WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Chapter 175
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* * *
Six years later, a dispatch arrived from Seolryeong saying that a deadly threat had drawn near.
It had been enough time.
The artificers had finished studying the larval corpses, stripping them down to the last fragment of bone.
Pi Garam had improved the formations to suit the Abyssal Mole-Mouse's hide, while Hong Wonseo's pills and Eunbo's talismans filled an entire warehouse.
Building on what they had learned at Hanjang Sect, Seolryeong created thirty Foundation Establishment Realm combat puppets optimized for fighting Abyssal Mole-Mice, laying the groundwork for war.
Dine and Go's treasury had also grown steadily.
In the process, they had secured hundreds of business contacts across Ilgwang Island, places where dispatches could be sent.
And Ise had completed a spell capable of killing a Core Formation Realm great demon.
It was still only at the fourth star, but considering that it was an entirely new spell, it was a satisfying achievement.
“Hall Master. The Core Formation sects are in motion.”
Pi Garam flew into the manor with the report.
“Yes. Seolryeong informed me.”
The sects of Ilgwang Island had placed lay branches on nearby islands.
By now, they would have discovered the demon-beast pack's appearance and that it was heading directly for Ilgwang Island.
‘That saves me the trouble.’
The original plan had been to reach an agreement just before battle, or to fight first if matters became urgent and demand payment afterward.
But people had a way of changing their tune once the need had passed.
It would have been troublesome if a sect decided to stiff Ise afterward.
Fortunately, the mole-rats had approached without even trying to hide themselves, allowing Ise to demand payment before acting.
“Send word to Hanjang Sect, Seopmu Sect, and the Neungnyeong Clan. Tell them I will fight with them if they pay a fee. One million per faction, paid in promissory notes.”
They would worry that Ise might take the money and run, so Ise had decided to accept promissory notes.
Those notes only had value if the sects survived.
There was no better pledge that they would fight to the end together.
Ise rose into the air and spread divine sense wide.
The movements of the nearby market towns entered Ise's awareness.
The island was still quiet.
For now, only the ruling powers would know of the attack.
They needed to decide quickly to reduce the ordinary people's losses.
In Ise's right hand was the Clear Shadow Sword, brought out for the first time in a while instead of the Black Phosphorus Axe left with Hanjang Sect.
‘This sword is too light. It has no feel to it.’
Ise sent Pi Garam a voice transmission.
- Still no reply?
- Yes.
- It seems they won't decide until the enemy stands before them. It can't be helped. Begin for now.
Dispatches flew in every direction.
Through the Azure Dragon Hall members, Dine and Go's servants, and the acquaintances of Eunbo, a prospective Azure Dragon Hall member, an emergency evacuation order spread throughout the island.
A pack of demon beasts was attacking from the sea, so everyone was to flee toward the island's interior.
- Withdraw Buchun as well.
- Yes.
Most would be doubtful, but seeing Dine and Go withdraw would change their minds.
Ise had deliberately displayed divine sense and spiritual presence as much as possible until now.
The rumor that Dine and Go was run by a Core Formation Realm great cultivator had also been spread far and wide.
The news would gain credibility equal to that reputation.
Once the evacuation began, it would spread like wildfire.
As expected, lines of evacuees filled every road, and villages gradually emptied.
- The heads of the three factions request an audience.
- Tell them to come.
Not long after the voice transmission, three Core Formation Realm great cultivators arrived at Ise's manor one after another.
Hanjang Sect. Seopmu Sect. The Neungnyeong Clan.
The man leading them was Pan Maseong, the middle-aged sword cultivator and head of Seopmu Sect.
Behind him was Go Hu, head of Hanjang Sect, with whom Ise had shared tea several times.
The last to arrive was Neungnyeongnyeong, the silk-robed female cultivator and head of the Neungnyeong Clan.
All three wore grim expressions.
“Welcome, Fellow Daoists. Please forgive me for not being able to offer tea when the situation is so urgent.”
Ise received the guests with every courtesy possible, but cold stares were the only response.
Pan Maseong immediately erupted.
“You would extort money while lives are at stake. Do you have no Dao heart?”
The very first words drained all enthusiasm from the meeting.
Ise did not wish to call someone a traitor over something that had not even happened yet, but hearing a person who looked certain to betray them if warned in advance prattle about a Dao heart was enough to turn Ise's stomach.
