Bbakbbaki's Desperate Charge
Bbakbbaki gritted his teeth, eyes burning with fury.
The formation had been shattered!
The formations installed across the entire fortress were anything but ordinary.
They were the kinds of arrays that even people who only knew their names from Central Plains stories knew by heart.
That was why, once the main gate slammed shut, the fortress itself vanished from the world.
Thanks to the supreme infinite illusion formation, the ultimate barrier.
Yet the enemies had pierced through it and struck the main gate with perfect precision.
Even the Gold Dragon Lord Sybel, who was supposed to have been deceived by that very illusion!
It wasn't over, though.
Together with the supreme infinite illusion formation, the fortress-wide defensive array, the Nine Palace Yin-Yang Array, had been smashed alongside the main gate.
An array even peak experts could ignore was now in ruins!
These bastards were dragon-tier or stronger!
Bbakbbaki sent a transmission to the two men standing beside him, Grombal and Solian.
—While you hold them off, rush straight to the villagers! Then move to their village with them and shatter the magic circles that connect the fortress!
Bbakbbaki's voice thundered inside their minds, heavy with seriousness.
Grombal and Solian nodded instead of answering.
Geunyuk-i dashed over immediately.
“Who are these guys?”
“Bandit Leader, Jin Chen!”
“They are no ordinary foes.”
Geunyuk-i, the bald one, and Kingko had recognized them at once.
Three men, yet they possessed power that was anything but ordinary.
Bbakbbaki sent another transmission to Judung-i, his expression stern.
—When the fight begins, let Grombal and Solian head toward the villagers. Take the children with you and move together!
Judung-i refused without hesitation.
—Send someone else! I will fight too!
He must have sensed how serious the situation had become, because today he spoke very little.
His face was equally grave.
—It is not about running away together. I am sending you to protect them. And if even one of you reaches their side, I will fight with my life until all the villagers have moved!
The villagers were far more than laborers attached to the fortress.
They were family, neighbors, irreplaceable members of the Jinryong Chae.
Bbakbbaki and several of the bandits had families among them as well.
Of course, they had to be protected—again and again.
—I leave it to you.
Judung-i clenched his teeth at the sincere transmission and nodded.
The moment he did, Bbakbbaki stomped the ground and leaped forward.
Whoosh!
Bbakbbaki rocketed into the air at terrifying speed and crashed toward the main gate.
There was no need to ask who they were or what their purpose was.
The simple fact that they had appeared while destroying the formations and gate was enough to mark them as enemies.
—I will make you regret intruding into our Jinryong Chae!
Bbakbbaki drew the great axe strapped to his back and swung it in a single motion.
Whoosh!
A flash!
Dozens of pitch-black qi waves shot toward the three figures.
Right behind them…
“Hya!”
“Death to the enemy!”
“I will make you regret this!”
Bbakbbaki, Geunyuk-i, and the bald one were already closing in, unleashing their qi in torrents.
Four qi blasts hurtled toward the three figures.
Qi unleashed by masters who had reached the Transcendent realm.
Of course, each one carried immense power.
And they collided with the three figures directly.
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted, thick clouds of dust rising into the sky.
At the same time, Bbakbbaki and the others hurled themselves into the dust cloud.
—I and Geunyuk-i will take the center! The ones behind me—Geunyuk-i and Kingko, each take one!
Instinct told him the middle figure was the strongest.
Geunyuk-i and the bald one had sensed the same and answered instantly.
—Got it, Bbakbbaki Hyung!
—Understood, Bandit Leader!
The three of them dove into the dust, attacking their assigned targets with every ounce of internal energy they possessed.
They knew they could not kill the enemy with this power alone, yet they poured everything into it anyway.
The enemy began to counter almost immediately.
Whoosh!
Boom boom boom boom!
“Dark Storm!”
“Deathfire!”
Loud explosions followed by settling dust, qi and dark magic spraying in every direction, wooden barriers splintering like the main gate.
Boom boom boom boom!
The zone of dust and explosions expanded rapidly, eventually reaching the very center of the fortress.
Boom!
While qi and magic rained down on all sides, Judung-i and the bandits raced toward the villagers.
The villagers were already outside, every adult and child gripping some kind of weapon.
A woman clutched a hammer, a middle-aged man a pickaxe, and the children wooden sticks.
All with resolute expressions.
The bandits and the villagers alike had finished preparing to fight the enemy.
Grombal and Solian, who had joined the charge, clenched their fists.
Death held no fear for them when standing before the villagers.
Judung-i spoke in a low, urgent tone.
—Bandit Leader ordered us to escape through the movement magic circles.
—What? We are supposed to run away alone?
—We will fight together!
Judung-i shook his head sharply at the spirited villagers.
Before he could speak again, the old man in front of them—Jang Old Man—opened his mouth.
—As Bandit Leader said, we will escape.
—Grandpa! We cannot just run away! We must help!
—We cannot escape alone. We are part of the fortress too!
—Yes, Grandpa! Our father said the same thing! Before the enemy we are not bandits but warriors!
Even the children had said they would fight.
Jang Old Man looked toward the direction of the explosions and spoke gravely.
—Do you think staying will actually help?
—I… I don’t know…
—Do you want to repeat the day we first met Jin Chen?
Most of the villagers had been farmers with Geunyuk-i.
Of course they remembered the day they met Jin Chen clearly.
The moment Geunyuk-i had been in danger because of them.
