Chapter 201
“Gasp!”
He was Jang Cheong, who had unconsciously screamed, certain that one of his eyes had been pierced.
Yet when he felt over his face, it was perfectly fine.
He could see without the slightest problem, too.
Then what had happened?
“Why? Did you perhaps see some horrifying illusion?”
Yeo Un-hwi looked at Jang Cheong with the corners of his mouth raised.
An illusion?
Could I have felt such pain from murderous intent alone?
Was such a thing possible?
When his thoughts reached that point, gooseflesh rose all over Jang Cheong’s body and a chill ran down his spine.
He had never heard of anyone reaching such a level at that age.
Wasn’t he not only beyond comparison with the Six Dragons and Three Peaks, but even superior to the Black Martial Emperor in his youth?
This wasn’t a level where one could argue whether he was merely a genius or something.
He was simply a monster.
Jang Cheong had not even seen how Yeo Un-hwi swung his sword.
What kind of swift sword could possibly be like that?
He could never have imagined that the Hebei Peng Clan had been hiding such an incredible master all this time.
He had thought Peng Mugang’s previously unstoppable advance had merely been halted after his defeat at the hands of the Saber Emperor.
That had been a complete misjudgment.
The confident smile that had filled Jang Cheong’s lips disappeared.
W-what in the world is this man?
***
“…I’m really asking because I’m genuinely curious. What exactly is our commander?”
“Why do you keep asking? I’ve told you several times. He’s the Hebei Peng Clan’s son-in-law and the commander of the White Wolf Unit.”
“And he was supposedly a scholar who had never learned martial arts before then. Yes, yes. Of course I heard that. But how can that possibly be true? How are we supposed to believe it? Especially after seeing that with our own eyes.”
“Well… I suppose not. Heh heh.”
Before they knew it, every member of the White Wolf Unit had entered Alliance Leader’s Hall, now in an uproar, and was staring blankly at the fight.
They had been on edge ever since Yeo Un-hwi was summoned to Alliance Leader’s Hall.
They had made thorough preparations to rush out at any moment, thinking something might happen at any time.
But sure enough.
As the atmosphere within the Martial Alliance turned ominous and then grew wildly chaotic, they had run straight toward Alliance Leader’s Hall.
Normally, guards would have stopped them, saying that those without permission could not enter Alliance Leader’s Hall, but this was no time for that.
The atmosphere was too unsettled and chaotic.
Everyone entered Alliance Leader’s Hall and was preoccupied with holding Jang Cheong back.
Inside Alliance Leader’s Hall, where they had just arrived—
The four combat units standing beside Jang Cheong.
Seeing them radiate such an extraordinary presence, every member of the White Wolf Unit tensed to the limit.
They could feel it.
Not one of them was in any way inferior to the White Wolf Unit.
It was no wonder Jang Cheong, with so many of them under his command, had smiled so confidently.
But they had to help.
Hadn’t they endured such grueling, arduous training precisely to aid their commander on a day like this?
Just as they were about to run over and tell Yeo Un-hwi that they would join him.
Thud-thud-thud.
Every last one of those countless enemies had fallen, their bodies severed in two.
It wasn’t only Jang Cheong whose eyes bulged as if they might pop out.
The White Wolf Unit was no different.
They were always surprised, yet somehow it still felt new every time.
They all knew better than anyone that Yeo Un-hwi was strong, but once again, the overwhelming force of it left the members of the White Wolf Unit speechless.
Of them all, the most shocked was unquestionably Munho, who had newly joined the White Wolf Unit on this journey.
Because his talent surpassed that of anyone there, he could tell.
Just how unreachable a being Yeo Un-hwi was.
He was merely looking at Yeo Un-hwi’s back, yet it was enough to raise gooseflesh over his entire body.
And then,
‘He’s really cool. So cool. That’s it. That’s what I wanted to be like.’
For the first time, Munho found himself wishing he could become like someone else.
And so Yeo Un-hwi was becoming the object of admiration for a young martial artist who would one day become a great figure.
***
“Your martial arts are truly astonishing. You have every reason to be confident. But no matter how impressive they are, the outcome remains unchanged!”
After being shocked for a moment by Yeo Un-hwi’s absurd martial prowess, Jang Cheong soon composed himself and smiled.
He still had something to rely on.
Yeo Un-hwi’s sword had already slashed him badly once, but hadn’t he recovered quickly with the power of demonic arts?
That meant that no matter how remarkable Yeo Un-hwi’s martial prowess was, the outcome would be the same.
‘And that’s not all.’
His final move, prepared for a day like this.
How many sacrifices had he offered, again and again, for this very purpose?
Yeo Un-hwi, who had read those thoughts in Jang Cheong’s heart, let out a derisive chuckle.
Truly laughable.
To think he could learn demonic arts and feel so reassured and delighted.
“Use it, you old monster.”
“What?”
“Judging by your expression, you seem to have prepared something. Stop dragging it out and use it already.”
“Y-you bastard!”
Perhaps ashamed that his thoughts had been seen through, Jang Cheong’s face flushed crimson as he ground his teeth.
In all his life, Yeo Un-hwi was the first person whose every word grated on his nerves this much.
It was an unbecoming sight for a brilliant political operator like him, but the fight had already crossed beyond such categories into a realm of killing or being killed. Perhaps it was only natural for murderous intent to surge with every word.
Soon, Jang Cheong spoke in a voice boiling with rage.
His eyes, gleaming with murderous intent, stared straight into Yeo Un-hwi’s.
“Hmph! Fine. Good! Today, I shall show you hell!”
