Chapter 148: Bloodsucking Demon Tiger-1
Chapter 148: Bloodsucking Demon Tiger-1
The very next day, the Seonwoo family's people departed for Gaeyangmun.
The party consisted of Seon-woo Seong, Seonwoo Jin, Seonwoo Yeon-ha and her siblings, along with Jegal Seoyul of the Jegal family, Jegal Ji-yong, and some thirty warriors.
Jegal Seoyul was traveling by carriage together with Jegal Ji-yong, Seon-woo Seong, and Seonwoo Yeon-ha.
Originally, Seonwoo Jin was supposed to ride in the carriage as well, but he had insisted on running outside, claiming he would show them how well he had learned to run on the frontline.
It was only natural that Seon-woo Seong and Seonwoo Yeon-ha stared at him with contemptuous eyes.
"Jegal Sojeo, I know every place near Gaeyangmun that serves absolutely incredible food. I shall treat you to heavenly flavors you cannot taste anywhere else."
"Yes, I see."
Jegal Seoyul gave half-hearted replies to Seon-woo Seong, who was sitting across from her and chattering away incessantly.
It was agonizing to be there with him, who seemed bright but tacky, and also with Seonwoo Yeon-ha, who for some reason looked as grim as if she were being dragged to a slaughterhouse.
'Should I just say I'll run outside too?'
Jegal Seoyul turned her gaze out the window with that thought. And there was Seonwoo Jin.
Strangely, these days, wherever her gaze happened to land, Seonwoo Jin was often there by coincidence.
As if he were circling around the places where her gaze was headed.
But Jegal Seoyul knew full well that this was not the case.
'It's not that he's circling around me, but rather...'
Jegal Seoyul, who had been thinking that far, suddenly shook her head vigorously.
Because her pride would not permit her to acknowledge that.
'A pathetic man who hides his skills and plays the loser just because he doesn't want to fight his own brothers. A rude man who treats the Jegal family and me like some evil faction rather than showing us respect. And on top of that, a shady bastard whose hidden schemes I can't even begin to figure out.'
To stir up her hostility toward him, Jegal Seoyul glared at the back of Seonwoo Jin's figure while thinking such thoughts.
Then Seon-woo Seong asked with a worried expression.
"Jegal Sojeo, your expression looks unwell. Is the journey very taxing for you? Please endure just a little longer. We have almost arrived now."
At those words, Jegal Seoyul snapped back to her senses and answered, pretending to be tired.
"I am a little tired. I think I shall need to rest once we arrive."
At her words, Seon-woo Seong nodded with a slightly disappointed expression.
"Ah, yes. If you are tired, you certainly must. Once you feel a bit better, I shall escort you to the finest restaurant."
Jegal Seoyul nodded, inwardly thinking she would have to keep pretending to be ill.
She was already beginning to regret coming to Gaeyangmun after falling for Seonwoo Jin's provocation.
***
When No Jo-song, the Bloodsucking Demon and a master of the Blood Cult, arrived near Gaeyangmun, the Seonwoo family's party had just entered Gaeyangmun moments before.
No Jo-song gazed down at Gaeyangmun from atop a hill and spoke to the five peak-level masters and thirty-some warriors who had followed him.
"Keep the young master's orders firmly in mind. The one called Seon-woo Seong of the Seonwoo family must be killed without fail. And the girl called Seonwoo Yeon-ha must absolutely not be touched. Do you understand?"
"Yes! We understand!"
At that moment, one of the Blood Cult's peak-level masters cautiously asked him.
"Then... what should we do with the rest aside from those two?"
No Jo-song answered, a greedy smile spreading across his face.
"The rest? Keuheuheu, you ask strange things. Since the young master did not mention them, you may simply do as you please, no? Keuheuheu."
At his answer, all the Blood Cult martial artists also grinned greedily.
"Euheuheuheu, as expected of the Demonic Tiger."
"It is an honor to have come with Demonic Tiger-nim."
