Free Web NovelCommander General Ma approached Chief Seong and abruptly asked,
“Hyun Seollin is inside. Was this discussed in advance?”
Chief Seong shook his head.
“He said nothing.”
“Ah.......”
As Commander General Ma let out a sigh, a Seolcheon Guard martial artist approached and began another report about the Chaotic Heaven Ones. Ma Suhyeok broke into a cold sweat and thought, then thought again.
Chief Seong watched him for a moment, then clenched his fist tightly and looked at Ju Soa and Namgung Wonyang.
“We have to go in. Will you come?”
Without the slightest hesitation, Ju Soa and Namgung Wonyang nodded.
Just as the three of them were about to run toward the Chaotic Heaven Gate—
“Stop.”
It was Man Seokcheong.
Naturally, the three stopped.
Is he trying to help?
As they thought that, Man Seokcheong approached and said,
“Where do you think you are going?”
“We intend to go inside.”
“Are you mad? Do you know what kind of place that is?”
“I know.”
“And still?”
“That is why we must go even more.”
Man Seokcheong’s eyes narrowed. He was no fool either.
Most of all, Seol Unhwi was nowhere to be seen nearby. It was obvious.
“Could Hyun Seollin be inside there?”
At those words, Chief Seong’s brow furrowed.
To put it bluntly, Chief Seong did not care what sort of person Man Seokcheong was.
Chief Seong—
Though it might be something he felt sorry to Unhwi for saying, he valued Unhwi’s words more than Seol Jungcheon’s.
This was not simple loyalty.
It was because he regarded Unhwi almost like his own child. He had been with him since childhood.
That was why anger now surged up within Chief Seong.
“Is it not Hyun Seollin, sir?”
“......!”
Man Seokcheong was left speechless.
Chief Seong spoke coldly.
“Why is your way of addressing a Polar Heir so light?”
“.......”
“We will go.”
Chief Seong began walking again.
Ju Soa and Namgung Wonyang followed.
“......Go.”
At Man Seokcheong’s words from behind them, the three stopped again.
They thought they had misheard.
Chief Seong turned his head.
“Did you tell us to go?”
“I did.”
“Surely you do not intend to merely watch from here.”
“I do.”
They were rendered speechless.
Then Chief Seong gave a faint laugh.
“I suppose even a master who has reached Unity of Heaven and Man has things he fears.”
Man Seokcheong’s brow twitched.
“......That sounds rather insolent.”
“Insolent?”
Chief Seong snapped back.
“Did you wish to be respected while lowering someone who ought to be addressed with respect?”
“.......”
“I am greatly disappointed.”
Man Seokcheong’s face hardened.
“Seong Yangho of the White Snow Spirit Regiment.”
“Yes.”
“Listen well. Those who command and those who are commanded must be prudent in their actions. Because one person’s decision determines the lives of hundreds, even thousands.”
“.......”
“That is why I cannot move recklessly.”
Chief Seong sneered.
“Usually, that is called cowardice.”
“......What?”
“For what purpose do you command, and for what purpose are you commanded? Is it not to protect the bloodline of the Snow Mountain?”
“.......”
“I find it improper to offer only excuses while having no intention of protecting him.”
At those words, Man Seokcheong’s fist clenched.
Energy burst out from him.
Unity of Heaven and Man.
Though this was a place where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was twisted, his power had not vanished.
Overwhelming energy swept through the surroundings. Everyone stopped.
Man Seokcheong spoke in a quiet voice.
“On a battlefield, a soldier who lowers morale is to be summarily executed. That is the principle.”
Chief Seong laughed.
“Then.”
He continued with an expression utterly devoid of fear.
“Try it.”
Chief Seong drew a dagger from his waist. It was no joke; he truly intended to try.
These were people who had the strength to protect Unhwi. He did not want to force sacrifice upon them, but if Unhwi lived, their sacrifices would gain meaning.
