novelraw Chapter 96 : Raid on the River (1)
Chapter 96 : Raid on the River (1)
As the battle broke out, blood splattered everywhere. Mostly from the Blood Cult members, not us.
Although the enemy had twice as many numbers, there were nine masters of the peak level or higher here.
It was not a level that the Blood Cult members, who had at most the ability of a first-rate or lower, could do anything about.
Just as I was cutting down three or four of them in the chaotic battle, a man whose two eyes were beginning to turn half red blocked my path.
‘Blood Demon!’
He was a peak-level master. Perhaps because he had even gone berserk, the sword strike that he had roughly brought down was heavy. But that was all.
I struck the guy’s solar plexus with a surprise lightning bolt after deflecting his sword with the Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword.
The guy, who was momentarily paralyzed by the electric current that had pierced through his unstable protective qi. I aimed for the gap where the enemy’s movement had slowed down and cut off the Blood Demon’s head as it was.
‘How are the others doing?’
I turned my head and looked around.
Currently, there were two escorts next to me, three escorts by Namgung Bihwa’s side, and Yang Ha-eun and Choi Mi-kyung were assisting each other.
And so, the three groups were each facing the Blood Cult, forming a triangular formation with the deck as the center.
‘It certainly would have been dangerous if it were just Yang Ha-eun and Choi Mi-kyung.’
I judged, looking at the Blood Demons that were increasing as if to surround the area.
Of course, there was a possibility that the Blood Cult side had brought more Blood Demons after guessing our strength. But even if they had scraped together the personnel of the Anhui Province branch for the past few days, the increase in military strength would not have been enormous.
As a result, it was the right answer to have supplemented the personnel with a small elite force in preparation for the Blood Cult’s attack.
Perhaps as I had thought, although only about a quarter of an hour had passed, the number of fallen Blood Cult members was already in the dozens, and the number of Blood Demons was over ten.
In a limited space, the advantage of a master was absolute. As our party, including me, occupied the center of the deck and maintained a triangular formation, the Blood Demons were cut down as they were, unable to even retreat due to the lack of space.
‘Even if they’re called Blood Demons, they’re usually at the level of initial to proficient peak-level. On the other hand, this side has more than half of its masters at the consummate level or higher, and even a super-peak-level master, so there’s no way they can be a match.’
Thanks to drastically reducing the number of enemies, we fell into a lull. This side’s stamina was also not intact, but everyone was safe without any major injuries.
“How dare the likes of the Blood Cult attack us, do you want to die?!”
At the shout of Choi Mi-kyung, the strongest among us, which contained her internal energy, the remaining group of Blood Demons flinched and retreated.
Swish-!
“Kuaaaak!”
At that moment, one of the Blood Demons’ earlobes fell from the air, and a woman revealed her appearance from among them.
“It’s a lot of trouble because of the incompetent subordinates.”
A somewhat chilling voice and a gaze filled with killing intent brought back a memory. It was the very woman from the Blood Cult side who had aimed for my life after I had done the dojo challenge.
The super-master who had fought on equal terms with Cho Min-ha had appeared in this place again.
“Who are you?”
“Sayurang, a candidate for the Blood Fiend. In the central plains, I’m also called the Blood Demoness.”
“What do you want?”
Choi Mi-kyung opened her mouth with her sword aimed. At that, the opponent drew her flexible sword and raised the corner of her mouth.
“That child.”
Sayurang’s fingertip pointed to one side. It was me.
‘Damn it.’
It was a dangerous situation, as expected. To think that I, not Yang Ha-eun, had become the target. It was the worst.
From the perspective of Choi Mi-kyung, an elder of the Hainan Sect, she could have handed me over as the lesser of two evils.
“I refuse.”
But contrary to my concerns, the first words of refusal came from Choi Mi-kyung’s mouth.
“It’s the same for me. I can’t trust those who have already given up on being human.”
Namgung Bihwa responded, mixing in an unexpected sarcasm.
Come to think of it, since it was an attack on a river with no escape route, there was no guarantee that the other side would retreat gracefully even if they made a deal with me.
They could have destroyed this side’s boat, or they could have used their mobility to chase this side again.
Sayurang clicked her tongue at their unwavering attitude.
“This is why the righteous path people are so troublesome.”
And then she took out a long flexible sword and swung it like a whip.
“Well, I was going to kill you all anyway!”
The sharply rushing sword strike aimed for Choi Mi-kyung. The sound of the wind being torn and the blades moving at high speed.
As a result of the fight between the super-masters, the deck was shattered into pieces, and wood fragments flew.
“Master!”
“What are you going to do if you go!”
I roughly stopped Yang Ha-eun, who was about to jump in. In any case, it was obvious that at our level, we would only be a hindrance if we joined in now.
“It’s better to just clean up the surroundings.”
I said, cutting down the Blood Demon that was rushing at Yang Ha-eun. She, who also knew this, bit her lip and fought with the Blood Demon.
‘If we just reduce the number of enemies like this, we can attack together.’
If it were others who were at least at the consummate peak-level, they could be of help even in a battle of super-masters.
And so, just as I had cut down the neck of the last Blood Demon that was rushing in.
