WeTried Translations

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◈ Ophidian of the Immortal World ◈

Chapter 57: Beast Tide

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When Jegyeong said he would deal with Black Sect Hall, Gwak Jeongsin voiced his concerns.

There were several reasons, but three stood out most: the Black Sect Hall Master's strength, connections, and Black Sect Hall's many members.

Jegyeong was confident he could face the Black Sect Hall Master, while Gwak Jeongsin promised to handle the master's connections.

But what about the third concern, Black Sect Hall's considerable number of members? Even if Jegyeong dealt with the Black Sect Hall Master, what would happen to the countless subordinates beneath him?

Most of those members would only be at the early or middle Qi Refining Stage and would not be worth worrying about.

Still, there would surely be dozens at the late Qi Refining Stage, and there might even be some knocking on the door to Foundation Establishment. Even a Demon Race cultivator at the Great Demon Realm would need to take such a force seriously.

Yet Jegyeong boldly assured Gwak Jeongsin there was no need to worry.

Gwak Jeongsin had doubts about that baseless confidence, but could only say that he understood and let the matter pass for now.

In any case, this Great Demon Beast, Jegyeong, clearly seemed extraordinary. Unlike most of the Demon Race, he did not appear to be mentally unsound.

If anything, he seemed as cool-headed as any Human Race cultivator, so Gwak Jeongsin assumed he had his own calculations.

Gwak Jeongsin's guess was not wrong.

Jegyeong truly had something in mind.

‘The Great Demon Beasts of Upper Demon Grove once mobilized thousands of Demon Race cultivators as they pleased.’

Jegyeong did not know whether that had been brainwashing or some other special ability, but it had left a deep impression on him.

If possible, he wanted an ability like that too.

Even if he could not wield it as freely as his own limbs, who would refuse the power to mobilize such a large army?

After reaching the Great Demon Realm, Jegyeong thought about that ability whenever he had time.

No matter how he considered it, though, he concluded that collective brainwashing of that sort was impossible.

Depriving thousands of Demon Race cultivators of reason and making them unafraid of death was simply beyond him.

Still, as the saying went, any road was fine as long as it reached Seoul. He thought he could achieve a similar result through a different method.

From what Jegyeong had experienced, cultivators naturally felt suppressed by those of higher realms.

That applied to all cultivators, but the effect was especially strong among the Demon Race.

The Demon Race possessed Bloodlines.

With the pressure of a higher realm compounded by the pressure of a Bloodline, members of the Demon Race without the protection of a Bloodline could not help suffering extreme suppression before those of a higher rank.

Of course, it was not absolute. Individual differences existed.

Jegyeong had been able to more or less face Sagaewan, yet Cheongo and Muk-su had struggled to remain conscious.

But most members of the Demon Race, especially the so-called Lesser Demons without any notable Bloodline, were thoroughly bound by this suppression.

‘I am a Great Demon Beast now. That means I have the Bloodline of the Great Demon Realm.’

Ordinary Demon Beasts would see him and flee in terror, while some would roll their eyes back.

If he approached, they would stop breathing. If he let out a fierce roar, the fainthearted ones might die on the spot.

It was a perfectly natural instinctive reaction.

Jegyeong intended to use that instinct.

He gave the turtle a few drops of blood and thoroughly imbued it with his Aura, appointing it as his representative.

With Jegyeong's blood on its body, the turtle would seek out the Water Demons, convey his will, and persuade them.

Of course, it would only be persuasion in name. In truth, it would be a threat...

So what?

As long as it worked, that was enough.

* * *

The turtle set out on its mission with solemn determination.

That was right. A mission.

The tasks it had received until now had been minor errands, but this was a proper mission.

‘Because I haven't disappointed Dragon Lord until now, Dragon Lord trusts me and has entrusted me with something more important.’

The turtle had not been given a detailed explanation, but it prided itself on its clever mind and guessed Dragon Lord's grand plan.

This was a very large hunt.

Not some petty hunt for a few water bandits, but a great hunt targeting an entire Human Race sect.

