Chapter 99

Kaang!
Just when I thought I had slit Shima’s throat.
My eyes went black and I felt the battlefield spreading out before me and behind me. It was my former self, the Namgung Byeok.
“Captain……!”
It was a familiar voice. It was none other than Heintae.
Before I could recover from my confusion, the fierce breath of battle and the scent of blood and gore washed over my face.
And before I could stop myself, I was immersed in the battle.
“……troops, In-tae!”
On the battlefield, I fought fiercely against the Reds, biting my troops in the back, while fending off the spears of those who were relentlessly pursuing me, the commander.
I no longer had the aura of the Thunder King Divine Duke, but only that of a lesser duke. Even the thunderbolts of the thunder machine that had been unleashing countless lightning bolts were no longer unleashed, but only the Iron Sword Sect.
Kaang!
Even if there were a bunch of Leaders rushing at him, he could have wiped them all out with a single Spearbow Sword Technique!
Crackle, crackle, crackle.
With three swords and two spears pointed at me, I had to take a few steps back as I raised the tip of my sword and swiftly parried. Sparks flew as the metal made contact, blinding me.
“I’ll kill him and drink his blood!”
“Lah!”
“He’s a filthy Zhongyuan! He deserves to die!”
“Child, did you think you could kill me, may you wallow in eternal despair. ”
The woman’s voice sounded like thunder.
I forgot about the woman’s voice and swung my sword as I stared at the red-haired enemy, who kept charging at me with murderous intensity and fierce eyes.
Of course, every time I did that, I felt helpless. With only the Iron Sword Sixty-Six, the Great Yan Gong, and the Island Warfare Thirty-Three Swords, I felt limited. At the same time, I had to think of Heintai and the troops who had abandoned me and resent them.
“Yes, blame, blame, blame. ”
Did they really abandon me and run away?
“Doubt, doubt, doubt. Who would sacrifice themselves for you?”
You didn’t abandon me because I was the cause of your death.
“Pant and pant, pant and pant, until your soul is broken and splintered and scattered on the bloody battlefield, for that is all you can do.”
I had to bite my lip tightly as I stared at the dozens of spearheads closing in on me. I didn’t want to die. I couldn’t die here.
“Ho ho ho ho.”
The woman’s voice sounded like thunder, and I didn’t react to it, not sure if the others could hear it or not. It was as if the sound was only for me.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of floodwaters rushed by, with no end in sight, and I was alone in the midst of them. What a sacrifice I’ve made.
How much have I given up to be here.
Why is there no one here?
In disbelief, I clutched the sword in my hand and slashed, slashed, slashed, slashed. I stretched out my legs, facing the hostility and murderous intent of the Reds.
“Don’t struggle, you’ll only prolong the moment of your own death. ”
He gritted his teeth.
Ping! Ping-ping-ping!
The sound of a tautly drawn bowstring bouncing off the ground.
Pow!
A hail of hundreds of arrows rained down and struck my shoulder blade. Unable to stifle a scream of pain, I grabbed my sword with my free hand and swung.
But.
As if my palm couldn’t block the sun, my depleted Grandmaster’s strength could only parry the remaining arrows, and I had no hope for the next round.
Pow! Puff!
The arrow grazed my side, causing a burning sensation, and the spear point lodged in my thigh, immobilizing me.
But then I realized, in the midst of all the wounds and pain, that I was not a man.
The mark on my sleeve, the mark of the Southern Palace. I gasped for air, barely parrying the tip of the sword that had come to pierce my heart.
That’s right, the South Wall of the South Palace. I.
I. The searing pain made me realize who I was.
“What’s the point of realizing it now? Even if you do, the abyss that lies within you will not disappear. Child.”
I laughed nonetheless.
The walls of the South Palace defied fate. I, the Southern Wall, defying all odds.
And for the first time, I heard a voice that did not belong to a woman.
“Blue Dragon of the Southern Palace, Thunderblade Castle Southern Palace, I salute you for your unwavering spirit. ”
With those words, my eyes lit up.
* * *
“……Have you come to your senses?”
I stepped back from where I had been facing Sima and found myself gasping for breath among the masters of Kunlun.
“It’s a ghost, Shima,” I said, ”You must have made eye contact with him the moment you reached out to slit his throat, and the moment you met his eyes, you were possessed. It taps into an abyss deep within you that no one knows about and shatters your spirit. It can’t have been easy to escape the abyss you were trapped in forever.”
And when I recognized the owner of the voice, I opened my mouth to speak.
“You have awakened me.”
“You broke the illusion yourself. I merely opened a pathway for you to escape, but your will, your spirit, broke the illusion of Shima. You were undaunted by the spell that shook your soul.”
