Chapter v8c4

From the front, on Bi Ryu yeon’s right side, the spearman Jo Geol held the horse’s reins in his left hand and the spear in his right. On the left side, the spearman Ju gwang held the reins in his right hand and the spear in his left. This arrangement allowed them to attack simultaneously from both sides.

As Wi Musang’s hand dropped, the twin spearmen spurred their horses into action, shooting forward like arrows.

Their plan was to assault Bi Ryu yeon from both sides, Jo Geol would slash at Bi Ryu yeon’s waist, and without missing a beat, Ju gwang would aim for his neck.

The twin spearmen, always guarding Wi Musang, could confirm each other’s intentions with just a glance, their coordination honed by countless battles.

However, their plan never came to fruition. An unimaginable event unfolded before their eyes.

They couldn’t understand why the ground was rushing up towards them at such a terrifying speed.

A loud crash echoed across the dry, desolate land.

“Thud! Crack!”

Wi Musang gasped, his eyes bulging in shock.

The two horses, which had been running full tilt, suddenly bent their front knees as if on cue. Unable to withstand the momentum, the horses bodies pitched forward, and with the remaining force, they somersaulted through the air.

The horses, as if by agreement, tumbled across the ground, kicking up clouds of dust. The sight of the horses, not humans, performing a full aerial rotation above their heads was nothing short of a spectacle, a feat not seen every day.

“How can this be?”

Wi Musang stuttered in astonishment, his dignity shattered.

“Oh dear, it seems they tripped over a stone! They should have been more careful.”

Bi Ryu yeon commented with exaggerated concern, eliciting not gratitude but disgust from those listening.

“Shut up! What cursed stone are you talking about!”

It was impossible for the iron clad horses to have stumbled so dramatically over a mere stone! Clearly, they had been tricked by some unseen ploy. The problem was that they couldn’t detect the trickery used by their opponent.

Moreover, the twin spearmen sprawled on the ground were no longer moving. Their necks were twisted in an unnatural direction. They had already stopped breathing.

The owners of the horses, who had performed such a marvelous stunt, had met their end due to a tragic roll on the ground, breaking their necks. It was an absurd and anticlimactic end for such skilled fighters, caused by the heavy armor that hindered their movement.

“What trickery have you played, you scoundrel?”

Wi Musang bellowed, feeling as if he was trapped in a nightmare in broad daylight.

“Trickery? What do you mean? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Wi Musang couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being mocked. The urge to crush Bi Ryu yeon’s smirking face was overwhelming.

Bi Ryu yeon had done something simple yet effective. He had secretly wrapped the essence of Thunder around the front legs of the two horses. The rope tightened as the horses began to run, binding their front legs and causing them to collide with the ground due to the unstoppable momentum.

Gu Cheon Hak, who had been silently observing, grew even more stern. Even he couldn’t understand what had just happened. He was surprised to feel his body instinctively tensing up.

“Krrgh! The Four Great Gales!”

Wi Musang opened his clenched mouth and called out loudly for the four masters of the Iron Calvary of Death Brigade. His face was red hot with anger. It was a situation where even victory would bring disgrace. He couldn’t afford any more humiliation here.

The Four Great Gales would surely reduce this insolent child to pieces. Wi Musang had no doubt that the boy’s blood would soon decorate the sky like falling petals.

The four masters of the Iron Calvary of Death Brigade, representing the four winds—Hot Wind, Whirling Wind, Frenzied Wind, and Autumn Wind—stepped forward, exuding intense fighting spirit.

Wi Musang himself wanted to punish Bi Ryu yeon, but hierarchy and face prevented him from doing so. There was no need for a brigade leader like himself to step in. These four would be more than enough!

“A trap…”

Wi Musang concluded that the twin spearmen’s demise must have been due to an invisible trap. It was the most logical and common explanation.

Of course, there was no such trap. Bi Ryu yeon didn’t have the leisure time to dig a trap or set up complex mechanisms. If he had the strength, it would be more economical to deal with it barehanded.

