Chapter 88
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Military Gate
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While flexibly dodging the javelins crackling with intense lightning from all directions, So-hyang noticed something odd.
Normally, javelins couldn't be carried in large numbers like arrows due to their unique length and bulk.
Even for short, lightweight javelin-specific spears among spears, the limit would be around a dozen or so.
Moreover, their javelin technique literally "consumed" the spears, making recovery impossible.
Yet strangely, the Imperial Army's javelins showed no sign of running out.
"Far from running out, they're practically raining them down."
The words weren't an exaggeration; each soldier was hurling nearly five per second.
The secret was simple.
The Imperial Army soldiers were "creating" javelins on the spot with every throw.
This was a miracle impossible with martial arts alone. To achieve something similar, one would need to reach the transcendent realm, bypassing laws of nature.
Not all of them could be such exalted experts...
"Ah, it's those gauntlets."
Her eyes caught the intricate rune-etched gauntlets on each soldier's left hand.
Leather gauntlets inscribed with complex patterns and characters, named Forging Javelin Devices.
A mass-produced artifact supplied periodically by the Refining Iron School, a branch of the Refining Arts School.
Fully autonomous artifacts that functioned perfectly with just qi infusion, no sorcerer tuning required—and thus, their function was exceedingly simple.
They absorbed ambient air and refined it into iron.
The resulting iron was brittle scrap metal lacking hardness or elasticity, and it couldn't be shaped beyond the preset form.
Even that was temporary transmutation; the air retained iron's properties for less time than it took to sip tea.
But such flaws were practically meaningless.
Low quality and durability?
They were meant to be thrown and detonated anyway—what did it matter?
Fixed shape?
As long as it formed a javelin, that sufficed.
Short duration?
They were made and expended instantly—no issue there.
Focus and specialization, the most fundamental principle in implementing technology.
By embracing countless non-issues as flaws and trimming unnecessary performance, they achieved overwhelming efficiency.
Minimal qi consumption, ample creation count.
Low production cost enabled mass manufacturing and supply—ideal as a weapon.
Standard Imperial Army gear used for a millennium, the key enabler of their brutal tactics.
Infinite lightning-bursting javelins, the symbol of the Imperial Guard even before emergency flight devices.
"Hmm, this is kinda fun."
Admiration spread across So-hyang's face.
A clear difference between the martial artists she'd faced and these Imperial Army soldiers.
To martial artists, martial arts were the end goal itself—a quest to elevate one's existence.
To soldiers, they were mere tools, abilities equipped to fulfill duties.
By rights, these men could claim to be the strongest martial sect in the Central Plains—yet they obsessed not over martial arts.
They didn't mind using sorcery or tools beyond martial arts, weaving various means for superior efficiency.
Lacking deep enlightenment and ordeals, they might struggle to transcend great realms, but the results were undeniable.
The pinnacle of ruthless pragmatism and utility.
Embracing sorcery and tools without dependency, refining martial systems to match—the epitome of balanced moderation.
Armies were supposed to be closed and conservative, yet they shunned no innovation, embracing systemic change and new tech with extreme openness.
Yet security on vital matters remained ironclad—no flaws in the organization itself.
"Wow, at equal realms, their actual combat power would dwarf ours."
Their fundamental approach differed.
In So-hyang's view, a few first-rate experts could suppress even peak masters; with skill, low-tiers might even edge transcendent ones.
Of course, she was beyond such transcendent labels, so it was a bit different for her.
"No wonder the martial world can't defy the Empire."
Overwhelming in sheer numbers and scale, their quality was impeccable too.
So-hyang truly felt the Empire's might, hard to fathom.
"-What the hell are you blabbering about?!"
The soldiers, watching her effortlessly dodge and deflect every javelin, were boiling with frustration.
She wasn't even moving vigorously—how did none land?
She perfectly shielded the prince on her shoulder too. Unbelievable.
"Hmm, what now?"
Being unilaterally attacked didn't suit her temperament.
Counterattacking would end it too easily due to the gap.
"Tch, if only Sanghu were here... it'd be perfect."
