〈 Episode 422 〉 Suryong River (3)
A massive vessel capable of carrying hundreds of people at once.
A shadow reflected in the river that felt even larger than that colossal vessel.
"Fuck."
The moment I saw it, a curse shot out of its own accord.
Why the hell is that thing popping up here?
"What is that…?"
"Report to the Lord immediately!"
"What is that…!!"
It wasn't just me who was bewildered—the gathered crowd was equally flustered, at a complete loss, scrambling about in confusion. Amidst those panicking and unsure of what to do.
I glared toward Dangdeok and sent a voice transmission.
'Don't tell me that thing is what you prepared?'
"…"
Dangdeok didn't answer, but I could see his pupils shaking.
Though I suspected it wasn't, I asked once more to get a definitive answer.
'That's an order, so answer clearly.'
'I… do not… know.'
Dangdeok didn't know? Given the circumstances, I had naturally assumed it was something he'd prepared to capture the Poison King.
Surprisingly, that didn't seem to be the case.
Then…
"Then what the hell is that thing all of a sudden…."
It was obviously lurking deep in the river water. It was so massive that even its slightest movements were visible above the surface.
Following those movements, Blue-grade demonic beasts trailed behind it as if escorting the creature.
Watching that, I had to be certain.
That enormous something was definitely a Red-grade demonic beast.
I had seen them in my previous life as well, but unlike the Green and Blue-grade demonic beasts that bit and tore at each other, Red-grade demonic beasts possessed the trait of dominating lower-level entities.
The strength they possessed was on the level of a martial artist who had reached the Transformation Realm.
Considering the nature of those that led other demonic beasts around, one could imagine how difficult they were to hunt.
But that wasn't the only problem.
Crack—
I clenched my fist and thought.
'Why on earth.'
'Why have they started appearing already?'
'It isn't time yet.'
The resurgence of Red-grade demonic beasts was something that happened after the advent of the Heavenly Demon.
Around the time she, who called herself the Heavenly Demon, properly began appearing upon this land.
That was supposed to be the time of the resurgence of Red demonic beasts that had been forgotten.
"It's not time yet. Damn it…."
How could such a bastard brazenly thrash about in the river like that?
Not to mention.
I looked toward the waists of the guards and sword squad members.
The demon detection talismans they wore showed no unusual signs; they were perfectly fine.
The fact that the devices meant to alert them if a Demonic Gate occurred were so calm meant that no Demonic Gate had appeared nearby.
Which meant.
'Does this mean that thing isn't something that just appeared?'
It meant that quite some time had passed since a Red Demonic Gate had appeared.
When the hell? Since when had Red Demonic Gates started appearing?
I didn't know. At the very least, there had been no such news circulating in the Central Plains.
As I was frowning, observing the state of the demonic beast.
"What is going on?"
The Poison King appeared and began surveying the situation.
The Poison King also sensed the presence visible beneath the river and widened his eyes.
"That is…?"
"It seems to be a Red-grade demonic beast."
That's what I said to him.
Hearing my words, the Poison King flinched and raised his guard.
Not only him, but those around us also began showing reactions close to shock, one and all.
"Red, you say…?"
"Nonsense…! A Red demonic beast? Isn't that something from hundreds of years ago!"
"What is Soyeomra saying right now?"
The murmuring grew louder.
Since it was the appearance of a grade recorded only in history, such reactions were only natural.
Even amidst that, my gaze remained fixed on the river.
The sudden emergence of a Red-grade demonic beast was nothing short of astonishing, but.
For now, grasping the situation took priority over that.
'Of all places, it had to be on the river.'
The more I grasped the situation, the more truly shitty it became. This was exactly the kind of situation most avoided while hunting.
Mobility was restricted, making it the perfect situation to fall into danger at the slightest misstep.
'It's not extremely dangerous, but…'
I glanced at the group gathered behind me.
I looked for where the Lord of the Pae family and the Dark King were.
The Lord of the Pae family had widened his eyes as if surprised by the Red demonic beast's appearance.
The Dark King was observing the situation with some interest.
'We have more than enough force…'
The force to hunt a Red demonic beast was more than sufficient. With numerous PeakRealm martial artists and several Transformation Realm martial artists gathered, it wouldn't be too difficult, but.
The problem was.
'This is… an era unfamiliar with Red demonic beasts.'
The problem was that this was an era where people knew nothing about how to hunt Red demonic beasts, having only learned of them through records.
And there was good reason for that.
Because from Red-grade demonic beasts onward, there were separate ways to hunt them.
As a headache was acutely felt in this unexpected situation.
Whoooong—whoooong—!!
Guguguguk—!
