BRDM 88

chapter 88

Qing Shao’s eyes snapped open in panic.

“…Haa! Haa!”

“Lady Qing Shao? Why are you suddenly waking inside this body…!?”

The unit member in charge of specially maintaining the possessed doll on Qing Shao’s orders widened his eyes.

Cai Ruyun (蔡如云).

A doll master whose skill in manipulation was exceptional—he too was a ranker, and a member of Pingxin.

Unlike ordinary dolls, his specialty was traditional Chinese paper effigies.

[Zhihu Inou (紙糊人偶)]
Paper effigies created since the Northern Song Dynasty as ritual sacrifices in Buddhist and Daoist ceremonies. Used to seal off anomalies that spread strange phenomena.

• Type: Ritual tool

• Origin: Folktale The Seventh Month’s Wailing

‘…This body is so heavy. My senses are dulled, too.’

Grinding her teeth, Qing Shao pushed herself up.

Zhihu Inou were dolls layered from toughened paper. They were good enough to house the ice spirit granted by Xu Changyou and command them as soldiers, but hardly suitable for an actual human soul to inhabit and move around in.

Her cognitive senses jumbled, nausea rising in her throat. Still, since this body had been specially crafted for emergency use and modeled close to her original form, she had gotten away with only this much backlash.

At least she could still move. Forcing herself upright, she stepped out of the coffin.

“Bai’en… haa… where is Lord Bai’en?”

“Lord Zhang Bai’en is still inside the crater, hunting the Horse King… No, but what happened!?”

Zhang Bai’en.

Once a Korean, he had returned to China following Xu Changyou and in no time risen as one of Pingxin’s highest executives.

His inherited attribute was ice, so he had received the greatest blessing from the baptism. Just months ago, he had become a high-ranker.

Thanks to that, he was now spearheading the operation to capture the Horse King.

The permafrost and massive ice fortress covering the crater were all his work.

‘They said capture was nearly complete this morning…!’

Their skirmish with the Baekya Unit had only been a preemptive strike to prevent interference. By this point, she had expected the Horse King to already be subdued.

“That settles it. I’ll have to go there myself…”

“No! You haven’t even finished adjusting your senses. If you rush into the crater in that state, the doll will burn away completely!”

“No. I don’t have time for this—!”

Qing Shao shook off Cai Ruyun’s protests when—

KWA-KWA-KWANG!!

“Enemy attack!”

“Qing Lei is assaulting the fortress—Kuaaaagh!”

Noise erupted outside.

‘Already!?’

A chill ran through Qing Shao. Could she have fallen for Lee Hyun’s scheme after all?

She threw open the tent flap and rushed out—

And saw hell.

The ice fortress was collapsing.

“…!!”

The walls meant to both contain the Horse King and keep intruders out were crumbling like a child’s sandcastle.

Dozens of ice knights and soldiers struggled to block Lee Hyun’s approach.

[Infused with ‘Sacred Relic: Pure Ice Crystal,’ the Ice Palace’s knights and guards move at your command!]

[The ice knights and snow soldiers attempt to execute the intruder.]

But—

ZZZZZZT!!

Blinding bluish-white lightning burned fiercely, hot enough to melt that bitter cold.

Lee Hyun stood at its center.

[Summoning locked fifth skill data. Would you like to unlock ‘Phantom Yard’?]

The Phantom Yard was an area-of-effect skill that used thunder to conjure illusions or hallucinations, similar to the folktales of goblin games—where countless goblins harassed villagers through the night, only to reveal it had been the trick of one lone goblin all along.

Perfect for many-versus-one combat like this.

[‘Phantom Yard (D)’ unlocked!]

[Linked to trait ‘Frozen Man,’ evolving into a new skill.]

…

[Congratulations! ‘Torchwind’ has been created.]

[Torchwind (A)]
Chaotic winds howl from every side, sweeping away malevolent spirits and overturning the battlefield. Like goblins, the wind twists, strikes from behind, and vanishes as if forgotten. On use, it leaves an afterimage, swaps places with the enemy, and drops a thunderbolt as a surprise.

• Type: Skill, reactive mobility

• Origin: Folktale Goblin Games

The knights and guards failed to trap Lee Hyun.

Before they could—

FWOOOSH!

[Torchwind (A) activated. You are forcibly swapped with your target.]

A sudden gust stabbed at their backs, and in an instant, Lee Hyun had switched places with them.

“…!?”

Only his afterimage lingered where he had been. When they turned to search for him—

CRACK!!

[The afterimage explodes!]
[Lightning strikes down.]

The afterimage detonated like a mine.

KRRRRUMBLE—

“…!!”

The knights and guards were helplessly blasted away, bodies seared.

And of course—

SWISH!

Lee Hyun didn’t miss the opening.

[Activating Frenzied Strike (S). Unleashing reckless blows!]

His axe, brimming with bluish lightning, hacked down on their necks without mercy.

Heavy ice armor? Meaningless.

The wrath of his Dokkaebi’s Rage was enough to melt and shatter any glacier.

Even more so now.

‘Hardly anyone knows the Ring of Bitter Cold as well as I do anymore.’

His lips twisted into a grin.

[The saga of <The Snow Queen> applies, reading all skill data saturating the boss room.]

[Combat Instinct (S) detects the weakness in the ice attribute dominating the battlefield.]

With the Snow Queen’s blessing, breaking them apart was simple.

KWA-BOOM!!

[The Ice Palace’s knights and guards are being slaughtered at terrifying speed!]

[The event accelerates rapidly.]

