Vol 2. Chapter 40: Heroes Fade Like Flowers While G.o.ds Burn Brightly
Gyeongbokgung Palace was an overwhelmingly advantageous battlefield for the Lee Family. The palace was surrounded by an ultimate magic of the great wizard, Entry Barrier, and it boasted an absolute defense that was impenetrable by any of the ability users of the parallel world.
Therefore, the troops of the Zhu Family could only conduct their siege in the Unrestricted Areas. To be exact, they could destroy and climb the walls about twice the area of Gw.a.n.ghwamun Gate, but they could neither climb nor destroy any of the other areas.
So in the end, the only problem was with the numbers. The difference between 30,000 and 150,000 was humongous.
The Zhu Family had been prepared for the conflict to turn into a siege, and they as such, they had employed an enormous number of spell users and magicians. While they launched an all-out offensive of spells against the Unrestricted Areas, which included Gw.a.n.gbokgung Palace, the rest of the troops could slowly break into Gyeongbokgung Palace. It worked as a type of suppressing fire.
‘If the war continues at this pace, the Lee Family would eventually be destroyed.’
It was just as said, but only if the war could continue at this pace.
“This is not going anywhere. I’m out.”
A warrior retreated while gritting his teeth. He had been partic.i.p.ating in the battle while desperately avoiding the pouring arrows. The ground was already covered with countless bodies. Hills of corpses and rivers of blood had changed the landscape.
Many ability users from the Lee Family had perished. It was an unprecedented casualty throughout the history of the Lee Family. However…
Even more ability users from the Zhu Family had died and were dying. The exchange of damage was far beyond what the Zhu Family had expected, and there was an even bigger issue – time.
The war was becoming drawn out.
“Now I realize that these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds are putting us at the forefront, huh? We came to aid in a winning battle, not to die for nothing!”
“Dammit! If I knew things would have turned out this way, we would have never become involved in the conflict! d.a.m.n you all!”
The ability users of the Zhu Family had rushed forward with bravado and ferocity in the beginning, but their expressions were slowly turning grim. They had already utilized a ma.s.sive spell to pierce Gw.a.n.ghwamun Gate, but another layer of defense was prepared around Heungnyemun Gate and waiting for them. Then, they gritted their teeth and broke through once more, only to face dense layers of defense around Geunjeongmun Gate.
They gave it their all to push through. The National Palace Museum had already been fortified and the square leading to Geonchunmun Gate was a minefield. When they advanced through all the obstacles at the expense of tremendous damage, a line of defense around Geungeongwas waiting for them like an impervious fortress of iron.
To reach this point, it had taken them 40 hours.
“No, this is not right. Something’s very wrong.”
“Dammit! I can’t break through their defenses! What the h.e.l.l is going on!?”
The great war plans of the Zhu Family had already been completely smashed into pieces. They had already suffered too much damage. The Blade Emperor had fallen without inflicting much damage to the Ghost Blade, and their plan with the ones outside the system’s restriction had failed. The non-selected ones were supposed to be their trump card, but they had been ma.s.sacred without even putting up a proper resistance.
Moreover, the leading forces died together under the barrage of arrows aiming for the non-selected ones, which caused the entire formation to collapse completely before the battle even began.
From the perspective of the Zhu Family, the whole situation was already far beyond the worst they had expected. The number of magic supplies and reagents had reached un unacceptable level, and the number of fallen ability users was beyond their wildest imaginations.
Of course, they still maintained an overwhelming advantage in the number of troops. If they chose to continue to push, the victory would fall into the Zhu Family’s hands, albeit at an unimaginable cost. Unfortunately, the Zhu Family’s army wasn’t even close to a unified group.
“Stop for a moment! Fall to the right immediately!”
“Mister Kang? What are you doing?”
Someone voiced their confusion when a man called for a sudden retreat. A muscular man without a shirt shouted while clenching his teeth.
“This is just too much! We came all this way to help with a good heart, but you are driving us to our deaths!”
“That’s hilarious! A battlefield is a place where you walk between life and death! Don’t tell me that you are going to betray us?”
A commanding officer of the Zhu Family retorted, and a trainee of the Geumgang Faction shouted in anger.
“Watch your words! Even though we may all be Chinese, we are not subordinates of the Zhu Family, but proud trainees of the Geumgang Faction! We have already suffered too much damage. We’ve done our share in this battle!”
At his words, all of the members of the Geumgang Faction started to fall back. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning.
“We of the Supreme Magic Tower will fall back as well. Too many precious disciples have died already.”
“Linagshanpo is falling back as well! Be d.a.m.ned! Nearly 50,000 out of 150,000 are already dead, but not even a handful of them are from the Zhu Family!”
“The Heukam Faction will be retreating as well. I would like to help out, but… I can’t help but worry that the Zhu Family will not be able to compensate us after losing the Forbidden City.”
Even though the forces of the Zhu Family still neared 100,000, a large turmoil was quickly spreading. Although they were called ‘the forces of the Zhu Family’, not all of China’s ability users belonged to the Zhu Family. They were called such because most Chinese people recognized the Zhu Family as their representative and the imperial family.
They followed the Zhu Family, but not all of them belonged to the Zhu Family. The humongous number of 150,000 was composed of the members of China’s large organizations. Out of the Five Great Military Factions, the Geumgang Faction, Heukam Faction, and Jincheon Faction were taking part, and among the Three Great Magic Towers, the Supreme Magic Tower was lending their hand, as well as numerous minor forces. Many of them had been enlisted in the conflict at a cost.
