Chapter 585

**Chapter 585: The Lazy Gets Scared (5)**

Surprise.

It was an emotion that didn’t suit the Supreme Sovereign.

He had experienced everything.

In the martial world, there might be people who had lived longer than him, but it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that no one had lived a more intense life.

How many things he had lived through.

He was a veteran of the war against the Demon Cult. This cult was different from conventional sects, with strange and grotesque techniques that defied imagination.

That’s why he wasn’t fazed. No matter what variable arose, he never panicked. He could feel passion in his chest, but his head always remained cold.

That was his principle.

But now that principle was breaking.

‘What the hell is this?’

The Sovereign’s eyes were trembling.

Though he had faced countless situations, the spectacle before his eyes was something he had never experienced before.

And it wasn’t something that could be described simply as “new.”

Danger.

Though he didn’t exactly understand what was happening, he knew it. He was facing a crisis like no other in his life.

‘What is going on?’

Behind him, a calm voice echoed amidst his confusion.

“They were complacent.”

Complacent?

The Sovereign slowly turned his head. His eyes landed on Baek Hoemyung.

Baek Hoemyung was smiling.

Seeing that twisted smile, the Sovereign knew instinctively that something was terribly wrong. That smile contained too many things.

Satisfaction for achieving what was desired.

Pleasure overflowing from the depths.

And a strange mixture of distortion and emptiness.

All the emotions in the world were there.

It could seem like an enlightened monk or the face of the worst villain.

“They were too complacent. Isn’t that right?”

The Sovereign’s eyelid twitched.

“We are the Great Family of the Infinity Sword. You yourself said that our name still resonates in the world.”

A mocking sneer appeared on his lips.

“So what? You only saw us as scraps who stole the name of the Great Family of the Infinity Sword. If you had considered us true heirs, you wouldn’t have been so arrogant.”

Each word hit the Sovereign’s ears like thunder.

“Did you think we had no preparation and only wanted to fight?”

Baek Hoemyung burst into laughter.

As if he couldn’t contain himself.

After laughing alone for quite a while, Baek Hoemyung stared intently at the Supreme Sovereign with chilling eyes. The abrupt changes in his emotions made him seem like a madman.

“If only you knew how great the name of the Infinity Sword is! If you recognized that we inherited that name! You would never have dared to underestimate us. Sovereign, Sovereign! Miserable fool! Did you forget the Infinity Sword?”

Baek Hoemyung extended both arms.

“Look, forgetful ones. We are the Infinity Sword. Those who put the world at their feet with a single sword. And you think you can face us?”

His gaze swept over the leaders of the various sects.

“Did you forget that even the Demon Cult, unable to defeat a single man, resorted to ignoble schemes and shameful acts? You forgot the fear that the Infinity Sword inspired in you. You softened with peace.”

This battle was already decided from the beginning.

The Great Family of the Infinity Sword had waited for this moment.

Smiling, they greeted their enemies, sharpened their swords while listening to their names. They praised them, cleaned their stained mouths, and accumulated their hatred patiently.

And when they underestimated that hatred and tried to crush it with force, the war ended.

“What have you done?!”

The Sovereign shouted, terrified.

“What have we done…?”

Baek Hoemyung laughed mockingly.

“Did you really think we would face you without preparation? How naive, Sovereign. Our hatred is deep. We spare no means for our end. Now you will feel our grudge.”

The Sovereign sharply turned his head.

The tension was growing.

‘What is happening?’

His eyes searched for his followers.

Shaolin, Wudang, Namgung, even the warriors of the Righteous Martial Alliance… all showed strange expressions.

Some trembled, others showed the whites of their eyes, some collapsed, and others suffered convulsions.

The reactions varied, but it was clear that something was wrong. Something serious.

‘Poison?’

Was it poison?

That was his first thought.

Nothing but poison could cause similar reactions in so many people.

But poisoning them all at the same time was impossible. How could they be poisoned together if they came from different places? Unless they had been poisoned in the short time they had been gathered.

‘Not even the Poison King could do this.’

Not even the Poison King could achieve something like this. If there was a poison master capable of this, he would already be hailed as the best in the world.

‘Then what is happening?’

The Sovereign couldn’t understand. And no one else seemed to either.

“F-form ranks! Form ranks! Form ranks!”

A shrill voice, unbefitting a monk, came from Song Hyun.

“Help the injured! Now!”

They didn’t understand what was happening. Without understanding, they couldn’t devise a plan.

‘What to do?’

Almost half of the disciples showed strange symptoms.

