Chapter 61 : Where Is This Place?

Chapter 61: Where Is This Place?

Jang Woo-hyun raised his body and looked around.

‘This isn't a forest… is it a mountain?’

It was a mountain slope. Judging by the shattered trees around him, it seemed he had been flung from the sky and crashed into the ground.

He was standing at the center of a small crater.

In front of him, an unfamiliar dish was placed atop a small bowl.

‘Did the kids leave this here?’

They had called him ‘Immortal’ repeatedly—perhaps they had left it as an offering and prayed to him.

After scanning his surroundings, he checked his physical condition.

Fortunately, he wasn’t seriously hurt, but there was one problem.

‘Did I get blown away while blocking the attack?’

His weapon was gone. Dragon King's Scale had moved on its own to block the silver giant’s strike, but it appeared to have been struck by the red beam and flung away.

Jang Woo-hyun focused his mind.

Dragon King's Scale was a sentient weapon.

Since it had been summoned by his will, if it were separated from him, it would inform him of its location.

‘It’s not far from here.’

He couldn’t pinpoint the exact location, but he could feel that it was nearby.

At least he hadn’t lost it in some unknown cosmic void.

‘If I’m going to find Dragon King's Scale…’

As he was thinking about retrieving his weapon, he met the gaze of the small beastfolk children watching him.

Even in their fear, they seemed to want to say something to him.

‘Guess I should talk to them first?’

Though finding his weapon was the top priority in this unknown place, he felt uneasy about just leaving the children behind.

“Hey, kids.”

Since it had come to this, he decided to talk to them and figure out where he was.

If they could help him, all the better.

Jang Woo-hyun turned his gaze to the raccoon and fox who had stepped back.

“Um… can you two speak?”

He had heard them talking earlier, but he asked again just to be sure.

After all, they looked just like a raccoon and a fox.

“Yes, yes! Immortal, you’re alive?”

“Hey, he was breathing. Wasn’t the Immortal just sleeping?”

The raccoon and the fox that were at the front stepped closer.

They were just slightly taller than Jang Woo-hyun’s waist and wore strange clothes he couldn’t identify.

‘Are they beastfolk?’

He’d never seen creatures like them before, but he decided to think of them that way.

There were monsters in the Central Plains too, so beastfolk didn’t seem all that strange.

Especially since that monkey monster from the Demon Extermination Sect had spoken to him as well.

He didn’t know where he was, but it was definitely not the Central Plains. He decided to keep an open mind.

Whether they were beastfolk, dragons, or monsters—it didn’t matter.

“Hey, why are you calling me ‘Immortal’?”

Jang Woo-hyun asked about the title they kept using for him.

“You smell like the wind!”

“Yeah! You smell like the wind!”

Jang Woo-hyun furrowed his brows slightly at the mention of the wind’s scent. It was something he couldn’t understand at all.

“What do you mean by ‘the scent of the wind’?”

“It’s coming from your shoulder!”

“This arm here!”

The children pointed to his left shoulder.

“Here?”

“Yes!”

“Exactly!”

‘If it’s here…’

It was the spot the monkey monster had touched.

Back when Heo Gwak self-destructed with his spell, a wind had blown and helped him—and now, the kids were sensing something from that very area.

“Do you know what this is?”

“It’s the wind!”

“It’s the Immortal!”

“You smell like the wind!”

They answered one by one.

They could speak, but he still had no idea what they were saying.

‘Still, I’m glad we can communicate at all.’

If he couldn’t understand them in this non-Central Plains place, it would’ve been a real headache.

“So what were you doing here?”

“The adults told us not to come, but we came to pray.”

“Pray? What for?”

“To protect our village people.”

“Because people from other villages disappeared.”

“Village? You live near here?”

“If you just cross that peak over there, you’ll find it.”

One of the raccoon beastfolk pointed at a visible peak ahead.

“Can you take me to your village?”

“Waaah! Immortal, you’re coming to our village?”

“The Immortal is coming to our village!”

“The Immortal is coming!”

The kids cheered loudly, spinning around excitedly.

