Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: The Demon Dyes Mount Huang with Blood (1)
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Damho's approaching figure came into view.
His distinctive offbeat gait tightened around people's hearts. It felt as if hundreds of ants were crawling wildly all over their bodies, making their skin crawl unbearably.
Their eyelids twitched uncontrollably, blurring their vision. The moment they hurriedly circulated their internal energy to calm their boiling blood, an immense pressure crushed down on their entire bodies.
Boom!
Jong-o's body shattered like it had collided with a boulder rolling down from the mountaintop and flew through the air.
Unable to withstand the tremendous pressure, the blood vessels in his eyes burst completely, and blood spewed from all seven orifices. Jong-o's horrific appearance left no room for the Mount Dragon Squad warriors to mourn his death.
Damho was already stepping toward his next victim.
"Fuck!"
"Beat him down! He's just a cripple at the end of the day."
Their weapons sliced through the air toward Damho.
Damho didn't dodge their attacks. Instead, he threw himself forward in a completely defenseless state.
Clang!
The moment the sharp sword blades touched Damho's body, they bounced away in all directions. The Golden Turtle Shell had been unleashed.
"Gasp!"
One of the Mount Dragon Squad warriors standing in the path of the rebounding sword's trajectory cried out in terror. That was the last reaction he would ever show in life.
Boom!
With a explosive sound, his head burst open like a pumpkin.
Grayish brain matter and fresh blood splattered across the faces of the Mount Dragon Squad warriors.
"Ugh!"
Some warriors instinctively shut their eyes. In that instant, one of them felt a powerful grip around his neck. Damho's hand had wrapped around it.
The moment he tried to open his eyes in shock, his head snapped back with a crack.
Crack!
The chilling sound of breaking bones echoed through the air. The sight of the dead warrior with his tongue lolling out long sent ripples of horror through the others' hearts.
Damho didn't rush.
He simply advanced toward them with his signature offbeat gait. Yet with every step he took, one of their comrades died.
Some had their bodies pulverized into minced meat, others had their necks snapped.
The causes of death varied, but they all shared the commonality of gruesome ends. The sight of them instilled extreme terror in those still alive.
"Argh!"
"W-We have to run."
In that moment, a single word filled their minds.
Impossible to oppose.
An existence they could never fight.
At least to those present, Damho had been etched into their minds as a being of pure terror.
The surviving Mount Dragon Squad warriors threw down their weapons and scattered in all directions. The only one left standing was the squad leader, Yu Gwangcheon.
"Ugh!"
He trembled as he glared at Damho.
Deep down, he wanted to run too. But he couldn't.
The others were mere underlings, but he was the leader of the Mount Dragon Squad. He had nowhere to retreat, nowhere to return.
Win or die, he had to see it through here.
"You're just flesh and blood in the end."
Whoosh!
Yu Gwangcheon swung his sword desperately.
A red energy gathered on his blade, soon spewing intense heat.
The stance of Flame Extinction.
It was the most powerful technique Yu Gwangcheon could unleash right now.
"Die, you monster!"
Yu Gwangcheon swung his sword at Damho with all his might.
Whoosh!
A fierce sword qi carrying scorching heat flew toward Damho. The warping of the air showed it was no ordinary power.
Damho didn't evade Yu Gwangcheon's attack. Instead, he bent at the waist and charged straight into his embrace.
Sizzle!
Yu Gwangcheon's sword grazed along Damho's back. His clothes tore, leaving a long gash.
But Damho didn't even blink.
It was merely a flesh wound. No vital muscles had been damaged. That meant no hindrance to executing his techniques.
His fist slammed into Yu Gwangcheon's abdomen.
Boom!
"Gah!"
Yu Gwangcheon's body lurched violently.
The fist had struck his belly, yet his back exploded outward. The powerful energy had pierced straight through from stomach to spine.
Yu Gwangcheon's pupils shook as if an earthquake had hit. Dead blood gushed from his mouth.
"Gurrgh!"
A grotesque groan escaped through his lips.
Damho grabbed the collapsing Yu Gwangcheon's neck and yanked him upright.
In Damho's pitch-black pupils, Yu Gwangcheon's terrified face was reflected.
"Y-You?"
Yu Gwangcheon flailed his hand out. But before it could touch Damho's face, his body was roughly slammed to the ground.
The spot where his body rolled to was right at Muk Ilgwang's feet.
"S-Spare me, Ilgwang."
He begged Muk Ilgwang.
Muk Ilgwang let out a low sigh at the pathetically servile sight. Gone was the triumphant Yu Gwangcheon from moments ago; only a man groveling for his life remained.
Muk Ilgwang raised his axe.
"Act like a man for once."
"W-We were friends."
"We were, until a moment ago."
"You bastard! Have you forgotten all our old bonds?"
"Yeah! I have."
Slash!
In an instant, Muk Ilgwang's axe cleaved through the air. Yu Gwangcheon's head split in two, blood spraying everywhere.
That was the end of Mount Dragon Squad Leader Yu Gwangcheon.
"Ugh!"
Muk Ilgwang staggered.
He had mustered his last strength to kill Yu Gwangcheon, but his own wounds were far from light.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine, miss."
As he answered, Muk Ilgwang scanned the surroundings. But Damho was nowhere to be seen.
'Brother.'
