Novel Martial Artist Lee Gwak - chapter 356
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Episode 356
Only those at the bottom die the most (3)
Yong Cheon-myeong and Woo Mun-pae have had a connection for over ten years, even longer than when Lee Gwak was just an outer-hall martial artist of the Jade Heaven Alliance.
Despite the distance that grew between them when Ja Hong-cheon revealed his ambition to dominate the Jianghu and declared war on the Old Sects, they never let go of their personal ties.
They kept in touch occasionally, continuing their connection and checking on each other’s well-being.
Initially, Ja Hong-cheon thought he could dominate the world with just the power of the Jade Heaven Alliance. However, as the three-year agreement with Celestial Demon Troupe was nearing its end, he had no choice but to make a decision.
To end the war before the Celestial Demon Troupe made its move, he needed to join hands with someone.
That someone was Martial Sword Troupe.
Because of the long-standing connection between Yong Cheon-myeong and Woo Mun-pae, it was easier for them to strike a secret pact.
Another factor behind this pact was the great ambition of Yu Mun Sang, the master of the Martial Sword Troupe.
Yu Mun Sang was not content with merely being the ruler of the South Sea.
He had been eagerly waiting for an opportunity to expand into the Jianghu, and Ja Hong-cheon happened to extend his hand at the right time.
In Jianghu, yesterday’s enemy could become today’s friend.
Others might criticise this as cowardice, but Yu Mun-sang paid no attention to public opinion.
What truly mattered was securing a foothold to advance into the Jianghu.
Their shared target was none other than the Dragon Heaven Valley.
The Jade Heaven Alliance was heavily damaged by the Dragon Heaven Valley, and the Martial Sword Troupe was blocked by the Dragon Heaven Valley from expanding into the Jianghu.
Their interests were perfectly aligned, and the result was the current situation.
“Martial Sword Troupe has joined hands with Jade Heaven Alliance…”
Mok Seon-wol could hardly comprehend the situation before her.
The two forces had inflicted numerous casualties on each other until now.
The Jade Heaven Alliance had killed over tens of thousands of Martial Sword Troupe martial artists, and the Martial Sword Troupe had done the same. For these two sects, who were sworn enemies, to secretly join hands was an unprecedented event that no one could have predicted.
Mok Seon-wol stood up, trembling.
“Do you have no pride? How can you join hands with the Jade Heaven Alliance?”
“My pride is both lofty and noble, but temporarily suppressing it for the sake of a grand ambition isn’t so difficult.”
At Woo Mun-pae’s calm reply, Mok Seon-wol’s lips trembled.
She had already been badly injured by his attack.
In her current state, she could not even muster half of her usual strength.
“Seon-wol!”
“How dare you!”
As Mok Seon-wol struggled, four of the Ten Blood Demons rushed over. They were down to four because the Fifth Blood Demon was absent, but their combat power surpassed any force present.
Woo Mun-pae watched the four blood demons rush towards him without raising his guard. He looked like someone with a death wish, but he was neither insane nor ready to give up his life.
Boom!
Suddenly, a fierce burst of internal energy flew in and struck the four blood demons head-on.
‘Who are you?’
If the First Blood Demon, Go Il-cheok, and the Second Blood Demon hadn’t unleashed their protective qi to shield everyone, they would have been badly hurt.
Go Il-cheok glared in the direction the blast had come from.
Even through his defensive qi, his entire body tingled. That meant the power behind the enemy’s attack was beyond imagination.
There were not many martial artists in the Jianghu capable of freely wielding such formidable force. Realizing this, Go Il-cheok’s gaze held a hint of tension.
At that moment, a towering man approached, leading a group of warriors toward Go Il-cheok and the others.
As Go Il-cheok recognised the man’s face, his eyelids twitched.
“You… you’re Yong… Cheon-myeong?”
The young martial artist, exuding an aura as intense as a lion’s, was none other than Yong Cheon-myeong.
Behind him followed warriors with their faces tightly wrapped in white cloth. They were the Soul Forgotten Demons.
His appearance froze the expressions of both Go Il-cheok and Mok Seon Wol.
Although they had heard that the Martial Sword Troupe had joined hands with the Jade Heaven Alliance, seeing it with their own eyes was a shock of a completely different magnitude.
Yong Cheon-myeong looked indifferently at Go Il-cheok and the other blood demons.
‘You guys are mine.’
“Do you really mean to do this? How will you bear the condemnation of the entire world?”
“I’m already condemned enough. A little more won’t make it any worse.”
“The Heavens will never forgive you!”
“Heh! Even the Heavens cannot stop the Jade Heaven Alliance’s progress.”
A twisted smile spread across Yong Cheon-myeong’s face.
“Waaaah!”
At that moment, a massive force appeared and charged at the martial artists of Dragon Heaven Valley.
“Damn it!”
“S-Stop them! If we can’t hold them here, we’re done for!”
A look of despair swept over the faces of Dragon Heaven Valley’s martial artists.
Not only had the Martial Sword Troupe betrayed them, but it turned out the Jade Heaven Alliance’s hidden troops were here as well.
