“So-woong! Flank left! Block the bastards pouring in!”
At Won Se-mun’s command, Han So-woong, encased in heavy bronze armor and gripping a massive great saber, roared back.
“You block properly, Squad Captain! There are more of them crawling out of the woodwork on your side!”
“You damn fatty! Just because you’ve become somewhat useful, you think you can talk back?”
Han So-woong channeled internal energy into his blade. A deep blue aura surged along the steel edge.
“It’s been ages since I lost weight…” he muttered, facing a dozen Dark Union bandits rushing him with raised weapons. “Why do you keep calling me fatty!”
With a thunderous bellow, he swung the great saber.
Sharp energy shaped like a half-moon erupted from the blade, shearing through the rushing bandits like leaves caught in a gale.
“Haa, haa.”
As Han So-woong gasped for air, Won Se-mun stepped up beside him, voice low.
“Do you really hate being called fatty that much?”
“Will you stop if I say yes?”
“That depends on the Squad Captain.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
Won Se-mun grabbed Han So-woong’s shoulder, his expression deadly serious. “If the Squad Captain stops calling me ‘Dual Swords’, I won’t call you fatty either.”
At this absurdity, Han So-woong vented the frustration boiling inside him by blasting out another wave of saber energy.
“Enough! Just shut up and fight!”
To their flanks, the members of the Second Team, led by Wi Cheon-gyeong, scattered outward, enveloping the enemy formation.
“Maintain distance! Focus fire on the enemies retreating to the outskirts!”
The rain of hidden weapons unleashed by the Second Team was not meant to kill instantly, but to shatter the enemy’s rhythm. The Dark Union bandits screamed in frustration, unable to close the distance on the fleet-footed wraiths circling them.
“Move!”
Capitalizing on the confusion, the Third Team charged frontally, smashing the enemy line.
Having mastered the Dark Poison Demonic Art to the seventh star or higher, ordinary blades failed to even scratch their skin. Their swordsmanship was composed entirely of killing moves that disregarded defense, slaughtering the bandits who fell back in helpless confusion.
“They are doing well.”
Bu Eunseol, observing the battlefield from high ground, nodded.
The three squads had trained together for a long time; this synergy was expected. What truly surprised him, however, was the rapid evolution of the Fourth and Fifth Teams.
Whoosh!
The members of the Fourth Team, instructed by Myo Cheon-woo, utilized a unique, silent palm power.
Myo Cheon-woo was prohibited from teaching the supreme secret arts of the Annihilating Seals Palace to the Ten Demonic Successors or their subordinates. Thus, he had fused his own insights with the core principles of the Annihilating Seals Palace to forge a new path—a palm art that was soft yet devastatingly potent.
“It is still clumsy… but with refinement, it will rival the Annihilating Seals Palace’s own arts.”
Myo Cheon-woo had just begun to walk his own path. Though the technique was currently raw, it would harden and mature alongside his soldiers.
Clang!
Sharp, keen lights flashed amidst a cluster of attacking bandits. It was the Fifth Team, led by Yoo Woon-ryong.
Ping! Crack!
Unexpectedly, Yoo Woon-ryong had not taught them whip techniques.
I cannot reach the pinnacle of the White Demon Whip Art.
Yoo Woon-ryong had realized the limits of the White Demon Monastery’s martial arts. The moment he began wielding two whips, he had already deviated from the orthodox principles of his sect. It was a means to gain strength without restriction, much like Bu Eunseol—but it had crossed from the Righteous Path to the Unorthodox Path, barring him from the highest realms of the White Demon Whip Art.
If I cannot reach it with the White Demon Whip Art, I will break through to the supreme realm in a different way.
He had created a new discipline based on his insights. The issue was that techniques like spear and staff arts were continuously being derived from his whip forms. Whip arts and spear arts were fundamentally different, yet Yoo Woon-ryong, seizing a great realization, had combined them without hesitation.
Is there no weapon that can utilize both spear and whip techniques?
After much deliberation, he had modified the three-section staff to create a new weapon: the Ten-Sectioned Staff.
When infused with internal energy, the segments locked together, rigid as a steel staff. Relax the energy, and it separated into ten joints, fluid and unpredictable as a whip.
Bu Eunseol was certain of it. If the technique of that unique Ten-Sectioned Staff was perfected, a new, bizarre weapon would etch its name into the history of the Murim.
Meanwhile, the successors of the Seven Sword Sects of Qinghai trailed the Deathly Shadow Squad, mopping up bandits attempting to flank.
They had trained incessantly and gained considerable confidence. But witnessing the Deathly Shadow Squad in full flow, they keenly felt the distance between them.
We still have so far to go.
However, they had overlooked one thing. This was not a duel between individuals.
