Chapter 457
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 457
Chapter Title: Retribution of Karma
'They were aiming for the wall?'
So Hwi-woong was startled and hurriedly swung his blade at full power toward the fist.
'Cunning bastards.'
Wi Ji-gun as well.
He hastily brandished his sword.
Three Chops Thunderbolt.
The fastest technique among the Infinite Free Eight Severing Sword Waves.
Lightning chi scattered in all directions as it thrust toward Dongbang Un's palm strike.
However.
Both of them were surrounded by stiff corpses, and their strikes came one breath too late.
They couldn't block the attacks.
As a result.
Kaboom!!!
Rumble rumble rumble!!!
A massive explosion roared.
The city wall shook violently.
"Urgh, aaagh!"
"Dodge, get away!"
It began to crumble slowly.
Those nearby hurriedly scattered.
The crucial thing was.
"The spell has been broken."
Ma Jin-gi bit his lip and muttered.
Centered on the collapsed wall, the spell had vanished for about thirty meters to either side.
Even if reinforced.
He had calculated it could barely hold off one Heaven-Destroying Stiff Corpse.
But with two slamming into it.
It couldn't withstand.
The moment Ma Jin-gi confirmed it, he hurriedly pulled a talisman from his bosom and burned it in midair.
He cut his fingertip and scattered his own blood.
A chant flowed from his lips.
He began casting the spell directly on the wall himself.
He didn't know how much of the breach this would seal.
But he had to do his utmost.
"Tch."
So Hwi-woong clicked his tongue at the sight.
From Ma Jin-gi's casting, he realized the spell had shattered with the wall's collapse.
'The strange energy on the wall has vanished around the breach.'
Wi Ji-gun also sensed the spell's disappearance.
"Everyone, breach that spot and bring down the Central Plains!"
At that moment.
Chu Geum-neung bellowed the order.
The stiff corpses gathered at the collapsed section.
The eerie, repulsive energy that had blocked their path was gone.
Their steps were unhindered.
So Hwi-woong and Wi Ji-gun tried to block them.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Chu Geum-neung and Dongbang Un blocked their path.
Along with hordes of stiff corpses.
"Out of my way!"
So Hwi-woong's furious voice exploded.
His Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade unleashed a ferocious aura in all directions.
The surrounding stiff corpses' heads flew off one after another.
Yet one Dark Blood Stiff Corpse and two Iron Stiff Corpses endured the attack.
From behind the fallen ones, new Blood Stiff Corpses and Poison Stiff Corpses charged.
The Four Stiff Corpses pressed on without respite.
"Damn flies."
As if annoyed.
The moment he tried to sweep them away.
A tremendous fist power dove toward So Hwi-woong's side.
"Kuh."
So Hwi-woong twisted his body in haste.
Chu Geum-neung had begun a combined assault with the stiff corpse horde.
A tough opponent even one-on-one, now directing his minions.
So Hwi-woong gradually fell into a disadvantage.
Wi Ji-gun faced the same plight.
With two Dark Blood Stiff Corpses and three Iron Stiff Corpses clinging to him, plus Dongbang Un's attacks.
'Quite tricky.'
An honest assessment.
Since venturing into the jianghu.
These were the strongest foes Wi Ji-gun had faced.
Wi Ji-gun's name wasn't widely known in the jianghu.
A true hidden master.
Put another way, he hadn't clashed with foes strong enough to make his name echo through the world.
On his jianghu travels, he had confronted countless villains, remnants of the Blood Cult and Demonic Cult.
But none had reached the absolute peak realm.
Lacking real combat experience relative to his realm.
'If it were the old me, I might have struggled far more.'
He had always crushed foes with overwhelming realm gaps.
Until that day.
The day.
Ha Mu-baek requested a spar to test his own realm against Wi Ji-gun.
Wi Ji-gun realized his disciple Ha Mu-baek had surpassed him.
And simultaneously.
He experienced battle against a warrior stronger than himself.
After that.
That spar with his disciple became a profound realization for Wi Ji-gun.
He underwent countless mental simulations, and his realm broke through another wall.
The result.
'Six Chops World-Ender.'
