novelraw Chapter 143 : The Best Sword in Shaanxi (3)
Chapter 143 : The Best Sword in Shaanxi (3)
Huashan Sect was in crisis.
It had already been several shichen since we started moving as soon as the direction of the battle was decided. I casually asked Gu Ja-beom.
"Is there any reason for us to protect them? The Huashan Sect is a natural fortress."
"Normally, that would be the case. But this time, it is said that the Blood Fiend group, including Zhuge Ryu-hun, launched an attack, taking advantage of the gap when the Plum Blossom Sword Saint and the Plum Blossom Sword Unit were dispatched outside."
Although the elders and the three great disciples were holding out at the main mountain, if a force of that size rushed in with the Heretic Alliance, it was a situation where it was unknown when it would be breached.
‘Why Huashan of all places?’
Although there was a war with the Heretic Alliance in the original story, I had planned the strategy to avoid Zhuge Ryu-hun as much as possible, so I didn't know exactly why they were targeting Huashan.
However, all I knew was that if the Huashan Sect fell, it was obvious that the Heretic Alliance's side would become advantageous from then on.
‘Then I have no choice but to stop them.’
After running for a long time and stepping on the footwork, the place we arrived at was Huashan, the main mountain of the Huashan Sect, which was famous for being rugged among the Five Great Mountains.
“Chief Professor! The entrance here is strange!”
One of the instructors, who was examining the area, shouted. The entrance of the mountain, where there should have been stone stairs, was blocked by fog.
‘It’s a formation.’
It seemed Zhuge Ryu-hun had laid it down to be wary of the support troops.
Normally, even a peak-level master would have lost their way and wandered for a long time the moment they stepped in there.
However, now here was me, a 1st-grade formation master with the capabilities of at least a quasi-special-grade formation master.
“I’ll take care of it.”
I put mana on my fingertips and brought it to the boundary of the fog. Then, the empty space rippled as if it had touched a transparent membrane.
It was a feat that was possible because, since reaching the realm of the 4th circle, I could give coordinates to mana and make it serve as a formation even without a jade stone.
Soon after, as I interfered with the formation, in an instant, I felt a presence observing this side beyond my consciousness, as if an electrode had been connected.
‘Zhuge Ryu-hun!’
He was conscious of this side. As if quite surprised, he quickly transformed the formation.
The rapidly freezing atmosphere. Soon, the fog settled on the ground like a field of frost, and white snow began to pour down in the area.
“Wow…”
“Get a grip.”
As one of the instructors muttered as if fascinated, I shook them awake with psychokinesis.
“Be careful of the snow. It’s a formation that blinds the consciousness.”
I immediately created a hot wind with fire magic and scattered the formation.
The scenery of the snow-capped mountain that was rapidly melting. What was finally revealed was a desolate mountain that had entered a full-fledged winter.
“Excellent. Let’s go in.”
With Gu Ja-beom's command, everyone began to climb the mountain. But I still had one doubt.
‘It was resolved too easily.’
Perhaps because he had already climbed to the upper part of Huashan, the interference power of the formation was weak. It must have been unavoidable to construct a formation that covered this entire wide mountainous area.
Nevertheless, he gave up on the formation he had installed too easily. As if there was a matter to concentrate on right now.
“It seems we need to go faster. Even if it’s just us.”
“No. We prioritize the formation.”
Gu Ja-beom shook his head. The reason was that it was too risky to disperse our forces in a situation where we didn't know where a formation might be laid.
I understood, but I had a bad feeling. When the same answer came back even after continued persuasion, I finally made a decision.
“I’ll go first. I’ll disable all the formations on the way.”
“Don’t…”
“Then I’ll go with you too!”
Baek Hasin chimed in from the side. Although he was a student, it was the opinion of two super-peak masters. In the end, Gu Ja-beom had no choice but to nod his head.
“As an advance party, go and grasp the situation first. Don’t overdo it.”
We increased our speed and entered the middle of Huashan. Although it was an endlessly continuing slope, we could climb it enough with the leg strength of a super-peak master.
While dismantling the formation in real time and moving forward, I asked what I was curious about.
“Why did you follow?”
“If you’re the one to step forward first, it means the situation is that dangerous.”
Baek Hasin's answer returned.
Although it felt strange that he had a deep trust in a strange sense, I nodded my head since he said he would be of help.
Then, Baek Hasin said with a hint of a smile.
“You seem to have changed a lot too.”
“What?”
“You weren’t this proactive before.”
That's right. To step forward as an advance party without any support. Normally, I wouldn't have done such a disadvantageous thing.
