bait (1)
Gi Cheon-woong sat down as he watched the two people moving forward like arrows.
“Whoa.”
Jinki constantly flowed from Hwajeong.
This is a situation where you only eat the minimum amount of food and run. I took a nap to prepare for an unexpected situation, but even when I reached heaven, I was only human, so there was no way I wouldn’t be tired.
However, when Hwajeongjutsu reaches its peak, this level of fatigue can be quickly dispelled.
That would have been the case for him in the past.
‘Did I overwork it too much?’
There is no end to martial arts.
As long as he was human, it was impossible to unleash infinite power. However, Cheonhwagyeong, who draws the energy of Mother Nature and forms a vessel with extremely high density, is gifted with the power to be called a one-man army.
Should have stopped there.
‘In the end, I am living in the present by killing my future.’
After the museum closed, Ki Cheon-woong realized something. The harmful effects of Hwajeongsul.
Hwajeongsul makes humans like fire.
Even if a fire is cut out, it quickly grows in size. Like that fire, a person who has practiced fire purification can regenerate even a severed body, although it may take time.
Of course, if the head is blown off or the five internal organs are shattered, restoration is impossible even with Hwajeong. However, the fact that even severed bones can be regenerated means that Hwajeongsul is a technique that shatters the providence of this world.
That was the problem.
‘Providence should not be messed with.’
If you think about it, the existence of a non-geuksu who has honed his inner strength and ascended to the realm of superhumans and uses god-like military force would seem to some people to have deviated from providence.
However, it was an act that did not go against the characteristics of energy, that is, the flow of power that makes up this world.
Hwajeongsul twists the flow of power. And in order to twist the flow, I needed a process of carving out a part of my body, not just natural energy.
In other words, it is an equivalent exchange. Hwajeongsul takes away a part of the body in an extremely minute manner without the caster knowing.
It’s not about taking away the away manager. As the expedition team decreases, the vitality itself decreases. In that respect, Hwajeongjuk was indeed an amazing technique.
Instead, it creates holes all over the body.
Just as Ki Cheon-woong got greedy and Dan Sang-jeon was damaged to the point of no recovery.
Some people may have a nerve in one of their limbs gradually dying, while others may have bone necrosis that cannot be cured even with Hwajeong’s recovery force.
The reason why its harmful effects were not properly known until now is because very few Shinhwa believers died from old age or illness.
If Shinhwaists do not die by the time they reach their age, most of them pass the fire spirit to their blood relatives or close friends and then disappear. Those who died in battle had nothing to do with it in the first place.
‘That alone is surprising.’
As you get older and don’t have to fight, is your body breaking down one by one?
That’s what happens to most people in the world as they get older. It was natural for the body to break down as one got older.
But what if the soul is broken?
‘Everyone will be like me.’
Beyond the breakdown of the body, even if one dies, the soul is torn apart.
That’s the real problem.
In the history of the Shinhwa religion, there were only five people who lived to the age of Ki Cheon-woong. Three of them were from the generation before Hwajeong was completed.
The remaining two went crazy due to the backflow of fire, and their entire bodies turned into ashes and disappeared.
Gi Cheon-woong thought it was coin damage caused by excessive softening. But you are wrong.
What he realized at the closing ceremony was that Hwajeongsul itself was a technique close to a terrible magic attack.
Soul is a real concept. Right now, the Gwanghyeolgyo tried to gain immortality through the Great Law of Divorce, and it actually showed some success.
‘We failed.’
The end of a person who has mastered Hwajeongjutsu to a certain level is the destruction of the soul.
Ki Cheon-woong also almost had his soul ruptured due to the backflow of firearms along with the development of martial arts during the closing ceremony, but he managed to prevent it. He suffered deep burns before the top instead.
After that, Hwajeong’s power was not the same as before.
On the contrary, it was fortunate. His passion was gradually losing its power.
It is returning to its original state. In the state before learning magic.
‘As time passes, the rate at which you lose strength will accelerate. ‘We have to end it before then.’
His life, for which Hwajeong is his vitality, does not have much time left. He will be around five years, no, three years at most.
Still, Ki Cheon-woong was able to smile. Because at the end of his life, he abandoned the blind will to conquer the continent that had been passed down from his ancestors and had the goal of creating a proper home for himself.
That’s enough.
‘The emperor guy would be nice.’
Hwajeong removed Gugyeol and assimilated him with the expedition manager and informed him. Since you have also received your own energy, it may be difficult to learn martial arts and become an expert, but your soul will remain the same and your lifespan will greatly increase.
‘Well, I deserve a gift like this because I’ve lived and shed blood and tears for decades.’
Wooooow.
Ki Cheon-woong, who had calmed Hwa-jeong down, glanced at the foot of the mountain.
Suddenly, the backs of Yeonhojeong and Mojaseon were no longer visible.
“It’s fast too. After all, young people are different.”
* * *
When Yeon Ho-jeong reached the top of the mountain and climbed onto a large rock, he lay down and looked down.
Mojaseon looked at Yeonhojeong as if asking if she should lie down, but in the end she had to lie down next to him too.
“That’s a lot.”
I saw enemy soldiers camped at the foot of the mountain.
It wasn’t a high mountain, but the slope was gentle, so it was quite far away. Even with the eyesight of the two men, it was difficult to discern the prayers of each enemy.
