Chapter 36 – The Western Heaven Demonic Cult on the Move (4)

The strategist had sent missives to the Western Heaven Demonic Cult’s warriors in Gansu. The letters detailed how to deal with the reinforcements from the Martial Alliance.

The message in the missives was identical: do not engage them until they fall into the trap. That was why the middle-aged man in black robes couldn’t help but frown.

“Is this really okay?”

The middle-aged man in black, who had annihilated countless clans in Gansu, asked, looking at his counterpart in blood-red robes.

They had spotted Yu-jin’s party while roaming through Gansu. It wasn’t the time to act, so they had intended to merely observe and withdraw. However, the man in blood-red robes lost his senses upon seeing the women in the group, throwing their plan into disarray.

“Kekeke. As long as we don’t kill them, it should be fine, right?”

The lustful gaze of the laughing middle-aged man in blood-red robes turned to the woman he had been eyeing for a while.

The woman who caught his eye had hair like silk and slender, pale arms that seemed to glow, exuding an air of nobility.

The woman’s name was Na Ye-jin. And besides Na Ye-jin, the other four women were also more than worthy of becoming his concubines.

“I believe the plan said not to do anything foolish.”

The man in black, Seol Bi-hak, frowned slightly as he watched the man in blood-red, Gwangdo, drool and pant heavily. He spoke again.

“This isn’t foolish, is it? The strategist’s order was to capture them at all costs. Just that one command. I don’t recall any instructions on how to treat prisoners, do you?”

A dark, black flame of desire flickered in Gwangdo’s eyes as he stared at the women.

He wanted to subjugate them, defile them, violate them. And he wanted to turn them into sex slaves who would cry out only for him.

Such a vile, cruel, filthy, and ominous desire enveloped Gwangdo. He could no longer endure the foul lust that boiled within him like lava.

“Hehehehe!”

Transformed into a demon, Gwangdo licked his upper lip with the tip of his tongue. A cold, wicked smile, like that of a green-scaled snake, formed on his lips. Seol Bi-hak felt the need to calm him down.

“I don’t know about the others, but the woman in the lead is the Moon Empress. She’s a master so formidable that even if both of us attacked her, we couldn’t guarantee victory.”

“She’s still just a woman. A woman who’ll spread her legs on her own once her body heats up.”

As he spoke, Gwangdo pulled an aphrodisiac from his robes and showed it to Seol Bi-hak. Despite being so consumed by lust that he had lost his reason, his preparedness was thorough. Seol Bi-hak could only sigh.

“I suppose it can’t be helped.”

Seol Bi-hak gave up trying to stop Gwangdo.

***

The party, consisting of twenty people, was currently using a movement technique, moving at a speed five times faster than an ordinary person’s full sprint.

With every step they took, the surrounding scenery changed. What the party was using was a type of lightness art called the Swift Body Step, which was efficient because it allowed for rapid movement with minimal internal energy and without sprinting, enabling them to maintain it for a long time.

In truth, sprinting with their lightness skill would have gotten them to their destination faster, but running at full power when they might have to fight as soon as they arrived in Gansu was not a wise choice.

“Hmm.”

Yu-jin smiled inwardly as he looked at the beautiful women watching him. Not only Je-gal Min, but also Dang Ga-hee and Ja Ye-eun of the Sword Pavilion were observing him closely.

Yu-jin was simply enjoying the women’s attention. Of course, since he didn’t show it openly, Namgung Hwa-rin was unaware.

‘Should I take Je-gal Min first? Or Dang Ga-hee? Or Ja Ye-eun?’

Yu-jin seriously contemplated which of the three lovely women to go after first. He chose Ja Ye-eun. One of his preferences was to break the pride of an arrogant woman, and Ja Ye-eun fit the bill perfectly.

Just imagining a woman like Ja Ye-eun embracing him and crying out in pleasure was a great stimulus.

However, Yu-jin soon had to abandon his thoughts.

“We have uninvited guests.”

At Na Ye-jin’s words, everyone stopped in their tracks. And then, as if on cue, men in black appeared before them.

Their numbers exceeded fifty, and the presence of each one was formidable. But the party’s gazes were not fixed on them. A massive demonic energy could be felt from further within. It was drawing closer and closer to them.

The men in black parted down the middle. In the path they created stood two middle-aged men. One wore black robes, the other blood-red. The women felt an instinctual revulsion upon seeing the one in blood-red robes.

“Demons of the Western Heaven Demonic Cult?”

Na Ye-jin asked, her eyes cold as she stared at the two middle-aged men.

“The dregs of the Martial Alliance dare to show their faces here, knowing not their place. But I, Gwangdo, am a merciful man. Offer up the women, and I will not attack you lot. Especially you, wench. Become my concubine this instant.”

The party frowned at his words, but the most displeased person was, naturally, Yu-jin. He scowled deeply, glaring at the middle-aged man in blood-red robes.

‘What is that bastard spouting now?’

Demanding he hand over his woman, and those who would become his women? Was this bastard insane with a death wish?

