Cho-Do was staring at with a sullen expression.
And for good reason—after all, she was soone who never stepped outside her ho, yet she had co all the way to my nest.
To be more precise, she had listened to and ended up destroying her own ho.
“They won’t be able to follow imdiately. My ability can’t completely block them, but if I put my mind to it, I can make things troubleso for them.”
Cho-Do wielded the power of Wood.
She was the one who had allowed to use thunder and storms.
She had wielded the power of Wood for decades—perhaps even centuries—which ant that within her own domain, she could manifest strength beyond common sense.
If she decided to stall for ti, no matter how strong the enemy was, they wouldn’t be able to escape easily.
The massive plants growing infinitely, without a mont’s respite, would entangle their feet. And that ability was still in effect, even now that she had arrived at my nest.
“With my ability, I can make them wander in the forest until the sun rises five tis. But this ti, the opponents aren’t just one but two, so delaying them for that long will be difficult.”
Not just one, but two.
And not just so random nobodies—two high-ranking spiritual beings had co.
I focused on Cho-Do’s words.
She wasn’t just buying ti; she was also providing valuable information about the enemy.
Understanding the enemy and planning a response was the foundation of every battle.
“One of them was expected. His na is Bihee.”
“Bihee!”
The fox orb containing Gongbok buzzed, and Cho-Do’s delicate face briefly twisted in annoyance.
Bihee, huh.
That na sounded vaguely familiar.
“He’s my older brother. In other words, the eldest son of the Yongsaengguja.”
The eldest son of the Yongsaengguja!
This was no small figure.
Age alone didn’t necessarily equate to greater strength, but it couldn’t be ignored either.
Especially for spiritual beings who practiced martial arts, who naturally cultivated their inner energy through techniques like Qi circulation. The older they were, the more profound their accumulated inner energy beca.
In other words, the fact that Bihee was the eldest son of the dragon lineage ant that he was likely a monstrous existence.
“He’s the one who inherited the purest True Dragon’s blood among the Yongsaengguja. Of course, there are rumors that the third son, Poroe, is even closer to a dragon, but in terms of sheer strength, Bihee is the strongest.”
Since Cho-Do vouched for it so decisively, there was no room for doubt.
The strongest among the Yongsaengguja was now our opponent.
“He possesses a turtle’s shell, making most attacks useless against him. Gongbok also has a sturdy body, but Bihee is even more resilient.”
Stronger defenses than Gongbok?
I slowly shifted my gaze toward my own tail.
If I wanted to land a physical attack, I would have to manifest sword energy.
“And that’s not all—he also has the head of a dragon, so you must be extra careful.”
The head of a dragon—that didn’t just an he looked like a dragon.
A dragon’s abilities.
There were many powers—perhaps even divine authorities—that were unleashed through a dragon’s head.
He could breathe fire like Jeokryong, or perhaps use Dragon Speech like Gongbok.
His offensive power was certainly not sothing to be underestimated.
“But we have a favorable elental matchup. If we consider only the Five Elents, then Bihee belongs to Earth.”
That was good news.
Wood overcos Earth.
That explained why Cho-Do believed she could delay Bihee.
And I, too, wielded Wood, just like Cho-Do.
Unlike Gongbok, who had an elent directly opposing mine, I could deal devastating damage to Bihee using my abilities.
“With both an elental advantage and nurical superiority, we should be able to defeat Bihee. On our side, we have three Yongsaengguja, plus a tail-bearing heir of ancient death.”
Even if Gongbok was out of commission, we still had two Yongsaengguja actively fighting.
Cho-Do and Docheol.
Two spiritual beings comparable to , plus the spiritual beings of the Gae Gak Sect, who couldn’t be dismissed either.
No matter how powerful Bihee was, if he was alone, we had the overwhelming advantage.
Three against one.
Even if he had surpassed Hwagyeong, we had at least three warriors at Hwagyeong level.
“But the problem is that Bihee isn’t alone.”
That was the real issue.
There wasn’t just one opponent—there were two.
If the other was soone on Bihee’s level, even three more warriors at Hwagyeong wouldn’t be enough.
Three against one was one thing. Six against two was sothing else entirely.
