The Humiliation of Paradise (4)
The sudden turn of events left everyone stunned.
The expert attacking from the mid-slope had his life snatched away by an assailant who seemed to have materialized from thin air.
It happened so abruptly that even the gathered masters were left speechless. With their overwhelming numbers and superior forces, they had never even considered the possibility of an ambush like this.
At that moment, Pae Yul descended from the air.
Dang Guk roared.
"Attack! Attack them now!"
Swish!
Countless hidden weapons surged toward Pae Yul.
But Yeon Hojeong's Flood Dragon Chain moved a fraction faster, wrapping around one of Pae Yul's legs.
Tiiiing!
Pae Yul was yanked forward at terrifying speed. The volley of hidden weapons sliced through nothing but empty air. It had been a true instant of life or death.
Boom!
Pae Yul, now grounded, grumbled coarsely.
"Damn, that hurt."
"Better than dying," Yeon Hojeong replied.
Myeongjin bellowed in fury.
"Kill them! Kill every last one!"
Swish swish swish!
More than fifty masters charged toward Yeon Hojeong and Pae Yul.
Yeon Hojeong grinned fiercely.
"Good!"
Booom!
Yeon Hojeong shot forward even faster than their charge, swinging his White Dragon Axe.
The pure white slash howled as it swept forward. Above the white dragon's blade, the claws of a savage white beast flickered into existence.
Clang-clang-clang!
With a single swing, he shattered every incoming wave of energy.
It was overwhelming power. The White Tiger Qi, fueled by the Yeon Family Divine Elixir at maximum output, had been further amplified by the Silk Reeling Force to multiply its destructive might.
Their attacks were repelled in the blink of an eye.
And in that opening, Yeon Hojeong's body slipped past Myeongjin and Dang Guk, plunging straight into the middle of the forty-plus masters.
Thud! Thump! Crunch!
The White Dragon Axe severed necks while the Black Dragon Axe crushed limbs. The two divine weapons knew their roles perfectly. Dancing in perfect harmony with Yeon Hojeong's movements, the Black and White Twin Dragon weapons carved through six enemies in a single breath.
"Bastards!" Dang Guk shouted.
"Disperse!"
More than half of the forty masters were practitioners of the Tang family's martial arts. Every one of them was skilled in both poison techniques and hidden weapons.
While poison and hidden weapons were lethally effective, their efficiency when clustered together was abysmal. If they could overwhelm as a group it might work, but when a madman like this charged straight into their center with his life on the line, they had no choice but to scatter.
Swish swish swish!
The masters broke formation.
Yeon Hojeong had no intention of allowing it.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Clink-clink-clink-clink!
With a chilling sound, the Flood Dragon Chain drew a massive circle through the air.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
It was as if a divine sword had been attached to the end of the chain. The Flood Dragon Chain pierced straight through the torsos of more than ten masters.
"Aaaargh!"
"Gaaah!"
Screams were inevitable. This wasn't the clean stab of a sword. It was a brutal piercing by blunt iron chain. The chain tore through their internal organs as it withdrew.
Even if they didn't die instantly, they could no longer move. Circulating their internal energy had become nearly impossible.
But they weren't simply taking the beating.
Boom! Bang!
The palm strikes they unleashed as they retreated hammered into Yeon Hojeong's body.
Yeon Hojeong flinched several times. He could have dodged, but that would have required retrieving the Flood Dragon Chain. Doing so would prolong the fight, and a prolonged fight meant he could not seize victory.
Right after exploiting the beauty of the ambush, he had switched to a "give flesh to take bone" tactic. It was an extremely aggressive strategy carried out in absolute faith in his own skill and physical resilience.
Woooong!
Azure Dragon Qi erupted from Yeon Hojeong's body.
The Azure Dragon Qi governed the liver. The liver was the detoxifying organ responsible for purging nearly every kind of impurity that entered the human body.
Poisons were included in that category. The intensely heated Azure Dragon Qi activated the liver's full capacity, spreading its purifying power throughout his body to block the invading toxins.
It's fine. His stomach was already churning violently. A fishy taste was rising in his throat.
I can endure this. Yeon Hojeong stamped his foot with explosive force.
Booom!
The earth trembled as a powerful shockwave exploded outward in a perfect circle.
Everyone retreating near Yeon Hojeong staggered at once. These were all outstanding masters, yet a single stamp had shattered their balance.
