Episode 1071.
I was quick to read and judge the situation around me.
First and foremost, I tried to gauge the number of enemies by the size of the dust clouds that were rolling in from all directions and the intensity of the vibrations from the ground.
“At least ten thousand, never more.
Needless to say, the situation was not good.
By all estimates, they outnumbered their allies by more than three to one.
And the enemies closing in on them, even now, were monsters that neither tire nor die easily.
“And there’s probably another mutant like him among them.
I turned my head to look.
The corpse of a giant, its head split in half, a complete death.
I swear to you, that hulking creature is neither a troll nor an ogre.
There is no such creature in the Monster Encyclopedia, which lists every type of monster that has appeared since the cataclysm that plunged the 21st century into chaos.
As I had said in my mind earlier, it was a creature that could best be described as a mutant.
Just like the other monsters that had appeared from nowhere.
“Yes, it’s the same old story.
This was not the first time a mutant had appeared.
Similar things had happened in Hubei and the Southern Beast Palace.
And I distinctly remember that at the center of it all were the followers of the Heavenly Lord and the ‘rift’ they created.
‘That being said, you can’t possibly…….’
An ominous thought flashed through my mind.
But I shook my head to dismiss the thought.
Even if everything that had just occurred to me was true, my priority right now was to defeat the enemies in front of me.
“Samapyo, Zheng Ho-kun.”
I opened my mouth to speak, staring straight at the two of them.
“From now on, you will take the left and right flanks.”
Samapyo and Zheng Ho bowed their heads wordlessly and immediately moved.
With a thousand men each, they would be the two wings of the alliance from now on.
Along with a certain supreme master who was both a nuisance and a time-waster in this tense situation, and who, by a strange coincidence, had given them more time to prepare to meet their enemies.
“You.”
“Huh? Me? Can I be left out? I don’t have any ill will toward them.”
“Fuck you, Daein.”
“……Where do I go?”
“Left and right. Take turns helping the one in need.”
“Okay. Got it.”
With that, your allies’ wings will grow sharper and stronger.
They may be distracted, but as long as the Supreme Adept holds on, they will not be easily broken.
“What can be done about frequency?”
I immediately responded to the question from Zhang Wenyin, the elder of the Joint Sect.
“Mr. Zhang, you should take the rear with our disciples.”
“It’s unfortunate that the Zhongnan Sect has lost the vanguard, but in this situation, the text is the most important thing. I see your point.”
In a situation where the enemy has already surrounded you to some extent, the rear is more important than the vanguard.
In that sense, Hyun Tianjin was a man with an understanding of tactics unlike the average martial artist.
He had fought through the great war of the Zhengma War with his whole body, so it was not difficult for him to recognize my intentions.
Of course, even a man of his caliber didn’t see everything.
“The spearhead is not Zhongnan.”
“What?”
Leaving behind the puzzled Chen Tianjin, I called out to the man holding the sword with a tense face.
“Liu Shao-ping. You and Zhongnan Sect will also help the joint sect and take up the rear.”
Zhongnan Yilong, Sun Yat-sen.
Instead of the Fengyun Sword Lord, who had been severely wounded in the battle on the Great Snow Mountain and was forced to remain in his cell, he was leading the surviving disciples of the Zongnan Sect, and his eyes widened.
It wasn’t just him, it was also the reaction of all the people around him, who had been paying close attention to my every word.
“Then the spearhead is…….”
At that moment, a woman’s gravelly voice pierced everyone’s ears.
“What are you doing, you’re not falling behind.”
Fire King Red Sky River.
It was him.
And beside the giant who had so violently stamped his footprints on this vast expanse of land, there was a woman who had come to be called a star beyond kings.
Chulkuck.
Everyone’s jaws dropped as she wordlessly connected two curved swords to form a giant bow.
Who are they?
King Hua and Gongsheng.
They are the most fierce flames of all, the stars of the Heavenly Martial Clan who have dominated countless battlefields with a single bow, and the living legends of the Martial Clan.
Also.
Zerbuck.
I have earned the right to join them.
At this moment, I have become a symbol that can walk towards King Hua and the palace.
Though I may be smaller than them, and still weaker.
I, Qin Tieqing, the Fiery Divine Dragon, was another giant who rose up in this shitty war.
Gu gu gu gu gu gu!
The ground trembles. No, it shudders.
The reed forest, which had been open in all directions except for a small hill behind him, was now surrounded by a thick cloud of dust.
No, we’re surrounded by monsters we don’t know where they came from or what they are.
But.
“Are any of you still afraid of those things?”
I’m not afraid of them.
The only thing I fear is the misfortune of someone who will die for my fault.
“If you are afraid, if you want to avoid it, withdraw from the line now, for I will never blame you.”
I meant every word.
Everyone has a family, something to protect.
There is no cowardice in survival.
If anyone wants to return home alive, I will gladly protect him.
As someone did for me years ago, in that dark, fetid cave.
