Chapter 216
Chapter 216
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 216
Chapter Title: The End of the Demonic Path
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I’ve heard that wild animals have a knack for recognizing beings stronger than themselves at a single glance.
That’s why they have an instinct to flee from predators.
And in this very moment, I realized with my entire being that humans are animals, too.
That was the feeling that washed over me the first time I saw the Master of the Ten Demon Alliance.
‘Death.’
If the concept of death were to take physical form, it would look exactly like him.
*Tremble.*
Clutching my quivering knees, I forced myself to stand, barely holding onto my consciousness as the Alliance Leader spoke.
“The saying ‘to see someone in a new light’ certainly comes to mind. It seems you’ve had a great breakthrough recently.”
“As you can see.”
“I wish to ask the reason for this bloody calamity.”
“Does one need a reason to kill insects?”
“The disciples of the Ten Demon Alliance are dying as well.”
“They are no different from insects.”
The Alliance Leader’s eyebrows twitched, as if the answer was unexpected.
“There are many masters in this world.”
It was a threat, alluding to the hidden experts of the Righteous Path scattered like grains of sand.
But the Master of the Ten Demon Alliance only scoffed, a sound close to a sneer.
“Strength is relative. Those you speak of are not strong, not to me.”
“Did not the past leaders of the Demonic Cult, who ultimately perished, think the same as you?”
“We will see about that.”
With those words, he took a step forward.
*Kwoong!*
Though there was no actual sound, his step carried the weight of a great mountain.
At the same time, the Alliance Leader’s mental message reached me.
[Run!]
[I refuse.]
[The people of Hanzhong will only live if you do.]
[Alliance Leader!]
[Go!]
“For one so young, your spirit is sharp. So you were the War King Gate Master.”
“……!”
To think he could eavesdrop on a mental message.
My eyes widened at the unbelievable skill I was witnessing firsthand.
*Grip.*
“Keuk!”
He executed a phantom-like movement and grabbed me by the neck.
It was then that the Alliance Leader moved.
“Alliance Master!”
*Fwoosh!*
The same swordsmanship as before.
His sword, which bloomed into a myriad of transformations from simple movements, drew a large plum blossom.
*BOOM!*
The Master of the Ten Demon Alliance shattered the blossom with a simple gesture of his hand.
“Ugh!”
“As expected of Mount Hua. Sharp.”
Having already released my neck, he began walking toward the Alliance Leader.
*Paat.*
A flickering movement.
He executed a supreme movement art that I could only manage once with all my strength, as if it were a single step.
*Swish.*
The Alliance Leader’s sword moved, cleaving through space itself.
The Master of the Ten Demon Alliance stopped just short of the rippling void.
“To scatter the natural energy of the world. The martial arts of the Righteous Path are truly fascinating.”
As his jade-colored hand touched it, the severed space was instantly mended.
*Fwoooosh.*
A violet haze began to envelop the Alliance Leader’s body.
The Purple Mist Aura.
“Aaargh!”
“Kieeek……!”
As Mount Hua’s final secret art was unleashed, the bodies of the demonic practitioners nearby instantly melted away.
Had he lost all human sentiment?
Even as his own subordinates were slaughtered en masse, the Master of the Ten Demon Alliance never lost his intrigued smile.
“This, too, is interesting.”
“You will find no more amusement here!”
His voice was filled with a grim resolve, as if he had made a decision.
*KWAANG!*
The two unleashed their ultimate techniques at each other.
*Fwoosh! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
The sword, wreathed in a violet haze, transformed endlessly, filling the surrounding area, while the Master of the Ten Demon Alliance’s jade hand struck it down.
‘This is…’
Was this what a battle between demigods would be like?
Each attack, moving at an imperceptible speed, held enough power to split a mountain.
*Aaaargh-!*
*H-help me…*
Shockwaves spread out, devastating the surroundings and staining them with blood.
*Kwwaaaaa!*
I, too, had to circulate my War Dragon Aura to withstand the shockwaves.
‘Is he even human?’
This wasn’t the first time I had seen a supreme master.
I had seen the Fortress Lord and Master Bukgung.
But I had never seen a battle like this.
