Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

“First, there was a change in organization. The Samsara Demonic Cavalry joined the army two days ago.”

Woon-seong already knew about the Demonic Cavalry. Nevertheless, Sang Gwan-chuk reported it once again, since that was the right thing to do as a soldier. 

Woon-seong was also aware of that. Thus, rather than point it out, he asked about something else. 

“The horses of the cavalry shouldn’t pose too much trouble, will they?”

The Samsara Demons were a cavalry group. Their individual strengths were important, but so were the horses.

If the horses were unwell, it would be difficult for the guards to show their true skills. Now, Woon-seong’s question was essential to the success of the Samsara Demons. 

“As always, we manage our priorities. Their feed is a mixture of top quality soybeans. The health of the horses, including muscle mass, is always being looked after.”

Woon-seong nodded. 

That was all there was to know about the cavalry; next up was the Western Army. 

Sang Gwan-chuk also moved on. 

“The Western Army will be arriving at the planned location in a few days.”

The Western Army, led by Chun A-young, was supposed to set up camp on the western side of Mount Qilian without joining the other forces. 

At the promised date, the two armies would attack both sides of Mount Qilian and the Iron Sword Wind Cloud Fortress at the same time. 

It was an operation that would induce confusion in the enemies by creating two battlefields, instead of one. 

This was possible because of the overwhelming number of demonic soldiers compared to the Iron Sword Wind Cloud Fortress.

If the two were similar in strength, there would have been no way other than all-out war. 

“When they arrive, the assault will begin. First of all, the role of destroying the strongholds will be given to the Demonic Masters.”

Attacking was always more difficult than defending. 

Even if the Demonic Cult divided the battlefield into two through numerical advantage, a continued siege would lead to great damage to the Demonic Army. 

Wars of Murim were much different from civilian wars. 

Here, just one master could turn the tide. 

Some of them could tear down solid fortresses if they had adequate support from the rear. 

For the Demonic Cult, those people would be the Demonic Masters. 

“Our side has the Wind Demon Fist King and the Demonic Teacher is in the west?”

Sang Gwan-chuk nodded. “The Wind Demon Fist King’s martial arts are destructive and wide in scope, suitable for dealing with large numbers or destroying large structures.”

Woon-seong had seen the Fist King in action. Based on his memory, Woon-seong was in agreement. 

“Why is the Demonic Teacher in the West?”

“Because of his strength.”

The Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon had been among the Ten Demonic Masters for the longest time. 

Woon-seong could not even fathom the amount of strength the Demonic Teacher had. Combining pure strength and experience, there was no one comparable to the Demonic Teacher in the Demonic Cult. 

“I see,” Woon-seong hummed in agreement. 

A large amount of internal energy was equivalent to a large amount of strength being emitted at once. 

That was perfect for breaking down large wooden barriers and opening up fortified roads. 

Moreover, even if his energy wasn’t pure compared to Woon-seong’s, the Demonic Teacher’s energy was very pure for a demonic practitioner. 

That instantaneous explosive power would be great.

And so both spearheads were decided. The other units would be behind them to assist as these two cleared the path forward. 

What about Woon-seong?

Woon-seong had already led the Charred Dragon Unit into Qaidam Basin and practically single-handedly destroyed Qinghai. 

No matter how strong he was, he could not do everything alone. 

But he could do other things. 

“When the fort is destroyed and the enemies come out, the Samsara Demonic Cavalry, the Charred Dragon Unit, and the White Ape Unit will emerge.”

The ones to fight each other would be cavalry against cavalry, ex-trainees against ex-trainees. 

It seemed everyone knew their roles. 

“The Captain of the Charred Dragon Unit has been quite firm on that. It seems that they do not want to lose to you, my lord.”

It was as Woon-seong thought. 

Otherwise, it would not have been possible to create such a plan. 

“After the primary collision, it will become a melee battle.”

The White Ape Unit would also make their appearance. 

Next came Woon-seong. 

“Am I going in after the White Ape Unit?”

Sang Gwan-chuk nodded and laid something down in front of him. 

It was a huge iron rod. 

Pure metal, the size and width of an adult forearm.

This would be the core of the battle. 

Woon-seong smiled with satisfaction as he saw it. 

Sang Gwan-chuk had come up with the name. 

The Mountain Destruction Plan.

A plan to destroy the mountains. 

It was quite well-named. 

After completing the reports, Sang Gwan-chuk left Woon-seong alone in his tent. 

“Phew.”

Woon-seong was alone and took a deep breath. He operated the Heavenward Soul Earthen Body. 

