“Damn it! Yes, damn it! I’ll die once, will I die twice!”

Hwang Jangsik, who was called the leader instead of the sect master in the sect called Hwangjangmun, put the sword he was holding on his shoulder and lowered his posture as much as he could.

Hwang Jangsik’s thighs swelled up as if they would burst.

“Hyaaap!”

Hwang Jangsik, who had jumped powerfully like a toad, raised the sword he was holding above his head and rushed towards Cheon Yusin, who was lightly cutting down the men in black from the front.

From top to bottom.

His rather honest sword technique was famous for its fast movements and a domineering sword line that struck down heavily.

Hwang Jangsik, who had rushed at Cheon Yusin, taking advantage of his specialty, did not think that he could win against him with this one slash.

‘If I can just break his posture!’

There were already several wild dogs lying in wait, aiming for Cheon Yusin.

If Hwang Jangsik created an opportunity, the wild dogs would help.

‘I’ll take that bastard’s neck!’

As Hwang Jangsik’s sword fell, a cold smile formed on Cheon Yusin’s lips, who was watching this.

“I should reflect on myself too.”

Cheon Yusin’s sword pierced Hwang Jangsik’s sword, which was falling above his head.

Kwajik—!

The sharp blade shattered and scattered.

At the same time, a fierce cold air rushed in.

“This… damn it!”

Hwang Jangsik discovered that his sword had frozen white.

At the same time, the tip of Cheon Yusin’s sword approached him.

At a speed that was impossible to avoid.

Puk—!

Cheon Yusin’s sword pierced Hwang Jangsik’s neck.

The cold air flowing from his blade froze Hwang Jangsik’s neck.

“How dare a piece of trash like this try to touch my body.”

Was it because he had not left the jade throne of the White Moon Palace for too long?

Cheon Yusin decided to let the martial artists of the Central Plains know one thing they had forgotten.

Namely, who he was.

“Come. Don’t you covet the neck of the Martial Alliance Leader.”

A fierce cold air blew like the north wind of midwinter with every step of Cheon Yusin.

The men in black, who were protecting their bodies from the cold air with their internal energy, had to tremble their whole bodies in the unbearable cold air.

“Trash.”

Cheon Yusin mercilessly cut down the men in black who were trembling, unable to even withstand the cold air flowing from his entire body.

With one slash, at least five necks were cut off.

This situation was the same in other places.

“Golden Dragon Divine Sword!!”

The men in black, who were trying to kill Namgung Muhyeok and raise their own honor, raised their swords.

As when they had faced numerous prestigious sects and martial families.

Based on the human wave tactic, dozens of men in black pressed Namgung Muhyeok from all directions.

But this was meaningless.

“Come!”

Namgung Muhyeok’s sword was stained with a brilliant golden light.

The Emperor Sword Form, which was said to be taught only to the direct descendants of the Namgung Clan, revealed its magnificent figure on the vast fields of Pyeongmu with a dazzling golden light.

Kwagagagang—!!

The golden sword ki flew, crushing the land of three zhang in length.

The men in black who were caught in the sword ki were torn apart in a miserable state, unable to even maintain the shape of their bodies.

‘I have to overwhelm them.’

Although the consumption of internal energy was by no means small.

Namgung Muhyeok had no intention of saving his strength.

The most important thing in war is momentum.

Especially if leader-level martial artists like Namgung Muhyeok took the lead and reduced the number of enemies with their overwhelming martial prowess, the momentum would naturally shift to the Martial Alliance’s side.

‘The problem is over there, I guess?’

The fist of Ma Seongun, who was wearing a blood-red martial arts uniform that stood out wherever he was, just by hitting the empty air, the martial artists of the Martial Alliance burst.

Every time his fist strike tore through the air, the righteous path martial artists had to tremble in fear.

‘Was a sword of no meaning to that person in the first place.’

The first time Ma Seongun’s name was known was with the title of Blood-Sucking Sword Demon, but a sword was meaningless to him.

Several men in white who were in the same line as the straightly extending fist strike were killed.

Namgung Muhyeok, who could not just watch this, called the Azure Sky Unit Leader, Namgung Doun.

“Azure Sky Unit Leader!”

Namgung Doun, who had cut down two heretic path masters, came running like the wind.

“You called!”

Namgung Doun, who had come running at the call, understood the intentions of the family head, Namgung Muhyeok, just by meeting his eyes.

