Chapter 721
Even now, nearly ten days after ‘that day,’ restoration work continued in the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
The Inner Palace, the heart of the palace, was completely devastated, and the Outer Palace also suffered considerable damage from the aftermath of the battle.
Fortunately, by mobilizing all warriors and beasts, most of the debris could be cleared in a short time. However, building houses and pavilions for the tribesmen who had lost their homes was still a long way off.
“Okay, let’s lift it together on three. One, two.”
“Hmph!”
Crack!
They combined their strength to lift a large rock and carried thick timber on their bruised shoulders.
Yet despite the relentless hard labor, no one complained and simply kept working.
Because this was for everyone.
The Southern Barbarian Beast Palace was a symbol for all who lived on this land, and a spiritual home inherited from their ancestors.
Which tribe they belonged to, what they wore and ate, or which indigenous gods they believed in no longer mattered.
Everyone here had come with a single goal—rebuilding the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace—and that was why even a middle-aged man walked three hundred miles to get here.
Thwack!
The axe, swung with force, struck the thick timber and rebounded. At the same time, a stinging pain shot through his palm.
A young man approached the middle-aged man, who instinctively groaned.
“That’s not how you swing it. Let me see your hand for a moment.”
The middle-aged man hesitantly held out his hand. His palm, which had been a merchant’s hand all his life, was now covered in blisters and blood.
“Oh, that must hurt. You’ve hardly done this kind of work, have you?”
“W-well, that’s right.”
“It’s not just about using strength. You have to put your weight into the axe head and follow the grain in one go, like thwack. Want me to show you?”
The middle-aged man stared blankly at the young man speaking so affably.
Despite his friendly demeanor, he felt subtly unfamiliar.
Not just because he was a stranger, but because of the young man’s appearance. And even his childishly awkward way of speaking.
Only then did a thought suddenly occur to him.
“By any chance?”
“Are you asking if I’m one of Han people? That’s right.”
“Ah, then you’re the one I’ve only heard rumors about…”
“Yes, I am that person.”
“Ohh. Ohhhh!”
The young man smiled deeply at the middle-aged man who exclaimed in admiration and opened his mouth.
“I’m Hyuk Mu-jin.”
“Blazing Fire Dragon Jin Tae… what? Mu-jin?”
“Hyuk Mu-jin. The famous Blazing Fire Dragon Jin Taekyung’s right-hand man! A pillar of the great Taewon Jin Clan! The proud Vice Pavilion Lord of the Martial Arts Alliance’s Fire Dragon Pavilion!”
‘What is this guy?’
‘Do the Han even have names like that?’
The middle-aged man, staring at Hyuk Mu-jin with a dubious look as he rattled off his resume, was about to grab the axe again when it happened.
Drip.
Suddenly, raindrops began to fall.
At the same time, sighs escaped from those who were working. They had mountains of work to do, and rain would naturally slow the pace.
“Damn it. Now we’re even getting rain from a clear sky.”
“What can we do? We have to think of it as a passing shower.”
“Come on, everyone. Let’s put in a little more effort!”
The middle-aged man glanced at the sky.
It was clearly a clear day without a single dark cloud, yet it was raining. Even in the Southern Barbarian, with its fickle climate, this was not a common occurrence.
‘Still, if it’s just a shower, it’s not so bad.’
Perhaps because his whole body was already soaked with sweat, the sudden rain didn’t feel so bad.
No, in fact, he felt good, as if the raindrops hitting his palm were washing away his wounds.
‘It’s refreshing.’
It was at that moment, as the middle-aged man unknowingly closed his eyes.
Thump.
A strong force gripped his wrist. The startled middle-aged man opened his eyes and saw it.
“…What is this?”
Hyuk Mu-jin’s face was stiff, and he could see the change happening on his palm, where Hyuk Mu-jin’s gaze was fixed.
Swish.
Disappearing. No, healing.
The blisters that had filled both palms, the flesh crushed and torn by the axe.
In the empty space where the blood had been washed away by the raindrops, firmer, more resilient flesh awaited him.