More accurately, I had never before witnessed the power of a supreme master’s martial arts unleashed with full force.
“Hmm.”
After a clash that lasted several dozen seconds, the Alliance Leader retreated.
The Master of the Ten Demon Alliance, who had been on the defensive, had switched to the offensive.
“Is this all?”
“How could it be?”
The Alliance Leader raised his sword and let out a small smile.
“Why do you smile?”
“I am pleased to have met an opponent against whom I can unleash my all. Is it not the same for you, who live by the rule of the strong?”
“One could see it that way.”
The Master of the Ten Demon Alliance drew his sword.
“Hup!”
A powerful presence, different from before, suffocated me.
The Alliance Leader’s gaze, as he gasped for breath, turned to me.
*Run.*
The meaning in his eyes was all too clear. I forced my feet, which felt rooted to the ground, to move and ran.
* * *
“Huff, huff…”
Gasping for breath, I and the other warriors of the Righteous Path Alliance ran through the pitch-black darkness.
After three hours and crossing two mountains, without any command, everyone collapsed to the ground.
Our stamina was completely depleted from fleeing after such a fierce battle.
Wiping away the sweat that poured down like rain, I sat down haphazardly and looked up at the sky.
“……”
Was it trying to cool our feverish bodies?
*Rumble, swoosh.*
Just then, thunder roared, and a downpour began.
*Sob… Uwaaah…*
From all around, cries filled with sorrow could be heard.
The tears they had been holding back had finally burst forth.
And I was no different.
*BAM! BAM! BAM!*
“Damn it! Damn it! Dammit all!”
Unable to contain the rage surging from deep within, I smashed my fists into a nearby tree.
I felt powerless for having done nothing, and I regretted not stopping the Alliance Leader from risking his life.
That’s right.
We had been defeated.
A crushing defeat, at that, losing three hundred warriors in vain.
Most of all, the Alliance Leader was dead.
He had engaged the Master of the Ten Demon Alliance in a life-or-death battle to save his warriors.
If he hadn’t ordered the retreat, if he hadn’t thrown his life away to hold back the Alliance Master, the Righteous Path Alliance would not have escaped annihilation today.
The Master of the Ten Demon Alliance was that strong.
And.
The final form of the sword art that had driven the Alliance Leader to his death made me question if its wielder was even human.
Shaking off my fear, I stood up.
“Hanzhong is not far. Let’s keep moving.”
But the warriors of the Righteous Path Alliance, lost in their sense of powerlessness, did not listen.
“Hoo…”
I took a deep breath and shouted again.
“The Alliance Leader is dead!”
At the mention of his death, countless furious gazes turned toward me.
“……”
“Even if we die, shouldn’t we at least plunge a sword into the gut of the Master of the Ten Demon Alliance before we go?”
It wasn’t something to say to Taoist priests and Buddhist disciples, but it was effective. A new strength glinted in the warriors’ eyes.
Finally regaining their senses, the nine elders of the Righteous Path Alliance began to rally the warriors.
“Disciples of the Righteous Path, rise! Even in death, we must avenge our fallen!”
Just then, the dark clouds parted, revealing Hanzhong in the distance.
* * *
As soon as we arrived in Hanzhong, I gathered everyone to share the precariousness of our current situation.
“I… I can’t believe it. For the Alliance Leader to fall so meaninglessly…”
Even though they hadn’t witnessed the strength of the Ten Demon Alliance Master firsthand, the shock of the Alliance Leader’s death was immense.
Everyone in the War King Gate was left speechless.
Of course, the important thing now was how to stop the Master of the Ten Demon Alliance.
And the key to that was held not by me, but by the Righteous Path Alliance.
“Is there no way?”
“……”
After a moment of silence, the representative from Shaolin among the nine elders raised his hand.
“I will contact Grandmaster Gwangya in the Pagoda Forest. Please find us a carrier pigeon bound for Shaolin.”
“Understood. I will have one brought immediately.”
At the name of Grandmaster Gwangya, the former abbot of Shaolin, everyone let out a gasp.
But it didn’t end there.
“If you’re getting a carrier pigeon, please get one for us as well. I will contact my grand-uncle at Nogun Hermitage.”
