novelraw Chapter 218 : Chapter 218
Chapter 218 : Chapter 218
Chapter 218. Because this bastard kept pushing it
It was a point not long after the new Emperor ascended to the throne that ominous rumors circulated in the Imperial Capital.
Mysterious disappearance incidents occurred one after another.
“Aigoo! Please find my child! Lord! I beg of you like this!”
“There are so many parents who lost children, how can the government office just stand by?”
“I mean my daughter disappeared! Please help!”
Parents who lost children visited the government office competitively and requested help.
The number was not one or two, but reached nearly hundreds, so government offices located everywhere were bursting due to parents who lost children.
Nevertheless, the Imperial Army did not move.
Officials were also in a difficult position.
They also recognized the seriousness of this situation and tried to step forward to solve the case, but the strict Imperial Order did not allow the Imperial Army to move.
That was a truly strange thing.
If it were other times, it would be a case where the Eastern Depot, the intelligence organization of the Imperial Family, would collect information and even the Royal Guards would move…….
However, it didn't take long for the true nature of the mysterious disappearance incidents that occurred one after another to be revealed.
One day.
The firmly closed Imperial Palace gate opened, and demonic practitioners emitting wicked demonic qi popped out from inside.
They wore the uniforms of the Eastern Depot and the Royal Guards, but they had changed from before.
The agents of the Eastern Depot and the guards of the Royal Guards were originally experts who learned Imperial Palace Martial Arts corresponding to Righteous Arts, but those who appeared again had transformed into demonic practitioners emitting demonic qi.
They went around poking through the Imperial Capital, and began dragging away young children indiscriminately.
The people, the parents did not stay still.
“Why are you doing this!”
“Don't touch my child!”
Parents resisted with all their might.
If brute force didn't work, they didn't hesitate to lift sharp objects like knives or sickles.
However, what awaited those who resisted was a horrible death.
“Keok!”
“Aaaack!”
Demonic practitioners killed parents mercilessly, and dragged children into the Imperial Palace.
When such incidents occurred everywhere in the Imperial Capital, martial artists who learned martial arts and officials also did not stay still.
As they confronted the demonic practitioners who came out of the Imperial Palace, fights broke out everywhere in the Imperial Capital.
However, unless one was a decent expert, opposing the demonic practitioners who came out of the Imperial Palace was an impossible task.
The corpses of heroic warriors piled up day by day.
Perhaps the people thought it was hopeless, they tried to pack household goods and flee from the Imperial Capital.
However…….
U-reung!
Beon-jjeok!
Kwa-ang!
Just when it seemed pitch-black dark clouds poured out heavy rain, the Imperial Capital turned into a world of darkness.
Go-oooooo!
In the sky of the Imperial Palace, black currents drew a spiral and formed an ominous vortex.
Soon, a plague began to circulate.
“Keok!”
“Keo-heok!”
People caught in the plague vomited blood and suffered, then turned their eyes white and collapsed.
When they came to their senses and got up, they had become completely different people from before.
No, that was an existence that could never be called human.
Sharp claws and teeth, horns sprouting on the head, even skin turned blue.
The plague did not drive the patients to death.
It merely turned them into devils.
“Kya-aaaaaaaak!”
Devils roamed everywhere in the Imperial Capital and attacked fine people, and those attacked also became devils.
After ten days passed, it was not an exaggeration to say there was no one with a sound mind in the Imperial Capital.
The Imperial Capital, once the heart of the Central Plains dynasty, had transformed into a hell where devils ran rampant like that.
Literally, hell on earth, a real hell unfolded, not a metaphor.
And this news was conveyed to Jin Cheon as well by the Bat Squad.
* * *
On the Yangtze River.
“……Even such deeds.”
Jin Cheon, who heard the news, realized what Dokgo Seong had done and raged.
Hell Realization Great Art.
As a sorcery recorded in the Heavenly Demon Scripture, it was a cursed sorcery that literally realized hell in the human world.
That was a sorcery even sorcerers walking the Left Path dared not dream of, and its difficulty was truly immense.
Furthermore, the medium required to cast the sorcery was human sacrifice of as many as a thousand people.