Supreme techniques of the Infinite Free Eight Severing Sword Waves unfolded from his hand in succession.
Instead, he held the advantage against six stiff corpses, including the Heaven-Destroying Stiff Corpse Dongbang Un.
One Heaven-Destroying Stiff Corpse.
Two Dark Blood Stiff Corpses.
Three Iron Stiff Corpses.
Against those monstrous foes.
He ran and ran.
Ha Mu-baek was pushing his utmost realm, executing Light-Speed Thousand-Li Dash.
Kaboom kaboom kaboom!!!
Amid deafening air-tearing roars, Ha Mu-baek shot straight in one direction.
The closer he got to the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
His qi sense provided a flood of information.
The Alliance Leader and his master locked in fierce battle against two Heaven-Destroying Stiff Corpses.
And hordes of stiff corpses swarming the wall.
'Something happened to the wall.'
Otherwise, lesser stiffs wouldn't swarm the wall like that, ignoring the Heaven-Destroying ones.
Ha Mu-baek gritted his teeth and pushed harder.
Truthfully, those weren't the priority.
As he drew nearer, his qi sense extending into the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest told him.
Heaven-Destroying Stiff Corpses.
More of them.
Six more approaching.
And one moving another way.
'Targeting the Demon-Sealing Corps headquarters...'
For Heaven-Destroying Stiff Corpses, the Mountain-Crossing Great Wall was no barrier.
They could raid an empty house.
The problem was.
'The strongest one.'
The one heading to the Demon-Sealing Corps emanated an aura a level beyond the others.
Ha Mu-baek's mind raced.
He was one man, not two.
He had to abandon one spot.
Obviously, the Demon-Sealing Corps base.
Seol-ran was at the Alliance Leader and master's battle site.
And six more Heaven-Destroying Stiff Corpses were heading there.
'Karma's retribution. The Orthodox Path Society.'
Ha Mu-baek had insisted on razing the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
Scour it thoroughly to eradicate Blood Cult remnants.
Those who refused and built the Mountain-Crossing Great Wall to preserve it: the Orthodox Path Society.
For their own gain and power.
Now it had tripped them up.
The Demon-Sealing Corps, one of the Elder Council's massive martial forces.
Likely facing annihilation today.
"Th-they're coming..."
Manya-do muttered in terror.
Four years assigned to the Demon-Sealing Corps.
He had entered and exited the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, facing countless stiff corpses.
But never hordes on this scale.
Like a tidal wave of stiff corpses surging toward the wall.
As he trembled in a daze.
"Charge!"
With someone's shout, Fierce Dragon Corps members raised shields and rushed forward.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Stiff corpses' attacks were blocked by Fierce Dragon Corps shields.
Slash. Slash.
Severing sounds rang out.
Blood Stiff Corpses and Poison Stiff Corpses' heads fell to swords brimming with sword qi.
Poison Stiff Corpses spewed venom viciously.
But the Fierce Dragon Corps didn't retreat.
They could afford not to.
Ha Mu-baek had personally fetched from the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Blood Poison Pills.
Before long, every Fierce Dragon Corps member had one in their mouth.
Time-limited to one shichen.
But during that, they ignored Poison Stiff Corpses' venom and unleashed full power.
Thus, the first wave of stiff corpses stalled against the Fierce Dragon Corps breakwater.
However.
"Grraaaargh!"
An Iron Stiff Corpse leaped out roaring savagely.
Thud!
Black Squad Two blocked its path.
"Impressive juniors, huh? Gwi-gwang."
Pung Geon, who blocked the Iron Stiff Corpse's strike, glanced at Yu Gwi-gwang assisting with his shield beside him.
Yu Gwi-gwang silently poured qi into his shield without a word.
"Groooar."
As the Iron Stiff Corpse attacked again.
Slash.
A blue blade aura severed its neck.
It was Gwan Ha-kyeong.
"Hoo."
As she caught her breath.
"Danger!"
Pung Geon yelled urgently.
An Iron Stiff Corpse flying at her back.
Slash.
However.
It was bisected at the waist.
Namgung Hu stood holding a sword shrouded in blue sword aura.
He was the one.
"Impressive."
