Chapter 445 : Will and Intent (1)

In ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍the vicinity of Xixia, the border crossing from Henan to Shaanxi.

A ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍force of roughly ten thousand soldiers from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had made camp there, locked in a standoff with the imperial army.

What’s ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍unique about this army is the composition. About two-thirds of them wore unified colors, but the remaining third was dressed in all manner of styles.

This ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍ragtag group consisted entirely of wandering martial artists who had flocked in from every corner of the Central Plains. Some had come out of genuine grievances against the dynasty's rule, and some out of a desire to see justice restored. But plenty of others had simply shown up for personal gain.

The ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍Battle King was the perfect example of the latter.

In ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍fact, most of these opportunists had only rushed to join the war after hearing that Jeok Ri-gang had officially aligned himself with the Demonic Cult. Without even trying, the Battle King had naturally become the spiritual anchor for these glory-seekers, and he now stood right alongside the very men who idolized him.

"Boss, aren't you bored just waiting around and reading the room like this?" A man who had gotten fairly chummy with him after surviving a few bloody skirmishes together strolled over, slyly shaking the canteen strapped to his hip. 

It was supposed to be a water canteen, but judging by the cheeky grin on his face, he had definitely smuggled in booze.

Jeok Ri-gang shook his head. "Put that away. We don't know when the fighting's going to kick off again. Did you march all the way out here just to get yourself killed while drunk?"

When the man visibly deflated at the scolding, Jeok Ri-gang let out an amused snort and clapped him on the shoulder. “Look, we are all here to carve out a place for ourselves. So let’s stay alive until then. I’ll drink with all of you once the war is over.”

That got a laugh out of everyone clustered around him, and Jeok Ri-gang swept his gaze across the group with a satisfied smile.

‘Heh. If I play my cards right, I might be able to form a faction of my own once the dust settles.'

Thanks to the endless meddling of the Orthodox Faction, he'd never managed to establish a real power base for himself after all these years. But now with more people flocking to call him Boss every day, he couldn't help but feel good about where things were heading.

‘The bigger my faction gets, the harder it'll be for the Demonic Cult folks to stab me in the back when this is all done.’

He was still running through those calculations in his head when someone called out to him urgently.

"Boss!"

The man who'd called him was pointing at something in the distance.

Beyond a distant ridgeline, a haze of gray smoke was rising into the sky.

"Looks like the Divine Monk's shown up to the north!"

The shout had barely died when drums began beating from near the command tent. It was the signal to prepare for immediate combat.

"Looks like the heavens are smiling down on us today, Boss," muttered the man who'd been waving his flask around.

Jeok Ri-gang smiled at that. "Seems like they are."

The Divine Monk had ambushed another unit. That meant the terrifying monster was nowhere near the enemy encampment sitting right in front of them, leaving them with nothing to fear.

Of course, that unit would suffer massive casualties from the Divine Monk's ambush, but it was none of Jeok Ri-gang's business.

He hadn't thrown his lot in this war for some grand cause or sense of justice. He was here to ride the tide of a new era and grab himself a piece of it.

As for the allied soldiers currently being slaughtered by the Divine Monk, Jeok Ri-gang considers them to be the same greedy bunch as him. Just that they lacked the luck and skill to survive.

Either way, Jeok Ri-gang and his group got ready fast.

Following this, the rhythm of the drumbeats changed.

It was the sound signaling the advance.

Driven by the thunderous beat, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's army surged toward the imperial encampment stationed a few miles away.

"Let's move!"

Jeok Ri-gang and his men eagerly sprinted past the regular allied troops to claim the very front of the vanguard. With the Divine Monk occupied elsewhere, now was the time to rack up as many kills as possible.

Judging by the flow of the war, killing the Divine Monk would undoubtedly be the greatest merit. But Jeok Ri-gang had boldly crushed that idea long ago.

Jeok Ri-gang had crossed paths with that monster once.

