Chapter 280: Where Does Conflict Come From (5)

“...?!”

Gi Uhui’s eyes shook violently as she ran.

That person is...?

Someone was charging straight at her.

The speed was utterly beyond the realm of man. A bird in flight, a beast pouncing on prey, even the fastest famous steed under heaven—none of them would have stood a chance against it.

With Gi Uhui’s level of skill, with her reflexes, she could not read the movements of the man rushing at her with a massive axe and chain in hand.

But what was this?

For some reason, the young man’s figure alone—coming at her at a speed far beyond imagination—seemed perfectly clear.

It felt as if she had fallen alone into slowed time. Within it, she could see and feel everything: his eyes, his expression, every shred of the explosive presence pouring off him.

Dangerous.

That was the very first impression he gave her.

Terrifyingly dangerous!

Without realizing it, Gi Uhui twisted her body, trying to turn away.

At that instant, Yeon Hojeong accelerated again.

KWAAAAANG!

Wrapped in a terrifying blast of heat, Yeon Hojeong launched himself forward, leaped clean over Gi Uhui, and plunged straight into her rear.

“Aaaaah!”

The scream tore out of her and rang through the mountains.

Yeon Hojeong shouted.

“Mookbi!”

BOOOOOOM!

In an instant, Mookbi was at Yeon Hojeong’s back with Red Lotus Bow in hand.

TATATATATANG!

A merciless rapid-fire burst—five shots of Formless Shot—flew at the assassins as they revealed themselves.

Thud! Thud! TIIIIING!

Mookbi’s eyes flashed.

Three Formless Shots blew the heads off three assassins, but the remaining two drew their swords and knocked the shots away.

Fast.

Their reaction speed was excellent. Their Inner Qi and swordsmanship were first-rate as well. She had not used iron arrows or wooden arrows—only archery force—but even so, it was a penetrating power that ordinary martial arts should never have been able to stop.

But arrows don’t run out.

If she had been alone, she would already have started unleashing the ultimate forms of Nine-Dragon Heaven-Shattering Bow Mastery without restraint.

But there was no need for that now.

Because beside her stood a dependable ally—the very incarnation of battlefield martial arts.

WHOOOOOOOM! BOOM!

With one strike of Mad Dragon swung at monstrous speed, the bodies of the two assassins were ripped apart and sent flying.

It felt as if a bitter wind weighing a thousand pounds had swept through. Flesh and blood torn loose by that oppressive blow filled the air.

Fire burst from Yeon Hojeong’s feet.

KWANG!

It was the Fire God’s dash, blasting through a short distance at impossible speed.

Using Blood-Wing Sweeping Heaven, Yeon Hojeong entered the mouth of the forest in a single bound and seized the Flood Dragon Chain wrapped around his upper body.

CHWARURURURURUK!

An axe in his right hand, a chain in his left.

Two above on the left, three below on the left, two at center-right.

He saw straight through the positions of the assassins hidden in the undergrowth.

Yeon Hojeong whipped the Flood Dragon Chain.

CHWARURURUK! THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!

From the upper left to the center-right, the Flood Dragon Chain, sharpened into the likeness of a drill, pierced through the torsos of seven assassins in an instant.

It was not White Tiger Qi, nor Vermilion Bird Qi.

It was Azure Dragon Qi.

Azure Dragon Art specialized in evasion and counterattack. And Azure Dragon Qi, the foundation of that art, had the property of freely altering the nature of a weapon. If the goal was not a one-hit kill but to pierce, hook, and drag, Azure Dragon Qi was superior even to Vermilion Bird Qi.

Yeon Hojeong yanked the Flood Dragon Chain back.

KWAJIK! BANG!

The seven assassins with holes through their torsos flew through the air toward him.

Every one of their postures had been utterly broken. Yeon Hojeong swung Mad Dragon.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The beastlike destructive power of Tiger King’s Nine-Wall Breaker tore all seven bodies apart in one stroke.

It was a cavalry combination technique that should have been nearly impossible to handle. One weapon weighed eighty geun by itself, the other was an iron chain nearly five zhang long, and yet he wielded both one-handed with consummate mastery.

“This is insane.”

Gangryang clicked his tongue as he came to Gi Uhui’s side.

“What kind of ridiculous martial arts even is that?!”

