The large amount of water followed Cale's pointing toward the jiangshis and the castle walls.
That was different from the water flowing in the Yangtze River.
It was also different from the unfathomable depths of the Dongting Lake.
This was neither a river nor a lake.
This was much larger and more overbearing.
How could this be described?
The martial artists of the Demon Cult that were waiting clenched their weapons. They had no concept of how to describe this view.
They heard the Demon Laws Battalion Commander mumble at that moment.
"Tsunami-"
The Battalion Commander mumbled as if he was blanking out.
"No, is it the ocean-"
The ocean.
The martial artists of the Demon Cult who were born and raised in Xinjiang had never seen the ocean. They had only read about it.
This was what the ocean looked like?
'Yes, I guess the ocean would look like this.'
They had read about it in books.
The ocean was usually calm but its violent nature and ruthlessness were prime examples of calamity.
It was a scary existence that would swallow up the ships out at sea as well as the villages by the coast.
That scary existence was moving without anything stopping it.
It was moving following the will of a single person.
Shshshshshaaaaa———
The loud flowing of water put their ears in a state of shock and made it so that they could not hear anything else.
Tang Yu clenched her ears.
She suddenly realized that there was dirt on her hands.
She had subconsciously clenched the ground.
She had not even realized that.
However, she could not even focus on that fact right now.
"H, how-"
The moment a water wall that was taller and thicker than the castle walls created waves and splashed…
This tsunami that suddenly appeared here, at a place where they could not even see the tiniest glimpse of the ocean, used its large body to attack the jiangshis.
"How, how can a person-"
How could a person use a power like this?
He suddenly created water?
And the water is this scary?
How could such an individual be human?
This was not martial arts.
However, it could also not be called death arts.
The pressure that made it impossible to call it something evil made Tang Yu feel relieved that she was up on the mountain and not below that oppressing wall of water.
The jiangshis were all pushed away without being able to do much.
They couldn't even resist.
This was to be expected.
How could anybody resist against a power like this?
It would have to be an extreme expert to do that.
It was impossible for these jiangshis.
"...."
She could not even breathe properly.
Despite it being used by an ally, Tang Yu found it difficult to move from this overbearing power.
However, her gaze slowly moved toward a spot.
It was now looking at a person who was standing with a calm expression on his face, looking forward, as if nothing was an issue.
Kim Hae-il.
Tang Yu could not look away from this man.
She was not the only one feeling this way.
The Sword Saint, the Ancestral Patriarch of the Namgung Clan and one of the strongest experts of the Orthodox faction…
He looked forward.
He could see young master Kim's back.
He could also see the water forming into a tsunami, just like his name, sweeping away everything in its way. (TL: Hae-il is the word for tsunami in Korean)
The Sword Saint had a thought.
What kind of existence were humans in front of nature?
Even a skilled martial arts expert could not stop typhoons or volcanoes.
'Yeah, they can't stop it.'
That was why the jiangshis, their enemies, could not stop this tsunami.
This was nature itself.
The Sword Saint's back became drenched in sweat.
Young master Kim was not in the Nature Realm.
He already possessed nature itself.
The moment he figured that out, the Sword Saint forgot all about his desire for revenge against the Blood Cult and feeling of gratitude toward young master Kim.
Yes, those thoughts naturally became erased from his mind.
He simply wanted to create the sight, the history that this person would create.
Martial artists.
They were people who trained themselves for all of their lives to reach a higher level.
Not only did the Sword Saint have talent, his firm belief in the way of a martial artist helped him reach his current level.
That was the reason he could understand.
'In the end, I am just human. I cannot transcend human limits.'
However, this young master Kim in front of him had transcended those human limits.
Nature itself was inside of him.
However, he was still human.
He had the compassion, sense of duty, and goodness that a human should have.
"Ha, haha-"
The Sword Saint could hear the Heavenly Demon laughing next to him.
He felt as if he could tell why this Demon Cult bastard was laughing.
He also understood the fear he could feel from the Pinnacle Demon who was shaking uncontrollably.
They too should have realized the sense of yearning that he was giving off.
The Sword Saint looked forward.
The back that had seemed so small looked extremely large now.
The Sword Saint stared at young master Kim, who was still standing firmly.
He thought that this man would not care about his gaze at all.
This was the truth.
'Wow.
Jackpot.'
Cale was amazed.
– Holy moly.
The Fire of Destruction cheapskate nonchalantly commented.
– Is this for real?
'I know, right?
The jiangshis are just being swept away.'
IT could not be helped.
How could the jiangshis, with their human bodies, resist against a tsunami that was even taller than the castle walls?
Ten thousand of them?
That was not the issue.
The number was not important.
Why would it be difficult when he was just sweeping them away instead of purifying them?
Think about it. Would ten thousand leaves just stay there if a typhoon swept by?
