Chapter 102 The Suicide Squad (4)

Chapter 102: The Suicide Squad (4)

The Saljong cultists, charging in boldly, sensed something amiss not long after ascending Jemchang Mountain.

They found no defenders, not even a trace of scouts.

They wondered if the Jianchang detachment had been abandoned, but that seemed unlikely.

If the numbers were similar, perhaps, but the sheer disparity in forces meant losing the mountain would make retaking it extremely difficult.

Then why?

Such thoughts swirled chaotically in their minds.

Offer tribute to the Blood God!

The chant of the Blood Cult disciples from behind only intensified their confusion.

“Do not rush out.”

“Advance cautiously, checking for traps!”

Heeding the officers’ shouts, the cultists of the Blood Cult advanced slowly, scanning for traps.

Two hours passed.

Before they knew it, they had passed the entrance to Jemchang Mountain and reached its mid-slope.

Whoosh.

Something began falling from the sky.

Trained in combat, they reflexively struck them away.

Then.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

The pouches burst, scattering fine powder in all directions.

Poison pellets.

“Gah!”

“Aah!”

In an instant, the poison spread, turning the area into a hellish scene.

“Damn it!”

The Saljong officers cried out in horror at the gruesome scene.

“Hold your breath and run!”

Retreating immediately to assess the situation would have been the right move, but there was no space to fall back.

Because over a thousand guards were advancing from behind.

The guards knew this too, so they gritted their teeth and ran forward as the officers ordered.

Sizzle.

“Guhhh…”

“Ugh!”

The bodies of the guards drenched in poison melted away.

Guards who inhaled the fumes spat out black clots of blood.

A gruesome sight.

The faces of the guards passing by turned ashen.

Though they always lived prepared for death, facing such a futile, helpless demise stirred fear within them.

Therefore, the guards pressed forward. They had to die facing their enemies, weapons clashing.

Just as they broke through the falling poison bombs and reached the clearing halfway up the slope.

They encountered the warriors of Guryongseong who awaited them.

* * *

“Now!”

At the Moksryongdang leader’s shout, fifteen Eunryongdang spearmen formed a defensive formation.

Thud thud thud thud.

Massive ironwood shields blocked the front like a turtle’s shell, and between them, five-foot-long short iron spears jutted out like a hedgehog’s quills.

The enraged Ten Demon Warriors charged, disregarding death.

“Kill them!”

Waaah-!

Crash. Crack.

Thus began the clash.

The enemy’s attacks were blocked by the iron shields.

Thud thud thud.

From the gaps in the shields, iron spears thrust out, severing the enemies’ throats.

Immediately, weapons imbued with immense power flew from the enemy formation.

Power sufficient to shatter shields.

The masters of the Ten Demon Ranks had stepped forward.

But.

The Silver Dragon Sect’s spearmen holding back the enemy were also all peak masters.

Pwoong!

Sharp spear qi burst forth, shattering the incoming weapons and slicing through the enemies’ bodies.

That wasn’t the end.

The defenders unleashed their most powerful attacks, each deploying their strongest strike as planned.

Thud! Thump!

Overwhelmed by the fierce momentum, the hundreds of ten-man formations halted mid-ascent.

“Clear the path! Let them pass!”

A middle-aged warrior shouted, and they began to spread out, abandoning the formation.

They intended to ignore the defensive line and climb the mountain.

But.

Squeak!

“To pass before us, you must offer your necks!”

The battlefield wasn’t occupied solely by the Silver Dragon Sect.

Warriors from the Black Dragon Sect, Golden Dragon Sect, and White Dragon Sect spread out in all directions, beginning to block them.

Just as they unleashed their deadly sword qi, slicing through the enemies’ bodies, the cry of the Poisoned Spear Division’s leader, Dang Seong, rang out.

“Green Dragon Hall, move to the rear and aid your comrades!”

Twenty warriors clad in green robes appeared as if springing from nowhere, instantly revealing themselves. They seized the enemy’s gaps and unleashed a hail of hidden weapons.

Thud, thud, thud. Whoosh!

As if that attack were a signal, an all-out battle erupted in an instant.

Having brought their elite forces, the warriors of Guryongseong demonstrated their prowess, each worth a hundred men.

So much so that a bottleneck formed on the only path.

“Charge!”

The warriors of Hwaryongdang, occupying the highest ground, seized the opportunity.

They flaunted their distinctive muscles, hurling boulders the size of human heads downwards.

Thud! Crash!

“Gah!”

There are few ways to block a flying boulder.

