Chapter 477
Chapter 477
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 123
>Chapter Title: Great Catastrophe (2)
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An uncountable horde of Imay Mangryang filled the horizon beyond.
She had anticipated that the bastard would once again unleash a great catastrophe like before, but seeing that vast number of Imay Mangryang left Cheongryeong speechless.
Even a massive army of humans bearing down would plunge them into despair, but this was an army of spiritual entities that left even her, a spirit body, breathless.
Gazing at her like this, Justice Alliance Leader Jeong Hyeonmun, with the Imay Mangryang at his back, tapped his forehead lightly with a mad grin.
"Numbers aren't just about seeing one move ahead. Look down there."
At the foothills of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
It was a true hellscape of a battlefield.
The forces of righteousness and evil clashed in ideological opposition, slaughtering each other.
Jeong Hyeonmun sneered at the sight.
"Experience is better the richer it is. I've learned through trial and error that humans don't need to be crushed by overwhelming force."
-You...
"Beasts harm others just to survive day by day. But humans are different. They harm each other over mere differences in thought."
-...
"That's right, Ryu Somwol. You can't refute it. That's human nature. They seek mutual destruction over trivial ideological clashes."
-...Shut up. Isn't this your scheme?
"Scheme? Hahaha. Isn't it more ridiculous that something like this stems from a mere scheme? Humans harm each other by nature. Toss them a tiny spark, and they ignite into a blaze that reaches the heavens without even realizing it."
Cheongryeong alternated her gaze between the Imay Mangryang surging from beyond the horizon and the three major factions battling it out.
If they kept fighting like this, it would truly lead to mutual annihilation.
For now, as vanguards, both sides were holding over seventy percent of their forces, but by the time those things arrived, their numbers would dwindle sharply, and they'd be exhausted.
Then, they'd be swept away by the great catastrophe without a chance to fight back.
'I have to stop it.'
She couldn't let it play out according to his will.
They needed to halt the war now and unite their strength to confront those Imay Mangryang.
'I'll expand the Ghost Domain to divert their attention.'
With her soul rank already surpassing the Purple Spirit, she could unfurl the Ghost Domain over a vast area.
The sun was still up, but she could manage it for a brief moment.
The bastard in front of her wasn't the priority now.
He wasn't even the real body anyway.
Cheongryeong twitched her finger slightly.
Then,
-Shooooaaaaah!
Blood poured from the empty air like a waterfall, engulfing Justice Alliance Leader Jeong Hyeonmun.
Knowing that alone wasn't enough, she clenched her fist toward the cascading blood waterfall.
-Squeeze!
With that, the blood converged and condensed.
She extended her index finger toward the blood compressing into a sphere.
Then,
-Paaaaah!
In that instant, the surrounding space compressed toward a single point, sucking the blood sphere into its center.
It was the Empty Suppression form from the Eight Forms of Shattering Thoughts.
This should bind him for a moment at least...
-Flinch!
At that moment, Cheongryeong hurriedly twisted her body.
As she did, the famous sword Ilhwi, infused with blue sword aura, grazed past her perilously close.
She spun her body and unleashed the Full Moon form with her famous sword Sunyeon.
Someone cleaved through the spreading circular sword aura with their own sword technique.
-Slash!
It was Justice Alliance Leader Jeong Hyeonmun.
With cold, dead eyes, Jeong Hyeonmun spoke to Cheongryeong.
"I suspected as much, but this is unexpected. Choosing to save those vermin over revenge."
-I told you I won't let you have your way.
"Even if it's the obsession of revenge, your mind should be filled with nothing but me—there's no room for anything else."
-Hah!
At his words, Cheongryeong's eyes turned icy.
Until now, she hadn't understood.
She thought his madness stemmed solely from failing to possess her.
But these words were utterly shocking.
A man who desired her was destroying everything she had— it sent chills down her spine.
Even his grudge was meant to make her think only of him?
-You're... truly the worst.
