Chapter 138
The Demonic Cult Bastards were using their Lightness Skill to quickly escape the Sparring Arena and leave Anhui, but no matter how fast they were, they couldn’t be faster than an Imugi.
Yongyong and I could soon see their backs.
And it was the same for them to discover us.
“Uh…!”
The Grand Elder, who was escaping Anhui while holding Cheon Ye-Seo, let out a low groan upon seeing the Imugi.
And then…
“Right… So you were the one who killed the Blood Demon Corpse King, Pacheon Sect Leader.”
…He glared at us, briefly gritting his teeth.
“What are you going to do by glaring? Hey, Yongyong-a, speed up!”
-Okay!
Paat-!
At my Command, Yongyong immediately sped up with all her might.
Thanks to that, we were able to close the distance with the Demonic Cult Bastards even more, and once we reached a certain Range…
Chwaaak-!
I immediately unleashed a Sword Strike to intercept them.
Kwaang-!
“Tch.”
Of course, it wasn’t an easy task. Hitting guys running on the ground with a Sword Strike wasn’t easy while flying in the sky.
Still, my Sword Strike forced them to change their path, slowing their speed.
I gathered Internal Energy/Qi into my Sword once again and commanded Yongyong.
But at that moment…!
“Yongyong-a, get a little closer. I’ll…!”
Kwaang-!!
With an explosion, a black light flashed, and Fist Qi surged toward Yongyong.
-Aaaak-!!
Yongyong screamed as if in pain.
To think the guys below would Counterattack from such a long distance…
“Could it be… the Hundred-Pace Divine Fist…?”
No, to be exact, calling it the Hundred-Pace Demonic Fist would be the correct explanation.
Anyway, Fist Qi flew from the Demonic Cult Bastards and struck Yongyong’s body. The impact was enough that I, standing on top of her, almost fell off.
Startled, I asked Yongyong, who was thrashing her body around.
“Yongyong-a! It looks like you got hit somewhere bad. Are you okay?”
-Ugh… I-I’m okay, but… my stomach hurts so much…
“These fucking Bastards, hitting the stomach of a mere child!”
Looking down at the ground in anger, I saw the Dharma King preparing to launch Fist Qi once more.
“Damn it…”
In a ranged fight like this, we are at a disadvantage.
Yongyong has a large body, making her much easier to hit, and the Hundred-Pace Divine Fist is an excellent Ranged Attack method.
I need to close the distance somehow…
Kwaaaaang-!!
“Ugh-!”
-…Uwaak-!
Approaching while dodging the Dharma King’s fists that struck from afar was quite a burden.
“What should I do…”
As I racked my brain for a short moment…
-Muyeon.
“Hmm?”
…Surprisingly, the one who provided the answer was Yongyong.
She paused for a moment, as if mentally preparing herself, and then spoke to me.
-I’ll stick to those guys no matter what. I’ll take care of that bald guy too.
“What…?”
-So you just focus on cutting those guys down.
Kwaang-!
Even at this moment, Fist Qi continued to fly toward us. But was she going To Break Through all of this and get close?
There was no way this was possible.
No… even if it were possible, the damage would be severe.
However…
“…Will you be okay?”
-Of course! Those guys are On the Same Side as that rotten corpse grandpa from before, right? I want to give them a beating too!
…Yongyong shouted bravely, as if asking what the problem was.
“All right, then…”
I nodded at Yongyong’s determination and pointed my finger.
“…Go and ram into them. Body Slam.”
-Okay!
Kwaaaa-!
With my words, Yongyong increased her speed once again.
Like an arrow shot from a bow, she maintained a speed and path aimed solely at her target.
Kwaang-!
Kwaaang-!!
Naturally, countless blasts of black Fist Qi flew toward that simple, straight path…
Thwack-!! Thump-!!!!
…Yongyong twisted and spun her body to dodge as much as possible, but she inevitably took several direct hits.
CRACK-!!
-…Uuugh!!
At the brutal sound of breaking bones, Yongyong couldn’t hold back and screamed in pain.
My heart ached at the sight, but the die had already been cast, so it couldn’t be helped.
I had to do my job.
Paaaa-.
I imbued my Sword with Internal Energy/Qi and waited for the right moment.
And the moment Yongyong’s head almost reached the tails of the Demonic Cult Bastards…!
Paaaaa-!
“Kuhahaha! How dare a mere monster act so stubbornly! Fine! Come here!”
