Chapter 254
Chapter 254
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Filling the Heart (6)
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By the time he realized something was off about the situation, one corner of the Green Wood Sect's compound was already crumbling in a shower of debris.
These weren't forces that should have fallen so easily.
It was all because the Dark Lord's sword was astonishingly swift and terrifyingly destructive.
Crack!
The moment red sword qi flickered, painstakingly forged heavenly swords snapped like twigs, cleaving their wielders in two alongside them.
Boom!
People were bisected two or three at a time, spraying blood in a spectacle too divine to believe even upon witnessing it.
"D-Death God..."
"Form the sword formation..."
"Sword formation! Deploy the sword formation!"
The disciples of the Green Wood Sect and Yellow Wood Sect tried to resist, but those who had been cowering until now stepped forward.
"No!"
"Tch!"
"Urk!"
Those who had kept their heads down sprang up like lightning, grabbing at the disciples' limbs and clinging desperately.
"Y-You bastards!"
"Let go, you damned scum!"
"I'll kill you first... Gah!"
They tried to shake them off, but it was no simple task.
Frail old women bit at ankles, others clutched hair and hung on with their entire bodies—no matter how skilled the martial artists, they couldn't react in an instant.
"That's right. Grit your teeth, fight, clash, and overcome."
Whenever they managed to shake off the clinging masses, the Death God's sword inevitably pierced their hearts.
As the Death Wood Sect disciples were swept away in an instant, Gwan Ak let out a lion's roar.
"Drive out the people first!"
The hostages, who had seemed so meek and terrified just moments ago, transformed into vicious demons.
'I can just kill them all later.'
Punishing their crimes could wait.
Right now, capturing the Dark Lord came first.
"Blood Dragon House Lord, the Dark Lord's prowess exceeds expectations."
"Indeed. It seems even the White Swords alone won't suffice."
Watching the Death Wood Sect disciples being mowed down, Young Sect Master An Jin-baek ground his teeth.
"Grk. Assemble all White Swords and Ten Swords to deploy the Golden Dragon Sword Formation!"
"Understood!"
If they didn't bring down the rampaging Mad Dragon, the casualties would be incalculable.
"Hurry and escape!"
At the one-armed elder's shout, the people rose in a mass and bolted toward the opposite side of the platform.
Yet unlike when they first arrived, fear no longer gripped them.
"The lone wanderer shall first heed your cries. (孤客最先聞)"
"The Dark Lord shall seek you out first. (暗尊最先來)"
Muttering as if entranced, they helped up the fallen, supported the bleeding, and fled.
"Thank you, Dark Lord."
"May you have good fortune in battle."
Some even cast sly winks toward the platform.
After watching the people evacuate, Chu Un-hwi chuckled softly.
"At least we've set one pillar in place."
With that, he withdrew the fierce glint from his rippling eyes.
'Truly useful in many ways.'
"Kyaaak!"
"Out of my way."
Dodging a sword stabbing at his back, he spun and struck with a single blow.
"Gah!"
Seeing the foe slide down bleeding from the chest, Chu Un-hwi clicked his tongue.
"Tch."
A crack was forming along the blade of the White Sword obtained from Fujian Province's One Calamity A Jin-geol.
"The Flame King Nine Heavens Sword is just too domineering."
A technique that even devoured its wielder wouldn't spare a mere sword.
Any ordinary blade would shatter before the technique could even fully unfold.
"He's stopped!"
Before he knew it, White Swords had surrounded him on all sides.
Beyond them, the Ten Swords stood poised with golden blades, occupying the ten directions.
"Grk. Running wild on your own."
"You've lived long enough—surely you know better?"
"Dark Lord, you arrogant fool. This will be your grave!"
The red-robed elder pointed accusingly, radiating murderous intent.
'Impressive level.'
The black-robed middle-aged man beside him and the red-robed youth were all rare masters.
Especially the middle-aged man in golden silk robes, his face twisted in venomous hatred.
'Must be the Twin Dragon Sect's Young Sect Master.'