Fighting at degraded peak-master level would make it thrilling, teetering on life-or-death.
She smacked her lips regretfully, then narrowed her eyes in sudden displeasure.
"...Come to think of it, this pisses me off."
They hadn't known each other long enough for deep bonds, but she'd planned to grow attached.
She'd denied it as "disciple-like," but knew her own nature.
She'd have taken him as a proper disciple eventually.
To turn the promising youth she'd personally reformed into a human bomb and kill him...
Demonic cultists, driven by envy, they called them.
"I won't let them die easy."
With a murderous mutter, that name etched anew in her mind.
"-!! Everyone! Fall back!!"
Simultaneously, the soldiers hurling spears nearby paled and retreated urgently.
Her killing intent wasn't aimed at them, but they couldn't know that.
"Wh-what killing intent...!"
Even the leakage made their legs buckle and spines chill.
The unimaginable gap shook even disciplined soldiers' eyes.
Yet they couldn't show it, bellowing to shake off fear.
"...D-don't play tricks! You're surrounded, and the Southern General's arriving soon! You can't escape!"
The speaking soldier knew such threats were futile.
That brush of intent marked her beyond their level.
Their superiors grasped the situation and were coming, but could they hold till then?
They gave their all to duty and subdue the fiend, but stalling was their limit.
They knew she could slaughter them all from her spot if she wished.
Telling her not to flee was backwards.
"Oh, that's a good idea."
"...?"
Yet the fiend turned and fled as if inspired...?
A transcendent overwhelming them...?
"...??"
Unable to comprehend the bizarre turn, the soldiers blanked momentarily before hurriedly pursuing So-hyang.
"Chase her!!"
If full-frontal combat was too easy to enjoy, what about changing the form?
Say, a chase.
Quietly thanking the soldier for the apt idea, So-hyang kicked off a rooftop and leaped.
Zhu Yeonhwa still slung over her shoulder like baggage.
Since they treated her as a kidnapper, why not play the part?
Plain flight was too easy, though—needed difficulty adjustment.
"Come and get me if you can~?"
Reaching for a nearby soldier firing wires and launching himself, a realization dawned.
Second chapter of Bright Mystery Sword Arts: Spirit Circle.
Originally, it recovered spent spirit energy via attractive force from circulating spirit at acupoints.
But settling for rote use with this pull was a waste.
Like absorbing Cheongha's strikes with devouring arts, Spirit Circle had applications.
"-Gaaahhh?!"
Unprecedented pull from spirit rotation yanked the soldier viciously.
"Good boy, sleep for a bit."
Unable to resist, he was dragged in; So-hyang lightly flicked his forehead with a finger snap.
-Crack!!
A skull-shattering sound rang out; the soldier's eyes rolled back as he crumpled.
"-Y-you crazy bitch!! You killed the squad leader!!"
"...Huh? No, I didn't—"
Even explaining the flash was loud but impact mild, the soldiers hurled spears with bloodshot eyes, unbelieving.
"Y-you!! Avenger of the squad leader!!"
Rightly so; the sound echoed a hundred paces, implying lethal force.
No chance of survival seemed possible.
"Hmm, the misunderstandings keep piling up..."
So-hyang shook her head feigned regret.
Though she'd never tried dispelling them, even inducing more...
"Anyway, mind if I borrow your gear briefly?"
She detached the emergency flight device from the fainted soldier's belt and donned it.
"Wh-what, why take junk you can't even use...?"
Ignoring their bewilderment, she fired and retracted wires expertly, weaving through buildings dazzlingly.
"...H-how?!"
"Dunno, it's easy?"
She winked at their stunned stares.
They'd demonstrated controls flying about; plus, in her past life, she'd used similar gear...
In truth, she handled the device better than seasoned soldiers.
"-Think you can keep up?"
Before they reacted, rapid wire extensions shot her beyond the encirclement.
Slower than running outright, but gliding on precise machinery felt novel.
"Ahahaha!"
Delighted by the wind on her face, So-hyang burst into giggles.