Could obsession twisted into madness become this grotesque?
Undeterred by her disappointment, Jeong Hyeonmun grinned at her.
"Yes. Your mind should be filled solely with me."
-...Get lost.
-Pat!
With those words, Cheongryeong leaped backward, dodging the autonomous flying sword aura coming at her.
-Swoosh!
'Dodged?'
A glint flashed in Jeong Hyeonmun's eyes.
He had thought her rage would scatter her focus, making evasion impossible.
Yet contrary to his judgment, her concentration was at its peak.
After dodging the autonomous sword aura, Cheongryeong swung her hand, forming hundreds of blood arrows and shooting them at Jeong Hyeonmun.
-Bang!
With that, she shot her form toward the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
She had no more time to waste on him.
However,
-Wooooooong!
In that instant, countless pillars erupted around her.
'What is this?'
They resembled the pillars from Mok Kyung-un's Four Peaks Linked Lock Technique, but the number differed.
There were thirty-six pillars.
The pillars encircling her instantly layered surfaces woven from curse power, trapping her inside.
Cheongryeong swung Sunyeon, cloaked in soul power, to break through, but,
-Claaaang!
Far from shattering, the curse power walls didn't even scratch.
It was a sealing technique far more intricate than the Four Peaks Linked Lock.
Cheongryeong whipped her head around to glare at Jeong Hyeonmun.
He formed a hand seal with his left hand, smirking and shrugging.
"Even without martial arts, with formations and sorcery alone, this seat has reached the pinnacle of this world. There's no way for you to escape from here, Somwol."
-Bang! Bang!
Ignoring his words, Cheongryeong tried to destroy the curse power sealing technique.
She had no desire to heed his every utterance anymore.
At her actions, Jeong Hyeonmun scoffed.
"Wait here. I'll soon bring the vessel containing your soul."
-Swish!
No sooner had he spoken than his form blurred and vanished.
Grinding her teeth at the sight, Cheongryeong swung her sword, infused with blood-red soul power, at the sealing walls.
-Clangclangclangclangclang!
Mid-swing, she changed her approach.
This wouldn't break by brute force.
In her mind flashed Mok Kyung-un's single strike, gathering all his energy into one point.
She had watched it countless times from closer than anyone.
'Energy... If that brat could do it, there's no reason this seat can't.'
She began concentrating all her soul power at the tip of her famous sword Sunyeon.
* * *
Blood River Valley Lord Lee Ji-yeom gazed around in dazed despair.
He wanted to obey his liege Cheongryeong's command and announce that this was a conspiracy by Milhoe, urging an end to the war, but it was already too late.
Warriors from the Heavenly Earth Society, Justice Alliance, and Evil Alliance were intermingled, killing each other—could they stop in such chaos?
Even the top executives were locked in combat with enemy leaders, powerless to intervene.
Even if they stopped, would the Justice Alliance or Evil Alliance halt?
'What the hell should I do?'
As Lee Ji-yeom agonized, someone caught his eye.
"Stop! I'm from the righteous factions! I'm not your enemy!"
It was none other than Mok Yu-cheon.
He had come as a hostage from the righteous factions alongside Mok Kyung-un but became a disciple of Bright Sword King Son Yun.
Having become Son Yun's disciple and with his brother Mok Kyung-un as the head of this massive organization, Lee Ji-yeom thought he no longer clung to righteousness—what was he doing now?
"Damn it!"
Mok Yu-cheon was pleading with righteous faction warriors that he was one of them.
But to these mere foot soldiers in the heat of battle, his words fell on deaf ears.
They ignored him and attacked.
"Nonsense!"
"Die!"
-Clangclangclangclangclang!
"Urk!"
Frustrated, Mok Yu-cheon tried not to kill them, but Justice Alliance elites appeared, cornering him.
Then,
-Pat!
"Stop!"
-Roarrrrr!
Lee Ji-yeom swung blazing flame aura, aiding the trapped Mok Yu-cheon.