“Hey, kids, I’m not an Immortal. Just call me mister.”

“Nope. You are an Immortal.”

“Yup, you smell like the wind.”

“Oh… really? Well, whatever works for you. Let’s go to your village.”

To figure out where he was and what had happened to him, heading to the village seemed like the right move.

The children yelled “Waaah!” and ran off, with Jang Woo-hyun following close behind.

Perhaps because they were raccoons and foxes, their speed was incomparable to that of human children.

As he followed the beastfolk children, Jang Woo-hyun became certain that this place was fundamentally different from the Central Plains.

Floating islands far off in the sky were fascinating, but what was more important was the unbelievably rich spiritual energy permeating the area—far beyond anything the Central Plains could offer.

‘Five times more? At least that much.’

In this place, even low-ranking warriors could build their inner strength quickly without needing elixirs.

‘Is this the world?’

It wasn’t confirmed yet, but the likelihood that this world was the mentioned by Tang Myung and Kim Min-soo was very high.

Jang Woo-hyun expanded his Qi wide as he ran, scanning his surroundings, and quickly crossed the ridge.

“Immortal, that’s our villa—Aack!”

Just as one of the kids pointed forward, he suddenly let out a scream. Jang Woo-hyun, who had been looking at a floating island in the sky, lowered his head.

Nestled below the mountain was a quaint, charming village.

But that wasn’t all there was to see.

Not far from the village, a massive object came into view.

‘A ship?’

Thinking he might be seeing things, Jang Woo-hyun blinked several times.

Even after blinking, it remained unchanged.

A ship was gently floating just above the ground.

Though he was momentarily dumbfounded by the absurd scene, Jang Woo-hyun quickly composed himself and adapted.

The floating islands in the sky made the flying ship seem trivial in comparison.

‘Yeah, I even met that strange silver giant. This is nothing by comparison.’

Sharpening his eyesight, Jang Woo-hyun scanned the village.

Beastfolk stood outside the buildings.

They looked like villagers, and they were either tied up or being dragged out, surrounded by humans carrying weapons.

“Mommmm!”

“Daddddd!”

The two most energetic and talkative children tried to run out, but Jang Woo-hyun covered their mouths and lifted them into his arms.

“Wait.”

The children struggled, but he didn’t let them go.

“I’ll save them. Just wait.”

Even as he tried to explain, the two children kept squirming.

Just then, someone tightly grabbed the hem of Jang Woo-hyun’s pants.

It was the quietest among them—the white fox beastfolk.

“Can you really save them? Really?”

Seeing the child's tearful eyes, Jang Woo-hyun knelt down.

“Who am I?”

“...Huh?”

The child couldn’t answer immediately.

“Who am I?”

“...Immortal? Immortal!”

“That’s right. Immortals can do anything.”

At those words, the children who had been struggling stilled. One of them gently pushed against Jang Woo-hyun’s hand with a fluffy little paw and whispered.

“Really? You’ll really save them, Immortal?”

“Of course. You prayed, didn’t you? Asked to save your village. All you have to do is wait here quietly.”

“Yes! I’ll wait. Please save my mom and dad!”

“Please save the villagers!”

“No need to worry. Who am I?”

Jang Woo-hyun asked as he gently set the children down.

“Immortal!”

“Immortal!”

“The Immortal who smells like the wind!”

The children suddenly cheered, excited and laughing.

“That’s right. Trust the Immortal and hide here well. Got it? Stay hidden no matter what.”

“Yes. We’ll stay here.”

“Good.”

Jang Woo-hyun smiled at them and immediately moved.

He kicked off the ground and then stepped twice more on thin air.

With just three steps, Jang Woo-hyun appeared in the center of the village.

“Didn’t you hear kids' voices just now?”

“Sounded like it.”

The bandits who had been herding the beastfolk turned their attention to the sound coming from the mountain.

They were sure they’d heard something.

“Guess some kids went up the mountain to play?”

“Yeah. Someone go grab them. We should take them all at once. It’s a pain if they get separated from their parents.”

Apparently thinking he’d made a clever joke, one man chuckled, and the others laughed along.

