Chapter 1183. Annihilated (3)

‘What... what is the meaning of all this?!’

Miura Kazuhiro’s face muscles convulsed seemingly out of his control. But that was because the ‘spectacle’ before his eyes proved just too surreal to be believable.

The front of the formation was being crushed by a rampaging giant emitting crimson aura. Meanwhile, westerners kitted out in fancy metal armor were systematically slaughtering the Japanese warriors from the flank of the formation, their actions eerily machine-like in their precision.

...And then, a gigantic wall of flames suddenly flared up in the center of the formation next!

A person’s judgment was based on their perception and knowledge. They must know at least something about what was what before making judgments.

Miura Kazuhiro’s problem in this situation was that... He simply didn’t know enough to make judgments about what he could see! How could he, when all these things far exceeded his common sense?!

‘The Korean Martial Assembly! What the hell is going on with that damn place?!’

Miura Kazuhiro was no fool. He’d never underestimate or hold the enemy in utter and complete disdain like some of his peers.

That was why he agreed to join forces with the back-stabbing, stinking dogs of Kansai bastards to invade South Korea. He would have never done that if he did not acknowledge the Martial Assembly’s current strength and its latent potential.

However, this issue had little to do with acknowledging how strong the enemy was. No, it had more to do with the

direction

of the enemy’s strength!

It almost felt like a dream to Miura Kazuhiro at this point.

He was supposed to be fighting the Korean martial society, so why did an inhuman giant emitting crimson aura show up? And why did Western knights commonly seen in fantasy movies start attacking the Japanese’s flank? And...

And now, they even had some weirdo shooting flames from far away, too?

None of these belonged to ‘martial arts’ Miura Kazuhiro was familiar with.

To deal with something appropriately, a person must know what they were dealing with in the first place. However, Miura Kazuhiro had no idea what any of this was. How was he supposed to respond, in that case?!

“Commander!”

Miura Kazuhiro sobered up immediately at that ear-piercing cry.

“Sir! We need orders! If we do nothing, we will get annihilated!”

Grit!

Miura Kazuhiro angrily gritted his teeth.

Annihilation? Such a thing must not be allowed!

The noble warriors of Yamashiro-gumi only just had begun their conquest, after all. They had only just arrived on the peninsula! In fact, they hadn’t even left the shore of this bloody place yet!

Getting annihilated here would be the worst humiliation for a noble warrior like himself! Unsurprisingly, Miura Kazuhiro had absolutely no thoughts of shouldering that humiliation today.

His eyes coldly flickered. The enemy might be resorting to bizarre methods of fighting, but he was an experienced general of hundreds of fierce battles. With his wisdom, finding a way to flip the situation around should be more than doable!

Miura Kazuhiro stood tall and shouted loudly enough for everyone in the formation to hear.

“Noble warriors of Japan! Charge forward!”

The surrounding gazes urgently locked on Miura Kazuhiro just then. However, those gazes didn’t contain the usual undying loyalty, but fluster.

Charge forward? In this situation? Why?!

Unfortunately for them, though, Miura Kazuhiro had no thoughts of changing his command.

“Do not be fooled! Our enemies are fewer in number than us! They cannot encircle us in every direction!”

Miura Kazuhiro pointed to a spot behind Vator. That was where the ordinary Assembly members led by Bang Jin-Hun could be seen standing around.

“Break through! And we’ll surround them instead! That is our path to survival!”

Hope rapidly returned to the eyes of the Japanese warriors. They had finally found an escape path out of this land of death.

Even they could see that the martial artists hanging back and manning the perimeter didn’t look as strong as Vator and his freakish disciples.

How could they tell? First of all, those martial artists weren’t as freakishly sized as Vator’s disciples, and more importantly... Vator wasn’t there!

“We’ll open up the path! Stick close to us!”

Captains raised their swords and yelled from various locations within the formation.

One could call that a strong point if they wanted to; Japanese warriors were poor at making independent decisions if the higher-ups hadn’t given them any orders yet. However, once they received an order, these people would unquestioningly obey it, no matter what!

Even Miura Kazuhiro thought it’d be tricky to call that a good quirk to have. However, in a situation like this? Such a quirk would undoubtedly shine the brightest!

“Go! Charge forwaaaaard!”

The army of Japanese warriors ignored Vator and began running past him.

***

“

Hah

, look at these stinking motherf*ckers.”

Bang Jin-Hun chuckled helplessly at the latest development.

“We must look like pushovers to them, right?”

“It seems that way, sir,” said Cheon Tae-Hun while grinning wryly.

The Japanese stared at the Martial Assembly members in a way that could only be described as ‘hopeful.’ Just how poor their perception of Koreans had to be for them to look this elated?

