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We climbed the mountain. It was the same mountain as last time.

The place where we had discovered the Great Demonic Gate, the same spot we had climbed to before.

“……”

“……”

Father and I climbed that mountain endlessly. Last time, there was a guide, but this time, since we had the Clan Leader’s permission, we could climb the mountain without any issues.

After climbing for a while, we reached the summit and found the Demonic Gate we had seen before.

But.

‘It seems bigger than last time?’

The size and the light felt larger than the Demonic Gate we had seen before.

And.

‘One of the rings is gone.’

Out of the four rings we had seen last time, one had disappeared, leaving only three.

A day had passed, and it had changed. This seemed to align with what Father had mentioned.

‘If all those rings break…’

The Demonic Gate would erupt.

As if recalling this, Father approached the Demonic Gate and began inspecting it.

Watching him, I also started examining the gate.

‘Why is it so big?’

I frowned. The size was much larger than I had expected. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen the Great Demonic Gate before. I had even seen the Red Great Demonic Gate.

‘But I’ve never seen one this big.’

I had never seen a Demonic Gate of this size. It was as if another mountain existed on top of the mountain.

‘What happens if this thing erupts?’

A Demonic Gate of this size meant that the beings inside were no joke.

What’s concerning is.

‘The very existence of the Demonic Gate itself.’

The Demonic Gate.

I didn’t know before, but now I know that the Demonic Gate is connected to the Abyss of Mankye.

The beings who couldn’t go to Mankye when the world was destroyed are buried in the Abyss.

And the rift that formed in the Abyss leads directly to the Demonic Gate.

‘So.’

Whatever comes out of that Demonic Gate must be something from the Abyss.

‘Hmm.’

What on earth is trying to come out?

And.

‘……This is troublesome.’

The fact that the creation of this Demonic Gate might be my fault made it even more unsettling.

After a while of inspecting the Demonic Gate.

“Do you feel anything strange?”

Father finally spoke to me. He hadn’t said a word while climbing the mountain until now.

Something strange?

After quietly observing the Demonic Gate, I answered honestly.

“It’s big.”

“……”

“Really, really big.”

The enormous Demonic Gate. At my blunt and straightforward words, Father’s brow furrowed. Was it because I stated the obvious? Probably not.

‘There’s no better answer than this.’

No need to beat around the bush. The unimaginable size of the Demonic Gate in front of us was the only anomaly.

“It looks at least twice as big as other Great Demonic Gates. Plus, if it erupts, it’s going to be a pain to deal with. It’s got all the bad parts.”

Yeah, the terrain is also a problem.

The Demonic Gate formed at the summit means the demon beasts will come down the mountain.

This will create a lot of issues when dealing with them.

Even if martial artists have transcended ordinary humans, this is still a big problem.

At my words.

“So.”

Father looked at me and asked another question.

“How do you think we should handle this?”

That made me ponder.

It wasn’t about the countermeasures, but the meaning behind the question.

‘Is he asking for advice, or is he testing me?’

Whether it’s advice on the situation.

Or if he’s testing me, I couldn’t tell.

“But as for handling it… there’s nothing else but to fight well.”

Even so, my answer didn’t change.

“The terrain is a mess. And Father… no, Deputy Lord, you’ve figured out that the Demonic Gate will open in a few days. It’s going to be hard to request support from the clan.”

At best, we’d have to request support from the Anhui branch.

But how much strength do they even have? Also.

‘The Nangong Clan must have some strength, of course.’

But the Red Demonic Gate is the most concerning part.

‘They probably don’t know how to properly deal with it.’

If their knowledge is the same as mine, then it’s impossible in this state. People of this era don’t know the proper way to hunt Red Demon Beasts.

And with the Red Demonic Gate about to erupt?

‘From what I know, if it’s a Great Demonic Gate, there will be at least…’

Six.

Six Red Demon Beasts appearing at the same time.

‘How can we handle that?’

That’s the sticking point.

To hunt six at the same time, we’d need at least a hundred peak-level martial artists. Plus, at least five Transformation Realm martial artists to draw out firepower.

Of course.

‘If I step in, I could handle it.’

If I personally step in, killing the Red Demon Beasts wouldn’t be a big problem.

‘Sigh.’

But I don’t want to, which is why I’m hesitating.

If there’s any hope at all…

‘It’s that this is the Nangong Clan.’

This is the stronghold of the Nangong Clan, the ruler of Anhui. I’m placing my hope on that.

Because.

‘If this is the Nangong Clan’s stronghold, then that person must be here.’

The master of mental power and the true ruler of the Nangong Clan.

The father of the current Nangong Jehui and the grandfather of Nangong Jin.

‘Heavenly Lord.’

One of the Three Eminent Beings, the Heavenly Lord.

There’s a possibility he’s somewhere in the Nangong Clan.

‘If he’s here, then even the Red Great Demonic Gate won’t be too difficult to handle.’

