Chapter 468
Chapter 468
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 120
>Chapter Title: The Beginning of the Disaster (4)
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“E-Emergency report! The Justice Alliance's full forces are marching south toward the conference headquarters at rapid speed!”
‘!!!!!!!’
At the completely unexpected sudden report, Dark Clan Leader Hwan Ya-seon rose from his seat, furrowing his brow as he asked,
“The Justice Alliance's full forces are marching south toward us?”
“That’s correct, Clan Leader.”
“Judging by your attire, you’re from the southern Hubei branch. When exactly did you learn of this?”
“W-Well...”
-Bam!
Explosion King Ho Tae-gang slammed the armrest of his chair, raising his voice.
“Can’t you speak properly?”
“W-We found out while they were preparing to cross the Yangtze.”
‘!?’
The report from the messenger instantly filled the grand hall with a chilling silence.
There were two reasons for their reaction.
Learning of it only during the preparations to cross the Yangtze meant either that the Justice Alliance had moved so swiftly from Henan down to northern Hubei that none of the branches noticed, or that all the branches had already fallen. Second, even if the messenger had hurried, some time had passed since then, so they had likely already crossed the Yangtze and reached Hunan by now.
That meant the Justice Alliance's forces weren’t far from the conference headquarters.
Under the assumption they were rushing, they could arrive within a fortnight.
“Of all times, why now...”
“It seems our information has leaked.”
The interior of the grand hall buzzed with unrest.
It hadn’t been long since they’d fought a war and stabilized internally, so the Justice Alliance coming south with their full might meant without a doubt that information had leaked.
Sword Demon Ji Oe clicked his tongue and muttered,
“We’ll be fighting real battles we haven’t seen in decades, all in a short span.”
“Sir Ji Oe.”
Sword Spirit Manor’s Manor Lord and one of the Seven Heavens, Go Cheon-mu, quietly scolded him.
Even before considering the externally recruited personnel, this was now their own affair.
A war with the Justice Alliance’s forces was no light matter.
“The Justice Alliance... This could shatter morale completely.”
Island Poison King Baek Sa-ha voiced his concern.
It hadn’t been long since their last war, and now they faced all-out war with the Justice Alliance’s forces.
Even the top executives viewed it gravely; for the ordinary warriors, morale would plummet.
-Thud!
Bright Sword King Son Yun lightly tapped his sword sheath on the floor and spoke.
“We have no time to sit idle. If the messenger speaks true, we must assemble our forces and march north before they reach our headquarters.”
“Agreed. Defending here would lead to uncontrollable losses.”
Assistant Clan Leader Go Yeon-byeok nodded in agreement.
Even with defensive preparations in place, there were many non-combatants from the families inside.
If they got swept up, the casualties would be immense, and they could even be taken hostage.
Thus, defending the headquarters should be a last resort.
At that moment, Sword Spirit Manor’s Manor Lord Go Cheon-mu looked around at everyone and said,
“If we must fight this war anyway, let’s rally our fighting spirit. If even we top executives lose morale, it’ll affect those below us.”
“Manor Lord Go is right. It’s a war we’d have to face eventually. Since we’re doing it, let’s shake up the power balance for good.”
Though their appearances differed due to their transformations, Island Poison King Baek Sa-ha, who was of similar age in truth, chimed in supportively.
Explosion King Ho Tae-gang said to Dark Clan Leader Hwan Ya-seon,
“Clan Leader Hwan, send a messenger to the Lord urging his return. The mission is important, but we can’t fight the Justice Alliance’s full forces without our leader.”
“Hahaha. Understood. I’ll do that.”
“Alright then! Let’s begin the strategy meeting...”
Before his words could finish.
Another figure dressed as a messenger rushed into the grand hall.
Ho Tae-gang clicked his tongue and asked,
“What now?”
“Emergency report. The Wicked Alliance has split into vanguard and rear guard, leading all their forces south.”
‘!!!!!!’
The executives, who had just been trying to rally their spirits, had their expressions harden instantly.
This included even Explosion King Ho Tae-gang, who had been leading the mood.
What in the world was this news?
The Wicked Alliance? Weren’t they positioned even further north than the Justice Alliance?
“The Wicked Alliance marching south? Is this confirmed?”
Blood River Valley Lord Lee Ji-yeom asked in a grave tone.
And rightly so, for among the current murim’s three great powers, the Justice Alliance reigned supreme.
Thus, the Heaven-Earth Society had maintained friendly ties with the Wicked Alliance to preserve balance.
So why were they marching south?
“Could it be a misreport of the Wicked Alliance striking the empty Justice Alliance headquarters?”
The messenger replied,
“No. Wicked Alliance Vice Leader Mad Tyrant Emperor Hang Sim has already led the vanguard—full forces organized into an 80,000-strong cavalry unit—past the Justice Alliance headquarters and into northern Hubei.”
Wicked Alliance Vice Leader Mad Tyrant Emperor Hang Sim.
Known as the tyrant of the north, he was one of the Seven Heavens at the pinnacle of the current murim.
“Since no subordinate sects under the Justice Alliance blocked them on their way south, it’s clear...”
He trailed off, but the same thought flashed through the top executives’ minds simultaneously.
‘Righteous-Evil Alliance!’
It was something that hadn’t happened once since the Great Righteous-Evil War.
* * *
Two days later.
Jin Ye-rin, who had been heading to the Wicked Alliance headquarters, stopped by their branch led by a former Blood Cult deputy and learned the same news, unable to hide her shock.
“The Wicked Alliance Vice Leader is leading the vanguard south?”
“Yes.”
“Sigh... What in the world is happening?”
She had planned to use the Wicked Alliance’s help to stop the Six Demons from awakening in northern Shanxi’s Datong at the secret meeting.