The elder from Wudang raised his hand.
“Please get one for our Mount Hua Sect as well.”
Mount Hua followed suit.
‘Just as I thought.’
This was the only key to stopping the Master of the Ten Demon Alliance.
The hidden strength of the three great sects, with their thousand-year histories.
I had anticipated that there would be undisclosed supreme masters.
The world of the Righteous Path was filled with countless hidden experts.
If we could just buy time until they arrived, I was confident we could protect Hanzhong.
“Everyone in the War King Gate will risk their lives to hold back the Ten Demon Alliance.”
“We, too, will do our utmost to lend our strength.”
“Then let us begin by dividing the defensive roles…”
“Our Righteous Path Alliance will take this position…”
“How about we try this instead…”
* * *
After a meeting that lasted over half a day, everyone’s roles were decided.
The most crucial position, the fortress walls, was assigned to the warriors of the Righteous Path Alliance, who boasted the strongest forces.
The Hanzhong defense force, composed of the Black Dragon Gate and the martial artists of Hanzhong, would support them from inside the walls.
Since fortress gates held little significance in a battle between martial artists, they would deal with the enemies who broke through.
If the first two forces were the shield, the War King Gate was the spear.
Having recovered from their injuries and regained some stamina over the past few days, they would strike at any opening the enemy revealed.
‘This is the best we can do.’
As I wandered through the empty War King Hall, I happened to glance out the window.
The maids, the servants, the citizens who lived within the walls, the merchants who flocked from all corners of the world, and the common folk introduced from Gansu—not a single one remained.
I had sent them all away to safety.
That included Myo Hyang, Cheong So-so, and Jeok Hwa-ran.
*Heh.*
A dry laugh escaped me as I remembered how they had stubbornly refused to leave until the very end.
I don’t know who will end up with them, but they’re in for a tough time.
‘Ah… one of them…’
I thought of Myo Hyang, then quickly shook my head.
In war, the more definite your reasons to live, the higher your chances of dying.
‘I can’t be raising my own death flags.’
I spread out a map and calculated the time we had left.
‘Let’s keep it simple.’
It was yesterday that we sent the carrier pigeons with the help of the Beggars’ Union, so the message should arrive within two days.
Assuming a supreme master travels at full speed, reinforcements from the Mount Hua Sect should arrive about three days after the message is received.
Even a supreme master alone would be no match for the Master of the Ten Demon Alliance, but for Hanzhong, just surviving until then would be a relief.
With him as the center of our defense, if we could hold out for two more days, reinforcements would arrive from Hubei and Henan as well.
In other words.
‘Five days.’
The outcome of this war depends on whether we can hold out for that long.
The problem is.
‘There’s no way.’
There was no way to stop the Master of the Ten Demon Alliance.
The martial prowess he displayed was far beyond what I could imagine a human possessing.
Despite this, the nine elders of the Righteous Path Alliance decided to face him together in a joint attack.
The way to fight a superior master is simple.
Numbers.
It was common knowledge in the martial world that seven peak masters who had trained in joint attack arts could face a transcendent master.
So, what would it take to face a supreme master?
The principle was the same.
Seven transcendent masters executing the proper joint attack arts could face a supreme master.
However, our opponent was the Master of the Ten Demon Alliance, who was presumed to have surpassed the stage of enlightenment.
‘No matter how I think about it, it’s impossible.’
The nine elders of the Righteous Path Alliance wouldn’t be nearly enough. Not even with me included.
If it were possible, the late Alliance Leader wouldn't have sacrificed his own life to buy us time to escape.
In other words.
The elders of the Righteous Path Alliance were also stepping forward to buy time with their lives.
Until the supreme masters from their main sects arrived.
It was a noble and appreciated sacrifice.
For them to make such a choice to protect Hanzhong.
If they had retreated to Mount Hua to fight the Ten Demon Alliance there, none of the Righteous Path Alliance members would have had to die.
As I sat on a chair, lost in these thoughts.
“Gate Master! The demonic practitioners of the Ten Demon Alliance are approaching from the front.”
“Let’s go.”
The final chapter of this war had begun.