Chapter 15 (5)
Chapter 15 (5)
"Kyaa!"
"Ggaaagh!"
With a wicked battle cry, he swung his sharp claws. The ronin, who reflexively tried to block, had his head split open, spilling blood and brains everywhere.
"Kikikik! Feels good to get a taste of action after so long!"
"Hey, don't have all the fun, save some for me! I'm finally getting to use some strength, you think you're the only ones allowed to enjoy it?"
"In things like this, whoever calls dibs first gets it!"
The Demonic Cult's Shadow Squad must always move swiftly and secretly.
This is because if they were to be discovered by the Righteous or Evil factions, it would become a serious problem.
Even though the Shadow Squad is composed of those with relatively calm bloodlust within the Demonic Cult, they are essentially people who pursue power and commit murder like it's a daily meal, so they had to be let off the leash like this occasionally.
Honestly, more than half the reason they granted the Blood Wind Lust Demon's request was for this reason.
"Huh? Hey, look over there."
While hunting the ronin in squads of three, one of the Demonic Cult members discovered something.
A man and a woman running toward them.
Naturally, what the Cult member pointed at was the woman.
"Ho! To think there's such a pretty bitch in a place like this?"
"Kyahaha! My luck is top-tier today!"
"Hey! Let's capture that bitch! It'd be perfect to use her for about a week and then toss her!"
"Though we have to enjoy her first, of course."
"Kekeke!"
Looking at the young-looking man and woman, Jincheon and Cheon Hye-un, they didn't even consider for a second that they might lose.
Due to the dangerous nature of their missions, the Shadow Squad consisted of those who were at least First-rate—the kind who could ascend to the Peak at any moment if given the chance—and there were even some who had already reached the Peak.
Furthermore, the Squad Leader of the Shadow Squad was a Super-Peak martial artist, a powerhouse who couldn't easily be suppressed by anyone other than the officially recognized Hwagyeong-realm martial artists of the Murim.
The three Cult members rushed toward Jincheon and Cheon Hye-un to kill the man and violate the woman.
"I'll go first, Sang-gong."
Cheon Hye-un, having confirmed what they were thinking through their smiles, stepped forward faster than Jincheon.
"Kwahahat! Coming to embrace us on your own!"
"This body will show you paradise!"
"The outfit is also very desirable! No need to go through the trouble of undressing or tearing it!"
Seeing that, two of the faster Cult members rushed to the left and right of Cheon Hye-un.
It wasn't that the other one was slow.
It was just that they were too fast.
As Cheon Hye-un swung her twin swords, they swung their arms with the intention of striking the swords away and suppressing her.
Since the fingers of the two Cult members using the Jo-beop (Claw Technique) were tough enough to be fine even if they collided with swords, they stoked their lust, thinking of pinning down a beautiful woman for the first time in a while.
Shirik- Shik-
In an instant, the two Cult members who tried to strike down Cheon Hye-un's blade with their claw technique widened their eyes as the afterimage of the sword grazed their hands and vanished.
'Illusion!'
'Illusion Strike!'
A changing strike that dazzles the enemy with illusions.
By the time they realized they had been hit by it,
Pu-puk!
Cheon Hye-un's blade had already pierced their throats.
Seu-wak!
She retrieved her sword after slicing their necks so they would spray blood, and then rushed toward the remaining Cult member.
Cheon Hye-un moved smoothly, shaking her upper body and swinging her arms as if dancing like a dancer.
"Ugh... Uwaaagh!?"
Dozens of blades were swung toward him within his field of vision.
The vast majority were changing strikes meant to dazzle the enemy's eyes, but among them were illusions that carried the killing intent of real blades, so the Cult member couldn't even think of a counterattack. He just flailed his arms wildly like a beginner who had just learned martial arts, dodging backward unconditionally.
Seo-geok-
And, seizing that opening, Cheon Hye-un lightly targeted the gap and sliced his neck.
Without even a single breath out of place, she swung her sword in the air to wipe off the blood on the blade.
It was a blade that had been thoroughly covered in blood from stabbing and slicing throats, but with one wipe, it returned to a clean state.
It had been sleeping in a corner for a while, but even so, this was a sword that could be called a treasure of the Cheonsan Sect.
"Huuu......."
Perhaps feeling that she had returned to being a martial artist through the sensation of taking the Cult members' lives, she took a deep breath.
Grab!
"Kyaang!? Sa... Sang-gong?"
She was startled by Jincheon's action of suddenly hugging her from behind.
"No, the way you swung your sword was so beautiful, I couldn't help myself."
This wasn't a joke or flattery.
Watching her dance with the sword to take the lives of her enemies, he could understand why she was able to enter the Five Dragons and Three Peaks.
The position of the Five Dragons and Three Peaks was originally a place that only five men and three women with 'promising future talent' could enter.
For reference, the reason there were few women was, naturally, because there were fewer female martial artists.
"Tonight, I want you to shake your waist on top of my body just like you did just now."
"Ah......♡"
To perform the Cheonsan Sect's sword dance while he was thrusting his cock into her.