‘I'll let it pass once.’
This person was a guest.
A wealthy customer prepared to pay a million Spiritual Stones, so one act of rudeness could be overlooked.
“Then should I take it that you came to refuse my offer?”
Pan Maseong flinched at Ise's question.
The mouth that had just been loudly discussing a Dao heart closed for a moment before opening again.
“If you're a cultivator who has set foot on Ilgwang Island, isn't this something you should do alongside us?”
“I am only a passing guest. I have nothing here to protect, so why should I risk my life? If you don't intend to accept, don't waste my time.”
After silencing Pan Maseong again, Ise turned toward the other two.
Neungnyeongnyeong took up the questioning.
“Three million Spiritual Stones is no small sum. How can we be certain you possess skill worth that price?”
“If I lacked confidence, I would have fled already. So far, I have killed one Core Formation Realm demon and two Core Formation Realm great cultivators. To be honest, I don't think any of the three of you could defeat me one-on-one.”
As Ise spoke, a formidable aura flooded the manor.
Core Formation Realm cultivators found it difficult to gauge one another's cultivation.
Yet judging by that confidence, it was likely no empty boast.
The three leaders' expressions shifted subtly.
“Let's do this. If, once the war is over, even one of you has hunted more great demons than I have, I won't take payment.”
The fee would be paid in promissory notes, and dissatisfied customers would even receive a refund. It was the finest service imaginable.
The calculations running through the leaders' minds were plain to see.
If Ise was merely a compulsive liar and proved too weak to be useful, they could punish Ise afterward.
Their faces said as much.
“I accept.”
Neungnyeongnyeong answered first. Pan Maseong followed through gritted teeth.
“You. If you fail to prove your skill, you will regret it.”
“Do as you please. But if anyone tries to withhold payment after the war, they will certainly pay the price.”
Ise placed heavy emphasis on the word “certainly.”
Pan Maseong deeply furrowed his brow at the threatening tone.
Promissory notes bearing the leaders' signatures were exchanged.
Pan Maseong and Neungnyeongnyeong scribbled their documents with dissatisfied expressions.
Despite their surly attitudes, Ise shared the Abyssal Mole-Mouse's spiritual-root affinities, weaknesses, countermeasures, and precautions.
It was the least Ise could do for the cultivators under their command who would have to risk their lives.
Only Go Hu, the head of Hanjang Sect, pondered the information for a long while before writing out a promissory note in neat, respectful handwriting and handing it over.
After the other two had left, Go Hu quietly asked, “Did you know in advance?”
“Would you resent me if I did?”
“I would like to know the reason.”
“I simply did not want the Core Formation sects of this island to have a choice.”
Had they been given a choice, some factions would have abandoned the island and fled.
Those left behind would have faced an even more desperate situation.
Go Hu could not refute that.
Perhaps Go Hu was thinking of the faces of the two who had just scribbled their documents and departed.
Go Hu bowed in thanks.
“Thank you for deciding to fight alongside us. Please do not overexert yourself.”
“I am truly relieved that at least one of you has some decency. Take care as well, Sect Head.”
Ise returned the good wishes.
* * *
The horizon seemed to swell, then ash-gray backs cut through the waves toward the shore.
Abyssal Mole-Mice.
They clearly resembled moles, yet their lungs, dorsal fins, and clawed forepaws evoked aquatic life. They were an oceanic long-lived species.
Their bodies were as large as bulls as they gripped the sand with their claws and climbed onto land.
Demon beasts capable of making any witness on shore weak at the knees poured in like sea cockroaches along the coastline.
It was a grotesque sight.
They did not hurry.
Like predators before a hunt, they radiated a murderous aura as they slowly tightened their hold on the island.
Groups scattered along the coast seeped inland.
As though they intended to miss not a single person.
As though they intended to turn every human on the island into meat.
The Abyssal Mole-Mice that reached land all sank into the soil at once.
Then they swam through the ground and charged directly at cultivators caught within their divine sense.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Signal fires rose across the island, and bells rang far into the distance through spells.
The three factions' formations activated. Defensive spells unfolded at each sect gate, and cultivators flew to their assigned positions.
“They're coming! Spread out!”
The cultivators unleashed spells and fled.
They moved with impressive coordination, as though they had prepared for the attack during the brief time available.