And now, by my side, I had someone worth risking my life to protect.
“What’s the point of life, you’re just chasing after your ass, and now you don’t even run when a thousand horses show up.”
At the moment when Hyuk Moo-jin’s words caused silence everywhere, he added, “I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth.
“I’ll follow you, even to the end of hell.”
“……!”
“……!”
For a moment, the air around me crackled.
For a moment, it was as if the world had been erased from existence, both the great rumblings all around them and the screams of the monsters beyond.
At the same time, there was a wave of steel that drove it all away.
Cha-cha-cha-cha-chang!
Everyone shouted, straightening the weapons in their hands.
Forgetting the fatigue of their bodies and the terror of monsters they had never seen, they roared like beasts and glared into the darkness.
They roared like fierce beasts, glaring into the darkness, remembering why they were here, remembering the faces they had lost.
And at their head, I am.
“Remember only two things.”
I said, walking toward the vanguard.
“One. Maintain your current formation under all circumstances.”
Sigh!
The waves of humanity parting as we move forward.
And the hollows beyond them.
Unlike the other places, each with a thousand men, the emptiness seemed like a gaping hole that could be torn open at a moment’s notice, but not now.
“Second.”
Sabak.
He stepped through the reeds and came to a stop.
To our left was the palace, to our right the Red River.
And behind the three of us, the men of Hualonggak who had followed me as if it were a matter of course.
They were less than a handful in number, but they were enough to fill the empty space at the front and complete the formation.
“No matter what, we must survive.”
The last word was uttered.
Grrrrr!
With a sound like the sky splitting open, countless shadows rained down, covering everything in sight.
Toward the three thousand elite soldiers of the Winged Circle.
No, towards the giant steel-armored chariot wheel.
Shuiying, kwao!
The moment the beam of light left Gongsheng’s fingertips, it exploded, tearing through the darkness.
Quadrup!
The steel, deathly wheel finally met the monsters that were not of this world.
Rattle.
The eerie, eerie sound of a bell echoed through the swirling blood vortex.
* * *
They existed in the thick darkness.
No, perhaps, at least for this moment, they were the darkness itself.
For they were not merely hiding in the darkness, they were shrouded in it, using it as a veil.
Even if each one of them wasn’t completely wrapped in black robes, few could pierce the veil that surrounded them and peek inside.
And those who could pose such a threat were hundreds of sheets away, battling countless monsters.
Or, more accurately, their minions who moved under their control.
Rattle.
The black-clad man rattled the gadget in his hand.
The sound of the bells that emanated from the worn and ragged thing was muffled, but at the same time, it stretched out crisply, relaying another order, another piece of information.
As did the rest of the Black Man’s companions, lurking at some distance on all sides.
“It has begun at last.”
Kwaaang!
The Black Man muttered softly as he saw a flash of light in the distance, accompanied by a roar.
The monsters’ incessant screams made it impossible to tell from the sound alone, but the streak of light, unmistakably that of the palace, was proof that the battle had begun.
“It’s not where we wanted to be…… but at least we’ve got a decent siege net.”
The black man was disappointed.
A glimpse.
If only they had moved faster and cleared the reeds, he and his companions would have been in a much better position to begin the battle.
“But what the hell. No matter.”
The battle had already begun, and the role of the thirty masters, including the black-clad man, was clear.
“Reduce their head count as much as possible, and capture Lord Qin Tao alive if possible.”
The black-clad man frowned as he silently recited the orders he’d received from his blood lord only half a day ago.
“Capture, not kill.”
It sounded ridiculous to the black-clad man, who had received information about the enemies before the order.
There were six peak masters among them, and two of them were even Hua Wang and Gongsheng.
If they focused all their power on Qin Tieqing alone, they might have a chance of killing him,
but capturing him alive would be a very difficult task.
“Damn it.”
After casually cursing at the blood lord, the black-clad man instinctively swallowed hard and looked around.
But as always, there was nothing but monsters standing there, reeking of a horrible stench.
“Looks like …….”
The black man turned to his men, his voice and eyes filled with irritation.
He hated to see his own blood lord so far away, so afraid, and these monsters, so lost and stinking, so fetid, so stupid.
“Stupid things.”
A click.
The black-clad man waved his hand like he was swatting at a fly, and the hundred or so monsters that had surrounded their master for escort backed away without hesitation.
Or, as far as he knew, they should have.
Jerbuck.
“……?”
The black-clad man blinked.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine monsters shuffled backward, staring at the one monster who stepped forward alone.
“No, no.”
While the black man was at a loss for words, the monster, belatedly realizing the situation he was in, wiggled his hips and said, “Wow, wow, wow.
“Wow, wow, wow, this is interesting. I’ve never seen a monster like this before, have you?”
“……!”
“Well, first time for me, too, Mr. Ai.”
As he continued to speak in a shaky voice, the monster-or rather, someone who was clearly human-sighed in frustration.