He had seen it before, but no matter how many times he watched it, he still could not get used to it. At the same time, Gangryang became newly certain of something.

In their spar, Yeon Hojeong had not shown even thirty percent of his true ability.

Mo Yong-woo gave Gi Uhui a brief martial salute.

“I am Mo Yong-woo, Commander of the Demon-Sweeping Corps of the Martial Alliance. Are you the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions?”

“Y-yes?! Ah! I’m not a divine maiden, I... I mean, that is...”

Flustered, she stammered over every word.

Mo Yong-woo nodded.

“Gi Uhui, divine physician of the Western Regions. From this moment on, we will protect you.”

“Th-thank you.”

Even in the middle of such chaos, she bowed deeply in gratitude. Mo Yong-woo could feel how gentle her nature was.

Then it happened.

KWAAAAANG! BOOOOOOM!

Savage thunderous blasts erupted.

Trees were snapping. The skin of the earth was being turned over. The attacks pouring in were so destructive it felt as though heaven and earth themselves were shaking.

Yeon Hojeong shouted.

“Commander Mo Yong! Go to the place I told you about!”

Mo Yong-woo hoisted Gi Uhui onto his back at once.

“Excuse me.”

PAAAAANG!

With Gi Uhui on his back, Mo Yong-woo and Gangryang shot out of the battle zone in a single burst.

At the same time, the assassins lying in wait in the forest broke off and swung around at uncanny speed. This was no open plain, yet their movement through the trees was terrifyingly fast and precise.

Yeon Hojeong roared.

“Stop them!”

HOOOOOOONG.

Mookbi nocked an iron coin on Red Lotus Bow.

Dragon Fang Cannon!

A tremendous surge of Inner Qi swelled into the string, transforming the iron coin set against it into an absolutely unstoppable shell.

Mookbi loosed the string.

BWAAAAAAANG!

The Dragon Fang Cannon shot spiraled forward, heating the air around it.

KWAAAAANG!

Five or six towering trees exploded apart, three boulders the size of houses shattered, and a massive wall of debris sprang up. It had blocked the assassins’ route in a single blow.

At that instant, Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed.

PAAAAAK!

More than twenty assassins ran up the blocked wall and leaped high into the air.

Astonishingly, the wind cloaks they wore spread into huge membranes and rode the wind.

Impressive. For aerial movement like that ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) to be possible, they needed garments woven from special cloth, extraordinarily delicate Inner Qi control, and movement technique and insight refined to a matching level.

They aren’t ordinary assassins.

There had been people like that back in his Black Emperor’s Citadel days. Special assault units that flew along cliff faces used to escape from or infiltrate operational zones in exactly that way.

Their skill is one thing, but procuring gear like that takes enormous money.

Yeon Hojeong shouted.

“Mookbi!”

“I know!”

Mookbi nocked five iron coins to the string.

PIPIPIPIPING!

They shot out even faster than Formless Shot.

Crossing dozens of zhang in an instant, the five iron coins punched straight through the garments and torsos of five assassins.

It was archery that never missed.

Just as she herself had said, the existence of an archer in battle was an overwhelming threat to the enemy.

Of course, Yeon Hojeong did not stand there watching.

CLANK!

He hooked the Flood Dragon Chain to the ring at the spear-end of Mad Dragon, then stamped into Blood-Wing Sweeping Heaven once more.

PABABABAK!

He ran forward like a flame without weight. Closing the distance in a flash, he sprinted up a tree and stepped on the tip of a branch.

BOOOOOOM!

With an explosive blast, Yeon Hojeong launched himself high into the sky and swung the Flood Dragon Chain at once.

It was a Blood Wind Dance.

BWAAAAAAANG! KWAJIJIJIK!

A bloodstorm burst across the air. The elongated Flood Dragon Chain, and Mad Dragon bound to its end, swept away more than ten assassins in one pass.

Damn.

Yeon Hojeong frowned.

These bastards really are professionals.

Even after watching their comrades die right in front of them, not a flicker shook their eyes. The survivors kept flying on, doing everything they could to seize the target.

They even showed off an astonishing bit of acrobatics.

TATATATATANG!

Five more Formless Shots ripped through the air.

At the same moment, the five remaining assassins all twisted their bodies at once. Their formation scattered wide, and the Formless Shots punched through nothing but empty air.

Mookbi’s eyes shook.