As if by agreement, the two men widened their eyes and looked up at the sky at the same moment.
Thud. Thud. Thud!
Through the sunlit raindrops, the sound of drums announcing someone’s return began to echo.
—
Miracle.
Everything could be explained with those two words. No, it was a phenomenon that could only be expressed that way.
Pitter-patter. Swoosh.
The raindrops that had begun to fall at some point.
Carrying warmth, they soaked countless buildings and lands, sprouting flowers and buds, and falling on the heads of all living things.
Washing away their wounds and fatigue…
“The wound, the wound healed!”
“My body feels lighter!”
“W-what on earth…”
Kroong?
And what awakened them from their daze in the face of this unbelievable reality was a lion’s roar that echoed from somewhere.
“In the name of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace Lord, I command you all to come outside!”
The shout, filled with powerful Internal Energy, spread throughout the Outer Palace, and those who followed the command as if possessed saw a giant White Tiger and three people standing tall before them all.
Jeok Cheon-Gang. Beast Miao King. And Jin Taekyung.
“I’ve gathered them all as you said, but what are you going to do now?”
“Isn’t it enough to just tell them to come out and get rained on? They’ll find out when they experience it themselves anyway.”
At the murmurs from Jeok Cheon-Gang and Beast Miao King, Jin Taekyung shook his head without hesitation.
Unlike those who were martial artists to the bone, he, born and raised in modern times, knew how great the effect of marketing was.
“Is it enough to just get rained on once? We have to process it nicely and package it before that.”
“Process? Package?”
“What on earth is that?”
“Well, it’s complicated to explain, but in this case, you can think of it as a kind of political maneuvering.”
Martial artists were a species that remained far from politics even when they were old and dying. However, if you were born in 21st century Korea, it was a different story.
A ruthless world where you became a son of a bitch just for not being good at games.
Jin Taekyung, who had become an orphan dozens of times in a game he had joined for fun, knew the importance of politics better than anyone else.
‘Making a good guy look bad, making a bad guy look good. And…’
Making a good guy even better was what politics was—modern marketing.
Jin Taekyung had no intention of missing this golden opportunity.
‘It would be a shame if it just ended with “Wow, it’s a miracle!”‘
Muttering inwardly, Jin Taekyung took a deep breath. Then he unleashed a shout filled with Internal Energy toward the people.
“Listen, everyone, this is a sacred rain sent down by the Mother Earth!”
Mother Earth?
People blinked at the name they were hearing for the first time, and Beast Miao King whispered with a dubious expression.
“What is that?”
“A god.”
“We don’t have such a god in our land.”
“We do now.”
“What?”
‘What is this guy?’
As Beast Miao King, thrown into confusion, lost his words, Jin Taekyung continued his shout.
“The Mother Earth is the mother of this land, and the only god!”
What?
The only god.
The people who had been listening blankly opened their mouths at those three words.
What kind of place was the Southern Barbarian?
It was a land where thirty-two tribes coexisted, and where there were more than a hundred indigenous gods—more than the number of tribes.
But the only god?
No matter how much disaster they had suffered and how messed up the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace had become, the faith they had believed in all their lives remained the same. Voices full of anger erupted from all around.
“How can you say such nonsense!”
“Mother Eartj? I’ve never even heard of her!”
“I know you’ve worked hard for the Southern Barbarian, but how dare you utter such outrageous words! Only the Wood God I serve is the only god!”
“Don’t you dare bring up the Wood God! The Fire God is the true god!”
“Hey, you little punk!”
The scene became a complete mess. Yet Jin Taekyung’s expression was pleased as he watched the believers fighting, even grabbing one another by the collar.
‘You idiots.’
The religious landscape of the Southern Barbarian was as chaotic as the Sixteen Kingdoms. Thanks to that, things were about to get easier.
Unlike them, his claim had sufficient justification and basis.
“You fools! How can you not feel the grace of Mother Earth even as you bathe in this sacred rain!”
The noise disappeared as if washed away by the stern rebuke that rang out.