That old thing is a walking disaster. So much so that even he, a member of the Twelve Heavenly Pillars, hadn't been able to bring himself to even think about fighting him.

He'd turned and run that day without looking back, and that was how he'd survived.

He didn’t consider this a shame since the standing engangement rule against the Divine Monk was clear.

If he appears, run.

After sprinting all the way to the front of the allied advance, Jeok Ri-gang unleashed his technique and charged straight at the enemy line. The wanderers who followed him moved in around him like a support formation.

The enemy responded with a succession of war drums and a volley of arrows scattered into the air to slow their approach. But it wasn't nearly enough to stop someone of Jeok Ri-gang's caliber.

Or rather, the volleys were sparse and patchy to begin with, as if the soldiers hadn't expected the attack and were scrambling to react.

"Hahaha! What a rabble!"

With his eyes enhanced by his internal energy, he could see the enemy camp descending into chaos. Most of them were conscripts who'd been press-ganged into service and had barely seen any real training.

Jeok Ri-gang punched through the arrow volley in an instant and skewered the unprepared soldiers on his spear. His lackeys flooded in behind him, widening the breach he'd torn open and cutting down the enemy troops in droves.

"Retreat! Fall back!"

Without the Divine Monk to anchor them, the panicked enemy forces chose to pull back. The problem was that so many of them had never been properly drilled that even their retreat fell apart. They tangled up with each other stupidly, and the whole formation began to collapse.

CRACK.

Jeok Ri-gang drove into the midst of the confused mob and swung his spear like a madman, carving a path of devastation through the enemy ranks.

'Time to gorge myself on all these free merits!'

He even found himself thinking that it might not be so bad if the Divine Monk kept harassing the Divine Cult for just a little while longer. The more time the Divine Monk bought, the more merit he could build and the larger his faction could grow.

While Jeok Ri-gang and his men tore through the enemy and cut them down, the rest of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's forces caught up one by one and joined the fray.

But around the time when over half of the Divine Cult's army had poured into the breached enemy lines—

Slick.

The sound of something being cleaved clean reached his ears.

His intuition told him something was very wrong right now.

When he turned to look, what he saw made his skin crawl.

The man who'd been fighting right beside him, the same one who'd offered him a drink not even fifteen minutes ago, was collapsing in two pieces.

But it wasn't the man's death itself that sent a chill through Jeok Ri-gang.

‘When?’

Right up until the moment that man died, Jeok Ri-gang hadn't sensed a thing.

He sensed no killing intent or presence from the old man who had killed him.

‘A eunuch?’

He'd killed enough Eastern Depot agents during this war to recognize the type with one look.

Then the old man glanced at Jeok Ri-gang and gave a light click of his tongue.

"Tsk. It seems my luck isn't very good today. To think my first catch of the day is a mere small fry like this."

Being openly called a small fry should have enraged him, but Jeok Ri-gang didn't dare utter a single curse. Because every instinct in his body was screaming that the moment he showed even the slightest hint of hostility, his head would be separated from his shoulders.

"Who are you?" he asked in a tense tone.

The old eunuch merely sneered. "Why would I bother introducing myself to a bug?"

Without another word, the old man burst into action.

The ground seemed to shrink the moment he took a step, and he was in front of Jeok Ri-gang in an instant.

It’s the Ethereal Shift.

A feat of lightness skill so legendary that most people think of it as a myth.

But Jeok Ri-gang was a master in his own right, and he didn't just stand there like a deer in a headlight. He thrust his spear out at the approaching eunuch. The old eunuch casually slipped past the blade with a lazy tilt of his head, but Jeok Ri-gang was already sending another thrust right behind the first.

At the same time, he kept working his legs without pause, doing whatever he could to maintain the distance between himself and the eunuch.

Distance was the deciding factor in every martial art, but for a spear user, maintaining the right distance was the line that decides life and death.

