Chapter 587 – The Fortress of the Northern Emperor (2)

It was a plain filled with white clusters of light.

“Damn it.”

While Lazy Flame Dragon, stabbed by a sword, lay sprawled out in a large spread, four black robe edges fluttered around Jeong Yeon-shin.

Each was a long robe faintly stained with yellowish-brown dust. These were traces of the extremely urgent lightness skill sprint.

Radiant Demon Wing Leader Cheong Myeong.

Radiant Sword Squad Leader Hak So-seon.

Azure Sky Squad Leader Han Cheol-mok.

Obeying Heaven Wing Leader Namgung Hwa-shin.

“……”

These were people who originally could not have gathered together, yet Jeong Yeon-shin, who had issued the assembly order, was just standing there blankly.

No one minded.

Even the squad leaders’ noble eye techniques were penetrating through the traces of divine arts carved into their young superior’s body.

How many times had he been struck by fist techniques accompanied by absurdly thick explosive force, to what degree had his joints been trampled by peerless leg techniques that shot out at unbelievable speeds along thin trajectories, how far had he repeatedly moved in the process, and finally, how much had the Northern Greatest’s strikes torn apart his body inside and out.

It was important.

The demon realm jianghu. There was no one to trust.

The squad leaders had to prescribe treatments themselves and restore Jeong Yeon-shin with crude medical skills. They couldn’t search for divine physicians rare even in the southern jianghu in the northern lands.

Even if they managed to find and bring a physician, that physician might stick a knife instead of an acupuncture needle.

Therefore, the squad leaders first etched Jeong Yeon-shin’s appearance into their eyes for a moment.

The purple robe edges still faintly wrinkled here and there, his sunken flanks, wounds bleeding in all sorts of forms.

“Insane……”

Radiant Sword Squad Leader Hak So-seon let out a hollow laugh.

His entire body was the secret manuals of transcendents. Not just a single jianghu, but traces of the Six Star Lords who moved the world on an imperial scale.

At this moment, not only the squad leaders but hundreds of blue-rank masters were looking at Jeong Yeon-shin. Warriors of the world’s greatest sect, none lacking in talent.

“In the end, you’ve come this far.”

“At the age of eighteen.”

“You all, release the Yongquan acupoints. No matter how monstrous those Yao tribe bastards are, they can’t freely use things like Form-Shifting Void.”

Now the title ‘Acting’ would disappear from the minds of the Desolate Fortress masters. It was an inevitable scene.

Soon Hak So-seon nodded.

“…That’s enough now. Let’s take care of this.”

She did not take her gaze away from Jeong Yeon-shin’s face, which she was seeing for the first time today.

It was a look as if tracing some traces, and she would have acted the same way even if their young superior had been conscious. The Radiant Sword Squad Leader was that kind of person.

“It was a wondrous trace.”

Azure Sky Squad Leader Han Cheol-mok, who spoke calmly, moved toward Jeong Yeon-shin. It was to lift him up.

Meanwhile, Obeying Heaven Wing Leader Namgung Hwa-shin pulled out the Divine Sword Squad flag, which could now be called Jeong Yeon-shin’s face, from the ground with a thud.

At the same time, another black figure approached them through the gaps between the blue-rank masters. He was roughly wearing a black long robe over blue martial clothes.

Step.

It was a youth with a blood-stained black hero’s headband around his forehead. He clearly had a bold impression, yet his body emanated a faint scent of blood.

Temporary Blood Guardian Squad Leader Hyeon Won-chang.

He had just arrived after organizing the formation of his blue-rank seniors through telepathic transmission delivered to many. The other squad leaders had not paid attention to commanding their subordinates.

“Give him to me.”

Hyeon Won-chang, who had approached the squad leaders, glanced at Namgung Hwa-shin’s Divine Sword Squad flag and spoke. But no answer came back.

While Hyeon Won-chang tilted his head slightly in puzzlement, he carefully lifted up the blood-soaked body at his feet.

It was not Jeong Yeon-shin.

It was a much more aged body. It was Sword Star Hyeon So-baek, who had saved him and collapsed earlier. His pulse was beating extremely faintly.

