novelraw Chapter 208 : The Chaos of Sichuan (4)
Chapter 208 : The Chaos of Sichuan (4)
Chapter 208: The Chaos of Sichuan (4)
Kwarurur—!
Each time Golden Wave Dignitary Roh Gyeongmyeong swung his spear, the air twisted and the earth shook.
Tang Muyeol and Jin Mubek were disheveled, their hair in wild disarray, their martial uniforms drenched and dyed in blood.
“Kuahaha! Why are you clamping your mouths shut?! Try yapping again like righteous masters of the orthodox path!”
“……!”
Roh Gyeongmyeong was truly cruel.
Though he could have forced the two to their knees the moment he wished, he never completely overwhelmed them. Instead, he steadily accumulated damage, bit by bit.
His intention was to make them realize they were being toyed with—to shatter their spirits.
Kuung!
Seoreok!
As the battle dragged on, the movements of the two men grew increasingly sluggish.
As if a Thunder God from myth had descended, a single spear strike cracked bones and tore flesh apart.
Waaah!
Cheers erupted from the ranks of the Lee Trading Company.
They had suffered mercilessly at the hands of the Tang Clan, a force not even half their size, for far too long. Seeing the two men who were effectively the heads of that clan fall into misery left them no choice but to rejoice.
Tang Muyeol seemed to have only just surpassed the Transformation Realm, while Jin Mubek appeared to be merely at the entry level of the Manifestation Realm.
How could such men possibly stand against Roh Gyeongmyeong, a seasoned master at the peak of the Manifestation Realm?
Yet precisely because the situation was so one-sided, none of them noticed.
That the eyes of Tang Muyeol and Jin Mubek—cornered as they were—never once lost their clarity.
And then, it happened.
[Hall Leader Jin.]
[Understood, Supreme Clan Head.]
As the two exchanged telepathic messages, an unspoken resolve lingered between them.
Sswae-aek!
In an instant, Roh Gyeongmyeong’s spear plunged down toward them again, writhing like a living serpent.
Kwaaang!
Nothing had changed.
Tang Muyeol desperately hurled his body away using the Lazy Donkey Roll, his form tumbling across the ground.
“Kuahaha! You turned to the unorthodox path and now you even lack shame!”
Roh Gyeongmyeong sneered down at the two blood-soaked men.
Pajeujeuk!
Bluish lightning qi blazed fiercely along the edge of his spear.
‘Shall I end this now?’
Just as Roh Gyeongmyeong gathered his momentum and prepared to deliver the final blow—
Paz…!
‘……Huh?’
His gaze wavered, if only slightly.
Something was wrong.
The lightning qi that had been raging violently along his spear had suddenly diminished, noticeably so.
It was a minute change, but from the moment he perceived it, the sense of unease spiraled out of control.
The flow of energy felt strange. The true qi that had once flowed without hesitation—
Tuk! Tuduk!
—was now breaking intermittently like this.
“Keugh!”
Blood poured from his mouth.
As if suffering from Qi Deviation, the reception and release of his energy twisted violently, followed by excruciating pain.
It felt as though the flow of his true qi was being forcibly rearranged.
Yes, as if—
‘My energy is being absorbed somewhere…!!’
At that very moment, Roh Gyeongmyeong’s eyes widened as if they were about to burst.
And where his gaze landed—
Step.
Slide.
Tang Muyeol and Jin Mubek were rising to their feet.
The inner qi that had just moments ago wavered like a candle flame in the wind, accompanied by groans of agony—
“Y-you bastards…!”
—was now burning with overwhelming intensity, completely opposite to his own state.
He understood the instant he saw it. The fuel amplifying their power was none other than his own energy being siphoned away.
Then, Tang Muyeol spoke, his expression and voice brimming with confidence.
“What’s the matter? Could it be that the inner qi in your dantian isn’t moving as you wish?”
“Y-you—!!”
As Tang Muyeol’s mockery now flowed in reverse, Roh Gyeongmyeong’s face flushed crimson, as if it might explode.
But he could not continue his rage.
Suaaah!
Kwagagaga!
“……!!”
An overwhelming, unfamiliar force suddenly surged from the entirety of the two men’s bodies.
Hwaruk!
Flames burned away Jin Mubek’s upper garment, revealing a crimson suit of armor enveloping his chest.
Patterns shimmered across the armor, gleaming as if they were alive.
Chalang!
At the same time, black rings encircled both of Tang Muyeol’s wrists.
