Chapter 353: The Start of the Cleanup (3)
“Is it fine if we just go like this?””He told us to do so.””Damn it, why is it always like this? Can’t they at least tell us in the middle!””When have you ever seen them operate normally? Be quiet! Just run for now!””Just one thing! Just one more thing!””What!””Are those guys coming too?””They’re not coming our way.””Then where are they going? Well, looking at the map, it’s not a place where they would be of much use.””You have the answer in your words. They went to a place where they can be of use.””Hoo.””Be quiet! I’m out of breath! We won’t make it in time! Just run for now!””Ah, let’s do that!”
* * *
Seok Gyeong’s eyes deepened.
“It’s over there.”
“That seems to be the case.”
“The presence is ambiguous. It seems like one, and it also seems like two. And looking at it another way, it seems like three.”
“Could they have known we were coming?”
“I do not know that. However, I heard that their martial arts are at the level of the head of a sect. With that level of martial arts, they would have read our army’s force.”
“It means that even if they didn’t know in advance, they would have at least read the killing intent and been preparing.”
“Isn’t it always like that? You know as well.”
“That is true.”
Unlike Seok Gyeong, a subtle arrogance was dwelling on Gok Gang’s face.
He was the person who had become a martial general the latest among the existing Eighteen Martial Generals. Naturally, his rank was also the last of the Eighteen Martial Generals.
He had lived through countless fights until now, but he had never been deployed in an operation as a martial general. Naturally, he had a great desire to build up merit to rise to a higher martial general.
At the same time, his pride as a martial general was also immense. Not to mention, the faces of the troops that came along were amazing, so expectation and arrogance were bound to go together.
Looking at such Gok Gang, Seok Gyeong clicked his tongue.
“Do not let your guard down. Yo-roe and Gyu Jeok died by their hands. If they were incompetent half-wits, would we have brought this level of troops?”
“I am aware. That is why we brought troops. And that is why I am relieved.”
Seok Gyeong inwardly shook his head.
Regardless of being old or young, to show such a reaction despite having enough life-or-death experiences, there was no way to describe it other than it being his innate nature.
Put differently, considering he rose to this position despite his arrogant nature, his talent at least must be considered outstanding.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be fixed unless he met an adversary capable of breaking that talent.
“Let us stop the useless talk here and quickly wrap this up.”
“Let us do that. Ah! Come to think of it, it wasn’t to kill but to capture alive, right?”
“They said it is good if we capture them alive if possible, but it doesn’t matter if we kill them.”
“That is good.”
Gok Gang wore a deep smile full of killing intent.
In the first place, he had no thought of keeping alive those defined as enemies. If he was strictly ordered to capture them alive, he might reconsider, but unless that was the case, he would push forward with the momentum to unconditionally kill.
“Let’s go.”
Like that, one hundred and fifty peak masters of the Divine Fire Cult marched forward with Seok Gyeong, Gok Gang, and the Thirteenth Martial General Mu Seong at the forefront.
‘Hmm.’
Seok Gyeong looked around his surroundings.
‘The terrain is strange.’
The entrance was narrow and long. The cliffs on the left and right were quite high, so it seemed difficult to climb even if one used the ultimate movement technique.
Certainly, the land here was different from their hometown. The terrain was much more dynamic, and accordingly, more complex.
He felt anew why the bastards here were bright in strategy and tactics. Having fought all sorts of battles here and there in this vast Central Plains land, they had no choice but to constantly create countermeasures according to the terrain and weather.
“Could it be a trap?”
At Gok Gang’s question, Seok Gyeong shook his head.
“The one that sees the greatest effect in a place like this is the Falling Stone Strategy. They also throw oil barrels and shoot fire arrows.”
“I see.”
“However, there is no presence or killing intent felt, and considering their numbers, it’s hard to see that they would have prepared that much. Besides, they were constantly moving. Setting manpower aside, they would have lacked the time to make such a trap.”
“You are correct.”
At that time, Mu Seong opened his mouth.
“What if all of that was part of the trap?”
Mu Seong was a man of few words, just like his name. Unless someone spoke to him from the side, he wouldn’t open his mouth even once for a month or two.
Seok Gyeong shook his head.
