Surviving in a Romance Fantasy Novel-Chapter 164: Final Reincarnation Cycle (5)

The Great Star Gate was the largest among the six great gates of Cheongdo Palace.

It was the grand entrance that directly connected to the Vermilion Bird Market which stretched before Cheongdo Palace, so it was the most symbolic landmark of the palace’s outer perimeter.

The fact that such a gate had been seized by soldiers under the control of a demonic spirit’s bewitching spell carried significant meaning.

After all, the Great Star Gate was the very place that most prominently displayed the authority of the imperial family.

“There… There are soldiers with bows crowding the fortress near Great Star Gate.”

“W-Wasn’t the Moon Demonic Spirit only able to control one person at a time? How is it controlling so many soldiers all at once…?”

“Everyone, stay calm.”

The Vermilion Bird Market, in front of the Great Star Gate.

The road, paved with neatly hewn stone, stretched far to the south beyond the wide-open plaza.

Normally, it would be bustling with street vendors and passersby. But now, only the shattered remains of buildings lay scattered about, making the contrast all the more stark.

The imperial capital was being completely devoured by the demonic spirits. The soldiers of the Truth Insight Terrace who served as the standing army had scattered to launch extermination operations, yet they had barely managed to reclaim even half of the city.

It was only natural. After all, the heart of Cheongdo Palace itself, which should have been the stronghold of order, had already turned into a playground for the demonic spirits.

I had heard that the presence of the Plague Demonic Spirit alone was enough to blanket an entire region in demonic spirits.

Now that it had manifested, it truly felt as if the world had fallen into their grasp.

The end was coming.

To those who knew nothing, this must have looked like the apocalypse itself.

Standing at the hastily built encampment on Vermilion Bird Market, I briefly observed the expressions of the soldiers.

The warriors of Cheongdo were all steadfast and brave.

Even in the midst of this chaotic political landscape, military authority had always been firmly protected because everyone knew that the warriors who had once conquered an entire continent were the real deal.

Yet even members of such a famous army could not help but tremble in fear within this hellscape.

The human mind had its limits.

No matter how proud a soldier might be, in a moment when the very fabric of the world was being torn apart, even they would tremble.

I steadied my breath and shouted,

“Are you all shaking in fear?!”

No response came to those words. A soldier must never succumb to fear.

However, expecting them to remain calm at this moment when the Great Star Gate that was once the unwavering guardian of the people at the end of the Vermilion Bird Market was completely overrun…such a thing was an impossible request.

For that reason… I could not reprimand them.

“I’m afraid too.”

I spoke plainly, letting the words drop among the soldiers who were swallowing their dry throats.

Words that break down emotional barriers were neither empty encouragements nor earnest scoldings.

It was simply understanding.

People crumbled when they felt understood. I had seen that moment, the instant when the walls within them collapsed, many times before.

That was why… I spoke as I was.

“Even if we’re afraid, let’s just do it. Like we always have.”

“General Seol…”

Would they fight, or would they remain frozen and die?

For their homeland, for the families they had to protect, and for the loyalty that burned within them.

No matter how many noble justifications one could list, none of them alone could shake soldiers to their very core when they were gripped by fear.

I steadied my grip on my sword and quickly assessed the situation as I relayed my judgment.

“With a force this small, breaking through that huge gate that is heavily guarded by archers is impossible. Logically, we should retreat and assess the other gates. However, unfortunately, we don’t have that kind of time.”

Even at this very moment, the officials within the palace were likely being torn apart by the demonic spirits’ fangs.

We had to breach Truth Insight Terrace as soon as possible, reorganize the troops, and reclaim the main palace.

Checking each of the other gates one by one would be nothing but a waste of time, and the paths leading to them were also swarming with demonic spirits. Attempting to reach them would only result in casualties. And that… would mean a loss of our strength.

At this point, taking an inefficient route was not an option. The only choice left was to break through the Great Star Gate.

From a military standpoint, it might have been close to suicide, but fortunately, there were several factors in our favor.

First, to our soldiers, the fortress surrounding Great Star Gate was as familiar as their own homes.

Since their days as apprentice warriors, they had taken turns standing guard there, meaning they knew every corner of its internal structure.