You either have to deflect it with a heavy-handed technique or slice it with sword energy or a blade.

The problem is.

No matter how many masters the Ten Demon Alliance possessed, not every member was skilled enough to block those rocks.

The heads of the densely packed men, like a jar of bean sprouts, burst open in an instant.

But I couldn’t relax.

My opponent was the Ten Demon Alliance, boasting countless masters and ten thousand demonic arts.

The battlefield couldn’t possibly unfold this easily.

If I had to compare it, I’d say I’d only solved about question 5 on the language section of the college entrance exam.

What do you mean?

It means this is just the beginning.

‘Where is it?’

I strained my eyes and scanned the battlefield.

It was about time for the masters to appear.

Sure enough.

“The Blood God demands blood!”

“The Blood God demands blood!”

Amidst the enemy ranks, a group of warriors shot skyward, smashing through rocks before swiftly descending, stepping on the heads of our allies.

They wore crimson robes and radiated an unsettling aura.

They were the so-called Bloodline.

“Brother Dan!”

“Understood.”

As Danun responded, a group of swordsmen drew their blades.

Swordsmen at the peak of their art, radiating a mountain-like presence.

Each warrior possessed martial prowess rivaling the Black Dragon Sect, and together they were the warriors of the Blue Dragon Sect, called the strongest in Nine Dragon City.

Kwoong.

I was the first to leap forward.

My Dragon Scale Armor minimized the risk of injury.

My Sword of the Ancestral King, unused in battle for so long, raged like a mad beast.

The storm of energy that erupted from my body spread out in all directions like a black magnetic field.

And then.

BOOM!

The explosive energy, unleashed with all my might, detonated right in the heart of the enemy formation, crushing the Ten Demon Riders.

Seeing their comrades reduced to half-dust, the Ten Demon Riders’ eyes filled with bewilderment.

“Surprised? If you came to kill, you should’ve been prepared to die.”

Whoosh.

Immediately, the gravitational force generated at the explosion’s epicenter pinned the enemies’ feet to the ground.

And then, a blue sword energy fell upon the heads of those enemies.

Boom!

Danun’s Blue Cloud Falling Sword exploded, turning the surrounding enemies into bloody pulp.

Swoosh. Swoosh!

The sharp Qingfeng Sword Technique unleashed by the Qinglong Sect warriors cleaved the enemies in two.

A circular void instantly formed around us.

Swoosh!

Just as we deployed the Extreme Death Mirror to finish off the remaining foes, a group of Bloodline Cultists flew in from this direction.

“Draw the enemies’ blood and offer it as a sacrifice to the Blood God!”

Shwaaah.

As they shouted their battle cry, a crimson, blood-red aura engulfed us.

A sticky, oppressive energy weighed down our bodies.

It was the same evil aura we’d experienced during the battle with Namcheongung earlier.

“Where!”

The warriors of Cheongryongdang swung their swords relentlessly.

The sword energy, imbued with the unique, evil-dispelling aura of the sword sect, severed the crimson evil aura.

And then.

“Gah!”

Thud!

Danun’s sword moved like a beam of light, slicing through the neck of one of the Blood Clansmen.

It was the Qingfeng Sword Technique, pushed to its extreme.

Thus began the clash.

Crash! Squeak!

From all directions, formations made of blood-red evil energy and blue sword qi erupted.

Danun shot out like an arrow toward the old man presumed to be the Blood Clan’s highest-ranking master.

Of course. The busiest person was me.

Why?

Because the martial art most effective in a melee is the Zhenwang Style.

Turning to stand behind the Blue Dragon Sect, I saw enemies charging, weapons raised.

Boom. Thud!

I smashed one’s head open with a fist packed with experience.

Splatter.

Brain matter splattered, blurring my vision.

“Die!”

I felt the heavy killing intent of a blade aimed for my side.

But.

Thud. Crack.

The attack was blocked by my dragon-scale armor, producing only a resonant clang. It delivered no impact to me.

Instead, only the attacker’s hand was broken.

“……!”

Thwack! Crack.

I drove a kick into the startled, hesitating enemy’s nape.

Like a figure whose adhesive had failed, his head separated cleanly, the torso flying alone.

Before I knew it, the enemies surrounding me began radiating intense killing intent.

They seemed poised to charge all at once.

Sure enough.

The enemies’ attacks began pouring down.

Swords, staffs, spears, fists, spears.

Seeing the various weapons imbued with intense magical energy.

Heh.

The excitement of actual combat after so long made me unable to hold back a laugh.

Heart Extreme Qi Body.

