Black Jade Valley (3)

"It's the east! Fire in the east!"

"The flames are too strong! Run!"

"The east… that's where the remaining supplies are stored."

"Yes."

Sima Jinha forced himself not to dwell on the ominous feeling crawling up his spine.

"Deploy every water-aspected demon to the east at once. Protect the supplies."

"Yes, sir!"

At Sima Jinha's shout, the generals scattered in every direction.

That was when it happened.

"Another fire!"

"This time it's the west!"

"Must be the dry weather. Forest fires popping up all over the place."

Mighty Hybrid scratched himself vigorously as he spoke.

This idiot has no idea how serious this is.

Sima Jinha was beginning, little by little, to admit what the dread rising in his chest actually meant.

"Fire in the north too!"

"The south is burning as well!"

Sima Jinha's foreboding had become reality.

"Well, isn't that a coincidence. North and south, both on fire."

"Yes. The flames have us surrounded."

"Have they? How does something like that even happen?"

"We're ringed on all four sides. I'll go survey the situation properly and report back."

Even here, in the command tent at the army's heart, black smoke had begun to seep and curl.

"This isn't a natural forest fire, is it."

"It doesn't appear to be, no."

"So what do we do about it?"

Mighty Hybrid rolled his shoulders and loosened his muscles. He looked ready to burst Sima Jinha's skull at any second.

"This is all your fault, isn't it?"

"W-wait! If you kill me, who will command the army?!"

"Shut up! I've never liked the way you look at me — like I'm some kind of moron!"

A sickening crunch.

Sima Jinha's head exploded.

"Hhk—!"

"Mighty Hybrid!"

The high-ranking officers around them stared at him in horror.

"What? This bastard threw the whole army into chaos. He needed punishing. His bad calls put every last unit in danger."

"That's true, but — you can't just kill him—"

"What? You think I'm stupid too?"

"No! That's not what I— you just shouldn't have killed him!"

"Listen to you raising your voice. You trying to tell me I screwed up?"

The officers felt their insides burning so badly they thought they might burst.

"Sima Jinha was the only one among us who could actually think! What are we supposed to do now that you've killed him?!"

"Ah."

Only when one of the braver officers finally shouted it out did Mighty Hybrid smack himself in the forehead.

"Why didn't you say that sooner?"

"There wasn't time to stop you!"

That was when the reports started pouring in.

"The cliff has collapsed!"

"We need support, now!"

"The supply unit in the gorge is under attack!"

"A significant portion of the supplies has fallen into enemy hands!"

"Combat units! Requesting emergency support!"

Everything they had feared was happening.

The demons inside the tent let out a long, heavy breath.

Please let this not be real.

But every last piece of the situation was turning against them.

Jegal Yu-eun and I moved through the enemy camp in secret. The work demanded such stealth that the two of us had infiltrated alone, slipping from point to point behind their lines.

She was a master of mystic arts, and I could transform into a demon. The danger was manageable.

"According to our intelligence, their commander is a muscle-bound idiot called Mighty Hybrid. Under him there's a sharp one named Sima Jinha — but even he won't be enough to stop what I've planned."

Jegal Yu-eun tilted her head ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at that.

"Sima Jinha? I feel like I've heard that name."

"The Sima Clan. They stand as equals with the Jegal Clan. I heard he was a bastard son from that house."

"Ah! Mantis!"

"Mantis?"

"That one. I heard he turned into a demon and got driven out of the Sima Clan. Said if he couldn't become family head, he'd just build a new Sima Clan of his own. I used to see him all the time when we were children."

Whoosh—!

The moment Jegal Yu-eun invoked the art, enormous flames bloomed all around us. But they did not burn. Trapped inside orbs like captured suns, they drifted slowly through the air, sliding wherever her will directed them.

"The instant I give the order, they'll all detonate at once."

"Like napalm, then?"

"Na-what?"

"Never mind."

The viscous fire, sealed in its orbs, crept secretly through the forest, settling here and there among the trees.

"Their army is far too massive for the Mount Hua Sect to meet head-on. Hitting the supply units — that's the objective."

"I'll still plant as much fire as I can."

Cold sweat beaded on Jegal Yu-eun's brow as she unfolded the technique. Two hours later, every last ember had been sown.

"Time to blow it all, then."

Once the flames roared up here, the Mount Hua main force would move. The enemy supply column in the gorge might not have been combat troops, but the army behind them was so vast that only a direct strike from Mount Hua's main body could deal a wound that actually mattered.

Schlick.

"Hah—! W-what are you doing?!"

I yanked her trousers down and drove myself into her.

"Go on. Detonate it."

Thrust. Thrust. Thrust.

"Nngh—!"

