I Became the Genius Mage of the Martial Academy

Chapter 123 : Evil Divine Object (1)

"Calm down. These are the advance party of the Martial Alliance that we are here to support."

Namgung Dohyeok said to us, raising both his hands.

Only then did Cheon Ga-seong and Cho Min-ha, who had been holding their swords to the necks of the two assassins standing behind them, lower their swords. As everyone's momentum subsided, I also folded the Daoist Scholar's Fan in my hand and calmed my mana.

Soon, Namgung Dohyeok showed them a few passwords and tokens.

"It's correct. Come in."

Then, a man who seemed to be from the Martial Alliance guided us. To be precise, it wasn't the entrance of the Blood Mountain, but a hill from where the entrance could be watched.

On top of the hill, where a formation and a small stone fortress had been built in preparation for the invasion of the Blood Cultists. There were the Blue Dragon Unit of the Martial Alliance, the Azure Sky Sword Unit of the Namgung family, the Heavenly Qi Unit of the Zhuge family, the Green Wind Unit of the Sichuan Tang family, and instructors from the Martial Academy.

Elites consisting of about 10 people. They were originally a small elite group gathered by the Martial Alliance Leader, Seo Won-dal, and the five heads of the major factions, with five people from each faction, to catch the Blood Demon.

Some had died at the hands of the Blood Cultists, but it seemed they had been faithfully guarding the entrance as per their assigned mission. Since at least five Transformation masters had been deployed for the internal entry, there was nothing more for them to do.

It was standard for a small number to enter a narrow cave, and since they didn't know the internal structure completely, someone had to guard the outside, so they had remained.

Of course, it could be dangerous for those who entered, but there were at least five masters of the Transformation level. From the Martial Alliance Leader, to the three family heads of the five great families, and even the Academy Head, Cheon Mu-jin.

The Martial Alliance Leader would eliminate enemies and traps at the front, and Zhuge Hohyeon, a Transformation master and a semi-special grade formation master, would discover and respond to formations and such in advance, so there was nothing to worry about.

They were truly an ultra-elite force.

Just them and the elite unit combined was a force capable of crushing one or two small countries. And the fact that such people had gathered was proof that the Blood Cult's karma was great, and above all, that the existence of the Blood Fiend and the Blood Corpses was dangerous.

The Blood Fiend, created from the high-purity blood and resentment of massacred humans, and the Blood Corpses, made from its dregs and corpses.

That combination was gruesome enough to threaten the central plains.

'The subjugation timing is earlier than in the original story, and I also saved Yang Ha-eun, who was a candidate for the Blood Fiend, so the situation is better.'

Originally, Baek Hasin would die here with a high probability. In fact, even this was based on knowing the strategy, and if you didn't know the strategy, you would die with a probability of over 90%.

That's how much of a main event with an extremely high difficulty it was.

As we were exchanging general information, the dawn began to break.

"Then we should decide soon."

Just then, Namgung Dohyeok brought up the matter.

"That's right. We will select people to go inside and rescue them."

Then, Park Hwang-ryeok, the captain of the Blue Dragon Unit who was acting as the head, replied. Of course, the result was already decided.

After various discussions, we were ultimately chosen as the support group. Although we had come a long way, it was judged that we were better than them, who were mentally and physically exhausted from guarding this valley.

This was, of course, also possible thanks to the fact that our combat power itself was as strong as their elites. But what influenced this decision the most was my existence.

Thanks to being a 1st-grade formation master and a martial artist who had reached the proficient peak level, I was finally chosen.

'As expected, for a document screening, having multiple major qualifications is a cheat.'

Basically, the place called the Blood Mountain was like a maze made of formations. A formation master was generally needed, but taking a person with weak martial power into the den of the Blood Cult was a big risk.

But since such a suitable talent had come, they had immediately entrusted it to me and sent me. The fact that I had killed the Red Demon Archer, whom even they couldn't catch, also had a big influence.

And so, the six of us, led by Cho Min-ha, Cheon Ga-seong, and Namgung Dohyeok, began our internal entry.

A desolate cave with a chilly wind. It was an entrance with a natural concealment function because it was in a dark, shaded area.

As we entered, the traps and formations in the passage were already broken.

'They've completely shattered it.'

A high and delicate sword strike had shattered the entrance.