“I thought you were only looking at Master Jeong, but you’ve already applied acupoint pressure. It’s just a temporary measure anyway….”

Hyeon Won-chang muttered. He had noticed that the black-rank seniors had tapped the Sword Star’s blood channels with finger wind.

Swish.

Radiant Demon Wing Leader Cheong Myeong, who had been staring intently at Jeong Yeon-shin, finally turned his head to Hyeon Won-chang.

Cheong Myeong’s mouth, which usually drew a smile, was drooping unlike usual. It would be correct to call it a cold expressionlessness.

“What’s wrong? You should look and remember too.”

Cheong Myeong asked.

Hyeon Won-chang answered casually.

“When there’s no one to cut or stab, wouldn’t it be a loss if my lifespan is shortened? The seventy percent prohibition also only has meaning when the opponent is present before my eyes.”

He meant he might unconsciously release the prohibition placed on his body, namely the Seven Pillar Forbidden Acupoint Great Method.

This also meant that Hyeon Won-chang had come significantly close to Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown.

For the flow of internal energy to take a specific pattern just from being greatly angered? It was impossible unless one was just before stepping into the unity of essence, energy, and spirit.

Meanwhile, Yong Hye-myeong was still leisurely looking around at his subordinates. With a strange smile on his lips.

“This is amazing.”

After muttering somewhat helplessly, he soon shook one sleeve greatly.

“Let’s hear an explanation. What kind of reason and audacity led to causing such an incident.”

Thud!

Powerful palm wind fell on Jeong Yeon-shin’s crown.

Instantly, not only Cheong Myeong and Hyeon Won-chang but even Azure Sky Squad Leader Han Cheol-mok turned their heads sharply, but Yong Hye-myeong only shrugged his shoulders once at their gazes.

“Don’t stare at me like that. He asked me to hit him.”

Soon he grumbled quietly. Who’s the Group Leader anyway….

But it was effective.

“…!”

Focus had formed in Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes. It was thanks to the divine palm technique imbued with spirituality, and also because he had remembered the palm force of the Great Rainbow Palm down to his bones.

It was a strike he had once received from Yong Hye-myeong under the pretext of testing protective energy.

“Damn….”

Jeong Yeon-shin’s unconsciousness flowed out of his mouth and then stopped like a lie. He had become conscious of the pouring gazes.

The faces of his main fortress colleagues were reflected like mirrors in his jet-black pupils.

So full that Jeong Yeon-shin’s pupils were insufficient. Soon the corners of his blood-stained mouth twitched slightly.

But that too was brief.

“Sword Star, how is the elder…?”

He asked in a voice that broke off in fragments.

The answer came from Hyeon Won-chang, who was holding the old swordsman.

“His breathing is too weak. Soon… he may pass away. Judging by his pulse, it will be decided within three days.” Hyeon Won-chang had already become acquainted with the Sword Star during the Hanzhou Martial Alliance meeting. His voice had to be heavy.

“……”

Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyelashes, which had not closed once during the battle at Clear Light Plain, drooped long for the first time.

But he couldn’t do so for long.

Yong Hye-myeong’s strike to the crown was a temporary measure. His mind had just snapped to attention from the great shock.

It was equally difficult for Jeong Yeon-shin to hold onto consciousness.

“…Ten breaths later, I will faint again. But… I cannot return to Yeoktru Castle while collapsed. Since I must always be in perfect condition, please create the appearance of me walking on my own.”

Rather than explaining the circumstances to Yong Hye-myeong, giving instructions as the head of the sect came first.

“And since I must watch over the Sword Star elder, please support me with all elixirs and miraculous medicines so I can recover completely and quickly. Also tell So-bin to transcribe the formulas of the Jeong Family Dynamic Technique….”

That was as far as it went.

Focus disappeared from Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes again. His consciousness had completely flown away.

He was the Divine Sword Group Leader.

“Ha.”

Yong Hye-myeong, whose entire body was wavering unsteadily like clouds, soon laughed.

* * *

Yeoktru Castle.

A great city built next to the vast Clear Light Plain, greatly wrapped in grayish-white sand winds.

