When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 207
Chapter 207
How could he have forgotten something so important?
His face paled as he blinked, but it was too late for regrets. Everything had gone wrong.
The Mystic Ruler's inauguration ceremony had failed, and the seeds of distrust sown by his son were spreading among the Ju Clan.
Not only had he lost the Red Dragon's Spirit Orb, but the enemy had claimed it and become a Divine Beast.
The Corrupt Dragon, after devouring innocent Ju Clan members, had sealed their territory with a life-draining barrier.
And the wound inflicted by his son's dagger was festering, showing no signs of healing.
He had even had to portray the Corrupt Dragon as the Ju Clan’s guardian.
The Mystic Ruler, his face pale, quickly composed himself. “You fools! Do you not realize that innocent Ju Clan members will die if this border falls?! Do you only care about your own lives?!”
He lowered his hand, which had been reaching for his sword, and shouted, “Do you want to see your families and friends slaughtered by the enemy?! Are you even Ju Clan warriors?!”
Seeing that the warriors still hesitated, his face reddened with anger, and he roared, “Go! Attack them now! Kill them all! Bring me that bitch’s head! I swear, upon my name as Mystic Ruler, any coward who retreats will be banished from the Ju Clan for eternity, their descendants cursed!”
And from the top of the hill, Ju Sanghyun and the other Ju Clan elders, with their warriors, watched the scene with bewildered expressions.
Ju Sanghyun’s face, which had been filled with confusion when he arrived and saw the standoff at the riverside, now contorted in anger. So this was what had been happening, causing all those explosions? My god, how could they have missed the movement of so many warriors?
‘So the usurper, who ran away with the clan’s treasures, has finally come to his senses.’
He mistakenly believed that the Mystic Ruler had sensed the Ju Clan’s crisis and rushed back with his warriors to defend against the Six Clans. Judging from the situation, it was an understandable mistake.
‘This isn’t just about dealing with the usurper anymore.’
Why would the Six Clans bring so many warriors, led by two Divine Beasts, if not to annihilate the Ju Clan?
Ju Sanghyun had always prioritized his own interests over the clan’s.
That was still true, but he knew that if the clan fell, he would lose everything, that he might even be reduced to the level of the clanless mystics he so despised.
‘That can’t happen!’
Fortunately, all the elders and their warriors were here.
“Everyone! Join the Mystic Ruler’s forces! Attack the Six Clans!” he shouted.
The other elders, also understanding the situation, nodded, and they all charged towards the riverside, their warriors following them.
The Mystic Ruler’s warriors, seeing the reinforcements arrive, gritted their teeth.
Yes, even if they ran away, the Mystic Ruler would control the Guduks within them and kill them.
They charged across the river, joining the Ju Clan warriors.
The Six Clans’ warriors also charged, meeting the Ju Clan army head-on.
Clang! Clang!
The air crackled with spiritual energy as metal clashed against metal.
Kaboom!
The dry earth cracked and exploded under the impact of their spiritual power, the shockwave indiscriminate, striking both friend and foe.
Screams echoed through the air.
“Don’t retreat! If you retreat, you’re no longer Ju Clan warriors!!”
The Mystic Ruler’s face was red with rage as he screamed, but his feet didn’t move.
He was subtly retreating, looking for an opportunity to escape. ‘If they find out that I don’t have the sword anymore, they’ll turn on me…’
“Kill them! Kill them all! Take their heads!”
No one noticed his movements, too busy dodging the incoming attacks.
“......”
But a single pair of eyes, sharp and cold, were watching him, observing his every move amidst the chaos of the battle. Cheonryeong.
His gaze, unwavering, followed the Mystic Ruler.
He moved closer, stealthily, waiting for his chance.
“Don’t retreat! Whoever kills the most Six Clan warriors will be the next Young Lord! The next Mystic Ruler!”
They were stunned into silence.
The Mystic Ruler’s desperation, offering the position of Young Lord, showed how precarious their situation was.
