Chapter 47 – Interlude

To maximize Chungmugong’s power, Gapjang had set the terrain inside the formation to be the sea.

Boom boom boom boom!

The Golden Giant and the Starlight Fleet and turtle ships summoned by Ghost Ship Sortie continuously roared with cannon fire.

It was meant to hinder Waryong’s attempt to grasp the formation, but this too was gradually reaching its limit.

In the beginning, it wasn’t too difficult to keep him in check.

The power of Chungmugong, augmented by the formation’s power, was something even Waryong had to avoid.

But after some time passed, the situation changed.

‘Is this Zhuge Liang’s Contractor?’

It was from the moment Zhuge Liang, who had manifested by bypassing the formation’s Taboo, created a formation within the formation using the 《Stone Soldier Eight Formations》.

Using the Starlight island built by the Stone Soldier Eight Formations on the sea as a fortress to protect himself, Waryong began to grasp this side’s formation from that point.

Now, over half the control of the formation had shifted to his side.

“Thou, dost thou know the scenery of Red Cliffs.”

As Waryong recited while deploying Zhuge Liang’s Awakening Skill 《Call for the East Wind》.

Clank clank clank clank.

The scenery of the Battle of Red Cliffs related to him was superimposed over the sea of the formation.

Gapjang’s fleet was suddenly connected by iron chains that appeared, bound together like a single island.

Simultaneously, wind blew from the southeast.

Whoooooosh!

Burning fire ships, riding the wind, approached rapidly.

Planning to use fire attack, is he.

“Bombard them!”

He tried to block the fire ships’ approach with a Bombardment Order, but the fire ships poured forth endlessly.

Overwhelming odds. One might block some, but not all.

It was impossible from the start to defeat Zhuge Liang’s Stone Soldier Eight Formations, specialized in Qimen Dunjia, with a <Naval Battle Formation>.

Moreover, with the ships bound by iron chains, the Naval Battle Formation also became restricted.

Even the remaining control of the formation he still held was rapidly shifting to Waryong’s side.

But Gapjang remained unshaken despite the clear disadvantage.

‘I had no intention of winning anyway. My role was merely to buy time.’

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Finally, the fire ships, which even the bombardment couldn’t stop, reached the fleet, and fire spread to the entire fleet.

Flames that spread across all ships in an instant via the connecting iron chains.

“Still as Water, Calm as a Mountain.”

As an emergency measure, he increased overall Resistance, including Fire Resistance, to slow the combustion speed from the flames, and continuously repaired the fleet’s manifestations without sparing mana, but.

The fleet’s disappearance was only a matter of time.

If even the fleet, which was maintaining the Naval Battle Formation in a straight line, disappeared, it would become difficult to even escape the formation.

Unless he intended to finish things with Waryong here, it was time to gradually withdraw.

‘Not yet? Myogaek.’

Perhaps reacting to Gapjang’s critical situation.

Ziiiiing.

A Spatial Passage leading outside the formation opened before him.

It meant there was no longer a need to buy time here.

“Seems things went well on your end.”

Swish.

Satisfied with having completed his necessary role, Gapjang reversed summoned Chungmugong and stepped through the Spatial Passage.

As soon as Gapjang left, all traces of Gapjang remaining in the formation were erased, and the formation completely fell into Waryong’s hands.

Had he been any later, it would have been dangerous.

Swoosh!

Then, as Waryong lightly swung his white feather fan, the formation was dispelled as everything from the sky to the sea split in half.

Thus returning to the Black Market, Waryong immediately headed for the central district.

“Hoh.”

Soon, after a brief information gathering, he realized the full picture of what had happened while he was trapped in the formation.

“Huhu. He used fake Heavenly Demon Medallions to induce the rabble to kill each other. He even cleared the board of me and Tomb Tiger in advance, who could influence the massive formation used at the end.”

The corners of Waryong’s mouth subtly rose.

“Lee Hanseong? No, judging by using the Black Market as the stage, is it Jin Yuseong? Whoever it is, they’ve executed quite an interesting scheme.”

Then, he encountered Tomb Tiger, who had belatedly returned to the central district.

His fur covered in pure white frost as if he had experienced extreme cold.

It seemed he too had been trapped in a similar formation and had just escaped.

“Have you arrived now? You’re a bit late.”

“Don’t pick a fight and get lost, I’m already irritated.”

Tomb Tiger also seemed to have realized the existence of the schemer hidden behind this game, his mood clearly foul.

Since schemes are Tomb Tiger’s specialty, he must be resentful at having been caught by his own forte.

“Don’t be so angry. I merely wish to ask what you plan to do going forward.”

“I’ll find the real Heavenly Demon Medallion.”

“Do you know which is real? If you chase after fakes one by one, you might end up being played by the opponent.”

“Do I look like I’d be tricked by a mere brat like that?”

Having already been tricked once, saying such things is just shameful.