In terms of scale, it ranked at the bottom of the ten fingers throughout the demon realm. It was now also truly Northern King Yelu’s territory.

There were many who coveted it.

North of the Great Wall was rough land. Though water energy was scarce and the ground was cracked, the joy that led from life-and-death struggles and conquest to cheers had moistened the dry earth.

In the same context, attention was also focused on Jeong Yeon-shin. Hungry strong ones had shown competitive spirit toward Northern King Yelu’s forces.

From monarchs who formed their own military camps without serving kings, to Northern Kings who belonged to Bright Wind Spirit or not.

Not everyone wanted occupation.

There were many other things to take. The girl known as Northern King Yelu’s disciple, the Great Warrior’s night sky sword, the fist techniques that called thunder, and the satisfaction and fame that would return when any one of these was torn apart or obtained. It was literally a demon realm. The most warlike land.

In the midst of this, the great war that took place at Clear Light Plain.

It was a big enough fight for the Six Star Lords to participate in large numbers. Naturally, it could be observed from Yeoktru Castle, and it appeared even more clearly to strong ones who had cultivated eye techniques.

The same was true for Yeoktru Castle’s ramparts.

“There is no room for doubt. Those who won at Clear Light Plain now… the world’s political situation will change in many directions from there.”

A man who had been staring intently at the horizon with various soldiers slowly spoke. And he added a curse. Damn it.

He was a middle-aged man wearing shabby silk clothes.

Northern Gatekeeper.

The person who had once guaranteed the identity of Northern King Yelu and his disciple. Having come up from the Ming Dynasty long ago, he had a short name unlike those from the north.

Jin Jong-o.

A person from Fuzhou Prefecture in Fujian, who had come up from the distant lands south of the Yangtze River.

His martial arts origin was the Southern Wave Fist Sect. Literally meaning fists that rode the waves of the South Sea. It was also the name of the sect.

Before reaching the demon realm, he had acted as a chivalrous hero for a long time. Until the Japanese pirates who had engaged in plunder at the eastern end of distant Fujian Province slowly but completely disappeared.

There had been many twists and turns.

He had once accidentally been swept up in the movements of the World Tree and entered a Elf tribe village, only to be bounced out as soon as he witnessed something he shouldn’t have seen.

It was something he had only told the Fighting God after finally coming up to the north.

—You too are a son of this land.

That was the Fighting God’s answer after hearing the story.

He hadn’t known he would come to oppose the Six Star Lords. He had been swept up in a great current, and the name of that torrent was Yelu.

“I can see Shame Extreme Army returning from the edge of the plain. That Shame Extreme Son-in-law… that bastard never gets swept up in the great current. Since the killing ghost of the Dragon Treading Squad has come, he’ll surely die soon….”

Many nodded at Jin Jong-o’s muttering.

Northern jianghu people who filled Yeoktru Castle’s ramparts. They had originally served Flame Heat Divine King, but with her death, they had naturally settled under Northern King Yelu’s command.

Demon realm jianghu people accustomed to the harsh climate of the north and who revered the Yao tribes’ survival-of-the-fittest customs.

They had no particular thoughts. They lived as the flow went.

Since Northern King Yelu possessed Yao tribe temperament, they too had not left Yeoktru Castle, and so they had no occasion to support the Six Star Lords, who were old Northern Kings. They just guarded the castle.

Just like now.

“That bastard, what is Demon Contempt Blade doing now?”

Jin Jong-o asked his subordinate.

He was looking at the dust cloud that had approached greatly, rumbling up to the castle gate.

It was the aftermath of fiercely swirling explosive force, and naturally there were jianghu people of a large group inside.

“It seems he drove the southern refugees who crossed the Great Wall with mounted forces. They’re all from famous families, and there’s even someone from the Hebei Peng family mixed in. Looking now, it seems the current Peng family head escaped the encirclement….”

“Even the Eight Families…?”

It was clearly visible from the castle.

Demon Contempt Blade, leading hundreds of mounted forces while boldly spinning a crescent blade without even thinking of drawing the sword on his back.

