Their destination was located in a crater.
Perhaps, in order to easily deal with sudden incidents, the facility was intentionally built in such a place.
There were various stone statues and objects around, and something like an altar in the middle. Behind it was a building that looked like a warehouse.
And surrounding this warehouse from all directions were eight mystics. The mystics each had a bell in one hand, while the other was placed on the ground.
They were working to ensure that the Nine Ghosts Illusion Circle, that was keeping the Kangshis contained, would not fall.
“Rraawrrrr!”
“Braawwrrrrr!”
Terrible howls echoed from inside the warehouse.
The warehouse was large, able to accommodate around a hundred people. But that same building was now shaking, as those trapped inside struggled to get out.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Captain, do you think this will collapse soon?”
Imugi asked Seol-Hwi.
“Well…”
Unlike the altar, the warehouse was made of wood. It looked like it would break easily if it was attacked, but currently, it neither broke nor crumbled from the efforts of those inside. Was it possible to do something like this with mystic arts?
“Have you ever experienced a Kangshi before?”
Jeok Song asked Seo Ryeong.
Through a small window of the warehouse, the undead could be seen running around wildly.
“I have seen them a few times, but not any like this.”
“This is my first time.”
“Same here.”
Yong Jin and Yorim replied to Jeok Song’s question as well.
Jeok Song himself was nervous.
No matter how much the world regarded members of the Demonic Sect as masters of all kinds of trickery, this was exaggerated.
In fact, even within the Sect, there are not many people who deal with mystic arts instead of martial arts.
The two groups rarely met with each other, and mystic arts practitioners don’t often show themselves. Thanks to that, even if one was a Demonic Sect member, seeing beings like Kangshi were rare. And there were even fewer cases of Kangshi running rampant like they were now.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Kangshi were trying to smash the walls with their fists. And among them, there were those who were using internal energy. The ‘soulless people’ stood out right away, because they would use their energy to attack.
Dududu!
For a wooden building, it should have been destroyed right away, but it remained standing.
“… It probably won’t last long.”
“What?”
Seol-Hwi frowned, and the old man behind him explained,
“The Circle is on the verge of collapsing. Even so, the reason it was able to hold on is because of the mystics who are keeping it up. But soon, they will also reach their limits.”
Some of the mystics were already coughing up blood in the middle of their chants. As soon as they did, they would collapse onto the ground.
Dududu!
The warehouse’s shaking began to intensify even further. It wouldn’t be much longer until the Nine Ghosts Illusion Circle broke down, and the undead inside escaped and wreaked havoc.
“How powerful are the ‘soulless people’? I know that the Kangshi are physically strong, but not very intelligent.”
“You are right. Unfortunately, the Soulless, who cannot be controlled and have their own will, are completely different from Kangshi.”
The old man’s face darkened.
“The techniques used on them weren’t traditional ones, but new and improved techniques…”
“A new technique? There must be something wrong then. What did you do?”
When Seol-Hwi asked him, the old man thought deeply, and answered,
“The will… to be strong on their own. They were made to have that feature. If we drop a few in the enemy camp, they can survive on their own, and even perhaps drink blood or use internal energy to live longer. But…”
“… Now this is happening in our camp instead of the enemy’s?”
Seol-Hwi sighed.
According to the old man’s words, the Soulless were the kind that got stronger by harming others. If they weren’t dealt with right away, they would definitely turn into a problem.
It was impossible to predict what horrible deeds they would do if they managed to escape here and invade the Sect.
“Captain, what should we do?”
Yorim asked carefully. The rest of the team members were waiting for Seol-Hwi’s command as well.
“… Everyone, stay on alert. I will go into the Circle myself, and then launch the first attack. If any of them come out, work together in pairs to eliminate them. And Imugi…”
“Yes!”
“You will stay behind. Observe the situation, and if there are any that the others manage to miss, get rid of them.”
Seol-Hwi immediately started the Simulation after giving his orders.
<Combat method, Simulation Lv2> <Which simulation would you like?>
“Find the Soulless among the groups of Kangshi. And let me see the results with my own eyes.”
For the Kangshi, there was nothing for Seol-Hwi be afraid of. They have strong bodies, but they no longer have the higher intelligence of a human being.
But the ‘soulless people’ were different.
They were smarter than the Kangshi. When they face an enemy, they think about whether to fight, or avoid them. When that intelligence is given to an undead weapon, it becomes a terrifying threat.
<Analysing...> <Analysis complete. Identification processing for intuitive recognition. There are 8 Soulless in total. They are dangerous, so they are marked in red. The slightly less dangerous Kangshi are in green.>
These words showed up in front of Seol-Hwi, then disappeared.
Next…
Seol-Hwi changed his combat method. This was the only way for him to know the abilities of those he was fighting against.
<Combat method, Turn Based Lv2>
More text appeared. Surprisingly, its contents displayed explanations of Seol-Hwi’s enemies.
Kangshi - Description: Created in a ritual to resurrect a corpse with mystic arts, the corpse is manipulated according to the caster. If control is lost, all movement and abilities rise to their maximum. - Strengths: There are no vital points, since it is a corpse. It is unaffected by wounds or fatal damage to organs. It does not feel pain, and even when limbs are severed, it continues to fight. - Weaknesses: Movements are limited. Its intelligence is comparable to a three year old human child's. It does not understand things other than simple commands, and sometimes makes the wrong judgement. Soulless - Description: The human body inherently has potential, but limits it to survival. However, after death, the body can be used to its full extent. Due to the reckless use of internal energy, Soulless have 100 times the strength and movement of a human. - Strengths: It possesses basic cognitive ability, in addition to physical strength. It has intelligence comparable to a ten year old human child and is capable of rudimentary judgement, enabling various strategic tactics such as retreat, attack, or escape. - Weaknesses: When entering a battle, it often falls into a state of madness. After judging a specific individual as an enemy, there is a habit of rushing only to that one target.