They were hopelessly outnumbered and outmatched in combat prowess.
If things continued like this, their annihilation was inevitable.
The real problem was that there seemed to be no way out.
“These treacherous bastards. To use their own comrades as baits for a pincer attack…”
One of the martial artists from Dragon Heaven Valley trembled with rage.
They had been so focused on attacking the Jade Heaven martial artists from Hundred Eyes Fortress that they had neglected to guard their surroundings. This was the price they had to pay.
The enemy had secretly moved their forces and completely surrounded them. There was no escape in sight.
The Jade Heaven Alliance and the Martial Sword Troupe were gradually tightening the encirclement.
Go Il-cheok glared at Yong Cheon-myeong with a fierce gaze, but he didn’t even blink.
Instead, he radiated an overwhelming aura.
Kwaaa!
Go Il-cheok’s face fell in disbelief at Yong Cheon-myeong’s overwhelming aura.
“Has he reached this level already?”
With such a level of power, none of the Blood Demons could confidently predict the outcome of a fair fight.
It was an achievement beyond imagination.
After losing to Lee Gwak nine years ago, Yong Cheon-myeong underwent gruelling training.
As a result, he achieved a level of power incomparable to before. Confident in his own achievements, he did not hide his presence and freely displayed it.
Go Il-cheok charged at Yong Cheon-myeong, shouting.
“Attack! If we don’t kill him, there is no future for us.”
“Kill!”
The three blood demons followed him.
In an instant, Yong Cheon-myeong’s face lost all traces of a smile.
“Kill the old bastards.”
With his command, the Soul Forgotten Demons behind him moved simultaneously.
Yong Cheon-myeong and the Soul Forgotten Demons clashed head on with the Four Blood Demons.
***
“Gong-do!”
Seok Yi-cheon grabbed the fallen outer hall martial artist and cried out.
The man, drenched in blood and unconscious, was Sa Gong-do, the youngest member of the 17th Squad.
Despite Seok Yi-cheon’s desperate efforts to save his squad members, the first casualty had occurred.
Seok Yi-cheon shook Sa Gong-do, but he did not respond. He had already stopped breathing.
Seok Yi-cheon wailed.
Tears flowed continuously, as if his tear ducts had burst.
“Squad leader, you did your best. Gong-do wouldn’t blame you.”
“At this rate, you’ll die too, Squad Leader.”
The squad members pulled at Seok Yi-cheon’s arms.
Seok Yi-cheon had desperately led his squad to the weakest point of the enemy’s forces.
He avoided or fought off the attacking enemies, constantly moving to find the safest spot. His efforts seemed to be paying off—until Yong Cheon-myeong appeared with his elite forces, turning the tide.
The safest place became the most dangerous place.
The martial artists of the Outer Hall were isolated and exposed to the attacks of Dragon Heaven Valley’s forces. Despite this, the warriors of the Jade Heaven Alliance made no effort to rescue them.
After all, the Outer Hall martial artists were nothing but bait to occupy Dragon Heaven Valley’s attention. Even if they were wiped out, they could be quickly replaced and their absence would hardly be felt.
So they had been chosen as sacrificial lambs in this operation – tools to divert the enemy’s attention.
Logically, having served their purpose, the elite forces should have moved to rescue the warriors of the outer hall. But the elites of the Jade Heaven Alliance did not.
They believed it was more advantageous to kill one more Dragon Heaven Valley warrior than to waste time saving the Outer Hall Martial Artists.
And so, the Outer Hall Martial Artists were abandoned by the Jade Heaven Alliance and slaughtered by the Dragon Heaven Valley’s martial artists.
The Outer Hall Martial Artists were abandoned by the Jade Heaven Alliance and slaughtered by the Dragon Heaven Valley warriors.
In the face of the overwhelming tide of death, Seok Yi-cheon’s desperate efforts turned to nothing.
“Aah!”
“Ugh!”
The Outer Hall Martial Artists fell, blood spraying everywhere.
The 15th Squad had already been wiped out, and more than half of the 16th Squad were dead or injured.
Only the 17th and 19th Squads were holding on, but even they were reaching their limits.
“Damn it!”
“Is this how we die?”
Despair washed over the faces of the Outer Hall Martial Artists.
No matter where they looked, they were surrounded by Dragon Heaven Valley’s martial artists. The Dragon Heaven Valley’s martial artists burned with blind hatred for the Jade Heaven Alliance.
To them, all members of the Jade Heaven Alliance were mortal enemies. It didn’t matter whether they were elite warriors or Outer Hall Martial Artists.
Both were their enemies, targets that had to be eliminated.
Moreover, the betrayal of the Martial Sword Troupe had driven them into a frenzy. They killed the Outer Hall Martial Artists with venomous hatred.
“Brother!”
Go Cheon-gwang, the leader of the Nineteenth Squad, approached Seok Yi Cheon with his squad members.
They, too, were covered in blood, having fought fiercely. Some squad members were missing, indicating that the Nineteenth Squad had also suffered heavy casualties.
