Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 139
Chapter 139 – Trace of Chopsticks (1)
***
Just as advancement of the eastern allies was unstoppable, so was the advancement of the Western Army.
Led by Chun A-young, the White Ape Unit pushed through the Jade Gate and into Gansu without hesitation.
Gansu Province, which was the second to be attacked, suffered greatly.
Elsewhere, the Demonic Army marched from the southern part of Gansu northward.
But it was more terrifying that the army just marched through the Jade Gate. In fact, Gansu’s Martial Alliance could be considered quite large, but they collapsed at a rapid pace.
Importantly, the five large sects in Gansu had major weaknesses when compared to other major sects in other regions.
Usually, in areas without major sects, there would be other powers that rose to the top. But that was not the case for Gansu.
It was because Gansu was adjacent to Xinjiang, the territory of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
Other than the Iron Sword Wind Cloud Fort, most orthodox martial artists were not willing to come towards this area.
Only the sects who had lived in Gansu for generations continued to defend the region.
The only places that could resist were the Dunhuang Baek Clan and the Iron Wind Cloud Fort.
Among them, the Dunhuang Baek Clan was not one of the Five Noble Clans, but was well-known in Gansu.
Five Noble Clans.
Five was a small number.
However, there were countless family clans who lived under the Heavens like stars. Being part of the Five Noble Clans simply meant that you had tremendous power over Murim.
Of course, the pride of the Dunhuang Baek was great.
That was why Baek Muk-ryong, the head of the Dunhuang Baek Clan, kept shouting.
“If the Cult of the Heavenly Demon arrives, we cannot stop them with the power of the Dunhuang Baek, but we can at least face them with pride.”
In fact, he had reached a peak in swordsmanship.
No, he could squeeze a piece of metal with his hands alone, so he could be considered a Peak-Level martial artist.
He was confident in himself.
That’s why, when the letter from the Cult of the Heavenly Demon asking them to surrender arrived, Baek Muk-ryong immediately burned it.
That wasn’t enough, so he also cut off the nose and ears of the demonic messenger.
That was an unfair act of war.
To Baek Muk-ryong, the words asking for surrender had insulted the pride of the Dunhuang Baek.
So even if he thought it was too much to kill the messenger, he still did it. He anticipated that it would provoke outrage from the Demonic Cult, but he thought that he could at least last long enough to escape safely.
Despite retreating, Qinghai had been able to do nothing.
So what if he retreated?
The Demonic Army vastly outnumbered them.
Even if Baek Muk-ryong chose to retreat, there would be no one to blame him.
No, actually, if they safely retreated, there would be more people that recognized the power of the Dunhuang Baek Clan.
At least, that was what Baek Muk-ryong believed.
Unfortunately, he had chosen the wrong opponent.
Very wrong, indeed.
Baek Muk-ryong, who had proposed a martial exchange in hopes of stalling the Western Army, was beheaded after 20 seconds.
His opponent was Chun A-young.
“Sorcery—”
Baek Muk-ryong’s head, which was rolling on the floor now, muttered unconsciously. He didn’t even recognize his own death.
“That’s right.”
Chun A-young did not deny his words. As he said, Chun A-young’s divine techniques were closer to illusionary arts.
Of course, it was much more than that, but it could be taken as ritualistic to the Orthodox.
There was nothing strange about them calling it sorcery.
Looking at the internal energy, she and Baek Muk-ryong were roughly on par.
Even if they fought for 100 seconds, it would be hard to determine a winner.
But once divine power was added, Chun A-young vastly outpowered him.
Using her divine powers, Chun A-young could even fight with Transcendence Level masters. That wasn’t something Baek Muk-ryong could handle.
Strange techniques flew through the air and all sorts of illusions arose, disturbing Baek Muk-ryong.
In other words, Baek Muk-ryong was basically fighting with all five of his senses blocked, against an equal leveled elite.
“Go, Lord—”
The expressions of the Dunhuang Baek, who saw their lord’s head go flying before 20 seconds even passed, were spectacular.
Then Chun A-young slowly pointed her sword towards the other members of the Baek Clan.
“White Ape Unit, forward.”
Short but decisive.
Just enough to condemn the Baek Clan to death.
The White Ape Unit rushed into the clan house.
Whoa-whoa-whoa.
The rest of the Western Army poured in after them.
Since they had forsaken the practices of war and touched even the messengers, the Cult of the Heavenly Demon showed no mercy.
Less than a month after the outbreak of war, the Dunhuang Baek were wiped out of existence.
* * *
Moving from Qinghai to Gansu, the allies on the eastern front stopped when Gansu was right before them.
It wasn’t because they encountered other disturbances or violent resistance.
They had stopped at the Qilian Mountains.