An enormous sound echoed from within the river, and waves began crashing upon the formerly calm surface.
The waves were so strong that the massive vessel rocked violently.
"Hold on tight!"
"Uwaaa!"
Most were martial artists, so keeping their balance wasn't difficult. However, there were still some who failed to respond in time.
Those who couldn't grab the railings fell from the shaking ship and plunged into the river.
Under normal circumstances, they could have easily escaped.
But facing a frenzy of Green and Blue-grade demonic beasts that discovered prey and charged ferociously, the martial artists were helpless.
"Uwaaak—! Save… save me!"
The restricted space underwater suppressed their abilities.
Their debilitated bodies were enough to reduce first-rate martial artists to mere prey.
Watching them be devoured and disappear in an instant, everyone tensed.
Being martial artists, they began preparing for battle rather than succumbing to fear.
Drawing their swords, they raised their internal energy.
The internal energy erupting from their bodies mixed in the atmosphere, beginning to form a single current.
'Damn…!'
Seeing that, I had to flinch.
This is dangerous.
I tried to shout for them to restrain their energy at once, but.
Whooong—!
It was too late.
Already, the bastard seemed stimulated and began moving in the water.
The waves grew fiercer following its movements.
Soon, its shadow gradually darkened, then it pierced through the river water beside the colossal vessel and revealed itself.
Swhaaa—!
The water churned as it raised its massive head.
On the violently rocking ship, everyone had to hold their breath.
The internal energy that had been mingling in the atmosphere quietly died down as if it had never happened.
A size that didn't pale even when compared to the colossal vessel.
A long, slender body followed by beautifully aligned red scales.
Flicking its long, forked tongue at the tip of its snout, the bastard rolled its eyes and looked at the ship.
Someone who confirmed its appearance spat out words in a trembling voice.
"…A… snake?"
That's right.
Its appearance was exactly like that of a snake.
Except its size was impossibly massive.
******************
Red-grade demonic beast.
The last recorded discovery was approximately four to five hundred years ago.
They were said to be demonic beasts boasting strength and size incomparable to Green and Blue-grade ones.
White demonic beasts could change plains into vast rivers or make snow fall during heatwaves.
If those could alter terrain and affect ecosystems.
Red-grade demonic beasts, which ranked just below them, were said to be formidable enough to reign as kings of a region.
It was said that where they dwelled, those without permission could neither live nor walk due to the terrifying power they possessed.
Since it was a ludicrous record for mere demonic beasts.
When he read them, the Poison King had believed without doubt that they were false records.
If one surpassed the first-rate, handling Blue-grade demonic beasts like toys after surpassing Green-grade ones wouldn't be difficult.
He had thought that at most, a demonic beast one grade higher couldn't show that much difference.
Moreover, even if that were true, they were creatures that had already disappeared into the back pages of history and no longer appeared.
The Poison King had never thought of Red-grade beasts as particularly dangerous.
And this was.
A notion shared by all those living in the entire Central Plains.
A grade that wouldn't appear again anyway.
Exaggerated and hollow records.
That was all there was to Red-grade, or so it had been.
But now, the Poison King had no choice but to change his mind.
"This…."
The records weren't so wrong.
"The size is ridiculous…."
With the evidence right before his eyes, how could he think otherwise?
Shhhhhhh….
It was a snake. An incredibly massive one at that.
As befitting the name of a Red-grade demonic beast, the snake with red scales possessed a size rivaling the ship they rode.
It rolled its yellow eyes this way and that, scanning the people on the deck.
At that gaze, those around began trembling as if feeling terror.
Most were martial artists below the first-rate, and in severe cases, some even foamed at the mouth and lost consciousness.
Watching that, the Poison King soon had to frown deeply.
'Why on earth…!'
A sudden appearance of a Red-grade demonic beast. What kind of disaster was this?
And what about the other demonic beasts swarming nearby?
No matter how he looked at it, the situation was not good.
The demonic beast's eyes were the same.
The Poison King could tell immediately. That the creature's eyes harbored hunger.
It was clearly looking at them as food.
Having grasped that much, the Poison King shouted without hesitation.
"Turn the ship around!"
First, they had to get out of here. Unless the Poison King was a fool, he wouldn't think to leave the ship still with such a thing before him.
At the same time.
Shhhhaaaaa—!
He hadn't thought the monster would sit idly by as the ship turned.
The moment the ship's stern moved, the demonic beast's eyes flashed and it charged.
Confirming that, the Poison King leaped from the deck and rushed at the demonic beast.
A dagger had somehow appeared in the Poison King's hand.
