Heavenly Inquisition Sword Novel - Chapter 211
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Chapter 211: I Am Still Here
When someone raises their voice about an issue, people expect them to have a solution.
This is especially true if that person is as intelligent as Jegal Seun of the Justice Alliance. The Jegal Family is known for their expertise in military tactics, engineering, and sorcery. It wasn’t surprising that people subtly placed their hopes in him.
When the One-Horned Demon appeared, not only did Jang Kangho, but also the Leader of the Shaolin Sect, Monk Wubeop, and the head of the Moyong Family, Moyong Hwang, turned their gazes toward Jegal Seun.
Only Jang Mudeok, one of the Ten Heroes of the Five Peaks, examined the One-Horned Demon without showing any disturbance.
However, Jegal Seun could not meet the people’s expectations. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t.
When he first received reports about the demon, he thought it was a collective hallucination. That was the logical conclusion from a rational perspective. That’s why he had secretly brought several amulets.
But seeing the One-Horned Demon in person, he realized it wasn’t a hallucination. If it had been, the experts from the Shaolin Sect would have already started reciting sutras. Although he didn’t want to admit it, what stood before him was real.
A wise man knows when to advance and when to retreat. Although his face burned with shame, Jegal Seun decided not to intervene and to wait for another opportunity.
Only then did people realize that this demon was beyond their capabilities. Still, they couldn’t blame him. Even they, back at the headquarters of the Justice Alliance, had argued that the demon was just a spell.
Perhaps because it had the appearance of a demon?
After Jegal Seun, the others turned their gaze to the monks of the Shaolin Sect. Perhaps it was a call to the religious in these times. Ten arhats voluntarily advanced toward the One-Horned Demon.
The demon’s black eyes fixed on Jang Kangho, shining intensely. At that moment, the ten arhats attacked the demon sequentially, following the arhat attack order.
The arhats’ iron rods struck the demon’s body with a dull thud, as if hitting a rock. When they tried to retreat after a strike, the demon waved his hands as if swatting flies.
Ten sharp energy streams emerged from the tips of his claws, slashing the arhats. They had no time to dodge.
In a single movement, the demon killed the ten monks of the Shaolin Sect. Then, hell broke loose.
The One-Horned Demon slowly advanced towards Jang Kangho, swinging his arms. With each movement, five or six experts from the Celestial Unit were torn apart.
The expression “fighting against a cart with a mantis” wasn’t enough to describe the situation. The bewildered experts of the Celestial Unit didn’t attempt to stop the demon. The demon’s pace quickened.
Jang Kangho frowned deeply. For some reason, it seemed that the demon had him as the primary target.
“How dare a mere demon!”
Jang Kangho gripped his sword tightly. Just as he was about to confront the demon, someone else stepped forward. Finally, Jang Mudeok decided to act.
As Jang Mudeok attacked the demon, Jang Kangho, though annoyed, decided not to intervene.
Jang Mudeok’s sword struck the demon’s back with a loud metallic sound. To his surprise, it was Jang Mudeok who was sent flying backward.
Alternately looking at his sword and the demon’s intact back, Jang Mudeok couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Despite an attack that could have shattered a rock, the demon’s body was unscathed.
The demon, who had been staring at Jang Kangho, slowly turned towards Jang Mudeok, as if he wasn’t in a hurry. The members of the Celestial Unit, unfamiliar with the demon’s speed, felt relieved for a moment, thinking they only needed to be careful of the claws.
But in an instant, the demon vanished from their sight and appeared in front of Jang Mudeok, moving his hands at an invisible speed. If it hadn’t been Jang Mudeok, anyone else would have been annihilated without seeing the attack.
Jang Mudeok quickly raised his sword to block the claws. But one of the demon’s hands was already at his waist.
“How dare you!”
Jang Mudeok shouted and unleashed his sword technique. A burst of sword energy struck the demon like a whirlwind. The demon seemed to pause for a moment, but soon his claws began to shred the sword energy.
As the experts of the Celestial Unit watched the struggle between Jang Mudeok and the demon, the warriors of the Yoomyung Cult attacked again. They were confident that the demon would keep Jang Mudeok occupied.
For the Celestial Unit, it was a desperate situation. The absence of an expert like Jang Mudeok was a significant disadvantage. Monk Wubeop, Jang Kangho, and Moyong Hwang were struggling against the Great Demon Generals. The disciples of the Shaolin Sect formed the grand arhat to assist them, but then the Demon Warriors began to sweep the battlefield like enraged lions.
