Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: I Knew It
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Countless men vaulted over the walls of the Black Iron Forge.
They were all men who had consumed Blood Augmenting Pills to unleash their latent power.
Their numbers were not that great. In total, they were barely a hundred.
However, a far greater number was on standby outside the Black Iron Forge.
For the time being, they would block anyone from leaving or entering the forge.
Among the hundred men who had crossed the walls of the Black Iron Forge, five were dressed differently.
They were far more relaxed than the others.
"Hah, they've made a whole bunch of rabble since I last saw this place."
The one who appeared to be the oldest among them muttered with a displeased expression.
He was an old man with stark white hair, but contrary to the fine wrinkles on his face, his body was packed with muscles that looked ready to burst.
He was shirtless, as if to show off his physique, and judging by his body alone, one would never have thought him an old man.
The four men around the old man looked much younger. They were twenty at most, but their eyes were dark and lifeless.
"Say something, will you? You're not mutes."
But the four men kept their lips sealed and walked on in silence.
Surrounding them, about a hundred men moved in sync, all of them radiating killing intent.
These were men who had recently consumed Blood Augmenting Pills enhanced with a special secret formula.
Since the formula had only recently been developed, they hadn't been able to secure a large quantity, enough for only about a hundred men.
One of them approached the old man.
"Just make sure you handle Byeok Taesan. We will take care of the rest."
A lustful glint appeared in the old man's eyes.
"I hear there are many pretty little things around Byeok Taesan. Keep them safe without laying a finger on them. I'll be savoring them one by one later."
"Of course."
The man bowed his head deeply and turned away.
Just as he was about to issue orders to his subordinates around him, black orbs rained down.
*Fwoosh!*
Black smoke enveloped the surroundings.
Seeing this, the man scoffed.
"Hmph. How long did you think this would work?"
At the man's words, the old man smirked and waved his hand.
*Whoosh!*
A powerful gust of wind blew the black smoke upward, clearing it all away.
Surprisingly, not a single one of the men who had taken the Blood Augmenting Pills showed any signs of going berserk.
"Hoh. They couldn't have had much time, yet they've already made improvements? Impressive. It makes me even more curious about who these people are."
The man's expression hardened as he spotted Byeok Taesan slowly approaching from the front.
"Byeok Taesan...!"
Byeok Taesan didn't respond to the man, instead looking at the five people standing behind him.
Then he glanced around.
"The numbers are a bit high..."
Byeok Taesan muttered and took a step forward.
*Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!*
At that moment, the heads of a dozen men who had taken the pills and were relatively close to Byeok Taesan exploded.
Byeok Taesan took another step.
*Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!*
Another dozen heads exploded.
The eyes of the man leading them widened as if they would tear. He couldn't even tell what was happening.
There was only one thing he could do.
"Everyone, scatter!"
He himself also quickly moved away from Byeok Taesan.
Even then, Byeok Taesan took another step.
*Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!*
Without fail, a dozen more heads exploded.
Byeok Taesan casually glanced at the men scattering in all directions.
About sixty remained.
"Well, they should be able to hold out with that number."
Byeok Taesan muttered to himself and then looked at the remaining men.
His eyes sparkled as he looked at the old man among them.
"Hoh. You're quite something."
Hearing this, the old man let out a disbelieving chuckle.
"Ha! Are you talking to me right now?"
"You know as well as I do that the four next to you are just chaff."
Meaning they weren't even worthy of being called "quite something."
"Quite something... quite something. I can't even remember the last time I heard those words. It must have been... over forty years ago."
As he finished speaking, the old man glared at Byeok Taesan and unleashed his aura.
*Kwaaaaaaah!*
The four men nearby frowned and slightly distanced themselves. Their inner energy was shaken by the aura, and they felt it might affect the coming fight.
Byeok Taesan didn't even glance at the four men and asked the old man.
"With that kind of power, you can't be nameless... but your face isn't familiar, so I don't think we've met..."
The old man smirked.
"Even if I told you, would you know?"
Instead of revealing his own identity, the old man first shared the titles of the four men near him.
"These are the Four Demonic Bloodswords. Have you heard of them?"
Byeok Taesan shook his head.
"Never heard of them."
The old man frowned.
"What, are you some greenhorn who doesn't know anything? You don't know the Four Demonic Bloodswords?"
"Do I need to know them?"
Byeok Taesan smirked and continued.
"It won't matter soon enough anyway."
The old man grinned.
