409: Great Hung Clan of the Great Plains (2)

An innumerable number of torches were in view of the Demonic Cult’s contingents.

There was a large army that seemed to be made up of thousands, no tens of thousands of people.

Even the Six Swords looked nervous as they watched the vast army gradually approach them.

Although their Lord Chun Yeowun is called the Demon God, it would be their first time facing such a large amount of warriors.

“No way… how is this possible?”

On the right side of Chun Yeowun, Baekhyun, who was riding his horse, became scared.

He didn’t know that there were such a massive number of barbarians in the Great Plains.

Before heading north from the Demonic Cult’s branch, he recommended that Chun Yeowun prepare a tribute to avoid any fights with the barbarians.

Except in rare cases, most barbarian tribes would receive the tribute and let people pass.

“Th-this is the first time this has happened.”

No barbarian would lead an army of that size just to drive away intruders.

Although the number of the Demonic Cult’s contingents wasn’t small, the barbarians seemed fearless, as if they didn’t know what martial arts were.

“Uhh.”

Hu Bong shook his head as he sighed.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t thought that such a situation would crop up on their journey to the North Sea Ice Palace.

However, they couldn’t blame anyone when the situation turned sour.

“This land is ours! This isn’t the place where you foreigners can wander. Go back to where you come from right away! This is the only warning that you’ll be given. If you don’t go back, you will be killed by the swords and spears of our great warriors!”

“Wahh!!!”

The shouts of the warriors of the Great Hung Clan resounded.

The high morale of their warriors scared the Demonic Cult, who had to advance quickly.

“The Great Hung Clan is the hegemon of the Great Plains. They are dangerous.”

Baekhyun warned Yeowun with a serious expression.

The Great Guardian, Marakim, who was riding the horse left to Chun Yeowun, spoke in a low voice.

“Too many, Lord.”

There were definitely too many enemies for them to fight.

Moreover, there seemed to be a few who mastered martial arts within the barbarians.

As the army belonged to the Great Hung Clan, they couldn’t just dismiss the matter.

At that time, someone not as huge as Ko Wanghur but middle-aged with a large body wearing blue armor spoke.

“Lord. The Great Guardian speaks facts. To defeat them, we need to be ready to make significant sacrifices.”

The opponents weren’t ten times greater in number. Their numbers were a hundred times greater.

The middle-aged man who gave Yeowun the advice was the 6th elder, Mong Mu.

As the Demonic Cult was being expanded, Yeowun brought in warriors from the main base of the Demonic Cult.

‘.. it would be a waste of energy.’

Chun Yeowun had the same opinion as them.

If they went into a battle, it would be a loss for the Demonic Cult in many ways.

In that case, negotiating would be effective. If that didn’t work, he could resort to intimidation in moderation.

‘Nano. Can you analyze their language?’

Chun Yeowun asked, pointing to the warriors of the Great Hung Clan who were screaming from afar.

And it didn’t take long for an answer.

[It’s close to Russian, the language of the East Slavic family. Interpretation is available.]

‘Can you relay that to me?’

[Available. Transferring Russian into the user’s brain. Approve?]

‘Yes.’

Tring!

As the word ‘yes’ fell, his head stung from all the information of the Russian language flooding into his brain.

Their language, which he couldn’t understand until recently, seemed clear as day.

“GO away! Strangers!”

“If you don’t go back, I’ll stick this spear into you and turn you into a kebab! Hahaha!”

There was a lot of swearing since they assumed that the Demonic Cult couldn’t understand their language.

It seemed like they were dead set on not letting the Demonic Cult pass.

Chun Yeowun moved a little closer on his horse.

“Lord?”

“Why?”

While his subordinates were puzzled, Chun Yeowun shouted to the army of the Great Hung Clan.

“Listen, Great Hung Clan!!!”

A completely different language came out of Chun Yeowun’s mouth, which shocked all the cult warriors.

‘How is he speaking their language?’

Baekhyun was the one who was shocked the most.

He was about to interpret for Chun Yeowun because negotiation needed to be done but hearing Chun Yeowun speak the language of barbarians, he was shocked.

While Chun Yeowun continued.

“I am Chun Yeowun, the Lord of the Sky Demon Order!”

This man clearly knew the language of barbarians. Even the Great Hung Clan, which was screaming, began to mumble.

Woong!

Once he said that Chun Yeowun began to negotiate.

“I am well aware that this is the land of the Great Hung Clan. Therefore, in respect of the tribe, a tribute has been prepared to pass through your land. We didn’t come here to wage war against the Great Hung Clan, we want to avoid any friction for the sake of the people on both sides!”

At the attempt to negotiate, the faces of Sorachu, the War Chief Asara, and even the other warriors in front of the tribe, turned stiff.

Until a moment back, the Great Hung clan tried to threaten the Demonic Cult and send them back.

However, this was completely unexpected.

“Demon God? Kang Soah seems to have deceived us!”

Asara spoke in disgusted expression.

If what the Lord of Demonic Cult said was true, then Kang Soah had given them false information.

Okuro, one of the commanders of the tribe, the war commander, spoke to Asara.

