Chapter 92
Kwoooosh - !!
The sight of the Imugi striking from above and me swinging my Saber from the front was truly dizzying, to the point that an old geezer like the Blood Demon Corpse King looked like a candle in the wind.
However…
“…”
The Blood Demon Corpse King stared blankly at us as we approached, then executed an Advancing Step toward me and unleashed a Palm strike toward the Imugi.
KABOOOM - !!
“Ugh…!!”
Leaping forward, I couldn’t help but lose my balance from the aftermath of the Advancing Step. Perhaps because he was an old man who had lived a long life, the Blood Demon Corpse King’s energy was truly formidable.
Furthermore…
Paaaat - !
That Palm Art extended toward the Imugi.
As the Blood Demon Corpse King gathered energy in his hand, something deep red gathered alongside the pitch-black demonic energy.
At first, I wondered what it was, but I soon realized its identity from the accompanying fishy scent.
‘…Blood? Could it be a Blood Art?’
I had already guessed it from his title, Blood Demon Corpse King, but it seemed he wasn’t just capable of controlling jiangshi; his proficiency in Blood Arts was also top-tier.
KABOOOM - !
The Blood Demon Corpse King lightly pushed away the Imugi, which was charging with a fierce Aura, with a Palm strike stained with blood and demonic energy.
-Kyaaaak-!
Struck on the crown of its head by the Blood Demon Corpse King, the Imugi cried out in pain, but there was no time to pat and comfort it.
Paat - !
“Grrrrr - !”
“Kuaaaak - !”
The Blood Demon Corpse King’s jiangshi were already charging at us from all sides.
Every one of those dozens of Elite Jiangshi was capable of easily contend with someone of Dokgoyeong’s level.
Defeating all of them and reaching the Blood Demon Corpse King would take a lot of time.
I didn’t know how long the Subordinates at the Mountain Stronghold could hold out. The important thing was how quickly we could take down the Blood Demon Corpse King.
Therefore, I made a proposal to the Imugi, who, after receiving the Blood Demon Corpse King’s Palm Art, had been sent flying all the way to me.
“Let’s split up and fight from now on. I’ll take the old man. You take those jiangshi bastards.”
-C-can’t I fight the old geezer?
“Nope, I called it first.”
-son of a…
Perhaps realizing we didn’t have time to bicker, the Imugi grimaced but headed toward the jiangshi without complaint.
I also headed toward the Blood Demon Corpse King.
As I approached, he once again wore a benevolent smile and asked.
“Hoho, do you think you can beat me in a one-on-one fight?”
“Shut up, old man.”
“Hohoho, 'old man,' you say. This is what you will look like in a few decades.”
“Shut up! I’m going to age handsomely and gracefully.”
“There is a way to entirely maintain your youth. Shall I tell you?”
“…Shu.”
I was about to tell him to shut up, but my body flinched for a moment, and I couldn’t answer because I was actually curious.
However, the words that came out of him were truly an answer befitting the King of Jiangshi.
“If you become a jiangshi…, your aging will no longer progress, so you can maintain your youth.”
“…You’re just a completely crazy bastard.”
“For the sake of your youth, I will turn you into a jiangshi.”
Kwoooosh - !
With those words, demonic energy and blood gathered on his staff.
When I looked at it again, it was indeed a fearsome energy.
Of course…
“I can’t make things like jiangshi. So…”
…I wasn’t one to be intimidated by something like that.
“…I’ll turn you into a corpse.”
“…I look forward to it.”
I also infused Internal Strength into my Saber.
* * *
Whooooosh - !
“…”
The Haomun Leader stared blankly at Muyeon flying away on the Imugi before snapping back to her senses.
Because, right now, she wasn’t in a position to comfortably watch Muyeon’s retreating back.
“Leader…”
“He’s gone.”
Everyone on the Wooden Palisade was staring at Muyeon’s flying figure.
And…, their eyes were filled with anxiety and worry.
The value Muyeon held in this Green Forest was incredibly immense. It wasn’t simply because he was strong.
“Can we do this well on our own…”
The Captain of the Green Forest and its Spiritual Pillar.
The Hunan Green Forest revolved around Muyeon as its center, and it was no exaggeration to say that Muyeon accounted for more than eighty percent of the Green Forest.
But with Muyeon gone, anxiety had taken root in everyone’s hearts.
“…”
And it wasn’t just the ordinary Subordinates who felt that way.
The Executives too. Even Dongryong, who was second only to Muyeon in the Green Forest, was blankly watching Muyeon’s retreating back with anxious eyes.
Seeing that, the Haomun Leader let out a sigh and grabbed Dongryong’s shoulder.
“Deputy Leader.”
“Ah…, Haomun Leader.”
“This is no time for us to be doing this.”
The Haomun Leader said, pointing at the battle situation in front of them.
Even in the brief moment they had been spacing out, the jiangshi were wriggling their bodies, pushing through the Mountain of Corpses, Sea of Blood, and advancing toward the Wooden Palisade.