"Huff! Huff!"
Hwang Kyungmun spat out ragged breaths. His shoulders heaved with each one.
The hall overflowed with the stench of death, no need for a separate depiction of Asura's hell.
Dozens of warriors lay as corpses at Hwang Kyungmun's feet. The blood pooling from their bodies formed red puddles on the floor.
Hwang Kyungmun straightened his back and spoke.
"Is that all you've got? Not even a proper warm-up."
His aura lived up to the moniker of Tyrant Blade. The elite warriors of the Tyrant Squad surrounding him wavered.
At that moment, Jo Yunsan shouted.
"Don't be afraid! It's all bravado. An old man poisoned by Lung Blood Powder and Mountain Air Toxin is just lashing out in his death throes."
"Bravado, you say... Could be. But this Hwang Kyungmun ain't dead yet."
Hwang Kyungmun launched himself toward Jo Yunsan.
Tyrant Squad warriors blocked his path.
"Out of my way!"
"We can't let you. Meet your end gracefully, Grand Leader."
"Then I'll have to cut you down..."
Hwang Kyungmun infused his blade with energy and swung.
Whoosh!
Two warriors lost their lives to the powerful blade qi.
Hwang Kyungmun's eyes trembled.
He couldn't easily believe he was killing the elites he had personally raised.
'Where the hell did it all go wrong?'
After decades together, he thought their bond was thicker than blood. He couldn't accept that all those years of camaraderie could crumble in an instant over mere ambition.
Hwang Kyungmun's gaze turned to Yun Chung.
The second-in-command of the Tyrant Squad and his sworn younger brother stared back at him blankly.
'What the hell did you do to the Tyrant Squad, Chung-ah?'
Even now, he couldn't believe Yun Chung had betrayed him.
Stab!
In that moment of distraction, a sword pierced his back.
"Ugh!"
He turned to see Golden Fox Squad Leader O Jongsam grinning slyly.
"How's it taste, Squad Leader?"
"You?"
"Even a tiger can die to wolves in the jianghu, right? Heh heh!"
"True! That's the jianghu for you. But there's one thing you don't know."
"What's that?"
"I'm a tiger, alright. But you're no wolf."
"Huh?"
Whoosh!
In that instant, Hwang Kyungmun's Tyrant Blade bisected O Jongsam.
The grin vanished from O Jongsam's face. Hwang Kyungmun kicked the falling body and muttered.
"You're a dog. A mangy stray that lives off shit."
Thud!
O Jongsam's severed body crumpled limply to the floor.
Hwang Kyungmun was still alive.
The title of Tyrant Blade wasn't won lightly.
Poisoned by Lung Blood Powder and losing his energy to Mountain Air Toxin, the man himself remained strong.
Thud!
Hwang Kyungmun kicked off the ground toward Jo Yunsan.
'The root of all this chaos is Jo Yunsan. I must kill that bastard no matter what.'
Jo Yunsan recoiled in horror at Hwang Kyungmun charging with monstrous ferocity.
Purely in terms of martial prowess, Jo Yunsan was no match for Hwang Kyungmun. No one here could stand against him. But fights weren't always decided by head-on clashes.
"Now!"
Jo Yunsan bellowed.
Swish!
Dozens of short spears burst through the windows. Silver chains dangled from their tips.
Swinging the Tyrant Blade now could gravely wound Jo Yunsan. But doing so might cost his own life.
Hwang Kyungmun swung his blade to deflect the spears.
Dozens of spears clattered powerless to the floor. But the warriors gripping the chain ends shook them, and like vipers, they revived to strike at Hwang Kyungmun.
Clatter!
Dozens of chains crisscrossed around Hwang Kyungmun.
He was suddenly trapped in a prison of chains. Everywhere he looked, only silver links filled his vision.
The chains constricted around him like a serpent coiling tight.
"This is the Serpent Form Soul-Sealing Formation we prepared for this day."
A victor's smile crept onto Jo Yunsan's lips.
The Serpent Form Soul-Sealing Formation was a one-on-one array designed to hunt absolute masters like Hwang Kyungmun.
The chains on the short spears were refined by special methods, impossible to sever even for top experts.
Jo Yunsan had selected elites from the Black Water Squad and trained them solely in this formation for years. Their mastery had reached perfection.
Through the gaps in the chains, Hwang Kyungmun stood frozen. He looked as if he'd given up everything.
Warriors waiting outside the windows stormed in, each wielding long spears over three meters in length.
"Thrust!"
At Jo Yunsan's command, his subordinates jabbed the spears through the chain gaps. There was no space for Hwang Kyungmun to dodge anywhere.
'Got him.'
Jo Yunsan inwardly cheered.
He had prepared for years for this day.
Subduing Hwang Kyungmun alone would make taking over the bandits straightforward.
It was in that moment of surging joy.
Boom!
Suddenly, a brilliant burst of light erupted centered on Hwang Kyungmun.
Everyone in the Green King Hall widened their eyes.
"R-Rebound Gang Qi?"
Crunch-crack-boom!
Everything shattered in an instant.
The Green King Hall, and the chains encircling Hwang Kyungmun.
Fragments of the broken chains flew everywhere, and a silver energy torrent battered everyone inside the Green King Hall.
"Gah!"
Rumble-rumble-boom!
The massive Green King Hall was collapsing.