Chapter 317 Anhui (6)

Chapter 317: Anhui (6)

Thwack!

A spear tore through the air and flew toward him.

“Damn!”

Thud.

He barely twisted his body to dodge, but there were two opponents.

“Your back… Watch your back!”

“Hmph.”

A sword flew in, scattering an unmatched flash of steel, and struck my back.

Kwaaah!

I resisted by unleashing the Dragon’s Breath with what little energy I had left.

Crack.

“Guh!”

It was insufficient to fully absorb the shock.

If the Dragon’s Breath Sword hadn’t dispelled the sword’s aura, and if he hadn’t been wearing the Dragon Scale Armor , the blow would have been strong enough to shatter his spine.

Of course, it was fine up to this point.

He hadn’t actually been injured.

The problem was.

“Kikiki, you were wearing the armor!”

The Dragon Scale Armor that had protected me all this time was badly damaged.

Probably, its durability had been worn down by all the fierce battles.

“You bastard… This is a limited edition piece only available at the Muwangseong!”

POW!

I immediately kicked out, striking the sword-wielding man squarely in the chest.

“Hah!”

The sword-wielding man flew away, and the spear approached.

There was no time to think.

If I stopped even for a moment, death would come.

Whoosh!

Four-Sword Technique: Descendant of the Four Swords.

The spear met the spear, embodying the divine spear technique of the spear master.

Kukuku.

A clash of strength against strength.

The victor was Jeonju City.

Though strength was comparable, breakthrough power was overwhelmingly on this side.

Kwoong. Crash.

The spear lost its force and flew back, unleashing a massive shockwave.

“Now!”

Pong pong pong pong!

He flew forward in one swift motion, landing a series of strikes to his side.

Each strike carried enough power to shatter a cliff face.

But.

“Heh heh. You’ve got some skill, don’t you?”

There were two opponents.

Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

The sword, emitting a piercing shriek, flew toward me and suddenly stabbed toward the back of my head.

“Hmph!”

I rolled my body as I charged forward.

It wasn’t the most graceful move, but what else could I do?

If you don’t want to die, you have to dodge.

Swish.

The energy that brushed past his head sent a chill down his spine.

‘That… I couldn’t block.’

Even if I’d faced it head-on, I didn’t have the inner strength to block that attack.

Kwoong. Rumble.

Thunder roared as a massive spear, like a dragon, flew toward him.

“Hey, wait! Let’s take it easy!”

Thud.

He deployed the Flying Dragon Formation to maximize the distance.

Considering the level of energy I had left, it was an incredibly reckless thing to do.

‘Work for five pennies….’

If not for the efficacy of the pupils, I would have run dry long ago.

I took deep breaths to assess the situation.

‘Fighting like this is just a delay tactic. But forcing myself to expend energy against two opponents means trouble later.’

It was because I’d poured too much energy into killing Dono .

But I didn’t regret it. If I’d faced three, I wouldn’t have lasted this long.

‘What to do…’

He spoke to them, hoping to catch even a moment’s breath.

“You guys aren’t even angry that your comrade died?”

“Colleague? Who?”

“The three of them were called the Sam-Pung Blood Brothers. Didn’t they stick together their whole lives?”

“Heh heh heh, two splitting the money meant for three is even better, right?”

“No.”

Don’t you have any humanity?

“Why not just give up? You seem completely drained.”

“Even if we’re drained, one of us can still cripple the other, so don’t worry.”

“……”

“You can’t kill me, though.”

This was my only remaining advantage.

“Heh heh heh, I can’t kill him, but I can cripple him. Nobody said I had to bring back his limbs intact.”

As the old swordsman drew his blade horizontally, a wave of energy rippled through the air.

“Then go ahead and try.”

Whoosh.

A gale of spit-filled wind.

The Sword Old Man, the Spear Old Man, and I locked gazes, building momentum.

The spearman made the first move.

He unleashed an intense spear strike, just as he had moments before.

Kwoooh!

A powerful energy, resembling a dragon ascending to the heavens, swept away everything around it.

Swordman filled the gaps between Spearman’s attacks.

His sword strike blocked my retreat, prevented my advance, and stole my time.

A crisis hanging by a thread.

But.