“The second one is Qiongqi—one of the Four Fiends, often called the Most Fearso among them.”
“…Qiongqi!”
Just as Gongbok had reacted at the ntion of Bihee, this ti Docheol reacted.
Cho-Do’s expression twisted even more than before.
She clearly disliked Docheol even more than she disliked Gongbok.
And that was understandable.
After all, Cho-Do had learned Docheol’s secret.
Docheol had pretended to be a man all this ti, harassing Cho-Do—but in truth, Docheol was actually a woman.
Of course, that alone wasn’t enough for Cho-Do to hate her.
She had quickly realized that Docheol’s actions ca from a place of deep insecurity.
But there was one thing Cho-Do simply couldn’t get over.
Docheol wasn’t just a woman—she was a woman with a certain trait that Cho-Do lacked in an extrely obvious way.
And she had been hiding it with bandages, pretending to be a man. No matter how you looked at it, to Cho-Do, it could only be seen as deception.
Especially because Cho-Do was… well, flat as a board.
“He looks like a tiger, but his defining trait is the massive wings that blot out the sky.”
That description matched what I knew about Qiongqi.
“If it weren’t for him, I could have stalled for much longer. But he wields tal among the Five Elents, making our elental matchup unfavorable. There are even rumors that he’s a descendant of Sohoshi, which speaks to his unparalleled mastery over tal.”
tal.
At first glance, it might seem like he simply controlled iron, but just like how I wielded thunder and storms, his abilities were likely far more versatile.
And a descendant of Sohoshi?
In the martial arts world, anyone with “shi” at the end of their na was no ordinary figure.
The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors—figures bordering on mythology—were the kind of beings referred to with "shi".
That ant our opponent was one of their descendants.
Then again, Bihee was also a direct descendant of a True Dragon, so it wasn’t all that different.
“His exact abilities aren’t fully known, but he’s likely on the sa level as Bihee. If we were to categorize them by human standards… they would be called Xuanmiao Realm.”
Xuanmiao Realm.
In other words, Hyungyeong.
We had to face two warriors at Hyungyeong level.
I closed my mouth for a mont, processing everything.
There was too much to think about.
Sending not one, but two masters at Hyungyeong level here?
That was… excessive.
That was far too much.
Even if it was the True Dragon, it couldn’t have an endless supply of experts at Hyungyeong level.
If it did, it would have devoured all of Zhongyuan long ago.
Qiongqi and Bihee were undoubtedly among the True Dragon’s most crucial spiritual beings. Yet, it was deploying them both at once?
Let’s assu it was a move to ensure absolute success.
But did they really know who they were up against when they made that decision?
I wasn’t entirely sure, but the official reason for them coming had to be related to Heukwoonbang.
The Heukwoonbang Lord must have sent a ssage right before dying, revealing my existence and alerting them to the fall of Heukwoonbang.
And that didn’t make sense.
At most, they had lost one expert at Hwagyeong level, so why send two masters at Hyungyeong?
There was definitely sothing more to this.
Their real objective wasn’t to capture .
This situation...
Hadn’t I seen sothing like this before?
Heukwoonbang was responsible for the True Dragon’s recovery.
And that wound—it was inflicted when the True Dragon ca to the Mountains of Ten Thousand Beasts.
Around the sa ti, my master was also wounded.
A clash between the True Dragon and my master was almost certain.
And now, the elixirs collected for the True Dragon’s recovery had been stolen?
If those fell into my master’s hands, it would be an absolute nightmare for the True Dragon.
That was why it had invested so heavily—sending two Hyungyeong masters.
In other words, their goal wasn’t just to capture , but to attack the Heavenly Demon Cult as well.
But even two Hyungyeong-level opponents—could they really defeat my master?
No, that was impossible.
Even setting aside my master’s raw martial power, she wasn’t the only one in the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Unless the True Dragon itself was coming, they wouldn’t be able to touch her.
And the True Dragon knew this.
If Bihee and Qiongqi could take down my master, then by that logic, the True Dragon—who fought her to a draw—should also fall to them.
There was no way Bihee and Qiongqi could defeat my master.
Then why were two Hyungyeong-level masters coming here?
