Chapter 285
Chapter 285
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 288
Chapter Title: Preemptive Strike
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As Namgung Hyeok leaped onto the rooftops, the Thunder Dragon Squad followed suit, bounding after him.
Racing across the roofs as if they were flat ground, Namgung Hyeok took in the full view of Hefei.
Under the pitch-black sky, torches snaked through the darkness like the Yangtze River.
‘These bastards. Torches used to be the righteous sects’ exclusive tool.’
Since when did you start swarming around like this?
Namgung Hyeok veered north and dashed onward.
Geon Cheon-hwi caught up, calling out.
“Young Master! This is the north. The enemies are coming from the opposite direction. You need to head for the south and east gates!”
“I know!”
“Pardon?”
“I said I know. I told you earlier.”
Geon Cheon-hwi flinched at Namgung Hyeok’s words.
Then why?
“The ones with superior numbers don’t watch their backs. They’ll see the Namgung family as a rat trapped in a cage.”
“Then…?”
“That’s why we’re hitting them from the rear. We take a big detour and strike first.”
Geon Cheon-hwi had no choice but to agree with Namgung Hyeok’s confident tone.
Torches advanced from three sides, encircling them.
The enemies marched boldly with their lights blazing, as if they didn’t care if their presence was known, their movements and spacing utterly irregular.
With dozens of sects converging at once, such disorder was perhaps inevitable.
But one thing could be inferred from this.
They lacked a unifying center.
Without that focal point, such chaos emerged.
They were a motley rabble, charging forward solely on the strength of their numbers.
It was a clear sign of how much they underestimated and scorned the Namgung family, bloated with arrogance.
The enemies were already drunk on the thrill of certain victory.
The realization made Geon Cheon-hwi seethe with inner fury.
Even if he had once been the Namgung family’s black sheep, his loyalty to them was genuine.
The moment he pictured the enemies viewing the Namgung family as little more than a large insect, his fighting spirit ignited alongside his rage.
‘…Even in this chaos, the Young Master remains utterly calm.’
To think of striking at their unguarded flank.
Geon Cheon-hwi was filled with admiration.
On top of using the Ilsun Alliance’s intelligence network, he was even reading the enemies’ minds.
Though Namgung Hyeok had seemed reckless and unrefined with his erratic personality, the preparation and demeanor he displayed upon entering battle commanded genuine respect.
Namgung Hyeok raced swiftly toward the city walls.
The Thunder Dragon Squad clung tightly to his heels.
Their speed was enough to leave one speechless.
They scaled a wall over two zhang high in an instant and vaulted over the north gate.
Then, they swiftly detoured toward the east gate.
Their pace along the mountainside evoked the speed of a fine steed.
Namgung Hyeok placed his hand on the hilt of his demonic sword.
Moments later, Namgung Ryong silently drew his sword beside him.
Geon Cheon-hwi instinctively sensed the enemy was near.
They’d come in droves.
Even after taking a wide loop around Hefei’s outskirts, torches were already visible.
It was a testament to the sheer scale of their forces.
Finally, Namgung Hyeok came to a halt, and Geon Cheon-hwi, standing beside him, gasped in shock.
Before his eyes churned a black wave of enemies.
Geon Cheon-hwi paled at the sight of their numbers revealed between the torches.
“…There’s too many.”
A surprise attack?
The term only applied when numbers were manageable.
There were only a handful of torches, but their ranks easily surpassed three hundred.
The endless stream along the road and their overwhelming momentum made even Geon Cheon-hwi shrink back.
No matter that it was Namgung Hyeok—even he would struggle to plunge into that horde and wreak havoc.
They could opt for a hit-and-run to exploit the surprise, but the enemy was already at Hefei’s doorstep.
Namgung Hyeok intently observed the foes below the ridgeline.
Then he murmured quietly.
“What did I say earlier?”
Unease flickered in Geon Cheon-hwi’s eyes.
“Don’t chicken out. With the spirit pills you’ve consumed and the training I’ve put you through, you could sweep away even the Plum Blossom Sword Saints.”
“That’s…”
Geon Cheon-hwi flinched at the chilling words spoken in a soft, steady tone.
Before he could respond, it happened.
“And…”
Shing!
Namgung Hyeok drew his demonic sword like lightning and hurled it toward a torch thirty zhang away.
Screeeeech!
The demonic sword tore through the darkness, unleashing a thunderous roar.
Boom!
Sparks flew alongside screams.
“Arghhh!”
“Gahk!”
