Chapter 275: Advent of the Heavenly Demon (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 275: Advent of the Heavenly Demon (7)
Against the backdrop of a vast, sprawling lake, a bearded old man and a young man sat in a pavilion, savoring their tea.
"It has already been ten years since the Heavenly Demon, Baek Joong-hyuk, passed away. When I first set foot in the world known as the Central Plains Murim, it was already Baek Joong-hyuk's world, so I couldn't bring myself to believe the legends passed down through the generations. However, the more I looked into him, the more I realized that the truth wasn't exaggerated in the slightest. No, if anything, the legends fell short. The history of Murim claims that the followers of the Heavenly Demon played a decisive role in the Demonic Cult's unification of Murim, but that isn't the truth."
The young man moistened his lips with tea.
The old man, who listened to the conversation with deep interest, was once a master of the Righteous Faction Murim—one of the very men who had opposed the Heavenly Demon, Baek Joong-hyuk.
"Just one man. The martial prowess of the Heavenly Demon, Baek Joong-hyuk, single-handedly overwhelmed the entire Righteous Faction Murim. Every time he appeared, it resulted in an overwhelming victory, and the day he brought down Shaolin put a definitive end to it all. From the very beginning, it was a war they were bound to lose because they couldn't defeat that single individual. Once the Righteous Faction Murim accepted that fact and began preserving their strength for future generations, they collapsed rapidly."
"It is as you say. When Shaolin's 108 Arhats were slaughtered by a single man, we accepted that there was no hope of winning."
"Then there is something I wish to ask. In the history of the Demonic Cult, the Heavenly Demon, Baek Joong-hyuk, is the only one to have ever reached the Realm of Heaven. The unification of Murim is also an achievement accomplished by him alone. Is the martial art of the Demonic Cult that raised Baek Joong-hyuk to that position—the Heavenly Demon Divine Art—truly the greatest martial art under heaven?"
He was curious.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
The greatest martial art under heaven—that title alone would ensure its place in history forever.
The old man smiled. Taking a sip of his tea, he uttered an ambiguous reply.
"Perhaps. Having reached the Realm of Heaven, the Heavenly Demon, Baek Joong-hyuk, was a god-like existence whom no one could dare approach. However, those who did not personally experience that turbulent era of history do not know the real truth."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"At the time the Righteous Faction Murim conceded defeat, the Heavenly Demon, Baek Joong-hyuk, was only at the Earth Stage. Although he later reached the Realm of Heaven by using his accumulated enlightenment as a stepping stone, the Baek Joong-hyuk we faced back then was at a level no different from the realm achieved by the former Heavenly Demons. Do you know what that means?"
There was no answer.
The young man was lost for words.
If what the old man said was true, the feat of conquering Murim was difficult to comprehend. Clearly, the history of the Central Plains Murim remembered the overwhelming presence of the Heavenly Demon, Baek Joong-hyuk. It was something that could not possibly be explained unless it was through the unprecedented achievement of reaching the Realm of Heaven.
The old man said, "It's simple. It means that the Heavenly Demon, Baek Joong-hyuk, was simply an anomaly—an existence beyond all comparison."
* * *
Rumble!
A massive cloud of dust rose.
The sight of an army numbering a staggering three hundred thousand charging all at once was an overwhelming spectacle that struck awe and terror into those facing them. The soldiers of the Dmitry-Cairo Allied Forces swallowed hard. They had known such a moment would come while preparing for the war, but actually facing the reality of it was a different matter entirely.
Their legs trembled.
As fear began to creep in, they clenched their teeth and stared wide-eyed at the sight right before them.
They saw Roman Dmitry walking out toward the enemy.
How could he be so composed? Watching his unwavering steps, the soldiers looked on with complex emotions. Even as they held blind faith in Roman Dmitry, their rational minds told them that even he would inevitably be swept away by such a massive force. This war had been flawed from the very start. With only the strength of Cairo and Dmitry, defeating the Kronos Empire was an impossible task.
It was then.
‘Heavenly Demon's Sovereign Step.’
Just one step.
Roman Dmitry stepped onto the ground.
The first step. The energy of the earth surged up through his legs, intertwining with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art in his Dantian to unleash an explosive burst of power.
‘Heavenly Demon Sword Technique, Mid-stage First Form.’
Flash!
He thrust his sword forward.
Because he swung his blade long before the enemy was even in range, the onlookers couldn't comprehend what Roman Dmitry was doing. But the slaughter that would plunge everyone into sheer horror began at that very moment. A tempestuous energy erupted from his sword, tearing through space. Before the soldiers of the Kronos Empire could even draw near, they were swept away.
Boom!
Rumble!
Dozens?
No, hundreds.
With a single strike, countless enemy soldiers were torn to shreds, and the charging ranks of the enemy froze in utter bewilderment. What on earth was happening? Roman Dmitry was an Aura Swordsman, not a mage specialized in area-of-effect spells. Though their bodies were still charging toward Roman Dmitry, their minds could not process the scene unfolding on the battlefield.
Whoosh!
Rumble!
He kicked off the ground.