The Deathly Shadow Squad members displayed outstanding individual prowess, yes, but they moved like a single organism. This unity was forged in the fires of constant combat against overwhelming numbers, their hearts connected as one.
We have no choice but to try!
The Seven Sword Sects fought without fear. Even if their contribution was minor, this battle was the crucible that would refine their martial arts. Before they knew it, a burning warrior’s spirit, mirroring that of the Deathly Shadow Squad, was engraved in their hearts.
…!
At that moment, Bu Eunseol narrowed his eyes.
New combatants had appeared from the rear. Suddenly, the Deathly Shadow Squad began to lose ground.
Those are…
They wielded bizarre swords with protruding spikes, and their irises were dyed a sickly yellow. They attacked like madmen, trampling the corpses of their own comrades without a shred of hesitation.
Is it that drug?
Bu Eunseol’s eyes flashed. The appearance of these monstrous warriors roughly resembled Gu Ju-hon, who had been trapped underground.
No, they are not Demon-Sealed Infernal Refined Being.
A Demon-Sealed Infernal Refined Being only died if the head was severed or the essence-blood drained. These warriors, however, stopped moving if the heart or vital points were pierced.
But they lack pain and fear.
In a large-scale melee, the absence of pain was a terrifying weapon. If his squad members let their guard down for even a second, they would be overrun.
Rumble.
Unleashing a lightning-fast movement technique, Bu Eunseol blurred past his men to stand at the vanguard.
“Fall back!”
Shing!
With a shout that shook the heavens, Bu Eunseol drew his Dark Sword.
Light flashed. Blood sprayed.
Every flicker of the blade created a vacuum in the enemy ranks, the Dark Union bandits falling like autumn leaves. He cut down a dozen in a single breath, yet the remaining bandits, drenched in the red spray of their comrades, rushed Bu Eunseol without pausing.
The drugs had excised their fear.
I must not drag this out.
Black sword energy soared from the Dark Sword as Bu Eunseol summoned his internal energy.
Supreme Heavenly Flow, Third Form: Morning Star of the Waning Moon.
He unleashed the form with the most potent single-strike might in the Supreme Heavenly Flow.
Krak-doom!
The technique struck with earth-shattering force. A massive void was instantly carved into the center of the enemy camp.
Thud-thud-thud.
Blood mist exploded outward, scattering bone and flesh in all directions. With a single strike, he had obliterated over thirty yellow-eyed bandits.
The successors of the Seven Sword Sects dropped their jaws. Even the Deathly Shadow Squad members stared in awe. They had heard rumors of their leader’s immense prowess, but witnessing it in person defied description.
Click.
Sheathing the Dark Sword as if nothing had happened, Bu Eunseol’s voice cut through the silence.
“We charge straight into the center. Target the Dark Union leadership.”
Instantly, the eyes of the Deathly Shadow Squad, drenched in blood, flashed with bestial intensity.
They would breach the Black Lion Palace and take the Union Leader’s head.
***
Strictly speaking, the Dark Union was not a martial arts sect. It was a coalition of bandits.
They used poisons and hidden weapons strictly forbidden in the Murim. They did not hesitate to employ cruel tactics utilizing corpses.
But what kind of place was the Demonic Palace?
It was the holy ground of ten thousand demons, the Demonic Alliance that gathered the power of a million practitioners. If the Dark Union used poison and hidden weapons, the Demonic Palace countered with ferocity and cruelty that eclipsed them.
Chang! Clang!
The advance and retreat of the Blood Mist Squad was swift as lightning. Facing a force of twenty thousand, they ran wild, refusing to yield a single inch.
The bandits attempted to stall them with various traps, but the disparity in martial power was too great. Even if the lowest minions were taught martial arts, the Dark Union were born bandits. They were insufficient to halt the elite masters of the Demonic Palace who had tempered their bodies through daily, hellish training.
“It will end soon.”
From a hill in the rear, Jwa Dae-baek watched the battlefield, the corner of his mouth curling upward.
The Blood Mist Squad had disrupted the defensive line with days of probing attacks. Now, under a total offensive, the enemy was collapsing uncontrollably.
“Indeed, he has certainly given up.”
Jwa Dae-baek glanced at the handsome man standing beside him. It was Do Cheon-rin, the Young Master of the Blood-Stained Blade Clan.
“Didn’t I guarantee it?” Jwa Dae-baek smiled. “No matter what method he uses, he can never establish merit.”
Jwa Dae-baek hadn’t even deployed Do Cheon-rin and the masters of the Blood-Stained Blade Clan yet. He was saving them for the final strike on the Black Lion Palace, ensuring they claimed the glory of the kill.
However, Do Cheon-rin’s brow was furrowed deep. He had received an absurd report from the watchers monitoring the Deathly Shadow Squad.
