339. Despair (3)
His heart sank with a thud. His mind grew chaotic. The killing intent pooling at his feet wasn't yet at a level that threatened their lives immediately.
But the future it foreshadowed.
The reality it implied.
That alone felt utterly despairing.
I hoped the Red Shadow Demonic Wolf Unit was the end of it...
He didn't know if the others sensed it, but the faint demonic qi woven into the killing intent suggested this heavenly net formation wasn't deployed by the Demonic Wolf Unit alone. There was no way a single unit could pull off a snare of this scale. It would require at least three units, or one or more full-scale martial organizations.
And the most damnable part is that "at least" is the bare minimum.
Was that all? These were no ordinary students—they were Murim Academy elites, each worth their salt. A thin encirclement like this could be breached in an instant if they accepted some losses. The enemy knew that too. So their preparation went beyond a mere siege.
What grated most was their behavior. They'd sprung the heavenly net while holding an overwhelming advantage. It wasn't about surrounding them to inflict damage. Their intent shone through all too clearly.
Total annihilation.
Complete extermination.
Now it made sense why they'd ambushed the academy students mid-journey without erasing their tracks. It wasn't that they didn't care if their identity leaked to the world. They didn't care if it leaked here in Mukrim. Because the only ones leaving Mukrim alive would be the demons anyway.
Why? Why go this far? This isn't just a ploy—it's overkill.
Signs of all-out war effort were everywhere, as if they were committing everything they had. Suddenly, the survivor's voice echoed in his mind.
"Kill Jin Sowoon... Just kill Jin Sowoon...!!!!"
That gaze, convinced his death would solve everything. With things spiraling this bad, he wondered if it really was about him.
Is it because that creepy bastard Gwak Gung has his eyes on me?
But for his sake alone? The operation's scale was absurd. He wasn't some prodigy Murim Alliance Leader-in-waiting. No sane mind would launch this for a greenhorn like him...
Huh?
Demons weren't sane to begin with.
Thinking that way, it really could be about him...
"Big Brother!"
Eunho's shaking of his shoulder snapped him back.
"Get a grip!!!"
"......"
"Snap out of it!"
The kid even raised his hand.
"I said snap out of it, Jin So—!"
"Hold it."
This punk dared to slap his sky-like senior brother? Jin Sowoon flicked his forehead hard as punishment.
"Why the fuss?"
"Aigoo... Who hits with inner energy like that?"
"Didn't use any. Anyway, what's up?"
"...Why does it hurt so much? Whatever, the mood's off."
"What now?"
"Some are talking about breaking out."
"Breaking out?"
"They say we gotta punch through the encirclement before it's too late."
"......"
The creeping killing intent had seeped into the camp's heart, rising from ankles to calves. Their sharp academy senses picked it up fast, realizing they'd been caught in the heavenly net. Still, he hadn't expected collapse this quick.
Exhausted from wounds and constant exposure, their nerves frayed inevitably. With demonic qi mixed in, staying sane was impossible.
"They said it out loud?"
"No, whispering among themselves..."
"Who?"
"Huh?"
"Who had that dumb idea?"
"Disciples from Wudang and Kongtong, Big Brother."
"Got it."
He turned toward the Kongtong group but paused, facing Eunho again.
"Why?"
"Dongryong okay?"
Heavenly Killer Stars were vulnerable to killing intent. Dongryong's Tae-eul True Scripture progress helped, but with even Jeongdohoe and Baekdohoe elites crumbling, worry was natural.
"He's fine. Kid's regulating it solo now."
"Still, just in case—give him this."
He handed Eunho the Demon-Slaying Command Talisman.
"What the hell do you carry in there?"
"Tell everyone to eat and prep to move anytime."
"Move?"
"Waiting here's no answer."
Some hoped instructors or outside waiters would rescue them—pointless. By arrival, the fight would be over.
On the way to Jeongdohoe, he scanned the students. Eyes bloodshot, tension maxed. Even normals sickened from beastly killing intent—martial artists with keen senses fared worse, especially green academy kids unused to rest in chaos.
Nearing the spot, uproar erupted.
Too late?
He rushed in—pandemonium.
"You fucking bastards! Ditching us?!"
"You could've said something!"
Not just Jeongdohoe—Baekdohoe bellowed too.
"You damn shits! Stealing our guide?!"
"What about the wounded?!"
He approached the raging Baekdohoe members.
"What's going on?"
"......"
They shut up, averting eyes sheepishly.
"What happened?!"
"...Some bolted."
Ak family, Jegal clan, secular disciples—twenty total.
"Ha... 'Some'?"
"Not all from Ak or Jegal—left some behind."
"Some?"
Dazed wounded sat where he pointed.
"Ha..."
Left the injured—logical, but infuriating. No, too rational to rage.
