Chapter 98
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: The Demonic Horde Approaches
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The man's head slowly turned backward. There was no one there.
'Truly a terrifying formation.'
That was the man's final thought.
Thud!
His body crumpled to the ground.
And then the surrounding space trembled faintly.
The landscape filling the area shifted in an instant. People now stood where there had been no one moments before. They were all formation masters brought from the Righteous Heaven Alliance. They had woven the formation using their own bodies as conduits.
The rampaging steel golems suddenly grew docile. Standing silently as if awaiting their master's command, they all stared at one person.
That person was the man standing behind the fallen one—the Annihilation Heaven Squad Leader.
The squad leader shook off his sword once with an expressionless face, scattering the blood, then sheathed it smoothly.
"Retrieve the steel golems."
At the leader's order, the Annihilation Heaven and Sky-Shattering Squad members standing nearby sprang into action. They gathered the steel golems and loaded them onto the prepared wagons. The wagons were designed to prevent any view inside. The golems were stacked neatly within.
Jegal Rin led her companions to the foothills of White Cloud Mountain. Naturally, their actual destination lay farther south. But they couldn't move just yet. They had to wait a little longer. The Righteous Heaven Alliance would arrive soon.
"Are you certain the enemies are coming this way?"
"We need to head farther south, but the time isn't right yet, so we must wait a bit more."
Sword King nodded at Jegal Rin's response. Having entrusted everything to her, he resolved to trust her to the end.
Sword King turned to look at his granddaughter.
Yeom Hye-mi was swinging her Celestial Lash a short distance from the group. She swung it whenever she had the chance. The thrilling surge of lightning each time had her hooked.
And unbeknownst to her, a faint accumulation of that lightning energy built up in her body with every burst. It was so subtle that even Sword King hadn't noticed yet.
Jegal Rin quietly observed the group. They were all resting in relaxed poses. Of course, Dan Hyeong-u simply stood still.
His face revealed nothing of his thoughts or emotions. But it was clear he was pondering something. She could now discern that much.
Jegal Rin eyed Dan Hyeong-u with curiosity. She wanted to know far more about him. That was the mark of affection, of her heart stirring. Though she hadn't admitted it to herself yet.
As she watched him for a while, Jegal Rin noticed his head turn to one side. Her gaze naturally followed. There, she spotted a messenger pigeon flying in from afar.
Jegal Rin's eyes lit up.
The pigeon flew straight to her. It was one raised and managed by the Jegal family. It landed lightly on her shoulder, and once she untied the letter from its leg, it took off again.
"What is that?"
Sword King asked with curious eyes. He'd never heard of messenger pigeons being used this way.
Typically, they flew fixed routes between set points. You couldn't send one to someone whose location was unknown.
"It's the information I asked the family to look into."
Jegal Rin replied as she read the letter. She pondered briefly, then nodded.
"We can set out tomorrow morning."
The group all nodded at her words. The time had finally come.
"This should be interesting."
Sword King grinned as he spoke, and Sword Demon flashed a chilling smile. Tang Ho-gwan stroked the needles hidden in his sleeve with an eager expression.
Tang Moon-yeong and Umun Hye composed themselves with faintly excited looks. Yeong-sa gazed at Umun Hye with shining eyes. His sole duty was to protect her. He'd stake his life on it.
And Yeom Hye-mi kept swinging her Celestial Lash.
Jegal Rin surveyed them all and nodded. She felt confident these people could pull off something major. Her eyes naturally drifted to Dan Hyeong-u.
He could likely shine brightest in this clash between Righteous Heaven Alliance and Demonic Alliance if he showed his power—but the promise with the Righteous Heaven Alliance Leader meant he wouldn't.
Jegal Rin gazed at Dan Hyeong-u with a peculiar expression. She wondered why the Alliance Leader guarded him so vigilantly. Dan Hyeong-u clearly didn't know the man. Yet the Leader knew him—intimately.
'He might know even more about him than I do.'
That was her conclusion. The Leader knew far more about Dan Hyeong-u than she did.
'What could his true identity be?'
Now she was curious about the Alliance Leader's own identity. Something had felt off since the Righteous Heaven Alliance first appeared. Like something filthy lurked behind it.
A leader with such shadows couldn't be purely righteous.
Even the Martial Alliance Leader, whom Jegal Rin viewed as fairly just and clean, would have dirty secrets if you dug deep. Politics was like that. So how much worse must the Righteous Heaven Leader's stench be?
Jegal Rin thought long and hard, then looked back at Dan Hyeong-u. He stood with the exact same expression and posture as when they'd first arrived. Her eyes gleamed. He was no ordinary man. Not by any means.
The next day, Jegal Rin led the group south. They didn't rush, but they didn't dawdle either. Timing was crucial from here on.
Though her companions felt a touch frustrated, they followed without complaint to the end. And at last, the Righteous Heaven Alliance warriors appeared.
"We're here. Let's take it slower from now on."
Sword King frowned at Jegal Rin's words. Already impatient, slowing further sparked his urgency. But he held it in, suppressing it by imagining unleashing it all on the Demonic Alliance's black warriors or steel golems.
The Righteous Heaven Alliance didn't seem to have been there long either. Disorganized spots caught the eye here and there, though they were being sorted quickly.
How long had they been observing the Alliance like that?
"They're coming."
Jegal Rin turned stiffly at the voice from the rear of the group. It was Dan Hyeong-u who had spoken.
The Demonic Alliance was approaching from so far that only he could sense it.
"How far?"
"Two thousand paces."
