Chapter 415
Chapter 415
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 109
>Chapter Title: Numbers Clash (2)
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Among the divisions of sorcerers known as the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Divisions, the disciple Yeo Su-rin from the most enigmatic Harmonious Immortal Pavilion drew a large circular pattern with her brush-shaped ritual tool.
At that moment, crimson clouds billowed up, and the space rippled.
-Whooooom!
From beyond the wavering space, a single imposing figure and a multitude of sword wielders revealed themselves.
As the elderly man with an extraordinary aura took the lead, the Heaven and Earth Society members, who had been puzzled by the sudden event, widened their eyes in shock.
And for good reason.
“G-Gu Cheon-mu?”
The elder was Gu Cheon-mu, one of the Seven Heavens called the pinnacle of the current martial world and the clan head of Spirit Sword Manor, the Extreme Spirit Sword Master.
Did that mean the sword wielders behind him were Spirit Sword Manor's warriors and the renowned sword experts residing at Sword Valley, the sacred ground of swords?
What in the world was happening?
The Three Eyes possessing Great Young Master Na Yeul-ryang's body stared at Gu Cheon-mu with incredulity before suddenly glaring at Mok Kyung-un.
“You bastard, what is this?”
Mok Kyung-un responded nonchalantly to his reaction.
“I told you. A numbers clash isn't just your game.”
* * *
Not long before returning to the Heaven and Earth Society.
Seop Chun, the third guard captain of the main headquarters and eager to become Mok Kyung-un's right-hand man, asked in confusion.
[You're stationing Clan Head Gu and Spirit Sword Manor's warriors? But my lord, just having Clan Head Gu enter with us would seize the momentum from the start.]
Seop Chun couldn't understand Mok Kyung-un's decision.
This was a tremendous card to play.
Revealing Mok Kyung-un's identity as the seventh heaven's Heavenly Demon would shake the world, and letting the society members know that even Spirit Sword Manor's clan head, another of the Seven Heavens, was under him would lead to a flood of submissions to his prestige.
They could then dominate from the outset and smoothly accelerate the conquest of the Heaven and Earth Society.
[My lord...]
“Do you know one but not the other?”
At that moment, Mong Mu-yak, the son of the Heaven and Earth Society's deputy leader, who had been standing with arms crossed, clicked his tongue and scolded him.
Seop Chun furrowed his brow and asked.
“Not know the other? What are you trying to say?”
“It's not about momentum. We haven't even entered the society or completed the mission yet. Bringing Clan Head Gu in now would draw scrutiny from every faction the moment we arrive—even those following the ailing leader.”
“No, but isn't undervaluing the prestige of one of the current martial world's pinnacles? Just having Clan Head Gu under my lord...”
“That's exactly why it's not wise.”
“To minimize backlash and take the society intact, we need to seize it from within. Bringing in a colossal figure like Clan Head Gu would only intensify the resistance. Think about why my lord isn't revealing his Heavenly Demon title right away.”
“Hmm.”
Only then did realization dawn, and Seop Chun fell silent.
As Mong Mu-yak said, the instant Gu Cheon-mu appeared and Mok Kyung-un's status as Heavenly Demon became known, wariness and resentment might unite all society members against them.
That could make crumbling them from the inside far more difficult.
Having convinced Seop Chun, Mong Mu-yak cautiously added.
“But my lord... Do we really need to hide Clan Head Gu and all of Spirit Sword Manor from the society's eyes? Couldn't we just have Clan Head Gu enter naturally disguised with a human-skin mask?”
Seop Chun nodded in agreement.
“Oh, yes, my lord. That's a good idea. If Clan Head Gu conceals his energy, no one but the ailing leader would notice...”
Mok Kyung-un shook his head.
“No. Clan Head Gu won't enter.”
“What?”
“I think we should keep Clan Head Gu and Spirit Sword Manor as our hidden trump card. Not even a sliver of risk.”
“How?”
“They'll have hidden cards too.”
“My lord, even so, no trump card in the society could check Clan Head Gu and Spirit Sword Manor...”
“It might not just be the society.”
“Not just the society?”
“Yes.”
What did that mean?
