146: Mubang's Number One?
Luk Ban-jang glanced over and asked, “Neung Han?”
“……”
Suddenly, Luk Ban-jang spun around, leaped into the air, and slammed her palm down toward the ground.
Boom!
The earth shook violently, and at that moment, something shot out from the darkness.
Just then, Luk Ban-jang snapped her head up and crossed her arms in front of her.
Thud!
With a dull impact, her figure was pushed back four or five zhang. When she finally stopped, the ground beneath her feet had sunk deep into a crater.
“Jungto Sinju warriors. Be careful.”
With those words, she shot forward like a cannonball.
Thud!
Something shattered in the darkness, and Luk Ban-jang returned to her original spot.
Right then, Yeop Hyeon's brow twitched. Several shadows were charging at Neung Han's back.
Each one was a peak assassin.
Yeop Hyeon stomped the ground, and in an instant, the power of the earth surged into his body.
He gripped his Spirit Water Sword and launched himself like an arrow from a bow.
Slash—!
The head of one assassin outside the formation was pierced by his sword, spraying blood.
Watching from atop the wall, Gang Gu shouted, “Advance!”
At her command, nearly a hundred soldiers rushed out of the fortress gates with spears and shields. They quickly surrounded Neung Han's group and raised their shields to form a defensive line.
In a one-on-one fight, the soldiers wouldn't stand a chance against these assassins. But in a group battle, even the strongest killers couldn't ignore their combined might.
Moreover, Yeop Hyeon's presence freed the soldiers from all fear. After all, any assassin caught by his sword lost their head in a single stroke.
Even a Divine Fusion Realm expert would struggle to block Yeop Hyeon's blade. It carried two kinds of sword intent infused with earth force, and it was a true sword of the highest grade.
Not even a mid-grade spirit weapon from the Mingjie could withstand a single clash against the Spirit Water Sword—it would shatter outright. And these assassins wielded nothing better than top-grade spirit tools.
As the clash intensified, six or seven assassins fell in the blink of an eye.
Then, a black shadow blocked Yeop Hyeon's path. Without hesitation, he swung at it.
Boom!
A massive explosion rang out, forcing Yeop Hyeon back more than ten zhang. Turning his head, he saw a middle-aged man walking slowly toward him.
'Not a warrior from the younger generation!'
Of course, that wasn't the real issue. What mattered was that the man's cultivation was at the Divine Fusion Realm—not Myriad Laws.
This middle-aged man's prowess, honed to an unfathomable depth in the Divine Fusion Realm, was clearly beyond the ordinary expert of that level.
He eyed Yeop Hyeon for a moment, then charged without a word.
Yeop Hyeon tightened his grip on his sword and met him head-on.
One Sword Determines Life and Death!
No time for games—he had to end this quickly.
Otherwise, the soldiers and Neung Han would be in grave danger.
Mid-charge, the middle-aged man switched his palm to a fist. A terrifying fist aura erupted like a bursting dam. Blazing suns of scorching power ignited around his knuckles.
Then came the clash of fist and sword!
Boom—!
Earth-shaking force exploded outward, sending both Yeop Hyeon and the man staggering back wildly. The ground they traversed cratered like it had been hit by an earthquake.
Steadying himself, Yeop Hyeon caught his breath and charged again.
His powerful body recovered swiftly from such impacts—that was his advantage.
Disbelief flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes. He was still reeling from the pain of his organs tearing apart from that single exchange, yet Yeop Hyeon was already launching himself as if nothing had happened.
No time to think—he stomped the ground with his right foot and shot forward like an arrow. Another surge of mighty fist aura poured from his punch.
But the prior shock had cracked his fist, staining it red in moments.
No time to worry about that. Fail to block this sword, and he'd lose his life.
The collision allowed no quarter.
As silence fell over the field—
Boom—!
One figure flew back—it was the middle-aged man.
As Yeop Hyeon moved to finish him, over a dozen soldiers in the defensive line perished in an instant.
Yeop Hyeon's face twisted ferociously, and a sword shot out like lightning.
Slash!
An assassin's head separated from his body a dozen zhang away.
Instant kill!
The shadow realm's Dao soldiers faltered. Yeop Hyeon had unerringly targeted their hidden positions with supernatural precision.
Assassins were fearsome only when unseen.
At that moment, the middle-aged man who'd been fighting Yeop Hyeon glared once more, then fled.
'I can't beat him!'
He'd come thinking he'd easily kill Yeop Hyeon and claim the massive bounty. His near-Myriad Laws cultivation had given him confidence.
But now he realized even stepping into Myriad Laws might not guarantee victory over Yeop Hyeon.