It was the White Tiger Dominating Step. While it was the supreme combat footwork of the Sasinmu, to Yeon Hojeong footwork itself was simply another form of attack. He had poured out his internal energy at maximum output and used masterful control to amplify the shockwave to its limit.
It was a level of creativity rarely seen in the world. The entire unit fell into disarray at the brilliant display of power.
Yeon Hojeong shouted.
"Red Spear!"
Rumble!
From the far end of the street, Hwang Seok-tae charged forward at terrifying speed and swung his Red Dragon Divine Spear.
Boooom!
The destructive power was immense.
Even on foot, the force was like a massive cavalry charge. The killing-intent martial art unleashed alongside the spear turned three masters into bloody pulp.
Once again, it was the power of an ambush. Enemies that would have required dozens of exchanges in a head-on fight had been finished with a single strike.
Myeongjin's face twisted in rage.
"You bastards!"
Ambush after ambush.
Only three people had launched surprise attacks, yet the damage to the entire unit was catastrophic.
This was the true essence of tactics. No matter how small the force, a perfectly timed ambush could crush an army's morale and eventually drive them into terror.
"Don't panic! There are only three of them!"
Flash!
At Myeongjin's shout, the eyes of the remaining masters changed.
That's right. There were only three. Each was an incredible expert, but the difference in raw power was still overwhelming.
The morale that had been plummeting from confusion blazed back to life at Myeongjin's words.
Myeongjin shouted again.
"Drive them back methodically! All poison users must keep your distance at all—!"
It was then.
Claaang!
"Ugh!"
Myeongjin staggered back several steps.
The one who had attacked him was Pae Yul. Having darted around looking for openings, he had poured every ounce of his strength into this strike.
"As expected, impressive skill."
Woooong.
A terrifying killing intent surged from Pae Yul's short spear.
Its intensity was truly comparable to Hwang Seok-tae's. If Hwang Seok-tae's killing intent was rich and oppressive, blended with military spirit, then Pae Yul's was razor-sharp and piercing.
"Let's settle this between us."
"You son of a bitch!"
Baaang!
The Diamond Tiger Subduing Fist was an absolute technique worthy of being called a divine fist.
The power transmitted through the short spear was terrifying. The vibration traveled past the shaft into his wrist and elbow. Had he not gripped it firmly, the weapon would have flown from his hands.
Yet Pae Yul did not panic. He felt no fear and did not retreat.
His martial arts always demanded forward momentum. Pae Yul dug into Myeongjin's guard in an instant and thrust his short spear upward from low to high.
Myeongjin swung his hand with a cold expression.
Clang!
The short spear that had been rising toward his chin lost its path.
Following the spear's trajectory, Pae Yul's body leaned hard to the left. The power was monstrous.
This bastard. Myeongjin's fist flew toward Pae Yul's head. The strike carried enough force to shatter a skull.
It was then.
As his torso leaned with the rotation, a small sword had already appeared in Pae Yul's left hand.
Claaang!
"Ugh!"
Myeongjin grimaced and retreated.
"Hoo."
Pae Yul exhaled and lowered his stance.
Short spear in his right hand. Small sword in his left.
Through relentless training, he had reached the point where he could wield both weapons perfectly with either hand. To completely master the Sun-Piercing Art—which would later be praised as the Jeomchang Sect's greatest technique—there could be no restrictions on the movement of both hands.
"You bastard!"
The two men charged at each other with ferocious momentum.
Boooom!
Amid the explosive sound and swirling sandstorm—
Whoosh!
The Vermilion Bird Fire Qi erupting from Yeon Hojeong's body instantly heated the Flood Dragon Chain red-hot.
Sizzle!
"Kyaaaaagh!"
"Aaaaagh!"
With horrific screams, the masters pierced by the Flood Dragon Chain collapsed where they stood.
They weren't dead, but their condition was worse than death. The searing heat of the Vermilion Bird Qi cauterizing their wounds subjected them to unimaginable agony.
Whoooosh!
A dark green energy flowed out from Yeon Hojeong's body.
He used the Azure Dragon Qi to instantly neutralize the poison while burning away the rest with fire qi.
But—
Boom! Bang! Bang-bang-bang!
To face so many masters at once, he was forced to accept attacks he would never normally allow.
Drip.