“Capture or whatever, it doesn’t matter anymore! Release them!”
Sayurang’s shrill shout echoed from the front of the deck. Along with that, a strange roar was heard from the two ships that were docked on both sides of our boat.
“Kuaaaah!!”
“Kieeeek!”
A scream that was closer to that of a beast than a human.
“Dodge!”
At the same time, I shouted loudly. The five figures that were falling onto the deck with the sound of the air being torn fell as if to surround us.
The red-eyed beings that had fallen, trampling on the corpses on the floor, glared this way and emitted a chilling qi wave.
‘Blood Fiends!’
Guys who had a sinister energy that was on a different level from the Blood Demons were glaring this way.
It was dangerous. Even when facing Seo Muk-ho, it had taken three peak-level masters, including me, but to think there were five such monsters.
‘They didn’t just attack without any countermeasures.’
Since the enemy was not a fool, they must have brought a force that could surely win. I quickly compared our strength with the enemy’s.
‘If it’s a Blood Fiend, it’s at least at the consummate peak-level or higher.’
Considering that a powerful Blood Fiend could even reach the realm of a super-peak-level, there was a possibility that our current strength was similar to or even stronger than the enemy’s.
‘Of course, the enemy wouldn’t have aimed for just this.’
It was about time to prepare for the worst.
“Escort Lee, Escort Jo!”
I called the two escorts I had hired for this time and retreated. They, who had stepped forward to protect my front faithfully along with the call.
At that moment, I drew my sword and pierced the side of Escort Jo, who was on the right.
“W-what is this?!”
“Do you remember when we first met?”
I looked into the eyes of the confused Escort Jo and asked back nonchalantly.
As this side had suggested, we had shaken hands and had a battle of internal energy. To check whether we could trust them or not.
But that was not just to gauge their skills.
‘I was trying to figure out if they were spies from the Blood Cult.’
With the Great Blood Demon Art I had used at that time, I had already finished grasping the identity of the two. At that time, I had clearly remembered the end of Escort Jo’s eyes, which were turning red, and the bulging veins beyond his smiling face, which was pretending to be relaxed.
“…How?!”
I stabbed the tip of my sword deep into the lungs of the flustered guy and raised a sword qi that contained the wave of the Great Blood Demon Art.
“Because I have a ridiculously good sense of smell for blood.”
It was fortunate that Escort Jo had been less concerned about this side because he had been looking for a chance to betray us while grasping the tide of the battle. If it weren’t for that, a surprise attack like this wouldn’t have worked.
“Die, Blood Fiend.”
“You little brat…!”
At the same time, a huge amount of true qi spread through the blade, resonated, and then exploded from within Escort Jo.
Thud!
Blood splattered, and the guy collapsed on the floor.
Since his dantian and energy veins had exploded at the same time due to the special qi wave of the Great Blood Demon Art, there would have been no time to even respond.
“W-what is this?!”
I calmed down Escort Lee, who had been wary of this side at the sudden bloodshed.
“Look at this person’s eyes.”
Escort Lee shut his mouth at the sight of Escort Jo, who had collapsed with his two eyes dyed red due to the forced berserk state.
“…You had figured it out?”
“Because I’m from the Zhuge family, you see.”
I glossed over the details with my family’s influence. I continued to speak, still wary of the Blood Fiends.
“With this, it’s 7 to 5.”
Now, excluding the super-masters Choi Mi-kyung and Sayurang, our side’s strength was now seven. On the other hand, the enemy had five Blood Fiends left.
‘This side has two at the initial peak-level and five at the consummate level. We have the numerical advantage. But if there’s a strong person like Seo Muk-ho on the Blood Fiend’s side, we can’t guarantee victory.’
As I had feared, one of the Blood Fiends, which was emitting the most ominous energy, rushed at Namgung Bihwa, wriggling its grotesquely transformed cheek muscles and fangs.
“Keuk!”
Namgung Bihwa, who was sent flying with a huge shockwave. If she was at a level where she could be sent flying in one blow, she was at least a master of the extreme peak-level.
“Young lady!”
Just as the three escorts from the Namgung family were about to cut down the Blood Fiend, scattering their killing intent, the other two Blood Fiends cut in and blocked them.
And the remaining two Blood Fiends were rushing towards this side, where I, Yang Ha-eun, and the escort were.
“Tsk!”
The two Blood Fiends that were rushing at me were emitting a weaker energy than the previous three Blood Fiends. In that short moment, they had gauged our strength and had been divided according to their skills.
Although it was a 3-on-2 situation, it was not advantageous at all. As soon as I had finished assessing the situation, I opened my mouth.
“Escort Lee, please take on just one of them.”
“I’ll have to get an extra allowance for this.”
“If I survive, I’ll give you double the share of Escort Jo.”
“Now I’m feeling a little motivated.”
With those words, Escort Lee rushed out like an arrow. His leg strength was better than I had expected. It seemed the pretense of being in pain when we had shaken hands was a smokescreen to hide his skills.
‘Is everyone hiding at least one weapon?’
Perhaps that was also the case for the Blood Fiend guy who was rushing at me.