His martial prowess was truly extraordinary, but that bastard could never imagine how perfectly what Jang Cheong had prepared countered orthodox martial artists.
Jang Cheong resolved to bring out the move he had saved until the very end.
Then he opened a cut on his forearm and began sprinkling blood in every direction.
Before long, the floor was soaked with his blood.
Just as everyone’s eyes widened at the sight,
[Dark Death Formation (暗黑死死陣)]
Jang Cheong’s eyes, which had been glaring at Yeo Un-hwi, flashed.
A tremendous whirlwind arose around them, and a black barrier appeared in the center of Alliance Leader’s Hall.
And before anyone knew it, the two men at the center of the battle had disappeared.
“Oh?”
Trapped in the pitch darkness, Yeo Un-hwi slightly raised an eyebrow.
Heat pressed in from every direction.
Then the surroundings gradually began to change.
Everywhere except the small patch of ground where Yeo Un-hwi stood was a sea of flames.
One wrong move, and he would tumble into it.
Then, from every direction, came the shrieks of demons alongside the screams of people.
A hellscape that would probably drive an ordinary person insane.
To think he had prepared something like this for the very end.
That was when.
“Heh heh heh. Welcome to my world.”
Jang Cheong’s smile had grown even more confident.
“Now that you’ve entered this place, there’s no way for you to get out alive. This is a place where no one who has learned orthodox martial arts can endure. You could call it the world of demons, perhaps. Heh heh.”
It was a move he had intended to use if he ever found himself facing the Twelve Supremes of the World.
At the mention of a world of demons, Yeo Un-hwi’s face twitched.
Seeing that, Jang Cheong assumed Yeo Un-hwi was frightened and grinned.
“Consider your arrogance the cause of your shortened life. Now.”
When Jang Cheong casually raised his hand, the sea of flames began to rage more violently.
The ghostly wails coming from all directions also grew loud enough to make one want to cover one’s ears.
“Let’s see how that arrogant face of yours changes.”
He wore an expression as though he were a god.
Jang Cheong’s smile grew wider and wider.
The thought of tearing that arrogant bastard apart and killing him without mercy already put him in a good mood.
Soon, figures of evil spirits that had appeared from somewhere began approaching Yeo Un-hwi from all directions.
Kieeeeeek!
Grrrrrrrr.
And yet, for some reason, the man who should by now have been struggling desperately to survive remained utterly motionless.
Had fear driven him insane? Or had he already given up?
Just as that question began to form.
The corners of Yeo Un-hwi’s mouth rose ever so slightly.
Then he snapped his fingers,
Swoooosh.
The world went dark.
The raging sea of flames vanished, and the evil spirits that had been emitting grotesque cries also disappeared without a trace.
How could this be?
“I suppose I’ll have to show you what true demonic power is.”
Something had changed.
Though it was unmistakably Yeo Un-hwi’s voice, Jang Cheong’s body stiffened like stone at that moment.
At the same time, a pair of crimson eyes appeared in the darkness.
They seemed to contain the most horrifying hell.
“Gasp!”
Why? The moment he met those eyes, Jang Cheong felt as if his heart had plummeted.
His whole body trembled violently, and before he knew it, he was drenched in sweat.
It felt as if he had become an insignificant creature before an absolute being.
He was afraid even to breathe.
A thought rose in his mind without his realizing it.
Was it his instinct speaking to him?
Jang Cheong had the thought that what he was facing now might be the pinnacle of demonic power. No—the very embodiment of it.
Then, a word tried to escape his lips without his realizing it.
Of course, he thought it was utterly impossible.
But he had no choice but to say it.
Because it was practically a scream.
“H-Heavenly Demon?”
Jang Cheong knew better than anyone that it was madness.
And if he said this, the other man should naturally have denied it, asking what nonsense he was talking about.
But…….
Yeo Un-hwi merely raised the corner of his mouth slightly.
That could only mean… he really was the Heavenly Demon.
No, could this possibly make any sense?!
The man he had known only as the Hebei Peng Clan’s son-in-law and the commander of the White Wolf Unit was the Heavenly Demon?!
Something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.
Jang Cheong’s face turned pale as he realized what he had been doing.
The very person Jang Cheong had wanted to avoid more than anything was the being he had labeled a ‘disaster’—and he had been fighting that being all this time.
The situation he had wanted least of all.
And if this was the case, everything changed completely.
The place he had created was no longer his. No—it had never been his to begin with.
Yeo Un-hwi smiled darkly as he looked at Jang Cheong, who had gone deathly pale.
To Jang Cheong, that smile looked like the smile of the Grim Reaper.
“N-no, no… This can’t be. How could the Heavenly Demon be here…….”
“I’ll make you suffer twice over for all the pain you have inflicted on the people of this world, you old monster.”
It would be hundreds or thousands of times greater than the pain of merely being cut by a blade and made to bleed.
Then Yeo Un-hwi snapped his fingers once more, and a hellscape unfolded, incomparable to what had come before.
As if what had happened moments ago had been nothing more than child’s play.
Hideous evil spirits had bound Jang Cheong before he knew it.
“Let go of me! You bastards! Gyaaa!”
Meanwhile, Yeo Un-hwi had somehow approached right in front of him and slowly reached out his hand.
Then his hand covered Jang Cheong’s face.
Then,
Shreeeeek!
Light pouring from Yeo Un-hwi’s hand covered Jang Cheong’s entire body.
“Aaaaaaaaaaagh!”
The old monster’s scream echoed for a long time.
It was the miserable end of the hypocrite who had sickened the world.