But at their flattery, No Jo-song sneered and said.
"Hmph, don't get too excited. The tastiest blood will be drunk by me."
"Euheuheuheu, the scraps left after Demonic Tiger-nim has eaten are more than enough for us."
No Jo-song, the Bloodsucking Demonic Tiger, was a demon head renowned as a master who had surpassed ninety years of internal energy and was glimpsing the transcendent peak.
But he was, in fact, more famous for something other than his martial prowess.
That was his appetite.
He was a bloodsucking demon who truly enjoyed blood.
He was even so addicted to bloodsucking that he could not eat a meal without ingesting blood at every sitting.
No Jo-song licked the drool trickling from the corner of his mouth as he imagined the feast that awaited him shortly.
"Euheuheuheu, I do hope there will be plenty of delicious blood. Now, children, let us go eat!"
"Ooooooh!"
The Blood Cult demon heads let out monstrous cries and began their charge toward Gaeyangmun.
***
"Kuaaaak!"
"Euaaaak!"
Kwaaaaaang!
The horrifying screams and the main gate shattering as if exploding happened almost simultaneously.
At that moment, the leader of Gaeyangmun had just assembled the Gaeyangmun martial artists in the training ground and was in the midst of welcoming the Seonwoo family's party.
At the sudden turn of events, he shouted with a flustered face.
"Honored guests have arrived, what is this commotion?!"
But No Jo-song and the Blood Cultists, who were slowly walking in through the shattered main gate, did not bother to answer him.
They merely wore grins dripping with viscous killing intent.
Realizing they were uninvited guests, the Gaeyangmun leader commanded the hundred-some martial artists who were lined up.
"To dare smash through our Gaeyangmun's main gate and enter! All disciples of Gaeyangmun, capture those wicked fiends!"
"Yes! Understood!"
A thunderous reply echoed as if a hundred voices were shouting in chorus, and the warriors of Gaeyangmun began their charge straight at the enemy.
"Uwaaaaah!"
At that, No Jo-song, who had been watching the scene as if it were adorable, licked his saliva-drenched lips with his tongue and shouted.
"Now! The feast!"
With his cry, the Blood Cultists shot forward like beasts of prey.
"Keuhahahahaha!"
"Ihihihihi!"
"Kill them all!"
Gaeyangmun did not belong to the Guizhou Eight Families, but it was a mid-level sect that boasted the greatest strength in the Gaeyang region of Guizhou at the very least.
In particular, their armed force, the Black Five Squad of some hundred men, was praised as an elite troop of martial artists that would hold its own anywhere in the martial world.
But even they could only amount to a ragtag mob before the demon head No Jo-song with over ninety years of internal energy, five peak-level masters, and over thirty Blood Cultists of first-rate upper level and above.
No Jo-song leaped straight into the oncoming warriors' front line and swung his Tiger Claw Hand.
"Keuhahahaha!"
Puhwaak!
"Keuaaaaak!"
"Keueoeoeok!"
The face of the Gaeyangmun leader, who was watching, instantly hardened like stone.
With a single sweep of the Tiger Claw Hand, no fewer than five bodies had been severed at once.
It was a gruesome wound so mangled that one could not even distinguish whether the warriors' bodies had been split apart or pulverized.
And just as No Jo-song picked up a severed arm from a corpse dripping with fresh blood, raising it to his own mouth as casually as if tasting a fine dish—
The five peak-level masters who had sprung out from behind him plunged into the midst of the Black Five Squad warriors.
Puhwaak!
"Keuhaaak!"
Chwaaak!
"Keueok!"
It was a massacre.
It was as if watching five wolves leap into a flock of sheep.
And it did not end with them.
The thirty Blood Cult warriors crashed into the flanks of those who were already being slaughtered by the five peak-level masters.
Puhwaak!
"Kuaaaak!"
"Euaaaaak!"
The face of the Gaeyangmun leader, who was watching the spectacle, was now completely pale.