“Listen up, you fools!”

There were several vicious Water Demons it would normally have found troublesome to face, but the turtle did not shrink back in the slightest. Instead, it shouted loudly and acted arrogantly.

Despite the turtle's brazen manner, the Water Demons could not make a sound and lowered their heads.

A few tried to appear defiant, but the threatening Aura they sensed from the turtle eventually made them tuck their tails.

“Dragon Lord said he will soon hunt the Human Race! All of you must follow Dragon Lord!”

“Dragon Lord? We don't know who this Dragon Lord you speak of is!”

One Water Demon shouted with a defiant gleam in its eyes.

The fact that it could speak despite not reaching the Great Demon Realm showed it had something extraordinary about it, like Cheongo and the turtle.

“Of course you don't! You've never beheld Dragon Lord!”

The turtle screeched.

The Water Demon that had just spoken grew frightened and shut its mouth.

The turtle's own Aura was nothing special, but the few drops of blood on its body magnified its oppressive presence several times over.

The turtle was like a child wearing a tiger's guise, except that guise roared and bared its fangs as though alive.

The Water Demons, who were only ordinary Demon Beasts, could not withstand that pressure.

“Consider yourselves fortunate that I came to you! If you had acted so disrespectfully before Dragon Lord, you would have been seized and eaten alive!”

The Water Demons before the turtle were all clever creatures.

Even those unable to speak could understand the turtle's words and react in their own ways.

Listening to its threats, they imagined a gigantic dragon chewing them alive.

“If you do not obey Dragon Lord's command, none of you will die a good death! But you needn't be too afraid! If you serve Dragon Lord well, not only will you live, but depending on your efforts, you may even eat your fill of Human Race flesh!”

As it spoke, the turtle slowly turned its head.

Without exception, the creatures that met its gaze looked away.

The turtle's heart filled with joy.

When had it ever experienced anything like this?

It had been born with a clever mind, but its combat ability was nothing impressive, so it had always avoided other Water Demons. It had been forced to eat only seaweed and small fish that others would not touch.

Yet now, it was lining up creatures it would once have avoided from afar and shouting at them as loudly as it pleased.

It felt like a sweet dream.

Its chest swelled with emotion.

‘This is it. This is the true life of a turtle.’

If one was born a turtle in this vast world, one had to show this much spirit.

It had lived wrongly for far too long.

‘No, I didn't live wrongly. My time simply had not come yet.’

The turtle looked at the dispirited Water Demons and shouted once more.

Its voice had started to crack after yelling several times, but it did not care in the least.

“The Human Race is numerous! We alone are nowhere near enough! So gather everyone you can gather! Gather them all!”

The turtle shouted passionately.

* * *

After receiving the turtle's report, Jegyeong nodded inwardly.

‘It really is useful.’

Jegyeong had ordered the turtle to recruit clever Water Demons.

He had not expected it to be too difficult, but the turtle had done even better than he expected.

It had directly recruited dozens of Water Demons. If each of those creatures gathered only ten more, that would mean several hundred Water Demons.

It might have seemed like a handful compared to Black Sect Hall's members, but Jegyeong was satisfied with this much.

Demon Beasts were simple.

Most were merely beasts with stronger bodies, and even those that were a little smarter were often ruled by instinct.

If he scattered a little blood scent, creatures like that would gather on their own.

“How is Black Shark Island?”

“Mm. The same. Small boats come and go every day, and a large ship leaves once every five days.”

While gathering Water Demons through the turtle, Jegyeong had Cheongo watch Black Shark Island.

Cheongo carefully remembered the number of boats entering and leaving Black Shark Island and their travel routes, then reported them to Jegyeong.

‘The Black Sect Hall Master truly has ambition and ability.’

After revealing his intention to take down Black Sect Hall to Gwak Jeongsin, Jegyeong had steadily gathered information about the organization.

The more he learned, the more he had to admit that Black Sect Hall Master Gong Byeok-un was a remarkable figure.