Those ten thousand leaves would be lucky not to be crushed as they got swept up by the typhoon and swirled around.
A similar sight was visible in front of Cale.
– Human, human! You're okay?
'Apparently. Why am I okay?
Something is weird.
I'm feeling too normal?'
– Why did you use so much of your power? This is more amazing than what you said!
'It is strong enough that even Raon is saying that it is amazing.'
"Hae-il-nim, you really are okay, right?"
Cale was feeling so fine that Choi Han couldn't help but ask in an anxious voice.
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"Hahaha."
That made the Heavenly Demon laugh even louder behind him but Cale didn't pay him any attention.
He did not have time for that.
– Anyway, I'm getting ready too, human!
Cale looked to the east and then the west.
Sima Gong and the Sage Demon were already retreating to the back.
– I told them to fall back! There is no reason to maintain the formation!
The Sage Demon and Sima Gong had destroyed the formation at the external part of the castle wall and were maintaining it to remain that way. However, they had no need to do so any longer.
The reason behind it was simple.
– Everything is getting swept away. How would a formation survive?
Raon's answer was the right answer.
The stuffy air?
The oddly cloudy sky?
Why did that matter?
A formation was something that changed the natural environment around it.
However, the natural environment itself was all destroyed because the water swept past everything.
– I'm getting started!
There was only one thing left.
Ooooooooong-
The air rumbled.
Black mana started appearing in the air above Cale's head.
It was the invisible Raon.
He heard the Sky Eating Water's calm voice at that moment.
– Heh.
No, he heard a weird laughter first.
– Hehe, Dragons are great and mighty! The Dragon who gave without holding back is best!
The moment she said that, Cale looked at the large quantity of water that instantly swept through one kilometer and gave a command.
"Destroy it."
– I got it, human!
– Hehehe!
Crack, crack, crack!
Cale could hear things breaking above him.
It must be the sound of highest-grade magic stones breaking.
Approximately ten or so of them seemed to break at once.
Baaaaaang-
The tsunami stopped moving for a moment and increased in height.
There was another aura next to the tsunami.
It was Raon's magic.
It was only for an instant.
In the short period of time that the merciless tsunami stopped, Cale wanted to see the people on top of the castle walls.
However, he could not see them.
The large tsunami was covering them.
"Hey Yoon-"
The people on top of the castle walls could not see in front of them either.
To be more accurate, all they could see was the large tsunami.
Hoya called out to the other young Blood Demon candidate, Yoon.
Clang. Clang.
The accessories on her body were rumbling vigorously, stronger than ever before.
Craaaaaaack.
Yoon started speaking as a portion of those accessories cracked.
"Orabuni."
"…What is it?"
"Let's run away."
The moment they finished that conversation…
Cale had also finished chatting with the Sky Eating Water.
"Control it well. Make sure to minimize the harm to the people inside the castle."
The tsunami started moving again as soon as he said that.
– Of course.
He could not really hear the Sky Eating Water's voice.
Baaaaaaaaaang—!
A loud noise was covering all around him.
Raon's magic that had the mana of ten or so highest-grade magic stones as well as Cale's 225 percent power of water…
That combined power started moving.
It moved cleverly.
It was only directed at one spot on the castle wall.
"Fuck, this was his plan?!"
Yoon couldn't help but swear.
The tsunami that looked as if it would attack them was only aiming for a single spot.
Booboobooboooooom—-.
The castle wall shook.
However, Yoon could only see the breaking castle wall.
The castle wall broke into pieces.
The aftershock shook the entire castle to the point that it would not be weird if it broke down at any moment.
"Yoon, the formation-"
"Shut up! I know!"
She ignored Hoya.
Yoon could see the formation breaking the instant the castle wall broke.
"Fuck!"
Although she was swearing profusely, there were people who were watching this with blank looks on their faces.
"Ah."
The residents of Yunnan Castle either curled up tighter as they watched the castle walls and the ground shaking or looked out their windows.
These were instinctual responses.
The ones who looked out the window saw something they could not believe.
"Ah."
The large water that destroyed the castle wall…
As they could not fully comprehend if this was real life or just fantasy…
The water started floating up into the air drop by drop.
Then the ash-colored clouds covering the castle slowly disappeared.
It was a weird sight.
Normally, those kinds of dark clouds should lead to rain, but…
The water drops from the large tsunami were shooting up into the air instead.
The clear sky slowly started to appear.
How many days had it been?
Two days?
Four days?
This clear blue sky was visible to the residents of Yunnan Castle for the first time in a long while.
Furthermore, the warmth of the sun made it feel as if their stiff bodies were finally getting warm.
Yes, it was still the middle of the day.
The moment they realized that…
Plop. Plop.
The water drops that had been rising up to the sky started falling back down to the ground.
