0767 ———————————————-

Dark Heaven Village

Don’t let him join as a companion?

“What are you talking about?”

I could only retort to Geuk-ho. This was not a matter I could just accept casually. Even if the trial of Mokyo fails, I wanted to hear a straight reason from Geuk-ho.

Then Geuk-ho spoke.

“Just like it sounds.”

“Give me a reason.”

“A reason….”

Geuk-ho fell silent for a moment before looking at me. In his gaze, which was uncharacteristically sad, there was an emotion that didn’t seem like him.

“There are various reasons, right? I want to sit here and drink with you while sharing a lot, but… there’s just no leisure for that.”

“……”

“It’s not that the path of bringing down the gods is rough and difficult, and makes you want to give up. Once you pass through the ‘Great Cycle’, you’ll feel like you’re just hearing someone else’s story. I don’t want to make excuses.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Geuk-ho opened his mouth.

“Baek Woong. If you hadn’t given me the obsidian, would I have been unhappy?”

“What?”

It was an unexpected question. I looked at Geuk-ho with a confused expression, but I realized he was staring at me with serious eyes, waiting for an answer. After pondering, I replied.

“No… not really.”

Geuk-ho seemed like an unfortunate successor of the Thunder God lineage, but he was doing his best with his life. To call him unhappy would be an insult to him.

Geuk-ho chuckled softly.

“Honest answer, thank you. That’s my reason.”

“……”

“Baek Woong, that’s my life. I have no hope for revenge anymore, and the life of just suppressing my anger towards the White Lotus Sect’s dragon, day by day, was also my life.”

I felt like I understood something.

I couldn’t specify, but thanks to the time spent with him as friends, I had a glimpse of what he was trying to say. Then Jin So-cheong, who was beside me, spoke up.

“Brother. But the Reborn Person Baek Woong already exists in history. He is a being who can alter everything in history by his will.”

“That might be so.”

“Even if Brother wants to solely enjoy his life, it’s meaningless if he’s reincarnated. The world aside from Brother will keep moving.”

“I know. Who doesn’t know that? That’s why even the Tang San or whatever is clinging to Baek Woong for benefits. In the future, everyone and their grandma will want to be a companion of Baek Woong.”

Geuk-ho shrugged dismissively.

“But still, I won’t bend my will.”

“……”

“I’m going to step down from this repeating cycle.”

Jin So-cheong also seemed to sense Geuk-ho’s firm resolve and said nothing more. However, I couldn’t accept it and shouted at Geuk-ho.

“Geuk-ho!! Did you feel empty after taking revenge on the Dragon? Did you think life’s meaning was too easy to achieve? That’s not the end!!”

“If it’s not the end?”

“…Help me. As a friend, help me see the end of this path!! We’re friends! You were the guy who made sure to settle hidden grudges!”

As I yelled, Geuk-ho tapped his chin thoughtfully. Then he said.

“Actually, there are various reasons for that. So, I’m just sorry.”

“What? What reason?”

“Ugh, I’m being so whiny. When I met you again, I didn’t want this conversation to drag on…. A drink would be nice.”

With a sigh, Geuk-ho continued.

“Alright. Let’s do this. If you pass the trial of the Seven Luminaries and become king, I’ll cancel what I said. But if you fail, do me a favor. Understand?”

“That’s just selfish…!!”

Just as I was about to protest.

Thud

Mangnyang firmly grabbed my shoulder from behind. When I turned around, I saw Mangnyang staring at me with somewhat sad eyes and said.

“Baek Woong. Let’s go with his words.”

“……”

There was sincerity in Mangnyang’s gaze. It seemed he had read something between the lines of Geuk-ho’s words. I realized that it wasn’t just Mangnyang; Zhuge Sa and Jin So-cheong also had similar expressions, and even the Sword Demon said nothing particular.

This wasn’t a cold attitude of disliking or ignoring Geuk-ho. They truly felt something about what Geuk-ho was thinking. That’s why their intention to send him off as a companion was closer to acceptance.

‘No, that’s…’

Suddenly, I realized that I was being obsessive. This was a strange experience, feeling that for the first time, my reincarnated comrade was trying to leave me by his own will.

I became aware that I wanted to hold onto Geuk-ho, regardless of his feelings, just to avoid feeling that rupture. His abilities and background were secondary; my selfishness took priority.

I felt pathetic and took a moment to gather my thoughts.

Eventually, I nodded.

“…Alright. I promise.”

“Thanks.”