But I didn't want to just stand by when a crisis was clearly visible. Until now, I had been weak and had nothing to gain, so I had been cautious, but if the situation was the opposite, the story was different.
‘With this, I can put the Huashan Sect in my debt and mess with the Blood Cult’s side, so it’s a profitable business.’
As we were running for a long time, the entrance of the Huashan Sect, the high ground of Huashan, came into view in the distance.
But beyond that, no sound of battle was heard. The Blood Cult group was also not seen.
‘Am I too late?’
I ran to the entrance and immediately poured mana onto the formation.
Simultaneously, the scenery that had been nothing split, and the battlefield beyond it was revealed.
It was a formation, as expected. They had been trapping the Huashan Sect with a large-scale formation.
“You go in first. I’ll join after I break the formation.”
“Alright!”
With the answer, Baek Hasin immediately joined the battlefield and began to cut down the Blood Fiends.
In the meantime, I interfered with the core of the large-scale formation that was covering the grounds of the Huashan Sect.
‘If I can’t break Zhuge Ryu-hun’s formation, I’ll just be fighting in a disadvantageous battlefield.’
The reason I was able to repel the Black Dragon Unit when I destroyed the Zhuge family before was also because my magic and formation abilities had created an advantageous situation.
In a group battle like this, eliminating the environmental constraints was that important.
Even more so if it was inside a formation controlled by a special-grade formation master.
After going back through the operating system made of complex formulas, I was able to take some control of the formation.
And without much difficulty.
‘What’s this?’
Although I was puzzled, what surprised me next was the scene that unfolded before my eyes.
Because in the middle of the battlefield where Huashan and the Blood Cult were fighting in the thick snow, there was Zhuge Ryu-hun.
He was standing in the center of the battlefield and was just looking at me.
For a formation master to reveal himself defenselessly on the battlefield was a suicidal act. I was about to fly the First Blade but stopped for a moment.
Because I couldn't feel any qi sense from him.
In fact, even in the midst of the battle, no one around him was acting as if they could see Zhuge Ryu-hun.
‘It’s not a real body. It’s an illusion!’
Like a hologram, Zhuge Ryu-hun passed by the surroundings and approached me.
- You are a talented child. No, that’s not enough.
Even though he was not a martial artist who had reached the peak level, but just a formation master, the fact that he was using telepathy was certainly not ordinary.
I secretly broke the formation and watched the opponent's reaction.
- Is it the Heavenly Wheel? I feel a great destiny.
- What do you mean by that?
When I sent a telepathic message to the opponent, Zhuge Ryu-hun's figure began to blur.
- Perhaps it might be defying the heavens.
And then he left a word as he completely disappeared.
- Let’s meet again later, child.
‘What on earth?’
I narrowed my brow, looking at the spot where Zhuge Ryu-hun had disappeared. Before I knew it, I had almost taken control of the large-scale formation.
However, it seemed there was a self-destruct sequence in the formation itself, and it was set to go berserk at a certain point.
‘So this is a special-grade formation master?’
Ice and wind began to blow wildly from all directions. A gust of wind that was so strong that even the three great disciples of the Huashan Sect couldn't stand properly.
If this continued, the Huashan Sect could also be completely swept away.
I scattered my mana and intervened in the formation. And then I pressed down with my mana and stopped the snowstorm that was blowing around.
When I forcibly controlled the power of the formation, which had been swelling wildly at first, it gradually subsided and then exploded with the core of the formation.
Jjeo-jeo-jeo-jeok!
In the midst of the cold air and ice storm that covered all directions, I narrowed my eyes.
‘He didn’t even leave any room for this side to use.’
The strategy of using the Zhuge family's formation to drive the Black Dragon Unit back in reverse, which I had used before, couldn't even be tried.
As expected of a special-grade formation master.
‘But why on earth did Zhuge Ryu-hun attack this place?’
No matter how much they had joined forces with the Heretic Alliance, this was the main base of the Huashan Sect. The point of attacking the rear was strategically important, but in other words, it was a role that had a high probability of being used as a sacrificial pawn.
Since an existence like Zhuge Ryu-hun would not be unaware of such a basic thing, it was clear that he had an ulterior motive.
‘First, I need to figure out where he is.’
I tracked the residual energy of the formation and traversed the grounds of the Huashan Sect.
Although the traces were cleanly erased, he couldn't erase all the location of the strong-presence formation core and the snow footprints laid around it.
When I spread my mana and examined the surface in detail, there were traces of movement, erasing the snow tracks on one side.
‘There!’
As I ran in the direction I had tracked, a sharp sword cry was heard from the side of the steep cliff. The location where the treasure vault of the Huashan Sect was hidden.
I called Baek Hasin, who was far away, and then ran there.