It was a fight far too one-sided.
At this rate, it seemed all hundred men of the Black Five Squad would be annihilated before even a quarter-hour had passed.
But even so, the thought of leaping in himself did not occur to him.
Because he could immediately realize that he, who had not even stepped into the peak realm, could not handle even a single one of them.
He trembled and muttered.
"Wh-where on earth did such fiends come from...?!"
Just as the Gaeyangmun leader was staring at the scene with a dumbfounded face, the Seonwoo family's party was likewise thrown into confusion by the catastrophe that had unfolded in an instant.
In particular, Seon-woo Seong, who could be considered the leader of the party, merely stood there muttering with a bewildered face, unable to decide what to do or how to act.
"Wh-what on earth is going on?"
It was then.
Jegal Ji-yong, the Jegal family elder who could be called the greatest master among those present, muttered with a face drained of color.
"That man... could it be... the Bloodsucking Demonic Tiger?"
His eyes were riveted on the shaggy-haired man who was calmly wandering among the corpses, dipping into and tasting their blood even in the midst of the slaughter.
Yellow and black hairs mingled in his body hair, a massive build with tiger-like eyes, and the manner of savoring blood as if relishing a delicious dish.
He was unmistakably the Blood Cult's demon head, the Bloodsucking Demonic Tiger No Jo-song.
Jegal Ji-yong urgently shouted at Seon-woo Seong.
"Seon-woo Sohyeop! What are you doing right now?! Order the warriors to attack at once! Those are Blood Cult demon heads, I tell you! Quickly!"
Startled, Seon-woo Seong hastily gave the command.
"Wh-what?! Ah, yes! Understood! What are the warriors of the Seonwoo family doing?! All of you, assist the Black Five Squad at once!"
"Huh? Ah, understood!"
The warriors of the Seonwoo family also had eyes, and they did not wish to crawl into a place where death was certain.
For they too had been intimidated by the astonishing martial might of the fiends.
But unable to refuse the order, they had no choice but to hesitantly begin stepping forward.
And in that interval, Jegal Ji-yong immediately sent a telepathic transmission to Jegal Seoyul.
- Seoyul-ah! Listen carefully! While they buy us time, we must slip away immediately!
At that, Jegal Seoyul looked at him with startled eyes.
Because telling the Seonwoo family warriors to fight while the two of them alone slipped away was something far beyond her common sense.
"Wh-What?! But—!"
So stunned, she had spoken aloud rather than through transmission.
But Jegal Ji-yong sent another telepathic message, pressing her urgently.
- You, the treasured jewel of the Great Jegal Clan, and I, an elder—the value of our lives cannot be equal to theirs! If we do not escape swiftly, we will lose the chance! Quickly!
At his urging, Jegal Seoyul unconsciously turned her gaze, searching for Seonwoo Jin.
If they did such a thing, she could not help but worry what he—who already harbored suspicions toward the Jegal Clan—would think.
But as she turned her gaze to find him, Jegal Seoyul suddenly realized.
That he was gone.
Seonwoo Jin, his figure was nowhere to be seen.
'Wh-What the?!'
He was nowhere in the vicinity.
At some point, he had already fled.
"Ha!"
So utterly dumbfounded, a hollow laugh escaped her.
The one who had been lecturing about who was the main culprit and who was the accomplice had abandoned his family and comrades and bolted in an instant?
The disappointment was so crushing it felt like despair.
At that moment, Jegal Ji-yong shouted desperately.
"What are you doing, Seoyul-ah! Quickly...!"
Jegal Seoyul jolted at his roar and pulled herself together.
But the situation was already too late.
"Khehehehe! What a damn pretty wench!"
A Blood Cultist was lunging straight at her.
The iron claws swinging toward her were wreathed in crimson forceful energy—a peak-level master.
"Ee-yik!"
Jegal Seoyul gritted her teeth and drew her sword.
Shu-haak!
