Chapter 46

Chapter 46. Central Sanctuary (2)

"Hm?"

Baek Yunho opened his eyes on a bed and looked around.

"What happened?"

"You're awake, Bishop."

A woman beside him spoke.

She was Priest Kim Munyeong, one of Baek Yunho's subordinates.

"You were seriously injured."

"Ah... Kang Yujin did that to me."

Baek Yunho quickly understood the situation.

"You treated me. Thank you."

He tried to get out of bed.

But the moment he moved, intense pain shot through his body and he groaned.

"Your internal organs were badly ruptured. Even after treatment, you should avoid moving for a while."

"Ugh... No. It's fine."

Baek Yunho noticed his coat hanging nearby.

He reached into one of its pockets and pulled out a syringe and an ampoule.

With trembling hands, he filled the syringe with the drug.

Then, without hesitation, he injected it into his neck.

"Haa..."

After taking a breath, Baek Yunho rose from the bed.

"Bishop, if you forcibly block the pain and keep moving, your body could become even worse."

"Don't lecture me, Priest Kim."

Baek Yunho frowned at Kim Munyeong.

"From your perspective, wouldn't it be better if I pushed myself too hard and died?"

"What do you mean?"

"If I die, you're next in line."

He gave her a cold look.

"You would inherit everything in the Central Sanctuary."

"..."

"You were probably disappointed when I came back alive again."

"That's going too far."

Kim Munyeong sighed.

"Anyway, what's the current situation?"

"What situation are you referring to? Other than you being carried back here half-dead, nothing particularly important has happened."

"They still haven't moved?"

Baek Yunho started toward the door.

"Order the entire security force into Level One alert status."

"Everyone who's currently standing by too."

Kim Munyeong frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

"Kang Yujin is coming."

It was almost a certainty.

"He'll come here to capture me."

"Bishop, I think you should rest a little longer."

"Why?"

"Because you seem to be taking this too seriously."

Kim Munyeong spoke coldly.

"The Black Dragon Society declaring war on our church right now is practically impossible."

"The Contractors of Cheonan won't welcome the Black Dragon Society running wild in their city."

"..."

"If Ma Taesu mobilized even a few dozen Contractors, the existing powers in Cheonan would immediately accuse him of trying to swallow the city."

"That isn't what Ma Taesu wants."

Her analysis wasn't wrong.

"And if Kang Yujin comes without Black Dragon Society support..."

Kim Munyeong continued.

"Even if it's Kang Yujin's entire group, there's even less reason to worry."

"You're underestimating Kang Yujin."

"I've reviewed all the records from the battle against the White Banner Order."

"I'm not underestimating him."

"You are underestimating him!"

"If we were fighting outside, I would certainly be more cautious."

Kim Munyeong remained calm.

"But this is the Central Sanctuary."

The Central Sanctuary.

One of the Church of the Morning Star's major strongholds.

It oversaw not only Cheonan, but much of the central region.

"The building was designed from the beginning to resist outside attacks."

"It has also been reinforced several times since then."

"Because it was meant to become a fortress for future conflicts."

"..."

"And this fortress contains a number of Contractors comparable to a medium-sized organization."

"No matter how powerful Kang Yujin is..."

Kim Munyeong looked confident.

"He cannot conduct a siege by himself."

"He might not be alone."

"At most, there will be four of them."

"That hardly changes anything."

She paused.

"No."

Her voice became even more confident.

"If he's with his companions, we have even less reason to worry."

"Kang Yujin may act irrationally, but his companions should have common sense."

"They'll stop him and tell him attacking us is ridiculous."

"Do you really think so?"

"If they aren't idiots, they won't come."

"I see..."

Baek Yunho stopped walking.

Then he lifted his head toward the ceiling.

"So if they're idiots, they'll come."

"What?"

Immediately afterward...

The entire building shook violently.

"W-Was that an earthquake?"

"No."

Baek Yunho smiled at the confused Kim Munyeong.

"Kang Yujin is here."

"K-Kang Yujin? Ah...!"

The ceiling began collapsing.

"What's happening?! Why is the building...?!"

"Heh..."

Baek Yunho started laughing.

"Hehehe..."

Then his laughter became louder.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Even as the building collapsed around him, Baek Yunho laughed wildly.

