ISS-Chapter 257

Chapter 257

One who can move a thousand li in a single step. One who can lie down and cover the continent.

Since ancient times, those who encountered the divine beast called Sangui, of an unimaginable size, described it as if it were the end of the world. And for good reason—when faced with the existence called Sangui, humans seemed far too small and fragile, mere insects.

Sangui is a being whose back rises above the clouds even while lying down. No matter where its ears are located, would a lion’s roar even reach them?

That’s why Seohwa and her party were now aboard a crane, landing beneath Sangui’s leg.

For none other than to climb up Sangui’s body.

“I have a question.”

“Wh-what is it?”

Sangui’s leg.

Lowering her body between the bumpy skin, Seohwa looked around and then gazed up at the dizzyingly high body of Sangui as she asked.

“How far up do we need to go?”

“To the top.”

“…Excuse me?”

At Sinui’s immediate response, Seohwa unconsciously showed her bewilderment and raised her gaze upward. The slowly moving massive body. The clouds visible above it.

“…All the way up there?”

“To be… precise, not exactly the top, but… we need to get close enough… close enough for our voices to reach.”

Sinui, having spoken, tapped the rock-like shell of Sangui as he continued.

“Do you know… how people hear sounds…?”

“Well, we hear with our ears.”

“Right. We hear with our ears. To be precise, the vibrations in the air are detected by a thin membrane called the eardrum inside the ear, which transmits it…”

The eardrum is a thin membrane, so it can vibrate even to small sounds, and thus can detect them. Conversely, if it’s not thin, it cannot properly detect sounds.

However.

“At this size, the eardrum has to be enormously large. And if such a large eardrum were thin…?”

“It would tear easily.”

“Exactly.”

Even with a large body, the ears must be small. There’s a limit to how large a creature’s ears can be.

“C-compared to this size, you could say Lord Sangui is deaf… He can’t even hear conversations happening on his own body…”

“I understand the gist. But then shouldn’t we go to the head area? Why go all the way to the top?”

“We actually need to go to the top… Y-you see, while Lord Sangui has poor hearing, he’s incredibly good at sensing qi…”

Sinui glanced at Jeokyeol before continuing.

“Hyegwangsimeo.”

“…”

“It’s not transmitted through sound but through internal energy as a medium to convey one’s will… It’s such a difficult technique that it’s hard to even attempt with ordinary skill, but if there’s a master of the Ten Heavens or Seven Wheels level…”

“They can transmit their will through Hyegwangsimeo?”

“Yes. Of course, Hyegwangsimeo emitted from down below would be just a small wave of qi not worth paying attention to, but Hyegwangsimeo emitted from the top, closest to the organ that senses internal energy, would be properly transmitted…”

To have a conversation, they need to climb to the top. Otherwise, communication wouldn’t even be established.

“Isn’t this just like mountain climbing?”

“…”

“It doesn’t seem difficult at all. Let’s climb right away.”

“W-wait.”

As Jeokyeol made a motion to climb up as if asking what the problem was, Sinui hurriedly stopped him and waved his hand.

“We need to be careful. Above here is the domain of yokai…!”

“…The domain of yokai? On the back of a divine beast?”

“…Yes.”

“Doesn’t this divine beast wander the world to strike down yokai?”

“That’s correct, but…”

What Sangui handles as he travels the world are only great yokai that threaten humanity and even the world’s existence.

Unless they’re great yokai large or powerful enough to catch Sangui’s attention, they don’t become targets for Sangui’s subjugation. After all, if he tried to catch all the yokai, wouldn’t he have to destroy the world?

“Lord Sangui is a natural enemy of yokai, but… he’s also bizarrely close to yokai… Right now, Lord Sangui is the one being who bears all the fear of every yokai in the world.”

“That does make sense. If I thought something with this body was coming to kill me…”

A typhoon or tsunami?

It would be even more terrifying than that. If such a massive body were walking step by step toward the place where you live, how would that be different from a predetermined apocalypse?

“What might be minnows by Lord Sangui’s standards are different by our standards. Yokai so powerful that even considerable great yokai couldn’t even speak their names live on Lord Sangui’s back…”

“Why specifically up here?”

“There’s no one to disturb them, and if by some chance they succeed in killing him, they could receive all that fear as offerings instead…?”

It’s an absurd story, like trying to stop a typhoon with one hand. It means there are that many yokai dreaming impossible dreams.

“With this number of people, it’s impossible to break through hundreds of great yokai and reach the top.”

“Then.”

“We need to plan a route to reach the top.”

A route that can reach the destination while avoiding as much conflict with yokai as possible.

“We’re going to pioneer a path upward.”

Meanwhile, at that time.

“I’ve completed the mission and returned.”

Baeklisan was wrapped in blood-soaked robes.

“…There are faces I haven’t seen before…”

One person from the Blood Cult looked at Baeklisan, Song Byeokjinin, Nakcheon, and Dokgocheon following behind them, all bound together as Eungryong’s companions, and spoke quietly as if demanding they reveal their identities. However, Eungryong answered with a chilling gaze.

“Don’t worry about my prisoners. Old man.”

“For the greater cause, we shouldn’t hide anything from each other. They are…”

“Spoils I captured from Oyeon. Do you need more explanation? If you want, I can tear your ears larger so you can hear better.”

“…That won’t be necessary.”

The Blood Cult member stepped back as if to concede to Eungryong’s hostile attitude, looked at him, and asked casually.

