Chapter 99
Having made up my mind, I stepped forward and asked Imugi.
“Mugi, can you fly in that condition?”
“…I’m exhausted right now, but my wounds healed as I grew! My fangs grew back too! So…, even if it’s a bit slow, I can fly.”
“Alright, that’s enough.”
Step-
As I took another step forward, the jiangshi growled at me.
“Grrrrr…”
But they also seemed to be hesitating a little.
“Auto-hunt Mode?”
It didn’t feel like the Blood Demon Corpse King was directly controlling the jiangshi at that moment. Since the Blood Demon Corpse King was exhausted too, it would be too much for him to directly control the jiangshi here.
“Well…, does it matter…”
Among the hesitating jiangshi, I locked eyes with the Heavenly Demon Jiangshi, who was just quietly staring at me.
Smirk.
For some reason, I felt like laughing.
Srrng-.
I raised my Saber and muttered to him.
“…I didn’t expect to face you like this.”
No, deep down, I had hoped never to cross paths with beings bearing the name Heavenly Demon again.
But seeing as I was meeting a Heavenly Demon who had been turned into a jiangshi, it seemed we were bound by a Red Thread.
“Destiny…? No, it must be an ill-fated one.”
In fact, if you thought about it, all the past Heavenly Demons could be considered my irreconcilable enemies.
That was the same for the guy in front of me.
But no matter how much of an enemy he was, seeing him swinging a Sword even after becoming a jiangshi didn’t sit well with me.
That was probably one of the reasons why I am executing this Stance now.
“I will grant you a peaceful death.”
Saying that, I leaped.
Soon after, the Saber was swung…
“…!”
…Imugi’s eyes widened.
\\
When the Blood Demon Corpse King uses Jiangshi Control, he is also affected by distance.
If he is far away, his Jiangshi Control is hindered and its power is halved, but if he is close by, he can double that power.
Unaware of this fact, the Bandits couldn’t understand why the jiangshi had suddenly become more violent and powerful.
BANG-!! BANG-!!!!
The jiangshi battered the Bandits' defensive line like truly enraged bulls.
“Ugh…”
As the Wooden Wall set up on the stairs reached the verge of breaking, someone groaned in fear.
In truth, everyone was feeling the same emotion.
And rightly so… If that Last Bastion fell…, they would have to fight the jiangshi in close-Quarters combat, body against body.
“Fire-!!”
Fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip-!!
They were resisting by desperately shooting and throwing, but it didn’t buy them much time.
Crack-, cra-crack-!
And finally, when the Wooden Wall cracked…, and the defensive line was on the verge of collapsing from even a light attack by the Jiangshi Legion…!
Halt.
“…?”
Contrary to the Bandits' expectations, the jiangshi suddenly stopped moving as if they had broken down.
“…”
“…No, why all of a sudden?”
The Bandits, who had been holding their blades ready, were flustered and could do nothing as silence flowed.
And…, that silence…
“You fought hard.”
“…!”
…was broken among the jiangshi by the young man.
The Haomun Leader immediately examined the man’s face. It was the man who had been letting out demonic shrieks just a moment ago.
Ssssh-.
The jiangshi lifted him up so he could speak comfortably.
Ssssh-.
“…!”
Eventually, the jiangshi bent their bodies to form a chair for him to sit on…
Thud.
…the Blood Demon Corpse King sat on it naturally, as if it were a familiar routine.
Truly the King of Jiangshi.
The Bandits couldn’t help but feel even more intimidated by its presence, seeing the jiangshi they had been fighting to the death bending over and acting like slaves.
Noticing the Bandits' demeanor, the Blood Demon Corpse King smirked and declared to them.
In truth, the situation was just as urgent for him, but he knew that in such situations, it was better to hide his weakness and show dignity.
“You are enemies, but I will acknowledge this. In all my life, there has never been a group that blocked my Jiangshi Legion so well. You held out exceptionally well with your mysterious stratagems and strong weapons.”
“…”
Naturally, no one was pleased to hear those words.
Even though they had blocked them well so far, they are on the verge of being breached right now. Everyone considered the Blood Demon Corpse King’s words to be nothing more than mockery aimed at losers.
However…
“I highly value your wits…, so I shall tell you a way to save your lives.”
“…!”
…Everyone pricked up their ears at the Blood Demon Corpse King’s next words.
“Easy.”
Seeing their reaction, the Blood Demon Corpse King found it hard to hide his satisfaction.
No matter how strong the captain was, not all of his Subordinates could be strong. This was especially true in terms of mentality.
In the Blood Demon Corpse King’s eyes, the Bandits in front of him were nothing but bugs. Bugs that would immediately kneel and lick his boots if he offered to spare them.
“Drop your weapons and surrender right now. If you do, I will guarantee your lives.”
“…”
Look at those foolish faces. Look at those wavering eyes upon hearing a proposal from the enemy they had been bleeding to fight and who had even killed their comrades just moments ago.
The Blood Demon Corpse King felt that things would go smoothly as he looked at them.
If someone mustered the courage to speak up, everyone would drop their weapons and kneel like a rising tide.
And the moment someone raised their hand and opened their mouth just as the Blood Demon Corpse King hoped…!
“Your mother-!”
“…”
…The words that came out of his mouth were not what the Blood Demon Corpse King had hoped for.
The Blood Demon Corpse King wasn’t the only one surprised by this. Startled by the harsh words, Dongryong looked to his side to see Bangsam shouting in anger.
“Drop our weapons? Fucking Hell. If you’re going to spout bullshit, don’t sit up there looking down on us so arrogantly; get on your knees and ask politely-! You impolite brat! Are your mother and father jiangshi too? Is that why you weren’t educated?”
