Chapter 475
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 475
Chapter Title: You Don't Like It, Right?
It took one full shichen for Hocheon Corps Leader Ha Mu-baek to finish circulating his energy.
Even then, he hadn't recovered all of his internal energy.
Just enough that he felt it was sufficient for the time being.
"How much have you recovered?"
At Wi Ji-gun's question,
Ha Mu-baek checked his internals once more and answered.
"About sixty percent, I think."
Internal energy recovery didn't always scale perfectly with circulation time,
so regaining sixty percent in one shichen
was impressive, considering it would take a solid three or four shichen to fully recover.
This was the sweet spot for efficiency,
which was why Ha Mu-baek stopped here.
Even this much was more than enough to handle the small fry inside that passage.
Ha Mu-baek's energy sense had already extended deep underground, scouring every inch.
He had grasped the number of people inside and their cultivation levels completely.
Thud.
Ha Mu-baek took a step forward.
As the others moved to follow,
"Just Seol-bing and I will go."
Ha Mu-baek declared firmly at the entrance.
Han Seol-bing nodded at his words.
She agreed this was the right call.
"This is leftover business from the last Martial World Tournament. It's our job. So wait here."
Ha Mu-baek was already descending the stairs,
so Han Seol-bing made the plea and glanced at Wi Ji-gun.
Wi Ji-gun nodded.
[Don't worry. I'll make sure no one goes down.]
Once Han Seol-bing vanished,
Wi Ji-gun blocked the entrance.
"Those two will handle it well, so let's wait here."
His tone was kindly,
but it clearly showed his resolve not to let anyone pass.
At the actions of the three,
Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven and the Namgung siblings had no choice but to step back.
"Whew. They really cleaned it out spotless."
Dang Jin-san quipped.
The others nodded in agreement.
And for good reason.
It was a wasteland.
This had been the Blood Cult's main base,
yet aside from the passage leading underground,
nothing remained but barren desolation.
The spot where Ha Mu-baek had felled the Heaven-Exterminating Jiangshi was much the same,
so the shock was lessened,
but to create two such places in just two days?
It made one question if this was truly human capability.
"Even 'monster' doesn't cover it. Our instructor... no, Corps Leader..."
No suitable spot to sit in sight no matter where they looked,
Dang Jin-san gave up and flopped down on the ground.
"It just means the heights we need to reach are that much greater."
Baek Ri-pyeong replied calmly as he sat beside him,
and Dan Mok Un-roe nodded as well.
Dang Jin-san asked with a hint of awe.
"That's your goal? This level?"
"Yeah."
"Of course."
"Naturally."
"Gotta aim for it."
The four answered in near unison.
Those four were
Baek Ri-pyeong, Dan Mok Un-roe, Joo Woo-myeong, and Namgung Hu.
Seeing them, Dang Jin-san shook his head as if they were hopeless.
"Fine. If it's you guys, sure..."
"We have a signpost proving it's possible. Of course we aim for it. Low goals become limits."
Yeon Ha-min spoke quietly.
Wi Ji-gun watched them all with a pleased smile.
These were kids with promising futures.
Ha Seol-ran’s eyes sparkled too.
"But why did only the Corps Leader and Vice Corps Leader go in? I get the reason, but we've ended up tangled with the Blood Cult here in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest too..."
Dan Mok Un-roe muttered curiously.
Ha Seol-ran and Nak Woo-jin nodded, equally puzzled.
However,
the others seemed to know the real reason,
staying silent.
Yeon Ha-min had guessed it with her sharp wits,
and the others, led by Baek Ri-pyeong,
had heard or seen similar things in their great sects.
It was like the coming-of-age rites everyone faced upon adulthood.
The reason for assignments to conflict zones.
All in the same vein.
Of course, these kids had skipped such rites due to circumstances,
but they could still guess Ha Mu-baek's intentions.
"The Corps Leader's a softie, huh."
Only the sound of footsteps echoed down the stairs,
when Han Seol-bing spoke up.
"What do you mean?"
Ha Mu-baek replied indifferently.
"Killing. You don't want to order them to do it, so you told me to come alone."
"Those things below aren't human. 'Killing' doesn't apply."
At Ha Mu-baek's curt response,
"They might not be human to you, Corps Leader—no, Squad Leader. But they are human. Especially to those kids. So it is killing."
"......"
Ha Mu-baek fell silent.
Because Han Seol-bing was right.
Those who viewed the Blood Cult as enemies didn't treat them as human.
Han Seol-bing had witnessed it clearly.
He had cut them down like jiangshi.
"Even jiangshi get hacked to pieces."
His grudging reply.
"You did shred the jiangshi. But those kids haven't killed anyone yet. The Namgung kids, maybe not."
Right again.
"You don't like it, do you? The kids getting blood on their hands."
Another direct hit.
"......"
"Especially Seol-ran."
Ha Mu-baek gave no answer,
but Han Seol-bing nodded knowingly, then gasped as realization dawned.
"Ah. Were you hiding your Blood Cult-slaying side from Seol-ran too?"
Ferocious killer god.
Even that fell short.
Ha Mu-baek's form against the Blood Cult and Demonic Cult
was beyond words.
"Well, yeah. That sweet, kind girl would be heartbroken seeing you like that."
Their conversation was hushed.
It should have echoed through the underground passage,
but Ha Mu-baek had sealed the sound with his energy,
so it reached only their ears, clear and direct.
"Sigh. What are you trying to say?"
Irritation tinged Ha Mu-baek's voice.
