Chapter 319: War of the Dragons (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 319: War of the Dragons (1)
A burning pavilion.
Dying people.
It took less than a few minutes for the once-splendid capital to fall.
"Aaargh!"
"Aaaah!"
"S-Save me!"
Thrown into chaos, people fled in all directions, searching for a way to survive.
But there was no escape from Luoyang, which was completely sealed off.
This place would become a massive grave.
"W-What on earth is happening?"
An emergency was declared within the Murim Alliance as well.
Although various barriers and formations had been deployed in Luoyang to ward off external enemies, the massive spatial teleportation formation currently unfolding in the sky was expanding even further, as if mocking their efforts.
Right then.
From the sky...
Along with bolts of lightning, jiangshi covered in blood began to rain down.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
"Kieee!"
"Keaaak!"
Because they had been winning victory after victory, the warriors and Taoists of the Murim Alliance had pushed their front lines far forward.
As a result, Luoyang was practically an empty house.
Having their heartland struck at such a moment meant the damage was bound to spiral out of control.
Of course, a significant number of peak-level masters and above still remained, but...
"What is that? That white jiangshi?"
"Could it be..."
"Yes. There's no mistake. It's the jiangshi from the reports!"
Baekryeong.
The strongest jiangshi of the Heavenly Demon Cult, who had disposed of Jong Muryang in a single blow at the Cloud-Mist Pavilion.
Of all times, in this desperate situation, they had run into an enemy whose depth of power was unfathomable.
Step.
Weightless footsteps followed.
From pure white hands, even whiter claws grew.
Shring!
The representatives of each sect drew their swords.
And at that moment.
Swish!
"...Huh?"
Baekryeong vanished.
Their eyes couldn't even track the motion of the leap.
"Watch out!"
Even as they shouted and raised their sensory perception, the head of the Kongdong Sect elder at the very front had already disappeared.
Spurt! Spuuurt!
A tall geyser of blood erupted from the severed neck.
"T-This is impossible."
"Void Step!"
This... was beyond the realm of mere speed. It was an overwhelming speed that one only realized after already being struck.
"Scatter!"
Ha Ryeo-hwa unleashed the forms of the Twelve Plum Blossom Swords.
Plum blossoms bloomed in midair as her blade began to dance.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sword and claws clashed, sending dazzling sparks flying.
But.
"Ugh!"
A sharp groan escaped Ha Ryeo-hwa's lips.
It was too much.
It wasn't just fast; a terrifying energy was infused into every single strike.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Aaargh!"
Another companion beside her fell.
Just like that.
"Gah."
"Aaaargh!"
One by one, in order of their weakness, the masters of the Murim Alliance lost their lives.
They had never imagined a mere jiangshi could be this powerful.
At this rate...
they would all be wiped out in no time.
* * *
Everyone in the bamboo forest stared at the burning city of Luoyang.
The situation was so shocking that everyone was left speechless.
"It seems you've been caught completely off guard. Seeing that bewildered look on your face relieves some of the congestion built up from being pushed around by you. Ah! Don't bother doing anything useless. Even if you try to go help, it's already too late."
A satisfied smile played on Samaja's lips.
Yes. It was already too late.
Against thousands of jiangshi, there was nothing a single individual could do.
"More than anything, now is not the time for you to be worrying about those people over there."
[The Blue Dragon of the Four Guardian Deities activates 'Inherent Holy Chant'!]
"Groooaaar!"
Five-colored light began to condense along the maw of the massive blue dragon.
Even without being told, they knew what it was.
A breath.
It was slightly different from a Western dragon's breath, utilizing the energy dissolved in the atmosphere.
Of course, in terms of possessing power beyond imagination, it was no different.
One second. Two seconds... Three seconds.
The mass of mana, compressed to its absolute limit, grew larger and larger.
Jinhyuk's gaze drifted backward.
'Even if the Heavenly Demon has recovered his internal energy, he needs to perform the Circulation of Qi to refine it.'
Furthermore, the Heavenly Demon's body was not yet fully prepared to freely utilize the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
His master and the Soul-Chasing Shadow must have also exhausted their internal energy from the sparring match just now.
