Vol 2. Chapter 39: A Tumultuous War (7)
“Attack! Wipe out the Lee worms off the face of this world!”
The roar of the last of the Three Emperors, the Fist Emperor, rang out on the battlefield. Simultaneously, a huge army began to flock to Gyeongbokgung Palace.
“Dae-ha!”
“Yeah!”
As soon as he called out, I invoked Lightning Flash and jumped towards Gw.a.n.ghwamun Gate. The situation was different now that the Captain’s War had ended. Restrictions that prevented the Selected Ones from fighting each other had disappeared, which meant that standing in front of the huge army was basically asking for death. The number of enemies was over 100,000. Even if I could kill a person with a single blow, I would have to deliver over 100,000 blows. If they all took turns giving a little tap on my half-baked gigas, it would surely be smashed into smithereens.
Boooom!!
“Keugh!?”
However, as I was about to jump up to Gw.a.n.ghwamun Gate, I was forced to roll on the ground due to a devastating blow to my back. I tried to raise myself up reflexively, but I wasn’t able to come to my senses. I was shocked to the point where my head was spinning and my hands and feet were shaking.
Shick!
A black ray of sword cut apart the attack which was flying towards my head. It had been an invisible, intangible attack.
Crack! Kwazak!
The attack became split into pieces and a fragment crashed against Gw.a.n.ghwamun Gate, which caused a portion of the structure to crumble without resistance, as if it had been nothing more than a piece of cookie. Even though there was the ultimate restriction, Entry Barrier, in place, due to its nature, the large gate could not be fortified with any other defensive spells. Even so, it was unbelievable that a fragment of an attack had been sufficient to completely destroy the large structure.
“Dae-ha, are you okay!?”
“Oh, oh, wow.”
I shook my head to clear myself from the shock. I concentrated and delivered the physical impact to my body to my Unique World.
Injuries and trauma greater than level 3 have been identified. I will start surgery immediately.
‘Please.’
I immediately returned to reality after observing my body lie down on top of an operating table in the Unique World. Without saying, my physical condition was at its peak.
“Whew, that shocked me.”
“What? Where did all your injuries go? Is this a form of recovery?”
I raised myself up without any trouble, and I could tell that my brother was fl.u.s.tered. However, before anything, I checked the condition of P-1.
“Oh G.o.d. It’s completely destroyed.”
I had been hit on the back, but the entire structure of P-1 had been destroyed as the impact spread out due to the concentric effect. I checked my left arm with my right hand, which caused all the shattered parts to fall to the floor with a metallic clang.
“Hwarang group--! Become intoxicated on the fluttering flowers!!”
“We accept the orders!”
Warriors with flower-like beauties let loose arrows made of flowering trees. As the projectiles cut through the air, the entire world became filled with flowers.
There were different kinds of flowers. Some shot arrows made of cherry tree branches, some raspberry branches, some plum tree branches, some forsythia tree branches, and others magnolia tree branches. However, all of the branches transformed into petals and poured down like rain.
“Kuaaagh! Dammit! Get through it!”
“Use your defensive magic!”
The warriors of the Zhu Family tried to resist with all their might, but the first wave of the raining petals swept them away. The petals were bright and beautiful, but they were weapons of slaughter that penetrated and tore into everything that touched them.
Moreover, the horrors of the petals did not end there.
“K, keuagh! F, flowering trees…!”
“Get them off! Don’t let the petals touch your skin!”
Flower trees began sprouting all over the place. Cherry trees, raspberry trees, and plum trees started to emerge. The trees grew at a formidable pace, devouring the blood and flesh that littered the ground of Gw.a.n.ghwamun Square. After fully maturing, the trees started to rain down another wave of petals.
Fwoosh!
At that time, my brother slashed his sword and cut something down once again. I was finally able to recognize the ident.i.ty of the attack that had struck against my unguarded back. An old man with a ridiculously fit body that was unbefitting his white hair – his fist was stretched out towards me.
“Wow, is that some kind of a shockwave fist technique?”
“We need to get back, Dae-ha! They will be coming through the gates soon!”
