Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Suicide Squad (5)
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Pshhh.
Blood spurted from the shoulder grazed by the saber’s edge.
Only then did the pain register.
A strike as fast as Baek Jung-cheon’s Flash Sword… no, perhaps even faster. My mind raced.
‘I have to break through to do anything.’
I couldn’t even think about closing the distance.
Of course, there was a way.
If I trusted the Dragon Scale Armor covering my torso and charged in, I could probably manage something.
The problem was…
‘I might lose my arms and legs.’
Considering my future quality of life, losing a limb in a world without prosthetics, artificial limbs, or even reattachment surgery was absolutely out of the question.
Therefore, my choice was simple.
“Hup!”
Swoosh! Crackle.
I unleashed my War Dragon Ki with all my might.
The old man’s saber was sent flying back helplessly.
“Impressive!”
Of course, I couldn’t keep this up forever.
No matter how efficient the War King Arts were, a protective aura fundamentally consumed a massive amount of internal energy.
In other words, a moment would come when my energy ran out, and I had to do something before then.
“Ho, such a sublime protective aura at your age… The Blood God will be pleased with the offering of your blood.”
“Let me ask you one thing before we fight.”
“Speak.”
“You keep talking about this Blood God. Who is that, exactly?”
“He is the great god who presides over the death of all creation.”
“Have you ever seen him?”
The old man looked at me as if I’d asked the most absurd question.
“I asked if you’ve actually seen him. Or at least heard his voice.”
“You madman. Do you think the great god would reveal himself before a mere creation?”
“So, he’s like a dragon or a kirin—a figment of your imagination?”
“Hmph, if what you say is true, then what of the Buddha the monks of Mount Song believe in? They have never seen him with their own eyes either.”
“Buddha was a real person named Siddhartha Gautama, wasn't he?”
“Our Blood Sect also has a great prophet, the Great Sage of Blood Essence.”
“Huh? I’ve never heard that name before. Did you just make it up?”
“You will understand when you die and go to the Blood Realm.”
“Aren't you embarrassed, lying at your age?”
“You insolent whelp!”
The enraged old man brandished his saber.
“Hup!”
While talking to him, I had secretly prepared a fair and square black iron nail, which I now swiftly launched.
I had poured every last bit of my War King Ki into it.
The old man’s eyes widened as the black iron nail, shrouded in black energy, flew toward him.
“……!”
Whoosh!
He swung his saber, which was brimming with ki, but the nail, encased in black aura, was unfazed.
Crack.
It even deflected the old man’s attack.
Startled by its unexpected power, he swung his twin sabers in alarm.
“You whelp!”
Saber ki and saber aura began to fill the surroundings.
Crack. Craaash!
A massive shockwave erupted as the aura and the black iron nail collided.
“Gah!”
“G-get back!”
Thud. Thud.
As the shockwave spread, the bodies of the Ten Demon Alliance members who couldn't get out of the way were torn apart, creating pools of blood.
And in that moment, I knew instinctively.
“Dammit.”
Even though it was an attack I had poured my entire being into, the old man hadn't died.
If he had at least lost a limb, I might have stood a chance, but…
Whoosh.
As the dust settled, the old man came into view. Aside from looking a bit tired, he was perfectly fine.
“Hahh… Is that all you’ve got?”
“Wow… He blocked that…”
“Nothing is impossible for a servant of the Blood God.”
Squish. Squish.
The old man walked toward me, stepping on the sticky pools of blood.
“What a load of crap.”
“I shall grant you my mercy and send you off peacefully. Be sure to beg for forgiveness when you meet the Blood God.”
The old man smiled, his twin sabers now glowing red.
However, the black iron nail wasn't the only thing I had prepared while talking to him.
I had also called for reinforcements via telepathy.
“Hall Master!”
I shouted at the top of my lungs.
“……?”
A flicker of doubt appeared in the old man’s eyes.
Whoosh! Thud.
A streak of sword aura flew like a lightning bolt and pierced through the old man’s head.
His head vanished without a trace.
Looking at the headless corpse, I yelled.
“Hall Master! Nice shot!”