Bang Jin-Hun shook his head and said, “Don’t get too pissed off, Tae-Hun. It’s true that we’re pushovers in comparison, anyway.”

“But, sir. Aren’t you angry?”

“Why should I be? When it’s the truth?” Bang Jin-Hun chuckled helplessly again. “I mean, let’s be real. After the Assembly Master joined us, the Assembly has become a bit of an eccentric place, wouldn’t you say? You’re supposed to be a martial artist, dude. Don’t lose your temper over stuff like this.”

“I don’t follow, master.”

Instead of replying right away, Bang Jin-Hun took a large stride forward first before shouting loudly into the air. “What is martial art?!”

His loud voice rang clearly in the air.

Bang Jin-Hun’s initial conversation partner was Cheon Tae-Hun, but he was now addressing not only his disciple, but all the Assembly martial artists standing in formations behind him, too.

Everyone paid close attention to Bang Jin-Hun’s voice.

“Martial arts are the domain of the weak! The strong don't have to master anything. The weak invented martial arts to resist the oppression and violence of those who were born naturally stronger than them. So what if you’re weak? Dwelling on it is pointless for you. Aren’t you mastering martial arts because you’re weak? So that you can become stronger?!”

Bang Jin-Hun continued to stride forward boldly. He was now well clear of the formation. Before long, he got into a perfect position to ‘greet’ the incoming Japanese army.

His hands moved smoothly, like flowing water. His movements were noticeably different from other Assembly directors, who all moved with such brutality and sharpness. The gracefulness and serenity of his movements completely belied his thuggish countenance.

Whoooooosh!

Bang Jin-Hun’s hand subtly deflected the incoming blade to the side. After defending himself against the attack with only the minimum-necessary movement, his shoulder gently yet firmly dug into the attacker’s sternum.

BOOM!

As the noise of a rubber barrel being hit resounded in the night air, the Japanese warrior flew back faster than when he was trying to pounce on Bang Jin-Hun. The warriors behind him barely caught the incoming figure despite their fluster.

“Here we go!”

Bang Jin-Hun kept moving by lightly leaping forward, then kicked the Japanese warrior being held by his comrades in the gut again.

BOOM!

The formation of Japanese warriors leading the charge instantly crumbled, and their initial explosive momentum waned noticeably.

“Why, you bastaaaaard!”

One of the Japanese captains leaped above Bang Jin-Hun and chopped down with his katana.

“Rookie mistake,” Bang Jin-Hun muttered with an unimpressed tut while raising his hand.

Before the katana could even reach the target, the qi wave blasting out of Bang Jin-Hun’s palm slammed into the Japanese captain. The latter flew ungainly away, his fate unknown.

“You can’t even walk on air, so why did you stupidly jump at me?” Bang Jin-Hun rested his arms by his side while muttering that.

More and more Japanese warriors were gathering behind the initial wave of the Japanese warriors. Still, Bang Jin-Hun had already done his job by halting the momentum of the enemies spearheading the charge.

He quickly stepped back to join his own formation, then shouted at the Martial Assembly members.

“Martial arts are meant to help you defend against enemy attacks! That fact will never change, no matter who you’re fighting against! Everything you’ve learned and mastered so far lives within you. Do not forget that! Don’t overestimate your enemies, but do not look down on them, either!

“Stand side by side with your comrades and do your best! If you do, the ones falling today will be our enemies!”

Bang Jin-Hun’s philosophy on martial arts differed from that of Kang Jin-Ho or Vator. Of course, that didn’t mean his philosophy was incorrect.

One thousand martial artists would hold one thousand different views on martial arts, after all. What mattered in such a case wasn’t the type of philosophy you held, but how faithful you could remain to your view.

Every Assembly member here held unquestioning faith in Bang Jin-Hun. That was why the fierce flames of determination burned within their eyes as they got into battle formations.

Bang Jin-Hun nodded in approval at this sight.

Sacrifices were unavoidable in this situation. That was what fighting a war demanded from you, after all.

No matter how overwhelming your victory was, it’d still be impossible to avoid losing your comrades. However, to win the war, you must not be scared of losing your people.

This war would undoubtedly transform the Martial Assembly.

With it, everyone would soon realize that the ones supporting the Assembly weren’t Kang Jin-Ho or Bang Jin-Hun, but themselves, the rank-and-file members!

A martial artist was meant to fight.

Only those who realized that they must fight in order to protect what’s theirs would be able to take the next step forward.

“Come, you bastards!”

Bang Jin-Hun roared, his voice full of determination.

***

“That... That bastard!”

Sparks of anger shot out from Miura Kazuhiro’s eyes.

The momentum had shifted again!

That Yakuza-looking bastard suddenly jumped into the fray and demonstrated his godly attainment in martial arts. And that instantly stabilized the shaky-looking Korean formation.

