Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 202

Nangseon’s Adventures – Episode 201

The crimson sky.

The red earth, teeming with crimson demons.

Amidst them, San-gun’s face grew increasingly grim.

There seemed to be no easy solution.

The Anti-Demon Divine Artifact prevented the demons from getting close, but that was its only function.

Unless he could find a way to actually defeat them, it would be difficult to survive in this place.

“If there’s any consolation,” he said, “it’s that time flows differently here compared to the outside world.”

He had been wondering why Sip-gui was only defending in his true form since they arrived, but after their conversation, he finally understood.

It had already been over a week since he crossed the gate. Even though he followed immediately, that much time had passed. Fortunately, only a moment would pass outside, even if they lingered here for a while.

‘I don’t need to worry about the Golden Ring Eclipse,’ he thought.

But that was only if they managed to escape this demon’s lair.

-Kiyaaaaak!!

A demon, with a confidence he couldn’t fathom, screamed and charged.

It vanished instantly upon touching the barrier’s sword array, but the demons’ reaction was unusual.

The ones who had been retreating began to move forward, one by one.

Woong.

The air rippled, and a demon reappeared.

The re-summoned demon screamed and charged straight into the barrier’s sword array.

-Kiyaak!!

The demon disappeared, and soon another demon appeared.

“Could it be that bastard….”

The re-summoned demon landed on the ground and immediately charged. It was the same one from before.

“This isn’t good.”

“What do you mean?”

“Those guys are re-summoned even if they die. They’re practically immortal.”

“R, really?”

“Which means….”

San-gun’s eyes narrowed.

“Even the ones who were afraid of my barrier’s Anti-Demon Divine Artifact will throw themselves at it like that guy.”

As if on cue.

-Kiyaaaaak!

-Kyaaaak!!

-Kueeee!!

The other demons, as if losing their fear, began to jump in like madmen.

Paang!

Peoong!

The demons disappeared as soon as they touched the barrier, but the Anti-Demon Divine Artifact began to shake gradually.

Thousands of them charged simultaneously, disappeared in an instant, and then reappeared to jump in again.

The power of each one was weak, but it was a tactic made possible by the sheer number of demons and their immortal bodies.

“Yook-gui, what are you going to do?”

“Do you have any good ideas?”

“I wouldn’t be asking if I did….”

San-gun’s eyes turned cold.

Sip-gui scratched the back of his head sheepishly, but Ho-ri spoke confidently.

“I don’t have any either! You dragged us in here, so you deal with it, Yook-gui!”

“Haa….”

What a bunch of useless bastards. It was like he was carrying around two burdens instead of companions.

But either way, he had to overcome this situation.

San-gun pondered for a moment and tapped his wrist.

“Tam-hwa.”

Then, the centipede coiled around his wrist slithered off and opened its mouth to spit something out.

Hudududuk.

“Centipedes?”

What Tam-hwa spat out were small centipedes.

The number was countable on one hand, but it quickly multiplied.

As the centipedes multiplied to the point of filling his feet, the corners of San-gun’s lips curved upward.

‘Will this work?’

Soon, Tam-hwa, who had transformed into a human, gestured and commanded.

“Go!”

Hundreds of centipedes spread out in all directions at once and charged at the demons.

The demons tried to beat the centipedes, but their numbers were too great, and they were as hard as diamonds, making it difficult.

And little by little…

“They’re eating them?”

The centipedes were eating the demons.

The demons also tried to swallow the centipedes, but it was a foolish act.

The centipedes either pierced through the demons’ bellies or gnawed at them from the inside.

Instantly, the demons’ screams echoed in all directions.

A smile spread across San-gun’s face.

But that was only for a moment.

The number of demons being eaten exceeded a hundred, then a thousand, but they were re-summoned and landed on the ground.

Eating them couldn’t completely kill the demons.

In addition to that…

“Their numbers have increased.”

Now, the number of demons had increased to tens of thousands, not just thousands.

This also seemed to be the arrangement of the immortal [referring to a celestial being or powerful entity].

“Damn it….”

A curse word escaped him involuntarily.

He couldn’t figure out how to get rid of the demons.

He ordered Tam-hwa to call the centipedes back.

The demons, enraged, threw themselves at the barrier’s sword array all at once.

Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of demons instantly surrounded all sides.

They turned to ashes as soon as they touched, but they didn’t stop.

“Damn it, you bastards!!”

Peo-eok!

From inside the barrier, Ho-ri threw a punch and shattered a demon’s jaw.

