Chapter 470
Chapter 470
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 121
>Chapter Title: Great Battle (2)
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The major sects and clans symbolizing the Justice Alliance, along with the mid- and small-sized factions.
Combined, they formed a massive force numbering over forty-six thousand strong.
The greatest strength of the righteous factions, who championed justice, lay in their unity.
Knowing that even small powers could become mighty when combined and rallied, they prided themselves on their ability to gather and unite in ways the evil factions could not match.
"This is our chance to uproot the evil factions once and for all."
"Waaaaah!!!!"
With a force surpassing even that of the previous Righteous-Evil Great War, their morale pierced the heavens.
Had the Nangong Clan, the North Sea Peng Clan, and even the Sichuan Tang Clan—who were absent due to unexpected incidents—joined them, it would have reached an all-time high of fifty thousand.
Yet even this alone made them the strongest among the three great powers.
"Filthy numbers."
Son Yun, the Famed Sword King, clicked his tongue from atop one of the peaks in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
The Heaven-Earth Society had suffered losses from secret meetings and the internal strife with Na Yul-ryang's elder faction, leaving their current forces less than half of the enemy's.
Their present strength hovered around twenty thousand.
"Indeed, a flatland clash would have been tough. Heh heh heh."
Even Dark Clan Leader Hwan Ya-seon marveled at the enemy's numerical superiority.
A battle on open ground against more than double their numbers would have crushed their own morale.
-Thud thud!
Guard Clan Leader Go Yeon-baek, standing beside Hwan Ya-seon, clenched his fists and declared,
"Numbers aside, nearly half of them are third-rate rabble. Our warriors' skill and quality far surpass theirs."
"Heh heh heh. Quite right."
That was their edge over the Justice Alliance.
Having forged their warriors through life-or-death training in places like Blood River Valley, they outmatched the enemy in actual combat experience.
The so-called gentlemen and wandering heroes of the righteous factions fell short in real battle.
Even their training stopped at sparring matches, leaving them deficient in killing compared to the evil factions or the Heaven-Earth Society.
"Still, we must stay vigilant. Those numbers can overshadow that advantage."
Yet a twofold disparity created overwhelming pressure, making a head-on clash too risky.
Thus, they chose to leverage the terrain.
-Swish!
Axe Breaker King Ho Tae-gang raised his axe high.
At his signal, black and red banners rose across every peak at the Hundred Thousand Mountains' entrance, as if on cue.
Heavenly Demon
-Rustle rustle rustle!
The Justice Alliance's advance halted as the peaks bristled with banners.
The force, brimming with morale moments ago, fell silent in an instant.
Small wonder—the sight of those peaks blanketed in banners sealed every mouth.
"What the hell is that?"
"Why so many banners?"
"No way they're more numerous than us?"
The sheer volume of banners, positioned on high ground, made it seem as if tens of thousands faced them.
Elder Jeong Myeong of the Anti-Mountain Sect frowned at the "Heavenly Demon" script on the flags.
"Amitabha. So the Danmok Clan Head spoke true?"
[The core of this matter: the Seventh Heaven is inciting civil war within the Heaven-Earth Society.]
They had rushed south in haste to seize this pivotal moment.
Civil war in the Heaven-Earth Society offered a chance to reap the fisherman's profit.
An opportunity to eliminate both the Heavenly Demon and one of the three great powers.
-Drip drip!
Cold sweat beaded on Elder Jeong Myeong's brow.
A truly terrifying figure.
He had tried to descend before the civil war ended, yet he had already devoured that vast force?
'An unprecedented monster in Central Plains martial history.'
It began with the Heavenly Demon's danger.
He had risen to Seventh Heaven in less than a month.
He shattered Shaolin's One Hundred Eight Arhats in a single step, single-handedly sealed the Sichuan Tang Clan, and subdued Spirit Sword Villa, the pinnacle of the neutral factions.
This meteoric rise left the Justice Alliance—since the Great War, no, since its founding—wary of a single individual for the first time.
"Impossible."
Moyong Hak, eldest son of the Moyong Clan and one who had witnessed him firsthand, paled at the banners draping the peaks.
Too fast. Far too fast.
How long since the civil war? How could this be?
Amid the shock,
"Hear me, all!"
A voice, profound with qi, thundered across the field, drawing gasps of awe.
The Justice Alliance warriors, cowed by the banners, turned to their vanguard.
There stood Justice Alliance Leader Jeong Hyeon-mun, wielding his Famous Sword One Gleam.
Jeong Hyeon-mun ascended into the air, stepping as if on stairs, visible to all.
"Ooooh!"
"Void stepping!"
The sight left them in awe.
With all eyes on him, Alliance Leader Jeong Hyeon-mun spoke again.
"Righteous heroes."
His voice echoed like thunder.
It reached even the Hundred Thousand Mountains' peaks.
