Chapter 83
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Blood Hand Demonic Lord (3)
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Mad Demon and the Blood Hand Demonic Lord clashed relentlessly.
Neither gave an inch, attacking each other without pause.
‘An even match.’
Mad Demon and the Blood Hand Demonic Lord constantly moved, each trying to maintain their optimal distance.
Wielding his saber, Mad Demon tried to create more space, while the Blood Hand Demonic Lord, a master of close-quarters combat, sought to close the gap.
‘He's different from when he fought me.’
The Blood Hand Demonic Lord was a completely different man from when he had fought Jinmyeong.
His mouth was shut, and he wasn't attacking recklessly.
He dodged and parried Mad Demon's attacks, creating openings for his own counterstrikes.
In turn, Mad Demon blocked those counters, exploiting the openings the Blood Hand Demonic Lord revealed.
‘They're constantly creating openings in each other's defense and striking at them, even modifying their forms.’
When it seemed an attack would be blocked, both warriors would shift to movements entirely different from their established forms.
One might expect such improvised moves to be clumsy, but there was no trace of awkwardness.
On the contrary, their movements were so exquisite that they seemed like original, intended forms.
“Hup!”
Mad Demon swung his saber at the closing Blood Hand Demonic Lord, and a massive tempest engulfed him.
*KRA-KOOOM!*
The proximity was too close; the Blood Hand Demonic Lord couldn't evade the storm and was swept away.
“Hoo-uk!”
But he soon gasped for air and burst straight through the tempest.
Blood from the fresh wounds dotting his body soaked his clothes, yet the Blood Hand Demonic Lord's spirit hadn't diminished in the slightest.
*BAM!*
And the Blood Hand Demonic Lord’s fist slammed into Mad Demon's abdomen.
“Keuk!”
He doubled over for a moment, but Mad Demon quickly straightened up and blocked the follow-up attack.
Despite both landing blows, the two men fought on with the same intensity as when they started.
If anything, having taken a hit only seemed to fuel their ferocity, making their onslaught even more violent.
“You seem to have gotten stronger.”
“Insolent fool. When you first picked up a saber, I was already the Vice Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
“You've grown old. It's time for you to step aside.”
The Blood Hand Demonic Lord's face twisted as he attacked with greater force, but Mad Demon calmly continued to parry his blows.
‘What a shame.’
Watching their duel, Jinmyeong couldn't help but feel a sense of regret.
‘It feels unfinished, being interrupted like that.’
He wondered if he could have completely assimilated that sensation had he endured the Blood Hand Demonic Lord's attacks just a little longer.
‘Then again, I might not have been able to hold out.’
Watching the Blood Hand Demonic Lord fight Mad Demon, it seemed unlikely he could have endured.
Still, he couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment. But contrary to Jinmyeong's thoughts, Mad Demon had intervened because he couldn't stand by and watch Jinmyeong die.
It had looked like Jinmyeong was holding his own, but Mad Demon had judged that he would inevitably be killed by the Blood Hand Demonic Lord.
Mad Demon's reason for moving wasn't out of affection for Jinmyeong, but because Jinmyeong knew about the Heaven-Shattering Society.
Since Jinmyeong knew about an organization that even Mad Demon was completely unaware of, he had decided that Jinmyeong could not be allowed to die here.
Unaware of this, as Jinmyeong watched the fight, someone approached him.
“…Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
Shin Yehyang, who had collapsed unconscious, had come to.
She nodded at Jinmyeong's reply and let out a small sigh.
“Thank you.”
“Don't mention it.”
Shin Yehyang glanced at Maeng Yo, who was still unconscious.
Jinmyeong's controlled swords circled around him, standing guard.
Jinmyeong's swords had been protecting her as well when she was unconscious.
“It doesn't look like it will end easily.”
“I agree.”
Even to Shin Yehyang's eyes, neither Mad Demon nor the Blood Hand Demonic Lord was giving any ground.
“I could help if I wanted to…”
“If you did, Young Master Jin's head would probably fly, wouldn't it?”
He could help Mad Demon.
Not by intervening directly, but just by sending his controlled swords, he could distract the Blood Hand Demonic Lord.
And a master of Mad Demon's caliber would not miss such an opening to take the Blood Hand Demonic Lord's head.
But the proud Mad Demon would never accept such help, so Jinmyeong had no intention of doing so.
‘I wanted to find out where that guy ranks in the Heaven-Shattering Society, too.’
His biggest regret was not knowing the Blood Hand Demonic Lord's standing within the Heaven-Shattering Society.
‘Still, at his level, wouldn't he be part of the leadership?’
Mae Jinpung of the Violet Mist Divine Sword had been in the leadership, and the Blood Hand Demonic Lord, who was even stronger, had to be as well.
‘The original story mentioned that the Heaven-Shattering Society had its share of internal strife.’
There were traitors, and some of the leaders were killed by them.
He wondered if the reason the Blood Hand Demonic Lord never appeared in the original story was because he had been killed by a traitor.
‘If that man really is one of the leaders…’
He didn't know whether to be pleased or worried that Mad Demon was fighting on par with a leader of the Heaven-Shattering Society.
His ignorance of the Blood Hand Demonic Lord's position in the society made everything feel frustratingly uncertain.
“How long are you going to rest?”
Maeng Yo approached Jinmyeong and Shin Yehyang, who were watching the battle without taking their eyes off it.
“Look who's talking. Who's the one who just woke up?”
“Hehe. He really is an unbelievable monster. I'm still aching.”
Maeng Yo rubbed the spot where the Blood Hand Demonic Lord had hit him.
“Keuk! Please, help us!”
Someone approached the three as they were talking.
It was Song Yeonghyeon, the first to be taken down and knocked unconscious by the Blood Hand Demonic Lord.
