Chapter 73
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Closed the Door, Not Knowing a Demon Had Come Out (3)
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KLAAANG!
“Damn it all!”
A rare curse escaped Ma Dongpil’s lips. As he continuously retreated, he suddenly spun around and swung his leg.
THWACK!
A single kick sent the massive wolf flying twenty feet. An ordinary person would have been left with their mouth agape in astonishment.
But that was only for a moment.
Grrrr.
After shaking its head a few times, the wolf contorted its snout once more.
CRACK!
As it clenched its claws, the ground beneath it fractured. Its blood-red fur gradually bristled, making it seem half again as large as before.
Ma Dongpil’s eyes wavered.
‘No impact?’
Though it was a kick delivered in the heat of the moment, it was an attack imbued with considerable internal energy. To think it only staggered for a few moments after taking that blow?
‘Where in the world did these monsters come from!’
KLAAAAANG!
“Argh!”
A Protector screamed as he was caught in the jaws of a giant wolf. His face turned deathly pale in an instant, his torso pierced by sharp fangs.
Blood poured down.
A series of snapping and crunching sounds followed, and soon, his body went limp. His heart had been punctured and his neck broken; he was dead.
The wolf spat out the corpse and roared.
GRAAAAWL!
It was a sound no ordinary wolf could make. Utterly different from a dog's bark, it echoed through the area like the roar of a tiger.
And there wasn't just one or two of them.
SWOOOSH!
Ma Dongpil darted forward and swung his sword fiercely.
SLAAASH!
His blade sliced a long gash across the wolf’s hind thigh.
But it was far from a fatal wound. Although it bled profusely, it was merely a flesh wound.
‘How can this be!’
The wolves were so fast that his side had no choice but to engage in a swift battle. Even the brief moment it took to form sword energy was too precious to waste, forcing them to fight with only internal energy and pure swordsmanship.
Even so, this was too much. To be struck by his sword, which could cleave boulders, and suffer only a flesh wound instead of having its leg severed completely…
WHOOSH!
The wolf’s reaction was also brilliant. Without threatening or even glaring, the moment it was cut, it lunged forward, trying to bite Ma Dongpil.
‘Fast!’
He could see the menacing teeth inside the giant wolf's maw. As hard as steel and as sharp as a treasured sword, those teeth were caked in the blood of his subordinates.
Demonic energy blazed in Ma Dongpil’s eyes.
SLAM!
He ducked into its guard and launched the wolf into the air.
It was a difficult strategy to employ. Ma Dongpil, having fought all sorts of bizarre creatures in the Solitary Bamboo Forest, was the most effective among the group in driving back the wolves.
WHOOOOM!
A distinct demonic energy gathered on Ma Dongpil’s sword. Forget a swift battle; his plan was to first reduce their numbers.
WHIRRRRL!
With a raging gust of wind, a sharp stream of sword energy shot toward the wolf. No matter how fast the wolf was, the blow was unavoidable.
THWACK!
A spray of blood erupted from the wolf’s chest. Finally, a proper killing move had landed.
Ma Dongpil’s gaze was cold and heavy, filled with killing intent.
‘I’m sorry.’
His immediate mourning for his fallen subordinate had to be brief. True mourning could wait until after all these monsters were dealt with.
Ma Dongpil scanned his surroundings.
“……!”
The area was in utter chaos.
The transport unit, formed in a defensive circle around the carriage, and the three units of the Hall of Protectors surrounding them were fighting valiantly against the wolves, but they were overwhelmed.
The wolves, which had appeared from nowhere, were faster than the Protectors’ movement techniques, their hides were like steel, and their ferocity was akin to that of a demon driven by madness.
Yet, if they sensed danger, they would deftly employ hit-and-run tactics.
‘Wolves forming a battle line? They’ve learned tactics like that?’
He wondered if this made any sense at all. Even the demonic beasts of the Solitary Bamboo Forest didn't use group tactics.
‘Dammit!’
But this was no time to be stunned.
As Ma Dongpil spotted a weakness in one of the wolves and was about to charge, he felt it.
Whoosh!
A frank and vicious killing intent from behind him.
Ma Dongpil swung his sword hard. It was his signature strike, heavy and powerful.
