Death is Fair to All (3)
BOOM!
Mak Won’s iron staff, slamming into the earth, carried an overwhelming force.
The golden waves of flame that could melt even steel scattered in an instant. It wasn’t dispersed by raw power. The massive shockwave drawn from the earth’s vibration had erased the air passages that served as the source of the fire qi.
It was a dismantling method beyond imagination. The man was inwardly startled by Mak Won’s single move.
BANG!
Even a rotten fish has its uses. Mak Won’s hand, which had erased space in a single breath and closed the distance, erupted with light from his iron staff.
BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!
It wasn’t staff technique—it was spear technique. Though no spearhead was attached, a single hit would punch a hole straight through a body.
The man’s movements as he evaded the destructive chain of attacks were truly remarkable.
Mak Won’s eyes gleamed. Fast. Forget Mugeuk or Sacred Heavens—his movement technique alone was worthy of admiration.
He moved like weightless flame. If they fought using only movement techniques, he wouldn’t be far behind even the Sacred Heavens masters.
Of course, battles weren’t decided by speed alone.
Mak Won thrust out his hand.
BOOM!
The man’s body shook violently as he was hurled backward. He read it. The shockwave that rattled from his forearm through his entire upper body was tremendous.
It was a palm strike, not his full power, and even that came from a master suffering severe internal and external injuries. Yet the impact had nearly bent his torso backward. So this is the power of the Three Lords.
Each Sacred Heavens master’s martial prowess was said to rival an entire great sect. He was finally beginning to understand those words. Right now, he was essentially facing one of the Nine Great Sects alone while they were in a weakened state.
SWISH!
Mak Won closed in on the man.
He hadn’t taken many steps, yet he was already right in front of him. Despite his grave injuries, he could still display this level of speed.
BAM-BAM-BAM!
The iron staff’s movements had reached the realm of divine technique.
The attacks that surrounded him from all sides were each lethal. The man’s best possible strikes were being unleashed in a relentless chain. Damn it!
BANG!
The man retreated with extreme speed. The staff shadow that swept through the space he had occupied destroyed everything in its path.
CRASH!
Trees, rocks, grass—every external object was pulverized into dust.
A chill ran down the man’s spine. Monstrous power! There was no battle cry, no preparatory movements or qi circulation before unleashing a finishing technique. Each and every strike carried ultimate destructive force.
He could dodge, but he couldn’t block. Even a graze would shatter his qi barrier and destroy his body.
The man shouted.
“What are you all doing?!”
BOOM!
The moment his cry ended, multiple fire cannons erupted.
He couldn’t tell where or how they were being fired from. Cannons from all directions indiscriminately bombarded the space where the two stood.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Explosions rang out as the forest transformed into a hellscape.
Mak Won’s eyes wavered. This is bad. Even in this state, he wouldn’t be hit by the cannons. The distance was too great to begin with, and reading the moment the flames erupted made evasion simple.
The problem was the man.
WHOOSH!
The golden flames pouring from the man’s body absorbed the fire qi from the cannons.
The man’s eyes flashed.
SWISH! BOOM!
Mak Won took a step back. Fierce Fire Divine Palm, was it? It was a fierce technique.
Its construction, forms, flow, and power—none of it was lacking. It was a high-level martial art.
But the truly remarkable aspect of this technique—more precisely, of their techniques—was that when fire qi was added from the surroundings, its power increased beyond normal levels.
BAM-BAM-BAM!
Mak Won deflected the continuous Fierce Fire Divine Palm strikes with spinning staff strikes.
The force transmitted was different from before. His hand gripping the staff trembled faintly. He couldn’t withstand the Fierce Fire Divine Palm’s power.
BAM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Fierce Fire Divine Palm’s power grew stronger with each strike.
Mak Won frowned. A technique that absorbs fire qi to increase its power. That in itself is impressive, but… The name Sacred Heavens wasn’t something that could be overcome by a slight increase in power.
The problem was his own condition.
Even though the openings and weaknesses in the swirling Fierce Fire Divine Palm strikes were obvious, he couldn’t deflect them properly. Normally, he could shatter the force with minimal effort and close in for a finishing blow, but now that was impossible. No choice, then.
If this continued, there would be no end to it.
Determination flashed across Mak Won’s face. I have no choice but to push through with force.
FLASH!
The man, who had been deflecting the Fierce Fire Divine Palm strikes one after another, suddenly saw a streak of white light explode from the flame-filled front. ……!!
Time split into instants.
The man withdrew his Fierce Fire Divine Palm and quickly retreated to the side-rear.
At that moment, Mak Won’s charge began.
RUMBLE!
Mak Won’s figure, shooting through the sea of flames, reached the man in an instant.
The man’s eyes shook. This is bad! It was tremendous speed. It was a movement technique far faster than anything Mak Won had shown before.
Mak Won’s left fist shot toward the man’s abdomen.
BOOM!
“Gah!”
With a dull groan, the man was sent flying over ten zhang away.
The power was enough to nearly knock him unconscious. It was just a single punch, yet both its speed and destructive force were on a completely different level.
FLASH!
Sensing something was wrong, the man immediately soared into the sky. He must have squeezed out his final strength. The reason he hadn’t shown such power until now was because of the poison and his injuries. If I drag this out…
At that moment, the man felt as though the world had gone dark.
When he looked up, his face filled with shock. At some point, Mak Won had already risen into the air above him, gripping his iron staff with both hands and pulling it back with all his might. ……!!
There was no dodging this.
A terrifying battle cry erupted from Mak Won’s mouth.
“HAAAAH!”
BOOOOOOM!
A spine-chilling sound of air being torn apart burst from the iron staff as it ripped through the sky.
CRASH!
