novelraw Chapter 158 : Chapter 158
Chapter 158 : Chapter 158
Chapter 158. Flower (4)
Two quarters of an hour ago.
The shaman waiting at the Emerald Crossing River, the master of the Red Moon Falling Flowers, the Moon Lord, clicked his tongue lightly.
“Tsk.”
It was because the Ghost Sword Young Master’s party had stopped right in front of the Emerald Crossing River.
But there was nothing to be greatly disappointed about.
As assassins usually do, he had made numerous preparations for the assassination.
Although this Emerald Crossing River was the biggest trap, it was not the only thing he had prepared.
“Now, it is time for you to die.”
Saying that, the Moon Lord carried out his second prepared plan.
The moment he slammed his staff on the floor of the Emerald Crossing River, a formation that covered the entire village was deployed.
It was a formation called the Nine Heavens Blood Ghost Formation.
A formation where resentful spirits attacked relentlessly. And a formation that made one lose their sense of direction with hallucinations.
No matter how skilled a master was, they were bound to wither and die in there.
Whether they died from their internal energy and stamina being depleted while fighting the resentful spirits, or from the attacks of the resentful spirits or assassins.
The Moon Lord was also maintaining the formation, waiting for them to wither and die.
But after about a quarter of an hour, a change occurred.
“The Spring of Resentful Blood has been broken?”
The Spring of Resentful Blood was a place where the power of resentment and blood contained in corpses was sealed.
Depending on the blood, corpses, and resentment used to form the Spring of Resentful Blood, the power concentrated there became even stronger.
Of course, instead of forming the Spring of Resentful Blood, he could have absorbed that energy directly, but that was a suicidal act.
Because although they might be powerful, they were dirty and turbid energies.
If one were to absorb such energies recklessly, one would either go mad and become a madman, or the energy would run rampant and one would explode.
So instead of absorbing that energy, he had deployed the Nine Heavens Blood Ghost Formation using the power of the Spring of Resentful Blood.
Moreover, not long after the southern Spring of Resentful Blood was broken, an abnormality also occurred in the east.
At this, the Moon Lord, whose face was covered with a black cloth, frowned faintly.
Unlike other assassins, the Moon Lord had not learned the Unwavering Heart Divine Art and had not castrated his emotions.
Teaching the assassins the Unwavering Heart Divine Art was only for the sake of an experiment. He had no intention of conducting an experiment on his own head.
“Tsk. It seems they are skilled in dealing with formations.”
As they say, a cunning rabbit has three burrows.
Although he was not a clever rabbit, as the head of an assassin group, he had prepared three plans.
The Moon Lord, who noticed that the second plan had also gone to waste, slammed his staff on the ground.
At that, the energy that was scattered in all directions gathered towards his staff.
It wasn't that he had absorbed the energy. If he had, he would have gone berserk or become a madman.
He had just made the power of the Springs of Resentful Blood, which were used in the formation, gather into the cursed object in his hand.
To use that power through the cursed object instead of absorbing it directly.
After finishing his preparations, the Moon Lord headed towards the northern Spring of Resentful Blood.
There, the Ghost Sword Young Master and a few of his companions were in the middle of a battle with the assassins.
The Moon Lord’s eyes saw the corpses of the assassins scattered on the ground.
A feeling of regret passed through his eyes.
It was a regret for the failure of his first plan.
If they had entered the Emerald Crossing River from the beginning, the assassins would not have had to die.
But he was not pitying the dead assassins.
‘Tsk. It seems the experiment will be delayed for a while.’
To him, the assassins of the Red Moon Falling Flowers were nothing more and nothing less than experimental subjects.
At that moment, an interesting sight came into the Moon Lord’s eyes.
The girl named Choyeon. Of course, the Moon Lord did not know her name.
He only knew that she was an assassin candidate with outstanding talent. No, an experimental subject.
‘Quality is more important than quantity. After I kill all of them, I must retrieve that woman.’
Thinking that, the Moon Lord cast a shamanistic spell.
“Kill the Ghost Sword Young Master.”
Surprisingly, the girl resisted the Moon Lord’s verbal command.
“To resist a verbal command. It seems you’ve pulled some trick.”
The corners of the Moon Lord’s mouth, who was muttering that, rose slightly.
A change had occurred in the experimental subject.
It might be an unpleasant thing for a beginner, but those who had been engrossed in experiments for decades like him knew.
‘I must definitely capture her.’
The fact that this change might open a new path.
New experimental methods were sprouting in his mind.
But he couldn't start those experiments right away.
The Ghost Sword Young Master, who was rushing at him like a madman, saying he would kill him.
The Vajra Giant Child, who was throwing his whole body to protect the experimental subject.
He needed to get rid of those two first.
Every time the Moon Lord swung his staff, a blood-red energy swirled, and a shamanistic spell was cast at the Ghost Sword Young Master.
The Ghost Sword Young Master let out an angry roar and rushed at the Moon Lord again.