I gave a thumbs-up, and the Black Dragon Hall Master, who was commanding from a distance, nodded in acknowledgment.
Sun-Shooting Sword: Houyi's Arrow.
The legendary divine art, based on the myth of Houyi shooting down the sun, had just blown the old man’s head to bits.
Now, only the small fry were left.
“Fights are all about ganging up, right?”
I grinned, and the faces of the Ten Demon Alliance members, who were staring back and forth between me and the old man’s corpse, turned pale.
* * *
With me finishing off the old man and the Blue Dragon Hall wiping out the Blood Sect followers, the battle turned completely one-sided.
The narrow terrain was advantageous for defense, each of our warriors was powerful, and my perfect strategy encompassed it all.
How could we possibly lose a fight like this?
Thanks to that, the warriors of Nine Dragons Fortress soon succeeded in securing the clearing on the mountainside.
Not only had we inflicted significant damage on the Ten Demon Alliance expedition, but we had also crushed their morale.
However, true to their demonic nature, they didn't give up even in this situation.
They tried to force a path by sacrificing their own men.
Of course, being capable of thought, they didn't just throw away anyone.
“It’s a master!”
They sent in the experts who had been waiting in the rear.
However, while we were outnumbered, the individual skill of our masters was overwhelmingly superior.
“Let’s go.”
“Sounds good.”
“It’s time to show these youngsters the spice of old age.”
Our own veteran masters, who had also been in the rear, stepped forward one by one.
The old masters swept through the battlefield, clashing with the experts of the Ten Demon Alliance.
Before long, the result was clear.
A complete victory.
Our experienced masters had utterly dominated the experts from the Ten Demon Alliance.
It wasn't just because their martial arts were stronger.
They executed perfect combination techniques, leveraging the advantage of an orthodox sect where everyone learns the same style of martial arts.
It was a moment where 1+1 equaled 2.5.
And then.
Slash!
As the head of the last enemy fell to the sword of the Black Dragon Hall Master, Adept Inhyeon, the enemy began to retreat.
“It’s not over! We don’t know when they might attack again! Each hall, assess your personnel and regroup immediately!”
At Adept Inhyeon’s shout, the elders of each hall began to check on their disciples.
Three dead, seven injured.
It was a great victory, with only ten casualties.
But, as Adept Inhyeon said, the war wasn't over.
The finale was yet to come.
* * *
The three brothers—Jeok Il, Jeok Yi, and Jeok Sam—dashed through the entrance of Mount Diancang, leaving only red afterimages in their wake.
Red Shadow Step.
A peak movement technique that, at its zenith, left only a faint red shadow visible.
It naturally consumed a vast amount of internal energy, but they paid it no mind.
Instead.
[There’s no time. Move faster.]
They ran as if they were prepared to burn their very lives away.
Finally, upon reaching the enemy’s rear, Jeok Il gave his orders to everyone.
[From here, we split into three groups and prepare. We must regroup here in six hours at the latest.]
Nod.
The fifteen members of the Red Blood Squad and Jeok Il’s brothers scattered in all directions.
Six hours later.
Jeok Il appeared before them, all preparations complete.
[The Heaven and Earth Net?]
At his question, the leader of the Red Blood Squad nodded, his eyes deep and solemn.
[It is ready.]
[Deploy it on my signal.]
[Yes, Young Lord.]
[We will rest for a moment until the enemy descends. Take these Vitality Pills and replenish your internal energy.]
Jeok Il took out a small pouch and handed out one pill to each person.
They were a gift from Jin Mujeon, his future brother-in-law.
They looked dark and smelled foul, but what did that matter if they were effective?
Compared to the time they had to chew live scorpions in the desert after sunset, this was perfectly edible.
The moment Jeok Il swallowed the Vitality Pill, he realized it.
It was far superior to the pills passed down through his family's secret arts.
‘What is this!’
Indeed, the more he saw of the man, the more he liked him.
Two hours after they had recovered their internal energy.
As the sun set and the moon began to rise, Jeok Il’s senses detected a massive number of warriors.
It had to be the defeated members of the Ten Demon Alliance, making their way down.
[Prepare.]
At his command, everyone from the Red Dragon Hall concealed their presence.
