The Raid (3)
Every gaze snapped toward the man who had spoken.
The one who had deduced the attackers’ identity was a martial artist of the Diancang Sect.
Cheonhwa turned to him and asked,
“Are you certain they are from the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace?”
“Yes. Judging by several distinctive traits, there is no doubt they belong to the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.”
The Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
Like the North Sea Ice Palace, it was counted among the Outer Murim sects. Because its range of activity overlapped with Yunnan Province—where the Diancang Sect was based—the two factions had maintained a certain degree of contact.
Beast hides wrapped around the upper body. Massive physiques forged through intensive external training. Savage auras that blazed forth without the slightest concealment, as if one were staring into the eyes of wild predators. And the presence of beasts whose frames were unmistakably larger than ordinary animals.
Every detail matched the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace to perfection.
“Still… it is strange. The Southern Barbarian Beast Palace almost never shows itself beyond its own territory. Why would they appear here…?”
The Diancang martial artist spoke as though he could scarcely believe the scene before his eyes. Though limited exchanges existed, the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace was by nature a reclusive sect. Unless some extraordinary crisis arose, its members rarely meddled in outside affairs.
That such a closed sect had passed through the formation and come this far was anything but ordinary. Had they arrived to offer aid, it would have been a blessing—yet the naked killing intent and hostility radiating from the beasts made any such hope impossible to entertain.
“What are the characteristics of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace’s martial arts? Even a brief summary would help.”
“Understood.”
At Cheonhwa’s request the Diancang martial artist shared everything he knew. The Southern Barbarian Beast Palace prized external arts far above internal energy. Rather than wielding weapons, they specialized in form-fist styles that imitated the shapes of animals. In addition they possessed a unique secret art that allowed communication with beasts, making taming possible. The enlarged size of the creatures that accompanied them was also a product of that same art.
“Therefore you must be wary of coordinated assaults—beast with beast, and beast with martial artist. Their entire martial system is built upon multi-fighter cooperation.”
“Thank you. In that case our side should answer with joint formations of our own.”
The martial artists nodded in agreement. If the two sides simply slammed together without order, the resulting melee would almost certainly favor those who fought in concert. Far better for each sect to deploy its own battle arrays.
Weapons hissed free of scabbards and sheaths; ranks closed into tight formations.
Moments later the silhouettes that had been no more than blurred shadows within the fog grew sharp and clear.
Tigers, black panthers, wolves, deer, orangutans, even hawks—every manner of beast emerged in a single mixed pack.
At once the martial artists charged. The beasts answered by baring fangs and claws and hurtling forward to meet them.
Righteous martial artists and the beast horde collided head-on.
While the martial artists locked in combat with the beasts, another group slipped quietly out of the inner city, seizing the moment when every predatory eye was fixed on the battle.
It was the formation investigation team, gathered under the banner of the Zhuge Family.
They moved at once to the outer edge of the fog that blanketed Dang-ga-ta and began examining the formation.
“Beasts are pouring in. Is there really a reason we must investigate the formation right now?”
“It is precisely because of this situation that we must investigate it.”
Jegal Sang of the Zhuge Family—leader of the investigation team—answered the accompanying martial artist without looking up.
“This formation has blinded us with fog and made escape impossible. If we can at least restore our vision, our side will be able to move far more freely.”
While he spoke, Jegal Sang studied the boundary of the formation with meticulous care.
Formations are founded upon the principles of Qimen Dunjia; therefore a Life Gate—both an escape route and a critical weak point—must always exist.
The more refined a formation, the better it concealed that structure. In that regard, the array encircling the whole of Dang-ga-ta was surprisingly straightforward.
They arranged the formation mediums in a ring around Dang-ga-ta, then drove the central stake into the martial stage where the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering was being held, raising the formation from that axis.
Its function was exactly what they now saw: isolation of a fixed radius of space through fog. The preparation had clearly been thorough; once activated, the formation would persist until every last medium was destroyed.
Because the structure is dual-layered, weakening one layer weakens the other as well.
Jegal Sang lifted his gaze to the sky. Even through the dense fog the crimson sphere radiated an unmistakable presence. That sphere was the second formation—the one that had imprisoned every expert remaining inside Dang-ga-ta.
A formation is something one can only endure helplessly if its principles remain unknown—and even the greatest masters are no exception.
Conversely, once the structure was understood, escape became possible. Among those sealed inside the red sphere were Zhuge Family experts well versed in formations.
Super Experts and Peerless Experts are trapped in there as well.
They were living monsters of peerless power, so rare that the entire Central Plains held only a handful. Even without knowing the principles, sheer force alone gave them more than enough chance to tear the formation apart from within. The faint, continuous tremor running through the crimson sphere was proof that they were already struggling to break free.
The question is whether we can hold out until they succeed.
No one could say whether the beasts now attacking represented the enemy’s full strength. Even if every creature currently on the field were slain, what if reserves existed—and what if those reserves numbered more than one wave?
Sequential deployment would exhaust us first and leave us broken.
What, then, was the true goal of the force that had orchestrated this entire affair?