Energy spread through his body, vitality refreshing his blood and muscles. His head cleared. 

Woon-seong reached out.

Wheeeek- 

Pak!

The White Night Spear, which had been lying neatly against one wall, flew into his hands. Perhaps it was reacting to Woon-seong’s energy, but the White Night Spear trembled lightly. 

Whoo-hoo!

It sounded like terse disappointment.

It seemed like the spear was blaming Woon-seong for doing what he did without proper preparation. 

Woon-seong grinned and swept a hand along the White Night Spear. He then began to review. 

It wasn’t anything special. 

A level where martial artists had united themselves as one, inside and out, such that their mind and bodies were in union. 

Sometimes, mental discipline alone was enough to reach such a level. 

That process was similar to enlightenment, but at some point, Woon-seong had started walking the path of discourse. 

Disputes of the heart and mind.

Woon-seong’s practice was slightly different from pouring over and questioning passages in order to realize their truth. 

My training is a relentless battle. 

Woon-seong would pick an opponent in his head, then find the truth behind their martial art by fighting them to the death. 

That was why it was better to call it discourse, rather than meditation.

In these altercations, Woon-seong sometimes chose one powerful master, other times many enemies. 

In this case, he had chosen many.

In his mind, an illusionary Woon-seong gripped a spear and charged like a tyrant. 

Qar-

Despite this being all an illusion, Woon-seong’s spear never stopped moving. It became a wave which swept the enemies away, then a dragon to drive them back. 

He used the Divine Spear of the Ending Night and the Art of the Six Seals and Destruction. 

He purposefully did not use the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon. 

This was because he thought he had been neglecting the Spear Master Sect’s arts during his battles so far. 

So he deliberately did not use any of the Divine Arts.

The battle raged inside his mind.The time in his mind was different from time in reality. 

In his head, Woon-seong fought endlessly for days.

Then, even his physical body began to react. 

Sweat slowly flowed down his body. 

Although only one hour had passed in real time, Woon-seong’s body was soon drenched in sweat. 

Nevertheless, Woon-seong continued to struggle in his mind. 

Without rest, until the rays of dawn broke through the flaps of the tent. 

A few days later, a letter arrived from the Western Army announcing that they had arrived at the planned location. The rest of the army started to head towards Mount Qilian. 

***

“Huh.”

Iron Sword Wind Cloud Fort Master Yoon, who saw the martial artists crowding around Mount Qilian sighed.

Next to him was the New Dragon Battalion’s Sa Ryong-hui. 

“The forces of the Demonic Cult are strong.”

“I can see that. Apparently the Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult is powerful enough to be considered a god of death. It would probably be difficult to defend against that move.”

After using the Divine Art at Qaidam Basin, Woon-seong had become known as the ‘World Destroying Heavenly Demon’.

That power was terrifying, even if just a rumor. Yoon Ye-ryong could not help but be worried.

Sa Ryong-hui confidently said, “That’s why I chose Qilian Mountain as the battlefield. As long as the mountains are the battlefield, he will not be able to use that move.”

In fact, it was not Yoon Ye-ryong who insisted on using the Qilian Mountains as the battlefield, but Sa Ryong-hui who persuaded him. 

“If he used such a move here, the mountains would crumble.”

“The mountains collapsing…”

No matter how many demonic practitioners there were, they could not actually destroy the mountains. 

Especially such a large one like Qilian Mountain.

Thus, Sa Ryong-hui’s words had to mean something else. 

Yoon Ye-ryong suddenly understood and exclaimed, “A landslide! I see, a landslide would happen. In such a large mountain range, it would be impossible to use such a large move!”

It was as he said. 

A landslide did not pick and choose. Therefore, if the Heavenly Demon used such a powerful move and a landslide inevitably occurred, the aftermath would not simply destroy the Martial Alliance. 

“Unless the Cult Leader is crazy, he wouldn’t do such a thing.”

Sa Ryong-hui nodded and added, “So long as he can’t control the landslides, such a move would be unreasonable.”

“Haha, how could the Heavenly Demon control a landslide? Even a Divine Being wouldn’t be able to do that.”

Sa Ryong-hui’s eyes shone in agreement. If you were Semi-Divine or Divine, you could probably survive a landslide. 

But you still couldn’t control it. 

Then there was movement from the Demonic Cult. Two people walked out of the group and started to climb Mount Qilian. One of the soldiers watching from the walls exclaimed in alarm. Yoon Ye-ryong and Sa Ryong-hui gripped their weapons tightly. 

The battle would soon begin.