Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village
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Duduk duduk
Warhorses thundered across the plains.
In the wake of their massive victory, our forces pressed on to surround Luoyang without pause. Though our effective fighting strength numbered only fifty thousand, the enemy army had been shattered beyond recognition, leaving scant defenders behind. Upon learning that Luoyang's garrison fell short of ten thousand, Mang Ryang flashed a triumphant smile.
"Good. Let's solidify the encirclement first."
Amid the gathered commanders, Lee Gwang posed a question to Mang Ryang.
"Wouldn't it be better to press the attack now?"
I glanced sidelong at Lee Gwang. He seemed deeply hesitant, yet he had played a pivotal role in the battle. Without Lee Gwang and Jin So-cheong slicing through the enemy's core with their formidable prowess, our army would have been annihilated. Moreover, Lee Gwang's military renown must have been immense, for even the battle-hardened generals in the tent averted their eyes from him.
"The encirclement is complete, and siege engines are ready. With only a few thousand defenders, do you intend to squander this golden opportunity?"
Mang Ryang replied with a wry smile.
"The real issue isn't Luoyang's defenses themselves, but the ultimate guardians lurking in the Imperial Palace. We must keep them in mind."
"Our forces number in the tens of thousands. Do you truly believe anything in the palace poses a threat to us?"
"Absolutely. We'd suffer a humiliating defeat otherwise."
"Hmm."
Lee Gwang let out a groan at Mang Ryang's unwavering response. He had heard from Grand General Hwang Yeon about the existence of otherworldly beings, but he clearly hadn't grasped their power firsthand. That made sense—Lee Gwang had never directly clashed with them in this lifetime. Mang Ryang continued slowly.
"Our easy victory on the plains stemmed from the Imperial Palace's greatest strategist staying behind. He's likely torn between guarding the Emperor to the end or surrendering to us. A rash assault would only provoke him."
"Who is he?"
"Great Astronomer Zhuge Bu of the Inner Yellow Pavilion. I'm sure you've at least heard the name, Lee Gwang."
Lee Gwang's eyebrow twitched.
"That genius hailed as the greatest prodigy in the Central Plains in a century?"
"Yes. He's currently overseeing the Imperial Palace's formation arrays."
Lee Gwang paused, lost in thought. He was probably gauging the shift in forces if Zhuge Bu joined the fray, relying on intuition. Then he asked again.
"Even if his sorcery fortifies the palace, what good is seizing the rest while leaving it intact?"
"Not at all."
Everyone's faces registered shock at Mang Ryang's follow-up.
"Zhuge Bu can perform a ritual to extend the palace's guardian barrier across all of Luoyang. Any troops who enter would be annihilated or captured."
"......!!"
"Impossible!"
"Is such a thing even feasible?"
The generals murmured in unrest. They knew sorcery existed and its general potency, but deploying a barrier over an entire city with one man's power was beyond their imagination. As agitation spread, Mang Ryang calmly quelled the mood.
"But have no fear. In other words, his surrender ends it all. Even without that, change is inevitable."
"Supplies are finite, and swift decisive action is key. How long do you plan to wait?"
"Three days!"
Mang Ryang flicked his ornate feather fan.
"If nothing changes by then, we assault immediately. Prepare thoroughly until that moment."
The strategy meeting concluded after discussing minutiae like tending the wounded, handling prisoners, and negotiating with nearby warlords. The generals, finding Mang Ryang's words logical, dispersed without protest. Once the meeting ended, Lee Gwang spoke.
"Vice Leader of the Heavenly Alliance. I'd like your honest thoughts."
Mang Ryang smiled faintly.
"Which thoughts? I would have answered right away if you'd asked during the meeting."
"Some things can't be said in a strategy session."
Lee Gwang gave a bitter smile.
"You're planning to enthrone Grand General Hwang Yeon as Emperor, aren't you?"
"......"
In the tent were only me, Mang Ryang, Jin So-cheong, and Lee Gwang—those fit to share this matter. Jin So-cheong, sorting documents nearby, looked up at Lee Gwang in surprise. After a moment, Mang Ryang replied without hesitation.
"Not outright. Imperial kin are scattered across the realm, succession lines are clear, and Confucian scholars back a legitimate heir."
"Not outright... You do love twisting words."
Lee Gwang shot back casually, but the implication was profound. Mang Ryang had indirectly affirmed his intent to elevate Hwang Yeon to the throne, merely awaiting the right moment. It was clear he envisioned a dynastic upheaval.
"My apologies. Force of habit."
Lee Gwang stared intently at Mang Ryang before speaking.
