Chapter 228: Countering a Scheme with a Scheme (2)
Chapter 227 – Countering a Scheme with a Scheme (2)
Baek Si-rang, the Leader of the Blood Sword Corps and the Blood Sword Soul Chaser.
His task today was to completely take control of the Eon Clan and wrap up the remaining clean-up.
The battle aspect was progressing smoothly.
Immediately after the Blood Sword Corps was deployed, the morale of the Eon Clan martial artists, who had resolved to fight to the death, plummeted rapidly. Since the Paeng Clan had also abandoned their main base and come all the way to Jinzhou, prepared to face annihilation, their hands and feet could not help but grow frantic as time passed.
Consequently, the Blood Sword Soul Chaser leisurely roamed the Eon Clan Estate.
He had not seen even a glimpse of the Eon Clan Leader since earlier, wondering where he had gone.
Just then, he cleft an Eon Clan martial artist who rushed at him fearlessly in two with a single strike, without even looking at him.
Splaaash!
Following a horrifying sound of tearing flesh, the martial artist, whose upper and lower body were sliced clean apart, died with wide-open eyes.
It was indeed a swift saber that perfectly combined strength and technique.
The Eon Clan martial artists, who had been charging without knowing any better, hesitated and merely surrounded him, not daring to initiate an attack.
“Hmph!”
Sneering, the Blood Sword Soul Chaser kicked the corpse and shouted.
“The Eon Clan Leader and Patriarch Paeng have turned tail and fled! If you also stop resisting, I will spare your lives!”
At the news that the two leaders had disappeared, the martial artists grew unsettled and looked at each other.
“The, the Patriarch has fled?”
“What are you talking about? The Patriarch was clearly fighting at the main gate watchtower… huh?”
“The Patriarch isn’t visible?”
“Where is Patriarch Paeng?”
“Damn it! Have they really abandoned us?”
The martial artists’ eyes began to waver.
Indeed, since the coordinator who led them had disappeared, they had no choice but to wander in confusion like a headless snake’s tail.
The Blood Sword Soul Chaser smiled coldly.
“Do you realize it now? You can never defeat our coalition. So throw down your weapons and surrender quietly.”
“Urrrgh…!”
It was just when the martial artists were struggling to decide until the end, about to loosen their grip on their weapons.
“Nonsense!”
Suddenly, with a booming voice, Paeng Jeok-ho appeared, squeezing through the crowd. And behind him, the cadets followed.
Looking around at the wavering martial artists, Paeng Jeok-ho said in a confident tone.
“Do not waver! The Eon Clan Leader is currently preparing a trump card!”
As the voice laden with internal energy rang loudly through the courtyard, the Eon Clan martial artists whose morale had been falling began to grip their weapons again.
The Paeng Clan martial artists also reignited their fighting spirit and braced themselves.
However, the Blood Sword Soul Chaser did not erase his cold sneer.
“Are you preparing a final struggle?”
“Shut up! I will kill you here and avenge my clan!”
Papat!
Paeng Jeok-ho leaped forward before anyone could stop him.
For him, he had the painful memory of abandoning his estate and fleeing because of the Blood Sword Soul Chaser. Consequently, just looking at the Blood Sword Soul Chaser’s face made him feel like vomiting.
“Hraaaah!”
Paeng Jeok-ho brought down his large saber, shouting with qi.
It was the stance of Single Saber Severing Heaven from the Hunyuan Thunder Saber Art, which had dispatched Iron Arhat in a single blow earlier.
However, the Blood Sword Soul Chaser was an experienced expert of the Jianghu.
Realizing that Paeng Jeok-ho’s momentum was fiercer than ever before, he chose to slip back slightly rather than confront him directly.
Boom!
Sure enough, Paeng Jeok-ho’s large saber came down with ferocious force and struck the ground.
Debris from the floor splattered in all directions.
Clack clack clack!
The Blood Sword Soul Chaser lightly swung his sword to deflect the flying debris.
“Did you gain some enlightenment in the meantime?”
A fishy sneer hung at the corners of the Blood Sword Soul Chaser’s mouth.
Paeng Jeok-ho ground his teeth hard.
He had gained enlightenment regarding the Hunyuan Thunder Divine Art, but the time had been short.
It was still at a level where it was difficult to circulate internal energy and execute saber techniques efficiently.
Moreover, it was also because he had overconsumed too much internal energy when dealing with Iron Arhat earlier.
Knowing this situation, Paeng Su-hyeok shouted loudly and ran out.
“We don’t need any enlightenment to deal with a bastard like you, you idiot!”
Led by Paeng Su-hyeok, the other cadets also began to charge toward the Blood Sword Soul Chaser simultaneously.