But this news hit like a bolt from the blue.
The branch leader said to the flustered her,
“We don’t know the full details since it happened so suddenly, but a wooden box stamped with the Heaven-Earth Society seal arrived at headquarters, containing five hundred heads of our branch leaders and members in their territories. That seems to have triggered it, but suddenly allying with the Justice Alliance... we’re baffled too.”
“They’re allying with the Justice Alliance?”
“Yes.”
At the branch leader’s answer, Jin Ye-rin’s expression turned serious.
When she had sought the Wicked Alliance’s aid, there hadn’t been the slightest sign of this.
For it to happen so abruptly meant...
‘The secret meeting...’
-Grit!
They had undoubtedly plotted something.
She had distanced herself from murim while in the Imperial Palace’s Golden Guard, but she knew the Wicked Alliance and Heaven-Earth Society had been quite amicable.
For them to turn hostile and ally with the Justice Alliance—bitter enemies on par with blood feuds since the Great Righteous-Evil War—was incomprehensible.
‘What to do?’
She could only fall into deep thought.
Things had gone seriously awry.
With this, enlisting the Wicked Alliance to stop the Six Demons was impossible.
Then, the term “vanguard” suddenly came to mind, and she asked,
“Vice Leader... Is the Vice Leader participating in this war too?”
Vice Leader Golden Body Invincible Haeyeok-won and Fifth Leader Asura Slaughter Blade Yu Kyung were former Blood Cult members.
They were her staunch allies as the sole surviving member of the Jin family.
Though Wicked Alliance leaders, they had heard about the secret meeting from her, so they wouldn’t be without doubts.
The branch leader answered her question.
“I heard Vice Leader opposed this war vehemently, but due to the alliance leaders’ final decision, he’s leading the rear guard.”
With the wooden box of heads from Wicked Alliance branches, he had no grounds to oppose.
But that wasn’t what mattered to Jin Ye-rin.
Her eyes sparkled as she asked,
“Where is the rear guard now?”
* * *
The rear garden of Sea Immortal Pavilion.
-Hummmm!
A cloud of smoke swirled into a circle, and someone soon burst out from within.
It was none other than Sea Immortal Pavilion’s sorceress Yeo Su-rin.
No sooner had Yeo Su-rin emerged from the smoke portal than she sensed the surge of curse energy, and over a dozen sorcerers rushed out from the rear garden, talismans and ritual tools in hand.
“Sister Yeo?”
One tall-faced sorcerer recognized her, frowning.
“Senior Brother!”
Yeo Su-rin teared up with joy and tried to hug him.
But the sorcerer called senior brother leaned back, firmly rejecting her.
Pouting, she said,
“We haven’t seen each other in ages—aren’t you being too cold?”
“M-Men and women should keep distance—why are you clinging like this? More importantly, why are you only arriving now? Didn’t you get Master’s message?”
“Message? Nothing came. I was coming to ask Master for help anyway—what’s going on?”
At her question, the senior brother sorcerer clicked his tongue and replied,
“You had no idea how serious things have gotten.”
“How serious?”
“The seal on Great Strict Temple has broken.”
“What?”
Yeo Su-rin’s eyes widened.
Great Strict Temple of True Word Esoteric Buddhism in northern Shanxi’s Datong.
They were monks cultivating the Buddha’s teachings, but as Esoteric Buddhists, they excelled in spells.
The temple’s abbot, Enlightened Master Gakwon—one of the Six Directional Gods who inherited dharma power and sorcery from his predecessors—had long guarded the entity sealed there.
Only the Six Directional Gods, the pinnacle of sorcerers, knew of that entity.
“Has White Peng Demon King been freed?”
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible. Wasn’t that seal made by over a thousand senior sorcerers sacrificing all their curse energy? And until now, Great Strict Temple has been chanting the Anti-Demon Array Scripture...”
“Yet the seal is broken.”
Yeo Su-rin’s expression turned grave.
‘I hoped it wasn’t true, but Young Master Mok’s fears are coming to pass.’
She had come here precisely to consult her master, Red Demon Witch.
If the secret meeting’s leaders, the Six Demons of Immemorial Darkness, were on the move, this was no longer just murim’s affair.
It was Central Plains’ worst catastrophe, requiring all sorcerers to act.
It seemed her master’s absence was due to that.
“Then Master went to the Sixty-Four Directional Gods meeting to discuss it?”
At her question, the senior brother sorcerer shook his head.
“No. Not that.”
“What? Why? One of Immemorial Darkness’s kings, the Six Demons, being freed is a catastrophe...”
“Worse has happened alongside it.”
“Worse? What?”
“Seven-tenths of the Sixty-Four Directional Gods’ sorcerers vanished like they evaporated.”
“What?”
She couldn’t hide her shock.
Seven-tenths of Sixty-Four Directional Gods’ sorcerers meant nearly tens of thousands gone.
What could this be?
As she puzzled, the senior brother reached to place a hand on her shoulder but hesitated, merely lifting a fingertip as he said,
“Master seems to be investigating it now. Since most external sorcerers have vanished, Master ordered all of us in the pavilion not to leave. That’s why we sent you the message to return. Good thing you’re back. For the time being, stay inside and don’t leave...”
“No!”
“What do you mean, no?”
“If that’s true, I can’t stay here.”
“What are you talking about? Master ordered you back and forbade leaving—do you plan to disobey?”
“Senior Brother.”
-Grip!
Yeo Su-rin suddenly seized his hand.
The senior brother sorcerer’s face and ears flushed red in an instant.
To him, she pleaded,
“I need Master’s great ritual tool in the Origin Hall!”
“What?”