Chapter 411: Southern and Northern Great War (1)
"The Iron Thread Blood Palace Unit is ready, Cult Leader!"
"Fire!"
Papapapat!
Hundreds of blood-red arrows embroidered the sky and rained down on a single point.
Their target was a massive black serpent, stretching over twenty jang in length.
"Kyaaaaak!"
The black serpent wailed, becoming a pincushion with arrows embedded all over its body.
Though its black skin could ignore ordinary blades, it wasn’t resilient enough to withstand the concentrated qi arrows on the arrowheads.
However, as if it hadn’t taken a significant hit, the black serpent began twisting its body toward the gathering cult members.
"It’s coming!"
"The Guardian Hall, protect the Cult Leader!"
"Kyaaaaak!"
The gigantic body, large enough to swallow a person whole, moved at great speed.
But it never had a chance to reach Cheon Yura.
Kwajik!
"You beast!"
A massive axe flew from somewhere and struck the serpent’s head squarely.
It was a strike from Left Guardian Wang Cheongeol.
As blood sprayed from the top of the black serpent’s head, toxic mist began to rise from the surrounding ground.
At that sight, Cheon Yura rebuked Wang Cheongeol.
"Left Guardian, it’s poisonous—don’t get close, engage it from a distance!"
"Yes, Cult Leader!"
Though the Crimson-Faced Demon Fighter Wang Cheongeol was a master of martial arts using his fists and feet, it didn’t mean he couldn’t wield weapons.
Especially against foes that must not be touched directly, he often wielded the massive great axe.
"Finish it off thoroughly!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The waiting martial artists threw chains to keep the beast from escaping into the ground.
Then, Wang Cheongeol and the elites relentlessly pursued its wounds and eventually severed the serpent’s life.
"Well done, Left Guardian."
"It’s nothing, Cult Leader."
As Cheon Yura approached the corpse of the black serpent, she spoke.
"How many of our cult members fell to this thing?"
"A small village near Seryong Peak vanished, and even the warriors dispatched to subjugate it were wiped out... I’d say at least two hundred."
"Goddamn it."
Her curse caused the surrounding Guardian Lions to tense up all at once.
The Cult Leader had not been in a good mood lately due to the strange phenomena occurring throughout the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
"Biyeon, what’s the damage elsewhere?"
Sa Biyeon, who stood behind her, respectfully replied.
"It has significantly decreased since the Six Great Demonic Clans began to act proactively. Please don’t worry too much."
"I asked about the casualties."
"...According to the compiled figures from the reports, it’s about fourteen hundred."
Crunch.
In the past two months—
Fourteen hundred cult members who lived in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains had died.
And that was only the number reported in the official documents; in reality, the number of the dead would likely be twice that.
"The problem is that these monsters appearing over time are becoming more and more ferocious."
"……."
At first, it wasn’t taken seriously.
In a place like the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, where creatures rivaling spiritual beasts frequently appeared, they believed the Outer Hall could handle it.
But when the Four Demon Squads sent for subjugation suffered great losses, and the small and medium-sized clans seeking merit also retreated in defeat, the top brass of the Divine Cult began to realize the gravity of the situation.
"Convene a meeting in the Heavenly Demon Pavilion. Even if we have to overturn the entire Ten Thousand Great Mountains, we will protect our cult members."
"Cult Leader. If we do that, we won’t have any capacity left to deal with the outside."
The current state of the Central Plains was utter chaos.
The Murim of the Central Plains was on the brink of a great war, split between the north and south, and to make matters worse, remnants of the Yuan Dynasty had begun advancing southward.
Originally, she wouldn’t have cared how they fought amongst themselves, but with a clear understanding of who was behind the current situation, standing by would be far too dangerous.
But Cheon Yura was resolute.
"I’m entrusting that to Jin Yeomyung."
"C-Cult Leader."
"The two thousand troops currently deployed to the Central Plains are by no means small. More importantly, with Jin Yeomyung’s capabilities, he can handle even the worst-case scenario."