Breaking through an unfamiliar fortress was one thing, but breaching a place they had memorized over the years was an entirely different matter.

They knew exactly where the blind spots were, where arrows couldn’t reach when they got close enough. They understood the structure of the gate, what materials it was made of, and how to open it.

More than that, the one commanding the enemy forces was Moon Demonic Spirit Yoran.

It might have known how to dominate people, but it had no grasp of how to lead soldiers systematically.

The military strategies humans had developed through centuries of warfare meant nothing to the demonic spirits.

Creatures that couldn’t even comprehend human nature could only imitate human tactics to a certain extent, and that limit was clear.

Like it owned the world, the grotesque demonic spirit sat atop the Great Star Gate while letting out an eerie laugh. It was the enemy’s commander.

And a commander with no knowledge of warfare could only lead an undisciplined and disorganized army.

I reminded them of that fact.

“Fighting demonic spirits is one thing, but when it comes to warfare, we are a step ahead. Never forget that. However… you must harden your hearts.”

I looked over the gathered soldiers and steadied my thoughts.

Among them was In Ha Yeon who had lost her father.

I knew all too well how cruel it was to speak of such things in a moment like this, but I couldn’t ignore it.

“In the worst-case scenario, you may have to cut down even your own comrades.”

The soldiers swallowed hard.

This was what it meant to fight demonic spirits that could take control of the human mind.

It was not a pleasant thing to demand such cold-blooded resolve from them.

But it had to be done.

“In Ha Yeon, stand up.”

“Yes.”

A girl who had gathered her courage rose to her feet.

She had once ruled over the Vermilion Bird Palace, looking down upon the women of the harem beneath her. But now, she was following my orders. The soldiers’ gazes wavered with shock.

Even if they had known it would happen, seeing such a sight unfold before their eyes was an entirely different matter.

“Do you still have the Jade Leaf Sword I gave you?”

It was the White Immortal’s sword that could cleanly cut down anything tainted with demonic energy in a single stroke.

The reason I had given In Ha Yeon this precious sword that was left behind as a keepsake was obvious.

When she unsheathed it, a mysterious energy spread across the area.

Simply swinging the sword drained one’s energy, and even the strongest willpower could not prevent someone from collapsing after holding it for a mere two hours.

Yet, despite that, In Ha Yeon held the sword firmly with an unwavering expression on her face.

“You understand why I gave you that sword, don’t you?”

At my words, her eyes trembled slightly.

Countless soldiers were watching her intently. Summoning her at this moment was meant to make her an example for them all.

“…If the Vice General succumbs to the demonic energy, it is my duty to cut him down with my own hands.”

If I were to be consumed by the demonic spirit spell, she would have to be the one to slay me.

There was no need to wonder what thoughts had passed through her mind when she accepted the sword, imbued with such a weighty purpose.

Only with such resolve could one maintain their sanity in this living hell.

And the soldiers needed to understand that as plainly as possible.

“…..…”

“Good.”

There was nothing more to say.

The strategy for dealing with the archers covering the walls of the Great Star Gate had already been devised with the Black Moon Unit members.

All that remained was to rally the forces charging into the inner palace.

I rubbed my face with both hands, then ran my fingers through my short-cropped hair.

I held my breath as I turned and walked forward.

“Let’s go.”

***

– Waaaaaah!

With morale soaring, the army charged toward the Great Star Gate.

Rushing in unprotected across the open field was no different from offering themselves as human shields to the enemy archers.

Perched atop the gate, the Moon Demonic Spirit let out a twisted giggle before scattering its demonic energy.

The soldiers caught in its grasp froze and their eyes clouded over in panic. Then, one by one, they drew their bows—

—And loosed their arrows toward their own comrades.

Whoooosh!

Thud! Thud!

Arrows rained down from the sky, covering it like a flock of migratory birds riding the wind.

It was such a distant, overwhelming sight that it left one dazed. Some could even momentarily forget the grim reality of impending doom.

But reality had to be faced. While the migratory birds soared high into the sky and flew towards a distant homeland, the arrows got pulled by gravity, plunged downwards, and pierced the flesh of the soldiers.

That brutal truth became undeniable when the once-distant arrows that were mere specks in the sky finally closed in.

