Chapter 696

The buildings shook, and the ground rumbled.

The silence that had enveloped the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace had long since been shattered.

The tribesmen of the Outer Palace, who had locked their doors and hidden in their homes, pulled their young children into their arms. The warriors who had been idly spending their shifts on the watchtowers installed throughout the area widened their eyes as they instinctively turned their heads.

“W-What is that…?”

Kuaaaang!

A massive roar that shook heaven and earth swallowed the dazed voice that slipped from someone’s lips.

One warrior, belatedly regaining his senses, shouted as if screaming.

“I-It’s an enemy!”

But most of the warriors didn’t move at those words. No, they couldn’t move.

How could they?

All they could do was stare, mouths agape, at the horde of beasts surging along the dozen or so main roads of the Outer Palace.

‘T-This can’t be.’

It was both terrifying and awe-inspiring.

Thousands—no, tens of thousands of beasts were running as one.

No one present had ever seen such a sight.

Not even the oldest elder in this land, not even his grandfather.

A disaster. Or a miracle.

Faced with something beyond comprehension, they—mere ordinary warriors—froze like stone statues.

Even the shouts of their superior, the first to regain his senses, only scattered into their ears like distant echoes.

“Sound the alarm! Sound the alarm! We must inform the Inner Palace immediately!”

“Ah. A-Ah…”

“You idiot!”

The enraged superior shoved aside his absent-minded subordinate. Just as he reached for the rope connected to the alarm bell, he realized the scorching sunlight that had been pouring down moments ago had vanished.

Swoosh.

Dark clouds?

No. The dark clouds he knew didn’t move this fast, and they didn’t hang this low.

Then, as a strange sound reached his ears, he finally identified the approaching “clouds” and muttered a curse, stunned.

“…Damn it.”

At that moment—

The dark clouds—no, the countless flying beasts that rushed in, blackening a swath of the vast sky—engulfed him.

Swoosh!

Flap! Flap!

He couldn’t identify the types, or even the numbers. Sharp cries, flashing beaks, and fluttering feathers filled every direction.

The flying beasts, fused into a single massive monster, swept through the five watchtowers like a storm.

No—they destroyed them.

Crack, crunch!

“T-The watchtower is collapsing!”

“Uwaaaah!”

United and surging forward, the flying beasts were nothing less than living siege rams.

With the world tilting beneath them, the warriors plummeted along with the debris of the shattered watchtowers.

Thud! Clang!

The alarm bell, as large as a sturdy man, rolled across the ground first. Then the warriors followed, bodies twisting through the air before slamming down, staggering as they tried to catch their breath.

And when they raised their heads—

A massive shadow loomed over them.

“Where is Baek Sang?”

A low voice pierced their ears, and every person present felt a chill as if their hearts had frozen solid.

Was it because of the massive White Tiger, enough to make their legs tremble from a single glance?

Or was it because of the countless beasts behind it?

No. The presence carried by the White Tiger was strangely warm and mysterious, and the eyes of the beasts standing close were docile.

What froze them was the gaze of the man riding on the White Tiger’s back, looking down at them.

A tall, perfectly balanced physique. Disheveled hair. Exotic features that were cool and sharp, unlike the Southern Barbarians.

And a pure white spear in his hand.

“Jin Taekyung!”

At someone’s scream-like cry, the warriors’ hands instinctively reached for the weapons at their waists.

Or rather, they tried to.

At least, until Jin Taekyung opened his mouth.

“If you draw that, you won’t see a good end.”

“And if you have eyes, look around you. See who else is here besides me.”

The beast that had turned the entire Southern Barbarian land upside down.

They had thought nothing could surprise them after Jin Taekyung appeared with such an overwhelming number of beasts.

But they couldn’t help widening their eyes when they recognized the face of another person.

Step.

Another White Tiger, smaller in build, strode forward.

On its back sat a beautiful woman—beauty that couldn’t be hidden even beneath her weary appearance.

“S-Surely…”

“Chieftain Yohee?”

Yohee. A clear voice flowed from her red lips.

“Do you recognize me?”

How could they not? Every year, during the grand assembly, the streets packed with people desperate to see her as she appeared before them.

But what confused them most was this:

She, rumored to have died after the incident in the Western Yao Tribe a few days ago, stood beside Jin Taekyung without fear or restraint.

And she stood at the head of an endless number of beasts.

“C-Chieftain. Why are you with such a ferocious beast…?”

“Ferocious beast, you say.”

Yohee murmured softly and turned her head to look at Jin Taekyung.

But Jin Taekyung wasn’t looking at her.

He was staring at the huge iron gate separating the Outer Palace from the Inner Palace—at the end of the road, where an ominous presence already lingered—and he suddenly spoke.