Gwangso Beop-Wang burst into laughter filled with Killing Intent as his Palm turned black.
It was the Black Tathagata Demonic Palm.
The sight of the Dharma King extending his blackened Palm was enough to chill one’s heart, but Yongyong did not yield and opened her jaws to bite him.
-I’ve lived several times longer than you! Don’t talk down to me! Baldy!
Kwaaaaaang-!!!
As the two monsters clashed, an explosion erupted from the tremendous battle of Internal Power.
Paat-!
I used that as a foothold and leaped.
My body had already taken the Initial Stance of the Unknown Sword-Breaking.
My targets were Cheon Ye-Seo and the Grand Elder.
My primary target was Cheon Ye-Seo in the Grand Elder’s arms. But if that proved too difficult, I planned to kill the Grand Elder first.
“You Bastard!!!”
The Grand Elder must have judged it better to Counterattack, as he turned around holding his greatsword.
However…
“An opening.”
…His posture, holding Cheon Ye-Seo tightly with one arm like protecting a baby bird, was full of openings.
“Is Cheon Ye-Seo so precious that he has to protect her at the cost of his own life?”
It was so absurd to see such familial love from Demonic Cult Bastards that I let out a hollow laugh for a moment, but…
Grip-.
…I soon gripped my Sword tightly and decided to grant the Grand Elder his wish.
“If you want to die in her place so badly… Fine, die.”
Pajeon Divine Art First Stance, Unknown Sword-Breaking.
Slash-.
Chwaaaaak-!!!
Soon after, the sound of flesh and muscle tearing and bones crushing echoed, and at the same time, the dark red blood unique to a Demonic Cultist sprayed around like a fountain.
…
…
Drip, drip.
The Grand Elder’s blood soaked the Earth.
I had definitely cut the Grand Elder.
But it wasn’t the result I wanted.
“If it’s just this much… I got off cheap…”
The Grand Elder, having lost his right arm, muttered as if satisfied despite the pain.
I clicked my tongue as I looked at the Grand Elder’s right arm lying right in front of me.
It wasn’t that my Sword Strike was shallow.
The Grand Elder had simply made the optimal move in the given situation.
To a Martial Artist, an arm is more important than anything else. Without an arm… it’s hard to display one’s true skills.
Of course, it isn’t more important than life, but an arm is considered precious enough to be compared to life itself.
Yet the Grand Elder had offered his arm to me without a second thought.
And as a result, he saved two lives.
“Pacheon Sect Leader… We will meet again.”
The Grand Elder, who had become one-armed but hadn’t lost his momentum, left a cold curse before turning around and using his Lightness Skill. He held Cheon Ye-Seo tightly in his left arm.
* * *
Paat-!
“That Bastard…”
Watching the fleeing Grand Elder’s back, I immediately tried to chase after the elder, but…
Kwaang-!
“…!”
I couldn’t because of the black Fist Qi that flew right in front of me.
Startled, I looked to the side and saw Yongyong collapsed on the ground in her human form, with the Dharma King standing over her.
The Dharma King, who seemed to have sustained some injuries but looked perfectly able to move, grinned at me once and…
“Almsgiver! This was our first time meeting, right?”
“…”
“Haha, let’s have a match next time too!”
…He also used his Lightness Skill and escaped.
I watched his back and briefly considered following him, but soon shook my head.
Not only was it dangerous because I didn’t know where the Demonic Cult’s Reinforcements might be…
“Yongyong-a!”
…It was also because there was an injured person on this side.
I immediately ran to Yongyong and checked her body.
“Ugh…”
Yongyong, who had returned to the form of a young girl, was fortunately still conscious.
Seueuk-.
Checking her pulse, I found the energy inside her body was unstable, but it didn’t seem life-Threatening.
Still, just in case, I asked the groaning Yongyong.
“Yongyong-a, does it hurt anywhere?”
“My whole body just hurts…”
I didn’t know how much that old rogue Monk Bastard had beaten her, but Yongyong’s body was covered in bruises and contusions.
“Phew… let’s go for now.”
I hoisted Yongyong onto my back and started walking back the way we came.
Dongryong and the Haomun Leader were still left at the Murim Alliance Headquarters Sparring Arena, so I had to go get them.
“We came pretty far…”
When we came here, we traveled at full speed in Yongyong’s true form, but on the way back, Yongyong was in her human form and I was too drained to use my Lightness Skill, so we had to walk quite a bit.