From the ink-dark rings, a menacing poisonous aura unfurled like a serpent.
That was it. Until now, they had been holding their breath for this very moment.
To activate the ‘final move’ left behind by Tang Sewoon.
The instant Roh Gyeongmyeong saw those items, he realized that they were the true cause behind all of this.
Treasures capable of overcoming the difference in realms between martial artists—something said to be unique in all of the martial world.
‘…Divine Artifacts?!’
An ominous premonition crept slowly through Roh Gyeongmyeong’s mind.
Rewinding time to before Tang Sewoon departed for Guizhou.
Tang Muyeol cautiously voiced his concerns to Sewoon.
—Sewoon, the Golden Wave Dignitary’s martial prowess has already reached a fully matured Manifestation Realm. Of course, Hall Leader Jin will assist, and I will stake my life as well, but if the Dignitary intervenes personally, we will not last long.
—Although the Mount Emei Sect has agreed to aid us, you must always remember that circumstances can change at any moment, Clan Head.
As Jin Mubek also offered his advice in a worried tone, Sewoon replied with a meaningful smile.
—Father, Hall Leader Jin. I have something to give you both.
Sewoon placed one sealed wooden case before each of them.
Just from the aura emanating from the two weapons within, their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
And inside those wooden cases—
—The name of these twin rings is the Black Scale Rings.
Before the regression, the Poison Demon Yelü Sheng wielded these as part of the Ten Demonic Weapons—the Black Scale Rings.
—And the name of this armor is Flame Spirit Armor.
Inside was a newly forged Divine Artifact—Flame Spirit Armor—created after drawing inspiration from the power of Prayer Demon, the Tenth Elder of the Blood Cult whom Tang Sewoon had eliminated at the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
That was right.
This was the stratagem Sewoon had prepared to ensure victory in the coming war before departing on his long journey.
It was a Divine Artifact.
—You must not take it out from the very beginning.
—When the Golden Wave Dignitary reveals himself, act as though you are being completely overwhelmed. And when the opponent grows arrogant and wastes time without understanding what is happening……
Sewoon looked at the two of them one last time and declared—
—These two Divine Artifacts will change everything.
And now, those seemingly unrealistic words were being realized exactly as spoken on the battlefield.
Kwaaang!
A tremendous explosion rang out.
Considering that it was the result of a spear with a razor-sharp edge colliding with bare fists, it was nothing short of astonishing.
“Keugh!”
The one who groaned was Roh Gyeongmyeong.
His hand went numb from the inner power that had traveled up the spear.
In the past, an exchange like this would have sent the opponent flying—or shattered their bones outright—but his insides had been thoroughly disrupted, preventing him from exerting proper force.
On both of Tang Muyeol’s wrists, the Black Scale Rings gleamed with a cold light.
Uuung!
Chwaaah!
At the same time, accompanied by a violent resonant hum, dense dark green poison mist seeped from the circular rings and settled over his clenched fists.
Roh Gyeongmyeong turned pale at the horrific poison aura he was experiencing for the first time in his life.
‘Damn it! Poison that affects even someone who has achieved Myriad Poison Immunity? What in the world is its nature?’
In his youth, Roh Gyeongmyeong had fortuitously gained a miraculous encounter and achieved Myriad Poison Immunity.
Yet even so, that dreadful poison aura mocked his immunity, flaring into madness the moment he merely approached Tang Muyeol.
Unfortunate for Roh Gyeongmyeong, but it could not be otherwise.
Suaaah!
‘Hah… truly a terrifying poison. So this is the poison stolen from the Poison Demon. Its power transcends common sense.’
Even Tang Muyeol found himself clicking his tongue.
Indeed. The poison Sewoon had left behind within the Black Scale Rings was Angshin Tears.
It was a poison that required not Myriad Poison Immunity, but something beyond even that, to resist.
Before the regression, the Black Scale Rings’ ability that allowed the Poison Demon to wield Angshin Tears was now being manifested through Tang Muyeol.
“If you leave yourself that open, I’ll have no choice but to tear it out.”
“……!”
At that moment, a voice like that of a grim reaper echoed beside Roh Gyeongmyeong’s ear.
Hwiik!
He hastily twisted his body and swung his spear at the enemy.
Hwaruk!
Kwaang!
Yet again, he failed to repel it.
Though Jin Mubek was an elderly man with snow-white hair, his body was that of a martial artist in his prime.