In the past, she would have told him not to say such things even as a joke, but having become a body that couldn't live without sexual desire due to the Eum-bang-sa-mul constitution, she almost lost her mind without realizing it when she thought of that pleasure.
Help me—Ggaak!
"Hah! N-now is not the time for that! Let's defeat them one by one while the Cult members are still scattered!"
Expecting that there were at least dozens of them, even if she didn't know the exact number, Cheon Hye-un suggested moving in the direction where the sounds were heard.
'Well, honestly, I don't care how many ronin die, but now is the perfect chance to defeat them one by one.'
Jincheon liked to fight, but he wasn't a masochist who would deliberately create an unfavorable situation to fight with his back to the wall.
Besides, Jincheon, who had many bad feelings toward the Demonic Cult, had no reason to deliberately create a situation favorable to them.
"You take the lead and fight again this time. Leave the rear to me."
"Yes!"
Having regained her confidence by cutting down three Cult members in one go, she answered vigorously and ran together in the direction where the screams were heard.
"Hahahaha! Daring to chase this body like prey!? You bastards!"
"Aaagh!"
"When fighting properly, you guys are nothing, just gathering in numbers!"
Perhaps because he had a lot of pent-up frustration, the Blood Wind Lust Demon struck the ronin's bodies with his palm technique, delivering strong impacts.
"Ku-huk!"
When he put strength into a palm strike and slammed it into a ronin's torso, the impact spread to the internal organs, and the ronin collapsed, spewing bright red blood.
The Squad Leader of the 8th Shadow Squad, who was silently watching the Blood Wind Lust Demon's skills while chuckling as if the sight was gratifying, was evaluating his skills in his mind.
'He has a lot of internal energy, but perhaps because he's only dealt with low-level fighters, his method of using strength is crude. He'll need quite a bit of training in the Cult.'
For a martial artist, the more internal energy one has, the better, but there is no way to increase it suddenly unless one eats a miraculous medicine.
Therefore, most martial artists build their skills by learning how to use their internal energy efficiently, but the Blood Wind Lust Demon didn't undergo such training because he possessed abundant internal energy scraped together through Chae-eum Bo-yang (Stealing Yin to Nourish Yang).
No matter how low the quality, strength based on a large amount of internal energy couldn't be blocked by mere low-level fighters.
'Tsk. Doesn't look like he's ever suffered, did he really have to come?'
He had sought out the Blood Wind Lust Demon because the order came from above, but in his view, it didn't look like he could even endure the Cult's training properly, and he didn't seem like he would become a proper combat asset.
Of course, there was no rule saying a 50-year-old master couldn't improve.
However, that was only possible for those who had been training continuously, and the Blood Wind Lust Demon was absolutely not that kind of human.
'Still, a Peak is a Peak. Especially since he has a lot of internal energy, if he just compensates for that as much as possible, he'll play a decent role in chaotic battles.'
Thinking that anything beyond this was outside his jurisdiction, the 8th Squad Leader stopped his train of thought there.
"Hehehe, very good. Very good. Hearing their screams from all directions is very sweet."
"If we drag this out any longer, the Righteous or Evil factions might notice. You're satisfied, right?"
"Seems like I killed a bit less, but I don't want to be chased by the Righteous or Evil factions... Alright. Let's go back to the Demonic Cult."
To survive, the Blood Wind Lust Demon had prolonged his life by avoiding the major sects of the Righteous and Evil factions at all costs.
Even if he was with the Demonic Cult members, this wasn't a place where the Demonic Cult could show themselves as they pleased, so he judged it better to run away now.
Piiiiiiik~~~~
Using a special method that only the Demonic Cult's Shadow Squad could learn, the 8th Squad Leader infused his internal energy into a whistle, blowing a signal that could be heard from afar.
Piiii~~
Piiii~~
From far away, a long whistle sound was heard as if answering the whistle.
Piiii~~
.......
.......
.......
Whistle sounds were heard about 6 or 7 times like that, but no further sounds were heard.
"Hmm?"
"What's the matter?"
"It's strange. The whistle just now was a signal for each squad to return. Unless it's a special situation, they must answer. But more than half the squads aren't answering."
"Isn't that because they're busy killing the ronin?"
"Fighting mere ronin? If they were only capable of that much, I would have kicked them out of the Shadow Squad long ago."
He had a feeling that something was amiss.
The moment the Squad Leader, who thought so, was about to blow the whistle again,
Piiiiii----!
A sound close to a high-frequency wave was heard from one direction.
"Squad Leader-nim!"
The Shadow Squad member who was accompanying the Squad Leader and escorting the Blood Wind Lust Demon had a flustered expression at that sound.
"Follow me!"
The high-frequency wave from just a moment ago was a warning that a powerful enemy had appeared.
"Which bastards dare to!"
Although he was the most cool-headed Squad Leader in the 8th Shadow Squad, he was also a member of the Demonic Cult.
Furthermore, possessing Super-Peak strength, he decided to make the Blood Wind Lust Demon, whom he had to escort to the Demonic Cult this time, feel the difference in power and make him quiet.
