Chapter 247
Chapter 247
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 247
Chapter Title: Friend... (1)
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“Ugh!”
Kwang!
Muk Il-gwang’s massive axe cleaved vertically through the head of a Blood Name Squad warrior charging straight at him. Grayish brain matter and red blood sprayed in all directions, splattering the deck.
“Hoo!”
Muk Il-gwang let out a heavy breath.
White steam continuously rose from his enormous body. The sweat dripping down was evaporating from the heat radiating off him.
He had no idea how many foes he’d faced. The enemies swarmed endlessly, like ants crawling out of their nest.
Muk Il-gwang met them head-on, swinging his axes with all his might.
The Blood Heaven Axe Technique, wielded with two massive axes, unleashed even greater power in the chaotic melee.
The axe handles were dyed red with fresh blood, and the dripping gore stuck his fingers together tightly.
“Hyung!”
Bang Jin-bo’s eyes trembled. Muk Il-gwang turned and grinned at him.
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
“Hyung?”
“I promised your brother. No matter what, I’ll keep my word.”
He said that, but his stamina had already reached its limit. His hands gripping the axes shook uncontrollably, and exhaustion filled his face.
Still, Muk Il-gwang gripped his axes tightly. Rage burned in his eyes.
More than half of the Yellow Demon Stronghold bandits aboard the speedboat were already dead. Though from different mountain strongholds, they were fellow green forest outlaws to him—practically brothers. Their deaths fueled his fury.
“You fucking bastards!”
Jang San-u bellowed.
His entire body was soaked in blood. Corpses of the enemies he’d slain littered the deck at his feet.
Even as he fought a fierce battle against the Blood Name Squad, he never let go of the rudder. If he did, the speedboat would be swept into the rapids and shattered to pieces.
“Everyone, hold on! We’ll be out of Hell Gorge soon!”
Jang San-u encouraged his surviving bandits. The remaining outlaws swung their weapons with demonic fury. Having lost so many comrades, their eyes saw nothing but rage.
“Die, you bastard!”
“Uwaaaah!”
They charged with desperate ferocity. Outmatched one-on-one, four or five ganged up on each enemy.
They fought valiantly like that, but even they had reached their limit. Their bodies trembled, and they lacked even the strength to hold their weapons.
“Shit!”
“Is this the end?”
That was when despair began to rise from the depths.
Suddenly, the Blood Name Squad looked up toward the top of Hell Gorge. Their silent, unified gaze skyward instilled a strange terror in the onlookers.
They began to stir.
“The Young Master has…”
“…died.”
In an instant, the Blood Name Squad exchanged glances and leaped toward the top of Hell Gorge. Some dug hands and feet into the cliffs, others used lightness skills to climb. The cliffs turned red from the Blood Name Squad’s ascent.
“What?”
The surviving Yellow Demon Stronghold bandits stared blankly at the climbing foes.
Like ants returning to their nest after losing their queen, the Blood Name Squad frantically scaled the cliffs.
Only then could Muk Il-gwang catch his breath, murmuring softly.
“Hyung-nim!”
He didn’t need to see it to know.
Only one person could make the relentless Blood Name Squad retreat so desperately.
Damho had driven them back.
Sasasak!
Red shadows crawled up behind Deng Cheon-so and joined the ranks. Hundreds of warriors in red uniforms lined up.
The Blood Name Squad emanated terrifying killing intent toward Damho. Deng Cheon-so glanced back at the assembled Blood Name Squad.
The Blood Name Squad was one of the Demonic Cult’s great assets. Each individual’s martial arts were strong, but what was truly fearsome was the one heart technique they cultivated.
Deng Cheon-so issued his command.
“Activate the Blood Spirit Soul-Pulling Technique.”
The Blood Name Squad’s eyes wavered momentarily. But soon, they activated it.
The Blood Spirit Soul-Pulling Technique was one of the Demonic Cult’s forbidden martial arts. Those who cultivated it had their souls linked.
Linked souls shared thoughts. The more souls connected via the technique, the exponentially greater its power. But it had a fatal flaw: once used, the practitioners often became crippled.
The Blood Spirit Soul-Pulling Technique placed immense strain on the brain. A mistake could turn one into an idiot or paralyze the limbs—a devilish art.
Even Deng Cheon-so was stunned. The Blood Name Squad wasn’t meant to be used this way. They were painstakingly created for a greater purpose, yet Damho had forced them to unleash their full power.
“No choice now. I’ll take your head for sure.”
Deng Cheon-so roared. Terrifying killing intent poured from his body. But Damho didn’t even blink.
Damho’s eyes were pure darkness.
His pitch-black pupils held not a shred of emotion.
Suddenly, he reached back. Deng Cheon-so’s sword was still embedded in his back. Damho gripped the blade and yanked it out with force.
Sssuk!
The sound of the sword slicing flesh echoed. The Blood Name Squad and Deng Cheon-so flinched. It felt like their own hearts were being cut.
Damho finally drew the sword from his back.
His blood flowed down the blade. His face reflected in the bloodied steel.
Kwajik!
With a squeeze, the sturdy blade crumbled like a cookie.
“You bastard!”
Seeing his treasured sword shatter in Damho’s hand, Deng Cheon-so charged in rage.
That was the signal.
Sasasak!
The Blood Name Squad followed Deng Cheon-so in attacking Damho.
Spears flew, arrows whistled through the air. Some hurled hidden weapons, others rushed bare-handed.
At a glance, it seemed chaotic and unordered, but their waves of assault had no gaps. Souls linked by the Blood Spirit Soul-Pulling Technique instantly shared the optimal attacks against Damho.