They dodged that?!

Movement was heavily restricted in midair. Pulling off footwork like that there was anything but easy.

Their individual martial arts aren’t much. At best, they’re below Gangryang. But...

Yeon Hojeong’s voice rang out.

“Don’t respond to them like ordinary martial artists! These bastards are properly trained! Think back to when you fought Ink Dragon Manor’s Death-Soul Team!”

In that instant, the uncertainty in Mookbi’s eyes blazed away.

The Death-Soul Team was one of Ink Dragon Manor’s special units, men specialized in battle against masters. Yeon Hojeong had not struggled against them for nothing.

But when the Evil-Smiting Corps appeared on the battlefield under Mookbi’s command, they had slaughtered the Death-Soul Team with terrifying breakthrough power and almost divine formations.

Was that one-sided battle really the result of a simple difference in actual strength?

No.

There had been another reason the Evil-Smiting Corps had been able to overwhelm the Death-Soul Team.

PAAAAAAAK!

The movement technique of Dragon Flight Swift Passage was, no matter how often one saw it, astonishingly fast enough to leave one gaping.

Now she flashed past the assassins skimming in low through the air toward their target in the blink of an eye. The place she reached was directly behind Mo Yong-woo.

Gangryang’s eyes widened.

“Big Sister!”

“Lend me your shoulder!”

PAAAAK!

Mookbi stepped onto Gangryang’s shoulder in one motion.

It was astonishing movement technique, astonishing balance. Even as she stood atop the shoulder of a man running at a violent pace and drew the bowstring, the movement of her knees and hips was so fluid that there was not the slightest shake in her upper body or shoulders.

Even Gangryang could not help being amazed. Mookbi’s control of Inner Qi had reached such a level that she had nearly erased her own weight. Even with a person standing on his shoulders, Gangryang’s movement speed barely dropped.

Mookbi shouted.

“Run! I’ll take the rear!”

“Yes!”

PAAAAK!

Gangryang ran forward, and Mookbi, standing on both his shoulders, turned to face backward and trained her arrows on the assassins approaching in low flight.

There was only one reason the Evil-Smiting Corps had been able to overwhelm the Death-Soul Team.

KKADEUDEUDEUK!

The string of Red Lotus Bow drew back to its limit.

Because they turned the environment to their advantage and rendered the enemy helpless!

Red Lotus Bow spat fire.

PUH-PUH-PUH-PUH-POONG!

Under the merciless barrage, the bodies of the five assassins moved like mad.

TITITITITING! TITITITITITING!

Mookbi’s hands had reached something like the divine.

She loosed iron coins, wooden arrows, and Formless Shot in a savage, patternless barrage. There was no telling what kind of projectile would come next or from what angle. It was a high-speed continuous-fire technique so extreme that there was likely not a single archer in all the Central Plains who could match Mookbi’s rate of fire.

Then—

TUH-UH-UH-UNG!

Mookbi fired a Formless Shot at the ground.

HOOOOOOONG! BOOOOOOM!

“Urk!”

With a groan, one assassin coughed blood and dropped from the sky.

It was an astonishing strike. This was not an ordinary arcing shot fired high to let gravity carry it into the target. The Formless Shot had skimmed the ground, then curved upward and punched straight through the assassin’s throat.

It was archery beyond imagination. Across the entire Central Plains, Mookbi alone could have used such a technique.

The assassins’ eyes wavered. They too had realized that before Mookbi’s terrifying archery, they could no longer close the distance.

No.

Killing Intent sharpened in Mookbi’s eyes.

We need to finish them all here. It’ll make everything afterward easier.

TATATATATANG!

Formless Shots bent in grotesque curves from above, below, left, and right, threatening the assassins’ lives.

Drip.

Mookbi’s complexion turned pale, and a line of blood ran from the corner of her mouth.

Forcing arrows of qi, fired at speeds equal to Formless Shot, to bend mid-flight was a technique that consumed enormous mental focus and Inner Qi. Even Mookbi had no choice but to accept internal injury.

BOOM! BOOOOOOM!

Two more assassins fell. As their bodies rolled across the ground, the sound of shattered bones could be heard.

Two left!

Then—

KWAAAAANG!

A massive burst of flame erupted from the left side of the fleeing group.

Mookbi’s eyes flew wide.

“C-Cannons?!”