Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Crackle!

BOOM!

Black lightning flashed from my feet.

Then came a violent collision.

Using the Black Lightning Divine Steps...

I rushed the first terracotta warrior.

I deliberately chose the unarmed one.

The moment I approached with lightning-like speed...

It reacted.

It sensed the threat.

Its fist flew forward.

Our fists collided.

What the hell...?

One exchange was enough to make me laugh in disbelief.

I'd assumed these were moving clay dolls.

They weren't.

Inside...

They had hard frames.

Worse...

They could release internal energy.

BOOM!

Crack!

That wasn't all.

I'd expected them to move one at a time.

Instead...

The moment I attacked...

The others responded too.

A sword came down behind me.

It split the floor where my head had been.

Without the speed of Black Lightning Divine Steps...

I would've been cut in half.

Creeeak.

Grinding.

After one exchange...

I retreated.

The terracotta warriors immediately began forming a formation.

As though they'd been designed from the beginning for coordinated combat.

I couldn't think of an easy method.

Eye pokes?

Useless.

Throwing dirt?

Useless.

Kicking the crotch?

Very useless.

These were enemies I had to defeat with proper martial arts.

Still...

The first collision taught me one thing.

Their durability was high.

Normal strikes wouldn't damage them.

So...

I could finally stop holding back.

Let's do this properly.

I drew a dagger.

Then released the fourth-stage Formless Heaven-Breaking energy without restriction.

I needed to break their formation immediately.

Formation arts adapted to opponents.

If I gave them time...

They would study my movements and alter accordingly.

So...

I charged.

Tap-tap-tap!

Breaking a formation usually meant destroying its center.

I targeted the spear-wielding terracotta warrior standing in the middle.

The sword and saber warriors guarding it moved first.

But their movements couldn't keep up with Black Lightning Divine Steps.

The fist and palm warriors in the rear reacted too late.

Whoooosh!

The spear warrior struck downward.

I read the attack.

Shifted sideways.

Avoided the spear.

Then drove my dagger toward its neck.

If the blade entered and twisted...

Even clay should lose its head.

I thought I'd killed one.

But...

Fwish!

CLANG!

Something cut through the air.

I withdrew the dagger instantly.

Then blocked with the weapon in my other hand.

A sharp numbness ran through my arm.

An arrow dropped to the floor.

Six.

Not five.

Another terracotta warrior had been hiding.

Its weapon...

A bow.

It stood on a pillar near the altar.

Six...

Five or six...

Either way, difficult.

But the number bothered me.

Because I'd recently been studying scripture.

The number six appeared constantly inside the Sacred Moon Scripture.

Most importantly...

The six seekers who followed the first Heavenly Demon.

Ignoring Greed, the legendary beast...

Those six were the most frequently mentioned companions.

The scripture even described their appearances.

I desperately recalled the text.

Then compared the descriptions to the terracotta warriors.

The answer became obvious.

They looked exactly like the six seekers described in scripture.

"Tch."

"So there really was a reason they made us study religion."

If I'd paid more attention...

I might've recognized them immediately.

Maybe even known a counter.

Whoosh!

CLANG!

Whirl!

Clang! Clang!

My repentance toward academic study was interrupted by the terracotta warriors themselves.

They attacked in sequence.

Sword first.

Saber immediately after.

Spear blocked my retreat.

The unarmed fighter followed organically.

The palm warrior repositioned constantly.

And outside the formation...

Fwish!

CLANG!

Arrows repeatedly destroyed any chance to counterattack.

The archer was being used almost entirely for defense.

Protecting the others.

I had to change methods.

Kill the archer first.

That conclusion was easy.

It stood outside the formation.

Its position was unstable.

Its connection to the group weaker.

The problem?

Five warriors blocked the route.

I needed to pass them instantly.

Not necessarily defeat them.

Just get through without being caught.

That was enough.

I retreated.

Lowered my body.

Placed one hand near the ground.

Then gathered internal energy into my legs.

A stance built entirely for explosive forward motion.

Among the techniques of Black Lightning Divine Steps...

There was one famous for pure speed.

Energy tingled.

Crackle.

Black lightning gathered around my toes.

Then I exploded forward.

Black Lightning Shadowless.

A technique available after reaching the third level.

CRACK!

BOOM!

The sword warrior reacted immediately.

Its perfectly timed downward slash came for me.

Too slow.

I twisted slightly.

Passed the blade.

Then slipped past the terracotta warrior.

Next...

The saber.

Heavy.

Powerful.

Also too slow.

Because I stayed low to the ground...

My body moved beneath its intended trajectory.

The saber warrior overcommitted.

Lost balance.

I passed.

Now...

The pillar.

The spear warrior and palm warrior rushed from both sides.

They crossed paths.

Locked every escape route.

Both prepared powerful attacks.

One option.

Move faster than they could attack.

Black Lightning Shadowless could do it.

CRACK!

BOOOOM!

Spear and palm struck the ground.

Debris exploded.

I slipped through the tiny gap between them.