“Looks like you're awake.”
“…I couldn't stay down forever.”
“For someone who says that, you were out cold for quite a while.”
Though he was the first to be knocked out, Song Yeonghyeon was the last to regain consciousness.
But for someone who had faced the Blood Hand Demonic Lord, he didn't seem to have many injuries.
“Thank you for your help. If it weren't for you all, I would already be dead.”
“That's probably true.”
If Jinmyeong hadn't stepped in, the Blood Hand Demonic Lord would have crushed his head.
“I know this is shameless, but I must ask. Can you help us?”
Song Yeonghyeon looked at the warriors of the Heaven-Shattering Society fighting the White Tiger Brigade.
The White Tiger Brigade was already being completely pushed back. Even if Song Yeonghyeon joined in, it was impossible to turn the tide of the battle.
But if Jinmyeong, Shin Yehyang, and Maeng Yo joined, it would be a different story.
“You wouldn't want others interfering in the duel between the Vice Cult Leader and that man, would you?”
“That's true.”
“Please, help us. Isn't it better for us to fight together than to retreat?”
“At least you're not talking about retreating.”
“……”
Watching Mad Demon and the Blood Hand Demonic Lord fight, he had considered retreating.
But he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Perhaps it was because he was indebted to Jinmyeong.
“Can you do it?”
“This much, I can handle.”
Maeng Yo grinned, hoisting his two axes and turning around.
If anything, he seemed itching for a fight.
“You were so reluctant to fight in front of that man.”
“…As I said, I want to enjoy a good fight, not die a pointless death.”
What Maeng Yo wanted most was to trade blows with a martial artist of similar skill.
He wouldn't mind dying if it was a battle where both sides gave their all.
He didn't want to die without being able to put up a proper resistance or even land an attack, like in his fight with the Blood Hand Demonic Lord a moment ago.
“So let's hurry back and fight me. You too.”
It seemed Maeng Yo was more excited about returning to duel Jinmyeong and Shin Yehyang than fighting here.
“Then show me what you've really got.”
“I will. Just don't kill the Righteous Alliance guys, right?”
Before Jinmyeong could even answer, Maeng Yo charged forward.
“Be careful.”
“You too, Miss Shin.”
Shin Yehyang nodded, then raised her saber and moved to engage the warriors of the Heaven-Shattering Society.
‘Guess it's my turn to move.’
Five swords rose into the air around Jinmyeong.
Without hesitation, Jinmyeong sent all five swords flying toward the warriors of the Heaven-Shattering Society.
Normally, he would have kept one or two swords back to defend himself, but not now.
“Keoheok!”
And the five swords began to mercilessly take lives, piercing through the warriors of the Heaven-Shattering Society.
“Kwahahahat!”
That wasn't all.
Maeng Yo, letting out a booming laugh as he swung his two axes, was the very picture of terror.
With every swing of his axes, the heads of the Heaven-Shattering Society's warriors were split in two.
“Dodge on your own.”
And another one.
Each time she swung the saber, larger than her own body, the resulting tempest tore the warriors of the Heaven-Shattering Society to shreds.
“Uwaaaak!”
“Get back!”
The problem was that the tempest didn't distinguish between friend and foe, and even some members of the White Tiger Brigade were caught in its wake.
“Uh…”
The addition of just three people.
It completely changed the tide of the battle.
The warriors of the Heaven-Shattering Society, who had been pushing back the White Tiger Brigade, were now the ones being driven back.
It wasn't just being pushed back.
Their numbers began to dwindle at a speed that could only be described as a slaughter.
Just three people. All because of a mere three people.
“At this rate, it seems like they don't even need us.”
The members of the White Tiger Brigade stared blankly at the battlefield.
Five swords flew through the air, killing enemies, while a giant of a man with two axes laughed maniacally as he split their heads.
And a woman would swing a massive saber, creating a great storm that swallowed the enemies and tore them to pieces.
The White Tiger Brigade wasn't even moving, yet the number of enemies was steadily decreasing, a fact that left them feeling utterly helpless.
“To people like that…”
“We're lucky our heads are still attached.”
The brigade member who had called Jinmyeong a fox riding on a tiger's back had to rub his own neck.
Shin Yehyang and Maeng Yo were certainly formidable.
But the one overwhelming this battlefield was not Shin Yehyang or Maeng Yo, but Jinmyeong alone.
“Don't let the enemies get to him.”
Of course, it wasn't as if no enemies charged toward the stationary Jinmyeong.
But their blades were blocked by Song Yeonghyeon before they could even reach him.
In the end, the members of the White Tiger Brigade, with nothing else to do, ended up protecting Jinmyeong.
“Tsk!”
The Blood Hand Demonic Lord clicked his tongue, pulling away from Mad Demon.
He looked at his subordinates with displeasure.
He was displeased that they couldn't even break through three people.
“……”
Watching the Blood Hand Demonic Lord's lips move silently with a distorted expression, Mad Demon knew he was communicating with someone via telepathy.
“It seems we'll have to end it here.”
“Thinking of running away again, are we?”
“…Think what you will.”
Judging by the dissatisfaction plastered on the Blood Hand Demonic Lord's face, retreating was not his own decision.
“Retreat!”
With that single word, the Blood Hand Demonic Lord immediately shot away.
“Tch!”
Mad Demon, who was about to give chase, scowled as the Blood Hand Demonic Lord's subordinates blocked his path.
“Out of my way!”
Mad Demon swung his saber and cut down the subordinates, but they continued to swarm him, holding him back.
Despite the Blood Hand Demonic Lord's order to retreat, few actually did. Instead, they stood in Mad Demon's way, buying time for their master to escape.
“Tsk.”
In the end, Mad Demon could only click his tongue and stare intently in the direction the Blood Hand Demonic Lord had disappeared.