While being careful in preparation for any possible traps, I increased my speed and headed inside. Since I, the formation master, had decided to be the guide, I was planning to do my part.

How many minutes had we run? Finally, the first fork in the road appeared. I identified the path where the traces of the formation remained.

Originally, the side with the Blood Demon was the left. The five heads would have also gone to the left. For the original purpose of support, I had to choose the left.

But my purpose was not that. My main interest was not in finding them, but in the evil object.

- This way.

I chose the right. The reason was only one. To find the evil object.

An evil object was originally a divine object with a powerful force that had been possessed by a malevolent spirit and manipulated or ruined humans.

That evil object was preparing for its release, no, its upgrade, somewhere in this Blood Mountain.

The Blood Demon must have created a ritual altar using the energy veins of the Blood Mountain to further increase the power of the evil object.

It was similar to when I had released the Daoist Scholar's Fan before.

'That thing must never fall into the hands of the Blood Demon.'

Among the evil objects, there were some that were strong enough to turn a peak-level martial artist into a master comparable to a Transformation.

What if the Blood Demon got his hands on an evil object that had become even more powerful through a great sorcery formation?

A bloody wind would blow in the central plains.

'Anyway, there's not much we can do if we go to where they are fighting the Blood Demon.'

In a place where at least Transformation masters were entangled in a life-and-death struggle, what we could do was limited, and access itself was impossible due to 'that' formation.

Right after making my decision, I went deeper inside.

Inside the quiet and dark passage. The structure, which had paths here and there like an ant's nest, heightened the anxiety.

"Everyone, be careful."

I added, heading deeper into the place where the evil object was. From now on, this place would become a horror house.

You never knew when an enemy would pop out.

Just like now.

Swish!

An afterimage passed by, and belatedly, a roar and a shockwave echoed.

'My reaction was late.'

I clicked my tongue, confirming the two people who had disappeared in front of me. Namgung Dohyeok and Cheon Ga-seong. Of all people, the two strongest in our group had just vanished.

To be precise, they had been slammed into the ground. I turned my head and looked in the direction where the afterimage had disappeared. Beyond one wall, there was a deep hole that looked like a bottomless pit.

From down there, the sound of swords clashing could be heard faintly, as if getting farther away. I knew who the enemy was.

'The elders of the Blood Cult.'

They had noticed our intrusion and had been waiting, and then they had taken two of us when they saw an opening.

"You bastards...! Cheon Ga-seong!"

"It is this humble one's oversight."

"The enemy was too fast. What do we do, Cheonwu?"

Everyone was spouting flustered voices. Before the confusion could grow, I stepped forward.

"Calm down. As you can feel from their qi sense, there were only two attackers. There's no way a professor and a top student would be easily defeated."

I conveyed the situation to everyone, pretending to talk to Cho Min-ha.

The others might have been flustered, but in my view, it was the best-case scenario.

The enemies were two elders famous for their stealth and ambushes. They were opponents that were difficult to block even if you were on guard with ordinary means, so it was safer for the two strongest to be caught and deal with them in reverse.

'It was a good thing I put them in front.'

After that, they entered into a discussion about whether we should jump into the bottomless pit to chase them or continue on our way, but I opposed it.

"That might be their aim. For now, we have to trust them and go our own way."

If we went in there to save them, it would get troublesome from then on. Not only would we get farther from the evil object, but we would also be prone to falling into a trap set by the Blood Cult elders.

Since the enemy's mission was to buy time anyway. Here, we had to trust our comrades and move forward.

"What? What can we do if we go by ourselves?"

In the midst of that, Cho Min-ha objected. He was the type to help the two isolated people.

"They have already scattered down to the bottom of that underground. If we follow them, we will just lose our original purpose and our forces will be dispersed. If we go down and wander around, who will contact and call for support in case of an emergency."

I persuaded Cho Min-ha like that. I needed him to deal with any possible crises in the future. After pondering for a moment, Cho Min-ha nodded his head faintly.

The bottomless pit looked incredibly deep at a glance. A structure that was easy to go down but very difficult to come up. Basically, since I had to be there to rescue them easily, it seemed he had followed this side's opinion in the end.

"Then let's go."

We headed deeper inside. We were running so much that it was difficult to know how much farther we had run, and finally, in a clearing in the form of a crossroads where the passages met, a large pillar came into view.

'It's almost time.'

