Chapter 155 : Sword God Descends. -03
Chapter 155: Sword God Descends. -03
“Th-, that!”
At the sight, Peng Mancheol’s eyes, once no larger than brass bells, widened as though they would pop out.
He had known that the man was being pushed back, but he had not expected an arm to be severed like that.
Yet even as Peng Mancheol stood aghast, the Blade King’s crisis continued.
Even in the instant his left arm was cut off, the two Great War Gods who had been attacking in tandem did not halt their assault.
“S-, Sect Leader!”
“Protect the Sect Leader!”
With the momentum of finishing him off without missing this opportunity, the Great War Gods charged. In response, the disciples of the Mount Hua Sect rushed forward all at once.
They were determined to save the Blade King even at the cost of their own lives.
As a result, dozens of corpses piled up in front of him in the blink of an eye.
“S-, save us!”
However, it was absurd to think that mere disciples could stop Great War Gods whom even the Blade King could not handle.
Even the Elders had been cut down—there was no possibility that the First-Generation Disciples could stand against them.
Thus, the disciples of the Mount Hua Sect cried out to those nearby for aid.
They sought any means to escape this crisis.
“Move aside! I, I will face them……! Cough!”
Seeing his disciples collapse like autumn leaves in a gale, the Blade King shouted, blood spilling from his mouth.
Though his left arm had been severed, it did not mean he could no longer fight.
Yet despite his command, the First-Generation Disciples and Elders restrained him and withdrew.
They believed treatment had to come first. Grabbing both the severed left arm and the Blade King himself, the Mount Hua Sect disciples fled.
“Hmm.”
Yet despite the urgency of the situation, Ban Hojin’s gaze was not directed toward the Blade King.
Unlike Peng Mancheol, whose body trembled as though ready to dash forward at any moment.
Of course, it was not because Peng Mancheol had any particularly close relationship with the Blade King.
If the Blade King were to die, the fragile balance that had only just begun to stabilize would tilt instantly toward the Ironblood Fortress. That was what concerned him.
“Should we not save him?”
“The Sect Leader of the Mount Zhongnan Sect is on his way. Together with his disciples.”
“They will not be enough.”
Even the famed Blade King had been unable to deal with the Great War Gods.
Though the Sect Leader of the Mount Zhongnan Sect was formidable, he could not compare to a Great War God.
And there were two of them, not one. At best, he would merely endure for a time.
“If you are that worried, Family Head, you should go yourself.”
“Hm-hm! And you?”
Peng Mancheol hesitated slightly.
He did not fear the Great War Gods in the least.
Still, two were better than one.
Having witnessed Ban Hojin’s strength firsthand, Peng Mancheol casually asked, pretending not to be nervous at all.
“They said they could handle it themselves, did they not? Then they should bear it themselves. The Namgung Family Head went because Sect Leader Sang wished to go, and I came merely due to my ties with the Peng Family Head.”
“Ahem! That is true. Our relationship is not an ordinary one.”
At Ban Hojin’s remark that they were different from the others, Peng Mancheol grinned broadly.
After all, between himself and Namgung Ho—more precisely, between the Namgung Family and the Hebei Peng Family—Ban Hojin had chosen the Hebei Peng Family.
That meant he had prioritized his daughter over Namgung Ho’s daughter. Peng Mancheol could not suppress his smile.
“That does not mean we are particularly close, however.”
“Hah! Are you changing your words now?”
“I am not changing them. I am stating a fact.”
In a dry voice, Ban Hojin stated the facts precisely and crossed his arms.
His gaze was directed beyond the Sect Leader of the Mount Zhongnan Sect, toward the boundary between the grasslands and the desert—toward the enormous four-man palanquin standing there unmoving.
Specifically, at the middle-aged man seated atop it, who had not stirred since his arrival.
“Come to think of it, the Lord of the Ironblood Fortress has not stepped forward either.”
Following Ban Hojin’s gaze, Peng Mancheol looked at the Lord of the Ironblood Fortress, seated leisurely atop the palanquin as he surveyed the battlefield, and let out a hollow laugh.