“It must be a trap. There’s no other explanation.”

Wi Musang and the Four Great Gales were unaware of the true cause.

“Be wary of traps!”

“Yes!”

The Four Great Gales responded in unison.

“Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!”

They all aimed their spears at Bi Ryu yeon. Their killing intent was focused on piercing through him. In their minds, Bi Ryu yeon’s fate was already sealed.

“Give him a funeral with our best technique!”

“As you command! Charge!”

At Wi Musang’s signal, the four horses leaped forward, perfectly in sync. A sharp gleam flashed in their eyes.

Despite the distance of ten paces to Bi Ryu yeon, they thrust their spears forward with force.

Did they think they could reach him from over ten paces away?

The Iron Calvary of Death Brigade’s combined attack technique, the Four Riders Chain Attack, the Iron Chain WhirlWind, was unleashed.

“Whizz!” The sound of the wind accompanied the separation of each section of their spears, which extended outwards. The sections were connected by thin, long chains, shortening the distance in an instant. Now, distance was no longer an issue.

The chained spears swirled together in mid-air, drawing in the surrounding dust into their artificially created vortex.

A dense and massive swirl of sharp spear blades descended upon Bi Ryu yeon, boasting a ferocious and grotesque momentum.

Facing the terrifying iron whirlwind that seemed capable of pulverizing everything, Bi Ryu yeon’s steps did not retreat. He seemed to have a serious aversion to stepping back.

Bi Ryu yeon appeared to have lost all sense of fear, not even trying to dodge. He stood as if nailed to the spot, as if his feet were glued to the ground or roots had grown beneath him, unmoving.

Only his eyes, sinking deep into the abyss, quietly faced reality.

“Here I go!”

Finally, Bi Ryu yeon moved.

Bi Ryu yeon swung his right hand horizontally once.

Secret Art of the Biryeo do Sword Qi

Shadowless severance

To cut the division of heaven and earth

A silent and shadowless movement!

Yet, its power was so immense that even the heavens would acknowledge it.

With a swish!

A line that divided the space between heaven and earth, like a shining mirage, in a flash of light.

The swirling of the spear’s iron blade, which had been fiercely aiming to devour Bi Ryu yeon’s life, split in half as if it were a lie. It was like a scene made up, too surreal to believe.

A sure kill technique that had never failed in a many against one fight was effortlessly broken by a single gesture from the opponent. The shock was immense, naturally stirring a desire to deny reality.

The golden blade did not only target the swirling spear blade. The sharp blade of light cut through the four horses ridden by the Four Great Gales in one swift motion. The inexplicable sharp aura seemed like a piece of fiction.

Wi Musang felt chills run down his entire body. The goosebumps that had risen grandly showed no sign of subsiding.

He had never heard of such a sharp, fast, and terrifying aura.

The horses, having lost half their bodies, rapidly tipped forward, somersaulting in the air. Of course, in such a situation, it was impossible for the riders to be unharmed.

In the midst of the dust cloud, the upper halves of the four horses tumbled on the ground, spraying a mist of blood like a red fog. The Four Great Gales, who had charged in so boldly just moments before, now crashed to the ground from the air. Their heavy iron armor had indeed become a deadly poison to them, paralyzing their movements and taking their lives.

With a crunch and a snap!

The sound of neck bones turning in the wrong direction…

And so, on this day, the names of the Four Great Gales were erased from the roster of the Iron Calvary of Death Brigade. Instead, their names were listed on the condolence money claim receipt for the fallen warriors of the Black Heaven Alliance, to be passed on to the finance department.

………………………………………………………………………………

“Should we just stand by and do nothing? We might end up cleaning up corpses.”

Cheong Heun pushed his serious face towards Yeom Do and said.

“Hmm! Corpses… That might be good.”

The desire to escape the tiresome nightmare if he ended up cleaning someone’s corpse protruded from a corner of Yeom Do’s heart, stimulating his patience.

“But…”

Cheong Heun continued.

“That can’t be. We can’t just leave things as they are. No matter what anyone says, isn’t he a disciple of the Cheonmu Academy? We can’t just watch him walk into certain death, can we?”