‘Goddamn it!’

The Japanese must break through there! Fail to do so, and they would end up as proverbial rats trapped inside a barrel, slowly but surely starving to death!

“Where do you think you’re going, you bunch of trash!”

Vator’s roar thundered across the sky.

The situation behind Miura Kazuhiro still remained chaotic and hellish. Since they couldn’t fight the giant, they tried to go around him. However, that meant their backs were now exposed to Vator!

Any further delay, and the losses to the Japanese forces would only exponentially worsen. They must somehow break through, even if it was via a single point, and regroup outside this encirclement. Only then would they be able to fight back!

‘Just how did our situation end up this way?!’

Miura Kazuhiro’s eyes powerfully quaked. For the first time in this battle, one nearly forgotten word began dominating his mind. And that word was...

‘...Defeat!’

That horrifying word no one wanted to associate themselves with stubbornly clung to Miura Kazuhiro like some kind of thick and sticky gum. No matter how horrified he got and tried to get rid of it from his mind, that damn word did not want to leave him alone.

KA-BOOOOOM!

Another loud explosion went off from Vator’s punch. Meanwhile, the intense heat from the magical flames began scorching the backs of the Japanese warriors.

“Why, you...!”

Miura Kazuhiro was about to dash forward, only for tree roots to suddenly sprout out from below his feet and tightly wrap around his legs.

“Damn it all to hell!”

Miura Kazuhiro kicked and pulled at the tree roots to tear them apart. These things were obviously no ordinary tree roots, judging from how resistant they were. At least he was strong enough to tear all these restrictions apart, but others weren’t so lucky.

“What the hell is this?! How is this possible?!”

“

Aaaahk

?! I’m slipping?!”

On one side, warriors were falling to the floor as tree roots tangled up their legs. And on the other side, warriors slipped and fell like clowns as if the ground had turned into a sheet of ice!

Had the enemy’s martial prowess been otherworldly, they might have resolved themselves to die like the noble warriors that they were. However, the otherworldly things were happening beneath their footing instead, making it nearly impossible to respond appropriately.

‘Why! Why are bastards like that working for the Assembly?!’

Of course Miura Kazuhiro knew the westerners relied on trickery called magic. However, he had never encountered a magic user before, despite his extensive combat experience. That was how rare magic should have been, so why were there so many bloody magic users in the Korean Martial Assembly?! It made no sense!

These magic spells weren’t life-threatening. They didn’t even directly deal damage to the victims, either! All they did was tie the legs up and make the ground slippery.

If someone said this was magic and demonstrated it before his eyes, Miura Kazuhiro would’ve unhesitantly sneered at how silly it was.

However, the utilization of such silly magic completely overturned the flow of this war in the enemy’s favor!

What mattered the most in a battle between two large armies were formations of individual units and their mobility. In terms of disrupting the formations, the threat posed by these silly magic spells was even greater than that of a top expert!

Not only that, but...!

“Now, burn!”

Yet another pillar of flames gushed up from the ground.

While other magic spells only restricted the Japanese’s movements, that incendiary flames posed an actual threat to their lives. Also, something about those flames was vaguely different from natural flames.

That didn’t change the fact that these magic flames were far more dangerous than natural flames, though!

At this rate...

‘We’ll get annihilated!’

Miura Kazuhiro tightly clasped his sword’s hilt.

He knew he must be the one stepping up to the fore in situations like this. If ordinary means weren’t enough to break through and open up a path, someone strong must voluntarily throw himself forward and do that.

As his grip tightened on his favorite weapon, the look in Miura Kazuhiro’s eyes became eerily cold. He was about to take a step forward, only to sense a strange gaze locking on him. He stopped moving and traced that gaze back to its source.

In the far off distance stood Bang Jin-Hun, his sharp gaze clashing against Miura Kazuhiro’s. Those eyes seemed to say,

‘Hey, come over here and fight me if you can!’

“You...!”

Miura Kazuhiro bit his lip, hard. He usually wouldn’t have thought twice about crushing an insolent bastard like that man. But not now. His duty right now was to break through the enemy’s encirclement and open up a path.

To do that, he must target the weakest link in the enemy, not where the enemy leader was standing firm!

“You... You abominable son of a dog! I will... I swear to cut off your limbs and feed them to a dog one day!”

Miura Kazuhiro yelled like a crazed beast and pounced forward.

“I! Will not! Die in this place!

Uwaaaaaaaht

!”

His desperate cry echoed in the night sky along with various other chilling noises.

If he failed tonight, every one of the Japanese warriors present in this place would die.

Miura Kazuhiro’s blade shimmered eerily under the waning moonlight as if to answer his owner’s grim determination.