[Spirits rescued: 24/120]

Every swing shattered ice. Snowflakes swirled while lightning bolts split the air, dreadful just to behold.

“Graaah!”

Even if a knight barely managed to parry his blow, the outcome was the same—

[Stack accumulated.]
[Lightning strikes!]

KRRRACK!!

Bolts rained from above, tearing their lines apart nonstop.

Torchwind and Frenzied Strike stacked fast, unleashing devastation.

Everywhere Lee Hyun stepped, gales howled, melting away permafrost.

Torchwind wasn’t invincible, of course. Its swap range was only about five meters, and too heavy a target might resist entirely.

And the afterimage explosion had a one-second delay—easy to read in a cleaner fight.

But in chaotic melee? Deadly.

‘That’s enough. I can cover its limits with combos and skill.’

RUMMMBLE!!

Meanwhile—

“Wh-what kind of monster is that…? Even if he’s Jet… this is impossible…!”

Cai Ruyun’s legs shook watching the paper effigies he had poured his heart into being shredded apart.

No matter how great a ranker—even Jet, cursed by the Ring of Bitter Cold—shouldn’t have been able to do this.

Even Xu Changyou, master of Pure Ice Crystal, couldn’t have produced such carnage.

‘Unless Jet fully mastered the Ring of Bitter Cold… or… accepted the inheritance of the Snow Queen itself…? Wait—he accepted the inheritance!?’

Cai Ruyun’s eyes widened as the truth dawned—

WHOOSH—!

SPLAT!!

Too late. Docheol’s monstrous fangs crushed his skull.

THUD—

His headless body collapsed.

[Ranker slain!]
[New achievement added to the Celestial Tablet. Ranking increased.]

Seeing this, Qing Shao panicked.

‘I have to escape!’

She tried to trigger her relic—the Nine-Dragon Divine Body—to switch vessels as before.

But—

“Not this time.”

[Skill: Ghastly Pressure pulls the target in!]

“…!!”

Lee Hyun reached out, fingers curling.

CRUNCH!

An invisible giant’s grip squeezed Qing Shao. Her breath caught. Her body felt crushed.

‘N-no…!’

WHOOSH!!

No resistance. In a blink, she was dragged before Lee Hyun—

Where Docheol’s fangs awaited.

CRUNCH!!

Her head was bitten off. No revival.

[Ranker slain.]
[New achievement added. Ranking slightly increased.]

[Rescued Ice Guard ‘Samyin.’]
[Spirits rescued: 36/120]

So ended the strategist that the Central Heroes’ Committee had boasted of.

[Nata glares at you with eyes full of hatred.]
[The divine society, <Celestial Church>, begins to truly perceive your existence.]
[Many gods of <Celestial Church> show displeasure toward you.]

Lee Hyun only snorted at their warnings. He had never intended to side with them anyway.

「Keh keh! Our apostle truly is bold! A man ought to show that kind of guts and ambition! Keh keh keh!」

Sha Wujing beamed at his feats.

「……」

Sun Wukong clenched his teeth, feeling the fading aroma buff weakening.

‘Just a little longer…!’

His tiny fist trembled with force.

Lee Hyun utterly razed the ice fortress, leaving nothing.

[Base camp created from Pure Ice Crystal collapses!]
[Spirits rescued: 49/120]

[The saga of <The Snow Queen> thanks you.]
[Relic ‘Emblem of Bitter Cold’ proficiency greatly increased.]

All that remained around the crater were broken ice chunks and meltwater, quickly steaming away in the volcano’s heat.

CRACKLE.

『All Pingxin attempting escape have been eliminated.』

Kim Min-jeong’s report sealed it. Pingxin could no longer rampage here.

Only one place remained.

Lee Hyun stood before the massive crater.

The molten lake that should have been bubbling with lava was frozen under thick ice.

‘Beneath this… the Horse King is fighting Pingxin’s capture squad.’

[Relic ‘Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils’ activates, deducing from remaining traces.]
…
[Deduction complete.]

• 75% probability the being below is the Great Sage Horse King.

• The “Well” in the crater suits his attributes, serving as rest and recovery.

• But the Ring of Bitter Cold set by pursuers has inflicted greater wounds.

• His qi is fading. Swift rescue required.

‘For the lava to be frozen this much… they prepared thoroughly. The Horse King’s been cornered.’

Lee Hyun’s golden pupils gleamed.

‘From here on, I risk my life too. Maximum breakthrough.’

Among the capture squad below was a high-ranker—someone Lee Hyun knew well.

Zhang Bai’en. Xu Changyou’s sworn brother.

Delivering his head to China would make Xu Changyou scream with joy.

Lee Hyun raised his radio.

『Good work. From here, the guard is yours. Kill anyone who approaches the crater without permission.』

『…Senior, you’re not seriously going in alone? I should at least—』

『No. We don’t know when more Pingxin reinforcements might appear. Guard the perimeter.』

『……』

『Understood?』

『…Fine. But if it gets dangerous—』

『I’ll call for backup immediately.』

From here on, it was Lee Hyun’s domain alone. Not even Kim Min-jeong could follow.

STATIC—

『I’ll be back.』

ZZZZZZZT!

Lee Hyun stepped onto the crater’s frozen surface—

KWA-BOOOOM!!

Stomped down hard.

[The Wraith of the Dokkaebi Rampages!]

Cracks spread like spiderwebs from his footprint.

KRRRRRK!

KWAK-KWAK-KWAK-KWAK!!

Boiling lava surged up, melting and tossing aside the thick ice.

Finally, the floe beneath Lee Hyun flipped over, and a towering wave of molten lava swallowed him whole.