Chapter 183: Do You Plan to Keep Killing All the Way to the Imperial City?
Jiang Kingdom, Canglan Academy.
In front of the Canglan Hall, Mok Won and Bong Nam sat side by side on the stone steps.
Mok Won stared blankly at the letter in his hand. His eyes trembled as he gazed at it.
"What's wrong?"
Bong Nam asked, and Mok Won replied quietly.
"Changmok Academy and the Dark Faction have mobilized their entire forces to block him from entering the Imperial City. The situation doesn't look good."
"Is it time for us to step in?"
Mok Won shook his head.
"If we step in now, it might help in the short term, but we'll end up in even greater trouble later. We should prepare the Dao soldiers so they can head out for reinforcements to Gu Jiu at any moment."
"Hm... Of course, those Dao soldiers have learned the Bing family's heart method, but their training period has been too short. Will they really be of any use in battle?"
Mok Won smiled as he answered.
"If we just wait until everything's perfect, we'll never see the battlefield."
Bong Nam nodded.
"You're right."
At that moment, Mok Won, who had looked up at the sky, murmured softly.
"Changmok Academy... You'd best not go too far......"
In the dense forest, the Black Flame Horse carrying Yeop Hyeon galloped down the forest path.
The Black Flame Horse charged at tremendous speed. If Yeop Hyeon had been an ordinary person, he never could have endured it.
Seated on the horse's back, Yeop Hyeon gripped the reins with an expressionless face. Strapped to his back was a black sword case containing seven swords.
Half a shichen later, Yeop Hyeon arrived at an ancient city.
It was Pingyang City.
The Daeun Empire was no small nation like the Jiang Kingdom. If he detoured around the cities in between, it wouldn't take just this month—he might not reach the Imperial City even after two.
Upon entering the city, Yeop Hyeon spurred his horse straight toward the opposite gate.
But when he reached the gate, it was firmly shut.
At that moment, over fifty black-clad figures appeared atop the walls. Each held a longbow, arrows already nocked. Moreover, thousands of soldiers armed with spears suddenly emerged from somewhere, blocking Yeop Hyeon's rear.
It was clear they had been lying in ambush here in advance.
Then, an old man appeared on the wall and shouted at Yeop Hyeon.
"Yeop Hyeon, this isn't your Jiang Kingdom. You can't just come and go as you please......"
Right then, the sword case on Yeop Hyeon's back opened, and in an instant, seven swords shot into the air.
The old man who witnessed it paled and yelled.
"Fire!"
At his command, the fifty black-clad archers on the wall released their bowstrings in unison. But at the same moment, over fifty heads flew into the sky along with the arrows.
Dozens of arrows were deflected by the Spirit Water Sword before they could even get close to Yeop Hyeon. His sword was far faster than the arrows.
The seven swords returned to the case. The soldiers staring at Yeop Hyeon now had dazed, unfocused eyes, as if their souls had fled.
Yeop Hyeon pointed his Spirit Water Sword at the old man standing before the gate.
"Try blocking this one?"
With those words, the Black Flame Horse he rode suddenly charged at the gate. At the same time, one sword flew toward it.
Boom!
Yeop Hyeon and the Black Flame Horse swiftly slipped through the shattered gate.
But once outside the city, Yeop Hyeon had no choice but to halt his horse. Hundreds of zhang ahead, nearly a thousand cavalry stared him down.
Daeun Cavalry.
At that moment, a middle-aged man who appeared to be their commander raised his hand high and shouted.
"Charge!"
The thousand cavalry thundered toward Yeop Hyeon.
To Yeop Hyeon, who had fought tens of thousands, a mere thousand was nothing. But when they gathered momentum as a unit, it was a different story entirely.
Staring expressionlessly at the cavalry, Yeop Hyeon spurred the Black Flame Horse skyward. In that instant, he leaped high into the air from the horse's back. Simultaneously, the sword case on his back opened, unleashing the seven swords.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Over thirty cavalry dozens of zhang away tumbled from their horses in an instant.
But the remaining cavalry still charged at Yeop Hyeon with eyes ablaze.
Then, sword cries rang out amid the cavalry, and seven streaks of sword light poured toward them.
Wherever the sword light passed, cavalry were bisected at the waist without fail.
Before the gate, the old man who had just tried to block Yeop Hyeon glared at him with murderous eyes.
'Yeop Hyeon!'
Until now, he had known only the two characters of his name. But now, he beheld the man's true face with his own eyes.
'A true Sword Lord? How can someone not yet twenty have such monstrous power!'
In moments, over three hundred corpses piled up in the field, the number ceaselessly growing.
Not one among them could block a single strike from Yeop Hyeon.
After just one gak, the thousand cavalry had dwindled to less than half. Their initial momentum had already crumbled.
Yeop Hyeon was carrying out a massacre.
Half a shichen later, only about a hundred cavalry remained alive in the field. Even they were struggling to stay far from Yeop Hyeon.
Around him now rose a massive mountain of corpses.
Standing at its peak, Yeop Hyeon held the Spirit Water Sword. A single trickle of blood slowly slid down the blade.
Gripping his sword, Yeop Hyeon slowly walked toward the remaining cavalry. Their faces drained of color, bodies trembling uncontrollably.
They were now afraid.
