Chapter 82: Righteous Hero Association-1
Chapter 82: Righteous Hero Association-1
The sect leader of the Ami Sect, Gyeolhan Satae, raided Jeonghyeopbang the night after she left Guaneumjang.
She had arrived near Jeonghyeopbang far earlier, but she had received intelligence that Jeonghyeopbang's forces were concentrated toward Guizhou Fortress, so she decided to wait until that night when their main strength was drained away.
Her junior sister-disciple Gyeolsang Satae asked.
"Sect leader-saje, how shall we enter Jeonghyeopbang? Shall I search for a wall with weaker security?"
At that, Gyeolhan Satae snorted and spoke.
"Hmph! Am I, the sect leader of the Great Ami Sect, to sneak into a place like Jeonghyeopbang like some thief?! I will go through the main gate! Through the main gate I will march in and wash every minion of the Blood Cult away with blood!"
It was bluster she could afford because Jeonghyeopbang was empty.
But even if that were not the case, Gyeolhan Satae had confidence.
Among the thirty-some close followers Gyeolhan Satae brought, a full twenty-some were peak-level masters.
Though the sect no longer possessed over a hundred peak-level masters as it once had, with close to forty remaining, and over half of them being Gyeolhan Satae's close followers, the Ami Sect still boasted considerable strength.
Moreover, Gyeolhan Satae herself had not become sect leader through political skill alone.
Her martial prowess was at a level that looked toward the transcendent peak, exceeding ninety years of internal energy, and there were fewer than five in the currently weakened Ami Sect who could match her in martial power.
Thus it was not at all wrong to say Gyeolhan Satae was the foremost master of the current Ami Sect.
The foremost master of the Ami Sect herself and over twenty peak-level masters.
Gyeolhan Satae was thoroughly confident that tonight, with them alone, she would wipe Jeonghyeopbang from the map.
KOAAAANG!
In the quiet night, the main gate of Jeonghyeopbang shattered into splinters with a sudden thunderous crash.
And through the broken gate, Gyeolhan Satae strode in boldly, leading the Ami Sect's masters.
The gate guards who had been protecting the main entrance had long since become lost souls.
"Wh-what?! What is that sound?!"
"Intruders!"
"Bandits! Bandits have breached the main gate!"
Amid noisy shouting here and there, Jeonghyeopbang's night sentries surged toward the main gate in an instant.
Gyeolhan Satae, with cold eyes, waited for the warriors to gather.
Then she soon infused her internal energy and shouted.
- I am Gyeolhan of the Great Ami Sect! I have come to punish the Blood Cult's minions who dared deceive the world under the name Jeonghyeop! All Blood Cult minions, kneel this instant!
At her resonant voice, Jeonghyeopbang's warriors buzzed in confusion.
"What nonsense is this?! Our Jeonghyeopbang is the Blood Cult?!"
"B-but that person is indeed the Ami Sect's sect leader, Gyeolhan Satae?!"
"What?!"
"H-how did this happen?"
At the warriors' reaction, Gyeolhan Satae furrowed her brow.
Their expressions, full of bewilderment, did not feel feigned.
Only then did Gyeolhan Satae recall that the vast majority of Jeonghyeopbang's ordinary warriors were from Sichuan Province.
Apparently the rank-and-file warriors, aside from the leadership, did not know the details of the situation.
In the end, these men had merely been deceived — they were not truly Blood Cultists.
But Gyeolhan Satae shouted firmly to the Ami Sect martial artists who had followed behind her.
"They are accomplices of the Blood Cult demon heads regardless! Kill them all!"
"Yes! Sect leader!"
Whether they were Blood Cultists or not mattered little to Gyeolhan Satae.
What mattered to her was showing the world the spectacle of Jeonghyeopbang's destruction, and these men were the perfect weak opponents for that purpose.
The thirty-some martial artists standing behind Gyeolhan Satae instantly spread to the front and began slaughtering Jeonghyeopbang's warriors.
"Strike!"
"Leave no one alive!"
In the pitch-black night, the sight of over twenty martial artists flashing brilliant sword qi and brightly illuminating their surroundings seemed as majestic as a scene from myth.