As he roughly shook his sleeve, the White Swords formed a perfect circle formation in unison, whipping their swords with lethal precision.
The flawless sword formation of the White Swords.
Even more astonishing was the momentum of the hidden Ten Swords behind them.
As the ten raised their swords in unison and channeled their qi, their combined aura surpassed that of the hundred.
'So the Ten Swords are the Twin Dragon Sect's true force. They could steam and devour most of the Murim Alliance's troops as a side dish.'
The aura emanating from the ten moving as one was not easily withstood.
Hummm...
"Nngh..."
His knees buckled slightly under the pressure from the 110 swordsmen.
"Hahaha! Dark Lord! Today, we'll dismantle you piece by piece!"
"If your teeth hurt, eat some porridge. Don't dream of feeding me to you."
"Tear the bastard apart!"
Rreeeeeen!
Hundreds drew circles in the air with their sword tips, closing in simultaneously.
"Pesky."
This impenetrable formation was incomparable to the one A Jin-geol had deployed before.
Clang clang clang!
Deflect one sword, and two, three—no, a dozen more strikes followed.
Try to retreat from the sword strikes—
Shuuuuw!
—and jagged blades from behind tore at his back.
It felt like being trapped inside a massive pillar forged of swords.
Fending off the synchronized strikes of over 110 blades naturally kept his hands full.
"Bind Dragon!"
Advance, and they fell back.
Then surged forward again like waves.
He whirled his sword overhead to block, spun his body to evade, but the relentless sawtooth waves of blades pursued doggedly.
'A name befitting a dragon trap.'
Clang clang clang clang!
The attacks slashed dozens of times without a breath's pause, not even permitting a blink.
Even more irritating were the Ten Swords.
Pfft!
Golden sword qi thrusting from blind spots within the formation was highly threatening.
"Tch. Not easy."
The bigger issue: his sword was reaching its limit from clashing with the onslaught.
Because he'd been using only the Flame King Nine Heavens Sword Technique since arriving.
"Heh. To move unscathed amid the formation's pressure—truly remarkable prowess."
"Hey, your fancy White Swords are total junk. No refunds?"
"Still got leisure to quip? What a monster."
The blood-robed elder grimaced like a demon.
"When you die, I'll bury a sword in your grave."
"What? No thanks to postmortem remedies."
"Slay Dragon!"
Rooooar!
The interlocking slashes grew fiercer, targeting shoulders, head, legs, abdomen, and back.
He dodged with erratic footwork, but golden sword light wedged in.
"Tch!"
Chu Un-hwi squeezed his eyes shut against the piercing swordsmanship glaring in his vision; his robes shredded and fluttered.
"Hahaha! Think the Ten Swords are called that for nothing? Feel the terror of blades tempered in deep-sea brine!"
"Qi-slicing sharpness? Worthy of being called divine swords."
Above all, injecting qi made the blades spew golden light, making it hard to even open his eyes.
"Wither and die in the formation."
An Jin-baek spat venomously from behind the formation once more.
"This is troublesome. Too overconfident."
Sensing the presence beyond the formation, he saw Ya Hul-cheok, bound to the pillar, muttering something.
'Finally realized? Dullard.'
They'd shown all their cards. Time to shift the mood?
Muttering to himself, Chu Un-hwi leveled the spiderweb-cracked blade horizontally.
"Shall we properly dismantle this formation?"
"Hmph! What nonsense!"
"First, like this."
Hummm.
Pouring fierce qi into the blade—
Boom!
—the White Sword, injected with immense power, finally shattered.
Simultaneously, the blade fragments flew like hidden weapons, raining down on one corner of the formation.
"Argh! Shattering Sword?"
"Next..."
Kicking up a sword from a collapsing White Sword pierced by shards and snatching it midair, Chu Un-hwi gripped swords in both hands.
"Like this."
Dooooooong!
Crossing and clashing the two swords unleashed a sonic wave like a temple bell tolling, rippling outward in concentric circles.
"Cough!"
"Gack!"
The White Swords forming the arc reeled, blood streaming from ears under the shockwave.
