Chapter 243
Chapter 243
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 243
Chapter Title: Part 6. The Road is Long, but Our Steps are Slow (3)
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The clothes worn by the Blood Mark Squad were specially made to allow free movement even underwater. Crafted from the skin of shark fish caught only in the ocean, the surface was covered in countless tiny protrusions that easily withstood the fierce currents.
On top of that, having mastered special breathing techniques for underwater use, they were specialized in naval combat.
Shiiik!
A short spear shot out from beneath the water. It flew relentlessly toward the Damho, targeting him persistently.
Shushushushu!
At the same time, countless hidden weapons and arrows rained down from the cliffs above the gorge like a storm.
“Kraaak!”
“Euk!”
The sailors manning the speedboat were pierced through like skewers by the arrows and collapsed. Their screams echoed across the deck.
“Damn it! Get your heads down.”
Muk Ilgwang shielded Bang Jinbo and grabbed a rolling plank from the deck to cover their heads.
Puk-puk-puk!
Countless arrows thudded into the plank. If his reaction had been even a moment slower, he would have ended up like the others, a victim of the arrows.
“Jinbo. Over here.”
Seizing a brief lull in the arrow barrage, he evacuated Bang Jinbo to a corner of the speedboat and covered him with the plank.
“Don’t move from this spot no matter what.”
“Yes!”
Straightening his back after hearing Bang Jinbo’s reply, Muk Ilgwang grunted.
“Ugh!”
“S-save me!”
The deck was littered with fallen bodies, soaked in the blood they had spilled.
“Everyone, snap out of it. Grab the sail ropes, now.”
The only one keeping a cool head amid the chaos was the boat owner, Jang San-u.
He deflected the incoming arrows one by one while holding the rudder steady. If he let go, the boat would capsize immediately, and no one would survive.
At Jang San-u’s desperate shout, the few who were still unscathed hurried to stabilize the boat. Thanks to their efforts, the vessel rocked violently as if on the verge of flipping but managed to inch forward.
Gazing up at the sky from the shaking deck, Damho saw Deung Cheon-so and Jin Hye-won looking down at him.
“This Hell Gorge will be your grave, Kwonma.”
Deung Cheon-so spat out the words in a guttural voice. A sticky killing intent radiated from his entire body.
The guilt of failing to stop his friend So Cheon-san’s death, combined with pure rage toward Damho, had paralyzed his reason.
Standing beside Deung Cheon-so was Jin Hye-won.
A strand of curiosity mingled with the bewitching allure in her eyes as she gazed at Damho. Unlike Deung Cheon-so, she had never clashed with him directly. That was why her head was filled with curiosity about the Damho she had only heard rumors about.
Torrents swirled around the boat he was on. The Blood Mark Squad attacked with short spears from below the surface, while arrows poured down from the cliffs above. Yet Damho did not move.
Standing tall alone on the speedboat tossing like a leaf in the wind, looking up at the sky—his figure sent an inexplicable shiver through her.
‘That man!’
Their eyes met.
Her face was reflected in his pitch-black eyes, devoid of any emotion.
In that moment, she felt an inexplicable thrill.
He was different.
Different from any man she had ever seen. That was the emotion she felt.
Kwagagak!
The Blood Mark Squad stabbed at the speedboat’s hull with their short spears. Holes opened everywhere, and water gushed in.
“Kuuk! We need to shake off those bastards under the boat.”
It was at that moment when despair flickered in Jang San-u’s eyes.
Damho lifted his right foot high. Then he slammed it down onto the deck with all his might.
Kuuuwaaang!
The boat rocked violently as if it would shatter, sending sprays of water shooting up in all directions. It was as if a thunderbolt bomb had exploded beneath the surface.
The corpses of the Blood Mark Squad members who had been clinging to the hull, drilling holes, floated to the surface. Blood poured from their eyes, ears, and other orifices. Their seven apertures had burst.
Deung Cheon-so and Jin Hye-won’s eyes widened in shock.
“S-separating Mountain to Strike Cow?”
The technique of striking a cow on the far side by hitting through a mountain wasn’t all that difficult. Martial artists of Deung Cheon-so or Jin Hye-won’s caliber could perform it with their eyes closed. But they couldn’t deliver blows only to enemies underwater without any impact on the boat itself.
At that moment, Damho stomped the deck again.
Kwaaang!
It wasn’t a simple Separating Mountain to Strike Cow but an application of pure inner force striking through a barrier. The shockwave from his foot spread far and wide through the water.
“Kuh!”
“Mm!”
The Blood Mark Squad, who had been lying in wait underwater, clutched their ears and burst out of the water.
That was when Damho moved.
Kwajik!
The head of a Blood Mark Squad member who had just poked his head above the surface exploded like a watermelon. Damho’s foot had crushed it outright.
Puk-puk-puk!
Damho stomped repeatedly on the heads of the Blood Mark Squad floating on the surface, and each time, headless corpses bobbed up.
Shishishik!
Countless arrows rained down toward Damho, but it was already too late.
In an instant, having burst the heads of over a dozen men, Damho was back on the boat. The arrows from the cliff thus struck the water futilely.
“Kuh!”
Deung Cheon-so’s face twisted in demonic fury.
“Everyone, attack!”
At his command, the Blood Mark Squad, who had been hiding underwater for ambushes, began climbing onto the boat. At the same time, those on the cliffs leaped down toward the vessel.
Every direction was filled with Blood Mark Squad members in red clothes. Like red ants swarming an ant hell, they pressed forward relentlessly toward Damho and the Yellow Horse Company sailors.
“Kuh! Everyone, be careful.”
Jang San-u shouted while gripping the rudder tightly.
Muk Ilgwang, standing protectively in front of Bang Jinbo, drew two massive axes.
