Episode 1069.
When a person changes in the blink of an eye, it’s not uncommon for those around them to feel uneasy.
Especially when it happens in the midst of a chase and pursuit.
“Suck……!”
The air around them rapidly froze as the silence was suddenly shattered.
He’d only just fought off his third pursuer.
Moving stealthily and swiftly, concealed in the shadowy hills and reeds, the allies reflexively grabbed for their weapons, including Red Tiankang.
“What’s going on?”
With Red Sky’s question, everyone’s gazes, including mine, turned toward the big man.
His face had become stiff and rigid.
His pupils, always slightly dilated as a sign of his mental state, were rapidly dilating, and a bead of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
“I don’t feel, I don’t feel good, and I don’t feel very good.”
If this had been a sensible place, I might have let it go, wondering what the hell he was talking about this time.
But no matter how distraught he might be, the Great Master was a man of uncompromising clarity, and the place we were in was hostile territory with all sorts of threats, and his words were the kind that could not simply be overlooked when he was the first to recognize the surveillance of an enemy using flying beasts, even by coincidence.
An innate sixth sense is a different matter from the highs and lows of martial arts.
“You don’t have a good feeling?”
Looking at Red Tiankang, who was asking seriously, the master nodded.
“Yes.”
“Tell me more about it. If you don’t want to get beaten up, be polite and use respect.”
“Understood.”
Hearing the big man’s answer, a smirking Red Sky River turned to me.
“Do you think it’s okay for Old Man Nobu to take care of that madman?”
“Will he?”
“Probably not.”
“If you know that, why do you ask?”
“I asked just in case. Anyway, is that why you’re saying no?”
“I’m okay with you holding my hand, but not holding my hand.”
“Damn it. Kang-ho’s morals have fallen to the ground.”
After sighing to the heavens, Red Tiankang looked at the master with a half-given-up expression.
“Okay, I get it, so just keep blabbering on about what you were going to say first. What exactly do you feel?”
“It feels like an invisible hand is squeezing my stomach.”
“And?”
“My stomach keeps rumbling and I break out in a cold sweat.”
“Do you have any idea why this is happening?”
“I don’t know, except that it feels vaguely familiar……. Ugh!”
Before I could finish my sentence, the silence broke out again.
At the same time, the pale-faced man moved without anyone having a chance to stop him.
Shhhh!
A new type of swiftly stretched out, leaving a blurry afterimage.
As he disappeared through the dense reeds in a matter of seconds, the super peak masters, including me and Red Sky Kang, rushed after him.
Or, more accurately, we tried to.
We had just taken a few steps when we heard a sound that echoed clearly through the reeds.
Puddle, puddle, puddle!
“……?”
No, what the hell.
Just as we were all wondering what the heck, a voice came from the other end of the line that turned our guesses into certainty.
“Uhhhh, coolta…….”
“……!”
“……!”
In the deathly silence that descended on the room, Red River’s tightly closed lips parted as he stared at me in disbelief.
“Are you sure you can’t?”
“…….”
“I won’t kill you, but I’ll break you in one place. Not a leg, but an arm or something.”
At Red Tiankang’s plea, Gongsheng, who was covering his nose with his distorted face, mumbled through his nose.
“Maybe an arm would be fine…….”
To be honest, I was a little conflicted.
But after resisting my impulses with superhuman patience, I shook my head and thought to myself.
“Sixth sense is bullshit.
I’m lucky if this place doesn’t get even more creepy, but what did I expect from a guy who doesn’t even know my name?
“At least he’s more than a good portion.
I swallowed a sigh inwardly, and the feces that had just finished their noisy business. No, a big man appeared with a relaxed face.
“Woohoo. That feels good.”
“I thought you said …… felt incredibly bad earlier?”
“Me? No way, you must be mistaken.”
“You’re such an asshole.”
“What? Did you say something?”
“No, I was just talking to myself.”
“Hmm. You’ve got a bad habit. I don’t care about me, but you’d better break it soon. If you talk to yourself too much, people might think you’re crazy.”
“…….”
For a moment, I think I’ve lost the thread of reason.
Because one moment my vision was blurry, and the next, a hideous face stood in front of me.
“Ugh. Hold on, hold on, hold on!”
“Get off me or not? You’re already ugly enough, do you want to make a bigger mess here?”
The demonic beast that somehow ended up here. No, it was the greeter, who had changed her business to a stable, who looked at me with sad eyes.
“……That’s not too harsh.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I got too excited.”
She replied, a little saddened by my apology.
“Please calm your temper. I know you didn’t mean any offense by what you said.”