"Why? Because we're all going to die? Then why are you curious about my identity? Aren't you going to kill me too?"
"Because it might give me a clue as to who's behind you. So, who are you?"
"Ma Jingwan."
"Ma Jingwan?"
Byeok Taesan tilted his head. He had definitely heard that name somewhere before.
"Ah, Ma Jingwan! The One-Fist Divine Demon!"
The old man, Ma Jingwan, widened his eyes.
"What, you know me? That's unexpected."
"Of course. You were one of the Ten Great Masters of the past. You were still alive? You live long."
Ma Jingwan looked dumbfounded.
"Ha! This young brat speaks so carelessly."
"We'll see."
Byeok Taesan said with a slight smile.
Who was truly the younger one here?
"Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you. Well, since you're going to die anyway, this will be our last greeting."
Byeok Taesan grinned and looked at Ma Jingwan.
"I do hope you'll put up a better fight than that Go Yang-du fellow."
At the mention of Go Yang-du, a strange light flickered in Ma Jingwan's eyes.
"I heard you defeated Go Yang-du. But did you really beat him by yourself?"
Byeok Taesan grinned.
"You can all come at me at once."
"You crazy bastard. You'll just get hit harder that way."
Ma Jingwan strode toward Byeok Taesan.
A pure white energy began to form around both his fists. The energy then spread over his entire body, creating what looked like a thin film.
The white energy gathered in his fists grew denser.
It looked as if he were wearing white gauntlets.
*Crash!*
The ground where Ma Jingwan stood shattered as his body shot forward like a thunderbolt.
*Whoooosh!*
Ma Jingwan's fist shot toward Byeok Taesan's nose. A massive amount of energy rose with his movement, stirring up the surroundings.
It was a punch designed to draw the opponent into its attack range with the swirling energy, even if they dodged.
Of course, Byeok Taesan dodged the punch with a simple tilt of his head.
The energy swirled violently, trying to envelop him, but any energy near Byeok Taesan scattered gently like a spring breeze.
"Look at this kid."
Ma Jingwan's eyes widened at the sight as he unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks.
*Wham! Wham! Whoooosh!*
Byeok Taesan narrowly dodged his attacks, glancing at the four men who had just started to move behind him.
They drew their swords and began to move, as stealthy and fast as assassins.
Their intention was obvious.
They were aiming to strike the openings that would naturally appear as Ma Jingwan attacked Byeok Taesan.
Ma Jingwan continued his fierce assault as if unaware of their movements.
"How long are you going to keep dodging like a rat! Fight like a man, fist to fist!"
*Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!*
Ma Jingwan's fists grew faster and stronger. The surrounding energy repeatedly gathered and scattered in a vortex.
Byeok Taesan still dodged the attacks by a hair's breadth, and the swords of the four men who had closed in struck precisely at his openings.
At that moment, Byeok Taesan's eyes flashed.
*Thwack!*
Byeok Taesan's hand lightly struck Ma Jingwan's fist, deflecting it.
*Stab!*
A sword pierced through Ma Jingwan's deflected forearm.
Byeok Taesan spun, closing in on Ma Jingwan.
*Whoosh!*
Byeok Taesan grabbed Ma Jingwan by the collar and yanked him forward. Their positions were swapped.
*Stab! Stab! Stab!*
The other three swords plunged deep into Ma Jingwan's body.
Byeok Taesan gave Ma Jingwan a slight push.
*Thwump!*
Ma Jingwan's chest caved in as he was sent flying backward.
And where he had been standing, Byeok Taesan took a large step forward.
Byeok Taesan was now standing precisely in the middle of the four swordsmen.
*Crack!*
He struck forward and backward as if dusting off his hands, shattering the hearts of two of them.
Then, he leaped slightly and shot out both his feet.
*Crack!*
The hearts of the remaining two were also shattered.
Horror filled the eyes of Ma Jingwan, who was slammed against a wall.
The movements Byeok Taesan had just shown were so fast, precise, and powerful that he couldn't possibly replicate them.
It was a fight that seemed to have been calculated from the very beginning.
"Urgh."
Ma Jingwan tried to force himself up. Several of his ribs were broken, but he wasn't dead yet.
As long as he wasn't dead, he could still fight.
Byeok Taesan glanced at Ma Jingwan, then walked toward the four men collapsed on the ground.
He activated the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts and captured their souls as they tried to disappear.
