Paradise's Humiliation (7)
The metallic clash rang out sharply.
Hwang Seok-tae furrowed his brow.
The circular barrier formed by his red spear had deflected dozens of hidden weapons.
Not a single one had touched his bare skin. A few that slipped through lost their momentum in the spear wind and bounced harmlessly off the inner energy barrier wrapped around his collar.
There were no real injuries. The problem was the accumulation of impact. Quite impressive. Hidden weapons were light by nature.
Even the heavier ones were at best daggers or short knives. No matter how much internal energy was infused into them, they could never produce true penetrating power or weight.
Yet the actual shock felt when blocking them with a spear or body was considerable. It’s not because of any explosive force from the weapons themselves or some special property.
Whoosh! Thud! Thud!
He closed the distance and swung his spear shaft left and right. Two experts struck by the shaft vomited blood and flew backward. Their ribs were probably all shattered.
At that moment, poison fields erupted from all directions.
Whoosh!
By then, Hwang Seok-tae had already vanished from his original spot.
He wasn’t particularly skilled in irregular movements or lightning-fast footwork.
But when it came to advancing and retreating, he boasted greater mobility than any other expert. It was both a characteristic of his spearmanship and of the Iron Cavalry unit itself. Inner energy? No, it’s not simply a matter of quality.
Thud!
The red spear, which had just punched a bloody hole through the throat of an expert who charged recklessly, moved in a strange trajectory and returned to Hwang Seok-tae’s hand.
For a brief instant, his eyes blazed with fire.
Bang bang bang bang!
Seven spear strikes burst forth like flashes of light, completely repelling the experts’ charge. One of them had a large hole torn through his thigh.
It was astonishing power paired with masterful technique. His spearmanship, where force and skill interlocked perfectly, shifted seamlessly between an impenetrable fortress and an unstoppable siege ram.
This was the Giant Dragon Spear Style.
It was a supreme spearmanship reborn through his own enlightenment, further refined by Yang Cheon’s touch, based on the Blood Dragon Spear Technique—one of the most renowned in the Dark Faction.
In terms of raw spear power alone, it could easily be called the best in the Dark Faction. If combined with the charging force of a cavalry unit, no expert would be able to block it head-on.
Booom! Bang!
Hwang Seok-tae staggered backward from the sharp palm strike.
He had blocked it with the shaft of his Red Dragon Divine Spear, but it was an unexpected blow. Had it landed cleanly, he would have suffered a serious internal injury.
Hwang Seok-tae glared ahead.
One expert was breathing heavily, staring at him. It was the same man whose thigh had been pierced because he couldn’t dodge the Dragon Tail Seven Flash.
Hwang Seok-tae extended a finger toward him.
Thud!
A sharp finger wind punched a hole straight through the man’s forehead.
Clang clang clang! Clang clang clang!
The experts didn’t miss the opening and unleashed another barrage of hidden weapons, but Hwang Seok-tae’s Giant Dragon Seven Forms flowed like water, perfectly executed.
It would not be breached. Before the spear technique that created a resilient red shield through elastic rotation, dozens of hidden weapons fell uselessly to the ground once more.
Then, a single dagger rode the wind toward Hwang Seok-tae’s shoulder.
It wasn’t particularly fast or slow. Compared to the barrage that had poured from the front earlier, it was something he could snort at and block easily. …!
Yet Hwang Seok-tae chose to evade.
Whoosh!
With a single step, he retreated three jang.
Shockingly, the slowly thrown dagger had suddenly begun spinning with elastic force and was now right in front of his thigh.
It was an unbelievable change in direction and speed.
Hwang Seok-tae struck down at the dagger with his fist.
Clang!
The dagger shattered and rolled across the ground.
His fist hadn’t escaped unscathed either. The hand that had struck the blade was cut fairly deep. What is this?
At that moment, three crescent-shaped sword lights scattered like exploding fireworks.
Bang bang bang!
“Kuaaak!”
A group collapsed screaming.
Hwang Seok-tae frowned.
“That’s my prey.”
“This isn’t the time to worry about that crap!”
Kang Liang, who had rushed in like the wind, swung his iron sword as if possessed.