The Ju Clan warriors were shocked.
They were supposed to be the elite, the privileged, their future secure, their lives protected as long as they obeyed the Mystic Ruler’s commands, no matter how cruel or absurd. They had the Guduks within them, yes, but they were still at the top of the Ju Clan hierarchy, their status almost as high as the Mystic Ruler’s, yet…
Just then, a chilling aura, a suffocating pressure, descended upon them.
Thump! Boom!
One of the warriors looked up, his jaw trembling.
A long, white robe, billowing in the wind.
The man who could kill a hundred warriors with a single stroke of his sword, the man who had single-handedly defeated a thousand elite warriors, the Divine Beast who had brought the Ju Clan to its knees.
He was staring at them.
“You’ve kept me waiting long enough. Shouldn't you be attacking me, as your master commanded?”
“B-Baek—"
“Though I wouldn’t call that courage.”
KABOOM—!!
An explosion, far more powerful than any they had created, rocked the center of the river, sending warriors flying, blood spraying through the air.
Even though the Baek Clan’s primary weapon was the bow, he wielded a long, sharp sword with effortless grace, each swing sending Ju Clan warriors collapsing like puppets with their strings cut, a growing pool of blood spreading around him, a mountain of corpses piling up at his feet, yet his white robe remained spotless.
‘How can we possibly win against him?’
Their faces paled, cold sweat trickling down their backs. ‘I want to live…’
They didn’t want to die. Weren't wars meant for the lower classes? Why were they, the elite Ju Clan warriors, suffering like this?
They were afraid of the Corrupt Dragon, and they didn’t want to serve the Mystic Ruler any longer. They didn’t care about their possessions, their status, they just wanted to survive.
“If we surrender…” one of the warriors asked, his voice trembling, hiding his shaking hands, “…would you accept us into your ranks?”
“What?”
“We had no choice in our master. Would you allow us to defect to the Six Clans, with our families?”
“Do you bear the Mystic Ruler’s mark?”
“What?”
“I asked if you bear the Mystic Ruler’s mark.”
The warrior trembled at his calm, low voice, which echoed in his mind, clear and sharp despite not being raised.
He hesitated, then nodded. “…Yes.”
Baek Giha chuckled coldly. He remembered Sehwa, shooting arrows with a cold fury, her face a mask of rage, on that moonlit night. A murderous intent flickered in his eyes. “Then you must die.”
“C-Clan Head Baek! P-Please, spare us!” Another Ju Clan warrior knelt, his voice trembling. “We’ll disappear, we’ll live in hiding, we’ll never show our faces again!”
The other warriors, seeing this, also dropped their weapons and knelt, their heads bowed, begging for mercy.
“Please, spare our lives! We’ll take our families and leave! We’ll never return!”
“Yes! We’ll surrender! Just spare our families!”
“What are you doing?! Get up! Get up this instant!” the Mystic Ruler screamed, but the warriors ignored him, their heads bowed before Baek Giha.
But Baek Giha’s gaze remained cold and merciless. She had also begged for her family’s lives.
She had said she would do anything.
‘And now, after torturing her for five years and murdering her loved ones, you beg for your lives?’
A cruel smile touched his lips.
Even after becoming a complete Divine Beast, she had been consumed by her unyielding hatred, unleashing her lightning without regard for the taint on her Orb. It meant she hadn't recovered yet, that she might do it again.
‘I can't let that happen…’
He had no intention of stopping her.
But he couldn't let her be consumed by hatred, by the same curse that afflicted the Corrupt Dragon.
So he had to eliminate everything that reminded her of her past, everything that caused her pain.
‘I’ll kill them all before she has to lift a finger.’
He raised his sword, his long robe billowing around him, his every step leaving a trail of frost, and stepped forward.
KABOOM—!!!
A powerful whirlwind, far stronger than before, erupted from his body, scattering the blood and gore, and then, like a raging storm, it swept towards the Ju Clan warriors.
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