After about twenty minutes of frantic fighting, Jang Mudeok began to regain his composure. Unlike the other Ten Heroes of the Five Peaks, the demon was a relatively easy opponent. Though his body was tough, his demonic energy and speed were considerable.
Ordinary mortals couldn’t overcome those abilities. But Jang Mudeok, as one of the Ten Heroes of the Five Peaks, was different. As he became accustomed to the demon’s speed, he was able to pay more attention to his surroundings.
To his horror, he saw the Celestial Unit being devastated. Only about a hundred survivors remained, and their number was rapidly dwindling. Without the grand arhat formation of the Shaolin Sect, they would have already been annihilated.
“Haa… We have failed.”
It didn’t matter how the Yoomyung Cult had known to attack at night. Losing most of their force before the actual battle was devastating. Jang Mudeok felt desperate.
Although he had used his best sword techniques, he hadn’t been able to kill the demon. If he had someone to tell him he needed at least half an hour of fighting, as Sword Emperor Namgung Byeok had said, he wouldn’t have felt so disheartened.
But he had no one who could predict the demon’s strength. Trapped in helplessness, Jang Mudeok sent a telepathic message to Jang Kangho.
—Retreat! We must save as many as we can!
They needed to save the survivors, and the only one who could lead the Celestial Unit was the Justice Alliance Leader. The response from the other side was clear: “Take care.”
Somehow, delegating the responsibility brought relief to Jang Mudeok.
“Die!”
Jang Mudeok unleashed his most powerful technique, with a burst of sword energy striking the demon like lightning. The technique fell on the demon’s head like thunder.
Then, the sword energy swirled around the demon, repeatedly striking him. The demon’s body trembled, but his claws began to shred the sword energy.
The members of the Celestial Unit watched in astonishment as Jang Mudeok and the demon fought. Meanwhile, the warriors of the Yoomyung Cult attacked again, taking advantage of the distraction.
Jang Mudeok unleashed his final technique, striking the demon with sword energy and retreating instantly. Then he looked around.
The warriors of the Yoomyung Cult were attacking the Celestial Unit like a pack of wolves. He decided to abandon the demon and rush towards them, thinking it would be better to save a single warrior from the Celestial Unit than to continue fighting the demon.
As he attacked the warriors of the Yoomyung Cult, the Great Demon Generals surrounded him again.
Suddenly, the demon, who had been screaming alone, began to go berserk. He no longer focused on Jang Mudeok or Jang Kangho but attacked indiscriminately.
The warriors’ screams echoed in the darkness. Seeing this, the Great Demon Generals ordered their men to retreat. With the Yoomyung Cult pulling back, the survivors of the Celestial Unit fled more quickly.
In the empty battlefield, only the demon’s scream could be heard.
“Aaaaaaaarraaa!”
————–
The survivors of the Celestial Unit ran frantically along the river, their faces pale with horror. When they stopped hearing the pursuit, they halted.
They gathered one by one, the stragglers joining the group. Jang Mudeok was the last to arrive. He looked at the survivors with sad eyes.
Seventy-two. In one night, they had lost three hundred and twenty-eight members.
Soon, Monk Wubeop, Jang Kangho, Moyong Hwang, and Jegal Seun joined him.
Jang Mudeok looked at Jegal Seun.
“Commander, do you think we can still win this battle?”
“That’s something we’ll only know when the four units gather.”
Jegal Seun responded defiantly, irritated by the accusatory looks from the others, as if the loss was his fault.
Jang Kangho looked at Jegal Seun with disgust. How dare he talk back to his father, one of the Ten Heroes of the Five Peaks?
Suddenly, an ominous feeling overcame him when he heard the words “four units.”
“Are you implying that the other three units were also attacked?”
“Today, the Yoomyung Cult deployed three hundred warriors, half of their total force. So, where is the other half?”
“Are you suggesting they are attacking another unit?”
“Considering the strength of the Great Demon Generals and the others, it seems likely.”
Before the demon appeared, the Celestial Unit had resisted the attack, indicating that the ordinary warriors of the Yoomyung Cult weren’t that powerful.
“Do you think we were ambushed because they knew our route? Is that possible?”
“Only the leaders of the four units knew the exact route. If it wasn’t them, maybe someone from the Imperial Guards sold the information to the Yoomyung Cult. It’s typical of the officers.”
Jegal Seun didn’t believe that the Imperial Guards had organized this, as the royalty had been firm in fighting against the Yoomyung Cult. That’s why he thought it was an isolated case of betrayal.
It was shameful, but the Justice Alliance had also faced internal betrayals.
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