The bounty was huge, but his life was priceless. Better to flee while he could.
Gang Gu, atop the wall, glanced at the sky.
“Dawn's breaking soon……”
Yes. Once day broke, these assassins couldn't rampage as freely.
“Die!”
Yeop Hyeon's roar echoed from below the wall. A bolt of snow-white sword qi streaked like lightning.
Slash!
An assassin in black robes crumpled instantly.
But the soldiers' defensive wall was crumbling.
Gang Gu leaped down from the wall.
The remaining soldiers swiftly followed her lead.
“Fall back!” she shouted at those trailing her.
Ordinary soldiers were no match for assassins. Charging in would be suicide.
In open combat, their numbers could overwhelm, but in this pitch-black night, it'd just mean death.
The soldiers ignored her, lining up behind regardless.
“Get back inside the fortress—now!”
But they all dropped to one knee.
“We vow to share life and death with the Young Master and the Princess!”
Gang Gu looked at the kneeling soldiers and slowly closed her eyes. Yeop Hyeon's voice rang out from afar.
“Gang Gu! Get them inside the fortress—now!”
She turned to see Yeop Hyeon and Luk Ban-jang surrounded, barely holding off the assassins. The elite guards protecting Neung Han looked on the verge of collapse too. Even well-trained soldiers had limits against Jungto Sinju's elite killers.
Without Yeop Hyeon and Gang Gu holding the line, the soldiers would've been wiped out long ago.
Meanwhile, the attackers on Yeop Hyeon and Luk Ban-jang were growing in number. Some weren't even assassins.
Reinforcements from factions beyond the shadow realm, it seemed.
As Gang Gu hesitated, Yeop Hyeon shouted again.
“Everyone—inside the fortress!”
Reluctantly, she led the soldiers back in.
From the watchtower, Gang Gu watched the darkness intently.
The wall's soldiers couldn't tear their eyes from Yeop Hyeon and Luk Ban-jang.
None feared death, but they knew they'd be useless.
Especially Gang Gu—her skills could aid Yeop Hyeon, but as supreme commander, her death would spell disaster. She couldn't risk it lightly.
Just then, a shadow appeared before Yeop Hyeon. He thrust his sword swiftly.
Thud—!
Unexpectedly, his figure was hurled back a dozen zhang.
The soldiers' faces darkened.
The newcomer was a man in his early twenties, clad in black silk robes. His eyes sparkled like stars, framed by thick black brows. In his hand was a spear—its shaft pitch-black, its tip gleaming white, radiating dense spear aura and chilling intent.
Gang Gu recognized him and paled.
“Mubang's Number One, the Cold Spear—I Mok-rim!”
Mubang's Number One?!
The soldiers atop the wall went ashen at her words.
Mubang was the list of Qingzhou's strongest warriors.
Mubang's Number One was the name at its pinnacle.
They'd dragged even him into this!
Gang Gu's expression turned gravely serious.
I Mok-rim fixed his gaze on Yeop Hyeon and called out.
“I'll handle him—you lot take the ones breaking through over there!”
As his words ended, over twenty black-clad figures with daggers burst from the darkness toward Neung Han's group.
Unseen assassins lurked among them too.
Ignoring I Mok-rim, Yeop Hyeon shot toward a nearby black-clad foe.
“Hmph! Who sent you?!”
I Mok-rim vanished, his dense spear intent crashing down on Yeop Hyeon.
As his spear lanced like lightning toward Yeop Hyeon's back, a woman in green robes appeared out of nowhere.
Thud—!
I Mok-rim was flung back to his starting position.
Cheong Sam-nyeo smirked at him.
“Qingzhou Mubang's Number One? Hmm, no—that's a bit of an exaggeration!”
She pointed to herself.
“Let me introduce myself. Jungto Sinju, Yo Yeolbang.”
Yo Yeolbang!
She was Luk Ban-jang's friend.
She'd already arrived at Yangjie City but had only now revealed herself.
The sudden appearance of this Yo Yeolbang warrior threw the Changmok Academy and shadow realm fighters into disarray.
I Mok-rim stared coldly at Cheong Sam-nyeo. His figure vanished again.
She curled her lip and raised a finger toward him.
Bang—!
The instant her fingertip met his spear tip, I Mok-rim was hurled a dozen zhang away.
He stared at his trembling spear in disbelief.
Gritting his teeth, he lunged again—only for a white-robed elder to appear before him. This was Changmok Academy's Protector Elder from Jungto Sinju!
The white-robed elder looked at the green-robed woman.
“If you spare our Changmok Academy's face this once, we will repay the favor!”