Chapter 155. Orthodox-Unorthodox War (4)
“This really is a good place to hide.”
“If you wander in without knowing the way, you’ll only get lost. Besides, even Constellations can’t observe this area.”
The underground cave Ma Taesu had led him to definitely seemed suitable for someone trying to disappear.
As they walked through the complicated passages, Ma Taesu spoke in a low voice.
“Kang Yujin.”
“What?”
“Chairman Jin Gahui is a terrifying opponent. It would be better to go in prepared to fight to the death from the beginning.”
“But we can’t just kill him.”
“Don’t worry. He’s not someone who’ll die just because you try to kill him.”
“He’s that strong?”
“Very strong. In my opinion, he’s stronger than White Forest Alliance Leader Yang Weizheng.”
"..."
How strong did that make him?
Even when Kang Yujin fought Yang Weizheng, neither of them had gone all out, so it had been difficult to judge Yang Weizheng’s true ability.
“This way.”
After passing through several winding tunnels, they arrived at an area that had been renovated until it almost looked like the inside of a building.
There was a bed farther in.
A middle-aged man sat cross-legged on top of it.
“We’re lucky.”
“What’s he doing?”
“He’s circulating and regulating his qi. He’s probably recovering after receiving some kind of rejuvenation treatment from Ha Mina.”
Ma Taesu lowered his voice.
“Once he finishes, he’ll likely join the Orthodox-Unorthodox War in an even stronger state. If Jin Gahui enters the battlefield, the casualties will become even worse.”
"..."
“We attack while he’s defenseless during his qi circulation and capture him.”
As he spoke, Ma Taesu pulled one arm back.
At that instant, a huge Green Dragon Crescent Blade appeared in his hand.
“That’s your Constellation Armament, right?”
“Yeah. It’s the Constellation Armament of the A-rank Constellation ‘Third Son of the War God,’ Guan Suo.”
Kang Yujin had heard about it from Ma Taesu before.
Guan Suo, who appeared in the Chinese tale The Story of Hua Guan Suo, was Guan Yu’s third son.
After Guan Yu died, Guan Suo inherited the Green Dragon Crescent Blade and avenged his father.
That meant Guan Suo’s Constellation Armament was also Guan Yu’s Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
“What?”
“No. Nothing.”
Kang Yujin shook his head and steadied his breathing.
“Then I’ll go first.”
He kicked off the ground using internal energy.
After receiving fundamental training from the Fist Venerable and learning more efficient internal-energy control from the Sword Venerable, his acceleration had become far faster than before.
He closed the distance in an instant and punched the middle-aged man sitting with his eyes closed and his guard completely down.
THUD!
A sickening sound rang out.
Kang Yujin’s fist pierced straight through the man’s chest.
The war was fierce.
The Jeongryu Sect, which had spearheaded the Orthodox Coalition’s advance, was wiped out by a concentrated barrage of magic and Daoist techniques from the Unorthodox Coalition.
But stepping over the corpses of the Jeongryu Sect, the Fist King Society, famous for its close-combat fighters, charged forward.
Their reckless assault was stopped by the Unorthodox Coalition’s perfectly prepared defenses.
Then the White Forest Alliance’s main force finally began its full advance.
“Advance! The side that wins here will take all of China!”
Yang Weizheng’s lion’s roar thundered across the battlefield.
Countless Contractors unleashed their Skills and charged into the Unorthodox formation all at once.
The Unorthodox Coalition fought back, but the Orthodox side clearly held the advantage in morale.
“Meet them head-on! This battle decides everything! Do not retreat!”
But one old man charged out from the Unorthodox Coalition with tremendous momentum.
He looked to be over seventy.
Yet his body was more impressive than those of the young people around him.
The moment he inhaled, the muscles across his entire body swelled powerfully.
His height, which had been around 170 centimeters, quickly surpassed 190.
“I am Liu Zhenping, Vice Chairman of the Black Dragon Society, the Heaven-Breaking Fist Emperor!”
“Fall back! If you attack him carelessly, he’ll beat you to death in an instant!”
The Orthodox Contractors faltered before the old man’s charge.
Taking advantage of that hesitation, the Unorthodox Coalition launched a counterattack.
