Chapter 247
Chapter 247
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 247
Chapter Title: Fierce Battlefield's Climax
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Cheonhwi arrived near the fierce battlefield and gently set down the Sect Leader he had been carrying.
Then, he calmly surveyed the situation.
Mount Hua Sect disciples and Green Forest bandits were locked in bloody combat on all sides.
"Let's see the results of your training."
While assessing the battlefield, Cheonhwi's gaze turned toward the Flying Sword Squad deploying their Flying Sword Formation.
Puk!
Jeokgeom's sword pierced the shoulder of a Green Forest bandit sneaking up from behind, splattering blood.
"Kuh! How did you block an ambush...?"
"Because I sensed something off."
Jeokgeom replied calmly to the bandit's stunned, unwitting question.
"...Something off?"
Seeing the bandit furrow his brow in confusion, Jeokgeom smiled faintly.
Seukeuk—
At the same moment, he cleanly sliced across the bandit's chest as the man tried to retreat, then stepped back.
To the exact same spot.
And that spot was the center of the Flying Sword Formation currently in play.
'It's like my senses are spread everywhere around me.'
Jeokgeom felt as if he were floating weightlessly.
He could sense everything nearby.
Emotions, auras, even all five senses.
And he wasn't the only one.
The same smile had already crept onto the lips of every Flying Sword Squad member.
"Oh ho, looks like you trained hard. In this state, there's nothing left to refine in the Flying Sword Formation."
After his lavish praise, Cheonhwi naturally shifted his gaze to the No Flower Squad.
Chaeng! Chaeng!
The No Flower Squad was holding firm against the Green Forest bandits, refusing to yield ground.
"...Please pull the wounded back."
Seollan's eyes grew endlessly deep.
The acrid stench of blood kept tickling her nose, while nonstop groans drilled into her ears.
Some must have suffered fatal wounds.
"Everyone has to survive."
At Seollan's words, the No Flower Squad members nodded and shielded the injured.
Soon, Seollan stepped onto the origin of Yin and Yang, while the rest took positions at the four cardinal directions and eight trigrams.
No Flower Sword Formation.
The linked defensive formation of impenetrable barriers turned the area into an ironclad fortress in an instant.
"Prioritize protection."
At Seollan's command, the No Flower Squad gripped their swords and shouted back loudly.
"Understood!"
A little disappointing, but this would do.
Cheonhwi nodded.
A few aspects still needed work, but overall, it was acceptable.
'They can refine it with more training later.'
He turned his gaze to the side.
While the No Flower Squad focused on guarding the wounded, the neighboring Flame Spirit Squad was rampaging wildly against the Green Forest bandits.
"Push them hard!"
Led by Cheonhyang, the Flame Spirit Squad relentlessly drove back the Green Forest bandits.
'Compared to the Black Shadow Corps, this is nothing!'
'If we survived that, this is a walk in the park!'
Was it thanks to their deathmatch against the Black Shadow Corps, elites of the Evil-Black Alliance?
They dominated the Green Forest bandits.
Assassinations and ambushes meant nothing to them.
Seukeuk!
Cheonhyang's sword, executing Jade Ring Wondrous Step, neatly carved open the chest of a charging Green Forest bandit.
A flashy, ferocious blade.
The Green Forest bandits recoiled on instinct upon witnessing her Plum Blossom Sword Art, the very style that had made Mount Hua Sect renowned.
"Da-damn it!"
"How are they this strong?!"
The Green Forest bandits panicked visibly amid the shifting tide.
Their leisurely expressions from moments ago had turned frantic.
It was due to the overwhelming momentum of the Mount Hua Sect disciples, fueled by Hyeonyang and Hyeonheo's intervention alongside the three elite squads' exploits.
"Finally making good use of each formation's linked strengths. Their bodies feel much lighter than before too. Training bore fruit."
Cheonhwi muttered, stroking his chin.
"But individual prowess is still lacking."
Gazing somewhere, Cheonhwi casually picked up a pebble and flicked it with his index finger.
Cheeng!
The pebble shot off in an instant, smashing into the sword arm of a Green Forest bandit targeting a No Flower Squad member's back.
"What the...!"
The bandit shuddered from the abrupt shockwave to his sword arm.
A split-second opening.
The nearby No Flower Squad member seized it without hesitation and cut the bandit down.
'Why'd he stop so suddenly...'
The squad member puzzled over the bandit's abrupt halt but quickly shook it off.
No time for that now.
As the squad member refocused on the Green Forest bandits.
