Part 1, Chapter 8, 20

If you know your enemy and yourself, you will not be defeated in a hundred battles.

I knew intimately well how terrifying Xiaolin, Hayate, Unjang, and Jilpungek were. With the Chaos Phantom Dragon possessing Xiaolin joining them, I couldn’t fight recklessly.

If there’s even a 1% chance of dying, don’t do it. Because if you really die, that’s the end.

So, I had to prepare thoroughly. For a one-step retreat to advance two steps, I used a time-honored escape technique, and successfully got away.

“Oh my god.”

The Black Scorpion monstrous human, who was playing marbles with cores in the stone chamber, jumped in surprise. I deactivated my monstrous human form and revived Deokbae, who had become a core.

“Ugh! Haa, haa.”

Deokbae returned to his monstrous human form and gasped for breath on the floor. The Black Scorpion monstrous human showed considerable interest in his appearance, but I didn’t have time to satisfy his curiosity.

“Give me the cores.”

“Here you go.”

The Black Scorpion monstrous human tossed the cores he was playing with to me. Three S-rank cores with sustained properties. The byproducts of killing the Black Scorpions lay in my palm.

“Can’t you beat them? Are you running away right now?”

“No. I was just thinking for a moment.”

Since I teleported using Mini Phoenix, the Chaos Phantom Dragon wouldn’t be able to find my location. I reminded myself of my current strength.

Me.

Jo Deokbae.

A horde of about 500 C-rank Phantom Flame Spirit monstrous humans.

And the S-rank Black Scorpion monstrous human.

“Excuse me. Are you capable of combat?”

“If it’s self-defense.”

The Black Scorpion monstrous human struck a pose, showing off his martial prowess. However, he was only monstrous politically; he was relatively weak to face two monstrous humans whose combat power reached 100.

“Tch.”

“A strong enemy?”

“No, a difficult one.”

An enemy I shouldn’t kill but can’t control my strength against. I raised the hand that Jilpungek had once cut off.

“If I go easy, I lose, but if I don’t, I kill them?”

“So you mean you shouldn’t kill them.”

“That’s about it.”

Since the Chaos Phantom Dragon possessed Xiaolin, it would likely be able to exert the power of an SS-rank ability user. With Jilpungek also attached, it was an incredibly troublesome force.

“Why not call the Black Flame Dragon?”

“He needs to draw aggro from the small fry in Beijing. …Hmm.”

I had a joker card, but I couldn’t use it right now. That was a joker card to break the Chaos Phantom Dragon’s will after thoroughly subduing it, not a means to turn the tide of battle.

“So what do we do now….”

The most important thing was to make the Chaos Phantom Dragon steel its will to do something on its own. Now that I had entered Chinese territory, it wouldn’t be able to sleep even if it wanted to.

“A way to make that kid snap out of it… Ah.”

It suddenly came to mind.

“The Great Escape.”

The Chaos Phantom Dragon, with the help of the protagonist’s party, escaped Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum and embarked on an escape route with them. The Chaos Phantom Dragon, who had done nothing while being carried on the protagonist’s back, awakened from its slumber by becoming curious about the protagonist’s party, who were desperately trying to escape.

Why are they running away so desperately?

“I guess I’ll just let them experience it directly.”

I pointed at the Phantom Flame Spirits with my hand.

“Your Majesty. Would you like to command military forces for a change?”

The Black Scorpion monstrous human curled the corner of his lips into a smile.

* * *

At the moment Phoenix detonated a flashbang and hid himself.

The three of them kept their guard up in all directions, preparing for any unexpected attack. The sun was still just about to set, and Phoenix could ambush them at any time, hidden under the sunlight.

“…How many minutes have we been doing this?”

“It’s well over 30 minutes.”

Bonghyo replied to the Chaos Phantom Dragon, enduring his dizziness. Phoenix, who had detonated the flash, had vanished without a trace, and they judged that he would ambush them after letting their guard down.

“……Did he just run away?”

“No way. No way. If he just fights, he wins, so why would he run away?”

Jilpungek nervously brandished his blade. For him, it was an incomprehensible act for a strong person to withdraw from a life-or-death battle.

Because it wasn’t a 1:1? Jilpungek glared at Xiaolin with resentful eyes.

“So why did you take over someone else’s body?!”

“Shut up. Don’t tell me what to do, you mere human. …Ah, this is annoying. We’ve waited long enough.”

The Chaos Phantom Dragon’s patience was short. The spirit, slowly crawling out of Xiaolin’s body, fell to the floor with a ‘pop’ sound.

“If you sleep in a cold place, your back will hurt.”

Xiaolin picked up the Chaos Phantom Dragon, who had fallen to the floor. For some reason, the Chaos Phantom Dragon was blushing, but Bonghyo and Jilpungek didn’t notice it.

“I’m also at my limit….”

Thud. Bonghyo collapsed from anemia.

