WeTried Translations

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◈ Ophidian of the Immortal World ◈

Chapter 37: The War Begins

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Several thousand members of the Demon Race surged in one direction, their momentum terrifying beyond words.

Unlucky beasts caught in their path were trampled until not even their bones remained, or snatched up and eaten by Demon Race members who happened to be hungry. Wandering members of the Demon Race who encountered the enormous horde joined it without thinking, like citizens swept up in a massive protest.

The few who did not join...

All became food for the countless Demon Race members whose eyes were still red with frenzy.

Watching a Weasel Demon Beast that had tried to slip out of the group become docile after being struck in succession by two huge Demon Beasts, Jegyeong realized something anew.

Demon Beasts might be fierce, but they were still living creatures. They feared death no less than ordinary animals. Before the instinct to survive, even their nature and savagery had to bow their heads.

‘Most of them really are Demon Beasts.’

Jegyeong could tell at a glance that the force of well over several thousand Demon Race members was mostly made up of Demon Beasts.

No matter where he looked, he saw Demon Beasts large and small. Demon fiends were so rare that there might not even be one among every hundred.

He had long known that most of the Demon Race consisted of Demon Beasts, but seeing it so clearly made him wonder whether they should be called the Demon Beast Race instead.

‘Is it because there are not many Demon Beasts among the Demon Race's rulers?’

Even the tree-man who had displayed the strongest presence atop the mountain was like that.

Jegyeong did not know whether that being was a demon fiend, but it definitely was not a Demon Beast.

“Keep moving forward!”

From somewhere high in the distance, a voice boomed as though shouted through a powerful loudspeaker.

The sound rekindled the rage of the thousands of Demon Race members, whose anger had faded somewhat.

Rooooar!

Jegyeong roared like the others around him, then brought Cheongo and Muk-su, whose eyes had turned wild again, back to their senses.

At least this time, Cheongo and Muk-su had been somewhat prepared, so things were better than before. Then again, that also meant they had lost their reason despite being prepared.

‘This won't do.’

Jegyeong had originally intended to pretend he was caught up in the madness, then slip away when the time was right. He could feel the mark Sagaewan had left on him gradually growing fainter.

Not immediately, but if he stalled long enough, he thought he could escape without drawing Sagaewan's attention.

Yet if the group was controlled through this kind of brainwashing at every turn, it would be difficult to find an opening.

‘Damn it. Is there no choice?’

Jegyeong glanced sideways at a Great Demon Beast that stood out among the similarly sized grass like a hill rising from the ground.

It was a Great Demon Beast resembling a gorilla as large as a skyscraper.

It moved slowly on two iron tower-like arms. It took only one step every few seconds, yet it leisurely kept pace with the distance the thousands of Demon Race members covered in a rush.

Even though Jegyeong only dared to glance at it from afar, its overwhelming size made him marvel.

Its appearance reminded him of a famous movie monster from his previous life, but it was far larger than the creature depicted in the film.

Jegyeong could not understand how such an unreal existence was only a Great Demon Beast.

Of course, becoming a Great Demon Beast was already a lofty realm he aimed for, and a realm was not determined by size alone...

Still, it was shocking that a creature so huge it seemed impossible for reality to contain was only a Great Demon Beast.

But reality remained reality, regardless of what he thought.

The enormous gorilla looked convincing enough to be called a Demon King, yet it was only a Great Demon Beast. Worse, it was being used as a battlefield overseer.

‘Even becoming a Great Demon Beast only makes you a slightly larger pawn.’

When he had been an ordinary animal, he had mistakenly believed becoming a Demon Beast would let him live freely in the Cultivation World as he pleased.

Now that he was a Demon Beast, he had begun to mistakenly believe becoming a Great Demon Beast would grant him that freedom.

Yet those illusions always crumbled without fail before harsh reality.

Thud!

A black shape dropped directly in front of Jegyeong.

The small Demon Beast that had been there became a crushed lump of flesh beneath it. There was no need to check. It had died instantly.

“There you are.”

“We've been looking for you.”

Sagaewan seized the Demon Beast beneath their feet with both mouths and tore it in half. Its tough hide and flesh split as smoothly and easily as thin paper.

“Were you looking for me?”

“Yes.”

“We came because we found you.”

It seemed Sagaewan did not merely have two heads, but two personalities as well. Those personalities did not take turns appearing. One resided in each head, so even though Jegyeong was speaking to one being, it felt as though he were speaking with two very troublesome people.

“Were you looking at Yungwon? He's absurdly huge, isn't he? Even in Upper Demon Grove, there aren't many as large as him. At most, perhaps five. Yungwon claims he inherited the Bloodline of the Primordial Demon Ape, but almost no one believes him.”

“Not believing him is better for his sake. If Yungwon truly is a descendant of the Primordial Demon Ape, then he is a pitiful excuse for one. That would be a truly miserable story.”