“If that was the case, it wouldn’t make sense from the beginning. Then it would mean that the Provincial Military Commander joined hands with them and prepared a trap, but thinking like that would mean we were losing from the very start.”
Mu Seong nodded his head without an answer.
“Anyway.”
A starlight-like radiance spewed out from Seok Gyeong’s eyes.
“This is incredible.”
Swoosh!
A terrifying energy was being felt from far away.
The density of that momentum was truly great. A spirit that seemed to pierce the sky and a bottomless pit energy whose depth was hard to fathom were felt at the same time, and neither side could be looked down upon easily.
‘Incredible.’
Leaving aside who was stronger, the thought came that they were strangely harmonious despite emitting such different temperaments. The martial arts they learned were different, but it felt like they were complementing each other well with qi.
‘That is to say, they are on the same side?’
It was then.
Pa-ak!
Two storm-like momentums approached at a terrifying speed.
It was an abrupt charge. Seok Gyeong, Gok Gang, and Mu Seong all completed their combat preparations in an instant.
Vooom.
However, the two unknown peak masters did not intend to engage in a fight right away.
“Hmm.”
Tang Kwan, the middle-aged man who stopped at a far distance, stroked his chin and looked at the Divine Fire Cult’s peak masters.
“You brought a swarm because two bastards died. The lineup is quite something. Especially…”
Tang Kwan looked at Seok Gyeong.
Seok Gyeong also glared at Tang Kwan with unwavering eyes.
‘He is strong.’
He was definitely different from that bulky bastard.
The felt level of martial arts was similar. It seemed Seok Gyeong might be slightly stronger, but the difference was so small that it could be considered practically nonexistent.
The important thing wasn’t that.
‘His mindset is different.’
Yo-roe was a peak master who deserved full marks in most categories a martial artist should possess, such as strength, internal energy, and physical stamina. However, he also possessed an attitude that a martial artist must certainly guard against.
Carelessness, arrogance.
Perhaps that might be the weakness possessed by the majority of the strong.
But that bastard wasn’t like that. He was the strongest among the peak masters leading this group, yet he was maintaining an appropriate tension. Yet, a spirit of absolutely not losing could be felt.
‘Proper guys have finally arrived.’
It was then.
“This is getting exciting.”
Yeon Ho-jeong stepped one step forward.
Wooooong.
The Crazy Dragon Axe slung over his shoulder let out a terrifying ringing sound.
Looking at his natural enemies, the emotion of anger boiling up from his Dantian aroused a fierce killing intent. And that killing intent was entirely loaded onto the Crazy Dragon Axe, making it let out a sharp cry.
In the past, the organization Yeon Ho-jeong fought to the death was the Evil Lust Cult. He had never had a proper fight with the Divine Fire Cult.
But to him, the Divine Fire Cult and the Mad Blood Cult were bastards no different from the Evil Lust Cult.
In the end, it was the Three Cults. Due to the Three Cults, the things he had to protect were destroyed, and the precious people he shared brotherly love with lost their lives.
And now, they had become an existence threatening the lives of the family that survived in the changed history.
The past and the present, and the future.
In all those realms, Yeon Ho-jeong could not find a reason not to be angry at the Three Cults.
“Are you three the Eighteen Martial Generals?”
A thick killing intent was buried in his laughing voice.
Seok Gyeong’s eyes deepened.
“Did you know our identities?”
“Those stragglers you brought along are Divine Fire Soldiers.”
Surprise and tension were revealed on the face of Gok Gang, who had been bundled tightly with arrogance, and the expressionless face of Mu Seong.
Seok Gyeong’s face slightly contorted.
“You bastard, how do you know so well about us?”
“Your side told me.”
“Our side?”
“The Twelfth Martial General. He confessed smoothly after some torture.”
It was nonsense.
The Eighteen Martial Generals was not a position one could climb simply because their martial arts were strong.
Martial arts were a given, and one had to certify absolute loyalty to the Cult to rise. At the level of a martial general, the probability of committing treason even in a dream was low.
In other words, no matter how terrible the torture they suffered, there was no way they would spit out information about the Cult. With that level of mental power, they couldn’t become martial generals in the first place.