The skilled fighters of each organization, who had been waiting for their moment, summoned their Constellation Armaments and surged forward together.
“Kill those hypocritical Orthodox bastards!”
“Exterminate the wicked Unorthodox Faction!”
The formations collapsed.
The battle turned into a chaotic melee.
Everyone unleashed their own techniques and tried to kill the enemy in front of them.
In the confusion, some even mistakenly attacked their own allies.
The fighting became impossible for anyone to control.
And the number of casualties continued to rise.
“Heaven-Breaking Fist Emperor Liu Zhenping!”
“Hmm. So it’s the young master of Southern Shaolin.”
Before long, Yang Weizheng and Liu Zhenping faced each other at the center of the battlefield.
Yang Weizheng, leader of the White Forest Alliance, was the strongest Contractor of the Orthodox Faction.
Liu Zhenping, Vice Chairman of the Black Dragon Society, stood below Chairman Jin Gahui in rank and reputation.
That meant Liu Zhenping should have been at a disadvantage.
Yet he showed no fear at all.
“What is a sheltered scholar like you doing on such a brutal battlefield? Go back to your room and read books!”
“You dare insult me? Old fool who refuses to act his age!”
Yang Weizheng’s eyes sharpened at Liu Zhenping’s provocation.
“I’ll defeat you, drag Jin Gahui out afterward, and display both your severed heads on the streets of Shanghai!”
“Try it if you can!”
After shouting at each other, the two masters shot into the sky at the same time.
The cave was silent.
After killing the defenseless man who had been sitting there, Kang Yujin withdrew his fist.
Blood dripped steadily to the floor, staining it red.
"..."
Kang Yujin slowly turned around.
The Green Dragon Crescent Blade had vanished from Ma Taesu’s hand.
Instead, he was fiddling with the buttons of his usual coat while staring at Kang Yujin with a grave expression.
“Kang Yujin... what did you just do?”
Ma Taesu asked in a trembling voice, as if he couldn’t believe what he had seen.
“Did you just murder Chairman Jin Gahui while he was defenseless during qi circulation?”
Kang Yujin said nothing.
He only glared at Ma Taesu with cold, frightening eyes.
“I can’t believe it. How could you do something like this...?”
"..."
“Don’t tell me... were you also responsible for massacring the White Forest Alliance’s Shanghai Branch?”
Ma Taesu placed a hand against his forehead as if struck by dizziness.
Then he shook his head and glared fiercely at Kang Yujin.
“I see. You were trying to swallow China whole.”
“Just like when you killed Saionji Keito in Japan, you planned to eliminate China’s most influential Contractors and seize the entire country.”
After saying that, Ma Taesu tore one of the buttons from his coat.
No.
It wasn’t really a button.
A black wire was attached to it, with a small rectangular device at the end.
The button he had been touching earlier was actually a camera.
“The camera I attached for reconnaissance work turned out to be useful.”
"..."
“I clearly recorded you murdering Chairman Jin Gahui.”
Ma Taesu smiled triumphantly.
“What do you think will happen if I show this to everyone else?”
Kang Yujin remained silent.
That made Ma Taesu’s expression turn slightly puzzled.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“You’re saying I murdered Chairman Jin Gahui?”
“Yes. Didn’t you?”
Kang Yujin let out a small sigh.
Then he grabbed the fallen middle-aged man by the back of the neck and lifted him up.
“When you say Chairman Jin Gahui... are you talking about this vixen?”
At that instant...
the body changed.
The middle-aged man’s appearance disappeared.
In his place was a seductive woman wearing revealing clothes.
"...?!"
Ma Taesu’s face changed completely.
“You...!”
“Hehe. Surprised?”
That was right.
The middle-aged man whose chest Kang Yujin had pierced was not Black Dragon Society Chairman Jin Gahui.
It was Daji.
The nine-tailed fox who had lived for three thousand years.
“If you hadn’t left everything to Kang Yujin and had come a little closer to check for yourself, you probably would have noticed.”
Daji smiled.
“You stayed far away just in case, and that was your mistake.”
“There wasn’t even any smell of blood.”
“Creating an illusion that perfectly reproduces smell takes a little longer. We didn’t have enough time.”