"You're resolute."
"I believe you are too, General Lee Gwang."
"......"
"Don't seek answers through me."
Lee Gwang clenched his fist—not in anger or anguish, but resolve.
"Understood."
Lee Gwang exited first, followed by Jin So-cheong. I could scarcely believe the stormy tension that had just unfolded. The cold, impassive, iron-willed Lee Gwang uttering such feeble words? And much of Mang Ryang's talk eluded me. So I asked Mang Ryang.
"Why did Lee Gwang ask that?"
It felt out of place even here. If it unsettled me, how must others feel? Asking so openly when he could have done so privately struck me as odd.
Mang Ryang chuckled.
"Someone of Lee Gwang's caliber wouldn't ask out of ignorance. He once commanded the Imperial Shadow Guard and endured decades of palace intrigues—he knows power better than anyone. The phase where General Hwang yielding command could resolve things has passed. If he doesn't become Emperor, his entire clan faces extermination."
"True enough."
"But his values clash, leaving him unable to decide with mere patriotism or conservatism. He probed indirectly through me to chart his path."
"....."
"Don't make that pathetic face. You, Baek Woong, know better than anyone that Lee Gwang isn't some flawless superman."
Mang Ryang chided me, but I couldn't relax. I hadn't expected such wavering from the man who seemed the epitome of confidence and conviction. Treason evidently struck him harder than I'd imagined.
'Am I the weird one?'
Is changing the palace's master such a catastrophe?
It didn't feel real to me.
Perhaps I'm the fool or the madman for not feeling it.
As I pondered, Mang Ryang spoke.
"But I'm worried. Things are going too smoothly."
"What do you mean?"
"That alchemist is surely plotting something else. If we fixate on the current situation, we'll miss his move. We must proceed with utmost caution and vigilance."
"Hmm."
Mang Ryang seemed genuinely irked by the alchemist's presence. Understandably—he effectively controlled the palace's forces now. I regretted not charging him earlier to test his strength.
After a moment's thought, I said to Mang Ryang.
"But are you certain Zhuge Bu will defect?"
"Yes."
"How can you be so sure?"
I'd asked repeatedly; it remained unclear. Per Mang Ryang, Zhuge Bu was the palace's ultimate asset—hardly one to surrender lightly. Mang Ryang replied bitterly.
"Because he's the world's foremost genius."
"......?"
What nonsense was this?
"Fools don't make blunders."
It sounded more lament than conviction. I was curious why, but the mood suggested no further answers. Resigned, I scratched my head and left the tent.
Wooooo—
The palace side's next move arrived far sooner than expected.
'This presence?!'
That very evening after my talk with Mang Ryang, a chilling aura descended, followed by clashing energies. I bolted awake and rushed outside, where flames already flickered in the night.
"Ah!"
Inside the camp, eight peak experts faced off. Six were mysterious black-clad figures; opposing them were our army's top warriors, Jin So-cheong and Lee Gwang.
Kaaang!!
Lee Gwang swung his spear, met by a black-clad assailant's sword tip. He had fused barrier and instant strikes into a transcendent blow, yet the assailant's elegant swordplay deflected it effortlessly. Power transmitted to the earth as the black-clad figure retreated three steps.
Darkness parted, light spilling forth. In a flash, afterimages and footwork intertwined in a clash beyond ordinary eyes' comprehension.
"Haat."
Pabat
Retreating, the black-clad figure roared, unleashing sword flames like a whirlwind. As the distorting vortex assailed through the vacuum, Lee Gwang calmly parried without pressing. After a dozen more exchanges, they parted slightly.
I was stunned watching their duel.
'To match Lee Gwang like that?!'
Lee Gwang's skill was unparalleled among the jianghu's elite. Even Wind God's Guardian Lions couldn't dispatch him swiftly, and countless peak experts dreaded Azure Dragon Lee Gwang as death incarnate. Yet in those exchanges—neither at full power—the black-clad swordsman had squarely met his arcane strikes.
It meant one thing.
That black-clad figure was a transcendent swordmaster!
The other five exuded equal or greater auras.
Lowering his spear, Lee Gwang said.
"I didn't expect you."
He spoke as if he knew the black-clad swordsman's identity. The one who clashed with him fell silent before replying.
"Step aside. We're not here to fight you."
"I can't do that."
I flinched at Lee Gwang's icy tone.
"Would the renowned Supreme Sword Sect Leader of the jianghu stoop to assassination? I must uphold my friend's honor."
"......"
Supreme Sword Sect Leader!