He gripped his sword with a look of resolute will.

“I am ready.”

“That person named Ma Seongun is probably stronger than me.”

“…!”

Namgung Doun was greatly surprised.

Who was he? He was a master called the Golden Dragon Divine Sword, whose equal was hard to find in the Central Plains.

And Namgung Muhyeok was not only preparing for a joint attack himself, but was also preparing for the time when he would be defeated.

“If I die, retreat without delay.”

“There will never be a time when you, the family head, fall first. Instead, when I fall… please lead the Azure Sky Unit with you.”

Namgung Muhyeok and Namgung Doun laughed together.

It was a laugh that might be their last.

“Let’s go.”

With Namgung Muhyeok in the lead, the two masters crossed the battlefield.

And there was someone watching this from a distance.

‘Namgung moved first…’

As expected, Cheon Yusin acted cautiously.

While killing the men in black using his powerful martial prowess, he maintained his distance from Ma Seongun, who was now called the Blood Demon.

Ma Seongun and Cheon Yusin were not closing the distance, as if there was an invisible wall between them.

‘As expected of the fox of the frontier. But a dragon is a dragon.’

As befitting the family head of the Namgung Clan, which used a dragon as its family symbol along with the Martial Alliance.

He was bravely approaching the Blood Demon, who was tearing people apart like paper.

“He won’t be able to win, but.”

He had to be prepared.

‘Cheon Yusin will have to face the Heretic Path's Alliance Leader.’

The moment the opportunity came, he had to pierce through Ma Seongun’s only weakness, which only he knew.

And he had to take it without anyone knowing.

The Blood Jade, whose power had not yet been fully revealed.

—Listen, Wudang Three Swords.

At the telepathic message of the Wudang Sect’s sect master, Ilmun, the three Wudang Sect swordsmen raised their heads.

They opened their ears while cutting down the men in black with their elegant sword lines.

Soon, Ilmun’s voice was heard.

—There will be a fight between the Golden Dragon Divine Sword and the Blood Demon. We must prepare to fight in succession in case he is defeated.

—As you command.

The Wudang Three Swords, the three of them, nodded their heads once and focused their attention on Namgung Muhyeok’s movements.

And yet their swords did not rest and cut down the surrounding enemies.

In the meantime, the eyes of Zhuge Yeop, who was watching the battlefield from a distance, became sharp.

“He’s almost over. Get ready.”

“Yes!”

The White Fan Children, who were called the brains of the Zhuge Clan, prepared their flags.

The flags, which were divided into blue, white, and red, waited for Zhuge Yeop’s signal.

And then, Zhuge Yeop, who was looking down at the battlefield, raised his hand.

“Raise the blue flag.”

“Raise the blue flag!”

The White Fan Children busily raised the blue flag.

In response, the martial artists of the alliance who were waiting raised the blue flag in response to the signal, and the place they were heading to was the battlefield.

“It’s the blue flag!”

“The signal has come!”

“Let’s go!”

The first to move at the signal sent by the blue flag was the Fierce Tiger Iron Sword Unit of the Hebei Peng Clan.

With the unit leader, Peng Ohyun, in the lead, the martial artists of the Fierce Tiger Iron Sword Unit, who were gripping their swords, began to run fiercely.

“Break through!”

While Peng Ohyun was breaking through the front line, fiercely swinging his sword, on the other side, the martial artists of the Martial Alliance broke through the front line with heavy steps.

As the two groups of martial artists broke through the front line like an awl, the battle situation was divided into three.

‘We are overwhelming in numbers.’

Of course, the level was the same.

The power that the Heretic Path's Alliance had was still an unknown area, and the variable of the person called the Blood Demon, Ma Seongun, remained.

“It seems the Blood Demon and the Golden Dragon Divine Sword will clash.”

“The Blood Demon who defeated the Flying Heaven Sword Ghost… Hmph! Rumors are bound to be exaggerated. I’ll be able to see his true colors now.”

Zhuge Yeop was wary of Ma Seongun’s power, but he was not afraid.

How many rumored masters were there in the vast Central Plains.

But there were only a few real masters.

That’s why the value of the Five Great Masters of the Central Plains was so great.

Because they were people who had proven their own strength.

“But it would be good to be prepared for what might happen.”

Zhuge Yeop prepared a red flag in case the Golden Dragon Divine Sword was broken.

