Chapter 355: The Start of the Cleanup (5)
A man wearing a bamboo hat ran through the mountains and streams.
Whoosh.
The movement of kicking the ground with his toes was extremely light and elegant.
Yet it was fast. Kicking the ground once, he easily broke through a distance of over ten zhang, and he repeated such a movement dozens of times without even catching his breath.
His legs overflowed with elasticity, his breathing was extremely stable, and the movement of his arms, which doubled his speed, was so flexible that it seemed like watching the flapping wings of a bird.
The man ran like that.
With a noble and elegant posture, but at a speed that did not allow comparison with any peak master.
How long had he run.
Flash!
Beneath the bamboo hat, a light green radiance shot out from the dark, shaded eyes of the man.
‘It’s over there.’
Dash!
He was fast before, but now he was even faster. The sight of him kicking a rock and soaring into the sky was literally like a bird.
Tap tap!
In the eyes of the man who soared high into the sky, stepped on numerous tree branches, and advanced, a middle-aged man finally came into view.
Flash!
The bamboo hat man, who moved like lightning, landed in front of the middle-aged man before anyone knew it.
A subtle admiration arose on the face of the middle-aged man, Murong Jun.
“I heard there were such words throughout Jiangdong. When the Judge flies up, all evil holds its breath… Indeed, it is an amazing movement technique, just like that decisiveness.”
“You overpraise me.”
The man took off his bamboo hat.
He was Yeon Wi.
“You are fast. I thought it would take at least two more days.”
“I couldn’t afford to be leisurely in a situation where a fight could break out at any moment.”
Murong Jun nodded.
“I was wondering if I might have to go catch them alone if things went wrong.”
Yeon Wi asked.
“Did you receive contact from the Army Commander over there?”
“Yes. It seems they will arrive in about half a day.”
“Half a day.”
Yeon Wi turned his head.
It was a dark night. The moonlight was clear, but it was also moderately cloudy. There was no lack in distinguishing objects, but it was difficult to see as brightly as broad daylight.
However, excluding the powerhouses of the Saintly Heaven who had reached the realm of gods through martial arts, the two were powerhouses who were difficult to find equals for in the entire Murim.
At this level of brightness, they could use their internal energy to see objects clearly with their excellent vision.
“It’s over there.”
Where Yeon Wi pointed, there was a giant manor.
It was so huge that its scale was enough to make even fairly high-ranking officials click their tongues in admiration. It wasn’t flashy, but it was large and wide enough to easily accommodate hundreds of family members.
Murong Jun said.
“I heard they relocated the surrounding civilians to other places for nearly a year. Thanks to that, there are no civilians within a radius of ten li, starting from that manor.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Whether it’s a relief or a misfortune, we’ll have to fight to know.”
“Have you grasped their military strength?”
“Of course.”
Murong Jun took out a small letter from his arms.
“This is what the intelligence organization of Lord Yeo Sang-do, the Provincial Military Commander, found out.”
Yeon Wi’s eyes deepened as he received and read the letter.
“Four…”
“To be precise, there could be four in the worst-case scenario. We poked around here and there, so those bastards must be out of their minds. If they dispatched people to other places, you can assume there are about two or three masters over there who can deal with us.”
“I don’t think they’re the only ones there.”
“Of course. Even excluding the absolute peak masters who have broken through the Wall of the Martial Arts´ End, there will be hundreds of masters with outstanding skills in their own right.”
“Hundreds.”
“When I secretly went to meet Lord Yeo, there were about fifty bastards monitoring him. Those fifty were all masters boasting outstanding skills, so they were by no means bastards to look down on.”
Yeon Wi nodded.
“According to Ho-jeong, they are called Divine Fire Soldiers.”
“Divine Fire Soldiers…”
Murong Jun wore a sneer.
“What a grandiose name. Then again, they must have had an incredible amount of confidence to try and take over the government.”
That wasn’t the important part.
‘If so, the number of masters the Divine Fire Cult originally sent to the Henan government…?’
