Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: When the Blood Star Moves, a Bloody Wind Blows (3)
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Dam Ho raised his head.
He saw Jwa Mun-hyo and the Hyungsan Sect warriors. They were emanating a ferocious aura. But it stirred nothing in Dam Ho.
Dam Ho's gaze shifted to the corpse rolling at his feet. It was the man once called An Gyo-ik.
He had been a member of the Black Tiger Squad.
After the Black Tiger Squad disbanded, An Gyo-ik wandered the world before settling here. For a bandit, An Gyo-ik was fairly clever.
He had amassed a fair amount of money. And An Gyo-ik knew how to spend it.
He first built a manor, then bestowed gifts on those around him to win their favor. Afterward, he began forging ties with local influencers, gradually expanding his influence.
He leveraged business ventures to earn a considerable sum, then invested that money back into powerful factions. One of them was the Hyungsan Sect.
An Gyo-ik pretended to be magnanimous, but in truth, he was deeply suspicious. While feigning friendship, he probed their weaknesses, recording them in a secret ledger.
He distrusted everyone around him so much that he never married and lived as a bachelor. That was why, in this vast An manor, there were servants but no blood kin of his.
For all his suspicion, An Gyo-ik had less patience than No Cheol. He spilled everything he knew.
The problem was that what he knew wasn't much. So Dam Ho's mood wasn't great.
Dam Ho asked Jwa Mun-hyo.
“What is it?”
“What do you mean, what? You bastard! After committing this atrocity in the An manor, what do you have to say?”
Jwa Mun-hyo's roar echoed loudly.
He strode toward Dam Ho. He confirmed the rolling corpse on the ground was An Gyo-ik.
His eyes burned with rage.
He had lost his greatest backer. With An Gyo-ik dead, the plan to rebuild the Taehwang Hall was inevitably delayed.
If building the Taehwang Hall was postponed, recruiting disciples would be too. No—all of Jwa Mun-hyo's plans would unravel.
“Who are you? How dare you commit murder in the Hyungsan Sect's territory.”
Dam Ho stared blankly at Jwa Mun-hyo. The look only fueled Jwa Mun-hyo's anger while oddly unnerving him.
Dam Ho finally spoke.
“You know that?”
“Know what?”
“You don't just barge into the grudges and vendettas of the martial world.”
“You dare threaten me, Jwa Mun-hyo, sect leader of the Hyungsan Sect?”
“It's not a threat. It's advice.”
“You bastard! What arrogance. Let's see what gives you the confidence to act so brazenly.”
“You'll regret it.”
Dam Ho's voice sank low. In contrast, Jwa Mun-hyo's grew louder.
“No one has ever spouted such nonsense at me before. Not even the leaders of the Nine Great Sects could speak to me that way.”
“Sect Leader.”
Chae Gyu at his side tried to calm Jwa Mun-hyo. But Jwa Mun-hyo's fury wasn't the sort to subside easily.
Chae Gyu realized the man before them was no ordinary warrior. Even if bought with money, the An manor's guards were no slouches. Yet dozens of them had been slaughtered by this man.
No average martial artist could do that.
‘Was there a warrior like this in the martial world?’
Chae Gyu racked his memory but couldn't recall anyone matching the man's features.
Jwa Mun-hyo shouted.
“What are you doing? Subdue him now. Bring him alive and make him kneel before me. I'll punish him myself.”
“Yes!”
The Hyungsan Sect warriors responded in unison. Without giving Chae Gyu a chance to intervene, they charged at Dam Ho.
A hundred Hyungsan Sect warriors could wipe out a mid-sized sect. It was thanks to them that the Hyungsan Sect still held its place among the Five Great Sects of Honam.
“Cha-at!”
The lead Hyungsan Sect disciple shouted a ki-hap and swung his sword at Dam Ho. His face was full of ambition.
Up to that point, Dam Ho hadn't moved an inch. The disciple inwardly cheered.
‘You're mine.’
Boom!
In that instant, a shock like a lightning strike hit, and the disciple's thoughts cut off. Dam Ho's Exploding Sound Fist had landed.
The disciple turned into a mass of flesh and flew back like a cannonball, crashing into those following behind.
“Gahk!”
“Damn it!”
Over a dozen tangled together, rolling on the ground.
Dam Ho headed toward where Jwa Mun-hyo stood.
He stomped his right foot and dragged his left in a repeating motion. Normally, one might mock a limp as posturing.
But Jwa Mun-hyo couldn't. An ominous aura grew heavier the closer Dam Ho came.
Jwa Mun-hyo shouted again.
“What are you doing? Subdue him already.”
The momentarily hesitant Hyungsan Sect warriors charged at Dam Ho once more.
“It's just one guy. No need to fear.”
“Waaah!”
The Hyungsan Sect disciples' cheers filled the An manor.
Watching them fly at him like a flock of geese, Dam Ho muttered.
“If you want to see hell that badly…….”
Thud!
Dam Ho kicked off the ground.
“I'll show you.”
His body slammed into the lead Hyungsan Sect warrior.
Crack!
A gruesome bone-shattering sound rang out as the warrior's body flew back. Blood burst from all his orifices. The immense pressure and impact had ruptured every vein in his body.
That was the beginning.
Every time Dam Ho's fist sliced through the air, someone died. No one could block his strikes.
Arms blocking shattered like dry twigs, legs attempting to kick had their joints pulverized.
“Kaaak!”
“Aaak!”
Agonized screams erupted everywhere.
Dam Ho was like a tiger leaping into a flock of sheep. No matter how many sheep, they couldn't wound the tiger—and the Hyungsan Sect warriors couldn't even scratch Dam Ho.
A savage wind swept through the An manor. In its wake rolled only the corpses of Hyungsan Sect warriors.