“…”
It was a string of profanity harsh enough to make even the Grand Supreme elder draw his Sword in anger.
At this, the Blood Demon Corpse King’s facial expression stiffened.
However…
“Pfft-!”
…Dongryong actually burst into laughter.
Even in this situation, Bangsam’s spirit for hurling parental insults at the enemy seemed to relieve the tension.
So Dongryong also laughed and chimed in.
“Yeah, you bastard whose mother and father are also jiangshi! We will never surrender-!!”
When Dongryong, who was the de facto captain here in Muyeon’s absence, shouted like that, the other Subordinates gained courage and shouted as well.
“Yeah, fuck, what do you mean surrender!”
“I’d rather just fight to the death!”
“Turn us into jiangshi too, just like your mother-!”
“You fucking bastard whose mother and father are also jiangshi!!”
“…”
At their intense outcries, the Blood Demon Corpse King frowned and fell silent.
He was quite flustered, not expecting their rebelliousness to be this strong, and moreover, he had actually turned his own parents into jiangshi.
“I should kill a few of them first to quiet them down.”
The first to catch the Blood Demon Corpse King’s eye were Bangsam, who had insulted his parents, and Dongryong, who was leading the Bandits, along with Dang Wolhwa, who was taking advantage of the chaos to strategize from the back.
Swish-.
“Go.”
RUMBLE-!!!
As the Blood Demon Corpse King gestured, the jiangshi began to advance like a tidal wave once again.
“Block them!!”
The Bandits, their Combat Will revived, also screamed and raised their weapons.
Crack-! Cra-cra-cra-crack-!
Before long, the Wooden Wall that had been barely holding on finally shattered!!
“Kyaaaak-!”
“Kiiiiii-!!”
The jiangshi, who had been facing off with the wall between them until now, finally revealed themselves right in front of them.
“Kyaaaaa-!”
At the very front of them were the Blood Demon Corpse King’s Elite Jiangshi.
“Let’s go!!”
Among the Bandits, Dongryong and the other executives took the lead and blocked them.
Dongryong, in particular, practically threw his body at the jiangshi, diving in and swinging his Saber among them.
Slash-slash-slash-slash-!!
“Look at me, you bastards!!”
When Muyeon bestowed the Saber Art upon them, all the executives tried their hardest for a hundred days, but the one who worked the hardest, even cutting down on sleep, was Dongryong.
Because without Muyeon, Dongryong was the highest authority in the Mountain Stronghold. As the Second-in-command, Dongryong underwent Training day and night to fulfill his responsibilities.
He couldn’t dare to reach Muyeon’s level…, but he worked hard just to step on the edge of his shadow.
As a result, Dongryong was now rampaging like a tiger right among the Blood Demon Corpse King’s jiangshi.
Dongryong pushed the jiangshi away and slashed their necks on the stairs, holding out desperately.
But no matter how much Dongryong’s level had improved, he couldn’t block all the jiangshi swarming in like a tide.
Slash-!
Dongryong lost his rhythm for a moment and slashed a jiangshi with slightly too much force…
“Damn it…!”
…Taking advantage of his widened Stance, he failed to block the jiangshi right in front of him from extending its sharp hand toward him.
That hand was aiming precisely for Dongryong’s heart.
If that pierced his chest…, Dongryong felt that he would absolutely not survive.
But at that moment…!
“Elder brother-!!!”
Stab-!
“…!!”
Someone threw their body and took the jiangshi’s attack in Dongryong’s place.
“Bangsam-!!”
It was Bangsam.
“You idiot-!!”
Slaaash-!
Dongryong hurriedly slashed the jiangshi that had stabbed Bangsam, grabbed him, and brought him to the Haomun Leader, who was throwing daggers from the back.
“L-Leader! B-Bangsam is…!”
“…Lay him down quickly!”
As soon as Dongryong laid Bangsam down, blood poured from Bangsam’s side like a fountain.
Furthermore, his skin was turning black due to the poison on the jiangshi’s hand.
“Ugh…, urgh…”
“Bangsam…, you idiot…”
Bangsam groaned continuously, clearly in pain. His face had turned blue, as if he were about to die.
Dongryong’s heart ached as he looked at his foolish younger brother. But he didn’t have time to watch over Bangsam.
Because the jiangshi were still swarming in.
Grip-.
With tears in his eyes, Dongryong gripped his Saber tightly and turned his body back toward the Jiangshi Legion.
“Hey, you bastards-!! I’ll kill you all-!!”
He had resolved to die first instead of his Subordinates, slashing down even one more jiangshi.
Just as Dongryong was about to leap toward the Jiangshi Horde as if diving into water…!
“L-Look over there-!!”
“…?”
Someone pointed at the sky in surprise.
“Hmm?”
At this, not only the fighting Bandits but even the Blood Demon Corpse King raised their heads to look at the sky.
And there…
-ROAAAAAAR-!!
“Aargh-! My e-ears-!”
“A d-dragon?”
It wasn’t a dragon, but it was Imugi, possessing enough majesty to create such an illusion.
Because of her drastically changed appearance, the Bandits didn’t immediately realize that the Imugi was Yongyong.
And while everyone was staring blankly at that sight…
“Huh? O-Over there!”
“Something is falling-!!”
Suddenly, something fell from the dragon’s back…
RUMBLE-!!
It headed toward the Jiangshi Legion with fierce momentum.
“T-That guy…!! How did he get here so fast…!”
The Blood Demon Corpse King recognized who was falling toward him…
Only then did he realize that the Heavenly Demon Jiangshi had been destroyed.