Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 149

Nangseon Gi Hwan Dam – 148

Fist-shaped, multicolored blades of light slammed into Ogre’s protective barrier.

The stone pillars planted in the four cardinal directions, and the small Bodhisattva figures, were torn apart instantly, leaving no trace.

Startled, Ogre clasped his hands together in a gesture of prayer and extended his palm, but it was futile.

[Kkuiieeeeeeeek!!]

Kwaaaang!!

With a deafening roar, his massive body crashed through buildings and was thrown backward.

Thump! Thump! Thump!!

Only after being pushed back three hundred yards was Ogre able to regain his balance. He looked down at his arms.

His trembling hands were covered in sword marks, as if they had been hacked to pieces, and red flames were rising, filling the air with the pungent smell of burning flesh.

Aghast, he tried to extinguish the red flames, but the fire wouldn’t go out.

Ogre’s face turned pale, and he trembled before suddenly spewing a fountain of blood from his mouth.

Poouuu!! With just one move, the spiritual blood within his body had been shattered, and he had suffered severe internal injuries!

It was not just a Divine Power of the Early Eternal Realm.

Now, Ogre couldn’t think at all. He was simply terrified by the gaze staring down at him from the sky.

He opened his mouth, took out a massive greatsword, and cut off his own arms. Then, supported by the Gold Pig Tribe, he stood up.

Transformed into his true form, his pale face and bloodshot eyes looked utterly haggard. However, Mountain Lord stared intently with his hands behind his back. Only then did Ogre flinch and say something to the maid supporting him.

The maid took out the Gold Pig Statue from his arms and respectfully offered it to Mountain Lord.

“T-This…”

The maid, who had witnessed Mountain Lord’s might firsthand, trembled as she offered the statue.

Mountain Lord chuckled and took the statue.

“It seems my hand was too heavy. Wouldn’t you say I look like I’m taking things by force?”

He said with a benevolent face and gave the maid a bottle of elixirs good for internal injuries.

“I won’t go far.”

With that, Ogre and the Gold Pig Tribe, bearing their humiliation, fled the Red Sea.

Everything had happened so quickly that everyone was dumbfounded. Ninth Ogre, Hongyeon, and even Seventh Ogre didn’t know what expressions to make and were flustered.

Even a woodlouse wouldn’t have known [a tiny, insignificant creature].

Who would have known that an Early Eternal Realm expert could obliterate a Middle Eternal Realm expert in a single move!

‘Ogre may be arrogant, but his Divine Power is not to be ignored,’ Seventh Ogre thought.

Seventh Ogre looked at Mountain Lord with interest, a deep smile on his face.

And within that, Jang Cheonman nodded in satisfaction, as if he knew it would happen.

* * *

After the haphazardly concluded festival, Mountain Lord returned to his residence.

Others seemed to want to talk more, but it couldn’t be helped.

Extracting Tamhwa, who was trapped in the Gold Pig Statue, was the priority, and he wanted to ask how he had been trapped.

Mountain Lord floated the Gold Pig Statue in the air, made a hand seal, and moved his lips, chanting an incantation.

Blue magical characters floated up and entered the Gold Pig Statue.

Soon, the eyes of the Gold Pig Statue flashed, and the statue immediately opened its mouth wide.

Then, a golden bead floated out leisurely, and a flash of light spread out.

After a moment.

A cute girl with onion bulb hair was standing before him.

“Tamhwa, you rascal.”

“Ah, Master! What is it?”

“What else? You were caught by some strange fellow, so I came to rescue you.”

Tamhwa didn’t understand the situation well, but after a gentle explanation, he seemed to remember and flapped around like a fish.

“That’s right! That pig was chasing me!”

“So, what did you do?”

“I hit him once, and he got really angry. We fought for a few days, and then suddenly it went dark. When I came to my senses, Master was there!”

Mountain Lord sighed.

He wanted to say more, but this time it wasn’t Tamhwa’s fault.

He was just unlucky.

“Next time, if you encounter another Yooksa [a type of spiritual practitioner] or Taoist while you are alone, run away. Your Divine Power may have reached the Eternal Realm, but it is not a complete Eternal Realm. Your only advantage is your strong body, so you are endlessly weak against sealing techniques, aren’t you?”

