Conquering the Tower Even Regressors Couldn't-Chapter 336: Eighty-First Floor, Monstrous Might and Malevolent Spirits (4)

Chapter 336: Eighty-First Floor, Monstrous Might and Malevolent Spirits (4)

[Explore the world. Time remaining: 154 hours 41 minutes.]

[However, the challenger is required to hunt at least one Great Yokai.]

At Ha-Seon’s words, my eyes narrowed as I turned toward the distant royal procession. They numbered roughly seventy. A distinct figure—carrying a massive banner with a dragon rippling across crimson fabric bordered in gold—rode at their head.

They weren’t heading toward us. The procession was galloping laterally across our field of view, from left to right. Though there weren’t any visible pursuers, the convoys traveled swiftly.

Every member of the group looked utterly worn down. Their tattered garments fluttered in the wind, streaked with blood in places. Some were wrapped in bandages, hastily bound with strips of cloth.

Even though they have clearly been ambushed, it is hard to believe the royal procession is down to just seventy individuals.

They had endured far worse obstacles than I had assumed.

Perhaps Ha-Seon was thinking the same. Though his face brightened for a moment at the sight of them, his relief didn’t linger long.

I quickened my pace.

A moment later, someone in the group noticed us. A voice rang out from the lead rider, and the procession abruptly veered away from us.

Looks like they have mistaken us for enemies.

I was briefly caught off guard, but their concern wasn’t hard to understand. Given how we probably looked from this distance, they had reacted reasonably.

Both Doppy and Ha-Seon were seated in chairs sculpted from shadow beside me, gliding silently at high speed. To someone observing from a distance, we appeared like monsters.

To be honest, I would have done the same in their position.

Should I speed up?

They looked prepared to attack, and I would rather not trigger a fight based on a misunderstanding.

As I debated my next move, Ha-Seon raised a hand from his seat. A half-shredded fan lifted skyward.

“Wind, which blows in all directions. Respond, Wind Hawk.”

The monk’s energy stirred above the fan, and a fresh breeze surged forward, shooting toward the distant riders.

I was momentarily surprised. The wind was visible to the naked eye. Unlike a spirit’s manifestation, this was something else entirely. It was such a mysterious and compelling sight.

The shaped wind took on the form of a giant bird in flight and soared into the sky.

Screee—!

Its piercing cry echoed across the air.

A hawk?

He had called out the name Wind Hawk, so that was likely what it was.

The bird let out another cry before gliding in a wide arc and vanishing into the clouds.

It was impressive. I wouldn’t mind learning how to summon something like that if I could.

As I watched, Ha-Seon’s fan crumbled in his hand. He seemed to have used the last of his strength to summon it.

Still, it had the desired effect. The moment they heard the hawk’s cry, the royal procession turned and began galloping toward us. As they closed the distance, I gradually slowed to match their approach.

I dispelled Master of Shadows.

“Your Highness...?” Just as Ha-Seon had called out loudly, his voice faltered in confusion.

Wait, is that not the king?

I instinctively tensed, muscles coiled and ready to act.

Is it a yokai in disguise?

I sensed no trace of their strange energy, however.

Flicking my gaze toward Ha-Seon, I noted that his expression wasn’t hostile, just bewildered, as if something didn’t quite make sense.

Remaining alert, I continued to observe. The man wearing a red dragon robe dismounted and ran toward us.

Should I intercept him?

As I hesitated, he shouted, “Ha-Seon! You’re alive?!”

He wore the attire of a king, but spoke to Ha-Seon formally and respectfully.

They clearly know each other.

As I quickly pieced things together, the situation began to make sense.

A royal decoy.

The real king had likely split off, given the relentless pursuit of yokai. They probably needed bait.

The approaching man caught sight of Ha-Seon’s fluttering sleeve and reeled back in alarm.

“Y-your arm! What happened to you?!”

In contrast to the general’s panic, Ha-Seon remained composed. However, a faint shadow of disappointment passed over his face, perhaps because this man wasn’t the true king.

“It’s been a while, General. I lost my arm fighting one of the yokai’s high officials.”

“A high official?” The general lifted his gaze. “Still, it’s a relief you’re alive.”

Ha-Seon gave a small sign of acknowledgement, then quickly shifted the topic. “Thank you. What’s the situation? I’m aware that a Great Yokai attacked. What of His Majesty?”

Time was of the essence.

