Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: More!
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“ The formation has collapsed!”
“This is our chance. Everyone, fire!”
Dang Gon and the Jeongpung Pavilion agents could easily guess what Unhwi meant by his ‘signal shot.’
‘Even so, collapsing the manor walls? Hah!’
No matter how you looked at it, the scale of the incidents they were handling seemed to keep growing bigger and bigger.
Dang Gon swallowed a hollow laugh that threatened to escape and hurriedly issued his orders.
At that, the Jeongpung Pavilion agents unleashed Swift Wind Divine Speed in unison, charging forward and hurling Burst Thunder Orbs into the manor grounds.
These were explosive weapons once used by the old Gale Wind Corps to reduce enemy positions to ash.
Using them in the middle of Nine Dragons County might draw interference from the authorities, but the branch had already received a direct order in the name of the Dark Lord.
‘In battles involving the Demonic Cult, any gunpowder or explosive weapons may be used. I will bear all responsibility.’
This was the moment when the pinnacle of Dang Clan mechanical engineering could shine once more.
BOOM! KABOOM! KABABOOM!
RUMBLE—
The power of the Burst Thunder Orbs was tremendous.
Each one thrown inside the walls erupted in massive explosions, flames shooting up and instantly setting the entire pavilion ablaze.
The ground heaved chaotically, earthen walls rising haphazardly.
Iron caltrops embedded within the orbs scattered wildly in all directions, overwhelming the Dao Ghosts guarding the manor.
“Arrrgh!”
“Gahk!”
“It’s the Gale Wind Corps! The Gale Wind Corps is here! Block them, everyone!”
The Dao Ghosts bared their ferocious glares and swung their blades.
Their icy storms somewhat contained the raging inferno, but they were no match for the savage gale unleashed by the reborn Jeongpung Pavilion of old Gale Wind Corps.
Clang clang clang!
The agents’ weapons were not uniform—spears, staffs, swords, even hooked sickles.
It could have looked like a ragtag mob, but the Jeongpung Pavilion under Dang Gon’s command appeared anything but.
They resembled an elite strike force from the fiercest battlefield, iron discipline etched into every move.
Thwack!
Dang Gon deflected a blade flying at his head to the side, then unleashed a palm strike that shattered his foe’s skull in one blow.
Brain matter sprayed into the air.
Amid the gruesome sight of flesh pattering down, Dang Gon’s eyes gleamed sharply.
“I don’t know why you lot insist on shoving your way onto our turf when you have your own homes. No, I don’t care about your reasons at all.”
Dang Gon swept his left hand over his right sleeve.
Revealed was a black gauntlet forged like hammered iron.
But then.
Click!
Shhhwick—
The moment he channeled inner energy, the gauntlet’s edges rippled and unfurled strand by strand, coiling into his right hand.
It was the signature weapon of the Gale Wind Corps’ vice commander, the Mighty Gale Knight: the Fierce Wind Soft Iron Whip.
Depending on the inner energy infused, it could morph into a whip, a razor-sharp chain sword, a rigid spear, or myriad other forms—a bizarre weapon of legend.
It was notoriously difficult to wield, but he, who had taught Unhwi the use of all eighteen classical weapons, handled it with effortless mastery.
Naturally, the ever-shifting forms of the Fierce Wind Soft Iron Whip had once struck terror into the hearts of the Demonic Cult.
“So go ahead and assume we’ll slaughter you indiscriminately without a second thought.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?!”
A Dao Ghost thrust his blade at him then.
“Nonsense? It means none of you are making it back home alive.”
Dang Gon whipped the Fierce Wind Whip toward him.
Whish whish whish!
Kaboom...
It split into nine strands in an instant, each lashing out in a different direction.
The Dao Ghost charging at Dang Gon had no time to react—his head was severed by the first strand, and the remaining eight shredded him until not even a scrap of flesh remained intact.
And so the chaotic gale became a fierce storm, sweeping everything in its path.
Clang clang clang!
“Urk...!”
“What power!”
The Dao Ghosts trying to block Dang Gon were forced back, desperately parrying with their blades.
The force behind each whip strand was no joke, and with attacks potentially striking from any blind spot, they couldn’t move rashly.
One wrong step, and a blow to the back of the head would end them.
But the real problem was the agents who specialized in relentlessly targeting just such foes.
Thwack!
“Urgh—”
“You cowardly bastards—”
The moment they dropped their guard to counter those agents, a whip would slip through a blind spot and sever their nape.
Slash!
Spurt—
No matter how they played it, death awaited, leaving the Dao Ghosts utterly frustrated.
Of course, having already returned from death as immortal Dao wanderers, they weren’t truly afraid of dying.
They only feared it being a pointless death, not a martyr’s sacrifice for expanding the cult’s influence.
‘The North Wind Cold Ice Jade Formation stopped working properly some time ago. That means even Gongja is in danger.’
Yukhapryeo, the fourth squad leader of the Sparse Branches Unit, ground his teeth.
‘From the moment we failed our mission inside the Nine Dragons Branch Family, our deaths were all but certain. If that’s the case, as the Sovereign commanded, we must at least take that bastard Dang Unhwi’s head—’
Yukhapryeo roared like a lion.
“Hostages! Secure hostages!!”
Two Dao Ghosts at the rear quickly fell back.
Right then, Yu Sumin moved.
『I’ll leave the rear to you.』
『Don’t push yourself too hard. If anything happens to you, we’d have no face left before Emei.』
『We’ll just have to make sure nothing does.』
Yu Sumin finished her brief exchange with Dang Gon and bit down on the Revitalizing Pill from the Nine Dragons Branch Family.
Crunch!
