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Chapter 195. Eight Years of Hardship and Suffering (16)

Most of the famous generals in history were masters of martial arts. Some were already masters when the chaotic era began, and they were either enticed to take office under the emperor or they fought alongside the imperial armies for one reason or another. Others were raised cultivating martial arts from within the imperial government from the beginning.

For instance, Emperor Taizu of Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang, had also been an expert of martial arts.[1]

Not only was he himself Peak Class, but he had several Absolute Masters under his command.

In any case, the imperial arts of the Song Dynasty, a dynasty with a long and rich history, as well as the secrets of the imperial government of the Yuan Dynasty and the northern tribes, were guaranteed to be excellent as well.

‘Martial Heaven’s greed must have been overflowing.’

Princess Namar continued.

“I was only able to keep my life due to the help of the recently passed Heaven Slaying Alliance Leader. It was only then that I learned that it hadn’t been the White Lotus Cult that had raided, robbed, and killed my family, but Martial Heaven. After discovering that, I couldn’t just return to the north. I had to get revenge, revenge against Martial Heaven.”

After saying this, Princess Namar bowed her head.

“I, Princess Namar, swear allegiance to you. Please become the leader of the Heaven Slaying Alliance. Lead us and fight against Martial Heaven!”

When Princess Namar shouted, everyone else bowed their heads and shouted in unison.

“We swear allegiance. Please become our Alliance Leader!”

Considering Woo-Moon was the Gate Master of the Western Nihility Gate and a Paragon, it was no wonder they wanted him to be their leader as well.

Moreover, it wasn’t a bad deal for Woo-Moon either, considering they would be of great help in defeating their mutual enemy, Martial Heaven.

“Fine. But, I have one condition.”

“What is it?”

“Once the fight against Martial Heaven is over, that is, once Martial Heaven is defeated, I will immediately step down.”

Everyone in the Heaven Slaying Alliance were people who had dedicated their lives to overthrowing Martial Heaven. They all couldn’t care less about what happened after as long as Woo-Moon was willing to lead them until the moment Martial Heaven was destroyed.

“We swear allegiance to the Alliance Leader!”

***

A little later.

Woo-Moon got together with his new advisor, Su Ran, and the two other key figures of the alliance, Princess Namar and Hye-Rim, to discuss the future course of action.

“There used to be three Absolute Masters in our Heaven Slaying Alliance.”

Considering that the Heaven Slaying Alliance only used to have less than three hundred members, the percentage of Absolute Masters was actually quite high.

Of course, it was still an absurdly small number compared to Martial Heaven.

“So, three... If one was the previous leader, who are the other two?”

“My and Hye-Rim’s masters, the Left and Right Teachers, my lord,” Princess Namar answered.

She no longer used informal language but instead addressed Woo-Moon with respect.

“Then where are the Left and Right Teachers?”

“I will answer that question, my lord.”

Woo-Moon looked over at Su Ran.

“We’ve discovered a force that appears to be a subordinate force of Martial Heaven in Yunnan Province. They are currently operating there.”

The Heaven Slaying Alliance Leader and the Left and Right Teachers.

Excluding these three, the most powerful figures were Hye-Rim, Princess Namar, and Su Ran.

Princess Namar and Hye-Rim were Transcendents, while Su Ran was the advisor in charge of all Heaven Slaying Alliance activities.

Woo-Moon continued to listen to Su Ran’s explanation of the Heaven Slaying Alliance’s organization and its current activities. Even if she wasn’t going into incredible detail, this was something he absolutely had to know as the new alliance leader.

“By the way.”

“Yes?”

Su Ran turned to Woo-Moon when he suddenly cut her off.

“Since you’re taking care of everything, there’s nothing I really have to do, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Okay. I’ll completely step away from managing the organization so that you will be taking care of everything else.”

“Is that really okay?”

“Of course. I’ll just go out and fight when needed.”

“Understood.”

Su Ran also found it much easier this way. After all, she was far beyond Woo-Moon in terms of organizational and strategic knowledge, and she was sure to make the best decisions.

Furthermore, it was also a suitable arrangement for Woo-Moon, as he wouldn’t have to neglect his training to manage the organization.