Time passed in tense silence.
And finally, when the horde from the Ten Demon Alliance reached the target location.
[Now!]
The moment Jeok Il gave the command, the leader of the Red Blood Squad pulled his hands. The thin strands of Heavenly Silkworm Thread grew taut.
And then.
Slice.
The bodies of dozens of Ten Demon Alliance members, who were unknowingly passing over the area, were sliced into tens, even hundreds of pieces.
“It’s a trap!”
The thick scent of blood filled the air around the mountain.
The Ten Demon Alliance was thrown into chaos.
They had lost dozens of their comrades without even knowing what kind of trap it was.
Jeok Il scoffed inwardly at the sight.
‘They might have seen it during the day, but at night, it’s invisible.’
There was nothing the members of the Ten Demon Alliance could do.
A thread invisible even when one focused their vision.
A thread that could not be cut even by sword ki.
The Heavenly Killing Thread, created by processing the Red Dragon Hall’s treasure, the Heavenly Silkworm Thread, over three years.
The Heaven and Earth Net deployed with it was one of the Red Dragon Hall’s most prized secret techniques.
Now, the Ten Demon Alliance had few options.
One was to have their supreme masters lead the way and sever the Heaven and Earth Net with their aura.
But even for the Ten Demon Alliance, such masters were few, and those they had were likely exhausted or dead from the previous battle.
That left only one other option.
“Everyone, scatter and get off the mountain!”
To abandon the path and descend by scattering in all directions.
And that was exactly what Jeok Il wanted.
Grin.
A savage smile graced Jeok Il’s lips as he sent a telepathic message.
[Show them the sting of the Heavenly Killing Small Sword.]
At his command, all but the two Red Blood Squad members maintaining the Heaven and Earth Net scattered in all directions.
Jeok Il moved with them and took his position.
“Hoo…”
Gripping a Heavenly Killing Small Sword in each hand, Jeok Il recalled what Mujeon had told him.
‘I guarantee you, once the sun sets, no one will survive the Heavenly Killing Small Sword.’
To grasp the true nature of the Heavenly Killing Small Sword just by watching a duel…
Wasn't he a true genius?
Jeok Il smiled cruelly and melted into the darkness.
* * *
The killing arts of the Red Dragon Hall were broadly divided into two categories.
Earth Kill and Human Kill.
Earth Kill referred to traps, and Human Kill referred to martial arts.
Which meant…
Pft. Pshk. Pft.
“Argh!”
The sounds now echoing from all directions were the screams of Ten Demon Alliance members who had stepped into traps.
Jeok Il, Jeok Yi, Jeok Sam, and all the others from the Red Dragon Hall expertly infiltrated the enemy’s confusion.
“Wh-who’s there?”
“The grim reaper.”
Splurt!
They reaped the heads of their enemies.
“Over there!”
Each time, the Ten Demon Alliance members who spotted them would shout.
Crash!
But the Red Blood Squad members would knock over prepared logs or disappear into pre-dug tunnels, easily evading encirclement.
The members of the Ten Demon Alliance were dumbfounded by their ghost-like movements.
Of course, they didn't just stand there and take it.
“You think these cheap tricks will work?!”
Some raised their protective ki to block incoming arrows.
“Hmph! Useless!”
There were masters who instantly cut the ropes that tried to ensnare their feet.
Moreover.
“Kuh.”
“You dare think you can escape from me?”
A few even managed to attack the Red Blood Squad members, putting them in peril.
And each time that happened, Jeok Il stepped forward.
Heavenly Killing Small Sword.
The world's greatest killing art, said to be able to kill even the heavens, pierced a small hole in the foreheads of the Ten Demon Alliance masters.
A terrifyingly precise sword technique.
It was hardly inferior to the skills of the Red Dragon Hall Master himself.
Afterward, Jeok Il continued to move like a madman.
As if he were trying to prove something to someone.
This continued for an hour.
Just as their traps ran out and the stamina of the Red Blood Squad members began to wane.
“Your big brother is here!”
A welcome voice echoed from above.
“Hah.”
It was the first time Jeok Il, who had lived his life without knowing laughter, had ever smiled so purely.