“Got it.”
I observed the Fist Emperor for a moment. He was pulling back his outstretched arm, glaring at me with a fierce expression through the fluttering petals.
“Hey! Are you okay?”
As I quickly stepped away and entered Gyeongbokgung Palace, Jae-seok, who was talking to a group of men dressed in suits, hurriedly ran towards me.
“Hey, Jae-seok.”
“You crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Are you out of your mind? How long has it been since you awakened your powers? Why would you recklessly jump into the enemy ranks like that?”
“I’m fine though.”
“Fine? Your armor is all smashed up. Do you know how dangerous this world is? If you slipped up even once, you could have died!”
Thud! Tung!
I took off my helmet. I threw away my ragged tops and bottoms and shook off my boots. Before I knew it, gold, broken, and smashed pieces of metal piled up under my feet.
“I guess you are right about that.”
“You guess? You weren’t like this before, were you? You were literally an incarnation of safety and peace, so when did you suddenly become Zhang Fei or Guan Yu[1]? I’ve heard about people’s personalities changing after gaining strength, but isn’t this a little too extreme?”
Listening to my bewildered friend, I reached down and scooped up the pieces of metal from the floor. My natural affinity to metal caused the debris to slowly melt like a liquid and clump together in the form of a large iron ball.
Thud!
The iron ball rolled between the people’s legs and slid into a random corner. On the surface world, it was approximately the location of where the ticket office of Gyeongbokgung Palace would be.
“Prepare for battle!”
“Create a safe distance!”
A sudden burst of outcry caused Jae-seok to be surprised. He quickly dragged me away behind the troops.
“It’s starting.”
“What do you mean? We’ve already been fighting.”
“Well, until now, we were hitting them unilaterally. It was literally the worst case scenario for the enemies, but… There is no way that they disregarded the possibility of the conflict turning into a siege. They must have taken measures.”
Indeed, it was just as he said.
Kwakwakwakw.a.n.g!
A ferocious barrage of magic poured down onto the gate. There weren’t just one or two blasts, but rather dozens, no, hundreds of simultaneous casts! Gw.a.n.ghwamun Gate lasted for a short moment before collapsing with a loud noise.
The Hwarang group had been on the walls near Gw.a.n.ghwamun Gate and on the pavilion above, but they had long entered through the gate and devised new formations.
“Ugh! We’re still too close. Let’s go in further.”
Jae-seok frowned while covering his ears. I followed behind him as he moved deeper into the palace. We pa.s.sed Heungnyemun Gate and Geunjeongmun Gate, finally arriving in front of Geungjeongjeon Hall. It was the place where the Sword Saint had threatened the patriarch of the Lee Family and declared the Captain’s Battle.
In normal circ.u.mstances, the court ladies would make sure I would not travel along the king’s meeting area when heading towards Sajeongjeon or Gangnyeongjeon, but they could not afford such formalities in this chaotic situation. I could see court ladies busily transporting combat gear such as arrows and magical tools, and combatants checking their weapons with nervous expressions.
“Hmm? Who are those guys? Why are they coming from Gw.a.n.ghwamun Gate?”
“Ah, I know that kid over there. I think his name was Bae Jae-seok? He’s the grandson of Ilsung group’s chairman.”
“A normal person is striding around in this mess?”
“Even if Ilsung is in charge of the Lee Family’s finances…”
Some of the ability users whispered among themselves after looking at us, but that was it. The atmosphere was way too tense for them to approach us to talk or to pick a fight.
Compared to the ability users from the leading group, those present here were rather lacking in equipment and levels. However, they were on standby for battle since the entire Lee Family was in imminent danger.
“What? They’re only dozens of feet away, but they don’t know the situation outside?”
“Of course they don’t. The entire palace has already entered into war mode. All zones are separated by special barriers and all the gates are being guarded by the gatekeepers. In particular, Heungnyemun Gate and Geungjeongmun Gate are covered with dragon-level barriers, so it is difficult to gauge the outside situation with eyes and ears. On the other hand, it will be impossible for the enemies to get in here unless they break through the main gate.”
