Chapter 15: How Much Time Is Left?
"How much time is left?"
Wu Wonta was waiting for Yu Gyeonseong back at his room.
He’d been sticking to him like glue, but when Yu Gyeonseong had mentioned wanting to see the Heavenly Lake, they'd parted ways and Wu Wonta had returned first.
Losing your memories must be frustrating. He probably wanted some time alone.
Of course, the only reason he could do that was because the mission allowed it.
[You don't need to stick to him like glue. That'll just backfire on us.]
He was simply following the Clan Lord's instructions.
If this had been a mission where he couldn't leave Yu Gyeonseong's side for even a moment, how exhausting would that be right now!
This was all thanks to the Clan Lord's brilliance.
With the Shadow Bind spell in place, there was no way he'd lose track of Squad Leader Yu. It seemed unlikely, but... even if something unexpected happened, they'd be able to find him somehow. So there was no need to shadow him obsessively, especially since he obviously wouldn't like it.
'Besides, if he somehow managed to disappear, that would actually boost our Life Demon Clan's value!'
A flea can only jump so high.
No matter how much the Divine Demon tried to run, he couldn't escape the Clan Lord's palm.
It was this feeling—the relaxed confidence of a man holding a treasure he could never lose—that colored his voice when he greeted Yu Gyeongseong.
"Divine Demon, how was your visit to Heavenly Lake?"
Did the Life Demon Clan and Wu Wonta's relaxed attitude help somehow?
Yu Gyeonseong Gyeongseong responded warmly to his greeting.
"Yeah, it was really vast and beautiful. I think it helped clear my head a bit.”
"Indeed, it's a magnificent sight. For such a giant lake to be in a place so high in the mountains.”
Wu Wonta glanced at his expression and probed. "Did anything come back to you?"
"No. Still can't remember a damn thing."
"That must be frustrating. I can't imagine how you lost all your memories..."
The words were genuine.
Yu Gyeonseong Gyeongseong smiled and expressed his gratitude.
"But thanks to you, I got to clear my head a bit. I feel much better."
He was thanking him for giving him some space and Wu Wonta couldn't help but light up.
“Have you eaten yet?”
"Not yet. You?"
"Same here."
"Then how about we go out to eat like yesterday?"
Yu Gyeonseong was in a position where he needed to look around as much as possible.
Guessing his intentions, Wu Wonta agreed immediately.
"Let's do that. But..."
"...?"
“Let’s try to avoid a repeat of last night…”
He was referring to how Yu Gyeonseong had dealt with Dong Gong at the restaurant.
At his half-joking comment, Yu Gyeonseong burst into cheerful laughter.
“Hahaha! I’ll be on my best behavior.”
Yesterday, he'd had a purpose for acting that way.
Tonight would be quiet.
***
Early the next morning.
The leisurely breakfast they'd been enjoying was no more.
Wu Wonta handed him a light breakfast as soon as he woke up and then immediately guided him to the same private training ground from yesterday.
The Clan Lords were already waiting there for Yu Gyeonseong.
The relaxed vibe was gone.
The Six Demons' posture, stripped of that easygoing attitude they should naturally show to an absolute master, made the air feel heavy.
"Divine Demon, we can't give you any more personal time."
That sentence came as an order.
One man standing alone across from those six.
He'd explored more of the Cult last night but hadn't learned anything useful. Now it looked like even that little bit of freedom was gone.
Yu Gyeonseong looked at the Six Demons and asked in a steady voice. "How much time is left before the Sword God comes?"
Flying Demon answered.
"Seven days. Maybe sooner."
It meant they were already on their doorstep.
"The distance from the Central Plains to here is roughly seven thousand li. That's even farther than crossing the Central Plains diagonally. Plus, half the journey is desert. That's why attacking us isn't easy. Throughout history, there've been countless invasions, but none could do anything to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. It's too hard to get here and even harder to keep an army supplied.”
Yu Gyeonseong nodded in understanding.
"From Chang'an to Shazhou is 4,500 li, about 1,700 kilometers. Righteous Alliance… crossed that distance in half a month. It is an incredible speed. Much faster than when we marched on them.”
Hearing the Flying Demon himself—the literal embodiment of speed—call something "fast" was definitely strange.
"That means they moved an average of 300 li per day. And they kept that up for the entire fifteen consecutive days, which isn't exactly a short period."
Illusion Demon added to the explanation.
"Just like how countries set up relay stations for rapid movement, they used countless horses and switched between them as they rode, so they never had to slow down.”
Flying Demon nodded and continued.
“Once they hit Shazhou, the Righteous Alliance switched to camels. The distance from Shazhou in the southeast to here is roughly 2,500 li."
As if to help Yu Gyeonseong understand better, Illusion Demon added another explanation.
"From there on, it's pure desert. Right now, the Righteous Alliance is coming from the east of the Tianshan Mountains. That's the most well-known and stable route. We used that same road when we invaded the Central Plains because there are a few scattered oases with fresh springs along the way.”
"...Then it wouldn't be hard to monitor which route the Righteous Alliance is taking."
"Right. That's why it's difficult to avoid our eyes near the Tianshan Mountains. In any case, we had predicted that their speed would drop significantly after entering the desert. Camels are the best way to travel through sand, but even they usually only cover about 100 li a day at maximum."
But the story's direction suggested reality differed from those expectations. And sure enough, the next words confirmed it.
“They crossed over half the remaining distance in just seven days.”
That meant they were moving nearly 200 li per day.
"So?"
"They're driving the camels and everything else until they drop dead. When all their mounts collapse, they'll move on their own two feet after that."
"..."
"We don't know exactly when they'll arrive. If you move too fast, fatigue builds up. Then you can't perform at full strength in battle. So maintaining an appropriate travel speed is a basic principle of warfare. The Sword God will want to fight us at full power... so our best guess is that he’ll slow down to a more moderate pace from here.”