But before they were Chinese, they belonged to their respective organizations. They might have reconsidered if the Zhu Family possessed the same overwhelming influence or authority as before, but the Zhu Family had already lost their main base. They could not risk their own deaths for the sake of the Zhu Family, which could be facing annihilation.
“The Jincheon Faction will pull out as well. We cannot sacrifice any more of our warriors in this meaningless battle.”
“This is enough for us Heavenly Dragons as well.”
More than half of the remaining 100,000 troops started to slowly pull out, leaving the battle in a lull. As the atmosphere became strange, groups of people began to lay down their weapons – small groups of dozens, and as many as 100 warriors.
“Wait a minute.”
The princess noticed the subtle change in atmosphere and raised her hands. The Hwarang group stopped their barrage of arrows at the sign.
The war stopped.
“You, you! You traitors!”
“What are you all doing!?”
The ability users of the Zhu Family became fl.u.s.tered. They were the only ones left on the battlefield that still wanted war. They had lost the Forbidden City, so they needed to exterminate the Lee Family and conquer Gyeongbokgun Palace in retaliation, but the atmosphere was getting weird.
They tried to fire magic and swing their weapons with greater fervor in desperation, but the atmosphere did not change. The remainder of the Zhu Family was slowly coming to a realization. Would it be possible for them to take over Gyeongbokgung Palace with less than half of their troops remaining? Especially when the momentum had been subdued this greatly?
However, the Fist Emperor, the head of the Zhu Family, did not seem to be fl.u.s.tered by the sudden turn of events.
“Amitabha Buddha”
Rather, he was quietly reciting a Buddhist chant. Even though he had been slaughtering hundreds just 10 minutes ago like an asura, his calm, poor appearance made people doubt if he was the same man as before.
“Fist Emperor-nim! What shall we do?”
“Please give your orders, Fist Emperor-nim!”
“I can’t get in touch with the base! Is there a plan?”
Even though high-ranking officers of the Zhu Family were abandoning their positions and gathering around the Fist Emperor. However, he did not answer their questions, only rolling around wooden beads in his hands.
“Fist Emperor-nim?”
“…First Emperor?
The members of the Zhu Family finally realized that something was strange and began to quiet down. It was around that time that the Fist Emperor suddenly opened his e yes.
“Truly… There’s no helping it.”
“Heup?”
“What!?”
“What the…!”
The officers of the Zhu Family were sent into a state of turmoil. But not only those from the Zhu Family, but the others present on the battlefield also stepped back with shock in their eyes. The Fist Emperor’s eyes were dyed red, without a hint of black or white. He spewed out the same words.
“Amitabha Buddha.”
Stab!
The Fist Emperor stabbed himself in the heart with an antique treasure sword that suddenly appeared. For some reason, not a single drop of blood could be seen, but instead, an ominous red energy started to spread.
“Oh Demon G.o.d! You who will dye the sky black! The promised offering is here, so abide by the contract!”
“The Blood Devil! Fist Emperor, how could you be dealing with the Blood Devil…!?”
“More importantly, isn’t that the Heavenly Relying Sword!? Using a sealed armament is violating the agreement!”
“Are you crazy!? This gives the other forces justification to take out their sealed armaments! The Lee Family will bring out theirs immediately as well!!”
The allies of the Zhu Family, and even members were reacting in shock and fear. It was obvious that the Lee Family would react even stronger.
“That old man must have gone completely insane! He is out of his mind! We must act now and spread news to all other forces immediate!”
“How long has it been since the Great Wizard pa.s.sed on? That old man is already breaking his orders!”
“If we are not able to solve this matter properly, this could evolve into a world war!!”
The battlefield, which had been in a lull for a while, began to heat up once more. The atmosphere was full of energy and tension. But I felt a little different. I was looking down at everything from the sky, from the perspective of Albatross.
‘How cute.’
Chomp. Chomp.
I devoured a mountain of gimbap to replenish the calories I had consumed and thought about the things called sealed armaments. They were heavenly items, devices not to be used until the arrival of an unprecedented disaster. Each one had been carefully crafted by the Great Wizard, consuming boatloads of resources and time.
‘But in the end, they are nothing but high-rank magical weapons.’
That was right. The strongest, last-resort weapons of Earth – they were nothing more than high-rank magical weapons. Of course, the strongest ability users of Earth barely reached level 10. To the powerhouses of Earth, who were barely compléters, high-rank magical weapons would have appeared G.o.dly. After all, high-ranked magical weapons were suitable for level 15s or higher.
Still, their names are quite unprecedented. Excalibur, Heaven Sealing Stamp, Misteltein, Kusanagi no Tsurugi, and Brionac. Such things do happen in lower civilizations sometimes…
When I see them acting so pretentious with imitations, ha! Ah! Come to think of it, the girl named Bo-ram carried around Gungnir, which was really funny.
‘Don’t be like that. They are still weapons which were made with pride and effort.’
Feeling the atmosphere turning a little mocking, I tried to restrain Ares. However, he responded with round eyes.
Hmm? No, that’s not why I was saying that it was funny.
‘Then what?’
Well, Gungnir is…
He wasn’t able to finish his sentence.
-Kyakyakyakya! You foolish mortal.
Its darkness was the abyss.
Merciless and unsparing.
Hateful.
-That sacrifice. I’ll take it!
Such evil opened its eyes.