Having raised his internal energy to the limit, the Poison King hurled the dagger in his hand at the demonic beast without hesitation.
The dagger containing the aura of the Transformation Realm flew swiftly toward the top of the demonic beast's head.
Under normal circumstances, it was a dagger that would have pierced through steel without issue.
Ting—!
"…What!?"
The Poison King's dagger bounced away helplessly just before touching the demonic beast.
As if blocked by an invisible wall.
In the moment the Poison King was flustered by the unexpected situation, the demonic beast changed direction from the ship toward the Poison King. Opening its maw wide—! It tried to swallow him in one bite.
Then.
Someone grabbed the Poison King by the nape and flung him backward.
Thanks to that, the Poison King narrowly avoided being eaten by the snake.
"Wow, is it crazy? Why is it so fast?"
The one who had grabbed and thrown the Poison King was none other than the White Lotus Sword.
The Poison King, flung backward, landed on the river surface.
It was the foundational technique of water treading, only usable upon reaching the Transformation Realm.
The White Lotus Sword also arrived beside the Poison King, and he gave her a short nod.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to escape danger."
"Skip the thanks…. What was that just now? It looked like your qi blast was deflected."
"…That's correct."
The Poison King answered with a frown at the White Lotus Sword's words. As she said, he had confirmed that the demonic beast had deflected his previous attack.
Deflecting a qi blast… How was such a thing possible?
One more person appeared beside the Poison King, who had yet to grasp the situation.
It was Pae Duyeol, head of the Pae family, who was known as Wubao Tiequan among the Central Plains' Hundred Supreme Experts.
"I shall join forces."
The Poison King nodded at those words.
Three experts who had surpassed the Transformation Realm stood side by side on the river water.
The ship had gradually begun to turn and move.
The demonic beast was looking not at the ship, but at the three people standing before it.
It knew, too. That unless it killed the three before it immediately, it couldn't head for the ship.
Watching that, the Poison King harbored a doubt inwardly.
'Could it be… the ship is its goal?'
A delusion that the demonic beast's goal seemed to lie on the ship sprang up.
That couldn't be it. The Poison King shook his head.
Whether it was a suddenly appearing Red demonic beast or whatever, for now he had to focus on protecting that ship.
As the Poison King drew a short sword and steadied his breathing.
The White Lotus Sword spoke, looking at the demonic beast ahead.
"Wow…. It's huge. Freaking huge."
The Poison King felt his strength slightly drain at her words, but recalled that she wasn't wrong.
As she said.
Compared to all the demonic beasts he had seen until now, that monster boasted a ridiculous size.
What would have happened if such a thing had been on land instead of this river?
What if there hadn't been just one, but several?
At the horrible imagination, the Poison King gripped his short sword.
The snake wasn't charging as if testing the waters.
By nature, demonic beasts acted on instinct alone, so it should have been charging with all its might even now.
Yet it wasn't doing so, and instead seemed to be gauging the situation.
And the same was true for the Poison King.
'I have to understand what just happened.'
The Poison King recalled the moment his dagger bounced off.
The dagger had been properly wrapped in energy, and there had been no problem with its trajectory.
Then why had his attack bounced away before reaching the demonic beast?
He couldn't understand.
As he was recalling that, the White Lotus Sword quickly swung her sword and fired a qi blast at the snake.
It was a sudden attack.
Shwick—! A bluish-green qi blast flew at high speed to cut the snake, but.
Crack—!
Just as the Poison King's dagger had, the White Lotus Sword's qi blast also crumbled before an invisible wall.
"As expected…. It doesn't work?"
The White Lotus Sword clicked her tongue in disappointment, but the Poison King flinched in surprise at this.
"White Lotus Sword…! What do you think you're doing all of a sudden!"
"Why? I was checking if this would work. We can't just stand around doing nothing."
At her trailing remark that they had to fight anyway, the Poison King had to cover his forehead.
Fortunately, the attacked demonic beast only flicked its tongue and assessed the situation, but it would be problematic if stimulated into attacking.
Of course, though he was surprised by the White Lotus Sword's actions, it wasn't without gain.
Because thanks to that, he could be certain that attacks didn't work on the demonic beast.
Having confirmed that, the Poison King racked his brain to quickly find an answer to the situation. Soon, something flashed through his mind.
Could this be…
'…does it mean Red-grade demonic beasts are creatures immune to internal energy?'
At the chilling thought that had inadvertently surfaced, the Poison King gulped.
It hadn't been recorded, but it was a possibility.
The possibility that from Red-grade demonic beasts onward, energies created from internal energy would not work.
That was a terrifying prospect even to imagine.
If this were the case, the value of martial artists who killed demonic beasts using internal energy would plummet.
