Chapter 156: The Chengdu Plains (2)
Chapter 156: The Chengdu Plains (2)
The Chengdu Plains.
The vast plains that would take seven days and seven nights to pass through from end to end.
The armies stood on opposite ends of the plains, facing each other.
They were quite far from each other. It wasn’t clear, but both sides were still able to recognize the other.
On one side, the flags of Sichuan were clearly flying; it was a sea of Zhongyuan banners.
However, the ones on the other side were not nearly so colorful.
It was a sea of black flags. Two of them stood out: one with rows of black dragons with beady eyes and another with hundreds of handprints.
These flags alone revealed the identities of the two forces.
The colorful ones were obviously those of the Sichuan Union, an alliance of forces gathered to fight the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
The other side, of course, was the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
Gwan Tae-ryang was leading the Demonic Army.
There was someone walking ahead of him though: Woon-seong.
The Heavenly Demon spoke to the Demonic Army as they slowly approached the enemies:
“You know what? They have provoked our Cult so despicably.”
Roar, roar!
Woon-seong’s voice echoed through the air, rumbling like thunder across the plains.
To his voice, the Demonic Army swallowed slightly, anticipating his words.
“They chose this place to make war because they are looking down on our strength.”
Woon-seong never stopped moving forward.
Crunch, crunch.
Woon-seong grew closer and closer to the Sichuan Union.
“Then, we must show them. The Martial Alliance cannot ignore the power of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.”
Beyond the Demonic Army, Woon-seong’s voice was clearly conveyed to the Sichuan Union.
The soldiers of the Union swallowed, throats drying.
But their reason for swallowing was different from the demonic soldiers.
The demonic believers swallowed due to awe; the Union swallowed due to fear.
It was swallowing due to intense tension.
As the tension increased, Woon-seong stepped into the air.
Ta, ta, ta.
Someone muttered, “Void Walking…”
A legendary technique that only those of the Semi-Divine Realm were capable of.
Meanwhile, Woon-seong had climbed into the sky and arrogantly looked down at the Sichuan Union.
In a thunderous voice, he commanded: “Go.”
Rah, rah!
At his shout, the Demonic Army began to advance.
Seeing how the army marched, Woon-seong added, “Go and sweep them away.”
The advancing forces seemed like rolling black waves.
Wahhhhh—
Two waves of soldiers collided.
Clang—
There was a series of blade clashes, then commotion and chaos.
The mayhem only escalated from there.
The Charred Dragon Unit dug in between the enemies and the Samsara Demonic Cavalry crushed enemies under foot.
The apprentices of the Qingcheng Sect started to run amok and the beasts of the Palace ran wild.
Faaaah—
With its large trunk, a war elephant wiped out all demonic soldiers that came close to it. The rhinoceros charged any soldiers with its horns.
The Namman Yasu Palace was magnificent, as these tamed beasts allowed the army to unleash the power of real beasts, not humans.
Even the fanatics called the Demons were afraid.
Actually, correction: not all the demons were afraid of the Beast Squad.
Gwan Tae-ryang had changed his direction. He then stared at the rhino charging his way. We have lived with beasts far more savage than these mere animals.
Boom. Boom.
Wherever the rhino ran, the ground shook. Its horn seemed to sharpen.
Gwan Tae-ryang’s thighs bulged, lowering his stance as he charged towards the rhino.
Kaga-bang!
The rhino’s and Gwan Tae-ryang’s blades collided, a beam of light blinding the surrounding soldiers.
Shua—
A severed horn flew into the air.
Instead of stopping there, Gwan Tae-ryang rotated his body. As he twisted at his waist, he hooked his legs and was suddenly on the rhino’s back.
Puchi—
Gwan Tae-ryang stabbed at the hides covering the rhino. Although the animal wore tough leather and armor, they were unable to withstand the blade.
With shattered leather, the rhino collapsed.
After disposing of a rhino, Gwan Tae-ryang turned and aimed for an elephant.
Elephants were large, meaning they were bigger targets than rhinoceros.
At the same time, an elephant was stronger than a rhinoceros. They were usually mild creatures, but war had trained them to rampage.
Boom, boom!
The elephant’s trunk slammed into Gwan Tae-ryang’s body. He endured the attacks, searching for a gap.
Thwack—
Scrambling along the trunk, he slammed his blade into the elephant’s spine.
Fuuuuuaaaa—
The elephant fell to the side, screaming for a long time. With an injury to its spine, it was unable to get back up.
Gwan Tae-ryang stabbed it in the head, smashing its brain, just for good measure.
Then, it was time to find the next target.
It was not only Gwan Tae-ryang who was slaughtering prey left and right.
The Blood Tears Mask Demon ran his horse without rest.
“Hehe!”
His subordinates, the Samsara Demons, chased after him.
Deng, deng, deng.
The hooves of the horses rumbled across the plains, sending vibrations through the hills.