Her hands shook as she formed the seals.

BOOM. CRACK.

Far in the distance, the sound of fireballs erupting rolled across the forest.

"Haaah… haaah… hgyaaaah!"

Slap. Slap. Slap.

Her big ass slammed against my hips, flesh rolling in waves with every impact.

"Ahh, that's good. We should do it in the woods more often."

"Th-this is— hiiiit♡ —the middle of the enemy camp!"

"That's what makes it hotter."

Squelch. Schlick. Squish.

"Hueeeeng!"

Fwoot— blrrrrt—!

"Hickuuuuh♡"

I shuddered and pumped her pussy full of cum.

"Haaah."

Gongs crashed. Horns blared. An enormous racket swept through the camp, and every water-aspected demon in sight went pounding off in a single direction.

"Suck."

I needed a timer. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The Eye of Truth would have been ideal — but I had a biological one right here.

"Slurrrp… shlap♡… slurrrk…!"

Jegal Yu-eun cleaned my filthy cock with her mouth.

"Mmm."

I shoved myself down her throat and swelled.

"Hgyik—!"

She screamed around it and glared up at me.

"Give it a few days and both your upper cunt and your lower cunt are going to be hanging loose."

"Ghk—! Ghk—!"

"Nngh—"

Gush. Gush. Splash—

I came down her throat.

"Haaah. Now. Set off the second fire."

"Gulp—!"

Jegal ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yu-eun triggered the second forest fire.

"Pwah—! I've been burning through my stamina on the arts this whole time. Could you maybe be a little gentler?"

"If I'd been a demon, you'd have hung me in the air and milked semen out of me all day long. This barely even counts."

I hauled her trembling body upright and rammed my cock into her ass. No blood this time, not like the first — but the pain that punched through her skull was still staggering.

"Graah—! I-it's too big! Hiiik! Ogh—! Ogogogogok!!"

"I'll have you in diapers by the time you're old."

"Nngh—! Don't—! You're going to tear me— hwaaaaaah!"

I kept swelling inside her, slowly pumping in a tentacle-beast's secretions as I went.

"This— this feeling— heeeeng♡ I'm coming in the middle of the enemy camp— aaaaaah♡"

Fwoot—! Fwoosh—!

A clear, violent spray gushed out between her legs.

"Loose-cunt bitch. Detonate the other side too."

"Yes."

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. CRACK.

Two more points erupted at once.

"Aaaagh! Water! Put the forest fire out with water!"

"We're surrounded by flame! Where are the water-aspected demons?!"

"There aren't enough of them! Aaagh! I'm on fire—!"

"Cough! Hack—! I can't breathe!"

The enemy camp dissolved into screaming chaos.

"Out of the way, you idiots!"

Crash. Crash.

Demons live by a brutal hierarchy of raw strength. More vicious than humans, the high-ranking ones simply slaughtered the burning low-ranks and buried them in the dirt. The low-rank demons still on fire fled in every direction — and the forest blaze only grew.

"You fools! That's the supply depot! Stop—!"

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

Flame filled the world on every side.

"Aaang♡ Cheongsong, how are we supposed to get out of here? I think we lost our window while we were fucking. And now the forest fire has us surrounded too. Nngh! This is what you get for pounding me like a savage!"

"Don't worry. Thalia."

A soft rush of water.

Thalia the Melquibus materialized at my side.

"This is uncomfortable. There's fire everywhere."

She made no effort to hide how much a water spirit hated this.

"Take us over there."

"Okay!"

She swallowed Jegal Yu-eun and me whole and shot away into the distance.

Shuuung—!

That was when something came screaming toward us from far off, fast as a bullet.

"What is that?"

"It's coming after us at an insane speed."

A gray, goblin-faced mountain of muscle was flying through the air toward us.

"This was your doing, wasn't it?!"

The gray goblin glared at us with eyes burning in raw fury.

"Shit. Eye of Truth!"

He was moving at a monstrous speed — but he wasn't flying. His legs were simply so powerful that kicking off the ground launched him into the air like a cannon shot.

"Thalia. Take us higher."

"Okay!"

A rush of wind.

We were already floating on a spirit's power. The moment we climbed, the goblin dropped like a stone.

"Heh. See you next time."

"You baaaaastard! Uwaaaaagh! I will never — never forgive you!"

"And what are you going to do if you don't? Kahahahaha!"

"Nngh—! You— I'll catch you! I swear I will!"

The goblin fell slowly toward the earth. I gave him a leisurely middle finger as a goodbye. He'd jump again, no doubt — but by then we'd already be long gone.

Far off in the forest, black smoke was boiling into the sky.

"Cheongsong appears to have succeeded."

Ryu Su-gyeong tightened her grip on her sword hilt and fixed her gaze on the enemy.