As the four cadets fought in rotation, striking and retreating, the Blood Sword Soul Chaser busily swung his sword to block.
However, an expert of the Jianghu who had rolled and struggled in real combat was definitely different.
He seemed to be pushed back slightly at first, but later began to handle the four cadets without difficulty.
Meanwhile, the members of the Blood Sword Corps continued to multiply, roaming all over the estate.
Although they were putting up a final resistance in various places, they were overwhelmingly outnumbered!
To make matters worse, two leader-level martial artists entered the inner courtyard to assist the Blood Sword Soul Chaser.
“Laughable things are swarming like gnats!”
“How dare you block the path of our Leader!”
As the two squad leaders rushed in, the cadets could no longer avoid a chaotic melee.
Watching the situation, Paeng Jeok-ho loaded his voice with internal energy and shouted.
“To the Patriarch’s Pavilion! Retreat to the Patriarch’s Pavilion!”
An order given to everyone, regardless of their family.
Fortunately, both Eon Clan and Paeng Clan martial artists followed his order faithfully.
Before they knew it, they were clearly relying on each other as a community of destiny.
“Retreat to the Patriarch’s Pavilion!”
“Retreat!”
The Paeng Clan and Eon Clan martial artists receded like a ebbing tide, retreating all the way to the courtyard of the Patriarch’s Pavilion.
As the surviving martial artists gathered densely in the Patriarch’s Pavilion, they oddly came to depend on one another.
Finally, the cadets who had been struggling to cope with the Blood Sword Soul Chaser and the squad leaders also entered the Patriarch’s Pavilion courtyard.
“Hahaha! Now I see that the rumors of the Paeng Clan being foolish were not simply false! Was the best strategy you could think of to gather in the Patriarch’s Pavilion courtyard and be slaughtered?”
Standing tall atop the gate of the Patriarch’s Pavilion, the Blood Sword Soul Chaser let out a clear laugh.
By this point, the Eon Clan martial artists who had retreated trusting the Paeng Clan Leader also wore dismayed expressions.
“Patriarch Paeng! At this rate, we are instead surrounded by the enemy! Do you have any countermeasure?”
“Isn’t this a tactical failure?”
Some Eon Clan martial artists even regretted listening to the Paeng Clan Leader.
However, Paeng Jeok-ho stared intently at the Blood Sword Soul Chaser with an unwavering expression.
“If you cannot trust me! Trust your own Patriarch!”
Meanwhile, as the Eon Clan martial artists feared, the unorthodox martial artists gathered one after another and began to completely surround the Patriarch’s Pavilion.
The Patriarch’s Pavilion courtyard was the widest in the Eon Clan Estate.
Therefore, the unorthodox martial artists entered the courtyard and narrowed the encirclement. It was truly an airtight encirclement.
Walking slowly toward the main gate, the Blood Sword Soul Chaser twisted his lips.
“Patriarch Paeng. Why did you come all the way here to suffer? If you were going to do this, you might as well have gone peacefully at home.”
“Hmph! Noise. You will fail here, just as you did in Beijing.”
“You managed to escape by luck, and it seems you think such a stroke of fortune will work again. You guys are also truly pitiful. Even the Martial Alliance does not care about you.”
“……!”
“Well, there is no need for further idle chatter. Let us settle this relationship at this point.”
When the Blood Sword Soul Chaser’s words fell, the martial artists gathered in the Patriarch’s Pavilion each swallowed their dry saliva.
Soon, the command fell from the Blood Sword Soul Chaser’s mouth.
“Strike.”
“Understood!”
Just as the unorthodox martial artists were about to surge in like a raging wave with a booming reply,
Tinkle, tinkle.
Unexpectedly, the clear sound of a bell rang out through the courtyard.
Because that bell sound carried an extremely bizarre and chilling energy, even the unorthodox martial artists hesitated and looked around.
The Blood Sword Soul Chaser also did not think it was an ordinary bell sound, so he furrowed his brows deeply and raised his head.
Tinkle, tinkle!
This time, the bell sound rang from a slightly closer location.
However, it was impossible to tell exactly where it was ringing from.
As if executing the Six Harmonies Sound Transmission that rang the voice from six directions simultaneously, the current bell sound also seemed to ring from all directions at once.
“What is this? This…”
“What is that sound?”
It was not only the unorthodox martial artists who wore bewildered expressions.
The Eon Clan and Paeng Clan martial artists also opened their eyes wide at the sudden sound and scanned the surroundings.
Wasn’t the bell sound sticking to the ears too clearly to just ignore?
In the next moment,
Tinkle, tinkle!
The bell sound rang once again.
Unable to contain himself, one unorthodox martial artist shouted at the top of his lungs.
