Chapter 543: Sword Demon (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 543: Sword Demon (2)
Night had fallen, and the sun had long since vanished.
Countless figures moved like shadows through the dense undergrowth.
“Faster!”
“Maintain formation! Do not break rank!”
Though their faces differed, their expressions were identical: masks of pure, unadulterated tension.
Thud!
Their pace quickened steadily. From the way they navigated the treacherous forest path, it was clear they were all seasoned martial artists. Their uniforms snapped in the wind, the insignia embroidered upon them distinct even in the gloom.
That crest represented only one power.
The Murim Alliance.
The men racing through the night were warriors of the Murim Alliance. Leading them, his body taut with apprehension, was Seodong, Vice-Captain of the Sky Dragon Army from the Alliance's Guangdong branch. His eyes darted restlessly, scanning the dark.
‘Damn it.’
His hand gripped the hilt of his sword until his knuckles turned white. He focused the power in his dantian, channeling his internal Qi to its limit to sharpen his senses. His energy rippled outward, enveloping the surrounding woods.
His internal Qi was potent. To manifest a Qi sense of this magnitude, one had to have shattered the wall that separated common warriors from true masters. It was proof that Seodong had surpassed the Peak Realm.
And yet, a master of his caliber was trembling.
‘Of all times... why now, when our numbers are so few!’
There were only seven of them in total. The men he had brought were all first-rate martial artists, far above the common rank-and-file, but that didn't change the reality of their situation. Their strength was woefully insufficient.
‘A Red-Grade...’
They were nowhere near enough to hunt a Red-Grade Demon.
One Peak Realm master and six first-rate martial artists. Just a few years ago, this would have been a formidable force—more than enough to handle a demonic threat. After all, Seodong alone could slaughter Blue-Grade Demons with ease. Back then, the appearance of a demon was a dangerous task, but a manageable one.
‘Damn it all.’
But the world had changed.
Three years ago, starting in Sichuan, a new grade of Gates of Demons began to manifest. To call them "new" wasn't entirely accurate; they were the reappearance of a grade that had existed in the ancient past. However, the shift they brought to the world was too catastrophic to be explained away so simply.
“Warm yourselves up! Don't let your guard down for a second!”
At his shout, the martial artists behind him flinched, instantly circulating their Qi. As their internal energy bled into the air, a wave of heat began to radiate from the group.
A grade that hadn't appeared for centuries: The Red Gates of Demons.
Gates of a rank unfamiliar to the people of this era had begun to tear open a few years ago. The monsters within were incomparably stronger than Blue-Grade Demons. They possessed barriers that could nullify internal Qi and a grip strong enough to crush the bones of even a Peak Realm master. Worse, they were so inherently violent that every appearance left the surrounding land a desolate wasteland.
They were a living calamity.
The only saving grace—perhaps a mercy proportional to their terrifying power—was that they appeared far less frequently than other grades. Of course, that did little to change the fact that a single Red-Grade Demon was a disaster in its own right.
Seodong lifted his head.
“...Ghh...!”
He instinctively gritted his teeth as he stared into the distance. A light was visible—a deep, pulsating crimson. It signaled only one thing.
‘It’s about to emerge.’
A demon was about to step through the Red Gate of Demons.
The best time to hunt the beast was the exact moment it emerged—those fleeting seconds when it faltered, disoriented by the new environment. That window decided the entire course of the battle. Given their current numbers, a direct confrontation once the beast settled was nothing short of suicide. They had to time their strike perfectly, but...
‘We’re too late.’
The report of the gate’s appearance had been delayed, and their own preparations had taken far too long. At this rate, the demon would be fully manifested by the time they arrived.
If that happened...
‘There are civilian homes nearby.’
A single mistake would lead to a horrific slaughter. It was a scenario they had to prevent at all costs.
‘Why?’ Seodong wondered, even as he pushed his legs to move faster. ‘It feels like the frequency is increasing.’
The thought that the number of Red Gates of Demons had been steadily rising lately wouldn't leave him. In the year they were first discovered, there were twenty at most. But now, though it was only spring, there had already been more than twenty reports.
The threat was escalating.
Seodong felt a cold sense of dread, realizing that he wasn't the only one who felt it; every swordsman in the Alliance likely shared this growing fear.
At that moment—
Kuuuung!
“...!”
Seodong’s eyes widened at the roar echoing from ahead. He bit his lip so hard it bled. That sound was unmistakable.
‘The demon is out.’
It was the roar that signaled the arrival of a Red-Grade Demon. Beneath that crimson light, the nightmare had arrived.
Grit.
Grinding his teeth, Seodong drew his sword.
Shing!
The moment his blade left its scabbard, the martial artists behind him followed suit without hesitation. They all sensed it instinctively: a single mistake on this mission meant death.
‘...Why now, of all times, when the Captains are away!’
If even one Captain-level master had been present, the situation wouldn't be so dire. But they were all gone, dispatched to investigate the death of Domungang of the Nine-Fist Demonic Art. Because the Four Demons and Five Emperors were involved, the Alliance had sent their top brass.
Who could have known their absence would become a death sentence for those left behind? They needed at least two Perfected Peak Realm masters to stand a chance, yet here they were with this paltry force.
‘This is nothing but a suicide mission.’
He should have retired earlier. Was it a sin to stay in the service? Seodong forced down the rising sense of futility. If he abandoned his post, the surrounding villages would be erased. He couldn't let that happen.
“We’re almost... there.”
Seodong’s voice, steady until a moment ago, now carried a tremor of anxiety.
“I’ll take the lead. You all support me from the rear.”
“Vice-Captain...!” one of the martial artists cried out in concern.
But the man didn't finish his sentence. They all knew there was no other way.
Thud!
