Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Thunder-Sand Hell
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The chase continued relentlessly, pursuer hot on the heels of the pursued.
Ak Muyoo led the way, with the other six following hard behind. He glanced back as he ran, checking the sand dust billowing into the sky.
"Hold up."
Ara reined in her camel.
"Why?"
Ak Muyoo asked.
"The air's different."
"The air... yeah, you're right."
Ak Muyoo nodded.
"What does that mean, the air being different?"
Mok Woo asked as he rode up beside them.
"Don't you feel like it's hotter than everywhere else we've been?"
Ak Muyoo asked.
"Well..."
Mok Woo tilted his head. He and the other Heavenly Five Absolutes had lived in relatively cool mountains, so distinguishing desert temperatures was beyond them. But Ara and Ak Muyoo, who had grown up in the desert, noticed the change immediately.
"It's way hotter."
Ara said.
"Isn't it because the sun's overhead, making it the hottest time of day?"
Mok Woo said.
"No, it's different. This is the hottest part of the day, sure, but not like this."
Ak Muyoo shook his head.
"You think it might be that place from the legends?"
Ara said.
"Legends... you mean Thunder-Sand Hell?"
Ak Muyoo asked.
"Pretty likely."
"It was supposed to be inside Thunder-Sand Hell, the Shadowless Kingdom that fell a thousand years ago, right?"
"The Shadowless Kingdom... you mean the Nuran Kingdom?"
Mok Woo asked, his face surprised.
"We said it might be the Shadowless Kingdom, not that it definitely was."
"But the legends of both kingdoms are too similar."
Ara said.
"True enough."
Ak Muyoo nodded.
The Shadowless Kingdom was a nation from legends passed down from a thousand years ago. Somewhere in the desert lay a massive lake, and around it flourished a country. Milk and honey flowed there, and it teemed with extraordinary talents. That country was called the Shadowless Kingdom.
Its downfall came out of nowhere.
The lake, which seemed like it would last thousands of years, dried up suddenly, and with the water gone, so too did the nation perish. When the kingdom fell, all its civilization and knowledge were buried in the sands.
It sounded like a far-fetched tale.
A nation destroyed by a lake drying up? Many questioned the legend. The first doubt was whether a lake could dry up naturally, and the second was whether that alone could doom a kingdom. Then came the theory of the formation.
They said the people, armed with immense power, had set up a formation to protect their land. But that formation altered the climate, dried the lake, and brought down the kingdom.
And so Thunder-Sand Hell was born. A place where the heat made breathing impossible by day, temperatures plunged to extremes at night, and lightning struck from a parched sky at random—like a true hell.
"Water..."
Ara checked first. Fortunately, the goatskin waterskins were intact.
"Let's go."
Ak Muyoo spurred his camel onward.
With over a thousand enemies chasing them, they had no choice but to enter Thunder-Sand Hell. In fact, now was the time to lure the foes into this harsh terrain and fight.
A short while after Ak Muyoo's group entered, the Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven warriors arrived near Thunder-Sand Hell.
"Something's off."
As desert folk themselves, they immediately sensed the difference from the path so far. And having grown up hearing that any change in the desert must be investigated, they reported it right away.
"How is it different?"
"It's much hotter."
Boom!
Thunder rumbled suddenly from high in the sky.
"It's Thunder-Sand Hell!"
Someone shouted.
The Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven troops buzzed with unease.
"What's going on?"
Tal asked as they halted.
"Looks like Thunder-Sand Hell is up ahead."
"The legendary one?"
"Yes."
"What did the Central Plains dogs do?"
"They went in."
"So the Central Plains scum went in, and we're desert warriors too scared to follow?"
Tal said coldly.
"We'll head straight in."
The commander bowed and withdrew.
"Move out!"
"Move out!"
Soon, over a thousand Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven warriors plunged into Thunder-Sand Hell.
"Full gallop!"
Tal issued another command.
"Full gallop!"
Her order rippled forward, and the warriors spurred their mounts.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Thunder rolled as clouds began gathering around Thunder-Sand Hell. Not wide-spreading clouds, but towering ones shooting straight up.
"Might get a downpour..."
Tal muttered, eyeing the sky.
Flash!
A bolt of blue lightning stabbed downward.
Boom!
A sound like the earth splitting open rang out.
Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash!
Lightning began striking from all directions. It hammered mercilessly into the ground. As it flashed, the Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven warriors picked up speed.
"Tah!"
"Chah!"
"Hya!"
They whipped their reins relentlessly.
Thud!
"Ugh!"
One warrior riding a camel screamed and flew backward. He soared over thirty feet before crashing hard.
"There's someone up on that dune!"
One pointed at a sand hill. There stood Ak Muyoo, Heavenly God Sun Bow in hand.
Thud!
"Argh!"
