Chapter 215
Chapter 215
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 215
Chapter Title: Eradicating the Seventy-Two Strongholds
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"S-Spare..."
Still, I harbored a faint hope.
Until I saw them with my own eyes.
"......."
I stared silently at the one clinging to my foot. A bandit who had lost an arm and was crawling toward me, begging for his life.
Begging for life was one thing. Anyone would value their own existence. There were pleasures to be had only while alive, and no one wanted to let that go.
...But.
Wasn't it strange for him to beg only for his own life after committing such atrocities?
Look around. See what this place was.
I turned to survey the area mixed with filth and mud. Inside the building called the "livestock pen," emaciated women crawled on all fours.
There was a reason they were on all fours. The bandits had severed their leg tendons to prevent escape.
Because of that, they couldn't even stand properly. They had no choice but to crawl, and the bandits laughed uproariously at the sight.
Some vented their lust. Those who couldn't even manage that led deeper inside. I realized it wasn't much different from what I'd seen at Shaolin.
Human flesh.
These bastards were producing human meat. They'd slaughter civilians deemed useless and resell them as meat.
"......."
This...
Did none of the Seventy-Two Bandit Strongholds know about it?
No. Impossible. They would know exactly what their underlings were doing.
Yet they'd turned a blind eye. Maybe even endorsed it. Or perhaps...
They'd ordered it themselves.
All three possibilities defied reason. Revulsion filled my throat, leaving me unable even to curse.
"S-Spare... me... milord..."
I stomped his head.
Blood and brains splattered everywhere.
The women huddled in the corner screamed. I walked slowly toward them.
They were skin and bones. And that wasn't all. Some had lost their tongues, managing only "aaah-" sounds.
It was a human farm of horrors. Several trembled toothless.
All their teeth pulled out. Why?
...Simply because they were used as playthings.
"Wow. You fucking bastards. It's even worse up close."
"Grrrrk..."
The leader of the Seventy-Two Strongholds dangled limply from Gu Ok-kyung's blood-soaked hand.
I checked the women's conditions first. Fortunately, none bore immediately fatal wounds.
The severed tendons... could they be fixed?
Something to examine later. Right now, there was other business.
"...Huh? You're doing it?"
I approached the stronghold's master without answering Gu Ok-kyung.
I simply stared at the captured leader.
"Name."
"G-Greenwood... will hunt you..."
-Crack.
I snapped one finger. Not just a break.
I channeled qi inside, shattering the finger and its nerves completely.
His eyes rolled back. I had no intention of letting him die yet.
I infused Heavenly Tribulation to mend the shattered parts... only for the ensuing pain to make him drool uncontrollably.
"Ah... aaah..."
Just enough to keep him alive.
So he could keep feeling the agony.
I gripped his finger again.
"Name."
"Dong... Gwak-woo..."
"...Hey. You okay?"
Gu Ok-kyung asked.
I shook my head.
"Not at all."
I'm furious.
Watching them commit inhuman acts without a care...
It boils up from the depths of my gut.
An emotion any human should have. Even without justice, there are lines that shouldn't be crossed, right?
But these scum crossed them.
Crossed them by a mile.
"Dong Gwak-woo."
"...Y-Yes..."
To his blood-flecked reply, I quietly asked.
"Are the other strongholds doing the same?"
The answer burst out late.
"Y-Yes! Milord! W-We aren't the only ones! E-Everyone does it to get by...!"
"......."
"The Bandit King ordered it! We just followed orders! S-Spare me! I swear! Never again!"
Reflection, huh.
Good. Reflection is a fine thing. People can change-that's what makes them human.
...But.
"If you were going to say that..."
Didn't you walk too far to turn back?
I raised my hand and gently gripped his throat.
"You should have said it before I arrived."
-Snap!
His neck lolled to the floor. I'd gotten the answers I needed; further questions were pointless.
Seventy-Two Bandit Strongholds.
A gathering of scum worse than beasts.
"...Red Cloud?"
I turned to Gu Ok-kyung calling cautiously.
"Wasn't our job just... simple time-wasting?"
"...Something like chipping away at their forces while causing a stir... that was the whole plan... right?"
"Anything more?"
"Huh?"
"It's what you wanted anyway. Answer me. Gu Ok-kyung. Anything more?"
"More than that...?"
I brushed the blood from Nine Forgets cleanly and sheathed it before turning.
"...All of them."
Seventy-Two Bandit Strongholds.
Yeah, you're impressive. Vast numbers, hordes of experts.
Enough power to hold your throne. Enough to finger-point at no one, even for this filth.
But not after today.
"I'll wipe them all out."
Scum worse than dogs must be culled by human hands.
Orthodox, unorthodox, demonic cult.
No matter where...
This won't be forgiven.
Least of all by me.
"...You're insane."
Gu Ok-kyung shuddered beside my steady stride.
"F-For real? You're going that far?"
"Yes."
"...You crazy bastard...!"
Gu Ok-kyung's lips twitched.
"Fuck yeah! Let's smash 'em all! Just you and me!"
...
Bandit King Gwak Cheon-geuk unleashed his men.
And thought it would end quickly.
But something was off.
"The pursuit squad's been wiped out!"
"...What?"
Things went wrong from the start, then spiraled further.
Pursuit squad. Green Forest elites sent to pinpoint locations for the Heavenly Net Earthly Web...
All annihilated.