Gyu Jeok, and Yo-roe.
Adding the three martial generals who went to Yeon Ho-jeong and Tang Kwan, and the masters of the place the two of them are trying to attack now?
‘Nine absolute peak masters…’
It was a chilling number.
It was fortunate that they dealt with two of them first by defeating them individually. Even assuming that Yeon Ho-jeong, Tang Kwan, and Muk Bi defeat all the enemies over there, four still remain.
It was an incredible force. Then again, if they wanted to grasp everything in a province, they would have to invest that much force.
Moreover, it was said they had hundreds of subordinate masters.
‘Will we be able to conquer it?’
Yeon Wi’s eyes deepened.
He looked at Murong Jun.
‘Murong Clan Head… He definitely has a hidden move.’
His machinations and stratagems were so outstanding that the martial arts he possessed tended to be undervalued.
Even just looking at him quietly like this, Murong Jun’s martial prowess was no different from his own. Moreover, he heard that Murong Jun was cultivating another martial art besides the Heaven and Earth Martial Arts, the martial study of the Murong Clan Head.
In other words, it meant he was hiding his true skills.
‘I am the same, though.’
There was a difference. Murong Jun hid it on purpose to prepare for the future, and Yeon Wi simply didn’t have a chance to reveal his true skills.
The important thing was that whether it was himself or Murong Jun, they were at least one step stronger than what was known publicly.
‘However, their martial arts might also be more outstanding than expected.’
Especially since the place the two of them were aiming for could be called the bastards’ headquarters.
Originally, it was said to be a place Yeo Sang-do made for the purpose of actively discussing military administration with his subordinate officials. Thanks to that, it was wide, and it also boasted quite an excellent effect in terms of defending a fortress.
Furthermore.
“May I go out for a reconnaissance for a moment?”
Murong Jun glanced at Yeon Wi.
“Are you confident you won’t be caught?”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“Good, let’s go together.”
Whoosh!
The two killed their presence and narrowed the distance to the manor.
How close had they gotten.
Murong Jun’s eyes flashed.
[Did you smell it?]
[I did.]
Murong Jun frowned.
[These bastards prepared very solidly.]
What first stimulated the extremely activated senses of the two people was the subtle smell of oil.
If it were an ordinary person, or even an absolute peak master if they didn’t maximize their senses this much, they blocked the smell so well that they would have passed by without knowing.
[The bastards are all masters of Heat Yang Art. According to Army Commander Yeon, not only do they suck in the amplified fire qi by starting a fire themselves to reduce internal energy consumption, but they also increase their strength.]
[I heard that too.]
In fact, Yeon Wi had personally gone to the battle location of Yeon Ho-jeong and Gyu Jeok.
It was fortunate that he quickly stopped it; it almost spread into a massive forest fire.
It was truly an amazing thing. No matter how much of a master of Heat Yang Art one was, turning the surroundings into a sea of fire was an adventure that couldn’t be easily attempted.
What was an adventure for ordinary warriors was not an adventure for them. It was a combat tactic that could never be used without the strong heat resistance of the body as a foundation.
Well, before the adventure, the internal energy force emission that set fire to that wide area was amazing in itself.
‘Fighting in an advantageous environment… It’s the basis of combat, but.’
The two moved more carefully.
No matter how outstanding they were as masters, both of them were people who learned the orthodox martial arts of the White Path Murim. Even though their enlightenment of qigong was great and they could freely reduce and increase their presence, it was too much to unfold a super-first-rate stealth technique.
In other words, it was difficult to penetrate to the inside. It might be different if only masters who hadn’t broken through the Wall of the Martial Arts´ End were laid out, but if there was even one martial general-level master, the probability of being caught was high.
Like that, the two circled the entire outskirts of the area and returned to their original position.
“This has become a headache.”
Murong Jun’s eyes deepened.
“The smell of oil is coming from everywhere. If a battle breaks out, the bastards will start by setting a fire first.”