When the thousand cavalry had gathered as one, no fear had stirred in them.
In a battle of a thousand against one, it was the latter who should fear!
Yet now, only a hundred of those thousand still breathed.
Suddenly, Yeop Hyeon accelerated. The hundred cavalry scattered in panic, turning tail to flee.
Yeop Hyeon had no intention of letting them go. The seven swords flashed like light, and in an instant, over a dozen heads hit the ground.
By then, the other cavalry had fled far away.
Yeop Hyeon stopped before one cavalryman still twitching in agony. The man writhed with the expression of one who had seen the reaper.
He could never escape. Both his legs had been cleanly severed.
Yeop Hyeon looked down at his right hand. Only then did he realize the numbness creeping into it.
From slaughtering so many, his hand had gone numb.
Right then, a middle-aged man appeared a dozen zhang from Yeop Hyeon.
Mok Cheonghyeon!
Mok Cheonghyeon smirked at Yeop Hyeon.
"Killing like a butcher, aren't you? But what now? This is just the beginning! Changmok Academy alone has hundreds of thousands of students across Qingzhou. Plus the Dark Faction and countless clan warriors. Yeop Hyeon, you don't seriously think you can kill them all, do you?"
In that instant, Mok Cheonghyeon's smiling face twisted viciously.
"Kill as many as you like. I'll make you drop dead from exhaustion!"
'Make me drop dead from exhaustion?'
Yeop Hyeon burst into laughter.
In truth, he knew the best solution was reconciliation with Changmok Academy and the Dark Faction. And it was something he could achieve if he wished.
But he could never do it.
Not even if beaten to death. The reason was simple.
Dean Ji had died by their hands.
To save Yeop Hyeon, Mu Yun Qi, and the others, Dean Ji had faced Changmok Academy and the Dark Faction alone, dying a wretched death without retreating a single step. Yeop Hyeon could never forget him. And that grudge demanded vengeance.
How could he simply let such hatred pass?
Moreover, true reconciliation was doubtful.
He didn't trust Changmok Academy or the Dark Faction. Nor would they trust him. They might feign peace only to stab him in the back later. Then, not just him, but everyone around him would be in danger.
'Make me drop dead from exhaustion?'
"Hahaha! Even if I collapse and die, I'll take all of you with me!"
Yeop Hyeon pointed the Spirit Water Sword at Mok Cheonghyeon.
"Changmok Academy has a lot of people? Good. No matter how many you bring, I'll kill them all!"
With that, Yeop Hyeon mounted the Black Flame Horse and swiftly exited the field.
Watching his retreating figure, Mok Cheonghyeon fell silent for a long time.
He realized anew that Changmok Academy was at war with a man who feared not even death.
And if this Yeop Hyeon reached the Imperial City before their reinforcements, it would be a catastrophe for Changmok Academy.
No one in the Imperial City could stop Yeop Hyeon. If he entered, it would spell utter disaster for them.
Mok Cheonghyeon hurriedly departed.
Soon after he left, a woman in armor with a long sword at her waist appeared in the field. She slowly walked, surveying the mountain of corpses.
"All finished with single strokes......"
Moments later, the woman entered the city and headed straight for the city lord's office. An old man rushed out to greet her.
"My lord!"
The woman's cold gaze fell on the old man's face.
"A thousand cavalry and thousands of soldiers—who told you to send them outside the city to fight?"
The old man could only break out in cold sweat.
"You're receiving a stipend from the Daeun Empire, yet you've become Changmok Academy's dog......"
With that, the woman turned and left the city lord's office.
Behind her, the old man's head suddenly hit the ground.
The woman who exited the city pulled out a small booklet and lightly wrote something down.
"One more eliminated!"
After she left, dozens of soldiers entered the city and began reorganizing its administration.
By a swiftly flowing riverbank, Yeop Hyeon sat leaning against a rock. Beside him, the Black Flame Horse quenched its parched throat.
Yeop Hyeon shrugged off his upper garment, revealing countless bloodstains beneath.
All wounds from the recent clash.
Facing a thousand cavalry with only his own power, without a Dao Token, emerging unscathed was impossible.
Yeop Hyeon swallowed a Golden Wound Pill and immersed himself in the river. The water around him instantly turned red.
As he tried to emerge moments later, someone suddenly burst from the water, stabbing a sharp object at his throat.
Yeop Hyeon's expression remained utterly calm. The attack never reached him.
Because his sword pierced the assailant's throat first. The body sank into the water.
Soon, red blood rose from the riverbed like smoke, staining the surroundings.
Yeop Hyeon extended his hand, and a sword flew into his grasp.
'Assassination?'
Since entering the Daeun Realm, Yeop Hyeon had kept his senses razor-sharp even in sleep. From the moment he entered the water, he had prepared for a possible ambush.
Now, he always assumed the worst, no matter where or when.
To assassinate him, there was only one way.
Send an assassin with a sword faster than his own.
Soon, Yeop Hyeon vanished along the riverbank.
Moments later, the armored woman reappeared where Yeop Hyeon had been. Her gaze fixed on the corpse floating on the river.
'Clean work!'
The armored woman turned her head toward the direction Yeop Hyeon had vanished.
"Do you plan to keep killing all the way to the Imperial City......"