The man couldn’t even scream.
His vision flashed white and strength drained from his limbs. He had drawn out all his inner energy to erect a Golden Emperor Wall to block it, but even the ultra-high-temperature fire qi barrier couldn’t neutralize this shockwave.
THUD!
Only after being driven into the ground did he regain his senses. Urgh!
The man staggered to his feet, feeling excruciating pain in both arms. They’re broken. His right arm was broken, and his left had a fracture.
Three ribs were gone, and the impact had shaken his internal organs, causing severe internal injuries as well.
It was a truly terrifying strike. If Mak Won’s body had been in normal condition, this single blow would have burst his entire body and killed him. No, I might have been defeated before he could even draw out that kind of power.
Even so, this was fortunate. It was an incredible force, but it seemed his strength had given out at the end.
The man raised his head.
BANG!
Before he knew it, Mak Won was already running eastward.
Pure white light enveloped his entire body, flickering repeatedly. At the same time, his movement technique had visibly slowed.
The man’s guess had been correct. In that brief moment, Mak Won had pushed himself far too hard.
The man shouted.
“The target is moving east! Everyone, pursue him! Abandon the cannons!”
“Huff! Huff!”
The breathing he had barely managed to steady became tangled once more.
Mak Won couldn’t erase the bitter smile from his face. I was overconfident. I never thought he wouldn’t even be able to withstand that much.
The Heavenly Martial General Art was a secret technique that exploded all available inner energy to temporarily enhance the body, inner energy, and nerves.
Of course, that was all it was. If the opponent was a Sacred Heavens master who had mastered the principles of martial arts, they wouldn’t fall to it easily. It was a technique that could only be used as a finishing secret art when both sides were exhausted and delivering the final blow.
But it had worked on the man. Because he hadn’t yet reached the Mugeuk realm.
At the same time, it had become poison to himself. My calculations were wrong. I should have accounted not only for my remaining inner energy but also for the stamina the poison had eaten away.
He never imagined that a single second of attack would release the Heavenly Martial General Art. A single moment’s mistake can decide life and death. My wrong judgment has driven me into a dead end.
The distance from his pursuers had widened, but it was only a temporary measure. In half a quarter-hour, they would catch up, and at that point, he wouldn’t even be able to react properly.
Mak Won gritted his teeth. Still, I won’t give up. He would struggle however he could to survive. He had to survive, even if it was only through that.
Then it happened. ……?!
Tap-tap-tap.
Mak Won stopped running.
“Huff. Huff.”
His ragged breathing carried a metallic rasp.
After drawing several rough breaths, Mak Won closed his eyes. So this is the end.
When he opened his eyes again, he looked up at the sky. Heavenly fortune is something human effort cannot overcome. It seems the heavens have decided that Mak Won’s lifespan ends here.
Mak Won’s eyes grew hazy.
He forced his breathing to steady and spoke.
“Come out.”
The moment his words ended, a young man revealed himself. Impressive. He was a remarkable master. The fact that he looked so young made it even more remarkable.
His martial prowess was comparable to the Shinhwa Sect man he had been fighting until just now. Moreover, beyond his mere presence, he carried the scent of a true master who had survived through chaos.
He held a high-quality spear in one hand, and two unknown weapons hung at his waist.
Clink-clink!
A light metallic sound rang out with every movement. It seemed he was wearing chainmail made of steel links beneath his clothes.
Mak Won opened his mouth.
“A spear?”
The young man said nothing.
Mak Won nodded.
“So my final opponent is a spear master…… The heavens truly are mischievous.”
“……”
“Come. I shall burn my final moments brilliantly by facing an unknown spear master.”
At that moment, the young man’s spear erupted with flames.
FLASH!
It was an incredibly fast thrust. In an instant, he gripped the spear shaft with both hands and stabbed toward a single point in the air. The speed and form were truly flawless.
Mak Won, who had been inwardly admiring it without realizing, suddenly realized that the young man’s spear tip wasn’t aimed at him. Behind?!
CRUNCH!
In that instant, a horrifying sound of flesh being torn echoed as blood sprayed in all directions.
It was a spear wind. A brutal technique that gathered the force from the spear and shot it through the air to slaughter a person.
Mak Won’s face filled with confusion. He hadn’t even known an assassin was behind him. Yet the young master before him had killed the assassin instead of him.
Why?
“Sacred Heavens Thirteen Seats, one of the Three Lords, Hundred Weapons Divine Lord Mak Won.”
“……?!”
“Is that correct?”
It was a strange feeling.
Perhaps the lifespan the heavens had set wasn’t today after all.
“That’s right. I am Mak Won. Who are you?”
The young man, Yeon Hojeong, smiled as he angled his spear.
“I am the Vice Commander of the Martial Alliance’s Deliberation Army and Special Operations Officer of the Black Dragon Department’s Iron Cavalry Division.”
“……What?”
“I am the eldest son of the Yeon Family of Byeoksan, Yeon Hojeong.”
At that moment, a rustling sound echoed from afar. It was the sound of assassins moving and brushing against leaves.
Yeon Hojeong’s gaze turned cold.
“We can discuss the details later! Run behind me!”
BOOM!
With a powerful step, Yeon Hojeong charged forward and unleashed a merciless spear technique. It was the White Tiger Spear Art.
The white beast’s fangs tore the assassins’ bodies to shreds.
Staring blankly at Yeon Hojeong, Mak Won felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the killing intent in his eyes.
“Go, quickly!”
“Huh? Ah, got it!”
Mak Won ran forward in a fluster without realizing it.
Yeon Hojeong smirked as he turned to face the assassins.
Before he knew it, red flames were rising from his body.
“Stop tormenting a half-crippled man and play with me instead.”