Chapter 250. C Between B and D (4)
An untimely silence fell inside the temple of Kabbalah. A giant appeared, wearing a gong-shaped helmet with a fluttering red feather on top and metal cleats embedded on the sides and back of a padded aventail. Under his thick and bushy eyebrows, his deep-set eyes gave off a subtle glow. The white cloth wrapped around his brigandine shimmered in the wind, and the enormous golden guandao in his hand was big enough to split this temple into two. He looked like the very embodiment of an extraordinary general.
He was the great general who guarded the great Jade Emperor and was even acknowledged by the heavens for his greatness. The Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters was the first Buddhist sutra translated into Chinese by two Indian monks Kasyapa Matanga and Dharmaratna under the orders of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei, and the god who advocated and protected this scripture was no other than the White Horse Heavenly General.
When the White Horse General first came down to Liber, he made a deal with Princess Sahee and handed over the Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters to Chi-Woo. Chi-Woo had cherished these precious scriptures, which were as precious as sacred objects, and had planned to take them out when it became necessary. He judged that now was the best time for the White Horse General to garner faith in this world.
“…” Kabal looked up at the giant with her mouth open. She instinctively felt the gap between their strengths. There were clear differences in power even among gods. The White Horse General was a top-ranking god of Taoism and was allowed to escort the Jade Emperor who was in the 9th celestial rank. The gap between the two was too big to be described with mere words. Of course, Kabal wasn’t the only one reacting that way.
When Chi-Woo called forth the White Horse General with the talisman, Chi-Woo had been the only one who could see him, but now the general was visible to everyone since he had come down himself. As a result, they were all rendered speechless by the sheer enormity of his overwhelming presence.
“Sir White Horse Heavenly General, it’s been a while since you’ve graced us with your presence.” Chi-Woo continued, “I earnestly hope you’ve been doing well.” He showed his utmost respect and bowed politely.
The White Horse General lowered his eyes and looked at Chi-Woo.
—It’s late…
A heavy voice broke the silence.
—I thought you’d call me sooner.
There was a touch of reproach in his voice. Considering that Chi-Woo first summoned the general when he just entered Liber, it had indeed been a long time since they last met.
Unfazed, Chi-Woo smiled and said, “It took me a while to prepare a suitable stage, sir.”
—A stage?
“Yes, after all, it’s a stage to announce the presence of the great White Horse Heavenly General, who serves the Jade Emperor as the Five Heavenly Kings. I thought I needed to prepare a stage befitting your reputation and greatness.”
—I see you’re still quite the smooth talker.
The White Horse General snorted and looked around.
—Then let’s see…
He trailed off and immediately flew into a rage, radiating murderous bloodthirst strong enough to cut through skin.
—How can there be so much evil energy all over the place…!
Chi-Woo hid a smile as he saw how enraged the White Horse General was. When dealing with the Demon Empire, the more the god was on the opposite spectrum of evil, the more powerful their influence. Therefore, calling forth the White Horse General through the Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters had been the correct choice.
“Please do not be too angry.” A woman suddenly sidled up to Chi-Woo and bowed her head. A dazzling beauty with long, straight black hair—it was Onorables Evelyn. “Wouldn’t this be a great opportunity for you to spread your great reputation on Liber as a foreign god?”
—Hmm? You are…
The White Horse General’s eyes widened. There was a look of astonishment as he instantly saw through her potential and qualities.
“Great heavenly general, I beseech you to correct the orders of the universe by punishing the wicked demons who dare disturb the laws of heaven and earth at once.” Since Evelyn had experience serving the Queen of the Abyss, she spoke in a reverent and respectful manner. “And if you would allow me,” Evelyn raised her head slightly and continued, “I would like to take the lead in making those wicked fiends realize the great power of the White Horse General.”
In other words, Evelyn was saying that she would be willing to become his first follower and Saintess. A Saintess was someone who acted as a stand-in for a god, entrusted to directly receive and deliver the god’s will. Obviously, it was a very important position, so not everyone could do it. Their qualification as well as numerous factors needed to be considered in a holistic perspective. On the other hand, Evelyn was a talent who had so much potential as a Saintess that one of the main gods of Liber, Babyl, specially eyed and marked her as their Saintess.
–Hmm….
However, the White Horse General didn’t seem too keen on Evelyn’s suggestion; he admitted that Evelyn’s qualities and talents were indeed extraordinary. However, as a high-ranking god, he could see that Evelyn was already tied to another master. There was no god who would be pleased that their Saintess, who was supposed to serve them more closely than anyone else, had another being they were devoted to. Originally, he would have refused no matter how exceptional the person was. However…
—Every time I come down, I end up doing things favorable for him.
