I Became the Martial God's Youngest Disciple

Episode 290

I had to figure out the situation.

The place where we teleported, the ice cave, was inside the body of Ymir. The giant's heart, which should've rotted a long time ago, or at least should've stopped, was moving like a freshly caught fish. It also smelled terrible and gave off a lot of Dark Qi.

I wondered what their true purpose was. Maybe it wasn't just a sacrifice. Maybe their goal was to bring back Ymir from the dead.

I didn't have time to think deeply. After all, I wasn't an expert in black magic or necromancy. I decided to focus on what I could understand right now.

We were supposed to rejoin the rest of the group in around five hours. It had taken us around two hours to get here, so we still had an hour before we had to start heading back.

One hour.

Normally, that would be enough time to look around or organize my thoughts, but that was no longer the case. One hour here was equivalent to ten hours. If I actually had ten hours then the possibilities would be endless.

I ran through a few possibilities in my head and discarded them. Then I realized that there was only one method that would help the most in the current situation.

"Senior," I began.

"Yes."

"Let's get rid of the priest here."

"Huh?"

"There are plenty of church members around, but they're all focused on their own tasks. The priest looks completely absorbed in the ritual. Most importantly, there is no sign of the legion commander."

In fact, the last factor was the most important thing. I concluded that if I faced that eyeball bastard in my current state, I would die. It meant the legion commander wasn't an opponent to fight, but one to avoid.

However, Ramon shook his head at the absurdity, saying, "No. It is too reckless."

"Yes. I naturally have to risk my life. Don't you know? The other person is a priest. If I kill the priest, the demon king's descent ritual will surely be stopped. I can't miss this opportunity."

Ramon hesitated slightly. He was probably thinking about it right now as well.

Between the time we had now, and the time it would take to rejoin the group and return to this place, would the current situation continue until then? There was no guarantee that the priest would still be here by that time. Even if this was the case, the legion commander could be guarding the priest by then.

If so, now that the priest was alone and I saw the possibility of an ambush, it could be a golden opportunity.

Of course, it could also be the exact opposite.

It could also be a trap set by the church.

Unfortunately, it was difficult to determine whether it was an opportunity or a trap. There was no time to explore the surroundings or observe the enemy's movements. Time was too short.

If I were to make a judgement, I would choose to act now.

"Senior, go back that way."

Of course, I agreed with the opinion that it was reckless. That meant there was no need for Ramon to be involved in this reckless operation.

However, the response was as expected.

"I can't do that." Ramon bluntly refused.

I asked him, "Do you think you can help me in this battle? I don't have a hobby of fighting with those who are liabilities."

I was deliberately speaking harshly, but Ramon's expression didn't change much. Rather, the goblin looked at me calmly before responding.

"The most important thing now is to understand the situation. Of course, I can't be confident that I wouldn't be a burden while fighting together. Still, I must see the process of you defeating the priest. If you succeed, I must report that success. If you fail, I must report that too. If you succeed but lose your life afterward, I must report it to the rest of the group. It is because sharing the situation is a basic skill of a hero."

"Mm."

Hearing that, I had to admit that he was right. Nevertheless, I couldn't get rid of the feeling that Ramon was making excuses to stay here. Then again, I wasn't in a position to criticize him, since I was doing the same.

I said, "Okay. Wait here and watch me. Run away once you see the outcome of the ambush. Understood?"

"Of course."

I stretched my body. I planned to move to a location more advantageous for an ambush.

"Young Master."

"Huh?"

"Don't die."

"Of course."

I had no intention of dying. I would die someday, but not now. I still had a lot of work to do.

***

The place I marked for the ambush was directly above the priest. The ceiling was absurdly high, and the way the stalactites were intricately entangled together made them suitable for hiding.

The real problem was how to get there. Due to the nature of the ice cave, the walls were slippery as if they had been oiled. That meant it was difficult to climb up the walls in the usual way.

Well, there was no ice in this place. Thinking about it, it was a bit inappropriate to call it an ice cave now.

