Chapter 96: Displaying Divine Might-2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 96: Displaying Divine Might-2
"Who dares covet the Tang Clan?!"
Sun-woo altered the shape of his vocal cords to mimic Tang Jin-cheol’s voice.
Because he had changed it so hastily, it wasn't a perfect match, but it was similar enough to sound profoundly threatening to his enemies.
At his roar, the fates of many began to diverge.
A light of hope flickered in the eyes of the Tang Clan warriors, while a shadow of despair fell over the Demonic Cultists.
Who was the Poison King, Tang Jin-cheol?
He was the Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan and their greatest master, a man who had reached the Transcendent Realm—the stage of the absolute.
Furthermore, to the Demonic Cult, the Poison King was practically a god of death, famous for single-handedly annihilating the Black Armored Cavalry, once known as the Cult’s finest shock troop.
But how could such a man appear here?
Had he not been blown apart by the Jincheon Thunder Bombs, the weapons with the greatest destructive power in the Murim?
Fear began to spread among the Demonic Cultists, men who were supposed to be strangers to the emotion.
The reaction was worlds apart from when Tang Seo-yoon, a Super-Peak master, had appeared. It was a testament to the sheer weight of the Poison King’s name.
"The Poison King was definitely hit by the Jincheon Thunder Bombs! He might look fine on the outside, but his insides must be a mess! Do not be fooled by his bravado!"
It was then that Eum-juk, the Vice Leader of the Blood Bow Unit, shouted at the cultists.
He had heard directly from Joo Man-gi that the Poison King had taken six Jincheon Thunder Bombs head-on. He was convinced that the man was merely putting on a front while his internal organs were shredded.
There was no way anyone could be fine after six direct hits from those demonic weapons. The Jincheon Thunder Bombs were horrific devices capable of crushing even Protective Qi.
It had to be a bluff.
He was surely just putting on a show to boost the morale of the Tang Clan warriors.
They could not afford to be deceived.
"Everyone, attack the Poison King!"
Eum-juk turned to the members of the Blood Bow Unit and barked the order. With their Unit Leader dead, he was the one in command.
Twang! Twang!
Hundreds of bowstrings were drawn taut, all aimed solely at the Poison King.
Watching this, Sun-woo let out a smirk.
It was pathetic.
When it came to arrows, he had already traded blows with a man who stood at the very pinnacle of that path. Even that man hadn't been able to handle Sun-woo when he was merely at the Super-Peak Realm.
He wondered what these mere grunts thought they could achieve.
"Don't let your guard down."
Perhaps she had read his smile, for Tang Seo-yoon spoke to him cautiously.
"Are you worried about me?"
"No matter how strong your Protective Qi is, if there's a clash of internal energies, the shock will still be transmitted to you."
"It's fine."
Sun-woo gave her a broad grin. Seeing her worry for him actually felt quite good.
Swish.
Sun-woo took off his Dragon Robe and gently draped it over her.
"If you circulate your internal energy, this will block the arrows on its own. Keep it wrapped around you."
"Forget it. You wear it."
Tang Seo-yoon didn't want to be a burden to him. How could she wear such a mystical artifact herself? Even if he was a Super-Peak master, a stray arrow could still be dangerous. It would be more helpful for him to wear it than for her, whose body was already in tatters.
"I told you. It's fine."
Ignoring her concerns, Sun-woo turned back around.
He looked at the hundreds of bows aimed at him. It was quite a sight.
Sun-woo felt a sense of wonder. To think that so many people were drawing their bows just for him. A smile naturally formed on his lips.
What would have happened if he had faced this situation before entering the Godok Hall? Would he have been able to laugh like this?
Instead of laughter, he probably would have been filled with groans, sighs, and despair, thinking there was no way he could win.
But now, strangely, he couldn't help but laugh.
Sun-woo could feel his own growth deep within. He had grown enough to find this level of pressure trivial.
Looking at the hundreds of bows aimed at him, Sun-woo began to circulate the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art. Since he had to act like the Poison King, he mimicked the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art.
His internal energy and poison merged into one, beginning to transform into the energy of the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source. Soon, a shimmering green aura began to undulate around him.
He had perfectly replicated the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art.
Gulp.
Perhaps it was the sight of that undulating green aura, but many members of the Blood Bow Unit swallowed hard.
Twang!
