Shaking Hebei Castle (2)
Hyeon Yucheon was truly wise.
He discerned that the three men each harbored different thoughts and were subtly checking one another.
At the same time, he easily intuited that the most eager among them—and the one with the most to lose—was Songak High Sword Jeon Jeonghwan, the head of the Murim Alliance's Hebei branch.
"What did you say?"
"It seems you're underestimating me... How about showing me some of the dignity befitting a Murim Alliance branch head?"
"Why, you...!"
"Your Songak Sect may be withered and on the brink of destruction, but you rose to branch head on your own merits, so I figured you must have some skill. Are you scared?"
He also knew exactly how to provoke them.
Normally, Jeon Jeonghwan harbored a slight inferiority complex about his origins in the Songak Sect—a prestigious name it was not—which made him a bit ashamed.
And Hyeon Yucheon had ruthlessly zeroed in on that very point.
"You bastard!"
"A dragon finally emerges from the muck, only to cower before some fake martial world's young demon lord? Pathetic."
His words dug so viciously deep that Jeon Jeonghwan nearly lost his mind.
Yet the Demon Sword Prince before him was the very man who had toyed with Iron Heart Beggar Hwang Chun—the Beggars' Sect vice-leader, whose skill matched his own—like a plaything.
Unable to summon the courage to charge, he glanced back.
Swoosh!
His gaze fell on Pang Cheonhu and Un Jungcho.
Both were super peak realm warriors, a half-step or even a full step ahead of Jeon Jeonghwan in prowess.
"What, the three of you planning a joint assault?"
They flinched!
At Hyeon Yucheon's words, Pang Cheonhu and Un Jungcho momentarily wavered before regaining their composure.
The fame of Demon Sword Sect Lord Hyeon Yucheon was renowned, but for three seasoned men to gang up on a young junior like him would be utterly humiliating—they'd never live it down.
It would be even more shameful than the Heaven's Five Venerables ganging up on a single Demon Sword Fiend.
"Joint assault? Don't be ridiculous."
"Surely the capable Hebei branch head can handle this."
And so, Un Jungcho and Pang Cheonhu pretended to praise Jeon Jeonghwan while subtly stepping back.
This clearly signaled they had no intention of joining in.
Grind!
Jeon Jeonghwan gnashed his teeth.
In the end, the only ones he could rely on were the experts from the Hebei branch.
"Everyone, attack! Ignore the others. Our sole target is Demon Sword Prince Hyeon Yucheon!"
Blinded by rage, Jeon Jeonghwan ordered an all-out assault without securing Pang Cheonhu and Un Jungcho's support.
But the current Demon Sword Sect was on another level entirely from the crumbling sect it had been during its downfall.
"Flash Demon Sword Unit, draw swords!"
As the Murim Alliance forces advanced, a thunderous voice cleaved through the air.
The speaker was, of course, the Flash Demon Sword Unit captain, Flying Spirit Sword Guest Dohyeonbo.
"Slaughter these vile scum daring to harm our sect lord!"
Dohyeonbo led the charge at the forefront, with the Flash Demon Sword Unit right behind.
And that was not all.
"Black Wolf Three Swords seniors!"
At Eum Ji-myeong's call, the Black Wolf Three Swords—sworn to protect only Hyeon Yucheon—stepped forward to bolster the Flash Demon Sword Unit.
The enemies were all peak realm experts, and numerous, but excluding the warriors from Hebei Pang Family and Jinju Un Family, their numbers barely exceeded two digits.
In contrast, the Flash Demon Sword Unit numbered over a hundred, making short work of them.
"Un Hero! Pang Hero!"
Jeon Jeonghwan, frantic as if fire scorched his feet, called out to them, but Un Jungcho and Pang Cheonhu were too stunned to respond.
'Flash Demon Sword Unit!'
'And even the Black Wolf Three Swords for real...'
Having dismissed the unorthodox martial world and the fallen Demon Sword Sect as laughable until now, they were shocked and astonished by the current scene.
They knew Hyeon Yucheon was strong.
But they never dreamed the entire Demon Sword Sect would be this formidable.
Krunch!
Especially the Flash Demon Sword Unit, which swept through the Murim Alliance experts like fish in water.
The Black Wolf Three Swords were no different.
"The Murim Alliance is our true enemy!"
"Kill them all!"
Furious at facing the Murim Alliance, their morale pierced the heavens—they were unstoppable.
"For now, our Jinju Un Family will observe the situation."
Seven Thunder Flash Fist Un Jungcho let out a sigh of relief after witnessing the Demon Sword Sect's formidable might today.
Truth be told, even he lacked confidence in defeating one of the Black Wolf Three Swords single-handedly.
"The Hebei Pang Family concurs. This isn't betrayal... Without formal orders from Murim Alliance headquarters, we'll uphold only our duty."
Not to be outdone, Heaven King Axe Pang Cheonhu hurriedly shouted as well.
He thought to himself:
'Even if our families' forces joined, could we destroy the Demon Sword Sect?'
Rumor had it more unorthodox sects lurked behind them—if those joined, victory or defeat would be the least of their worries.
Survival itself would be the issue.
"As the bond is tied, so it is untied. Jeon Jeonghwan, show me that famed Songak Sect swordsmanship."
In the end, only a clash of leaders remained.
Hyeon Yucheon watched his subordinates turn into blood-mad fiends, greedily slaughtering the Murim Alliance warriors.
He preferred to end things cleanly before more blood was shed.
"Songak Four Woods!"
Songak High Sword Jeon Jeonghwan made his decision.
To be blunt, he had no confidence in beating Demon Sword Prince Hyeon Yucheon one-on-one.
So what now?