“My thoughts are the same.”
“They are truly interesting bastards. Beyond fire attacks not working, it can actually help them… This is truly fascinating.”
Murong Jun, who had been deep in thought, said as if throwing out a remark.
“With that much, unless a torrential downpour pours down, it seems it would be too much to put out the fire.”
“…”
“Creating an advantageous environment is the basis of combat, and if the bastards have already made full preparations, what we need to do is to erase that advantage first and then proceed with the battle.”
“Your words are correct.”
“We won’t be able to put it out with a half-hearted amount of water. Then that means we have to move the battle location.”
“Hmm.”
“If we lure them to an advantageous place for us…”
“Is there really a need to do that?”
“What do you mean?”
Yeon Wi held his words for a moment.
He had a uniquely serious face. Murong Jun waited patiently until his thoughts were organized.
A moment later, Yeon Wi said.
“It would have been good if the Tang Clan Head came here. Since he could release poison and sharply reduce the enemies’ combat power.”
“The problem is that he is not here.”
“That’s right. Then there are three choices we can make.”
“Please speak.”
“First. Giving up the battle.”
“…Well, that could also be one of the choices. Because it’s better to plan for the future than for things to go wrong by attacking unreasonably.”
“That’s right. The problem is, I can’t imagine how these bastards will move if my son and the Tang Clan Head’s side transmit news of victory.”
“That’s why you and I, Clan Head Yeon, came here, isn’t it? Because catching all those bastards at this opportunity is the best.”
“Then there is a second choice. As Clan Head Murong said, it is to induce them to change the battle location. In other words, we have to deploy a lure.”
“I see that as the best option. It would be good if it’s near water, if possible.”
It wasn’t to neutralize the Divine Fire Cult’s fire attacks. Murong Jun knew that the Lightning Art he learned was amplified by receiving water qi.
If done well, he could incapacitate most of the bastards in a single strike. That was why he wanted to lure them to the water.
“The problem is, would bastards with such thorough preparations really fall for a lure?”
“Hmm.”
Murong Jun, who nodded his head, asked with a puzzled face.
“Then, what is the final third option?”
“Fighting right here.”
“That’s the worst choice.”
“It’s the worst, but depending on the situation, it could also become the most decent choice.”
“What do you mean?”
Yeon Wi whispered in a small voice.
In an instant, Murong Jun’s eyes widened.
“…Are you crazy?”
It was clearly a historical moment in many ways. It was really rare for such words to come out of Murong Jun’s mouth.
Even more so if it was out of admiration.
Yeon Wi sighed.
“If I hadn’t joined hands with Lord Yeo, I wouldn’t have thought of it. Moreover, whether Lord Yeo would easily allow it…”
“No, he will allow it.”
“Are you certain?”
“Of course. Lord Yeo’s anger towards those bastards is no less than mine. He’s a gentleman who even risked his life to drive those bastards out. What wouldn’t he do?”
“If so…”
The corners of Murong Jun’s mouth went up.
“Even if the battle over there ends anyway, it will take three days for the news to reach here. And if Lord Yeo uses his power, we can finish all the preparations within two days.”
“…Good.”
Yeon Wi said powerfully.
“Then, let’s start the work immediately. Clan Head Murong, please go to Lord Yeo yourself.”
“Understood. Clan Head Yeon, wait for the Demon-Sweeping Army here.”
“I will do so.”
Murong Jun, who turned his body, hesitated for a moment.
“Clan Head Yeon.”
“Please speak.”
“Don’t worry too much about Army Commander Yeon’s side.”
It was an uncharacteristically encouraging remark from Murong Jun. But knowing his inner thoughts, it was truly a remark typical of Murong Jun.
Because he shouldn’t lose his coolness in this battle out of worry for his child.
Yeon Wi smiled.
“Have a safe trip.”
Dash!
Murong Jun moved at a terrifying speed.
Yeon Wi looked up at the sky.
“…It’s okay even if you don’t win. Just don’t get hurt.”