Chapter 340: End (1)

On the fifth day after the incident erupted.

Evening, around the time of the Dog Hour.

In the direction of Wuhu (蕪湖), on the northeastern border of Anhui Province touching Jiangsu, nearly four thousand elite martial artists from the Murim Alliance were swiftly advancing in formation, using light-footed martial arts.

They were the best of the best within the Murim Alliance.

Due to the crisis in Jiangsu, highly mobile elite warriors had been mobilized from each Tang (house), Dan (group), and Dae (unit).

Among them were some promising young experts like Lee Jeong-gyeom, head of Cheongryongdang (Azure Dragon Hall), and Paeng Woo-jin, head of Nokhyeondang (Green Wisdom Hall).

Leading them was Baek Hyang-muk, the former leader of the Murim Alliance, who now held the newly established title of Chongsa (General Commander) in the Alliance.

If the Deputy Leader oversaw internal matters of the Alliance, the Chongsa oversaw external affairs.

At the front, Baek Hyang-muk glanced behind.

'They're nervous.'

The horrific incident in Jiangsu had already spread to everyone.

Tens of thousands had been brutally killed.

And the survivors claimed that the culprits were not human—but monstrous beings.

'Monsters…'

Baek Hyang-muk had once encountered such beings in his youth—creatures like Inmyeon Jiju (human-faced spiders).

But that was only once in his entire life.

It was believed that such non-human entities feared humans and hid deep in the mountains, but this current event defied all understanding.

Thousands of monsters gathering in one place?

That alone was strange, but the bigger issue was—

'They're heading toward the Murim Alliance.'

The sects, clans, and villages that had been destroyed were all in the path heading northwest—towards the Alliance through Anhui.

'We must stop them before that happens.'

The Murim Alliance branch in Anhui had already begun mobilizing over ten thousand warriors, including disciples from various sects and clans. They were set to regroup at Gaochun (高淳), in the southwesternmost part of Jiangsu.

The government army of Anhui had also agreed to assist. That place would be the final defensive line against the monsters.

If that line was breached, the damage would be catastrophic.

'We must hurry—'

Suddenly, Baek Hyang-muk felt numerous presences disturbing his senses.

Fwoosh!

He dashed ahead without warning.

"Chongsa?!"

Everyone followed in confusion, but his speed was too great to easily catch up.

He climbed a tall hill with a clear view, and what he saw left him shocked.

"...This can't be."

Hundreds of people were running toward them from afar.

They looked like they had just survived a war.

Behind them, countless glowing eyes were swarming in a black tide.

There were far too many to count.

'Thousands? This is…'

Far more than the initial reports.

At a glance, it looked closer to tens of thousands.

That meant the number had significantly increased in just two days.

Fwoosh!

Someone appeared beside the stunned Baek Hyang-muk.

It was his disciple, Lee Jeong-gyeom.

He too was shaken by the overwhelming number of approaching non-human creatures.

"Master... that must be at least thirty thousand..."

They were close.

Perhaps even more.

Lee Jeong-gyeom gulped in disbelief at the sight.

Baek Hyang-muk said with a grave tone,

"You must go to the Murim Alliance immediately and report that their numbers are increasing exponentially."

"What? Master, but—"

"I must rescue those people."

He pointed at the fleeing figures.

From their clothes, it was clear they were a mix of government soldiers and Alliance warriors.

Baek Hyang-muk was now certain.

The force dispatched from the Anhui branch had already been wiped out.

"I'll go with you. Let someone else deliver the message—"

Lee Jeong-gyeom resisted, but Baek Hyang-muk snapped,

"This is no time to act bold!"

"Master!"

"Of everyone here, your lightness skill is the fastest."

It was true—aside from Baek Hyang-muk himself, Lee Jeong-gyeom was the swiftest.

Lee Jeong-gyeom then said,

"Wouldn't it be better to retreat and regroup…"

"What about those people? Are you saying we should abandon them?"

"..."

"Assess the situation logically. If we can save the fleeing ones—and if our elite troops can stall those things even a bit—it could buy critical time."

Lee Jeong-gyeom bit his lip hard at those words.

His master was clearly ready to lay down his life.

But Baek Hyang-muk was one of the greatest masters in the orthodox Murim.

He had surpassed the limits of a normal human. He could handle thousands of elite warriors on his own. He wouldn't fall easily.

"…Understood."

"Tell the Deputy Leader to gather all branch forces and locate the current Leader. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes."

Soun-hwi, the current Murim Alliance Leader, was the Alliance's greatest power.

