Chapter 145: Madman (5)

Chapter 145: Madman (5) "It was a few years ago.... When we were about to conquer the Cold Spirit Race, I wondered why the Integration cultivators didn't stop the Mad Lord, remember?" Her words continue. "I heard that near the Human Territory , a massive upheaval of fate shook the entire Bright Cold Realm. Rumor has it that a portal to the Immortal Realm opened, diverting the attention of all Integration cultivators to the Human Territory ." Kim Yeon playfully taps my shoulder. "And only recently, the rumors about the Immortal Realm were sorted out. Can you guess what happened?" She takes a deep breath. "The Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect, where Section Chief Jeon Myeong-hoon had gone, was annihilated by a True Immortals attack. The upheaval of fate, the opening of the portal to the Immortal Realm, it was all a precursor to the True Immortal seeking the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect. Haha... Section Chief Jeon was the only one to survive the horrifying True Immortals bombardment. He became half-crazed, wandering here and there. Strangely, wherever he goes, lightning strikes, earning him the title 'Lightning Harbinger.'" Theres a bittersweet expression on her face. "Lightning Harbinger Jeon Myeong-hoon wanders around searching for something, annihilating anyone who blocks his path, be it an individual or race. This has caused him to accrue much enmity, being pursued here and there, then seeking revenge in turn and annihilating entire races... He's been repeating this for years, earning quite the infamous reputation... But, of course, not as much as us." Thump! With a flick of her finger, puppets move, bringing the corpses of a race in front of us. Kugugugu! Above, [She] is emanating an Integration stage aura, looking down in all directions. After conquering the Cold Spirit Race and strengthened with materials from the Light Spirit Pond, [She] and the puppets in the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress have all significantly increased in power. "Anyway, since all the Integration cultivators flocked to the Human Territory , our forces in the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress have grown stronger, and hes already created several Integration stage puppets... Escaping the Mad Lord's grasp seems even more distant now."Visit for the best novel reading experience A blood-stained battlefield. The puppets are busy clearing the battlefield, and Kim Yeon sits on a throne made of puppets, placing 'me' beside her as she talks. "Anyway, I'd like to meet Section Chief Jeon sometime. Will he understand my feelings? The feeling of losing someone precious? Ahaha..." She laughs weakly and buries her head on my chest. "Min-hee Unnie is currently traveling the Bright Cold Realm with the Black Ghost Valley, honing her skills. I heard she controls millions of ghosts with one hand... Now, in the entire Bright Cold Realm, there's no one who doesn't know of her. If we're famous for our infamy, she's famous for her tremendous reputation. There were even attacks on her by spies from the True Devil, Blood Yin, and Nether Ghost Realms. Hahaha..." Through Kim Yeon's words, the whereabouts of our companions emerge one after another. "Chief Oh is making a name for himself in the Azure Heaven Creation Sect. As the direct disciple of the sect founder, Azure Tiger Saint, he's known for his heroism. Maybe, he'll join an alliance to confront the Mad Lord in the future. Haha... It wouldn't be bad to be saved by the hands of our colleagues, right?" She kept looking at me as she spoke, yet 'General Seo' didnt look back but kept watching the battlefield as commanded by the Mad Lord. "Hye-seo, Hye-seo Unnie... I haven't heard much about her. Rumors say she married Seo Hweol, the Sea Dragon King, and became the Dragon Queen... Seo Hweol is active as a military advisor in the True Dragon Alliance, but there's no news about Hye-seo Unnie. It's strange, right? Even the dragons in the True Dragon Alliance don't know much about her... It's as if the information is deliberately blocked. Haha... Mad Lord said Seo Hweol must have intervened, that he's the most cunning in the world or whatever... I wonder if a madman is qualified to talk ill of others." Squeeze... She grips General Seo's body, which she had been tapping and stroking. "Director Kim... Well, of course, there's no news. If there was a way to contact him in the lower realm... I'm not even sure if he's alive. Oh, now that I think about it, wasn't he sent somewhere by Mad Lord with Eun-hyun Oppa? Eun-hyun Oppa, what do you think happened to Director Kim? "..." "Oppa?" "..." "...I'm asking you." Creak.... Kim Yeon's intent becomes unstable. Im asking you, so answer meWhy arent you answering me! Why! Answer! Answer! Seo Eun-hyun! Im telling you to answer me! Kugugugugu! As she rages, the sky trembles and the earth shakes. Though she is merely at the Heavenly Being stage, her power, amplified by her vast consciousness, reaches the Four-Axis level. Natural disasters occur, and the world in all directions is in turmoil. "Just why! Why did you leave me behind! Why! Please answer me! Eun-hyun Oppa, I've told you about our colleagues, haven't I? Isn't there anything else you're curious about? I'll tell you. Please, just answer me... Comfort me like you did back then..." Kim Yeon, in a frenzy, sobs uncontrollably, clutching General Seo's shoulders. "Waaaaaaah!" And I, feeling her intense pain beside me, grit my teeth internally. Its been 80 years since I became General Seo. Eighty years since I started trying to take over General Seo's spiritual circuits. Wo-woong! I have managed to gain control over some circuits inside the upper dantian. Now, when I move up to the upper dantian, I can instantly crush and utilize the clumps of spiritual energy replicating my soul as my resources. Yet, I still can't express anything externally. I haven't yet gained control over the circuits in the facial or neck areas, and as I gain control over more circuits, more consciousnesses linked to them emerge. Through these consciousnesses, more and more of the 'murmurs' of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress reach me. The Mad Lord has been rampaging across the Bright Cold realm for 80 years, conquering races and creating puppets. One billion. Around one billion new puppets have joined the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, and their 'murmurs' grow louder. Each time I take control of a circuit, another gateway for murmurs opens, and the murmurs only grow louder over time. The immense pressure almost drives me mad, but I persevere, clenching my teeth. "Please answer me! Respond..." 