Then stepped on their shoulders.

Used them as platforms.

And launched upward.

The archer was almost within reach.

Then...

The final seeker.

The fist warrior.

It followed me into the air.

A powerful fist filled with internal energy came toward me.

Can't dodge.

Then...

Counter.

I twisted downward midair.

Formless Heaven-Breaking energy surged through me to the limit of the fourth stage.

Our fists met.

This time...

I didn't hold anything back.

Black Sutareido.

CRAAAAACK!

A sound like thunder exploded.

The unarmed terracotta warrior shot downward.

BOOM!

Its arm broke badly enough to expose the internal components.

And the recoil launched me even higher.

I stabilized myself in the air.

Then landed on the pillar.

The archer desperately raised its bow.

Too late.

Slash!

Black lightning had already flashed.

My dagger finished the curve across its neck.

Because the dolls had been modeled after humans...

The neck wasn't especially durable.

A dagger coated with internal energy passed through easily.

The terracotta head fell.

Its eyes darkened.

Movement stopped.

"Hoo."

I finally caught my breath on top of the pillar.

One down.

Below...

The remaining warriors were repositioning.

The formation changed.

Six had become five.

The principles adapted again.

They don't seem likely to rush immediately.

That gave me time.

From above...

I looked down at their positions.

Only now...

Could I clearly see the structure.

During the fight...

The transformations had been too fast.

From above...

I recognized the formation.

Heavenly Gate.

Three Wolves.

Demon Gate.

Moon Fortress...

Seven Killings?

The positions were based on the same formation principles we'd learned inside the Dark Demon Well.

Waning Moon Killing Formation.

I hadn't recognized it while fighting.

From above...

It was obvious.

Then this position...

Ghost Horn.

The formation we'd trained was normally spread out more widely.

Apparently...

The directional roles could remain the same while physical positioning changed.

That was new.

And because every member used a different weapon...

I'd failed to identify it immediately.

Fighting the formation was completely different from standing inside it.

The Dark Moon Demon Gate had just taught me something.

If I apply the paths they used to the Waning Moon Killing Formation...

Years of leading teams as a mercenary had given me a habit.

Equipment.

Infrastructure.

Tactics.

Strategy.

If something looked useful...

Memorize it.

One day...

It might save your life.

Battle formations were especially valuable.

I carefully recalled the terracotta warriors' movement routes.

Maybe I'd use them later.

The moment I began understanding the formation...

Heukrang reacted.

His tail swayed eagerly.

Interest.

That confirmed it.

This was a valuable formation.

Heukrang never reacted strongly to weak martial arts or weak energy.

Hmm.

Is this also related to scripture?

Six seekers.

Six terracotta warriors.

Waning Moon Killing Formation.

There was probably some doctrinal connection.

I'd need to investigate later.

My thoughts finished.

I jumped down from the pillar.

Time to leave.

I now understood their formation.

The annoying archer was gone.

The fist warrior had already lost one arm.

This had become much easier.

And if I hold Ghost Horn...

Controlling Ghost Horn suppressed certain transformations from Heavenly Gate and Three Wolves.

I began attacking from the archer's former position.

One by one...

The terracotta warriors fell.

Without the formation's mystery...

Their individual power wasn't overwhelming.

Black Lightning Divine Steps let me enter their blind spots.

My daggers targeted weak points.

Sometimes I circled behind.

Sometimes a fist or kick smashed a head.

An opponent whose movement pattern had been read was always easier to defeat.

Soon...

Only broken pieces remained.

Maybe...

These dolls are weaker than I thought?

The idea appeared.

Then I rejected it.

The internal energy I'd felt during direct collisions wasn't weak.

There was only one reasonable conclusion.

I had become strong.

I'd suspected it after learning the Formless Heaven-Breaking Divine Art.

Now...

After a real combat test...

I knew.

And Black Lightning Divine Steps...

Was even better than I'd imagined.

In the end...

Heukrang's judgment had been right.

Thanks to him...

I'd grown far stronger than expected.

Maybe even stronger than I'd imagined possible.

Slightly arrogant thought.

But looking at the broken terracotta warriors...

I couldn't deny it.

I could've left immediately.

Instead...

I crouched beside the debris.

I wanted to know what they were made from.

The exterior was fired clay.

Inside...

Wood.

Copper.

Mechanical parts.

Strange red ritual inscriptions.

I paid more attention to the internal materials.

Precision gears.

Springs.

Plates.

Fine craftsmanship.

Everything needed for what I wanted to create already existed inside these dolls.

Once I left the Dark Demon Well...

The first thing I needed to do was find the people who built them.

After examining enough...

I headed toward the exit.

Please.

Let's really end this now.

Unlike the earlier iron doors...

This one was small.

Simple.

Even had a proper handle.

I carefully turned it.

Cool wind entered.

Sunlight.

A green forest.

After half a year underground...

The sun looked unbelievably beautiful.

In the distance...

Unfortunately...

Dark Demon Corps instructors waited.