The one who spoke thus stood up. The stench of ink was palpable.
“I am Zhu Hu. Thunder Sword Saint.”
There is only one other person named Zhu Hu. At least in my memory.
“Your name is Mr. Wu Nanshi, Heavenly Sword Master.”
“A name for the unworthy.”
It was a rare sight to see two Wu Naihui’s here, and on the same battlefield.
Dusting off his well-dressed robes, Jie Gal Zhu Hu narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth. The Berserker, the three reanimated Kangxi, and Sima were face-to-face, engaged in a bloodbath.
The heavens and earth shook, but Jie Galzhuhu calmly opened his mouth and flicked open the fan in his hand.
“Get some rest. From now on, it’ll be me and the Berserker.”
His calm, cool voice was soothing. And I shook my head.
“I’m younger.”
As I said this, I pushed myself to my feet, only to see Jagalzuhu’s wry smile.
“No wonder the madman is with you. It must not have been easy for him to get along with that madman, Master Malko.”
I smiled. The moment I saw the look in his eyes, I knew he was worried and concerned, worried for me and concerned for the Zhongyuan Clan.
“You are truly concerned about Zhongyuan.”
“You’ve read the heavens.”
“You say Zhongyuan is in danger.”
“They say it’s dangerous. Perhaps the appearance of that monster is already a sign of danger.”
I shook my head at Jegaljuhu, who looked at Shima.
“It’s a moment of solidarity, a moment to bond. If it weren’t for that monster, who would have thought that you and Mr. Zegal would be together.”
At those words, Zhu Hu closed his mouth tightly for the first time. He looked thoughtful.
“I see. I suppose it won’t be easy since they have their own places, but even so, it won’t be easy. Who wants to be the first to step up?”
I smiled wryly at that.
I looked into the abyss, thanks to the illusion Shima had cast on me. The abyss was the life I had lived as a Zhongyuan up to the rank of Ten Thousand, and I suspect that the many dangers and crises I had encountered in the intervening years had become my darkness.
One.
“I will step up.”
I sacrificed. I sacrificed myself, burned a part of me.
“My house will lead the way, and I will be the first to stand before those who fear, for you have seen my abyss.”
At those words, Jagalzuhu shook his head, the last millennium finally making sense, and he spoke.
“The kinks were cleared.
Spear dragon emergence.
Thunder Dragon Ascension.
The master of heaven and none other.
“I will guard your back. Go in the direction you wish to go.”
“Thank you, sir. I’ll trust you and go.”
“I will protect you from all of the demonic arts, all of the demonic truths, and all of the demonic powerhouses.”
A dozen feathers came out of Zhuge Liang’s arms and scattered all around him at once.
Clatter, clatter, clatter.
The first time I saw him, I believed in him. And I walked ahead of him, not questioning any of his techniques.
The spirit of K’un-Lun.
The brilliance of Shaolin.
The heat of Peng’er.
The strength of Qing Shui.
and the power of Qing Shui.
I felt them together again, contained within the tip of the Southern Palace Sword.
“You’re here.”
“A little late, senior.”
“I thought you’d never come.”
“Of course not. Once a word is spoken, always a word.”
The aura of the sword that had been steadily extending out from Guangxiang’s hand was fading in color. As he felt his Hahai-like strength fade away, he realized how hard he had been fighting alone against Sima and the Kangxi.
“The old woman’s body has grown stronger. It won’t be easy.”
At those words, I was surprised to see that Shima’s ragged clothing was still intact. Not a single sword strike had been successful.
“Ho ho ho ho.”
Shima looked at me, and I tried to cast a spell.
“……hoohoohoo.”
I didn’t have to look into the abyss. Perhaps, as Jegaljuhu had said, his power was protecting me from the illusion.
“It’s no use. Old woman.”
“Ho ho ho, it’s a pity that it doesn’t work…….”
Shima’s smile was directed at me.
“What a strange child you are, I wonder if your new life is a blessing or a curse from the heavens. Ho ho ho.”
Shima looked into my past life. The voice I heard in the vision was probably the proof, and she looked back at me several times, as if her curiosity wasn’t satisfied.
“I wanted to take you alive and look inside your head. Inside your head. Just wait a little while. I’ll take you apart piece by piece.”
With those words, I raised my Thunderbolt to full power and sliced through Shima’s waist in one swift motion. No, just when I thought I had.
Kaaaaang!
With the sound of metal striking metal, I was forced to look at Shima’s smile.
“I told you, I’m going to eat you alive and tear you apart.”
She said, her voice menacing,
“Old woman.”
I smiled, too.
“Have you ever faced the Emperor’s sword?”