“Gasp! S-surprise attack!”
“Where?!”
Watching the darkness roil, Geon Cheon-hwi’s jaw dropped.
Tang Myeong-jin, unaware of the prior situation, freaked out at the sudden uproar.
“C-crazy?”
Who launches a surprise attack like this?!
‘How is this a surprise attack, you madman?!’
Namgung Hyeok grinned at their flustered faces.
“I said we strike first.”
Whoa, he’s crossing the line.
You’ve got to pick your shots for a first strike!
No, you don’t even launch a first strike like this!
Ignoring them, Namgung Hyeok said calmly.
“Don’t you know the best defense is a good offense?”
“…”
Oh…
He’d forgotten.
This guy was in full unchained mad dragon mode right now.
Namgung Hyeok charged forward, shouting.
“Charge!”
Like a bird of prey, he soared and hurtled toward the enemy lines in an instant.
Before anyone could stop him, Namgung Ryong pursued.
Geon Cheon-hwi’s pupils trembled violently.
But his hesitation lasted only a moment. Soon, he too had drawn his sabre and was sprinting ahead.
“Thunder Dragon Squad, charge!”
Even before Geon Cheon-hwi’s cry, the Thunder Dragon Squad was already drawing weapons and leaping forward.
Pang Jung-hyeok, Pang Yeon-hwa, and So Hye-yeon followed in confusion. Tang Myeong-ok clutched the poison darts at her waist.
Tang Myeong-jin gritted his teeth and glared at Pang Jung-hyeok’s back as he ran.
Shooo!
“Over there!”
“Attack!”
“You bastards!”
Namgung Hyeok burst from the darkness, hurling himself toward where he’d thrown his demonic sword.
Dozens of blades whistled past his head.
Like a fish navigating rapids, he wove through flashing sword lights in the gloom.
But he didn’t merely pass by.
A blue aura gathered on his hand blade.
Slash!
Thud thud thud!
Blood fountained along his path.
Crack!
He snapped limbs like dry branches.
“Arghhh!”
“Guhk!”
Namgung Hyeok’s hands pierced the enemies. Attacks they couldn’t block or counter.
His bare-handed strikes shattered their bodies.
The Blood Ghost Sect elites crumbled helplessly before his lightning-fast, ruthless hands.
In a flash, he cleared a path, retrieved his flung demonic sword, and gripped it.
Even in the darkness, the sword’s red glow exuded a bloodlust that chilled the air.
Namgung Hyeok’s gaze turned to Namgung Ryong plunging through the breached gap, followed by the Thunder Dragon Squad.
They were keeping up well.
Even in their aggressive charge, they maintained formation.
The Thunder Dragon Squad, forming the Ghostly Wail Chain Formation, seized the center in moments.
The Blood Ghost Sect ranks split in half instantly.
Namgung Hyeok weaved through the foes, butchering them.
His demonic sword strikes knew no mercy.
Targeting vital arteries and acupoints, he severed their breaths.
The demonic sword was neither flashy nor loud.
Plain to the point of crudeness, it sliced foes cleanly and drank their blood.
The eerie glow of Namgung Hyeok’s demonic sword dazed onlookers.
He cut them down impassively, without emotion.
The Blood Ghost Sect warriors recoiled in horror at his stoic face juxtaposed with his brutal hands—like chopping firewood.
“Who the hell is that guy?!”
“Guhk, gah! S-spare…”
“C-crazy!”
Namgung Hyeok’s eyes were darker than ever.
Eyes devoid of emotion turned the world blood-red wherever they fell.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
No need for fancy techniques in a surprise assault.
Efficiently, swiftly, he dispatched them.
No need to force fear upon them.
Just show them.
That he brought death.
Each swing of his sword elicited screams, foes collapsing in sprays of blood.
The Blood Ghost Sect disciples fell into terror.
Their status and skills meant nothing against Namgung Hyeok.
Blood Ghost Sect’s top ten elites frothed and fell; an elder writhed on the ground, heart pierced.
Namgung Hyeok trampled the corpse and advanced.
He’d leaped in like a raptorial bird, but with sword in hand, he moved with the leisure of a tiger cornering prey.
The Blood Ghost Sect warriors trembled under his oppressive presence and suffocating aura.
The shadow of encroaching death shook them.
The Thunder Dragon Squad exploited the gap, surging in relentlessly.
Sparks flew from Geon Cheon-hwi’s eyes.
He saw Namgung Hyeok dominating the foes.
