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The Great War of Humans and Demons (6)

Kuooooo!

The immense demonic energy unleashed by the Great Demon Army pressed down on the entire world with brutal force.

Tens of thousands of heroes and soldiers writhed in agony, clutching their heads as if long needles were piercing their skulls.

Fwooosh—

Rumble!

At that moment, a blue light flashed on the deck of the destroyer Yi Sun-sin, and an invisible energy wave burst forth in all directions, confronting the demonic pressure crushing the ground.

The formless wave surged relentlessly, gradually pushing back the demonic energy of the Great Demon Army, which had surprisingly increased by one rank.

Crackle!

It seemed as if half the world was divided between light and darkness. The sky above Sokcho had turned black, while everything below was engulfed in pure white light.

The expression of the Great Demon Army, which had been emitting a black aura to oppress the ground, changed abruptly.

“A 6-star late-stage Grand Cultivator!”

Crackle!

Fwooooosh—!

The wave of pure white light, which had been holding back the darkness, suddenly invaded the realm of shadows and illuminated the entire world in an instant.

The Great Demon Army, with lips tightly sealed, thrust forward their blackened spears to split the energy wave and protect themselves.

The soldiers and heroes exposed to the infinite wave of light looked around in bewilderment, visually confirming that the translucent energy waves were continuously emanating from the destroyer Yi Sun-sin.

“It’s Master Isaac!”

Passionate cheers erupted from all around.

The pure white energy wave was the 6-star late-stage spiritual power emitted by the hero Isaac.

However, despite the survivors’ cheers, Isaac was inwardly calming his startled heart.

‘I almost made a mistake I would have regretted for the rest of my life.’

The long-distance spatial movement through the Ark of Trials could only be used once every half day.

As luck would have it, he had used the Ark’s spatial movement to efficiently suppress the remaining demon armies in Russia, but before the cooldown time had passed, South Korea was invaded by the Great Demon Army.

If the cooldown hadn’t finished at this critical moment, tens of thousands of heroes and soldiers who had entered the battlefield would have lost their lives.

“So the infamous Grand Cultivator has graced us with his presence. Are you saying you couldn’t bear to watch your country’s people die, after slaughtering millions of our demon race in just a week?”

“I merely annihilated the invaders. Before you speak of massacres, reflect on who started this war first.”

In the vast Eight Realms, including the inner Celestial Canopy, whether monster or ethereal, if their realms were equal, mutual respect was required, and if the other’s realm was higher, appropriate courtesy had to be shown.

This was a universal notion that had taken root in the fierce ecosystem over eons of time.

Isaac’s use of formal speech, despite the stress, was to accept the rules of the Eight Realms and avoid unnecessary conflict.

“Despite sending my subordinate to request a dialogue, you acted this way. You must pay the price for your actions.”

Whoosh.

Roar!

Suddenly, a purple mist arose to the right of the Great Demon Army, and from within it, a winged black tiger leaped out, swinging its front paws.

In response, the Great Demon Army gracefully avoided the claws while simultaneously diving into the tiger’s flank and bringing down their spear vertically.

Clang!

“Hmm!?”

However, the Great Demon Army’s spear only sliced through the air.

The black tiger had twisted its body at lightning speed. Not only that, but it also clamped down on the spear with its wide-open jaws and shook it violently.

Frowning at this, the Great Demon Army tried to shake off the black tiger by swinging the spear in return.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The black tiger, without releasing its bite on the spear, was flung around.

Whoosh—

Suddenly, a pitch-black swamp spread around the Great Demon Army, and dense vegetation sprouted above it.

The Great Demon Army’s eyes flickered subtly at this bizarre phenomenon.

Thwack!

Whoosh—

Roar!

As soon as they shook off the black tiger with a spear technique, the calm swamp began to churn, quickly turning into a vast sea with raging waves that crashed towards the Great Demon Army.

“Illusion?! No, this is… some kind of domain!”

Rumble!

A black and red space unfolded from the Great Demon Army as they faced the sea of black shadows.