Cheonhwi scooped up a handful of pebbles. Narrowing his eyes to scan the battlefield, he kept firing them off.
"Real combat or not, we can't afford a single death."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "...Is it over?"
Hyeonyang glanced back briefly.
The area that had roared with earth-shattering blasts and shockwaves moments ago had fallen eerily silent.
It meant one thing.
Someone had collapsed.
He stared that way, but had no way to know who.
The distance was too great, and silence reigned.
A few around him peeked too, but they were equally clueless.
'Who fell?'
Anxiety and hope took root simultaneously.
The clashing emotions fueled a fire in his chest.
The Green Forest Great Leader or Cheonhwi.
Or both.
The war's fate hinged on that duel’s victor.
That was when it happened.
Whiiiing!
A wind-cutting whistle pierced the air.
Whipping his head around, he spotted something slicing through the atmosphere.
'Chain scythe blade?!'
Startled, Hyeonyang swung his sword and barely deflected it.
Chaeng!
The chain scythe blade, rattling through the sky, was yanked back into Hyeongmun Salgwi's grasp.
"Pity. That was my shot at your neck."
Catching it effortlessly, Hyeongmun Salgwi's eyes burned with murderous glee.
Unlike the others, he hadn't glanced at the duel's site.
He had no intention of doing so.
He held unshakeable faith in the Green Forest Great Leader.
'The Chief can't lose.'
To him, the Great Leader was a god—an absolute existence.
Defeat was impossible.
Hyeongmun Salgwi spun the chain scythe blade whirring.
'Doubting Cheonhwi, of all things.'
Hyeonyang inwardly tsked at Hyeongmun Salgwi's rock-solid gaze, tightening his grip on the sword in his left hand.
The man trusted his leader blindly, while he himself wavered on Cheonhwi.
Hyeonyang steadied his resolve and circulated his qi. The Plum Blossom Qi Art he'd cultivated since joining Mount Hua surged eagerly, as if awaiting this very moment.
"Come."
He raised his left-hand sword.
Its tip pointed dead-on at the spinning chain scythe wielder.
"You're begging to die."
Muttering, Hyeongmun Salgwi released the whirling chain scythe.
Chalalak—
It rocketed forward like a bolt.
Hyeonyang slashed at the dust-kicking chain scythe.
A single horizontal stroke.
But reversed right-to-left, thanks to his left hand.
Hyeongmun Salgwi's brows twitched facing the incoming blade.
'Something's off...'
Merely mirrored left and right.
Yet footwork, posture—everything flipped, spawning an eerie disconnect that seized his vision.
Then.
Swipe—
The straight slash quivered faintly, blooming plum blossoms.
As if the blade were a branch, flowers sprouted along its length.
A breathtaking vista.
Captivating to any onlooker.
Hyeongmun Salgwi channeled his qi.
Eying the unfurling blossoms, he poured energy into the chain.
Paang!
The serpentine chain snapped taut, razor-sharp blade qi erupting from the scythe.
Ferocious, overwhelming sword energy.
The hooked chain scythe arced wide, lunging for Hyeonyang's throat like a tiger's fang on prey.
Tiger Fang Killing Blade.
Hyeongmun Salgwi unleashed the full might of the blade art that crowned him lord of Phantom Gate Mountain.
Sword flowers met chain scythe.
Kagagagang!
A ferocious explosion erupted.
The Tiger Fang Killing Blade failed to breach Hyeonyang's sword path and halted dead.
Sensing the fierce sword intent through the chain, Hyeongmun Salgwi's eyes sharpened.
"...Not bad."
With that, he whipped his hand.
The rigid chain coiled violently, surging like ocean waves.
Chalalak—
In a blink, its path devolved into chaos, splintering into dozens of strands.
Hyeonyang's eyes deepened.
Dozens of chain scythes battered him like a blade-qi tempest.
Wounds finally marred Hyeonyang's body.
His robes shredded, blood seeping from glimpsed flesh.
Yet his gaze never faltered.
Solid. Profound.
'One sword.'
Staring down the onslaught, Hyeonyang lifted his left-hand blade.
'Perfect one sword.'
Brilliance flared in his eyes.
His sword entwined with wind, crimson plum blossoms enveloping the chain scythe.
Seokeuk! Seokeuk!
Petals sheared and faded in cycles.
Still, the blade birthed fresh blooms, clashing ceaselessly with the scythe.
'What the hell...?'
Hyeongmun Salgwi faltered for a heartbeat.