They were really at their doorstep. So close it was hard to gauge when or how they’d show up.
"That's why we say seven days at most. They could get here even faster.”
After Flying Demon finished, Yu Gyeonseong asked a question.
"Is there a chance they could catch us by surprise?"
Rock Demon stepped forward to answer.
“All members of the Flying Demon Strike Force are deployed to observe the Righteous Alliance's movements. We're watching every route into the Tianshan Mountains. So that won't happen."
Flying Demon nodded as if agreeing with those words.
“We’ll see them coming long before they get here. You just worry about getting ready for your one-on-one with the Sword God.”
"Seven days..."
Crushing Demon reacted to Yu Gyeonseong's murmur. Perhaps worried he thought the given time was too short.
“We have that much time only because the Sword God is dragging all his rabble along with him. If he had come alone, or with only a small number of elite masters, he would have been at our gate by now.”
For Yu Gyeonseong, the number one question was the Sword God's level. And that comment made him think.
‘…So even the Sword God doesn’t think he can take out the whole Cult by himself?’
As if reading his thoughts, Mind Demon nodded.
"Correct. The Sword God decided he couldn’t wipe us out with just a small strike team. That's why he bothered to create the entire alliance and build this massive army.”
Rock Demon added more explanation.
“It bought us time, but it also raised the stakes. Our military strength is roughly 3,000 warriors. The Righteous Alliance attacking us now has equivalent numbers."
What you could feel from their approach was the Sword God's confidence.
‘He thinks that if our numbers are even… he’s guaranteed to win?’
That was the message. With the army he's bringing, he believes he can wipe the Divine Cult off the map.
‘So his plan is to have his army keep our guys busy while he personally takes out our leaders?’
It was an incredible display of confidence.
He was basically saying he could take on all six of these bosses and win with no problem.
‘And the only thing he hasn't planned for… is me.’
Crushing Demon looked at Yu Gyeonseong.
"While you're facing the Sword God, we'll quickly deal with the Righteous Alliance's leadership. We'll use his strategy against him. Once we’re done, we’ll come help you finish the job. All you have to do is hold him off until then. If you can do that, we’ll win!”
You want me to fight the big boss all by myself?!
The Six Demons had been worried about how he'd react to this.
But Yu Gyeonseong's response wasn't what they expected.
"Then... what about the Cult Leader? What's the Cult Leader's role?"
Yu Gyeonseong looked at the Six Demons. He never expected them to fight the Sword God alongside him from the start. He had no interest in getting into a fight to the death with untrustworthy allies at his back.
But the Cult Leader was a different story.
Even if the Heavenly Demon was weaker than the Sword God, he figured that if the two of them teamed up, they couldn't lose.
But then—
"The Cult Leader can't participate in this battle."
Truth.
"Why... not?"
He had to ask even though he knew what answer would come back.
"Because he used too much of his power on the Great Law."
"..."
At this point, he had to wonder just how incredible this Great Law was. They wouldn't have done it unless what they gained outweighed what they lost.
As if sensing his doubt, they tried to reassure him.
“You are a being created with all the best the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult has to offer. The Heavenly Demon himself affirmed it. That he could create the strongest of warriors. So you need to believe it too. You will surely be able to face the Sword God.”
Easy for them to say.
He felt like laughing somehow.
You don’t just create the “ultimate warrior” by just offering things and receiving the Great Law.
Shouldn’t he at least get some time for his body and mind to get used to all this new power?
“Seven days… you can’t buy me any more time?”
The answer came immediately.
"We're already doing that."
"What?"
"We've been running guerrilla warfare for a while now. We started not long after the Righteous Alliance bastards began their march.”
"..."
Flying Demon had paused to look toward the distant sky, then turned to look at him. Within his seemingly calm gaze was a powerful emotion.
"What do you think would happen if we tried to harass the Righteous Alliance unit where the Sword God is?"
Yu Gyeonseong imagined it.
A divine being who could easily repel the combined attack of six Absolute Masters.
Launching surprise attacks on a unit with an existence like that present was...
'Then...'
Maybe you could harass them a bit, wear them down, but you’d almost certainly get yourself killed.
A grave voice rang out.
“Many of our cultists are already fighting the war. They all went out and staked their lives to buy you time, Divine Demon.”
"..."
"Do you understand now? Every second you have was paid for in blood. You can’t afford to waste a single moment. That’s why we don’t have more time to give you.”
He couldn't argue with that sacrifice. Yu Gyeonseong nodded silently in agreement.
They must have liked that response. The Six Demons laid the plan for the future as if giving notice.
"We've talked too long. For the next two days, you'll receive one-on-one instruction from each of us."
Then they added a little jab.
"You don't think you're at our level just because you can use martial arts similar to ours, do you?"
Of course not.
These were people who'd practically lived their entire lives to embody their martial arts. How many accumulated insights had they gained over those long years? He didn't even have real combat experience.
“Two days is… a ridiculously short amount of time. But it’s all we have. After that, you’ll be sparring with us, and we won’t be holding back.”
As expected... the Six Demons had also seen right through to his weakness.
Since they were offering help he couldn't refuse...
Yu Gyeonseong agreed without hesitation.
"Let's do it."
***
At the Rock Demon’s estate.
Two people sat facing each other.
Yu Gyeonseong had started his one-on-one training with the Crushing Demon right away, so Rock Demon had returned to his quarters. He hadn’t been there long before a visitor showed up.
His heavy voice was directed at the other person.
"It's been a while."
"Thank you for making time for me."
The middle-aged man who had bowed his head slightly in greeting raised his eyes.
It was the Law Enforcement Hall Master.