He didn't even look at Kim Munyeong, who was ducking for cover.

"You really do things beyond anyone's imagination, Kang Yujin...!"

"Whoa! That's insane!"

"He used his Awakening Skill, right?"

"Looks like it."

"I never thought I'd live long enough to see someone bring down a building with one punch."

"Look carefully. He didn't destroy the entire building."

"Destroying only part of it with one punch is still ridiculous."

"If someone could reduce an entire huge building to dust with one punch, even Constellations would be afraid of him."

The Constellations in the chat were shocked by what they were seeing on Earth.

"Hyung, this scale is crazy."

"Seriously... Kang Yujin really is insane."

What Kang Yujin had done was certainly extreme.

He had ridden on the Chimera with Seok Taejun, flown above the building, and then dropped down.

The instant he landed on the roof...

He punched the building with his Awakening Skill.

The exact nature of Kang Yujin's Awakening Skill was still unclear.

But it was believed to possess the ability to destroy even extremely durable objects with a single strike.

This time...

He had used it on a building instead of a monster.

As a result, the Church of the Morning Star's Central Sanctuary began collapsing.

It looked like a very solid fortress from outside... but that doesn't mean much anymore.

After landing, Kang Yujin entered through the collapsed outer wall.

Seok Taejun remained in the air with the Chimera.

"Wait, if he goes inside, we can't see him anymore."

"Right. Observation devices can't see inside that place."

"Where's his Apostle?"

"Follow Kang Yujin and broadcast it!"

"Get the field reporter moving!"

"Dereliction of duty!"

The moment Kang Yujin disappeared inside, the Constellations began complaining.

Not only in the chat.

Messages also appeared on the main observation screen.

[B-rank Constellation 'Murderer with Two Axes' becomes irritated by the lack of a view.]

[B-rank Constellation 'Hunter Favored by the Moon Goddess' shouts for the footage to be shown quickly.]

[S-rank Constellation 'Grand Preceptor of the Golden Whip' expresses dissatisfaction.]

While the complaints continued...

Something else appeared on the screen.

"Lee Jukheon and Joo Minha!"

"Look at the main entrance!"

Lee Jukheon and Joo Minha approached the front entrance of the Central Sanctuary.

They attacked the security force that was still in confusion outside the building.

It seemed the plan was for Kang Yujin to attack from inside...

While Lee Jukheon and Joo Minha attacked from outside.

"Look at the rear entrance too!"

"Wait, isn't that...?"

The chat filled with surprised reactions.

A man was approaching the rear entrance.

A strong man with long hair, wearing an expensive-looking long coat.

Ma Taesu.

Ma Taesu smiled at the security force raising weapons in front of him.

"Do you really have time to fight me?"

He glanced toward the damaged building.

"Wouldn't it be better to go inside and rescue people?"

"Though I suppose there aren't any civilian believers here today."

"Ma Taesu!"

A guard shouted.

"Why are you here?!"

"Why else?"

Ma Taesu took a cigarette from his pocket, placed it in his mouth, and lit it.

"My friend was attacked by the person in charge of this church."

"So I came to complain."

"Complain?!"

The guard pointed toward the collapsing building.

"You call this a complaint?! This is already war!"

"War?"

Ma Taesu smiled.

"If I wanted a war, I'd have brought all the Black Dragon Society Contractors under me."

"Would I have come alone?"

"Well..."

"I'm only here to complain."

"I even informed the Contractor Association beforehand."

He took a drag from his cigarette.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't misunderstand."

"Who destroys a building when they're only here to complain?!"

Ma Taesu glanced toward the damaged Sanctuary.

"Now that you mention it..."

"The building does seem to be collapsing."

"What happened?"

"Stop pretending you don't know!"

Ma Taesu laughed.

"Actually, I was planning to provoke you with this conversation until a fight started."

"That was my original plan."

He exhaled smoke.

"But it looks like our Constellation had a bigger picture in mind."

"What?"

"It should be about time."

At that moment...

A message appeared.

[Event: The Corrupt Truth of a Religious Organization]

[Overview: A grand religious facility located outside a prosperous city. A place where exhausted people in this chaotic modern world come searching for even a little peace of mind. But that is not its true nature. Reveal the corrupt truth hidden behind the mask of religion, and expose the secrets no one knew.]