“Hmmm…”
After explaining the basics of Kangshi and Soulless, the stats of the individual opponents were shown.
<Soulless Captain [2nd disciple of Kunlun Sect, Kyung-shim]> Health: 10 million/ 10 million Internal energy: 10 million/ 10 million Combat power: 10 million Special skills: Internal Energy Absorption, Blood Lust, Self Destruction
The combat power of the Soulless Captain was the highest, with other Soulless only being between 5 million or 9 million.
<Kangshi Captain [Supreme Pavilion, Bo Euk]> Health: 3 million/ 3 million Internal energy: 3 million/ 3 million Combat power: 3 million Special skills: Blood Runaway, Blood Lust, Self Destruction
Seol-Hwi felt awful after seeing the stats of the Kangshi captain. He couldn’t help it. This Kangshi was actually a member of the Supreme Pavilion when he was alive.
He was probably one of the members who had no affiliation, like Seol-Hwi, and who moved according to the orders of the Supreme Pavilion Lord.
And after such a person was killed, he was brought back as a Kangshi.
Being used like this, whether in life or death, didn’t sit right with Seol-Hwi. If it wasn’t for the system, Seol-Hwi would be the same.
And they brought people from the outside too.
Like a person from the Kunlun Sect.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
One of the walls which kept the Kangshi trapped suddenly shattered.
At the same time, the rest of the old men who had been chanting collapsed. There was no longer anyone to maintain the Nine Ghosts Illusion Circle.
Seol-Hwi took a deep breath and steeled himself.
He jumped down into the crater. Just before landing on the roof of the warehouse, he took his sword out.
Shkk!
Seol-Hwi cut a hole in the roof, and leapt inside.
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
When Seol-Hwi appeared in the warehouse, all of the Kangshi and Soulless stopped moving for a moment, as if they were surprised. All of them except for one - the Soulless Captain.
Sitting on an empty chair in the center, the Soulless who was their leader showed his teeth to Seol-Hwi… like a smile.
Seol-Hwi immediately began unfolding his attack.
As soon as the Soulless Captain noticed Seol-Hwi’s movements, he stretched out his hand, but it was too late.
<Using Sura Exploding Flame Arts.>
Boom! Boom! Boom!
During the explosions that were set off in a row, the Soulless Captain was burnt away without leaving anything behind.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Not only that, some of the Kangshi around were caught up in the explosions as well.
But this was just the start for Seol-Hwi.
He pushed his internal energy, that was raised to the limit, into his sword, and slammed it down on the floor.
“Infernal Sky and Land Arts!”
A red ball of fire formed on the ground where Seol-Hwi’s sword was. Cracks spread out from this point in all directions, stopping at the end of the warehouse.
Fwoosh!
Heat surged from the ground up into the air, creating another huge explosion.
“Rrrargh!”
“Brrargh!”
The Kangshi screamed as they were incinerated.
In just two attacks, more than a third of the Kangshi were destroyed.
“Huff… huff…”
Seol-Hwi quickly caught his breath. He had used a lot of internal energy, but there was no time for a break.
I can’t let them go. I need to catch all of the Soulless.
Seol-Hwi’s visibility was limited due to the recent explosion. Dust and smoke from the burning bodies obscured his vision.
Luckily for Seol-Hwi, the Simulation was working, and there were six red dots in his sight.
Of the eight Soulless, one was gone because of Seol-Hwi’s attack, and the rest were still active.
However, three of them were moving in on him.
“Rarrrgh!”
One of the Kangshi rushed towards Seol-Hwi, but he simply blew its head away and then jumped up - because one of the Soulless was nearby.
<Using Supreme Wind God.>
The winds filled with blue light swept over the Soulless and the Kangshi around him.
They were torn up into tiny pieces without even having a chance to resist.
Six left.
Seol-Hwi counted the remaining Soulless. There were two of them on his left side.
This time though, they were ready to escape. As soon as Seol-Hwi moved, they began to run away.
Seol-Hwi swung his sword at them.
There was some distance between Seol-Hwi and the Soulless, but the effect of his attack was sufficient.
A cold mist spread out, and caught the feet of one of the Soulless. The ice froze his body, and Seol-Hwi immediately closed in and beheaded him.
Now… one more…?
Seol-Hwi thought the other Soulless was still running away, but the notification from the system said otherwise.
<‘Soulless 6’ has found a gap in Seol-Hwi. How will you respond?>
He remembered that among the abilities the Soulless had, self destruction was one of them.
▶ Decide on my own ▷ Leave it to the system
Turn-based actually gave him different options from before. Seol-Hwi was glad for this, because he quickly chose the first option.
<You have chosen to ‘Decide on my own’.>
Boom!
The Soulless self-destructed, yet no damage was brought to Seol-Hwi, because of a certain skill that was activated in time.
<Using Thrift Wind Sword>
Seol-Hwi’s body flickered, as he became temporarily invincible due to his ability.
Thanks to this, even though the Kangshi self-destructed at close range, Seol-Hwi was not injured.
He returned to his normal state and looked around.
“Four left.”
Seol-Hwi sighed and began to run.
