Chapter 472 The Great Battle (5)

Strategically, the Corpse Blood Valley was nominally in charge of the rear.

However, beneath this, they were tasked with protecting Wi So-yeon.

• Kwakwakwakwakwakwang!

Looking towards the front where the booming sounds came from, collapsing mountain peaks engulfed in black smoke were visible.

Corpse Blood Valley Master Lee Ji-yeom furrowed his brow as he watched this.

With the high ground of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, called a natural fortress, and the advantage of poison, he thought it wouldn’t be breached in a short time.

But what were those explosions on the mountain peaks?

‘Could there still be Secret Society spies remaining inside?’

It was hard to comprehend otherwise.

Lee Ji-yeom shouted towards the Corpse Blood Valley warriors positioned on the mountain peak:

“Something’s happened at the front. An all-out offensive will likely follow soon, so be on guard.”

“Yes, sir!!!”

• Rumble rumble rumble!

At Lee Ji-yeom’s order, the Corpse Blood Valley warriors formed groups of twelve, setting up formations and taking defensive positions.

Lee Ji-yeom climbed atop a large boulder, surveying and guarding the surroundings.

There wasn’t just one boulder on the peak.

With dozens present, it was difficult to discern which might conceal a secret passage.

• Thud thud thud thud thud thud!

The sound of numerous people rushing through the mountain peaks echoed.

With the front line collapsing, it seemed the all-out offensive was indeed following.

As he watched the front, Corpse Blood Valley Master Lee Ji-yeom’s gaze suddenly sharpened.

• Flinch!

‘What’s this?’

While focusing on the front, he hadn’t noticed, but suddenly he felt unknown presences approaching the mountain peak.

Lee Ji-yeom shouted to the Corpse Blood Valley warriors:

“Enemies are climbing up! Don’t let your guard down.”

“Yes, sir!”

At his command, the warriors guarding the edge of the peak looked down.

Just then, shouts were heard simultaneously from the southeast, south, and southwest areas.

“Enemy sighted!”

“Masked individuals are climbing up!”

“Stop them from coming up!”

Those with bows or long-range weapons immediately fired arrows and threw daggers or hidden weapons.

In response, the masked individuals who had been stealthily climbing up dodged the incoming projectiles with nimble movements, using their lightness skills to reach the top of the peak.

“Stop them!”

“The enemy has reached the top!”

“Trap them in formation!”

• Rumble rumble rumble rumble!

As masked individuals climbed up the peak from various directions, the warriors who had already formed formations surrounded them.

The number of masked individuals wasn’t as large as expected.

However, the sense of their qi revealed that each was no ordinary master.

Seeing them, Corpse Blood Valley Master Lee Ji-yeom also drew his sword from its scabbard.

• Sring!

‘As expected.’

Lee Ji-yeom clicked his tongue.

It seemed they had sent in a small elite force of masters to create chaos at the front, leading to an all-out offensive, and use that opportunity to send people to kidnap Wi So-yeon.

Of course, that assumption was correct.

Neung Jin-sun, the Second-rank of Secret Society and leader of the masked individuals, raised the corner of his mouth in a cold smile as he looked at Lee Ji-yeom in the center of the mountain peak.

‘Did you think you could deceive him?’

The memory from earlier flashed quickly through Neung Jin-sun’s mind.

[“They aimed for the darkness under the lamp.”]

[“What do you mean by that?”]

[“She is here. Her soul and body.”]

[“Then you mean they brought her to the battlefield instead of Heaven and Earth Society headquarters to catch us off guard?”]

[“It’s not a bad judgment. But only in ordinary cases.”]

[“Huhuhu. Such foolish bastards. Not knowing there’s no way to escape Mok Gan’s eyes. Then, I’ll infiltrate the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and bring back the body when they clash in earnest.”]

[“No. Move now.”]

[“What? But if we go now, with their vigilance and the time it’ll take to find the body…”]

He had judged it better to wait for the opportunity during the full-scale battle.

Of course, this judgment wasn’t wrong.

However,

[“No. There’s no need to wait for their flow. Use all the prepared explosives to hasten the chaos and full-scale battle.”]

[“The explosives already?”]

[“Yes. And there’s no need to search all the peaks. Find where the Corpse Blood Valley is.”]

[“How about the Corpse Blood Valley?”]

[“Aware that the body is being targeted, they surely had their most trusted people guard it.”]

Mok Gan’s insight was accurate.

Although it was the rear, they had formed a formation centered in the middle of the peak, not in the direction from which the enemy was approaching.

This meant his prediction was correct.

• Sring!

Neung Jin-sun, the Second-rank of Secret Society, drew the saber on his back.

• Whoosh!

As he drew the saber, a blade so translucent it appeared to be made of ice was revealed, with cold energy swirling around it.

Sensing this, Corpse Blood Valley Master Lee Ji-yeom also raised his sword with vigilance, generating heat.

• Whoosh!

“Huhuhu. That’s right, I’m your opponent.”

They were a fire sword and an ice saber, completely opposite to each other.

Although he couldn’t enter the First-rank because he couldn’t accept demon power, he had succeeded in absorbing some of the spirit power contained in the Great Great Peng’s blood. This allowed him to assist him closely, and in return, he was granted the Snow Origin Saber made from millennia-old ice by a northern craftsman.

Those cut by this saber, containing extreme cold energy, would have their wounds freeze and shatter.

“Shall we begin then?”

• Pat!

Neung Jin-sun launched his body like lightning, unleashing a saber technique overflowing with cold energy towards Corpse Blood Valley Master Lee Ji-yeom.

In response, Lee Ji-yeom also raised flames, countering with a sword technique from the Fierce Flame Sword Method.

