Sword God Reborn

Chapter 286 : The Strongest Card

Before leaving the Azure Star Escort Agency and fully jumping into the great war.

Cheon Mubaeck quietly called Neung-heo.

"Neung-heo."

"What."

At the blunt answer, Cheon Mubaeck's brow narrowed.

"When on earth are you going to fix that tone?"

"There is such a thing as a spirit that does not yield even to violence."

"Is having a rude tone a spirit?"

"Anyway, what is it?"

Cheon Mubaeck answered with a face that was hard to understand.

"I've lived a lot, but I suddenly thought that I still don't know the world well."

"Is it another statement without context? And why are you suddenly thinking that while holding my Hang-ah in your arms?"

Neung-heo glanced at him with a worried expression.

The baby, who was tightly wrapped in a soft cloth in case she caught a cold, was smiling brightly.

Her small fingers were wiggling.

Cheon Mubaeck let out a quiet sigh.

"How can a child inherit only the mother's appearance so biasedly? I really don't know the world. It is truly a divine providence. It's a relief that she only resembles her mother."

Although Neung-heo's face immediately contorted, he also nodded slightly as if he inwardly agreed.

This small baby, called Hang-ah, was Neung-heo's late-born daughter.

He had wondered why Neung-heo would always talk about her and boast, but it was indeed worth it.

The child, who had inherited only the appearance of Seol-yeong, who had once been the number one courtesan of the Lotus Pavilion, was to the extent that her future appearance was naturally drawn in Cheon Mubaeck's eyes.

"Keung. My heart already aches at the thought of not being able to see our Hang-ah."

At Neung-heo's crying words, Cheon Mubaeck said casually.

"You can stay here."

"Hey, do I have no sense? If I say I'll stay, taking this as a golden opportunity, how much are you going to beat me?"

"No, I'm serious. If you want to stay, stay."

"...?"

Neung-heo, who had just thought it was a joke, straightened his expression at Cheon Mubaeck's serious voice.

Cheon Mubaeck also had a serious face, unlike usual.

'What's with that guy? Why is he being so serious?'

Had Cheon Mubaeck ever been nervous before a fight?

Of course, he didn't feel any tension on that face. But the atmosphere itself was different.

A change of heart.

The sign of thoroughly preparing for a fight by properly straightening his body and mind was evident.

Although Cheon Mubaeck had gone to several fights so far, and Neung-heo had also followed, he had never felt such a sense of a change of heart.

'He was always at ease.'

Were the fights so far ordinary fights?

'A person who had always laughed even in such a situation...'

To think he was composing himself like that.

Then it was clear that he was saying it for his own sake.

From the fact that Cheon Mubaeck had said he would see the child's face once before he left.

Cheon Mubaeck slowly continued.

"You don't have to go to the battlefield. Following me and fighting on the front lines is not protecting your fence."

"..."

"I will protect the great fence of the martial world. Not a black path person like you. A narrow-minded and petty black path rabble like you should just protect your own fence, your family. That is your and my vessel."

"...Is that a statement to take care of me, or a statement to curse me?"

"Both."

Neung-heo's mouth stuck out.

Although the intention to take care of him was clear, why were all the expressions his own curses?

But the intention was clear, and Neung-heo could fully feel Cheon Mubaeck's emotions hidden in the intention.

Although the beginning of their relationship was clearly a bad fate, how could a person's connection always be the same?

Since a person's relationship was more varied than the changes of the seasons, now, Neung-heo sincerely volunteered to be Cheon Mubaeck's right-hand man.

Neung-heo's face became serious and he bowed before him.

"My lord."

"Oh. Hey. Don't lower your voice. It's creepy."

"I will not stay and will follow you to fight."

"I can't protect your life. That's what war is."

"I'll protect my own life. I'm not a three-year-old child. Of course, considering your age, my lord, I might feel even younger than that."

"It's different from the fights so far. The Heavenly Demon is a guy who is even more than the Blood Buddha or the Ghost Demon of the Blood Demon Valley. Even if he doesn't reach the Blood Buddha, there might be several monsters of that level."

"Well, what can I do? I've come this far. Are you telling me to back out now?"

"You crazy bastard. We have to fight the Heavenly Demon?"

"Hey. The one who's fighting the Heavenly Demon is you, my lord. I just have to catch a few of those guys at the bottom."

"It sounds like you're going to take it easy."

"So that later, when our Hang-ah grows up, huh? Her father also fought next to the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero in the Righteous-Demonic War, huh? And gave the Heavenly Demon one sword strike. Won't I be able to boast like this?"