Every single factor was smiling upon Samaja.
As this, too, was likely a scenario he had carefully orchestrated.
"You've struggled hard to crawl all the way here. So, just die now."
Samaja pointed his fingertip forward.
That was it.
Rumble! Crash!
Energy made of wind and rain blasted toward a single point.
Blades made of atmosphere began to reduce the surroundings to ashes.
No matter what it touched.
It was utterly powerless before that breath.
To begin with, there was no way to oppose what was essentially a natural disaster.
But right then.
The Dark Emperor and the Soul-Chasing Shadow stepped forward.
"I was getting bored of fighting only humans anyway. A dragon, you say? I wonder just how strong you are!"
"Of course a battle maniac like you would say that even after seeing that."
The Black Heaven Demonic Emperor Art and the Soul-Chasing Sword were unleashed to their absolute limits.
At the same time.
"I really shouldn't have come along for this walk! I should've stayed and eaten more meat dumplings!"
Alice threw a massive harpoon made of blood.
Vrooooom!
The three skills merged into one.
BOOOOOOM!
Upon colliding with the breath, their entire vision was dyed pure white.
A shockwave that felt as if it would blow away the entire mountain engulfed their bodies.
* * *
When their vision finally returned, quite a few things had changed.
What used to be a mountain was no longer a mountain.
A massive crater had formed behind the bamboo forest.
The scorched trail left behind as the breath tore through the clouds.
Everything spoke to just how absurd that single strike had been.
"Ugh..."
"Ngh."
The Dark Emperor and the Soul-Chasing Shadow had completely depleted their internal energy from blocking the breath right after their duel.
"Ouch..."
Alice, too, had clearly overexerted herself.
"Ho. To think you endured that. As expected of the Right Guardian of the Heavenly Demon Cult. The rest of you also possess strength that is hard to believe belongs to humans."
Samaja was genuinely impressed.
Humans surviving against the authority of a dragon.
How could he not praise them?
But.
that was all.
Blocking a single attack was far from enough.
Samaja's gaze shifted to one side.
There stood a being, still carrying himself with lofty dignity.
"Hahaha! O great Heavenly Demon. Seeing you recovered makes this Left Guardian overwhelmed with emotion. It appears you have recovered about half of your strength."
"If I had just half a day more, you wouldn't have even dared to dream of coming here."
In half a day, his Circulation of Qi would have finished, allowing him to fully absorb his internal energy.
Just... if only he had half a day more.
"Of course you would have. If you were in your prime, I wouldn't have dared to do such a thing, even with the Blue Dragon by my side. However, at this very moment, you must praise the scheme of this Samaja, who calculated that very half-day."
Rumble!
Once again, the weather fluctuated wildly.
Dark clouds gathered around the Blue Dragon, and a thunderstorm began to rage.
For the Blue Dragon, who controlled the weather, there was no such thing as running out of mana.
For nature itself was the source of its power.
In other words.
it was entirely capable of firing its breath infinitely.
"Why don't you try kneeling? Who knows? Perhaps I might spare you out of mercy."
"You ask this seat to kneel?"
"Isn't your life more important than some petty pride?"
"Your tongue has grown quite long since I last saw you. Stop your babbling and come at me."
The Heavenly Demon calmly extended his hand.
[Heavenly Demon Divine Art...]
Even if he fell into qi deviation.
Even if his internal energy twisted, causing him to cough up blood and die a miserable death.
He had no intention of kneeling to his opponent.
He would rather die fighting.
He would live as the Heavenly Demon until the very end before he fell.
* * *
But right then.
"You seem to be having a lot of fun, but do you mind if I say a quick word?"
Jinhyuk cut in.
"Your turn is a bit later, so wait. After I kill the Heavenly Demon, I will naturally snuff out your breath as well."
Samaja drew a line.
Jinhyuk was not his primary concern at the moment.
But at the next words, Samaja's eyebrows furrowed into an inverted V.
"I already knew you were going to draw a formation using the jiangshi."
"Bluffing. Saying you knew beforehand when the milk has already been spilled is nothing but an excuse."
Samaja pointed toward Luoyang as if to show off.
