Chapter 471
Chapter 471
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 121
>Chapter Title: Great Battle (3)
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As the Justice Alliance warriors, shields raised in formation, advanced, Blood River Valley Lord Yi Ji-yeom—who had possessed the body of Wei So-yeon, the youngest disciple of the deceased Heavenly Earth Society Leader—spoke in a low voice to Escort Go Chan.
"You did well to boost our allies' morale, but it was reckless."
"But..."
"Return inside."
Yi Ji-yeom pointed toward a large boulder.
Go Chan, who had been about to make some excuse, nodded and walked over.
He slipped neatly into the hole beside the boulder.
Yi Ji-yeom then approached and pushed the boulder sideways to cover the opening.
-Rumble!
"Hoo."
Yi Ji-yeom sighed, shaking his head as he used his foot to erase the drag marks left by the boulder.
Under Mok Kyung-un's orders, he alone knew the true importance of Wei So-yeon's existence.
That was why, in a reversal of expectations, he had brought her not to the Heavenly Earth Society headquarters but to the battlefield to protect her.
The hole she entered was one of the many hidden ambush points and safe houses scattered throughout the One Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
It was a ploy banking on the idea that the lamp casts the darkest shadow, but her bold appearance had allowed the enemy to pinpoint her location.
'This is going to be tough.'
-Sing!
Shaking his head, Yi Ji-yeom drew his sword and prepared to face the enemy.
In the meantime, Axe Tyrant Ho Tae-gang, positioned on the highest peak of the front lines, swung his axe to signal.
The archers gripping their bows focused their qi at their fingertips as they drew back their bowstrings.
-Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!
Thousands of Justice Alliance shield bearers were rapidly closing in.
Wars between martial artists were similar to army battles up to the point of close-quarters melee.
The side holding the high ground or defending would harass the enemy with arrows, stones, spears, and the like.
'Not yet?'
The flag bearers relaying Ho Tae-gang's signals watched his axe with tense eyes.
The enemy was approaching, yet no order to loose arrows had come.
-Whoooosh!
Ho Tae-gang focused on the incoming wind.
Arrows infused with qi flew much farther than those shot by ordinary archers, but they were waiting because of the wind direction.
Since the wind was still blowing toward them, firing now would yield little effect.
Thus, they had to wait until the enemy entered effective range.
-Thud thud thud thud thud thud!
By then, the Justice Alliance shield bearers had closed to about four hundred paces.
The fierce wind began to die down bit by bit.
'Now!'
At that moment, Ho Tae-gang thrust his axe forward.
With a flutter of flags, the archers loosed a volley toward the Justice Alliance shield bearers as if they had been waiting.
-Shwaaa shwaaa shwaaa shwaaa shwaaa!
Thousands of qi-infused arrows hurtled forward at tremendous speed, causing the advancing Justice Alliance warriors to halt.
"Shields up!"
-Clang clang clang clang clang clang clang!
At their commander's shout, they formed groups of five, raised their shields overhead, and lowered their stances.
They then channeled qi into the shields.
Huangbo Sei Ga's patriarch, Huangbo Seong, who commanded the shield bearers, smirked.
'These specially made shields won't be pierced easily, even by qi-infused arrows. Fire away to your heart's content.'
The shield bearers in the front line had one goal.
To force the enemy to expend their arrows quickly.
"Don't let your guard down—brace yourselves!"
Thousands of arrows poured down like a torrent, drumming against their iron shields.
-Pfbt pfbt pfbt pfbt pfbt pfbt pfbt!
'Not as impressive as I thought... Huh!?'
But the sound of the arrows striking the shields was off.
The arrowheads were iron, so they should have clanged sharply, yet it felt like leather or cloth hitting.
-Pfbt pfbt pfbt pfbt pfbt pfbt pfbt!
Though something felt wrong, the relentless barrage prevented them from lowering their shields.
It was right then.
-Whoosh!
Smoke-like vapor began rising around them.
Sensing the anomaly, Huangbo Sei Ga's patriarch Huangbo Seong looked at the arrowheads scattered on the ground.
'!?'
But the tips weren't sharp iron.
They were truly bundles of leather or cloth—and smoke was billowing from them.
'No way?'
Just then, shield bearers here and there began coughing.
"Cough cough!"
"Gack gack... C-can't... breathe..."
Some were even clutching their throats as if unable to breathe.
Seeing this, Huangbo Sei Ga's patriarch Huangbo Seong shouted in alarm.
"It's poison mist! Poison mist! Retreat!"
The rising smoke was none other than poison mist.
Blood trickled from the mouths of those coughing, and more collapsed with faces turning deathly pale.
"Cover your nose and mouth with cloth and hold your breath!"
Huangbo Seong shouted this as he covered his own nose and mouth with cloth and used qi to block the poison seeping through his skin.
But the poison was stronger than expected; his skin stung fiercely.
-Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!
The shield bearers, who had charged in formation at first, were now poisoned by the mist and retreating in chaos toward the rear.
Those in the rear lines, less exposed, escaped unscathed, but the front line did not.
-Thud! Thud! Crash!
"Kek kek!"
"Ughhhhh."
Over half were already dying from the poison.
"Damn it!"
Huangbo Seong, retreating alongside them to gain distance, could not contain his rage and bellowed toward the One Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
"You cowardly demonic scum! Using poison, of all things!"
In martial artist duels or wars, poison was tacitly forbidden.