The Qilian Mountains were near the city of Jiuquan [1], where the Iron Sword Wind Cloud Fort was located — a region that would likely be used as a main battlefield. In addition, the high altitude and abundant water sources made it a good place to stop.
That was also why the Iron Sword Wind Cloud Fort had been built in this region, in order to protect the city of Jiuquan.
There, the New Dragon Battalion had also stopped in the Qilian Mountains.
The Eastern Army needed to join the Western Army in order to make a two-pronged attack.
If the two armies attacked from both sides, the strongholds built on the Qilian Mountains would not last long.
And so Sang Gwan-chuk had the army stop as they planned for the operation.
So the army set up camp.
Woon-seong spoke to Sang Gwan-chuk, “I need to head to the Qilian Mountains for a while.”
Sang Gwan-chuk titled his head in response. At the same time, his expression had hardened. “The Qilian Mountains is where the enemy has been preparing for war with our Cult. Are you saying you want to go there alone?”
Woon-seong nodded. Of course, he also knew what the Strategist was worried about.
“I’m not going to fight.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to send an envoy if you’re encouraging them to surrender?”
“I’m not encouraging surrender.”
At his words, Sang Gwan-chuk seemed more confused.
Woon-seong sighed, explaining, “My real destination is not the Qilian Mountains, but a village about a day away.”
In fact, there was no significant difference between the Qilian Mountains and a village a day away from the Qilian Mountains for Sang Gwan-chuk.
There would be a lot of soldiers from the Iron Sword Wind Cloud Fort and the New Dragon Battalion nearby.
Was that all?
There were also several factions gathered around Gansu, who had united under the Iron Sword Wind Cloud Fort.
Although they weren’t very strong, the number was not small.
If they all joined together, it would be an enormous force.
Moreover, the Iron Sword Wind Cloud Fort.
Iron Sword Yoon Ja-ryung became known to the Martial Alliance through his independent group of soldiers.
That was why the Iron Sword Wind Cloud Fort got its name.
There was a group of iron swords viciously defending this area.
Yoon Ja-ryung had survived for a long time here and served as an executive; they could not ignore someone who had led such a massive force.
For Sang Gwan-chuk, it was natural for him to worry about Woon-seong.
“If you must go, tell me why.”
When asked, Woon-seong sighed once more.
The Cult of the Heavenly Demon was a group with fanaticism, but it was still a powerhouse of Kangho.
That was why Woon-seong could not just make decisions on his own.
Moreover, now that he had seen Sang Gwan-chuk’s eyes, Woon-seong felt like he owed the man a good reason.
“I have some kids to pick up.”
“Kids to pick up…?”
Sang Gwan-chuk did not know about the Kang siblings Woon-seong had promised to take care of during his trip to Zhongyuan.
“I don’t know which children you are talking about, but why don’t you just send someone?”
Woon-seong shook his head with a smile. “There are things that I need to check before I bring them… I made a promise, so it’s best that I do it myself.”
Originally, he should have picked them up when he returned to the Heavenly Mountains.
But the situation had been too urgent at the time, since the Martial Alliance had attacked demonic branches, and he was unable to do so.
Sang Gwan-chuk sighed after some time. His eyes right now are just like when he told me he was going to Zhongyuan to meet with King Jinseong.
Even then, Sang Gwan-chuk had no choice but to accept that Woon-seong was leaving.
“The Leader is a man of secrets.”
Woon-seong laughed bitterly. As he says, I have many secrets. Of course, going to the Qilian Mountains could not be considered a secret. So Woon-seong took a moment to tell the man about the Kang siblings.
Sang Gwan-chuk listened to his story carefully before sighing again.
“What a selfish and embarrassing choice the sister made.”
“I liked that.”
Sang Gwan-chuk chuckled. Soon, he spoke with seriousness: “If the boy does what the Leader says and the Leader takes him in, the boy cannot become the Young Leader. I am sure you are aware of that.”
It was as he said.
One of the traditions of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon required the Cult Leader to be of the Chun Family.
It was possible for Woon-seong to rise to the position of Cult Leader because Chun Hwi, the former cult leader, had no son and only a daughter, Chun A-young.
“What I am going to pass down is not the Divine Art, but my spearmanship.”
Sang Gwan-chuk nodded at that.
Overwhelmed by the power of the Divine Art, he had forgotten Woon-seong’s beginnings with the spear.
“Right, the Leader also had spearmanship.”
He sighed.
I feel like I am sighing a lot lately.
Sang Gwan-chuk sighed again and nodded. “If you must go, you’d better wear something other than the Black Dragon Robe. I will have them prepare another set for you.”
“Thank you.”
To his words, Sang Gwan-chuk could only bitterly smile. “I have more things to worry about again.”
[1] the city of Jiuquan used to be known as Suzhou