The moment she lightly crushed it, her fatigue vanished like a lie, and the divine energy of the Avalokitesvara Golden Bell Divine Art surged through her meridians.
‘They said it’s a narcotic poison. The effect is certainly potent.’
Yu Sumin unleashed her divine energy without restraint.
Godly Stride Phantom Steps.
Emei Sect’s proud pinnacle of lightness skills.
Whoosh!
“There you are.”
She spotted the two Dao Ghosts she was pursuing atop a pavilion.
One deep inside, untouched by the Burst Thunder Orb blasts.
Click!
Yu Sumin swiftly drew her sword and struck from behind.
Mount Sumeru Wisdom Heart Sword.
Purge Demons, Annihilate Evil.
Among Emei’s Buddhist martial arts, this Demon-Exorcising Sword was renowned for its ability to reveal purity and dispel evil.
It was why Emei always held the edge in battles against the Demonic Cult.
It would surely overwhelm these Dao Ghosts too—they’d fall easily—
Clang!
‘...Blocked?’
Yu Sumin’s eyes widened slightly.
“What? You thought we Emei foes were always pushovers?”
The Dao Ghost blocking her sneered coldly.
“Sorry, but we haven’t just been sitting on our asses these past six years—”
Flash!
The Dao Ghost lunged at Yu Sumin again.
“I’ll handle this bitch—you secure the hostage!”
The other nodded and dashed into the pavilion.
Yu Sumin tried to pursue, but was blocked once more.
“Where do you think—”
“Out of my way!”
Clang clang clang!
In an instant, dozens of exchanges of sword and blade clashed.
Her sword intent sought to shatter the demonic energy and press forward, but the blade strokes brought howling snow winds that not only repelled it but disrupted her vision.
Snikt!
Then opportunistic strikes exploiting any opening.
‘I have to break through.’
Yu Sumin had to admit that, whatever had happened in the Demonic Cult during their civil war, they had clearly prepared countermeasures against Emei.
No—even more dangerous were the infiltrating energies seeping into her body with every clash of steel.
The venomous chill poison laced within kept menacing her meridians.
The divine energy of her Avalokitesvara Golden Bell Divine Art protected them, or she’d have been poisoned in an instant.
The problem was that the demonic energy showed no signs of dissipating.
It wasn’t quite on par with Gu Min-chae’s from before, but it was still plenty deadly.
A prolonged fight favored her opponent.
So Yu Sumin decided to change tactics.
She reminded herself of her true goal.
It wasn’t exterminating the Dao Ghosts.
Rescuing Dang Gyujin and Sima Seonui.
In that case...!
Yu Sumin expanded her energy sense.
Underground passage.
Something was moving swiftly.
‘No. It’s just circling the same spot endlessly. Like someone lost.’
A bizarre aura of dank malice.
She assumed it was a North Sea Sect demonic beast targeting Dang Gyujin and Sima Seonui.
But then.
‘...Fighting?’
Suddenly, a pursuing Dao Ghost collided with the beast, and a brutal battle erupted.
As if vying for something.
It felt off.
She sharpened her sense further, and soon realized what they were after.
The central axis of the formation that had blanketed the entire manor—now dormant, but crucial nonetheless.
‘That beast is the hidden bodyguard Gongja Unhwi mentioned!’
A fleeting odd feeling washed over her.
Beasts belonged to the unorthodox paths like the Demonic Cult; it felt strange for an upright sect member like Unhwi to command one, leading to her misunderstanding.
But the thought passed—Yu Sumin channeled the demon-subduing power of her Avalokitesvara Golden Bell Divine Art to its maximum to aid the beast.
Her title, soon to be bestowed as she left the secular world, was Demon-Breaker Nun.
Demon-Breaker meant punishing evil, and Nun was the honorific for a Buddhist sister.
The destructive might of that demon-subduing force in her sword was extraordinary.
BOOM!
She drove the Dao Ghost back and slashed fiercely downward.
The ground caved in.
Cracks spiderwebbed outward.
“What are you—”
The Dao Ghost raged at Yu Sumin for daring to divide her attention with him right there.
Kagagang!
Yu Sumin roughly thrust her left palm, deflecting all his attacks.
Severing Hand Palm.
‘Not enough. Once more!’
Whummm!
Her sword hummed.
Sword cry.
BOOM!
She slashed down again.
The ground sank deeper.
‘More!’
Whummmm!
The sword wailed as if it might snap.
Golden light flashed.
BOOM!
‘More!!’
Whummmmmmm!
“You bitch!!”
As her sword’s demon-subduing power intensified, so did the Dao Ghost’s blade arts.
Blade auras slashed across her body repeatedly.
In moments, most of her robes shredded, blood gushing from the wounds.
‘More!!!’
Yet Yu Sumin ignored her injuries entirely.
Her mind fixed solely on rescuing Dang Gyujin and Sima Seonui.
That single-minded drive to shatter the formation axis plunged her into a trance, finally pulverizing the deeply buried core.
BOOM!
‘Got it!’
A smile curved her lips amid her disheveled hair.
“Die!!”
As the enraged Dao Ghost’s strike targeted her throat, something burst from underground to block it.
“Leave the rest to me, Min.”
It was Sima Seonui.
“Seonui!”
Tears glistened in Yu Sumin’s eyes.
Sima Seonui smiled and swung her sword savagely.
As a swordswoman, her eyes turned cold and resolute.
The orchid scent of her sword filled the ruined manor.
Then, atop it, a demonic steed soared powerfully, letting out a long roar.
Shrieeeeeek—!
When the strange bird cries out, the demonic army’s advance begins.
It was the signal shot heralding Unhwi’s charge.