Chapter 68
The Battle of Huai River (1)
The Huai River, which lay between the Namgung Clan’s forces and the Allied Sect’s army, was roughly ninety jang wide — about 270 meters.
The monsoon season had long passed, and the current was not particularly swift. The water level, too, was slightly lower than usual.
“Launch the rafts!”
“Row, quickly!”
Countless rafts were set afloat to cross the river.
Martial artists packed onto them, rowing hard as the paddles sliced through the current.
That sight was clearly visible even from the opposite bank.
“……”
Standing silently with his hands behind his back, Namgung Hwang watched.
Even without saying a word, his very presence radiated immense authority.
Because of that alone, the warriors of the Namgung Clan did not falter even at the sight before them.
What a sight to behold, Namgung Hyuk thought inwardly as he watched the sea of rafts advancing like a dark tide.
And yet, part of him thought coldly:
If I were to unleash a barrage of Thunderstrike Talismans here, I could wipe out half of them at once.
But he restrained himself—not merely because his duty was to guard Je Gal-rin at the rear.
No, Namgung Hyuk held back because this was the Namgung Clan’s battle to fight.
This war won’t end with just this battle, he thought.
If the Namgung Clan wished to survive the long war against the Allied Sect, they first had to awaken the dormant instinct for battle within their warriors.
That was why he chose to stand still and watch.
Ssshh—
Namgung Hwang slowly raised his hand.
By now, the Allied Sect’s vanguard had already ridden the current and approached the riverbank.
When Namgung Hwang’s hand dropped—
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Hundreds of archers who had been standing by drew and loosed their arrows in unison.
Though they were not professional archers, the arrows of trained martial artists carried far more force than those of ordinary men.
Thwack! Splash!
Some fell into the river, but most struck true, raining down upon the rafts.
However, the damage to the Allied Sect was unexpectedly small.
“Did you think we wouldn’t prepare for such an obvious attack?”
Just as one of their warriors scoffed, the rafts lifted up crude shields—bundles of bamboo lashed together.
The arrows clattered harmlessly against them.
But then—
Swish! Swish! Swish!
A second volley came screaming down from the sky.
Fwoosh!
“Fire! It’s fire!”
“Aaagh!”
This time, the arrows were aflame.
Rafts caught fire, and men leapt screaming into the water.
Yet amidst the chaos, figures moved swiftly over the burning rafts—leaping nimbly, unfazed by the inferno.
Clad in crimson uniforms, the character 覇天 (Ba-cheon / Overlord Heaven) emblazoned on their backs, they were unmistakable:
The Sa-hon Unit of the Paechun Fortress.
Tatatat!
They sprinted across burning logs and even the heads of men floating in the water, rushing toward the riverbank.
“Don’t let them cross!”
“Fire!”
Namgung Clan’s warriors aimed and loosed another volley, but the Sa-hon fighters deflected the arrows effortlessly with their swords, sabers, and spears.
They’re running on the river and still deflecting arrows like that…
So these are the warriors of Paechun Fortress.
Even the Namgung soldiers couldn’t help but be impressed.
It was a living demonstration of the power that had allowed Paechun Fortress to dominate the demonic sects in mere years.
By now, some of the Sa-hon fighters had reached the riverbank.
Just then—
Thwip!
An arrow fell from far higher than the others, striking one Sa-hon warrior square in the chest.
“Gah!”
“Khaaa!”
Several more fell, pierced through the heart.
Next target.
Kim Ji-seok, stationed in the rear to guard Je Gal-rin, drew his bow again.
The Sa-hon fighters finally realized that a highly skilled archer was among the Namgung ranks.
At that moment, the leader of the Sa-hon Unit, the Black Sword Guest (Heuk Geom-gaek), Po Geol, barked an order:
“Keep advancing!”
“Yes, sir!”
Ignoring their losses, the Sa-hon Unit reached the shore and quickly formed ranks.
“Pa-geom Unit, advance!”
“Yes, sir!”
At Namgung Hwang’s command, the Pa-geom Unit (Sword-Breaking Squad) surged forth from three directions.
“Form the Sword Array!”
The shout came from Namgung Eok, the commander of the Pa-geom Unit and Namgung Hwang’s younger brother—a middle-aged man with hair just beginning to gray but with a spirit still burning strong.
At his order, the unit formed multiple small-scaled, scale-like sub-formations.
The Pa-cheon Sword Array, their signature formation, was designed for small groups to move organically and shatter enemy lines.
Clang! Clang!
Steel clashed fiercely as the Pa-geom Unit plunged into battle, met head-on by the Sa-hon warriors.
“Die!”
“Not a chance!”
Steel and blood clashed upon the rocky riverbank as the battle erupted in full.
Meanwhile, more of the Allied Sect’s fighters who had fallen into the river began crawling ashore, swelling the enemy ranks.
Seeing this, even the regular Namgung soldiers joined the fray alongside the Pa-geom Unit.
The battlefield turned into chaos—
warriors clashing along the riverbank, rafts still approaching across the water, and arrows continuing to rain down like a storm.
The screams and battle cries carried vividly to Namgung Hyuk, who stood apart from the melee.
So this is the air of the battlefield…
The scent of blood on the wind, the roar dividing life and death—
just breathing it made his blood burn.
It was proof he had truly become a warrior of the martial world.
