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chapter 72
At the very moment dozens of jeonsung (transmissions) were about to strike the abandoned factory like lightning,
[Transmission, ‘Back of the Dead’ begins igniting the spirit flames!]
Fwoosh!!
Dozens of blue ghostly lanterns flared atop the factory roof.
These guihwa (will-o’-the-wisps) mesmerized those who looked upon them.
They soon took the shape of people, each wielding a different weapon.
[The army rises!]
The members of Team A tensed sharply.
This was the Guihwa Battalion that had earned Executive Jeong his nickname, Night Flame.
[Guihwa Battalion]
A soldier born from the starlight of spirits, drawn to illuminate ghosts. They boast exceptional skill because they burn the souls of warriors who excelled in life.
However, when the flames are exhausted, the soul automatically perishes.
–Origin: Folktale “Onmyouga”
“P-please…!”
“I don’t want to die…!”
Despite the pitiful voices, the Guihwa Battalion attacked ferociously.
Kaahk!
Kkiaah-
They slammed the rooftop railings in unison, emitting a dreadful ghostly scream.
Team A tensed and prepared to respond, when suddenly—
Paaah-
Someone leapt ahead of them, ignoring formation entirely.
“Move! Out of the way! I said all of you, move, you idiots!!”
It was Chief Eom Gi-seon of Team Z.
Kwa-kwa-kang!
[Transmission, ‘Baby General Uturi’ folds its wings and sweeps enemies with a greatsword!]
The sheer force was terrifying.
Despite facing dozens of Guihwa soldiers alone, Chief Eom pushed forward, demonstrating incredible power rather than being pushed back.
Several of the proud Team A members flinched.
Chijik.
‘Message to Team A. Message to Team A. Do not act rashly. As instructed, Team Z moves as a separate unit handling the vanguard and rearguard. Repeat: Team Z is moving as a separate unit; Team A, hold your position.’
As soon as Executive Im Won-young finished his orders,
Taang! Tang!
[Transmission, ‘Scarlet Lotus Boots’ fires flesh-shooting support shots!]
From the rear came harsh gunfire, and inevitably, one by one, Guihwa soldiers’ heads were blown apart.
Kim Min-jung’s ghostly marksmanship selectively hunted the enemies trying to block Chief Eom’s breakthrough.
Her skills had clearly improved far beyond her time in Team A.
Thanks to her, nothing blocked Chief Eom’s advance.
‘…Order confirmed.’
‘Order confirmed.’
Even Team A had to acknowledge the teamwork.
Kwa-kwang!
“Hahaha! Is that all you’ve got, you ghost bastards! Executive Jeong, Executive Jeong, all the rumors, and this is it, huh!!”
The mystical insight Chief Eom had gained from Sun and Moon Flower Valley was like Sun Wukong’s martial arena.
By observing the traces left when the fake Sun Wukong collided with the real one, his combat ability jumped multiple levels at once.
His movements were now agile yet deadly.
Six ghosts were swept away in an instant.
But the confident laughter didn’t last long.
Chijik.
‘You’ve improved a lot since I last saw you. I was worried you’d just be breaking swords everywhere, but it seems you’ve become quite skilled.’
Ho Sang-mu’s laughter over another frequency through a radio made him frown.
“Ah, that really couldn’t be helped!”
‘Excuses, the man is making excuses.’
“Aaah! It’s not an excuse! Sir, you have to see! That guy doesn’t even look like a human!!”
Chief Eom pointed.
Lee Hyun was alone, cutting through the ghostly army.
[Frenzy Strike (S) attempts a continuous bull charge attack!]
[Stack accumulated.]
[Lightning strikes without pause!]
Kurrrr, kurrr…!
Flash! Flash!
Kwa-kwang-kwang!!
Lee Hyun swung his axe indiscriminately.
Every time the lightning flashed, a Guihwa soldier’s head flew off; each lightning strike split bodies, leaving a line of corpses.
The tremors and bolts with every step seemed to dye the world in blue-white light.
“Look at the weapon the executive gave him! Giving that to a monster made him even more monstrous!!”
Even more remarkable, as Lee Hyun advanced, a metal sphere spun like a planetary ring, smashing the heads and torsos of Guihwa soldiers.
With lightning and the sphere creating chaos, even allies had to keep their distance to avoid collateral damage.
Once, Lee Hyun didn’t have such abilities, but now he possessed a crowd-control skill capable of turning one-versus-many into a favorable fight.
Truly like a tiger with wings.
“But you compare me to a natural disaster!? Are you sane, human?”
‘Hahaha! Well, it’s good the subordinate’s stronger. No need to scold him for that.’
Ho Sang-mu coughed awkwardly, having no argument.
“If you’re not helping, stop being a distraction and fall back!! I’m barely keeping up as it is…!”
Chief Eom added more force to keep up with Lee Hyun’s breakthrough.
Kwaaaang!
‘Hmm… still aware even while treating him as a natural disaster. Should I take it as a compliment?’
Ho Sang-mu smiled, watching from a safe distance.
He was pleased; he had privately considered Chief Eom as his successor.
Meanwhile, Lee Hyun’s skills continued to amaze.
“Just how long has it been since I gave him that?”
The metal sphere, forged from an immortal’s steel, was like a tyrant on the battlefield.
It rotated around blind spots, blocking attacks, then struck any opening, cutting enemies down.
Its nature-draining ability combined with lightning made every strike lethal, and even Guihwa soldiers began to fear the sphere.
Yet Lee Hyun didn’t just control the sphere—he fought through enemy formations like a madman, leaving no pause for thought.