Ring Chain Eighteen Kills following Tiger Fang Killing Blade was his sure-kill art.
All but the Green Forest Great Leader had perished to it.
'How's he enduring?'
Wounds multiplied across Hyeonyang, yet he withstood the Ring Chain Eighteen Kills.
Incomprehensible.
Exceptional skill? Hardly.
Downright novice-level.
'He should be dead already!'
As bewilderment boiled over.
Cheok—
Weight shifted to Hyeonyang's extended right foot, splitting the earth.
And in that instant.
Hwaaak!
Plum blossoms erupted skyward along the blade, mingling with gentle winds and drifting forth.
Orchid Blossom Freewind Sword.
Left-handed swift and phantom strikes manifested as orchid elegance and wind's whimsy.
'...!'
Hyeongmun Salgwi's eyes bulged.
The chain slipped his control amid the gusts, flailing wildly.
'Disrupting my command...!'
Grinding his teeth, he jerked his right forearm to reclaim the chain.
Ududuk!
Muscles and bones wailed under the strain, but he pressed on.
Infusing power, he lashed out massively at the encroaching winds.
Cheeeeng!
Air detonated.
Hyeonyang lost his sword grip, flung backward and tumbling across the dirt.
"Junior brother!"
Hyeonheo, felling nearby bandits, kicked off desperately to support Hyeonyang.
"Keheok."
Hyeonyang vomited blood.
Luckily no deep trauma—fresh crimson soaked his robes.
Meanwhile, Hyeongmun Salgwi was in poor shape too.
His right arm dangled, chain-wrapped.
Drip. Drip.
Blood trickled between links.
Switching to his left, he seized the scythe and uncoiled the chain.
His right arm was wrecked.
Blood oozing everywhere, bones visibly fractured and askew.
"Filthy mutt..."
He scowled.
Green Forest teetered on the brink.
A crippling wound like this.
'You dare...!'
Killing intent erupted as he gripped the chain scythe left-handed, advancing on Hyeonyang and Hyeonheo.
"No farther."
An unfamiliar voice rang in his ears.
Turning, a young Taoist approached leisurely.
"Cheonhwi!"
"Martial Uncle!"
"Junior brother!"
As the Mount Hua Taoists cheered Cheonhwi's arrival.
'No way—the Chief? Impossible...'
Hyeongmun Salgwi and the bandits reeled in horror.
"Ch-Chief—where?!"
Cheonhwi gently placed the Sect Leader beside him and spoke.
"Fled."
"Lies!"
Hyeongmun Salgwi bellowed.
The Great Leader he knew would perish in battle before fleeing.
"Suit yourself."
Cheonhwi shrugged indifferently, reaching for his sword—then paused.
"Right, it's broken."
Cheonhwi awkwardly scratched his head with his now-idle hand.
Couldn't draw the demon sword here.
Tsk. No helping it.
After a brief pause, Cheonhwi stepped forward.
"Hup!"
Hyeongmun Salgwi's eyes quivered.
The youth, dozens of feet away moments ago, now loomed inches in front.
"Bye now."
A flash of pristine smile—and his consciousness blacked out.
Cheonhwi dusted off after knocking Hyeongmun Salgwi cold in one clash.
Approaching the stunned Hyeonheo, he asked.
"Mind if I check Martial Uncle's condition?"
"...Go ahead."
Hyeonheo carefully passed Hyeonyang to Cheonhwi.
Cheonhwi took his pulse at once.
Reading the erratic qi flow within, he nodded.
"No major internal damage."
"...Thank goodness."
Hyeonheo exhaled in relief.
He trusted Cheonhwi's judgment.
Everyone at Mount Hua knew his prodigious medical talent—even the Divine Physician yearned to mentor him.
Cheonhwi rose soon after.
Sweeping his eyes over the bandits frozen like statues since his arrival, he cracked his knuckles lightly.
Tduduk—
"Well then, time to wrap this up?"
"Hup!"
"Hah!"
The bandits swallowed hard.
Exchanging frantic glances, they scattered in all directions at once.
Fleeing.
"Oh?"
Eyeing the runners, Cheonhwi qi-infused his feet and stomped an advance stance.
Crack—the ground fissured, nearby pebbles launching airborne.
In a flash, Cheonhwi's hand blurred, unleashing dozens of thunderbolts.
Pak! Peok! Pak!
"Keheok!"
"Euk!"
The bandits tumbled mid-flight, sprawling on the ground.
Cheonhwi grinned at the foaming heap.
"Think you lot can escape like that guy?"