CLS-Chapter 585

Chapter 585:

Panic.

That was an emotion that didn’t suit Kwon Geuk at all.

Kwon Geuk had experienced everything.

Even if there were those in Jianghu who had lived longer than him, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that no one had lived a life of such dense experience.

How many things had he experienced?

He was a person who had fought wars against the Demonic Cult. The Demonic Cult followed a different path from ordinary martial sects. Countless strange and bizarre techniques ran rampant.

That’s why he doesn’t act rashly. No matter what variables arise, he doesn’t panic. His heart may grow hot, but his head never grows hot.

This was Kwon Geuk’s principle.

But now that principle was being twisted.

‘What the hell is this?’

Kwon Geuk’s eyes shook.

Though he was someone who had experienced countless situations, the scene before his eyes now was something he had never once experienced.

And it wasn’t something that could be dismissed with the simple statement that he had never experienced it.

Crisis.

Even though he couldn’t grasp exactly what was happening, he could tell. He was now facing a crisis he had never once experienced before.

‘What’s happening?’

Behind his panicked back came a leisurely voice.

“You were complacent.”

Complacent?

Kwon Geuk’s head slowly turned again. Baek Hoe-myeong’s figure entered his eyes.

Baek Hoe-myeong was smiling.

The moment he saw those twisted lips, Kwon Geuk instinctively knew that something had gone terribly wrong. That smile contained far too much.

A sense of achievement from accomplishing what he wanted.

The pleasure crawling up from the depths.

And even something twisted – a strange emptiness.

All the emotions of the world were there.

It looked like the face of an enlightened monk, and at the same time like the face of the world’s greatest villain.

“Far too complacent. Isn’t that right?”

The corners of Kwon Geuk’s eyes trembled.

“We are the Ten Thousand Swords Hundred Families. You said it yourself, that the name of the Ten Thousand Swords Hundred Families is still spoken of throughout the world.”

A sneer settled on his lips.

“But how is it? You merely saw us as scraps who stole the name of the Ten Thousand Swords Hundred Families. If you had truly thought of us as descendants of the real Ten Thousand Swords Hundred Families, you wouldn’t have been so complacent.”

Each of those words struck Kwon Geuk’s ears like thunder.

“Did you think we wanted to fight without any preparation whatsoever?”

Baek Hoe-myeong burst into laughter.

As if he couldn’t contain himself.

After laughing alone for a while, Baek Hoe-myeong glared at Kwon Geuk with eerie eyes. The rapidly changing emotions reminded one of a madman.

“If you had known that the name of Ten Thousand Swords was great! If you had acknowledged that we inherited the name of those Ten Thousand Swords! The likes of you would never have thought to face us so easily. Kwon Geuk, oh Kwon Geuk! You fool beyond measure! Did you forget the Ten Thousand Swords?”

Baek Hoe-myeong spread both hands wide.

“Behold, you who have forgotten. We are the Ten Thousand Swords. We who brought the world to its knees with a single sword. You think you can face us?”

Baek Hoe-myeong’s gaze swept over the sect leaders of each faction.

“Have you forgotten that you couldn’t handle even a single person and devised schemes that even the Demonic Cult wouldn’t stoop to, committing acts of utter shame? You’ve forgotten the Ten Thousand Swords you so feared. You’ve become drunk on peace.”

This battle was finished from the beginning.

The Ten Thousand Swords Hundred Families had been waiting for this moment all along.

With smiling faces they exchanged greetings with their enemies, sharpening their blades while listening to their commands. Praising their enemies and washing their soiled mouths clean, they had built up their resentment layer by layer.

The moment they underestimated that resentment and tried to suppress them with force, the war was over.

“What the hell have you done!”

Kwon Geuk cried out in horror.

“What have we done…”

Baek Hoe-myeong giggled.

“Did you truly believe we would face you with force without any plan? Foolish, Kwon Geuk. Our resentment runs deep, so very deep. For our purpose, we spare no means or methods. You will now feel our resentment.”

Kwon Geuk whipped his head around violently.

It was intensifying.

It was intensifying.

‘What’s happening?’

His eyes were chasing those who had followed him.

Shaolin, Wudang, Namgung, and even the direct warriors of the Righteous Martial Alliance… all were showing strange signs.

Some trembling violently, some rolling their eyes back, some collapsing to the ground, and some convulsing.

The reactions were varied, but it was clear that something was going wrong. Something massive.

‘Poison?’

Was it poison?

That was the first thought that came to mind.

Without poison, it would be impossible to draw the same reaction from so many people.

But poisoning all of them simultaneously was also impossible. How could people who came from different places all be poisoned together? That would mean they were poisoned in the brief moment they gathered here.

‘Even the Poison Demon himself could not have pulled this off.’

Neither the Poison Demon nor the Poison King could pull off such a thing. If there were a poison master capable of such a feat, he should already be revered as the world’s greatest.

‘Then what the hell is happening?’

Kwon Geuk couldn’t grasp the situation. And neither could the others.

“F-formation! Form ranks! Formation!”

A sharp voice unlike that of a Taoist burst from Song Hyeon’s throat.

“Support the wounded! Immediately!”

He couldn’t understand what was happening. So he couldn’t think of countermeasures.

‘What should I do?’

Nearly half the disciples were showing abnormal reactions.

“Cheong Hyeon! Cheong Hyeon! Lift your head! Cheong Hyeon!”

He grabbed the shoulder of the disciple trembling closest to him. When his hand touched him, Cheong Hyeon trembled and raised his head.

“Huk!”

