Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

While Peng Ah-hu was looking down at the situation with the Demonic Army in Guizhou, the Martial Alliance in Chongqing was doing the same thing. 

The map representing Chongqing was filled with blue and red.

About a third of the province was red.

And red stood for the Demonic Cult. 

“Huh, the advancement of the Demonic Cult was quite vicious.”

Tae Hee-jin, one of the sect leaders, laughed at the absurdity. It was clear that the Martial Alliance had started the occupation war first, but a third of the bases was lost to the Demonic Cult in just one day. 

Many of the martial artists spoke in agreement. 

“I don’t think we should underestimate the Cult.”

“That’s exactly what I said. In particular, the White Ape Unit and troops led by the Demonic Master are our biggest problems.” 

The words ‘White Ape Unit’ made Tae Hee-jin frown. It was quite unbelievable that a martial artist’s face could distort like this. 

However, the martial artists around neither reacted nor were they familiar enough with the man to react. 

Tae Hee-jin sighed. “The White Ape Unit is definitely a problem. Especially the demon who leads the unit.”

Tae Hee-jin clicked his tongue. 

He knew that the Demonic Cult was strong, but they were really monsters. 

He didn’t know if all the Twelve Supporting Units were like that, but the White Ape Unit was terribly persistent. 

That was likely because the White Ape Unit was filled with graduates of the Cave of Latent Demons. 

And survivors of the Cave of Latent Demonds were ones whose obsession with living and whose allegiance to the Cult were stronger than anyone else. 

And Chun A-young, captain of the White Ape Unit, was a monster even amongst them. 

“Knng.”

There was a sound of pain somewhere. It was a natural sound as many of those gathered here had fought against Chun A-young and barely escaped with their lives. 

As if to shake the uncomfortable atmosphere, Tae Hee-jin turned the conversation back to the topic. 

“But it is still a relief, isn’t it? The damage is still occurring within the expected range…”

Several sect leaders nodded.

“Indeed.”

“Where did those masters come from…?”

Once one brought it up, the others agreed.

“They were a great help. 

“True. If they weren’t here, the Demonic Cult might have taken more than one third of the land.”

Tae Hee-jin smiled. In his head, he was thinking about those two outstanding masters. It would have been a hard fight had it not been for those the Lord invited.

***

“Cough!”

A martial artist was split in half, blood pooling. 

There were dozens of bodies already piled on the floor, with their throats slashed and torsos torn open.

“Ugh.”

Some of the practitioners, who were fearful, retreated. But only a few of the demonic soldiers had retreated.

The other Demons gripped their weapons tighter. They stared at the man at the heart of the carnage. 

An old man with an ordinary iron sword.

And dull skin.

They did not know his name or title, but it was he who had created this devastation. 

“You can’t just show up and push us around!” one of the demonic soldiers shouted, gritting his teeth. 

“Push forward. No matter how strong he is, he’s already dealt with dozens of people. He has to be exhausted!”

At his words, the other demonic soldiers screamed and ran towards the man. 

“Waaaah!”

“Die, monster! ”

“I’ll avenge my comrades!”

They’re momentum was great. The demonic soldiers had brought out their energy to the extreme. 

Some of them were quite good, others only had faint energy wrapping around their weapons. 

But even if it was weak, that was still a sword!

Like someone shouted, the man with an iron sword had to be tired — he wouldn’t be able to dodge that sword!

While the demonic practitioners were thinking that, the man moved his old and rusted sword.

With smooth movements like the flap of a butterfly’s wings, his gentle movements immediately brought about a typhoon. 

Quaguaguaguaguaguagua -!

It was a storm.

A storm made of swords, not ordinary just wind.

Crescent-shaped blasts of sword qi scattered through the air. 

“Growl!”

Sobbing-

Puchi!

The blades split the soldiers attacking from the air into pieces. 

The soldiers approaching from the ground and aiming at his ankles were no exception. 

Thwack—

Foo—

The carcasses rained down. 

“Ugh.”

“Is that really a monster? ”

Several Demons shook their heads at the horrifying power. 

The man raised his sword again, as if he was not finished. 

Flash-

***

“There was some unexpected damage in a few of the Chongqing areas, but overall, the expected bases were occupied. The number of warriors on our side is also greater than those in the Martial Alliance, so I think that even if we can’t occupy a few places, the situation will not be too bad.”