As he looked at him with eyes conveying that meaning, Tomb Tiger coughed awkwardly and made an excuse.

“From the start, the fact that he sent us far away means he’s wary of us. If we just get on the same board, I can handle his tricks anytime.”

“Huhu. Do your best then.”

Waryong inwardly scoffed at Tomb Tiger and left the spot.

Did he really think the opponent wouldn’t know that?

Being wary of Tomb Tiger, the person behind the scenes would rather refuse to engage on the same board even more.

The personality of the opposing schemer was visible in their attitude towards the Heavenly Demon Medallion Trial.

‘He will absolutely refuse to play along with the opponent’s intentions.’

The more we reveal our intentions, the more the opponent will avoid them.

Either reveal false intentions to guide them towards our real ones, or.

The correct response was to hide intentions and act in a way that escapes the opponent’s mind.

Thinking that, Tomb Tiger’s reaction looked different.

‘Oho. Was that reaction also an attempt to deceive the opponent with false intentions? Indeed. That’s more like Sima Yi’s Contractor.’

Realizing that Tomb Tiger was also devising his own methods to deal with the hidden schemer, Waryong’s smile deepened.

Swish— Covering his smile with his unfolded white feather fan, Waryong left the Black Market and returned to reality.

The next time he returns to the Black Market, it will be after increasing the pieces he can use.

* * *

At that moment, Galaxy Guild’s Guild House.

Jin Yuseong, left alone in reality, was busy enough to wish for ten bodies.

So, he used Black Shadow Clones to handle multiple tasks simultaneously.

Black Shadow Clones, perfectly transformed into Lee Hanseong, Park Seongcheol, and Yu Sehee via Myriad Fire Transformations, of course, and Jeon Woochi, who had also used Clone Technique, changed his appearance to the three of them using Shapeshifting Art and scattered them outside to disrupt their location information.

Simultaneously, he secretly purchased the food and water Lee Hanseong requested and moved them to the Guild House.

Simultaneously, he checked the vast amount of information appearing on the Dark Web, and inserted plausible fake information to reduce the number of enemies heading towards Lee Hanseong’s group.

Simultaneously, he politely declined contact from Association Head Lee Hyeonseong, Jin Taeseong, and also from Kang Taepung or James Lee, who asked if he needed help.

“Yes, don’t worry. Hanseong has a plan for this matter, so he asked me to tell Association Head to focus only on capturing the escaped former Elder Choi Sangguk.”

―Understood. But tell him to contact me if it seems dangerous.

“If it seems dangerous, I’ll contact you first, so please leave it to us for now.”

―Alright. I’m counting on you.

Trying to handle multiple things at once was dizzying, but Jin Yuseong did not reduce the number of clones he was operating.

Because he could feel each of these stimuli strengthening his mind.

‘The foundation of Daoist Arts is ultimately mental power. If I train my mental power like this, I should be able to fully control even the 6-Star Mountain Hermit.’

Amidst frequent incidents where low-level riff-raff wandering the streets, also aiming for the Heavenly Demon Medallion, would attack the clones only to be captured by Jeon Woochi’s Daoist Arts instead.

Another contact came from Lee Hanseong.

―Is the food ready?

In preparation for Surveillance, he didn’t answer verbally as before, but silently headed to the underground warehouse where he had gathered the food and water.

―Thanks. I’ll keep counting on you for the outside matters.

Ziiing!

A passage opened on the floor of the space where the food and water were, and in the blink of an eye, all the gathered supplies disappeared without a trace.

It seemed Lee Hanseong had taken them himself.

‘With that much, even isolated from the outside, four people should be able to last a month sufficiently.’

Looking at the emptied warehouse, Jin Yuseong went back up to the office as if nothing had happened and focused on checking the situations of the clones spread throughout the city.

While sipping potions to replenish the stamina consumed maintaining the clones.

However, while checking the trends on the Dark Web, he noticed one strange flow.

‘Something’s off.’

Actually, the timing of Lee Hanseong receiving the Heavenly Demon Medallion wasn’t bad.

With less than a month left until the Heavenly Palace Tournament Preliminaries, normal Awakened would focus on preparing for the preliminaries rather than aiming for the Heavenly Demon Medallion, which is akin to gambling.

From the start, those aiming for the Heavenly Demon Medallion would mostly be lower-tier Awakened with no hope or those who had hit a wall and stagnated.

But as if trying to change that situation.

Responses with specific intentions began to appear on the Dark Web, reacting to the flood of fake Heavenly Demon Medallion information.

―Anonymous: But isn’t spreading fake Heavenly Demon Medallions disrespecting the Demon Lord’s authority?

―Anonymous: I’m a member of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and I also think that’s a bit much.

―Anonymous: 222 Me too, so I’m giving up Heavenly Palace Tournament prep and going to teach Lee Hanseong a lesson. How dare he put out fake Heavenly Demon Medallions.

―Anonymous: 3333. I’m going too.