Trudging along that long path, I reviewed what had happened today.
Actually, today… wasn’t without its gains.
The Protagonist had landed a fatal blow on Cheon Ye-Seo’s already Frail body, effectively retiring her, and I had cut off the Grand Elder’s right arm.
In effect, two of the Demonic Cult’s greatest fighting forces had been greatly weakened.
‘With this much, the Demonic Cult won’t be able to show as much presence in the future war as it did in the Original Novel.’
However, I couldn’t help but feel a lingering sense of regret.
“If the Murim Alliance, excluding Ha Jinseong, had just done as much as Yongyong… no, if they had just pulled their own weight, we could have caught them all…”
As a result, the Murim Alliance was of no help to me whatsoever.
“Phew…”
Swallowing my frustration and regret, I entered the Sparring Arena.
And…
“Haomun Leader!”
“…Great Hero! Ugh…”
…I found the Haomun Leader leaning against the collapsed building debris as if she had fallen.
She tried to get up upon seeing me but stumbled and collapsed. Startled, I approached her and saw…
“…He was quite an expert. I tried to just hold him back, but even that… I couldn’t do.”
…There were several holes punctured in her body.
I immediately infused Internal Energy/Qi into her body and asked.
“Then… did Salwang escape?”
“If you mean him… yes. He used his Lightness Skill and slipped away just a moment ago…I’m sorry.”
“…No, it’s not your fault.”
This really wasn’t her fault.
Even though I reminded her of that fact as she blamed herself, the heavy atmosphere didn’t seem to lift.
And right then, Dongryong joined us as well.
“Leader!”
“Dongryong-a…Why do you look like that again?”
Although not as bad as Yongyong or the Haomun Leader, Dongryong’s body bore the marks of a fierce battle. When I asked, Dongryong scratched the back of his head and replied.
“When you temporarily left, Leader, I caught a few Demonic Cult Bastards here. Seeing them reminded me of those zombie Bastards, so I just…”
“…Right.”
Due to the aftermath of the previous Sparring Match, Dongryong’s physical condition wasn’t good today. Even so, he fought hard, throwing himself into the fray.
“Phew…”
Seeing the three people injured from fighting the Demonic Cult Bastards made an unpleasant feeling well up in my heart.
For some reason, it felt reminiscent of the battle with the Blood Demon Corpse King.
I felt uncomfortable, as if I had only used them and failed to protect them while they ended up in this state.
It was when I was letting out a hot breath to calm myself down.
Tap, tap, tap.
“…?”
Suddenly, synchronized footsteps could be heard around us, and then…
Chwang-chwang-chwang-chwang-!!
…martial artists from the Murim Alliance gathered around us and immediately drew their swords.
“What the fuck is this.”
My bewilderment at seeing them Surround us like a siege was brief, as the one who seemed to have the highest rank shouted at us.
“Drop your weapons and surrender immediately!”
“What?”
I was already annoyed to death, so what kind of situation was this? Even if it were a jest, I would have kept a straight face, but unfortunately, their expressions were dead Serious.
“You must explain and testify regarding the crime of impersonating a Rising Star of Jongrimun and what just happened!!”
“…”
The face of the guy shouting at us was filled with quite a bit of courage.
Seeing that face, I felt as if the string of my reason snapped.
“These Bastards who ran away without even showing their tails when that bitch Cheon Ye-Seo was firing Sword Qi are now…”
Why… do I look like an easy target?
“You should have stepped up when we were fighting the Demonic Cult Bastards, you motherfuckers…”
The Murim Alliance Bastards were breakwaters who would serve excellently as Meat Shields when the Righteous-Demonic War breaks out later.
Considered rationally, it was better to avoid clashing with them as much as possible.
However…
“If you do not surrender, we will forcefully Capture you! So put down your weapons at once!!”
Clack.
…I was never that rational a person to begin with.
I felt like my anger would only subside if I at least tore that Quacker’s mouth open.
So, as I placed my hand on my Sword Hilt…!
Puk.
“What are you doing-!! Hurry up and… Aaaak-!!!!”
“…Huh?”
…Someone had beaten me to it.
When I looked to see what it was…
“…Just shut up. You retarded Bastard.”
…A dagger belonging to the Haomun Leader was suddenly lodged right between the Quacker’s eyebrows.