Chapter 132 - Isolated Without Aid, Ten Thousand Li Flying Wind
Yeon-hoo had broken through the Millennium Gate and gained many things. Among them was the legendary lightness skill said to allow one to traverse ten thousand li like the wind.
Pa-pa-pat!
His speed, running not on the ground but atop the trees, was beyond astonishing. Cheol-u, who had rushed here with Yeon-hoo upon the report of discovering the Mudan Sect survivors, stared at Yeon-hoo shrinking into a black dot and slowly shook his head.
'Ridiculous.'
He himself would yield to no one in lightness skill. But compared to Yeon-hoo, it was laughable—a fact he felt anew.
Behind such a Cheol-u came Bu Cha and the Demon Corps members. They were all except those moving with Yuksoon. And it wasn't just them. Sin U led two thousand of the Blood King Army along the main road.
Sin Hwi had originally planned to come himself, but since Yeon-hoo had to be absent, Sin U had stepped in instead.
Meanwhile, to minimize time, Yeon-hoo ran in a straight line only. How far had he gone? His breathing gradually grew labored. His face slowly reddened.
But it was only for a moment. Suddenly, a hot energy erupted from his entire body like a storm, and both his complexion and breath returned to normal. It was thanks to invoking the legendary heart method gained from breaking the Millennium Gate.
Time passed steadily. And as half a day neared since leaving the city, explosions began echoing from afar.
Kung. Kung. Kwa-rung...!
Yeon-hoo immediately veered toward the source of the blasts. Crossing one mountain peak and even a sheer cliff face, about thirty figures racing northwest came into view.
They weren't Northern forces by their attire. But Yeon-hoo ignored them. Saving the Mudan Sect was the priority, so he passed directly over their heads.
"Huh! What the—!"
"Gasp!"
Those who spotted Yeon-hoo passing overhead cried out in shock. One shouted,
"Same direction as us!"
"He's not heading to help those Mudan bastards, is he?"
"Could be—speed up!"
"Yes!"
The group were experts from the Golden Merchant Group. They had been pursuing elsewhere but turned toward the canyon upon seeing the signal flare. They all accelerated at once.
That was when it happened.
"More coming from behind!"
This time, Cheol-u overtook them. Shouts of alarm erupted here and there again.
"Damn it! Already two incredible masters have shown up."
"No worries. Once our forces assemble, we'll have over two thousand. Even a Martial God couldn't handle us! Plus, the Ghost Corps is with us!"
The Golden Merchant Group experts chased after where Yeon-hoo and Cheol-u had vanished. But another cry rang out.
"More coming!"
"This time in a pack?"
"Let 'em pass. They don't know who we are, so they'll ignore us like the others."
The middle-aged man who seemed their leader didn't even glance back. But that was a misjudgment.
"From the Golden Merchant Group?"
A shout exploded from behind.
"They know us."
Only then did the middle-aged man turn. Bu Cha and the Demon Corps were charging like a gale.
The middle-aged man yelled,
"And who might you be?"
"Oh? Perfect—you dog bastards."
Bu Cha bared his teeth and spun his axe like a windmill.
Bung! Bung!
"Battle formation! Battle formation!"
At the middle-aged man's cry, the Golden Merchant Group experts halted their lightness skill and shifted into a circular formation. Bu Cha leaped right into the center.
"Think that turns your skull to iron?"
Shuwaak! Kwak!
"Kraaak!"
The one struck by Bu Cha's attack had his head crushed like a watermelon, flying off as a bloody pulp without even a corpse left.
"Don't leave a single one alive!"
"Yes!"
Kwa-kwa-kwak!
"Kaaaak!"
"Kwaaak!"
The horrific power left the middle-aged man dazed for a moment. But regaining his cool, as he tried to rally his men, Bu Cha charged at him like a raging tiger.
"Heh heh heh. You the head?"
The middle-aged man swung his sword at the incoming greataxe.
Kwang!
"Kuh!"
With a sharp groan, blood spurted from the man's wrist. The impact had snapped the bone. Yet he blocked Bu Cha's second strike too. The third, he barely dodged by rolling on the ground.
But that was the end. On the fifth attack, Bu Cha feinted with the axe and shot out his left hand like lightning, seizing the man's throat.
Kwak!
"Gek!"
"Rat bastard."
Bu Cha smashed his forehead into the man's face.
Thud!
"Kraaaak!"
The middle-aged man's face caved in grotesquely as he screamed. Bu Cha twisted his neck like a chicken's.
Krunch!
Blood dripped from Bu Cha's face—the man's blood. He roared at his subordinates,
"Kill these bastards quick! We have to help the Taoists!"
"...The formation is broken!"
