Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: Thousand Li Plain (2)
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“This wolf… howl… I’ve heard it somewhere before.”
The gazes of Sword Demon Dragon and the others all turned at once toward the speaker.
“Heard it before? What do you mean by that?”
Sword Demon Dragon’s question was met by Wind Demon Platoon Deputy Leader Suk Ji Hwang, who was listening intently to the wolf’s howl with a gravely serious expression. His voice trembled as he replied.
“I’ve only experienced a wolf howl this massive and drawn-out once before.”
“So when was that?”
Joo Seung Geon couldn’t hold back and raised his voice.
“Long ago, there was a time when we joined forces with the Divine Demon Division for an operation. I heard it on that battlefield. The wolf’s howl that shook the field back then was a death knell for the enemy.”
“Divine… Demon Division?”
Joo Seung Geon’s voice quivered involuntarily as he echoed the words in shocked disbelief.
“It’s definitely the howl of Heuk Rang, the wolf that symbolizes the Divine Demon Division. The Divine Demon Division Leader must be here.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
“Hah! The Divine Demon Division Leader, whose whereabouts we’d lost track of, shows up here? If that’s true, we’re in the worst possible situation.”
Sword Demon Dragon let out a groan as he gazed toward the area where screams were erupting everywhere.
“We shouldn’t just sit here—we need to move now. If the Ha Hu Clan arrives too, it’ll really give us a headache. We have to finish this before they get here.”
Sword Demon Dragon nodded heavily at Ghost Soul Fist’s words. He then issued an order to Joo Seung Geon.
“Immediately send the Wind Demon Platoon around to both flanks to cut off their retreat and attack. Ghost Path Hall won’t hold out much longer on their own. Capture them before the Ha Hu Clan reinforcements arrive.”
“Understood.”
From the moment he learned of the Divine Demon Division Leader’s appearance, Joo Seung Geon—burning with vengeful fury at the thought of finally avenging his brother—received the order and promptly mobilized his subordinates.
Joo Seung Geon took half the troops and moved to the left flank, while Suk Ji Hwang led the other half to the right.
“Let’s go.”
As Sword Demon Dragon leaped forward, Ghost Soul Fist and Blood Tribulation Hand—who seemed wildly excited, as if they’d caught the scent of blood—hurriedly followed.
Parting the tall reeds, they arrived at the battlefield in short order and beheld a scene that had devolved into utter pandemonium in that brief span.
As Suk Ji Hwang had predicted, Heuk Rang—the wolf symbolizing the Divine Demon Division—was rampaging madly, while Lightning Flash and So Surin unleashed relentless attacks in every direction. Manchu and Gayu were doing their part as best they could, but the others’ exploits were so overwhelming that theirs seemed modest by comparison.
Sword Demon Dragon coolly surveyed the field.
The Ghost Path Hall warriors, who had numbered over a hundred, were down to half already, and even that remnant was dwindling rapidly.
Ghost Path Hall Leader Gok Seon and the two elders who had accompanied him moments ago were locked in a fierce struggle with a single man.
‘The Divine Demon Division Leader.’
Sword Demon Dragon recognized Sima Geon at a glance.
Even before confirming his face, he sensed the overwhelming aura radiating from Sima Geon’s entire body. He was certain no one else in the current martial world possessed such presence.
The other leaders of Ghost Path Hall were likewise being chased around by a hulking brute, fighting desperately for their lives.
‘Diamond Yaksha.’
Sword Demon Dragon identified Cheol Woo just as quickly.
And then there was one final figure: an old man not participating in the fight but exuding an ominous aura. What struck him as odd was that the elder, with a long pipe clenched in his mouth, had his eyes fixed solely on the movements of a woman who appeared to be Sima Geon’s subordinate. It was like a mother anxiously watching a child left by the water’s edge.
“Diamond Yaksha—that one’s mine. I’ve always wondered just how tough that body of his really is.”
Ghost Soul Fist clenched and unclenched his fist, building up his fighting spirit.
“Same here.”
Blood Tribulation Hand Pyeong An was glaring at Cheol Woo as well.
“Then the Divine Demon Division Leader falls to us.”
Sword Demon Dragon turned to the three Protectors with a grin.
The Protectors were trying to maintain composed expressions, but they couldn’t hide the anxiety and tension etched on their faces.
It was no ordinary foe, but the Divine Demon Division Leader himself.
