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C71 - Two Leaders
Late at night.
Not even the sound of insects could be heard, and the stillness was absolute.
“Chst, chst.”
The Sword Emperor Namgung Byeok clicked his tongue softly, then entered the room and emerged again with his sword.
Namgung Byeok walked slowly towards the courtyard.
His wife, Jang Haeun, came out of the room and looked around.
She, too, carried a sword, as expected of someone from the Wudang Sect.
Namgung Byeok, who was focused on the sounds around him, suddenly turned and shouted like thunder.
“Who are you? The Sword Emperor Namgung Byeok is here!”
Namgung Byeok's shout shook and woke up the entire Namgung Family.
The family's warriors armed themselves and quickly gathered in the inner courtyard.
Immediately, the sound of clashing weapons could be heard in the outer courtyard.
Namgung Byeok looked around.
Forty people.
Fortunately, the inner disciples seemed to have arrived before the fight began.
At that moment, about fifty people crowded at the east gate.
Namgung Byeok, with a cold look, shouted again.
“Who are you and why do you visit the Namgung Family in the middle of the night?”
The Martial Mountain Maiden, Lee Maehwa, covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.
“Ha ha ha! Why do you behave this way? Does the head of the Namgung Family feign innocence? You know well that people with good intentions do not come uninvited, and those who come have no good intentions, right?”
Namgung Byeok smiled faintly and said:
“Then, who are you?”
“Even in a desperate situation, you remain calm. That’s why I like the Namgung Family.”
“If you like it, why brandish your sword? It seems even the Juangong Art can't prevent dementia, huh?”
Martial Mountain Maiden, though a woman, couldn't help but grind her teeth upon hearing Namgung Byeok's words.
“You're crazy if you want to die. How dare you make such vulgar jokes in front of this Martial Mountain Maiden?”
“Oh! Martial Mountain Maiden? Are you the old witch from Musansocho at Lake Soho? What can an old witch like you do against the Namgung Family? Are you losing your mind?”
Namgung Byeok tilted his head curiously.
Martial Mountain Maiden was an expert of the Mosan Sect and had no enmity with the Namgung Family. He couldn't understand why she had come in the middle of the night or what she relied on to do so.
Although Martial Mountain Maiden was an expert of the Mosan Sect, she couldn't compare to the top ten experts in the world.
Then, Lunar Fairy, who was next to her, couldn't hold back and intervened.
“Namgung Byeok, it's been a while. They say when the tiger is away, the fox becomes king. The Namgung Family isn't much, is it?”
“And who are you?”
Namgung Byeok frowned.
The face seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember who she was.
“Oh, it seems you've forgotten! I am Lunar Fairy.”
“…”
Upon hearing the name Lunar Fairy, Namgung Byeok's face hardened.
Yoomyung Cult.
A formidable enemy that even the Justice Alliance issued special reports about.
Namgung Byeok looked back and spoke briefly.
“The enemy is the Yoomyung Cult. Everyone leave the Namgung Family! Right now!”
Even so, the family's warriors hesitated, so Namgung Byeok drew his sword and shouted.
“This is an order from the head of the family! Everyone leave! Gather at the Great Hall of Luoyang!”
Only then did the family's warriors disperse in all directions.
But the fifty experts from Musansocho were not simply watching.
The experts from Musansocho blocked the path of the family warriors, and a fierce battle erupted.
Jang Haeun stood beside Namgung Byeok.
“Wife, you must leave too.”
“But…”
“If you stay, I won't be able to fight with all my might.”
“Understood. See you in Luoyang.”
Jang Haeun didn't insist further and mingled with the family warriors.
Lunar Fairy, caressing her sword blade, said:
“What a touching scene, it's hard not to cry. Still, as a couple, you should die on the same day, right?”
Saying this, Lunar Fairy rose into the air.
Lunar Fairy flew about fifteen meters up and launched her Taeulok Sword downward.
Shiiiiii-
With a tearing sound, the Taeulok Sword flew like an arrow towards a point.
Directly over Jang Haeun's head.
Namgung Byeok, startled, immediately unsheathed his sword and threw it.
Shwaaa-
Clang~
Namgung Byeok's sword deflected the Taeulok Sword.
At that moment, Martial Mountain Maiden, as if she had been waiting, swung her nine-section staff.
Although Lunar Fairy had told her to just watch, she didn't want to miss a sure opportunity.
In an instant, the last sections of the nine-section staff detached in fragments and lodged around Namgung Byeok.
Tch tch tch tch-
With a peculiar sound, a gray cloud began to rise, blocking the path like a wall.
It was a technique called Unjang (the cloud barrier technique), which trapped people in a cloud.
Although Lunar Fairy frowned slightly upon seeing Martial Mountain Maiden intervene, she said nothing.
Namgung Byeok's swordsmanship was more formidable than she had expected, so she decided to ignore it.
Surrounded by the gray mist, Namgung Byeok rushed forward.
But strangely, no matter how much he ran, there was always a wall of clouds in front of him.
Finally, he realized he had fallen into Martial Mountain Maiden's technique.
Namgung Byeok, with a loud shout, thrust his sword forward.
Shiiik- shiiik- shiiik-
It seemed as if the sword multiplied into two, four, eight.
Using the Igeogeom Technique (the divided sword), he unleashed the Great Sword Technique.
The eight swords cut forward, causing the dense mist to disperse slightly.
Namgung Byeok dashed through the gap in the mist.
But what awaited him on the other side was Lunar Fairy's Taeulok Sword.
Lunar Fairy flew towards him with the force of the perfect union between person and sword.
Lunar Fairy's figure disappeared, covered by the giant sword sweeping towards Namgung Byeok.
“Hup!”
A gasp escaped Namgung Byeok's mouth unconsciously.
