Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1088

“Elder! A great disaster has befallen us!”

“What is it?”

The scouts, having heard from informants spread throughout Gansu, reported the full details to Cho Geomja.

“What?!”

Cho Geomja was dumbfounded.

He had believed the Tang Clan’s words, but he wanted more concrete information. So, he had waited for the informants from the north, only to hear that the enemy had begun advancing from the rear guard.

“By now, even the Third Line must have been attacked! Seeing that they charged before we could even gather our forces and head to southern Gansu, it’s clear they weren’t planning to escape to Shaanxi but intended to push up from the rear!”

“This, this is absurd!”

He had expected them to escape. He even thought they were quite capable for a bunch of fringe fanatics.

But he never imagined they would move to the rear and sweep up from the Fourth Line, which was unprepared for battle.

Cho Geomja shouted,

“Prepare for full advance! The enemy is in the rear! We will go as fast as possible and crush them with the Second Line!”

The swordsmen of the Common Faction and the elites of each sect moved hastily.

Cho Geomja ran at the forefront. Even as he ran, he regretted his decision.

‘Damn it! I should have moved as soon as I heard the Tang Clan Leader’s message!’

Even if they had moved quickly, the enemy’s surprise attack was so fast that they wouldn’t have been able to protect the Fourth Line. Judging by the situation, it was highly likely that they wouldn’t have been able to protect the Third Line either.

However, just the fact that the enemy was approaching was a significant threat. If they had moved quickly and joined the Second Line, they could have used their solid formation to pressure the enemy.

‘I’ve been completely outmaneuvered!’

The enemy’s movements were unexpected, but it was also his own fault for being overly cautious.

As a commander, being cautious was good, but he had failed to properly read the changing situation. In fact, he didn’t know how powerful the Limitless Demon was, nor did he fully grasp the weight of his words.

Whether he was cautious or bold, the result was this mess, so all the blame was on him.

“Run faster! Let’s go and show those bastards the power of the Gansu martial world!”

Urgency and anger.

There was not a trace of fear in Cho Geomja’s face as he ran at the front, urging his allies forward.

The morale of the thousand-strong force gradually rose. Although their allies had been attacked by surprise, the forces gathered at the First Line were the elite of the elite. They weren’t going to engage in a frontal battle with the enemy but were going to rescue their surprised allies, so their mindset was different.

It was then, as the thousand-strong force led by Cho Geomja reached the place where the Second Line had originally been stationed.

Whoosh!

A terrifying killing intent and the smell of blood spread everywhere.

Cho Geomja’s eyes widened.

‘This can’t be!’

The demonic forces and the Second Line were fighting some distance away.

But the number of Second Line troops was too small. At a glance, it seemed like there were less than five hundred left.

On the other hand, the enemy’s size was at least two thousand, close to two thousand three or four hundred. In particular, the martial arts of the large woman wielding a sword at the front were so terrifying that even the sect leaders of the Nine Great Sects would not be able to handle her easily.

‘The Limitless Demon!’

Cho Geomja gritted his teeth.

The difference in numbers was significant, but with the Limitless Demon rampaging at the front, the enemy’s morale was also incredibly high.

Cho Geomja shouted,

“Kill the enemy!”

“Waaaaaah!”

The First Line troops charged forward with tremendous momentum.

Suk Geomja, the commander of the Second Line and an elder of the Common Faction, shouted,

“Reinforcements! Everyone, give it your all… !”

Thud!

A crimson blade aura split Suk Geomja’s sword and body in half.

A blade aura swung from a distance of three jangs [approximately 10 meters] had bisected the body of a supreme master. As expected of the Limitless Demon, her martial arts were far beyond imagination.

Jihuma’s eyes flashed.

‘Did the information leak?’

She recalled the battle at the Third Line.

Come to think of it, there seemed to be a few fools who were acting out of place. She had killed them first because they seemed to be trying to escape, but it seemed they were spies.

‘If they knew we were coming here, it means someone clashed with Yabaekdo’s forces. It’s hard to know our direction of movement just by looking.’

Jihuma’s face twisted.

‘Could that damn brat have spilled all our plans?’

He was a madman, but she had to admit he had a certain level of venom. No matter how the enemy came out, he wasn’t stupid enough to reveal their tactics.

‘Did they just deduce it? But even so, this speed is really fast. They say the martial world has considerable power, and it seems they’ve indeed deployed some smart people?’

Jihuma stood there and took a deep breath.

The smell of blood, the chaotic killing intent, the scent of fear.

The situation was so chaotic that it was difficult to read the unease that was floating around. Moreover, even for her, the enormous distance traveled and the engagement with the enemy had consumed more than half of her inner energy.

Quickly recovering her demonic energy, she spread her five senses and ki sense [a sense of one’s own life force] in all directions.

In that instant, her eyes flashed.

‘They’re coming.’

The vague unease, and the sense of oppression.

If it was causing this much concern, it could only be a master who had reached the Saintly Demonic Realm or a force with weapons that could pose a fatal threat to them.

But now she knew.

‘Saintly Demonic Realm.’

A master of equal level to her was approaching. The distance wasn’t far either. In half a gak [a unit of time, approximately 15 minutes], no, in half of half a gak, they would appear on this battlefield.

Jihuma shouted,

“Another enemy is coming! Wipe them out as quickly as possible!”

“Waaaaaah!”

The demonic forces charged, shouting.

Although there were over two thousand troops, she knew that her subordinates were not in good condition.

They had come down from northwestern Gansu to the south without rest. In that state, they had taken only minimal rest before immediately attacking and annihilating the Fourth Line.