One of the tribesmen, about to land a devastating uppercut on another believer, looked up at the sky with a confused expression.
Swoosh.
Rain pouring down from a clear sky. Watching the rain that healed the sick and sprouted new buds, his mind naturally grew complicated.
“B-but the Wood God…”
“So, what did the Wood God do ten days ago? Even when I was setting fire to the mountains, he didn’t do anything special.”
“T-that’s…”
Jin Taekyung, who silenced the hesitant believer, shouted.
“Everyone gathered here has seen it! The dazzling radiance of that day! The warm warmth!”
“The miracle of that day, and the miracle of today, are all blessings bestowed by Mother Earth who pitied you!”
The people’s eyes wavered.
As Jin Taekyung said, they were all eyewitnesses who had seen and experienced everything. Even the raindrops falling on their heads were an unbelievable miracle.
“Mother Earth…”
Even the name was warm and affectionate. Just reciting those words reminded them of their mother’s embrace.
Moreover, she was the only god. The only one.
“T-then what are the other gods we have been serving until now?”
At someone’s question, Jin Taekyung answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“You can’t dare compare the great Mother Earth to miscellaneous gods.”
“M-miscellaneous gods…!”
“The Mother Earth spoke as she performed the miracle. Protect you from useless miscellaneous gods.”
“Ohh. Ohhhh!”
“Hoo. Unbelievable! A miracle followed by a divine message!”
The atmosphere heated up with exclamations as minds and hearts became one.
Jin Taekyung did not miss the moment and raised both hands high.
“Shout it out together! Mother Earth!”
“Mother Earth! Mother Earth!”
“Louder!”
“Mother Earth! Mother Earth!”
“Repeat after me. Mother Earth to Heaven! Unbelievers go to Hell!”
“Mother Earth to Heaven! Unbelievers go to Hell!”
“The Southern Barbarians who believe in the Mother Earth will be saved even in death, and those who do not believe will fall into the fiery pit in death!”
“Waaaaa! Mother Earth!”
“Save us, save this land!”
Beast Miao King stared at Jin Taekyung with a blank look as the tribesmen became the sons and daughters of the Mother Earth.
‘What are you doing, you crazy bastard?’
‘I want to stop him. I have to stop him.’
‘I don’t know what political maneuvering or packaging is, but everyone’s eyes have already gone crazy.’
The sky and the earth shook at the sound of calling out to the Mother Earth as if spitting out blood.
“Mother God Heaven! Unbelievers Hell!”
“Where did the guy who said he believed in the Wood God go!”
“He’s over there! That’s him! Throw him into the fiery pit!”
“Huk! No! I, I’ve already converted!”
“Show us the proof!”
“M-Mother God Heaven! Unbelievers Hell!”
“He’s an ally! Stop the capture! Now find the guy who believed in the Fire God!”
A wave of conversion overflowed from all directions.
Even Jeok Cheon-Gang, who was secretly considering believing in the Fire God under the pressure of thousands—no, tens of thousands—of people, closed his mouth.
Beast Miao King, on the other hand, desperately wanted to stop this madness somehow.
“S-stop it now…”
And at that moment, when Beast Miao King barely managed to force out his voice, Jin Taekyung’s shout echoed.
“Everyone be quiet! The Palace Lord of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, and the high priest chosen by the Mother Earth, has something to say!”
“Stop… what?”
“Speak, High Priest.”
‘What priest?’
‘High priest? Me?’
Before Beast Miao King could even grasp the meaning of those words, countless gazes flew toward him.
A suffocating pressure settled in from all directions.
Eyes filled with more love and trust than ever before—something even he, a fairly popular Palace Lord, had never seen.
What?
The next moment, the lips of Beast Miao King, frozen like a stone statue, opened.
“Mother God Heaven. Unbeliever Hell.”
“Waaaaaa!”
It was a historic moment when true Southern Barbarian unification was achieved under the care of the great Mother Earth.
(T/N : Hahahahaha. Same energy and vibe as Water = Good , Lloyd = Water, Lloyd = Good. hahahah )