The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-280

The 31st Piece Turns the Tables

Chapter 280

A soldier whose escape path was blocked turned to his pursuer and asked.

"How did you know…?"

"The smell."

Thud…

Thud…

"Kiii…"

A commotion erupted as several ghosts who had infiltrated the city were exterminated. It was clear that there really were internal enemies.

Many ghosts who had stolen the appearance of deceased Central Army soldiers were captured.

After this day, the attitude of the transferees in Seong Jo changed.

About a third of the transferees left Seong Jo, while those who remained decided to cooperate actively with the Central Army.

They could now be seen enthusiastically taking part in the training. Although it was called training, it was more about adapting to the formation.

Although small, the remaining transferees did receive some benefits.

They were assigned numerous missions related to defending the city, so they wouldn't be at a loss if they could survive this ordeal.

Paf!

Whoosh!

Kotaro fiercely swung a wooden sword at Seol.

Seol dodged the wooden sword by twisting his waist and then using his leg to pull Kotaro's hamstring, breaking his posture.

"Ugh…"

Swoosh—!

Seol's palm reached Kotaro's neck but went no further.

"Oof… Oof… Thanks for your effort."

"Thanks for your effort!"

The transferees bowed their heads.

In no time, the attitudes of the transferees toward Seol changed significantly. Like trainees who came to a dojo for training, they followed Seol around, eager to learn as much as possible.

- But I have nothing to teach you, lol.

- I told you, I'm a summoner.

"Wow… Did you see that?"

"How does he move like that? I can't do it."

"There's no way you could. Isn't he the transferee with the most Points?

"Probably not? I heard they fight endlessly in other places… but this place does have some breaks, right?"

"That's true…"

In Pandea, there were magicians who used martial arts and swordsmen who used magic.

Most abilities were obtainable if you set your mind to them.

Since all abilities followed a basic formula, there was no need to be discouraged if something didn't work since you would eventually be able to use them as your stats increased.

Seol spent some time interacting with the transferees. He couldn’t gain much from them, but his connection to the Central Army allowed the transferees to integrate more smoothly—that's why he kept interacting with them.

* * *

With the afternoon break over, it was time for the daily meeting, a routine they had followed since they were dispatched here.

A Central Army Staff Officer led the meeting, and numerous agendas were discussed based on the defense situation.

"Forty-two in total… There were so many ghosts in such a small city. No wonder so many ghosts were around this place." yawned Chi Woo.

The Staff Officer addressed a related issue.

"The barrier talismans you have sent have been placed in various locations."

Thanks to this, Jamad had the chance to showcase his other skills. He wasn't just skilled in combat—he was also a Great Shaman. His wisdom and magic were on full display.

Much of this was due to the strange scripture, Life Shamanic Spell of the Dark. Seemingly aware of its power, Jamad tried to persuade Seol to search for more scriptures.

Seol Hong asked.

"What about additional support?"

"The Central Army says it will take some time to dispatch shamans."

"It seems the situation has escalated… so I guess we’re left with no other choice."

Seol Hong's words were on point.

The hypothesis that ghosts were behind the monster disturbances across Khan.

Seol Hong relayed this to the Dragon Palace through the archivists and began receiving reports about the situation.

"It seems the ghosts are fully committed. Traces of ghosts have been found in other cities too."

"Hmm… That's not good…"

They discussed a few more issues.

"Is it possible to repair the city’s cannons?"

"As per your orders, the repairs are underway. However, the cannons are too destructive to be suitable for defensive use."

"What about the walls?"

"They are being reinforced… But the citizens are exhausted."

"That's understandable… Not only did the last attack severely impact them, but they also have to prepare for the next one…"

Although it might seem advantageous to be on the defensive, in reality, that wasn't the case at all.

The enemies knew their every move, but they had no idea where the next attack would come.

In other words, they were constantly in a state of high tension.

Trained soldiers would likely manage, but ordinary citizens would probably struggle to endure such fear.

"Our resources are limited… and we can only drag out the situation for so long…"

"They must have taken considerable damage during the previous attack. That's why I think it's reasonable to assume our strength is comparable…"

The staff officer trailed off as he glanced at Biran, who was sitting beside Seol with a serious expression while drinking something.

"Biran, what are you drinking during duty?"

"The Dragon's Stone gave me this. I couldn't refuse his insistence…"

Biran blinked at Seol several times.

"Shouldn't this kind of thing be done discreetly?"

"I'll correct it."

"No, I’m not saying do it discreet… Hmm… never mind. What about the interrogation?"

"It didn't confess."

"Maybe we need to torture it more?"

"You should have seen it. I vomited as soon as I arrived. The interrogators from Khan are truly something else…"

"It's a necessary evil to save even one more citizen's life."

Seol silently listened to the meeting, lost in thought.

'Where did they come from?'

This question asked two things: first, where did the ghosts causing trouble all across Khan come from? And second, how did they manage to infiltrate Seong Jo?

