#96. The Sharpest Blade in the Darkness (3)
"Our senior brother loves money."
Eunho, Seong Moran, and Chu Mubin had been under concentrated fire from the Dark Soul Union Squad right from the start of the battle.
Following the rumor that the Dark Soul Union Squad hated light, Eunho had set fires blazing in every direction whenever he found an opening.
By the time the flames were roaring everywhere, many examinees had already sensed something off and begun fleeing.
The problem was Seong Moran, who had burned through all her internal energy trying to hold them back.
"But I heard men get burdened if there's too much money in a woman's family."
"......I don't think that's always the case. There's our new junior sister, Wang Soso. Her family is incredibly wealthy, but our senior brother didn't seem fazed at all."
Having exhausted both her internal energy and stamina, Seong Moran was in no condition to keep fighting.
In trying to get her back on her feet, Eunho had discovered that she perked up at any mention of their senior brother.
And that was why they were having this utterly out-of-place conversation smack in the middle of the battlefield.
"Wang Soso? You mean the only daughter of the Wang Merchant Group? She's joined Tae-eul Gate?"
"Did you know her?"
"Of course I do. The Wang family is one of the three great merchant houses under heaven. And she's super pretty to boot...... Damn it, I thought my only rival was Senior Sister Hong."
"Pardon?"
"Did the two of them, like, hit it off or something?"
"......"
Was this really the time for such talk on a battlefield where lives hung in the balance?
But as he fielded her questions, Eunho noticed Seong Moran's swordplay sharpening, so he answered honestly.
"Nah, they hardly even had time to meet up."
Of course, there were rumors in the sect that Jin Sowoon would marry into the Wang family as a son-in-law, but this wasn't the moment to bring that up.
"Matters of the heart between men and women can spark in an instant."
Seong Moran's sword began to slow. She looked dejected, her energy flagging.
Eunho blocked an enemy striking at her from behind and said, "To our senior brother, Junior Sister Wang is nothing more or less than a baby sister. She's not his type to begin with."
"Really?"
Whoosh. Seong Moran's wildly swung greatsword turned two examinees into bloody pulp with devastating force. It was astonishing how she could swing that massive blade—twice the weight of a normal sword—so effortlessly even in her fatigued state.
"So what kind of woman does Young Master Jin like?"
Eunho had never given a thought to what kind of woman his senior brother preferred, but now wasn't the time to admit that.
He spouted whatever might help the situation.
"He likes strong women."
"Huh?"
"Women who push through trials without giving up, no matter the circumstances."
"......Is that his type?"
Eunho inwardly cursed his slip, but kept a straight face. He'd learned from his senior brother that bluffing was all about the vibe.
"You can tell just by looking at him, can't you? No one has a tougher, more tenacious spirit than he does."
"......Well, he does come off as pretty ruthless, like he's lost his mind or something."
They were talking about Jin Sowoon, but Seong Moran's sword was gradually slowing again. Her arms trembled as she blocked enemy blades. It wasn't her internal energy this time—it was exhaustion from prolonged combat.
"Oh, and there's that too. This one's for sure."
"What?"
"He likes women who eat well. Women who chow down without being picky."
"For real?"
As he spoke, Eunho pulled a handful of jerky from his pouch and stuffed it in his mouth, showing Seong Moran so she'd naturally follow suit.
"I eat a ton."
Seong Moran grabbed a fistful of jerky and crammed it into her mouth.
Seeing his ploy work so well, Eunho pressed on shamelessly.
"And he likes women who sync up well in formations."
"......"
Even in the heat of battle, Seong Moran shot him a suspicious glare, taking the time to do so.
"Syncing formations means aligning actions and hearts, right? Our senior brother likes women he can communicate with."
At Eunho's confident words, Seong Moran's sword forms steadied, falling into sync with the formation. Chu Mubin, who'd been struggling with her erratic charges, gave a slight nod of thanks.
"Anything else?"
"Hmm...... And he likes women who take good care of their juniors."
Eunho had no idea what fallout his lies might bring, but he had no choice but to keep making things up. Protecting Seong Moran while fighting alongside her was Jin Sowoon's order, after all.
'He didn't say anything about methods, did he?'
Thinking about the distant future was a luxury right now.
I moved toward the darkness.
The exact opposite of my past life, when I'd fled from it in terror.
I pursued it relentlessly.
As I darted between patches of shadow, I kept an eye on Namgung Seonhwa, Seong Moran, and their sect warriors.
With all the enemies I'd already made in Baekdo, I couldn't afford for Seong Moran or Namgung Seonhwa to suffer some mishap while following me. The Taecheong Sword Immortal or the Iron Sword Sect Lord wouldn't sit idly by.
"I've got enough foes as it is. No need to make more."
Wherever the shadows fell on the battlefield, corpses littered the ground.
By Murim Academy exam rules, murders and violence among examinees were overlooked, and it was customary to at least maintain some semblance of propriety.
But the Demonic Cultists had no intention of honoring Baekdo customs.
Discarding all stealth—just like in my past life—they tore the bodies apart to ensure no confirmation kills were missed.