It is easy to say a thousand people, but actually sacrificing as many as a thousand humans was a rare case historically.
Of course, in the case of ancient monarchs, there were examples of committing massacres such as burying alive as few as thousands to as many as hundreds of thousands, though.
“It is said it has been long since the Imperial Capital became a land of devils, Liege.”
“Just getting to the Imperial Palace won't be easy.”
“It is considered so.”
“It won't be easy.”
Jin Cheon expected a difficult fight.
Even if they broke through tens of thousands of devils and entered the Imperial Palace, demonic practitioners numbering tens of thousands would be guarding Dokgo Seong.
If the opponent were another person, Jin Cheon would not have worried.
Why?
Because he could just subjugate the devils and even demonic practitioners with the authority of the Heavenly Demon Command.
However, since Dokgo Seong would also exert strong influence through the Heavenly Demon Command, it was impossible for Jin Cheon to subjugate the enemies.
Only power versus power.
Breaking through the Imperial Capital with martial power, pushing straight to the Imperial Family to reach Dokgo Seong would be the key.
“If we really don't stop him now, the world will turn into hell…….”
Just then.
Bbi-iiiiik!
A whistle sounded.
“Enemy fleet discovered ahead! Move swiftly!”
“I obey the command!”
Yama Fortress water bandits moved in perfect order and prepared for enemy attack.
Perhaps that was something forewarned.
Currently, the place the Yama Fortress fleet passed was Wuhan, Hubei Province.
Wuhan was a place that could be called the heart of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, and was also a place where many Imperial Family naval forces were deployed from old times.
As such, an enemy fleet appearing was a natural sequence.
Unidentified warships numbering as many as thirty appeared; if the Imperial Family navy didn't move, that would be stranger.
“Don't think of stepping forward for no reason, and just watch quietly.”
So U-bin restrained Jin Cheon.
“But…….”
“Surely you don't mean you don't trust me?”
“That is not it.”
“Then watch quietly. I guarantee, there won't be any work for you to step forward.”
“I understand.”
Jin Cheon decided to watch the situation for now at So U-bin’s confident assurance.
If So U-bin spoke like that, he considered there must be a reliable corner.
“Submerged Dragon Troupe.”
“Yes!”
At So U-bin’s call, those wearing tight leather clothes shouted in unison and answered.
Though he didn't know for sure, they seemed to be martial artists specialized in water arts.
“Destroy the enemy fleet after entering the water.”
“I obey the command!”
Submerged Dragon Troupe martial artists threw their bodies towards the Yangtze River as soon as So U-bin’s order fell.
‘Fast.’
Jin Cheon was considerably surprised by the swimming speed of the Submerged Dragon Troupe martial artists.
The swimming method under the water surface, submerged swimming, was so fast it was to the point of being faster than martial artists deploying movement arts on land.
It was to the point where he couldn't even guess to what extent they had polished water arts.
Like that, while everyone watched, nearly two hundred Submerged Dragon Troupe members quickly approached the enemy fleet and scattered at once.
‘Just what do they intend to do?’
Jin Cheon watched quietly what the Submerged Dragon Troupe members scattered and sticking to enemy warships were doing through demonic qi detection ability.
Soon, the Submerged Dragon Troupe members began to move away from the enemy warships again.
And when they returned to the friendly fleet and boarded.
Peong, peo-eong!
Explosions occurred suddenly in the enemy fleet.
The explosions were chain reactions.
Peong, peo-eong, peong-peong, peo-eong, peo-eo-eong!
Wa-jang-chang!
Imperial Family navy warships exploded successively and burst out, and as a result, the hulls tilted sideways.
“……Surely.”
Only then did Jin Cheon realize what the Submerged Dragon Troupe members had done.
Explosive Thunder Yama Bomb.
Firearm developed by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
It was clear the Submerged Dragon Troupe members approached the enemy fleet through that terrifyingly fast submerged swimming, stuck Explosive Thunder Yama Bombs to the ships, and then came out.
Though he didn't know by what means they lit the Explosive Thunder Yama Bombs underwater and also caused delayed explosions.