To deal with the society, it wasn't just the society—did that mean something else was inside?
Puzzled, Mong Mu-yak soon spoke in resignation.
“...Since you say so, my lord, it must be from deep consideration. But if they don't enter this time, Clan Head Gu and Spirit Sword Manor will have to breach every defensive line in the society's territory. You must account for that...”
“Entry doesn't require the front gate.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
Even his allies couldn't fathom what Mok Kyung-un meant—even Spirit Sword Manor's clan head, Gu Cheon-mu.
However,
* * *
-Whooooom!
The crimson mist portal that opened before their eyes crossed through space, creating an entrance for Spirit Sword Manor's warriors and the famed sword experts from Sword Valley to pass through.
“Hah? This is it? My lord, you are truly...”
Mong Mu-yak, watching from a window in the main headquarters, stuck out his tongue in amazement.
He had wondered how Spirit Sword Manor would be mobilized as a hidden card, and this unforeseen, otherworldly mystical method left him stunned.
-Rumble rumble rumble!
Led by Gu Cheon-mu at the forefront, Spirit Sword Manor and Sword Valley's guests entered the Heaven and Earth Society's main plaza through the crimson mist portal.
Though only a few hundred strong, each was a sword master.
And their leader, Gu Cheon-mu, one of the current martial world's pinnacles, exuded an overwhelming pressure that dominated the surroundings.
“Why is Clan Head Gu here?”
“Spirit Sword Manor belongs to the neutral faction.”
The mysterious mist portal aside, it was Gu Cheon-mu's presence that seized everyone in doubt.
The man nodded as if under orders, then,
-Shing!
Drew his treasured sword and shouted.
“Sword experts, draw your blades!”
-Clang clang clang clang clang clang!
In an instant, hundreds of sword experts unsheathed their swords in unison.
As they did, razor-sharp sword intent swept across the entire plaza, revealing their formidable presence.
Gu Cheon-mu strode forward and bellowed.
“By the command of our lord, the Heavenly Demon: Slay the true villains in hoodwinker masks.”
“We obey!”
‘!!!!!!’
The resounding voices of the sword experts left the society members unable to hide their shock.
They were stunned by the appearance of one of the Seven Heavens, Gu Cheon-mu, but even more baffled by why he and neutral Spirit Sword Manor were here, faithful to their artisan role and uninvolved in orthodox or unorthodox affairs.
Yet when Gu Cheon-mu called Mok Kyung-un his lord, not only Mok Kyung-un's followers but all society members were gripped by a shiver.
“Good heavens...”
“D-Did Extreme Spirit Sword Master Gu Cheon-mu just say 'lord'?”
“...Impossible.”
“No way? He subdued one of the current martial world's pinnacles?”
Securing even the so-called supreme eight-star experts would be shocking enough, but claiming one of the pinnacles, Gu Cheon-mu, as a subordinate—straight from the man's mouth—and it was still hard to believe.
“Aaah. As expected, not a man to fall easily.”
Chun-chu of the Secret Meeting's First Realm curled his lips slyly as he gazed at Mok Kyung-un.
He had wanted to see that monster squirm, but instead, the third Mok interval seemed irritated.
Just moments ago, his appearance and the jiangshi had killed the momentum, but now it was reviving.
The power of the title Six—no, Seven Heavens was not to be ignored.
‘I thought it'd end blandly, but now the opponent is set.’
Licking his lips, Chun-chu moved.
‘That woman? Her aura is no joke.’
Thanks to Mok Kyung-un's transmission, Gu Cheon-mu, who had been watching her, gathered his qi and prepared to face her, his sole worthy opponent.
-Clang clang clang clang clang clang!
Three Eyes' expression soured as their swords clashed fiercely in midair without yielding an inch.
He had aimed to crush all hope completely with First Realm Chun-chu and the jiangshi, dominating the battlefield.
Yet the bastard had hidden cards too.
No matter.
The terror of jiangshi made from martial artists lay not just in their superior strength over ordinary ones, but in their fearlessness of death, enabling mutual destruction tactics.
With that many, they could claim several times their number in kills.
‘If I quickly subdue this one and take command, I can overwhelmingly reverse the tide...’