Wung!
At that moment, Damho’s body vibrated faintly.
The Shield, a protective technique of the Lone Shadow Flow, had deployed.
Damho leaped into the midst of the Blood Name Squad, wrapped in the Shield.
Chwachang!
Arrows bounced off, hidden weapons clattered against the Shield and fell. He deflected enemy blades and axes, charging straight ahead.
The shortest path connecting points. At its end stood Damho and Deng Cheon-so.
“Crazy bastard!”
Only then did Deng Cheon-so realize Damho’s sole target was himself, trembling in fury.
Damho ignored the Blood Name Squad’s attacks entirely. He left defense to the Shield and attacked solely to kill Deng Cheon-so.
That tenacity and blind killing intent were enough to overwhelm even the world’s Deng Cheon-so.
Puk!
A Blood Name Squad sword pierced his side through the Shield. Spine-chilling pain shot through his spine to his head. Yet Damho didn’t scream or stop.
His eyes saw only one: Deng Cheon-so. He thoroughly ignored all else.
Kwang!
Damho’s Exploding Palm Thrust detonated right in front of Deng Cheon-so.
With a ‘peuruk’ sound, flesh burst. But Deng Cheon-so was unharmed. A nearby Blood Name Squad member had thrown himself in the way.
Instead, the squad member’s body exploded like fireworks. Deng Cheon-so’s body was dyed red with his blood.
“You bastard!”
Deng Cheon-so swung his sword in rage.
The Black Nether Heaven-Seizing technique targeted Damho’s heart.
A massive sword aura came from the front, while the Blood Name Squad lunged from the other three sides like starving ghouls. Nowhere for Damho to dodge. And he had no intention of dodging.
He thrust both hands forward.
The Silver Net Hand formed an invisible web of qi. In that state, he seized Deng Cheon-so’s sword.
The Silver Net Hand clashed with the sword aura, making the blade tremble.
Seeing this, Deng Cheon-so felt his heart explode in shock. Grabbing a sword cloaked in sword aura bare-handed? Impossible by his understanding.
But only for a moment, he shouted.
“You dare use demonic sorcery? I’ll sever those hands!”
He poured even stronger internal energy into the sword. The sword aura exploded outward. But at the spot gripped by Damho’s hand, it only rippled, unable to expand.
Geugeuk!
Veins bulged on Deng Cheon-so’s forehead, his gripping hand shaking. He didn’t release the sword.
The momentarily stalled Blood Name Squad charged Damho again. Their weapons would turn him into a porcupine. His task was to endure that instant.
Then.
Jjeoeong!
Cracks spread across the sword blade in Damho’s hand, then it exploded. Unable to withstand the clash of internal energies, the sword shattered into hundreds of fragments, flying like hidden weapons.
“Keuk!”
The shards struck not just Deng Cheon-so but the Blood Name Squad and Damho. Over a dozen pierced Deng Cheon-so’s chest and abdomen, and more than ten charging squad members died instantly.
Five or six shards embedded in Damho’s body. Yet he didn’t scream once and unleashed the Broad Pressing Hand.
Kwajik!
Deng Cheon-so’s shoulder collapsed.
“Keuk!”
Deng Cheon-so gritted his teeth and retreated. Bewilderment plain on his face.
Damho clung relentlessly, striking with the Single Sheep Blow.
Ujikkeun!
Deng Cheon-so took it to the nose. His nasal bridge caved, blood spraying and covering his face red.
In that interval, Damho took another hit from the Blood Name Squad. The Shield minimized damage, but pain was pain.
Deng Cheon-so felt fear toward such a Damho. Despite all those wounds, Damho targeted only him.
That persistence and venom terrified even Deng Cheon-so.
‘To think such a monster existed in the world.’
His body shuddered involuntarily.
He too had grown up called a viper, evaluated as a cold-blooded killer without blood or tears. But compared to Damho, it was full moon versus firefly.
Damho was relentlessly tenacious. He attacked only Deng Cheon-so, ignoring the Blood Name Squad.
Kwang! Kwang!
Attack after attack.
Having lost all three swords, Deng Cheon-so couldn’t find an opening to counter. His hair was a wild mess like a madwoman’s, his body covered in wounds large and small.
Deng Cheon-so’s face twisted. He hated to admit it, but he feared Damho now.
“Block him! Throw your bodies if you have to!”
He screamed at the Blood Name Squad.
Kwang!
In that instant, Damho’s iron-hammer fist smashed into his temple. Deng Cheon-so’s consciousness flew.
Damho’s attacks poured on the staggering Deng Cheon-so like wagon wheels, without respite.
An elbow to the chest, followed by a shoulder strike loaded with full body weight. A knee to the abdomen, heel crushing Deng Cheon-so’s left shoulder.
“Uwaaak!”
Deng Cheon-so vomited blood and collapsed.
Damho’s ceaseless chain assault pulverized every bone in Deng Cheon-so’s body. He flopped like a beached octopus before slumping to the ground.
He barely lifted his head to look up at Damho. Spitting blood and saliva, he opened his mouth.
“Huu! Fist Demon, Fist Demon. To think a monster like you existed in the world. But your end won’t be any better…”
Kwang!
Damho’s massive fist smashed into Deng Cheon-so’s face. His head burst like a watermelon.
Deng Cheon-so died without finishing his words. Though he’d killed him, Damho had no moment to rest.
The Blood Name Squad swarmed like a bee horde. Damho launched himself at them.
Kwang!
Death arrived.