At the end of the day, the most important thing in the murim was one’s own strength. No matter how great or intelligently run an organization was, an absolute difference in strength could not be overcome.

As another day passed and the Heaven Slaying Alliance finally settled into a new location, Woo-Moon stayed for a few more days to help them build shelter and do various other necessary work.

At that time, one of the people in charge of intelligence gathering for the Heaven Slaying Alliance, who had left the compound to get some news, suddenly came running over, out of breath.

“Alliance Leader, Alliance Leader!”

Woo-Moon, who was building a cabin by controlling twenty logs simultaneously, looked over.

“They say... the Iron Sword Baek... the Family... was attacked by devils covered in blood. Most likely, it’s the doing of Martial Heaven.”

“What?”

Woo-Moon’s face turned pale.

***

“Ugh!”

“Where the hell did these guys come from?!”

The Baek Invincible Forged Squadron and the Song Family guards had quickly left the battlefield and returned to the Baek Family Estate after helping Woo-Moon.

The day they had returned, as they were recovering from the hardships of travel, they were paid a visit they neither expected nor desired.

The red-clothed evil devils!

There were eleven of them, an Absolute Master and ten Transcendents.

While there were only a few of them, each of their individual skills was incredibly outstanding. That, combined with their sudden attack, left the Baek Family in disarray.

As soon as they barged in, they scattered in all directions and began slaughtering everyone, including the children, elderly, and servants who didn’t know martial arts.

Their techniques were so cruel and bizarre that even Baek Family martial artists of the same level couldn’t respond properly and were slaughtered.

In minutes, the entire Baek Family Estate was covered in blood.

The Baek Invincible Forged Squadron was the elite of the Baek Family. There were six Transcendents among them. That level of strength was almost unheard of for a single Ancient Family.

However, there were ten of these Blood Devils. Moreover, it was as if they could read each other’s minds; they would always intervene whenever one of their fellows was in trouble.

“Glug... glug...!”

A Blood Devil slit the throat of a maid who looked to be in her mid-thirties and burst into a roar as the hot blood pouring out splattered over it.

“Kehahahaha!!”

Sparks seemed to fly from the eyes of the Baek Invincible Forged Squadron as they watched the maid die.

“You fucking beasts!” one of them shouted as they rushed at the Blood Devil. However, five other Blood Devils blocked their path and wouldn’t let them advance.

If they were to just go by the numbers, there would be six Transcendents in the Baek Invincible Forged Squadron, and only five Blood Devils in front of them. The Baek Invincible Forged Squadron should have had the advantage.

In reality, that wasn’t the case.

Each of the Blood Devils had reached the apex of the Transcendent Realm, and each of their individual techniques was so cruel and bizarre that the Baek Family warriors had a difficult time adapting.

Moreover, none of the Peak Class martial artists of the Baek Family were of much help either.

This was because the Blood Devils used formations, working in pairs or in threes, to fight together. The Baek Invincible Forged Squadron warriors under the Transcendent realm were unable even to land a blow on them and instead died one by one to the Blood Devils’ counterattacks.

While the five bloodthirsty Blood Devils faced the Baek Invincible Forged Squadron, the rest scattered in all directions and continued their frenzied slaughter.

Their cruelty was truly indescribable.

Those whom Woo-Moon had greeted every morning, those whom he had talked to whenever he passed them, died one by one.

The younger generation talents of Woo-Moon’s age, the future of the Baek Family, fought valiantly. And for all their efforts, they were slain one by one.

Tears welled up in the Baek Invincible Forged Squadron warriors’ eyes.

They weren’t tears of fear or physical pain.

They were tears of regret, frustration, and rage at being forced to watch their family butchered in front of their eyes.

They were tears of regret, frustration, and rage over not being able to do anything.

One of the Blood Devils who had been wandering around happened to discover the Baek Family’s prison.

“Huh? Hehe!”

It entered, assuming that there would be guards and inmates inside the prison.

The Blood Devil screamed and ran into the prison at the thought of being able to catch those who couldn’t resist and tear through their flesh and taste their blood.

The two martial artists of the Baek Family who had been guarding the prison bravely stepped forward and swung their swords, but the Blood Devil dodged them with a strange laugh, leaning over as if he was falling and stretching out both hands.

Squelch!