“Boss, I’ll go. Hey, you two—come this wa—huh? Wha—?”

“What do you mean ‘wha’? Hey, idiot, finish your—huh? Who the hell are you?”

The man scolding his subordinate froze mid-sentence, his eyes locked on Jang Woo-hyun, who had suddenly appeared in the middle of the village.

Everyone’s gaze turned to Jang Woo-hyun. No one there had any idea how he had shown up.

The moment he landed, Jang Woo-hyun unleashed his Qi Field.

It spread wide, almost enveloping the entire village.

At the same time, he assessed the number and level of enemies.

‘Two at Master Level. The rest are First-rate.’

As expected of a place richer in spiritual energy than the Central Plains, the warriors here were more powerful.

Even the weakest among them had just stepped into First-rate.

“Who the hell is this guy?”

“He just appeared out of nowhere!”

The bandits, stunned for a moment, now began to react.

“Hey, who are you? Where did you come from?”

One of the bandits closest to him approached and asked. As he watched, Jang Woo-hyun debated.

Should he fight or try to talk?

As someone originally from a civilized world, he chose to talk first.

“Why are you taking them? Did they do something wrong…?”

“What the hell are you babbling about, you idiot? Hey! Why the hell would I explain anything to you? Who the hell are you, huh? You here for a stroll? We’re taking them because we need them. That’s it.”

The man drew his weapon with a fierce glare, and Jang Woo-hyun let out a quiet sigh.

‘Of course. Should’ve known.’

Why were people like this always so predictable?

He had hoped, but as expected, they weren’t decent folks.

Jang Woo-hyun made up his mind.

These were enemies now.

And if they were enemies, he would simply defeat them.

That had always been his way.

He discarded his civility and returned to being a martial artist.

“Fine. What’s the point of talking to you.”

Sweeping his gaze around once, Jang Woo-hyun flowed his Qi through the field. His targets: the fifty-three bandits, excluding the captive beastfolk.

Whoooooom—

Qi surged through the field.

A few of the more sensitive ones sensed the sudden shift in energy flow—but by the time they noticed, it was already too late.

Thud!

A subtle pulse rippled through their bodies—and that was the end of it.

“Guh!”

“Urgh!”

Thud. Thud.

Warriors collapsed all at once, vomiting blood.

Their insides were violently shaken. However, not a single beastfolk captive was harmed.

At most, a little blood splattered on them from the collapsing enemies.

“Ghhhhh...”

Groans came from those still alive but gravely wounded.

Jang Woo-hyun, who had once overpowered others in the same realm, no longer saw distinctions like First-rate or Master Level as meaningful.

They were just numbers now.

Numbers he could erase at will.

“Everyone, come this way.”

He called out to the beastfolk.

They stood frozen, unable to process the sudden turn of events.

“I came at the request of the children I met in the mountains. I’m not a bad person, so please, move back for now.”

Jang Woo-hyun pointed behind him, motioning for the beastfolk to move in that direction as he walked toward one side.

Where he was headed, a ship floated in the air.

Creak—

The hovering ship emitted mechanical noises, as if it were preparing for something.

Soon, the side of the ship opened, revealing a dark hole tinged with a murky hue inside.

In response, Jang Woo-hyun stretched out his hand.

A sword that had been lying nearby slowly floated toward him.

From the moment he arrived, Jang Woo-hyun had expanded his Qi Field, and the ship had been within the range of his detection.

‘That area inside… could it be the core?’

He sensed a concentration of energy unlike anywhere else. It seemed to be the power source of the floating ship.

He condensed his internal energy into the sword.

‘Narrower than usual.’

He deliberately reduced the range of Destructive Light Slash, which normally took the form of a massive beam.

Then he raised the sword and swung it.

Boom!

A ray of light, significantly smaller than usual, pierced through one side of the ship.

The beam completely impaled the ship and even went on to obliterate a distant mountain peak beyond it.

Rumble—

The sound of a landslide echoed as the shattered peak collapsed.

Thud-thud-thud—

The ship, having lost its power, crashed down to the ground.