Chapter 306: Siege (1)

Yuri continued leading the group from the front.

He glanced sideways behind him.

He could feel that the black magic energy emanating from the fortress of Zveta was pressing down on the Murim warriors.

The Anti-Imperial Alliance was already accustomed to black magic thanks to previous battles, but for the guests from the East, this was the first time they had sensed the true essence of the enemy up close.

Yuri didn’t think much of it.

Everything was fine.

Anyway, when their lives were in imminent danger, they would adapt on their own.

But before that, he decided to ease the tension a bit.

“Master.”

“What is it?”

“Could you pass something on for me?”

“Say it.”

“Ask them if they’re scared.”

“What?”

Moyongchan looked at Yuri.

“If they’re scared.”

“Mmm…”

Moyongchan cleared his throat and hesitated for a moment.

Only now did Yuri realize that Moyongchan had an awkward relationship with other Eastern masters. In the past, he had publicly criticized the Murim Alliance, earning the resentment of many and ending up in the West. Clearly, he was a rebellious spirit.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course.”

“Do you want me to ask them politely if they’re nervous?”

“No. Say it in your usual tone—if they’re scared.”

“My usual tone would actually be polite…”

“Ah-ah.”

At Yuri’s insistence, Moyongchan sighed. He also knew why Yuri was making this request.

“Looks like, either way, when this is over, I won’t be able to go back to the East.”

“Anyway, the Blue School is already in ruins. Come to Briol and start over. I’ll back you up, so what’s there to fear?”

“Don’t forget those words.”

“Yes.”

Moyongchan, who was walking alongside Yuri, suddenly stopped.

The other seventeen following behind them also stopped, fixing their attention on Moyongchan.

Even Yuri pretended to be surprised, as if he didn’t know what was going on.

That expression was an act, but Moyongchan spoke nonetheless.

[Are you scared?]

The sudden use of the Eastern language made the Anti-Imperial Alliance contingent tilt their heads in confusion. The Eastern warriors, on the other hand, frowned.

In Murim, reputation was synonymous with life. To hear such disparaging words in foreign lands, and so suddenly, caused an outburst of anger on their faces.

Seeing those expressions, Moyongchan smirked. He was used to this kind of situation.

[You look shriveled up like soaked rats. Don’t be a hindrance. Just so you know, the Western swordsmen here have been fighting these abominations for a long time while you enjoyed your comforts in the East.]

When Moyongchan went on, Yuri nudged his elbow.

“Hey, what are you saying? Tone it down…”

But Moyongchan didn’t stop.

[If you don’t want to be a laughingstock, conduct yourselves properly.]

The faces of the Eastern warriors turned even darker. Yuri felt he now understood why the Blue School had fallen and why Moyongchan had ended up in the West.

At that moment, Jang Yeonghak spoke.

[What you say is true.]

With his intervention, Moyongchan fell silent.

[I understand you’re saying this out of concern. We won’t be a hindrance. And I suppose you’ve been through many hardships in the West.]

With his words, the tension dissipated. The two exchanged brief remarks, and with the sudden change in atmosphere, the Eastern warriors also focused on the situation.

Yuri clapped to rouse the group.

“I don’t know what he said, but it’s time to move.”

Before them, the wall loomed imposing.

The wall of Zveta, as if sensing the presence of the approaching humans, caused the chunks of flesh clinging to its surface to stir, bristling with tentacles.

All the creations of black magic fused with the wall radiated killing intent.

“Here.”

Yuri stopped.

“One more step, and it will start.”

His sharp sense could perceive the exact distance at which the enemy would attack. If they moved a bit closer, they would be targeted immediately.

With a glance, he warned everyone, and then he took the first step forward.

Surprisingly, nothing happened.

Only the air filled with hostility so intense it was hard to breathe.

It had begun.

As they had already coordinated beforehand, there was no need to speak about what each had to do.

Yuri rushed forward at full speed.

Tentacles emerged from the ground, lashing toward him, but he evaded them with ease.

He was so far ahead that their tips only pierced empty space.

He was drawing all the attention of the creatures in the wall. Even though there were several enemies before him, he only needed to break through two to get inside.

He kept advancing, feeling a tingling all over his body.

The air near the fortress was laden with something like poison that made movement harder.

Monsters atop the wall fired arrows. Tentacles, arrows, and black magic rained down on him.

But Yuri did not stop.

“Scatter!”

Shouting, he drew even closer to the wall. From above, they poured boiling oil.

Yuri raised Guilty, creating a whirlwind that sent the oil back at the enemies.

The screams of beasts rang out.

Taking advantage of the momentum, he kicked the wall.

Many would call it madness—striking a wall with one’s body was almost suicidal.

But he was a swordsman capable of wielding the power of chaos, perhaps the strongest of his era.

His kick had the force to bring down the wall. A rumble echoed.

The wall sank in, but it did not break.

It wasn’t a solid construction, but rather as if it were part of a living creature’s body.

A living wall.