He led the Supreme Sword Sect, one of Luoyang's preeminent Twin Gates Four Families. A powerhouse who felled a Mount Hua elder in fifty exchanges. More personally, in a past life en route to the capital for the Golden Guards, I'd shared drinks with him.
But if this black-clad was the Supreme Sword Sect Leader, was he truly here to assassinate our leadership?
The thought made me glance at the others. Exactly six.
'No way.'
The black-clad swordsman's next words confirmed it.
"Step aside. All the Twin Gates Four Families' sect leaders are here. Even you can't stop us."
Indeed.
Facing Lee Gwang and Jin So-cheong were Luoyang jianghu's pinnacle experts, the Twin Gates Four Families' leaders—all in black garb, infiltrating our midst. Six transcendent experts as foes. Even天下's Lee Gwang couldn't face them lightly.
As I arrived beside him, Lee Gwang glanced at me, then turned back to the enemy. He told Jin So-cheong.
"I'll take that old hag. Hold them off with Baek Woong as long as you can."
"It'll be tough."
"Hoo... No choice."
Lee Gwang's gaze fixed on the rearmost black-clad figure, arms crossed, wearing a silver fox mask. The smallest in stature, with an unremarkable presence. Yet Lee Gwang unmistakably marked her as the greatest threat.
The silver fox-masked figure stepped forward.
"Lee Gwang. Overconfident much? Even your master after three years couldn't best me."
Lee Gwang retorted irritably.
"Ridiculous. Your Incarnation Style's transcendent strikes hold freakish power, guaranteeing mutual destruction no matter what. But now I match my master—you'd best prepare."
"Ahaha... Is that so? Follow me then."
Whoosh!
The silver fox-masked figure suddenly soared skyward with a boom. Gliding through the air between moon and earth—it was unmistakably the realm of soaring freely. Lee Gwang's face hardened as he watched her recede, then pursued wordlessly with Thunder Shadow Step: Heaven-Earth Slaughter.
Pababat
"......"
With the two experts gone, awkward silence fell.
Now it was five against two.
Suddenly thrust into battling the Twin Gates Four Families' leaders alongside Jin So-cheong in the dead of night, I felt my sanity fraying.
'Why hasn't Lee Gwang called the troops?'
Summoning soldiers would surely rout these transcendent experts. Oddly, few had appeared nearby.
But I soon deduced why.
The silver fox mask. Her inhuman might risked a massacre if mishandled. Only Lee Gwang could stop her, so he engaged one-on-one, luring her away.
Jin So-cheong gripped his spear and said to me.
"As fellow Thunder God Style practitioners, I appreciate your aid."
"Likewise."
As we exchanged greetings, a black-clad figure opposite snapped curtly.
"Why bother with greetings? You'll bid farewell to this world soon enough."
Jin So-cheong eyed him.
"Who are you?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"Our top fighters are settling scores elsewhere. We could summon troops and drive you off."
"Hmm. If we did that, she would..."
The black-clad growled. Jin So-cheong waved dismissively.
"I know. So since we already guess each other's identities, let's exchange names. Isn't that the way of duels?"
His words flowed like clear mountain streams, subtly threatening encirclement and slaughter if needed. Unavoidable. The black-clad grudgingly introduced himself.
"I am the Iron Blood Sect Leader."
He removed his mask. Seeing his face twisted my guts.
'Oh, that bastard...'
In my first challenge at the Iron Blood Sect, I'd toppled Sword Test Hall Master Gyo Jun when the sect leader and elders intervened, pressuring me—until Shadow Phantom Swordsman Jin Pyeong slew me. The grudge surged; even in a duel, he'd tacitly allowed my beheading.
The Iron Blood Sect Leader said.
"Sorry, but this isn't sparring or a duel. We'll all pile on and finish you."
Woooooong!!
Immense energy surged from their side. As jianghu's renowned transcendent experts drew power in unison, crushing pressure descended. I gritted my teeth.
'Fuck... Time to bolt.'
A frontal clash offered no hope. I might handle one or two, but five transcendent experts swarming? Impossible, even with Jin So-cheong.
How did it come to this?
Luoyang within reach—I couldn't die pointlessly now. Too much at stake.
I prepared a transcendent strike to flee on their stagger. A full-power blast, then escape in the opening. I eyed Jin So-cheong cautiously, signaling.
Let's run!
But whether he read it or not, Jin So-cheong smiled faintly.
"Splendid."
Everyone froze at his words.
"I'll wrap this up quick and aid my master."
Taat!
He lunged, spear whirling in a preemptive strike on the Twin Gates Four Families' leaders.