He had a build as large as the Yao tribes.

His face couldn’t be seen because he wore a plain mask. An appearance that added fear to his formidable martial arts.

It was no exaggeration.

If a strong one at the Great Warrior level led properly trained mounted forces, that was already a disaster that could reach even the Great Wall.

Nevertheless, he had not participated in the Clear Light Plain battle throughout.

It was because there were strong ones who constantly coveted Yeoktru Castle, but whether this was just an excuse or sincere was something no one could know.

Meanwhile, the group surrounded by the mounted masters was only about ten people.

Well-organized sleeve edges and gorgeous patterns engraved on sword hilts stood out, and it was easy to guess that they had all come up from prosperous lands.

Southern jianghu people.

In the center was a tall young Taoist.

He held a divine sword that was clearly extraordinary at a glance. With an extremely cold expressionless face.

“Mount Hua Sect…?”

His movements were remarkable.

He repeatedly disappeared from the ground as if extinguished, then appeared at points that cut off the mounted forces’ momentum.

When he extended a single sword, several trajectories stretched out, and blood always burst at the sword strike ripples that flickered hazily like flower petals.

Bang! Zzeojeong!… 

Horses neighing loudly.

He moved so that Demon Contempt Blade would have to cut through his own allies to reach him. Every sword path was genius.

“Are they Northern King Yelu’s allies?”

“If such forces continue to join, they might really be able to oppose Bright Wind Spirit….”

Various people on Yeoktru Castle’s ramparts murmured.

Not warriors belonging to the castle, but northern jianghu people traveling the world. They were also beings who keenly assessed the world’s political situation.

“Oppose Bright Wind Spirit? Do you know how many Northern Kings are in the sound caves?”

“Right. Even if they buy time to reorganize their formation, overwhelming force must be completed just by staying still. Yeoktru Castle is not a place to stay long.”

“Look at that purple-robed absolute master, not Northern King Yelu. There won’t be another transcendent like that as reinforcement, but he clearly has a troubled appearance. He cannot stay here long.”

It was as they said.

Thud thud thud thud thud—!

The southern martial people including the Mount Hua Taoist were completely swept up by the mounted forces. The sound of hooves that had been ceaselessly beating the ground also stopped.

No one knew what intention Demon Contempt Blade had in attacking them.

Whether he intended to confine the strangers and watch as a kind of security captain, or whether he wanted to safely take hostages to turn his back on Northern King Yelu, who had ultimately opposed the Northern Greatest.

Anything was possible.

Demon Contempt Blade’s internal energy barriers and sprinting were acknowledged even by many Northern Kings.

Soon the southern jianghu people, surrounded by mounted forces to the close distance of hand-to-hand combat, struggled and shouted.

“Peng family traitor! Let this go!”

“I’ve seen you at the Dragon Phoenix Assembly! Do you really intend to feed jianghu comrades to the vicious maw of a ‘Northern King’!”

“Aren’t you ashamed?!”

There were also those who didn’t speak much.

Including the Mount Hua Taoist and some others. They silently aimed for opportunities with the divine arts of old traditions.

They intended to escape Clear Light Plain if even the slightest gap appeared, and especially Mount Hua Hidden Dragon Yu Hyeon’s Dark Fragrance Drifting lightness skill had been dragging out time for long.

Veins stood out on the back of Demon Contempt Blade’s hand looking down at him. He seemed ready to strike down and kill at any moment.

Then suddenly.

Step.

It was heard slowly. It was the approach of those who had won the Clear Light Plain battle, and the footsteps of nearly hundreds were like a martial force.

Instantly, the skin around Demon Contempt Blade’s mask turned pale white. A middle-aged man’s voice flowed from inside the plain mask at the same time.

“Truly overwhelming martial force. Where else is there such popular support?”

“…?”

“Emperor of the demon realm. The true Northern Emperor has come.”

The mounted warriors opened a path one by one, and soon one person’s figure was revealed. Jeong Yeon-shin, wearing purple long robes, was walking while receiving the worship of ten thousand people.

Yu Hyeon briefly opened his mouth and then closed it.