As my heart stirred, the Zhen Wang Qi surged, revealing its presence.

Crackle. Crack.

War Dragon Qi.

The protective qi that had clashed with the Zhahe River Qi at the Zhengdomaeng now coiled around my body, devouring the enemies’ attacks.

Crackle. Crackle.

It wasn’t merely devouring them.

Whoosh.

It consumed the enemies’ surging qi, swelling in size, and then…

Boom!

It even exploded, unleashing a powerful blast.

The bodies of enemies caught in the blast were torn apart in all directions.

“Gah!”

The enemies turned in panic.

It seemed they finally realized I was beyond their level.

Of course, I’m no amateur who spares them just because they turned their backs.

“Running won’t save you, you bastards!”

Bang!

I rammed the Exploding Blade into the backs of the thirteen warriors.

Boom!

A small explosion echoed, and bodies with holes in their chests collapsed.

Splash!

Without pause, I unleashed the Extreme Blade, slicing through the waists of four more.

Blood fountains erupted, soaking the surroundings.

“Kill him! Kill the bastard! That’s how you survive!”

A scream bordering on a shriek burst from one of their mouths.

“Gah!”

“Die!”

As if roused by the sound, the enemies raised their weapons and swung them at me.

Chaos.

A battle whose duration was unknown.

If it were anyone else, they would naturally have to conserve their energy.

But that doesn’t apply to the Zhenwang style.

The more you fight, the stronger you become.

That’s the Zhenwang style.

“Hmph!”

Thud.

I parried the incoming sickle with my body.

Crack.

Simultaneously, I reached out and snapped the bastard’s neck.

Swish.

Channeling the experience of the Extreme Death Realm, I executed a joint technique, cleaving the windpipe of the bastard beside him.

Thud.

Weapons flew in simultaneously.

Each one radiated murderous intent, carrying the resolve of a single-strike kill.

But.

Crackle.

A black magnetic field unfolded as if possessed, automatically blocking them.

Heh.

“Die, you bastards!”

Swoosh!

As his hands slashed left and right, pure ki gathered, forming a massive blade.

The blade of ki extended its body, spreading out in all directions, cleaving the waists of every enemy around him.

“Gah, huff…”

The Extreme Sword Edge, unleashed with all my strength.

It was already a powerful attack, but deploying it with such utter force was a first for me today.

And the result was immensely satisfying.

With a single strike, I had instantly slain dozens of the Ten Demon Swordsmen.

“……”

For a brief moment, the battlefield fell silent, stunned by the sheer impact of that power.

Of course, there was no room for complacency.

Let me reiterate: the enemy we faced was the Ten Demon Alliance, boasting countless masters as numerous as clouds and a force of ten thousand.

You never knew when or where some absurdly skilled master might suddenly appear… and just as that thought crossed my mind.

“Heh heh heh, the youngster knows how to taste blood, doesn’t he?”

A spine-chilling aura plummeted from above.

“……!”

The Dragon Qi surged forth, countering the attack.

Kwaa kwaa kwaa.

Black Dragon Qi and crimson demonic energy collided, lighting up the sky.

Whoosh.

The two energies dissipated, and an old man clad in a crimson robe landed lightly on the ground.

A pair of thin, slender swords were sheathed at his sides.

He was the master of the Bloodline Dan Yun had been tasked with.

Judging by his sudden appearance, it seemed Dan Yun had let him slip through his fingers.

“Who is your master?”

“Hmm? I don’t recall raising anyone like that.”

“Heh heh heh, insolent brat. I wonder if you’ll still be so cocky when you’re in the Blood Realm.”

This is completely screwed…

Outwardly, he feigned calm, but inwardly, he was frantic.

Our current position was right in the heart of enemy territory.

Only by achieving our objective and escaping as quickly as possible could we guarantee our safety.

‘You said you were confident!’

If you’re going to be such a pain, at least fight well.

This Danun is utterly useless.

No choice.

It’s already happened. I have to handle this.

“Even if you just sit still, it seems like the day you’ll be smeared on the wall isn’t far off. Why did you even come out here? Why not just curl up in a corner?”

Swoosh! Swoosh.

“……!”

The trash talk barely left my mouth before Dogi’s blade swept past my cheek.

Its speed rivaled Baek Jung-cheon’s Sunlight Sword, leaving the Dragon Blade no time to react.

If I hadn’t instinctively jerked my head back, I’d have spent the rest of my life without a cheek.

“Sir? You look like your blood pressure’s rising… maybe you should calm down…”

Oh man, this is bad.