The surrounding terrain warped, and Golden Merchant Group experts poured in like a flood. Jin Hwi's sword unleashed sword gangs, while five streams of finger winds shot from Yuksoon's five fingers.
Peok-peok!
"Kraaak!"
"Uwaaak!"
After unleashing a barrage, the two swiftly leaped back. The other disciples had already been led deep into the canyon by Jin Myeong.
With both ends sealed, the way to buy time was to use the canyon's terrain and hold out as long as possible.
"This way! Senior brother!"
Jin Myeong's shout echoed from above. What had looked like a sheer cliff had a fairly spacious ledge—wide enough for at least fifty men. Too high for a single leap, so defending while holding would buy considerable time, but Yuksoon thought differently.
"Going up there leaves us defenseless against Wall Lightning Bombs! Better set up at the hot springs and hold as long as we can! It's flat ground, but the entrance is narrow and treacherous—enemies can't attack all at once!"
"To the hot springs—hurry!"
Jin Hwi accepted Yuksoon's plan without hesitation. Jin Myeong berated himself for his shortsightedness and leaped down with the disciples.
The Golden Merchant Group experts who breached the entrance were already within fifty jang.
Yuksoon and the rest plunged into the sulfur-choked hot springs area. The steam made breathing hard, but in a life-or-death struggle, it was nothing.
"Junior brother, we two guard the entrance!"
"Yes, senior brother!"
Jin Hwi and Jin Myeong took position at the narrow mouth. Yuksoon checked the wind direction again. Still no chance for poison. The crosswinds shifted constantly— one mistake, and it could engulf the Mudan Sect.
'Damn it...'
Yuksoon steadied his breath and eyed the oncoming experts. A stern-faced man, likely their leader, flew at the front.
'Hold out. We must hold.'
Kkwaak.
Yuksoon clenched his teeth and moved beside Jin Hwi and Jin Myeong, preparing to invoke the Golden Diamond Formation.
Jin Hwi said to him,
"We'll be fine—look for a chance to escape now."
"If I had wings, I'd have flown off already."
Sheeik.
Even in this situation, Yuksoon smiled. But how could it be called a smile?
"Have you all given up hope?"
"......"
"My lord will surely come here. So never abandon hope. For the disciples behind us, steel your hearts!"
Jin Hwi couldn't bring himself to agree. The situation screamed the end for Mudan. Even if Yeon-hoo came, breaking through that horde was doubtful.
Still, he couldn't show despair.
"Understood. You all hold the thread of hope to the end too!"
"Yes!"
All answered resolutely. Amid it, the stern-faced man dropped through the steam.
"Pathetic, thrashing to survive to the end... You worthless scum don't even know a warrior's honor."
Jin Hwi shot back coldly,
"Honor is too noble for the likes of you to utter. Don't speak carelessly."
"In the jianghu, honor always belongs to the victor. Today, we annihilate you and claim it. Heh heh heh."
The man sneered and continued,
"I'll give you a chance to keep minimal honor. The one at the abduction site—step forward. Then the rest can take your own lives."
As Yuksoon, watching, opened his mouth to retort—
Suddenly, a line of blood-red glow flickered through the steam. The blood light pierced the steam like a living thing, accelerating toward Yuksoon's head like lightning.
That was when Yuksoon's right hand turned to Golden Diamond Formation.
Kwang!
With an explosion, the blood light entangled his right hand like a spiderweb. His sleeve burned, smoke rising.
Yuksoon swiftly tore it off with his left.
Rip!
Be careful. They're the Ghost Corps—Blood Family assassins. More threatening than dozens charging at once!
"...!"
At "Blood Family," Jin Hwi and Jin Myeong's eyes widened. Blood Family. Despair piled onto their grim hearts.
Then—several blood lights rained down from above like a shower. A hazy barrier formed around the three. They had raised body-protecting aura.
At once, Yuksoon swung Golden Diamond Formation, Jin Hwi and Jin Myeong their swords, batting away the blood lights.
Kwa-gwang!
This time, Jin Myeong's sleeve caught fire. He shed it quickly. His eyes shook fiercely. One clash had let him feel the Ghost Corps' terror with his whole body.
Drip.
Tears ran down Jin Myeong's cheek. He had realized the inescapable tragedy.
Then Yuksoon's transmission voice rang in Jin Hwi and Jin Myeong's ears.
Use palm force to stir wind toward them!
Jin Hwi and Jin Myeong turned to him. Yuksoon urged trust with his eyes instead of words. They nodded, and Yuksoon withdrew Golden Diamond Formation, quietly clasping his hands at his chest.
One, two...
Three!
Jin Hwi and Jin Myeong thrust out twin palms. A fierce gust with their energy blew toward the Golden Merchant Group experts. At the same time, black smoke rode the wind—Yuksoon's poison smoke.
'It has to work...'