With merely ten Great War Gods, the gathered forces of the Orthodox Martial World in Shaanxi Province were struggling.
At the same time, goosebumps rose over his body.
If this was the result of only the Great War Gods, then if the Lord of the Ironblood Fortress stepped forward, the precarious balance they had barely achieved would collapse in an instant.
“The bearers’ skills are no ordinary matter either. They appear to serve as both escort guards and palanquin bearers.”
“Haa.”
Having focused all his attention on the Lord of the Ironblood Fortress, Peng Mancheol finally examined the four bearers and sighed.
As Ban Hojin had said, each of them possessed considerable skill.
They were not on the level of a Great War God, but just beneath it.
“I had secretly hoped for an easy victory.”
“You?”
“Yes. If that had been the case, I would not have needed to step forward. If we had seized the momentum, I would have simply watched without entering the battlefield.”
“But with things as they are, we have no choice but to step in. Before the Lord of the Ironblood Fortress does.”
Peng Mancheol gripped his beloved weapon.
He had rested a little, and strength had returned to his body.
Though his internal energy had not recovered significantly, his stamina had returned fairly quickly.
“If they had not postured and had instead properly utilized their advantages, they would not have been so helplessly beaten.”
“At least they know now. Next time, they can prepare properly. For now, we must end this without further losses. So at once—. Hm?”
As Peng Mancheol spoke, attempting to persuade Ban Hojin—who showed no intention of moving—his eyes widened.
The Elders of the Mount Hua Sect, pursued by the two Great War Gods, were running directly toward them.
It was no coincidence. All of them were clearly moving with their eyes fixed on him and Ban Hojin.
As though gazing upon their sole lifeline.
“Hmph.”
Ban Hojin snorted, having discerned from their eyes alone what thoughts the Elders and First-Generation Disciples harbored.
Yet despite his incredulous laugh, the Elders’ gazes were desperate.
At present, Ban Hojin was the only one they could rely upon.
With the Blade King unconscious from excessive blood loss, the Elders and First-Generation Disciples alike looked toward Ban Hojin and Peng Mancheol with pleading eyes.
“S-, save us!”
“Great Hero Ban!”
“Peng Family Head!”
Having witnessed Ban Hojin defeat the Mad Wolf, the Elders pleaded in desperate voices.
If he possessed the strength to slay the Mad Wolf—and with Peng Mancheol at his side—surely they could stop the two Great War Gods giving chase.
However, they had completely forgotten one fact.
Before the battle began, how they had treated Ban Hojin back at Mount Hua.
“And why should I?”
“Y-, are you not a disciple of Shaolin!”
“Did you not clearly say you would handle matters yourselves? That there was no need for me to step in. Then, as you said—handle it yourselves.”
“Young Hero Ban!”
At Ban Hojin’s cold reply, another Elder cried out urgently.
However, even at the desperate shout of the elderly Elder, Ban Hojin did not so much as blink.
To speak coldly, the current situation was of their own making.
In crude terms, they had made the mess themselves and were now asking him to clean it up. Ban Hojin found it absurd.
“Peng Family Head!”
Seeing that Ban Hojin would not budge, the Elders shifted their target.
They might have nothing to say to Ban Hojin, but Peng Mancheol was different.
Having fought together, he was practically a comrade-in-arms. The Elders stared at Peng Mancheol with pleading eyes.
Meanwhile, the distance continued to close rapidly.
Bwoooooong!
At that moment, a heavy horn blast sounded from afar.
It came from where the main force of the Ironblood Fortress was positioned.
Astonishingly, the forces of the Ironblood Fortress began to withdraw like an ebbing tide.
The moment the horn sounded, they retreated.
“Huff! Huff!”
“W-, we’re alive!”
The same applied to the two Great War Gods who had been pursuing the Mount Hua Sect disciples.
Though they had chased right up to them, the two Great War Gods turned away without a shred of hesitation.
Both left behind meaningful expressions and gazes as they withdrew.