‘This is practically a business. It's different from an ordinary sect, but it's still a proper organization.’

Every member of Black Sect Hall was both a fisherman and a water bandit.

Their main income came from selling Fleshscale Fish, though the profits from water banditry also seemed considerable.

They controlled dozens of islands, and Three Frog Island was only one of them.

‘Their water banditry isn't simply for making money. It's a means of controlling all those islands more effectively.’

Black Sect Hall had only a few thousand members. Even at most, it could not have reached ten thousand.

How had so few people thoroughly controlled a population dozens, perhaps even more than a hundred times larger for so long?

It was because that population was divided among dozens of islands.

Black Sect Hall strictly controlled each island's population and prevented exchanges between islands.

Whenever an island broke their rules, they punished it mercilessly.

Three Frog Island was one such case.

A third of the island's population had either died or been taken away as slaves.

‘Thanks to that, my work has become easier.’

There was no such thing as perfect rule.

No matter how solid a fortress wall was, rat holes would appear in it.

When struck by an iron fist, some would cower in fear. Others would continue to burn with resentment even after falling.

Jegyeong recalled the boy whose eyes had shone as he declared that he would become his ally.

‘Can the little one do it?’

The boy's gaze had been impressive, but that was all.

He had only just entered cultivation and was not even fully grown.

Still, for some reason, Jegyeong found himself looking forward to it.

* * *

“Cheongyu, have you lost your mind?”

“We can't keep living like this forever.”

Han Cheongyu met the eyes of his friends, who were treating him like a madman, one by one.

“What if it doesn't go the way you say? We'll all die! All of us will die!”

Watching the boy who looked ready to leap to his feet at any moment, Han Cheongyu sneered.

“Die? Do you think we're alive right now?”

“What?”

“Wake up! We're like fish trapped in a fish trap. We're fish those Black Sect Hall bastards can dispose of whenever they want! Didn't you see it this time? How many people died after being blamed for something they never did?”

Han Cheongyu's words were rough, but they stirred every heart.

What he said exposed the thoughts everyone had desperately hidden because of fear.

“Listen carefully. I'm not saying this lightly. We have no choice anyway. They've already marked us! Sooner or later, we'll all die! Or we'll live lives worse than death, like our parents and the village elders! Is that what all of you want?”

Those gathered here were not old, but neither were they foolish.

What they had seen and experienced while growing up had made them mature early. They knew Han Cheongyu was not saying these things merely to persuade them.

“...Do you have a plan?”

“When they come to collect tribute, we attack them. We make as much of a disturbance as possible and draw in the villagers too. Then, even Black Sect Hall will have no choice but to withdraw for the moment.”

“And then? More of them will come after us...”

“That is exactly it. When they return and sail here to attack us, then...”

Everyone swallowed hard.

But their eyes no longer trembled with unease as they had moments before.

Han Cheongyu looked at the eyes quietly shining with a shared resolve and answered.

“Someone who hates Black Sect Hall will turn them into fish food.”

* * *

“Cheongyu! Are you sure about this?! The fate of the villagers rests on your word now!”

Han Cheongyu paid no attention to the village chief's angry shout.

He silently glared at the dozen or so boats approaching from afar.

“It's too late, Village Chief. Set your mind at ease. If I'm wrong, we can just fight and die. If I'm right, we'll gain our freedom. Either way, we won't suffer under those bastards anymore.”

“You little...!”

The village chief was not truly blaming Han Cheongyu.

The village chief simply lacked resolve.

Fear had consumed them, keeping them from seeing what they needed to see clearly, just as it had once done to Han Cheongyu.

“Oh, what am I supposed to do now? Three Frog Island's line ends with me!”

Just as the village chief began to sob in earnest, all the people of Three Frog Island gathered at the dock saw it.

‘He's here!’

The calm lake water suddenly heaved.

Then a wave rose without warning and swallowed Black Sect Hall's boats.

Only Han Cheongyu, with his sharp eyesight, could clearly see the ferocious creatures swarming within that wave.

‘...Huh?’

Footnotes:

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