Chapter 228: I Will Show You Despair (2)
The Allied infantry charged relentlessly toward the disoriented cavalry.
“Charge!!!”
Shouts echoed everywhere as the heat of battle swept across the field.
The riders who lay groaning on the ground were the first to be slaughtered.
Thud—!
The infantry’s swords showed no mercy.
Having been struck by the Lion’s Shout, the fallen riders had no strength to resist.
The most courageous soldiers were the So troops in the center. They swept through the cavalry’s front line in an instant and advanced deep.
Some riders managed to dismount and form a line to resist, but it was futile. How could they block the organized advance of the infantry?
Although the state of Po on the left wing hesitated slightly, they had reinforcements. At the rear of the Allied formation, the two thousand cavalry led by Commander Han Baek charged to the left in a crescent arc.
Faced with this situation, the Hui command was in chaos.
“What on earth is happening…”
Ma Xu was so shocked that he forgot to issue orders.
He had calculated and prepared for every contingency—excluding the possibility of their cavalry being neutralized by a single shout from a young girl.
It was so absurd that he couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
“Please issue orders, General.”
Ma Xu turned to look at the center division commanded by Wanyan Hui. He, too, seemed stunned and hesitant.
A decision had to be made.
“Deploy all the infantry.”
“Yes, General!”
Soon, the drums signaled the advance, and the Hui left wing began to move.
Seeing this, the center and right wing also deployed their infantry.
A total of thirty thousand infantry began their advance, but it seemed unlikely they could turn the tide.
Ma Xu dismounted and ran at full speed toward Wanyan Hui. The situation was urgent enough to warrant using his lightness technique.
Upon his arrival, Wanyan Hui spoke in a hollow voice, “I have never lost a battle in my life. Not when I subdued the Mongolian steppes, nor when I occupied Western Xia. How… how were we defeated?”
Wanyan Hui, who had remained at the rear, had not witnessed it, but Ma Xu seemed to know.
After a brief hesitation, he spoke the truth.
“It was the Lion’s Shout of a rejuvenated master. I had received a report of this in the past, but my failure to pay it heed has brought about this result.”
Wanyan Hui burst into a mad laugh.
“Hahaha! Hahahahaha!”
It was a laugh born of sheer absurdity. Beneath his laughter, his heart burned with rage.
When Wanyan Hui stopped laughing, Ma Xu lamented, “It would have been better if we had accepted the support of the Cult.”
But what was the point of regretting the past?
The laughter vanished from Wanyan Hui’s face.
“General Ma. What should we do now?”
“You know it well. In this situation, capturing their commander is the only way to turn the tide.”
“Indeed…”
Wanyan Hui and Ma Xu surveyed the battlefield. Finding their target was easy.
A single figure had penetrated deep into their formation, single-handedly tearing through the infantry line like a yaksha.
Wherever he went, the heads of the soldiers fell like autumn leaves.
“He is alone.”
Wanyan Hui nodded, drawing his sword slowly.
“Summon the Five Dragon Generals. We will assassinate the So commander.”
The Five Dragon Generals were five powerful martial artists who answered only to Wanyan Hui.
Ma Xu also drew his sword, steeling his resolve. He rarely participated in direct combat, but now was not the time to hesitate.
Soon, the powerful generals gathered around Wanyan Hui, each exuding a fierce aura.
And five hundred feet away, in the middle of the battlefield.
Slash—!
So-mu moved like lightning, his movements too fast for the eye to follow.
No soldier could block a single strike of his sword. Hundreds of corpses lay in his wake.
Although he appeared focused on tearing through the infantry, So-mu’s attention was focused elsewhere.
‘As expected.’
His target had been set from the start.
Wanyan Hui, the Grand General of the Hui Dynasty. So-mu sensed that a squad had been formed around Wanyan Hui to eliminate him.
Thud—!
The tip of So-mu’s sword pierced through the armor of an infantry officer.
As he drew his sword, he tilted his upper body sharply to the right.
Whoosh—!
A cold sword qi grazed past his armor by a hair’s breadth.
It was a perfect dodge, but the attack did not end there. As if waiting, sword qi rained down on him from all directions.
The ambush had begun.
It was not a situation he could escape by dodging alone. So-mu’s sword unleashed a brilliant light to counter the attacks.
Boom—!
A series of thunderous explosions echoed, accompanied by flashes of light.
After the clash, So-mu stepped back and took a defensive stance.
Looking around, seven generals had surrounded him.
“This is a battlefield, so do not complain of unfairness,” Wanyan Hui said with an easy smile.
A master of the Realm of Revelation and six masters of Transcendence had gathered. The most powerful generals of the Hui had all come.
No matter who the opponent was, facing such a force alone was impossible.
“As usual, you resort to any means necessary,” So-mu said, his face tightening as he held his sword.
Although there were powerful commanders in the Allied forces, none were nearby. He had penetrated too deep into the enemy formation alone.
“Then, farewell.”
Since the battle was turning against them, the Hui could not afford to waste time.
But they were not the ones to strike first.
Flash—!