The chaos in the north was the same.
"The Imperial Family will be enough if they have Saber Demon."
Sending Saber Demon had been a decision Cheon Yura made after much deliberation.
With the Sword Demon still not recovered, and with Cheon Jumun and the Demonic Ghost Execution Squad remaining unpredictable variables, sending a transcendent-level expert like Saber Demon outside posed a huge risk.
But she trusted her own power and made the bold call.
"Until the internal disorder is fully resolved, we will lock down the Cult."
"Yes, Cult Leader!"
"Send a messenger to the Cheon Clan as well. Tell them to cooperate quietly in this matter."
In truth, the possibility of the Cheon Clan cooperating, as they continued to remain silent, was nearly nonexistent. However, laying such political groundwork in advance allowed one to take the lead in swaying internal public sentiment later.
Cheon Yura probably didn’t give that order after such careful consideration—but it was still the right move.
Except.
'Too quiet....'
Since the last incident, the Cheon Clan had taken no action at all—an almost eerie stillness.
Even though the newly reorganized intelligence division, led by Bu Il-hwa, the Vice-Captain of the Divine Ghost Unit, was monitoring the Cheon Clan without a single gap, their movements remained undetectable.
In truth, the mere fact that the Cheon Clan wasn’t interfering was already a blessing—but in Sa Biyeon’s eyes, the current Cheon Clan looked like a powder keg on the verge of explosion.
'The Cult Leader believes Cheon Jumyeong won't make a reckless move, but....'
Sometimes, collective madness ignored even the will of its leader.
Especially when a unique existence like Cheon Juchun lurked within the Cheon Clan.
She could only hope the Cheon Clan would remain still to the end.
****
After the Southern Murim Alliance’s declaration of war.
"Move quickly!"
"The Southern Murim Alliance bastards are mobilizing en masse!"
"Where is the Military Strategist Sama? We need his instructions!"
Luoyang, now the base of the Northern Murim Alliance, fell into confusion after the Southern Murim Alliance’s one-sided declaration of war.
Even with confidence in victory, the outcome of battle always required actual combat to determine.
"This is serious."
Ji Jae, the Documentation Officer temporarily in charge of overall command in place of Jegal Eun, spoke with a map in front of him.
"Famous sects from across the Central Plains are moving to join the Southern Murim Alliance instead of us."
His expression was grave.
"The problem is that many of them are branch clans of the very sects forming the foundation of our Alliance."
The Diamond Gate under Shaolin, the Taeyoung Gate under the Wudang Sect, the Bokgeon Gate under the Gongdong Sect, and so on.
Numerous major branch sects—numbering in the hundreds—were betraying their parent sects and joining the Southern Murim Alliance.
"...They were probably traitors from the start."
"That seems likely. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make any sense."
In particular, the Diamond Gate was a sect located right near Songshan and had close ties with Shaolin.
That such a sect would defy Shaolin’s will and join the Southern Murim Alliance came as a significant shock to Shaolin itself.
"Hahaha, Amitabha...."
Myeong Un, who had settled into the position of Elder in the Northern Murim Alliance, softly chanted with his eyes closed.
At that moment, someone raised their hand to speak.
"Has Military Strategist Sama not arrived yet?"
The Second Strategist, Sama Eun. No—Jegal Eun.
She, who should have been the most actively involved in this situation, had inexplicably withdrawn from everything and remained absent.
Baek Sang-ah answered firmly.
"The mission I assigned her is not yet complete. Until then, Third Strategist Seo Muwon will oversee her responsibilities."
The speaker reluctantly nodded.
It wasn’t that Seo Muwon lacked ability as a strategist, but the absence of Jegal Eun, who had been the central pillar, was more than enough to unsettle the leadership.
Baek Sang-ah turned to me.
"First Strategist."
"Yes, Alliance Leader."
The First Strategist, First Strategist Black Thunder Myeong Jin.
As the First Strategist, who had rarely appeared in official settings, entered, all eyes in the hall converged on him.