—We can learn martial arts thanks to Bandit Leader’s kindness, but it is still only the basics. Those people have reached a realm we could never hope to touch.
No one else spoke up.
They had realized the time for empty bravado was over.
With the situation settled, Jang Old Man spoke again.
—Let’s go!
—Yes, Grandpa!
Judung-i took the lead, and the bandits surrounded the villagers, shielding them while they headed toward the main hall where the movement magic circles were located.
Boom!
“Guaaaaaah!”
Screech!
If someone had not been trying to drive a sword into the ground and had been pushed back…
The man staggering to his feet, his entire body covered in blood, was none other than the bald one.
“Guaaaah! What are you doing! Keep running! Don’t stop!”
—Run without stopping!
Judung-i’s shout made the bandits grit their teeth and try to run, but a massive, shadowy figure stepped into the bald one’s path.
Whoosh!
A Death Side swung toward the bald one’s neck.
Thud!
The bald one blocked it with infused internal energy and shouted again.
—Run!
—Y-yes!
The moment the bandits moved again, the bald one shook off the Death Side and leaped forward.
Flash!
Using his light-step technique, the bald one closed in beside the figure and swung his sword.
Thud!
The Death Side was so fast it was almost invisible.
The moment it parried the sword, it swung back toward the bald one’s neck.
Thud thud!
Flash!
The Death Side and sword collided at terrifying speed.
Flash!
“Hya!”
The bald one leaped again and brought his sword down toward the figure’s head.
The figure reached out a hand toward him.
“Dark Break…
The moment the 8th-circle black magic that would destroy everything around it with dark power began to unfold…
Squelch!
Black tentacles shot from behind and plunged into the bald one’s entire body.
“Gwaaaah!”
Gurgle.
The black tentacles wriggled, drinking something inside the body.
“Guuuugh, gwaaaah!”
The bald one’s terrible scream echoed across the fortress.
That scream caught in the throats of the bandits and villagers heading toward the movement magic circles.
“Baldy lead!”
The bandits tried to rush forward, but a massive figure dropped right in front of them.
Dozens or hundreds of black tentacles writhing like living things stretched from its body.
Whoosh!
The black tentacles quickly returned to the giant figure’s body.
Thud!
The bald one’s cold body lay twitching on the ground.
But the bandits’ rage was not yet over.
Shiver shiver!
The bandits stared at the giant figure’s hand, their bodies shaking violently.
There, one of Kingko’s arms was gripped in that massive hand.
Only the severed arm remained.
“Wow, Kingko Hyung!”
“Kingko-nim!”
“Joojaaang!”
Judung-i and the bandits charged forward in a blazing rage.
They knew the villagers had gone first.
But this rage could not be stopped.
It belonged to the villagers as much as to the bandits.
All of them hurled themselves toward the giant figure without caring who went first.
The giant figure brought its foot down instantly.
Boom!
—You filthy insects. Become my sacrifices!
Crack!
The ground trembled, stretching a long crack toward the bandits.
Whoosh!
At the same moment, dozens of tentacles burst upward from the ground.
Sizzle!
Gulp gulp!
“Guaaaah!”
“Gwaaaah!”
The tentacles plunged into the bandits’ bodies without mercy.
The bandits who barely dodged finally gritted their teeth and swung their weapons.
—Get away from here!
Clang clang clang!
The tentacles did not flinch even in front of weapons packed with qi.
“Guaaaah!”
“Guaaaah…”
The bandits who had tentacles stuck in them screamed and trembled.
The terrifying pain of everything inside their bodies being sucked out swallowed their minds.
That was when Bbakbbaki and Geunyuk-i appeared above the giant figure’s head.
Their bodies covered in blood just like the bald one’s.
“Haaaaah!”
“Stop! You bastard!”
Bbakbbaki and Geunyuk-i dropped from above and brought their great axe and greatsword down with full force.
Whoosh!
A single strike infused with all their internal energy.
The giant figure could not ignore it and recalled the tentacles it had been using to attack the bandits, blocking the two men’s assault.
Boom!
Bbakbbaki and Geunyuk-i were blasted backward by the explosion.
Scrape!
As they kept being pushed back, carving long trenches in the ground, the giant figure spoke again.
—You are all mine. Touch them… and I will kill you too!
Whoosh!
A terrifying killing intent erupted from the giant figure’s body.
The tentacles that had burst out also slowly raised their heads.
—I gave you a chance. Show me some respect.
—Respect? Hehehehehehehehehe!
Crack!
Black magic energy began to erupt wildly around the giant figure.
The entire fortress trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
—That was a fair trade. If you say such nonsense again, I will erase you!
“Guaaaah.”
“Gwaaaah.”
The bandits, screaming and spitting blood, and Bbakbbaki and Geunyuk-i alike swallowed the blood rising to their throats and charged forward.
“Gwaaaaah! Silent Dragon Slash!”
Whoosh!
The qi wall created by the great axe blocked the magic heading toward the villagers.
Crack!
Bbakbbaki’s body was pushed back violently.
Geunyuk-i supported him from behind and shouted desperately.
—We will never lose! We are the Jinryong Chae!
Flash!
For an instant, all the magic energy that had been spraying outward vanished.
Why?
As Bbakbbaki and Geunyuk-i looked around in confusion, a giant figure appeared in front of Geunyuk-i.
At the same time it grabbed his neck and spoke.
—Yes, you are the Jinryong Chae. That is why I came here. So that I could make sure you cannot live or die!