Even with such a show of skill…
“Moving the sphere purely with instinct, is it? Born with this sense? Where did such a guy suddenly come from?”
Ho Sang-mu’s fingers twitched as if recalling his younger self, when he would have charged without hesitation.
“Suddenly appearing like this… intriguing.”
He wondered about Lee Hyun’s hidden past. Military? Civilian?
“Truly curious.”
As his eyes darkened with unknown thoughts,
Pazzzzt!
Above Lee Hyun, a pillar of blue-white lightning shot skyward—a thundercloud formed.
And then,
[Duke of Two Ears’ rage explodes!]
Kwa-rurrrr!!
The teeth of Do-cheol became lightning, striking the center of the abandoned factory lot.
Simultaneously, the collapsing ground revealed a passage to the underground.
“…A secret passage to the lower floor?”
Ho Sang-mu’s eyes widened.
Finding the hidden research lab after defeating the Guihwa Battalion was critical—but he hadn’t expected it to appear so quickly.
“…Not just instincts, but remarkable insight and intuition too? Truly a monster.”
Ho Sang-mu felt his blood boiling.
“Definitely a fascinating kid.”
“Still amazed there’s so much to discover.”
“Now I understand why they tried giving him the White Tiger Killing weapon.”
Other directors watching the battlefield shared the same reaction.
Meanwhile,
Shwaaaaak-
Lee Hyun attempted to enter the passage.
[‘Holy Relic: Flame Eye Golden Core’ uses ■■■■’s karma to track the other relic ‘Long Gao’!]
[Searching…]
…
[The divine power of the Ruyi Rod is drawn in one direction. Another divine power detected.]
[Location of Long Gao found!]
Lee Hyun’s method was simple: he traced the whereabouts of Long Gao.
Having accumulated considerable karma through exploring five of Sun Wukong’s myths, he could track it.
Kwaang!
Before the stairs to the underground, a Guihwa soldier stood as a gatekeeper.
But Lee Hyun pushed the shielded enemy aside with a body check while swinging the axe in his left hand.
Kwa-rurrr!
Kwa-jik!!
The Frenzy Strike caused lightning to leap from the point of impact, shocking the enemy from outside and inside simultaneously.
Lightning itself had wall-banishing effects, making it perfect against undead.
One strike, one kill.
Every swing felled a Guihwa soldier.
Kwaaang!!
‘Left here, then right, then diagonal…’
In the narrow corridor where only one person could pass, lights were out. Yet Lee Hyun navigated steadily, quickly passing through the underground lab.
The remnants of experiments were barely visible—already shattered by prior lightning strikes.
[Combat Sense (S) warns of ambush!]
Enemies hiding and attempting attacks posed no problem.
[<Queen of Eyes> moves the metal sphere with thought to kill the target.]
Before that, the sphere destroyed the enemy under its jaw.
The direction changes of the sphere that amazed Ho Sang-mu were executed by the Queen of Eyes and Sa-hun.
If Lee Hyun only kept the sphere floating and spinning electromagnetically, the two spirits killed the Guihwa soldiers themselves.
Queen of Eyes carried cold, Sa-hun carried heat, enhancing impact.
[<Queen of Eyes> boasts of killing four more Guihwa soldiers, claiming this is the level between us.]
[<Sa-hun> scoffs at boasting over trivial matters.]
[<Queen of Eyes> protests that you suggested comparing skill first.]
[<Sa-hun> laughs even more.]
[<Queen of Eyes> glares as if to kill <Sa-hun>’s narrative!]
The squabbling was like children.
“Kkk. A familiar divine power is approaching. Long Gao is near, brother!”
“I see.”
“Huh? Why so serious? Shouldn’t you be happy the relic is returning?”
“I am happy… but a question has arisen…”
Lee Hyun couldn’t hear the rest.
[Combat Sense (S) sharply detects danger!]
A deadly sense prickled his hair.
He quickly stopped Duke of Two Ears’ trust and twisted sideways.
Do-cheol’s teeth and Shik-cheol leapt diagonally.
“Team Leader Jang, danger!”
Simultaneously, Im Won-young intervened with Jang San-beom, blocking one of the two attacks targeting Lee Hyun.
Chae-aeng!
Shik-cheol dodged at the same moment.
‘Arrows?’
Lee Hyun squinted, realizing they were steel arrows.
“Team Leader Im? Why aren’t you behind?”
“Seems Executive Jeong brought troublesome ones. Also, if we leave this only to Team Leader Jang, we’d fail promises to grandmother, right?”
Keuh-heuh-heuh!
Two Jang San-beom leapt forward, tearing through the air.
“Damn it!”
“Damn…!”
Then, two hidden individuals revealed themselves, barely stopping the attack.
Bwang! Kwaang!
Chiiik-
Familiar faces.
Im Won-young smirked:
“Didn’t expect to see Team Leader Park and Team Leader Cheon here. B and E teams should be in the second line.”
B Team’s Park and E Team’s Cheon frowned.
“We never wanted to be here… but…”
Im Won-young’s smirk deepened.
“You two weren’t particularly loyal to Executive Jeong, right? She must have a strong hold on you?”
They bit their lips, exchanging glances, adjusting stance.
“Given the situation… we must die here,”
Before the words finished,
Buu-woong-
Two axes flew through the air, charged with Duke of Two Ears’ power.
Ignoring excuses, Lee Hyun threw two axes and dashed a beat after.
Kwank!
Kurrrr!!
“…!”
“…!!”
Fierce, violent momentum.
For the first time, the two team leaders’ faces showed tension as they assumed defensive stances.
