After the first meeting between Horus, a hatchling from Auterica, and the dragons who were the old masters of the Ganghwan Realm had ended smoothly.
With the attentive care of the two dragons, Horus began receiving intensive instruction directly from them in the arts of this world.
The Azure Dragon and the Red Dragon had said it would be enough if, during the ceremony, he simply held his place as the Yellow Dragon, but Horus himself had been unable to accept that and had strongly requested it.
Even if he were participating merely as a symbolic mascot, there was bound to be a huge difference between knowing how things were proceeding and not knowing.
Since he, too, would be joining as one of those presiding over the ceremony, wouldn’t it be better for everyone if he at least understood the basics of the arts?
···At Horus’s assertion, the two dragons found him exceedingly admirable and promised to spare no support in his education.
Of course, Horus’s true feelings hidden beneath that were—.
‘Since I’ve come this far, I should take everything I can get. ···And while doing that, I might even find a way to save the dragon children.’
He was only thinking of using the current situation by any means necessary.
After all, before solving the problem at hand, it was only natural to start by digging into its foundations step by step.
To solve the difficult problem this world had given him, he needed to grasp the mysteries of this place for certain.
‘In the world at large, the Mosan Sect is called a prestigious school of the arts, but they said most of the Daoist techniques they use originated from Geumo Island.’
And even on that Geumo Island, the ones who stood at the pinnacle in that field were the dragons, divine beasts revered as legends even in this world.
Symbols of divine power said to freely control natural disasters, including calling winds and summoning rain.
There was no way he would simply give up such a good opportunity to taste the essence of the Ganghwan Realm’s arts through them.
And the learning ability Horus showed upon encountering that new mystery.
To the Red Dragon and Azure Dragon, who still regarded him as a young and adorable dragon from another world, it was nothing short of shocking.
“Good heavens··· What in the world is that little one? Don’t tell me he already knew all of this and was just pretending to be innocent? If not, this speed makes no sense.”
“···Now I understand how he could have reached that level at such a young age. It’s hard to call this mere talent. He understands mystery as naturally as breathing and absorbs it in his own way.”
“Ha! If those old fogeys who fuss about a thousand years of accumulated effort and whatnot knew, they’d foam at the mouth and collapse. Was time always this meaningless?”
“Mm.”
That tiny young dragon absorbed everything they taught with truly terrifying momentum.
To the point that they wondered if this really was his first time encountering something called the arts.
But when considered carefully, it was not that strange.
「Ruler of All Things」, which assisted affinity with energy and attributes.
「Seeker of Mystery」, which granted aptitude in all fields of mysticism.
「Defier of Providence」, which allowed him to ignore the restrictions arising from the differences between dragons and yong.
And on top of that, the fact that he had already learned 「Dragon Tongue Magic」, which could be called the pinnacle of the arcane, to a high level.
From birth, Horus had possessed one extraordinary skill after another; he was, quite literally, like someone born with a perfect golden-spoon bloodline.
And now, on top of that, he had the 『Elixir of Growth』 and a heap of other growth corrections, didn’t he?
‘There’s no need to even mention the indirect help from other avatars, like 「Unholy Sage」 or 「Path of Magic」.’
The result of all that coming together was the Horus of the present.
A crystallization of absurdity that, upon seeing one, knew ten; upon knowing ten, realized a hundred; and upon realizing a hundred, mastered a thousand.
《The individual has gained enlightenment through knowledge. Acquiring skill 「Heavenly Current Daoist Arts」.》
Once such a being began to devote himself seriously to a single thing, it did not take long for the fruits to fully appear.
“···To think he would reach this level already. What do you think, Azure Dragon?”
“It’s certainly beyond what I expected. There’s no need to drag out the time. We can move straight on to the next step.”
“I agree. At that level··· it wouldn’t be such a waste to hand that over.”
“Yes, since it’s something necessary anyway.”
Such rapid growth was more than enough to earn the admiration and recognition of the two women who had stepped forward actively to teach him.
And when the next lesson began, they presented him with a very special gift.
A precious object he had never expected to see like this.
“Huh? This is, don’t tell me···!”
“Woohoo, Horus looks cute even when he’s surprised.”
“We’re always the ones being surprised, so having the roles reversed feels somehow refreshing. Not bad.”
A round sphere shining blue, as though it had captured a bright, clear sky within it.
Inside, a vivid golden radiance undulated like flames, or like waves, strongly emanating its presence.
