The horrific sight sent the clan's martial artists into a panic. Age and status made no difference, and even the Young Lady was no exception. The Patriarch's head, impaled on a spear, had been thrown at the Ak Clan.
"F-Father... How? How could this happen..." Ak Yeonhwa stared at her father's face in disbelief. The agony of his final moments was perfectly preserved.
As the Young Lady of a prestigious murim family, she had seen her share of corpses, though it was never a common sight. This, however, was the decapitated head of her own father. Although Ak Bi's oppressive presence had loomed over her all her life, seeing him like this made the shock even more intense, as if her world was collapsing.
Dazed, she observed her father's head closely. His eyes had been gouged out, and many of his teeth were broken, suggesting he had been brutally tortured before his death.
She knew she shouldn't act this way in front of the Ak Clan warriors, but she couldn't stop her body from trembling like an aspen leaf in anger and fear.
"Noonim..."
A voice from behind snapped her to her senses. She turned to see Ak Yeonho looking at her with concern.
"Are you alright?" Ak Yeonho asked worriedly.
Ak Yeonhwa nodded stiffly. "...Yes."
Ak Yeonho felt she looked anything but alright, but he didn't press her and quietly stepped back. His gaze, glancing at the head of the deceased Ak Bi, was complicated. "Who on earth would do this to a member of the Ten Supremes...?"
"Does that head really belong to the Spear King?"
"What in the world is going on?!"
The instructors and students from the Azure Dragon and Vermilion Phoenix Academies were also reeling from the immense shock. The Patriarch of the Shandong Ak Clan, one of the Ten Supremes, had been brutally slain. If that wasn't bad enough, only his head had been returned, impaled on his own spear.
Everyone whispered to each other, unsure how to react to an incident that would shake the entire jianghu.
"What are you all doing!?" Noh Goonsang roared. "Prepare for battle! Brace yourselves for an enemy attack!"
Noh Goonsang's cry brought everyone back to their senses, especially the mention of an 'enemy attack'.
The instructors began to lead the students, while Ak Yeonhwa ordered the Ak Clan's martial artists to prepare for a fight. Baek Suryong and the Fire King headed straight for the main gate, the direction from which the spear had flown.
Baek Suryong leaped to a high vantage point and scanned the base of the mountain. A crimson-black wave surged forth, as if the forest was being polluted in real time.
"The Blood Cult..." he muttered grimly.
RUMBLE!
The Blood Cult's forces marched on, kicking up clouds of dust. Their dense demonic qi caused the undergrowth to wither and die. Mountain beasts shrieked in alarm. Birds plummeted from the sky. Even ferocious predators smashed their own heads against rocks in terror.
Baek Suryong observed their clothing closely. The Blood Wolves, the Phantom Killers, the Demonic Spirits...
To others, it was just a mass of similar uniforms, but he could discern the different attire and unique martial arts of each unit. Three of the Blood Cult's martial squads had been mobilized here, and they easily numbered in the hundreds. This was a force large enough to lay waste to an entire region.
"These bastards... they're dead serious."
His expression hardening, he leaped down.
THUD!
Standing alone at the main gate, he glared at the approaching enemies.
Moments later, the Fire King landed beside him, his robes fluttering. "...Everything is just as you said. The Blood Cult is plotting something.
"We have to buy as much time as we can."
"Time? I was planning on burning them all to a crisp."
Baek Suryong laughed at the Fire King's audacity, but he gripped Crimson Moon tightly and nodded. "Of course. I was thinking the same thing."
To their surprise, however, the Blood Cult's forces stopped at a distance. Even when Ak Yeonhwa and the Ak Clan martial artists arrived, the Blood Cult did not move.
"What are they plotting? Why aren't they attacking right away?" the Fire King muttered suspiciously, furrowing his brow.
[Listen, you mongrels of the jianghu!]
A sharp, shrill voice shook the air, echoing from all directions. Merely hearing the malevolence in the voice caused the blood and qi of most martial artists to churn.
"O-Omnidirectional Telepathy!!"
"Protect your blood vessels with your inner arts, now!"
Omnidirectional Telepathy was a technique reserved for those who had achieved transcendence in the field of inner arts, and their enemy was using it over a wide area with no apparent effort.
"To use Omnidirectional Telepathy over such a wide range..."
"Just how profound is his mastery of inner arts...?"
"I thought that voice sounded familiar..."
Horrified, the martial artists eyed the Blood Cult's forces.
An old man with a sturdy build, draped in a blood-red robe, stepped forward. [I am the Undying Supreme Demon, Head Elder of the Blood Demon Divine Cult.]
The Fire King and Noh Goonsang reacted simultaneously, glaring at the Undying Supreme Demon with burning hatred as if recalling an old nightmare.
"My eternal regret is that I didn't burn this old monster to death back then!"
[Kekeke! I see some familiar faces. The brats from fifty years ago have become old men.]
The voice, full of feigned warmth, seemed to mock the orthodox martial artists who had grown complacent after decades of peace.
[I have a proposal for you all. That is why I sent you a special gift.]
"A gift?"
[Have you not already received it? I sent it nicely skewered on a spear. Oh dear, did it perhaps get damaged beyond recognition on its way over?]
Realizing the nature of the Undying Supreme Demon's 'gift', the Ak Clan martial artists erupted in fury.
"You bastard!"
"So you're the one who did that to the Patriarch!"
"I'll kill you!"
Alongside their anger, though, the Ak Clan martial artists felt fear of this enemy who had killed their clan's absolute ruler.
[Kekeke! Our Cult desires only one thing—the Azure Dragon Hero. Hand him over, and we will withdraw from this place peacefully.]
"How do you expect us to believe that nonsense?!"
FWOOSH!
A large fireball, created by the Fire King, flew toward the Undying Supreme Demon, but sharp sword qi and palm winds from all directions scattered it without a trace before it could reach him.
Baek Suryong's expression darkened. They have at least three masters at the elder level or higher.
He wasn't the only one who sensed the enemy's overwhelming power. The Fire King and Noh Goonsang's expressions also turned to stone.
The Undying Supreme Demon smiled, enjoying their reaction. [Is there any other way? If you choose to fight our Cult right now, you will all die. Evidently, you don't care about the lives of these young martial artists who have yet to reach their full potential.]
"......"
It wasn't just one person. The Ak Clan martial artists who shared this sentiment grew restless, casting hostile glances at Baek Suryong.
The Ak Clan Branch Estate was a natural fortress located in a gorge surrounded by cliffs. While it was excellent for defense, it was also a death trap, as the only way out was to break through the front.
[I will swear on my honor.] The Undying Supreme Demon paused deliberately before making his final offer. [If you send out the Azure Dragon Hero before the sun sets, our Cult will take him and withdraw. However, if you refuse our Cult's mercy...]
The inner qi and killing intent embedded in the Omnidirectional Telepathy intensified.
The Undying Supreme Demon's sharp, ominous voice, almost a form of sound arts, reverberated throughout the entire estate. [Not even an ant will survive here!]
Having said his piece, he stepped back. The Blood Cult's forces also retreated about thirty meters to set up their formation.
A heavy silence fell over the Ak Clan Branch Estate.
Eventually, an Ak Clan member broke the silence. Eyeing Baek Suryong resentfully, he said, "In the end... didn't the Blood Cult swarm this place because of the Azure Dragon Hero?"
However, Ak Yeonho and those around him grew angry on his behalf.
"......" Baek Suryong said nothing. Deep down, he agreed with that observation.