Chapter 319: Just What Kind of Battles Have You Been Fighting? (1)
Chapter 319: Just What Kind of Battles Have You Been Fighting? (1)
At Patrick’s bold protest, Jonsa spoke as if he found the situation absurd.
“You certainly have a lot of dislikes.”
“Ahem.”
“…….”
Even Jonsa, who stood at the pinnacle of all dark mages, was momentarily speechless.
He had lived a very long time, but he had never encountered a human like this.
“Anyway, get your hands off my stuff. And while we’re at it, let’s take your head off too, old man.”
“And if I refuse both?”
“Then you’re gonna… die!”
The moment he spat out the word ‘die,’ Patrick turned into a streak of light and lunged at Jonsa.
Jonsa met that attack…
How insolent…
BOOM!
He took it head-on.
Oh? Look at this guy.
Patrick was slightly taken aback.
This was different from the defensive magic of the others he had blown away earlier.
The faint violet defensive barrier Jonsa had deployed easily withstood Patrick’s strike. Furthermore…
“You are fearless, brat.”
Black demonic energy slithered out from beneath Jonsa’s feet, attempting to lash out at Patrick.
“Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue, Patrick took a step back and swiftly swung White Dragon in his left hand.
Countless pure white lines overlapped in the air, forming a protective screen.
Crash! Rumble!
The Sword Curtain of White Dragon, deployed in an instant, blocked Jonsa’s attack. However…
Sssssss!
Jonsa’s dark mana, which had momentarily receded, accelerated again like a venomous snake and lunged toward Patrick.
Patrick frowned at the attack, which had grown significantly in both power and range.
So you want to go, huh?
Radiant Dragon Twelve Sword Styles.
Fifth Form.
Dragon Scale Whirlwind.
Rumble! Crash! Boom!
A vortex of sword qi, far more intense than before, repelled Jonsa’s attack.
Jonsa’s dark mana failed to pierce Patrick’s defense.
Neither side gained the upper hand in this fierce clash of power. However…
“Che.”
When an attack of significant power flew in from the side, Patrick deactivated his sword style and leaped backward.
Boom! Bang!
Terrifying flames and lightning swept through the spot where Patrick had just been standing. And then…
“That’s enough, Double Dragon.”
“We’ll take it from here.”
Four individuals, who clearly looked far from ordinary, blocked Patrick’s path.
“And who the hell are you guys?”
They answered Patrick’s question directly.
“I am Pride, a direct disciple of the Great Master.”
“I am Envy.”
“I am Wrath.”
“…Sloth.”
Patrick nodded as he heard their introductions. After a moment of serious thought, he spoke.
“It’s a pain to remember all that. Let’s just go from the side: Jang One, Jang Two, Jang Three, and Jang Four.”
What is this, a generic tavern?
“…….”
“…….”
Even if they didn’t fully grasp the cultural reference, they could tell his naming sense was incredibly insulting.
However, despite his flippant words, Patrick was actually quite tense inwardly.
Dammit, of all the times for this headache…
He had already used his Ultimate Secret Art twice while fighting the Black Tortoise.
This old man Jonsa looked like a real handful, and the four ‘Jang’ brothers under him weren’t pushovers either.
Patrick was acting composed on the outside, but in reality, he was running on fumes.
And then…
—Aaaaaargh!
The Black Tortoise’s body began to melt away.
Jonsa, having left Patrick to his disciples, had finally achieved his goal.
“That…”
Patrick tried to step forward but hesitated.
The enemies in front of him were a nuisance, but more than that…
It’s already too late.
The moment he saw the Black Tortoise’s corpse rapidly dissolving into black sludge, he knew there was no point.
And the moment the Black Tortoise met its complete end…
“Hahahaha!”
Jonsa spread his arms toward the sky and laughed maniacally.
“Finally, all the seals have been released. Now, no one can stop His resurrection!”
“Congratulations, Great Master.”
“When Salvation’s Sunset arrives, you shall ascend to a position higher than anyone else, Great Master.”
Jonsa laughed for a long time, basking in the congratulations of the other dark mages. Then, after his laughter subsided…
He glanced at Patrick and spoke.
“Double Dragon.”
“What?”
“I have heard your name for a long time.”
“Ahem!”
In this situation? Really?
Jonsa was momentarily flustered, but he quickly regained his composure and continued.
“I hold your skills, which surpass even the Sword Saint, in high regard. Thus, I wish to make you a glorious offer.”
“Yeah, no thanks.”
“That offer… what?”
“I don’t even need to hear it. You’re gonna ask me to be the Heavenly Demon’s lackey, right?”
Jonsa’s expression twisted hideously at Patrick’s words.
“How dare you speak of His… wait… wait a minute? What did you just say?”
“Huh? What?”
“How do you know His name?!”
Jonsa’s eyes bulged as he roared. Patrick let out a sigh and shook his head.
“Why? Because when I went to the place where he was sealed, it was scribbled all over the place.”
“…….”
“‘Heavenly Demon’s Advent, Ten Thousand Demons Look Up’? Only a psycho like the Heavenly Demon would like such cringy phrases.”
“You read that? Then, the one who disturbed the sealing site back then was…!”
Jonsa spoke with a look of pure shock.
“You… You, you…!”
“Me what? Speak clearly.”
“It was youuuuu!”
Jonsa’s voice, screaming at the top of his lungs, was filled with uncontrollable rage.
“Hey, why are you screaming? You crazy old geezer.”
Not that Patrick cared one bit.
Seeing Patrick casually picking his ear with an indifferent expression, Jonsa could no longer contain his fury.