As time passed, their morale had soared, but their physical condition was serious. Among the two thousand three hundred troops, less than half had full inner energy and stamina.

‘From now on, it’s a blitzkrieg.’

At that moment, the Jihuma Divine Legion led by Jihuma collided with the First Line troops.

Clang!

It was a fierce and utterly reckless collision.

One side charged with soaring morale and madness, while the other charged with killing intent born of worry and urgency. At the point of impact, dozens of enemy and allied soldiers were sent flying, spitting blood.

Clang! Thud! Thud!

“Kill! Kill them!”

“Break through the center!”

“You bastards!”

“Tear them apart from the ankles!”

They screamed at each other, swinging their swords. Common Faction swordsmen plunged their swords into the enemy’s chest, while demonic soldiers of the Jihuma Divine Legion trampled over their dead allies and sliced open the swordsmen’s bellies.

There were also Gansu Shinsamun [a martial arts sect] martial artists who crushed the heads of demonic soldiers while screaming, and demonic soldiers who shattered the collarbones of the martial artists.

It was a true all-out war where they were killing each other indiscriminately. The merciless voices echoed as if they would reach the sky.

The sound of swords clashing, the sound of inner energy explosions, the sound of human bodies being shattered and flying, the sound of bones being crushed and flesh being mangled—an immeasurable, gruesome song erupted from all directions.

In such a chaotic battle, powerful martial arts or techniques were useless. The only thing one could do was to attack faster and stronger with extremely simple movements.

Especially in a battle where so many troops were entangled and colliding, it was common to lose one’s mind and just swing weapons wildly.

Surprisingly, the First Line troops did not do that. They attacked while screaming madly, but there were squad leaders in each group who managed to pull back or form a defensive formation.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The power of the Mujeong Clan was a major reason why the First Line was so elite.

They had mastered various martial arts, but they were particularly confident in archery, having incorporated some of the northern horse-riding tribes.

In this war, the number of archers dispatched by the Mujeong Clan alone exceeded two hundred. As those two hundred archers fired arrows from the rear, the central part of the Jihuma Divine Legion’s forces began to crumble in an instant.

In the midst of the chaos, it was impossible to know what was happening in the enemy’s formation. The warriors fighting the enemy at the front were just swinging their swords mindlessly.

However, those who were commanding their allies from afar knew that this moment was the turning point.

“All troops to the left and right!”

Peeeeeeeeeep!!

As the sound of a whistle mixed with inner energy was heard, the First Line troops instantly split to the left and right, forming a square formation.

The center was instantly emptied, and the demonic soldiers of the Jihuma Divine Legion who had rushed into it were soon bewildered. It was because the enemy had retreated to the left and right too quickly.

They tried to retreat quickly, but they couldn’t retreat at all because of the allies pushing in from behind.

Jihuma shouted,

“Second Line, halt! First Line, run at full speed!”

Retreat was impossible in that state. It was a hundred times better to run forward, accept some sacrifices, and return to the enemy’s rear.

Cho Geomja shouted,

“Crush them!”

Clang! Clang! Clang! Thud!

Due to the First Line troops pressing from the left and right, a hundred demonic soldiers were instantly mangled and left this world.

Not only that, the square formation quickly changed into a horizontal line, trapping even more demonic soldiers.

One hundred, and then another hundred.

In that short time, three hundred demonic soldiers had died.

This was the power of a large formation. Even martial artists who had mastered martial arts could not display even thirty percent of their abilities when pressured by a large formation.

Jihuma’s sword moved like lightning.

Clang!

“Cough!”

Cho Geomja coughed up blood and flew back five jangs [approximately 16 meters].

She had unleashed a blade aura from that far distance, and it was imbued with tremendous power. It was clearly a blade strike that she had deliberately launched.

If the distance had been a little shorter, his upper body would have been blown away along with his sword. Cho Geomja, too, had been swept away by the heated atmosphere of the battlefield and had missed the movements of the enemy commander, Jihuma.

Anger surged in Cho Geomja’s eyes.

Whether the opponent was the Limitless Demon or not, he had lost his youngest disciple to these bastards. Moreover, they had attacked from the rear, causing them to lose even more allies.

Anger that could melt even the sandstorms of Gansu. It was an emotion that not only Cho Geomja but also the First Line troops and the surviving Second Line troops all shared.

“Left and right troops, break through the enemy’s left and right flanks with a single-cornered circular formation!”

Jihuma shouted,

“Jihuma Divine Legion, deploy a circular defensive formation! Deflect their charging formation!”

Clang!

The Gansu troops attacked, and the demonic troops defended and deflected.

In a short time, many demonic soldiers of the Jihuma Divine Legion were defeated, but there were still about eighteen hundred troops left. Especially because of Jihuma, who was swinging her sword madly at the front, the crushing charge of the left and right troops was not properly executed.

Thud!

The merciless blade techniques of the great demon sword felled the vanguard of the First Line troops like falling leaves.

Blood and screams filled the sky.

The moment Jihuma’s eyes, having tasted blood, gleamed with killing intent.

Flash!

Another force arrived, casting a cold killing intent upon the madness of the battlefield.

“Green Wind and Green Water, bite the enemy’s rear!”

Tang Gwan, who had appeared leading two units, spotted Jihuma.

Jihuma grinned.

“You’ve come!”

Tang Gwan growled.

“That damn bitch!”

Whoosh!

Hundreds of hidden weapons rose behind Tang Gwan, who had charged like lightning.