As I entered, cutting down the two Blood Fiends who were guarding the entrance, inside the treasure vault, the Huashan Sect's head, Un Seong-mun, and two Blood Fiends were fighting.
A situation where one Transformation master and two super-peak level masters were attached. It was just after Un Seong-mun had deflected one of the Blood Fiends.
Seeing that scene, I launched a surprise attack with a Flame Lightning First Blade Spear.
The shot ray of light flew towards the enemy's heart and then suddenly bent in the middle.
Strangely, the trajectory of the Flame Lightning First Blade Spear bent in the air and missed the Blood Fiend.
‘What’s going on?’
I hastily turned the sword path and tried to take at least one of the enemy's arms, but the Blood Fiend, who had reacted belatedly, deflected the attack.
Only then did the Blood Fiends, who were wary of this side, widen the distance.
‘The surprise attack failed. By the way, what was that distortion phenomenon just now?’
The question was scattered with the shout of the sect head.
“Who are you!”
“I am Zhuge Cheonwu, a student of the Martial Academy. I have come to help the Huashan Sect.”
I said so and raised my sword. What the sect head was protecting now was the White Plum Blossom.
It was the divine object of the Huashan Sect, which was said to have been left by the founding ancestor who had created the Zixia Sword Art.
“Just take care of one of the Blood Fiend bastards! Then I’ll deal with it.”
Un Seong-mun shouted, catching up with the Blood Fiend who was subtly trying to back away.
Just then, something was shimmering around the divine object.
‘What’s that?’
It was something I had experienced when I had flown the Flame Lightning First Blade Spear earlier. After momentarily widening my senses, I was able to identify the culprit of the anomaly.
‘This is?!’
And I flew the First Blade towards the place where I felt a heterogeneous feeling different from the qi sense.
Kwaang!
Simultaneously, the wall of the treasure vault collapsed, and an old man revealed himself from within.
I knew his identity.
“Zhuge Ryu-hun!”
With the shout, I shot magic. But neither the spear of flame lightning nor the lightning strike could hit the old man and just hit the wall behind.
‘What happened?’
I suspected I was under a hallucination, but there were no such signs. No, as long as I had [Extreme Will], there was no way a mental curse would work.
That question was also brief, and suddenly, Zhuge Ryu-hun's figure disappeared from before my eyes.
The place he appeared was in front of the White Plum Blossom. It seemed he had aimed for the time when the sect head was confronting the Blood Fiend.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
I immediately grabbed Zhuge Ryu-hun with psychokinesis.
If a projectile didn't work, I would just grab him with a formless power. Then, the opponent looked at me with surprised eyes.
“You bastard!”
The moment Un Seong-mun, who had belatedly deflected the Blood Fiend's sword and chased after him, was about to cut the guy down.
Tiing-!
The binding force of the psychokinesis was momentarily released, and Zhuge Ryu-hun disappeared again.
This time, completely, without leaving any trace.
“What?!”
Even Un Seong-mun showed a bewildered reaction at the elusive appearance. What had just happened was neither a footwork nor a trick of the eye.
He had really disappeared.
Only then did I have a certain conviction.
‘I’m going crazy. To think the rumor that was circulating on the strategy site was true.’
My thoughts on Zhuge Ryu-hun's ability were also brief, and I suddenly felt a dense demonic qi from the entrance.
“Cheonwu!”
Baek Hasin had joined the battle.
With this, Zhuge Ryu-hun had gone into hiding, and one more super-peak level master had been added.
The two Blood Fiends looked at each other and then began to run towards the entrance.
“Block them!”
Baek Hasin blocked one of them with his sword.
I also flew a Flame Lightning First Blade Spear and stopped one of them from escaping.
In that scene, the sect head, who was hesitating, looking back and forth between the White Plum Blossom and the Blood Fiend.
“If it comes to it, I’ll protect it!”
When I gave him a glare, Un Seong-mun, who had belatedly run to the entrance, cut off the arm of the Blood Fiend who was blocking the Flame Lightning First Blade Spear.
In the meantime, I was wary of Zhuge Ryu-hun, who might be hiding somewhere, but I couldn't feel any more heterogeneous feeling in this area.
‘Did he run away?’
As long as I didn't know Zhuge Ryu-hun's whereabouts, I couldn't let the Blood Fiends go.
Just then, I heard a familiar shout with a roar from a distance.
It was Gu Ja-beom's voice.
“Deal with the remnants of the Blood Cult!!”
The support troops from the Martial Academy had finally arrived.
I looked at the Blood Fiend, which had been reduced to one by Un Seong-mun, and said.
“Let’s capture this guy first and then talk.”
(End of Chapter)