Despair was etched on their faces.
Seok Yi Cheon grabbed Go Cheon-gwang’s hand.
“Are you okay?”
“Hah! How could I be alright?”
Go Cheon-gwang’s side was soaked in blood. He had suffered a deep wound.
The others were also injured, some more severely than others.
Go Cheon-gwang clutched his side and spoke.
“It seems that this is the end for us.
His face was filled with bitterness.
Go Cheon-gwang had fought desperately to protect his comrades. But despite his efforts, he had lost many of them.
Many of the fallen were young warriors who had yet to blossom. Watching them die before his eyes, unable to save them, left a deep, unhealed wound in Go Cheon-gwang’s heart.
Seok Yi Cheon looked around with bloodshot eyes.
Countless warriors lay scattered on the ground.
It was impossible to tell who was from the Jade Heaven Alliance, who was from the Dragon Heaven Valley, or who was from the Martial Sword Troupe. But Seok Yi Cheon could distinguish the bodies of the Outer Hall martial artists.
They were comrades who had shared meals for years. No, they were family.
He remembered even their smallest features and habits, so how could he not recognise them? It made the pain even worse.
Just then.
“Aargh!”
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, the battlefield shifted.
The Dragon Heaven Valley’s martial artists, who had been mercilessly attacking the Outer Hall Martial Artists, began to scream and retreat.
Seok Yi Cheon stared blankly at the scene.
“Don’t let a single one escape.”
“Kill them all!”
The elite forces of the Jade Heaven Alliance, newly arrived on the battlefield, were slaughtering the Dragon Heaven Valley’s martial artists.
Ban Cheon-sang led them as they massacred the Dragon Heaven Valley warriors, who fled in terror.
“Are we… saved?”
The outer hall warriors stared blankly at the scene.
They had survived, but there was no joy in it. They had lost too many comrades, family-like companions, to feel any relief at their own survival.
Seok Yi Cheon felt something surge in his chest.
Without realizing it, he began walking toward Ban Cheon-sang.
As Seok Yi Cheon approached, Ban Cheon-sang frowned.
“What is it?”
“Did it have to be this way?”
“What?”
Ban Cheon-sang looked incredulous.
A mere squad leader, someone who wouldn’t even dare to look him in the eye under normal circumstances, was questioning him as if demanding an explanation.
Under normal circumstances, Seok Yi Cheon wouldn’t have done this.
He was someone who always kept a low profile, especially avoiding actions that might displease his superiors.
His philosophy was that the protruding nail gets hammered down.
To survive in the ruthless martial world, he believed one had to appear as ordinary as possible, and he acted accordingly.
But at this moment, his pounding heart and the anger surging within him had numbed his reason.
“Did you really have to use us as bait like that? We’re also warriors of the Jade HeavenAlliance…”
“Are you disobeying your superior’s orders right now?”
“I just want to know the reason. Are our lives so worthless? Are we so easily disposable…?”
Bang!
In that instant, Ban Cheon-sang’s strike slammed into Seok Yi Cheon’s chest.
Seok Yi Cheon collapsed to the ground, vomiting blood.
“Brother!”
“Don’t touch our squad leader!”
Go Cheon-gwang and the outer hall warriors rushed forward, their eyes blazing. The sight of Seok Yi Cheon vomiting blood had shattered their reason.
“You worthless trash, how dare you…”
Ban Cheon-sang’s eyes flickered with irritation.
These outer hall warriors were ruining the perfect opportunity to annihilate the Dragon Heaven Valley forces.
He was not a merciful man.
If someone crossed him, even an ally, he wouldn’t hesitate to cut them down. Especially now, at this critical moment when victory or defeat hangs in the balance.
He could not forgive anyone who disrupted this moment.
Whoosh!
He swung his hand. An enormous surge of Qi, like a tidal wave, crashed down upon the charging martial artists of the outer hall.
Kwaaang!
“Aargh!”
“Ugh!”
The outer hall warriors were flung in all directions.
Some lay motionless, their breath cut off, while others screamed as their limbs twisted in grotesque directions.
It was a horrific massacre caused by a single attack.
“Hmph! I’ll finish you off for good.”
Ban Cheon-sang drew his sword to deliver the final blow.
A terrifying qi gathered around his blade. With one swing, all those who had dared to challenge him would lose their lives.
Seok Yi-cheon closed his eyes.
He wasn’t afraid of losing his own life, but the thought of dying without seeing Jagok again filled him with anguish.
He closed his eyes and waited for death.
Just as Ban Cheon-sang was about to swing his sword at Seok Yi-cheon—
Ssshhhk!
A cold sound of cutting air echoed.
Azazar
What can I say – if we disregard ethical part of this, it was a brilliant operation and Dragon Heaven Valley, guessing by the end of the chapter, is going to be saved only by the plot armor called Lee Gwak
The only problem of using such methods is that you MUST win after you’ve used them, otherwise you will suffer grim consequences because your opponents neither forgive nor forget what you did and will seek for vengeance and blood