Shuuuuuuk! Thud! Thud!

Thud-thud! Thud!

Only when those distant specks transformed into daggers hurtling toward them did the soldiers snap back to their senses and raise their shields properly.

Though a single volley should have turned more than half of them into human pincushions, the formation miraculously held firm.

Fwaaaaaah!

Yet, their eyes remained wide with shock.

A huge gust of wind had swept through, scattering the arrows that had nearly reached them.

A few still managed to hold their trajectory, embedding themselves in the soldiers’ shoulders, but compared to the sheer scale of the attack, the damage was minimal.

At the forefront of the army was the former Heavenly Maiden Ah Hyun. She was mounted on horseback and wielding extraordinary energy.

With a sweep of her arm, the force of the Heavenly Dragon erupted from her fingertips, conjuring a powerful gale across the battlefield.

It was an unbelievable sight, one that defied reason, but it couldn’t block every attack.

The girl standing at the front of the army with a blue and sacred energy and a charming smile… spoke.

“…This is bad, Tae Pyeong-ah. I’m already exhausted.”

She forced a smile, but cold sweat trickled down her face.

“….….”

“When this battle is over… I have to eat some seafood dumplings from back home…”

“Quit the nonsense and hold out for just one more attack! This isn’t the time for everyone to be standing around in shock! Use this opening to advance. We have to close the distance even a little!”

The days when she could wield the power of the Heavenly Dragon freely had long since faded into the past.

By now, Ah Hyun had almost no strength left, and expecting her to block that overwhelming barrage of arrows was an impossible demand from the start.

Just one attack. If she could somehow push herself to block even one more attack, that alone would be enough to buy them time.

As mentioned before, Moon Demonic Spirit Yoran had no knowledge of military strategy whatsoever.

If the countless infantrymen clung to the fortress walls and launched a full-scale assault on the fortress, it would have no idea how to effectively respond to stop them.

If they got close, the Black Moon unit members would scale the protrusions of the fortress walls and infiltrate through the openings in the battlements.

From there, they would slay the demonic spirits inside the fortress, push forward, and open the inner gates of the Great Star Gate. This would then allow our soldiers to pour into the main palace, thus ensuring victory.

No matter how powerful Moon Demonic Spirit Yoran was, it couldn’t possibly bewitch this many humans at once, and the moment it stepped into my attack range, I could cut it down in a single strike.

Once we took out the Moon’s Demonic Spirit ruling the area, we could push straight through to Truth Insight Terrace in one decisive charge.

“The next wave of arrows is coming!”

“Ah… I… I’m seriously… going to die at this rate…!”

Yeon Ri once again summoned the energy of the Heavenly Dragon with tears streaming down her face.

Normally, just the mere existence of someone who wielded the Heavenly Dragon’s energy would be considered divine and awe-inspiring, but watching Yeon Ri desperately hold back the arrows while sobbing uncontrollably, she looked less like a mystical being and more like an overworked laborer crushed under the weight of her job.

The soldiers charged forward while wearing expressions of peculiar sympathy.

Still… it’s been a while since you’ve actually put in some work, huh, Yeon Ri?

You’re way better suited for hard labor than being a strategist… From now on, let’s earn our money the honest way, sweating for it like good workers…

I praised her in my head and quickened my pace.

“Soldiers, take cover in the blind spot inside the Great Star Gate and hold your shields up until the gate is open! The Black Moon Unit and I will infiltrate and unseal the Great Star Gate from inside!”

After blocking the next wave of arrows, we finally reached the walls, and I caught sight of the Moon Demonic Spirit’s expression twisting in panic.

Just as expected. Once we closed the distance, it had no idea how to handle the situation.

If the enemy managed to break through, the first step was to seal off every accessible gun port and destroy all the support planks.

Priority had to be given to shooting down the enemies climbing the protrusions of the fortress walls, and if any managed to reach the top, they had to be subdued with swords or doused with boiling oil prepared along the outer walls.

Preventing the enemy from infiltrating the interior was the foundation of siege defense, yet the opposition wasn’t even sticking to these basics.

It was a disadvantageous situation, but it was possible to break through. That certainty surged within me.

“Black Moon Unit, follow me!”