The Mask Demon and his men crushed the men of the Sichuan Union, crashing through blades and soldiers alike.
The black horses they were riding were not ordinary horses, but well-trained beasts — a horse that was trained in the hands of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
A third-class soldier collapsed in a single kick, weapon broken. These horses could also deal with a second-rate martial artist with ease.
And what if the riders of these powerful horses were known as the Ghosts of War?
The Samsara Demonic Cavalry became a massive storm; a black storm that raged through the enemies.
Blood splattered on all sides.
Pieces of fleshed rained to the ground.
The Samsara Demonic Cavalry was overwhelming.
Woon-seong, who had dispatched the troops, also descended from the air and engaged in battle. The spear in his hands danced as he swept the enemies away.
Woon-seong’s spearmanship was truly astonishing.
There was no one who could break his flow.
Stab.
Stop.
Turn around.
Disarm.
Kill.
The beautiful dramatics of martial arts,which Woon-seong could unfold through the spear, was shown by the Heavenly Demon without rest.
It seemed like no one could stop Woon-seong’s movements.
“Ahhh!”
“Die!”
Two soldiers brandished their swords at Woon-seong. At that moment, Woon-seong lightly stepped on the ground.
Kua—
The ground crumbled beneath his feet and the Divine Flame began to rise. The surging flames shifted into the shape of a spear and slammed into the two soldiers.
“Cough!”
“How is he human—”
They coughed blood, skewered by the spear of flames.
Uncaring, Woon-seong moved forward.
No matter who or how others tried attacking Woon-seong — rhinos and elephants included — it made no difference.
Everyone and everything ended up like the previous two martial masters — dead.
“Palm of the Heavenly Demon.”
Boom—
Woon-seong’s flames hit the abdomen of an elephant. The animal was left bleeding from a large gash and there was a huge hole in its armor, like something had passed through it.
It was like a vortex had erupted and passed through the animal’s massive body, leaving only embers in its trail.
There was also a scar across the earth as the move had passed by.
Seeing the results, Woon-seong smiled with satisfaction.
At this time, three rhinos surrounded Woon-seong and charged. It seemed like at least one giant horn would pierce the young man’s body.
Seeing them, Woon-seong burst into laughter. His lips curled, revealing bright white fangs.
As soon as fangs, like those of a god of death, appeared, so did the White Night Spear.
The ‘Art of Six Seals and Destruction’.
Scorching the earth like a giant fire, just six moves were enough to destroy the Heavens.
Woon-seong’s spear cut through the sea.
No, to be precise, he had broken the ocean.
Break the Vast Sea.
Pieces of the broken sea roared, swallowing the three rhinos in no time. Their bodies were swept away and ripped apart.
When the spear move had finalled ended, the three rhinos had disappeared. The only trace they had ever existed were puddles of blood.
The battlefield was like a gathering place for monsters and demons.
These plains, where dozens of demons and monsters roamed, was the true picture of war.
The Charred Dragon Unit, including Gwan Tae-ryang, were like devilish monsters. So too, were the Samsara Demonic Cavalry.
Woon-seong was neither a demon nor a monster. He was simply a man who had surpassed absolution and reigned above others.
Then, was the Cult the only one with demons and monsters?
No, they existed among the Orthodox too. Even the fiendish beasts who exerted terrifying power against the demonic soldiers could be considered demons.
And the three hundred swordsmen of Qingchen could be considered devils. Despite numbering only 300, they moved through the battlefield with surprising ease.
Everyone in their way was swept away by a wave of blades. It was a huge ocean, an ocean formed by the swords in their hands.
There was blue at the center of these red waves.
The Wave Sword Sea Formation.
Once upon a time, there was a young man named Bo Lang from Qingcheng who wanted to visit the sea. Born and raised inland, he had never actually seen the sea, but longed to visit the coast.
However, it was not easy to get from Sichuan to the coast. Moreover, he was a young man who was not allowed to visit the coast due to his mother’s illness.
Perhaps, that young man’s earnest desire to see the sea reached the Heavens.
One day, a deity appeared in his dreams and showed him a sea of swords. So when Bo Long woke up from his sleep, he had created the Wave Sword Sea Formation. [1]
The Wave Sword Sea Formation moved hundreds of swords like scattering waves, concentrating all the power in a single sword like a tidal wave.
It was no wonder any demonic soldier in their path was unable to even fight back, washed away in a tsunami of energy.
Soon the Qingcheng saw a huge pillar of flame in the distance.
Unlike ordinary flames, it seemed to burn on in silence.
The Divine Flame.
The one who saw the flames screamed, “Heavenly Demon!”
At that moment, Woon-seong also turned towards them. “Qingcheng Sect!”
A sea of swords rushed towards Woon-seong.
[1] In Chinese (the name of the formation is in Hanja), the character for ‘sword’ is pronounced ‘jian’, and so is the character for ‘see/meets’. The name for the formation thus sounds a lot like “Bo Lang Sees the Sea”