"Huff! Sonic merit too?!"
"Heh. No need to seek a geomungo to make sound. Anything clashed becomes sound."
Moving like the wind once more, blood fountains erupted in his wake.
Pu-pu-pu-puk!
A single slash pierced necks and chests; White Swords spewed blood without a scream.
"What are the Ten Swords doing?!"
Gwan Ak shrieked, and the Ten Swords surged forward.
Unscathed by the sonic shock thanks to their profound inner power, but—
With the formation shattered, they stood no chance.
"Your swords have looked appealing for a while now."
Crack.
Clipping a stabbing blade under his armpit, he twisted, snapping the wrist.
Snap!
Imparting spin, he slammed the foe headfirst into the ground, then cleaved the skull with the seized sword—a thrust at another Ten Sword.
Splatter!
Kicking the falling body sent it flying into another; dodging the corpse, that Ten Sword was pierced through the brow by the protruding blade and died.
"This... is a nightmare..."
The Ten Swords, each near absolute peak—
Fujian Province's heavens were melting away, by their own prized golden swords no less.
"You bastard! I won't let you get away!"
Demonic Dragon Sword Gwan Ak, seeing the Ten Swords felled like bundled straw, flew into a rage and launched himself.
"House Lord Gwan! It's reckless! We must retreat and await the Righteous Army..."
"Grk. Impossible."
Even the trusted Golden Dragon Sword Formation was broken.
"He wasn't trapped in the formation."
"He was waiting for us to gather. Grk."
"W-We must withdraw now. Father will come."
Even Young Sect Master An Jin-baek cried out in dismay.
But Gwan Ak couldn't retreat.
Turning sharply, countless hostages watched silently from the shadows.
Hundreds, thousands who could have fled, instead observing the battle's outcome.
'They're not the problem.'
He'd summoned Fujian Province's notables to witness the Twin Dragon Sect's might.
They were surely watching from safety.
'If I tuck tail now, even killing the Dark Lord won't restore our former prestige.'
He knew well, having ruled by force.
A wounded beast becomes prey for wild dogs.
"Grk. Only one way."
"W-What do you intend?"
"House Lord Gwan! We must avoid battle now!"
Shoving aside the clamor of Black Dragon House Lord and Young Sect Master, Gwan Ak ground his teeth.
'Though incomplete...'
A secret technique barely manifested at the cost of vast qi and lifespan.
"Die!"
Eyes rolled back in fury, Gwan Ak soared toward the Dark Lord's back—mid-slay of a Ten Sword—with sword-union momentum.
"Hm?"
Distracted by the slash, it was his chance.
Hummm.
Qi maxed at full power multiplied a hundredfold; exploding congenital qi burst his eye veins.
Agonizing pain followed.
"You alone—I will kill!"
Four layers of qi gushed out in chunks, birthing a massive sword aura atop the blade.
Rumble rumble.
Flickering repeatedly, even the sword aura that cleaved metal and stone fell short.
Mimicking divine miracles required far higher martial principles.
Urk. Urk.
Overlimit qi operation shook his organs; bloody froth rose in his throat.
Yet amid the gale battering his ears, Gwan Ak clung to one mental image and roared.
Recalling the blood-soaked battlefield.
"This is the karma I've wrought! Thus it shall be!"
A horrific tower of corpses in the illusion he perceived.
"I'll hurl your corpse atop the tower!"
Overwriting the world's laws with his will in the perceived reality—a mythic feat.
'Imperfect though it is.'
Forced glimpse of divinity at the price of qi and life, yet Gwan Ak felt no regret.
If it was the final insight secretly passed by his lord, the Brutal Righteous Army Commander.
'I can kill him!'
He was certain.
But—
His certainty turned to horror.
"Failing to know your place runs in the family."
Crack!
Beyond the shattering mental world, a red meteor plummeted.
No—a sword.
"H-How..."
"I'll toss you to the tower's base."
The moment the red meteor pierced from crown to groin—
Plop plop.
—he rained down as blood.