Woon-seong’s brows twitched. He then pointed out a certain topic. 

“Unexpected damage?”

Since they had generally occupied most of the anticipated areas, this meant that the unexpected damage was not great.

But it was important to note that the damage was unexpected.

Some people think that this was being too sensitive.

But Hyuk Woon-seong was the head of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. He was the leader of the largest organization in Murim. No minor damage could be overlooked. 

Moreover, there was a saying that there were no such things as coincidences in Murim. 

Sang Gwan-chuk was aware of Woon-seong’s thoughts and carefully reported the damage. 

“After the people occupying the area were slaughtered, the Martial Alliance took over.”

“Slaughtered?”

Sang Gwan-chuk nodded. “But there was something strange about it.”

Sang Gwan-chuk glanced down at the map. On it were forces of the Martial Alliance and Demonic Army splayed out. 

“There were no Martial Alliance troops moving towards us before the men were attacked.”

When Sang Gwan-chuk said that, Woon-seong’s face was cold. Eyes were placed all around the battlefield, and they had a way of looking down at the area from a bird’s point of view.

But they hadn’t caught any troops moving in this situation? 

That was ridiculous. If more than a certain number of people moved, there would be traces.

Nevertheless, there had been no sign of the enemy.

What that meant was simple.

“It was an individual.”

A fatal variable.

It meant there was someone who could move alone and annihilate one of the Demonic Cult’s attacking groups.

Although the slaughtered unit was not one of the Twelve Supporting Units or one led by a Demonic Master, the individual had killed dozens of people by himself.

“With that level of strength, they would have to be amongst the 72. Did anyone from the Martial Alliance leave their post?”

Sang Gwan-chuk shook his head. He was the Senior Strategist of the Cult, who could be called the Brain of the Heavenly Demon. 

Obviously, the man had investigated this manner.

The result was… 

“There was not a single one of the 72 who left that day.”

Woon-seong frowned.

Something was unsettling.

Unexpected damage. 

It could be a coincidence of war, an accidental confrontation. It could also have been insufficient information. 

But this was a planned war.

And information had been sufficient. 

But there were still variables? 

It’s worth investigating. 

Woon-seong slowly told the strategist, “Tell the Demonic Teacher and the Captain of the White Ape Unit to look around and consider the unexpected variables.”

Sang Gwan-chuk nodded. “Understood.”

After learning about the situation in Guizhou, Woon-seong slowly got out of his seat. 

He then stepped outside.

As he left, the flat lands caught his attention. He stood at the end of the plains. 

Foo—

The wind blew. At the same time, the scenery at the bottom was in sight. 

Woon-seong was standing at the summit of a mountain. To be precise, it was one of the Cult occupied bases. Looking down, he could see several peaks and ridges. 

Each peak was randomly mixed with dark red and blue flags.

The dark red belonged to the Demonic Cult.

The blue ones with a cloud belonged to the Martial Alliance. 

Perhaps tomorrow all of these flags would change color. All in dark red, symbolizing the Demonic Cult. 

As Woon-seong was conjuring up such a scene, Sang Gwan-chuk approached his side. 

“I am going to do a rabbit drive.”

Woon-seong, who had an overview of the operation, did not ask why Sang Gwan-chuk had chosen to use the words ‘rabbit drive’. 

The Strategist knew that too, but still explained it again. “The Charred Dragon Unit and the Demonic Master will drive out the Martial Alliance from each base. Eventually, they will be thrown out of the peaks and gathered into the basin.”

That was why it was a rabbit drive. [1]

Woon-seong nodded, turning to look around. Like he said, the basin caught his eye. 

It was a basin surrounded by peaks.

It was a basin with plenty of space, even when armies were entangled together.

And the operation did not end just by pushing them into the basin.

“The specially custom-made items arrived earlier today. By the end of this rabbit race, we should be able to finish setting up.”

Sang Gwan-chuk continued to draw operation plans in his head. 

“That way, we can show hell to the sects.” 

Looking down at the basin, Woon-seong muttered coldly, “That basin will be their graves.”

And the next day, the battle began.

And just as Sang Gwan-chuk had said,

“Chase after them! ”

It was a rabbit drive.

[1] a rabbit drive or jackrabbit drive; during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, farmers would organize rabbit drives where they essentially encircled and forced jackrabbits out of their dens and into a central pen for easy slaughter