After luring one into the woods, they rained down a combined attack from the trees above, leaving an Abyssal Mole-Mouse riddled with holes.
“Good! Keep pressing!”
Their cheers did not last long.
Crack!
The earth beneath their feet burst apart, and a clawed forepaw shot upward.
A Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator who failed to evade was torn apart on the spot.
The enemy was clearly at the same Foundation Establishment Realm, yet the force in those claws was powerful enough to shred defensive spells.
Fear spread across the faces of the cultivators splattered with their companion's blood.
* * *
Ise flew toward the breeding grounds.
Instinct said that the strongest of them had emerged from that direction.
Upon reaching the coast, Ise spotted a group of cultivators fighting an Abyssal Mole-Mouse.
Several had already fallen, and the rest were in danger.
Water-aspected spells did not even penetrate the creature's body, while flames left only scorch marks on its shell.
Spells of other affinities could inflict some damage, but the creatures endured it with their uniquely tough bodies, then burrowed in and tore their opponents apart.
Unless they were highly experienced in battle, cultivators had little hope of enduring against an oceanic long-lived species.
Ise closed in on the Abyssal Mole-Mouse and snapped a finger.
It was a spell forged and tempered over six years, completed solely to fight the Abyssal Mole-Mouse.
Wind-Gold Submerging Thread.
Ise imbued the Shadow Net Formation of the Dokkaebi Shadow-Hunting Demonic Art with primordial qi, drawing it into threads so thin they were nearly invisible.
Metal energy was layered over them to increase their strength and keep them from breaking, then wind energy was added to raise their speed and power.
It was a killing move meant to pierce their hard shells in a single strike and shatter their Golden Cores.
The nearly invisible net instantly wrapped around the Abyssal Mole-Mouse's body.
The next moment, black threads of primordial qi that had sunk into its flesh sliced the creature apart, turning it into chunks of meat.
Blood sprayed as its ash-gray body broke into pieces and collapsed.
Its power was as exhilaratingly decisive as it was brutal.
‘It works.’
Its tough hide had been cut apart as easily as tofu. At this power, it would certainly be effective against a Core Formation Realm great demon.
Ise landed, quickly completed a spirit-sending rite, and turned toward the juniors.
“Collect your companions' bodies later.”
“Th-thank you, Senior...”
“Head for the mountains. Fight while staying hidden in places you can climb and buy time. They don't seem capable of flight.”
“Y-yes!”
The cultivators hurried toward the mountains.
The Core Formation Realm great demons had not revealed themselves yet.
Ise had told everyone to send a dispatch the moment they were found, but there had been no word.
It seemed the creatures were watching the situation beyond the island and keeping an eye on anyone who fled.
Or perhaps they had gone to tend their young.
Either way, it did not matter.
Those who sought another's life had to offer up their own as well.
It was time to carve that eternal truth of the cultivation world into the minds of the abyssal mole-rats.
Ise flew rapidly, hunting Foundation Establishment Realm demon beasts.
Using only the minimum amount of primordial qi, Ise tested the magical tools prepared by the Azure Dragon Hall members.
Formation Plates effectively bound the creatures' movements, while explosive pellets and pills filled the gaps.
The talismans were powerful as well.
Eunbo's Lightning Strike Talismans were especially impressive. No blade cut through their waterlogged bodies better than lightning.
‘They are useful.’
At this rate, the Hall members would not need to fear demon beasts at the same realm.
When the number of demons sent on their way passed ten, an island-shaking roar erupted.
It was a sound that carried unmistakable rage.
The creatures appeared to have realized that their breeding grounds had been destroyed.
Soon afterward, dispatches arrived from all over the island.
The Core Formation Realm great demons had begun hunting in earnest.
Their numbers gradually became clear, and the locations of eight in total came into Ise's grasp.
The enemy's scale had also been assessed.
Eight Core Formation Realm great demons.
The leader of the Abyssal Mole-Mice would be among them.
The dispatches passed on through the faction leaders were stained with blood.
They had deliberately sent the original dispatches from the cultivators who spotted the demons, as though to make sure Ise saw.
This information was thick with the blood of Ilgwang Island's cultivators, as though they wished to stress the point.
Sure enough, it had come from Pan Maseong.
‘For someone ordering others around, he certainly has a foul temperament.’
A grim premonition rose in Ise's chest that this troublesome customer might try to withhold payment.
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