Roman Dmitry vanished, and by the time they spotted him again, he had already soared into the air. The sunlight glinted. Intertwining with his Aura, a despairing reality descended upon their heads.
Crash!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Aaargh!"
"Aaaaaah!"
The enemy forces were swept away.
They were obliterated so completely that not even their corpses remained intact, demonstrating a destructive power so overwhelming that it tore a massive hole right through the charging enemy ranks. The Heavenly Demon's Sovereign Step meant absorbing the energy of nature and harmonizing it with the Qi of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. If the first step drew in a power of one, the second drew in two, and the third drew in three.
Therefore.
Tap.
The second step.
As Roman Dmitry executed the Heavenly Demon's Sovereign Step and channeled his mana, the onlookers witnessed an unbelievable sight.
‘Heavenly Demon Sword Technique, Mid-stage Second Form.’
Flash!
Space itself was blown away.
Indeed, "space" was the only fitting word to describe what had vanished, as everything in the path of his Aura was instantly obliterated. It was completely different from what anyone had envisioned. When people thought of melee combat, they imagined a chaotic, tangled brawl, but here, soldiers were dying in droves before they could even get close to Roman Dmitry.
The Heavenly Demon's Sovereign Step, much like the Heavenly Demon Sword Technique, had no fixed form. With his second step active, Roman Dmitry plunged straight into the heart of the enemy forces.
Slash!
Splatter!
Blood sprayed.
An extremely fast sword technique, executed so rapidly that the eye couldn't even register the swing of the blade, sliced through the bodies of the enemy soldiers. Screams echoed from all directions. Commanders shrieked at their men to attack Roman Dmitry by any means necessary, but those who came face-to-face with him had their consciousness snuffed out in an instant. To fully manifest all nine steps, one had to reach the Realm of Heaven. Yet, the Heavenly Demon, Baek Joong-hyuk, had conquered the Central Plains Murim long before he ever reached that realm.
The third step.
Boom!
Rumble!
The earth upturned.
The enemy's formation shattered, and blood sprayed once more under the explosive force of his Aura.
It was a slaughter.
This was no conventional battle of offense and defense; it was a one-sided massacre of the enemy by Roman Dmitry. When Duke Bamford had raised his voice to order the attack, he could never have imagined a scene like this. He had never expected that a charge of three hundred thousand soldiers would be repelled in such a manner.
Shaolin, and the Central Plains Murim, had by no means been weak.
The Kronos Empire also possessed the power to rule the continent, but just like the Righteous Faction Murim, they had simply been born in the wrong era.
An anomaly beyond all comparison.
That was the Heavenly Demon, Baek Joong-hyuk.
From the moment Roman Dmitry reached the Earth Stage and absorbed the power of the Flame Demon, Dmitry possessed the power to stand against the Kronos Empire. This did not mean the nation of Dmitry itself had suddenly grown stronger. Rather, a single existence named Roman Dmitry was now exerting an overwhelming presence, not just in small-scale territory wars, but in a massive war between empires.
The fourth step.
‘Heavenly Demon Sword Technique, Mid-stage Third Form.’
With each step, a strike of equal magnitude.
When Roman Dmitry thrust his sword forward, hundreds of soldiers vanished into nothingness.
Boom!
Rumble!
A cloud of dust billowed.
When he walked out from the thick shroud of dust, a completely different scene unfolded.
The army of three hundred thousand. Without a single order given, the entire army had ground to an unbelievable halt, staring at Roman Dmitry with faces painted in sheer terror.
* * *
Goosebumps broke out over their skin.
At this very moment, everyone realized it. To kill just this one man, Roman Dmitry, they would have to sacrifice an unimaginable number of lives.
It was an absurd situation.
Though the continent's history was filled with legendary geniuses, not a single one of them had ever achieved the preposterous feat of overwhelming an army of three hundred thousand on their own. Roman Dmitry was a historical anomaly. Everything he did surpassed the deeds of anyone recorded in history.
Their hearts shrank with dread.
At this rate, it would be nothing but a one-sided slaughter, like a wolf let loose among a flock of sheep.
It was then.
"Kronos Knights, follow me!"
It was Hannibal.
Sensing the ominous turn of events, he stepped forward with a grim expression, a stark contrast to his usual demeanor. He was a man dubbed the "Evil Ghost of Kronos" because he took pure pleasure in the act of killing. The battlefield was normally a playground to him, but in the face of having to fight Roman Dmitry, he couldn't bring himself to smile.
The Kronos Knights, including Hannibal himself, numbered in the hundreds. Every single one of them manifested their Aura, showing a desperate resolve to eliminate Roman Dmitry at all costs.
Roman Dmitry, and Hannibal with his knights, closed the distance between them.
As everyone held their breath in suffocating tension, Hannibal roared like thunder, unleashing his Aura.
"Attack!"
"Charge!"
Crash!
Rumble!
They rushed forward furiously.
Hannibal and the knights had been deployed specifically to deal with Roman Dmitry in the first place. Though they had witnessed his overwhelming display, they had no intention of backing down. Their opponent was the enemy of Kronos. Having marched onto the battlefield under the direct command of His Majesty the Emperor, the only options permitted to them were death or victory.