He glanced at Chi-Woo and muttered in a slightly begrudging tone.
—Ah, I know. Since I said I’ll help, I’ll do it. I’ll do this on my own, so princess, please put in a good word for me to the Jade Emperor as you promised.
The White Horse General began talking as if he was conversing with another person. Then he clicked his tongue, and while stroking his long beard, he said to Evelyn.
—Judging from your condition, it doesn’t seem like you have to take a vow.
“Yes, of course. I’ve already been saved once. I’ll never betray him.”
—All right. As long as that oath is kept, I will always protect you, and my guandao will always be with you.
Chi-Woo stared at Evelyn, who was talking to the White Horse General with a smile. He had a hard time understanding what they were talking about.
—Then I’ll ask. How are you planning to make my name known?
“It’s simple, great general. First of all, shouldn’t we let the whole world know that the great White Horse General has descended?”
—Not a bad idea.
“And if we use this area as the domain of the great White Horse General, would those wicked demons dare to run wild as they do now?” After saying this, Evelyn winked at Chi-Woo.
They had used one of the sacred flowers to call the White Horse General, and Chi-Woo took out the remaining one. The White Horse General showed his teeth as he detected a considerable amount of divinity.
—When you said you worked hard to prepare a stage for me, I guess you weren’t lying.
“Great heavenly general, how would I dare lie to you?” Chi-Woo said.
—Good, very good. Then go ahead and give the offering to me. I want to quickly show these evil demons that heaven is alive and well.
At the White Horse General’s urging, Chi-Woo carefully placed the sacred flower on the scripture. When the White Horse General took a big breath, the flower melted down into the scripture with a bright light. The Demon Empire’s plan didn’t work on a perfect god without any unstableness or gaps.
The disturbance outside had now approached the temple, but there was no need to hesitate anymore. When the White Horse General lifted his guandao high into the air, his crane also arched its neck and stretched its legs to get ready to fly. Soon after, the general’s eyes flashed menacingly.
—I’ll show you the power of the White Horse General!
With the White Horse General’s loud cry, the crane also cried out, and with one swing, his flashing guandao caused a terrifying storm.
* * *
While entering the holy city, Botis, the 17th great demon, felt that something was off. He couldn’t place it exactly, but there was something strange going on. When they first broke through the walls and entered Shalyh, he had been full of expectations. But it turned out to be quieter than he’d anticipated, too quiet for it to be normal. He couldn’t even see a single rat on the street. Even though the Demon Empire had arrived during the night, people should already be running out in a frenzy with the great disturbance they made. However, while crossing the street, Botis didn’t see a single soul.
He even began wondering if the enemy had escaped. A thought that this might be a trap flashed across his mind, but Botis dismissed it as impossible since it was clearly disproved by the disappearance of the godly territory. He firmly believed that this wasn’t a trap until he saw a big white bird coming down from the moon. After he witnessed this abnormal phenomenon and turned towards the temple shortly after—
Bang! He heard an ear-splitting sound. It was a roar that sounded like heavily compressed air bursting out at once. A strong wind swept through the city. Then the air swelled up like a large balloon with a clear milky color. Centering around the temple of Kabbalah, it became bigger and rounder and stretched further and further. The round membrane did not stop growing even after reaching the size of the holy city, Shalyh. While it expanded in all directions without stopping, the milky-color of the layer gradually faded. After covering an expansive area, it completely assimilated into the atmosphere and disappeared. When he passed through the layer, Botis felt like he was passing through a bubble, and since then, a mysterious and heavily sweet scent tickled his nose.
“What…” This scent felt very clear and refreshing to the monsters in the Cassiubia League and humans, but—
“Ah…?” It was unimaginably painful to demons and instinctively brought intense feelings of fear and repulsion. “Aghhhhhhhhh!” Botis’ screams rang out, and his stiff neck bent. “What in the world…ugh, ahghhhhhhhhhhhhh!” He couldn’t even speak properly; that was how hard it was to bear it. It wouldn’t have been as painful had he entered Kabbalah’s godly territory. Botis could swear that he had never felt such a powerful and pure energy before. Since a great demon like him was suffering like this, there was no need to explain the condition of his soldiers. They were all crying out in agony.
Among them, there were several anguses that rolled on the ground while holding their heads, and in more severe cases, their whole bodies had melted. Moreover, Botis wasn’t alone in this predicament; all the great demons who entered Shalyh were suffering. He had entered Shalyh after seeing the godly territory disappear, but a new god territory had quickly replaced it—and a much stronger one at that. Green saliva began dripping from Botis’ mouth. He didn’t fall down and crumble like his soldiers, but he could only barely manage to stand.