But no master-level experts have appeared yet, he noted.
As the battle intensified, it was only a matter of time.
Then, he saw movement—
a man crossing the river in an extraordinary way.
Splash!
Though not quite matching Namgung Hyuk’s own level of Water-Leaping skill, the man was still gliding over floating debris as if flying.
It was Sa Mok-cheon, the Blood Calamity Asura.
Behind him followed twenty masked warriors in white masks with red patterns, demonstrating superb lightness arts.
– Ji-seok, can you hit the one in front?
At Namgung Hyuk’s transmitted voice, Kim Ji-seok gave a faint nod, drew deeply, and released with all his strength.
The arrow tore through the air, whistling so sharply it seemed to rip the wind itself.
“Hmm?”
Just as Sa Mok-cheon landed on the shore, he sensed it without looking—lifting his head slightly, he saw the arrow streaking toward him.
He twisted his body to the side—
Thud!
The arrow buried deep into the gravel at his feet.
Sa Mok-cheon glanced toward the distant hill where it had come from.
So that’s the archer who killed my Sa-hon men.
The young man’s appearance seemed far too green to have shot with such deadly precision.
Sa Mok-cheon had no intention of letting him live.
He kicked up a fallen sword from the ground, gripped it, and hurled it with all his might.
Whhhiiing!
The sword flew like a cannonball.
Kim Ji-seok froze in place—
Clang!
Just before the blade could pierce his brow, Namgung Hyuk appeared, deflecting it with his own sword.
He blocked my throw?
Sa Mok-cheon’s eyes darkened.
Even if that throw hadn’t carried his full strength, it was still imbued with the power of his Asura Killing Technique—something that no ordinary warrior could block.
Could he be the Namgung Clan’s eldest son?
He drew the wrong conclusion.
But before he could act further, the Pa-geom Unit charged in, swords flashing as they surrounded him.
Clang! Clang!
Sa Mok-cheon’s personal guards—the White-Masked Guards—stepped in to block the attack.
Each one was a master at the peak of the martial realm, trained personally by Sa Mok-cheon himself.
“Open the way.”
“Yes, sir!”
Moving as one, the White-Masked Guards cut down the Pa-geom warriors before them and cleared a path.
Meanwhile, Namgung Hyuk flexed his arm, which still tingled from the earlier clash.
That energy in his sword throw… and to hit from that distance without sword control techniques? He’s already well beyond the first threshold of the transcendence realm.
Before he realized it, his foot had taken a step forward.
Did my desire to fight him move me?
If not for his duty, he might already have leapt into battle.
But restraining himself, he stepped back.
Still, I suppose I’ll leave this opponent to him.
He looked toward the man who was striding forward to face Sa Mok-cheon—
A middle-aged warrior leapt lightly over the gravel, wielding a sword two inches longer than the norm.
It was Namgung Pae-gang, the third son of Namgung Hwang—and Namgung Hwa-rin’s father.
“Haaaahp!”
With a fierce shout, he swung his blade, unleashing a storm of sword energy that blasted toward Sa Mok-cheon and the White-Masked Guards.
KWAANG!
The explosion sent three of the guards flying, torn and bloodied.
What a ferocious attack… fitting for him.
Namgung Pae-gang, known by his epithet Blue Tiger Sword, was famous for his fiery temper and refusal to forgive the wicked.
“You demonic scum dare defile the Namgung Clan’s lands? None of you will leave here alive!”
With a roar, he charged forward, his sword tearing through the air in wild, devastating arcs.
His swordsmanship resembled the Azure Sky Free Sword Style, though with distinct variations—it was his own refined version, born from years of mastery and personal insight.
“Impressive,” Sa Mok-cheon murmured, watching calmly.
Indeed, Namgung Pae-gang was one of the five strongest among the Namgung Clan, excluding the retired elders.
Deeming the White-Masked Guards insufficient, Sa Mok-cheon slowly drew his own weapon—
a jagged-edged sword whose notched blade resembled a shark’s teeth.
“Stand back.”
At his command, the guards retreated.
“You’re the leader of this rabble?”
“They call me Sa Mok-cheon.”
“And I am Namgung Pae-gang.”
Even before his name fully left his lips, Pae-gang launched a barrage of sword energy.
Sa Mok-cheon parried them with ease, sweeping his blade through the air.
“Now it’s my turn. Take this!”
With that, a dark crimson aura erupted from his body as he swung.
It was his ultimate technique—Blood Shark Sword Art (혈교검결).
What chaotic energy… Pae-gang thought grimly.
But when their blades met, he realized its power was anything but disordered.
The vibrating, saw-like sword energy shredded through his aura as if gnawing it apart.
“Kuh!”
He swung his sword hard, managing to knock Sa Mok-cheon’s strike into the ground just in time—
a moment later and his own blade would’ve been cleaved in two.
“Heh… It’s been a while since someone survived a clash with my sword energy.”
“Typical demonic trickery,” Pae-gang growled.
With a snarl, he charged again.
Sa Mok-cheon met him head-on, grinning coldly.
Both fought fiercely but not yet with full power—
for this was not a duel, but a war.
“Back away!”
“Urgh!”
Even so, the force of their strikes was overwhelming.
No one dared approach within twenty jang of the two as the riverbank erupted in waves of energy and flying debris.