“What bastard is playing tricks! If your life is precious, immediately…!”
Swishhh!
Thud!
The unorthodox martial artist could not finish his words.
Instead, a dark shadow dropped from the sky, landing right in front of the shouting unorthodox martial artist.
“Eh…?”
The shouting unorthodox martial artist glanced at the entity that appeared before his eyes, and immediately collapsed as his body split vertically.
Splaaash!
Thud!
As the blood-soaked corpse collapsed, the surrounding people recoiled in horror.
“Hieek!”
“W-What is that? Is that a human?”
Amazingly, the shadow that dropped from the sky was a person with pale skin that lacked even a trace of blood.
However, his eyes lacked focus, and he exuded a desolate energy, which was by no means ordinary.
Could it be said that just looking at him made the spine grow cold?
“What kind of dog-bone bastard is this!”
An unorthodox martial artist who failed to grasp the situation shouted loudly and rushed out.
“Stop!”
The quick-witted Blood Sword Soul Chaser shouted quickly, but the unorthodox martial artist had already rushed at the bloodless man.
Swishhh! Boom!
Amazingly, when the bloodless man swung his hand blade, the unorthodox martial artist’s body exploded with a loud bang.
Only then did the unorthodox martial artists back away in horror, as if recognizing the bloodless man’s identity.
“Ji-Jiangshi!”
“The Eon Clan bastards used Jiangshi!”
The Eon Clan martial artists were equally flustered.
In fact, the fact that the Eon Clan still possessed Jiangshi was a top-secret matter known only to the Patriarch and a few elders.
Therefore, most of the retainers had never even laid eyes on a Jiangshi.
As the unorthodox martial artists shouted in great shock, didn’t dark shadows appear densely on the roofs of the surrounding pavilions?
The moonlight, having emerged from the clouds, illuminated the Jiangshi on the roofs starkly.
“Gasp! Ji-Jiangshi!”
“Argh! The deceased…!”
The sight of the bloodless corpses with wide-open red eyes looking down at the estate was indeed terrifying.
However, the Eon Clan martial artists, who had regained their old identity, all wore encouraging expressions. Furthermore, Paeng Jeok-ho also grasped his large saber firmly as he looked at the saving hand that had finally appeared.
“The Eon Clan Leader has revealed his trump card! Now is the time for retribution!”
“Waaaaaah!”
In an instant, fighting spirit began to boil.
“Hahaha! To think that the deceased would become so reassuring!”
Paeng Su-hyeok laughed heartily and began to charge, wielding his great saber. Following behind him, Yu Hyeon, Yun Jong-seung, and Jin So-hong swept forward, wielding their respective weapons.
The other martial artists also burst into shouts and pushed forward like a raging wave.
“Uwaaaak! Jiangshi are dropping down!”
“Sp-Spare me!”
Suddenly, the situation was completely reversed.
The unorthodox martial artists began to let out screams and wails, while the Paeng Clan and Eon Clan martial artists shouted and swung their weapons.
The cadets also cheered and swept through the unorthodox martial artists.
“How is it! You dogs!”
Particularly, as Yun Jong-seung charged while shouting until his throat was hoarse, Paeng Su-hyeok furrowed his brows slightly.
“Isn’t that guy acting too high and mighty relying on the Jiangshi?”
“Experiencing such an amazing real battle, anyone would be excited.”
Jin So-hong chuckled and replied.
Her gaze turned toward the outside of the estate.
‘Namgung Cheon, you are truly amazing.’
* * *
Ryu Nan, who had dropped back to a suitable distance from Namgung Cheon, twisted his lips as he heard the shouts echoing from the Eon Clan Estate.
“So it is. The Eon Clan has used that in the end.”
“I egged them on diligently, you see.”
Namgung Cheon chest out and spoke proudly.
With this, the tide of the battle would definitely be turned.
Sensing that the situation was unusual, the unorthodox martial artists who had been waiting on the hill swarmed behind Ryu Nan.
Ryu Nan narrowed his eyes and looked toward the Eon Clan.
Just then, Eon Ho-ryang was rushing toward this direction, leading dozens of Jiangshi.
Finally, behind Namgung Cheon, dozens of Jiangshi exuding a desolate energy lined up in perfect rows.
Like a grand general leading soldiers, Namgung Cheon chest out once again and said.
“How about it? Shall we try fighting to the death? Ah, is it only your side that has to risk their lives?”
“…”
When Ryu Nan kept silent and merely narrowed his eyes, Namgung Cheon pointed and shouted.
“Go! Jiangshi!”
Eon Ho-ryang, standing behind, furrowed his brow.
‘Wait, those are mine, so why is he acting like they’re his?’