But up close, it was nothing more than a slaughter.
Most of Jeonghyeopbang's martial artists were second-rate, with at most a handful of first-rate mixed in, and thus they could never withstand the onslaught of more than twenty peak-level masters.
Seuhak!
"Kreuaaak!"
"Euaaak!"
Hwiiik!
"Aaaak!"
"Spare me!"
Gyeolhan Satae, who herself had cut down three warriors standing before her in a single stroke, smiled a greasy smile as she walked deeper into Jeonghyeopbang and shouted.
"Check inside the buildings and rescue those who were captured, and kill whatever stragglers remain! If no one remains, burn all the buildings to the ground!"
"Yes! Sect leader!"
Around Gyeolhan Satae, who walked slowly, the Ami Sect's masters busily moved, killing Jeonghyeopbang followers and setting buildings ablaze.
Gyeolhan Satae had told them to check inside, but they seemed to have no intention of doing so.
They were just killing whoever rushed out, then setting fires from outside.
Seonwoo Jin, Bi Sa-yeong, and Hwa Yeong-bin were concealed against the rear wall, observing the scene.
Bi Sa-yeong quietly muttered.
'Strange. Putting aside the slaughter of ordinary warriors who aren't even Blood Cultists, shouldn't they not be killing only those coming outside and immediately setting fires like that?'
Seonwoo Jin nodded and answered.
"Right. They don't seem to have any intention of checking inside either. Looks like they had no thought of rescuing anyone from the start."
At that, Hwa Yeong-bin shook his head with a hardened face.
"A wretched thing indeed. How the Ami Sect's sect leader could fall to this...."
As they hid and watched, like ink slowly spreading across white paper, the places where the women passed were being engulfed in flames.
Gyeolhan Satae watched it with a satisfied smile.
Warriors kept rushing out continuously, but they were all worthless ones; at this rate, burning down all of Jeonghyeopbang didn't seem like it would be difficult.
Then she would have the achievement of burning the Blood Cult's den to the ground. No one would be able to slander her by claiming she had colluded with Jeonghyeopbang.
Of course, it was a little regrettable that she would no longer receive those under-the-table payments going forward.
But that was precisely why she intended to take it all at once tonight while burning Jeonghyeopbang.
After all, if it would be burned away anyway, was it not far better for her to make use of it?
At the thought that everything was proceeding according to her wishes, Gyeolhan Satae suddenly burst out laughing.
"Ohohohohohoho!"
That was when it happened.
"Keyaaaaak!"
"Aaaaak!"
Suddenly screams rang out.
They were not the screams of Jeonghyeopbang warriors like before, but the screams of women — the screams of the Ami Sect's disciples.
"Hm?"
Gyeolhan Satae looked toward the direction of the screams with a puzzled expression.
And then she could see.
Between the flames, the corpses of three Ami Sect masters already gruesomely torn apart in death, and a small-statured old man slowly walking forward, lightly holding the neck of another Ami Sect disciple in one hand.
What's more, the old man was beaming brightly, as if something pleased him greatly.
At that, a few of the still-living Jeonghyeopbang warriors who recognized the old man shouted.
"It's the faction leader! The faction leader has come!"
"The faction leader has come to defeat the intruders!"
But the majority of the warriors did not seem to know him well. They buzzed with bewildered faces.
"The faction leader?"
"That old man is our faction leader?"
Then the old man infused his internal energy and shouted.
- All followers of Jeonghyeopbang, fall back and guard the outskirts near the rear gate! I will deal with the intruders here!
At his words, the warriors who had first recognized the old man shouted with quick wits.
"Everyone fall back! The faction leader is handling this!"
"Everyone go to the rear gate and stand guard!"
The surviving warriors, though bewildered, drained out of the compound like an ebbing tide.
And now, with the ordinary warriors gone and left completely alone, the old man laughed as if refreshed and looked at the Ami Sect master trapped in his hand.
The woman currently held by the neck in the old man's grasp was Gyeoljin Satae, who had joined them at Guaneumjang.
Gyeoljin Satae, unable to move as though she had been struck with acupoint sealing, looked desperately toward Gyeolhan Satae with eyes full of fear.