Of course I do.
In fact, it’s the innocence of it that infuriates me.
In this time of urgency and danger, you’ve gone to great lengths to aggravate me, and the result is nothing more than a diversion.
“But I can’t leave it behind.
If there is pure evil, it is the Great One.
Sighing, I raised my hand for all to see, signaling for departure.
We’d already lost nearly an hour of our time, and now we needed to move faster.
“At this rate, it could be days before we reach our destination.
We had already allowed the enemy to catch up to us three times, starting with the first raid before we had even fully descended the mountain range.
Each time, I and the other ultra-advanced adepts had led the way and successfully destroyed the pursuers, but it was the speed and persistence with which they followed that mattered.
‘They have eyes to spy on us, and monsters that can chase us nonstop and never tire.
Monsters that know no death, no pain, no fatigue.
The true horror of the Undead lies in that.
Reborn from the dead, they have been stripped of their emotions, they have forgotten their senses because they are not dead but are as good as dead, and for the same reason they cannot feel fatigue.
‘We’ve only just come down the mountain range, and if we keep getting stuck in this way…….’
I silently chewed and swallowed the words besieged and annihilated that immediately came to mind.
Those who think of defeat from the beginning are bound to be defeated in the end.
Thousands, or tens of thousands.
Even if there were a hundred thousand undead breathing down our necks, I had to lead everyone and tear through this tight web.
To our destination, to the far east, where Kunlun Sect and other allies of Qinghai Province reside.
And as if sensing my thoughts, Zhu Hualan, who had slipped out from among those who had begun to move again, approached me and said.
“If we make it as far east as Lake Qinghai, they won’t be able to catch up to us easily.”
As always, Song Ilshan, who had stuck by Zhu Hualan’s side like a shadow, spoke up.
“You’re not wrong. But only if all of Qinghai Province’s power is gathered there and those monsters don’t chase after us with all their might.”
“You mean ……song escort.”
“No, Master Sojourner. You’re right.”
It was a cold shoulder, but Song Ilsom’s judgment was both cold and accurate.
Even if you keep hope in your heart, you must deny everything with your head.
To pursue the best based on the worst.
That was the most important factor for survival and victory.
“What’s the distance to Qinghai Lake?”
“Two days, if we use all our strength, and I’ve scoured the map, but there’s no way to shorten it.”
The worn map in Zhu Hualan’s hand at this moment is no ordinary map.
It was handed down from his grandfather, a man who was once called the King of the Mark, and it details the hidden paths and features of each region of the world.
But this is Qinghai Province.
The northwestern part of the province, with its endless wilderness and basins, was the most inhospitable terrain for us, with only sparse vegetation and reed forests.
“On the other hand, it’s the best terrain for them.
Zhu Hualan had said earlier.
‘Even with all our strength, it would take us two days to reach Qinghai Lake.
This meant that if the pursuers kept up, it wouldn’t be surprising if it took them three, four, or even five days.
‘Their pursuit is more than I thought. They’re stealthy and fast. I must give up one or the other.
Then, I have only one choice.
At the same time, the first thing I had to do was very clear.
“Take it off.”
The words were spoken with a sudden increase in speed.
Jeongho, who had been traveling at the rear of the golden councilors, cowering as best he could, reflexively asked back.
“What?”
“Again.”
“What did you say ……?”
“Take it off now.”
Seeing his pupils quake for a moment, I added a side note to clear up any misunderstanding.
“Don’t get any dirty ideas, I’m talking about that damn armor.”
I pointed to the armor, which had been dabbed with mud to remove its distinctive shine, and he frowned.
“That can’t be right,” he said, “it was personally issued by the Emperor to each and every member of the Gold Council.”
“You don’t like it?”
“Yes. Even if it’s just an order from the Shang Sanhu, this armor carries the authority and honor of the imperial family.”
“So, it’s okay to die defending that authority and honor?”
“That’s…….”
“Well, then wear it. You can throw it away later when you’re behind.”
After a short silence, Zheng Ho spoke up.
“Now that I think about it, His Majesty told me to prioritize Sang Sanhu’s orders.”
“That’s a bit ugly for an excuse.”
“Damn.”
“I’ll take it as a sign that you’re going to take it off. Don’t waste your time, and give the subordinates orders right now. …….”
Stammering, I stared into the hazy darkness that had descended upon us.
I sighed and turned to Jung Ho, who had just removed his helmet.
“Don’t take it off yet.”
That moment.
A dull thud.
A vibration, unparalleled by the chase so far, began to rumble from beyond.