A laughable sight.
Although the Ghost Sword Young Master was not showing it, blood was flowing from the corners of his mouth.
Although he was enduring with tenacity, it was obvious that internal injuries were gradually accumulating in his body.
At that moment, a small change occurred.
The girl named Baek Hyang joined the battlefield.
The girl slaughtered the experimental subjects along with the Vajra Giant Child.
Not only that, but the girl pointed to the north and gave an order to the Vajra Giant Child.
“There should be a place over there similar to the one our Senior Brother broke. Please break it, big brother.”
Baek Hyang had been wondering about one thing since she arrived here.
A shaman with the power to unilaterally push back her Senior Brother alone.
Why had such a being been hiding in the Emerald Crossing River until now?
‘To maintain the formation? No. With that much power, there would have been no need to be bound by a formation.’
That person moved after the formation was dismantled.
In the end, it meant that that person was using the power used in the formation himself.
It was possible that that person had absorbed all the power of the formation, but there was a contradiction.
In the first place, if that were possible, there would have been no reason to set up a formation or wait for them here.
He could have just absorbed that power and then attacked them.
Then what if he wasn't absorbing it, but just borrowing the power of the formation?
In that short time, even while fighting the assassins, Baek Hyang had finished her reasoning.
“O, okay, Hyang-ah!”
Although it was reasonable to be puzzled, Nam Geon willingly ran towards the place Baek Hyang had pointed to.
It might be different for others, but Nam Geon believed unconditionally in what Baek Hyang said.
In fact, Nam Geon didn't completely trust even what Jin Yuseong said.
Nam Geon also knew.
The fact that Jin Yuseong often attempted absurd things.
But Baek Hyang always tried to do what was reasonable.
At least, Nam Geon thought so.
As Nam Geon ran towards the north, the Moon Lord swung his staff at him.
At that, a crimson curtain that looked like blood formed around Nam Geon and swallowed him.
The scene looked like a giant drop of blood.
Trapped in a blood-red cloth, or a giant drop of blood, Nam Geon’s response was simple.
Just in case, he covered his ears with both hands. After tightly closing his eyes and mouth, he ran forward with all his might.
A burning pain was felt on the skin that clashed with the blood-red energy.
It was a pain that Nam Geon had not felt in a very long time.
But Nam Geon didn’t care.
He ran forward with all his might, regardless of whether his body was being ground away by the blood-red curtain.
In the end, the blood-red curtain, unable to withstand his monstrous strength, was torn apart.
Nam Geon, whose clothes were all torn and was in rags, continued to run, rubbing his stinging body.
The Moon Lord, who was about to attack Nam Geon again, frowned faintly and then swung his staff.
At that, this time a blood-red curtain appeared in front of his eyes.
Soon, a sword Qi that had flown in stealthily was blocked by that curtain.
Clang!
It was the Azure Heaven’s Hidden Smile shot by Jin Yuseong.
The Moon Lord turned his gaze and swung his staff at Jin Yuseong.
A strong wind with blood-red energy swirled towards Jin Yuseong.
Jin Yuseong fixed his body to the ground with the Absorption Art and then formed a sword screen to resist that blood wind.
In the meantime, Baek Hyang was already approaching the Moon Lord.
“I will join you, Senior Brother!”
After the Moon Lord cast a shamanistic spell at Jin Yuseong and Baek Hyang a few times.
An explosion erupted from the north, and Jin Yuseong shouted.
“Well done!!”
He could see it in his eyes.
The scene of a part of the enormous energy congealed in the shaman’s staff being disrupted.
Aiming for this, Jin Yuseong once again unfolded his movement arts towards the shaman.
But it was still not easy to close the distance.
It wasn't just because of the internal injuries or wounds accumulated while fighting so far.
The sound of metal beads was still ringing relentlessly, and the Moon Lord’s shamanistic spells also continued.
Although he had broken the northern stronghold, the energy that had disappeared was at most around twenty percent.
So Jin Yuseong gave an order to Nam Geon, who was running to join him.
“Go to the Emerald Crossing River!! Go and destroy everything you find there!!”
Two streams of flow were still flowing in the shaman’s staff.
One was the western stronghold. The other was the energy flowing in from the Emerald Crossing River.
Among them, the stream connected to the Emerald Crossing River was quite thick.
There must be something there.
“O, okay, hyung-ah!”
Nam Geon turned around as it was and ran towards the Emerald Crossing River.
At the same time, Jin Yuseong and Baek Hyang rushed at the shaman as if to cover for Nam Geon.
They parried the shamanistic spells flying at Nam Geon with sword Qi wrapped around the Master’s Blade, and in between, they unfolded the Azure Heaven’s Hidden Smile to shoot sword Qi at the shaman.
Although Baek Hyang couldn't pose as much of a threat as Jin Yuseong, she continued to circle the shaman and distract him.