A legendary warrior said to have defeated countless monsters in the past—the heir to the Heavenly Sword Sage's legacy. Only he could stop this disaster.

But his whereabouts were currently unknown.

He had left to stop the Emperor.

They had to find him.

Chuk!

Lee Jeong-gyeom saluted with determination.

"Master, please come back alive."

"Don't worry. This old man does not fight to die. Now go, there's no time."

"May fortune be with you!"

"And with you."

Fwoosh!

With that, Lee Jeong-gyeom sped off in the opposite direction.

As the elite troops climbed the hill behind him, Baek Hyang-muk drew his treasured sword, Mukseon.

Srrng!

Gripping the blade, Baek Hyang-muk steeled his resolve.

He must at least buy time for the Alliance to gather its forces.

Raising his sword, he looked at the elites and shouted:

"Prepare for battle!"

---

A plain filled with countless corpses.

"Haa... haa…"

Baek Hyang-muk stood barely upright, clutching his broken Mukseon sword.

He looked in despair at the black-robed figure with snake-like eyes standing before him with hands behind his back.

Even when he faced Soun-hwi, the heir of the Sword Sage, it had not been like this.

Now, Baek Hyang-muk was feeling not just despair—but fear.

'How can such a monster exist…'

None of his techniques worked.

He had even used all his internal energy and unleashed his ultimate technique, Hyeolcheondaeragong—yet nothing worked.

Baek Hyang-muk looked around.

Kwooooo!

Kak! Kak!

Strange sounds filled the air like a grotesque symphony.

All that could be seen were glowing eyes filling the darkness and the thick stench of blood.

It seemed that he was the only survivor.

They hadn't even lasted a few hours.

No—had that monstrous being not appeared, they might have lasted at least half a day.

But what could be done now that things had turned out this way?

"Should I leave the aftermath to him…?"

There was only one remaining hope—a single person.

If even he failed to stop them, not just the martial world, but all of Zhongyuan would be doomed.

Gripping the broken sword hilt of his ink-black blade, Baek Hyang-muk shouted and dashed toward the being in the black robe.

"You think I'll die just lying down like this?!"

—Thwack!

"Kugh!"

But his final act of defiance was in vain.

The man in the black robe grabbed Baek Hyang-muk by the neck and spoke with an emotionless face.

"Not bad, but you're still just a human."

There was no emotion in his eyes.

He looked at him as one would at a mere insect.

And just as the man in black began to tighten his grip to kill Baek Hyang-muk—

"Master."

Someone approached, slithering out from the shadows.

It was a half-human, half-demon creature with four glowing yellow eyes.

"What is it?"

"He was once the Lord of the Martial Alliance."

"The Lord?"

Baek Hyang-muk frowned.

Unlike the others, these demonic beings could speak human language—and they were even aware of their identities.

Just what were they?

The half-demon looked down at him and said,

"He was once the center of the righteous faction. It seems wasteful to just kill him."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"No creature is more vulnerable to fear than humans. Let's use him to spread despair to the others in the Martial Alliance."

The man in black loosened his grip.

Then, he released Baek Hyang-muk from his grasp.

"Sounds like an amusing diversion. Do as you wish."

"Thank you for the opportunity, Master."

The half-demon approached and dropped something in front of Baek Hyang-muk.

—Clatter!

"Kuh... kuhh… what is this?"

It was the hilt of a sword—only the grip remained, the blade shattered.

Hardly recognizable as a weapon.

"Do you recognize it?"

"What are you trying to say?"

He thought it looked familiar, but it was hard to tell with just the hilt.

"It's the hilt of the Southern Heaven Steel Sword."

"What…?"

Baek Hyang-muk's eyes widened.

It had looked vaguely familiar, but he hadn't imagined it was the Southern Heaven Steel Sword.

The owner of that sword—wasn't that So Un-hwi, the descendant of the Sword Saint?

"How could this be…?"

The sword of the only person he believed could stand against that monstrous being was shattered—he couldn't make sense of it.

The half-demon grinned.

"So Un-hwi, the descendant of the Sword Saint and current Lord of the Martial Alliance, was executed by our Master—the Demon Saint, the ruler of all demonic beings."

'!!!'

Baek Hyang-muk was in shock.

The news that the only one who could oppose the monster was already dead was like the final shattering of hope.

"How could this happen…?"

As he reeled in despair—

—Stab!

"Urgh!"

The half-demon's long claw stabbed into his abdomen.

It pierced directly through his danjeon (energy core).

The pain of having the danjeon—akin to the heart of a martial artist—destroyed was indescribable.

