold at a Beast-like pace, but…
“Yeah, I figured they’d be able to do at least that much. Right, Haomun Leader?”
“Yes, in fact, they need to be at least that much for us to have a chance to use everything we’ve prepared.”
…The Haomun Leader and I actually watched the sight with apathy.
The moment they reached the perfect firing range, I called out to Dongryong.
And then…
“Dongryong.”
“Yes, Leader.”
“Open Fire.”
…I gave the order.
As soon as he received my order, Dongryong grinned and nodded.
“Understood…Everyone, light the fuses!!!”
“Yes-!!”
Sizzle-.
Hearing the sound of the fuses catching fire, I smiled in satisfaction.
It was time to show the power of an Advanced Scientific Weapon to those ignorant Jiangshi bastards who only knew Human Wave Tactics.
* * *
“Oho…, a Mechanical Formation… They used their heads a bit.”
Controlling the Jiangshi from a place far away from the battlefield, the Blood Demon Corpse King smiled like a child.
Because he was so far away, he couldn’t see the battle situation with his naked eyes, but the Blood Demon Corpse King, who shared senses with the Jiangshi, could grasp how the Green Forest was defending.
‘But formations have their limits too.’
It would have been impossible to install a High-Level Mechanism in the short time of two weeks. In reality, as soon as the mechanism reached its capacity, the Jiangshi Legion took advantage of the gap to resume its advance.
Watching his Jiangshi getting closer and closer to the Wooden Palisade, the Blood Demon Corpse King laughed.
‘Now, what else can you show me?’
Even now, the Jiangshi he was controlling were slipping past the obstacles and running toward the Mountain Stronghold’s Wooden Palisade.
‘Don’t tell me this is the end? Hurry up and show me…, hmm?’
And the moment the Jiangshi reached the front of the Wooden Palisade, what they faced was…!
Clank-.
‘Cannons…?’
…Dozens of cannons were lined up in a row on top of the Wooden Palisade.
Cannons are used in a fight between martial artists, and not even the government is involved.
It was an object he hadn’t seen in such a long time that the Blood Demon Corpse King couldn’t help but be dumbfounded. However, the Green Forest’s cannons did not wait for that opening and immediately spewed fire.
“Open Fire!”
B-b-b-b-bang-!
“…”
The sight of that steel rain captivated the mind of the Arch-Demon who had lived for over a hundred years, and…
KABOOM-!!
It blew the Jiangshi that the Blood Demon Corpse King had painstakingly made by hand completely into smithereens.
* * *
‘This is called a Hongipo (Hongipo).’
‘Hongipo (Hongipo)?’
‘Yes, it’s a cannon currently being researched directly by the Central Government, and its power is Superior to previous ones, with excellent accuracy.’
‘No…, how did you come by something that the Central Government is directly researching and developing…’
‘There is nothing Haomun cannot do.’
‘…’
‘You just need to know that much.’
I recalled the conversation I had with the Haomun Leader a few days ago while watching the spectacle unfolding before my eyes.
Hongipo is the best. You’re amazing, Haomun Leader.
“As expected, everything is equal before a lump of iron.”
The Jiangshi that had escaped the pit were hit by the Cannon Barrage and literally turned into dust.
Clap clap clap-!
I truly felt like applauding.
Seriously, why even learn Martial Arts? You just need to light a cannon.
“If we take those and march North, we’d reach Anhui in no time, wouldn’t we?”
“…Great Hero. If you march North with that, you won’t just become a Murim Public Enemy, but an Enemy of the Nation. If the government even finds out that a Martial Artist is handling gunpowder…”
“I know, I know. I was just joking.”
There was an unwritten rule that a Martial Artist must not handle gunpowder. If this was broken, the Emperor would send the army, regardless of the Non-interference between Government and Murim or whatever.
Still, thinking I should get my money’s worth while using them, I asked Dongryong next to me.
“Hey Dongryong. It’ll take some time to shoot again, right?”
“Yes, a Reload can’t be done immediately, after all.”
“Then…”
We should move on to the second phase.
“Draw the Fire Arrow.”
“Yes, understood. Everyone, light your arrows!”
Hwasi (Fire Arrow).
In other words, a Fire Arrow.
Just a regular Fire Arrow wouldn’t inflict any meaningful damage on a Jiangshi.
But as I mentioned earlier, the Pit we dug was slathered in oil. Furthermore, a lot of gunpowder was sprinkled on the dirt ground.
If we shot a Fire Arrow into such a place…, what would happen?
“Shoot-!”
Fwip fwip fwip fwip-!
I could soon see the result with my own eyes. The fire arrows shot by the Subordinates drew a truly perfect parabola as they headed toward the Jiangshi, and…
BOOM-! Fwoosh-!
…The fire arrows literally formed a Firewall, meeting the gunpowder and oil.
Roar roar.
“Kiiiiik-!”
“Kuaaaaak-!”
“Wow…, they burn well.”
The sight of hundreds of Jiangshi blazing in the fire was truly a living Hell.
Fwoosh-!
“Oops, it spread to the trees next to them too.”
Showing no signs of weakening, the fire swallowed up the nearby trees in an instant.
‘I didn’t intend to burn the trees along with them.’
The forest and trees are a Bandit’s friends. As someone who cherishes nature, I couldn’t help but feel heartbroken seeing the trees burn.
“Ugh, only the trees are suffering because of those bastards… Hey, Dongryong, draw some more fire arrows to avenge the trees.”
“Yes, to avenge the trees.”
Fwip fwip fwip-!
The fire arrows added on top of the fiery Hell created an even greater fiery Hell, and the Jiangshi were reduced to ashes just like that.