It was a beauty so mysterious that he simply could not take his eyes off it.
“Yeouiju (如意珠)···.”
“It’s a gift for Horus. It’s also something necessary for the ceremony anyway. Though I didn’t expect to give it to you this quickly.”
“If you are to bear the karma of the Yellow Dragon, you cannot be without a Yeouiju. Normally, one would have a Yeouiju of one’s own, but your situation is an exception, so its former owner will surely understand.”
The Yeouiju was an essential item that every yong possessed; if one had to compare it to something, it occupied a position similar to a dragon heart.
A storage vessel containing immense energy in and of itself, while also being a treasure among treasures that bestowed all kinds of beneficial effects upon its user.
Unless some truly “major incident” occurred, a Yeouiju, which would naturally spend a lifetime with the yong who created it, was not something that could be handed over so easily.
“Former owner···?”
“···Well, for now, let’s just say it belonged to a previous Yellow Dragon. They all died before lasting long, so it’s a bit difficult to specify exactly which one.”
“You needn’t be too concerned about it being a keepsake. They left it behind hoping it would help even a little with this situation.”
Of course, considering the recent days had been a literal succession of “major incidents,” it was, in a way, only natural for there to be such an ownerless Yeouiju.
Horus stared quietly at the Yeouiju that had come into his hands, then focused his mind on a single point.
Whoooong—!
A storm of qi mingled with wind surged forth.
Because he was still unfamiliar with it and could not properly control the immense energy, the temperature nearby began rising and falling at random.
But proficiency would naturally increase the more he used it.
On top of that, the abilities he possessed were advantageous for growing accustomed to this as well.
‘Not bad. No, it’s extremely good! I never thought I’d get my hands on this so quickly.’
As they had said, Horus’s learning ability being beyond imagination was certainly one of the reasons, but—.
Perhaps there were other factors besides that which had played no small part in this bold decision.
‘Yes, for example···.’
From Geumo Island’s perspective, the situation on the continent had become so noisy that they could not possibly overlook it.
Namely, the Demon Cult’s full-fledged movements.
‘That must have made them anxious. In a situation like this, there’s no telling when something else might happen.’
The Yellow Dragon clan had already gone extinct due to the conflict with the Demon Cult.
Although the leader of the Buncheon Society, who had taken the lead in orchestrating that affair, had already left this land, the Demon Cult forces that still remained could not be ignored either.
It was only natural that they would react sensitively.
‘Hmm, a Yeouiju. What would be the most efficient way to use this···.’
Of course, Horus was not worried about that in the slightest.
Because, after all.
Not only had the Heavenly Demon, who had been practically the source of all these events, already been dealt with, but even the main headquarters of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, his base, was currently being cleaned up.
By an excellent companion who was practically one body with him.
***
Xinjiang Province, Tianshan Mountains, Heavenly Demon Divine Cult headquarters.
Kwaaaang—!
With a massive explosion, the earth shook.
The city, which had been strangely peaceful all this time as though feigning ignorance despite being practically the source of the calamity that had befallen the world, was plunged into chaos by the sudden uproar.
“Move, quickly!”
“The Earthly Killing Unit moves immediately!”
The cult’s warriors moved frantically.
Jang Sam, who had been in charge of livestock rearing for over a decade, hid inside the stable and watched their urgent movements with a frightened expression.
‘What in the world is happening!’
He had already repeated that thought so many times he could no longer keep count.
Forcing his stiff, sluggish head to work, he slowly tried to recall what had happened, step by step.
Today had been a day no different from any other.
Jang Sam, who handled the livestock industry of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult headquarters, had risen early in the morning, eaten the meal prepared by his wife, offered a prayer to the Heavenly Demon, the proxy of the god they followed, and then headed to work.
Then, after spending a long while boiling fodder for the cattle and cleaning the stables.
It was at that moment that the clear sky had suddenly been covered in dark clouds and turned dim.
He and the people around him had been flustered by the sudden abnormal weather and were murmuring among themselves for only a brief while.
Immediately afterward—along with a thunderous roar, as though flowing down from the heavens, someone’s voice began from the sky and resounded in all directions.
[“Listen, mortals huddled inside your rice chests.”]
[“I am the sovereign of all demons in the world.”]
[“Serve the new king of demons.”]
Merely hearing it made the hair all over his body stand on end and his mouth go dry—.
A voice both sacred and solemn, as though looking down upon the world.
