WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Episode 14: Rapid Changes in the Continental Situation (12)
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For a long while after Gong Wol-a finished speaking, no one said a word.
Ise quietly studied her expression.
It looked resolute, yet as though she was barely holding herself together to keep everything within from collapsing.
Lacking manpower was no excuse.
Even if they had to abandon one important Spiritual Stone mine, they should have deployed at least one of the Eleven Inner Halls, or rather, the Ten Inner Halls now.
That was the bare minimum of respect owed to the dokkaebi people, who had given their all for the alliance until now.
“They'll regret this.”
Ise listened as though agreeing with her.
“Those who don't know how much effort it took for dokkaebi to join hands with humans, how much blood was shed and how many sacrifices were made. Those who know, yet pretend not to. We will never extend a hand to people like them again.”
Originally, dokkaebi had been treated no differently from demons.
Yet three hundred years ago, through the efforts of Mongryeon and many cultivators, the two races had come to understand one another and stand together as allies.
The alliance built over those three hundred years was now crumbling.
“But you're different, Ise.”
Gong Wol-a's voice and manner of speaking gradually changed.
“Born of humans, yet raised by dokkaebi. The only one who rushed to our aid without hesitation and risked his life for us. A human who knows the culture of the dokkaebi people and possesses their cultivation art. And the sole hope who will return the leader of the dokkaebi people to us.”
At first, she had simply felt like an approachable senior. Now, the dignity of a leader representing the dokkaebi people showed through.
“From now on, humans will be able to communicate with the dokkaebi people only through you. You will remain the sole bridge through which the relationship between dokkaebi and humans may be restored.”
Her voice sounded like a declaration.
After saying that much, Gong Wol-a returned to her usual manner of speaking.
“If you ever decide to leave the Great Exorcist Order, we'll take you in. You're the only human we'll allow that to.”
“I'm grateful for the offer, but I have no intention of doing that until I gain the power to bring my master back.”
Ise clutched the Golden Core of his master, now no more than a pearl containing a soul, tightly against his chest.
Gong Wol-a let out a faint sigh and added, “Ise.”
“Yes, Senior.”
“Keep your heart steady.”
“...”
It was advice so poorly suited to the moment that Ise was briefly taken aback.
“Inner balance. They say it is a quality that cultivators must preserve through cultivation. Don't lose your balance by being swept away by grief over your master or the desire to take revenge on your enemy. Even if you have to force yourself, live as you always have until now. Only then will you be able to achieve your goal.”
“...Yes. I'll remember that.”
Her advice aligned with his master's teachings.
Ise slowly took a deep breath and calmed the heart demon within him.
Gong Wol-a could only watch him with a sorrowful expression.
* * *
The battle continued across the vast battlefield.
Fierce bloodshed unfolded everywhere.
From high above, the battlefield looked like an enormous mass of water and oil desperately trying to force one another away.
Wars between cultivators did not drag on for long.
The outcome was decided quickly by the battles at several critical points.
There were always fights where neither side could afford to yield.
The battlefields of the Nascent Soul Realm great cultivators, the strongest members of each faction, were the clearest example.
Haeil, the newly appointed Great Exorcist Order Lord, was facing more than fifty great cultivators alone.
Their forces had been reduced by nearly half.
Yet more shattered than their numbers was their momentum and morale.
A towering wall.
That was what the Zheng Empire's great cultivators felt as they fought Haeil.
He seemed about to fall, again and again, yet never did. With a single sword, he cut down every enemy before him.
His primordial qi was incomparably savage. Anyone touched by his blade had their Golden Core cleaved apart.
At some point, Sugyeom's presence and divine sense, which had guarded Haeil's back, vanished. Haeil did not stop.
He only raised his sword higher and swung it with greater force.
For the victory of the Great Exorcist Order.
At the Northern Aro border, the foremost line defending the Great Exorcist Order's territory had become a bloody battlefield.
The White Tiger Hall banner, nearly reduced to rags, still stood planted atop the final formation.
Hall Master Ahsan no longer looked human.
Ahsan’s Daoist robes were tattered, and her entire body, which had been cut down and regenerated countless times, was drenched in blood.
Wounds she had failed to fully regenerate during the battle were crudely stitched together, leaving her with the grotesque appearance of a doll patched together in haste.
Even her eyes had been dyed crimson.
Blood demon would have suited her current state.