"Ghhh..."

Already suffering from severe internal injuries, Baek Hyang-muk's consciousness began to fade.

—Thud!

The half-demon mockingly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Go back and tell everyone what you've seen."

"...What?"

"And tremble in fear."

—Whooom!

As soon as he finished speaking, the space around them warped, and Baek Hyang-muk's body was sucked away.

"W-Where… am I?"

All around him disappeared, and he collapsed in a familiar location—then lost consciousness again.

When he next opened his eyes, he was in the medical ward of the Martial Alliance.

The one watching over him was his disciple, Lee Jung-gyeom, whom he had sent to the Alliance.

"Master? You're awake?"

"...Jung-gyeom-ah."

"Ah! Thank goodness!"

Lee Jung-gyeom had feared that his master, whose danjeon had been destroyed and was gravely injured, might not survive.

But now that he had awoken, he couldn't hide his joy.

Lee Jung-gyeom asked with a puzzled look,

"Master, what in the world happened? How did you arrive at the Martial Alliance before me in such a state?"

"I arrived here before you? What are you talking about?"

He had last remembered being in the plains of Muho.

But now he was in the Martial Alliance—he couldn't understand it.

Lee Jung-gyeom explained,

"This is the Martial Alliance."

"But I clearly..."

Baek Hyang-muk, still dizzy, tried to stand.

"Master, you need rest—"

"Let me go."

Shaking off his disciple's arm, Baek Hyang-muk walked to the window.

His eyes trembled.

The view outside the window was unmistakably that of the Martial Alliance.

It was hard to believe, but somehow, he had been transported from Muho to Wuhan where the Alliance was located.

It was a bizarre event—too strange to be a dream, too surreal to be real.

"How could this be…"

"Master?"

Lee Jung-gyeom called out nervously.

Baek Hyang-muk said nothing.

He simply stared outside, lost in thought.

Eventually, he turned and asked,

"...How long have I been asleep?"

"According to what I've heard, about four days."

"Four days…?"

Longer than he had expected.

The damage from the destruction of his danjeon must have been severe.

The thought of what could have happened during that time made his head spin.

He swallowed dryly and asked,

"How far have they come?"

At this question, Lee Jung-gyeom's face darkened.

"They've reached Huaining, in Anhui Province."

Huaining—just beyond the mountain range was the border of Hubei Province.

They were practically at the doorstep of the Martial Alliance.

"Ahh…"

The worst-case scenario had come true.

He didn't even want to imagine how many lives had been lost along the way.

So he changed the subject.

"Have all branch forces been gathered at the Alliance?"

"Yes. All the martial artists from the provincial branches have gathered here. Along with government troops from Hubei, we've amassed nearly 80,000 troops in Maseong. But…"

"But?"

"Morale is very low. People are saying that even you, the one who led the elites, returned with your danjeon destroyed…"

He trailed off—but Baek Hyang-muk understood.

He, one of the top five masters in the martial world, had lost his martial power and been defeated.

It served as a grim reminder of how dangerous the enemy truly was.

"…So that was the goal."

He now understood why the enemy let him live.

Lee Jung-gyeom continued, his voice tense.

"There's a bigger problem."

"A bigger problem?"

"The number of those demonic creatures has surged beyond count. According to carrier pigeons, they now number nearly 300,000."

"What?!"

Baek Hyang-muk was horrified.

That was three times their own forces.

Considering that government troops were weaker than martial artists, it was a disaster.

"Have we requested help from the Imperial Capital?"

In a crisis like this, it wasn't just about local troops.

Regular army forces should be mobilized from the capital.

"The Vice Lord requested them early on, but given their speed, the regular troops from the capital won't make it in time."

"How long would they take?"

"At least fifteen days."

Practically useless.

Martial artists could travel faster using light movement skills, but regular troops couldn't match that pace.

Meanwhile, the demonic army was approaching far too quickly.

If they had reached Huaining in four days, they would reach Maseong—just northeast of Wuhan—by tomorrow night or the day after.

"…This is truly a crisis of life and death."

"That's why, Master, please lead the Alliance alongside the Vice Lord. We still haven't heard from Lord So Un-hwi, and we can't afford to wait any longer…"

"Ahh…"

Before Lee Jung-gyeom could finish, Baek Hyang-muk let out a deep sigh.

Sensing something ominous, Lee Jung-gyeom asked,

"What is it?"

Baek Hyang-muk answered heavily, his face filled with despair.

"Don't waste any more effort looking for him."

"What? Why not?"

"...Lord So Un-hwi is dead."

'!!!'