Chapter 51 :

A First-Rate Warrior Peering into the Darkness (4)

-How fast is your movement technique?

Moyong Sangwon suddenly spoke to me through voice transmission.

Since I understood his intention, I told him the speed I had before I learned the World-Solitary Divine Movement.

-It takes me about half a gak to travel ten li.

-……You mean when running at full speed?

The movement technique of the Taeul Sect was at a level so poor it was embarrassing to even call it a movement technique.

-I will try to buy about two gak of time. During that time, run away as quickly as you can.

Moyong Sangwon spoke with a determined expression. In one of his hands, he had taken out the inner core of the fire tiger that he had treasured so carefully, along with his own nameplate.

-……If you are lucky enough to escape, visit my home. Tell my child and my wife my story.

I pushed the fire tiger’s inner core and the nameplate back to him.

-Now is not the time to act recklessly.

The plan I had prepared, just in case, ended up fitting perfectly after all.

The Red Turbans had the same habits in my past life and in this life as well.

-Will you trust me just one more time?

When I absorbed the demonic energy inside Moyong Sangwon’s body, a certain demonic energy had come to mind.

Though there were thousands of demonic arts ignited from the Heavenly Demon Scripture, each demonic art had its own unique characteristics.

The demonic energy of those who had attacked Moyong Sangwon had, in particular, a characteristic like poisonous energy that secretly gnawed away at the opponent, and I had already experienced that demonic energy to a sickening degree during my time in the Sojeong Unit.

-This may be our last chance.

The twenty Red Turbans were approaching.

I nodded.

-Let us go together. I must receive a Blue Clarity Pill from the young family head as well, must I not?

Moyong Sangwon snorted at my calm words and nodded.

-From now on, please follow exactly where I step. It is a movement technique of the Taeul Sect, but it should not be that difficult for you, senior.

When we started running, Moyong Sangwon, who was a little confused at first, quickly grasped the trajectory of the movement technique and began running by stepping exactly where I had stepped.

He did not know the principles of internal energy operation behind it, but because his understanding of the martial arts he originally possessed was high, he was following me with little difference from the way I ran.

The problem was that because the Red Turbans’ speed was too fast, Moyong Sangwon’s face was gradually starting to turn pale.

-Hey, would it not be better if I carried you and ran?

I spoke firmly.

-You must absolutely not move even an inch away from the places I step.

At the chilling killing intent that felt as if it would pierce the back of my head, I looked back and saw that the Red Turbans had already drawn extremely close.

‘You still have that bad habit of scattering killing intent behind the prey you are tracking.’

Damn it, these bastards were assassin types, yet right before killing their opponent, they released a horrifying killing intent to plunge the opponent into even greater fear.

Srrng. Srrng. Srrng.

Even the eerie sound of swords being drawn.

In the end, unable to bear the tension, Moyong Sangwon burst out.

“Sowoon! They are almost…….”

At that moment.

Clank!

Along with the dull sound of iron blocks colliding, I heard a painful groan pooling in someone’s mouth, as if they had bitten their tongue.

“Stop!”

The man at the very front, who had been about to swing his sword, looked at the man standing at the far right.

That man’s ankle had been cut clean off by a bear trap.

-On the way to gather food the other day, I set up a few traps.

-What does that…….

-I thought that if they had the strength to ambush the young family head of the Moyong Family, it could not have been a coincidence.

-…….

Moyong Sangwon had an expression that said he simply could not believe it.

-You must absolutely not step away from the places I step. Since they are bear traps, they will cut off your ankles.

-A-All right.

As the two of us moved diligently, the Red Turbans sprinkled bone-melting acid on the man whose ankle had been cut off and began running after us.

“Keuheok!”

The one who was sliced apart alive by the bone-melting acid could not endure the pain of his flesh melting away and screamed loudly for the first time.

Moyong Sangwon glanced at that sight and turned even paler than before.

-T-They are vicious bastards.

-Indeed, they are.

The Red Turban men began catching up again.

Now, wary of traps, they began using Grass-Treading Flight.

At that sight, Moyong Sangwon was once again struck with shock.