They had isolated everyone inside Dang-ga-ta with the fog formation. They had sealed every Peak Expert and above inside the red sphere. And in that window of vulnerability the beasts had launched their assault.
Piecing the facts together, the enemy’s design became unmistakable.
The total slaughter of everyone remaining inside Dang-ga-ta—more precisely, the rising stars and future pillars of the righteous factions.
Had evacuation not been ordered in the first critical moments, the streets of Dang-ga-ta would already have run red.
Even now the danger remains absolute.
Therefore only one solution existed.
Weaken the formation so the imprisoned masters can break free as swiftly as possible.
Jegal Sang and the investigation team set off at once to destroy the formation mediums concealed along the outer perimeter—praying they would finish before the interception line collapsed.
The clash between martial artists and beasts hung in precarious balance.
The instant steel met hide, the martial artists’ faces twisted. The beasts’ skins proved thicker and tougher than anyone had expected; blades skidded or sank only shallowly, as though one were striking a martial artist who had achieved invulnerability to sword and saber through pure external cultivation. The secret arts of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace had clearly reinforced the creatures’ bodies.
Yet the martial artists of the Central Plains were not the sort to stand idle and simply endure.
“The hide is so thick our attacks barely bite!”
“Treat them as if you’re facing a master who has reached sword-and-blade invulnerability!”
Those who had traded the first exchanges immediately shouted their findings to the rest. The ranks responded with sharp adaptability. Follow-up strikes employed every method that might pierce the armored flesh: internal-force techniques designed to rupture organs rather than cut skin; precise thrusts aimed at eyes, ears, nostrils, mouths, and joints where the hide thinned; even the crude power of heavy swords and great sabers.
“Internal-force strikes aren’t working?!”
“No—they are! The bodies are simply so massive the damage doesn’t show!”
“Aiming for vitals is useless! They’re baiting those attacks and countering!”
“Heavy swords and heavy blades still cut deep! Better to drive them back with pure jin release!”
Reports flew back and forth across the line. With every exchange the martial artists learned, adjusted, and refined their approach. At first they had hesitated, unused to fighting beasts; but trial and error swiftly produced results. It was the keen, battle-honed reaction of true First-class experts who had weathered every storm.
But this will not be the end of it.
Cheonhwa sheared through the beast before him with a form of Flowing Cloud Mountain and shifted his gaze. At the edge of his vision, mixed among the pack, stood the martial artists of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, watching the battle with cold intensity. They studied every motion of the Central Plains fighters. Moments later their lips moved, and the beasts’ behavior changed at once.
Creatures that had fought alone now closed in for coordinated assaults. The sudden shift left the martial artists’ responses a half-beat too slow.
“Keuk…!”
One of the Zhongnan Sect’s third-generation disciples overextended and fell into a trap. The opening was fatal; the beasts were not so soft as to miss it. A wolf lunged for the arm that held his sword—
Bang!
A dull impact sent the wolf tumbling through the air. Cheonhwa had stepped in and smashed its skull aside.
“Are you all right?”
“Th-thank you, Ubo. You saved my life.”
“Fall back to the rear and regroup. I’ll cover the gap.”
The disciple obeyed without protest and withdrew into the rear of the sword formation. With his martial brother’s safety secured, Cheonhwa once more surveyed the field.
The situation was grim by any measure. The martial artists who had been pressing the beasts while discovering countermeasures now found themselves driven back. At the heart of that reversal stood the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace fighters who moved among the animals.
Their Adam’s apples work. Every time their lips twitch, the beasts change tactics. Sound transmission—they’re issuing orders directly to the pack.
Just as the Central Plains side had been analyzing the beasts, the enemy had been analyzing them in turn.
If this continues, we will be crushed without hope of recovery.
For now only the beasts attacked in concert; once the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace martial artists themselves entered the fray, the line would break. While strength still remained, those who commanded the beasts had to be removed.
I don’t need every one of them. Take the head that leads the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace fighters, and the rest will falter.
Whether man or beast, remove the head and the body staggers.
Cheonhwa swept the battlefield with the Six Harmony Sensory Path. In moments he located the figure among the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace ranks whose frame was largest and whose aura blazed strongest. That man was almost certainly the leader of the raid.
“I am going to eliminate the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace martial artists.”
“Leave this side to us, Junior Brother Cheonhwa! We’ll hold them so none of them follow you!”
Inwol and the rest of the Zhongnan disciples trusted Cheonhwa’s judgment without hesitation. In every crisis until now it had been Cheonhwa who had read the field most accurately. The entire Zhongnan contingent still stood intact only because he had given the right orders at the right moments.
Bolstered by his martial brothers’ support, Cheonhwa sprinted toward the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace ranks. Naturally the enemy noticed and tried to bar his path with the beasts—but the other martial artists of the Central Plains were not idle spectators. Countless fighters threw themselves into the beasts’ way and shouted after him.
“We’ll hold them here—go, Jade Light Sword!”
“I trust the rising star who defeated the Heavenly Sword Dragon!”
Cheonhwa answered with a single brief nod and flashed past them.
Moments later he closed on the man who appeared to be the raiders’ chieftain.
Whoosh—!
Okgyeong, wreathed in a fierce sword wind, carved through the air.