That enormous Great Demon Beast was a pitiful excuse for one?

Jegyeong doubted he had heard correctly.

Could Sagaewan simply be talking nonsense because they were on bad terms with Yungwon? Or was the Primordial Demon Ape truly that extraordinary?

“You don't look convinced.”

“Even if he's clever, he's still only a Lesser Demon.”

“What does being a Lesser Demon have to do with it? His knowledge is simply shallow.”

“Lesser Demons have shallow knowledge. They die quickly.”

Sagaewan bickered among themselves without caring in the slightest that the Lesser Demon in question was listening, then suddenly turned their heads.

“Clever snake. You said your name was Jegyeong, right? So are you really a Lesser Demon?”

“Yes. I am curious about your Bloodline.”

Jegyeong wondered why Sagaewan was suddenly asking such a thing and suspected their intentions.

He knew this two-headed lion was no simple creature.

Asking a Demon Beast about their Bloodline was no different from asking a Human Race cultivator about their heritage.

It was not something one normally had any reason to ask about. Even if someone was curious, it was private information that was not shared.

“My parents were ordinary snakes.”

“You remember your parents?”

“You have a good memory.”

Sagaewan's four eyes gleamed.

Jegyeong felt deeply uncomfortable. He did not know why they gleamed or why they were looking at him that way.

“The clever stand out wherever they go.”

“We'll look forward to what you do.”

Having said all they wanted, Sagaewan abruptly left again.

Yet Jegyeong's expression grew darker after they departed than it had while facing them. The mark of Spiritual Essence, which had been fading, had become as distinct as it was at the start.

‘You bastard!’

Now he was certain.

Sagaewan was watching him closely and had no intention of letting him go, regardless of the coming battle.

That made his choices clear.

One was to submit to Sagaewan and follow them.

The other was to kill Sagaewan and leave.

‘As long as that freak lion is alive, my situation will remain dangerous.’

Setting aside the fact that Sagaewan was a Great Demon Beast, they were also a member of Upper Demon Grove.

Jegyeong did not know their exact position within Upper Demon Grove, but he could not ignore such a threatening backing.

To settle this cleanly, he had to get rid of Sagaewan somehow, unless he intended to submit.

“Jegyeong. What do we do?”

Cheongo, who had not said a word while Sagaewan was present, asked cautiously.

After confirming that Sagaewan's Aura was no longer detectable, Jegyeong spoke coldly.

“We have to kill them. As long as they're alive, they'll keep causing trouble.”

Jegyeong suspected, no, was certain, that Sagaewan had some kind of scheme.

‘The problem is what they're after.’

If they planned to make a move, why not do it now?

Were they avoiding touching him because a battle was about to begin? Then what, had the Demon Beast they had just trampled to death been a Human Race cultivator?

‘Forget it. They are black-hearted. They'll reveal their intentions soon enough.’

Sagaewan acted as though they held Jegyeong's fate in one hand.

As if they were certain he could not escape their control, no matter what he tried.

‘This feels fucking awful.’

What truly irritated him was that Sagaewan was not wrong.

If they wished, they could kill him. They could eat him.

But...

‘We'll see about that.’

The situation was bleak, but Jegyeong's mind remained firm and calm.

‘I need to hurry.’

Yungwon's demeanor had changed.

Jegyeong noticed at once because he had watched Yungwon the entire time.

Yungwon's movements were still slow, but the force Yungwon gave off had clearly changed.

Jegyeong could guess what that change meant.

* * *

“Supreme Elder! A report from the scouts! A Beast Tide is approaching, and they have confirmed the presence of a gigantic demon ape among them!”

An old man with long white hair and beard nodded as he listened to the report from a middle-aged cultivator.

“Good. It seems they have come out to greet us without delay.”

“At this rate, we will encounter them soon. Would it not be better to stop here and prepare in advance?”

“Do so.”

The old man knew such preparations would have little meaning, but he did not stop them.

They might not be much practical help, but the act of preparing could at least instill some confidence in his disciples.

‘A demon ape. It must be that Yungwon.’

For that coward to show himself despite his enormous body meant that either Upper Demon Grove or Yungwon had that much confidence and resolve.

They had chosen the timing and moved first, yet judging by the current situation, it almost seemed the opposite.

“Set up the Formation Arrays!”

The disciples formed teams and began establishing Formation Arrays throughout the area.

They were nothing exceptional, but they had been thoroughly tested in actual combat and could be used effectively in battle.

‘How many will die, and how many will live...?’

Around three thousand disciples had been mobilized for this expedition.

It was by no means a small number.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that most of the younger disciples, especially the outer sect disciples, had been mobilized. Still, the old man thought they would be fortunate if even half survived.

‘Fortunate.’

Would it truly be fortunate if fewer died and more lived? Knowing better than anyone that it would not, the old man laughed bitterly at himself.

They said every cultivator kept a snake in their heart, but the snake in his heart was surely a venomous serpent with terrible poison.