This was the fiercest battlefield, where the greatest number of Zheng Empire cultivators gathered. If they gave ground here, the border itself would quite literally change.
Behind Ahsan, who charged into the heart of the enemy while stepping over the bodies of her hall members, the battered White Tiger Hall cultivators followed.
One against a hundred.
True to the Great Exorcist Order's cultivation arts, which guaranteed victory against opponents of the same realm, they endured despite their dwindling numbers.
No one retreated, even on that hopeless battlefield.
If they fell back by even one step, the mass of Zheng Empire cultivators behind them would storm straight into headquarters.
At the First Mine and Third Mine, defended by Winged Dragon Hall and Hooked Array Hall, a desperate battle continued. They lured enemies inside the warding barriers, trapped them, and cut them down.
They were similarly outnumbered, but this was still a defensive battlefield. Mountains of corpses piled up before the mine entrances, where defensive formations had been deployed.
Battles also raged near headquarters.
Yellow Dragon Hall, Vermilion Bird Hall, and Vine Serpent Hall were luring invaders heading toward headquarters deep into the mountains, then cutting them off.
Across the Three Peninsula Kingdoms, desperate battles continued without pause.
Yet there were also those who had abandoned their duties.
Spirit Treasure Hall at Great Exorcist Order headquarters.
Phoenix Hall, which should have been defending Aro Mine, the Second Mine, had remained at headquarters and advanced on Spirit Treasure Hall instead.
It was the deepest vault, where the Great Exorcist Order stored its Spiritual Stones and reports.
Hall Master So Hong-ji and the Phoenix Hall cultivators under them extinguished the fire of the Heavenly Pearl Furnace, the Great Exorcist Order's divine artifact. Then they plundered the resources headquarters had accumulated over centuries and left.
The administrative staff guarding the place gave everything they had to stop them, but their opponents were a Core Formation Realm great cultivator and Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.
With every Yellow Dragon Hall cultivator drafted to the battlefield and only Qi Condensation Realm cultivators left behind, they could not delay them for even a moment.
There was another Inner Hall that had abandoned its duty.
Seolbaek, Hall Master of Black Tortoise Hall, and the Black Tortoise Hall cultivators, a gathering of pureblood nobles, had surrounded Cheongsan City.
Kang I-tae, Hall Master of Kirin Hall, stared at Seolbaek with an expression suggesting he could not even laugh at the absurdity of it.
“What do you think you're doing, Seolbaek?”
They had been preparing for battle. The Zheng Empire would certainly target Cheongsan, one of its major strongholds.
Yet before that could happen, they found themselves facing Black Tortoise Hall, which should have been protecting the noble families and major outer branch outposts throughout the land.
And with such murderous momentum.
Kang I-tae's reproachful gaze turned toward the members of the Pearl River Gang Clan, his own family.
Unable to meet his eyes, they looked away.
“Hall Master of Kirin Hall. I clearly declared to the Chief Master that I would not obey the order.”
“Are you saying you'll betray the Great Exorcist Order?”
Seolbaek smiled and shook his head.
“Who knows? It would be more accurate to say I am choosing another path.”
“Wordplay. You're nothing but an opportunist and a filthy traitor.”
“The Great Exorcist Order's beliefs are wrong. Beliefs without power are no more than an illusion. Isn't this very moment proof of that, Hall Master Kang I-tae? Join us instead. We cannot let blood be spilled between kin.”
Kang I-tae did not answer Seolbaek. His gaze shifted instead to the man standing at Seolbaek's side.
His younger cousin, Kang Ihyeon.
“Kang Ihyeon.”
“Yes, Cousin.”
“Is this your choice? To follow behind a traitor who betrayed his sect?”
“Who knows. If you had not let my son become a criminal. If you had not let him die. Things might have been different.”
“That was solely your failure to raise your child properly.”
“No. In the end, aren't you only chasing after Order Lord Haeil instead of caring for the clan? I have simply chosen my clan over the sect.”
How ridiculous.
Why had the Pearl River Gang Clan flourished, if not because of their excellence?
It was ultimately the result of the support, protection, and efforts of the Great Exorcist Order's founders, including Haeil and himself.
Still, saying more would only tire his mouth.
There was no point rambling at people whose hearts had already been stained by greed. All it would earn was their ridicule.
He only needed to decide.
Would he fight them, or protect his disciples?
The answer was not difficult.