Blood flowed from Yeon Hojeong's nose and mouth. His complexion had already turned deathly pale.
Can't be helped. If he were only concerned with minimizing allied casualties, there was no need to push himself this far.
But against these shameless bastards, he refused to let any of his companions die. He knew how dangerous such sentiment was in real combat, yet in this particular fight, he did not want to lose a single ally.
That was why Yeon Hojeong had chosen to sacrifice himself.
Because he was the strongest and possessed the toughest body among them.
The infinite power of the Four Gods Qi would sustain him until the battle ended. That was Yeon Hojeong's faith.
Swish swish swish!
As if mocking his resolve, hidden weapons flew in from every direction.
Poison palms could be easily blocked. Hidden weapons were another matter entirely. Unless one possessed the legendary Diamond Indestructible Body, stopping them from piercing the skin was nearly impossible.
And among these hidden weapons were many that didn't stop at cutting the skin—they tore through blood vessels and ravaged the internals.
Yeon Hojeong spun on the spot.
Whoooong! Clang-clang-clang!
As he rotated, the Black Tortoise Qi surged forth, erecting a powerful water-energy barrier.
It was a barrier of true qi. By using the densest form of water qi to create an incredibly tight defense, no hidden weapon could penetrate his body.
But his enemies were not fools.
Bang-bang-bang!
The defensive power of the North Heaven Twelve Walls weakened at a frightening rate.
It was the poison palms. The poison qi within those strikes was perfectly suited to contaminating the formless Black Tortoise Qi barrier. The corrupted Black Tortoise Qi was creating gaps throughout the condensed wall.
Had the North Heaven Twelve Walls been erected with perfect concentration, even the poison palms could have been blocked. The problem was that his shaken internals, worsening internal injuries, and the desperate situation had prevented him from forming the technique perfectly.
It's fine. Yeon Hojeong hurled his White Dragon Axe.
Thud!
The axe flew in a perfect arc, decapitating a master who had been preparing to throw hidden weapons, then returned to his hand. He had already linked it to the Flood Dragon Chain.
With this much, I can endure—
Boom!
Yeon Hojeong staggered sideways.
"You son of a bitch."
The experts from the Qingcheng and Emei sects who had been observing the situation finally moved to capture Yeon Hojeong.
Every one of them was a supreme peak expert who had broken through the wall of their respective sects. With the Wind Thunder Master dead and Myeongjin occupied by Pae Yul, nine supreme peak experts remained.
Yeon Hojeong wiped the blood from his mouth.
"Truly a shame."
In a one-versus-nine fight, he could manage somehow using every tactic and all his combat experience.
However, in this chaotic melee, having nine masters all targeting him was an entirely different story. He could laugh off three or four, but nine was inevitably overwhelming.
The large nun, Doseon, spoke.
"Forget the others. We must kill that axe-wielder at all costs. He's the core of their force."
The corner of Yeon Hojeong's mouth curled upward.
"Are you the smartest one in this pack?"
"Shut your mouth!"
Whoooong!
It was hard to believe this was a nun's martial art.
The heavy palm wind that pushed through the air was overwhelming. It sacrificed speed entirely for destructive power—a slow but potentially fatal strike.
Yeon Hojeong snorted and swung his hand.
Boooom!
The palm wind shattered into pieces with an explosion.
Doseon's face twisted. She had not expected her strike to be destroyed so easily.
Yeon Hojeong chuckled.
"I take back what I said earlier. Just how the hell did you learn martial arts like this? There's a limit to being stupid, but this is..."
"You bastard!"
It was then.
Flash!
A tyrannical sword light sliced across the air, pouring down toward Doseon's head.
Startled, Doseon blocked it with her fist.
Bang!
She had always prided herself on losing to no one in raw power, but this sword light was truly formidable.
Yeon Hojeong frowned.
"I told you to wait for the signal!"
"Before that, it looked like you were about to die, brother!"
Swish swish swish!
Kang Liang, who had delivered the surprise strike, had appeared without any of them noticing.
Whoosh!
Yeon Hojeong charged toward the retreating Doseon while the experts on her left and right unleashed killing intent and attacked. Kang Liang moved to block those chasing after Yeon Hojeong.
Clang-clang-clang!
Kang Liang deflected the hidden weapons with godlike speed and swallowed dryly.
This is really fucked, isn't it?
Could they truly win this fight?