THWACK!
His sword sliced through the wolf’s foreleg. A dull thud echoed, as if an axe had struck a tree.
“When did you get here… Hah!”
Ma Dongpil couldn’t hide his shock.
The wolf that had gotten behind him and attacked was the same one that had been struck down by his sword energy moments ago.
Blood was pouring from its chest and its tongue was lolling out, but its eyes were still murderous.
‘It’s not dead?!’
How could this be? He was sure he had struck the spot where its heart and lungs overlapped.
“Hahk! Hahk! Keheong!”
The wolf, making a wheezing sound, charged again. Unlike the other wolves that held their formation, this one acted independently, unable to keep pace due to its severe injuries.
WHOOOOOM!
Ma Dongpil pushed his Demonic Arts to their absolute limit.
STAB!
Evading the wolf’s jaws, he leaped onto its back and stabbed it in the eye.
Thump!
The wolf shuddered and then collapsed. The longsword had pierced its eye and split its brain.
“Hoo! Hoo!”
Ma Dongpil’s breathing had grown quite ragged.
He, a peak master, was this exhausted after killing just one wolf. There was no time to rest.
SWOOOSH!
As Ma Dongpil charged into the heart of the battlefield, a powerful explosion reached his ears.
“YELP!”
A wolf, sent flying nearly thirty feet, was covered in white frost. It staggered to its feet, but it seemed incapable of fighting for the moment.
‘Chief Ju!’
“Hah, hah!”
Juhwa, after letting out a ragged breath, called out in a clear voice.
“Transport unit, fall back further and stand by!”
To the guards who needed every available hand, her words might have sounded cruel, but Ma Dongpil thought her judgment was correct.
Even if they were fellow cultists, if they hadn’t trained together, it was better for them to stay back.
CRUNCH!
Two members of the Third Unit collapsed, coughing up blood.
Juhwa’s eyes turned cold.
WHOOSH!
Instantly filling the gap in the formation, she unleashed a twin palm strike.
CLANG!
Two wolves that had been trying to exploit the opening staggered back, a thin layer of ice forming on their faces.
WHOOSH!
Just then, Ma Dongpil, who had soared high into the sky, descended at a terrifying speed.
SHIIIIIIING!
A slash more powerful than any before it tore through the necks of the two wolves.
He had intended to decapitate them, but he only managed to cut about halfway through. They were dead, but the fact remained astonishing.
“Hoo!”
He had expended too much energy in that single moment. Ma Dongpil’s face turned pale.
After taking a short, ragged breath, he shouted.
“Revolving Heaven Accumulation Formation!”
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
The remaining forty Protectors formed two lines and began to rotate left and right. It looked like large and small wheels spinning in opposite directions.
Juhwa’s eyes trembled.
‘This is dangerous.’
She could tell at a glance that it was a formidable formation. The reason Ma Dongpil had only activated it now was obvious.
Continuously rotating at high speed to confuse the enemy’s vision and cover the allies’ openings would undoubtedly consume an immense amount of stamina.
Ma Dongpil was making his own gamble.
“Hah!”
BOOM!
The wolves at the front recoiled. She had spread her Sangcheon Arts like a silken sheet and slammed it into the ground.
That wasn't all. Juhwa quickly moved to the rear and unleashed her Sangcheon Arts once more.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Juhwa moved all around, rapidly lowering the ground temperature.
The chillingly cold temperature carried a powerful force. The entire Blood Wolf pack retreated, growling in frustration.
Watching the scene from a distance, Yullang’s eyes deepened.
“Quite impressive.”
Jeong Illyong nodded.
“Their ability to adapt is considerable. They don't even seem to have much combat experience.”
His eyes were fixed on Juhwa. Though aged, they were clear, yet they emanated a subtle desire, filled with greed.
“Will the Blood Wolves be alright? It’s just a stalling tactic, but they won’t be able to approach easily.”
“Of course, they’ll be fine.”
Wooo.
Yullang’s eyes turned blue.
Simultaneously, the wolves at the front leaped forward in unison. Though their instincts told them to retreat, they reacted instantly to Yullang’s command.
Juhwa and Ma Dongpil quickly unleashed sword and palm strikes at the wolves.