Right now, even the extremely arrogant Gok Gang would rather throw away his life than spit out a single piece of information about the Cult.
Seok Gyeong, who had been silently glaring at Yeon Ho-jeong, continued his words.
“Since time is precious, let us stop the useless conversation here. That means, the ones who killed our Cult’s martial generals were you bastards.”
There was much he wanted to ask, and much he wanted to know.
But this was a battlefield. There was no need to consume mental energy on needless arguments.
Kill or capture alive. That would suffice.
At Seok Gyeong’s words, Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.
“That is correct.”
“Looking at your faces, it seems it won’t have much meaning, but I will give you the first and last ultimatum.”
Fwoosh.
Seok Gyeong’s pupils turned pale blue.
He too had learned the Azure Furnace Pure Fire Art that Gyu Jeok had learned. However, it was a momentum that had reached a different level from Gyu Jeok.
Deeper, hotter, and more bloody.
A terrifying qi wave that seemed capable of turning this whole area into a sea of fire all by himself was transmitted.
“Surrender. You will not lose your lives immediately, and even if you are to die later, I will gift you a painless death.”
It was a statement where terrifying confidence could be felt.
And his confidence was justified. With this level of difference in troops, even the most timid person in the world would gain courage.
The difference in troops between the two groups was that great.
“I don’t want to.”
However, there was not a single trace of shaking in Yeon Ho-jeong’s voice.
Seok Gyeong nodded.
“Good.”
Those words were the end.
“All personnel, prepare for combat.”
Swoosh!
Instantly, Yeon Ho-jeong and Tang Kwan unknowingly frowned.
Fwoooosh!
It was as if lava was flowing through this entire narrow path. In front of the terrifying fire qi emitted by over one hundred peak masters, even the air was startled and tried to flee.
Both Yeon Ho-jeong and Tang Kwan were people who knew well how to attack peak masters who had learned Heat Yang Art.
But there was a limit to that as well. In front of this terrifying fire qi blooming from them tightly bunched together, it seemed it wouldn’t be easy to approach even for two peak masters of the world.
‘As expected, it won’t be easy.’
Killing intent was killing intent, and reality was reality.
Yeon Ho-jeong examined the line of peak masters with cold eyes.
‘They are strong, every one of them. Furthermore, all of them without being careless… Hm?’
The place where Yeon Ho-jeong’s gaze stopped was on Gok Gang.
An age not quite forty. Seeing that he broke through the Wall of the Martial Arts´ End at that age, he must truly be the possessor of amazing talent.
Yeon Ho-jeong grinned.
It was because he felt a subtle arrogance from Gok Gang’s expression.
Thud!
Yeon Ho-jeong, who struck the ground with the Crazy Dragon Axe hanging on his shoulder, lifted the axe again and aimed it at Gok Gang.
“You, what is your name?”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s discerning eye was accurate.
“…You worthless bastard.”
Gok Gang’s face completely contorted.
Even at a glance, he was a young bastard with a difference of at least ten years. Since such a bastard was aiming an axe at him, Gok Gang’s feelings twisted up as much as they could.
Before Gok Gang could open his mouth again, Yeon Ho-jeong said,
“I am Yeon Ho-jeong.”
“…?”
“Do you know me?”
A strange light emanated from the eyes of Seok Gyeong and Mu Seong.
‘The Number One Rising Star under Heaven.’
There was no way they wouldn’t know the reputation of the Tiger General of Green Mountain. Because it was the most hotly burning name in the present Murim.
‘Indeed.’
Tiger General of Green Mountain, Yeon Ho-jeong. The eldest son of the Green Mountain Yeon Clan of Jiangdong.
In the Yeon Clan, famous as a sword family, the greatest genius of this era who used an unusually huge axe as his main weapon and cast an immense reputation was him.
The corners of Gok Gang’s mouth curled up.
“So that’s why you were holding an axe. You crazy bastard. Just because you’re holding a plausible weapon, you think the whole world is yours…”
“Come in.”
“…What?”
“Let’s fight among the weakest first.”
“…?!”
“Wasn’t it? You, aren’t you the weakest there? You’re perfectly suited for the vanguard, aren’t you?”
Instantly, killing intent exploded from Gok Gang’s body.