His duty was to defend Cheongsan City, but more important than Cheongsan City itself was protecting the Kirin Hall cultivators and entry disciples.
The value here was not the place, but the people.
If halls fought halls, he could easily crush them. Yet that sly old monster would not gamble on an uncertain situation.
Other forces were coming here.
Kang I-tae finished making his decision.
“Ujeol.”
“Yes, Hall Master.”
“We'll break through their encirclement. Take the entry disciples to headquarters. Have each hall member take charge of one entry disciple.”
“Understood.”
Kang I-tae continued giving orders as though he did not care whether the enemy heard him.
“They won't be able to kill anyone anyway. If they assume the Great Exorcist Order will remain after this war, they know there is a line they cannot cross. They'll try to take hostages instead. If we flee with all our strength, we can break through. Don't worry. Don't doubt. I will clear the way.”
Kang I-tae gripped the hilt of his sword. Taking one step forward, he continued.
“I will attack with the intent to kill every one of you. What about you? Are you prepared to kill me?”
Enormous spiritual pressure began pressing down on the Black Tortoise Hall cultivators and the pureblood nobles.
“No. Do you even have the ability?”
Seolbaek was in the same Core Formation Realm, but even within a major realm boundary, there were different levels.
If Kang I-tae attacked with the resolve to perish alongside them, at least half of those present would have to prepare their graves.
That was not a victory, even if they won.
Seolbaek met Kang I-tae's gaze for a long moment, then let out a short sigh and raised a hand.
“...Open the way.”
As if they had been waiting for the command, the formation of noble clan cultivators loosened.
It had never been a battle they welcomed.
At least ten percent of Black Tortoise Hall and Kirin Hall were tied by blood.
Most of them were connected somehow, whether closely or distantly.
For them to slaughter one another would be a form of kin killing kin.
Seolbaek turned his gaze back to Kang I-tae.
“Don't forget, Kang I-tae. We and the Great Exorcist Order are bound by countless ties. If we wage war among ourselves, we will inflict wounds on one another that can never be washed away.”
The corner of Kang I-tae's mouth twisted faintly.
“Seolbaek. Stay healthy. Don't get hurt or die.”
“...Those are strange words of goodwill coming from you.”
“I'll be the one to take your head.”
With only those words, Kang I-tae slowly walked out.
The Kirin Hall cultivators and entry disciples followed behind him.
After descending Cheongsan, Kang I-tae immediately took a stack of Message Talismans from his robes.
He had received dozens today alone.
Most contained desperate reports.
In his judgment, there were three battlefields that urgently needed help.
Training Forest, where Order Lord Haeil and Chief Master Sugyeom faced the Zheng Empire's core forces.
Northern Aro, at the foremost line where Hall Master Ahsan and White Tiger Hall were holding back the enemy.
And Gwisu Temple, which had been struck by a surprise attack from Cheoryang Thunder Gate.
Kang I-tae made a quick decision.
He did not doubt Order Lord Haeil. Haeil would win, no matter the circumstances.
Gwisu Temple was regrettable, but it came second. Gong Wol-a, Dokkaebi Hall, and Mongryeon were there.
Though their overall strength was inferior, the situation was not beyond recovery.
Northern Aro was where he had to go first.
If they abandoned that place, which was taking the full force of the enemy's arrows alone, White Tiger Hall would certainly be wiped out.
Kang I-tae called Ujeol.
“Ujeol.”
“Yes.”
“Take the entry disciples safely to headquarters. The rest of us are going to Northern Aro. We must save White Tiger Hall.”
“Yes, Hall Master.”
The Kirin Hall cultivators moved with one mind.
* * *
After parting with Gong Wol-a, Ise headed straight for Daejeong Mine.
He had joined the battle late, but he had decided to remain in the Great Exorcist Order. He intended to lend his strength to the battlefield of his own hall.
Yet by the time he arrived, the battle at Daejeong Mine was already over.
The thick scent of blood stung his nose. Before him lay a mountain of corpses at the entrance to the warding barrier.
Hall Master Woo Yu-hui sat atop that mound with a calm expression.
Her shattered half-mask rested on top of her head, leaving her bare face exposed as she stared into the empty air.
Her gaze turned to Ise.
“You came?”
It was an indifferent question, like greeting family who had returned home after a day of work.
Woo Yu-hui stretched both arms out like a cat, then rose to her feet.
At the movement, the severed head caught on her body rolled down the pile of corpses.
Footnotes:
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