“Let’s attack together, Yang Ha-eun!”
I shouted, deflecting the axe that the Blood Fiend had swung. At that, Yang Ha-eun, who had scattered in an instant and had aimed for the enemy’s blind spot, struck with the Thirty-Six Swords of the South Sea.
The texture of the waves unfolded along the flickering sword qi. At the unconventional and yet leisurely sword path that was unique to Hainan, the Blood Fiend flinched and then retreated.
But to give a mage distance was to become a target.
I read the guy’s movement and then flew a lightning bolt at his feet, aiming for the moment his standing foot fell.
Crackle!
“Kuaaaak!”
In an instant, the protective qi was broken, and the leg of the Blood Fiend holding the axe was paralyzed.
‘As expected, the protective qi of a low-level Blood Fiend is rough.’
The use of internal energy was not smooth due to the backlash of having been rapidly strengthened. He couldn’t have perfectly defended against an attack that was aiming for the tendon behind his ankle bone like now.
I rushed at the guy and shot a flame bullet.
Perhaps because he was wary of this side’s magic, the opponent immediately raised his axe. But because he was concerned about the splendor of the flame, he ended up allowing Yang Ha-eun’s sword strike, which was approaching from the side.
“Keuk!”
The Blood Fiend’s breathing burst out as one of his shoulders was cut along the flashing sword path.
Although it seemed he had somehow avoided the attack that was aimed for his neck, that was all. The guy was already at a disadvantage. If we just pushed him like this, we could win enough.
“Uoooooh!!”
Just then, the Blood Fiend’s two arms became bumpy, and the axe in his left hand rushed at Yang Ha-eun with an abnormally fast speed.
“Dodge!!”
In that moment, Yang Ha-eun raised her sword to block, but her body was sent flying into the air by the shock.
‘Berserk!’
I flew a human-sized fireball at the guy in succession to buy time for Yang Ha-eun to get ready.
Swish-!
But it was just cut by the axe.
‘It doesn’t matter.’
I took out the Daoist Scholar’s Fan and created a wind magic.
At the same time, a fierce vortex of fire soared, centering on the Blood Fiend. The firepower, which had been increased thanks to the mana amplification effect of the Daoist Scholar’s Fan, trapped the Blood Fiend and burned him.
Along with a strange sound, a large figure began to struggle beyond the flames.
In an instant, the flames bulged, and then the Blood Fiend jumped out as if it had exploded.
“Uwooooh!”
The Blood Fiend, who was rushing in like a beast with a face distorted by burns, as if he were very angry.
The deck of the boat was not that wide to increase the distance. Just as I was preparing for a close-range battle, Yang Ha-eun rushed at the guy as if to block my front.
“……!”
The Blood Fiend, who twisted the corner of his mouth at that sight and brought down the axe that he had raised high.
Thud!
“Keuheo?!”
But the guy’s arm just fell down powerlessly. Because a one-meter-long spear of flame lightning was deeply embedded in his shoulder.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to strike it down at the right time.”
Timing control was essential to stick the spear of flame lightning, which I had been forming in the air since a while ago, into the shoulder wound of the Blood Fiend that Yang Ha-eun had made, and it was easy thanks to her blocking the opponent’s movement in a way that was easy to predict.
“Now you can’t swing it as you please.”
The Blood Fiend’s one arm, which was falling powerlessly even though he was trying. The spear of flame lightning was a composite magic of flame and lightning. Since it was stuck deep in a wound that was already quite deep, he couldn’t move even in a berserk state.
“Uwooooh!!”
The guy, who went berserk when he could no longer use one arm. But the tide of the battle was already on our side. Since the guy who used twin axes was only using a single axe, his strength was less than half.
On the contrary, when this side used its numerical advantage and aimed for the blind spot that the one-handed axe could not reach, only his wounds increased.
Finally, when the spear of flame lightning was stuck in the enemy’s wounded thigh, the Blood Fiend knelt on one knee.
Taking advantage of this gap, the moment I blew away his vision by aiming a flame bullet at his face, Yang Ha-eun swung her sword as it was and cut off his neck.
The opponent, who collapsed, dropping his axe.
It was our victory.
When I looked back, it seemed that Namgung Bihwa’s side and Escort Lee’s side had also almost settled things.
If Escort Jo had betrayed us as planned and had ambushed one of us, it would have been our defeat at the point where we had lost at least two of our strength, including him, and the enemy had increased by one, but thanks to knowing that in advance and dealing with it, we were able to take the advantage.
‘Then what’s left now is…’
I looked at the front of the deck. And what was standing there was.
“These things… they’re all useless! What do you mean it’s enough?! This is why failures are…”
It was Sayurang, who was standing with a blood-stained flexible sword held like a large snake. And what that meant was one thing.
‘Choi Mi-kyung lost.’
“M-master!”
I grabbed Yang Ha-eun, who was approaching that way with a pale face, and stopped her.
‘The lesser of two evils.’
I looked at Sayurang, who was approaching this way with a flexible sword in hand.
“It’s fine. It’s all over if I just kill them all anyway.”
The most dangerous one was still left.
(End of Chapter)