Han Seol-bing chuckled at his reaction.
"That you're kind. You, the Squad Leader—no, Corps Leader."
Sincerity filled Han Seol-bing's expression.
"That's all I wanted to say."
She said no more after that.
Only their footsteps echoed.
How far had they descended?
"Huh? Who—Gahk......"
The moment a martial artist spotted Ha Mu-baek and tilted his head,
Ha Mu-baek's sword pierced his throat.
"Sh-it, intruders!!!"
Another who saw shouted loudly,
and
clang! clang! clang! clang!
whoosh! whoosh!
alarm bells and horns blared wildly in succession.
Martial artists poured out in droves.
Panic was plain on their faces.
For good reason.
It was their first encounter with intruders.
On top of that,
the Protectors had just left for the outside.
Intruders now?
They knew a desperate battle raged in the forest,
but this sudden intrusion?
Could it be?
The worst possibility flashed through some minds,
when
slash.
Ha Mu-baek's sword cleaved their throats.
Blood should have sprayed,
but it didn't.
Instead of sword energy,
flame energy coated Ha Mu-baek's blade.
The blazing sword
cauterized wounds instantly with extreme heat,
preventing any bleeding.
Countless fell to Ha Mu-baek's sword,
yet not a drop stained his body.
Han Seol-bing, watching, couldn't help but smile.
She knew why he did it.
He didn't want them seeing him bloodied.
Especially Ha Seol-ran, still anxiously awaiting her brother above.
"Guh, guhk. R-run!!!"
Terror at Ha Mu-baek's overwhelming presence?
Someone screamed in fright,
and some indeed fled the opposite way,
but Han Seol-bing was already there.
No escape anywhere.
"G-get out of the way, you damn bitch!!"
A screaming warrior charged; Han Seol-bing's sword severed his neck in one stroke.
No blood flowed this time either.
Pure white frost descended, freezing the wound solid.
Instead of energy, ice energy cloaked Han Seol-bing's sword.
Frostblade.
"Well, I don't want to show them this side either."
Her time as an instructor at the Dragon Training Pavilion had shaped her thus.
The kids waiting above didn't need to see this.
The current rivers and lakes,
the martial world,
at least lacked such brutal warfare.
Han Seol-bing mercilessly cut down the Blood Cult warriors charging at her.
Not a drop splattered her either.
It froze solid before it could.
As the two truly began to move,
the Blood Cult's underground hideout turned to pandemonium.
Blood Cultists fleeing in terror every which way.
The pair swinging lethal blades, determined not to miss a single one.
How long since they had taken so many lives?
The old them
would have bathed in Blood Cult blood,
but now they were pristine.
Flames and frost
had wrought this result.
A bit of dust from the rampaging cultists was all.
How many had they felled?
No more screams or cries rang out.
"All done?"
At Han Seol-bing's question,
Ha Mu-baek nodded.
No survivors pinged his energy sense.
He had searched every nook,
down to the deepest parts.
Now, truly no one remained.
"Let's go."
Ha Mu-baek sheathed his sword and turned without regret.
Han Seol-bing followed.
They ascended faster than they had descended.
Light appeared ahead.
They were nearly at the entrance.
"You first."
Ha Mu-baek stepped aside slightly.
Han Seol-bing tilted her head but slipped through the narrow gap ahead of him.
Ha Mu-baek glanced back at the path they had taken.
Whoosh.
A small flame flickered to life in Ha Mu-baek's palm.
He hurled it in without hesitation.
Roarrrrr!
The flame swelled massively in an instant, racing down the passage they had traversed.
Soon, it filled every inch with superheated inferno.
Scorching hell.
One of the Eight Great Hells manifested in the mortal world.
Just after Ha Mu-baek and Han Seol-bing exited,
massive flames burst through the passage, shooting skyward.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Like a volcano erupting.
"Wh-what the hell?!"
Dang Jin-san jumped up in shock.
Ha Seol-ran had already moved to Wi Ji-gun's side, waiting for Ha Mu-baek,
yet even she startled at the sudden blaze.
"The Blood Cult is finished now."
As everyone reeled in shock,
Ha Mu-baek stated calmly.
Unbelievable.
The Blood Cult,
which had turned the Central Plains, the martial world, the rivers and lakes
into hell,
was utterly gone.
"Let's go."
Regardless,
Ha Mu-baek's impassive face turned as he kicked off the ground.
He headed toward Righteous Heaven Alliance Leader So Hwi-woong and the other Fierce Dragon Corps members.
With one task complete,
it was time to handle the aftermath.
The others hurriedly followed Ha Mu-baek.
As they dashed with lightfoot skill,
Nak Woo-jin tilted his head.
'It's gone?'
The inexplicable odd pain he'd felt constantly since entering the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest had vanished.
'Well, good is good.'
Thinking simply, Nak Woo-jin poured more power into his legs.
Ha Mu-baek scanned the surroundings as he led the way.
'It's changed.'
He could feel it clearly.
The Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest's aura had shifted.
The gloomy energy that dominated the entire forest
had faded—the energy that had poured into Gae Hong-cheon.
Faint now, nearly gone.
Unrelated to Gae Hong-cheon's demise.
If connected, the change would have hit right after his death.
It hadn't.
'A delayed reaction?'
Possible.
No rule said it had to be instant.
Mysterious.
Still,
Ha Mu-baek attributed the change
to completely eradicating the Blood Cult.
He wanted to believe that.
Today marked completion of one of his two vengeances.
In the distance, So Hwi-woong and the others came into view.