"I will remember those words."

"What."

"The one about giving the Heavenly Demon one sword strike."

"It's just a figure of speech."

"If you can't give him one sword strike, you'll get one fist from me, so think carefully. Which one would be better."

Neung-heo flinched and then made a crying face.

"...Can't I just stay at the Lotus Pavilion?"

"Let's go."

"My mind has changed. I'll just stay..."

It's too late, you bastard.

"Now, let's go and catch the Heavenly Demon with me."

Cheon Mubaeck, stands up.

* * *

The response of the Righteous Alliance, which was facing the demonic path that was starting fights everywhere, could be expressed in one phrase.

Selection and concentration.

The current situation was clearly being pushed back by the demonic path.

Qinghai Province and Xizang, which were almost like foreign lands, had lost all contact with the orthodox path of the Central Plains at the same time as the start.

Gansu, Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guangdong had collapsed in order as they were attacked one after another before they could even be surprised and respond in a hurry.

It was as if they had collapsed before the Righteous Alliance could do anything about the battles that were happening simultaneously not only from the west, but also from the north and the south.

It was clearly different from the Righteous-Demonic Wars that had been left in history so far.

The fight, which had always started from the west, was now happening simultaneously from the north, west, and south.

The real problem was the demonic path's military power.

Even though the demonic path, which had raised its forces in the foreign lands, had chosen to disperse its forces, its power had not diminished at all.

Because of this, the choices that the Righteous Alliance could make were extremely narrow.

"What if we disperse our forces and block them everywhere?"

"The Central Plains is wide, and we don't even know where their destination is, so can we block them all by scattering and blocking them?"

"Even if we block them, we might be defeated one by one due to the dispersion of our forces!"

In fact, as the incident of the martial artists dispatched by the Righteous Alliance being annihilated in various places occurred, this concern became even more serious.

In the meantime, a name that was engraved in the orthodox martial world with fear appeared.

"We must declare that guy called the Heavenly Mad Demon as a public enemy of the martial world!"

"The number of orthodox martial artists who have died at his hands is already in the three digits!"

Scream-like shouts came out from the orthodox martial world.

Although the Heavenly Mad Demon had moved with only one escort, since he was practically moving alone, his movements were not only unpredictable, but also extremely nimble.

Even if the Righteous Alliance organized and dispatched martial artists to various places, he was skilled in appearing like a ghost and defeating them one by one.

Because of this, the Righteous Alliance had made a decision.

"We will protect the core bases and respond!"

Selection and concentration came to the fore.

They would select the core bases and concentrate the elite martial artists of the Righteous Alliance to protect them as much as possible and respond nimbly.

Because in the end, the tip of the demonic path's sword would be aimed at the great sects of the orthodox path, represented by the Nine Sects One Faction.

Making this decision, Zhuge Yeogang was greatly relieved at the fact that the Blood Demon Valley had become quiet.

"If I listen to Seol-ah's words, it was Cheon Mubaeck who caught the Ghost Demon, and the news that followed was that it was Cheon Mubaeck who had killed the Blood Buddha..."

"If the Blood Demon Valley had been normal, it would have been a big problem."

Zhuge Yeogang and Gwak Yong had now realized what the demonic path's scheme was.

If the foreign demonic path infiltrated from the outside simultaneously,

The Blood Demon Valley, which had raised its forces inside, would move and attack the core of the Nine Sects One Faction.

If that happened, the orthodox martial world's forces would be greatly weakened before they could even respond jointly.

Realizing that scheme, paradoxically, Cheon Mubaeck's prestige had risen even higher.

Even before the signs of the Blood Demon Valley had appeared.

The person who had tracked the plague that had spread in Shaanxi and Henan and had in the end brought down the Blood Demon Valley alone.

Various words came out from all over the orthodox martial world about such a Cheon Mubaeck.

"Have you heard that rumor? General."

"What rumor are you talking about? Alliance Leader."

"The rumor that the Azure Sky Sword God, who had ascended to immortality, had sent down the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero to protect the martial world even after he had left the secular world."

"Heo..."

"It's not a wrong statement. The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero is also a descendant of the Sword God."

Although Zhuge Yeogang, who maintained a relatively calm attitude towards Cheon Mubaeck, burst into a hollow laugh, he could not deny it.

At this time, when the Righteous-Demonic War had begun in earnest and his white hair was increasing day by day.

'If it hadn't been for that guy...'

Could he really have held on with a sane mind? He desperately hoped that the rumor circulating in the orthodox martial world was true.