The central figure in unifying the demonic path, the supreme powerhouse known as the Demon World’s Greatest Sword.
‘So reassuring when he was on our side.’
Sword Demon Dragon shivered, feeling a prickling sensation course through his entire body.
Mingled with his fear was an exhilarating thrill at the chance to battle a foe of such rare caliber—a battle spirit soaring to the heavens.
“Krah!”
A sharp scream rang out, and the arm of Gok Seon—who had been fighting fiercely—flew into the air.
“Hall Leader!”
Jo Geun Saeng cried out in shock. He had been holding on with all his might to save Gok Seon and Ghost Path Hall. But he had no spare attention for Gok Seon now. Sima Geon’s sword, having severed Gok Seon’s arm, was already lunging for his own throat.
An unpredictable trajectory, a speed too fast to react—Jo Geun Saeng gritted his teeth.
Surrendering to instinct, he swung his sword.
The clash of blades rang in his ears, and a shock rippled through every joint in his body.
The problem was that this was merely the beginning.
Once the assault began, it came on without mercy, leaving no room to breathe.
Had he faced it alone, he wouldn’t have lasted three exchanges. With Gok Seon and his comrade’s aid, he’d held out this far, but now armless, Gok Seon could offer no more help. Elder Gwan Hong had clutched his chest and collapsed even before Gok Seon. Jo Geun Saeng couldn’t fully assess the injury, but seeing he couldn’t rise again confirmed it was fatal.
“Guh!”
Jo Geun Saeng’s eyes bulged wide in agony.
Turning toward the pain, he saw blood gushing from his side. Deep gashes in both thighs had sapped the strength from his legs.
‘This is the end.’
The all-out battle had raged for barely twenty breaths with their combined efforts. This was his first true taste of the Divine Demon Division Leader’s rumored prowess.
Jo Geun Saeng squeezed his eyes shut, resigned to death—but for some reason, Sima Geon held his hand.
The sudden shout revealed why.
Opening his eyes, Jo Geun Saeng saw Sword Demon Dragon swinging his sword at Sima Geon, backed by the three Protectors joining the assault.
“Grand Elder.”
Gok Seon staggered over, clutching his shoulder.
He had hastily stanched the bleeding and bound it with torn cloth, but blood still streamed down.
“Are you all right?”
“I’ll manage. And you, Grand Elder?”
“I’m holding up, more or less. But I’m worried about that one.”
Jo Geun Saeng approached Gwan Hong, who lay utterly still, and lifted him into his arms.
“How is Elder Gwan?”
Gok Seon asked in a trembling voice. Jo Geun Saeng shook his head weakly with a sigh.
“Damn it all!”
Gok Seon clenched his eyes shut.
He had no burning ambition for great power. Ghost Path Hall simply didn’t have the strength for it, nor did he crave it. A modicum of power and status to avoid being at others’ mercy would suffice.
He figured intercepting the Ha Hu Clan reinforcements and claiming credit would earn some recognition.
Everything had gone smoothly—until they encountered the absolute worst foe they should never have crossed.
That nightmare opponent faced Sword Demon Dragon—one of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s top masters—and three others of equal caliber in a combined assault, yet he held ample leisure.
If anything, the attackers’ expressions soured.
Their flushed faces brimmed with impatience, and their sword swings lacked smoothness.
Even these battle-hardened veterans, who had competed and fought their whole lives, felt intimidated by Sima Geon’s skill.
“Is this what it feels like to shove your head into a tiger’s maw?”
Jo Geun Saeng had no reply to Gok Seon’s question. He simply fixed his eyes on Sima Geon, who was overwhelming Sword Demon Dragon and the three Protectors despite their combined attack.
“Ugh!”
A short groan escaped Cheol Woo’s lips.
Each backward step cratered the ground deeply.
Countless crimson hand shadows trailed Cheol Woo’s every movement.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The red hand shadows struck Cheol Woo’s body with deafening blasts, staggering him each time.
Diamond Indestructibility and the supreme protective energy Ink Gang Asura Qi shielded his sturdy frame, sparing him grievous wounds. Yet the fact that he was still pushed back spoke volumes about the shadows’ power.
Having landed successive hits, Blood Tribulation Hand Pyeong An pressed his momentum, intensifying the onslaught.
But his expression darkened.