We lost their tracks…
While tracking the squad, the trail had suddenly split into seven. The watchers divided to pursue, but the Deathly Shadow Squad had vanished like smoke.
In this barren land of Qinghai, there is no place to hide fifty troops perfectly.
Do Cheon-rin was certain: Bu Eunseol was plotting something.
Engulfed in anxiety, he had urged Jwa Dae-baek to launch the total offensive early. He feared what Bu Eunseol might do if allowed time to maneuver.
“He would not give up this easily,” Do Cheon-rin said, breaking his silence. “I heard rumors that the Deathly Shadow Squad went to a sect near Carving Sword Ridge to seek cooperation.”
“Huhuhu. That is impossible.” Jwa Dae-baek snickered dismissively. “The Seven Sword Sects of Qinghai at Carving Sword Ridge possess a strange pride regarding Qinghai as the birthplace of the Demonic Path. Their relationship with our Palace is poor.”
“But…”
“Moreover, according to the Soaring Shadow Pavilion Master, they have a secret agreement with the Dark Union. You must have heard it too.”
Do Cheon-rin nodded faintly.
“In a battlefield like this, outstanding individual martial arts are useless. Absolute obedience is paramount,” Jwa Dae-baek said with a confident smile. “He went out with orders to strike the rear. If he fails to execute that order, he cannot escape the charge of insubordination.”
Do Cheon-rin nodded reluctantly.
Even with a mysterious stratagem, fifty men could not flank an army of thirty thousand alone.
Hyaaah!
At that moment, the troops of the Blood Mist Squad shattered the final defensive line and breached the perimeter of the Black Lion Palace.
Tactics dissolved. Only a melee where strength clashed against strength remained.
Uoooooh!
The gates of the Black Lion Palace burst open. With a roar, over three hundred monstrous warriors surged out, slamming into the Blood Mist Squad.
Clang! Chang!
They possessed monstrous strength, fighting without fear even as their limbs were severed.
“This…”
Jwa Dae-baek’s eyes widened.
As the yellow-eyed monsters flooded the field, the tide of battle stabilized.
The Blood Mist Squad remained dominant in the grand scheme, but the martial prowess of these monsters was exceptional, and their defensive formation was fanatical. If they held out, the plan to annihilate the Dark Union in a single breath would collapse into a protracted war of attrition.
“They aimed to stall from the start.”
The Dark Union had held out ostentatiously despite rumors of the invasion. They had intended to use these cultivated monsters to bleed the Demonic Palace expeditionary force dry.
“My squad will handle them.”
As Do Cheon-rin spoke, fifty martial artists with silver-shining swords stepped forward. They were the elite bladesmen of the Blood-Stained Blade Clan.
“Is it possible?” Jwa Dae-baek asked, worry creeping into his voice. “There is no need to overexert yourself.”
If the future successor of the Demonic Palace was injured on his watch, Jwa Dae-baek would answer for it.
“With me and the masters of my family, we can break the line within half a double-hour.”
“Mmm.” Jwa Dae-baek nodded.
Do Cheon-rin and his bladesmen took the lead.
Flash!
Unfolding the Blood-Stained Blade Art, Do Cheon-rin became a massive beam of light, shearing through the necks of the monsters.
Until now, he had kept his true prowess hidden. Yet, he had long been designated as the potentional successor by the leaders of the Ten Demonic Sects. His talent was recognized as the zenith among his peers.
His nickname was the Ten Perfections Scholar. In martial arts, scholarship, and strategy, he had no equal.
“Like a machine,” Jwa Dae-baek exclaimed in admiration.
Do Cheon-rin’s blade struck the vital points of the monsters with zero margin of error. His distribution of strength was surgical; there was absolutely no wasted energy.
Slash. Thud.
Every time silver blade waves rippled out, heads were separated from bodies. No matter how the monsters moved or evaded, Do Cheon-rin’s Blood-Stained Blade Art spread brilliantly like sunlight on a river, striking them down.
“It is done.”
The defensive wall of monsters was collapsing.
“Not half a double-hour,” Jwa Dae-baek laughed low. “It will be over within the time it takes to eat a meal.”
Just as he prepared to order the final charge—
Kuaaaak!
Desperate screams erupted from ahead of them, directly in front of the Black Lion Palace where the encirclement was tightest.
Do Cheon-rin and his bladesmen blinked, freezing mid-stride.
Before they knew it, a group of fifty martial artists was sprinting toward the Black Lion Palace, charging the Union Leader’s position in a single breath.
It was the Deathly Shadow Squad led by Bu Eunseol.
Bu Eunseol!
Sparks flew from Do Cheon-rin’s eyes.
Bu Eunseol and the Deathly Shadow Squad, who should have been hiding in disgrace—why on earth were they there?