But the First-Generation Disciples soon rejoiced in relief at having survived.
“What is this? Why all of a sudden?”
While the Mount Hua Sect Elders and First-Generation Disciples celebrated their narrow escape, Peng Mancheol looked bewildered.
No matter how one looked at it, the tide of battle had favored the Ironblood Fortress.
If they had pressed just a little further, they could have inflicted devastating damage upon the Orthodox Martial World—yet instead, they withdrew.
Peng Mancheol found it perplexing.
“They must have their reasons. Perhaps the Lord of the Ironblood Fortress wished to show off, or perhaps he has another aim.”
“Hmm!”
Unlike the flustered Peng Mancheol, Ban Hojin did not seem particularly concerned.
As though either possibility made no difference to him.
At his words, the Mount Hua Sect Elders glared at Ban Hojin.
Having caught their breath, it seemed they now recalled what had just transpired.
“We will be going first.”
“Very well.”
As the Mount Hua Sect disciples stared at him coldly, as though at a traitor, Peng Mancheol nodded.
Yet even he wore an uncomfortable expression.
It seemed they were blaming Ban Hojin alone, without reflecting on what they themselves had done.
Thus, Peng Mancheol swept his sharp gaze over the Mount Hua Sect Elders and First-Generation Disciples before turning away.
“I-, it’s over!”
“Did we win?”
“Win? The Ironblood Fortress simply withdrew. But why did they retreat?”
As the Ironblood Fortress martial artists withdrew all at once, the martial artists of Shaanxi Murim—who had fought desperately—let out sighs of relief.
Meanwhile, Jeong Iryong and Murong Cheok wore expressions filled with doubt.
They could not understand why the enemy had chosen this moment to retreat.
On every front, the Ironblood Fortress had held the advantage. Yet they withdrew first. Both men tilted their heads in confusion.
“They must have ulterior motives, but it is not bad for us, is it? We can clean up the battlefield and reorganize.”
“That is precisely why it is unsettling. They clearly have something in mind, but we cannot discern what it is.”
“From now on, the leadership will work to uncover it.”
At Sunwoo Bang’s remark, Murong Cheok snorted.
If they truly possessed such insight and capability, matters would not have turned out like this.
“You have all worked hard.”
“Master!”
At that moment, Sang Il-gi approached, his entire body drenched in blood.
However, despite being soaked in blood, little of it was actually his own.
“Are you all right?”
“As you can see.”
At Sunwoo Bang’s question, Sang Il-gi smiled faintly.
He had suffered greatly, but he had gained just as much.
Soon after, Sunwoo Cheong and Murong Gung approached, and Sang Il-gi moved aside with the two of them.
“It was worth training you so diligently. Seeing that you are still so lively.”
“Elder Brother!”
Following Sang Il-gi, Ban Hojin also approached the group.
He appeared so neat and unscathed that it was hard to believe he had fought at all.
Seeing him, they all let out dry laughs.
It was just like Ban Hojin.
“How was your first real battle?”
“It was difficult. But even though it was difficult, I was happy. I realized that the time I spent striving, the time I spent researching, was not meaningless.”
“You were not only happy, were you? The war is not over yet.”
“Of course. I will use today’s experience as nourishment, develop it further, and refine it. So that no one dies.”
Sama Uiseong’s face darkened.
His performance had undoubtedly been remarkable.
Unlike the other fronts that had been crushed miserably, the casualties of the Sunwoo Family and the Murong Family had been minimal.
He had established formations with precise instructions and fought while maximizing the surrounding terrain. Compared to other mid-sized families or minor sects, their losses were nearly negligible.
However, that did not mean there had been no deaths.
They had merely been fewer in comparison. And for that, Sama Uiseong blamed himself.
“You did more than enough. Especially for your first real battle, you did extraordinarily well. Fulfilling your role alone was more than sufficient—there is no need to reproach yourself. Instead, use that time to reflect on today’s mistakes and consider what must be improved. The dead will not return, but we can prevent the living from dying, can we not?”
“Ah!”