Clang clang clang!
He unleashed strikes with all his might, taking advantage of the broken formation.
It was a moment that revealed Kang Liang’s incredible battle sense. When the enemy pressed hard, he minimized energy expenditure with evasion and counterattacks. The instant an opening appeared, he exploded with power to maximize damage.
Even before considering his martial arts, that combat instinct alone deserved praise. It was a different kind of practical sense from Yeon Hojeong’s—though still incomplete, it clearly showed the potential of a true combat swordsman with limitless room to grow. Anyway.
Vrrr!
Hwang Seok-tae, who had sealed his wound with inner energy, drove the Red Dragon Divine Spear into the side of the swordsman aiming for Kang Liang’s back. Now I understand why the Tang Family’s hidden weapon techniques are so dangerous.
Even blocking a single hair-thin, lightweight hidden weapon delivered a surprisingly heavy impact.
He had deflected it easily because his level was higher. Against an opponent of similar strength, the force would have been enough to blunt their charge.
It wasn’t a matter of inner energy quality, but of application. The true essence of the Tang Family’s hidden weapon arts isn’t the mysterious nature or accuracy of the weapons themselves.
Clang clang clang clang! Boom!
Kang Liang’s Ghost Sword drew bizarre forms, luring the enemy into openings.
Hwang Seok-tae didn’t miss a single one. He drove them back with the full power of the Giant Dragon Spear Style, and the number of enemies steadily decreased. That was just the foundation. On top of that foundation lies a separate inner energy technique that maximizes the destructive power, penetrating force, and speed variation of the hidden weapons.
Even while focused on the fight, Hwang Seok-tae couldn’t help but feel genuine admiration. Truly astonishing. To imbue something that doesn’t even weigh an ounce with the weight of a thousand pounds. Creating such a mysterious method of inner energy manipulation must have taken generations of effort.
This was the power of a prestigious family with deep tradition.
They weren’t fools who only knew how to wield the powerful martial arts their ancestors created.
The family itself improved and refined a single martial art for hundreds of years, producing new results.
That was the power of history, and the power of bloodline. The Tang Family, more closed-off and vicious than any other, had developed their own unique martial arts and techniques and grown into the absolute ruler of Sichuan.
This is exactly what the Dark Faction needs as well.
Bang bang bang bang!
No matter how great an expert Hwang Seok-tae was, it was impossible to block every palm strike, sword blow, and hidden weapon raining down from all directions.
Little by little, wounds began to appear on his body.
They weren’t injuries that would cause immediate problems, but they were the kind that would steadily erode his combat ability.
Hwang Seok-tae gritted his teeth. The history of such predecessors is what the Dark Faction needs. Only then can the Dark Faction Murim gain real strength. True martial power built upon history, that doesn’t lose to the Orthodox Faction.
Clang! Thud!
As he fiercely drove back his enemies, Hwang Seok-tae suddenly sensed something strange. Their attacks…?
They had grown stronger.
Stronger, yet more chaotic.
That was why the number of times he was wounded by sudden attacks had increased. The enemy’s formation was changing slowly but surely, and Hwang Seok-tae hadn’t been able to adapt quickly enough. Why…?!
It was then.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
For a moment, Hwang Seok-tae felt a chill run down his spine.
Black and white twin axes had flown in from behind him, drawing arcs to the left and right, and had completely blown off the heads of ten enemies who had been difficult to handle.
Deputy Yeon?!
When exactly had he gotten behind him?
Yeon Hojeong, who had stepped on Hwang Seok-tae’s shoulder and leaped upward, retrieved the Black and White Twin Dragon Axes in midair and descended at terrifying speed.
His feet accurately landed on the corpses that had lost their heads and were collapsing.
Kwaaaaaang!
It was an incredible stomp.
The White Tiger’s shockwaves erupted in all directions, shattering the balance of every expert nearby.
Flash!
Kang Liang didn’t miss the timing. He moved like a ghost from Yeon Hojeong’s left and slit the throats of three enemies.
Pae Yul did the same. Before Hwang Seok-tae could even notice, he had approached from Yeon Hojeong’s right, moving like lightning and punching holes through the chests of four enemies.