With a brilliant flash of light, So-mu vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he reappeared in the gaps between the Five Dragon Generals.
His sword moved like lightning, unleashing rays of light.
It was the Soul-Reaping Flash, the first stance of the Soul-Reaping Swordplay, executed in tandem with the Lightning Shadow Step.
Boom—!
As two generals stumbled, So-mu executed another step, attempting a breakthrough.
But Wanyan Hui would not let him escape.
A ray of light shot toward So-mu’s back at the speed of light.
Although executed in an instant, it was a powerful strike infused with immense internal energy.
Steeling his resolve, So-mu turned his body quickly to block the strike.
Crash—!
Blocking the strike from an awkward posture, his boots dragged against the ground as he was pushed back.
A soft groan escaped his lips.
“Ugh.”
Although he had sustained a slight internal injury from the imperfect block, his expression remained calm. This was exactly what he had intended.
He had used the enemy’s force to distance himself from the encirclement.
Sliding backward, So-mu kicked off the ground and accelerated.
“Catch him!” Wanyan Hui shouted, but it was futile. So-mu had already turned and fled, crossing two hundred feet in an instant.
They couldn’t let him escape.
The Hui generals pursued him at full speed, weapons in hand.
“He is injured! We can catch him!”
So-mu’s movements seemed somewhat unstable as he fled.
The distance closed slightly, and a tense pursuit ensued.
However, Ma Xu, who was pursuing closely behind Wanyan Hui, wore a strange expression.
“We are leaving the battlefield. I have a bad feeling about this.”
Something was off. Instead of fleeing toward his own troops for help, So-mu was running in the opposite direction.
But Wanyan Hui had no intention of giving up. Given their collective strength, he calculated that they could handle any trap.
“No trap can stop us!”
Besides, they had no other choice.
Soon, they had completely left the battlefield, the shouts of the soldiers fading away.
Suddenly, the clear, melodious notes of a seven-string zither drifted through the air.
Tring—!
The melody, which spread endlessly like ripples on water, carried immense internal energy.
Ma Xu’s unease grew. He was certain they had walked into a trap, and he knew he couldn’t stop Wanyan Hui.
“I am returning to the battlefield.”
Wanyan Hui frowned, turning to shout, “General Ma!”
But Ma Xu had already left the column, departing casually.
Instead of answering, he sent a transmission.
—If you do not return in fifteen minutes, I will withdraw the army to Luoyang.
Wanyan Hui’s temples throbbed with rage.
To dare defy his orders. It was insolent, but capturing the enemy commander was the priority.
Even without Ma Xu, it didn’t matter. He still had the Five Dragon Generals with him.
Soon, they witnessed an unusual sight.
A large, beautiful tree stood on the plain. Beneath its shade, a woman sat gracefully, playing a seven-string zither.
So-mu stopped right beside her.
The music stopped, and she spoke.
“You arrived right on time.”
Wanyan Hui and the Five Dragon Generals approached cautiously, weapons in hand.
Although nothing had happened, they felt a sense of dread for the first time.
Despite being surrounded, the two paid them no heed. It was incomprehensible.
One of the Five Dragon Generals whispered to Wanyan Hui, “She appears to be the Jade Flower Saintess, the former leader of the Demonic Cult. I heard she is ruthless, so be careful.”
“I know.”
Wanyan Hui had gathered information on all key figures of So.
According to reports, she was a peak master of the Demonic Realm.
Yet, his senses were warning him of danger.
It was an unfamiliar aura, different from the Demonic Realm.
As Wanyan Hui hesitated, Yeon Seo-hwa set her zither down and stood up.
“What? Is something wrong?”
Her tone and expression showed no fear whatsoever.
The Hui generals stood in silence, consumed by unease.
Yeon Seo-hwa raised her hands slowly and murmured, “Ruthless, you say… Since you wish to see it, I shall show you.”
In an instant, dozens of flying needles flew from her sleeves. They began to coil slowly around her body like snakes.
What was even more shocking was that each needle was infused with solid qi.
It was the activation posture of her ultimate technique, the True Demonic Flower Flight, which had evolved after her breakthrough.
Wanyan Hui realized the truth instantly.
“Talma…”
“So you have eyes.”
He had never imagined that the state of So possessed a master who had shed their demonic energy. Thus, he had walked right into a trap he could not have anticipated.
To make matters worse, So-mu’s pale complexion returned to normal.
The Five Dragon Generals looked tense.
But it was too early to give up.
Wanyan Hui stood in front of So-mu and spoke to his generals, “Do not worry, we can win. I will handle this man. You handle that witch…”
He could not finish his sentence.
He felt a cold presence behind him.
“Where did that water deer-looking guy run off to?”
It was So-mu’s deputy, Il-gwang, the most robust and massive commander in the Allied army. He had arrived right on cue, as planned.
The sound of his knuckles cracking echoed.
Facing a Talma master with only four generals would not be easy. The advantage was completely gone.
Wanyan Hui and the generals stood in disbelief.
At that, Yeon Seo-hwa urged them indifferently, “We don’t have time, so make your move. I need to go home and make dinner for my daughter.”