“Hey! Don’t let your guard down! This is all a trick to make us complacent and then ambush us!”

Jilpungek didn’t relax his stance, even as he sweated profusely. Xiaolin turned his gaze to the Chaos Phantom Dragon he was holding in front of him.

“Master, no, my liege.”

“……Why?”

“Would you please revive my elder brother and subordinates?”

“It’s annoying…. Do I really have to?”

The Chaos Phantom Dragon whined even while being held by Xiaolin. Xiaolin silently nodded and coaxed the Chaos Phantom Dragon.

“The more escorts we have right now, the better. Didn’t they guard your sleeping quarters?”

“It didn’t have much effect.”

“But it wasn’t completely ineffective, was it?”

“…That’s true.”

When the Chaos Phantom Dragon gestured, Xiaolin carefully placed him near Bonghyo’s corpse. The Chaos Phantom Dragon didn’t even stand up, but pulled Bonghyo’s collar and placed his hand on his core.

“Revive.”

Whoosh.

The core instantly consumed Bonghyo’s body, then reconstructed it. His twisted back straightened, and his torn-off arm regrew.

“…Thank you.”

The revived Bonghyo bowed his head in gratitude. He gathered his torn clothes and then took out cores one by one, placing them on the Chaos Phantom Dragon’s palm.

“Huuuuh!”

“Kuaaa!”

The monstrous humans were revived one by one. The Phantom Dragon Corps were all revived, and the epicenter of the missile explosion became as quiet as if silence had descended.

“What should we do now, elder brother?”

Xiaolin asked Bonghyo for his opinion. The Chaos Phantom Dragon seemed to have done its part by reviving the Phantom Dragon Corps and fell asleep again. Xiaolin held the whining, clinging Chaos Phantom Dragon firmly with both arms so he wouldn’t fall.

“I don’t know why that person fled, but they will soon attack our liege again.”

“So you’re saying he didn’t just run away. Ugh.”

Bonghyo scratched his head, lost in thought. The other members of the Phantom Dragon Corps were all pulling down their pants to check if their genitals were intact, sighing in relief.

“There’s no choice. We have to lure them to a place where we can win even if we have to fight. Chaos Phantom Dragon-nim.”

Bonghyo poked the Chaos Phantom Dragon’s cheek to wake him up. He was about to fall asleep and frowned, but the serious look on Bonghyo’s face made him suppress his displeasure.

“Why…?”

“Does your possession, Chaos Phantom Dragon-nim, allow the possessed to exert 100% of their power?”

“Yes.”

“Then, is it possible to possess a corpse?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s settled. This battle is our victory.”

Bonghyo was confident of victory. He then checked their location and extended his hand eastward.

“Provided we reach our destination.”

The destination Bonghyo was thinking of was Shanghai, a coastal city directly opposite their current location.

“The corpse of the God of War is enshrined there.”

The Chaos Phantom Dragon woke up with a start at the mention of the SS-rank martial artist who had defeated the Seongju.

“Let’s go right now!”

The Chaos Phantom Dragon saw a glimmer of hope. And he hugged Bonghyo, tears welling up in his eyes.

“You’re truly the best!”

“It’s nothing. I merely….”

Bonghyo nodded with a face full of loyalty.

“I merely dedicate everything for you, who has trusted me completely.”

The Phantom Dragon Corps’ direction was set. Having decided on their destination, they quickly began running eastward.

“Hey! You shouldn’t move now!”

Jilpungek, left alone, gritted his teeth and tried to follow, then scratched his head.

“……He’ll come back, right? Yes, he’ll come back.”

If the opponent was someone who understood martial arts, he would surely return for a rematch. Jilpungek maintained his firm stance, ready to cut down anyone who appeared.

“Come on, come! I won’t be ambushed! A fair and square 1:1 match!”

Jilpungek waited for Phoenix, staring into the darkness alone, until the darkness deepened.

He waited and waited, never imagining that the opponent had truly run away.

* * *

“That one is still doing that.”

I clicked my tongue, watching Jilpungek from a distance outside his range. Thinking about how he suddenly appeared and interfered with me, I wanted to stab a knife into his neck right away, but I couldn’t, since he was the main heroine’s only family member, after all.

“Tsk. Just get your hymen pierced as planned.”

“What did you say?”

“It’s just a curse, don’t mind it. …No, why. He is pretty, isn’t he?”

Deokbae shivered with fright. As expected of the Round Table’s official beauty, Hayate possessed such strong androgynous charm that he could be considered a universally acknowledged beauty with just a little effort.

“That’s why he gets caught.”

“By whom?”

“I can’t tell you, it’s a spoiler.”

“……He is certainly beautiful. An exotic beauty.”

The Black Scorpion monstrous human stroked his chin, admiring Jilpungek’s beauty.

“But that’s a man?”

“Yes. He has one.”