Cling cling cling cling!
What blocked the attacks pouring toward the two was Yeon Hojeong. The Flood Dragon Chain moved as if possessed, flexibly deflecting the enemies’ wave-like assault and minimizing the impact.
Yeon Hojeong shouted.
“Fall back!”
Whoosh!
Kang Liang and Pae Yul leaped over Yeon Hojeong and retreated behind Hwang Seok-tae.
Hrrrrrrrrrk!
Yeon Hojeong’s Flood Dragon Chain erupted with massive flames. The way it writhed and sealed off the entire front was truly like a living dragon.
At that instant, Hwang Seok-tae’s eyes flashed. Me?!
In a split second so brief it seemed to fracture time itself, Hwang Seok-tae realized the truth.
Yeon Hojeong, who had been fighting at the front, had torn the enemy forces apart left and right. Thanks to that, the enemies Hwang Seok-tae faced had fallen into panic and their formation collapsed. In the chaos of the melee that followed, he and the enemies had clashed fiercely.
And now.
With Kang Liang and Pae Yul having withdrawn to the rear flanks, and Yeon Hojeong creating a wall of fire with the Vermilion Bird Flame.
The center of this attack was himself.
Booooom!
Hwang Seok-tae charged forward with more force than ever before, piercing through the wall of fire Yeon Hojeong had created and thrusting his spear ahead.
It was the Giant Dragon Spear Style—Giant Dragon Cannon.
Kwaaaaaang!
It was one of the most destructive techniques in the Giant Dragon Spear Style. It literally unleashed power like a cannon.
On top of that, the Vermilion Bird Flame swirled wildly, disrupting the enemies’ vision and senses.
Rumble! Boom! Rumble!
With all kinds of explosions, the front line began to be completely devastated.
Hwang Seok-tae’s eyes widened.
Sssssss.
The flames receded, and the Flood Dragon Chain writhed as it returned, wrapping around Yeon Hojeong’s upper body.
“T-this…?!”
The carnage created by the Red Dragon Divine Spear was difficult to look at directly.
Out of the fifteen enemies who had remained, more than ten were now rolling on the ground.
More than half of them had died instantly, while the rest were either missing body parts or writhing in agony from severe burns. They were all combat ineffective.
Even though it was a scene he himself had created, he couldn’t believe it. Hwang Seok-tae stood there in a daze.
At that moment, Yeon Hojeong spoke in a voice laced with amusement.
“As expected, commanding the Iron Cavalry isn’t something just anyone can do. You know exactly when you need to step forward.”
The Azure Dragon Technique, Dragon Army Three Forms, executed through the Flood Dragon Chain wrapped in Vermilion Bird Flame.
The cannon-like spearmanship empowered by that legendary counterattack had sent all those experts straight to the afterlife.
Drip drip.
Blood flowed from Yeon Hojeong’s mouth.
He had used the Azure Dragon Technique with the Vermilion Bird Flame. The reckless use of inner energy had caused severe internal injuries.
But this much wouldn’t bring him down. On the contrary, like a beast driven into a corner, his fighting spirit only grew stronger with time.
Yeon Hojeong asked.
“How about it? You said you’d pull back if it got dangerous. Is it still dangerous?”
Hwang Seok-tae, who had been quietly watching him, let out a small chuckle.
“You really have a talent for surprising people in all sorts of ways.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“So there are battles like this too. I learned a lot.”
“You just had good instincts. If you hadn’t read the timing, the fight would have lasted at least twice as long.”
“You weren’t planning on losing either, were you?”
“I’m the kind of person who thinks the aesthetics of defeat is bullshit. If I thought I’d lose, I wouldn’t have fought in a place like this to begin with.”
He really was impossible to deal with.
Hwang Seok-tae leveled the Red Dragon Divine Spear at the front.
“I’ll buy the drinks this time.”
Four enemies remained.
Fear finally appeared on Myeong Jeon’s face as he stood far in the back.
Killing intent bloomed in Yeon Hojeong’s eyes.
“Looks like we’ll be drinking some expensive liquor today.”