Thanks to the two’s cover, Nam Geon was able to escape that place without much difficulty.
Nam Geon, who disappeared beyond the collapsed village pavilion.
The Moon Lord also knew that he was aiming for the formation in the Emerald Crossing River.
But the corners of the Moon Lord’s mouth, whose face was covered with a black cloth, were slightly raised.
The three plans that the Moon Lord had made.
The last of them did not end with just the Moon Lord stepping up himself.
He had also taken into account that someone would notice the characteristics of this shamanistic spell. And that someone would aim for the Emerald Crossing River, the center of the shamanistic spell.
Naturally, to protect the most important place, he had left a watchman.
The most outstanding experimental subject among the assassins the Moon Lord had raised for decades.
‘Even if it’s a Diamond Indestructible Body, it will be useless in front of the Vice-Moon Lord’s blade.’
As the Moon Lord had grasped, among the Ghost Sword Young Master’s party, the only one who could face the Vice-Moon Lord was the Ghost Sword Young Master himself.
***
Nam Geon was running with all his might.
‘I, I have to go quickly.’
Nam Geon understood. That time was of the essence.
When he had clashed with the ominous red curtain a little while ago. He had felt an intense pain for the first time in a very long time.
The energy in that red curtain was very terrible and fearsome.
And yet, the shaman was spraying that enormous energy around as if he were firing it randomly.
No matter how much of a Jin Yuseong he was, it would be difficult for him to last long against such a person.
Fortunately, since the village was not that large, Nam Geon soon arrived near the Emerald Crossing River.
Now, only a few zhang remained.
The moment Nam Geon took another step towards the Emerald Crossing River with all his might, he felt an inexplicable chill.
Nam Geon closed his two eyes tightly without realizing it.
It was an instinctive reaction based on experience.
Soon, an intense pain as if being burned by fire was felt on his right eyelid.
Nam Geon gritted his teeth and swung the Mother's Affection Sword.
Vwoooosh!
As a cool sound of cutting through the air echoed, Nam Geon opened his unharmed left eye again.
The Mother's Affection Sword cutting through the air, and the figure of a person in red clothes who had stepped back to avoid that sword, came into Nam Geon’s left eye.
The moment he was about to open his stinging right eye, the figure of the person in red clothes disappeared from his sight.
The person in red clothes, who had instantly broken into Nam Geon’s blind spot, thrust his dagger again.
Nam Geon swung the Mother's Affection Sword again at the invisible enemy and turned his head.
Clang!!
A fierce metallic sound echoed, and Nam Geon’s head was thrown back.
Fortunately, a new hole had not been created in his head.
The dagger that was aiming for Nam Geon’s right ear had narrowly struck Nam Geon’s temple.
Even while his head was spinning, Nam Geon quickly composed himself and swung the Mother's Affection Sword.
Vwoooosh.
A chilling sound of cutting through the air echoed, but the person in red clothes easily dodged that blow with a very light movement.
‘T, too fast. F, faster than the bad old man last time.’
The First Killing of Sichuan, Jang Ik, who had tormented Nam Geon in the past. Compared to that assassin, even Jang Ik felt like a snail.
Nam Geon realized.
The fact that it was impossible for him to follow the movements of that assassin no matter what he did.
‘I, I don’t have to kill him. Th, the Emerald Crossing River is first.’
So Nam Geon decided to ignore the assassin.
But things did not go so easily.
A continuous metallic sound echoed.
Clang!
Clang!!
The person in red clothes. The dagger of the Vice-Moon Lord of the Red Moon Falling Flowers relentlessly struck Nam Geon’s face and body.
Even though it was striking the body of Nam Geon, who had achieved a Diamond Indestructible Body, not a single crack appeared on the Vice-Moon Lord’s dagger.
It wasn't because that dagger was a divine weapon.
The dagger that the Vice-Moon Lord thrust out.
Swiiiiiish.
Dozens of strands of sword Qi were intertwined and swirling around it.
A mature Sword Silk.
Moreover, it was a very thick and noticeable Sword Silk that did not suit an assassin.
In between the metallic sounds, a cutting sound and blood also spurted out.
Slice!
The Sword Silk, which was close to Enhanced Qi, was slowly slicing Nam Geon’s skin.
‘B, bad guy! K, killed a lot of people!’
Nam Geon had also heard from Jin Yuseong.
About the martial art called the Hundred Blood Vessel Technique that the assassins of the Red Moon Falling Flowers had learned.
How much internal energy would be needed to form such a Sword Silk?
How many people would have been killed in the process of obtaining that internal energy?
Anger naturally soared, but Nam Geon tried to ignore that anger.
Slice!
Slice!
While wounds were accumulating all over his body, Nam Geon ignored both anger and pain and searched for an opening.
He wasn't looking for an opening to kill that assassin.
‘I, I have to go.’
The Emerald Crossing River was right in front of him.
He had to destroy something there somehow.
Even if it meant dying at the hands of that assassin.