Another screamed and was flung back.
"Charge!"
"Full gallop!"
The orders came again.
"Hya!"
"Tah!"
"Hah!"
The Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven warriors raced full tilt toward Ak Muyoo. In their current situation, chasing him was their only option.
Ak Muyoo dashed downward. Ara and the others waited below.
He mounted backward behind Ara. She grabbed one end of the wind-binding rope and handed the other to Ak Muyoo. He wrapped it around her waist, and she tied it tight around herself. The distance between Ak Muyoo's group and the Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven warriors was thirty paces.
"Let's start."
Ak Muyoo nocked a Dark Current Arrow and drew. The Heavenly God Sun Bow, drifting left, came to a halt.
Twang!
The string released, and the arrow warped space.
"Ugh!"
The struck foe flew backward.
"Faster!"
Twang!
"Gah!"
Rumble!
Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Lightning began to strike. Countless bolts relentlessly scourged the ground. Dozens of blue streaks appeared in the sky, vanished, and reappeared. Ak Muyoo's group and the Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven forces raced between them.
Sizzle!
"Arrrgh!"
Lightning smashed a Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven warrior.
With a agonized scream, the charred body launched into the air.
Twang!
Thud!
"Ugh!"
One flew back with a cry.
Twang! Twang-twng-twng! Twang!
"Urk!"
"Ugh!"
"Ugh!"
The screams never ceased.
"Keep going! If you don't catch them, you're dead! Charge!"
The Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven leaders urged their troops on.
Sizzle!
"Arrrgh!"
Boom!
"Aaagh!"
Lightning flashed, bolts fell. Those hit by bolts charred; those struck by Dark Current Arrows tumbled away.
"Catch the Wind Demon Shadow Squad commander and the Black Wind Division's killer."
She had brought a thousand Wind Sand Zealot warriors and a thousand Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven warriors on this expedition.
The older Black Heaven Division couldn't be trusted, so they were left behind to defend Wind Nation.
"Yes!"
Two leaped from their camels.
They moved faster than the camels. No footprints trailed behind them. It was the Snow-Step Trace-Erasing Technique, reaching the ascent realm. The distance to Ak Muyoo shrank rapidly.
"Let go."
"You gonna fight?"
"Yeah."
"Want me to join?"
"No. Keep going!"
"You?"
"Just go."
Ak Muyoo kicked off the camel.
Roar!
Then the Zabjong riding in front leaped after him. Ak Muyoo rolled forward, sprang up, and shot toward the pair. A reddish aura poured from his body, cloaking him like armor.
"Chah!"
The one on the left swung his weapon high and kicked off the ground. His speed surged.
Whoosh!
Ak Muyoo kicked hard too.
The two hurtled toward each other at terrifying velocity. Ak Muyoo blocked the man's blade with the Heavenly God Sun Bow's frame, then shoved.
"Chah!"
The one behind leaped skyward with a shout.
Roar!
That was when the Zabjong struck the ground.
Warping space, it lunged at the throat of the man clashing weapons with Ak Muyoo. Its teeth tore out the man's windpipe in one bite.
"Arrrgh!"
As the scream escaped and the man's grip slackened, Ak Muyoo freed the bow and loosed at the airborne foe.
Thud!
But the man wasn't easy prey. He twisted aside in an instant, dodging a fatal hit. The arrow buried in his shoulder.
"I'll kill you!"
He slashed at Ak Muyoo's head. Ak Muyoo's head snapped right. The bow switched to his left hand.
Thud!
As the blade struck his left shoulder, Ak Muyoo jammed the man's head between the bow's frame and string. He yanked right mercilessly the instant it touched the throat.
Slice!
"Arrrrgh!"
The man's head floated up with a guttural scream.
"Go!"
"Kill them!"
While dealing with the two, the enemy had surrounded Ak Muyoo.
Twng! Twng-twng-twng! Twng-twng!
Ak Muyoo fired Dark Current Arrows as he ran.
Dozens blocking his path collapsed, opening a way through.
"Die, you bastard!"
A killing shout came from right behind.
'Tal... Gotta take the hit.'
Turning would dodge the attack maybe, but lead to encirclement again. That would only worsen things. Ak Muyoo ran without looking back.
Bam!
Intense impact hit his back.
"Ugh!"
Ak Muyoo's mouth gaped. His body floated, flying forward.
'This woman...? Stronger than Jeok Yeom-cheon!'
His mind reeled.
'Snap out of it!'
He bit his tongue hard. Sharp pain cleared his head a bit.
"Chah!"
Ara's voice came from below.
She yanked him down with Air Grasp and loaded him onto the camel. Then she galloped with all her might.
Flash! Flash! Flash!
Boom! Boom! Boom-boom-boom!
Ara's group raced madly across the sandfield as ceaseless lightning rained down.