Puk! Puk! Puk!
"Huk! Huk!"
"Hraak! Almost died!"
After suppressing them with hooks, ropes, and nets, and then stabbing them with spears and swords to barely finish off the Cult members, the Five Tigers of Pursuit sat down with sweaty, tired faces.
"Maknae! Are you okay!"
"Thanks to Dae-hyung, it didn't dig in deep! Damn, I'm dying!"
The martial arts of the Five Tigers of Pursuit, who treated Jincheon and Cheon Hye-un like greenhorns, hovered between 2nd-rate and 1st-rate.
One might wonder how they could be so arrogant with just this level, but they were ronin famous as professional bounty hunters who borrowed the power of tools to suppress martial artists.
Moreover, their senses, honed by real combat, were close to the top-tier of the 1st-rate, achieving the feat of five of them killing three 1st-rate expert Shadow Squad members.
"Everyone stand up. We have to run."
"Damn it. We should have caught them before they blew the whistle!"
The bald ronin with a large scar on his head, who was the leader of the Five Tigers of Pursuit, stood up as soon as he finished first aid, and the others had to get up while grumbling.
The Cult member they had ignored for a moment because they had inflicted a major injury had blown a whistle.
Thinking that if time passed, enemies who heard that sound would definitely swarm in, the Five Tigers of Pursuit tried to flee while quickly retrieving the tools they had been using, but,
Tatak!
"Ho, to think you bastards, mere ronin, managed to take out my subordinates."
"Keuk......."
"Ugh......."
As luck would have it, the one blocking their path was the Squad Leader of the 8th Shadow Squad.
He looked around and confirmed the appearance of his dead subordinates, but he had a strange expression.
"Bizarre. They seem to have some skill, but it doesn't look like these guys attacked the other squads."
"......?"
"??"
The Five Tigers of Pursuit, who didn't understand what he was saying for a moment, exchanged glances and tried to sneak away.
"Hahahaha! Look at this! Very lucky! Aren't these the famous Five Tigers of Pursuit!"
However, when the Blood Wind Lust Demon and the Shadow Squad members escorting him arrived, blocking their retreat, the expressions of the Five Tigers of Pursuit twisted.
'Blood Wind Lust Demon......!'
'Damn it... is this the end.......'
The Blood Wind Lust Demon was a notorious lust demon who killed every witness possible.
The crimes he had committed were enormous, but because of this safety-oriented personality, not even half of his evil deeds were known.
"Can I take care of these guys? They've been making me nervous for a long time."
"As you wish."
"Good! Very good!"
The Blood Wind Lust Demon attacked the exhausted Five Tigers of Pursuit, unleashing his palm technique.
The Five Tigers of Pursuit hurriedly evaded, but since they were exhausted from dealing with the three Cult members, dodging was all they could do.
"Huk! Huk!"
"D...damn it......! If only we weren't exhausted......!"
"I'll return those exact words to you! If it were just you guys, would this body have fled!"
While desperately blocking or dodging the Blood Wind Lust Demon's offensive, one of the Five Tigers of Pursuit lost his footing from exhaustion.
"Die!"
Kwaddeuk!
"Ku-heok!"
At that moment, the leader of the Five Tigers of Pursuit blocked the one who had lost his footing with his body, and a strong trace of the palm strike was left on his back.
"D...Dae-hyung!"
"Dae-hyung!!"
"Kulluk! Huk...huk....... Sorry....... If I hadn't...asked us to come......."
"It's not your fault, Dae-hyung!"
"If Dae-hyung hadn't shown us our talent, we would have died as mediocre 2nd-rate warriors!"
Most people who hang out because they get along, even if they aren't brothers, often abandon their colleagues and run away in crisis situations, but these guys had such brotherly love that they were willing to accept death together even though they weren't blood brothers.
"Keuk keuk keuk. Good, I'll grant you a favor and kill you all at once!"
The moment the Blood Wind Lust Demon, who saw that, was about to unleash his palm technique toward the Five Tigers of Pursuit,
Sasasasak---!
From one direction, materialized sword energy flew toward the Blood Wind Lust Demon.
Thinking he could catch the Five Tigers of Pursuit, who were recognized by everyone in the ronin world, the Blood Wind Lust Demon, who discovered it late, hurriedly unleashed his palm technique to try and cancel it out.
Seu-keok!
"Ggaaaagh!"
However, the Blood Wind Lust Demon's palm technique couldn't overcome the sword energy, and his palm was sliced long vertically, and he vomited blood.
"Ho."
The Squad Leader, who was quietly watching the scene, let out an exclamation of admiration without realizing it.
If it was sword energy capable of piercing the Blood Wind Lust Demon's palm technique and inflicting a wound, it would only be possible if it was at a considerable level.
"See? I told you. That whistle was indeed a whistle to call comrades."
"That's right. And luckily, the target is with them too."
Jincheon and Cheon Hye-un, who had arrived after hearing the high-frequency whistle sound sent by the Cult member, smiled at the sight of the Cult members and the Blood Wind Lust Demon.