Dozens of peak and first-rate experts had ganged up on him, but with a Flame Realm master intervening, the tide turned.
"Damn it!"
"Retreat! Fall back!"
Deeming Lee Ji-yeom too much, they hastily turned away.
'Why!'
He had thrashed about just to survive, yet never abandoned his righteous roots.
But the Justice Alliance warriors he saw as allies ignored his desperate cries and didn't trust him, while a Heavenly Earth Society executive saved him.
-Boom! Boom! Boom!
Mok Yu-cheon's complex emotions plummeted repeatedly.
Now he didn't know right from wrong.
Allying with the hated Evil Alliance to destroy Heavenly Earth Society—it made no sense from the start.
'Isn't this no different from the evil factions?'
Judging by right and wrong versus moving by profit—what was the difference?
Mok Yu-cheon was utterly disillusioned with everything.
"Why... why has it come to this..."
"Why the despair, disciple of the Bright Sword King? Do you still think you're like them?"
"Shut up! I... I..."
Mok Yu-cheon couldn't continue.
The rigid notions of righteousness and evil in his heart had long shattered.
To him, Blood River Valley Lord Lee Ji-yeom said,
"You judge for yourself what's right and wrong. Righteousness and evil have no absolute right or wrong to begin with. They just pursue different goals."
"..."
"But first, help me."
"What?"
"This war is a scheme orchestrated by those called Milhoe from the shadows. The Justice Alliance and Evil Alliance have fallen for their ploy."
"Milhoe? You mean those from the council civil war..."
"Yes. They manipulated things, so the alliances joined forces against us. No time for more explanation. Find your master, the Bright Sword King, and relay this..."
Before he finished,
Mok Yu-cheon shook his head and reached into his bosom.
"No. If that's true, I need to find the head of House Hwangbo, not the Bright Sword King."
"Head of House Hwangbo? You mean Hwangbo Seong?"
"Yes. The head of House Hwangbo is the leader of Dark Heaven."
"Dark Heaven? He's the one pulling the strings of the spies? But what does that matter now? No one in the Justice Alliance will believe you..."
"No. The head of House Hwangbo will believe me."
-Swish!
With that, Mok Yu-cheon pulled a token from his bosom.
It was the plaque that the Dark Heaven agent Mashang, from the spy network in Blood River Valley under Justice Alliance, had passed to Mok Yu-cheon before being captured for rooting out spies.
Ordinary Justice Alliance warriors wouldn't recognize it, but Hwangbo Seong, the head of House Hwangbo and Dark Heaven's chief, would.
* * *
"Block him! We must block him!"
Blood River Valley warriors desperately ganged up to stop Justice Alliance Leader Jeong Hyeonmun.
But the title of current martial world's pinnacle was not given lightly.
"Fools. Hahaha."
-Swish!
With each gesture of his sword finger,
-Slash! Slashslashslashslash!
"Gahk!"
"Argh!"
Sharp sword intent tore them apart, claiming lives.
All formations and defensive lines crumbled, leaving only eight survivors.
Jeong Hyeonmun sneered at those desperately blocking him with the rock hiding the secret passage at their backs.
"Yes. Squirm like the worms you are."
He moved to finish the remnants.
But as he did, sunlight suddenly dimmed as if shadowed.
"W-What is this?"
"What's that?"
The Blood River Valley warriors guarding the rock looked up in undisguised bewilderment.
-Flinch!
'What?'
These complex auras?
It was unmistakably ghost energy.
Justice Alliance Leader Jeong Hyeonmun raised one eyebrow.
There was no way she had escaped his specially crafted Thirty-Six Stops Sealing Technique made for Ryu Somwol alone, and the ghost energy was far too abundant for that.
-Shoooooo!
As the puzzled Jeong Hyeonmun looked up, a massive ship swarming with countless vengeful spirits atop its deck plummeted from the peak at tremendous speed.
'!!!!!!!'
End of Chapter 123 Great Catastrophe (2)