Chapter 90
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Rotating Whirlwind
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The grotesque entity born from the fusion of Left Elder and Right Elder: the Left-Right Elder.
It began spinning the four swords attached to the front and back of its body like the blades of a motor.
Shiiiiiik—!
The low hum at first gradually sharpened into a piercing screech, sucking in all the surrounding air.
Booooom—!
The Left-Right Elder's body floated up into the air. Defying gravity, it moved freely with the air as its foothold—an Air Treading realm. To maintain that insane rotation while Air Treading... it was impossible to even guess the depth of its internal energy.
Kwararararang—!
The Left-Right Elder became a typhoon of spinning blades and charged straight at Byeok Cheonwi and Dokgo. Everything along its path was torn and shredded, scattering as dust.
Byeok Cheonwi and Dokgo split to either side simultaneously, as if by prior agreement, dodging the horrific charge.
But the Left-Right Elder's target had been clear from the start.
Kiiiiik!
It made an impossible sharp turn in midair and unhesitatingly dove back toward Byeok Cheonwi. Probably figuring it'd take out the weaker one first.
"Kuh!"
Instead of rashly clashing head-on, Byeok Cheonwi backpedaled to create distance. His massive frame flickered in and out like smoke, but the Left-Right Elder's spin was speeding up even more.
Whoosh— whoosh— whoosh—! Whoooosh—! Booooosh—!
The sound of the blades slicing through the air climbed higher and higher in pitch. The sword paths, once traceable by eye, had vanished entirely, leaving only the massive disk of blades in view.
Cold sweat beaded on Byeok Cheonwi's forehead. His once leisurely dodges turned into desperate evasions. Eventually, with no room left to retreat while facing forward, he turned his back and fled. In a battle of masters, showing your back meant death. But right now, there were no other options.
I recalled seeing it in a top cartoon from childhood: the faster a spinning top spun, the more stable and rapid it became, exponentially so. Speed equaled power. That blade typhoon was becoming an unstoppable incarnation of destruction. If things continued like this, Byeok Cheonwi would end up as finely minced tonkatsu dough, splattered everywhere.
I asked,
"Alliance Leader. What do we do?"
But the Alliance Leader just shook his head silently, his face expressionless.
Quitting fast, huh.
The moment despair welled up inside me, the Alliance Leader muttered lowly,
"Still... worth a try."
The instant those words ended, the Alliance Leader vanished from my sight.
As if he'd never been there to begin with.
And in the next moment, he appeared in the air directly above the madly spinning Left-Right Elder that was pressuring Byeok Cheonwi. Another superhuman standing atop the one defying gravity. He formed a Sword Finger with two fingers and thrust down toward the rotation's center—the crown of the Left-Right Elder's head.
A flash of light exploded.
A low chant escaped the Alliance Leader's lips.
"Thunderclap Jade Shattering Slash."
If I channeled my inner explainer, it meant cleaving through jade with thunder and lightning... probably a sword that severs hopes. What a grandiose name...
...but it's my type.
Craaaang—!
The sharp flash extending from the Alliance Leader's fingertips pierced the storm of spinning blades and struck the Left-Right Elder's body dead-on.
Kudududuk!
As if reverse rotation had been applied, the Left-Right Elder's insanely accelerating spin slowed visibly amid a roar. The Alliance Leader's strike had shaken its axis, breaking its momentum.
But that was only momentary.
"Kruuuuuh...!"
With groans bursting from the monster's two faces simultaneously, the rotation speed surged back ferociously. The Alliance Leader's attack had only bought time—it wasn't a fundamental solution.
Damn. If it were spinning on the ground, I'd flip the earth itself to stop it, but flying around like that leaves no options. What now?
My mind raced. Throw a rock? No chance—it'd turn to dust on contact. Then... something insanely tough slammed straight into it head-on might stop it. But where the hell do I find that in this situation?
