Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 479 – Descent of the Heavenly Demon (2)

“Ja Geum-jeong.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s call, Ja Geum-jeong, the fallen monk Subduing-Demon, approached bewildered.

He didn’t understand why he was suddenly being called.

As he was puzzled, Mok Gyeong-un handed over Cheong-ryeong, whom he had been holding, and said:

“Take care of her.”

“Cough, cough. Asking this damn monk who used to beat up wandering spirits to take care of a vengeful spirit…..”

“I trust you. So protect her.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s short but weighty order, Ja Geum-jeong hesitated for a moment, then respectfully extended both arms and answered:

“I receive your command.”

Usually, even when hearing Mok Gyeong-un’s orders, he would have answered without hesitation.

Always saying “master, master” but never showing proper respect.

Seeing him show proper respect for the first time, Seop Chun’s eyes widened.

“Is the sun rising from the west? Did he just say he receives the command?”

At Seop Chun’s sneer, the fallen monk Ja Geum-jeong smacked his lips and said:

“You…… Can’t you feel it?”

“What do you mean?”

“……Never mind.”

“No, if you asked something, shouldn’t you give a proper answer?”

Leaving the frustrated Seop Chun behind, Ja Geum-jeong looked at Mok Gyeong-un.

The last time he saw him was in the bamboo forest of the ruined old castle.

Even then, unlike when they first met, he was gradually developing the qualities of a leader, moving from an unrestrained and emotionless feeling.

But now, Mok Gyeong-un was different.

An indescribable dignity as an absolute being enveloped him.

Because of this, although deep in his heart he had not been able to acknowledge him, thinking his fate was tied to something dirty, now he had no choice but to recognize him as his true lord.

‘Is this what it means to be a true vessel to lead all people?’

It even evoked a strange emotion to have witnessed this change up close.

Meanwhile, Mok Gyeong-un approached Guyang Sa-oh, the Eight Poison Snake Master, who had collapsed with his abdomen pierced.

He placed his hand on Guyang Sa-oh’s abdomen and formed a hand seal.

-Thud! Thud! Thud!

Then Guyang Sa-oh’s body trembled, the color returned to his pale face, and soon his breathing became regular.

“Ah!”

Mok Gyeong-un’s subordinates, who had thought there was no hope due to the severity of the injury, couldn’t hide their surprise.

Regardless, Mok Gyeong-un next approached the vengeful spirit Ha Yoon, who was close to disappearing with his limbs cut off, and said:

“I owe you a debt.”

At those words, the vengeful spirit Ha Yoon smiled painfully and replied:

-Your Excellency’s judgment was correct.

“………”

-This body was inadequate, and even as a vengeful spirit, I couldn’t repay the resentment of failing to protect my lord. Could you perhaps ease that resentment?

“If that’s enough.”

-It will be enough. I heard you too must settle accounts with that person.

-……I see.

So he too was entangled with Mok Gan by a bad relationship.

It was truly an extraordinary coincidence.

Mok Gyeong-un then lightly patted the vengeful spirit Ha Yoon’s shoulder and turned around.

Then he said to his subordinates:

“You’ve worked hard. Leave the rest to me and guard this place until I finish things up.”

‘!?’

An order close to a request.

Hearing this, a strange light flickered in the eyes of Seop Chun, Ja Geum-jeong, and Ma Ra-hyeon.

They felt something stirring deep in their hearts.

At this, the three people simultaneously knelt on one knee and raised their clasped hands towards Mok Gyeong-un in a respectful gesture.

“Loyalty!”

Mok Gyeong-un looked at them with a faint smile, then erased it and slowly began to float.

The three people watched this scene with puzzlement.

The three major factions – the former Heaven and Earth Society, the Righteous Alliance, and the Evil Alliance – were already intertwined and killing each other, so what could he do in this situation?

Even though Mok Gyeong-un had become stronger, it was a difficult situation to do something alone.

Of course, just his appearance would boost the morale of their allies, but that alone was not enough to stop this war.

It was then.

-Rattle, rattle, rattle!

The sound of something shaking strongly was heard.

Ma Ra-hyeon’s eyes saw swords that had lost their owners trembling.

It wasn’t happening to just one sword.

All the sword handles on the ground, even the weapons, trembled as if resonating with something, and then,

-Float!

The swords began to float in the air.

As dozens of swords on the peak floated up simultaneously, not just one, Seop Chun’s mouth fell open.

“Are…… are you going to use sword energy with all these swords?”

At his exclamation, Ja Geum-jeong, holding Cheong-ryeong, snorted and said:

“Are your eyes knotholes?”

“What?”

“What does that look like to you?”

“That…… Th-this is…….”

Seop Chun was at a loss for words at the scene unfolding before his eyes.

It wasn’t happening just on the peak where they were.

Weapons like swords and sabers that had lost their owners or belonged to warriors were slowly rising from the peaks and mountainsides all over the Ten Thousand Great Mountains where the war was taking place.

It was truly a spectacular sight.

“The swords…… no, the weapons are floating.”

“Wh-what on earth is going on?”

Bewildered voices erupted from here and there on the peak.

The warriors of the three major factions who had been fiercely confronting and fighting each other could only stare blankly at the rising weapons.

It was no different for the leaders and executives leading the three major factions.

They too had their attention momentarily captured by the weapons rising in all directions.

-Float!

Not understanding what was happening, it was nothing short of a strange phenomenon.

Hong Won-seok, the Beggar’s Sect leader, clicked his tongue and spoke:

“Huh. Weapons floating on their own, what on earth is this strange occurrence?”

“Primordial Heavenly Lord. Even this poor Taoist has never seen such a sight before.”