The will contained in that calm declaration was something he, a mere rustic, could neither dare to fathom nor endure as if it were nothing.
‘Yes, that was it. What’s happening now is what came right after that.’
Only then did Jang Sam, who had barely managed to recover fragments of his memory that had been cut off in pieces, let out a heavy sigh.
Immediately after that voice, which had made his mind seem to drain white merely from hearing a few words, ended, an enormous demonic energy engulfed the surrounding area all at once, and the present situation began.
Kwaaaang—!
Swallowing hard, Jang Sam cautiously poked out his head and looked toward the center of the city.
[Graaaah!]
“Stop them!”
Chaeng! Chang!
Battles were breaking out everywhere.
Beings that seemed to be entirely drenched in pitch-black ink trampled the cult’s warriors, and as if refusing to fall behind, masters who joined one after another systematically formed ranks and resisted.
The sight looked rather fierce, but even Jang Sam, who was ignorant when it came to combat, could tell at a glance.
At this rate, no matter how many of the cult’s warriors charged in, they had no chance of victory.
It was only natural that he would think that.
They were merely holding out against the small fry.
When no one could stop that unidentified being looking down from high in the sky, leisurely approaching this way, what use was anything else?
Peong!
[Kwaaaargh!]
[Ugh··· uh···.]
Then, suddenly, the entrance of one of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s buildings burst open, and large-bodied giants rushed out in a line.
Beings of a size impossible to regard as human.
“Hup! M-m-monsters?!”
It was not simply that they were large.
A monster with a boar’s head and horns, a monster shaped like a winged tiger, and even a wolf-shaped monster standing on two feet.
Just observing their existence somehow made his breath catch in his throat.
Jang Sam’s mental strength, which had held out fairly long for an ordinary peasant, reached its limit there.
Crushed by the aftershock of presences clashing between beings of overwhelming rank, he could no longer endure and collapsed on the spot, foaming at the mouth.
Just like the other ordinary people in this city.
“Oh? Those are···?”
At that moment, the gaze of the invader, Hans, who had just succeeded in enclosing the entire surrounding area in a barrier, turned toward where those giants were.
“Jiangshi made from monsters? And they feel strangely familiar.”
Hans’s narrowed gaze slowly swept over the bodies of the monster jiangshi.
Not only were all of them massive in height, easily exceeding five meters, but various patterns were engraved all over their bodies, and talismans were plastered thickly onto them as well.
To think they had turned those enormous bodies wholesale into jiangshi. His curiosity about the jiangshi arts they possessed welled up strongly.
‘Yes, somehow they feel similar to Taowu.’
It was not his imagination.
Their true identities were jiangshi made from great monsters who, while alive, had been called the Four Perils together with Taowu.
Excluding Taowu, who had survived alone and fled to Geumo Island, the remaining three were all here.
Having lost the intelligence they possessed in life, and even their lofty rank whittled down, they had become puppets of humans.
‘It’s not just those three.’
Following behind them, all sorts of monster jiangshi began streaming out of the building in a line.
Apparently, that building was a workshop where they used monsters to create jiangshi.
It seemed his assumption that only the corpses of martial artists would be suitable as materials for jiangshi had been a prejudice on his part.
Of course, that was not a bad thing.
No, rather···.
‘This is good. What excellent samples!’
He felt even more satisfied that the level of jiangshi arts they possessed was higher than he had expected.
When he considered incorporating various techniques into many different fields in the future, a more flexible and highly expandable method was essential.
‘I’ve seen about enough now.’
Hans slowly looked around.
With a considerable number of their elites, including the cult leader, away, he had deliberately been applying pressure slowly and tightening the noose in order to make them bring out everything they had hidden···.
At this point, it seemed they had brought out everything worth bringing out.
‘Then shall I start cleaning things up?’
There was much to do going forward.
If he wanted not only to recover those samples as intact as possible, but also to securely place the Demon Cult’s command and research personnel in his hands, he would have to move more busily than he was now.
Goooooo—
Pitch-black demonic energy began to gather around Hans’s body.
A bottomless darkness that seemed to suck one in just by looking at it.
Kwaduduk— kwadeuk!
The space around Hans distorted under the density of his existence.
And through the gaps in that distorted space, the energy of a pitch-black abyss slowly spread out.
A cold smile formed on Hans’s lips.
Naturally.
An empty house with its main forces, including the cult leader, absent could not stand in Hans’s way.
Only a few hours after Hans appeared.
That was the time it took for the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult headquarters to fall.