Chapter 70

Ten Swords grinned.

For some reason, the man whose eyes had met his was now openly following him.

Judging by his splendid attire, he looked like the scion of a wealthy family.

‘What a strange world. Money will solve everything, I suppose.’

The Ten Swords subtly activated his lightness skill as if to flee, moving toward a secluded spot.

Sure enough, the other guy followed openly.

The Ten Swords had never retreated in battle while traveling with their comrades, the Twelve Demon Swords, and their master and mentor, the Sword Demon.

They had wiped out bandit hordes numbering in the hundreds, and stormed into waterways to carry out massacres. Even that formidable swordsman had ultimately fled in panic when facing the Twelve Demon Swords.

Moreover, this was a region where no martial arts sects had established a foothold. He believed there was absolutely no chance of losing to such a mad young man.

The Twelve Swords of the Ten Thousand Horses were, from the start, the elite survivors among the countless orphans of the Ten Thousand Horses Palace. Having killed their comrades and survived countless life-and-death duels, and then being selected as subordinates of the Sword Demon to receive training and support, it was only natural they brimmed with confidence.

Turning with his back to a cliff, one of the Twelve Swords asked with a smile.

“Did you come chasing after me to die?”

Dan Woosung glanced around, slipping on his gauntlets as he asked.

“Why are you alone?”

Shi-geom drew his sword, tilting his head.

“Why alone? I’ve never seen you before… Do you know us?”

Danwooseong studied the other’s expression and realized this was not a trap, but a situation caused by an unexpected incident.

“Were you trying to escape?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Dan Wooseong nodded.

Regardless, he intended to kill him with all his might. As Dan Wooseong smiled, Sipgeom snorted derisively.

“How ridiculous.”

As Sipgeom charged, Dan Wooseong unleashed a Brain Fist, channeling the power of the Ten Thousand Battles Ten Thousand Fists technique up to the eighth level.

Shikgeom recoiled in shock, countering with his sword energy.

Kwaaaaang!

Shipgeom was sent flying by the shockwave and slammed directly into the cliff face. The problem was that the cliff face was carved into the shape of a giant fist.

Only one thought occupied his mind.

‘Damn it, he was the disciple of the Sword King.’

The man who had withstood the Twelve Demon Swords’ attack for over an entire hour was Kwonwang. Unable to watch any longer, the Sword Demon Master joined the fray in irritation, and even the Heavenly Demon blocked his retreat, finally managing to capture him.

Even after such a confrontation, the Twelve Demon Swordsmen were all exhausted, and it was Kwonwang who, like a fisherman reaping windfall, fought while perfectly unharmed and ultimately killed them.

A completely different style of lightness skill unfolded just now.

The Ten Swords moved horizontally along the cliff face, displaying lightness skills bordering on the miraculous. Though his body occasionally swayed when he misstepped, there was no doubt these were lightness skills of the highest caliber. Moreover, since he was fleeing for his life, he had no choice but to be swift.

With Yangpyeong Lake to his left, Sipgeom slid down the cliff face. The moment his feet touched the ground, his speed surged dramatically.

At one point, while fleeing toward the darkening mountain, Sipgeom leapt into the air, spun around, and swung his sword at the void.

This time, a massive white fist was already right before his eyes.

As the sword swung, a white lightning-like energy enveloped his entire body.

Crackle-crackle-crackle…

“Gah…”

The Ten Swords trembled violently and flew straight ahead. Stunned momentarily by the lightning, the Ten Swords rolled on the ground, finally regaining consciousness.

Thud!

As soon as Sipgeom got to his feet, he was struck in the abdomen by Danwooseong, who had closed the distance in an instant. Sipgeom was pushed back, colliding with a large, sturdy tree and bouncing off it.

Sipgeom swung his sword in mid-air.

Shhhhh!

Gripping his sword with both hands, he unleashed movements entirely different from Baekdo’s sword technique.

It was a brutally spinning, savage sword technique.

There were many openings. Therefore, every time Danwooseong’s fist struck Sipgeom’s body, a peculiar sound echoed.

Clang… Clang… Clang!