“You… you murderous bastard…!”
Jonsa gnashed his teeth.
Back then, because the Outer God had stirred at the sealing site, their mana had been scattered, and one of the three familiars of the Outer God had escaped their control.
Do you have any idea how much damage that caused?
Half of the dark mages who had survived the battle against the dragons were killed, and Jonsa himself had been critically injured.
Furthermore, although they managed to subdue the familiar again, all three familiars—including the other two—suffered severe damage in the process.
Back then… because that human had disturbed the Outer God’s sealing site, they had suffered a truly catastrophic blow.
In fact, they could have easily died.
“You… because of you…!”
“Ho, looking at the situation, it seems you guys went through some trouble because I poked the Heavenly Demon back then?”
“Do you even have to ask?!”
“In other words, because of me, you were in a dire crisis and things went south, right?”
“That’s right! Just thinking about that time makes me want to kill you right now—!”
“Serves you right.”
“…….”
“What? We’re enemies, aren’t we? As they say, an enemy’s misfortune is my happiness. Isn’t that right?”
How the hell did this guy ever get called a Great Hero?
“Ugh… guuuh….”
Unable to suppress his rage and dumbfounded by the sheer audacity, Jonsa almost fainted.
How can a human being be such a nuisance and a plague just by existing?
As expected of the Great Master.
His judgment of character was surprisingly accurate.
Then, Jonsa’s expression changed.
From shock and rage, it shifted to a cold face filled with unmistakable murderous intent.
He spoke to his subordinates.
“Kill him.”
A decisive command.
At this moment, Jonsa recognized Patrick as an enemy who absolutely had to die.
For Patrick, this was undoubtedly a crisis.
If his body were in normal condition, it would be one thing, but right now, he had very little strength left after the fierce battle with the Black Tortoise.
“Come at me. Come on.”
Not that he was the type to be intimidated.
Just as Patrick was about to draw up his last handful of true qi to deploy a sword style…
“Master Patrick!”
“Are you alright?”
Four individuals, the direct familiars of the Four Calamities, came rushing from a distance.
They had realized the battle between Patrick and the Black Tortoise was over and had hurried over to assess the situation.
As they neared the scene, they saw Patrick being attacked by dark mages.
They rushed in to join the fray. And above all…
“Die!”
The one whose eyes were most bloodshot was Patrick’s disciple, Persona.
The moment she saw the dark mages, she unleashed a full-power Breath without hesitation.
“That crazy girl…!”
The problem was that Patrick was also within the range of that Breath.
KABOOM!
Terrifying pillars of flame swept through the area.
The dark mages turned to Jonsa, who was behind them.
“Master, the situation is not favorable right now.”
“We advise a withdrawal.”
“We have already achieved our primary objective. Further combat is meaningless.”
The disciples’ words were logical.
Jonsa thought so too.
Since they had already destroyed the constellation held by the Black Tortoise and pulled out the wedge of the seal, there was no need to continue the battle here. However…
“Cough, cough… That crazy girl, she’s so out of it she can’t even recognize her master and just breathes fire?”
That was the problem.
That frivolous and infinitely light-looking human.
As Jonsa glared at him, Patrick felt the gaze and snapped back with a sour look.
“What? What are you looking at? Fix that glare of yours before I rip your eyes out!”
“…….”
Why was it?
He had a strong premonition that he shouldn’t leave this man alone.
There was no logical basis, but the intuition of Jonsa—who had endured thousands of years, meticulously gathering information and planning—was warning him.
It told him that leaving this man alive would be dangerous.
But…
“I’ll kill every last one of you!”
Setting aside that Black Dragon whose eyes were rolled back in rage.
He could handle her.
But he wasn’t prepared to deal with all of Kalaron’s familiars who were rushing in from behind.
And if that Patrick Schneider, who had defeated the Black Tortoise single-handedly, joined in…
“Master.”
Pride, his most trusted disciple, spoke to him as he fiercely crunched the numbers in his head.
“Isn’t the most important thing to ensure the arrival of the Sunset?”
“Mmm….”
Jonsa groaned. Then, letting out a small sigh, he spoke.
“Fine. You are right.”
“…….”
When his master listened to him, Pride quietly took a step back and bowed his head.
Then Jonsa commanded everyone.
“Withdraw.”
Jonsa ordered a retreat. However, there was someone who couldn’t just let them leave…
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
From the sky, Persona unleashed a second Breath.
Terrifying flames engulfed the dark mages, but it wasn’t enough to truly threaten them.
The dark mages escaped one by one by opening spatial portals.
“Those bastards…!”
Persona gnashed her teeth.
She had lost the enemies of her clan right before her eyes; how could she not be frustrated?
However, there was someone here she had to prioritize over her personal revenge.
“Master! Master, are you alright?”
She hurriedly approached to check on Patrick’s condition. And as Persona drew near…
“Gah…!”
Patrick vomited blood and collapsed.
Dammit…
Patrick had exhausted his strength in the battle against the Black Tortoise and had already pushed his mental and physical energy to the limit while confronting the dark mages.
The final blow to Patrick was…
“Master! Master! Those damn seeds of the Outer God dared to… to you…!”
“You… You, you…!”
It’s you. You. My internal energy got twisted because I had to block the fire you breathed.
“Master, are you okay? Those treacherous bastards dared to…!”
I said it’s you. You did this.
“Don’t worry. I will protect you, Master.”
The kid was kind-hearted.
She really was kind, but…
“…….”
Two thick streams of tears rolled down Patrick’s cheeks.
Why is there not a single normal person around me?