Similar responses appeared multiple times, inciting the followers of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, a Satellite Guild of Heavenly Slaughter that worships the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord.

The intention to draw in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, who originally wouldn’t have participated in the Heavenly Demon Medallion battle, saying they dare not make a wish to the Demon Lord, was visible.

The followers of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult are elites who perform well every time in the Heavenly Palace Tournament.

If they get involved, dark clouds would loom over Lee Hanseong’s Heavenly Demon Medallion Trial as well.

‘Who on earth?’

No, who the opponent was wasn’t that important.

What was important was how to stop it.

One method came to mind.

‘The Dark Web’s authentication method is face and mana, right?’

If it were just the face, there was a risk of account theft through transformation or shapeshifting.

So, to reduce the risk of theft, an authentication system that verifies mana, akin to a unique fingerprint, was created.

But using Myriad Fire Transformations, even mana can be copied, so by impersonating the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord through this, he could block the incitement.

The problem was that at Jin Yuseong’s current Grade, he couldn’t transform into the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord, a 12-Star Apostle.

‘…What about the past, not the present?’

The Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord wasn’t a 12-Star from the beginning, and there are many past videos of the only two Apostles on Earth, so there’s plenty of reference material for transformation.

Like when he transformed into the Mountain Hermit before, he used the combination of the Golden Giant and Myriad Fire Transformations to transform into the appearance of the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord from his 5-Star days.

Pop!

Of course, he couldn’t copy the Spirit the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord had contracted with at the time, so he could only use the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord’s innate abilities, but his mana had changed to that of the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord.

Oom.

Thanks to that, the authentication succeeded, and he could access the Dark Web with the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord’s account.

If the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord happened to access the Dark Web, this attempt could be exposed, so he had to finish his task as quickly as possible.

―Anonymous: But isn’t spreading fake Heavenly Demon Medallions disrespecting the Demon Lord’s authority?

―Heavenly Demon: It’s not like it’s prohibited by rules, why so sensitive? I actually find it refreshing and like it. Don’t waste your energy on unnecessary things and focus on preparing well for the Heavenly Palace Tournament.

―Anonymous: Who are you to tell people to work or not.

―Anonymous: Crazy! That ‘Heavenly Demon’ nickname, it’s the Demon Lord!

―Anonymous: The Heavenly Demon descends! All demons bow!

After posting just one message, he immediately logged out of the account and quietly observed the situation.

Thanks to someone recognizing the Heavenly Demon’s account, the subsequent reactions on the Dark Web were mostly unified with “The Heavenly Demon descends! All demons bow!”

With this, unless the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord personally comes back and corrects his statement, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult wouldn’t move.

The person behind the inciting posts also seemed startled by the appearance of the Heavenly Demon account and didn’t continue the incitement further.

Jin Yuseong had neatly blocked a move by Waryong, Zhuge Liang’s Contractor.

* * *

The Reverse World hidden on the outskirts of the Black Market.

Lee Hanseong welcomed Park Seongcheol, Yu Sehee, and Lycan, who had returned after completing their missions, and cooked the food received through Jin Yuseong for them, who had consumed stamina.

“Good work, everyone.”

Chomp chomp.

Lycan, already hungry and having added cold energy to the formation that trapped Tomb Tiger, greedily swallowed the food.

It was fortunate that it was simple, easy-to-prepare food that could be served without a long wait.

The other two and Lee Hanseong also had consumed considerable stamina using Awakening Skills and Skills, so they filled their stomachs heartily to replenish stamina.

“Lord of the Throne, please eat with us too.”

“Since the food is limited, there’s no need to worry about this one.”

“There’s actually a bit more leeway than exactly a month’s worth for four people. There’s no shortage of food for Lord of the Throne, so please come.”

“Hmm. Then this one shall eat only this.”

They also called Mirinae’s Projection to share the meal.

Since the Projection didn’t need nutrition intake, she matched our eating pace by nibbling on a grain bar.

“Ah, I think I’ll live now.”

“Me too.”

“It seems there will still be quite some time before you guys need to step out next, so rest for a while.”

Seeing them getting sleepy as their stomachs were full, their eyelids heavy, Lee Hanseong advised them to rest and observed the shadow Puppet that remained in the Black Market, carrying the real Heavenly Demon Medallion and moving stealthily.

Merged with the shadow, at the end of the Puppet’s gaze heading southeast in the Black Market, Baekto, chosen as the protagonist for Fate Direction, was hiding.

Slither.

Sliding into Baekto’s shadow via the ground’s shadow without him noticing.

Thus, the location of the fake Heavenly Demon Medallion held by Baekto and the location of the real Heavenly Demon Medallion held by the Puppet overlapped.

“Baekto will be chased by those aiming for the Heavenly Demon Medallion, but he will not be caught until the end.”

In the prologue, his role ended merely as clearing obstacles, but from the next act onwards, a full-fledged chase where Baekto becomes the main protagonist will unfold.

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