With that shout, I led the elite Black Moon soldiers. We kicked off the protrusions of the fortress wall as we climbed up.

Moving swiftly and with precision, I maneuvered my body through one of the protrusions located in the middle of the fortress wall.

Whoosh! Thud!

Inside the wooden-structured artillery post, grotesquely twisted demonic spirit corpses were already piled up.

We just had to cut them down alongside the Black Moon soldiers following behind me, push through, and open the Great Star Gate.

It was then, just as we stepped into the inner artillery post, where dozens of interconnected support structures stood.

“……..”

The moment I landed and lifted my head, I saw it.

A human head.

The human head dangling at the end of the smooth, slimy tentacle belonged to a soldier from the Truth Insight Terrace.

His eyes had rolled back in agony and blood streamed from his sockets, making him look like a condemned sinner suffering in hell.

This was the interior of the artillery post, a place unseen from the outside.

And within it, huge tentacles like the limbs of a giant octopus filled the room. Each one was lined with the heads of soldiers with their mouths frozen in screams of agony.

It was a sight so grotesque that just looking at it made my stomach churn.

Every time the tentacles writhed and convulsed, fountains of blood sprayed in all directions.

The procession of tentacles, each equipped with human heads as if they were mere collectibles, caused even the Black Moon soldiers who had followed me upstairs to gasp in shock.

Even these elite warriors who had slain countless lower demonic spirits found themselves swallowing hard at the horrifying sight.

The fact that a single entity had slaughtered this many soldiers on its own… It had long surpassed the level of a lower demonic spirit, and in reality, it couldn’t even be classified as an intermediate demonic spirit.

Anyone could see it was clearly a higher demonic spirit.

Whoooosh!

At that moment, the tentacles lashed out, surging toward me as if trying to hurl me back outside the fortress.

I quickly raised my sword to block them, but the sheer force sent me flying backward, flinging me out of the stronghold.

Whoooosh!

Before I could even think about adjusting my landing, a mystical energy wrapped around my entire body. The force of the wind cradled me gently and lowered me onto the dirt ground.

“What happened inside…?”

The White Princess rushed forward. She folded her feathered fan as she spoke.

She had been fighting on the battlefield as well.

“If we don’t get the Great Star Gate open soon… we’ll all die here while fending off arrows!”

“That’s…”

Kwaang!

Kuuung! Kuuung! Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!

The Great Star Gate’s fortress was massive. Its walls were lined with an overwhelming number of cannon ports.

These ports had been designed to allow artillerymen to unleash firepower at any moment.

And now, from those countless openings, an unthinkable number of tentacles were bursting forth with ferocious intensity.

It was only then that I finally grasped the existence of the huge higher demonic spirit lurking inside the Great Star Gate.

The entity protecting the Moon Demonic Spirit was not just the soldiers under that monster’s control.

Under the soft light of the moonlit night, the soldiers’ necks were hanging from the numerous tentacles that stretched toward the sky.

Dozens, hundreds—no, it had to be at least a thousand victims.

Their faces were all twisted in agony. A sight so horrifying that no human could help but feel sheer terror.

Such immense horror could effortlessly shatter a person’s reason.

This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.

Bathed in moonlight, the Great Star Gate spewed out its writhing tentacles, as if it had become a monstrous being itself.

That majestic gate which had long stood at the end of the Vermillion Bird Market….the gate embracing the people under its watchful presence… now looked like a grotesque slaughtering machine brought to life.

“Urk… ugh….”

“Wh-What is that…?! Th-This is impossible… How… how are we supposed to deal with that…?!”

Terrified soldiers gagged. Some even succumbed to fear and wet themselves.

Even the White Princess who had remained composed amidst the chaos of battle could no longer steady her trembling fingers.

She couldn’t even find her voice. She could only stare while shaking uncontrollably at the colossal nightmare looming over them.

“This is bad.”

Even Yeon Ri, who had seen all kinds of horrors, couldn’t help but stiffen for a moment.

“That’s the Right Arm of the Plague Demonic Spirit… Why… why is it rising so soon…?”

The great disaster destined to swallow the imperial capital was already stirring.

As if it was rejoicing. As if it had finally broken free from the endless cycle of reincarnation.