The answer was simple.
Because they didn’t need to defeat her.
That nagging sense of déjà vu—this was why.
Namgoong Yeon had tricked Gongbok and brought the Hwasan Sect to hunt down.
But his goal wasn’t my head.
What he wanted was my master’s wrath, her descent into madness.
That was the true objective.
...Namgoong Yeon had allied with them.
The True Dragon’s plan was to provoke my master into a frenzy and make her easier to deal with.
So then, what should I do?
Against opponents at Hyungyeong level, the best option would be to seek my master’s support.
But that wasn’t an option.
Because I could see right through their plan.
I wanted the Heavenly Demon Cult’s help, but for now, I would only share information with them and leave it at that.
My master must not move.
If she left her position, the True Dragon might personally act, or Namgoong Yeon could use the strategy he had failed to deploy last ti.
And now that I knew my master’s body wasn’t in perfect condition, I couldn’t count on her help.
The only way to counter this threat was for my master to fully recover.
This ti, I had to overco it with my own strength.
But realistically, facing two masters at Hyungyeong level was impossible.
I needed to count the spiritual beings capable of matching Bihee and Qiongqi.
Cho-Do and Docheol.
Baekrang and Cheolduyong.
And maybe the Unicorn.
But that still wasn’t enough.
Cheolduyong had already been crushed by Docheol, aning the power gap was too vast.
That left only Cho-Do and Docheol as viable candidates to hold off Hyungyeong-level opponents.
If there had only been one enemy, I could have joined in and turned the tide.
But with two—we simply didn’t have enough manpower.
Then there was only one solution:
Bring in reinforcents from outside.
I had allies.
The Snake Queen and the Bird King had already proven themselves capable of stalling even soone like Gongbok.
If those two worked together, they could fill the missing third spot.
With three warriors taking on one, while the rest of the spiritual beings provided support, we could win.
But unfortunately, the Snake Queen and the Bird King were not in good shape.
They had sustained serious injuries in the last battle against Gongbok.
I could have begged for their help if my followers’ lives were truly at risk, but I had another option.
Because my allies didn’t just consist of the Bird King and the Snake Queen.
There was one more—soone who had stayed behind in the jungle during the last war.
Soone I had been aning to summon.
“Chirp... Chiiiirp!”
A cute baepsae’s voice broke the silence.
Perfect timing.
Perched on Jjaekjjaeki’s foot was a lizard, dazed and hanging limp.
A lizard with perfectly blended black and white scales, making a face I had never seen before.
And that was understandable.
After all, this was the granddaughter’s friend putting on a show.
“Ke-keh-keh?”
Tusulis, Honhui.
The smallest, but most reliable ally, had arrived.
His face was getting longer, but well... as the son-in-law, he had no choice but to comply.
Father-in-law, you should be grateful for having such an amazing son-in-law.
I knew you were bored last ti, so I specially called you over this ti.
“Ke-ge-ge-ge-gek!”
BANG!
Without fail, the old Compsognathus’ iron mace ca flying toward .
I wasn’t exactly sure how strong this old man really was, but I could make an educated guess based on the drawbacks of miniaturization.
Once he reverted to his full size, he would be truly overwhelming.
Docheol, Cho-Do, and the old man—those three would hold one enemy in place.
From a distance, Baekrang and Cheolduyong would use ice attacks for support.
The Unicorn and its herd would engage in hit-and-run tactics.
As the opponent’s stamina drained, Nephila, Pus, Tus, and Soyeon would use poison and webs to land finishing blows.
If we threw everything the Gae Gak Sect had at one Hyungyeong master, we could take them down.
Of course, the other one wouldn’t just stand by and watch.
They would seize the mont to launch a coordinated attack.
And my job was to stop that from happening.
I wouldn’t join the fight against the first Hyungyeong master.
My job was to stall the second.
While the entire Gae Gak Sect overwheld one, the other would be forced into a one-on-one fight with .
I would get beaten to a pulp, but well... I was used to getting hit.
I just needed to endure as much pain as possible until the Gae Gak Sect finished off their opponent.
And when that happened—the tide would turn.
This strategy was what you might call...
The “Do It for ” strategy.
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