“I still have one move left, you bastards.”

I had a plan too.

POW!

My Heavenly Net, filled with my full power, unfolded, wrapping around the swords and spears.

It was an attack powerful enough to shatter mountains and cleave rivers, but true to its status as an imperial treasure, the Heavenly Net withstood it.

“Guh!”

I pulled the Heavenly Net with all my might.

And so did the two elders.

Soon, when their weapons ceased moving in midair, the internal energy surged back into me.

‘Got it!’

This was my plan all along.

To steer the battle into a contest of internal power at and decide the outcome.

Of course, objectively speaking, with my energy reserves depleted, I had no choice but to lose.

But I possess the invincible Donggong Jeonwang-ryu.

My opponent cannot move, but I can attack freely.

“Die!”

“……!”

Whoosh!

After pouring all my remaining inner strength into the final strike,

It was a technique meant to pierce the sun, aiming to take out both old men at once.

And the result was.

Kwaaang!

“Guh!”

It was a draw.

The sword-wielding old man, who had been focused on the battle of inner strength, wrapped his hand in martial energy to block the Houye Sashil.

He couldn’t even completely sever the hand.

His internal energy was precarious, so he could only manage to break the hand.

“Tsk!”

To move his hand and block during the internal energy clash?

If he hadn’t cultivated his internal energy through his pupils, how could this have been possible?

Startled, I looked over to see the two old men smirking.

“Using another martial art during an internal energy clash? What a peculiar fellow.”

“See? Stealing that Yang’s Heart-Piercing Palm back then was the right call. Heh heh heh.”

“See? I told you it would come in handy someday!”

“Hmph, don’t get too cocky. You only got to use that ‘ ‘ once in a hundred lifetimes. And after all the hell we went through to get it, how good could it possibly sound?”

Suddenly, the conversation I’d just had with Samno flashed through my mind.

‘I tell you, the thrill of slaughtering Jeong Do-maeng’s entire hundred-man execution squad still hasn’t faded.’

‘Then we barely escaped by taking the commoners hostage.’

‘But the most satisfying part was slashing down those three shaman elders who tried to save the civilians. Kikiki.’

That’s right.

The reason they fought the Jeongdo Alliance was precisely because of Yang Uisimgong.

‘Damn it… Why him of all people.’

This was like getting hit with a perfect counterpunch.

Feeling despair surge up, I let go of the inner energy sustaining the Heavenly Net.

“Kikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikik

As the sword-wielding old man spoke while setting his broken hand, the spear-wielding old man shook his head.

“Let’s just cut off both legs. Looks like he’ll be used as a hostage, so we can’t let his value drop, right?”

“Then shall we?”

“……”

A moment of life and death.

I mustered every ounce of my strength and kicked out.

Pop.

I couldn’t just go down gracefully, could I?

I’d wriggle as much as I could.

‘Just past here is Honam. If we can make it to the Agyang Hoyeonhoe, there might be a way.’

There was a possibility.

Moreover, the Heavenly Wind combined with the Zhenwang Style was the ultimate Jingxin technique.

After ten strides, he covered a hundred meters; after twenty strides, two hundred meters; after thirty strides, five hundred meters.

A speed akin to that of lightning.

A moment showcasing the supreme grace of the Flying Heaven Wind as a divine technique.

“…!”

I had no choice but to halt my steps.

“Give up. This area is completely surrounded.”

Because one hundred members of the Blood Sky Sword Corps, clad in crimson robes, stood blocking the path.

“……Impressive. I never imagined you’d go to such lengths to capture me.”

“When capturing the world’s most notorious criminal, this level of preparation is only fitting. And…”

He drew his sword as he spoke.

“As your son-in-law, shouldn’t I avenge my father-in-law’s enemy?”

“Young Master Sa?”

“Gung Gasu, that is.”

“Namgung Gasa, I suppose.”

“……So it was true that the defeated general took the name of the Northern Palace’s .”

Thud.

As soon as the greeting ended, a mountain-like killing intent surged from directly behind.

“Heh heh heh, running away won’t do you any good.”

“You’re in the palm of my hand.”

Namgung Gasu looked at the two elders with a bewildered expression and asked.

“Where did Dono go?”

“Ask that guy.”