I don’t know what state the Heavenly Lord is in at this time, but at the very least, he should be in his prime.

Known as the most powerful in firepower among the Three Eminent Beings, if he moves, the Demonic Gate won’t be a concern.

‘……But will he move?’

It’s about when I gave it to him.

I don’t even know if he’s at the Nangong Clan right now. It’s hard to tell what state the Heavenly Lord is in at the moment.

“Well, first… I should go down and talk to him. But since the danger level is high, wouldn’t it be better to send back those who can’t help?”

“Those who can’t help?”

“Martial artists below first-rate. And those without martial arts skills should be evacuated.”

Moving them too far could actually be dangerous. So, just far enough. The Martial Alliance’s Anhui branch would probably be a good spot since the terrain is favorable.

“You’ve faced the Red Demon Beast before, so you know… martial artists below first-rate aren’t much help.”

“……”

Father didn’t deny it. In reality, even first-rate martial artists are no match for the Red Demon Beast.

It’s just a waste of lives.

“Evacuate the civilians and the martial artists below first-rate who are protecting them to the Martial Alliance’s Anhui branch. Then, request the Nangong Clan to prepare for battle. It would also be good to provide them with some information about the Red Demon Beast. And…”

Tap, tap, tap.

He poked my waist with his finger.

“The important thing is… are we planning to support them too?”

If it’s the Demonic Gate that erupted in the Anhui branch, then it’s the Nangong Clan’s responsibility to handle it.

But right now, the Blue Dragon has already stepped in to support. Given that it’s expected to erupt in a few days, it’s unclear whether we should just wrap up our support.

That’s why I asked Father.

“We’ll support them.”

Father spoke firmly.

“Since an unexpected incident has occurred, we can’t just let others die.”

“……”

“The Martial Alliance operates on justice and cooperation. We will support the Nangong Clan and join the battle.”

‘Wow.’

I was speechless after hearing that. I never expected Father to say something like that.

‘Justice and cooperation?’

It’s almost laughable. Those are the words I hate the most in the world.

And they came out of Father’s mouth.

‘…Is it because of the current Martial Alliance?’

In the future, most of the people I know who belong to the Righteous Faction have a negative view of the Martial Alliance.

But the current members seem to take pride in the Martial Alliance.

What on earth happened in those few years?

“Let’s go back.”

Father spat out the words and turned around.

“……”

I followed him for now.

Swoosh.

The mountainside, now completely devoid of any presence.

Only the Great Demonic Gate remained, swaying quietly.

Crackle-!

A subtle change occurred in the Demonic Gate.

It wasn’t a change in size or the ring. It was a change in the color inside.

Amidst the red, blood-like hue, a faint white light flickered.

It was the beginning of another anomaly.

* * *

What we found after descending the mountain was the office of the Nangong Clan Leader.

We had given prior notice, so we could easily meet the Clan Leader.

“You’ve arrived.”

“Greetings, Lord Nangong.”

“Greetings, Clan Leader.”

Nangong Jeohwi, who looked somewhat haggard since the last time we saw him.

He definitely resembles Nangong Jin.

‘He doesn’t look much like Nangong Hyeong, though.’

Nangong Hyeong, who looks exactly like the Thunder Sword. Despite being his father, they don’t look much alike.

Moreover.

‘His Blood Qi is still the same.’

The Blood Qi emanating from his body was still vivid.

“How was it?”

In response to Nangong Jeohwi’s question, Father handed over the letter he had prepared.

Rustle.

He took it and looked it over.

“…A request for evacuation and battle preparation…”

Nangong Jeohwi stroked his chin as if he had already anticipated it.

“The sooner, the better.”

With only a few days left, swift evacuation was crucial.

However.

“Moving the family members so suddenly is impossible.”

Nangong Jeohwi frowned, looking troubled.

I stepped in.

“Even with the Clan Leader’s authority?”

If it’s the Clan Leader’s authority and orders, they should be able to move. Why is he being so hesitant?

I spoke, sounding puzzled.

“……”

Instead of answering, Nangong Jeohwi rubbed his forehead.

What kind of reaction is that? Father and I silently watched.

“…Could you follow me for a moment?”

He said, looking at Father.

“There’s someone you should meet.”

“Someone we should meet?”

“The former Clan Leader. I think you should meet him.”

“…!”

At those words, both Father and I widened our eyes.

The former Clan Leader…

‘That’s the Heavenly Lord.’

The Heavenly Lord I had just thought about while looking at the Demonic Gate.

‘Wow.’

I twitched the corner of my mouth at the situation.

This seems…

‘Like things might turn out okay.’

I felt like the troublesome situation might resolve itself a bit easier.

So, I felt a slight sense of relief.

But this was…

“Who are you?”

“Ah, damn it.”

…the beginning of an even more troublesome situation.

I didn’t know that at the time.

 

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