CLS-Chapter 658

Chapter 658:

White streaks of light like meteors adorned the sky above Huashan.

‘What is that?’

Cheong-yeong’s eyes widened.

The identity of the flying meteors was people. Warriors in white martial robes were ascending from behind, scattering sword qi as they flew toward the Demonic Cult.

‘Who could they be?’

There shouldn’t be anyone else coming.

All those who could come from Shaanxi and Sichuan had already arrived, and it would still be quite some time before the Righteous Martial Alliance arrived. Then who on earth could those people be?

“Th-the Hundred Sword Citadel!”

“Hundred Sword Citadel?”

Cheong-yeong’s face went slightly blank.

Why would the Hundred Sword Citadel appear here?

‘Right now, the Hundred Sword Citadel should be together with the Righteous Martial Alliance?’

He had already received word that the war between the Hundred Sword Citadel and the Righteous Martial Alliance had ended. But considering the distance between Luoyang and this place, it wasn’t yet time for the Hundred Sword Citadel to arrive.

And even if they had rushed here with utmost urgency, then why was only the Hundred Sword Citadel visible while the Righteous Martial Alliance was nowhere to be seen?

At that moment, one person leaped down in front of Cheong-yeong.

“Sect Leader!”

“Y-you are?”

“I am Baek Geom-yeong of the Hundred Sword Citadel.”

“How are you here?”

Baek Geom-yeong bowed respectfully to Cheong-yeong.

“The Citadel Master ordered us to go ahead and assist Huashan. I’ve brought the elite of the Hundred Swords, so please allow us to help.”

Please allow us to help.

When one desperately needed even a cat’s paws, what place was there for permission or refusal?

“The Citadel Master… had foresight.”

“How could I fully understand the Citadel Master’s profound intentions? I can only guess that he judged this path to be for the good of Jianghu.”

“Yes, that must be it.”

Though he spoke thus, Cheong-yeong didn’t completely withdraw his suspicious gaze.

The Hundred Sword Citadel had once joined hands with the Demonic Cult.

For such people to appear at a place where battle was being waged against the Demonic Cult—if he believed them without any suspicion, he wouldn’t be qualified as the leader of a sect.

Perhaps sensing Cheong-yeong’s feelings, Baek Geom-yeong spoke first.

“The main forces of the Righteous Martial Alliance and the Hundred Sword Citadel are rushing here for support. We’ll fight alongside you until then.”

Baek Geom-yeong slightly turned his head backward.

Not to look for himself, but to give Cheong-yeong time to confirm with his own eyes.

Indeed, the warriors of the Hundred Sword Citadel who had entered the battlefield were fiercely wielding their swords against the Demonic Cult. The endlessly retreating situation was dramatically reversed by their participation.

At this point, there was no more room for doubt.

“I’ll join as well! I was told to follow the Sect Leader’s commands as top priority, so please command us freely. Then!”

Watching Baek Geom-yeong turn and rush toward the main gate, Cheong-yeong let out a low murmur.

‘What on earth is the Hundred Sword Citadel Master thinking?’

Looking at their arrival now, it meant he had secretly diverted elite forces and sent them here ahead of the final battle with the Righteous Martial Alliance.

If the Hundred Sword Citadel Master had intended to lead the war with the Righteous Martial Alliance to victory, he absolutely wouldn’t have done such a thing. That meant he had no intention of destroying the Righteous Martial Alliance from the beginning.

‘Then why do such a thing?’

He couldn’t understand it at all.

But such things aren’t important now. What mattered was blocking the offensive of that Demonic Cult rushing in like a tidal wave.

Though the Hundred Sword Citadel had joined them, the Demonic Cult was still the Demonic Cult. It wouldn’t be easy to block them.

“Plum Blossom Swordsmen, support the main gate!”

No sooner had Cheong-yeong’s voice burst out than the Plum Blossom Swordsmen drew their fire swords and rushed forward.

‘There are limits.’

Cheong-yeong’s face still wouldn’t relax.

The Demonic Cult’s offensive was terror itself.

There wasn’t a single one who hadn’t staked their life.

Everyone here was literally fighting with their lives laid down. The moment Huashan and Shaanxi were breached, these people would make a death march into the Central Plains.

‘As one who has learned martial arts, as one who speaks of righteousness, even if my breath stops, I cannot bear to see such a sight.’

He didn’t think of himself as a righteous hero. As Huashan’s Sect Leader, he had done many dirty deeds and committed countless acts worthy of pointing fingers.

But that didn’t mean there was no righteousness in his heart.

Wouldn’t everyone be the same?

Living in the world, one cannot handle every matter with righteousness. A person can simultaneously be the worst human being to someone while being a benefactor and hero to someone else.

If even a handful of righteousness remained in one’s heart, this was something one could never retreat from.

Even if this place became their end.

“If one can be born in Huashan and die in Huashan, wouldn’t that also be a good thing?”

Cheong-yeong rose from his seat and drew his sword.

No more command was needed. Now was the time to wield the sword, not the mouth.

“Plum blossoms never yield!”

Cheong-yeong rushed forward without hesitation.

“These Demonic Cult bastards!”

Dark King Dang Cheon-gun gritted his teeth and scattered flying needles in all directions. Flying needles gleaming green with poisonous liquid penetrated the bodies of the black-robed Demonic Cult followers.

“Kugh!”

“Uugh!”

Low groans flowed out, but that was all.

The demon followers treated the poison flowing through their bodies as if it were nothing, rushing toward Dang Cheon-gun without hesitation even after being struck by the flying needles.

Dang Cheon-gun’s eyes grew heavy.

‘Still the same.’

He didn’t know the principle, but these demon followers had some immunity to the Dang Family’s poisons. That alone made the Dang Family feel uncomfortable dealing with Demonic Cult followers.