‘They're coming.’

His powerful Divine Sense detected a wave of Demon Energy approaching from afar.

Most of it was insignificant and unworthy of attention, but he could sense several powerful sources of Demon Energy as well.

One of them was so intense that even the old man frowned.

“The Demon Race is coming! Elders, hold your positions!”

At the old man's command, several cultivators flew high into the sky.

Some stood atop flying swords. Some floated in the air with several shining orbs around them. Others sat comfortably on large carpets.

A moment later, the earth shook.

The tremor was so slight it seemed like an illusion, but before anyone could take a breath, it intensified until it felt like an earthquake.

At the same time, thunderous footsteps began to echo.

Then they finally came into view.

A shape like a colossal mountain, and beneath it, black forms densely carpeting the ground.

“Disciples, prepare yourselves!”

The old man's calm voice rang through the minds of the disciples, who had been consumed by tension and fear.

“Follow the Supreme Elder's command!”

“Activate the Formation Arrays!”

There was no frantic movement. The cultivators had prepared in advance, and as they poured Spiritual Power into the arrays all at once, more than several dozen pillars of light shot toward the dark night sky.

Their brilliant glow not only lit the heavens, but instantly swept away the shadows hanging over the hearts of Jeyeon Sect's cultivators.

Then, at that very moment.

“Crude little tricks.”

A cold sneer rang inside the cultivators' minds, just as the Supreme Elder's words had moments ago.

Boom!

Was it the sound of a footstep that shook the earth, or a warning bell that rang in the hearts of the Human Race cultivators who heard that sneer?

The night sky, pierced by pillars of light, was covered in darkness in an instant.

That darkness blanketing the sky filled every living thing with instinctive fear.

“Chaesan Old Demon!”

A furious roar infused with Dharma Power burst out, but the sky trapped within the curtain of darkness did not tremble in the slightest.

Rather than shaking, it even released eerie ghostly wails that sounded like auditory hallucinations.

“Sin Baekrim! You have somehow managed to drag that heavy body of yours out here.”

Under the darkest part of the sky, a tree-man surrounded by black smoke appeared.

The tree-man had the shape of a human, but when examined closely, it lacked many details. It looked like the crude work of a poor woodcarver who had given up halfway through.

Yet this clumsy wooden doll was Chaesan Old Demon, one of the three leaders of Upper Demon Grove and a figure infamous throughout the Juge Mountain Range.

“Are you surprised to see me?”

“Yes, I am. You and that dull fellow both treasure your own lives dearly, so I am curious what possessed you to show your faces before this old man.”

Sin Baekrim's gaze shifted toward Yungwon, who stood towering in the middle of the Demon Race horde.

Caught in that gaze, Yungwon broke into a cold sweat and hunched over. Yet what difference could bringing his arms forward make to a body that large?

Chaesan Old Demon gave a cold snort at the pathetic sight.

“There is no need for such worthless chatter. What is there to say? We only need to do what must be done.”

“Those are true words. Yes. We need only do what must be done.”

Chaesan Old Demon stepped forward, and Sin Baekrim met him.

At the same time, the thousands of Demon Race members, whose patience had already run dry, charged at the Jeyeon Sect cultivators.

* * *

Booom!

His ears had already gone numb from the cries of thousands of Demon Race members. The blast nearly ruptured his eardrums.

Startled, Jegyeong turned his head and saw Yungwon's enormous body, which had looked as though it would remain unmoved even if the sky collapsed, stagger.

When he narrowed his eyes and looked carefully, he saw a Human Race cultivator floating in the air some distance from Yungwon, one hand extended forward.

‘A Foundation Establishment cultivator!’

Jegyeong instinctively lowered his body, raised his vigilance to its limit, and pulled back the widely spread Spirit Awareness as much as possible.

When explosions rang out from all directions, one had to cover their ears.

Likewise, now that the true battle between Foundation Establishment cultivators and Great Demons had begun, the Spirit Awareness spread around him would bring only pain rather than help. He needed to avoid perceiving as much as possible.

“Raaaargh!”

Fireballs flew in, and formless shockwaves swept through the area.

The solid ground suddenly became like a swamp and dragged at his body. A flash of light appeared in the sky, followed by a translucent giant that drove a spear into the earth.

‘This is insane.’

Jegyeong narrowed his eyes at the shockwave that struck him.

It did not hurt much, but he had been hit out of nowhere, which still put him in a bad mood.

Even so, he did not charge forward in anger.

Instead, he let out a pained scream and pretended to be knocked back a suitable distance, generously giving his companions the joy of fighting first.

“Grrrooo!”

A Bull Demon Beast that had gained its chance through Jegyeong's generosity snorted fiercely and rushed forward.

Jegyeong watched its gallant back while half-collapsed on the ground, then discreetly shifted his gaze and began surveying the battle around him.

Footnotes:

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