For a grandmaster of the spear like Jeok Ri-gang, keeping the enemy at the tip of his spear was second nature.

"Tsk. Vermin."

As if finding the struggle of the bug was bothersome, the old eunuch whipped his flexible sword through the air in a rapid chain of slashes. The wobbling blade lashed out and unleashed a vicious barrage of Force Qi at bizarre angles.

Moreover, the sweeping strikes acted as a net, perfectly cutting off every single avenue of retreat Jeok Ri-gang could possibly take.

Left with nowhere to step, Jeok Ri-gang had no choice but to launch himself into the air, which was exactly what the eunuch had been waiting for.

With a flick of his wrist, the old man hurled his flexible sword like a javelin.

Jeok Ri-gang spun his spear with tremendous speed and formed a barrier of Force Qi around himself that soon clashed with the flexible sword.

BOOM!!

A massive explosion rang out across the battlefield, and Jeok Ri-gang was sent tumbling through the air. He tried to twist his body mid-flight and use Sky Walk to reorient himself, but—

SHRRREEK!

The sword was already right at his chest.

"Son of a—"

Schk.

A chilling sound rang out across the battlefield.

With his heart pierced through, Jeok Ri-gang's body hit the ground with a heavy thud and sprawled in the dirt.

The martial artists who had followed him deep into enemy territory stared at his corpse with blank faces.

Then the old eunuch shrieked. "What are you standing around for?! Kill every last one of these vermin!"

Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, Eastern Depot agents who had been hidden throughout the battlefield emerged and threw themselves at the martial artists.

And on top of that—

"Tsk."

The old man retrieved his sword with a flick of his wrist and began sweeping it through the air. With each lash of his sword, Force Qi poured off the blade and tore through the martial artists without mercy.

***

Several days later, a letter arrived at the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's border territory in the northwest.

Il-mok had just returned after finishing another skirmish with the Mierqi tribe when an urgent summons from Jong-ri Chu made him return to the fortress in a hurry.

"What is it, Sixth Brother?" Il-mok asked with a puzzled look.

Rather than answering, Jong-ri Chu wordlessly handed him the letter with a grim face.

As Il-mok quickly scanned the contents of the letter, his expression crumpled.

The letter said that the Divine Monk had attacked the unit led by Yeom Ga-hwi and Hyeokryeon Cheong-gang. Both had barely survived, but Yeom Ga-hwi had taken serious internal injuries. Worse, over half of the ten thousand troops in that unit had been wiped out in exchange for getting them out alive.

What came after that was even more grim.

While another unit had taken the opportunity of the Divine Monk's known location to charge the enemy line, the unit led by Ouyang Pae and Jeok Ri-gang had been nearly annihilated.

Ouyang Pae had managed to survive, but Jeok Ri-gang had been killed by an old eunuch. And according to the report, someone like Jeok Ri-gang who had reached the Realm of Truth couldn’t even last for ten exchanges.

And more alarmingly, survivor testimony stated that they had heard some of the Eastern Depot agents refer to that old eunuch as the Supreme Eunuch.

"So he's finally crawled out."

The puppet master behind the grand scheme to annihilate the martial world. The architect of all of this bloody chaos had finally shown his face.

But Il-mok felt no satisfaction at that. He was grinding his teeth.

‘How many more people are going to lose their lives to this old bastard?’

And if the letter was accurate, this rotten schemer wasn't just a prolific schemer. His martial prowess was also very high.

The tide of the war had been turning in their favor with the downfall of the Southern Military Command and the spreading rebellion in the Central Plains. But now that the Supreme Eunuch has descended directly into the battlefield, things will get chaotic again soon.

‘I have no time humoring these barbarian bastards here.’

Il-mok thought of the breakthrough he'd achieved alongside his recent fortuitous encounter.

He needed to get back to the Central Plains and kill the Divine Monk and the Supreme Eunuch as fast as possible.

Because that was the only way to finally put an end to this war.