Even Mok Kyung-un's top lieutenants tensed in surprise at the voice.
Among the Seven Heavens at the martial world's peak, Jeong Hyeon-mun was deemed the strongest of the three.
He continued in a booming voice for all to hear.
"No need to falter before this bluff. They haven't recovered from their civil war wounds. It's a desperate ploy to blind us, fearing us who uphold justice."
"......"
"Righteous heroes, your Alliance Leader will lead from the front. I shall bleed and take the arrows first—rally your spirits! Ignite your battle will! Show them justice triumphs!"
His words barely ended.
-Waaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!
Forty-six thousand warriors roared as one, shaking heaven and earth.
As their morale surged, the expressions of the Heaven-Earth Society's ambushing warriors atop the peaks hardened.
"Hmm."
Island Poison King Baek Sa-ha shook his head at the sight.
Not good.
Had leader Mok Kyung-un been here, he could have rallied them, but his absence weighed heavily.
'We need to boost morale here, but with former Villa Lord Gu, it's impossible.'
Spirit Sword Villa's lord, Gu Cheon-mu, was also a Seventh Heaven.
Yet as an outsider recruit, he lacked the oratory to inspire.
Knowing this, Gu Cheon-mu refrained from stepping forward despite his stature.
To lift their spirits required at least that level of...
"Why fear them so?!"
A sharp voice rang from somewhere on the peaks.
'Huh?'
What? Who?
Island Poison King Baek Sa-ha and all lieutenants and Heaven-Earth Society warriors turned toward the cry.
At the peaks' center—hidden from the Justice Alliance—stood a peerless beauty: Wi So-yeon, third disciple of the late Heaven-Earth Society Lord.
"Miss Wi So-yeon?"
"Why is the young lady...?"
Her emergence stirred murmurs.
Ignoring them, Wi So-yeon pointed at the Justice Alliance and shouted,
"Why do you think those scum swarmed here? They fear our master—no, our lord, the Heavenly Demon!"
"......"
"They babble of justice, but they're just hypocrites in a mob. Why fear such cowards who tremble before our lord and us? Are we so weak we'd yield to trash like that?"
Her words drew incredulous chuckles from Island Poison King Baek Sa-ha and the top brass.
They knew she was the late lord's disciple and Mok Kyung-un's ally, but none foresaw her stepping up now.
Then, the unexpected happened.
Warriors, subdued by Jeong Hyeon-mun's speech, suddenly erupted.
"Who's weak?!"
"Right! They swarm because they can't win alone—why fear them?"
"Yeah! Those scum don't scare me."
"Hey, I'll be first—Vice Commander Ui-chan will smash their heads, so follow if you're scared!"
"Puhahaha! The weakest vice commander leading? I'll lead as Slaughter Division Commander!"
"Nonsense! I'll take the vanguard and sever their necks!"
Cries of fervor erupted everywhere, shifting the warriors' expressions.
Morale and battle will rose.
It peaked and burst forth.
"Waaaaaaaah!!!!"
"Crush the enemyyyyy!!!!"
Echoing off the peaks louder than on the plain, it shook the world.
As ally morale peaked, Mok Kyung-un's top lieutenants smirked.
An unforeseen turn.
Rallying spirits was the leader's role, yet Wi So-yeon had done it unwittingly.
-Thud!
"Huh?"
Wi So-yeon—or rather, Gam Escort Ho-chan, Mok Kyung-un's soul spirit possessing her body—sat stunned on the ground amid the surge.
He had stepped out in frustration since no one else would, needing morale to hold until the lord arrived.
Unintentionally, it had worked wonders.
'Damn... Do I... have talent for this?'
Had fate meant generalship over assassination?
Meanwhile, on the opposing Justice Alliance side.
"What?"
"Their morale's surging?"
"Why won't their momentum die?"
The boost rippled clearly to their camp.
Both sides' morale and will now matched evenly, neither yielding.
Jeong Hyeon-mun, hovering and glaring at the Hundred Thousand Mountains, narrowed his eyes to slits.
'...She had no such command presence.'
That voice was Wi So-yeon's.
Did a mere soul possess such qualities?
Alliance Leader Jeong Hyeon-mun soon sneered.
It mattered not.
Morale or no, the goal remained one.
'Kill or be killed.'
Madness and murder stained the face backed by the Justice Alliance's might.
None could see it.
-Swish!
Alliance Leader Jeong Hyeon-mun raised his hand forward and bellowed,
"Front ranks, advance!"
-Waaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!
Shield-bearing vanguard warriors roared and charged toward the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
Thousands atop the peaks nocked arrows, drawing bows to greet the forty-six thousand horde.
The great battle had begun.
Far off, someone watched the clash with hands clasped behind their back.
That figure smirked faintly and issued an order.
"Bring her to me."
"Yes, sir!"
-Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Dozens of shadows shot toward the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
End of Chapter 121: Great Battle (2)