-Flinch!
Then, the eye on Three Eyes' forehead shifted, fixating somewhere.
It was the southeast, where jiangshi were swarming.
Yet in that southeast direction appeared over two hundred warriors—Seop Chun and the third guard unit of the main headquarters under his lead.
‘Those guys?’
No, why were members of the main headquarters guard unit, meant to protect the leader, over there?
And they weren't the end of it.
-Clop clop! Clop clop!
Charging toward the jiangshi from somewhere was a dragon-headed beast the size of a house, with fiery red fur and a body like a mix of dog and ox: Yi-mae-mang-ryang.
That being was the demonic beast Al-yu.
-Kaboom kaboom kaboom kaboom boom!
Al-yu charged with boar-like ferocity, and upon collision, the jiangshi flew apart like straw dolls.
The impact was so immense that their bodies bent or shattered as a bonus.
Demonic beasts were demonic beasts for a reason.
-Kiriririk!
Not even mountains, but smashing these things was fun.
Al-yu rampaged among the jiangshi, trampling and flinging them to block their advance.
-Pop pop pop!
Of course, the jiangshi didn't just take it lying down.
Some latched onto Al-yu's legs and body, trying to halt its rampage.
However,
-Whirl!
“Since they're dead, I won't be blamed for using plenty of poison. Heh heh heh.”
Riding on Al-yu's back was Gu Yang-so of the Eight Poison Serpent Staff, swinging his snake-shaped staff to spray virulent poison. So potent was it that wherever it touched, the jiangshi's bodies melted away.
The eye on Three Eyes' forehead sharpened terrifyingly.
‘Where did those come from?’
Even with variables, the Heaven and Earth Society had long been in his palm, so he believed he could flip the tide anytime.
But how many hidden cards did this bastard have?
It completely exceeded his predictions.
As the battlefield deviated further from his plans, Three Eyes lost his composure, his irritation showing.
“You're really annoying this seat. Think this changes the outcome?”
“You're the one who wanted a numbers clash.”
“......”
At Mok Kyung-un's words, all three of Three Eyes' pupils focused on him, turning icy.
Mok Kyung-un smirked mockingly at the reaction.
“Whether Bi Yong-heon or Secret Meeting's leader, all you do is yap.”
-Crack!
In that instant, Three Eyes' gaze sharpened fiercely.
Normally, he wouldn't fall for enemy provocation like this.
But the fury of someone brazenly defacing the picture he had painted over years—and a mere mortal who wouldn't live a century daring to provoke him—overwhelmed him momentarily.
Because of his karmic tie to Ryu So-wol, he had avoided lethal methods to extract it.
But he changed his mind.
Just keep him barely alive...
It was right then.
-Flinch!
His martial arts, built over long years and tempered by time's cold precision, showed no gaps.
Yet in that instant of rage from Mok Kyung-un's provocation, a minuscule opening appeared in Three Eyes' guard for the first time.
The gap was so tiny it was nearly impossible to detect, but
‘!!!!’
Mok Kyung-un, with every nerve locked on the fight, didn't miss it.
-Slash!
His form blurred, a black line flashing in the air.
The single sword strike, concentrating all power into one point, was too fast for any master to track with the naked eye.
Yet,
-Cliiing!
Three Eyes blocked that split-second thrust.
He was positioned opposite the sword's swing, a spot impossible to defend, but he ignored the agony of torn muscles, joints, and protruding bones to do it.
“You missed your one chance.”
Three Eyes sneered.
Mok Kyung-un's gaze went to his twisted muscles and jutting elbow bone.
What now?
As a transcendent being, he could simply regenerate such a body with demonic power.
-Whirl!
See, the protruding bone is already healing...
-Swish!
It was then.
Mok Kyung-un released his demon sword Ak-chuk and thrust his left sword gesture at the forehead eye like lightning.
‘Useless!’
He was most wary of damage to that third eye.
Like lightning, he seized Mok Kyung-un's left wrist holding the sword gesture, aiming to snap it.
Yet,
-Kwach!
In that frozen moment where their sword and hand were locked, Mok Kyung-un bit into Three Eyes' throat.
‘!?’