I smiled faintly at Namgung Gasu’s gaze and replied.

“I crushed him down to the size of a fingernail. Beyond recognition, I tell you.”

“……Looks like we won’t be able to take him nicely.”

“I was already planning to tear off both his legs anyway.”

“Since he escaped, we should cut off one more arm. Don’t you agree?”

Admitting there was no other way actually brought me a sense of relief.

And then.

“The pressure point technique you were about to use earlier—could I receive it now?”

“……,”

If I’m going to be captured anyway, wouldn’t it be better to go in one piece?

* * *

Deep within the Nine Dragons Fortress.

The reason these individuals, ranked first through third in Guryongseong’s ceremonial hierarchy, had gathered was none other than intelligence indicating that the Three Winds Blood Sect and the Blood Heaven Sword Corps had mobilized to intercept a transmission.

“This is a crisis.”

“Yes, it is indeed a crisis.”

At the calm responses from North Palace White and Moon Sang, the Red-Eyed Monk shouted in frustration.

“It’s not just anyone—it’s the Dragon Lord! The City Lord’s only disciple and the future of Nine Dragons City! How can you remain so calm when someone like that is facing a life-or-death crisis?! Immediately commit all of Nine Dragons City’s forces to…”

Thud.

Mun Sang raised his hand to interrupt the excited words of the enemy general.

“Considering the distance from Sichuan to Anhui, it’s already too late even if we leave now.”

“Even so!”

“Buseongju, calm your excitement.”

“How can I not be excited?!”

Jiksa-jung was sincere.

Setting aside his friendship with Wuzhen, he pitied his granddaughter, who faced becoming a widow before even marrying.

‘If I’d known this would happen, I shouldn’t have spread the rumor!’

Fearing any other talk might arise, Jiksa-jung had spread the rumor beyond Guryongseong to the entire Seocheon region.

If Moo-jeon were to die, Jeok Sa-jung would be nothing but a sinner before Jeok Hwa-ran for the rest of his life.

Above all.

‘If Hwaran were to lose her temper, she might enter a temple and become a nun.’

The problem was that Jik Hwaran loved Mujeon more than anyone else.

Therefore, Jiksa-jung urged Seongju and Mun-sang to send a rescue team with all his might.

But the response he received was far from what he had anticipated.

“Lord Bu, do not worry. No matter who from the Lion Clan comes, they won’t be able to do anything to that man.”

“You should be more concerned about the Lion Clan’s men than the Dragon Clan’s leader.”

“What on earth…”

Suddenly, a figure flashed through Jiksa-jung’s mind.

“Could it be…?”

* * *

The negotiations failed.

The moment you killed Donohue, the chance was gone.

“I have a mental illness that causes me to have such episodes occasionally. Please be kind and overlook this…”

“Cut the bullshit and stay still. One wrong move and I might just slice your throat . Heh heh.”

“Damn it, just as I thought—those bastards from the Sapa are as stingy as hell.”

Now only one thing remained.

‘Is this how I die?’

Fight or die.

If I die, I die. But I can’t let them take me prisoner, limbs torn off.

The only silver lining was that in that brief moment, he had recovered a fraction of his inner strength.

Truly, he is the greatest warrior under heaven.

“Hmph!”

Crackle. Snap.

He raised the Zhenwang Sword while keeping watch on his surroundings.

“Whoever it is, the first one to approach gets killed without question.”

“Kikikik, still putting on airs until the very end.”

As the old swordsman finished speaking, his entire body blurred.

Kiyaya.

A sword strike flew toward him, carrying the sinister and persistent aura of a serpent.

“Damn!”

He couldn’t just stand there.

He immediately unfolded the Dragon Blade to block the attack, but.

Thud.

A faint sound echoed.

“Huh?”

After assessing the situation, I could only blink in disbelief.

The old man’s head was gone entirely .

Only the torso remained.

Splash. Thud.

A deadly ambush born of perfect timing and lightning speed.

Upon recognizing the perpetrator, his legs gave way and he collapsed to the floor.

Because the man selected by Mubos, ‘The Most Reliable Man in a Moment of Crisis,’ had appeared.

“Please, just train. Stop getting beaten up all the time.”

It was the former king, Sajo.