Finally, Eum-juk, the Vice Leader at the very front, released his string.
Twang! Twang! Twang! Twang!
Starting with Eum-juk, all the arrows of the Blood Bow Unit began to rain down on Sun-woo.
Whish! Whish! Whish! Whish!
Sun-woo smiled as he watched the hundreds of arrows flying toward him.
They were slow.
Far too slow.
Sun-woo drew his sword from its scabbard. He began to swing his blade, not at the arrowheads, but at the shafts.
Crack! Snap! Crack!
The moment Sun-woo’s sword touched them, the wooden shafts shattered with ease.
He didn't even need to use much internal energy. As long as he avoided the arrowheads where the enemy's energy was concentrated and broke the shafts instead, neutralizing the arrows was child's play.
Crack! Snap! Crack!
Dozens, then hundreds of arrows shattered and fell around Sun-woo.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Soon, every single arrow that had been fired lay broken on the ground.
"Shoot again."
Sun-woo spoke calmly, provoking them.
The members of the Blood Bow Unit were struck with horror. How could he neutralize all their arrows with a single sword? It was impossible.
Even without their dead leader, the Blood Bow Unit still numbered nearly two hundred. That meant nearly two hundred arrows were fired at once.
How could a single sword block two hundred arrows?
This wasn't the divine might of a Poison King; it was more like that of a Sword King.
Fear took hold of them. Did this man called the Poison King also possess such masterful skill with a sword?
As if reading their fear, a smile played on Sun-woo’s lips.
Since falling into the Murim, it had been nothing but hardship. Despite possessing martial prowess that was formidable for a rising star at the Super-Peak Realm, he had been dragged through the mud again and again.
He had almost had an arrow lodged in his throat by the Bow Ghost, Jo Han-won, and had hovered between life and death because of the Sword Emperor, Yang Tae-san. He had somehow defeated them, only for the world's strongest being, Lee Jae-won, to appear and try to kill him.
It was the same in the Godok Hall. He had entered confidently, believing none of the other Young Clan Head candidates could beat him, only to be greeted by a pair of Human-Faced Spiders.
In the end, he had surpassed his limits and reached the Transcendent Realm while fighting them, but before he could even settle into his new enlightenment, he encountered the Poison Demon, the man who had killed the real Poison King.
Hardship.
Yes, it had been a series of hardships so intense it felt like he was being ground into the dirt. Sun-woo had fought against the strong, surviving and enduring through one life-threatening crisis after another.
That was why this moment was so meaningful to him. For the first time, he truly felt how strong he had become.
"Hehehehe..."
Sun-woo began to let out a delighted chuckle. He felt as though he could do anything right now.
"Fire in rapid succession!"
It was then that Eum-juk, the Vice Leader, gave the order again. He had realized that they couldn't give such a monster any openings.
The archers of the Blood Bow Unit reloaded, drew their strings back quickly, and fired.
Whish! Whish! Whish! Whish!
Once again, hundreds of arrows poured toward Sun-woo.
Sun-woo looked ahead with a smirk. A barrage of arrows, incomparable to the previous one, was flying his way.
But he wasn't worried. Even if hundreds or thousands of arrows were fired, they looked as slow as a person walking to him.
Rattle!
Crack! Snap! Crack! Crack!
Every time Sun-woo swung his sword, dozens of arrows shattered. He began to walk forward slowly, cutting through the rain of arrows.
"Shoot! Shoot! Don't stop! Fire without ceasing!"
Seeing this, Eum-juk began to urge the Blood Bow Unit even more frantically. The opponent was a master of both poison and sword arts. The moment they let him close the distance, they would be slaughtered. They had to keep him away at all costs.
Whish! Whish! Whish! Whish!
Crack! Snap! Crack! Crack!
A spectacular scene unfolded as the sound of arrows being fired and the sound of them being shattered rang out simultaneously.
The faces of the Blood Bow Unit members grew darker as time passed. The distance between them was shrinking. No matter how much internal energy they poured into their arrows, it was useless. Their arrows couldn't reach a man who accurately sliced only the shafts.
The distance of nearly thirty meters was closing.
Twenty-four meters... fifteen meters... nine meters...
And when the distance closed to just three meters...
They felt it. Death was upon them.
"Time to die."
Sun-woo’s sword strikes began to scatter through the Blood Bow Unit.
Slash!