The black and red space was a bizarre domain where countless monster corpses formed mountains, and rivers of blood flowed down the mountainsides.

Whoosh!

However, just as the realm of corpse mountains and blood seas seemed to be pushing back the sea of shadows, towering shadow rainforests twisted the space, scattering thousands upon thousands of leaves, obscuring the black and red space from view.

“What in the—!”

As the realm of the underworld was helplessly consumed, the Great Demon Army Nakhal let out a suppressed exclamation.

The domain technique that deployed the sea of shadows and rainforests was clearly a method that consumed an enormous amount of spiritual power.

Yet the opponent, as if possessing infinite spiritual power, had strengthened the powerful domain technique once more, instantly erasing the realm of corpse mountains and blood seas, which had been their trump card.

Crash!

As the infinite shadow foliage covered the corpse mountains and blood seas, the black tidal wave that had momentarily hesitated surged forward.

Grinding their teeth, the Great Demon Army spread both hands to summon a magic circle interwoven with ancient languages and complex figures, then spat out crimson essence blood from their throat to strengthen the magic circle.

The magic circle grew enormous, and within it, ancient characters that seemed to be a mix of Chinese characters and Japanese writhed vividly like freshly caught live fish.

Rumble!

A massive red-skinned arm shot out from within the giant magic circle and struck down the shadow tidal wave.

The shadow tidal wave was endlessly pushed back by an invisible force, becoming a calm sea before it could surge forward again.

At that moment, an eerie voice was heard from inside the magic circle.

“This is… the pressure of the veil? Nakhal, did you summon me from the small world?”

“The opponent’s divine abilities were not to be underestimated, so I had no choice. Didn’t you agree to help me only three times anyway? Stop talking and eliminate that 6-star late-stage cultivator.”

“6-star late-stage? Come to think of it, you even used the pressure-reducing veil. As you know, if I summon my main body here, my rank will drop by two levels due to the veil’s pressure. Instead, I’ll deceive the heavens and only use my right arm.”

“That’s exactly what I want.”

“I’ll end this with just three attacks.”

Whooosh―

Baaang!

As the red forearm that emerged from the giant magic circle struck the air, the space of black shadows shattered in one blow.

With the vast sea and forest withdrawn, Isaac’s figure, which had been hiding in the shadow realm, was fully revealed.

The muscular red forearm mercilessly threw a punch towards Isaac.

In response, Isaac swung a blade forged from gathered darkness.

Claaang!

A powerful shockwave erupted and swept across the battlefield. The heroes who had been watching the fight in a daze quickly hid behind obstacles.

As if the sky had been pierced, clouds were pushed back endlessly around Isaac and the Great Demon Army. The sea churned violently, causing smaller warships to flip over and capsize.

Whoosh……

As soon as the shockwave weakened, the surviving heroes and soldiers hurriedly began to leave the battlefield.

The scale of combat between the two absolute beings had already far surpassed human levels.

“I can’t believe it. You withstood that attack! But… It seems your cultivation level has dropped to 5-star? Did you learn some strange ancient technique to momentarily amplify your level? Or perhaps you’ve exchanged your life force by consuming a massive amount of spiritual energy. Would you care to answer my questions, Cultivator?”

Nakhal of the Great Demon Army asked Isaac, who was still alive, with a somewhat excited voice.

Isaac had nullified the punch from the massive crimson forearm with the ‘direct attack’ of Final Finish, but as a result, his level had reverted to its original 5-star state.

However, in the eyes of the Great Demon Army, it appeared as if Isaac had used a heaven-defying method to raise his level by two or three stages.

Having witnessed the miraculous ability to amplify one’s level with his own eyes, it was a hundred times better to obtain clues about this heaven-defying technique through him rather than taking the Cultivator’s life.

“If you share with me the secret technique for amplifying one’s level, I will not only spare your life but also never invade this country again.”

“You ignored my request for dialogue earlier. Don’t you think it’s too late now?”

“Haha! Cultivator, haven’t you been indiscriminately slaughtering our demon race for a while now? Your actions have been quite rough for someone seeking a ceasefire negotiation.”