Ink Gang Asura Qi’s rebound energy was far more threatening than he’d anticipated, and Cheol Woo’s counters were terrifying. Ghost Soul Fist’s timely aid had prevented any solid hits, but even grazing blows threatened to shatter bones.
“Haat!”
A mighty shout erupted from Cheol Woo, and Pyeong An’s ferocious barrage was shattered in an instant by the ultimate techniques of Overlord Sixteen Fists.
“You’re done!”
Cheol Woo’s sneer and icy smile filled Pyeong An with bone-chilling dread.
At that moment, Ghost Soul Fist’s fist lunged at Cheol Woo’s back.
Cheol Woo’s face twisted slightly.
Unlike Blood Tribulation Hand’s strikes, Ghost Soul Fist’s were far trickier.
They were forceful enough, but predicting their shifts was the real challenge.
True strikes and feints intertwined endlessly, slyly weaving in Phantom Heavy Hand techniques amid the chaos—like the Poison Eagle Ghost Dog that had tormented him in the past.
“Right. The old man first.”
He could probably finish Blood Tribulation Hand if he pushed, but Cheol Woo judged it wiser to eliminate Ghost Soul Fist, master of Phantom Heavy Hand, first.
Gliding effortlessly with Wind Shadow Step’s lightness skill to evade, Cheol Woo unleashed Exploding Heaven Three Strikes from his hands.
“Come on!”
Ghost Soul Fist bellowed heartily, thrusting his fist forward.
Apocalypse Ghostfire Fist—the unique art that had elevated Ghost Soul Fist from nothing to his current station.
Hellish flames bloomed from Ghost Soul Fist’s fist.
As Cheol Woo swung repeatedly, terrifying energies poured forth in alternation.
Exploding Heaven Fall and Exploding Heaven Thunder unleashed nearly simultaneously.
Ghost Soul Fist countered without yielding, chaining the ultimate Ninefold Phantom and Eight Wastelands Thunder of Apocalypse Ghostfire Fist.
‘Hm.’
Ghost Soul Fist’s expression flickered.
A jolt raced up his arm from the fist.
As he flinched from the lightning-like shock through his body, Cheol Woo’s follow-up struck.
Ghost Soul Fist met it head-on once more with Soul-Shattering Strike, the ultimate of Apocalypse Ghostfire Fist’s nine deadly techniques.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With earth-shaking explosions, Cheol Woo’s massive frame began accelerating.
His feet, pushed to the limit of Wind Shadow Step, were a blur, and the chained attacks that followed were blindingly swift and sharp.
The fist energy bursting from Cheol Woo battered Ghost Soul Fist mercilessly.
Ghost Soul Fist couldn’t help but panic against the escalating power with each block. He desperately shifted tactics, evading or deflecting to counterattack rather than clash head-on—but Cheol Woo permitted no such leeway.
Ten Directions Thunder, Meteor Fist Strike, Ink Cloud Radiance—Heaven Shattering Nine Wall Fists in succession.
Against the supreme art of the Great Force Demon Lord, who had once dared challenge the Heavenly Demon, Ghost Soul Fist was utterly powerless.
Their clash was so ferocious that Blood Tribulation Hand Pyeong An found no opening to intervene—until he saw Ghost Soul Fist’s peril and charged in.
Pyeong An unleashed Blood Shadow Demon Wheel Hand to its utmost, but Cheol Woo at full power was monstrous.
A single counter obliterated the crimson hand shadows blanketing the sky, sending Pyeong An flying back. His hands, smashed beyond recognition, could no longer be called hands.
Cheol Woo didn’t stop there.
Intent on finishing him, he pursued the rising Pyeong An.
Ghost Soul Fist tried to block, but with his severe internal injuries, his power had waned. Cheol Woo took the hits on his body and smashed Pyeong An’s skull.
Pyeong An instinctively raised his arms to guard, but it was futile against Cheol Woo’s brute force.
“Krah!”
A horrific scream tore from Pyeong An’s throat.
Not only his guarding arms but his head, absorbing the impact directly, was half pulverized.
Like a snapped kite, Pyeong An crashed down, chest heaving a few times before going still.
Cheol Woo turned, panting roughly.
“Ghost Soul Fist, you’re next.”
His face alone was terrifying enough to buckle knees, and smeared with blood, he looked every inch a monster.
A hollow laugh escaped Ghost Soul Fist’s lips.
“Damn bastard.”
Ghost Soul Fist thought the moniker Diamond Yaksha suited him perfectly.