Geuk-ho smiled gently and slowly walked ahead.

Then Zhuge Sa spoke from behind.

“With this, everyone is gathered, but what do we plan to do now? Jin So-cheong.”

“The three Martial Artists will resonate with the Seven Luminaries.”

“You already know that the resonance of the Seven Luminaries doesn’t take effect.”

“We’re just changing the target of amplification.”

Hearing that response, Zhuge Sa seemed to have figured out what they intended to do. Then he grinned.

“Coming this far for another gamble. No time to be bored.”

Swoosh

After a while, Geuk-ho, Jin So-cheong, and the Sword Demon surrounded the sleeping body of Mokyo in the form of the Three Talents Formation with the Seven Luminaries. They began to channel the power of the twin luminaries they possessed, gradually enveloping their bodies in light.

As I watched, I realized what they were trying to do.

‘They’re trying to enhance their ability to reach the Primordial Void through the power generated by the resonance of the Seven Luminaries!’

It was a shift in perspective!

I had thought about using only the resonance itself, but I had never considered using it in this manner. The first to unleash his abilities was the Sword Demon. As soon as he properly released the twin luminary resonance, his white hair became even whiter, and an indescribable energy flowed majestically.

Following the Sword Demon, Jin So-cheong also seemed to have begun to reach a ‘different realm’. And soon, Geuk-ho’s body was consumed by the light of resonance and began to disappear. It felt like I heard his words through my heart before he vanished.

[It was fun while it lasted, friend.]

Fwoosh

Was it a moment that just passed, or did a considerable amount of time go by?

When I opened my eyes, Mokyo had vanished, and the Seven Luminaries were all lying on the ground. Also, the three experts who had resonated were nowhere to be found.

Looking around, Mangnyang, Zhuge Sa, Cheon Woo-jin, and Celestial Sage all seemed fine. I asked Mangnyang.

“Mangnyang. What happened?”

“It seems we have overcome Mokyo’s trial… but I don’t know what happened.”

We looked at Celestial Sage and Cheon Gong-pyo, but they also seemed clueless about what transpired. What had happened in that moment?

I gazed at the rainbow light swirling around Mokyo. Seeing the rainbow light confirmed that the three had indeed risked their lives to destroy Mokyo with Primordial Void’s power. With the three missing, it seemed possible that their bodies had completely vanished.

I wanted to thank the three who had put their lives on the line and immediately tried to summon them.

‘Geuk-ho! Sword Demon! Jin So-cheong!!’

…….

Huh?

I focused my mind, but when the three didn’t appear, I was stunned. This had never happened before; why was this happening? Mangnyang’s expression soured, realizing something was off with my actions.

“…They aren’t being summoned?”

“That’s right…. How could this be….”

Then Zhuge Sa hastily stepped forward, seeming to cast the Soul Exchange Technique. He used a technique to sense the souls of those in the waiting space and then said.

“Their souls or spirits aren’t even left…. Just as expected.”

“Just as expected?”

“…When Jin So-cheong defeated the Nine Lotus Bishop.”

Zhuge Sa replied briefly.

“There’s something to grasp. If I’m right, those three won’t be able to be summoned again after this trial.”

“What? Why?”

“There must be a being who has taken their souls as collateral!”

After saying that, Zhuge Sa exclaimed.

“There’s no time to waste. We should quickly pass through the next trial, taking advantage of the precious time the three have given us.”

“…….”

“Having overcome the worst difficulty, we can finally breathe.”

I was taken aback by the sudden absence of the martial artists from the assault. But as Zhuge Sa said, this wasn’t the time to dwell on it deeply. Rather than wallowing in sadness, I needed to conserve my strength to move forward. I looked at the other direction.

“The trial of the Golden Crow is open.”

Screeching-

The shining area of the gold mine. I stood up and was about to head straight towards the Golden Crow when Mangnyang pushed past me.

“Wait a moment!”

“What is it?”

“Something feels off. I can hear cheers coming from the direction of the Golden Crow’s trial.”

“Cheers…?”

Upon hearing that, Cheon Gong-pyo used his technique to observe the area closely and said.

“The army of Qin Shi Huang is already fighting.”

“……”

What?

But I realized that could happen. If Qin Shi Huang’s army had numbers in the tens of thousands, they wouldn’t just invest one group of Seven Luminaries but could send them to other battlefields as well. Then, Mangnyang said.

“That’s good. In this case, let’s not rush in blindly and closely observe how their army fights.”