Their goal was to hide their identities. That's why the ones who'd initially targeted us had shifted to prioritizing fleeing examinees.
For me, this was the first chance to expose the Demonic Cult to the world. Even though these attackers had come for my exam pass, I was sweating bullets running around to save as many as possible who were fleeing the chaos.
"They won't believe it on the first go, of course."
Baekdo's rotten old guard, convinced they were the eternal rulers of the jianghu, would refuse to face the facts staring them in the face.
But if incidents like this piled up two or three times, even they'd develop some wariness.
Then they wouldn't be dumb enough to throw low-rank Alliance warriors at Demonic Cult elites.
"Am I expecting too much?"
There had been many such battlefields in my past life too.
When shadows engulfed Alliance warriors, out came the Dark Soul Union Squad.
Reports of "shadows killing people" were dismissed as nonsense.
In that way, over two thousand low-rank Alliance warriors had died. The Dark Soul Union Squad was what low-rankers feared most.
They left deep scars even in the minds of survivors, who spent their lives hiding from the dark.
"So it makes you wonder. How much time did it take to produce even one Dark Soul Union Squad member, when they operated with just twenty throughout the Upright-Demonic Great War?"
-Kehk.
The Dark Soul Union Squad member with a melted larynx shed bloody tears as he died.
"That makes eleven."
Including the first one felled by the Radiant Heaven Divine Palm.
"Kinda sucks I won't get that bounty from the Small Justice Squad guys."
In my past life, the Small Justice Squad had promised half a lifetime's pay for every one you killed.
"Kuh."
An examinee at my feet clutched his wound, trembling in fear. Fortunately, the squad member's bone sword had only pierced his arm.
"You alright?"
"Wh-what the hell are those things?"
The examinee shuddered at the squad member gripped in my hand. No surprise—their appearance was horrific.
"No idea. They just seemed unrelated to the exam, so I grabbed one."
"......"
Mention of the exam made the examinee's eyes flicker with complicated emotions.
"I-I came to steal your exam pass."
He looked puzzled as to why I'd saved him anyway.
"Wanna try?"
"......"
Ashamed of his own situation, the examinee bowed his head.
"No matter how cutthroat the exam, we're all Baekdo in the end, aren't we?"
"......"
The corpse in my hand began to melt. Every body except the first one I'd caught with the Radiant Heaven Divine Palm did this.
I tossed it to the ground, and it dissolved in a hiss of smoke. After the heart stopped, the embedded vial of corpse-dissolving acid burst automatically, erasing all traces.
"Who'd trust the Murim Alliance after seeing this?"
At my self-mocking words, the examinee replied.
"I saw it! I saw it clear as day with my own two eyes."
"Then live to tell the tale."
"......"
"Get as many survivors as you can away from the shadows."
"What about you?"
Even a stranger was worried—my condition wasn't great.
"Someone has to deal with these bastards, or the meaningless deaths on this battlefield will just keep piling up."
"......"
"Don't worry about me."
"......Thanks."
The examinee gave me a look full of unspoken complexity, nodded, and supported someone who couldn't walk.
After a few steps, he turned back to me.
"Take care. I'll repay this debt someday."
My internal energy was tapped out. Beyond empty, even.
The Dark Soul Union Squad's bones were reinforced like steel; breaking them in one go required pouring in everything I had.
"Can't use the Azure Dragon Ring either."
The only other option that came to mind was the Azure Dragon Ring. Leaving aside how much demonic qi it could convert to internal energy, if anyone here spotted me using the Absorption Great Law, I'd be lumped in with these squad bastards on the spot.
But it wasn't like I had no options.
"Can't rest. Time to gamble."
With every step, my muscles cracked and popped. Joints screamed, blood raced.
But if I stopped now, there'd be no survivors here. No survivors meant the Demonic Cult's existence stayed hidden.
Bang.
I tore through the air and plunged into the next shadow.
I drew the Flying Dragon Claw, but its golden glow had dimmed.
I swung the Demon-Slaying Light Slash at a spot with zero presence.
Slash.
Yeah, my power was way down. The slash bounced feebly, and a white bone sword from the dark pierced two examinees' hearts.
"Your opponent's me, you fucks!"
Bam-bam-bam-bam-bam.
Dozens of fist images vanished into the shadow. The one who'd stabbed their hearts blocked them all with its slimy fluid body.
Slash.
I whipped the retrieved Flying Dragon Claw like a lash. The black fluid split, revealing the bastard's true form.
Its faceless muscles twisted into a dynamic grimace. As I thrust the Twin Heaven Sword Conclusion at it—
Slurp.
The bisected fluid enveloped its whole body. I'd been swallowed into the bastard's fluid.
-Who the hell are you?
"Pisses me off."
Trapped in the fluid, escape was impossible. Your body pinned, an unseen bone sword skewers you to death.
-What the hell are you?
"The grim reaper returning you Demon Cult shits to your Demon God."
I maxed out the Azure Dragon Ring. Its suction should've pierced the Flying Dragon Claw and leaked light, but being inside the fluid hid the anomaly.
-No way—the Absorption Great Law?
"You know it."