The blade flowing with jade-colored sword qi clashed against the demon head's iron claws.
Jjeo-eo-eong!
"Ho-oh?! Peak-level, you say?!"
The demon head, who had intended to shatter Jegal Seoyul's sword in one blow and seize her, wore an expression of surprise.
But that was only his expression—his iron claws were already sweeping sharp as a gale, bearing down on her once more.
In response, Jegal Seoyul calmly unfolded her sword form.
Eight Formation Sword Technique—First Form
Departure Memorial
Shu-haak!
Chae-chae-chae-chae-chaeng!
The jade sword qi carved lines like stacked iron ramparts, blocking every fierce assault of the demon head.
It was the Eight Formation Sword Technique of the Jegal Clan—acknowledged as somewhat lacking in dazzling offensive power, but peerless in the martial world for its impregnable defense.
Though all his attacks had been blocked, the demon head burst into manic laughter, as if delighted.
"Uhehehehe! Fun, so fun! Let's keep playing, little miss!"
And he immediately tried to swing his iron claws at Jegal Seoyul again. But soon, he found himself unable to.
Pu-hwaak!
"Kkeu-e-e-ek!"
Because a single strike from Jegal Ji-yong—ambushing him from behind—turned him into a departed soul on the spot.
Having killed the demon head, Jegal Ji-yong urgently shouted again.
"Seoyul-ah! Quickly...!"
But his intent could not succeed this time, either.
"Yi-ha!"
"Die, old man!"
Two other peak-level masters were charging at Jegal Seoyul and Jegal Ji-yong respectively.
"Ha-ap!"
"You dare!"
Chae-chae-chae-chae-chaeng!
The demon heads appeared to be masters at the entry stage of peak level, but Jegal Ji-yong was one of the foremost experts of the Jegal Clan, having surpassed the boundary of eighty years of internal energy.
For Jegal Ji-yong's sword, it could hardly take very long to strike down a mere demon head at the entry stage of peak.
Pu-hwaak!
"Keu-a-a-a-ak!"
Having dispatched the demon head who had recklessly charged at him without much difficulty, Jegal Ji-yong looked toward Jegal Seoyul again.
She was locked in an evenly-matched fight with a demon head wielding thin twin sabers.
"Haa-a-a-ap!"
"Yi-ha!"
Chae-chaeng! Chae-chae-chaeng! Chae-chaeng!
Jegal Ji-yong hurried to assist her.
He had to escape this place with her, and quickly.
But just as he was about to launch himself toward her, a spine-chilling sensation suddenly brushed the back of his neck, and he had no choice but to hurl himself backward to evade.
Pa-bak!
Then, in the next instant, something enormous crashed down where he had just stood.
Kwa-a-a-ang!
The ground where Jegal Ji-yong had stood until just a moment ago burst apart as if exploding.
Jegal Ji-yong swallowed dryly and stared at the one who had caused the explosion.
A massive, shaggy-haired brute who had gouged a great crater into the earth with a single blow—he was none other than the Bloodsucking Demon, No Jo-song.
The one they had thought was too preoccupied tasting blood had come to face Jegal Ji-yong personally.
No Jo-song raised his head from the sunken pit and let out a greedy grin.
His mouth was thickly smeared with red blood.
"U-heu-heu-heu, a rather strong old man, aren't you. Even if old, that blood should taste pretty good."
"...No Jo-song."
Jegal Ji-yong gritted his teeth.
For him to have already made it here...
It was a disaster.
Of course, Jegal Ji-yong himself was also one of the foremost experts of the Jegal Clan, having broken past the wall of eighty years of internal energy.
But the opponent was on a different level.
The man was a monster gazing toward the transcendent peak.
'I need to get help from someone...'
Jegal Ji-yong's eyes rapidly swept the surroundings.
The first to enter his sight were the warriors of the Gaeyang Sect and the Seonwoo Clan, who looked as though they were about to be annihilated in short order.