“Homosexuals would love him. So, are you planning to fight him?”

“No. I’ll just leave him to catch the cold wind alone.”

“What a pity. If you had won, I was going to ask you to bring him to my bedchamber.”

“…This is insane.”

I involuntarily shivered with a chill.

“Your Majesty, was that your preference?”

“A good-looking rice cake is also good to eat. Ugh, what a shame. If I had honed my martial arts a little more in my lifetime, I would have made him kneel with my own sword.”

The Black Scorpion monstrous human kept smacking his lips, expressing regret. To stop him from imagining his rose-tinted dreams, I changed the subject of our conversation and the direction we should take.

“The Phantom Bandit, no, the Phantom Dragon Corps guys ran away. Whichever way, they must be trying to escape from me.”

“Where do you think they’ll go?”

“Hmm. I wonder.”

The Chaos Phantom Dragon would know well that it couldn’t defeat me in a normal 1:1 fight. Even if it possessed Xiaolin and fought me 1:1, my chances of winning would be higher if I used my monstrous human form.

If I were in the opposite situation….

“The God of War.”

“Huh?”

“They’d try to get their hands on the God of War’s corpse.”

“Who is the God of War?”

The Black Scorpion monstrous human seemed more interested than I expected in the epithet ‘God of War’. I debated whether to tell him or not, but Deokbae spoiled it.

“Well, this guy says he’s the reincarnation of the Hegemon-King of Chu?”

“…Chu? The Chu I know?”

The Black Scorpion’s expression became subtle. I had no choice but to explain the part I had vaguely glossed over to him.

“Well, after your Majesty died.”

“Your country didn’t even last 50 years, let alone 500, and it was destroyed. The person who contributed greatly to that destruction was a man named Xiang Yu. Oh, but the current God of War is said to be a reincarnation, so is he a different person?”

Deokbae mocked the Black Scorpion monstrous human. I knew he was reckless from the start, but I never imagined he would commit such disrespect to the first emperor of humanity.

“Deokbae-ssi?”

“It’s fine. I am already a dead being. Although I have been revived, I am no longer the emperor of an empire.”

He said that, but his tail was trembling. Although he was trying to act unfazed, he seemed to have been quite shocked.

“Ahem.”

I cleared my throat, drawing their attention.

“Anyway, if they possess the God of War’s corpse, it’ll become quite troublesome.”

“Can’t you beat him?”

“It’s because I can’t completely guarantee a full victory.”

If there’s even a 10% chance of defeat, it’s important to eliminate that 10%. My life isn’t infinite, and I only have one coin.

“I need to get insurance. Your Majesty. First, pursue those Phantom Bandit guys. The command is yours.”

“Alright. So, I just need to herd them.”

“Yes. I’ll go to the destination in advance.”

What kind of expression would the final boss make if I was waiting at the exit? To make the Chaos Phantom Dragon even more anxious, I decided to mobilize public authority.

“Yes, hello. I’d like to report some individuals suspected of being subversive elements….”

Because we weren’t the only ones chasing the Phantom Bandits.

***

“A report has come in. It seems to be individuals presumed to be Bonghyo and Unjang.”

“Presumed? Are you reporting uncertain information to me now?”

Mao Zeping chastised Munhwa with an annoyed expression. But Munhwa continued his report with a rather triumphant demeanor.

“There’s a report that the gray girl your father mentioned was also with them.”

“Where?”

Mao Zeping composed his voice and asked softly. Munhwa pointed to a part of the map and said with a confident voice.

“Yes. They are heading south from near Xi’an City, towards this location.”

“……The Yangtze River?”

The place Munhwa pointed to was the Yangtze River, a massive waterway that traversed the continent from east to west.

“……Call all Dongchang forces.”

Mao Zeping rose, filled with unease. At the end of the Yangtze River, where it flowed into the sea, was Shanghai.

“Have them stand by in the heart of Shanghai. And prepare to depart in 30 minutes.”

“…But the Black Dragon is rampaging outside right now.”

Kaaaooooh!

The dragon’s roar shook the building. Munhwa broke out in a cold sweat, and Mao Zeping clenched his tobacco pipe, suppressing his anger.

“I told you to prepare.”

“……Yes.”

Munhwa turned and left the director’s office. Mao Zeping, left alone, soothed his anger by stroking the photos of the Phantom Bandits, especially the one of the gray girl.

“Bonghyo…. So you made a lover behind my back.”

Mao Zeping sighed with a heated breath and clicked his tongue.

“Now that I think about it, I’ve never tasted my son’s wife.”

Mao Zeping immediately picked up the receiver.

“Yes. This is Director Mao Zeping. Please contact His Excellency urgently. I have located the terrorists. Time is of the essence. Although a monstrous human is rampaging in Beijing right now…. Yes?”

Mao Zeping’s face crumpled.

“Requesting support from the Round Table?”