Chapter 295 |
Flow
Despite the battlefield being chaotic, with over a thousand people fighting and in a state of pandemonium,
Crack!
Strangely, the sound of Master Myunghwan’s neck breaking pierced the ears of everyone present on the battlefield.
It might have been an auditory illusion.
Myunghwan’s neck, twisted grotesquely by Mujin’s grip, might have made the breaking sound naturally in everyone’s minds.
In other words, it was a shocking scene.
It meant that over a thousand martial artists, caught between life and death, were not looking at their enemies but at Mujin.
From the moment Geumsun Shinni fell, some of the martial artists’ gazes had been directed at Mujin.
And when everyone started looking at Mujin,
Mujin finally broke Master Myunghwan’s neck.
The sight of him defeating the heads of Emei and Qingcheng, along with a Zhang Elder, momentarily paralyzed the battlefield.
Shortly after a brief silence,
Contrasting reactions erupted.
“Wow!!!”
“Mujin has won!”
“Shaolin Dragon!!!”
“Drive out the enemy!!”
The martial artists of Shaolin, Wudang, and the Tang Clan, shouted as if they had already won the war and started pushing back their enemies.
“Protect the headmaster!!”
“Chase out that demon!!”
The disciples of Qingcheng, Emei, and Zhang, their eyes bloodshot, started rushing towards Mujin.
To be precise, they aimed at the two headmasters who had been defeated by Mujin and Master Myunghwan’s corpse.
It was an utterly foolish act.
Despite being targeted from all sides by Shaolin, Wudang, and Tang Clan martial artists,
they moved only towards the fortress where Mujin stood, ignoring the attacks flying at them from everywhere.
Naturally, the casualties rapidly increased.
‘Is this really alright?’
This thought did not come from a disciple of Emei or Qingcheng.
A Wudang swordsman who had just cut down a rushing Qingcheng disciple felt a strange discomfort.
Such a one-sided massacre was occurring.
Commanders exist to prevent such foolish actions.
However, the leaders of Emei, Qingcheng, and Zhang, who should be commanding, were either dead or incapacitated by Mujin.
Of course, there were many elder-level figures who could give commands in place of the headmasters or Elder Myunghwan.
“Protect the headmaster!!”
“We must reclaim Myunghwan’s body!!!!”
But those who should act as commanders had also lost their minds.
While it showed the disciples’ loyalty to their headmasters and elders,
at this moment,
such loyalty was resulting in the worst outcomes.
And if anyone in this place was heading towards the worst, after the disciples of the alliance,
‘This is really a mountain over another mountain.’
it was Mujin.
Hundreds of martial artists from Emei, Qingcheng, and Zhang were rushing solely to capture Mujin.
Despite dozens falling to the attacks from Shaolin, Wudang, and Tang Clan, the situation wasn’t pleasant for Mujin, who was facing hundreds.
‘This is like a swarm of ants.’
It looked like a swarm of ants rushing towards a dropped piece of cookie or bread.
Of course, it’s rare for ants to kill a human unless they possess extremely lethal venom.
Crack!
Mujin continued to swing his arms and legs at the alliance disciples who were throwing their lives away.
Naturally, not many could withstand Mujin’s blows.
In a way, it was a convenient situation.
He didn’t have to move to kill the enemy; they were coming to him.
But only for a while.
After dealing with dozens of them,
‘Damn. At this rate, I’m going to die not from fighting, but from being crushed.’
Mujin felt he was reaching his limit.
Fighting two headmasters and an elder alone wasn’t easy. The internal energy consumption was also severe, and his energy center was running dry.
While thinking about how to overcome this situation,
Mujin found a way out through the body of a crushed disciple.
Precisely through the disciples’ focus.
‘Ah!’
Their primary goal wasn’t to kill him.
It was to recover the two headmasters and the corpse of Elder Myunghwan.
Then,
“Take them, you bastards!!”
Mujin shouted and threw the fallen Emei headmaster with all his might.
Not towards the ants rushing at him, but towards an empty space far away.
“!!!”
“Headmaster!!”
“Protect the headmaster!!”
Pandemonium erupted instantly.
Emei disciples started running in the opposite direction to protect the flying Geumsun Shinni, colliding and clashing with Qingcheng and Zhang disciples who were still rushing at Mujin.
‘Oh.’
Realizing this method worked, Mujin threw the Qingcheng headmaster next.
Of course, in a different direction from where he had thrown the Emei headmaster.
His intention was to scatter the disciples in different directions.
And Mujin’s plan worked perfectly.
‘Feels like being a zookeeper.’
Seeing the disciples from various sects rushing like monkeys whenever he threw a headmaster, Mujin felt like a zookeeper.
Finally, after throwing Elder Myunghwan’s corpse far away, the three sects scattered.
Even though they were already suffering heavy losses from their foolish charge, they had now lost nearly half of their remaining forces.
Perhaps realizing the futility of the battle,
“Retreat!!”
The three sects began retreating in disarray.
* * *
“Wow!!!”
Cheers celebrating the victory erupted from all around.
And among those cheers, voices praising Mujin were interspersed.
“Mujin! Mujin!!”
“The Shaolin Dragon has accomplished a great feat!!”
“Shouldn’t he now be called the Best Under Heaven?”
During the battle at the Martial Alliance, Mujin had shown himself fighting evenly with the leader amidst the chaos.
However, when Mujin finally killed the leader, there were no people nearby. The only witness was Mu-gyeong.
But this time was different.
In front of countless martial artists, he alone had victoriously faced two headmasters and an elder.
“The title of Fist King is well-deserved!”
