Chapter 318 – The Final Touch (4)

The final touch had to be done decisively.

Hong Yeon-hwa seemed a bit hesitant about my argument, but she soon acquiesced and followed along.

First, we quickly treated the members of our group who were still unconscious or unable to move.

Then, we cleanly cremated the bodies of the blood demons and purified the area of their essence.

Well… it took a long time because there was so much blood that the blood demons had collected, and some of our group members were groaning in pain, so we decided to rest here for the day.

And the next day at lunchtime.

“Oh, fuck me!”

Everyone had recovered completely except for me.

Of course. They had only experienced severe exhaustion, and their injuries were not that serious.

Thanks to that, unlike me, who had been completely beaten up, they were able to recover in just one day.

Paeng So-so, looking worriedly at me as I lay sprawled on the ground, asked, “Jin Ga-ga, are you really struggling that much?”

“To be honest, it’s not that painful thanks to Yeon-hwa… but… I don’t have any strength. I don’t even want to move, and even breathing feels like a hassle…”

Hong Yeon-hwa, who was sitting next to me, touched my face gently and nodded her head.

“It seems like you’re experiencing mental exhaustion. When your inner energy and stamina are depleted, even if you exert excessive determination, you end up in the same state as you are now.”

“Oh? There’s such a thing? Then, when will I recover, my lady?”

There was no need for her to ask, but Samamaeng, who had been diligently massaging my arms and legs, asked Hong Yeon-hwa after a moment of contemplation.

“The depletion of determination takes longer to recover. At the fastest, three days. At the longest, it could continue like this for a week or more.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I know well because there were times when you fell into a state of exhaustion when you were creating the Heavenly Demon Formation.”

“Ah, I see.”

Heukgeom Daeju, who had been alternating between looking at the map and the surroundings, reacted to Hong Yeon-hwa’s words.

The terrain had completely changed due to the blood demons turning the mountain upside down, so he seemed busy trying to figure out our current location…

Yet, Hong Yeon-hwa’s voice could still be heard clearly.

Heukgeom Daeju glanced at me for a moment and then spoke in a casual tone.

“At that time, I carried you, the Heavenly Demon Lord, who was rolling around in the training ground. This time, I will carry you all the way to the main headquarters of the Divine Sect…”

“That’s not going to happen!”

“Yeah! That’s not gonna work!”

“There must be another way.”

“That’s a bit tricky…”

Heukgeom Daeju was met with fierce opposition from my women, and he just blinked his eyes absentmindedly.

Hong Yeon-hwa gently reprimanded him with a soothing tone.

“Of course, it’s not that I don’t trust Heukgeom Daeju. It’s not that I don’t trust my husband. It’s just… because there’s precedent, I reacted a bit sensitively.”

“Precedent… What do you mean?”

“Yes. When Mang carried the fallen general like this in a situation just like this…”

“My, my wife?! Didn’t we agree to keep that a secret?”

Panicking, Samamaeng tried to cover Hong Yeon-hwa’s mouth.

Come to think of it, that’s right. Samamaeng said he got excited by the smell of me when he carried me, who was poisoned, to the cave.

“But that’s Samamaeng’s preference…”

“Everyone, please calm down!”

“Ugh! Ugh!”

As Hong Yeon-hwa and I struggled to cover Samamaeng’s mouth, Heukgeom Daeju smiled strangely and opened his mouth with a guilty voice.

“But… if we don’t do something like this, we really haven’t been of any help. I feel deeply sorry that we’ve only been a burden.”

Heukgeom Daeju’s voice sounded a bit melancholic. The atmosphere among the other Divine Sect officials, including Maenyo, also darkened.

Well, I can’t blame them.

They followed along, thinking they had become strong themselves, but then something like the blood demons appeared.

Even I would have had my self-esteem shattered.

But it was only because the blood demons were too strong, not because they were weak.

Above all…

“Don’t say such things.”

Lying down, I raised my head slightly and looked at each one of them.

“You all did your part. If even one person was missing, we wouldn’t have been able to defeat the blood demons that turned into dragons.”

That’s the truth.

It was really close back then.

Since Myeongwoljin couldn’t let go of me, if they hadn’t sacrificed themselves to restrain the blood demons, it would have been really dangerous.

Either I would have swung my sword recklessly and ended up with no results, or I would have been pierced by their magic… or someone else would have died in my place.

Of course, I wouldn’t have been able to rescue Hong Yeon-hwa from the hands of the blood demons either.

“So please, don’t blame yourselves too much.”

“Mmm. I also share the same thoughts. After all, I had the intention to take a break for a while. It was because you all fought for me.”

“Lord of the Heavenly Demon…”

The officials were all moved to tears, as if preparing for a grand emotional moment.

Seeing that, Hong Yeon-hwa was slightly taken aback and raised both hands.

“Oh my. It’s still too early for that. For now, leave the moving to me.”

After saying that, Hong Yeon-hwa closed her eyes for a moment… and soon opened them again.