The Gaeyang Sect leader, the Gaeyang Sect elders, and even Seonwoo Castle had joined forces and were struggling in a fierce, desperate battle—but all were in a state where it would not be strange for them to die at any moment.
And when he turned his eyes again, Jegal Seoyul—the only peak-level martial artist aside from himself—was locked in an equal fight with another peak-level demon head.
In the end, there was not a single place from which he could receive aid.
Jegal Ji-yong's heart grew more and more frantic.
'If so, then I must somehow flee...'
But even that was already impossible.
Thinking of escape, Jegal Ji-yong glanced behind him and could not help but be shocked.
He saw that, unnoticed, two demon heads had already taken their positions at his rear, grinning fishily.
'Since when?!'
What was worse, both of them appeared to be at the peak level.
They must mean to block his retreat.
Jegal Ji-yong had no choice but to realize it now.
The only option left to him was to fight and defeat the Bloodsucking Demon before his eyes.
Now Jegal Ji-yong looked at No Jo-song with utterly bleak eyes.
No Jo-song asked him with a rank grin.
"Done rolling your eyes around now? Then shall we have a taste of your blood?"
No Jo-song's gaze already seemed to regard him as nothing more than an object to drain blood from.
Jegal Ji-yong could feel goosebumps rising at those beastly eyes.
But even if he had not fought many real battles recently, he was still a master of over eighty years of internal energy—an elder of the Jegal Clan.
He knew well enough that if he was overwhelmed in momentum, he would never win.
Jegal Ji-yong gritted his teeth and roared.
"You beast of a bastard! I'll show you the sword of the Jegal Clan!"
And he immediately hurled himself forward to attack first.
"Ha-ap!"
Shu-ha-a-ak!
But his sword strike, thrown with all his might, collided head-on with No Jo-song's Tiger Claw Hand, swung with full force.
Teo-o-o-o-ong!
Jegal Ji-yong's sword was violently deflected backward.
It was a fierce repulsive force, as though striking a squishy leather ball.
And in that moment, the tide of battle tipped.
Jegal Ji-yong's deflected sword was one—but aside from the one that had been deflected, No Jo-song still had one more arm.
As his right hand was knocked back, No Jo-song immediately swung the Tiger Claw Hand of his left hand.
"U-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Here comes another!"
Bu-a-a-ang!
"Urk!"
In a head-on clash between martial artists of comparable movement technique, stepping backward was an absolute taboo.
Because it allowed the opponent's momentum to remain fully alive while making it impossible for oneself to escape their attack range.
But even knowing that, Jegal Ji-yong had no choice but to retreat.
There was no other way.
Seizing the momentum, No Jo-song's Tiger Claw Hands began to storm down with increasing ferocity.
"U-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Squealing like a little rat!"
Teo-teong! Teong! Teo-teo-teong!
Jegal Ji-yong barely managed to block No Jo-song's Tiger Claw Hands while backpedaling helplessly.
His hands and head were growing dizzier and dizzier.
He himself could feel that at this rate, it would not be strange for him to collapse at any moment.
His heart grew darker and darker.
If he fell like this, his niece Jegal Seoyul would be finished too...
No, she would surely suffer a fate far more horrible than his own.
That dreadful future seemed to hang vividly before his eyes.
His gaze filled with the light of despair.
'Is this the end?'
That was when it happened.
"Ki-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Suddenly, a bizarre sound of maniacal laughter rang out from somewhere.
It was a sinister sound attack, so disorienting that merely hearing it left the mind faintly reeling.
At that uncanny laughter, the gazes of all those locked in battle turned toward the direction of the sound.
And then, from beyond the wall where their eyes had gathered, a pale-faced eccentric in blue robes came flying in like a meteor.
He was laughing again as he shouted.
"Ki-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Great villains of Guizhou! The Blue-Red Twin Swords have arrived!"
It was the pale-faced Blue-Clothed Weirdo, making his first appearance since the Sichuan incident.