The general lowered his eyes, his face clouded. “He was alive. At least, when I last saw him.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll explain from the beginning.” He inhaled deeply, then exhaled a long breath. Clearly, the memory wasn’t pleasant because his gaze wavered slightly. “The attack was sudden, and our response was inadequate. No one anticipated Starfish appearing with three hundred yokai in tow.”

“Starfish?”

The rest of his account was brief. They had been unprepared, so countless soldiers had been lost for nothing. The enemy’s numbers were overwhelming as well. Resistance was futile, so the king began his desperate escape.

Charging through the frontlines would’ve been suicidal, so eight generals donned royal robes and fled in separate directions. We had simply crossed paths with one of those decoys.

Even as he spoke, the general kept glancing over his shoulder. They had only narrowly shaken off pursuit an hour or two earlier.

“What about the Celestial Bell?”

“Fortunately, I believe His Majesty kept it with him.”

“Good. That’s a relief, at least. Do you know where he was headed?”

“We don’t. The nearest garrison is the Third Division at Mount Subaek, but that seems unlikely since the enemy approached from the north,” the general continued, visibly uneasy, then added, “Perhaps he made it for the Fifth Division at Mount Cheon, or the Second at Mount Socheol. It’s only speculation, but those seem more likely.”

Unfortunately, all he offered were guesses. There were no clear answers to be found.

Still, we couldn’t blame him. Given the state of things, yesterday’s attack had thrown everything into chaos. Just having this much information was fortunate.

The odds of him being alive are still high.

It was something I had already considered. Judging by the timeline, the Great Yokai’s assault on the capital had occurred just before I had been summoned to the eighty-first floor.

The high official had likely been one of the Great Yokai’s subordinates, and whether it had separated for some strategy or simply acted capriciously, it had slipped away unnoticed.

Regardless, that meant I wouldn’t have had the chance to intervene in the first place. If the king was tied to a hidden mission, then we likely still had time to reach him.

Hmm.

I shifted my gaze to Ha-Seon.

Having listened to the entire exchange, it became clear to me that he wasn’t just an ordinary monk. That wasn’t to say that he was more powerful because the monks accompanying the general appeared stronger.

However, considering the general’s respectful tone, the other monks’ caution, and Ha-Seon’s concern for the king—

He has to be a prince.

Perhaps they hadn’t referred to him as such because he had renounced his status to become a monk.

That was the only reasonable conclusion I had come up with.

As I considered this, I noticed the general watching me. Now that the immediate tension had passed, he had finally turned his attention my way.

Leaning in close, he whispered into Ha-Seon’s ear while casting a sidelong glance at me, “By the way, who is that man?”

The look lasted only a second, but it was enough for me to catch the guarded suspicion in his eyes.

Judging by the flicker of unease or even disdain when he looked at Doppy earlier, he likely assumed Doppy was a yokai.

Ha-Seon, quick to catch on, immediately shook his head. “It isn’t what you're thinking. Please lower your guard. I owe my life to these individuals since they saved me from the high official.”

***

We parted ways with the general and his men; we didn’t need to stay together any longer. Finding the king was our most urgent task.

They had offered to join us, but we declined, mainly because they wouldn’t be able to keep up with me. They had declared that they would head toward the nearest military garrison.

Their end destination wasn’t particularly important to me, however. Since none of them knew where the king had gone, they weren’t particularly valuable.

I stared after the receding figures, then turned to Ha-Seon. “So what now? We don’t even know which way to head.”

I had a hunch that perhaps he had something more to offer. After all, he was likely a prince and the central figure in this hidden mission.

Sure enough, my hunch was correct.

“No. I do know where His Majesty went.” Ha-Seon gave me exactly the answer I had hoped for.

“Really? But earlier, you said you didn’t know. The general said the same.”

“I was being cautious. If captured, the information could be leaked. But since His Majesty has the Celestial Bell, there’s only one place he would go if he escaped safely.”

“Oh, right. I meant to ask earlier, but what exactly is the Celestial Bell?”

Ha-Seon glanced at me, an uncertain expression flickering across his face.

Is it strange that I don’t know?

To be honest, the word celestial had made me suspect it was connected to the Celestial Realm. Still, I had to ask. It seemed like an important artifact in this trial.

Whatever Ha-Seon had thought of my question, he didn’t hesitate for long and explained, “It’s a sacred instrument used to offer rites to the Heavenly Gods. I know that you’ve descended, Mr. Kwon, but His Majesty doesn’t. So he’s likely headed somewhere he can perform the rite using the bell.”