Following Mangnyang’s suggestion, we decided to head to the battlefield of the Golden Crow to observe how their forces were operating. When we watched how Qin Shi Huang’s army engaged with the spirit of the Golden Crow, I felt absurd.

[For the Emperor!!]

[Kill him!!]

It was just as Cheon Woo-jin had mentioned. Clad in ancient armor and armed with weapons, the legion was charging at the spirit of the Golden Crow, shining bright like a golden deer.

As the light shone from the Golden Crow’s eyes, the soldiers charging from the front let out screams.

[Kyaaaaak.]

[Uwaaaaah!]

Boom!

In an instant, a scar crossed the horizon, and it looked like at least ten thousand soldiers had been killed on the spot. The Golden Crow, appearing irritated, summoned something resembling a rain elemental seal in the air and pounded it down, again turning soldiers into blood clots with each strike. It was a gruesome sight.

[Kyaaaaaaak.]

[Aaaahhhh!!]

Among them, some soldiers screamed wildly due to pain and fear. A person who had his entrails spilled cried out, half his body torn apart.

[It hurts, it hurts so much!!!!]

[Why am I in this place….]

What was this?

I thought these must be an army armed with thorough loyalty and righteousness towards Qin Shi Huang, but their reactions were vastly different. They looked like reluctant conscripts dragged into an unwanted war, their morale greatly diminished, and only a few hundred warriors were courageously charging at the Golden Crow.

The rest stood frozen in place, trembling while holding spears. However, a commander watching from behind barked orders with a ritual object.

[Revive!]

Whoosh!

Instantly, the soldiers who were just decimated by the Golden Crow were resurrected. The resurrected ones seemed to stumble as they couldn’t shake off the shock of death. The commander, staring at their condition with dissatisfaction, said.

[You are slaves of the Emperor. Fight hard!!]

[Uwaaaaaaah, die!!]

After being killed miserably a few times, those who were driven to desperation tried to kill the commander wielding their weapons instead, but the higher-ranking officers standing by him easily dispatched them with movements reminiscent of peak experts.

[Kyaah.]

Seeing the rebellion against him, the commander spoke as if unfazed.

[You are the property of the Qin Empire, and eternally the slaves of His Majesty! You are not permitted to die.]

Whoooooom!

As the commander exuded dark energy, the soldiers seemingly entranced became berserk fighters, charging once more at the Golden Crow. This cycle repeated in various locations, resulting in a seemingly endless assault on the Golden Crow.

I watched the scene from the hill and couldn’t help but exclaim.

“That’s pointless effort! No matter how long they try, they won’t even scratch the Spirit of the Seven Luminaries.”

“Does Qin Shi Huang not know that? It’s just a way to waste energy until he arrives.”

“But soldiers are dying hundreds of times!”

“Who cares? Whether they die hundreds of times or not, Qin Shi Huang just needs them to be aware of it. Do you think that beast will feel pity or kindness?”

“……”

Zhuge Sa commented with interest.

“But he seems to understand the nature of the trial well. It’s a carefully crafted strategy. Truly, Qin Shi Huang is fit to dominate the world.”

“What do you mean? That reckless behavior is a well-thought-out strategy?”

“Consider the laws. Only a king can summon those he recognizes as king. But looking at those soldiers, it seems like they’ve established a slave contract even before birth to ensure they recognize him as king.”

“Hmm….”

“And he appointed high-ranking officers as commanders in life to grant them summoning rights. Thus, an endless army that can never be annihilated was formed. Qin Shi Huang doesn’t even need to summon them all one by one.”

“……!!”

“The soldiers may be unfortunate, but strategically it’s the best. Regardless, they’re effectively doing their job of wasting energy, aren’t they?”

Hearing Zhuge Sa’s words frustrated me.

Indeed, even the Spirit of the Seven Luminaries did not possess infinite power, so there would come a time for an exhausting fight. Delaying tactics for that purpose could be a possibility. But these soldiers had to flail around getting slaughtered by an overwhelming spirit, dying countless times again and again.

Living as slaves, and dying as slaves.

I could see the true nature of these soldiers.

“Those guys were the Terracotta Warriors from the Tomb of Qin Shi Huang.”

Unknown models of soldiers buried in the Tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the Terracotta Warriors.

They weren’t dead, but had been bound by an evil slave contract since ancient times, buried in a state where they could neither live nor die. These were beings who had suffered for thousands of years, merely to be used as pawns under Qin Shi Huang during the trial of the Seven Luminaries.