SCREECH! THUD!
The charging wolves flipped their bodies mid-air and retreated.
They had charged explosively, yet their retreat was just as swift. Aside from five or six that stumbled and fell, all of them withdrew in a stable manner.
At the same time.
SWOOOSH!
Juhwa’s eyes wavered.
‘Oh no.’
As if they had been waiting, the wolves from the rear leaped through the air to attack.
She hadn't let her guard down, yet she had fallen for a simple tactic. The killing intent radiating from the wolves at the front had been that overwhelming.
Just then, a curt and rapid voice reached her ears.
“Soul-Severing.”
ZIIIIING!!
A powerful wave of energy flowed along the blade of a sword.
Ma Dongpil, who had sensed the rear attack a beat before Juhwa, had desperately unleashed his secret technique.
“Return to Heaven!”
FLASH!
A massive arc of sword energy, shaped like a crescent moon, shot toward the wolves.
SPLUUURT! BOOM!
Four wolves were sliced in two.
Three others suffered deep gashes on their abdomens, and two more, caught in the aftershock of the sword energy, were sent flying to the sides.
‘……!’
Juhwa’s eyes widened.
‘Incredible.’
With a single strike, he had bisected four of those monsters and critically wounded three more. It was a level of Sword Energy Arts she had rarely seen, even during her time in the Inner Sanctum.
However, Ma Dongpil himself was not in good shape.
“Keuk!”
He fell to his knees, coughing up blood, his face as pale as a corpse.
The fierce battle had already consumed a significant amount of his internal energy. At a time when he should have been conserving his strength, he had risked internal injury to unleash his secret technique.
WHIRRR.
His demonic energy grew wild, his breathing became unstable, and the unique sharpness of a swordsman instantly dulled.
“Third Unit Leader!”
“Don’t… don’t worry about me, quickly…”
BOOM!
A wolf that had seized the opportunity to charge was sent flying back, spewing blood. It had taken a direct hit from a full-power Sangcheon Arts strike.
Ma Dongpil bit his lip.
‘Damn it all!’
Why had he held back his secret technique that could kill the wolves until now?
It was because he feared a situation exactly like this. If Juhwa hadn't blocked that attack just now, he would have become wolf-fodder.
Now that it had come to this, there was no other choice. Ma Dongpil spat blood and shouted.
“Shift from Accumulation to Attack! Everyone, charge!”
WHIRRRR! CLANK!
The two lines of Protectors, who had been rotating in place, spread out in a circle.
They were switching the formation from pure defense to pure offense. The fight was no longer about protection; it was about survival.
Juhwa bit her lip. The leader of a Hall of Protectors unit, a man who valued his mission more than his life, had just abandoned their formation and declared an all-out brawl. It meant the situation was at its absolute worst.
“The transport unit will fight too! At least one of us has to make it back alive!”
Yeoni shouted.
“Everyone, scatter! Run to the branch as fast as you can!”
RAAAAAH!
The cultists, who had been clustered together maintaining their formation, began to move chaotically, attempting to confuse the wolves’ vision while making a break for it.
Watching the scene from afar, Jeong Illyong clicked his tongue.
“They’ve made an uninteresting choice.”
“……”
“What will you do? They’re putting up more of a fight than expected. Besides, the Blood Wolves have taken some damage.”
“……”
“Withered and faded they may be, but they are still cultists of the Demonic Cult. Pushing them too far might bring its own troubles…”
BOOOOM!
In that instant, Yullang’s figure moved with incredible speed.
Ma Dongpil, who was trying to muster his strength to swing his sword, instinctively raised his blade against the sudden surge of killing intent.
SLAM!
Ma Dongpil was sent flying, crashing into a large tree and collapsing.
“Third Unit Leader! Hah?!”
THWACK!
Juhwa coughed up blood. She had taken a direct blow to the abdomen.
“You twisted your body at the last second to avoid a fatal blow. Good reflexes.”
SLAP!
Juhwa was struck across the face, and her cheek swelled up instantly.
Yullang, who had grabbed her by the hair and sealed her demonic blood points, looked around and shouted.
“If you don't want to see your superiors eaten alive, don't even dream of escaping.”