Chapter 2583 – 2583. The Ascent To Guangming

I arrived at the monster city.

It wasn’t a city of enormous size. It was about ten times larger than a monster village. Like the village, it was protected by magic. However, the source of the magic was different from the village.

‘A giant monster tree embedded in the city center is protecting the city.’

The One-Horned Black Tree.

Its exterior was that of a massive black tree, but there was a human face-like formation on its trunk. A single horn protruded from its forehead.

That wasn’t the only unique thing about it. This thing’s roots were connected to the ley line. It could draw and use the spiritual energy of the ley line. In exchange, it had given up something.

“General? What’s wrong?”

When I remained silent, On Gyowi, who was beside me, asked.

“The One-Horned Black Tree is casting magic from the city center. It has noticed our arrival and is preparing for battle. The plan to enter the city and sweep it away is canceled. There’s a higher chance we’ll be countered by its clones planted throughout the city.”

I had to accumulate merit. I couldn’t waste soldiers like water. If the soldiers were annihilated here, my reputation would fall, and my achievements would be diminished.

“So, are you giving up?”

“No. I’m changing the plan. At this distance, you can also sense the magic protecting the city. You will surround the city and wait until I kill the One-Horned Black Tree. The moment the One-Horned Black Tree dies, and the magic is lifted, advance into the city and massacre the monsters.”

“Understood. We will follow the General’s orders.”

I let the soldiers down to the ground. The soldiers moved in an orderly fashion. They quickly surrounded the city using their lightness skills. It was possible because it wasn’t as large as the cities of the Empire.

I flew towards the city center, leading with the Vajra Lightning imbued with anti-demon power. I successfully entered the city.

The One-Horned Black Tree, of course, didn’t stay still. It moved thousands of branches and used magic. Several spells were created in an instant and flew towards me. From simply throwing fireballs to curse-type spells that weakened the body.

‘It’s splitting the spell formulas and assigning them to the branches. A kind of division of labor. It can use near-infinite spiritual energy by planting its roots in the ley line… It can be called a non-stop magic factory.’

Looking at it this way, it seemed incredibly strong, but in reality, it was different. Even if it was a magic factory, its size was small. There was a limit to its output.

The spells flying towards me were blocked by my protective aura just before they reached my body. In terms of power alone, they were by no means weak. The One-Horned Black Tree was at least in the mid-stage of the Three Purities, so it couldn’t be weak.

‘Moreover, the helmet I’m wearing, the Cloud Dragon Pearl, protects me from magic. It can’t nullify the magic itself, but it weakens the magic that harms me.’

I pushed forward, breaking through hundreds of spells. Of course, there were a few spells that looked truly dangerous. But the Eye of Lightning couldn’t be deceived. As soon as I grasped the spells, I intercepted them with the Vajra Lightning and the Hundred Battle Spear.

As the distance closed, the One-Horned Black Tree opened its mouth.

“…You’re grasping all the spells I’m unleashing. How is that possible… Is it that eye? What do you see with that eye?!”

“I see everything about you. Including the Light Burst spell you’re preparing.”

“You came knowing that? You arrogant fool! At this distance, the power of the Light Burst is absolute. Die!!”

The horn of the One-Horned Black Tree glowed. The light split into dozens of strands, then merged again and poured towards me.

Lightning Heaven Style (雷天流) – Ten Thousand Lightnings (卍雷).

The rotating lightning that appeared in the air blocked the Light Burst. The essence of the Light Burst was ultimately a mass of energy. It was neutralized by the Ten Thousand Lightnings, which was also a form of energy.

“My Light Burst spell is blocked by that kind of energy technique…?!”

“I’ve already grasped your magic. I can immediately see which parts are vulnerable. I can see the strategy in real-time.”

Crackling!

The lightning emanating from my body pierced through the spells pouring from the One-Horned Black Tree. It was possible because I understood the essence of the spells.

“…You’ve truly grasped all my magic. It’s an unbelievable skill. That eye is like… the eye of the famous Great Sage Equaling Heaven! How did a human like you obtain that eye, that technique?!”

“Do you think I’d tell you?”

“It doesn’t matter! I’ll kill you myself, devour you, and find the clue to that eye…!”

The ground shook.

The roots of the One-Horned Black Tree, which had been buried in the ground, all shot upwards at once. Thousands of roots, filled with energy, surged towards me.

Crackling!

Black lightning flashed.

I stomped the ground with my raised right foot.

Boom!

Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功) – Heavenly Demon’s Descent Step (天魔君臨步).

The shockwave spread in all directions, dominating the space. The roots that were rushing towards me stopped in their tracks.

A brief gap forcibly created in a desperate situation.

I spread my arms wide. I bent all ten fingers. Crackling! Black lightning sparked from my fingertips. I grabbed the intangible space and rotated my body.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功) – Heavenly Demon Dragon’s Return (回天魔龍) – Heaven and Earth Return (天地回天).

The space dominated by the Heavenly Demon’s Descent Step twisted and rotated. The One-Horned Black Tree within the space floated into the sky and fell, and its roots were forcibly torn apart in mid-air.

“Kuaaaaaaaak!”

Looking at the falling One-Horned Black Tree, I stretched my hand towards the sky.

‘Meteor Sword.’