“Yeah… I was wrong.”

“Knowing is enough. Rather than that, there are many things I want to hear from you. How was Mount Baek?”

An hour later.

Mountain Lord laid the soundly sleeping Tamhwa in his chamber and sat by the window.

Then, Hwaran, who had suddenly appeared, wrapped her arms around his back.

“Why do you look so sad?”

“Do I?”

“You seemed a little lonely.”

Mountain Lord smiled bitterly and shook his head.

“She is also a woman striving for the Dao [spiritual path], so she could not have stayed on Mount Baek. They say Yoho is with her as well… She will return in due time, so it’s fine.”

Choa and Yoho were not on Mount Baek.

It had been a little over 300 years since they had left for training and had not reappeared, so he was worried.

However, everyone else seemed to be doing well. Mansam easily formed a spiritual core in the Youngmyung Realm, and so did Myunghwa of the Solar Flare.

Yeona had reached the final stage of the Flying Immortal Realm and was preparing to ascend, but what would happen was still unknown.

“Myunghwa and Mansam were not ordinary from the start, so it’s no surprise they entered the Youngmyung Realm.”

Mountain Lord read the letter Tamhwa had given him. It mentioned the Huna children who had come to Mount Baek and the Divine Tree, as well as the other sects that had come to learn about the potential of Mount Baek and the number of disciples.

It also quantified the resources and power of Mount Baek.

“As meticulous as ever.”

Only after carefully examining the several letters did he get up.

At that moment, Hwaran touched his shoulder and said with concern.

“Are you alright? Even so, making Ogre like that was not like you, Mountain Lord.”

That was not wrong.

It was Ogre, who seemed to be the leader of the Gold Pig Tribe.

He had thoroughly humiliated one of the Ghost Kings of the Ten Seas and Myriad Calamities, so he had earned a proper grudge. If it were anyone else, they would not be able to sleep soundly.

“It’s alright. I didn’t like him in the first place, and now that I am also in the Eternal Realm, I shouldn’t just hide my strength.”

Simply expressing strong power can attract everyone’s attention, but there are also clear benefits to be gained.

The rumors are amplified, and the amplified rumors can intimidate the opponent.

“Now it’s a power struggle.”

With those words, Mountain Lord strode out of the room and went to Ninth Ogre.

Bang!

“Ugh! W-What is it!”

Ninth Ogre was with Seventh Ogre and Hongyeon, and they seemed to be talking about Mountain Lord.

“I need you to help me a little.”

“Help you?”

Ninth Ogre tilted his head, and Hongyeon and Seventh Ogre’s eyes flashed.

“Can I take that to mean you want to become a Ghost King?”

“Yes. I was hesitant because it felt a bit unsettling, but after thinking about it, there’s no harm in me becoming a Ghost King.”

Mountain Lord took out a spirit tablet from his chest and threw it to Seventh Ogre.

Seventh Ogre, who received the rough spirit tablet, recognized it and was startled.

It was the spirit tablet of Sixth Ogre, a symbol passed down to successive Ghost Kings!

“Where did you get this!”

“I… no, I had a bit of a friendship with Sixth Ogre before. Were you also friends with Sixth Ogre?”

At that question, Seventh Ogre calmed down, as if he had made a mistake, and nodded.

“My older sister was a bit close to Sixth Ogre. I never thought I would see his spirit tablet here. This spirit tablet was made during the Myriad Epoch Era and is passed down to successive Ghost Kings. Now, so much time has passed that there are only a handful of Ghost Kings who possess the spirit tablet. I don’t have one either.”

He looked at the spirit tablet with slightly lonely eyes and asked what Sixth Ogre’s end had been like.

Mountain Lord was surprised by the unexpected connection and told him about Sixth Ogre’s end.

While Mountain Lord’s story continued, Seventh Ogre showed surprise, embarrassment, and a wistful look.

“Foolish man. To hold onto the sword of someone who is already gone and go that far…”

Afterward, Seventh Ogre composed himself and announced that he would actively cooperate so that Mountain Lord could become a Ghost King, saying that this was also fate.