Hmm. Guess I should pray for Byeok Cheonwi's soul. He was a hearty, good guy. Should've at least gotten his last words...
I was half-resigned to that thought when—
"Uwaaaaaaaaah—!"
I looked up at the sky. A black lump was arcing down from the dizzying heights toward us.
And that lump was growing larger.
I narrowed my eyes to identify it.
A hulking muscular build. Wild hair splaying everywhere. And above all, that face twisted in terror.
Upon closer look, it was Paeng Daesan.
What the hell?
Before I could grasp the situation, Paeng Daesan slammed into the ground like a massive meteor.
Kwaaaaaang—!
A earth-shaking boom erupted, and where he landed, a massive dust pillar rose alongside a crater of unknown depth. What the X?
"Alliance Leader. Buy me a little time."
"Got it."
The Alliance Leader's reply was short and curt. He threw himself back into the fray without further words. While he stalled, I raced to the crater's center. Had to check if Paeng Daesan was alive first.
"Hey. What are you?"
A groan leaked from the massive pit at my voice.
"Kuhng..."
Soon, Paeng Daesan clawed through the dirt mound, staggering to his feet. Falling from such heights barehanded and coming out unscathed—his toughness defied imagination. He shook his dizzy head and looked around.
"Wh... where is this, bro? I was just in the training grounds..."
In the Azure Dragon Squad?
I immediately read his emotional waves. Confusion, pain, pure bewilderment. Not a trace of deception. So he'd really been in the Azure Dragon Squad until moments ago. Meaning someone had hurled him all the way here?
Hmm. But that's not the priority right now.
Just then, another boom rocked the battlefield.
Kwaaang—!
Dokgo's Thunderclap Jade Shattering Slash struck the Left-Right Elder once more.
Kikikik—! A metallic screech rang out as the top's spin slowed noticeably, only to reclaim its original frenzy and charge at Byeok Cheonwi again.
To save Byeok Cheonwi, I had to stop that top.
The Alliance Leader's Thunderclap Jade Shattering Slash seemed like the same type as Byeok Cheonwi's—focused more on special 'effects' than raw destructive power, allowing multiple uses. But even that couldn't halt the Left-Right Elder's spin. Its internal energy was forcibly repelling the technique.
Perfect timing—with Paeng Daesan here, who was second to none in toughness. If I threw him into the rotation axis...
No.
But no matter how tough, getting fed into that adamantium mixer would turn him into minced bloody ribs.
As I racked my brain for alternatives—
A sharp air-ripping sound came from the sky.
Shiiiiiik—!
Looking up, another human shape was plummeting from the dizzying heights, just like Paeng Daesan had. But this one was different.
He wasn't a defenseless falling rock like Paeng Daesan.
The gaunt man flipped in midair and drew his twin blades from his waist. Crossing the two blades toward the ground, he unleashed a diagonal cross-slash into the air.
Kwaang—!
The explosive recoil drastically slowed his descent, and he landed lightly like a cat.
I checked his face and doubted my eyes.
An eerie aura laced with bloodlust, a skeletal frame, sharp eyes. How was this guy alive? He'd supposedly died already—at the alliance meeting, I'd heard the Blood Path Guest was dead.
"Elder. How are you still alive?"
He turned at my question and looked at me. His dry voice drilled into my ear.
"Saying I should die because I'm old?"
"No, it's just... everyone said you were dead."
"Who spouted that nonsense?"
I thumbed at Jegal Seo, still trembling behind me.
"This kid's dad."
The Blood Path Guest glanced at Jegal Seo following my finger. Then, with an 'I get it now' expression, he said curtly,
"Never mind."
"So, Elder, were you in seclusion or something?"
"Ah. Can't say."
He sighed in response.
"If I told you, I'd die."
Hmm. Good enough.
That answered plenty. I didn't pry further.
Two men fallen from the sky.
And two men fused on the ground.
The countermeasures against the Left-Right Elder were set.