Because there was no sect in the murim world where every single person specializing in assassination could use Grass-Treading Flight.

I handed him three throwing knives.

-Throw them at those bastards. Do not let them focus on Grass-Treading Flight.

Moyong Sangwon quickly took the throwing knives and hurled two of them at the same time.

Swish.

Clang! Clang!

I, too, infused three throwing knives with plenty of internal energy and hurled them toward the opposite side from where Moyong Sangwon had thrown his knives.

Like the ones who had blocked Moyong Sangwon’s throwing knives, they tried to strike mine away with their swords, but due to the internal energy packed into them, some were sent flying backward, while others had their swords break and the throwing knives lodge in their throats.

Pupupup.

Clank. Clank.

One person was caught by a throwing knife, and two people had their hands cut off and ankles severed by bear traps.

The comrades who had been following behind them sprinkled bone-melting acid without hesitation, and those who melted died amid screams.

We were clearly overcoming each crisis in every moment, but Moyong Sangwon seemed to already be growing mentally exhausted by the opponent’s horrendous methods.

It was nothing strange.

Because the Demonic Cult’s way of fighting built up mental fatigue in their opponents even in situations where they had not seized victory.

I passed over a hill and turned toward the forest.

The Red Turbans kicked off the trees and climbed up, trying not to touch the ground at all, and as if I had been waiting for it, I cut two vines I had set up.

Whoosh. Puhpuhpuk!

As soon as we passed by, eight boulders the size of human heads fell into the spot where we had been, and two of them struck the Red Turbans.

Naturally, traps were operating where they fell.

Clank! Clank!

“Keuk!”

“N-No!”

For the first time, one of them refused his own death, but this time too, the outcome was bone-melting acid without exception.

-Senior, you would be better off not looking back.

-……All right.

Even though they kept suffering losses, the bastards did not shrink back. Instead, they released an even thicker killing intent.

And I activated every last trap that would decorate the finale.

When I cut the tautly pulled rope, wooden spears shot out from all directions.

Immediately after, the same boulders flew all around, and those struck by either wooden spears or boulders were caught in the bear traps below.

When two more people died in an instant, the Red Turbans’ steps finally began to slow.

In the meantime, we widened the distance, left the forest, and stood before a forked road.

“Senior, please go to the right.”

“What about you?”

“I will go left.”

“Why are we not going together?”

“The traps I set end here. While those bastards are hesitating because they have become afraid of the traps, we must confuse them and flee as quickly as possible.”

“Understood. Come to the Cheongmyeong Escort Agency in Wugang.”

“Understood. I will see you there.”

Moyong Sangwon and I simultaneously dashed down the two forked paths.

#

The masked men who had left the forest came out onto the forked road.

Perhaps because their anger at losing their comrades to unexpected traps was great, their killing intent was suffocating.

And when they saw that there were traces of two people on each of the forked roads, they tried to split into groups of eight and four to pursue them respectively.

Until I returned again.

“!”

When I walked out, the one in front who had been giving hand signals stopped moving his hand.

“It has been a long time…… Ah, not yet for you.”

The Red Turban masked man again gave a hand signal telling the others to chase after Moyong Sangwon.

“Is there any meaning in chasing that man now?”

“!”

The Red Turban was quite flustered that I had recognized his hand signal.

During my time in the Sojeong Unit, while fighting those bastards in a sickening chase of pursuing and being pursued, I had memorized all of their hand signals.

In the end, four men ran out along the road.

“You meet an old acquaintance after so long, and you do not even intend to reminisce? Red Demon-Eye Unit?”

“!”

“!”

“!”

The ones who had been running came to a halt.

“How should I put it? Should I say it feels new? Back then, I was only desperately being chased.”

“Who are you?”

A voice like scraping metal rang out.

“Is that important? What is important is that I know all of your habits, is it not?”

When the Red Turban nodded, the four Red Turbans standing at the back disappeared.

I threw three throwing knives from inside my clothes into the air.

Keuheok, keuk. Kkeok!

Along with three screams, I turned around and swung the Black Dragon Sword.

Swaaak!

Blood poured through the air as a Red Turban whose upper body and lower body had been split apart appeared.