“Then it seems we finally have room for dialogue. I too have no desire to continue waging war against the northern demon race. I merely repaid what was done to us.”

“Hearing your words, it seems you’re in the mood to negotiate? Does a secret technique that can amplify one’s level by a couple of stages really exist in this world?”

“First, take a look at this. It’s a copy of the core principles of my main technique.”

Isaac pulled out a crisp book from thin air and threw it towards the Great Demon Army commander.

Whoosh.

Wary of Isaac’s actions, the Great Demon Army commander stopped the book at a distance and scanned it with his spiritual sense. Only then did he feel safe enough to bring the book to himself.

He attempted to instantly verify the contents of the book by utilizing his demonic energy.

Zap!

“Huh!?”

The moment he confirmed the contents of the book, the Great Demon Army commander’s eyes became unfocused. He reached out towards the magic circle from which the massive crimson forearm had emerged.

Fwoosh.

The large amount of demonic energy inscribed in the magic circle slowly dissipated. The owner of the crimson forearm said something to him, but the Great Demon Army commander paid no attention and completely withdrew the demonic energy, causing the magic circle in the air to crumble entirely.

But right at that moment.

Flash!

The lifeless gaze of the Great Demon Army commander returned, now filled with a chilling murderous intent. He shouted:

“What have you done to me!”

“Is there a problem? You wanted the secret technique, so I merely provided you with a copy of my method.”

“How dare you act innocent after stealing my soul! I’ll use every trick I have to kill you today!”

Roaaaar!

Flap―

The two pairs of demonic wings on the Great Demon Army commander’s back spread out wide.

Having lost one of his trump cards by reading the book that Isaac had pre-enchanted with a mind control technique, he was blinded with rage.

‘This aura is no joke. I might die in one hit.’

Isaac instinctively judged that if he tried to withstand the attack and fill his combat gauge against the Great Demon Army commander’s immense fighting spirit, he might lose his life.

Swoosh!

The long spear, brimming with demonic energy, thrust towards his chest.

Faced with this critical moment, Isaac decided to activate Unlimited Mode, even if just for a very brief time.

Whooom!

“…!”

Upon meeting Isaac’s ice-blue eyes, the Great Demon Army commander suddenly stopped his movement and retreated far back.

He broke out in a cold sweat and hastily ordered his demon soldiers to retreat.

The previously domineering Nakhal of the Great Demon Army fled like an arrow, becoming a mere dot in the dry sky before disappearing.

Isaac, with an expressionless face, didn’t pursue him and instead descended to the coast of Sokcho where the heroes had taken refuge.

No one at the scene, except for Isaac, could understand why Nakhal of the Great Demon Army had suddenly retreated that day.

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After returning to South Korea for the first time in nearly a month, Isaac spent two days solidifying the internal affairs of the Harmony Clan and even held a company dinner at an expensive meat restaurant.

“Eat to your heart’s content.”

“Leader, you’re the best!”

“I even skipped lunch for this moment!”

The four members of the First Squad, whose loyalty to their leader had reached its peak, sat next to Isaac and devoured plenty of Korean beef sirloin, tenderloin, and flank steak.

On the other hand, team leaders and employees, including CEO Kim Hak-dong, became much more cautious in their attitude towards Isaac, while the heroes belonging to the Harmony Clan cast envious and admiring glances at the First Squad members who were chatting at the same table as Isaac.

With the new headquarters over 90% complete, by the end of the year, the Harmony Clan was set to grow into the largest clan in South Korea in name and reality.

For the following day, Isaac did nothing and spent time relaxing on his own.

He leisurely appreciated the people walking on the streets and the natural scenery while strolling along the Han River embankment with Gunggi, and he also organized the insights gained through his training by reading books by famous philosophers and those conducive to religious contemplation.

Early the next morning.

After concluding a brief meeting with the newly appointed association president, the Machine Commander, S-class heroes like the Sword Emperor, and other association executives, Isaac headed to the neighboring country, Japan, which was still battling against apocalyptic disasters.