In an instant, Jang Haeun, who had run from somewhere, stood between the two.
Jang Haeun's sword struck Lunar Fairy's sword blade.
Clang!
“Ah!”
The rebound threw her back.
Flying while spitting blood, she seemed to have suffered a severe internal injury.
“Dear!”
Namgung Byeok wielded his sword like lightning, forcing Lunar Fairy back, and rushed to Jang Haeun.
Just as Namgung Byeok was about to lift Jang Haeun's fallen body, Martial Mountain Maiden quickly approached and recited an incantation.
“Up to the Golden Palace, down to Mount Kunlun!”
With the incantation, she swung her nine-section staff, and a rocky mass in the shape of Mount Tai fell from the sky.
Boom, boom, boom!
Namgung Byeok quickly raised his hands to hold the mountain, protecting his wife beneath him.
However, the overwhelming pressure from above made his body gradually bend down.
To make matters worse, Lunar Fairy's jade sword fell like a hawk towards them.
Namgung Byeok, with veins bulging on his face from the effort, let out a cry of desperation.
“Aaaah!”
If he let go of his hands to counterattack, Jang Haeun would die, but if he continued to resist, both would die.
Tears began to roll down Namgung Byeok's cheeks.
Moments later, Mount Tai fell on the spot where Namgung Byeok and Jang Haeun were.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
After several consecutive booms, the ground sank three meters. Even the surrounding buildings collapsed, turning the area into chaos.
Before the dust settled completely, Namgung Byeok emerged from the rubble.
Already internally injured, his face was pale, but his eyes shone with a fierce light.
A wounded tiger is the most dangerous.
Namgung Byeok, transformed into a killing fury after losing his wife, wielded his sword fiercely.
The warriors of Musansocho fell one after another with cries of agony.
Namgung Byeok cut through the warriors of Musansocho and headed towards Martial Mountain Maiden and Lunar Fairy.
Lunar Fairy, with a sarcastic smile, extended her sword forward.
A stream of red energy flew directly towards Namgung Byeok.
Namgung Byeok suddenly raised his sword to the sky and soared into the air.
He was about to use the Namgung Family's supreme technique, the Unlimited Sword in the Sky.
“Krr!”
As he flew like a bird, Namgung Byeok let out a groan of pain.
Using the Unlimited Sword in the Sky in his injured state was excessive. However, as if he didn't care about life or death, Namgung Byeok poured every last drop of his energy into the sword.
Sensing the danger, Lunar Fairy opted to use the sword fusion technique once again and flew towards Namgung Byeok.
The true fusion with the sword is when the body completely merges with the sword, disappearing and leaving only the sword. In this state, the sword can neutralize the enemy's attacks.
Lunar Fairy chose sword fusion over the multiple sword technique to attack and defend simultaneously.
Martial Mountain Maiden was not simply watching. Her nine-section staff was a treasure of the Mosan Sect.
“Regulate order and govern heaven and earth!”
With the incantation, Martial Mountain Maiden struck her staff into the ground.
In an instant, over the staff, energy intertwined like a net, forming a mesh.
Then, Martial Mountain Maiden threw the energy net towards Namgung Byeok as if she were a fisherman.
At that moment, Namgung Byeok's sword divided into hundreds in the sky.
“Cough!”
Namgung Byeok coughed blood as he fell to the ground with his swords.
The energy net expanded widely, trapping Namgung Byeok and his hundreds of swords.
At the same time, Lunar Fairy, in her sword fusion state, became a white ray of light that pierced the night sky.
When the powers of the three collided, the night sky lit up with white, red, and blue flashes.
Boom!
The impact caused Martial Mountain Maiden's hair to come loose and fly like that of a madwoman.
Lunar Fairy also emerged unscathed.
Falling gently on the rubble, Lunar Fairy's face was pale.
“Pthoo!”
Lunar Fairy spat blood as she approached Martial Mountain Maiden.
“Maehwa, did the guy die?”
“If he didn't die in that explosion, we should call him the Sword God, not the Sword Emperor.”
Although they didn't check Namgung Byeok's body, they believed he was dead. Considering the terrible explosion, it would be surprising if he didn't turn to dust.
Moments later, the two Great Demon Generals and the warriors of Musansocho vanished into the darkness.
--------------
The fall of the Namgung Family shocked the entire Murim.
And it was all the work of a single temple of the Yoomyung Cult, Musansocho.
Shortly after, the flags of the Yoomyung Cult's temple waved in Guangming Manor in Jining, Shandong province; in Chaoyue Villa in Xi’an, Shaanxi province; in Zhaoyue Hall in Chengdu, Sichuan province; and in Zijing Palace in Shuncheonfu, Bukjikrye province.
With Musansocho and Eunha Manor, the Yoomyung Cult had a total of six temples.
Rumors spread that each temple had a Great Demon General as a guardian and that their skill was comparable to the world's best. If that were true, the Yoomyung Cult could rival the Seven Great Sects and Five Great Families.
The surprising news alarmed the Seven Great Sects and Five Great Families, who quickly called their external disciples.
When the masters of the Seven Great Sects and Five Great Families gathered in Yeosu, they learned of the Namgung Family tragedy. At that time, the Seven Great Sects had already ordered their disciples to return.
However, no one withdrew with the Yoomyung Cult temple so close. Moreover, with the Great Swordmaster Lee Euijung present, even less so.
But the Master of Eunha Manor, Swordsman of Chaos Cheok Jingyeong, was a cunning Master of the Nokrim.
When the heroes invaded Eunha Manor like a tide, they found it completely empty. The heroes had no choice but to retreat to their factions, planning for a future confrontation.
And so, an era of two leaders began in the Murim World, with the Justice Alliance and the Yoomyung Cult.