“Cheong Yeon! Cheong Yeon! Lift your head! Cheong Yeon!”

He grabbed the shoulders of the nearest disciple who was trembling. Upon contact, Cheong Yeon raised his head, trembling.

“Gah!”

Song Hyun was startled.

The bloodshot eyes, completely red. The black pupils in the middle of that intense red were terrifying.

“G-Grandmaster…”

“What symptoms do you have? Is it poison?”

“N-no… my vital energy…”

Song Hyun recoiled as the disciple spat a stream of blood that stained the ground.

‘It’s not poison.’

If it were poison, he should feel its evil essence in the blood. But there was no trace of it.

‘If it’s not poison… martial deviation? Loss of control?’

That didn’t make sense.

It wasn’t possible for so many to suffer deviation at the same time. If it were so common, there wouldn’t be any martial artists left in the world.

It would be easier for everyone to catch a cold at the same time than this.

‘Damn it, what are we supposed to do?’

Song Hyun’s mind began to cloud over.

This was clearly the work of Baekgeom Fortress. But he couldn’t understand what trap they had laid.

Song Hyun abruptly raised his head.

“Ugh…”

They were watching.

As if they knew, those from Baekgeom weren’t attacking, keeping their distance while observing.

‘Why?’

What better opportunity than this?

More than half were incapacitated. An attack now would give them an easy victory. And yet, they weren’t moving.

Song Hyun looked around urgently.

Shaolin and Namgung were the same as Wudang. Even the elite of the Righteous Martial Alliance suffered the same. People from different sects and places, all with the same symptoms.

How could this be explained?

‘This is a defeat.’

The result was obvious. Not even in their best condition could they guarantee victory. In these conditions, only defeat remained. No matter what trickery they had used, if they didn’t resolve this, no one would get out alive.

“Leader!”

Song Hyun’s eyes, mouth, hands searched for the Sovereign.

That was the nature of faith.

In normal times they had their own opinions, but in crisis, they looked for someone who could save them. All those who were conscious looked up at the Sovereign.

His back, at the front, received their pleading gazes.

“…What have you done?”

The Sovereign’s voice sounded stunned.

Nothing remained of his previous calm. If his slowness was serenity before, now it was confusion.

“Does that matter?”

Baek Hoemyung spoke with nonchalance.

“What’s important isn’t what we did, but that you have no solution. That means!”

He declared solemnly:

“That at least here, our revenge will be fulfilled! With your life, and theirs.”

The Sovereign didn’t respond.

He had no words.

The battle was already lost. Nothing he did could avoid defeat.

Unless he healed them, they would die there. More than half couldn’t fight to the death.

Pressed to the limit, his mind worked with cold clarity.

‘Then at least…’

There are ways to lose.

If defeat is inevitable, you have to inflict as much damage as possible. Or save what you can to fight another day. Only then would there be hope for the Central Plains.

‘Which one to choose?’

The decision was quick.

“Retreat!”

“Leader!”

“Leader! What are you saying?”

There were immediate protests, but the Sovereign continued without turning around.

“Abandon the affected and escape.”

“Leader!”

“Silence! Will you disobey?”

His roar silenced the complaints.

Everyone knew that his order was the right thing to do. Abandoning their brothers was not an option for them, so the Sovereign made the decision for them.

“I’ll cover you! Go!”

“Leader!”

“Now!”

He spread his arms with determination.

His declaration that he would face Baekgeom Fortress alone. Even Baek Hoemyung was impressed by his firmness.

“Can you do it?”

“You know it. If you pursue, you’ll lose your head.”

Even if he died, he would kill Baek Hoemyung.

At that, Baek Hoemyung only smiled.

“Look, Leader.”

A mocking smile.

Clear mockery on his lips.

“You say that, but you still don’t understand?”

“…”

“That our hatred goes beyond that.”

Then it happened.

The Sovereign slowly turned his head. The cold, sticky sensation on his back… was too familiar.

A sensation he never thought he would feel here.

This was…

“Demonic energy?”

He saw it.

From the bodies of the affected, black demonic energy gushed out in thick columns.

His eyes filled with horror.

“GAAAAAAAH!”

“AAAAARGH!”

Bestial howls.

Those with red eyes attacked everything in their path, without recognizing even their brothers, hitting, kicking, biting.

In moments, the field turned into hell.

“…”

Behind the Sovereign’s petrified back, Baek Hoemyung’s cold voice echoed.

“We don’t need to get our hands dirty. They’ll kill each other. This is our revenge. How about it? Do you like it? Hahahahahaha!”

His mad laughter echoed over the land turned into hell.