"What is the status of negotiations with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?"
I replied nonchalantly.
"The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult has expressed its willingness to assist the Northern Murim Alliance in contributing to peace in the Central Plains."
"Ooooh...."
"Th-then what’s the price of that support?"
If they offered help without compensation, others would grow suspicious of ulterior motives.
"The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult requested dominion over the region south of Gansu Province as compensation for supporting our Alliance."
South of Gansu Province.
Given that the northern part of Gansu was already under the influence of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the proposal was quite reasonable.
However—
"Hmm...."
"That’s fairly rational."
"But what the Gongdong Sect thinks...."
The Gongdong Sect, the original rulers of southern Gansu, remained silent with uncomfortable expressions.
"......."
No one else spoke, but inwardly, they all hoped the Gongdong Sect would concede.
It was then.
"Alliance Leader."
A warrior of the Black Sky Guardian Unit entered from outside and reported.
"A guest has come to see the Alliance Leader."
Baek Sang-ah sighed lightly and responded.
"This is not the time for me to receive guests personally. I don’t know who it is, but tell them to come another time."
"Th-they said… they came from the Namcheon Baek Clan…."
Flinch!
Not only I and Baek Sang-ah, but even the Saber King, who had been sitting quietly, flinched slightly.
An envoy from the Namcheon Baek Clan.
In truth, the figure who appeared before Baek Sang-ah was far too prominent to be merely called an envoy.
"Gr-grandfather?!"
When the envoy removed his hood and revealed his identity, Baek Sang-ah was shocked.
Namcheon Sword King Baek Dogyung.
He had come here in person.
"It’s been a while, Sang-ah. A long time indeed, old Saber King. And you too, Grand Duke—it’s been a while."
The Saber King and I received the Sword King’s greeting with reluctant expressions.
The Sword King, unfazed, greeted me once more.
"Though belated… congratulations on your marriage. If it weren’t for the Sealing Order, the Namcheon side would have sent an envoy as well—please forgive us for not doing so."
The Namcheon Sword King was speaking formally to me, someone he hadn’t seen in a long time.
That distance was a sign of respect toward me, who had now become the Demonic Faction Lord…
"Have you finally given up on tying Lady Baek to me?"
He let out a wry smile.
"What’s the point in clinging to something that’s already over? If you fail, you should reflect and move on."
"Damn, you're shameless, old man."
The Saber King scowled and rebuked him, but the Sword King’s expression didn’t change.
He asked me,
"This is sudden, but how do you see the flow of the current war, Grand Duke?"
I answered without hesitation.
"If we fight head-on, I’m confident we’ll win overwhelmingly."
"Naturally."
No matter how many troops the Southern Murim Alliance gathered, they couldn’t match the Northern Murim Alliance in terms of elite strength.
The Wudang Sect led by Dao Zun, the last of the Three Sovereigns of the Central Plains.
Shaolin, long regarded as the strongest among the Nine Orthodox Sects.
And finally, the Northern Heavens Sword Family, now considered the closest to the greatest clan under heaven.
"But the Southern Murim Alliance will never engage us head-on."
Especially if their objective was to spread bloodshed across the entire Central Plains.
"They’re more likely to spread out the battlefield and engage in prolonged guerrilla warfare."
The longer the war dragged on, the more disgracefully it was fought—
The deeper and thicker the blood would flow across the Central Plains.
"Heh, our thoughts align perfectly."
The seasoned Sword King had accurately seen through the Southern Murim Alliance’s strategy.
"In this war, Namcheon can lend a hand."
"……!"
"If you wish, I can incite the southernmost region of the Central Plains, centered on Fujian Province, to rebel entirely."
Though their influence had weakened due to years under the Sealing Order—
The Namcheon Baek Clan still had the power to act on such words.
I asked the Sword King with a stiff expression.
"...What do you want?"
What the Sword King wanted was simple.
"I want to reestablish a marriage alliance with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult."