Book 12: Chapter 17: Sword Peak, Mountain Splitter

The War Department of the Sword Family.

One of the two largest pillars of the Luoyang Sword Family, which was called the number one family under heaven.

Martial power.

Although it had existed since the beginning of time, making it the most primal and even primitive it was the most primal and absolute power, transcending eras and regions.

The War Department, the darling and essence of the Luoyang Sword Family's martial power, was moving.

It was marching.

‘Why did no one let me know that the Sword Family's War Department has stepped forward…?’

Standing by the window of the luxurious pavilion watching the warriors of the Luoyang Sword Family marching down the main road, Grand Madame Ouyang felt as if she were losing her mind.

‘That is a sight that no one could possibly miss! An army! An army is marching out of the Main Family, and no one told me…?’

Even the figures in power whom she had semi-forcibly dragged in even those in power who had stepped forward voluntarily even those in power with whom she had maintained a friendly relationship for a long time, none of them sent her any word.

‘…Could it be?’

Her survival instinct accelerated her thoughts, and even in this situation, she deduced the answer.

‘…Is there no one left to inform me of the situation in the Main Family anymore?’

The situation painted itself in her mind.

The Supreme Executive Council must have made the decision to intervene and the War Department must have accepted that command.

Those who felt the tide had already turned must have hurriedly cut their ties with her and those who had been deeply involved without any room to do so must have been dragged away or fled.

In the current situation no allies remained for her.

‘But…!’

The sound of grinding teeth echoed, and her crushed gums tore, causing a thin stream of blood to run down the corner of her mouth.

‘Not yet, not yet…!’

Turning around, she shouted to the leaders of the Six Men Association.

“Everyone, go out and stop them! Do whatever it takes to buy time…”

Her words could not be finished.

“…….”

The only ones remaining there were her loyal subordinates, who originally belonged to the Luoyang Sword Family.

The leaders of the Six Men Association had already slipped away from the place.

“W-We are sorry! While our attention was focused outside, they all slipped away.”

The subordinates bowed their heads toward her.

“…No.”

For a moment.

Grand Madame Ouyang, who had worn a hollow expression, composed her face and shook her head.

“Actually, it is for the best.”

She turned around and directed her gaze to the main road.

“Whether they surrender or not, they know better than anyone that the Main Family's War Department will never let them live.”

Although what was visible right now was the warriors marching down the main road there was no way the Sword Family's War Department would execute a military operation so sloppily.

“They will throw even the strength they had saved up in order to escape alive.”

Meanwhile, she bit her fingernails.

‘Think, think…!’

She drove her thoughts, and drove them again.

‘Even if the Supreme Executive Council stepped forward, they could not have dealt with all the Yeon family blood relatives at once. If so, if I contact them…’

Tenacity and obstinacy.

That was the greatest driving force that made up her being.

Even while cornered like that, in the sight of her who did not give up racking her brains she saw the forces of the underworld beginning to charge one by one toward the marching War Department.

‘Good. With this, at least a minimum amount of time has been bought.’

At least she thought so.

* * *

“They too are mere humans made of flesh and skin!”

The assault leader of the underworld organization holding a bizarre weapon shouted as he ran at the very front.

“If you want to escape alive, kill even one more of them!”

Executives of other organizations also threw themselves into the charge.

Now was not the time to distinguish between this organization and that organization.

“You bastards! Don't they say that even a cornered rat will bite?!”

They shouted toward the unorthodox martial artists who were still hesitating.

“Are you worse than rats?! Will you just sit down, piss yourselves, shiver, and offer your necks?!”

The words of the executive, who knew the psychology of the underworld inside out, worked perfectly.

Fighting spirit returned to the unorthodox martial artists who had survived in the harsh back alleys of Luoyang through sheer grit and stubbornness.

“Fuck! You only die once, not twice!”

“Let's die together, fuck, let's die!”

“If we croak after slicing open the belly of even one Sword Family warrior, we can at least walk tall in hell!”

Even if the opponent was a warrior of the Sword Family, even if it was the War Department.

They too were martial artists possessing internal energy.

Once the fire was lit like that even those who had intended to subtly step back joined in, as if sucked into the charge.

“Uaaaaah—!”

They became a surging wave in that manner, sweeping the main road.

* * *

“Uaaaaah!”

Along with shouts that shook the street, unorthodox martial artists were flocking together as one with the members of the underworld organizations.

But.

“…….”

“…….”

There was not a single change in the expressions of the Sword Family's War Department warriors and their footsteps as they walked in formation did not fall out of sync in the slightest.

“What will you do?”

In response to the lieutenant warrior's question, Elder Yeom, who had come to the very front, simply grasped the hilt of the great sword on his back without a word.

Understanding the command, the lieutenant warrior raised a fist and raised his voice, shouting like thunder.

“Unit, halt!”

When the halt command was given, the warriors stopped in perfect unison.

At that chilling level of discipline, ordinary people would have been instantly intimidated, but the underworld members filling the main road sped up instead.

“Kill!”

“Fuck!”

“Huuup…”

Elder Yeom, drawing his great sword from his back, took a long, thin breath.

An incredibly peaceful look.

Holding his golden-shining great sword upright before his eyes in the light of the rising eastern sun, his figure was silence itself forming a sharp contrast with the underworld members who charged in like mad.

“Huuuup—” the breath drawn in softly, and the harmony of the great sword rising by an inch every time the enemies took a step forward.

That was.

In the eyes of the warriors watching the scene from behind Elder Yeom, it created the illusion that everything was slowing down.

“U-a-a-a-h!”

The underworld assault leader at the very front slipped beneath Elder Yeom, who held his great sword high.

‘Is the Sword Peak Mountain Splitter any big deal?!’

His bizarre weapon stretched long toward Elder Yeom's heart.

It stretched long again.

Long, long.

Yet, for some reason.

No matter how much he stretched and stretched his weapon, laden with all the internal energy he could squeeze out the bluish blade did not reach Elder Yeom.

“……?!”

In that brief moment when bewilderment appeared in the assault leader's eyes elder Yeom's perfect high stance was completed, and his raised great sword reached its peak.

“Hup!”

A short shout.

The great sword, brought down at an invisible speed, split the assault leader's body perfectly vertically.

“……!”

And even before the split body of the assault leader cracked in half mount Tai crashed down.

The weapon of the underworld executive who charged behind the assault leader fell to the ground.

“……?!”

He thought only his weapon had fallen to the ground crunch.

But with a sound like all the bones in his body shattering, his head was also crushed against the ground.

He wanted to raise his head and stand up, but it felt as if Mount Tai were pressing down on his body.

“……!”

He wanted to scream, but not even empty air came out of his lungs, which had shrunk under the pressure.

His eyes, with his head slammed sideways against the ground, caught the surrounding view.

“……!”

Just like him, everyone who had charged together like a wave was being pinned to the ground just as they were.

Without even a scream.

Without a sound.

It was a sight as if the ground had been their destination from the moment they charged.

Crcch.

Crk.

A bizarre noise was heard.

His body was gradually being crushed into the paving stones of the hard ground.

Furthermore, even the paving stones of the hard main road were cracking apart under pressure that transcended imagination.

Squish.

What he saw and thought ended there.

For a corpse with a crushed skull and a shattered body could see nothing and think nothing.

“Huuoh…”

At the sound of Elder Yeom, who raised his down-swung great sword, softly exhaling the air he had slowly inhaled, the senses of the War Department warriors, who felt as though they had been in slowed time, returned to normal.

“……!”

The paving stones of the main road had cracked, shattered, and caved in and those who had charged like a wave upon them were all crushed to death.

They had been crushed to death in a single strike.

“Indeed.”

From the mouth of the lieutenant, who had clearly watched the entire scene from behind Elder Yeom, admiration flowed out unconsciously.

“So this is—” his words, trying to admire the ultimate technique of Elder Yeom, one of the chief warriors representing the Luoyang Sword Family, could not be continued.

Rumble—!

A roar and vibration.

The surrounding pavilions began to collapse one after another in succession.

They were pavilions that had already experienced a minor earthquake due to the clash between the Dark Venerable and Geum-jil.

Subsequently, upon receiving the immense pressure from Elder Yeom's ultimate technique, they could not withstand it and began to collapse.

Craaaash—!

A massive cloud of dust blew, enough to make the warriors reflexively close their eyes and cover their faces.

“……!”

Before long, as the wind blew away the dust.

A scene unfolded where several pavilions along the main road collapsed and dozens of pavilions were half-destroyed.

“Huuuuh—” and in the center of it, was Elder Yeom, who had returned to his initial stance of holding his sword upright in front of his body.

The signature martial art of the Sword Peak Mountain Splitter.

Super Heavy Sword, Mountain-Splitting Force.

A realm where the sword of speed and the sword of weight, which originally would have been incompatible with each other, reached their extremes and achieved the convergence of ten thousand paths to the source.

That was.

A sight revealing that the name 'Force that splits the mountain' was not an exaggeration in the slightest.

And that was the reason he was called the Sword Peak Mountain Splitter.

“Hmph.”

Without showing the slightest sign of exhaustion even after consuming a massive amount of internal energy, Elder Yeom raised his great sword and pointed forward.

On the other side of the main road.

Beyond the range of the Mountain-Splitting Force, countless underworld members still remained.

It was packed with people trying to retreat and escape the Valley of Sin.

“…….”

“…….”

But they had neither the shouts nor the momentum of moments ago.

Their hands holding their weapons were losing their strength.

“The enemy's vanguard is broken.”

At that soft voice, the War Department warriors came to their senses and gripped their scabbards.

“Execute them all.”

“Loyalty!”

What martial artist's chest would not boil after witnessing such a wondrous realm of the sword?

Drawing their swords in unison, the War Department warriors began to run and strike down the main road with overwhelming momentum.

“…….”

Standing tall in the midst of that wave, Elder Yeom, who sheathed his great sword, turned his gaze toward the distance.

“……!”

His eyes met the eyes of Grand Madame Ouyang, who was standing by the window of the luxurious pavilion in the distance.

A pale face, trembling pupils wide open.

The time she had wanted to buy to resolve things once again vanished in just one breath due to a single move by Elder Yeom Gwak-chu, the Sword Peak Mountain Splitter.

It disappeared in just a single breath.

The clear sound transmission of Elder Yeom flew and struck the ears of the devastated woman.

[There is nowhere left to escape, Grand Madame Ouyang. Your person is now detained by the War Department.] at the chilling murderous intent loaded in that sound transmission, Grand Madame Ouyang slumped to the ground.