‘At this rate…!’ No, it would be impossible to invade Shalyh at this rate. Unfortunately, he was near the center of the godly territory where its effect was the strongest. It was crazy to fight here, as it was no different than asking his enemies to kill him. It now became a secondary matter to assess the situation and figure out the cause of this unexpected phenomenon; his first priority was to get out alive. Panicked, Botis tried to escape by himself before his strength dwindled further, but even that became a lost cause as monsters from the Cassiubia League and humans appeared one by one.
“What…is this for real? Really?”
They were all surprised as they saw anguses roll around the floor and Botis shaking and groaning in pain.
“Wow, shit. This is a fucking feast!”
Some even excitedly huffed and shouted eagerly. Since they were all eager to increase their strengths, they couldn’t contain their excitement at a chance to easily get stronger. Some of them even smacked their lips as they saw Botis.
“These fucking…bastards…” Botis gritted his teeth. Who knew that the Demon Empire, which was always in the position of a predator, would become delicious prey instead?
“First comes first serve!” Eventually, one person couldn’t stand still and pulled out a knife and charged ahead. However, as soon as they were about to swing their sword at an angus, the angus retaliated with everything it had and opened its mouth wide, emitting green smoke.
“Poison?!” The startled hero faltered. They were in the perfect position to be wholly covered in poison gas, but it completely disappeared as if it was purified as soon as it came out. The hero’s troubled expression changed into one of surprise. “Wow…” The hero blinked at the shining lights and glanced back at the angus.
Slice! When the hero cut through the angus, poison gas burst out from its stomach, but it disappeared after being neutralized. The hero’s mouth opened wide. They were experiencing and confirming the godly territory’s effect firsthand and realized that at least in here, they didn’t have to fear the Demon Empire. Then what was the next course of action? To run wild.
“It’s free foooooood!” The hero who had cast the first stone shouted with joy. At the hero’s cry, other members of the Cassiubia League and humanity rushed out from all directions and started killing enemies all at the same time.
Woaaaaaaaaaah! The sound of cheering and shouting reached even the main hall of the temple.
“It seems like it’s begun.” Ru Amuh looked back at the entrance while putting his hand on the hilt of the magic sword he obtained from Narsha Haram.
“We should also participate in the festival before it’s too late, right?” Evelyn also rose from her seat with a bright smile. Ru Hiana and Hawa were already feeling impatient to join the battle; they didn’t want to miss this opportunity to grow significantly. Thus, they ran out without another word, and when Chi-Woo was also about to also hurry out—
“Wait.”
He was stopped by a familiar voice. When he looked back, he saw Murumuru keeping Haiaru subdued.
“Let me just ask you one question.” Murumuru asked bluntly, “Why did you help us?”
On the day of the operation, Chi-Woo had sought out Murumuru in private with Mangil’s help. Murumuru didn’t believe him at first, but had followed him after Chi-Woo said he’d present sufficient evidence. And after witnessing the truth, Murumuru realized what a dangerous situation the half-demons were faced with. “If you wanted, you could have treated all of us as traitors.” Since they were half-demons, they weren’t looked upon kindly by everyone. If Chi-Woo had exposed this treacherous act, the half-demon tribe’s position would fall even lower than before. However, Chi-Woo hadn’t done that; he listened to Murumuru’s words that the half-demon tribe was innocent and even gave them a chance to prove their innocence. Moreover, they had a bad relationship since the start. Murumuru was extremely curious why Chi-Woo was helping the half-demons.
“I wasn’t trying to help.”
“Then why…”
“Because it’s not like the entire half-demon tribe made a mistake.” Chi-Woo calmly continued, “Only one of you misstepped.”
Murumuru slightly flinched and looked at Chi-Woo with a dumbfounded expression. “Do you really mean…that?” When Murumuru mumbled the question, Chi-Woo frowned. He didn’t understand why Murumuru was asking him that when they were so busy. All he had done was reasonably settle the matter.
Chi-Woo tilted his head and asked, “Am I wrong then?”
“…No, ” Murumuru barely managed to answer.
However, Chi-Woo didn’t turn around and leave yet because it seemed Murumuru had something left to say. After he waited and waited until he almost became irritated, Murumuru quietly said, “I won’t…forget. I’ll remember this.” Then Murumuru turned around and joined the rest of the half-demons detaining Haiaru. Chi-Woo glanced at Murumuru and quickly ran out after a shrug. Although the festival was in full swing as Evelyn had said, Chi-Woo didn’t even glance at it. He had something much more important to do.
‘I need to meet her!’ Chi-Woo carefully looked around and bolted across the alley.