Someone in Black Squad Two said sincerely.
Judging by attire, a Dragon Training Pavilion trainee.
Yet look at the sword aura on his blade.
Only Gwan Ha-kyeong here could wield qi.
A trainee like that?
"More coming!"
As Yeon Ha-min shouted.
Three Iron Stiff Corpses charged.
Thud! Thud!
Baek Ri-pyeong and Ju U-myeong raised qi-infused swords to block two.
The last hit Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven's shields.
"Heh."
Pung Geon let out a hollow laugh at the sight.
Fierce Dragon Corps members using sword aura.
Stronger than him, wasn't it?
What in the world were these guys?
"Snap out of it!"
With an irritated shout, Yu Gwi-gwang's shield blocked before him.
Thud!
A Blood Stiff Corpse's attack halted.
Slash.
That Blood Stiff Corpse was cleaved in two.
Wung Cheol's blade.
"Aaaah, st-stay back!"
The Iron Stiff Corpse chasing Bi Jin-hyeop lost its head to Gwan Ha-kyeong's blade aura.
Bi Jin-hyeop's movements seemed to deliberately lure it there.
"Heh. Amazing. As expected of the Corps Leader."
Dam Mu-heun admired the scene.
He knew they had all learned from Ha Mu-baek.
Countless stiff corpses swarmed.
But confined to a narrow path.
Dam Mu-heun glanced at Ma Jin-gi.
Flames of ghostly fire in his eyes, focused on the spell.
Thanks to him.
His hasty spell limited the stiff corpses' entry, and now Fierce Dragon Corps, Demon-Sealing Corps, and Dragon Training Pavilion trainees held it.
The overwhelming performers were naturally Fierce Dragon Corps, the Namgung siblings, and Demon-Sealing Corps Black Squad Two.
Dam Mu-heun and Hocheon Corps observed.
Reading the flow to reinforce where needed.
The battle below the wall intensified.
But beyond what they could casually join.
Thus, Dam Mu-heun keenly surveyed the battlefield.
His face hardened.
"Move!"
He launched himself urgently.
Blue sword aura already cloaked his sword.
And.
Clang!
The stiff corpse's hand blade clashed with Dam Mu-heun's sword in a racket.
Dam Mu-heun gritted his teeth.
He had to.
His attacker was a Dark Blood Stiff Corpse.
He had faced them in the last war.
Still annoyingly strong.
However.
The Hocheon Corps was seasoned against these.
If Dam Mu-heun fought alone, a grueling battle to barely win.
But six Hocheon Corps members charged the Dark Blood Stiff Corpse.
Sword auras gleamed on all their blades.
Slash. Slash. Thud! Clang!
Slicing and blocking.
The fierce skirmish unfolded in an instant.
Just three breaths?
In that time, the Dark Blood Stiff Corpse shattered and fell.
Those who glimpsed it gaped.
"Ho-Hocheon Corps..."
"As expected..."
Astounded by the rumored prowess.
"Focus! More coming!"
With So Hwi-woong down below fighting the Heaven-Destroying Stiff Corpse.
Here on the wall battling attacking stiff corpses, Dam Mu-heun held highest rank.
At his command, all moved in unison again.
"Hocheon Corps Vice Corps Leader, right?"
Dang Jin-san asked Dan Mok Un-roe beside him while wielding sword and shield.
Dan Mok Un-roe nodded.
"Instructor Han must be that strong too..."
Dang Jin-san muttered in awe.
Now knowing Ha Mu-baek and Han Seol-bing's true identities.
Just astounding.
The Hocheon Corps displayed divine might against the stiff corpses.
Dam Mu-heun's timely orders eased the burden of holding the line.
Thus.
Fierce battle raged here too.
Dam Mu-heun glanced at Fierce Dragon Corps' mouths.
All biting Blood Poison Pills.
'Corps Leader, full of tricks. As expected. Handing out such treasures to everyone.'
Still, he knew the pills' effect was time-limited.
No way they had two each of such rarities.
"Cover here."
With that to his subordinate, Dam Mu-heun vanished.
Infiltrating the stiff horde, his sword targeted only Poison Stiff Corpses.