Not just because of its effects, but because it was seen as a dishonorable weapon specialized in killing rather than fair combat.
Thus, the Justice Alliance had assumed the enemy wouldn't resort to poison.
However,
"In a war where we kill each other, what's dishonorable about it? It's childish to say ganging up is fine when you can't win with strength, but poison isn't."
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Axe Tyrant Ho Tae-gang's mocking shout drew laughter from all over the One Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
'Damn it!'
Huangbo Seong grew even angrier at the echoing laughter.
Venomous Poison King Baek Sa-ha curled his lips upward as he watched fewer than half of the thousands retreat.
"Heh heh heh. Hoisted by their own petard."
Dark Clan Lord Hwan Ya-seon nodded in agreement.
"If they wanted to counter poison, they should've dragged the Sacheon Tang Clan here, seals or no seals. What fools. Hohohohoho."
The only orthodox group that handled poison was the Sacheon Tang Clan.
But they had been defeated by Mok Kyung-un and sealed their gates.
Thus, the Justice Alliance had to fight without the Sacheon Tang Clan.
Their emphasis on principles and rules had become their Achilles' heel.
"Th-those bastards actually used poison. Sigh."
Beggar Clan Leader Hong Won-seok clicked his tongue as he watched the retreating allies.
The other Justice Alliance executives were equally furious at the shield bearers withdrawing from the vanguard.
-Grind!
"So they resorted to this after all."
Even the Thousand Poison Hand Tang In-hae, one of the Eight Stars, hadn't anticipated the absence of the Sacheon Tang Clan would have such a massive impact.
Only now, in the midst of war, did they realize.
That poison could only be countered by poison.
"No choice now—we abandon the war of attrition to deplete their arrows and close in for melee."
"Agreed. Once we're in close range, they won't dare use poison for fear of their own losses."
Mount Hua Sect Leader Jin Sok-ja's words were echoed by Volcano Sect Leader Gu Cheol-ja.
Most Justice Alliance executives agreed, but Mount Hang Sect's Jeong Myeong Sa-tae voiced concerns.
"Amitabha. Even holding our breath with cloth barriers until we close in will cause heavy casualties among our ranks—what say you to that?"
"No helping it, Sa-tae. We can't just stand by for fear of poison damage."
"But..."
Then, Danmok Sei Ga's patriarch Danmok In-ho stepped forward.
"Just in case, we prepared some Avoid Poison Pearls—how about using those?"
"Avoid Poison Pearls?"
Avoid Poison Pearls.
These were orbs containing antidote components.
They could be used as pills, and their potent detoxifying properties could even repel poison mist when burned.
"Oho! How many do you have?"
"About a hundred."
"You brought a hundred of those precious things?"
"Yes."
"But is it alright to use them like this?"
"For the justice of the martial world, how can we quibble over value?"
"Excellent! Thanks to Danmok Sei Ga's patriarch's foresight, we can minimize our losses!"
The Justice Alliance executives sighed in relief at the stockpile of Avoid Poison Pearls.
Alliance Leader Jeong Hyeon-mun, lips twitching as he watched, turned his gaze to the One Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
'Hmm.'
He had prepared them just in case since the Sacheon Tang Clan had sealed their gates, but he hadn't expected poison so soon.
Even if they weren't orthodox, the Heavenly Earth Society pursued martial prowess, so he thought they wouldn't use poison from the start unless cornered.
Yet seeing them use it without hesitation suggested heavy influence from someone.
Him, perhaps?
Just as it seemed the enemy had seized the momentum at the war's outset—
-Thud thud thud thud!
The ground began to shake.
-Murmur murmur!
As the tremors grew, the restless Justice Alliance warriors turned their gazes rearward in unison.
There, filling the plains in a straight line, were countless cavalry units.
'What?'
'No way—already?'
The faces of the former Heavenly Earth Society warriors, who had cheered the retreating Justice Alliance vanguard, hardened.
The charging cavalry numbered nearly ten thousand, and the flag fluttering at the forefront bore these words:
Evil Alliance
* * *
Inside the Ancient Alchemy: Space-Sealing Heavenly Formula
Trapped in time that flowed excruciatingly slowly, unable to move a muscle, Mok Kyung-un's face had grown haggard since the start.
Even if time passed slowly, his mind did not.
Yet Mok Kyung-un's eyes still burned with life.
The single-minded determination to escape somehow kept his spirit intact.
But it was no easy feat.
The completed Space-Sealing Heavenly Formula was near flawless, leaving not the slightest gap.
Even with fierce will to shatter it, his mind's sword could not affect the space itself.
'Without Boundless Power, I can't cut through?'
Time barely flowed in this space, so he couldn't even gather Boundless Power.
Without that support, sheer will had limits in manifesting sharpness.
'What do I do?'
Mok Kyung-un grew increasingly anxious.
The longer time passed, the more he worried for Cheong Ryeong's safety.
Knowing his heart, Mok Gan maintained his mad grin even as his clone neared death, staring back at him.
'......'
Would things truly go as that bastard wanted?
Trapped here, helpless to the end?
Would he lose Cheong Ryeong like this?
Endless questions directed at himself.
Mok Kyung-un's eyes gradually clouded with deep darkness.
Ordinary people weakened mentally under anxiety.
But for Mok Kyung-un, this anxiety awakened a profound darkness long dormant within.
-Fwoosh!
Black flames flickered in his eyes.
[End of Chapter 121: Great Battle (3)]