The same was true for Ninth Ogre, Hori.

“He clearly suffered a great internal injury and lost both arms, so he will have to waste decades to recover. He probably won’t be able to do anything in the near future.”

That was Hongyeon’s assessment.

Mountain Lord thought the same.

Since they had already exchanged words, he would not be able to do anything rashly.

That was fine for now.

The problem was later.

That was why he was trying to become a Ghost King, to be in a position where that guy could not touch him.

And later.

‘I need to settle my debts properly.’

There had to be a time to settle things properly. He didn’t want to be tied down to anything, but now he needed a backer to protect him in case of an emergency.

And to fend off the other guys who were eyeing Mount Baek, it wouldn’t be bad to have the title of Ghost King.

Of course, he would not reveal the title of Ghost King when he was on Mount Baek.

Mount Baek was a place where Yooksa and Taoists lived without rejecting each other, so if Mountain Lord became a Ghost King, it would surely cause chaos.

That was why he had hesitated to become a Ghost King, but now it couldn’t be helped.

It was better to secretly become a Ghost King and hold different forces in his hands.

That didn’t mean Mountain Lord could join the Taoists’ forces.

“The Hundred Ghost Night Parade is in four years at Dragon Hall (龍殿) [a grand hall or palace].”

[I will look forward to the birth of a new king there.]

Seventh Ogre left only those words and fluttered his feathery robes and disappeared.

The Hundred Ghost Night Parade was in four years.

That was when Mountain Lord would become a Ghost King.

“That’s a relief. Then…”

Now, all that was left to do was find and recover the Myriad Poisonous Flames and head to Mount Baek.

It would take time to find that guy, but he knew the general situation and had finished his work, so he could try calmly.

Moreover, he had also obtained a very interesting item thanks to that pig.

“The Gold Pig Statue.”

It was an item that Tamhwa had been trapped in and could not move. Furthermore, it was a treasure of the Gold Pig Tribe that even Mountain Lord, who was connected in a spiritual way, could not detect.

“With this, I might be able to catch the Myriad Poisonous Flames easily.”

Mountain Lord put the Gold Pig Statue in his chest and turned into a flame, heading north.

And one year later.

“Are you leaving now?”

“I have to go. You know who I am.”

He was Mountain Lord of Mount Baek.

It was only right to go to Mount Baek.

“Well, whatever… We’ll see each other again anyway.”

They would meet again at the Hundred Ghost Night Parade in three years… and if he really missed him, he could go to Mount Baek.

However, Black Hori looked only at the ground with a pout, as if he was a little sad.

“Come visit often.”

“It takes two weeks even if I fly at full speed, but you’re talking about it as lightly as if it’s the hill behind the neighborhood.”

“Where else would you go for a month? Are you going to come with me then?”

“No way. You’ve completely captured the Poisonous Flames, so I have to reclaim the north. I’m a busy person, you know!”

Mountain Lord smiled bitterly and nodded.

He spoke like a fool, but as she said, the Red Sea would now be busy reclaiming the north.

They would have to restore the spiritual stone veins and land that had been in the north.

“Come visit once you’re done. I’ll repay you properly at Mount Baek for what you’ve received.”

After saying that.

Mountain Lord took out the Hwaunbanhong [a giant stingray mount].

“See you again.”

The giant stingray slowly ascended into the sky, spewing red fire clouds.

Soon, the Hwaunbanhong carrying Mountain Lord dyed the Red Sea sky red and disappeared into a dot far away.

“You could have followed him.”

Hongyeon, who had been quietly watching, said.

“Leave the reclamation of the north to me and you can follow him.”

Honestly, Hori did not have much to do. It would not matter if she followed him.

Most of the work was originally done by Hongyeon anyway.

However, Hori shook his head.

“I can’t just stay like a fool forever. That Daeho guy is always trying to move forward, so how can I stay in the same place? That won’t do.”

I want to walk side by side.

With those words, Ninth Ogre turned around and returned to the Volcanic Pavilion.

Hongyeon followed behind him with a satisfied face, thanking Mountain Lord.