'I can't accept your heart.' But, 'Even so, you keep giving your heart to me...' This heart. 'Someday, I will surely return it.' If I don't repay the one who weeps for me, This life will be worthless. Even if I have no intention of accepting their heart, I hope that the one who weeps for me will someday find salvation. For that, I must survive...! I acknowledge Kim Yeon sobbing beside me and exert more effort to take over the circuits. And then, 500 years passed. Kim Yeon reached the Four-Axis stage. The Mad Lord's Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress grew even more, and now there are over fifteen Integration stage puppets. The Mad Lord became famous across the entire Bright Cold Realm, and his direct disciple, Kim Yeon, became well-known too. But her eyes lost more and more light, and she increasingly spent time clutching General Seo, sobbing madly or lost in madness, repeating 'I love you.' "Eun-hyun Oppa, there's news about our colleagues again. Do you want to hear it?" "..." "Thank you for listening. As always, you're all I have. Hehe..." At some point, Kim Yeon started muttering to herself while looking at me. 'And if the Mad Lord realizes this fact, he will try to completely extract my soul from this puppet.' That must not happen. Then, what should I do? Over the past 500 years, I had found a way. 'Through the interconnected circuits, I will gradually take control of other puppets of the Mad Lord.' Its possible through the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon. 'As long as I properly execute only the commands given by the Mad Lord, there's no reason to be caught.' There's no need to control the entire Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress. Just the puppets around General Seo. I only need to control the area where those puppets reside. 'Although the puppets strictly follow the Mad Lord's command, a few minor errors are inevitable, and such errors are corrected internally by the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, without information reaching the Mad Lord.' After controlling one area, By accumulating small errors and pushing them all onto General Seo, For a brief moment, I can theoretically escape the Mad Lord's sight and control General Seo's body. 'Surely, it's possible.' Already, besides General Seo, I have controlled the spiritual energy circuits of eight thousand puppets. Regrettably, I had to indirectly control the puppets through General Seo's spiritual energy waves, not my own consciousness, so taking control was slower than expected. And if I project my consciousness outward, the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress will notice, so I can't even talk to Kim Yeon. "Hu, huhu." I look at her for a moment, lost in thought. And then. 'With around eight thousand, I can't move General Seo's body.' I decided. 'But... one arm...' Click, click, click.... Eight thousand puppets, all at once, made a very slight, insignificant error. 'I've found the method to some extent....' And such small errors are corrected internally by the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress. Click, click, click.... Through the interconnectedness of the puppets, I concentrate all those errors into one of General Seo's arms. Click, click, click! General Seo's arm seems to twist, but my consciousness takes control of the arm. And then 'It took a long time.' But forgive me. Starting today, I will continuously express my existence to you. Pat, pat. "...?" General Seo's arm, after 500 years, patted Kim Yeon's shoulder following my will. 'By using the errors, I can even control the mouth a little....' It's risky, but if its just for a fleeting moment. When Kim Yeon's gaze turns towards me. I slightly lift the corner of General Seo's mouth. And though the error is quickly corrected and my actions return to normal. Kim Yeon's eyes widened in surprise. "Oppa...?" Her eyes, soaked in madness, clears up momentarily. She might not truly believe it. She might just need something to comfort herself. But as if clinging to a lifeline of hope. She who saw my small gesture, trembling, raises both hands, and grabs General Seo's arm. "Are you... there?" As a disciple of the Mad Lord for 500 years. She knows all about how the puppets are made and what happens to beings turned into puppets. "Behindthe artificial soulare you there?" But. Knowing that fact, still holding onto hope, she looks at me and asks. Though I have used up all the errors I could mobilize for the moment and couldn't respond, tears well up in her eyes. Different from the murky tears she had been shedding until now. "Aaah, you're there, aren't you? Eun-hyun Oppa, finally, you responded, didnt you? Drip, drip.... Having received a response for the first time in 500 years, she bites her lips and embraces General Seo's body. "Thank you, for responding... for staying..." It mightve been a very small signal. But she clings to it, endlessly thanking me. In the Mad Lord's Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress. One of the madmen in the fortress of the insane. Began to find her way back. Psssttt.... Her consciousness clears. And as the madness that hindered her achievement disappears, Kim Yeon's Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon fully blossoms. 'Aaah...' Finally. My eyes meet with hers. Translator Notes: Donated chapter by Mrwiskers. Thanks for the support! *** Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried Link to donations in the discord!