He would also take revenge for them. Unhwi had to live, and they had to help Unhwi. Only then would the value they had sought to protect here as soldiers, and as martial artists, become complete.
He did not know what Man Seokcheong intended.
Whether he truly thought this as someone in command.
Whether he had been frightened.
Or whether he had been hoping for Hyun Seollin’s death.
He did not care.
Energy of the Heaven-Human realm began to burst from Chief Seong’s body as well. Chief Seong—
He intended not to stop there, but to draw up even his innate true energy.
If they fought, he intended to kill him.
He would absolutely kill him and seize command. Then he would take every martial artist here, numbering in the thousands, and go in.
Guessing that thought, Man Seokcheong took one step forward.
He was confident he would not die.
And because he valued face, he had been placed in a situation where he had no choice but to act. Then he had no choice either.
It was then.
“Manor Lord Man.”
At the low, deep voice, everyone turned their heads.
A man was walking toward them.
Mid-fifties.
White-haired.
But his gaze was sharp.
Juchae, commander of the White Snow Spirit Regiment.
A master of the Manifestation of the Boundless.
And beside him was Gong Yeongheo, formerly First Frost Order of the Baekryeong Guard’s Twelve Frost Orders.
Man Seokcheong frowned.
“Rather, it seems morale is being lowered by you right now, Manor Lord.”
“......What do you mean?”
“You lowered the address for the Polar Heir and stopped those trying to rescue him.”
Man Seokcheong’s face flushed red.
“I......”
“That is enough. There is no time to discuss it deeply. We will enter.”
Juchae was firm.
“However, please kill as many Chaotic Heaven Ones outside as possible, Manor Lord.”
Man Seokcheong bit his lip.
A brief silence.
At length, Man Seokcheong nodded.
“......I will do so.”
Juchae looked at Chief Seong.
“Let us go.”
“Where have you been, coming only now?”
“I killed two wandering Chaotic Heaven Kings.”
Chief Seong nodded.
“Thank you.”
“If you are going, hurry. There is no time.”
A total of five people ran toward the Chaotic Heaven Gate.
Chief Seong.
Ju Soa.
Namgung Wonyang.
Juchae.
And Gong Yeongheo.
They exchanged brief greetings with one another, and without further conversation, swept away the visible Chaotic Heaven Ones as they entered the Chaotic Heaven Gate.
Into the hole.
Into the darkness.
Their figures disappeared.
Man Seokcheong looked at their backs.
His fist was clenched.
It was trembling.
Ma Suhyeok cautiously asked,
“......Manor Lord.”
“.......”
“Are you all right?”
“......I am fine.”
Man Seokcheong drew his sword.
It was not that he had ill intent either.
He had merely hesitated.
Was Hyun Seollin’s life important?
Or were the lives of the soldiers who had protected this place important?
He knew Unhwi was extraordinary. He also knew he owed him a debt.
But was it right to make thousands of martial artists die in order to save him?
The difference between Chief Seong and him was not a matter of loyalty to Unhwi.
It was merely a difference in what they prioritized protecting.
Man Seokcheong said,
“Kill the Chaotic Heaven Ones. Do not leave a single one alive.”
“Yes!”
***
Although the situation was somewhat strange, the five ran through the endless darkness together with the Chaotic Heaven Ones.
The Chaotic Heaven Ones did not attack them, and their goal was also to find Unhwi, who was certainly inside, rather than kill the Chaotic Heaven Ones, so no blood flowed along the way.
How long had they run?
Light appeared ahead.
It was certain they had drawn closer.
And when a vast space opened before them, the five stopped in place without anyone needing to say a word.
Their breath nearly stopped.
At the sight unfolding before their eyes.
“......My heavens.”
Ju Soa murmured.
Chaotic Heaven Ones.
Thousands.
No.
Tens of thousands.
They were pouring in endlessly.
They had thought there was only one Chaotic Heaven Gate, so where in the world were all these people pouring in from?