“Cha-at!”
He swung the two axes like a whirlwind. A gale of wind swirled through the area.
Whirlwind Mad Cleaving Slash.
It was an advanced technique from the Blood Heaven Axe Method he had mastered.
“Kweeeek!”
“Hek!”
Screams rang out.
Five or six Blood Mark Squad members were cleaved in two by his axes and rolled across the deck.
He felt the sticky fresh blood flowing down the axe hafts. But Muk Ilgwang gripped them even tighter.
These days, he seemed like a gentle lamb overshadowed by Damho, but he was a renowned master even among the bandits. Muk Ilgwang unleashed his prowess to the fullest.
Death settled around him. But no matter how fiercely Muk Ilgwang fought, he couldn’t match Damho.
Kwang! Kwang!
Explosions boomed continuously around Damho. Each time, Blood Mark Squad members were turned into bloody pulp and sent flying in all directions.
Three or four Blood Mark Squad members near the Tanma Pavilion had their waists bent like sickles as they flew into the river. Tossed onto the surface, they drifted motionlessly with the current.
Blood spread across the water.
Damho’s gaze turned to the sky.
Deung Cheon-so and Jin Hye-won were still looking down at him.
In that instant, a Blood Mark Squad member lunged from behind, gripping a short spear. Without even turning, Damho seized his collar and hurled him toward the cliff.
Peuk!
The ambusher slammed deep into the cliff face. His skull and spine shattered, he died without a scream.
Puk!
Damho continued throwing Blood Mark Squad members into the cliff one after another. Their corpses embedded in the rock formed a straight line, like stairs carved into the cliff.
Without hesitation, Damho leaped toward the makeshift stairs.
“Brother! Don’t worry about this side.”
Muk Ilgwang’s voice came from behind. It was a choice possible only because he had such a reliable ally guarding his back.
Damho climbed the stairs without looking back.
“Kuh!”
Deung Cheon-so trembled with rage.
Damho was ascending the cliff in a way he had never imagined. His assumption that the cripple couldn’t use proper lightness skill was proven utterly wrong.
The killing intent in Deung Cheon-so’s eyes grew even stickier.
“Fine! I’d have been disappointed if you crumbled to mere Blood Mark Squad.”
He circulated his inner energy.
At that moment, Damho finally reached the top of the cliff.
“You?”
The instant Deung Cheon-so raised his sword upon seeing Damho, Damho kicked off the ground without pause. It was 충보 (Chungbo).
Followed by Wave-Breaking Pursuit.
Kwang!
With a thunderous boom, Deung Cheon-so’s body slid backward.
His sword arm buzzed with vibration. Deung Cheon-so’s expression hardened.
It was due to Damho’s sudden, unannounced attack.
Normally, in such cases, there would be talk like “Where did you come from?” or “What’s the reason for attacking?” But Damho had no such procedures.
They had mobilized the Blood Mark Squad to attack.
Thus, they were enemies. Damho had no mercy for enemies to spare them conversation.
Shiaaak!
A Single Sun Strike flew toward Deung Cheon-so’s nose bridge.
“Arrogant fool!”
Deung Cheon-so swung his sword to block Damho’s strike. He had infused maximum power into the blade, intent on severing Damho’s wrist outright.
Cheeeeng!
Fist met sword with a metallic clang. Instead of cutting Damho’s wrist, Deung Cheon-so’s sword was repelled by the immense rebound force.
Damho’s hands were enveloped in Silver Net Hand. This technique wrapped his hands in a net of qi, perfectly protecting them from enemy weapons.
That was why Damho feared not fighting barehanded.
“Know your place, brat! Ohohoho!”
Jin Hye-won, who had been observing until now, joined the fray against Damho and Deung Cheon-so.
She was the one who had beheaded Zhongnan True Sword Yeom Jung-hwa. Her voice dripped with a bewitching charm that shook the soul.
Her strategy was to first unsettle Damho’s spirit with laughter, creating an opening.
Chwarak!
Her silk sash blanketed the air. Deung Cheon-so’s sword pierced through the gaps.
Two of the Seven Great Demon Lords were attacking in tandem.
If the Demonic Cult knew of this, they would be stunned. Above the Seven Great Demon Lords stood the Four Great Commanders and Black-White Twin Lions symbolically, but the strongest active fighters on the front lines were the Seven Great Demon Lords. Their pride was accordingly immense.
The word “combined attack” had never existed in their lives until now. Yet here they were, discarding all pride to assault Damho.
A fierce aura surged like a tsunami, stinging their eyes and skin. Their eyes reddened and burned as if thousands of tiny needles were pricking their bodies simultaneously.
Kuuu!
‘He’s coming.’
‘It’s starting.’
Damho’s savage aura whipped up like a storm.
Kwaang!
An explosion erupted, and Deung Cheon-so and Jin Hye-won’s bodies jolted simultaneously.
As Damho’s left foot slammed the ground with full force, his right leg traced a bizarre arc.
Kwaang!
Blood Heaven Kick detonated, sending Deung Cheon-so and Jin Hye-won sliding backward. Deep furrows gouged into the cliff-top ground.
Deung Cheon-so roared.
“Know your place, you brat.”
He drew an additional sword from his back, now wielding two out of the three sheathed at his side.
Jin Hye-won whipped her sash wide.
Shiaaang!
The five-colored sash sharpened like a blade and shot toward Damho’s throat.
Moon Spirit Slash.
The very technique that had beheaded Zhongnan True Sword Yeom Jung-hwa. A vortex of immense qi bore down on Damho.
Flutter!
Damho’s black storm robe billowed as he charged straight into the center.
Thus began the legendary battle later known as the Fist Demon Blood Road.