Thanks to that, Zhuge Yeogang's decision was effective.

As the elites of the Righteous Alliance were firmly gathered at the core bases, the demonic path forces that had attacked carelessly were annihilated in an instant.

If they were to attack properly, the demonic path would also have to gather its forces and aim for a decisive battle at once, rather than dispersing its forces.

However, this strategy did not completely bring victory to the orthodox martial world.

It had just turned the tide, which had been rapidly tilting towards the demonic path, back to its original state.

Moreover, the side effects were also very severe.

Selection and concentration inevitably had an 'unselected area'.

How many small and medium-sized sects had joined the Righteous Alliance due to the threat of the demonic path that was approaching them?

The small and medium-sized sects, which were far from the choice of the core bases, had no choice but to bear the brunt of the natural disaster of the demonic path.

Gohyeon in Shanxi Province.

The Spear and Sword Sect.

If you traced its origins, the Spear and Sword Sect was a sect that had been established from the spears and swords of the veteran soldiers who had fought constantly in wars.

Although its scale was relatively small, it was a solid middle-ranking sect that had a certain position in Shanxi Province.

But such a Spear and Sword Sect was now burning.

"The damn demonic path bastards have finally...!"

The attack of the demonic path, which had been carried out without him knowing, had completely burned the deep night.

Although the martial artists of the Spear and Sword Sect had hurriedly launched a counterattack, the demonic people were truly strong.

"Keoheok!"

"Protect the Sect Leader!"

The martial artists of the Spear and Sword Sect were dying here and there.

Even so, the martial artists took out their spears and swords with a determined face and gathered around the Sect Leader.

Surrender? What was the use of that?

How could they surrender to the demonic people? Even if they surrendered, would they accept it?

Like ghosts who craved blood, they were committing a massacre, and it did not matter whether they were martial artists or servants.

They were just swinging their swords fiercely, as if to wipe out the name of the Spear and Sword Sect altogether.

There was a limit to holding on.

If there was at least a hope that a support force would come from somewhere if they held on like this, it would be a different story.

But there was no such hope.

The Spear and Sword Sect Leader finally burst into a lament.

"Righteous Alliance! What on earth is righteousness! Righteousness for the orthodox martial world? Were the guys who just represented and protected their own Nine Sects One Faction asking us for martial artists in the name of protecting the martial world!"

It was truly a pitiful cry that was like vomiting blood.

No, in fact, the Sect Leader had vomited blood.

The Spear and Sword Sect, which was far from the core bases, was outside the support range of the Righteous Alliance, a federation of the orthodox martial world.

Even if they requested support, when would they send a rescue?

"Ah, ah, are the pavilions of the Spear and Sword Sect, which the previous sect leaders had built, collapsing in my generation...!"

Looking at the dying martial artists, the Sect Leader could only let out a lament.

What appeared in his eyes was a deepening despair.

His body trembled to the point where his teeth chattered at the fact that there was no one to help them in the midst of the Righteous-Demonic War.

At that moment.

Suddenly, the flow of the battlefield strangely changed.

'A smell.'

There was a smell. A very familiar one.

The Spear and Sword Sect Leader had not forgotten the roots of his sect. It was a mandatory course for the martial artists of the Spear and Sword Sect to enter the military and to participate in wars.

He had also entered the military and had experienced several border wars.

It was the blood scent of that time. To be precise...

"The smell of fear."

A scream echoed from among the demonic people who had been coming in over the wall without hesitation.

The scream that had once echoed was terrible. But it continued without stopping.

The Spear and Sword Sect Leader's eyes widened as he saw the urgency on the faces of the demonic people who had been pushing them madly.

"Is it support? Who on earth? Even if it's a nearby orthodox sect, the distance is not a level that can be reached overnight!"

Soon, the Spear and Sword Sect Leader trembled as he saw the identity of the support.

A scream of the demonic people spreading in the midst of the encroaching darkness.

And then a pure white light that spread.

As if a divine general of the sky had descended with a sword.

A person who was cutting down the demonic people so easily, with a pure white halo around his entire body.

The pupils of the Spear and Sword Sect Leader, no, of all the martial artists in the hall, shook violently.

A pure white light... the screams of the demonic people...

He had heard it once. A few years ago, when Shaolin was on the verge of collapsing due to the attack of the demonic people.

That a light that consumed the darkness had saved Shaolin.

And the name of that light was soon.

"The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero..."

The strongest card that the orthodox martial world could put forward.

No, the only card that could turn the tables.

It was Cheon Mubaeck.

(End of Chapter)