“War Chief, they may be lying.”

“Yes!”

The other commanders agreed too.

Among the three major powers of Jianghu, the Demonic Cult is said to control the Yellow River, so for what reason could they be coming to the Great Plains?

As Kang Soah said, the Great Leader of the Forces of Justice didn’t even move with their troops.

However, Sorachu objected to their words.

“War Chief. You need to be careful. We have no idea about them. However, since he himself revealed his identity, it might not be a lie.”

Sorachu was right.

They were the only tribe of barbarians who knew information about the Demonic Cult.

All because they were interested in martial arts, they constantly sent people to Jianghu to get information. However, the other tribes were unaware of martial arts.

“But he knows the language. Besides, he seems skilful in it. Maybe it isn’t the Lord of Demonic Cult, but other tribesmen joining in to help them!”

Almost every commander had a different opinion on what was happening.

“But among other tribes, those who know about Jianghu…”

“War Chief. There is nothing one can be perfectly sure about in this world. There is no way that the other tribes didn’t send their people to the Jianghu to gather information.”

Sorachu was speechless with those words.

It was certainly strange that the Lord of Demonic Cult was speaking their language.

At that, Okuro, the more warlike warrior, shouted bravely.

“War Chief! Why do we have to wait! Send me and my warriors! Let them know my martial arts, I will make them kneel!”

Seeing the strong intent in his words, Asara fell into thoughts.

The Demonic Cult only had six hundred men, which meant that the barbarians had nothing to fear.

No matter how skilled their martial arts were, there was no way the Jianghu men had that much stamina.

However, the absurd rumors about Demon God didn’t leave his mind.

“War chief. All they asked for was permission to pass through to the North Sea. This isn’t a territorial war, why do we need to resort to fighting?”

The commanders were displeased with Sorachu’s words.

It felt like something a coward would say. A man who is supposed to be beside the War Chief after fighting so many wars was talking like a coward!

“War Chief! Since when did the Great Hung Clan fear any enemies…”

When Okuro was about to make another complaint, Buchoi rode back to them and spoke.

“W-war Chief! It looks like he is the Demon God!”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Buchoi answered the question of Asara, who was puzzled.

“Did you hear what he said?”

“Would there be anyone who didn’t hear that?”

It was so clear that everyone heard.

“But he didn’t scream.”

“What do you mean?”

“To allow them to hear me I yelled, but that person spoke in a very low voice. However, it isn’t unusual to speak with internal energy.”

Buchoi was a warrior who learned martial arts.

Having learned martial arts, he too, cultivated internal energy.

After honing his skills for a long time, he managed to reach Master level, and the voice of the one called Chun Yeowun, who claimed to be the Lord of Demonic Cult, reached a level that Buchoi couldn’t even guess.

“Hmmm.”

Buchoi was a brave warrior.

Having learned martial arts, the commanders of the tribe considered Buchoi to be an excellent warrior and that made them puzzled by the fact that Buchoi seemed scared of the enemy before even fighting them.

Honestly, that was natural.

Chun Yewoun knew that people mastered martial arts among the barbarians, so he purposely used internal energy.

And those who knew about that would begin to fear him.

“Masei!”

“Wa-war Chief!”

Buchoi was the one Asara had ordered to go ahead because he knew martial arts, but there were others too.

“Do you have the same opinion as Buchoi?”

“Ugh, I don’t know if it is the Demon God or not, but his internal energy from that voice, he must be a lot stronger than us.”

Masei was also at the Master level, but was even stronger than Buchoi.

When he expressed the same opinion, War Chief Asara shook his head

If it was really the Demon God, no matter how superior their numbers were, the damage they would take would be greater.

“This is so frustrating! War Chief! How great are the martial arts that we need to be afraid of them? Do you need to believe all the words that warrior Buchoi has said?”

Okuro complained.

He too, had witnessed numerous battles in his life, but he didn’t think that they would lose to an army they never fought.

“Are you going to back down just because you are afraid of six hundred strangers? All the other tribes will laugh at us! And do you really believe that false rumor of him flying and striking down lightning?”

At Okuro’s provocative words, War Chief Asara’s eyebrows rose.

He knew that Okuro was purposely hurting his pride.

“Rumors are often exaggerated. Even more so if it is about those people! Give me three thousand warriors. I will wipe them all out.”

“I think the same as commander Okuro. It is unacceptable for the Great Hung Clan to be swept away by those rumors!”

One by one, the young ones too began to agree with Okuro’s words.

They didn’t believe Buchoi, who had been to Jianghu.

Those who had been dissatisfied with the fact that the tribe had always let travelers through if they prepared a tribute, used this as an opportunity.

‘These bums. Were they all upset?’

War Chief Asar’a eye lit up.

Not many warriors of the Great Hung Clan believed in martial arts.

It was only natural that people began to feel displeased.

Then, a good war appeared.

“Sorachu. Are there any troops in the rear from the Yata tribe?”

“Yes there are.”

The Yata tribe was the last tribe the Great Hung Clan had defeated in a territorial war.

The victorious tribes would take in the losers, and they recruited 2000 young warriors as loot.