“Now… let’s see. The power of the person called the Blood Demon.”

***

“I am the White Flame Sword, Jo Ilso. The father… who lost his son to the Little Killing Ghost you sent.”

“So?”

At Ju Cheon’s bored gaze, which was as if he were annoyed, Jo Ilso burst out in anger.

“Today, I will relieve my son’s resentment by killing you in this place.”

“Your son won’t be lonely now.”

“What!?”

The sharp palm force that extended from Ju Cheon’s hand blew away half of Jo Ilso’s face.

“Because he will be able to meet his father.”

“The, the White Flame Sword…”

The righteous path martial artists hesitated and retreated.

The White Flame Sword was a well-known master in Honam.

And he had died without even swinging his sword once.

“There are no great people in the righteous path. To think that their momentum would be broken just because one person died.”

“Damn it…! Who do you think will retreat!”

“I will join you!”

The masters who were said to be skilled in the righteous path rushed at Ju Cheon at the same time.

Although it was a joint attack of people who had never matched their moves, the slashes that the masters let out did not interfere with each other’s sword paths and pressed Ju Cheon.

Although it was a quite excellent joint attack, it did not give Ju Cheon any particular impression.

“Boring.”

Ju Cheon grabbed the two swords that were approaching with his dark blue shining twin hands and then crushed them.

“Keuk!!”

As the swords exploded and the pieces of the blades were embedded in their whole bodies like daggers, the two masters fell, bleeding, and Ju Cheon’s two feet landed on them.

Thump—!!

Ju Cheon, who had trampled the two masters to death in an instant, killed the martial artists who were rushing at him, having lost their reason, one by one, and then looked up at the sky.

The sound of death was heard from all directions.

Ju Cheon, who was enjoying this as if he were listening to music, opened his mouth.

“Retreat.”

At his one word, the men in black began to run away, turning around as if they had been waiting.

At this, even the Blood Demon, Ma Seongun, who had been feasting to his heart’s content, killing the righteous path martial artists, turned around with an annoyed expression.

At some point, his gaze met Ju Cheon’s, and he had no choice but to retreat.

Ma Seongun, who had torn apart five martial artists by scattering his palm force, passed by Ju Cheon’s side.

“Two more times left.”

Ju Cheon, with the retreating Ma Seongun behind him, smiled slyly.

“Yes. Two more times.”

Ju Cheon repeated the remaining number for someone who was watching him from somewhere.

“Two more times left. Hao Sect Master.”

***

“Oh no!”

The sudden retreat of the heretic martial world.

Since the war was still so tense that it was impossible to say which side was at an advantage, the Heretic Path's Alliance Leader’s sudden retreat order also confused the Martial Alliance.

“Chase them!”

“No! It might be a trap! We can’t chase them rashly!”

“If not now, there will be no other chance!”

“If we are ambushed, can you take responsibility for it?”

As the situation was like this, a conflict arose within the Martial Alliance.

Some argued that they should chase the fleeing heretic path, and some argued that they shouldn’t chase them because there would be a trap.

Since neither side was wrong, the opinions were sharply divided, and now the decision was returned to Cheon Yusin, who was in charge of the current Martial Alliance’s temporary alliance leader.

Cheon Yusin looked around Pyeongmu widely.

Corpses divided into black and white were lying on it.

“Beggars' Sect Leader.”

“You called.”

The Beggars' Sect’s sect leader, Gu Daepil, came running at the alliance leader’s call.

His begging stick was stained red with blood.

“The Beggars' Sect will open the way first. There is a high possibility of a trap, so you just need to follow their movements from a distance.”

“I will do so.”

Gu Daepil led the beggars of the Beggars' Sect and chased the fleeing heretic path.

Cheon Yusin stared at Ju Cheon’s back, who was retreating last.

‘What on earth is he up to?’

Ju Cheon, as he had seen so far, had outstanding martial prowess and was also cunning.

It was surely not a retreat without any special meaning.

“Listen, all the leaders of the factions and families. We will pursue as soon as the Beggars' Sect opens the way, so collect the corpses later and prepare for the next battle.”

“Yes.”

While the leaders were preparing for battle, Cheon Yusin’s eyes sank calmly.

But his heart was pounding as hard as when he was fighting.

‘Perhaps.’

Cheon Yusin added more strength to the hand that was holding the sword.

Feeling the anxiety that the real fight had not even begun yet.

(End of Chapter)