Thanks to that, the Imperial Family’s navy fleet ended up suffering immense damage with about twenty warships half-destroyed in the blink of an eye.
Before even approaching the Yama Fortress' fleet, they lost half of their power.
But that was not all.
“Fleet, turn.”
“I obey the command!”
Matching So U-bin’s command, as the Yama Fortress' fleet turned the bow, cannons with dull black barrels revealed their appearance.
“The Western Regions bastards’ technology is indeed good.”
So U-bin opened his mouth with a confident expression.
“The performance of the cannon is powerful. The origin of gunpowder is the Central Plains, but Western Regions bastards are more adept at utilization.”
Since the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was located on the Silk Road, the core trade route connecting the Central Plains and the Western Regions, it was very easy to access Western Regions civilization.
Didn't even Blood Qilin enjoy the Western Regions tea Coffee and wine right now?
“It is a new model cannon specially manufactured by the Demonic Armament Yeom Family based on Western Regions bastards’ technology. Since the barrel is long, the range is long, and of course, since it uses Explosive Thunder Yama Bombs as shells, the destructive power is immense.”
“Is that so……?”
“You will know if you see directly. That the hegemony of the Yangtze River has now become Our Cult’s possession.”
So U-bin smiled, ssi-ik, and gave an order to the Yama Fortress fleet.
“Cannon fire, prepare.”
“Prepare!”
“Three, two, one. Fire.”
“Fire!”
Peo-eo-eo-eong!
Peong-peong! Peong-peong-peong! Peong-peong! Peong! Peong-peong-peong-peong! Peong! Peong-peong! Peong! Peong-peong! Peong―!!!
As the cannons spat fire all at once, a roar like heaven and earth opening rang out.
However, the noise even louder than that was the sound of Imperial Family warships being destroyed.
Peo-eo-eng!
Wa-jang-jang-chang!
U-jik-keun!
The Imperial Family navy being annihilated in front of the Yama Fortress' overwhelming firepower was truly nothing more than an instant.
Unable to withstand the truly catastrophic firepower of the Yama Fortress, most of the warships were destroyed.
* * *
As So U-bin said, there was no work for Jin Cheon to step forward.
Because the difference in firepower between fleets was as immense as heaven and earth, there was no need for a martial artist like Jin Cheon to step forward and engage in hand-to-hand combat.
Of course, if the Imperial Family navy mobilized martial artists adept at water arts and waged underwater warfare below the water surface, the story would be different though.
“No one will be able to stop us until the destination.”
So U-bin said ostentatiously.
“Yes, Senior Brother So.”
Jin Cheon smiled and responded to that confidence.
“As Senior Brother says, no one will be able to stop Our Cult’s fleet.”
“Naturally it should be so. Considering what kind of fleet I built up.”
In So U-bin’s words saying so, pride was fully contained.
Since the fleet completed after painstaking efforts for several years raised the war merit of annihilating the Imperial Family navy, it was proving his own ability.
Since this was the first time in Heavenly Demon Divine Cult history to possess a proper navy, So U-bin also came to achieve an accomplishment to proudly put his name in the Divine Cult Historical Records.
So U-bin also knew that, so he was revealing pride in the achievement and war merit he achieved himself to the fullest.
‘Senior Brother So’s temper is nasty, but his ability is certain. To change a mere water bandit group into an invincible fleet.’
Jin Cheon admired So U-bin inwardly.
However, it was still early to be surprised.
A few days later.
Around the time the Yama Fortress' fleet arrived at the destination, Jiangpu, Jiangsu Province.
It was when the separate detachment of about five hundred people composed of the Divine Demon Alliance’s most elite experts disembarked from the Yama Fortress warships and landed at Jiangpu.
“Are you also going, Senior Brother So?”
Jin Cheon asked in surprise seeing So U-bin getting off the flagship.
“Because this bastard kept pushing it.”
So U-bin frowned and growled.
“Then, did you think I would just watch with hands behind my back?”
“Not that…….”
“Who do you think I am? I am that person’s fifth disciple, and your bastard’s senior brother. Did you think the Fifth Young Master of the Great Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would spare his body?”
Ssi-ik, a smile rose on So U-bin’s lips.