And it would mean the downfall of humanity, unable to stop the demonic beasts.
It was a delusion, but a vaguely realistic one. As the Poison King repeatedly swallowed dry saliva.
Movement was felt from the demonic beast.
Shhhhaaa—!
The moment the snake bared its fangs and tried to pounce on the three martial artists.
Shwick—! Boom—!
"!"
A rough lightning strike fired from somewhere slammed into the snake's head.
Shhhhaaa—!
The snake's head swayed with a thunderous roar.
The angle of the head that had been charging while screaming changed.
The massive head collapsed into the river, and the impact sent water columns soaring into the sky.
The raised water soon fell back down.
That sight was like rain falling.
The Poison King's eyes widened at that.
He had just witnessed that attacks imbued with internal energy didn't work, so what in the world was that just now?
The Poison King looked back with surprised eyes.
To check which martial artist had sent the sword strike to stop the snake.
Soon, having confirmed the martial artist, the Poison King.
"What…? Why are those children…."
Leaving behind the Poison King's disbelieving reaction.
Kyaaaaah—!
The demonic beast that had briefly disappeared underwater quickly leaped out and charged again.
As the three earlier Transformation Realm martial artists raised their momentum to grasp the attack.
"Four handbreadths to the right of the left eye."
A voice rang out from the rear, and immediately another presence rushed at the snake. There was no hesitation.
Three sword blades left traces in the air as they dug into the snake.
Exactly at the snake's left eye, stretching slightly behind it, energy exploded from the sword tips and burst with impact.
Bang—!
Shhhhaaak—!
The snake's head shook just like before.
The Poison King could see clearly.
The moment the martial artist's sword strike touched the snake, cracks formed on the transparent barrier.
What was different from them? Even while harboring such doubt, the voice continued.
"Next, five handbreadths below the tip of the chin. Strike upward."
When the words were heard, there was no hesitation in carrying them out.
A sword wrapped in golden energy entered beneath the snake and immediately fired sword qi.
Tang—! The same this time.
The snake's chin struck by sword qi soared upward. Crack! The transparent barrier surrounding the snake could be seen breaking slightly.
A slightly opened gap was dimly felt.
"Uhyeok."
As if the short call was sufficient, the handsome young master immediately raised his sword and nimbly fired sword qi infused with blade qi through the created gap.
Then, an attack that hadn't reached until now grazed the snake's skin and inflicted a wound.
Fwik—! A wound burst on the snake's neck, and blue-green blood scattered into the river.
Kyaaaaah—!
Perhaps because of the wound, the snake let out a rough cry and backed away slightly.
The snake began coiling its body as if wary of them.
At what happened in an instant, the Poison King had to gape.
Those who had been pouring attacks on the snake until just now flew backward as the snake began to coil, landing on the river surface.
Splash.
On the river water where the three martial artists returned, a young man had been standing from the start.
He was the one who had been giving orders until now.
Looking at him, the Poison King quietly whispered.
"Soyeomra?"
At the Poison King's call, Gu Yangcheon's eyebrows trembled faintly.
He seemed slightly displeased.
Leaving that aside, just what were those who had been driving the snake until now?
Even they, Transformation Realm martial artists, had been repeatedly worrying about what to do.
Late-stage experts who were clearly known to be at the Peak Realm had driven the snake back nonchalantly.
The Nangong family's Sword Dancer, the descendant of the Sword Lord, and Wudang's Sleeping Dragon.
They sheathed their swords and stood around Soyeomra, straightening themselves.
As if waiting for the next order.
The energies wrapped around their swords harbored different colors each, evoking a strange sense of pressure.
Not to mention, how were these people who hadn't even reached the Transformation Realm standing on the river water?
The Poison King could not understand the unfolding scene at all.
Around that time, Soyeomra, who was at the center, opened his mouth upon seeing the Poison King's party.
"From now on, I will take command."
"…What? Master Gu, what do you mean all of a sudden…."
"I will not entertain objections. If you don't like it, stay still and don't get in the way."
The Poison King tried to say something in response to Gu Yangcheon's words, but.
Swoooooosh—!
He had to close his mouth at the demonic beast's movements.
A huge squirming could be felt from beneath the river.
Gu Yangcheon seemed to feel it too and spoke while looking around.
"Prepare yourselves."
Srring.
At the briefly mentioned words, the three late-stage experts sharply raised their momentum. They looked just like well-trained members of a sword squad.
The three were one thing, but what of Gu Yangcheon, who was giving them orders so nonchalantly?
The Poison King had to harbor doubts about the inexplicable sense of pressure he felt from Gu Yangcheon.