"Could they have climbed over the walls?"

"They would have been detected if they did. A substantial number of guards maintained their posts before and after the attacks, which also contributed to the soldiers' fatigue."

"They couldn't have just walked through the main gate, could they?"

"No…"

Seol, who had been listening to Chi Woo and the Staff Officer's conversation, suddenly thought of something and immediately brought it up.

"The sewers."

"Pardon…?"

"What if they infiltrated from underground?"

"Sewer maintenance is conducted daily. If the person in charge had noticed anything unusual, they would have surely… Ah!"

"They managed to deceive the transferees too, so…"

The Staff Officer quickly went through the list of caught ghosts.

"There he is…"

The Staff Officer pointed to the occupation of the man the ghost had impersonated.

"There was a ghost disguised as the person in charge of the water treatment facility!"

"We need to check it out."

Chi Woo chimed in.

"Are you saying those things could be crawling right beneath our feet? Ugh… If we use explosives to blow up the sewers…"

"Seong Jo would collapse."

"Right? So we must find a way to drive them out without damaging the facilities…"

Seol replied.

"Even if they did use the sewers, that doesn't guarantee that it’s their base."

The Staff Officer nodded.

"The number of monsters that survived last time alone would have filled the sewers. It's unlikely that's their base."

"Anyway, first, we need to confirm whether they used the sewers."

"Yes, so who will…"

Everyone's gaze naturally turned to Seol.

Translator - SCM

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

The next day, Seol reported to Seol Hong that he had found traces of monsters in the sewers during a reconnaissance.

Although he smelled foul, the odor would likely fade in a few days.

What was more important were the whereabouts of the monsters and ghosts.

"To think they were right under our noses, and we didn't know…"

"There were traces of activity, but it wasn't their base. The passage led somewhere else."

"Hmm…"

While the Staff Officer answered Seol Hong's questions, she seemed to have already decided on the next course of action.

"Okay, then, let's do this."

The words that came out of her mouth weren't that of a simple operation.

"Let's strike them first. Our priority is to locate their base."

"That's a dangerous idea!"

"Why?"

Hoping others would support his disapproval, The Staff Officer gave Seol Hong a detailed explanation, listing diverse reasons.

However, Seol and Chi Woo’s reactions were the exact opposite of what he had hoped for.

"Sounds good."

"Excellent idea."

- Look at the Staff Officer's face, hahaha.

- You bastards, don't bully civil servants!

- Let's do it right now!

- The Staff Officer is due for a two-rank promotion.

The Staff Officer quickly interjected.

"I-if that many people get trapped in such a confined space, the damage will be severe! And if it collapses…"

"Many people? The defense forces will be maintained."

"Pardon? Then how do you plan to proceed?"

Seol Hong silently looked at Chi Woo and Seol.

"Are you a genius?"

Chi Woo strongly agreed with Seol Hong.

- Hahaha.

- Just the two is enough to strike them first.

- Let the infantry guard the home while the tanks go to the battlefield!

"Th-this is madness… Lady Seol Hong, this is a far more complicated matter than you think!"

Seol Hong smiled.

"You need to be able to simplify complex things to achieve a proper victory."

Although she said that, a few others followed Seol and Chi Woo—the group included Biran and three other transferees skilled in tracking.

Although the group had tripled, it still consisted of just six people.

Pinching her nose, Biran followed along as they navigated the sewer.

"Ugh… This smells awful."

"Well, it is a sewer after all."

"No… It's an even worse, indescribable smell…"

"The smell is most likely from monster excrement… this particular odor resembles a Ticoby's."

A ticoby was a lizard-like monster with smooth skin.

"How do you know that?"

"These types of things interest me."

Biran walked a little farther away from Seol after hearing that.

One of the transferees brought his hand close to a suspicious droplet on the ground in front of him and brought it close to his mouth.

"Stop… I'm sorry. Let me go back…"

Upon seeing that, Biran panicked.

- H-help me…

- These guys are weird…

The transferee savored the taste of the liquid and then said.

"It's bitter. It's body fluid—they definitely went this way."

"It seems we're on the right track."

"Let's keep going."

The transferees took more initiative than expected. Although Kotaro was disappointed he couldn't join in, he said that the other transferees he had recommended would be more helpful—these were those transferees.

Step…

Step…

There were no signs of activity nearby.

"They've all withdrawn. Could they have noticed?"

"All the ghosts that infiltrated were caught. So, their communications must have been cut off. If they sensed something was wrong, they would have retreated immediately."

"Hopefully, they left some traces behind…"

"Let's hope so."

Seol quietly followed the tracker, lost in thought. The words revealed by the ghost captured in the barracks kept echoing in his head.

- Yaksha has broken the barrier, and the Ghost King will fall.

'Could a hole have been torn in the Ghost Realm?'

Just as the Spirit's home is the Spirit Realm, Ghosts also have their own homeland.

