Chapter 57: The Road to Anhui-4
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 57: The Road to Anhui-4
Only ashes remained where the storm of black flames had swept through.
The elite of the Murim Alliance, nearly thirty thousand strong, had been halved in an instant. Witnessing the Sect Leader’s overwhelming display of power, the morale of the charging Black Sky Cultists soared as if to pierce the heavens.
"Waaaaah!! For the Black Sky Cult!!"
"Eat this!! You filthy Orthodox punks!!"
The Three Demons and the cultists at the vanguard collided with the enemy's front line.
It was the clash of a massive human tidal wave.
Viewed from the sky, the collision looked like two serpents twisting their bodies together, jaws agape.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of clashing weapons filled the air.
"Hah!"
As the Fist Demon threw a punch with a sharp shout, the bodies of those in his direct line of fire literally exploded.
Flesh scattered in every direction. At the gruesome sight, the Spirit Demon clicked her tongue.
"How messy."
"Could you call it 'overwhelming power' instead?"
The Fist Demon grumbled, annoyed that her only reaction to his magnificent martial arts was a complaint about the mess.
"We are in the middle of a battle. Focus."
The Sword Demon spoke, having appeared behind them at some point.
He carried a truly massive sword. Unlike a standard blade, it was wide and long—so heavy it looked as though no one without significant training could even lift it.
Taking a horse-riding stance, the Sword Demon lowered his center of gravity. As he twisted his waist, one of the cultists blew a whistle.
Beeeeeeeeeee!
At that sound, which wailed like an air raid siren, the cultists who had been fighting aggressively retreated in perfect unison.
"What is this?"
An official of the Murim Alliance muttered as he watched the scene from the command tent.
Shiver.
Even though the distance was considerable, the bloodlust radiating from the Sword Demon washed over the tent. The Alliance troops caught in the direct path of that killing intent froze where they stood.
"E-everyone, r-run...!"
Someone who had regained their senses faster than the rest ordered a retreat, but the Sword Demon’s strike was faster than the command could spread.
Whoosh!
The Sword Demon swung his blade in a great arc using the momentum of his waist, followed by a heavy thud.
"Huh...?"
The sound of things falling echoed sporadically across the field.
Even as they collapsed, they couldn't see what had happened to them. Every single one of them had been bisected at the waist; their upper bodies tumbled to the ground while their lower halves remained standing tall.
"Ugh..."
The Spirit Demon groaned at the sight, which was even more horrific than the carnage created by the Fist Demon.
Regardless of her reaction, the Sword Demon turned to the Spirit Demon and the Fist Demon.
"We must move first if we want to minimize the casualties among our people."
"Understood."
Full of fighting spirit, the Spirit Demon and the Fist Demon lunged forward. The cultists who had retreated to avoid the Sword Demon’s strike also charged back in.
With the front defensive line shattered by a single strike, the officials in the command tent grew frantic.
"Send the rear troops to the front!"
"But then the rear will be vulnerable!"
"We’re being hammered from the front with everything they’ve got! What does the rear matter right now?!"
While they dithered in confusion, the Black Sky Cult’s forces were drawing closer to the center.
"Stop right there!"
A massive iron staff slammed into the ground in front of the Three Demons as they sprinted forward. They halted and looked at the group blocking their path.
"I commend your martial prowess for breaking through the Alliance's elites to reach this far, but this is where it ends."
A muscular man leading the group shouted in a booming voice.
"Who are you?" the Fist Demon asked.
The man replied, "I am Iron Star, Lee Ho!"
"I believe he is known for using sound techniques. He’s the leader of 'Shinsung,' a group made up of the Alliance's young martial artists," the Spirit Demon informed the Sword Demon.
The Sword Demon furrowed his brows. "Is it an organization like the White Tiger Corps or the Blue Dragon Corps?"
"No. Unlike those official units, Shinsung is merely a private social club."
"Hah..."
"What, a friendship circle?"
At the Spirit Demon’s explanation, the Sword Demon and the Fist Demon sighed as if the wind had been taken out of their sails.
"We are Shinsung! The ones who will lead the future of the Murim! Today, we shall execute you and prove our greatness to the entire world!"
Lee Ho and the dozen or so martial artists following him boastfully raised their energy.
The Sword Demon watched them blankly before speaking to the Spirit Demon.
"Spirit Demon."
"Yes."
The moment she answered, the Spirit Demon vanished.
She reappeared instantly, emerging from Lee Ho's shadow.
Perhaps his confident shouting wasn't entirely a bluff, as Lee Ho reacted the moment he saw her pop up in front of him.
"Aaaaaaaagh!"
Lee Ho leaped back to create distance and let out a roar infused with inner power.
His shout was powerful enough to chip away at bricks and send clouds of dust flying. A few Black Sky cultists with lower cultivation levels even collapsed, bleeding from their ears.
But that was all. There was no other change.
The Spirit Demon, whom he expected to be turned into a pulp by the direct hit of his sound-amplified voice, had long since vanished like smoke.
"Where are you hiding?!"
Lee Ho looked around frantically for her, then spun around in a panic as a sudden chill crept up his spine.
"......"
The members of Shinsung had already become cold corpses. The bodies of his comrades, their throats slit in a single stroke, rolled on the ground.
"Incompetent fools always try to wrap themselves in names they don't deserve," the Spirit Demon mocked, twirling a dagger attached to a cord.
The dagger spun at high speed.
"Y-you bastard!!! Gack!"
Lee Ho tried to gather his inner power to scream again, but a thrown dagger buried itself in his throat.
The surging inner power, having lost its outlet, exploded near his vocal cords.
"Shinsung, was it?"
The Spirit Demon smiled thinly as she watched the fountain of blood spray into the air.
"You're just Shit-sung."