WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈
Chapter 247: The Celestial Martial Clan Master (2)
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The aura of the Earth Spirit Tribe never emitted hostility towards the Ghost Tribe.
Like actual smoke, it simply flowed and gathered. However, as the smoke-like aura rose around their ankles, some started coughing.
-Cough! Cough!
-What the, it's getting hard to breathe...
At that moment.
The vast cave burst into flames.
Woo, woo, woo, ugh! Woo, woo, woo, ugh! Woo, ugh!
Tap, tap, tap, thump, tap, tap, tap, thump!
The Earth Spirit Tribe warriors surged in unison. The Ghost Tribe warriors were engulfed within the Earth Spirit Tribe, allowing the Earth Spirit warriors to strike from both sides.
Hidden within the shadows, they danced and slaughtered the Ghost Tribe warriors.
But it wasn't just a mere swing of their swords.
Their swords blazed like flames, and their spears turned into columns of fire, burning the illusionary cave. Ghost Tribe warriors screamed as they were cut by the fire.
-Aaaagh!
-It’s hot! So hot!
-It’s fire!
Someone shouted.
-It's fire! A fire attack! Run!
-Head for the entrance!
-Aaaaagh!
-Where's the entrance.......
-There’s still light coming in over there! There! Run, you fool!
The Ghost Tribe's formation quickly collapsed. Those who had mastered aura knew it was not real fire but aura shaped to mimic fire as closely as possible, yet they couldn't inform their subordinates.
If it's hot when touched.
If it burns when it gets hot.
Then, even if it's created by aura, what difference does it make from real flames?
Demonic Formation Art.
The First Method.
Wandering Mansion of Flames.
The tragedy of the burning mansion was reenacted on this battlefield today.
-Run! Run! Run!
The Ghost Tribe warriors desperately ran towards the entrance. Some, unfamiliar with the dark, tripped and rolled; some fell entangled with the fallen; others crashed into the fallen. It was not a [retreat] of warriors but a [flight] of criminals. It was chaos.
-Think you can escape?
Flames hidden in the darkness growled.
-Feel the pain of burning to death.
-Behold the moment when your whole body burns and you can do nothing but scream.
The Earth Spirit Tribe was already deeply immersed in the Cave-Fire Drama. They were warriors, but at this moment they were actors. They were priests reenacting the myth of the White Lion upon the earth, and therefore they were karmic flames that had no choice but to burn their enemies.
They became fire themselves, bewitched by the flames, and burned with rage at the ancient enemies who had dared imprison them in this burning mansion, no, in the suffocating [caves] of the salt mine. They burned with the terror of those caves where, long ago, they had been forced to remain for hundreds of years.
Woo, woo, woo, ugh! Woo, woo, woo, ugh! Woo, ugh!
Tap, tap, tap, thump, tap, tap, tap, thump!
Myth colored the heavens and the earth, history tinted the battlefield. The Earth Spirit Tribe interpreted the world as the followers of the White Lion, raged as slaves oppressed under the Slime Empire's tyranny, and above all, swung their swords as warriors with aura in their hearts.
-Aaaagh!!
-Save me!
-Run! It's fire! It's divine fire! Run!
-Heroes! The Seven Heroes! Please save us....
Utter chaos.
Both the Ghost and Earth Spirit Tribes fell into hallucinations. The aura, thick like smoke, amplified their hallucinatory symptoms. The Ghost Tribe couldn't even think to strike at the flames with swords or spears, while the Earth Spirit Tribe bit and tore at their enemy's limbs, believing themselves to be the flames.
And like charred wood burning to its limit, the Ghost Tribe's forces crumbled.
4.
Thus, that war was, truly and without exaggeration, unlike any war ever seen before.
"......."
"......."
Even my retainers, who had been observing the battle, fell silent at the sight.
The first to break the silence among us, familiar with tragedy, was Kim Yul.
"Impressive, family head."
Kim Yul emotionlessly gazed at his notebook.
"I've traveled through many worlds where the martial realm and the martial arts world exist. Each time, I encountered factions that championed formations. But their formations were, at best, about using hallucinogenic fragrances to impair people's perceptions, or trapping them in pre-constructed labyrinths. Or, they didn't go beyond the level of combined attacks, combined strikes."
Kim Yul closed his notebook with a snap and looked down at the mountain base where the Demonic Formation Art unfolded.
"But this is different. All the casters have mastered the same Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven, and all have the same image in mind. They've painted a landscape shared in their minds using aura as a tool in this world. And they're not just creating and watching the scene; they themselves become actors, jumping in and burning. You've completed the Demonic Formation Art, family head."
Then, Silvia Evanair finally spoke.
"What, what is that...? It's almost like a divine miracle. I mean, it's like a divinity descended and created a barrier around. Ordinary humans... just humans who have learned aura, wielding the power of Constellations. How?"
Uburka nodded.
"Father's centuries-long cherished wish has finally been fulfilled. Ugor."
I looked down at the burning land.
Only a handful of Ghost Tribe warriors survived the Wandering Mansion of Flames and managed to escape.
Among them, there was no sign of the Seven Heroes under Viper's control.
"A crushing defeat for the Celestial Martial Clan Master."
Ester commented. All my family members nodded, agreeing with her assessment.
Yet, there was one who disagreed.
-Huhu....
From a distance, laughter could be heard.
And from the Earth Spirit Tribe's camp, where they had gained the upper hand, an unexpected commotion erupted.
-What, what’s this!?
-The corpses! The horned corpses are rising!
Just as said, the corpses of the Ghost Tribe who had fallen in the Wandering Mansion of Flames began to rise one by one.
Bursting with even more ferocity than before they fell.
"That man..."
Ester murmured in disbelief.
And I too realized what was happening.