“Why is it that none of you have any ability to adapt?”

“……!”

The Red Turban’s two eyes shook violently.

“Well now, you’re still as silent as ever. You’re making me embarrassed. Still, you were not this quiet back then. Was it because you could toy with us like playthings at the time? You rats of the Demon Pit.”

Demon Pit was a term used within the Demonic Cult only when belittling themselves.

In the Central Plains, it was a word that only came into use after they advanced into the murim world.

“……Who are you?”

“We asked you people that question an absurd number of times at first too. You never answered even once, though.”

“…….”

“Anyway, I am very glad to see you again after so long.”

I gathered the energy of the Light-Heaven Divine Palm in both hands.

Then I shot it at them.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!

The Light-Heaven Divine Palm possessed a destructive power so insane that even the Demonic Cult bastards, who were obsessed with destruction, would click their tongues at it.

And these bastards were not at a level where they could deflect the Light-Heaven Divine Palm with Four Taels Deflects a Thousand Jin like Yong Soa.

“Huh…….”

The two bastards directly struck by the Light-Heaven Divine Palm vanished without a trace, and one bastard caught in the aftershock of the palm had his arm disappear without a trace.

I immediately stepped with the Taeul Eight Myriad Divine Steps.

The lightness skill, in which movement technique and footwork were harmonized as one, created illusions wherever I stepped, bringing confusion to the opponent.

Just like that, I grabbed the neck of the bastard whose arm had been cut off and activated the Blue Dragon Ring to fill my empty dantian.

“Geoooooogh!”

The bastard shriveled into a mummy in an instant, and at the same time, the empty dantian filled with internal energy to the level of thirty percent.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have at least made you eat a Blood Explosion Pill.”

“…….”

The emotion reflected in their eyes.

I had seen that often in my comrades from the Sojeong Unit.

The way we had looked when facing the Red Demon-Eye Unit in the past was now being projected onto them.

“They were not even such strong opponents. Why was I so afraid back then?”

“…….”

The bastards began rolling their eyes around.

Since I knew what their intention was, I spoke with a smile.

“Will you run away even after your identities have been exposed?”

“!”

The fact that Demonic Cult bastards had appeared in the Central Plains during this period was not something that existed in my memories either.

If so, it meant that these bastards had been doing preliminary work over several years before the Righteous-Demonic War.

That, in turn, led to the conclusion that neither the righteous faction nor the dark faction must learn that these bastards were active.

As if their minds were made up, the five moved at the same time and unfolded a sword formation.

Red Demon Ghost Sword Formation.

By overlapping each other’s demonic energy, they turned the area into something like hell.

“This formation is nostalgic as well.”

I also drew up the Taeul True Scripture with all my strength.

The demonic energy that had been trying to burrow into my acupoints was pushed back by the purity of the Taeul True Scripture and could no longer enter.

I scattered the ascending form of the Small Heaven Sword Art.

Swaaaek.

At a speed different from before, it tore apart not only the demonic energy but even space itself, then cut off the neck of the one occupying that space.

Twin Heaven Sword Art.

Swords in which emptiness and reality were mixed together sprang out in all directions.

The sword they thought was empty was real, and the sword they thought was real was empty.

Emptiness could also become reality.

Puk. Puk. Swaaak.

Three people met their deaths at the same time.

The one who appeared to be the squad leader kicked off the ground and began running away at the sight before his eyes.

“If you cannot kill everyone to silence them, delivering this news to the Demonic Cult is also a good idea.”

Perhaps he had unfolded a supreme movement technique, because his figure already looked as small as a tiny speck.

I stirred the World-Solitary Divine Movement.

Then I immediately folded space, overtook him, and occupied the space in front of him.

“!”

As if he could not believe it even after seeing it with his own eyes, the bastard’s reaction was slow.

“I-Impossible!”

A voice like scraping metal, as if he were predicting his own end.

And the result was exactly as he expected.

Swaaak!

With his neck and body separated, he was watching his own body gush blood like a fountain right before he died.

“Go and tell your god. Tell him that his followers will soon be coming to meet him one after another.”