Finally, the group burst into the clearing at the source of the light. Seodong tightened his grip on his sword, his tension reaching a breaking point. Woooong! Sword Qi surged into the blade, glowing with a sharp light. He spread his Qi sense as far as it would go, desperate to assess the threat.
‘Where is it?’
This was definitely the location. The demon should be right here. Red-Grade Demons were usually massive; it shouldn't be hard to spot.
‘What is this?’
Seodong felt a chill that had nothing to do with the night air.
‘Why is it so quiet?’
A suffocating silence hung over the clearing. A Red-Grade Demon should have been roaring, tearing trees from the earth, and seeking prey. But the area was eerily, unnaturally still. Even worse, he couldn't detect a single demonic signature with his Qi sense.
“...”
Seodong raised a hand, signaling his men to stay low.
He suppressed his presence and crept forward, his men following like ghosts. They moved like that for several minutes until—
...Crunch!
“...?”
A low, wet sound drifted through the darkness.
Krr-crunch... Crack... Chomp...!
It sounded like something was being systematically crushed and pulverized. Just the sound of it was inexplicably horrifying, making the hair on Seodong’s arms stand on end.
Slurp... Crunch.
The sound grew louder as they approached. It was right ahead.
Crack!
There was no doubt. The sound was coming from just beyond the veil of darkness. Seodong’s breathing grew ragged. His heart hammered against his ribs, and a cold sweat slicked his skin. Was the Red-Grade Demon doing this? Was it eating something?
With a trembling hand, Seodong took one final step forward.
“...Hah...!?”
He gasped, the air catching in his throat.
Something was visible through the thick shadows.
Drip... drip.
The first thing he saw was a pair of radiant, glowing blue eyes. The next was a massive, powerful body. A large, lithe creature was hunched over, chewing on a demon with thick red hide.
Craaack!
With the sound of shattering bone, the red demon's head was crushed like a melon. Blood streamed down, soaking the earth in a dark pool. Seodong’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head. The carcass was too mangled to identify perfectly, but the demon being eaten appeared to be a Red-Grade tiger-type.
‘...That’s definitely...’
A monster incomparably stronger than a Blue-Grade, a beast that required a Perfected Peak Realm master to even challenge. And that very creature was being devoured alive before his eyes. The lack of collateral damage in the area meant the Red-Grade hadn't even been able to put up a fight.
‘What... What in the world is that?’
An unknown creature was preying on a Red-Grade Demon. It looked like a demon itself, but he couldn't discern its grade. At a glance, it seemed to have a blue hue, but on closer inspection, its hide was closer to a void-like black.
‘...Does that mean it’s a Blue-Grade?’
Impossible. A Blue-Grade Demon could never do this. Then what was it—
Grrr...
‘Shit...!’
As if it had finished its meal, the creature’s radiant blue eyes snapped toward Seodong. He immediately tried to channel power into his sword, but—
Freeze!
“Ghh...!”
The moment he met that gaze, his body turned to stone. He couldn't move a muscle. This was bad. At this rate—!
“Excuse me.”
“!!”
Seodong, still paralyzed, shuddered as a voice suddenly whispered directly into his ear. At the same time, he felt a heavy arm wrap around his shoulder, as if an old friend were casually leaning on him.
“I have a question for you.”
The voice was a clear, high tenor, yet strangely subdued. It was a voice he had never heard before. Seodong forced his stiff neck to turn, his heart stopping as he looked at the person beside him.
The first thing he saw was—
‘Those eyes...?’
Radiant blue eyes, identical to the unknown monster’s. Those pupils shone with a startling, terrifying clarity in the dark. The man's face was obscured by the shadows, making it hard to judge his age, but his voice sounded young.
But there was one thing Seodong knew with absolute certainty.
‘I can’t win.’
It was the pure instinct of the defeated. He knew it the moment he saw those eyes. The reason this forest was so silent wasn't because of the monster ahead—it was because of the overwhelming presence emanating from the man standing next to him.
The stranger looked at the trembling Seodong and spoke.
“I’m looking for someone. I was wondering if you might know him.”
His tone was laced with a casual, terrifying amusement. The sheer weight of the presence behind those words made Seodong’s body shake uncontrollably. He forced words out of a throat that felt like it was being strangled.
“...Who... who are you?”
“Hmm. That’s the second time I’ve been asked that today.”
Sweat poured down Seodong's face. He felt as if his mind would shatter at any moment.
“Just a man with a hobby for travel. Is that not enough? It should be.”
“...”
The message was clear: he had no intention of revealing his identity. Even knowing that, Seodong couldn't muster a rebuttal. He had a very clear idea of what would happen if he dared to say it wasn't enough.
“Because if it’s not, things could get a little troublesome.”
Grrrrr.
The massive monster in the clearing let out a low, rumbling growl. It seemed to be waiting for a command.
‘Did he... did he tame that thing?’
A human taming a demon was unheard of. It was madness. However—
“...Huu... hu...”
No matter how many questions he had or how little he understood, this was not a situation where he could demand answers.
“Who... who are you looking for?”
At Seodong’s submission, the man smiled. It was too dark to see his mouth, but Seodong could tell from the way those radiant blue eyes curved into crescents.
The man leaned in closer.
“The Sword Demon... no, that’s not it. What was his name? I think it was two syllables...”
He trailed off, lost in thought for a moment.
“I don’t actually know his name.”
Then, as if he’d suddenly remembered, he spoke again.
“He’s a man, about my age... and he uses a sword.”
Ah.
“And his eyes are a very peculiar shade of yellow, you see?”
“...!”
Seodong froze. Seeing the Vice-Captain's reaction, the man chuckled softly.
“You know him, don't you?”
“...”
Whether it was a blessing or a curse, Seodong recognized the description instantly. It was information about a man who had recently become famous for all the wrong reasons.