Jeongdohoe was similar: top Wudang/Kongtong disciples and followers cherry-picked elites.
Power shortage worsened by desertions.
"Maybe they're forming a rescue... Could be good."
Jeongdohoe denial, escaping reality.
"Pathetic for Jeongdohoe, who brag as Murim Alliance incarnate."
Cheol Sunjik tsked.
"No runners from Twelve Peaks?"
"You think we're like them?"
"Figured you'd bolt first."
"......"
Cheol Sunjik was sensitive here—like first rat off a sinking ship. Hard to believe he stayed put.
"...You got a plan, Academy Rep?"
"You got one?"
"Had one. Scrapped it."
"Why?"
Reason mattered more than the plan. His gaze met Cheol Sunjik's fervent eyes—uncomfortably intense.
"Heard you'd get us out alive if we follow."
Huh?
"So you must have a plan. Definitely."
"......"
"I trust you, Academy Rep."
...Who trusts who? What's with him? Demonic qi messing his head?
Students worsened like Cheol Sunjik said. Desertion news fueled chaos, especially seculars ditched by Wudang/Kongtong/Jegal/Ak.
"You fucking pricks!!! Used us like dogs, now bail?!"
"Acted fearless, then run! You bastards!!!"
Betrayal stung deepest for their former sycophants. Now rage boiled at abandonment.
Demonic qi amplified it unnoticed, turning fury on the abandoned wounded.
Thwack!
"You dog! Why didn't you run?!"
Immobile wounded couldn't fight back.
"You should've run too!"
"Urk... I-I..."
"Ditch us and run, you too!!!"
Others joined.
Thwack-thwack-thwack!
"Murderers! All the booze and meat we fed you!"
"Trampled our sects, now abandon us?!"
"Fine, if we're dying, I'll kill you myself!"
Some wounded resisted, most took it.
"No way... No way..."
Dazed, they endured.
Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!
Violence spread, unrelated joined in.
Jin Sowoon dusted his hands, standing.
"Let's go."
"...Where? Stop that mess?"
Cheol Sunjik frowned.
"...Their business. Let 'em handle it. I'd wanna too..."
"You asked my plan?"
"......"
"That's it. Stop 'em quick."
He bolted without waiting. Cheol Sunjik sighed, following with Twelve Peaks.
Then—
"Stop!!!!"
Ilgak dropped into the fray's center.
"Cease this!!! What madness is this!!!"
That bald idiot spouting nonsense again.
"This matter is... Huh?"
Luckily, mob shoved him back, silencing drivel.
Useless baldhead. Words wouldn't fix this circus.
"Talking won't cut it. Make 'em snap awake—with a solid smack."
"What? Attacking starts real combat."
Demonic qi fueled excess—end it decisively.
Gathering inner energy, he replied.
"One-shot subdue 'em."
"...Kill?"
"Why so dense."
"That's how hard it is, Rep."
"Easy fixes now?"
He ended words kicking a kicker flying two zhang.
"Stop! Killing them solves nothing!"
The victim wiped blood, snarling.
"Jin Sowoon! You wanna die too?!"
See? Demonic qi madness confirmed. Killing the rep?
Two-and-a-half spins, heel to face.
Crack.
Rotational force knocked him out cold—dramatic too.
"Last warning! Stop now. Killing them won't get us out alive."
Cheol Sunjik, Nam Hwaseong, Twelve Peaks joined—violence halted.
Replaced by beastly howls.
"Fuuuuck!!! Then what?! We're all dead anyway...! Laugh waiting for rescue?!"
Fury crashed, death terror surged. Recent bruisers now sobbed in despair.
"Sniff... Shouldn't come to academy."
"Mooom!!!!"
"Fuck... Shouldn't trust instructors."
What a shitshow. Even stoic Cheol Sunjik looked baffled—unaware of demonic qi yet. Demonic Cult secret unrevealed; no one'd believe him.
So he had to stay sharp.
"Enough! Crying fixes jack!"
"Never filial once... Dad, sorry..."
"Stop..."
"Next life, definitely..."
"I said stop, asshole!"
Thwack!
Unbearable. He smacked one, scanning quieted crowd.
"More crybabies?"
"......"
"......"
None, good. Elites were elites.
"Wanna die here? Hands up."
Cheol Sunjik's face twisted—what stunt now?
"Deaf? Hands for death wish!"
"Crazy fuck... Who wants death?!"
"Acted dead, thought you did."
"......"
Didn't know Demonic Cult's Mukrim game or why. Didn't care.
"Wanna live? Up. No wailing on ground."
One truth: they planned total wipeout.
"Jin Sowoon... What're you planning?"
He wouldn't let Demonic Cult scum succeed fully.
"Anything. Whatever gets us out."
"......"
"You ready for that?"
Time to show his specialty: shitting on others' parties.