And at the center stood one person.
He was swinging his sword.
Endlessly.
Without rest.
Each time his sword split the sky, three or four Chaotic Heaven Ones’ heads soared upward.
Chaotic Heaven Ones fell.
Four.
Eight.
Sixteen.
Forty.
One hundred.
Two hundred.
They fell without end, and in each place, that person’s hair fluttered.
White hair holding light.
Radiance flowed down from it.
The Primordial Innate Mind Art.
The sign of the True Chapter.
His longsword danced.
It was beautiful.
A dance of death.
But elegant.
A Chaotic Heaven One charged in, and the sword grazed past.
Its neck was cut off.
Another charged.
When the sword swung, an arm was severed and a leg was cut away.
A body split apart, and a head was cleaved open.
The Chaotic Heaven One that had just died was no ordinary Chaotic Heaven One.
It was a Chaotic Heaven King.
The person who had killed one so easily—
No, Unhwi did not stop.
He kept moving.
It was almost like a dance.
A dance of death.
Chief Seong stared as though his soul had left him.
Young Master......
Ju Soa as well.
Namgung Wonyang as well.
Juchae as well.
And Gong Yeongheo as well.
All of them lost their words.
This was a sight they had never seen before.
A sword grazed Unhwi’s body and a fist struck him hard, but immediately, smoke flowed out from that place with cold energy, and the wound recovered.
Instead, the head of the Chaotic Heaven One who had attacked him soared into the sky.
That was the Polar Heir Hyun Seollin.
The Snow Mountain Demon Lord, Seol Unhwi.
Unhwi’s sword shone.
White.
The Heavenly Snow Secret Sword unfolded.
Kwaaaaang—!!
A snowstorm exploded.
Dozens of Chaotic Heaven Ones fell.
Unhwi landed on the ground.
He swung his sword again.
Without rest.
Without stopping.
His figure was almost like.
A Martial Divinity.
As awe swallowed them all, the first to move was Juchae.
“......This is not the time to stand there in a daze.”
His dagger flashed, and the necks of three or four Chaotic Heaven Ones gathering around Unhwi were cut at the same time.
The sword of the Manifestation of the Boundless.
It was incomparably precise, and also fast.
Juchae began clearing the surroundings while maintaining a certain distance from Unhwi.
Gong Yeongheo also moved.
Having mainly hunted Chaotic Heaven Kings while roaming Windwall’s outskirts together with Juchae, he naturally moved along with him.
As befitting his title, the Invincible Iron Order, what he used were iron spheres. He swung two iron spheres in every direction.
Ice-Snow Iron Martial Art.
It was his own technique, modified from the Ice-Snow Sword Dance among the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace’s sword arts, and his iron spheres moved like living snakes as they began bursting Chaotic Heaven Ones apart.
He had once been First Frost Order among the Twelve Frost Orders before dropping to Second Frost Order, but he was still a master of Unity of Heaven and Man. His skill remained unchanged.
Chief Seong also drew his sword.
“I am going!”
His sword shot out like lightning and pierced the head of one Chaotic Heaven One.
The Heaven-Human realm. Chief Seong’s realm was not one that would be looked down on anywhere.
Ju Soa and Namgung Wonyang also took up their respective weapons.
Ju Soa’s sword flew, and Namgung Wonyang’s sword split the air.
The five formed a circle around Unhwi and swept away the Chaotic Heaven Ones.
It happened in an instant.
The dozens of Chaotic Heaven Ones surrounding Unhwi all collapsed, and a space was secured, if only for a moment.
Unhwi slowly lowered his sword.
He turned and looked at them.
“You found me quite well.”
His voice was calm.
But his gaze was deep.
Chief Seong hurriedly approached.
“......As expected, it was you, Young Master. What in the world happened? No, are you all right?”
“I am fine.”
“What in the world is going on! Suddenly, all the Chaotic Heaven Ones are coming here......!”