“Crazy!”
Jwa Mun-hyo and Chae Gyu, watching, muttered unwittingly.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion like a thunderbolt cannon sent three or four warriors flying as bloody pulps. The sight felt unreal.
Like a dike crumbling, the Hyungsan Sect disciples collapsed as Dam Ho pressed forward.
Black hair fluttering in the wind.
Amid it, endlessly dark eyes flashing. And a black leather coat billowing.
Nothing about him was ordinary.
Only then did Jwa Mun-hyo realize Dam Ho was no ordinary warrior. He wasn't an opponent to trifle with. But his realization came too late.
Already, half the disciples he'd brought lay as bloody masses under Dam Ho's fists. The images of his disciples rolling as gore burned unnaturally vivid in his eyes.
A man with his neck twisted impossibly, tongue lolling out—he was Myo Gong, Jwa Mun-hyo's direct disciple, one he'd poured his heart into teaching for his wit.
The boy with a caved-in chest, blood pouring from nose and mouth, was Ju Un-pyeong, gifted with brilliance and loved by all.
Many others he'd brought were dying too. Unable to watch longer, Jwa Mun-hyo launched himself at Dam Ho.
“Stop! You demonic bastard!”
In his hand was the Hyungsan Sect's treasured sword, the Pure Peace Sword.
Jwa Mun-hyo unleashed the sect's secret art, Mysterious Heaven Water Flow Sword.
Swoosh!
Sword energy gathered on the Pure Peace Sword.
The hazy energy took clear form, then split into dozens, flying at Dam Ho.
It was the ultimate technique of the Mysterious Heaven Water Flow Sword: Lightning Flying Sword.
Though hot-tempered, Jwa Mun-hyo was the Hyungsan Sect's top expert. The sword energy on his blade could cleave a boulder in two with a single stroke.
The Lightning Flying Sword targeted Dam Ho's throat.
Dam Ho, having crushed one Hyungsan Sect warrior underfoot, raised his head to the sword flying from Jwa Mun-hyo.
So he's the sect leader, Dam Ho thought. The pressure from a leader of a centuries-old sect should be immense. At least, that's what he'd expected.
The sword strike was sharp, the power formidable—but that was it. It lacked the will to kill or the heroic spirit to crush with sheer force.
The sword of one who had found their own path in the blade couldn't be like that. This was a dead sword technique.
Dam Ho launched himself at the sword energy raining like arrows.
The moment he kicked off the ground, his body was already a single line.
At the end of the black line slicing the air stood Jwa Mun-hyo.
Boom!
The Exploding Sound Fist struck.
But Jwa Mun-hyo was no one to dismiss. By a hair's breadth, he raised his sword to block.
Dam Ho's fist that struck the Pure Peace Sword bent its blade like a bow. At the same time, Jwa Mun-hyo's body rebounded backward.
“Urk!”
A stifled groan escaped Jwa Mun-hyo's lips.
The shock piercing his body made his organs vibrate. Cracks appeared on the Pure Peace Sword's blade.
“I won't forgive you.”
Jwa Mun-hyo flipped midair, unleashing a barrage of Lightning Flying Sword techniques.
Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh!
Now Jwa Mun-hyo was desperate too. His sword's killing intent thickened accordingly.
“Sect Leader!”
Chae Gyu shouted, watching.
He wanted to join the fight. But Jwa Mun-hyo's ferocious momentum made him hesitate to intervene.
The expression on Jwa Mun-hyo's face in Chae Gyu's eyes was utterly desperate. He'd never seen such a look on him before.
“Die!”
Jwa Mun-hyo's cry rang out loudly.
The sword energy bloomed like a fan, enveloping Dam Ho.
In that moment, Dam Ho's left leg plunged into the ground. His waist twisted, whipping his right leg out like a top.
Bouncing Demon Kick.
A technique the Demonic Cult had discarded in an underground cavern, now manifesting through Dam Ho's body.
The name was the same, but it differed from the Demonic Cult's version.
This was Dam Ho's own Bouncing Demon Kick.
Rumble-crunch!
Like a sandcastle crumbling before crashing waves, Jwa Mun-hyo's sword energy was swept away by the Bouncing Demon Kick.
“This can't be!”
Jwa Mun-hyo's eyes shook at the unbelievable sight.
Dam Ho's palm spread open like a blooming plum blossom. Jwa Mun-hyo swung the Pure Peace Sword to sever it.
In that instant, Dam Ho's palm clenched slightly, meeting the Pure Peace Sword. Then the unbelievable happened.
Crack!
The Pure Peace Sword shattered like glass. Five Fingers Rock-Breaking Power had been unleashed.
“Urk!”
Jwa Mun-hyo vomited blood. The shock of the sword breaking had wounded his internals. But Dam Ho's assault wasn't over.
Toward the defenseless Jwa Mun-hyo's chest, Dam Ho unleashed three consecutive punches.
Three Strike Cannon Shadow Fist.
Another technique left by the Demonic Cult, reinterpreted in Dam Ho's own way.
“Stop!”
Chae Gyu shouted belatedly, but it was too late.
Boom-boom-boom!
Dam Ho's fists hammered Jwa Mun-hyo's chest in succession. At the exact same spot.
The first punch shattered his ribs entirely. The second pulverized his organs. The final one burst his heart.
Jwa Mun-hyo collapsed, spewing blood from all orifices.
“Huhk!”
Slammed to the ground, Jwa Mun-hyo looked up at Dam Ho with fading eyes. Death had already settled in his pupils.
Not even the Great Immortal could wrest him from the god of death now.
Dam Ho's cold gaze looked down at Jwa Mun-hyo.
“I told you.”
“W-what?”
“You don't just barge into the grudges and vendettas of the martial world.”