Chapter 93
Muyeon’s prediction was correct.
The Blood Demon Corpse King continued his fight with Muyeon while controlling countless Jiangshis.
He held the staff in his right hand.
It was crafted from a mixture of Black Wood and Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron - materials rarely seen even in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains - making it easier to wield internal energy.
Of course, even with that, controlling thousands of Jiangshis while facing Muyeon was no easy task.
The Blood Demon Corpse King was smiling as if at ease on the outside, but in reality, he was fighting an overwhelming battle.
But even so…
‘This is fun.’
…He is thoroughly enjoying himself.
The Elders of the Heavenly Demon Cult were all Arch-Demons capable of making the world tremble in fear. Most of them felt euphoria in breathtaking battles and fights.
However, for the past several hundred years, the successive Elders of the Heavenly Demon Cult had to live with their bloodlust and desire for battle sealed away.
They had the Great Cause of the Divine Cult, which was more important than their personal desires.
Everyone had just been enduring, firmly suppressing their own emotions.
And… it was the same for the Blood Demon Corpse King.
No… from his perspective, it was bound to be even more agonizing.
His inability to fight disrupted his collection of corpses to make Jiangshis.
For over several decades… he had no choice but to stay cooped up in his Private Chamber in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains… spending his time turning the corpses supplied by others into Jiangshis.
But now…
“Ahahahaha-!”
…The opportunity to unleash his desires had come.
A message had come down from the Main Headquarters, granting him permission to fight while he was outside.
It was an opportunity that would make the other Elders drool if they knew.
And the Blood Demon Corpse King… had no intention of letting this opportunity pass him by.
He planned to enjoy this battle very slowly… and thoroughly. That was why he divided the frontline into three and personally participated in all of them.
The hundreds of Jiangshis fighting the Green Forest Bandits, the dozens of Jiangshis fighting the Imugi, and his main body fighting Muyeon were all part of the conflict.
The Blood Demon Corpse King enjoyed all three of these battles.
In truth, he could have let the Jiangshis move on their own instead of controlling them individually, but directly controlling them, he shared their senses, making it more enjoyable and powerful.
Of course, there was the drawback that his mental strength would be divided and his concentration could falter, but to the Blood Demon Corpse King, all three battles were considered nothing more than 'play,' so it wasn’t really a problem.
And that… was the same for his battle with Muyeon.
It was true that he was surprised by the young Bandit Leader’s Martial Arts being stronger than expected, but that was all.
He thought it was nothing compared to him, who had lived for nearly a hundred years.
Yes, he had definitely thought so until just a moment ago.
However…
‘The Jiangshis are gradually approaching the Wooden Palisade…, hmm?’
Paaaat-!
For a moment, as he focused on the fight with the Green Forest, his attention slipped from his main body.
And in that brief window, Muyeon was openly circulating his energy right in front of the Blood Demon Corpse King, infusing Internal Strength into his feet.
“…”
The Blood Demon Corpse King frowned briefly at the sight. No matter how distracted he had been, it was a grave error to let the enemy openly stockpile power like that.
‘I was too distracted, like a child.’
He then reproached himself a little and pushed his attention back into the fight with Muyeon.
Still… even if power had been stockpiled, the Blood Demon Corpse King was confident he wouldn’t lose in a fight against Muyeon.
‘First, I need to take back the momentum.’
But he soon realized that this was his own arrogance.
Paaaat-!
‘Starting with the legs.’
Anticipating that Muyeon would use a Lightness Skill since he was infusing Internal Energy into his feet, the Blood Demon Corpse King aimed his staff at his legs.
Chwaaaak-!
Blood Aura Lure Missile.
The Blood Aura Lure Missile, interwoven with blood and Aura Qi, surged toward Muyeon.
The already fast Blood Aura Lure Missile gained propulsion with the addition of the Blood Demon Corpse King’s demonic energy, making its speed practically invisible to the eye, and…
Pusyuk-!!
…It seemed even Muyeon couldn’t avoid it, as his leg was pierced straight through.
However…
“Hmm?”
Muyeon, who had been pierced by the Blood Aura Lure Missile, showed no reaction as if he felt no pain, and then…
Seuseuk-.
…He simply vanished.
Staring blankly at the sight for a moment, the Blood Demon Corpse King realized what kind of trick this was.
‘Form Displacement.’
Just now, he was rejoicing over hitting Muyeon’s afterimage, not Muyeon himself.
Usually, Form Displacement wouldn’t occur unless there was a significant difference in skill level.
No matter how unfocused he had been, the Blood Demon Corpse King couldn’t help but be surprised by the fact that he hadn’t noticed Muyeon’s movements.
But there was no time to be surprised.
“Where are you looking?”
“…!”
…Because Muyeon’s voice was coming from behind him.
“You bastard!”
Realizing he was being toyed with, the Blood Demon Corpse King turned around, filled with rage.
However…
“…Ah.”
…When he turned around, Muyeon was nowhere to be seen. Even this had been a trick.
And by the time the Blood Demon Corpse King realized he had been fooled…
Chwaaaak-!
…Muyeon’s Saber was already slashing his shoulder.
“…Ugh.”
The Blood Demon Corpse King let out a brief groan at the stinging pain.
By nature, he was someone who fought by putting Jiangshis at the forefront. Since he rarely had his own body cut directly in actual combat, the pain he felt for the first time in a long while was all the more vivid.
As the Blood Demon Corpse King briefly lowered his head, Muyeon burst into mocking laughter at the sight.
“Oh my~ The old bastard fought without paying attention, and now it looks like he’s hurt after taking a hit. Serves him right.”