Then, he quickly retracted his fist, entered the barrier, and taunted them.

“You must have been scared stiff, right?”

Peo-eok!

Peok peo-eok peok!

“Where do these little punks think they’re coming from!”

Out of nowhere, he started blowing away their jaws from inside the barrier, provoking them as he did so.

‘What is he doing?’

Sip-gui, watching the scene, seemed to find it amusing and approached to join in the punching.

“Try this Sip-gui’s Tathagata Vajra Fist!” [Tathagata refers to the Buddha, and Vajra Fist implies an indestructible or powerful punch]

Peo-eoong!!

What Tathagata was and what Vajra Fist was, he didn’t know, but it seemed perfect for relieving stress as he beat them.

But San-gun felt an inexplicable rage rising at the sight of the two acting according to their whims.

“What are you doing right now?”

While some were racking their brains about how to escape, they were playing around like that, so how could he not be angry?

“There’s no good plan, so isn’t it better to beat up even one of these bastards than to be racking our brains?”

“What kind of….”

It was a waste of energy.

Wouldn’t it be better to save that stamina and put it into thinking?

As San-gun was about to say more, he discovered a demon lying dead on the ground.

Its jaw was blown away, probably by Ho-ri.

At that sight, San-gun stroked his chin and began to ponder deeply.

The dead demon soon disappeared.

And it was often re-summoned in its original form.

However, the demon that had been beaten by Ho-ri did not disappear.

It was just like a corpse.

‘Come to think of it….’

It was the same when he entered this place.

Didn’t he push the door open with pure brute force?

“Ah….”

He seemed to understand now.

“Did you figure something out?”

At Ho-ri’s question, San-gun looked down at his fist.

His body, having achieved the Gyuncheon Bohwa [likely a martial arts or cultivation technique], was like a precious sword, and he possessed a very sturdy body because he was nurturing Jangchung Jitae [another technique] within him.

He was confident that his body was sturdier than that of a same-level Yooksa [a rank or title], and that he possessed great strength.

He was confident that he could compete with Jiseon or Yeongwon with his physical strength alone.

‘I’ve never really used it properly.’

It was a body that he hadn’t had the chance to use because of his powerful divine abilities and treasures.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he was letting it rot.

‘I see why they created this kind of gate.’

It was the immortal’s test and trial.

A smile formed on his lips.

“This reminds me of the old days.”

He was reminded of the time when he commanded Mount Baek [likely a significant location or event in his past].

He hadn’t moved his body around that much since then!

Cheok!

He took a stance.

Feet shoulder-width apart.

Fists at his waist.

Twisting his body, he unleashed it in an instant.

Kwaaaang!!

San-gun’s pressure instantly burst the demons. Only someone with a body like San-gun’s could create such harmony with pure brute force.

Amidst the corpses of the demons falling down, San-gun’s smile lingered.

* * *

An hour later.

San-gun, panting heavily, lay on the ground covered in blood.

“Ugh!”

Beside him, Gu-gui and Sip-gui were also in the same state, even retching from how breathless they were.

The spot where they lay was pooled with blood, but no one cared.

“I almost died, whew….”

“But we survived!”

Sip-gui and Gu-gui spoke with short sighs and tones filled with joy.

Their breaths were rough and heavy, but their moods seemed as light as feathers.

“Who would have known! That those bastards who wouldn’t die no matter what we did would die so easily to martial arts… As expected, there’s meaning and a path in every gesture and movement of this body.”

He was doing well, but then he spouted nonsense again.

“Sip-gui, no matter what, that’s not it! Isn’t it because of this lady’s foresight that we were able to defeat them smoothly!”

Gu-gui tried to shut Sip-gui’s mouth, but it was useless.

They were all living for their own self-importance.

San-gun, who had expected something for nothing, 벌떡 stood up from his spot and looked around the area.

The sight of the corpses of over ten thousand demons piled up like mountains was both gruesome and relieving.

‘If the first gate is this much….’

Then how powerful would the demons coming out of the second and third gates be?

Just thinking about it made his knees weak.

However, the rewards were appropriate, so he felt a desire to try again if he had the chance next time.

That was because these demons were, after all, a kind of test, and at the end of the test, a sweet reward always awaited.

Seureureuk.

The demons’ corpses turned to ashes and gathered, creating a gate.

Kkiiik.

A circular gate appeared in the air, and the door opened behind it.

Paat!

The red sky.

The red earth.

The red demons all disappeared into a puff of smoke, and the world turned dark.