However, the overall number and the calm military spirit created by coming together could be confirmed.
“It’s jaw-dropping.”
The guess that it was over 1,000 was true. However, there were too many of them.
It looked like there were about 5,000 troops. Considering that each of the three schools had almost equal power to the martial arts of the central plains, it was an extremely small number, but considering that each and every one of them was skilled in martial arts, it was difficult to say that it was a small number at all.
‘It’s significant. The combined discipline is like a sword.’
Military standards and firearms carried by the wind.
It wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t like sending an idiot. He was sending troops suitable for the first battle.
‘There’s probably at least one non-geuksu.’
If you are going to lead an army of that size to a first battle, there is no way you would not have included Mugeuksu. They also know the importance of the first battle.
“I think it’ll be okay.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a considerable force, but I think we can somehow drive it out on our own.”
It was great confidence.
In fact, one person from Seongcheon had enough power to handle a single Daemun Sect. If Yeonhojeong, Mojaseon, and Ki Cheonwoong join, it would not be completely absurd to clash with those troops.
But Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.
“Absolutely not.”
“Why?”
“There’s no way they came here with only a spear knife. “They might have weapons we don’t know about.”
“You will know it when you encounter it.”
“Crucially, do not overestimate your own strength. “There is a common misconception among those who have reached this level. Even if you have the power to tear apart dozens of masters with a single blow, if you fight against properly united enemies, it is not as easy to fight as you think.”
“Is that really the case?”
“There are countless techniques specialized for large-scale hand-to-hand warfare, including fighting techniques and machine-gun fighting. “If we devise a strategy and fight head-on with the charging enemies, if anyone dies, we lose a huge hand.”
It was said to raise awareness, and it was also true.
In the past, during the time of Emperor Heukam, Yeon Ho-jeong once fought against a unit of the Saeum Church alone, confident in his rapidly developing martial arts skills.
Although they were only three hundred and elite, in the eyes of Yeon Ho-jeong, who had a lot of combat experience and was full of confidence, he seemed like an opponent that could be defeated.
And in that battle, Yeonhojeong had to retreat after only killing fifty enemies.
This was true even though there were no poison bullets or gunpowder weapons to attack the Mugeuksu. They fought using only a strange formation and a large shield, but strangely they were impervious.
If Saeumism was like that, Shinhwaism, and even Gwanghyeolgyo, would also have had their own secret techniques. This is why war is not just about warriors flocking together to fight.
“Do they even have that level of skill?”
“You don’t know that. But the Samgyo guys also have a lot of Martial Arts. Of course, methods of dealing with non-polar beasts have also evolved.”
People make preparations somehow to avoid dying and to win. In the face of such intense agony and madness, even martial arts was of little use.
If you snort without even knowing that, you die without even knowing why you are dying.
This is why people who do not know war are said to be brave.
“Ultimately, this is war. You shouldn’t take your time, but you also don’t have to be in a hurry. The enemy is not even a single mythological religion. “We need to take a look at the entire country and respond accordingly.”
“Right.”
“That’s also why I came myself.”
Mojaseon did not say that since he and the guys were polar opposites, it would still be advantageous.
“I guess I’ll have to check on their behavior here for a day or two.”
Yeon Ho-jeong came down from the rock and sat down, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed.
Mojaseon also got up and sat down next to him.
“You seem to have a lot of experience with this type of thing.”
“Well, just as much as others.”
“Where did you get that experience at such a young age?”
“You won’t believe me even if I tell you.”
Hatsun’s eyes deepened.
“You also know this because you have reached this level. “If we make a mistake, we could lose ourselves.”
It is infinite, a state that means that humans have reached half a state.
Even though we are humans, we have become non-human, so of course our seeing eyes, hearing ears, skin sensations, and even thoughts are bound to change.
“This is a land where humans should not climb. That is why the small human mind cannot understand the power of chaos. That’s why there are many people who suffer from mania. “They often do things that ordinary people can’t understand.”
“I know.”
“I constantly tried to escape from that evil. “Are you like that too?”
Yeon Ho-jeong laughed bitterly.
“I haven’t really been like that, but I only have one goal in life, so nothing has changed from before.”
“If that is true, then your sense of purpose cannot even be described as madness.”
“It was crazy.”
Hatsun nodded.
“I almost lost myself once again. “If you hadn’t stopped me, I might have really gone down the slope and caught up with them.”
“That’s why I told you not to come.”
“You are right. “Those who have entered this realm must use their brains well.”
Hatsun sighed.
A cold sigh. White smoke billowed out.
“Even though I have the power to shake the heavens and the earth, I am destined to become a madman. “The word ‘banseon’ doesn’t fit.”
“We are not anti-seon or anything like that.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s voice subsided.
“We are just warriors who are a little stronger than others.”
“… … .”
“The moment you forget that, you go crazy and you lose the war.”
two days later.
At that time, I was about to withdraw after seeing the enemy troops still not moving.
An informant from the Intelligence Department of Heiji Province, located in the southwestern part of Liaoning Province, rushed over.
“Lord Seong! It’s urgent! “The Majin Gocheon army is moving south from the northwest!”
Yeonhojeong’s eyes sparkled with fire.
“Light blood?!”