A giant meteor sword was instantly created in the sky. I grabbed the meteor sword with my will and swung it at the One-Horned Black Tree. The blade of the meteor sword sliced through the One-Horned Black Tree and the city and disappeared.

The corpse of the One-Horned Black Tree, split in half, twitched for a moment before turning into dust and disappearing.

“I just wanted to become an immortal through cultivation… Ah… how resentful…”

In the place where its corpse had been, a black branch with immense spiritual energy was left behind.

I picked up the branch and examined it.

‘Instead of a core, this is what’s left. It’s filled with spiritual energy, not demonic power… It seems to be the effect of planting its roots in the ley line and sucking it up. It absorbed the spiritual energy of the ley line, but it couldn’t use it because it didn’t have the ability.’

It wasn’t a spiritual medicine. But it was an excellent material for magical artifacts. In addition, it contained immense spiritual energy, so it could be used in various ways.

I put it in my inventory.

‘There are a total of five disciples of the Six-Horned Demon King. One-Horned, Two-Horned, and Four-Horned are dead by my hand, and Three-Horned was killed by my predecessor, General Mujin, so only Five-Horned is left. There’s less information about Five-Horned than the Six-Horned. Where is it?’

If possible, I wanted to deal with it before fighting the Six-Horned Demon King. I wanted to avoid a situation where it would interfere during the battle and I would have to face both of them at the same time.

It was then. Suddenly, a presence appeared beside me. It was too late when I noticed it. A dagger, carrying killing intent, aimed for my neck.

[Crisis Detection is activated. Remaining stacks: 7]

The Instantaneous Movement was automatically activated. Thanks to that, I was able to dodge. I quickly pulled my body back and checked the enemy.

It was a woman with five horns and ten eyes. I clicked my tongue as I saw the woman’s name.

I almost died. If it weren’t for the Crisis Detection, I would have really died once. I was slightly sweating because there had never been such a dangerous enemy. Above all, I was activating the Eye of Lightning. Yet, I didn’t notice it until she swung the dagger.

“Five-Horned Multi-Eyed. Were you hiding nearby? How did you feel watching your fellow disciple die? Did you like it?”

“He was a pitiful one. So, at the very least… as a fellow disciple serving the same master, I will avenge him.”

Five-Horned Multi-Eyed held the dagger in reverse and walked. The light touching her body flickered and refracted, and then Five-Horned Multi-Eyed’s figure disappeared.

‘Even if she’s at a higher level than me, she can escape the Eye of Lightning’s gaze in an instant?’

Lightning Heaven Style (雷天流) – Electromagnetic Wave (電磁氣波).

Even when I spread the electromagnetic waves, I couldn’t detect her.

Various hypotheses came to mind. The first thing that came to mind was teleportation. Five-Horned Multi-Eyed appearing and ambushing me by teleporting outside my perception range. This was impossible. There was no way the Eye of Lightning wouldn’t detect the signs of teleportation.

Hypnosis or illusion? With Absolute Spirit, my mind couldn’t be manipulated. With the Eye of Lightning, it was also impossible to deceive my eyes.

‘This woman’s ability isn’t simple magic. It seems to be an ability that uses mental images… What is it?’

Fortunately, I had one more chance.

[Crisis Detection is activated. Remaining stacks: 2]

[Activating Genius Time for 10 seconds.]

Five-Horned Multi-Eyed was right in front of me, not behind or beside me. Right in front of me, she stabbed her dagger towards my neck.

I reached out and grabbed the dagger. It was possible because I had gloves on. As soon as her attack failed, Five-Horned Multi-Eyed threw away the dagger and disappeared with a flash of light like before.

“Ha. I see. It wasn’t teleportation, nor hypnosis or illusion. Even if you have eyes, you can’t see what you don’t look at. Even if you have excellent and perfect eyes, the human who controls those eyes is ultimately imperfect.”

The Eye of Lightning had been capturing Five-Horned Multi-Eyed from the beginning. It was just that I hadn’t noticed it.

Five-Horned Multi-Eyed had the ability to blend into the unconscious, not the conscious. Even though I had seen Five-Horned Multi-Eyed, I didn’t recognize it as Five-Horned Multi-Eyed. I just thought of it as part of the background, like a rock that was always there.

“You deceived not only my eyes but also my senses. In other words, you have the ability to distort information.”

“……”

I turned my head to the side. Five-Horned Multi-Eyed was there.

“Once I’ve grasped it, your tricks won’t work anymore.”

“……”

I grabbed the Hundred Battle Spear and ran towards Five-Horned Multi-Eyed. The ten eyes of Five-Horned Multi-Eyed glowed red and eerily. But nothing happened.

Thud!

My spear pierced Five-Horned Multi-Eyed’s heart. Five-Horned Multi-Eyed bled from her mouth and asked.

“…Why doesn’t my illusion work on you?”

“No illusion can work on me, even if a god came. For you, I’m your worst enemy, your natural predator. Quietly hand over your core and die.”

“…I don’t have a core to give you.”

Five-Horned Multi-Eyed burned her own core. Her body instantly turned to ashes and was swept away by the wind. It was so fast that there was no time to do anything.

“Tsk. If I had known, I would have cut her neck instead of piercing her heart.”

I guess I’m more suited to a sword than a spear.