[Completion Condition: Expose the secret hidden inside the Central Sanctuary.]

[Completion Reward: 20,000,000 Coins.]

The security Contractors stared at the sudden Event notification in confusion.

By now, Kang Yujin's assigned Apostle was probably broadcasting the situation too.

"W-What?"

"Why did an Event suddenly appear?"

"Which Constellation made this?"

"You can't create an Event against humans!"

"Tsk, tsk."

Ma Taesu clicked his tongue.

"Read it properly."

"It doesn't say to kill you or the church leaders."

He smiled.

"It says there's something suspicious hidden inside your church building and we should expose it."

"W-What does that even..."

"Naturally, we might end up fighting you or some church leaders while completing the Event."

"But that's simply an unavoidable consequence of progressing through the Event."

"This is collusion between a Constellation and Contractors!"

"How can something this ridiculous...!"

"Want to avoid fighting?"

Ma Taesu smiled.

"Then reveal the secret yourselves."

"If you do that, we won't need to fight."

Of course...

They couldn't.

Whatever the church was hiding was concealed so thoroughly that even Constellations couldn't observe it.

"Damn it! Attack...!"

"So you aren't going to rescue the people inside after all."

Ma Taesu looked at the charging Contractors.

"Though maybe the inside was built sturdy enough that even this much damage won't matter."

Still holding the cigarette in his mouth...

Ma Taesu raised his right hand.

At that moment...

A huge guandao appeared in his hand.

The Contractors hesitated in shock at its overwhelming presence.

Ma Taesu moved.

Immediately afterward...

Six Contractors collapsed at once, spraying blood.

[Limited Manifestation of Constellation Armament 'Green Dragon Crescent Blade' is currently active.]

[Remaining duration of Limited Manifestation: 15 minutes.]

[A-rank Constellation 'Third Son of the War God' watches his Contractor with pride.]

The A-rank Constellation "Third Son of the War God."

His True Name was Guan Suo, known as the protagonist of the novel Hua Guan Suo Zhuan...

The third son of Guan Yu.

In Hua Guan Suo Zhuan, Guan Suo was portrayed as an overwhelmingly powerful character.

He grew up carrying the secret that he was Guan Yu's son.

Then he set out on a journey to find his father.

Along the way, he achieved countless feats and gained several beautiful women.

Later, he met Guan Yu and was acknowledged as his son.

He earned numerous military achievements.

And after Guan Yu's death, he even fought Wu in revenge.

That Guan Suo, the "Third Son of the War God," was Ma Taesu's contracted Constellation.

Because of that...

He could use Guan Yu's relic, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, as a Constellation Armament.

[Your contracted Constellation, 'Third Son of the War God,' grants you a Great Blessing!]

[All abilities will greatly increase for 5 minutes!]

"Thank you for the support."

Ma Taesu smiled as strength filled his body.

"My role is supposed to be keeping these small fry occupied so Kang Yujin can handle things inside..."

He raised the Green Dragon Crescent Blade toward the frightened enemies.

"But at this level, I should be able to join Kang Yujin pretty quickly."

A storm of blood erupted before the rear entrance.

Good.

Everything is going according to plan.

Number 49's broadcast began with the Event notification.

After briefly showing Ma Taesu and explaining the purpose of the battle...

Number 49 immediately moved inside toward Kang Yujin.

As expected, once an Apostle enters, we can see inside.

Now that a field reporter had been sent in...

We could finally watch what was happening in the building.

Despite the heavy damage to the exterior, the inside was in surprisingly good condition.

There were people collapsed here and there.

Some might have been injured when the building broke.

Others may have been defeated by Kang Yujin.

Where is Kang Yujin...?

Number 49 soon found him.

Kang Yujin had discovered a passage leading underground.

He was about to descend.

Underground...

Something definitely feels suspicious.

After going down...

A clean, well-maintained space appeared.

It seemed almost completely unaffected by the collapse above.

A long hallway stretched forward.

Doors lined both sides.

Kang Yujin silently opened the first door.

Then the inside of the room appeared on the screen.

"...!"

I couldn't help but hold my breath.