Hundreds against one.
They charged at each other.
And when the violent clash finally occurred, the very scenario the Kronos Empire had feared came to pass.
Flash!
Splatter!
"Urgh!"
"Aaargh!"
Screams erupted.
With every swing of Roman Dmitry's sword, the bodies of the Kronos Knights were torn apart. Even in the midst of the chaotic melee, he did not allow a single enemy attack to land. When a Kronos Knight aimed for his head, he dodged and severed the knight's head in return. Against the attacks coming from all directions, he flared his Aura, crushing them with sheer force. The faces of the Kronos Knights were painted with panic. They had known he was overwhelming, but facing him in person struck absolute terror into their hearts.
Splatter!
Blood sprayed.
A split second of hesitation led directly to death, and Roman Dmitry did not stop his advance.
Whoosh!
Rumble!
Aura surged.
The Kronos Knights who leaped into the air by stepping on the corpses of their comrades coughed up blood before they could achieve their goal. Even as they lost consciousness, their minds were filled with questions. How could a single human being be this strong? They could not accept the reality unfolding before their eyes, nor could they comprehend how they had died.
"You crazy bastard!"
Boom!
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Hannibal's Aura exploded.
He unleashed a tremendously powerful Aura befitting his reputation, but Roman Dmitry casually blocked all of Hannibal's attacks. Even in the midst of this, the Kronos Knights continued to die. Hannibal's presence failed to pressure Roman Dmitry in the slightest, leaving him to do nothing but watch as the knights around him were slaughtered.
How on earth could such a thing happen?
Hannibal was a powerhouse who surpassed Barbosa, yet Roman Dmitry toyed with him even more easily than he had with Barbosa. It was a truth they could never comprehend. Through his battles with Butler, Count Nicholas, and Barbosa, Roman Dmitry had gained a perfect understanding of the "essence of Aura." The thoughts that had begun as a single question had turned into absolute certainty, and his accumulated experience had perfectly dismantled the enemy's strongest weapon.
Rumble!
The shattering of Aura.
It wasn't even a contest.
The reason Chris and Kevin had been able to produce unbelievable results against peak Aura Swordsmen was because they had inherited Roman Dmitry's teachings. None other than Roman Dmitry—the great existence who would redefine the history of Aura Swordsmen.
Only then did Hannibal realize.
Roman Dmitry had not spared him by accident. He had deliberately kept him alive.
While Hannibal was desperately attacking, Roman Dmitry had slaughtered the Kronos Knights in the blink of an eye.
Slashing.
Slashing, and slashing again.
A massacre accompanied by screams ensued.
As Hannibal struggled frantically, he suddenly realized that, at some point, he was the only one left standing.
It was then.
Flash!
"Aaargh!"
Hannibal screamed.
His world collapsed.
As a searing pain surged up from his lower body, Hannibal belatedly realized that his legs had been severed.
* * *
It was unbelievable.
Ranked 2nd in Kronos.
Ranked 3rd on the continent.
He was not someone who should suffer such a pathetic defeat. His reputation as the Evil Ghost of Kronos and the achievements he had accumulated over the years proved what kind of existence Hannibal was.
His body trembled violently.
Suppressing the agony, Hannibal looked up at Roman Dmitry with eyes filled with shock.
"...Who... Who on earth are you?"
"Hannibal. The Evil Ghost of Kronos. I have heard rumors about you. I heard that after you captured the Western Front, you indulged in your sick hobby of torturing the captured soldiers every single night."
Their conversation.
Everyone heard it.
Even as Duke Bamford watched the situation unfold, he could not bring himself to utter the command to attack Roman Dmitry.
Roman Dmitry met Hannibal's gaze. Squatting down, he looked at him.
"I believe that inhumane acts committed on the battlefield are nothing to be surprised about. The battlefield is a world far too realistic to complain about such things. However, touching my people is a different matter. If someone tortures and inflicts pain upon my people, I will return the exact same pain—no, even greater pain—to them. That is the way I, Roman Dmitry, live."
Grab.
"Cough?!"
Roman gripped Hannibal's jaw.
He grabbed Hannibal's teeth with his bare hand and ripped them out.
"Aaargh!"
Hannibal screamed.
Writhing in agony, Hannibal struggled desperately to escape from Roman Dmitry.
At that, Roman said, "Stay still."
Crack!
He snapped Hannibal's arm.
To prevent Hannibal from resisting any further, and to ensure his pathetic hands would never touch him, Roman Dmitry did not stop at severing his legs; he broke both of his arms as well. Hannibal's terror-stricken eyes locked onto Roman Dmitry. Though he himself had enjoyed torture enough to be called an evil ghost, he had never seen anyone perform such brutal acts right in the middle of a battlefield.
Just like that.
Roman Dmitry pulled out his teeth, one by one.
Regardless of how Hannibal thrashed, Roman returned the exact same atrocities that people had spoken of with terror-stricken faces when describing the Evil Ghost of Kronos.
Across this vast plain.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers stood packed together.
Yet.
No one spoke a word.
They even held their breath.
As if only the two of them existed in this space, the armies of both sides watched the scene in absolute, suffocating silence.