He had no hobby for torture. Even if they were enemies, if they had to die, he wanted to give them a quick, painless death. And Sun-woo had the ability to do just that.
As Sun-woo swung his sword, the throats of the Blood Bow Unit members began to be slit.
Slash!
"Gurgle..."
Slash!
"Ack!"
It didn't take much strength to cut their throats. A single strike per person was enough. Occasionally, some would rush him with hidden daggers, but it was laughable. His sword was much faster.
Slash!
He cut them down before they could even lunge. Despair filled their eyes, and they began to slowly back away.
It was a dog's death. The thought that fighting him would lead to nothing but a meaningless end consumed their minds.
However...
Slash!
Sun-woo did not let them go.
Those who fought, those who fled, those who surrendered.
He cut them all down without discrimination. He didn't want to leave any future trouble out of half-baked sympathy.
Sun-woo’s sword became even more relentless, and more than half of the Blood Bow Unit met their end.
'Damn it, we're going to be wiped out at this rate.'
Eum-juk was certain of it. If this continued, they would all be killed. He had to escape. He had to flee now and plan for the future.
"Everyone, right now... huh?"
The moment he opened his mouth to give the order, he felt something brush past his throat.
Eum-juk touched his neck with a trembling hand. As he did, he felt the sensation of a hot, sticky liquid.
"Gah... hukk..."
The pain arrived late. He had already been cut.
He barely managed to lift his head to look forward. There, he saw the face of the Poison King holding a sword.
Thud.
Upon seeing the Poison King’s face, Eum-juk collapsed to the ground. He had met his death.
"The Vice Leader is dead!"
"Run! He's a monster!"
"We have to call Lord Poison Demon!"
"Fuuuuck!"
Screams from the Blood Bow Unit began to erupt everywhere.
But Sun-woo didn't care. He simply held his sword and cut them down.
And in less than fifteen minutes since the confrontation began, the nearly two hundred members of the Blood Bow Unit were annihilated.
The Blood Bow Unit, which had been as infamous as the Evil Ghost Squad during the Great War of Righteousness and Demons. A group of warriors who handled bows like demons and displayed terrifying power from a distance.
They had entered the Tang Clan with grand ambitions of overthrowing it, only to vanish from the world forever at the hands of a single absolute master.
The Tang Clan warriors who watched the annihilation of the Blood Bow Unit could only stand there with their mouths agape.
They had heard much of their Clan Head’s fame. The story of how he had single-handedly wiped out the Black Armored Cavalry was something they had heard so many times since childhood that they had grown calluses on their ears.
But seeing such divine might in person, they couldn't help but be stunned. He had wiped out all those demon-like archers.
Their shock soon turned to awe, and that awe made the hearts of the young warriors swell with emotion.
"Waaaaah! The Clan Head has wiped out the Demonic Cultists!"
"The Poison King has shown his divine might!"
"The Clan Head is behind us!"
The Tang Clan warriors, having witnessed Sun-woo’s power, began to cheer.
Sun-woo glanced around briefly before shouting to them.
"Show the mercy of the Tang Clan to the villains who dare target us!"
"Waaaaaaaah!"
"Drive out the villains!"
"Protect the Tang Clan!"
Their morale at its peak, the Tang Clan warriors rushed at the Evil Ghost Squad and began to cut them down.
Sun-woo also joined the fray, slicing through numerous Demonic Cultists.
"Aaaagh!"
"Damn it!"
"You cursed poison-users!"
The Evil Ghost Squad resisted fiercely, but it was futile against those whose morale had already been shattered. Their Unit Leader and Vice Leader were dead, and even their reinforcements, the Blood Bow Unit, had been wiped out.
Their eyes were filled with nothing but despair.
'Damn it, we should never have come to the Tang Clan...'
They met their ends regretting ever setting foot there.
The Tang Clan had won.
"Waaaaaaaah!"
"We defeated the villains!"
"Victory for the Tang Clan!"
As the last of the enemies fell, the Tang Clan warriors erupted in cheers. Though they had suffered many casualties, they had ultimately emerged victorious.
The Evil Ghost Squad, a group of murderers once notorious for their cruelty—so cruel that even their fellow cultists avoided them—had been annihilated by the hands of the Tang Clan warriors, their cold corpses now littering the Great Hall.
Considering their past reputation, it was a lonely and pathetic end.