He decided to join forces with his closest allies, the four Songak Sect experts he had brought—the Songak Four Woods.
'Damn those family heads!'
Jeon Jeonghwan summoned the Songak Four Woods while shooting glares at Pang Cheonhu and Un Jungcho.
Originally, his plan had been to provoke Hyeon Yucheon into forcing a joint assault from himself and the two family heads, crushing him together.
Believing that if the Demon Sword Prince—the spiritual pillar of the Demon Sword Sect—fell, the sect would collapse as swiftly as it had risen.
But what was this?
The two family heads he expected support from were busy shrinking back, deeming a joint assault too humiliating. He had no counter.
"Attack together!"
All that remained was to team up with the loyal Songak Four Woods, who would never betray him.
The Songak Four Woods were merely super first-rate, not peak realm, but they wielded orthodox prestigious sect swordsmanship.
Especially their sturdy, tree-like swordsmanship would greatly aid him, or so he believed.
"Heh, so you ultimately chose those posers?"
Hyeon Yucheon sneered down at the approaching Songak Four Woods and Jeon Jeonghwan.
"Mocking our Songak Sect to the end?"
No matter that they were bound together under the Murim Alliance umbrella, one's pride and attachment to their sect couldn't be hidden.
Paradoxically, Murim Alliance Hebei branch head Songak High Sword Jeon Jeonghwan proved it.
"Songak Four Woods! Joint assault!"
Still, befitting a branch leader, Jeon Jeonghwan showed some competence as he charged alongside the Songak Four Woods.
He knew full well that individually, their power fell short of Hyeon Yucheon.
Thus, he aimed to wear him down through numerical superiority and claim victory.
Whoosh!
Indeed, the Songak Four Woods unleashed sword winds and sword qi from afar, trying to drag it into a prolonged battle.
If nothing else, their orthodox swordsmanship paired with nimble, flashy footwork was the Songak Sect's pride—he was confident there.
But it was all for naught.
One Flash One Kill!
The first stance, the first sword—it was enough.
Slash!
A chilling sensation that made one's hair stand on end accompanied the instant death of one Songak Four Woods member on the spot.
Thud!
He hadn't even closed his eyes, evidently dying without knowing how.
"Arghhh!"
"I-invisible sword aura!"
The Demon Sword Sect's Formless Flash Quick Sword—the orthodox world, unable to cope, dubbed it the sword of chills and terror.
Witnessing Hyeon Yucheon's formless sword aura, they fell into great turmoil.
Regrettably, such mental shakeup during joint maneuvers was suicidal.
Formless Two Heavens Sword!
The second stance, second sword targeted two at once.
Split! Whoosh!
This formless sword aura split fiercely left and right, occupying both flanks simultaneously—terrifyingly swift and powerful.
Krunch!
So potent that the right sword aura killed one Songak Four Woods, while the left obliterated the remaining two.
One split aura felling three men—it was a shocking feat.
"Gah! Arghhh!"
As all marveled, the poor man.
Songak High Sword Jeon Jeonghwan was driven mad.
The opponent was strong, but not to this unimaginable degree.
"I'd heard Songak Sect swordsmanship was decent, but it's all hype."
Hyeon Yucheon approached slowly, a murderous smile on his lips.
The closer he came, the more Jeon Jeonghwan's mind reeled as if trapped in a nightmare.
Finally, he turned away from Hyeon Yucheon, looking back.
"Pang family head! Un family head! Save me! Is this how Alliance members treat each other?"
Only now did he realize.
'Without a doubt! He's at Heaven's Five Venerables level—no, beyond!'
To toy with him and the Songak Four Woods like this, only the Heaven's Five Venerables or Murim Alliance Leader could manage it.
Finally grasping the truth, Jeon Jeonghwan staggered toward Pang Cheonhu and Un Jungcho.
Murmurs!
As the branch head groveled before the two family heads, the Murim Alliance troops grew restless.
With their exemplary leader begging for aid from the inferior martial families to save his skin, morale couldn't rise.
"Hmm..."
"This is..."
Un Jungcho and Pang Cheonhu were at a loss as Jeon Jeonghwan screamed for rescue and alliance.
In truth, the two wavered.
'We know Demon Sword Prince Hyeon Yucheon is strong enough.'
'But if all three of us here joined forces, wouldn't there be a chance?'
Such thoughts began to creep in when Hyeon Yucheon's slow steps brought him near Jeon Jeonghwan and the two family heads.
"Hebei Pang Family, Jinju Un Family. If you want to join and charge, go ahead."
The arrogant notion of possible victory was fleeting.
'No, impossible. We can't win this.'
'Who called him Heaven's Five Venerables level? This is more! Entering Divinity realm...'
Hyeon Yucheon, revealing his true form and power.
Seeing him up close, the two family heads shuddered—not at the birth of a new Demon Sword Fiend, but at something stronger emerging from the unorthodox world.
"Charge if you want. But if you fail to kill me, if you can't topple the entire Demon Sword Sect, your families will burn to the ancestral graves."
At his venomous words, they couldn't even twitch a finger.
Un Jungcho and Pang Cheonhu, famed heroes of Hebei Castle, couldn't meet his eyes and bowed their heads.
"Good. Very good."
Hyeon Yucheon felt satisfied as they avoided his gaze.
In the end, the Demon Sword Sect—close at hand—terrified them more than the distant Murim Alliance.
"Songak High Sword Jeon Jeonghwan."
With the two family heads parting like the sea, things grew even simpler.
"S-save me. I, I was just...!"
Jeon Jeonghwan tried to plead further, but that was the end.
"Farewell."
With that, Hyeon Yucheon's invisible sword of terror activated once more.
Formless Energy Sword!