As the two clashed, the Corpse Blood Valley warriors also deployed their sword formations, attacking the masked individuals trying to break through.

• Clang clang clang clang clang clang!

In an instant, the peak turned into a battlefield.

“What?”

“When did enemies reach the rear?”

Although they noticed the enemy infiltration from the sound of weapons clashing on nearby central peaks, the all-out offensive of the Righteous Alliance and Evil Alliance coalition had begun, leaving no resources to assist.

If they couldn’t stop the overwhelming numbers pushing in, it could lead to their annihilation before they could properly establish their new organization.

“Stop them!”

“We must delay them even a little!”

• Chwachwachwachwachwachwa!

The surviving archers desperately tried to stop the advancing enemies by firing arrows filled with poison mist.

However, there was no way to delay the monster approaching at the very front.

It was,

“Kwahahahahahahahaha!”

He burst through the purple poison mist with a wild laugh.

With sun-tanned skin and an appearance reminiscent of a ferocious beast, he was Unruly Evil Hegemon Emperor Hang Sim, one of the Seven Heavens and the First Alliance Lord of the Evil Alliance.

“Fire!”

• Chwachwachwachwachwachwa!

“Hmph!”

• Chwak! Whoosh!

As he casually swung his saber with a snort, the rain of arrows instantly vanished.

• Pat!

His figure, having broken through even the arrow rain, suddenly soared into the sky, flying towards the ambush point where the archers were gathered.

Faced with his tremendous momentum like a meteor shower, the archers who had been shooting arrows tried to flee in panic and confusion.

At that very moment,

• Clang!

Someone stepped forward to block Hang Sim, who was flying with enough force to cut through the mountain peak in an instant.

As sword and saber clashed, an enormous pressure wave swept out from the impact.

Unruly Evil Hegemon Emperor Hang Sim looked at the one who had blocked his saber, grinning to reveal his yellow teeth.

“Ou Cheon-mu!”

“Alliance Lord Hang Sim. It’s been a while.”

The one who blocked Hang Sim’s saber was none other than Ou Cheon-mu, the master of Spiritual Sword Sanctuary and also one of the Seven Heavens.

He had stepped forward without hesitation, being the only one who could stop the Unruly Evil Hegemon.

Unruly Evil Hegemon Emperor Hang Sim spoke with a seemingly delighted laugh:

“Kwahahahaha! It’s worth coming to the battlefield on the off chance. I’ve been wanting to settle that disappointment from back then, you know.”

At these words, Ou Cheon-mu briefly recalled a moment from long ago.

The image of Hang Sim coming alone to Spiritual Sword Sanctuary in the Sword Valley, stubbornly demanding a famous saber be made for his unique weapon.

At the time, he had shown displeasure at Ou Cheon-mu’s refusal to make any weapon other than swords, but had quietly left.

This was because, coincidentally, Righteous Alliance Leader Jeong Hyeon-mun had arrived to collect the newly completed famous sword Il-hwi that day.

Even for someone like him, it would have been difficult to handle two Profound Realm great grandmasters alone in enemy territory.

So he had left obediently, but,

“Is a weapon maker of use if they’re so biased? I’ll show you the excellence of the saber over the sword, Master Ou. Like this! Hyap!”

• Clang!

Ou Cheon-mu’s body was pushed back by the rebound force from Hang Sim’s saber.

However, having somewhat anticipated this, Ou Cheon-mu had raised his internal energy and was able to stop at a distance of about six jang.

‘His momentum is too high.’

• Pak pak!

As Ou Cheon-mu was clicking his tongue at his wildness,

• Pat!

“This is just the beginning! Grip your sword properly!”

• Clang clang clang clang clang clang clang clang!

But Hang Sim immediately followed up, unleashing a series of incredibly fierce saber techniques with tremendous momentum, pushing Ou Cheon-mu back.

Meanwhile, the forces of the Righteous Alliance and Evil Alliance finally broke through the poison mist and climbed the peaks of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, and the full-scale battle began in earnest.

***

Meanwhile,

Inside the Supreme Void Sealing Reversal Technique.

-I am the King. The Demon King who rules over all the clans of the myriad demons.

‘The Demon King?’

-Yes. That is who I am. Though I suppose now I can only say I was the Demon King.

‘… You speak as if it’s a thing of the past.’

• Huhuhu. That’s exactly right. If it weren’t so, we wouldn’t be meeting like this as separate consciousnesses.

The king of all existing demons.

Then, does that mean he’s the pinnacle of existence for the Imaemangnyang?

As he wondered, the being who had revealed himself as the Demon King lightly shook his head and said:

-I do not belong here.

‘What… do you mean?’

-It would be more correct to say a different world. It’s a world of endless conflict and collapse. Of course, saying this probably won’t be easy for you, a human consciousness, to understand.

• Swish!

With those words, the Demon King drew even closer.

Unable to move due to the ancient forbidden technique of the Supreme Void Sealing Reversal Technique, Mok Gyeong-un couldn’t help but feel wary at his sudden action.

‘What are you trying to do?’

-I had intended to contemplate until you attained the proper caliber.

‘Contemplate?’

-I didn’t expect her to remain in such a pitiful spirit form.

‘… Her spirit form? Wait, what are you talking about? Don’t tell me you…’

• Swish!

The Demon King placed his index finger on the forehead of the immobilized Mok Gyeong-un.

Then, with a bitter yet sorrowful smile, he said:

-It’s merely an impurity, a lingering attachment of mine.

‘Stop! I still…’

-There’s no need to hear it in words. Once you accept me, you’ll naturally come to know everything.

As soon as those words ended,

• Whoosh!

The Demon King’s body burst into black flames again, and they began to transfer to Mok Gyeong-un through his finger.