“The job was properly finished, right? Oyeon’s formation…”

“I couldn’t finish everything.”

“What do you mean you couldn’t finish everything…?”

“It was impossible to destroy the axis. Because idiots attacked first and failed, the defenses were strengthened. Even for me, it was impossible to break through everything alone and affect the axis.”

“Hmm… Then didn’t it fail?”

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll just crush them with full force anyway.”

Six of the Ten Heavens plus one Wheel, and possibly a few Seven Wheels that might be in the cult.

In a situation where the forces gathered here would inevitably lose in a direct confrontation, Eungryong’s words about crushing them with full force don’t make sense. Because even without the Seven Wheels stepping in, just gathering the Central Plains search parties could crush the forces the Blood Cult has gathered. However.

“Did you properly set up that formation…?”

“Of course.”

“Then we can win…”

Nevertheless, the Blood Cult member believed in certain victory without doubt. Because.

If things flow according to their plan, the Blood Cult and Ten Heavens won’t even need to fight.

“I’ll report to Il Nachal and inform you of future directives… Wait inside for a while.”

“I’ll decide my own whereabouts.”

“Hehe. As long as the work is done properly, what’s the problem…”

“…”

The elderly Blood Cult member disappeared with an eerie laugh.

“Who was that?”

“An elder of the Blood Cult.”

“For an elder, he seems quite weak.”

“Because they’re vermin.”

Eungryong quietly answered Baeklisan, who was staring intently at his retreating figure.

“I don’t know what perception you have of the Blood Cult, Miss, but Blood Cult members aren’t as outstanding in martial prowess as you might think.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Only the Blood Cult Leader and his direct subordinate Il Nachal are at a level comparable to the Ten Heavens or Seven Wheels, and the rest are just a ragtag bunch. Isn’t it natural? They’re people who believe you can’t become strong unless you cast off the human species.”

The desire to be born as a more perfect and flawless existence.

Such fundamental doctrinal desires of the Blood Cult are held by only a few of the leadership. Most Blood Cult members are just dregs who want to easily raise their abilities through bizarre sorcery or great techniques.

“Those who try to become strong easily and quickly are all like that. The right path is the true path. They’re vermin.”

“…Is that something to say when you’ve joined hands with the Blood Cult?”

“What are you saying! I’ve never joined hands with the Blood Cult, Miss. I’ve infiltrated the Blood Cult!”

“Sure.”

“Ugh.”

Eungryong groaned in pain from the heavy blow to his side, and Baeklisan looked at him with a cold gaze while looking around and fidgeting with her loosely tied hands. The scene looked surprisingly normal, different from what she had imagined when she heard it was the Blood Cult’s headquarters.

‘There are three main things an infiltrator can do.’

Generally, when infiltrating an enemy force, there are three things an infiltrator can do. The first is extracting internal information, and the second is spreading false information internally.

Either way, if successful, they could have significant effects, but in reality, both are impossible for Baeklisan’s party. After all, they don’t even have anyone to contact, do they?

‘There’s no way to contact the Murim Alliance or the Demonic Cult. No way to receive directives from either side… either.’

Information warfare requires mutual communication, but the environment for information warfare isn’t set up at all. Then shouldn’t information warfare be ruled out from the start?

‘In the end, what we can do, what we must do, comes down to one thing.’

The third thing an infiltrator can do.

Increasing internal chaos. Burning supplies, causing confusion, sabotaging plans.

“What’s this formation in Oyeon?”

“It’s a teleportation formation. It’s how these vermin plan to win.”

At Baeklisan’s question, Eungryong immediately answered while turning his gaze south. Toward where Oyeon is located.

“According to our information, the Murim Alliance search party that came near here includes six of the Ten Heavens.”

“…Mm. I heard about it on the way.”

“Yes. I don’t know if negotiations with the Demonic Cult have been concluded, but if signs of destroying the Great Seal are detected, they won’t just stand by. And if that happens, the Blood Cult will have to face two Seven Wheels and six Ten Heavens. With only two proper masters among these vermin. Would it be possible?”

“…It would be difficult. Even if you recruited three Seven Wheels including yourself, you’d be outnumbered.”

“Exactly.”

Eungryong snapped his fingers in agreement with Baeklisan’s reasoning and continued.

“To complete the Blood Cult’s plan, they must destroy the Great Seal. But to destroy the Great Seal, they need to break Oyeon’s axis and even dismantle the Great Seal’s formation that’s revealed. That formation guarded by six Ten Heavens and two Seven Wheels.”

It’s absolutely impossible with this force. Five versus eight. Even with simple calculations, it’s obvious this side is outnumbered, and moreover, don’t they have two powerful figures who dominate the world?

“That’s where the Blood Cult got their idea.”

“What idea?”

“If fighting is burdensome, why not just avoid fighting altogether?”

There’s no need to fight and win against the masters. The goal is to destroy the Great Seal, after all.

“When the teleportation formation activates, the Seven Wheels and Ten Heavens will all be flung a thousand li away.”

“…”

“In the meantime, the Blood Cult plans to dismantle the Great Seal. By having me carry the artifact that will serve as the formation’s axis. But here’s the thing.”

What do you think this is?

At Eungryong’s grinning question, Baeklisan fixed her gaze on his hand.

In Eungryong’s hand was an artifact that anyone could see was unusual.

With a paper attached that read “For Teleportation Formation Use Only.”