-Impossible! You, Lord Demon Freak's......
Kehhek! The bastard tried to wrench free from my grasp but couldn't escape the ring's pull.
The fluid encircling me began to peel away. I quickly dialed back the suction.
-Kekh, why is Lord Demon Freak's spawn......
Its form withered and aged starkly, but its grotesque base made it unnoticeable.
"Ask your Demon God."
I crushed its throat, and red blood sprayed everywhere.
"Demonic qi is still a bitch to absorb."
Even maxing output for that short burst, barely any reached my dantian.
-It was you.
Then another Dark Soul Union Squad voice rang out.
"No breather, huh."
I hurled myself at it, but shockingly, it retreated far back.
-Were you the one who killed all my squad members?
Something felt off. In my past life, these bastards only growled "die" or screeched.
This one's voice was calm, unlike the others.
-You orchestrated this whole mess too, I bet.
"Interesting. You the Dark Soul Union captain?"
The shadow's fluid rippled sharply.
-Dangerous bastard. You'll ruin the grand plan.
"Spot on. Planning to shove your bullshit right back at you."
I poured my handful of recovered energy into the Heavenly Lone Walker God Step.
Bang.
Tearing the air, I charged—it retreated at full speed.
Then a ear-shattering screech erupted from it, echoing everywhere.
Kiiii—
Even those frantically fighting on the battlefield dropped their swords and clutched their ears on instinct.
At the same time, the shadows extinguishing torches everywhere halted, then began converging here.
"Wh-what the......"
"D-did you see that? Can shadows move like that on purpose?"
"Hey! Look here! B-bodies!"
"Urk!"
As the shadows gathered in one spot, nearby people spotted the Corpse Mountain Blood Sea created by the Dark Soul Union Squad and panicked.
The war over exam passes was over.
"Won't your grand plan crumble now that you're exposed?"
-I don't know how you knew, but you and those fools will bury your bones here today.
The massed shadows roiled, spewing black gas in all directions.
"Fuck!"
Seeing the black gas, I swore instinctively and yelled,
"Run! It's poison!"
Mukgol Black Qi. The unique demonic qi flowing through the bodies of those who'd undergone the Fluid Bone Sword procedure.
Not true poison, but it acted like one. The instant it seeped in, it eroded bones and slowed movement.
The weak turned to stone; the strong struggled for ages to expel it.
The blackened bones of Mudang's Taejeong and Huashan's Yeon Umun had been due to this Mukgol Black Qi.
I moved first, but even I got trapped in the Mukgol Black Qi.
The slower-reacting examinees and their warriors too.
Now that their presence was blown in this chaotic battlefield, the bastards turned even more brutal and ruthless.
They no longer cared about leaving traces on nearly a thousand people.
"You crazy fucks."
I extended the Demon-Slaying Light Slash, yanked one squad member, and activated the Azure Dragon Ring.
Sucked at full power, but the absorption into my dantian was still negligible.
"Gold, silver, bronze! Run!"
Numbness crept from my waist upward. I bellowed with all my remaining qi, but my voice barely carried.
'This it......?'
Dozens surrounded me, yet no presences registered. Senses dulled—soon a Fluid Bone Sword would pierce my heart.
Then my right hand twitched.
Sensation returned from fingers up my arm to shoulder.
And I remembered something from Ma-ryeong Plateau.
'The Heavenly Demon Supreme Ring.'
The red-glowing ring I'd named Red Peak Ring for its similarity to the Azure Dragon Ring.
That Red Peak Ring was autonomously neutralizing the Mukgol Black Qi.
No time to think—I slipped the Red Peak Ring onto my left hand alongside the Flying Dragon Claw.
Thrusting into the dark, I grabbed a squad member and activated the Azure Dragon Ring.
-Kehehehek, grrk.
Qi flooded through my left hand. Unlike the trickle after filtering thick demonic qi, a sea of energy instantly filled my conception and governing vessels.
Circulating through my body, it incinerated the invading Mukgol Black Qi, settling into my dantian like it was home.
The Flying Dragon Claw extending from my left hand gleamed anew.
As shadows lifted, all seven skulls opened wide like rabbit eyes.
-What is this!
I circulated the Tae-eul True Scripture with Reverse Demonic Canon principles.
Same qi as before, but now it was light, clear, and above all, solid.
I scattered the Twin Heaven Sword Conclusion everywhere.
No matter who or what I hit. We were that close.
Slash.
Slash.
Swaak.
Each swing tore shadows, eliciting grotesque screams from Dark Soul Union Squad members.
-You were hiding some weird trick.
The captain, having lost two squad members in a blink, clacked its skulls as it spoke.
-But don't think you can escape alive.
"I don't think I can take all of you yet either."
Even the Ten Great Masters of the World couldn't survive these guys.
Without ambush and Reverse Demonic Canon, I wouldn't stand a chance.
"But I win."
-What?
"The sun's rising."
Regardless of the night's brutal battle, brilliant light began casting its dawn glow over the wretched plain.
-Sh-shit.
"Tell the Heavenly Demon of this generation. The jianghu knows the Demonic Cult exists now."