As he looked at the massive capital turning into a sea of fire, the corners of Samaja's mouth curled up even higher.
"Look closely. This is the result. That hellscape proves whose strategy reigns supreme."
"No, you're the one who needs to look closely."
Jinhyuk raised his right hand toward the sky.
A spark shot from his fingertip, piercing through the barrier and soaring high into the sky.
Bang!
The spark exploded, forming a runic word about ten meters wide in the air.
"How absurd. Are you trying to put on a firework show before you die?"
Samaja snorted.
It looked like he had sent some kind of signal.
But the elite sects of the Murim Alliance were far too distant to reach Luoyang in time.
He had already mapped out all of their movements.
But at that exact moment.
an anomaly occurred.
Bwooooo!
The deep sound of a horn, entirely out of place in the Murim.
"This... could it be?"
Samaja hurriedly turned his head.
It was the west.
A massive energy was rising from the west.
And as if in response, torches flared up all at once along the western plains of Luoyang.
In the thick fog, the torches that had appeared one by one quickly multiplied into dozens, and soon reached thousands.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
What followed was a thunderous roar that shook the earth.
The flags of the Empire fluttered.
Heavy cavalry clad in full iron plate armor rapidly closed the distance toward the capital.
"I thought I was going to die trying to get here within a week. Fortunately, it seems we aren't too late."
Abraham, the Grand Sword Master, was visible at the front.
Beside him was Penheimer.
"I heard there are a large number of undead monsters, so we must be careful. Since we had to use concealment magic on this many cavalrymen, we can't expect any fire support from the mages."
"Me, careful?"
"...Well, as long as we have Sir Abraham and an order of knights composed of Sword Masters, no matter how many undead there are, they won't pose much of a threat."
Just then.
"Hmm?"
Abraham's senses picked up a powerful energy.
A pure white jiangshi with pale skin.
Its claws were stained so deeply with blood from slaughtering countless people that they had turned from red to black.
"I will take care of that one."
[Abraham activates 'Aura Blade'!]
A blue-white aura enveloped the blade, rising over two meters high.
Abraham spurred his horse forward in a straight line.
Boom!
As his acceleration compounded, it created the illusion of a bullet tearing across the battlefield.
* * *
"T-This can't be..."
Samaja's pupils shook violently.
His strategy had calculated every single possible variable.
Yet, how on earth was this happening?
He couldn't comprehend for what reason the Empire, which was in a hostile relationship, had come all this way to help the Murim.
But no matter how much he tried to deny it, he couldn't turn the reality unfolding before his eyes into a lie.
The sight of the heavy cavalry sweeping away the jiangshi and reclaiming the city was an undeniable reality.
"It's a bit too early to be surprised... I haven't even properly revealed the cards I've prepared yet."
Jinhyuk opened his subspace inventory.
Crackle!
Purple sparks crackled beyond the rift.
The Dragon-Slaying Sword, 'Balmung'.
The relic of Siegfried, who had slain a dragon in myth...
...had finally appeared.
A divine weapon that looked extraordinary at a single glance.
"Groooaaar!"
The Blue Dragon let out a bizarre shriek.
It must have instinctively realized that Balmung was a threat.
"Tsk!"
Samaja tried to send the Blue Dragon higher into the sky.
No matter how powerful a sword was, it would be useless if the dragon attacked from high up in the sky.
I will turn everything to ashes with another breath!
Whoosh!
Positioned high in the heavens, the Blue Dragon gathered rain and clouds.
However.
there was one thing Samaja had mistaken this time as well.
The fact that the one possessing a dragon...
wasn't just him.
"Come."
Jinhyuk infused mana into his bracelet.
[You have used 'Bracelet of the Returnee'!]
[The second ability of the bracelet is activated!]
[A connection is established between dimensions.]
A returnee who had gone to another dimension and returned.
And the dimensional connection created as a result.
This was the legacy left behind by that returnee.
Vrooooom!
Beyond the connected dimension, a pure white energy surged.
[The Ancient Species '???' manifests!]
The clouds parted.
What appeared beyond the gate...
"Groooaaar!"
...was likewise a being of the Heaven Beyond Heaven, defying all common sense and logic.