All that remained was the picturesque scenery visible through the gate, and the sumptuous feast prepared as if to welcome them.

San-gun immediately pushed the door open and entered.

Then, all sorts of delicious aromas and the sweet smell of alcohol stimulated his nose.

There was a table with a classic appearance, and on it were all sorts of delicacies and luxurious bottles of alcohol, and tableware.

Just smelling it made his stomach rumble and an irresistible appetite arose.

“Is this what they call turning misfortune into fortune? They make us suffer like dogs and then treat us like this! But at least they have a conscience! Keuhaha!”

“Smells good!”

Gu-gui and Sip-gui immediately ran to the table, sat down, and tore into a chicken leg.

The way they devoured it greedily resembled pigs.

‘They’re practically inhaling it.’

He chuckled and looked around, carefully examining whether there might be any traps.

A small waterfall with cold water falling, along with picturesque strangely shaped rocks and a pavilion on top, added to the otherworldly scenery.

A pine tree that seemed like an immortal would ride a crane and descend at any moment, and a medicinal herb field with rare spiritual herbs.

There was nothing particularly special, but the energies they exuded were not ordinary.

Even San-gun, who was knowledgeable about spiritual herbs, had never heard of many of them. There were grasses made entirely of gold and others as transparent as jewels.

‘These are spiritual herbs that I’ve never seen in the lower realm… Could they be celestial herbs that only grow in the celestial realm?’

That wasn’t all.

“This isn’t an ordinary pine tree either.”

It didn’t emit any spiritual energy, but when he examined it with Danryeong Geumjeong [likely a technique or ability to perceive energy], he could faintly see something.

San-gun tilted his head and plucked a few pine needles to smell.

Strangely, it didn’t smell like pine, but like sweet peaches.

He thought about trying to eat one, but then he changed his mind and carefully put it in his pocket.

Even if it was a seemingly ordinary pine tree, if it grew in the celestial realm, he couldn’t recklessly consume it.

He had to be careful because he didn’t know what kind of side effects might occur.

The expression on San-gun’s face, after looking around for a while, was full of joy. Even a single tile of the pavilion was not ordinary.

If he took them all and examined them, he could gain great enlightenment or greatly improve his treasures.

The wood that made up the pavilion.

The tiles that covered the thatched roof.

The pond in front of the pavilion.

The trees planted around it.

Nothing could be overlooked.

He even went so far as to examine the strangely shaped rocks and soil in this place.

“Yook-gui! If you don’t come quickly, we’ll eat it all!”

Ho-ri shouted, patting his stomach.

It seemed he had already finished eating.

“It looks like you’ve already eaten everything.”

“But we left some for you to eat.”

Gu-gui held out a plate.

In the plate were skewers, flower cakes, and a few pieces of venison.

“We were about to eat it, but we thought of you and put it aside, so eat it gratefully!”

“Hmm, I put the flower cakes in.”

They were both showing off.

All that food had disappeared, and this was all that was left, which was truly amazing.

He had only looked around for a moment, but how could the food disappear so quickly?

He laughed in disbelief, and Gu-gui and Sip-gui scratched the back of their necks or looked away, embarrassed.

Soon, he sat down and picked up his chopsticks.

Still, shouldn’t he try the food that was no different from the immortal’s arrangement?

San-gun picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and immediately put it in his mouth.

The meat, which melted as soon as it entered his mouth, spread a deep flavor throughout his tongue.

“……It’s not good.”

And it didn’t taste good.

No.

It tasted like medicine and was very bitter.

He couldn’t understand how the meat could taste as astringent as an unripe persimmon.

He glanced up, and Gu-gui’s mouth was twisted. Sip-gui was the same.

“Try the skewers too.”

Seeing him say that with a meaningful smile, the skewers were probably the same.

He wondered why they had left only this, but it was because it didn’t taste good.

‘These bastards….’

He thought about saying something, but then he firmly closed his mouth.

“That’s very kind of you.”

Out of the blue, he thanked them and ate the remaining flower cakes, meat, and skewers in one gulp.

He ate everything on the plate, scraped up all the bad-tasting food left on the table, and put it on his plate.

San-gun, who had been laughing at Gu-gui and Sip-gui, who were wondering what was going on, ate it all in front of them and patted his stomach.

“What’s wrong with your tongue?”

“I know, right.”

San-gun’s words, directed at Gu-gui and Sip-gui, who were looking at him as if he were some kind of weirdo, struck deep into their hearts.

“Originally, what’s bitter is good for the body.”