Jin Sok-ja, the sect leader of the Qingcheng Sect, said this while looking at his own violently shaking sword.

It felt as if the sword wanted to break free from his hand.

-Tremble, tremble!

“Sect Leader Jin. The swords are responding to something. This is like……”

Gu Cheol-ja, the sect leader of the Huashan Sect, swallowed dry saliva as he looked at the trembling Purple Sky Sword.

Instinctively, he felt it.

The swords were being drawn to the matchless power leading all swords.

It was enough to shake even the hearts of the swordsmen. Meanwhile,

There were two peerless masters engaged in an incredible battle, crossing back and forth over the peaks.

“Kuhahahahaha! They said your real combat experience had declined, but that’s not entirely true!”

-Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

They were Hang Sim, the Unruly Evil Hegemon and one of the Evil Alliance leaders, and Ou Cheon-mu, the Extreme Sword Master and leader of the Spiritual Sword Sanctuary, both among the Seven Heavens at the pinnacle of the current martial world.

Thanks to Mok Gyeong-un, Ou Cheon-mu, who had honed his Sword Way and Sword Extreme through more real combat experience, was engaging in close combat with Hang Sim without giving an inch.

-Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

-Boom, boom, boom, boom!

Every time these two grand master-level peerless experts clashed swords, the surroundings were shattered by the aftershocks, and some even died from the wind pressure of their sword energy.

A single mistake could cost one’s life in a battle between grand masters.

That’s why all the nerves of the two masters were focused solely on their opponent.

‘Strong. Truly strong.’

‘Kuhahahat! Yes. This is the kind of battle I’ve been longing for.’

The higher one’s martial arts reach, the harder it is to find a worthy opponent.

Although they met as enemies, they couldn’t help but become increasingly immersed in this battle, having found an opponent to match their skills.

However, their battle, which seemed unstoppable, came to a sudden halt.

-Flinch!

The two peerless masters, who had been clashing their sword and saber with full force, stopped their techniques without exception, creating distance and turning their gaze somewhere.

They were looking at the same place.

It was towards the top of a peak in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, where someone could be seen floating, perhaps using the Void Walking technique.

Ou Cheon-mu recognized that someone at once.

“My Lord?”

It was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.

The Shadow Clan Master Hwan Ya-seon had said there was no reply even when he sent a messenger, but had he returned just in time, albeit a bit late?

But more than that, what on earth is this?

Ou Cheon-mu felt goosebumps all over his body.

‘Sword?’

It felt as if Mok Gyeong-un’s very existence had become a sword, and an unimaginable matchless power was encompassing everything, resonating with the swords and drawing them in.

-Tremble, tremble!

If even his own sword, which had completely assimilated with his sword heart after reaching the Sword Way and Sword Extreme, was trembling in his hand, does this mean he had transcended realms once again?

“Huh?”

He wasn’t the only one surprised.

Hang Sim, the Unruly Evil Hegemon, felt a shudder at the matchless power that could cover all directions.

-Drip, drip!

Even his forehead, which hadn’t sweated a drop while dueling with Ou Cheon-mu, was now dripping with cold sweat.

What on earth is that?

Did such a monster exist in this world?

The numerous swords rising due to the matchless power were truly a spectacular sight, and it was awe-inspiring that he could resonate with and move all these swords.

-Grip!

Hang Sim, the Unruly Evil Hegemon, tightly gripped his trembling right hand with his left.

Then he dug his nails in to calm his excitement.

It’s hard to find a worthy opponent.

But it’s even harder to encounter an absolute being beyond that.

“Kuhahahahahahat!”

As if trying to drive away the awe that had entered deep into his heart, Hang Sim burst into a thunderous laugh.

Then he kicked off the air, using the Void Stepping Technique to fly towards Mok Gyeong-un who was floating in the air.

“Hang Sim!”

Ou Cheon-mu shouted, but he was no longer the object of Hang Sim’s interest.

With such a delicious prey before his eyes, one he might never see again in his lifetime, how could he hesitate?

Hang Sim tried to unleash his ultimate technique, gathering all his power towards Mok Gyeong-un.

However,

-Swish!

Mok Gyeong-un, who had indifferently glanced at the approaching Hang Sim once, lightly waved his hand, and,

-Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

‘!?’

Hang Sim’s pupils trembled as he was using the Void Stepping Technique.

This was because about a hundred of the numerous swords that had been floating in the air all flew towards him at once.

‘He’s handling this many swords simultaneously?’

Is this even possible in reality?

His shock was short-lived,

“Haap!”

Hang Sim unleashed a tyrannical saber technique to counter this.

His saber, emitting saber energy equivalent to five jang, fiercely displayed saber techniques to respond to the incoming swords, but,

-Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

‘Damn it.’

The energy carried by the swords exceeded his expectations.

Despite gritting his teeth and unleashing his saber techniques, he couldn’t withstand the momentum of the sword energy swords that endlessly circulated and crashed like waves, and was swept away.

-Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

“Kuuugh!”

‘!!!!!!’

The warriors of the three major factions watching this scene were so shocked they lost their words.

‘This can’t be…..’

‘Th-the Unruly Evil Hegemon Hang Sim?’

Hang Sim, the strongest of the Evil Alliance and one of the Seven Heavens, was swept away by the wave of swords in an instant without even being able to approach.

What on earth is the identity of that monster?

The attention of everyone who had been fighting so fiercely naturally turned to the being at the center of the thousands of swords covering the sky.

-Woosh!

Mok Gyeong-un, who had been scanning them with indifferent eyes, then opened his mouth.

“I am the Heavenly Demon. The brilliant flame that leads all demons and guides everything into darkness.”