Perhaps because his body was impervious to blades, the sound that erupted was like striking a lump of iron.

Sipgeom, who had been wielding a magical sword technique that harnessed rotational force, suddenly switched to Jeongjong’s sword style, gripping his sword with one hand.

Shh!

The sword tip split into five points, unleashing a sword technique that simultaneously generated a sword wind.

It was a swift sword technique combining sword wind and thrusts.

Dan Woo-sung widened his eyes in response.

‘The Qingcheng Sect sword technique?’

Not only did the sword techniques of the Blue Star Sect appear, but also those of the Murong Clan and even sword styles so elusive they defied classification.

The transitions weren’t seamless. Yet, since he was forcing the sword techniques onto his body, which was already unfit for swords, the combination worked reasonably well.

It was the true sword technique of the heretic Samma.

Shi Jian rolled across the ground again, swinging his sword, then leaped up, unleashing a barrage of palm strikes at the left commander.

This time, it was a bizarre technique one might expect from the Black Path.

Dan Woo-sung, deploying the Five-Step Retreat Technique, watched the opponent’s desperate struggle for a moment.

The sword technique contained a chaotic mix of white, black, and dark arts. That meant he had stolen martial arts by killing indiscriminately, regardless of whether they were white, black, or dark arts.

‘These madmen…’

Danu Seong, dodging the attack, leapt into the air, stomped on the shoulder of the Ten Swords with his brain horn, and moved.

Thud!

Thunder energy seeped into Sipgeom’s staggering body.

“Guh…”

Then Dan Wooseong spun toward him and struck his face with the back of his hand.

Crack!

After rolling on the ground, Sipgeom stabbed his sword into the floor to rise. He unleashed a burst of ki from his entire body, then swung his sword diagonally, pouring out a fierce torrent of sword energy.

Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

The ground split open, and the surrounding trees cracked as if struck by a giant axe.

Shi Jian realized that if his opponent was a disciple of the Fist King, he alone would struggle to handle him.

Therefore, he intended to use every ounce of strength to secure an escape route. Deliberately unleashing a flurry of attacks to force defense while kicking up a cloud of dust, he then activated his lightness skill again, whistling as he moved.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

It was a signal, hoping any fellow Twelve Demon Swordsmen nearby would join him.

Blown while moving swiftly, the whistle echoed like a ghostly wail in the desolate surroundings.

Danwoo-seong felt conflicted inside while pressuring his opponent.

Not long ago, countless swords had surrounded him, leaving no space to evade. Once the sword energy erupted, over a dozen blades would surge forth. Those with bodies too hard for blades to pierce had engaged in chaotic wheel-and-spoke formations or tried every trick to seize Danwooseong.

Compared to that, how much easier was this back-and-forth battle now?

The man in the purple robe who had subtly slipped in to block his movements was nowhere to be seen now.

The Ten Swords shifted direction mid-air, then swung at Danwooseong who had pursued them right up behind. Yet, absurdly easily, the swords were caught.

Clang!

‘Damn it!’

Even as Sipgeom twisted his sword, Danwooseong still held onto his blade.

Shikgeom unleashed his Hunwon palm force toward Danwooseong’s face. Hunwon palm force is the essence of absorbed and accumulated demonic energy.

Dan Wooseong felt utterly defeated.

The enemies’ tactics were identical to before, yet this battle was surprisingly easy, almost disconcertingly so. He seized the palm force like tearing apart a snow-white cloth, causing it to vanish.

Dan Wooseong deliberately kicked the Ten Swords in the groin.

Clang!

‘Crazy…’

It was an attack meant to probe for weaknesses, yet the sensation of striking solid metal reverberated through his instep.

As Danwooseong’s kick propelled him backward, the Ten Swords channeled their energy into their blades, causing a dark aura to envelop the steel.

The Ten Swords unleashed its sword energy.

Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Dan Woosung soared into the air without slowing down, clasped his hands together, and spun a thread-like web of lightning energy. He descended, trapping the Ten Swords’ face within this lightning net.

Lightning energy coiled around his face.

Crackle-crackle-crackle!

“Gah!”