The sight of him speaking so disrespectfully and sneering was enough to infuriate any Master.
In fact, this was exactly what Muyeon was aiming for.
Provoking an opponent’s agitation in battle was a cliché but highly effective Martial Art.
But when the Blood Demon Corpse King raised his head again…
“Hehehe…”
…A pleasant smile had bloomed on his face, enough to make Muyeon’s mocking laughter feel awkward.
“Euhahahahahaha-!!”
“…”
Muyeon’s sneers stopped, giving way to the Blood Demon Corpse King’s growing laughter.
“Ahahahahahahahaha-!!”
“…What’s so funny? Old man, are you the type of person who gets more excited and joyful when you’re in pain?”
“As if I’d be such a pervert, young man. I just realized something.”
The Blood Demon Corpse King looked up at the sky with eyes full of profound wisdom, truly like someone who had attained enlightenment.
“This pain… this tension. This is true pleasure, yet I had momentarily forgotten it from spending my whole life fighting with Jiangshis at the forefront.”
Then, when he turned his head to look at Muyeon, his eyes were filled with a competitive spirit.
“If you happen to have any more hidden power, bring it out quickly. I, too, acknowledge you and will start slowly going all out!”
Saying so, the Blood Demon Corpse King gathered blood and demonic energy once again.
But this time was different from before.
Wriggle, wriggle.
-…Uh-oh.
The blood from inside the Jiangshis that the Imugi had smashed while fighting began to gather smoothly toward the Blood Demon Corpse King.
Not only that…
Seureureuk-.
Blood also flowed out from the Blood Demon Corpse King’s shoulder, which had been cut by Muyeon, and gathered together.
The gathered blood condensed and mixed with demonic energy, becoming a black sphere.
And that… without any further delay…
Extreme Demonic Blood Art, Black Blood Annihilation Sphere.
…surged toward Muyeon.
“…!”
Seeing this, Muyeon immediately swung his Saber, using Saber Wind to burst the blood sphere mid-air, but as the blood sphere burst, it emitted demonic energy into the surroundings.
Kwaaaang-!
“…Ugh.”
The demonic energy that spread to the surroundings clung to Muyeon’s body as well, carving and burning his flesh.
And not missing the opening, the Blood Demon Corpse King leaped.
His extended Palm was already smeared with the returning blood, and he was preparing a Blood Palm.
Muyeon tried to counter it with his Saber, but lacking the time to swing, he had no choice but to respond with his Palm.
Paaaaat-!
Kwaang-!!!!
As the palms containing the two men’s internal energy clashed, a massive roar erupted, and the aftermath reached the surroundings.
Huuuung-.
If one touched the Blood Demon Corpse King’s blood, he could control it to burn them. Noticing this, Muyeon realized his disadvantage in the Palm Art clash and retreated his body along with the sandstorm.
-Muyeon!
Worried for Muyeon, the Imugi immediately rushed over to him.
-Are you okay?
“…Of course.”
He spoke as if he were fine, but Muyeon had taken some damage from the previous exchange. His Palm was scorched as if burned by fire, and stinging wounds caused by demonic energy trailed across various parts of his body.
In contrast…
“Ahahahahaha-!”
…The Blood Demon Corpse King, who revealed his silhouette along with the sandstorm, looked like a mess, but his expression seemed happier than ever.
“This is fun! Very fun!”
“…”
Staring at him as if looking at a madman, Muyeon asked the Imugi.
“But what about the other Jiangshis you were…”
-I-I don’t know. They suddenly stopped moving, so I came straight to you.
“Stopped moving…?”
At the Imugi’s words, Muyeon’s gaze turned toward the Jiangshis.
Smashed Jiangshis were already scattered on the ground, and around them, the intact Jiangshis stood completely motionless.
But the strange thing was this.
“…What is that?”
Blood was flowing out of those Jiangshis' bodies, clumping into a larger mass in mid-air.
“Ah, fuck…”
Muyeon realized that it was the Blood Demon Corpse King’s trick, but…
“It’s already too late.”
…Just as he said, it was already too late.
The clumped blood in the sky changed its shape on its own, and then…
-Kaaaaaaak-!
…It soon took the shape of a dragon and roared thunderously in the sky.
“I will show you what a true dragon is.”
Extreme Demonic Blood Art, Mara Blood Dragon.
As the Blood Demon Corpse King moved his staff, the Blood Dragon made of blood charged straight toward Muyeon and the Imugi.
Its size and power were so overwhelming that it looked like it would turn the two of them into dust at once.
-…
In particular, Yongyong, whose thoughts were momentarily paralyzed upon seeing the Blood Dragon, stiffened like a stone statue, but…
-I-I will block it. You…
He soon snapped back to his senses and soared up, trying to block it alone.
However…
“…No, step aside.”
-What…?
Muyeon stepped forward in place of the Imugi, as if he had made up his mind about something.
He then pointed his Saber toward the sky… and soon, energy gathered… covering the Saber with countless grains of Gang / Aura.
-This is…
The Imugi recognized this Martial Art. It was the one Muyeon had used to detoxify the Youngest’s arm back when the Imugi had bitten it.
And surprisingly, the Imugi wasn’t the only one here who recognized this Martial Art.
“…Uh.”
The moment he saw Muyeon’s Saber, the smile vanished from the Blood Demon Corpse King’s face. No, his expression itself vanished.
Muyeon frowned, seemingly displeased by the fact that the Blood Demon Corpse King recognized his Martial Art, since the situation was urgent…
Chwaaaaaak-!
…He displayed a martial prowess truly worthy of being called a Divine Art, cleanly slashing apart the Blood Dragon interwoven with blood and demonic energy.