As if he had trained in outer arts, scorching Yang Fire Qi, befitting his alias Flame King, surged over his bulging muscles like a dragon ascending to the heavens.
“Hoo!”
Each time Jin Mubek swung his demonic blade, the Flame Heaven Blade, Roh Gyeongmyeong’s breathing grew erratic.
Before he realized it, his back was soaked with cold sweat.
This was no mere piece of armor.
Suaaah!
The Flame Spirit Armor was steadily absorbing more and more of Roh Gyeongmyeong’s power, drawing his momentum back into itself.
Like countless fine needles thrust in while the opponent remained unaware, it stole the enemy’s strength and converted it into its own defensive power—that was the true might of the Flame Spirit Armor.
Inspired by Prayer Demon’s martial art and the Thousand Corpse Turtle Armor, which repelled all attacks, Sewoon had created an absolute-defense Divine Artifact.
That was the Flame Spirit Armor.
It was acting as Roh Gyeongmyeong’s natural nemesis.
“Supreme Clan Head!”
“I understand, Hall Leader Jin!”
In that instant, Tang Muyeol and Jin Mubek leapt in from the left and right, unleashing a combined assault upon Roh Gyeongmyeong.
“Keugh…!”
Kwa-reung!
With a thunderous roar, Roh Gyeongmyeong’s body was forced straight backward.
He managed to narrowly avoid the two attacks by violently spinning his spear, but—
Unable to withstand their combined power, a long furrow was carved into the ground along the path he was pushed back.
Seeing that trace, Roh Gyeongmyeong could not hide his shock.
‘…This is dangerous!’
This was no mere tool.
The Divine Artifact his opponents wielded truly carried the power of the gods.
It was utterly bewildering.
To think that something could allow one to fight evenly against a being of the Manifestation Realm.
Never once in the history of the martial world had he even heard of such an item.
…If that were the case, then there was only one possible source.
Across the entire Central Plains, there was only one existence capable of bringing about such a situation.
‘Divine Craftsman Tang Sewoon…!’
As he murmured that name, Roh Gyeongmyeong finally realized just what kind of existence he was truly facing.
Pabat!
At that moment, Jin Mubek and Tang Muyeol charged simultaneously.
Strangely enough, despite there being only the two of them, Roh Gyeongmyeong saw the image of a young man overlapping them like a phantom.
Sswae-aek!
With the sound of air being torn apart, their attacks precisely targeted Roh Gyeongmyeong’s death acupoints—
Cha-chaeng!
A sudden sword strike flew in and blocked their assault.
Tang Muyeol’s gaze turned icy as he looked at the intruder.
“Demon-Suppressing Charcoal Sword.”
The Sect Leader of the Kongtong Sect, Myeongwolja, had entered the fray to aid Roh Gyeongmyeong.
‘That brainless fool.’
Watching Myeongwolja swing his sword in support of Roh Gyeongmyeong, Lee Jamyeong furrowed his brow.
—Have Myeongwolja join the battle and assist Roh Gyeongmyeong.
—C-Clan Head, you want me to go there?
In truth, Myeongwolja had not wanted to obey the order.
Being told to continue fighting in a place seeded with Thunderburst Bombs, when Lee Jamyeong himself might detonate them, made his feet refuse to move.
—What are you worrying about? Would I ever detonate it while you’re there?
—B-But…!
After mixing persuasion with threats, Lee Jamyeong had ultimately forced him to join. Still, the battlefield unfolding in a direction completely different from his expectations sat poorly with him.
Even so, he did not yet worry about defeat.
‘There’s no way they can sustain the power of such Divine Artifacts for long. As long as Myeongwolja buys us a bit of time, that will be enough.’
And when those vermin tangled over there are exhausted to the point that they cannot even flee—
Detonating the Thunderburst Bombs all at once would wipe everything clean.
[Contractor.]
“……!”
At that moment, the being Lee Jamyeong had hired for worst-case scenarios sent him a telepathic message.
[The Kongtong Sect disciples have all been replaced with members of our organization. However, another variable has emerged.]
“…A problem?”
[They will appear shortly.]
Just as Lee Jamyeong was about to shout what kind of nonsense that was—
Paaat!
Chwaaah!
“……!!”
At that moment, from the mountains above, a tremendous presence descended, covering the land with power that did not yield even to the Golden Wave Dignitary.
‘Why are they…?!’
Lee Jamyeong immediately lifted his head, his eyes filling with shock.
Where his gaze landed, a banner bearing two characters fluttered in the wind—
Mount Emei.