Dan Wooseong grabbed the head with both hands, lifted it up, and slammed it into the ground.

Thud!

The sound grew increasingly horrific.

Even as Sipgeom swung his sword in defiance, Danwooseong grabbed his arm, twisted it, and slammed him back to the floor. He wrenched his wrist, then stomped on Sipgeom’s face with his boot.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The thuds continued, accompanied by the clang of metal. He was an infuriating opponent. His strength was considerable, and his internal energy profound. Most attacks barely made a dent, which was why most martial arts masters couldn’t withstand their attacks. Reducing their numbers by even one was a blessing, bordering on luck.

As Sipgeom groaned low and flailed about······.

Danwooseong grabbed her hair, yanked her up, then lifted her into the air and slammed her down onto his knee.

Thud!

Even at the moment her spine should have snapped, she twisted her body to counterattack, swinging her fingers like hooks, or even thrusting her head forward to bite Dan Wooseong.

Truly, these were not human.

Dan Woosung said.

“What the hell are you?”

“Hehehehe… What are we?”

Then Danwooseong twisted his arm a full 360 degrees. Perhaps because they weren’t ordinary bodies, their resistance to bone distortion was immense. But in the end, he twisted the arm.

Snap…

Strangely, there were no screams during this attack. It felt as if the nerves that sensed pain had been severed.

Danwooseong picked up the jet-black long sword lying on the ground, gripped it with both hands, and brought it down on the entire body of the Ten Swords.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Dan Woosung asked.

“Where’s your weakness?”

“……You bastard.”

Far from being pierced through the face or body, only its body was buried in the ground. Could a monster even exist like this?

Dan Woosung tossed his sword aside, sighed, then plunged two fingers into the still-breathing opponent’s eyes, injecting brain energy.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

The unmanned techniques of the White Path are not used. It was an attack worthy of being pointed at as heretical. Yet Danwooseong injected the lightning energy without a care. It felt like he had finally found a single weakness.

‘The eyes are vulnerable.’

Only then did a truly human scream erupt.

Dan Wooseong covered the opponent’s mouth with his left hand. As bright red blood streamed down between his eyes, Dan Wooseong said.

“You were human after all. That’s a relief.”

Dan Wooseong pulled his fingers from the man’s eyes and asked.

“Die, or talk?”

“Kill me.”

“Understood.”

Thud!

Dan Woosung thrust his finger all the way in, then drew the brain qi of the Hundred Battles Ten-Fingered Palm up to the brain stem, incinerating his past life’s enemy from the brain down. He had no intention of fighting like a human when dealing with these madmen.

Dan Woosung stared at the corpse for a moment.

Even with the life gone, the body showed no significant change. Rising from the spot, Dan Woo-sung stomped the opponent’s head into the ground with his heel once more.

Thud!

‘What the hell is going on?’

What on earth was about to unfold? There were over a dozen more like this man, a leader far stronger than them, and the martial prowess of the unknown man was also formidable.

Danwooseong knelt briefly in place before letting out a long sigh.

Suddenly, the image of Chief Yoo Jeong-hong came to mind. And so did Baekyak.

‘Can I handle these calamities alone?’

These thoughts naturally brought those faces to mind. Suddenly, Dan Woo-sung picked up the black long sword lying abandoned, placed its blade on the floor, gripped the hilt with his left hand, and struck down with his palm.

Clang!

Even striking the flat of the blade, its strength was beyond imagination. Cheonma had said he spared no expense or effort for his youngest son, and the reason he spared no expense was because the cost of crafting this sword was astronomical.

Dan Wooseong struck the blade’s surface with his sword as if he had grasped some clue. Each time he struck, it only bent, never breaking. After striking several times as if practicing, Dan Wooseong raised his hand and this time struck not with force, but with speed.

Only then did the sword snap clean in two.

Dan Wooseong threw the broken sword and then looked at the corpse. Black smoke rose from the corpse’s mouth, and that once-robust body finally began to shrink grotesquely, like a deflating object.

Without even hearing the dead man’s confession, Dan Wooseong recited the enemy’s true identity.

“Sword Demon.”

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