As he explained, I looked around for my brother. He had entered the gate before us. Surprisingly, my brother was surrounded by five or six monks.
“Obangnaewa Shinjinun Namusamada Motdanam Oom Dorodoro Jimisabaha…”
“Buddah told his ministry. Every Bodhisattva must rule his heart…”
“Sajira’s Tense Method: Immortal Life…”
Monks dressed in robes were reciting mantras in a quiet voice, and a mysterious energy started to surround him. I looked towards Jae-seok with a look of absurdity.
“What is that? Don’t tell me that the monks are using heal on him?”
“That sounds like something from a video game… They’re reciting Buddhist writings. The monks of the Jogye Order are specialized in fighting, but they are religious figures in essence.
“Hmm.”
I could see the strange energy growing stronger as the monks continued to chant. It was circulating all over my brother’s body, restoring his body and boosting his energy. The frantic black energy rampaging around my brother was slowly calming down. In other words, his Heavenly Killing Energy was being pacified and being restored in a proficient manner.
‘It’s not their first time.’
As I had such thoughts,
Boom!
The ground started to shake along with a huge explosion. Screams erupted from all over the place.
“This, this signal… Heungnyemun Gate! It’s been destroyed!”
“Starting with the combat teams that are ready, go through the Geungjeongmun Gate and provide support! Those who are capable of erecting barriers, join the defense!”
The tense silence disappeared at once, and the area became noisy. Everyone was running around in an urgent manner, and I could feel the remnants and shockwaves of energy from all over the place.
“Young master.”
Several men in suits approached us. Jae-seok nodded towards them.
“I got it. Let’s retreat further. It will be better to go all the way past Gangnyeonjeon to Hyangwonji Pond. In any case, the battlefield will move towards Gw.a.n.ghwamun, Heungnyemun, and Geunjeongmun because of the entry restriction, so it will be safer for us to go deeper.”
Boom!
Another explosion could be heard from our backs. Jae-seok’s expression was getting rather urgent.
“Dae-ha.”
“No, wait. You want me to retreat all the way? What about the war?”
“I’m just an ordinary person, and you’ve already fought your share. Why are you so eager and full of energy when you’ve only been in this world for a short period of time?”
“But.”
“And even with all this fuss, things aren’t going terrible. The princess already antic.i.p.ated the situation and made sufficient preparations.”
I felt surprised at Jae-seok’s a.s.sertive words and looked at his face. Come to think of it, he was quite deeply involved in the war even though he was just an ordinary person. I thought he was just a regular(?) third generation chaebol, but he seemed to have his own backstory as well.
“So you’re saying that everything is going according to the plan?”
“How could I dare to say something so cheeky? But… the current situation is actually better than that. Everything is going much better than what we imagined. Your rampage played a part as well.”
I adjusted Udjat to look over the entire situation. The warriors of Zhu Family had already entered Gyeongbokgung Palace after destroying Gw.a.n.ghwamun Gate. I could see dead bodies everywhere, anda countless spells, arrows, and bullets were flying all over the place.
“Ah.”
I was able to understand. It was recognizable.
Naturally, one could criticize me and say ‘how could you recognize anything? You’re just a newbie!’. They weren’t wrong. I was only a beginner in terms of my abilities.
But at the same time, I was an expert in war.
“…I see. We’ve already won this war.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say…”
“No, I’m confident. Of course, the Zhu Family is pushing us back with a fierce momentum, but… their advances are being blocked.”
Even though the Lee Family was suffering damages and the formations were slowly retreating, they showed no signs of collapse. It would be critical for the Zhu Family for their attacks to be blocked, slowly but surely. Rather, it would have been better for them to retreat without daring to attack. If things kept on flowing like this…
At that moment, the tide of war became clearly visible for me, from beginning to end.
And the war proceeded just as I predicted.
1. For those of you who don’t know, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu are figures from the three warring kingdoms. They became sworn brothers along with Liu Bei in the oath of the peach gardens. Basically super strong military warriors that are brave, etc, etc…