“He’s coming. The ferocious beast.”

And the next moment—

Thud thud thud.

With a heavy grinding sound, the iron gate began to open.

Above the high-stacked stone walls of the Inner Palace, countless arrowheads appeared.

Chuh chuh chuh chuh!

Arrowheads gleamed in the sunlight.

Bowstrings drawn to the limit. Breaths held tight.

As a thousand archers took aim from atop the walls, the figure concealed behind the iron gate finally revealed himself.

Step.

Footsteps, unusually loud, echoed.

A pure white robe, not marked by even a speck of dust, brushed the ground.

Calm eyes crossed the space and met one person.

“You’ve come. You finally came.”

Baek Sang.

At the voice filled with majestic power, Jin Taekyung lowered his spear and replied.

“Yes, I came.”

You son of a bitch.

—

Baek Sang.

The moment I saw his face, I felt the blood in my body boil like lava.

I want to charge right now.

I want to kick off the Guardian Spirit’s back, sprint like the wind, and end his life with the fastest, strongest blow I can muster.

But—

Swish.

Slender fingers gripped my sleeve. Yohee’s trembling voice reached my ears.

“No. Not yet.”

Yes. I know.

If I cut off Baek Sang’s head now, it would be like lighting the fuse on a bomb with no time left.

Baek Sang must not die like that.

He must die not as the Palace Lord of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, but as a traitor and usurper who deceived all the Southern Barbarians and colluded with Dark Heaven.

If the Palace Lord dies, a terrible battle will follow. But no warrior will fight for a traitor.

That was the only way to reduce even a little of the pointless sacrifice.

And Yohee beside me was the decisive piece that could expose the whole truth and stop the coming battle.

“Let’s go.”

At my whisper, the Guardian Spirit and Muyaho nodded and began to move.

At the same time, a thousand arrowheads shifted in unison, tracking us as we advanced—neither fast nor slow.

As if they would unleash a rain of arrows the instant an order was given.

But as the distance steadily closed, the gleaming arrowheads began to tremble, and the taut bowstrings loosened.

Starting with those who recognized Yohee, a small commotion spread along the Inner Palace walls.

Of course, there was an exception.

Baek Sang.

I stared at his unwavering face and spoke.

“Even so, the chieftain you shared meals with has returned alive. You should at least say hello. Don’t you think?”

My voice, packed with force, spread in all directions.

Amid the growing commotion, Baek Sang finally parted his tightly sealed lips.

“What affection is there that requires greetings? All relationships are formed by each other’s purposes.”

I could feel my face harden without realizing it.

Maybe Yohee felt the same.

We were sharing the same thought.

‘Why?’

The Baek Sang I knew wasn’t like this.

He is cunning and crafty. One of the biggest reasons the Southern Barbarians are in such chaos is his scheming—more terrifying than his martial arts.

But he admitted it. Yohee’s existence.

Even in front of everyone who followed him.

Strength poured into the hand holding my spear. I clenched my teeth and glared at Baek Sang with burning eyes.

“What… what kind of trickery is this?”

“Did you think I would deny it?”

Baek Sang asked back, then abruptly turned around.

Beyond the wide-open iron gate, countless Southern Barbarian warriors—an ocean of blades—stared at him with wide eyes. Above them, archers on the stone walls held their bows, frozen in disbelief.

“What more needs to be said? Everything you know, and what they will soon realize, is all the truth.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Baek Sang pulled his gaze away from the warriors and looked up at the sky.

A clear sky without a single cloud. Hot sunlight fell on his face.

“I betrayed everyone.”

A low voice filled with power shattered the suffocating silence.

It rode the air, cut through the wind, and reached everyone—across the road that split the Outer Palace, and atop the Inner Palace walls.

“I lived each day like ten years. I became an unforgivable traitor to achieve only one goal, and finally, I have come this far.”

Suddenly, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

This wasn’t a confession of sins, and it wasn’t a plea for forgiveness.

No, it was—

‘Relief that everything is over. And despair.’

An emotion fundamentally different from resignation.

Baek Sang was simply pouring it out—the feelings he had suppressed for decades, without missing a single day.

And he was revealing his despair without hiding it, even after achieving the goal he had wanted so desperately.

In an instant, a thought flashed through my mind like lightning.

The hair on my body stood on end.

A scream tore from my lips.

“Everyone, step back…!”

And the next moment—

Thud thud thud! Flash!

With a thunderous roar that shook heaven and earth, dark clouds swallowed the sky above everyone’s heads.

Not a single ray of sunlight remained.

In that world of darkness, a voice pierced my ears.

“What a pity. It’s already too late.”