Meanwhile, attacks kept raining down from above—oil, arrows, tentacles.

Yuri dodged them all, his mind working at maximum speed, analyzing both how to avoid the attacks and how to destroy the wall.

“Your Highness!”

Jared arrived at his side.

“Do we climb?”

“Yes.”

Yuri nodded.

“Let’s go pay our respects!”

For these masters, the height of the wall was no obstacle. Yuri and Jared led the leap, followed by the other eighteen elites.

Upon reaching the top, Yuri was met with a disturbing sight—countless strange cocoons filled the inside of Zveta. It was impossible to know what would emerge from them.

The wall’s monsters attacked.

Yuri swung Guilty.

Blocked.

Yuri raised an eyebrow.

“They’re not just ordinary minions, huh?”

Since they were the ones defending the wall, they didn’t seem ordinary. An intense battle broke out between Yuri and the monsters, and Jared stepped in to help.

Suddenly, the ground shook.

The entire wall trembled as if trying to hinder the intruders.

“Laurent, Jared. Cover me.”

Immediately, Jared and Laurent positioned themselves beside Yuri, defending against the enemies.

Yuri lifted Guilty and drove it into the ground. He felt the entire wall vibrate for a moment.

“Give me time.”

Yuri activated the Cut of the Soul and the Heart, and immediately drew upon the power of chaos. His entire body filled with mana, and Guilty began to vibrate violently.

His body shook intensely—he was pushing his energy to the limit.

Yuri searched for the hidden core inside the wall-monster, ready to destroy it as soon as he found it.

“Will you be alright?”

“Yes,” Yuri said through clenched teeth.

“Forget about me and tell Master Moyongchan to ask the Murim Alliance what the hell they’re doing over there.”

The Western elites would attack the left side of the wall head-on, while the Eastern elites would take the right. A little farther away, the warriors of the Murim Alliance were fighting the enemy.

Jared relayed the message to Moyongchan, and the latter shouted something loudly. His voice rumbled in the air.

Yuri didn’t know what he had said, but it seemed to have an effect—there was a commotion to one side, and the monsters’ attention was scattered.

With his head pressed against the ground, Yuri couldn’t see what was happening.

“What are they doing?”

“I’ll explain,” Jared said as he cut down a monster.

“The leader of the Murim Alliance floated into the air and suddenly began radiating light all over his body, relentlessly unleashing sword energy at the wall. He’s not stopping, and blood is gushing from the wall, wounds opening. The monsters are trying to leap at him to stop him, but other Murim warriors are blocking them.”

“What a troublesome way of doing things,” Yuri muttered.

Unlike Yuri, who was trying to bring down the wall from within, Jang Yeonghak aimed to destroy it from the outside.

If one couldn’t control mana with Yuri’s precision, that method was more effective, though it consumed more energy and carried a higher risk of failure.

Yuri closed his eyes and sank his mana deeper. He felt the monster’s life force spread through the wall like a system of blood vessels.

Silence descended.

Focusing like this in the middle of a battlefield was practically suicide, but he trusted the elites to protect him for as long as necessary.

His consciousness wandered inside the wall. Then he saw something—a radiant light bound in chains.

It was nothing more than a small gleam without voice or form, but the moment he saw it, he knew what it was.

Life.

Black magic used humans as sacrifices to create monsters. This wall, too, had been formed by sacrificing countless humans to create a monster that, in turn, reinforced it.

Everything that lived and breathed in Zveta had been created in the same way.

Black magic was, at its core, human life.

Realizing this again, Yuri felt something surge within him.

It rose between his stomach and chest, then overflowed like a flood, swirling through his entire body.

That torrent of mana was injected into the wall through Guilty.

He clenched his teeth.

The defense of this being, designed by black magic, was incredibly tough. It wasn’t easy to penetrate its interior, but his fury eventually broke through everything.

Once the barrier was breached, the rest was simple.

The mana surged like a torrent, its edge ripping through everything in its path, until it reached the monster’s core deep within the wall.

“Huh?”

“Ugh…”

The entire wall shook violently, as if an earthquake had struck. Yuri pushed his power even further.

“Are you alright, Your Highness?” Jared’s voice sounded distant.

Yuri gave a brief nod and drove Guilty in even deeper—only the hilt remained outside the wall.

“How’s the East side?”

“They’re trying hard, but it doesn’t seem to be going well for them.”

“Right?” Yuri smirked.

“Tell them to get out of the way.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Have everyone pull back.”

Jared understood a second later and shouted the order around him. Before jumping down from the parapet, he asked once more,

“Your Highness, can I leave you?”

“Yes.”

“I’m counting on you.”

“Go.”

With that, all the elites disappeared from the wall, leaving Yuri alone. The monsters staggered toward him, but he didn’t defend himself.

He counted.

One, two.

The monsters raised their tentacles to the sky.

And just as they came crashing down—

Three.

A crack ran through the wall, from which light poured out. The monsters touched by the light dissolved instantly.

At last, the entire wall was destroyed.