Song Hyeon flinched.

Eyes with all the blood vessels burst, turned completely red. Between the dark red eyes, the black pupils were infinitely eerie.

“S-Sect Leader…”

“What are your symptoms! Is it poison?”

“N-no… my qi and blood…”

Song Hyeon flinched and spat blood from his mouth. The blood that shot out stained the ground.

‘It’s not poison.’

If it were poisoning, he should have felt poison qi from the spilled blood. But there was no such sign at all.

‘If it’s not poison… qi deviation? Demonic possession?’

That made no sense.

There was no way this many people could simultaneously suffer qi deviation. If qi deviation were such a common occurrence, there wouldn’t be any martial artists left alive in Jianghu.

It would be impossible for this many people to catch a cold simultaneously, let alone qi deviation!

‘Damn it, what are we supposed to do?’

Song Hyeon’s head began to spin.

This was clearly White Sword Castle’s doing. But he couldn’t figure out what exactly they had done.

Song Hyeon snapped his head up.

“Uuugh…”

They were watching.

As if they had known all along, White Sword Castle wasn’t rushing at them but maintaining distance and watching.

‘Why?’

Where could there be a better opportunity than this?

More than half were incapacitated for battle. If they struck now, they could easily determine the outcome. Yet they weren’t moving.

Song Hyeon urgently looked around.

Shaolin and Namgung were in no better condition than Wudang. Even the elite forces of the Righteous Martial Alliance were in the same situation. People from different sects who came from different places were all showing the same symptoms.

How could this be explained?

‘Complete defeat.’

If things continued like this, the result was obvious. Even fighting with full strength, victory couldn’t be guaranteed. But in this situation, nothing remained but defeat. Whatever they had done, if this situation couldn’t be resolved, no one here would survive.

“Alliance Leader!”

Song Hyeon’s eyes, Song Hyeon’s mouth, his hands sought Kwon Geuk.

This is what will means.

When the situation isn’t urgent, you have your own opinions, but when the situation becomes urgent, you look for someone to resolve it. All those with their wits about them raised their heads to look at Kwon Geuk.

Desperation flew toward his back standing at the front.

“…What have you done?”

Kwon Geuk asked in a somewhat dazed voice.

The composure from moments before couldn’t be found. If his earlier slowness had been composure, now his slowness was panic.

“Does that matter?”

Baek Hoe-myeong looked at Kwon Geuk leisurely.

“What matters isn’t what we did. It’s that you have no way to resolve this situation. That means!”

Baek Hoe-myeong declared as if making a proclamation.

“At least here, our revenge will be accomplished. With your life, and their lives.”

Kwon Geuk couldn’t answer.

He had nothing to say.

The battle was already over. Whatever he did, he couldn’t prevent defeat.

Unless he could restore them to normal, they would die here. He couldn’t maintain fighting strength with more than half lost.

Rather, being driven to extremes made his mind turn coldly sharp.

‘Then at least…’

There are various ways to lose.

If defeat couldn’t be avoided, he had to inflict maximum damage on the enemy. If not that, he had to preserve remaining strength. Only then could future plans be made.

If the end of this battle was here, the Central Plains’ hope would disappear.

‘Which one?’

The decision was quick.

“Retreat!”

“Alliance Leader!”

“Alliance Leader! What do you mean!”

Immediate opposition came back, but Kwon Geuk said without even turning around.

“Abandon the disciples showing abnormal symptoms and escape from here.”

“Alliance Leader!”

“What! Will you not listen to the Alliance Leader’s command!”

When Kwon Geuk’s roar burst out, the voices calling him fell silent.

Everyone knew. That Kwon Geuk’s order was the best choice now. Abandoning martial brothers they had laughed and cried with wasn’t a choice they could make. So Kwon Geuk had to make that choice for them.

“I’ll hold them back! Go!”

“Alliance Leader!”

“Hurry!”

Kwon Geuk resolutely spread both arms.

A declaration of will to hold back White Sword Castle single-handedly. Even Baek Hoe-myeong admired that determination.

“Would that be possible?”

“You know too. That if you charge, you’ll lose your head.”

He meant that if they chased after them, leaving Kwon Geuk behind, Kwon Geuk would also kill Baek Hoe-myeong.

Even hearing those words, Baek Hoe-myeong only smiled brightly.

“Listen here, Alliance Leader.”

Mockery.

Clear mockery bloomed on Baek Hoe-myeong’s lips.

“You say such things, but still don’t understand?”

“…”

“That our resentment isn’t at that level.”

That’s when it happened.

Kwon Geuk’s head slowly turned back again. This cold and viscous feeling coming from behind. This feeling was far too familiar.

This sensation he thought he would never feel here.

This was…

“Demonic qi?”

Kwon Geuk saw it.

From the bodies of the disciples showing abnormal symptoms, jet-black demonic qi was billowing out in clouds.

His eyes were colored with shock.

“Kraaaaaah!”

“Aaaaauuugh!”

Beast-like howling.

Those with reddened, rolled-back eyes began attacking everything around them indiscriminately.

Having completely lost their reason, they swung swords, kicked, and bit without recognizing even their martial brothers.

In an instant, a scene of carnage was created, and that carnage quickly transformed into hell.

“…”

Behind Kwon Geuk, frozen like stone, came Baek Hoe-myeong’s cold voice.

“We need not dirty our hands. You will kill and be killed by each other. This is the revenge we prepared. How is it? Are you pleased? Hahahahahaha!”

Baek Hoe-myeong’s mad laughter rang thunderously over the earth that had become hell.