Gwak Cheon-geuk sensed disaster. He hurriedly dispatched more underlings.
This time, even more elite.
Ones he could truly trust. And he issued a warning.
"Don't attack on sight. Observe from afar. If unsure, track from a hundred zhang away."
He'd said it clearly.
No mistake in his words.
Yet the second pursuit squad was crushed.
And it didn't end there.
One stronghold vanished entirely. No survivors.
"What the fuck?!"
Gwak Cheon-geuk immediately contacted the stronghold leaders. Nearby ones were to dismantle operations temporarily and merge into pairs.
Extreme, but he deemed it right. With the enemy popping up unpredictably, doubling defenses would solve it.
Double the numbers, double the experts. What else could happen...?
"...What? Two strongholds wiped out simultaneously?"
"Y-Yes!"
Master of the Seventy-Two Bandit Strongholds.
No.
Now master of the Sixty-Eight wiped his face.
Two top experts too much for two strongholds at once? What bullshit was this?
Fuck, were two Wall-Surpassing Realm masters roaming together?
"R-Request aid from the Four Demons...!"
"They're invested in the Heavenly Net Earthly Web! Think they'll help us?! And if word gets out the Seventy-Two are dancing to two nobodies' tune, who'll fear us?!"
We handle this ourselves. Gwak Cheon-geuk gripped his axe firmly for the first time in ages.
"I'll catch them myself! Trace from the first massacred stronghold! Gather our best and strike! Move!"
While mobilizing, six more strongholds fell. All in just seven days.
Movement speed abnormal. Power level abnormal.
Really just two foes? Impossible for two alone.
"Unleash everyone! Shut down all operations! Scour every mountain! Anyone dying, report to me instantly! We catch them!"
Ten more strongholds crumbled.
Gwak Cheon-geuk's face darkened to ash.
The house pillars were snapping. Yet...
No trace caught.
"Th-This can't be... happening..."
Twelve strongholds down.
Finally, a silhouette emerged.
"Found a trace!"
"Mooove!!!! Tell them to catch them no matter what!!!"
The two experts finally in sight.
The Bandit King mobilized his finest elites.
To seize the enemy.
...
"...What the hell? Who're these crawling worms?"
Killed them.
"Heh heh. Grab a few girls today? Heard that Jin-ga girl's a keeper..."
Killed them.
"Like this, kid. Shake your hips right to last longer. Wanna test? New bitch today-tendons cut, but she fights fierce. Those types are worth fucking."
Killed them.
"Human meat's sneaky good, right? This is for sale, but I snagged some. Wanna share?"
Killed them.
"They deserve a beating. Should pay protection on time... Whining about starving... Spiderwebs in their mouths, those fucks. Just beg to die. The rich ones whine more."
Killed them.
"Younger the better tasting. What don't you get? Anyway..."
Killed them.
"Vengeance for daddy my ass. Cut off fingers one by one, and they just scream. That bastard-thinks he's a man... Against the Great Green Forest."
Killed them.
"...M-Milord?"
Killed them.
"S-Spare..."
Killed them.
"...Why... why go this..."
Killed them.
"Why... this... far..."
Killed them all.
I whispered to the stronghold master amid the corpses.
"That's what I want to ask."
No stronghold was any different.
All teeming with trash.
"Why go this far?"
"Ah... ah..."
I snapped his neck and checked the blood.
Kept moving until my conical hat was blood-red.
I massacred strongholds. Freed the slaves inside.
But...
Heavenly Tribulation could heal bodies, not minds.
Most were mute or mindless, drooling idiots.
I gripped the sword in their stead. Swung it for those who couldn't.
Bodies piled up, but no guilt stirred.
These weren't human-mere beasts I'd slain.
"...Fucking hell... you mad bastard!!"
Gu Ok-kyung roared with laughter amid the corpse mountain.
"Aaaah!! I love you, Red Cloud! Fuck! I really do!"
"You're bloody. Back off."
"So what? I'm drenched too. Ugh. You go all out, you're fucking unstoppable?!"
"Just slaying beasts."
"...I want you more now. Won't be my personal doc? Nah. I'll just follow you?"
"Cut the crap and move. Planning to smash another stronghold by tonight."
"Ugh. That ruthless tone. You're locked in, huh? Love it. Love it love it-let's sweep 'em all!"
Then, the bandits pursuing our tracked position appeared.
Vast numbers worthy of Heavenly Net Earthly Web. But we'd pierced it before.
Escaping was child's play. We were faster than them.
...Except.
This time, no escape planned.
"Gu Mang. Baek Ya. Heuk Ju."
I summoned the three spirits. With Heavenly Tribulation and Nine Forgets at the core, two spirits settled on the blade tip.
Wailing souls. Making my existence ever firmer.
Demonic qi I could now wield fully flowed through Nine Forgets. Blood qi anchored, demonic qi amplified destruction...
Freezing yin chill.
Incinerating yang blaze.
The four converged at the blade tip, merging into one. Blood-deep crimson-black.
"...Thanks."
White Night painting the night sky pale.
Black Day blackening the day.
Nine Forgets bringing the forgotten back.
And finally...
Me, now able to dye even clouds red.
Bicheon Village's Red Cloud-all gathered as one.
The four energies fused. Becoming fangs bared at our pursuers.
"For saving me the trouble of hunting you down."
Toward the horde, teeth gleaming.
To devour them all.