It was one of the pillars surrounding the altar. Now, I just had to find the altar and the evil object that would be at its center. As I was thinking that and releasing the protective formation that had been formed near the pillar.

- Everyone, hide your presence.

Cho Min-ha sent a telepathic message. A stiff tone, unlike him. Baek Hasin and I also immediately noticed the strange energy.

A suffocatingly ominous energy.

'Damn it.'

I was unlucky. To think I would encounter it at this time. I tried to step back, but the other side had already detected us. I could tell instinctively. Because I could feel the blatant gaze of a predator.

It was better to cooperate in a wide place than to run away into a narrow path. We spread out and surrounded one entrance.

Soon, someone appeared from the end of the passage. A pale face and blackened eye sockets. And a ferocious, no, gruesome momentum.

That was the Blood Cult's secret weapon and experimental subject, the Blood Fiend.

"You crazy Blood Cult bastards..."

I could hear Cho Min-ha's curse softly from the side. I agree. To think they would create something like that.

A demon made from the slaughter of tens of thousands of humans. The beast was looking at us with its black eyes.

'If all of us attack now, can we win?'

I couldn't be sure. Because that was a Transformation monster.

- Still, if we all attack together, it might be worth a try...

Cho Min-ha, who was about to order an attack via telepathy, suddenly trailed off. Because he had suddenly felt someone's presence from behind.

Thud-

Thud-

A normal footstep that didn't even hide its qi sense. But the problem was that the place it was coming from was the ceiling.

I swallowed dryly and raised my gaze. There, another Blood Fiend was walking, hanging upside down from the ceiling.

'This is the worst.'

It meant that two Transformation masters had gathered.

Originally, they were beings you encountered randomly, but to see them all at once like this, I was too unlucky.

The method wasn't wrong. Because this path was the one with the highest probability. It was just that I was unlucky. But in a real battle, that luck was everything.

A male Blood Fiend staring this way with black eyes from the ceiling, and a female Blood Fiend looking at us from the passage.

I instinctively sensed it. This is unwinnable. And I wasn't the only one who had sensed it.

- Retreat. Go back the way you came. I'll draw their attention.

Cho Min-ha's telepathic message came to us. If this were a movie, I would have screamed that I couldn't do that, shedding tears.

But my judgment was faster than the moral reaction of the others next to me.

- I will owe you my life. Thank you.

I handed two leather pouches from my bosom to Cho Min-ha and sent a telepathic message. The Blood Fiends still didn't react. Fortunately, it seemed the contents hadn't been discovered.

Additionally, after giving a look to Baek Hasin and Bong So, I slowly retreated.

They also seemed to have a lot to say, but after seeing Cho Min-ha's unwavering eyes, they closed their mouths and carefully approached the entrance of the passage, following me.

In the meantime, the Blood Fiends were looking at us with eyes that seemed to be observing us, like a newborn beast.

'Fortunately, they are beings that have just awakened.'

Since they had just become monsters, it seemed their curiosity was at the forefront for now. It wouldn't be long before that ferocious nature would devour the rest of their instincts.

And so, around the time we entered the passage, Cho Min-ha also stealthily prepared to slip into another passage. The Blood Fiends still didn't react.

Just as I was thinking that we would get away safely like this, a sharp telepathic message came through with a dense killing intent that pierced my lungs.

- Run!!

Simultaneously, Cho Min-ha scattered his powerful qi to draw their attention, and I also ran away, exploding the trap magic I had prepared in the passage to destroy the passage we had passed through.

Kwaang!

Although it was a sturdy cave, it soon broke under the all-out attack and the passage began to collapse. I additionally collapsed the passage and then began to flee with the rest.

Against a Blood Fiend, just blocking the passage was not enough. The only way to live was to run as far as possible, so that they wouldn't be interested and couldn't be detected.

I know that the reason we were able to save our lives was because Cho Min-ha had flown his powerful qi at the two Blood Fiends to draw their attention. Because there were occasional cases like this in the original story.

'Damn it.'

Even though I knew it could turn out like this, I felt dirty.

For now, surviving is the priority. That's why I had to seize the Blood Demon's evil object. For the sake of not just one person in front of me, but for the tens, hundreds of thousands of people. I decided to focus on that for now.

"Damn it."

I could hear Baek Hasin's sorrowful voice from the side.

In the heavy silence, we continued our endless escape along the dark passage.

(End of Chapter)