"S-sect leader, save m—!"
Kwajik!
But she could not finish her words.
The moment the old man applied a slight squeeze of his hand, her neck crumpled like a piece of fruit and her head was separated from her body.
"Urgh!"
"Gyeol-jin!"
"Sister-disciple!"
The scene was so horrifying that the Ami Sect disciples involuntarily groaned and were forced to turn their heads.
It was a brutality excruciatingly cruel even for martial artists accustomed to bloodshed.
Then, several enraged Ami Sect masters charged at him.
"You bastard, how dare you!"
"We will avenge Gyeol-jin!"
"Die!"
The brilliant light of blue and yellow sword qi shimmered brightly, all martial artists who had entered the realm of peak-level.
But even as he watched the sword qi bearing down on him, the old man merely muttered with a smiling expression.
"To think I have to move personally for such pathetic things."
As he spoke, the old man took a step forward and stretched out his arm as lightly as if playing a prank.
Then, the arm of the Ami Sect master who had been charging at the very front and bringing her sword down was simply torn off, sword still in hand.
*Puhak!*
"Aaaack!"
It looked like it would be easier than twisting off a child's arm.
He was a monstrously powerful master.
But that was only the beginning.
As soon as he tore the arm off, the old man moved before the second martial artist's eyes in an instant. When he extended his hand, her head fell away cleanly.
*Shaak!*
The next moment, from the neck of her now headless body, blood was spurting out like a fountain.
*Puhwaak!*
Then, the last master stopped her attack with a terrified expression and hurriedly assumed a defensive stance.
Seeing this, the old man smiled and muttered.
"Tsk, it's already too late."
The old man casually threw the torn-off arm he was holding in one hand behind him.
Then, the sword held by that arm impaled the chest of its original owner, who had been writhing in agony from losing the limb.
*Puuk!*
"Kurgh!"
At the same time, the old man reached out with his now empty hand and took hold of the third master's head.
It was a motion as simple as picking up a rock lying on the roadside.
But there was no way the technique of such a master was ordinary.
The Ami Sect master did not dare underestimate him and unleashed her sword technique with all her might.
It was the Ami Sect's ultimate technique, the Nanpifeng Sword Technique.
"Haaap!"
*Shuaaak!*
Her sword surged at the old man from all directions like a violent wind, fiercely battering him.
Seeing this, the old man simply shook his hand slightly as if annoyed.
It was a very small movement, but from that shaking hand, immense internal energy erupted, striking her sword wildly this way and that.
*Peopeopeong!*
"Kugh?!"
She could not control her sword at all against the tremendous internal energy. It felt as if the sword had come alive and was struggling frantically to escape her grip.
*Puuk!*
In an instant, as she barely held onto the sword trying to fly out of her hand, the old man simply plucked the woman's head off as easily as taking an item from a pouch.
Perhaps unable to even perceive her death, the detached head had its eyes wide open in shock.
Now the old man walked forward slowly, holding the heads he had detached in both hands.
Behind him, the headless corpses collapsed, spewing blood like fountains from their necks.
*Teolsseok!*
A shabby appearance and a small frame.
But despite such a pathetic exterior, he now began to look like a god of death to the Ami Sect martial artists.
He chuckled and spoke.
"Since you made me move, don't even think about going back."
As soon as his words ended, the two heads held in his hands burst open like watermelons.
*Paak!*
It was a dreadful sight.
The people in the courtyard could now do nothing but stare blankly at the old man.
Gyeolhan Satae muttered with a face full of despair.
"A... a transcendent peak master?"
At that moment, Hwa Yeong-bin, who had been hiding concealed atop the wall, also whispered urgently with a startled face.
"Snake-like slit eyes, a small build, transcendent peak martial prowess, and that smiling face. That person is most certainly the Small-faced Demon Lord Sa Won-yang!"
"...What?!"
"The Small-faced Demon Lord Sa Won-yang?!"
Because the surrounding buildings were all ablaze, the interior was brightly visible, and Hwa Yeong-bin, who had investigated the Blood Cult more than anyone, must have been able to recognize him immediately.