Moreover…

“In the name of the Sacred Fire!”

“The Divine Cult is immortal!”

Dang Cheon-gun’s face twisted.

No matter how much they could endure poison to some degree, the pain would remain the same. Moreover, even with weak poison, if repeatedly exposed, they couldn’t avoid poisoning in the end.

But these bastards were rushing in as if their own lives didn’t matter at all.

‘This is the real terror of the Demonic Cult.’

Fanatics.

If the warriors of the Central Plains fought by overcoming the fear of death, these people had no concept of fear of death from the beginning. They believed that if they died fighting for the Demonic Cult, they would become one with the Sacred Fire and enjoy eternal bliss.

What they wanted wasn’t glory in this world, but eternal life completed through death for the Demonic Cult.

So they had no fear of death.

“Tch.”

Dang Cheon-gun waved his hand. Pink sand burst from his sleeve, covering the rushing Demonic Cult followers.

“Kugh!”

“Kyaaaaah!”

No matter how strong against poison, there was no way to survive being directly doused with Seven Step Soul-Chasing Sand. With this single strike, dozens of demon followers became guests of no return without even being able to wave their hands.

But that didn’t mean the situation was entirely good.

‘To waste such poison on these small fry.’

Poison didn’t come infinitely. The poison he had brought was rapidly dwindling.

The problem was that these bastards had pushed into Shaanxi differently than before. The Demonic Cult’s route of advance had always been Sichuan, and he had naturally expected it to be the same this time.

‘Damn bastards.’

The mechanism traps and formations he had set up, thinking this time he would surely send these Demonic Cult bastards to hell, had become completely useless. Even now, hadn’t he come rushing to support Shaanxi without properly recovering the poisons he had installed in the Dang Family Tower?

“Scatter them!”

With Dang Cheon-gun’s shout, hidden weapons and poison flew through the air.

All directions were dyed black with death and poison.

Watching the Demonic Cult followers leaping over the walls, Dark King Dang Cheon-gun narrowed his eyes.

‘This isn’t good.’

If the battle continued like this, they probably wouldn’t see tomorrow’s rising sun.

They had become stronger than before. But the Demonic Cult had become stronger than such improved versions of themselves. Though they were desperately constructing defensive lines, the speed at which the enemy was pushing in was faster than the speed at which they were pushing the Demonic Cult back.

“Aaaaah!”

“Kgh, kgheuk!”

Screams painfully pierced his ears.

No matter how many hidden weapons he threw and how much poison he shot, it was impossible to block everyone rushing in.

Cracks inevitably formed.

What was heartbreaking was that the result of those cracks was the death of children who wouldn’t hurt even if put in one’s eyes.

Dang Cheon-gun gritted his teeth.

“This gate must be defended! Even if it means death, don’t let a single Demonic Cult bastard pass behind!”

“We receive your command!”

His hand dove into his sleeve.

‘Father and uncles must have felt this way too.’

What he feared wasn’t death. What he feared was the Dang Family’s history not continuing into the future. Even if it meant throwing away his life here, he had to protect the children of the Dang Family.

If only that could be achieved, even if he died here, his soul and will could eternally traverse the Central Plains through the Dang Family’s bloodline.

“What are you doing?! You idiots!”

KWAAAAAANG!

With a tremendous explosion, the wall burst apart. Behind it walked a man of enormous build, grinding his teeth.

“…Is that Fist Demon?”

Just looking at that build and fists as big as a child’s torso, it wasn’t difficult to guess who the opponent was.

“Dark King Dang Cheon-gun?”

“An honor. To think the world’s Fist Demon knows my name.”

“Of course I know it. But from this moment on, you won’t need to remember it anymore.”

Fist Demon clenched his fists.

Creaking sounds assaulted the ears.

“Because you’re going to die right here.”

“I agree with not needing to remember. The dead don’t need to remember anything.”

Fist Demon bared his teeth and rushed at the Dark King.

The Dark King drew the Dang Gate Coin from his sleeve.

‘I should take at least one arm.’

Even if taking his life was too much, he should be able to cut off at least one arm.

“The path must not be given! Hold your positions!”

“Yes! Master!”

The former Sect Leader of Emei, Crouching Tiger Master (복호 사태), shouted in a creaky voice.

“These wicked bastards!”

The western sects of the Central Plains harbored irreconcilable hatred toward the Demonic Cult.

Emei, which had taken refuge in Buddhism, was the same. No matter how much abandoning anger and taking refuge in Buddhist law was the path they pursued, it was impossible not to harbor hatred toward the Demonic Cult that had killed their masters and senior brothers.

“Die!”

The sight of the white-haired old woman flailing her hair while wielding the Dragon Head Strange Staff was spine-chilling just to behold.

Emitting fierce light from her eyes, Crouching Tiger Master blew off the heads of Demonic Cult followers with single strikes.

Terrifying internal energy.

Throughout the world, there was no one with higher seniority than her. No, there might be those with similar seniority, but there would be no one who had practiced martial arts longer than her.

As such, her internal power transcended common sense.

“Filthy Demonic Cult bastards! Today I’ll open my killing precepts and…”

“Tsk, old woman talks too much.”

Step, step.

Crouching Tiger Master, who had been shouting, frowned and turned her head. She felt an unusual presence.

Seeing the white-haired old demon approaching her, Crouching Tiger Master roared.

“Who are you?!”

“Would anything change if you knew? You’d die just the same.”

“…You bastard!”

“I’ll tell you as a gift for the underworld. I’m called Illusion Demon. Tell the King of Hell that, old woman.”

Illusion Demon’s body split into dozens of parts and rushed toward Crouching Tiger Master.