“So where exactly would that be?”

“Most likely the Fourth Division at Mount Suchal.”

“Hm. The general didn’t seem to know, so is it a top secret?”

“Yes. The fact that one can perform rites with the Celestial Bell during a yokai uprising is a closely guarded secret, passed down only within the royal bloodline.”

Just as I had suspected, Ha-Seon was royalty. I didn’t press him about it, though—it didn’t matter right now.

“Where is the Fourth Division located?”

“Northwest. It’s farther than the Third Division.”

“He mentioned the yokai came from the north, didn’t you?”

“Yes...” Ha-Seon trailed off, his face clouded. “I heard the High Priest and Grand Marshal are accompanying His Majesty, but still, I can’t help but worry. They may already have fallen—”

“No, they’re alive,” I cut in confidently.

Ha-Seon’s eyes widened.

“Don’t worry. That group we ran into managed to escape, didn’t they? Let’s believe the others did too.”

“I don’t know why, but hearing you say it puts me at ease.” He offered a faint, relieved smile.

“And besides, it isn’t like we have any other leads, right? All we can do now is head in that direction and hope.”

“Agreed.”

Ha-Seon was still in no condition to travel on his own, so I activated Master of Shadows once again and wrapped both him and Doppy in its grasp.

“Let’s go. Just point me the way.”

“Okay.”

***

“Hey! Bring another bowl of soup over here!”

“Alright, just a moment. I’ll bring it right out!”

“Can I get a bottle of rice wine?”

“You got it!”

As we continued north, we came across a village. Despite its closeness to the capital, there wasn’t a single sign of combat. That alone caught our attention.

We had been running for a long time and decided to enter the village either to gather intel, on the off chance we would find a clue about the king.

Despite that, the sight before us caught our attention completely.

Hundreds of yokai had attacked the capital less than two days ago, yet here, there was no trace of that chaos.

No fear. No urgency.

Just the usual clamor of daily life.

It is peaceful, ordinary, and strangely intact.

We stood by the tavern and silently watched the lively crowd.

“Did you hear? One of the villages in Chungseon got wiped out overnight because of the yokai.”

“Pfft, all the troops are at the border now, so those monsters are running rampant. These days, I’m too scared to even make trade runs.”

“Exactly! I mean, what are the monks even doing, huh? Just letting yokai roam free?”

“They don’t have the time, that’s the truth. I was at the capital just yesterday, and barely saw any soldiers there. They’re all deployed at the front. No one thinks about us commoners.”

Wait, he was in the capital yesterday?

As soon as I processed the merchant’s comment, Ha-Seon began walking over to the merchants. Their chatter died as their eyes fell on us. One looked at Ha-Seon’s robes, and their expressions grew nervous.

Thankfully, Doppy was cloaked by Shadow Veil, so his presence wouldn’t be an issue.

“You said you were in the capital yesterday?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.” 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

“When exactly did you leave?”

The merchants bowed their heads at once, assuming they were being reprimanded for their earlier comments.

“M-my apologies, sir! I meant no offense! I wasn’t criticizing the monks but just speaking out of concern!”

Ha-Seon quickly moved to reassure them, placing a hand on one man’s shoulder. “No, that’s not why I’m asking. Yesterday, when exactly did you leave the capital?”

“I-I left in the evening,” the merchant replied hesitantly under Ha-Seon’s continued questioning.

Ha-Seon’s gaze sharpened.

Yesterday evening.

Based on everything we knew, the capital should have already been overrun by yokai by that time. It didn’t add up.

“You didn’t see any yokai?”

“Pardon? Yokai, you say?”

“Yes. Was there anything strange in the city? Any signs of conflict or unrest?”

“No, none at all. It looked the same as always.”

“You’re certain?”

“Y-yes.”

Ha-Seon pressed further, but the man’s answers didn’t change.

Eventually, Ha-Seon’s expression twisted in confusion. There was no point in continuing since the merchant didn’t seem to be lying.

I gently led Ha-Seon away from the tavern.

“What was that about?”

“Maybe he’s been drinking since morning?”

“I didn’t smell any alcohol on him.”

“You think he’s a real monk? He looked like he’d lost it, honestly.”

We ignored the whispers behind us and came to a stop in a quiet alley.

My eyes met Ha-Seon’s. We were clearly thinking the same thing.

“This is strange.”

“Yeah. Something’s definitely off.”