"The Small-faced Demon Lord...."
Seonwoo Jin started biting his lips.
In fact, the reason they had followed the Ami Sect here was because they had anticipated such a situation.
Seonwoo Jin's thinking was that even if Jeonghyeopbang had concentrated its forces on the Guizhou Fortress, they would leave behind a certain degree of troops at their main base, and that the Bangju of Jeonghyeopbang, whose identity was unknown, would surely remain here.
So the plan was that if the Ami Sect drew out the Bangju of Jeonghyeopbang, they would infiltrate the rear afterward....
Seonwoo Jin muttered with a blank expression.
"Sa Won-yang... he's too big a target."
Sa Won-yang, a transcendent peak master, was known to have skill rivaling the sect leaders of the average Nine Great Sects.
So it was only natural that he was incomparable to Gyeolhan Satae, the sect leader of the weakened Ami Sect.
Bi Sa-yeong asked.
"According to our plan, shouldn't we be infiltrating inside right now to search for Lady Jeong-in?"
"...."
Seonwoo Jin could not answer right away.
Originally, the plan was to go inside while the Ami Sect bought time, but if Sa Won-yang was their opponent, he couldn't be sure they could buy any time at all.
If they made one wrong move, they might encounter Sa Won-yang returning after slaughtering everyone while they were in the middle of rescuing the women.
And if that happened, it would be a result worse than not attempting the rescue at all.
But retreating was not a wise move either. If they missed this moment, when Jeonghyeopbang's main forces were away and the Ami Sect was drawing attention, they would have no choice but to wait hopelessly for the Qingcheng Sect, with no idea when they might arrive.
Having organized his thoughts, Seonwoo Jin spoke quickly to Hwa Yeong-bin.
"Hwa Daehyeop, I have a favor to ask."
Seonwoo Jin whispered so the others couldn't hear, and Hwa Yeong-bin nodded heavily.
Meanwhile, Gyeolhan Satae screamed convulsively at Sa Won-yang, who was walking towards them with a bright smile.
"What are you all doing?! There is only one of him! Attack that demon head immediately!"
"Yes, sect leader!"
The Ami Sect masters, who had been momentarily frozen by Sa Won-yang's overwhelming prowess, snapped back to their senses at Gyeolhan Satae's shout and began flinging themselves at him.
"Die, demon head!"
"Haaaap!"
"Taaaat!"
The sight of over ten masters flying in, radiating brilliantly colored sword qi in all sorts of hues, was indeed a spectacle.
Gyeolhan Satae did not stay idle either.
She too drew her sword and was preparing to jump in the moment she saw an opening.
But Sa Won-yang, who was watching all of this, merely smiled leisurely.
He muttered.
"What glittering fireflies you are."
As he spoke, red spheres naturally formed in his hands.
They were Ganghwan.
It was then that the Ami Sect master charging at the very front tried to bring her sword down on Sa Won-yang.
"Haap!"
But at that instant, Sa Won-yang's eyes flashed like an explosion through his narrowed eyelids, and he shot the Ganghwan from his hands like lightning.
"Hap!"
*Shuaak!*
"!"
The speed was terrifying.
The Ami Sect master at the very front, along with the one charging right next to her, wore horrified expressions and hastily tried to block it by bringing up their swords wreathed in sword qi.
But it was impossible.
*Jjeojeong!*
"Keok!"
"Kugh!"
The two Ganghwan that Sa Won-yang had shot out completely shattered the sword qi that attempted to strike them away.
Furthermore, the Ganghwan that had lightly shattered the sword qi and swords easily penetrated their bodies as well.
*Puuk!*
The same was true for the Ami Sect masters following behind them.
They could not react in time to the Ganghwan that had pierced through their comrades' bodies at a terrifying speed.
*Pupupuk!*
"Kuaaack!"
"Uaaaack!"
"Eueorgh!"
The expression of Gyeolhan Satae, who had been preparing to jump in immediately, became one of utter despair.
"How... could this...."
With just two Ganghwan, a total of six peak-level masters had either died or been rendered incapable of fighting.
It was an absurd situation.