"Take the Plum Blossom Swordsmen and the first-rate martial artists. Cut the enemy through the waist."

Hwa Jeok-gyeol relayed the orders exactly as Cheongsong had planned them.

"The third-rate fighters will loose arrows from a distance. If you see wounded, run to them at once and give support."

"Yes!"

"The second-rate fighters will join the first-rate and strike wherever the supplies are thickest. Once the Plum Blossom Swordsmen sever their midsection, the enemy will not be able to carry their opening momentum — and they will die."

"It shall be done, Sect Leader."

"The rest of you, hurl boulders down from the cliff. The moment the demons try to flee, you will begin the work of bringing the cliff down on top of them."

"Yes!"

"Everyone — move!"

Martial artists exploded toward their assigned positions.

A low growl rolled up from below. Demons were hauling enormous wagons along the base of the cliff.

"They're on the move."

A demon with enormous ears closed its eyes and murmured something.

"Hnh. Support will come from the main force. Stay sharp until then. Until it arrives, we are exposed. Once Mighty Hybrid himself comes, the Mount Hua Sect is finished."

"Yes!"

Thwick. Thwick. Thwick.

A storm of arrows screamed in from both flanks of the supply column.

"Ambush!"

"Shields up!"

Some demons raised shields. The stronger ones simply inflated their armor to cover themselves. The low-ranks became pincushions, but from mid-rank up the arrows did little.

"Waaaaaah!"

"By the swords of Mount Hua!"

"Kill them! For Black Jade Valley!"

The column's midsection was the first thing to be cut.

"Where are they?!"

"The center!"

"Insane! They're hitting the middle first? They've got some nerve."

"What do we do?"

"Hold position. The main force will arrive and clean this up. If we abandon our post, the vanguard will be completely annihilated."

"Yes!"

A wind swept through, carrying the scent of plum blossoms.

The Plum Blossom Sword Art of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen carved through the waist of the supply column, butchering demons as it went.

"We've seen these ones. At the Zhongnan Sect."

"The Plum Blossom Swordsmen."

"What do we do?"

There was no stopping them — not unless he went out there himself.

"Damn it! Why isn't the main force here yet?! Use the emergency contact network, now!"

"Yes!"

The adjutant activated something that looked like a treasure artifact. Flame licked across a slip of paper, and the message he had written vanished into ash.

"A reply should come shortly."

Fire burst in midair. A new slip of paper formed out of the flames.

"What does it say?"

Fend for yourselves.

In other words: survive on your own.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

"Th-that's—!"

From the direction of the main force, a colossal wall of flame came rolling down on the wind.

"Damn it! Something's gone wrong! We move there now! Arm yourselves!"

That was when it happened.

Steel rang.

The martial artists who had gathered to aid the Mount Hua Sect crashed into the vanguard.

"Ah. So this is where you've all been hiding."

A master of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠swift sword — so fast that even when she ran a man through, no blood ever touched the blade. Bloodless Sword looked over her opponents and clicked her tongue.

"Hmph. Nothing but dull ones. I'm disappointed."

A rough-looking martial artist in an eyepatch. A black scythe rested in each of her hands. Tough on the outside, soft underneath — currently the most celebrated name in the martial world. Jet-Black Twin Scythes.

The two of them stood at the head of the martial artists and swung their weapons into the demons.

"Attack! Wipe out every last enemy scout before this day is done!"

"Waaaaaah!"

The commander of the supply column could not hide his panic.

"They've read us completely! They've figured out our entire operation!"

"What should we do?"

The commander looked at his adjutant.

"Everyone, retra—"

A wet chop.

The commander's head hit the ground.

"I've taken the enemy's head! All forces, charge!"

"Their formation's waist is cut! They're in chaos!"

"Now! Kill as many as you can! They're all isolated!"

The Mount Hua Sect and the allied martial artists butchered a supply column of roughly their own numbers.

"There's an enormous quantity of supplies here!"

"This isn't some demon trap, is it?"

Mount Hua slaughtered the demons and inspected what they had been hauling. The demons ran large, and the supplies were accordingly sturdy and abundant. Perhaps the vanguard commander had brought this crushing volume of goods intending to turn a forward fortress into a supply fortress.

"Why move something this important so conspicuously?"

"Either they were that confident — or they were idiots."

The answer was both.

Without the Eye of Truth, the Mount Hua Sect would have been torn apart. When you hold absolute superiority in force, you don't need any special strategy.

A vast rumbling rose from the forest.

"The enemy main force is coming."

Hwa Jeok-gyeol nodded quietly.

Cheongsong's scheme worked even better than I expected. I think I can trust him.

"Begin the second phase."