The young clan leader of the Dokgo Clan, Dokgo Ryeong, blankly stared at the water drops falling on her cheeks.
The water drops falling from the clear sky with the warm sun…
This was definitely not rain.
This refreshing and warm aura touching her skin made it clear that it was not rain.
"Ah-"
She subconsciously felt as if she would start crying.
However, she did not cry.
Instead, she smiled.
The castle walls have been broken.
She knew what that meant.
'We made it.'
Yunnan Castle had survived.
Light seeped into her eyes.
While that was going on…
Cale could hear the Sky Eating Water's voice.
It was an extremely stubborn voice.
– It can't disappear into the sky.
That Was the reason the Sky Eating Water turned into rain and fell to the ground.
It was very much like her.
Cale looked around.
There were fallen jiangshis all around them.
They had been swept through by the water.
'I can't purify all of them.'
Cale had no plans on purifying the jiangshis in the first place.
'Why would I when the members of the Blood Cult that created the jiangshis, especially young Blood Demon candidates at that, are here?'
Shouldn't the people who made the jiangshis also know how to turn them back to corpses?
Number 7 knew how to do it as well, but his method took a long time.
Since there were many jiangshi making experts here, they might know an easier way to return jiangshis to normal.
"These bastards create the issue so they should resolve it as well.'
Splash.
Cale hesitated as he took a step forward.
"What's wrong?"
The Heavenly Demon asked him a question.
Cale nonchalantly answered.
"…The plains have turned into a mess."
The jiangshis had already scorched the plains but it had turned into even more of a mess because of Cale's tsunami.
Farming would be difficult this year.
'…Do I need to compensate them for that?
…The Imperial Palace will probably do it, right?
Can't I just threaten them a bit if they say they won't do it?
This only happened because the Yunnan Castle Lord was a member of the Blood Cult.'
As Cale thought about those answers in his mind…
"Ha, hahaha-"
The Sword Saint suddenly laughed out loud.
Cale snapped back to his senses at that laugh and, without even looking at the Sword Saint, looked up and started speaking.
He didn't care whether that old man was laughing or not.
"Let's send the signal."
The first phase was to mess with the formation outside the castle wall to temporarily get rid of the illusions.
The second phase was to push the jiangshis aside, attack the castle wall and destroy it.
They had completed phase one and two.
Now all that was left was phase three.
Infiltrate the castle as the castle walls break and the formation is shaken and then suppress the Blood Cult.
Piiiiiiiiiiiiii—-
Black rays of light shot up into the sky.
The moment everybody saw the signal that Cale had sent through Raon…
Splash.
Cale could see the people who had been behind him walking past him.
"I guess it is our turn now."
The Heavenly Demon commented before being the first to shoot forward.
"We will head over first as well, Hae-il-nim."
Choi Han and Choi Jung Soo both headed toward the castle as well.
They weren't the only ones.
The martial artists of the Triumvirate quickly charged toward the castle from the mountain surrounding Yunnan Castle.
– Cale, you still have some strength left. You've gotten much stronger.
Cale listened to the cheapskate's words of admiration and followed behind them.
He was looking at the people who were releasing their internal ki to wrap around their bodies before they used movement techniques to instantly arrive at the castle.
'I should be able to take it easy now, right?'
He should be able to leave the rest to them.
Cale then looked toward the only person who had remained behind him.
"Are you not going?"
It was team leader Sui Khan. He had his head tilted to one side as he asked with an odd expression on his face.
"Is your body really okay?"
"Yes. The things that the Dragon left behind are quite helpful."
"Really?"
"…I really mean it."
Lee Soo Hyuk had a look of significant disbelief on his face as he looked at Cale. Cale became annoyed at his gaze before commenting with a scowl on his face.
"Just go and fight. Please use your slash ability to slice up more of the castle walls.'
"...."
The team leader kept his eye on Cale before finally nodding his head and heading toward the castle wall.
Of course he left one comment behind.
"Hey Cale. But still, take a thorough look at it. Just to be on the safe side."
"Haaaa. I got it."
Cale just waved Sui Khan off before slowly starting to walk.
There was no need to rush yet.
– Hoo hoo, now all that is left is to swallow a god.
He listened to the Sky Eating Water's solemn voice as he did that.
– Human, are you really okay?
Him nodding his head at Raon's question was just extra.
That was why Cale did not know.
His clavicles that were covered by his clothes until now…
The four dark water drops on each clavicle…
Six of the eight water drops had turned white.
He also didn't know that the seventh water drop was turning grey.
He had no idea.
Because he felt totally fine.
Instead, he watched the Heavenly Demon and Choi Han be the first ones to infiltrate the destroyed castle wall. He then looked at his friends and the martial artists behind them as well and thought to himself.
'The young Blood Demon candidates. We will capture the two of them first.'
—
Translator's Comments
Two prisoners of war, coming right up!