The four souls were caught in Byeok Taesan's grasp, and they melted away, emitting a dark, malevolent energy under the influence of the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts.
"Just as I thought. I knew it."
These guys were the same as the Guangdong Four Fiends or the Mad Blood Three Demons.
They were vessels with souls attached to their bodies through a peculiar grand technique.
He had felt a strange sense of unease from the moment he first saw them.
That was why he had deliberately drawn them into the fight.
To capture their souls, he had to kill them all at once without any interference.
And the fight had ended exactly as calculated.
Burning their souls like this, and crushing Ma Jingwan like that.
Byeok Taesan watched the dark energy dissipate from his palm, then turned his head to look at Ma Jingwan.
Ma Jingwan was approaching, his face contorted in pain.
A white energy flared like a flame from his entire body.
His internal injuries were so severe that he couldn't control his inner energy properly, causing it to leak out.
Byeok Taesan strode toward Ma Jingwan.
Now that the plan had succeeded, it was time to finish things.
Ma Jingwan threw a punch that burned with white flames.
Watching it, Byeok Taesan muttered.
"As you wish."
Byeok Taesan threw a punch toward Ma Jingwan's fist.
*KABOOOOM!*
With a deafening explosion, the white flames scattered in all directions.
And Ma Jingwan's body, starting from his fist, began to rapidly disintegrate.
*CRUUUUNCH!*
Ma Jingwan's corpse, mangled beyond recognition, smashed through the ground and brought down a wall.
"What was that about being a man?"
Byeok Taesan smirked, then looked toward the training ground where his companions were.
He couldn't see them because of the walls and buildings, but he could sense what was happening over there.
"Well... it's going alright."
Byeok Taesan muttered and took a Black Orb from his robes.
He had received quite a few Black Orbs from the Divine Doctor of the Ages before coming here.
Byeok Taesan began to walk along the wall.
As he walked, he periodically tossed Black Orbs over it.
Each time, screams and commotion erupted from outside.
***
"This is fucking exhausting."
The One-Needle Eccentric grumbled, spitting out needles in rapid succession.
The number of enemies that had swarmed them was only about sixty.
But each one was strong and tenacious.
Of course, they weren't impossible to deal with. But their attacks were well-coordinated.
They were exceptionally skilled at joint attacks.
The ten maids were fighting with all their might to block the enemy's assault.
They couldn't even think of counterattacking.
It was fair to say they were fulfilling their role sufficiently just by holding on.
And fighting alongside the ten maids, enduring the bloody battle, were the members of the Underworld Sect.
They threw their bodies on the line to protect the maids.
The reason none of the maids had been injured so far was partly because their skills had improved, but more than half of the credit went to the Underworld Sect members.
Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon moved freely, attacking the enemy.
They were already fighting quite a distance away from the group.
The power of their newly learned martial arts, the Thunderclap Sword and the Misty Wave Sword, was amplified several times when performed together.
Of course, to increase their power like that, their coordination was crucial.
And right now, their coordination was impeccable.
Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon were breaking the enemy's formation with powerful attacks infused with lightning energy.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages and Cho Seoran surveyed the entire group as they fought.
Their vast experience made them adept at filling in any gaps.
Finally, the One-Needle Eccentric was using all his strength and skill to slaughter the enemy while protecting his companions.
He was single-handedly taking on two roles.
"Shit, why are these bastards so damn persistent!"
The One-Needle Eccentric cursed nonstop as he flung needles, threw punches and kicks, and hurled his body into the fray.
If the men who came here had consumed the un-improved Blood Augmenting Pills, the fight would have been over long ago, even without the Black Orbs.
Currently, the one playing the biggest role was the One-Needle Eccentric.
The voice of the Divine Doctor of the Ages reached his ears.
"You know, I think we might not just survive this, but actually win."
"Shut up, you bastard!"
"Why are you getting so angry?"
"I'm exhausted, so don't talk to me!"
The Divine Doctor of the Ages chuckled.
"I'm just trying to cheer you on because you look tired. Doesn't hearing my voice give you strength?"
The One-Needle Eccentric shouted as he unleashed dozens of needles.
"I said, shut up!"
"See? It is giving you strength."
"Arrrgh!"
Seeing the One-Needle Eccentric seething with rage-fueled power, the Divine Doctor of the Ages shut his mouth.
He thought he should probably run as soon as the fight was over.
In any case, the number of enemies was steadily decreasing.
The midnight raid was slowly reaching its conclusion.