In any case, I had a way to safely get to the ambush location.

Salpha, I muttered to myself, and a breeze blew that only I could feel. I flew quietly with the help of the wind spirit.

—Hea... vy...

It was so slow that I felt like a boiled turtle waiting to be cooked, but at this speed, I could fly without Crowtaker.

Being close to the priest meant getting closer to the heart. That made me once again realize how hot this place was. I had been shivering just moments ago, but now it felt like I was about to become numb from the heat.

Five minutes passed. I arrived at the place I wanted and looked down. I was close to the priest. It was a location where I could shatter the priest's skull in an instant if I dropped straight down.

At this moment, I realized that the priest was a woman. Well, gender wasn't important. What I really wanted to know was what kind of power the priest had.

I looked at a spot that was considerably far away from here; it was where Ramon was hiding. Looking at it, the spot was farther away than I'd thought. This place would become a mess from the moment I attacked the priest, so escaping wouldn't be difficult for Ramon. At least, usually that would be the case.

However, there is too little information.

There could be church members waiting elsewhere who would rush in and clash with Ramon, or dark magic cast over this cave.How long could the goblin hero last in such a situation?

Hm.

This wasn't the time to worry about others. I pressed firmly on my tired eyes. I felt sleepy even when staying still. I realized that my mind and body weren't in the best condition.

How long had it been since I entered the stone door? I figured it was around five or six hours. Yet when converting it to the accelerated time, it was around 50-60 hours. I'd only stayed up all night for around two days, but my mental state was already this weak. Perhaps the constant tension made the fatigue worse.

I shook off those thoughts and looked down again.

There were church members lingering around the priest. They walked around in a certain pattern as if on guard duty. Even if I succeeded in ambushing and killing the priest, I had to think about the aftermath.

My plan was to smash the priest's head in one go and run away from the church members. The maze-like structure of this cave was advantageous for escaping. Even if I was tracked, there would be no risk of being surrounded.

In the worst case scenario, I could continuously deal with enemies who were advancing in a straight line. Then again, I could also be attacked from both directions.

For that reason, I decided to aim for the moment when the church members were the farthest away from the priest.

—Messenger...

Just then, however, the Martial God suddenly spoke to me. I held the hilt of the Seven Sins Sword and spoke to him.

I'm sorry, Martial God. I'm in a really urgent situation right now. Can we talk later?

—Hm? What are you saying all of a sudden?

Had this man dozed off?

You just called me, didn't you? It was in a strangely affectionate tone.

—I was immersed in meditation.

Huh? I asked in puzzlement.

Then the Martial God appeared in spirit form. He was still pale, but his form was much more human than before. He looked like he was almost about to become a ghost.

In any case, the Martial God looked at the surroundings and asked a question, bewildered.

—Where is this place? This terrible Dark Qi... Did you break your promise to me and set foot in Hell again?

That isn't it. It isn't the time for me to be chatting leisurely, so—

—Wait, could this be?

Could he not hear me? The Martial God seemed to be following his own pace today, and I couldn't help glaring at him.

—Ymir?

The spirit body of the Martial God stared at Ymir's heart.

—Unbelievable. Is this inside Ymir's body?

That's right. By the way, how did you know?

His tone didn't sound like someone who had been watching the situation. He had evidently been immersed in meditation the entire time. Then the moment he looked around, he realized we were inside Ymir's body.

—Messenger... Messenger...

At that moment, the mysterious voice came again. I figured out that it definitely wasn't the Martial God's voice. It had a much deeper tone. It seemed to have originally been very strong and resolute, but now it was faint as if it would break at any moment.

—When will... my messenger... finally come...

Could this voice be? I wondered.

—You have to get out of here right now!

The Martial God suddenly shouted.

Huh? What does that—

—There is no time to explain! Right now—

Ba-dum!

At that moment, the sound of the heartbeat echoed through the cave. It was so strong that it shook the ceiling of the cave and dust fell down. I was hiding on the ceiling, so my heart dropped.