It was less than a fortnight ago, so they weren’t well-integrated into the clan.

“Commander Okuro, I will give you 2000 yata warriors, and the 3rd corps, if you are confident, go ahead and show me your bravery.”

“War Chief!”

Bom!

Okuro shouted as he hit his chest.

“I will live up to your expectations!”

“Good! Go!”

“Yes!!!”

Asara gave Okuro three young commanders, who had agreed with Okuro.

Excited, Okuro rode his horse forward.

At this point, he only wanted to show off his bravery to the tribe, even if he didn’t depend on the unit which learned martial arts.

‘I will get to confirm if it really is the Demon God.’

War Chief Asara looked at the back of the Okuro, who was gathering up his warriors and advancing.

Meanwhile, Chun Yeowun and his subordinates, who were waiting for a response, stood silently.

It was because they could see troops being divided and advancing towards them.

It seemed to be a troop of 2000 men.

“We seem to have failed in negotiations.”

Baekhyun spoke with a puzzled expression.

Although only a portion of the soldiers were advancing, the number was too large for the Demonic Cults.

They ended up entering the worst-case scenario that they desperately wanted to avoid.

‘Wh-what are we supposed to do?’

No matter how skilled the martial arts users were when compared to ordinary people, the difference in number was too great to ignore.

Baekhyun was worried about how many people would make it to the North Sea.

Contrary to him, Ko Wanghur, Bakgi, Sama Chak, and the others of the Six Swords moved ahead a little with confidence.

“Lord. What should we do?”

Although the army of the opponent was overwhelming, they weren’t afraid.

If Chun Yeowun gave them an order to fight, they were ready to advance.

“… wait for a moment.”

“Yes!”

Chun Yeowun asked them to halt.

Negotiations were unsuccessful, but there was still one more thing to do.

Chun Yeowun slowly rode his horse forward.

‘Wh-what will he do going in there alone?’

Baekhyun looked concerned, unable to understand.

Dudududud!

As the force of two thousand began to get closer, the earth shuddered stronger.

As the distance grew closer, the commander, Okuro, who was riding his horse at the forefront, raised his hand and ordered the warriors of the Yata tribe to halt.

“All troops! Aim!”

As the order fell, the advancing warriors of Yata got their bows and arrows ready.

Not only the Great Hung Clan, but even the barbarians of the Great Plains looked skilled. They seemed more accustomed to horseback warfare.

Even on the moving horses, their bows were stiff.

“Demon God? Who would believe in such false rumors? Don’t make me laugh!”

“That’s right. Commander!”

“Huh! Let’s send them back with our finest arrows!”

“Shoot!”

At the cry of the young commanders, including Okuro, the warriors who were aiming let go of their arrows.

The arrows, which were held back by the taut bowstring, rushed towards the Demonic cult’s contingent all at once.

Arrows fell like rain in the dark sky.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

“Lift your spears!”

“Wahhh!”

The Great Hung Clan clan warriors picked up their spears to reduce their enemies down right after the arrow strike.

However, something incredible happened.

“What?”

Since the night was dark, they didn’t notice it right away, but the two thousand arrows stopped mid-air.

Dum!

Barbarians had sharper eyes than the people of Jianghu.

Shocked that the arrows stopped, they stopped their advance too.

They have been to many battlefields, but this was the first time they witnessed such a sight.

“Wh-what the hell is that?”

In front of them, a young man riding a horse came into view.

The young man had fluttering hair and had his hand outstretched like he was the one who halted the arrows.

Just the sight of him gave off a dignified aura.

Okuro muttered.

“Is-is he the Demon God?”

He instinctively knew.

Chun Yeowun gently waved his outstretched hand towards them.

All the arrows which were aiming at the Demonic cult turned around and pointed at them.

Wheeing!

The direction the arrows changed and aimed towards them.

‘!?’

Flustered, Okuro shouted to the two thousand warriors.

“Di-divide!”

As his shout fell, the two thousand arrows which had rotated flew towards them.

Wheeing!

Puck! Thud!

The horses collided.

The warriors of the Yata tribe desperately tried to spread out, after seeing the absurd sight of arrows returning to them.

But,

Puk! Puk! Puk!

“Kuak!”

“Th-the arrows? Kuak!”

“Ack!”

Shockingly, all the arrows followed them and made sure to hit a person.

As if the arrows had a sense of direction, they went right for the hearts and heads.

Okuro was stunned, after looking back at what was happening because of the screams that came in from all directions.

“Th-that is ridiculous. How could this happe…”

The figure, who seemed like the epitome of bravery, vanished.

He, who dismissed the rumors about the Demon God, realized that he was wrong only when he was moments away from death.

Pak!

“Kuaak!”

Thud!

The commander, Okuro, was pierced through his forehead and fell off his horse.

War Chief Asara and the other commanders, who witnessed it from afar, couldn’t hold back their shocked expressions.

Two thousand warriors who marched valiantly turned into corpses in an instant.

With just a single gesture.

“It-it was all true!”

There wasn’t a pinch of lies in the rumors they heard.