Yeom Do pretended to consider Cheong Heun’s opinion.

Even Yeom Do, who knew Bi Ryu yeon’s abilities better than anyone else here, couldn’t easily guarantee the outcome of this match. Normally, he would have confidently assured Bi Ryu yeon’s victory by more than twelve parts, but this time the opponent was too tricky. He was also familiar with the eight famous characters that described the grandeur of the Iron Calvary of Death Brigade: the Invincible Iron Armor Wind Horse. Even the reckless Bi Ryu yeon had no guarantee of easily defeating those celebrities.

‘But…’

Yeom Do’s eyes sank deeply. Could Bi Ryu yeon’s fate really come to an end today? The capacity of the man named Bi Ryu yeon was not to be underestimated. Even after spending more than a year and a half by his side, Yeom Do had yet to see the full extent of his abilities.

Indeed! No matter how much he racked his brain, it was hard to believe that Bi Ryu yeon, of all people, would suddenly exhibit such reckless self sacrifice in a fight with no chance of winning, especially when it seemed so out of character for him.

‘What kind of person is he…’

It’s wrong to think too highly of someone. No matter how much one tried to force a good rating on Bi Ryu yeon’s character, the likelihood was too slim. There was a reason he was called a monster.

Yeom Do said in a subtle voice.

“It might be very positive to consider just pretending not to know and running away from here! Right?”

This statement, aimed at taking a step forward as the most cowardly person in the world, would have been ignored or vehemently condemned if it came from someone else. But the speaker was Yeom Do, and that made it different. One of the people least associated with the term ‘most cowardly’ in the world was Yeom Do himself. The common opinion was that Yeom Do lacked the cunning to commit such cowardice.

Yeom Do’s low voice somehow carried an ominous resonance, vibrating their eardrums.

What answer was Yeom Do, the elder, hoping to get here?

Cheong Heun had no clue about Yeom Do’s inner thoughts.

If he had a few extra lives to spare, he would have answered without hesitation, but unfortunately, with only one life, he couldn’t answer rashly. No, he couldn’t. Treating one’s only life lightly and throwing it away recklessly was not an act of courage but sheer folly.

“That is…”

Ju jakdan and Munmu sangjeol were unable to respond as if their mouths were sewn shut with silk threads with about three hundred and sixty stitches. In fact, Yeom Do was just as clueless about what action to take next. Perhaps he was unfairly taking out his frustration on the kids.

If he died like this, he could escape the humiliating fate of being a disciple without any effort, and it was hard to resist that sweet temptation. However, the problem was the lack of cunning to commit such cowardice.

If one could simply define the act of eliminating the evil of the martial world by using poison to counteract poison as a deed for the good of the martial world… Today, he hated himself for being unusually filled with a sense of justice. If he had been more slick, flexible, cunning, or had specialties like treachery or cowardice, he could have handled the situation more smoothly and cleanly.

It was a day when he really disliked himself for his reason and emotions being at odds.

‘Hmm… What to do? What to do? What to do?’

His usually insufficient cunning was not working today either. At that moment, Yeom Do’s thoughts were interrupted by the words of a woman.

“We should still go and save him.”

Yeom Do lifted his head to find the source of the beautiful voice.

While Ju jakdan and Munmu sangjeol were busy discussing this and that, and Yeom Do was lost in his thoughts, someone quietly got up from their seat. The person walking silently towards the battlefield with lips tightly sealed was a woman of delicate build, possessing a beauty that seemed almost otherworldly.

“Sister!”

Lee Jin seol called out in surprise at Na Ye Rin’s sudden action. Na Ye Rin turned her gaze and looked at her indifferently.

“You don’t need to follow.”

She said in an indifferent voice.

“Sister!”

Lee Jin seol exclaimed with a shocked face. Her words clearly contained the will to stop Na Ye Rin’s actions. But Na Ye Rin was not one to be swayed by Lee Jin seol’s words. She looked ahead again and walked on silently.