That place is known as the Ghost Realm. Ordinary ghosts live there—they avoid invading the human realm to prevent their own extinction.

That's why the organized movements of these ghosts across Khan were troubling him.

'Hmm… How involved is Yaksha in all this?'

Even if Yaksha had indeed broken the barrier, it was likely unintentional.

'Yaksha is a being with no rationality…'

There was a reason it had broken free from Seol's control.

In any case, he couldn't make any rash judgment until the truth was revealed.

Fwoosh…

The group emerged from the sewer, and the tracker frowned.

"Hmm… The traces are intermittent here."

"Wait a moment!"

Fuub…

[Biran used Wind of that Day.]

[You pull out echoes from the air within a certain range.]

Fwoosh-!

Like an imprint made of air, a figure appeared frozen before them.

"Did you always have an ability like this?"

"I didn't blow air into your ears on purpose. My breathing is just heavy."

"I see."

The trail led them deep into the mountains.

To a location slightly removed from the city—essentially a mountain ravine.

"Oh my goodness…"

Grrr…

Roar!

Roar!

What seemed to be hundreds of monsters filled the valley.

Given the number, it was difficult to sweep them away without suffering any damage, even for Seol.

There were hundreds of monsters of different sizes, an amount large enough to pose a significant threat to Seong Jo.

Seol relayed this information to Seol Hong through his avatar, which was by her side, and he quickly received a response.

- They were closer than I thought. So… what do you see around you?

Whoosh…

There were a couple of abandoned houses with unusual door handles and a waterfall that cascaded three times. The monsters were quenching their thirst with the water from the waterfall.

Seol Hong relayed this information to the officers.

- Find a citizen who knows anything about the northwest valley, the three-times cascading waterfall, or the houses with unusual door handles! Quickly!

A brief commotion happened for about 10 minutes, after which Seol Hong said.

- Seol, we've pinpointed the location. Hurry and withdraw. Head back along the path you came from for about five minutes.

"Are they within the range of the cannon?"

- Yes, but barely. It's a stroke of luck.

* * *

The ghosts that had infiltrated the valley controlled the monsters like shepherds herding sheep.

"I thought they would self-destruct, but they've become a nuisance."

"Hihihi… They won't last long, anyway. We can take our time. Now that Yaksha has broken the barrier, we can target humans whenever we want."

"But still, I don't like waiting… I want to eat something soon."

"Hihihi… Let's wait until they tire out. Then we'll go in."

The hundreds of monsters and the nearly hundred ghosts formed an almost invincible force.

They were beings who had once served in the ghost army—essentially remnants of a fallen army.

They hadn't tasted human blood in a long time. While they were famished, they had also learned how to be patient.

They knew that after a long thirst, a greater pleasure would follow.

"Those fools! To think they would just stand there trembling… Should I take over as their leader? I'll even lend them my wits if they offer me humans every day."

"Hihi… In that case, if you give me an arm each, I'll take over as leader instead of you."

Not all ghosts were lost in hedonism—even among them, some followed the wiser ones.

The leader of the group was often more intelligent than the others.

"Stop causing a ruckus. What if someone hears?"

"We've already eaten everything in the mountains. It's fine!"

"Tsk… Anyway, keep silent. We're still assessing the situation."

"Why do we need to stay quiet? We can just kill them all."

"You idiot, killing all humans isn't the issue. The problem is Yaksha."

"Ah!"

"We must avoid catching the Yaksha's attention. If we encounter Yaksha, we're all going to die."

"You're right! Yaksha is scary…"

"Yaksha is strong…"

For some reason, the ghosts feared Yaksha too.

But why would they fear the Yaksha if they followed it?

At that moment, the sky flashed with an ominous light.

Fwoosh-!

"What is that…?"

"Ugh… My eyes…"

A blinding light poured down.

No, that wasn't light.

Fire…

It was fire.

"What is… That…"

Screech—!

BOOM!

"Agh!"

It was a rain of fire falling from the sky.

The flames were launched from the direction of Seong Jo.

Having shot explosives from the cannon, Seol Hong quietly muttered.

"Turn to ash, invaders."

Fwoosh-!

The valley became engulfed in a sea of fire.

The surviving monsters and ghosts screamed, making it look as if hell had been unleashed.

And through the flames, shadowy figures appeared.

Crack—!

Swiish—!

They were Seol and Chi Woo.

"It's them! Run!"

The thought of fighting had already fled far away. Most of their forces were turned into ash—so they had no will left to resist.

"Oof… Oof…"

The leader of the group, who barely survived, tried to flee from Seol and Chi Woo.

Swoosh…

Along with a chilling sensation, someone's hand suddenly grabbed the ghost's neck.

"Keek…"

Seol lifted the ghost by its neck and asked.

"Where is he…"

"Keek… Human… Wh…what?"

His golden eyes were demanding the truth.

"Yaksha."