Namgung Hyeok’s presence ruled the battlefield. Even in their panic, the Blood Ghost Sect warriors dodged him.
Geon Cheon-hwi led the Thunder Dragon Squad in a charge.
They processed enemies swiftly and precisely.
“Wh-what is this?”
“Huh?!”
“Urk!”
The Ghostly Wail Chain Formation shattered the enemy lines.
Geon Cheon-hwi regulated his breathing.
‘Push them back!’
The Thunder Dragon Ten Sabres unleashed ten bolts into the air. With inner energy shared via the formation, it mimicked a volley of falling thunder.
A strike evoking the Lightning Flash Thirteen Thunders!
Boom!
“Gahk!”
Opponents were charred black and collapsed in an instant.
Strength gleamed in Geon Cheon-hwi’s eyes.
‘They’re definitely stronger than before.’
It had nothing to do with the Blood Ghost Sect’s caliber.
An organization’s power lay in its synergy.
The Thunder Dragon Squad’s movements were fierce, but their cohesion far surpassed before.
Having trained directly under Namgung Hyeok in the Ghostly Wail Chain Formation and Iron Soul Thirteen Thunders, their level was worlds apart.
A stronger body forged a stronger mind.
A righteous physique gathered greater energy, deepening their martial prowess.
Geon Cheon-hwi’s sabre held no hesitation, no restraint.
The Blood Ghost Sect couldn’t hope to stop the Thunder Dragon Squad, now awakening to iron soul.
Numbers meant nothing to enemies with broken morale.
Some began retreating, then fleeing outright.
“R-run!”
“Mercy!”
“Waaah!”
Death’s madness gripped the Blood Ghost Sect warriors.
“It’s just over thirty of them! Don’t panic! Form up and fight!”
The Blood Ghost Sect Leader gnashed his teeth. A sinister gleam flashed from his crescent sabre.
Slash!
“S-sect Leader…!”
He beheaded a fleeing man and bellowed.
“I’ll kill anyone who runs! Fight, damn it—fight!”
The Blood Ghost Sect warriors, stunned by his ruthless hand, clenched their jaws.
Thunder Dragon Squad ahead, sect elites behind—no escape.
“Raaah!”
“Kill them, kill!”
“Out of the way, you scum!”
The Blood Ghost Sect disciples hurled themselves back into the fray like mad dogs.
The Sect Leader gaped at the intruding Thunder Dragon Squad.
‘Th-this can’t be… How…?’
En route to Anhui Province on Ghost Valley Manor’s orders, he’d had no major worries.
The Namgung family was formidable, but this was dozens of southern unorthodox sects united.
Centered on titans like White Cloud Sword Wave and Ghost Valley Manor, thousands strong—what was there to fear?
He’d figured the world-renowned Namgung family could be wiped out in three days.
Indeed, they’d already erased over six Namgung branches and affiliates en route to Hefei.
Thus, he’d trusted his sect’s prowess.
Believed they could shatter even the Namgung swords.
So when fewer than fifty struck his sect, he’d scoffed.
Just fifty hitting my sect?
A harassment hit-and-run, nothing more.
But no—they shook and smashed his gates.
“The main force… felled by a mere surprise attack?!”
The enemy’s skill exceeded imagination.
No—it was horrifying.
‘What kind of formation is that?’
Formations let the few overwhelm the many, the weak face the strong.
Hold position, lure and fight—that was the basics.
Yet these foes wielded a formation while rampaging wildly.
It defied common sense.
He’d never heard of such a thing.
Especially not from the Namgung family…
And above all, what seized his attention was none other than Namgung Hyeok.
No flash, no special aura.
Yet his disciples shunned him even in melee, as if death itself emanated from him.
He’d been first in, felled the most men.
His clean, brutal work was unimaginable for a mere child.
Each glint of Namgung Hyeok’s eyes in the dark sent chills down the Sect Leader’s neck.
‘Am I… scared of that brat?! Me, wielder of the Blood Rush Sabre?’
“That bastard I’ll chew up…”
“Sect Leader! We should fall back elsewhere…”
“Shut up! I’ll devour them and end the Namgung line!”
As the Blood Ghost Sect Leader stepped forward, shaking off his crescent sabre—
Flash! Crash!
“Wh-what?!”
With a thunderclap, a jade-faced man six chi tall appeared before him.
Like the Thunder God shrouded in lightning, Namgung Ryong dropped in, making the Sect Leader flinch.
“…”
Namgung Ryong advanced, blue lightning gleaming in his eyes.