+
[Multiple Possession Reincarnation]
Rank: SSS
Effect: You possess the individuals you choose. If the possessed individual dies, you return to your original spirit.
Cost: Not for Sale (a privilege obtained through special means)
*However, you can only possess them within 1 minute of their death.
+
Indeed, the resurrected Ghost Tribe warriors bore the shadow of Viper!
-Who said the Ghost Tribe's heroes were limited to only seven?
-The heroes of the Ghost Tribe are infinite!
They-the incarnations of Viper, proclaimed.
-The Ghost Tribe's Seven Heroes seem to have been defeated.
-Huhu... Those guys were the weakest among the heroes.
-Losing to the likes of the Earth Spirit Tribe is a disgrace to the Ghost Tribe!
Amidst the bewildered Earth Spirit Tribe, 12 Ghost Tribe warriors took a battle stance.
Of course, they were all Viper.
-We are the "Ghost Tribe's 12 Winged Generals"!
-And it's not just us! Behind us stand the "Ghost Tribe's 72 Demon Kings"!
-Beyond them, the "Ghost Tribe's 108 Arhats" exist!
The resurrected Ghost Tribe warriors, Viper, shouted in unison.
-We! The Ghost Tribe is immortal!
The Earth Spirit Tribe hesitated and stepped back.
-Why are the dead getting back up and causing trouble? Ugor!
-This is an evil sorcery! It's black magic that insults both gods and nature!
It wasn't just the Earth Spirit Tribe who were in panic.
Even the Ghost Tribe warriors who had barely escaped from the Wandering House of Flames were trembling in fear.
-What in the world is happening now!?
-I don't know... but something... something is happening!
I was dumbfounded.
‘Could this be the countermeasure to face Uburka...’
Ester clicked her tongue.
"This is blatant cheating!"
Ester continued angrily.
"The Celestial Martial Clan Master is not of this world! It was already crossing the line for him, effectively a god, to intervene directly in the war by sending down seven possessed bodies, but now he is possessing every fallen warrior! This has gone far beyond any acceptable limit!"
As if hearing Ester's words, the leading incarnation of Viper turned around.
Viper turned his head, finding me, us, precisely on the mountain ridge, and yelled.
-Enough noise!
From below, Viper on the battlefield shouted to us standing atop the mountain.
-I don't care if it's unsightly! I don't care if you curse me for being unfair! Go on and blabber about cheating and all!
The Celestial Martial Clan Master, the man most respected by those beneath him, shouted as though coughing up blood.
-If it will let these people win, I will humiliate myself as much as it takes!
His appearance was truly disgraceful, childish, and pathetic.
But above all, it was human.
"Hmm."
At the sincerity the Celestial Martial Clan Master, Viper, had laid bare with all his strength, I sobered my expression.
Stepping forward, I commanded.
"Chief Warrior."
"Ugor, family head."
Uburka knelt. His expression was also solemn.
"Advisor."
"Yes, family head."
Ester knelt on her left knee, waiting for the command.
Beside her, Uburka, who had been summoned a moment earlier, sat silently.
"......."
Seeing my daughter and son kneeling side by side, I nodded.
"The Celestial Martial Clan Master has declared that he will care nothing for face or honor if it is for those under his care. Then, for his sake, it is only proper that we also oppose him with all our strength."
"......."
"I will entrust all my race points to the two of you. Use them as you wish to create as much military force as you desire."
I continued.
"Then place the Chief Warrior at the vanguard. Advisor, take command of the entire army and attack the Celestial Martial Clan Master and all his incarnations."
"Shall we annihilate them?"
"Every soldier the Advisor will lead is a master of the martial world, one of the elite who stood with the Demonic Cult from the beginning to the end of its rule. They should be able to handle even thousands of Celestial Martial Clan Masters."
"That's sound reasoning."
After bowing, Ester stood up.
On her back was a massive greatsword.
[The Red Greatsword of the Demon King], a weapon worthy of being named someday.
"Then, I will act as instructed. The Earth Spirit Tribe won't refuse a 'friend's' help in such a situation."
Carrying the continent-destroying greatsword, Ester turned around.
"I will return the dead to where they belong. The Celestial Martial Clan Master may condemn what we do, but there is no need to care. I would be grateful if he cursed himself for not being worth even a fistful."
Uburka looked slightly taken aback.
"Ugh... Sister? Or should I say elder sister? Contrary to appearances, you're quite tough?"
"Go, Chief Warrior. You are the vanguard alone."
"......."
"Use the time given by the family head's race points to prepare the warriors. Hold them off alone during that time. You can do it, right?"
Uburka chuckled lightly.
"That's a piece of cake."
"Then, show him."
Ester unleashed her greatsword.
Thoom. The greatsword drove into the ground.
With a mere motion, Ester lifted the greatsword, which seemed to require at least half a dozen men to handle, as easily as if wielding a wooden sword.
"Show precisely what the King of Death family is."
"Ugor. Ugor."
Uburka cracked his knuckles, pushing his lips forward.
"I was slightly resentful not being the eldest son and losing the succession battle to my elder sister... Ugor. Being good at warfare is a splendid trait. Being excellent at it is even more exhilarating. Let's see how my sister fares!"
Uburka raised his head and inhaled deeply three times, then turned to the sky.
He roared out loud.
[The Constellation 'The Muscle Pig Dreaming of Parricide' roars!]
-Groooooooooar-
The battlefield instantly fell silent.
The confused Earth Spirit Tribe, the surviving Ghost Tribe warriors, and the thousands of incarnations of Viper, regardless of race or unit type, froze for a moment at the lion's roar echoing throughout the world.
"Now."
Facing the frozen battlefield, Ester aimed with her sword.
"Here we go."
Our family's first battle commenced.
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