"Ohhh!"

"O brilliant god of disaster!"

Damn. What was going on all of a sudden? The church members suddenly seemed to lose their minds. They all kneeled before the heart, pounding their heads against the ground. They ignored the fact that their foreheads were injured and blood poured out.

Thump! Thump!

The interval between their head banging formed a strange harmony that transformed into a steady rhythm.

Ba-dum!

As a result, the heartbeat became more intense.

I realized that the stalactite I was clinging to was shaking precariously. I didn't know what was happening, but I couldn't keep waiting any longer. I immediately raised all the energy in my body.

Thump!

I drowned out the banging of the church leaders' heads and my own heartbeat as I launched myself into the air and fell down. I was surrounded by flames as I fell. It almost looked like a meteor flashing through the sky.

White Sun Style, 6th Move: Falling Fire.

The priest looked up at me just before my fist struck. A woman with ash-gray hair, she smiled like a madwoman. The moment our eyes met, my fist smashed through her skull. Blood splattered everywhere.

The church members were startled by my intrusion and stared in shock. Most of them were caught off guard, but the two church members patrolling near the priest reacted much faster. They immediately drew their weapons and rushed toward me. The one on the left wielded a sword, and the one on the right a dao.

I instinctively drew the Seven Sins Sword and Yin-Yang Dao, ready to face them both.

Damn. They're stronger than I thought. Or perhaps my condition was worse than I thought.

In any case, it was clear that they were formidable enemies. The priest was dead, and I had planned to cut these two down at once and escape immediately. However, they were truly worthy of being the priest's guards. Both of them showed extraordinary skills.

To make matters worse, the panicked church members soon formed a formation and steadily put pressure on me.

I considered using Crowtaker to escape into the air, but there was no time for that. I thought about waiting to enter the white flames state, but even then, I doubted I could even hold on for five minutes in this cave. That meant my only choice was to die or be beaten, unless I used Dark Qi to escape.

At that moment, Ramon warned me loudly, "Young Master! It is dangerous!"

That idiot, he didn't run away?

I didn't have time to think and ducked reflexively. Something sharp brushed past my hair. I glanced back and saw the priest moving ominously despite her smashed head.

"What is this?" I muttered.

It was a horrifying sight. I had completely smashed her skull from the top of the head to her upper jaw, so only her lower jaw remained intact. Despite that, a strange sound came from her throat. Then she fell into a four-legged, beast-like stance and rushed at me.

Has she become a ghoul?

There were the guards on both sides, the priest behind me, and the church members in front. In the end, I was surrounded on all sides as I had feared.

This is more dangerous than I thought.

At that moment, dozens of spheres suddenly appeared in the sky. What the hell is this?

Pepepepeng!

The spheres spread out and exploded at the same time. Smoke appeared everywhere.

A smoke bomb?

The pungent smoke covered the space in an instant. Visibility became limited. I covered my nose and mouth with my collar.

I didn't know exactly what it was, but this was my chance. I naturally had the advantage if the vision of my enemies was blocked. I gripped the Yin-Yang Dao in my right hand and indiscriminately slashed at the enemies around me. At the same time, I activated the power of the divine beast and gained the serpent's eyes.

However, I couldn't see through the smoke even with the serpent's eyes. Still, I could at least get a sense of the terrain.

I climbed up the wall and saw Ramon throwing smoke bombs a short distance away.

The moment I appeared through the smoke, Ramon's eyes widened. He exclaimed, "Young Master!"

I didn't have time to respond. I slung Ramon under my arm and ran forward. I felt that we couldn't stand here any longer.

"B-behind us!" Suddenly, someone shouted.

I glanced back and saw something completely unexpected.

It was ice. Somehow, a blizzard had appeared, one that was obviously disastrous to get caught up in.

Why is there a snowstorm all of a sudden? I didn't know, but it was much too fast. There was no way to avoid it or prepare for it.

We were swallowed up by the blizzard in an instant.