“Hahaha. Indeed, he is no longer just the Shaolin Dragon but the Shaolin Fist King!”
It was the moment a new star was born in the martial world.
In the place where the star of the man once called the Dark King had fallen.
* * *
Shortly enjoying the joy of victory,
the martial artists of Shaolin, Wudang, and the Tang Clan began to clean up the battlefield.
The area had been devastated by the clash of martial artists, but more serious was the situation around them, which could only be described as a sea of corpses and blood.
Momentarily lost in the euphoria of victory, everyone realized the truth as they began to clean up the battlefield: so many had died.
There were easily over five hundred bodies scattered around, centered on the walls of the Tang Clan.
Most of them wore the martial attire of Qingcheng, Emei, and Zhang.
However, there were also several bodies dressed in the green robes of the Tang Clan, and though fewer, bodies of Wudang and Shaolin could be seen scattered around.
Those who had enjoyed the joy of victory now began to clean up the battlefield, mourning their fallen brothers.
“Gather the bodies of Shaolin, Wudang, and the Tang Clan in one place. Tonight, we will hold a memorial service for the departed.”
Following Jegal Muhwan’s instructions, they began to sort the bodies.
Confirming the monks and Taoists moving here and there, Jegal Muhwan turned his head to look at Hyun-cheon, the representative of the monks, and Unjeong Zhenren, the representative of Wudang.
“Abbot. Unjeong Zhenren. Would it be alright to allow our disciples to drink tonight?”
As the two showed puzzled expressions, Jegal Muhwan added an explanation.
“While it is natural to mourn and grieve for the departed, today’s battle is undoubtedly a victory. A little alcohol will help lift their spirits and boost morale.”
This was also the reason Jegal Muhwan chose a memorial service instead of pursuing the retreating enemies.
Everyone was physically exhausted from the continuous battles and marches.
In such a situation, it was dangerous to go into battle again with low morale or a troubled mind.
“In our Wudang, drinking is permitted on special occasions, so it should be fine.”
After hearing Unjeong Zhenren’s answer, Jegal Muhwan looked at Hyun-cheon.
Hyun-cheon hesitated.
Unlike Wudang, Shaolin’s laws did not allow for any occasions of drinking.
But only for a moment.
“Amitabha. Laws are meant to change eventually.”
Indeed, like how a law was created allowing meat consumption for patients for Hyungwang’s treatment.
“Thanks to Mujin, Shaolin’s laws will change several times. Hahaha.”
Naturally, his gaze turned to Mujin, who was now being called the Fist King.
* * *
As the battlefield cleanup was more or less completed and preparations for the memorial service were underway,
a sudden guest arrived at the Tang Clan.
Liu Seolhwa, who stepped out of a carriage bearing the flag of the Cheonryu Sangdan, had come.
She had collected information on events occurring throughout the central plains and had come to deliver the news herself.
Considering that she came personally, it seemed there were quite a few important pieces of information, leading to an immediate meeting with the Tang Clan’s leaders.
Present were Tang Pae-jin, the head of the Tang Clan; Unjeong Zhenren, the representative of Wudang; Hyun-cheon of Shaolin; Mujin; and finally, Jegal Muhwan, the chief strategist, and Liu Seolhwa.
“First, let me share the news you all must be curious about.”
Starting with those words, Liu Seolhwa outlined the general flow of the war situation.
“The Jegal Family and Zhongnan Sect have successfully ‘sealed’ Mount Hua. As it was not a mere agreement but a complete closure, it will take them at least several decades to recover.”
“They finished the task quicker than expected. Their resistance must have been quite strong.”
In response to Unjeong Zhenren’s remark, Liu Seolhwa replied,
“Although the Jegal Family’s tactics shone, Mount Hua itself was quite weakened. As Monk Mujin said, they seemed to have suffered greatly from internal conflict. In fact, Yunsun Zhenren, who was called the Mount Hua Sword Saint, was found crippled and confined within Mount Hua’s deep quarters.”
“How could they do such a thing to the greatest elder of their sect?”
The participants of the meeting frowned at the horrific story.
“Anyhow, after sealing Mount Hua, the Jegal Family and Zhongnan Sect moved towards the Martial Alliance. As Military Strategist Jegal Muhwan mentioned, they intend to stabilize the rear and weed out spies along with the allied forces of the Martial Alliance.”
Satisfied with the expected progression of events, Mujin nodded with a satisfied expression.
However, the next piece of news was unexpected.
“Now for the news from the dark side. The Tushinbang and Guryongbang in Guangxi have joined forces to attack the Guangdong Jin family. In the process, the Jin family fell, and even Jin Geon-yang died… but an unexpected figure appeared.”
“An unexpected figure? Could it be Heo Jin-gang?”
Master Hyun-cheon wondered if Heo Jin-gang, who was known to have suffered severe injuries at the hands of Namgung Muguk, had fully recovered, but Liu Seolhwa shook her head.
“No. It was a woman in her early twenties, known as Baek So-ryeong, Jin Geon-yang’s concubine. However, it turns out she was actually a middle-aged woman disguised with a transformation technique. Her skills were on par with Gui Chang Pae-jin. According to a letter from Dao Yuetian, the pavilion master of Tushinbang, they suspect she might be one of the Daeju of Shinchun.”
“Goodness…”
“Dealing with one after another, their resilience is quite impressive.”
“It’s even scarier that despite having such power, they stayed in the shadows, trying to control the martial world.”
After observing the mix of astonishment and amazement,
Liu Seolhwa carefully began to deliver the last piece of news.
In some ways, this was the reason she had come in person.
“Lastly, the Demonic Cult has started to move.”