It is said that one becomes calm when rage reaches its peak, and that was exactly Yu-jin’s state. His fury was far greater than Na Ye-jin’s, who had heard the absurd demand. Yu-jin glared with icy eyes at the man in blood-red robes who called himself Gwangdo.

“That is a request we cannot grant. And even if you have no intention of fighting us, we have no intention of leaving you be.”

“Khahahaha!”

At Na Ye-jin’s words, Gwangdo began to laugh loudly, then quickly thrust his hand into his robes. He was about to throw a bottle containing the aphrodisiac at Yu-jin’s party.

But just then, something invisible flew toward Gwangdo. And Gwangdo would never be able to use his right hand again. His right arm was severed from his body and fell to the ground.

A tremendous amount of red blood spurted out. Not only that, but the aphrodisiac Gwangdo had been holding vanished completely, bottle and all.

Gwangdo stared blankly at the nightmarish scene with wide eyes. But it was only for a moment.

“Kuaaaaaaaargh!”

A desperate scream echoed in all directions, and Gwangdo clutched the stump of his right arm with his left hand.

“How dare you!”

Gwangdo roared like a furious beast.

“Attack.”

Though bewildered, Seol Bi-hak ordered the attack, and the men in black charged toward Yu-jin’s party.

“Attack!”

Not to be outdone, Na Ye-jin drew her sword and shouted, and the party charged toward the men in black.

***

‘Helped by Yu-jin again…’

She had seen it clearly. The formless sword energy Yu-jin had unleashed.

The formless sword energy had not only severed Gwangdo’s right arm but had also annihilated the aphrodisiac he was holding.

An aphrodisiac held by a master of Gwangdo’s caliber could not have been an ordinary one. It was likely a potent concoction that also contained a Qi-scattering poison.

If such a substance had spread, even a group as formidable as theirs would not have been able to resist, and she and the other women would have surely suffered a terrible violation at the hands of their enemies.

[No one touches my woman.]

Just then, Yu-jin’s telepathic message reached Ye-jin’s ears, and without realizing it, a faint smile graced her lips.

Having always acted alone, she had felt great pressure and tension leading a unit for the first time, but all those feelings vanished. The knowledge that the man she loved was protecting her filled her with strength instead.

“The sin of looking upon me with such filthy eyes! That sin can only be forgiven by death!”

Finishing her words, Na Ye-jin swung her sword, and a sword aura like a white mist made of ground white jewels flew toward the one-armed Gwangdo.

It was so fast that even Seol Bi-hak couldn’t react properly, and Gwangdo was struck directly by Na Ye-jin’s sword aura.

“Kuaaack!”

His entire body shattered, Gwangdo let out a desperate scream as he was sent flying, rolling dozens of times across the ground. And then, he never opened his eyes again.

“How could this be…”

Seol Bi-hak was stunned. He had despised Gwangdo for his incompatible personality and his insatiable lust for women, but he had never doubted his strength.

Gwangdo had been strong enough that even a master of the Transformation Realm would have had difficulty subduing him, yet he had been defeated. Having cut down Gwangdo in a single blow, Na Ye-jin exuded a tremendous aura as she charged toward Seol Bi-hak.

“Huk!”

A clean, swift sword strike swept toward Seol Bi-hak’s waist. Though flustered, he barely managed to block Na Ye-jin’s sword. But as he did, an immense shockwave traveled up his arm.

“Damn it! This is why I said we shouldn’t attack.”

Seol Bi-hak had no idea how to face a Transformation Realm master through ordinary means. He had let Gwangdo act, despite not liking it, precisely because he had no confidence in facing Na Ye-jin himself.

And now he had to fight her head-on. Seol Bi-hak glanced at his last hope, his other subordinates, but they were already being slaughtered one-sidedly by Yu-jin and the rest of the party.

“I will commend you for blocking my attack. But this is where it ends.”

As Na Ye-jin spoke, she brought her sword down vertically, and Seol Bi-hak instinctively realized he could not block this attack.

He was cleaved perfectly in two, from head to toe. And with Seol Bi-hak’s death, all those who had ambushed the party had lost their lives.

In contrast, not a single person in their party had died; not one had even suffered a scratch. It was, in a word, an overwhelming victory.

“For the Western Heaven Demonic Cult’s influence to reach this far… it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that most of Gansu is already under their control.”

Everyone wore grave expressions at Je-gal Min’s words. If the enemy had taken control of Gansu, helping the Cheonsan Lee Clan would become much more difficult.

“This is no longer the time to worry about conserving our strength. We must get to the Cheonsan Lee Clan more quickly.”

Nodding at Yu-jin’s words, the party began to run at a much faster pace than before. Three days later, they arrived in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu and the home of the Cheonsan Lee Clan.

And there, they saw Lanzhou in utter ruin. Countless corpses were piled up like mountains, and blood had formed pools that had since congealed. The city walls that protected Lanzhou were shattered in various places.

“How could this be…”

The party was rendered speechless by the immense damage visible at a single glance. Just then, a group of warriors approached Yu-jin’s party.