Jegal Rin calculated instantly. Five paces made roughly one jang. So the Demonic Alliance was four hundred jang out. Not far. They'd show soon.
"We need to hurry."
With that, Jegal Rin leaped forward. The group followed with eager faces. They reached the Alliance's formation site in moments.
"Ho, I didn't expect you'd arrive right on time."
Jegal Rin smiled faintly at the Righteous Heaven Alliance Leader's words.
"I always keep my promises."
She turned to the direction Dan Hyeong-u had indicated earlier. Black dots approached from afar. Definitely the Demonic Alliance. They raced toward the Alliance site at high speed.
"Have you set the formation?"
The Leader shook his head with a wry smile at her question.
"Regrettably, no time for that. So we're left to clash head-on without any real strategy."
The Leader eyed Sword King and Sword Demon meaningfully as he spoke.
"Still, I'm quite optimistic. We have plenty of experts, after all."
Jegal Rin nodded at his words.
"Understood. Then we'll fight our own way."
She rushed to the group and issued orders. Yeom Hye-mi was the most vulnerable, so she needed protection above all. The only one Jegal Rin trusted for that was Dan Hyeong-u.
Dan Hyeong-u nodded at her gaze.
"No one dies."
Of course, that "no one" likely meant just the group, but it eased Jegal Rin's mind. Now she just needed to watch Sword King, Sword Demon, and Tang Ho-gwan in action against the Demonic Alliance.
Jegal Rin eyed the fast-approaching Demonic Alliance.
'The Martial Alliance truly won't come, then.'
It left her regretting a bit. This righteous-demonic clash was half-baked without the Martial Alliance. Yet its outcome would shake the entire martial world.
She spotted warriors among the Alliance in unfamiliar attire. They hailed from sects unaligned with the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
Sects based in Gangseo Province had joined. Jegal Rin's face darkened further.
And then the Demonic Alliance swept in like a storm.
After the Battle at Nine Jang
The Demonic Alliance had reemerged and thrown the world into chaos. Most righteous sects were shaken, and evil sects seized the chance to raise their heads.
That became the decisive reason the Martial Alliance couldn't join the direct fight against them.
In the Alliance Leader's office, Leader Dugun Un and Strategist Jegal Jung-cheon wore grave expressions.
"I hear your granddaughter's been hounding you lately. How's that going?"
Jegal Jung-cheon gave a wry smile at Dugun Un's words.
"Got another messenger pigeon yesterday. Urging haste."
"Heh. Quite the bind."
"Indeed."
It truly was frustrating. Jegal Jung-cheon knew full well how crucial this battle with the Demonic Alliance was. And how much the Righteous Heaven Alliance stood to gain. But what could be done? Circumstances didn't allow it.
"No leeway at all?"
"There is some, but it'd be better not to bother if it's just for show. Might as well use every scrap to keep the evil sects in check."
"Ugh, tricky."
Dugun Un felt the same frustration. If the splintered Righteous Heaven Alliance grew strong, the Martial Alliance would weaken further. With the righteous factions split, responding to a major martial world crisis later would be hard.
Something like the Demonic Alliance now might be manageable split, but if the demons driven to Singang and Cheonghae rose again, disunity would spell disaster.
"Either way, if Righteous Heaven repels the Demonic Alliance, it's trouble—and if not, more trouble."
Dugun Un's face soured bitterly at Jegal Jung-cheon's words.
"True enough. Speaking of, is it true they're using steel golems?"
"Confirmed."
"How bad is the Golden Network's damage?"
"Significant, but not critical. Once the Demonic Alliance is gone, it'll recover quickly."
Dugun Un nodded.
"Good. The world would plunge into chaos if Golden Network collapsed."
Dugun Un looked relieved, but Jegal Jung-cheon couldn't. His face darkened sharply at the mention of Golden Network.
"Golden Network siding with Righteous Heaven bothers me."
"They had no choice. Righteous Heaven moved fast, and they probably needed the funds too."
Jegal Jung-cheon smelled something off about that too but didn't bring it up. No need to disturb the Leader now.
What was done was done, practically set in stone. The Martial Alliance couldn't change it, so devising countermeasures was wiser.
"What of the Nine Great Sects?"
"They're mopping up nearby evil sects too. Impressively strong. They don't move often, but when they do, they're reliable."
"As expected. The name Nine Great Sects isn't handed out lightly."
"The battle must have started by now."
Jegal Jung-cheon replied to Dugun Un's words with a worried look.
"I hope it goes well. I'm concerned."
"Don't worry. They'll all be fine. Your granddaughter's no ordinary girl, and neither are her companions—Sword King and Sword Demon, after all."
Even at Dugun Un's reassurance, Jegal Jung-cheon's expression barely changed.
"Sword King may be among the Ten Masters, but they're facing steel golems."
Dugun Un smiled faintly at that. It was natural for him to worry with Jegal Rin there.
"You can't grasp how extraordinary the Ten Masters are without facing them. They transcend human limits."
"And you're one of the Ten Masters yourself, Leader."
"I'm barely clinging to the tail end by name alone—an exception. If I weren't Alliance Leader, who'd buy me as a Ten Master? Heh."
Dugun Un chuckled briefly before continuing.
"Sword King's exceptionally special even among them. And Sword Demon matches him. So don't fret too much."
With Dugun Un saying that much, Jegal Jung-cheon's anxiety eased a bit. The Ten Masters did indeed surpass human bounds.
Dugun Un before him was a peak Jegal Jung-cheon couldn't even gaze upon. And lately, that realm had grown even more unfathomable.