In a fraction of a second the Blood Devil’s hands pierced the two martial artists’ throats.

“Kihaat! This feeling is the best!”

After relishing in the blood spurting on his face, the Blood Devil began to brutally kill the prisoners who had once caused trouble near the estate, one by one.

At that moment, just one floor below, the cold voice of a middle-aged woman echoed from one of the prisons where the most dangerous criminals were imprisoned.

“Are you really just going to sit here and wait for your death?” said the middle-aged woman—Baek Ju-Ryeong.

The warden of the basement prison felt cold sweat crawling down his back.

“B-but...”

Baek Mu-Geon’s mission was to guard his cousins, Ju-Ryeong and Hye-Ryeong, along with their husbands and their sons, and make sure they wouldn’t run away.

Having to see his cousins, whom he had always been terrified of, every day was too much of a pain. To think that he was now

He could feel the Blood Devil walking closer and closer to the stairs leading to the lower floor, killing the prisoners above one by one.

Hye-Ryeong, who had been quietly sitting with closed eyes, suddenly looked at him and shouted.

“If you don’t want to die, open it quickly!”

Baek Mu-Geon had been terrified of Hye-Ryeong more than anyone else since he was young. Eventually, he took the key and opened all of their doors.

“I-I can’t let you noonims die in vain like this. That’s why I’m letting you out.”

“Shut up, you pathetic bastard,” Hye-Ryeong said as she snatched the iron sword from Baek Mu-Geon’s waist without hesitation.

Then, she frowned.

“You stupid brat! How could you slack off this badly? You’re a guard, and you couldn’t even take care of your sword properly. Just what the hell is this?”

Baek Mu-Geon’s sword had rust spots and was chipped here and there.

Baek Mu-Geon’s face turned red with embarrassment as he was scolded by Baek Hye-Ryeong just like in his younger days.

“Well, it’s not like I had any talent at fighting...”

“Right, and that’s something to be bragging about, you idiot.”

Snorting coldly, Hye-Ryeong slowly moved the sword in her right hand, twisting her wrist here and there and loosening up her stiff joints.

Finally, the door to the lower floor opened.

The Blood Devil laughed with a bloody face when he saw Hye-Ryeong standing in front of him.

“Hahaha! You look like fun!”

The Blood Devil hadn’t drawn his sword the entire time he was in prison. But this time, it was different; he immediately unsheathed his sword before attacking her.

The Blood Devil’s sword whipped about sharply.

Just on its movement alone, it seemed eerily similar to Woo-Moon’s Raging Wind.

The Blood Devil’s sword moved in such a way that it deviated completely from how a sword was known to move throughout the murim.

His blade bent at such an angle that it was nearly impossible for someone to predict.

That was why Hye-Ryeong also had a hard time with it at first.

But as she slowly deciphered the Blood Devil’s sword technique thanks to her own understanding of the Thirteen Stances of the Iron Sword, her sword techniques slowly changed.

She swung her sword.

It wasn’t the Baek Family’s foundational sword technique—the Iron Blood Merciless Sword, the next stage following the Thirteen Stances of the Iron Sword—but a simple swing with no particular form or intent, as if she’d just happened to drop her sword rather than intentionally swinging it.

Ju-Ryeong, who was watching from behind, let out a soft sigh. “The Formless Sword!”[2]

Clang! Clang, clang!!!

At first, she could only counter the Blood Devil’s sword just before it cut her flesh. However, as time passed, the sound of the swords clashing grew shorter as she drew closer and closer to the Blood Devil.

“Kyak!!”

The Blood Devil, flustered and irritated, shouted and used his sword technique faster and more irregularly. However, Hye-Ryeong simply blocked all of his attacks.

In spite of her cold expression, her eyes were shining.

1. The founder of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Taizu of Ming, was the one to end the Yuan Dynasty of the Mongols and drive them back into the northern Mongolian plains. ☜

2. This is a reference to The Smiling, Proud Wanderer by Jin Yong. The original is 無招劍法, where 劍法 is what we usually translate as “sword art” while 無招 means in this context “without a move” (招 here is “move” as in a chess move or a punch in boxing). In Jin Yong’s book, one character explains to another that mastering the essence of fighting means reaching the point where one can abandon all forms and techniques and simply act naturally. ☜