And something changed.

“Huh?”

It’s hard to explain exactly what it was, but it felt a bit more familiar, if that makes sense?

Maybe it’s just me, but the group seemed a bit uneasy, their heads tilted in confusion. We hadn’t even figured out the true nature of the discomfort yet.

Kwaaaah!

A storm of immense internal energy surged around Hong Yeon-hwa.

The Heavenly Demon’s power.

The foundation and culmination of the Heavenly Demon’s martial arts.

Now, the demonic aura that had started to feel somewhat familiar stared down at us.

“Huh…? Did your internal energy turn into magic again?”

“What’s the big deal? If the lady put it down, she can pick it up again, can’t she?”

It was as if they were stating the obvious, like saying that a duck-billed platypus is a mammal that lays eggs.

While I was momentarily dumbfounded, the giant demon’s hand landed in front of us.

“It was my first time trying it, but it turned out quite well.”

The giant demon, amidst the dark aura, raised its pink lips, revealing a mischievous smile.

“Go ahead. You can leap to the Infinite Realm in one breath like this.”

The Heavenly Demon’s Taxi, Mu-ya.

***

We discussed various matters that needed to be addressed in the future while Hong Yeon-hwa’s hand was still above us.

We had gone through hardships, but in the end, we had won, so we could confidently announce that we had resolved the issue with the blood demons.

The problem now was what came next.

First, the wedding.

There was no longer any reason to delay the wedding since there were no more issues regarding the blood demons.

Moreover, since the high-ranking officials of the Divine Sect, excluding the Suragumma, were gathered here, and we, the parties involved, were present, the wedding preparations were proceeding smoothly.

Originally, we had planned to pour all the resources of the Heavenly Demon Sect into the wedding ceremony…

But after Samamaeng promised to provide various materials through the Sado Union, we decided to raise the stakes a bit more.

To the level of a royal event.

Actually, I didn’t want to draw too much attention from the royal family. It was more about restraining ourselves to a certain extent, considering that we weren’t exactly poor.

After all, I still had the reward money I received from the Royal Martial Arts Tournament.

On the other hand, we may not have much money in this world, but we don’t have the royal family either.

So we decided to hold the wedding ceremony on a grand scale right here.

Instead, we gave up on the second wedding ceremony that was planned on the other side and decided to invite a few close relatives here.

Well… even if they’re called close relatives, it’s just the elders of the Peng Clan, the fathers-in-law, and the two most trusted divine beings, Samamaeng and Myeongwoljin.

It shouldn’t be too burdensome for Myeongwoljin.

…By the way, how should I reward Myeongwoljin?

I fought against the blood demons for my women, and my women fought for me. And the people of the Divine Sect fought against the blood demons for the Heavenly Demon, Hong Yeon-hwa.

Everyone had their own reasons for fighting against the blood demons, but Myeongwoljin didn’t really have a reason to do so.

He could have escaped on his own, and even though I said it was fine, he stayed until the end and helped us.

If I were to rely solely on the treasures I obtained from the Martial Arts Tournament and the treasures given to me by the Gae Bang and Bi Go, it wouldn’t be enough.

I’ll have to talk to Hong Yeon-hwa about this later in detail.

If everything up until now was a pleasant concern, the next one was a truly serious concern.

The testament left by the blood demons.

If their words were true, this world would slowly head towards destruction.

It’s not just a simple drought that will end if we endure, it will continue endlessly.

But we can’t rely solely on Namman and Seoyeok, or on the other world through Samamaeng.

There are too many people living in Jungwon, and there will be even more in the future.

There is only one solution in the end.

Slowly. Taking a long time to migrate the people here to the other side.

Fortunately, we have the Sado Union.

An organization created with the purpose of gathering the Sapamun who could cause trouble and managing them in plain sight.

Thanks to that, even if Samamaeng brings unknown Sapamun, they will just be doing their own work.

Well, when we go later, the royal family or the Mureum Alliance will realize that something is strange… but by then, it will be too late.

The Sado Union, which absorbed the Sapamun of the Heavenly Demon Sect, will no longer be called the Sado Union.

It will become a pseudo-religious group that has united under the name of Cheonma, a living god, rather than a loose alliance of mediocre Sapamun.

Yes. If I were to put it bluntly, it would be like a branch of the Cheonma Religion, right?

Anyway, as we were deciding on the future tasks one by one.

Suddenly, Hong Yeon-hwa called me with an excited voice.

“My lord! My lord!”

“What is it?”

“What do you think about building a grand hall as our newlywed house?”

“No. Denied.”

“Hiiing….”

The demon with a sinister face followed Hong Yeon-hwa and started to cry.

“You can’t make that expression either.”

It’s not like we’re Hansel and Gretel.

Firmly shaking my head, I turned my gaze away.

In the distance, the dragon that had been split in half was gradually getting smaller.

At the same time, the future that seemed unattainable was getting closer and closer.