“The Great Hero left this front line to you and me, Deputy Leader. Shouldn’t we fulfill that duty?”
“Ah…”
At the Haomun Leader’s words, Dongryong lowered his head with slightly trembling eyes.
“Originally…, without the Leader, we are nothing. We’re just mindless hoodlums and gangsters.”
“Deputy Leader…”
In Dongryong’s eyes as he spoke, his past self was reflected - a helpless past self who couldn’t do anything even when Dokgoyeong cut down his Subordinates.
“That will be the same whether 10 years or 100 years pass. Without the Leader, we can’t do anything.”
“…”
The Haomun Leader thought he was speaking weakly in self-deprecation.
However…
“…Even so, I have no intention of holding the Leader back.”
…Dongryong was not such a weak man.
As Dongryong raised his head again, his eyes held an intense Aura that made even the Haomun Leader flinch for a moment.
“We will wait for the Leader forever. We have no intention of being defeated by those rotting corpses. So that the Leader can do his job with peace of mind, we will stand firm like a great mountain and wait for him.”
With eyes full of that intense Aura, Dongryong glared at the jiangshi as if he wanted to tear them apart. Then, he turned to the Haomun Leader with gentle eyes.
“But we are ignorant fools. We only know how to swing swords; we don’t know how to fight in a battle like this. So, Haomun Leader, please lend us your wisdom.”
And with that, he bowed his head deeply toward her.
“For now, we will serve you, Haomun Leader, as our Leader.”
“…”
Looking at Dongryong bowing his head, the Haomun Leader realized something she hadn’t known until now: his back looked truly broad.
Looking at that back, she could understand why Dongryong was the Second-in-command of the Green Forest.
‘With someone who has this kind of mindset…, it’s doable.’
The Haomun Leader helped the bowing Dongryong up and commanded.
“Of course I will help you. First, if the cannonballs are reloaded, Open Fire immediately. For now, we can still hold the front line with just the artillery.”
“…Yes!”
At the Haomun Leader’s command, Dongryong quickly ordered the Subordinates to Open Fire.
“Everyone, Open Fire - !!”
BOOM BOOM BOOM - !
And so, with the sound of artillery fire, the Green Forest’s battle without Muyeon began.
* * *
I didn’t send Yongyong to the jiangshi just so I could have it easy.
Because the Imugi was large, and every one of its attacks was on the level of an Area Attack, it was adept at fighting one against many.
Whooooosh -, SMASH SMASH SMASH - !
Look at that. It is smashing a whole bunch of those jiangshi bastards with its tail.
The problem was on my end.
Ominous Calamity Blood Blade.
Paaaaat - !
I barely managed to block the blood blades the Blood Demon Corpse King shot out. Each strike carried astral energy, making it incredibly perilous.
‘This level of internal power?’
Naturally, I couldn’t help but be flustered. The Blood Demon Corpse King’s internal energy exceeded the level of the elders I had predicted. It was enough to bring a Grand Elder to mind.
‘However…’
Pabababat - !
CLANG - !
CLANG - ! CLANG!
“…?”
…Something was strange.
Every one of the Blood Demon Corpse King’s attacks was incredibly powerful, but…, should I say they were somewhat monotonous?
Even now, I can easily deflect the Blood Blade with my Saber and block the strike without much difficulty.
Right now, the Blood Demon Corpse King’s attacks didn’t reveal a genuine intent to strike me dead immediately. It felt more like he just wanted to keep me from getting close to him.
Finding this odd, I observed the Blood Demon Corpse King’s expression. And I noticed something.
He looked relaxed, but his expression seemed to be paying attention to something else. He was gripping the staff tightly despite not using it. And formless energies were spewing out from it in streams.
Could it be…
Swish - .
I looked behind me. The Elite Jiangshi were currently launching a Joint Attack on the Imugi from the front and back. The battle must also have been continuing at our Mountain Stronghold far away from here.
‘Could it be that the jiangshi aren’t moving automatically, but this bastard is controlling them one by one?’
To confirm this, I made a large forward movement and launched Saber Qi at the Blood Demon Corpse King.
Kwakwang - !
The Blood Demon Corpse King blocked my Saber Qi without issue using his Blood Blade, but perhaps he didn’t notice the mistake I made with my large movement, as he didn’t counterattack.
…It was proof that he wasn’t properly focusing on the battle right now.
“Hah…”
Of course, I wasn’t bringing out everything I had to face him at that moment either.
However, the Blood Demon Corpse King went a step further and wasn’t paying any attention to his battle with me at all.
‘He must be planning to just stall for time with me and clean up the rest of my Subordinates first.’
And that fact, pissed me off to no end.
Just how ridiculous did I look to him for him to act so complacently?
‘You’re not all that.’
It was true that the Blood Demon Corpse King was strong, but not to the extent that he could play with me like a child.
Suddenly, I wanted to turn that relaxed smile on the Blood Demon Corpse King’s face into an urgent expression.
Therefore, I concentrated my internal power into my feet and.
Paaaat - !
…raised my speed even further.