novelraw Chapter 114 : Turning Point Through Clash (4)
Chapter 114 : Turning Point Through Clash (4)
Chapter 114: Turning Point Through Clash (4)
‘Haa!’
Gugwi took a deep breath to steady himself.
In the very center of his heart, the Spirit Flow Core pulsed violently as if it had a life of its own. He spread his palms over his chest, and a blue light gradually seeped in. The rays of light traveled through his veins, coloring the surrounding air.
A cold energy brushed against his skin, and the wind swirled around him, as if calling the spirits.
As the light grew stronger, the nearby spirits reacted.
Faint shadows rose from the ground, gathering like mist to circle around him.
Gugwi closed his eyes and muttered inwardly.
“By the Realm of the Threshold… come.”
The blue light burst outward.
The forms of the spirits distorted, as if being sucked into the light. Their cries mingled with the wind and faded… and for a moment, the surroundings became as silent as a desert.
The energy of all spirits vanished.
Spiritless Zone!
A smile flickered across Gugwi’s lips. His fingertips trembled slightly. Although the Spirit Flow Core had accumulated some energy, in this space, the Spirit Union’s spirits would be useless.
But at that moment, Ma Ungyeol moved as if he had been waiting.
Ssshhh!
His body shot forward like a shadow.
The spear tip radiated red energy, aiming straight for Gugwi’s neck. The diagonal trajectory sliced through the air with a sharp whistle. It was a perfect attack—neither avoidable nor blockable!
The moment a Spiritless Zone forms, the power that a spirit holds is concentrated into the Spirit Flow Core. At that moment, Gugwi cannot move. A deadly flaw he hadn’t even noticed.
By the time Gugwi sensed the danger, the spear tip was already mere inches from him.
Gugwi twisted his body reflexively.
The spear tip grazed his neck, tearing the skin. Blood dripped and stained the ground.
Ma Ungyeol’s eyes flashed.
His spear recoiled and struck toward Gugwi’s chest. Red energy blazed along the shaft, and the acrid smell of burning metal stung the nose.
At that moment, as if waiting for this, a robed spirit lunged forward.
Its palm sliced through the air toward Ma Ungyeol. Thuds rang out.
The hand of the robed spirit struck Ma Ungyeol’s spear shaft. Perhaps because it was a spirit, the spear remained unharmed even though it was blocked by flesh. The shaft vibrated, and Ma Ungyeol’s forearm muscles trembled.
The skin on the back of Ma Ungyeol’s hand split slightly, drawing blood.
He gritted his teeth and twisted his body. This time, he was determined to kill Gugwi.
But in that instant, the Spiritless Zone formed again.
Now aware of the Zone’s flaw, Gugwi quickly opened it only in a very narrow area.
The range: one zhang from Ma Ungyeol’s body.
Only one spirit needed to escape. Nanma Spear Demon, Sam Sohwa!
For a moment, Nanma Spear Demon’s energy dimmed, and the glow on the spear shaft vanished. Ma Ungyeol’s eyes widened.
“Th-This…!”
His spear trembled and lost its strength.
The spirit was sucked into the Realm of the Threshold, bringing a cold wind. But the spirit immediately returned.
The moment Ma Ungyeol gripped the spear tightly, the spirit drawn toward the Spirit Flow Core snapped back. His wrist muscles bulged as he held the shaft firmly.
“Hah!”
Gugwi exhaled.
In an instant, he had faced the Reapers from both sides.
Gugwi had discovered the Spiritless Zone’s flaw, and Ma Ungyeol realized that the Spirit Flow Core’s power was incomplete. If this had been the Spiritless Zone unleashed by the Manifest Demon Emperor, all Spirit Union spirits would have been lost.
Ssshhh!
Gugwi launched the Cloud Flow Spear with all his strength.
The energy from the spear tip cut through the air with a sharp scream. The wind scattered in all directions, whipping the nearby leaves into a whirlwind.
Ma Ungyeol spun his spear like lightning to block the attack. His forearm muscles tightened like ropes, veins bulging dark blue.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal colliding rang continuously.
In a short breath, dozens of exchanges occurred. Sparks flew in all directions, tearing the darkness apart.
But there was also an invisible fight beneath the surface.
Gugwi deployed very brief Spiritless Zones to prevent his movements from being interrupted. Each time, Ma Ungyeol lost the Nanma Spear Demon, Sam Sohwa, only to regain it again.
In the clash of spear against spear, the unseen battle raged fiercely as well.
Flare!
Gugwi’s gaze sharpened.
Regaining his composure, he began analyzing Ma Ungyeol’s movements one by one.
Every spear technique had specific motions. Powerful yet unpredictable trajectories. Not mindless repetition of strength, but surprise strikes exploiting openings.
Ssshhh!
Ma Ungyeol’s spear lunged at Gugwi’s shoulder, slicing the air with a whistle that pierced the ears.
Gugwi twisted his body to the side but could not fully evade.
The spear tip grazed his shoulder. A tearing sound followed as flesh was sliced away.
Hot blood burst forth, blooming a dark red flower on the floor.
‘Ugh!’
Gugwi gritted his teeth, swallowing the pain.
Now. The moment to counterattack had come. He had anticipated the move. What technique was it! Gugwi swung the spear in a large arc. A blue vortex formed at the spear tip, growing steadily.
The vortex surged toward Ma Ungyeol.
The wind howled, drawing nearby stones into the air.
Ma Ungyeol tried to block with his spear, but the force of the whirlpool engulfed him. His feet slid backward, slamming his back into a rock. A cracking sound rang as the stone split. Dust flew in all directions, clouding the air.
Gugwi did not miss the opportunity.
He swung the spear faster, pressuring Ma Ungyeol. Blue energy wrapped around the blade, heating the air.
In an instant, Gugwi felt a thud in his chest—a frozen shock.
‘Ugh!’
His body flinched momentarily.
His heart blazed like a fireball, then dropped. The pounding was so intense it strained his body… the Spirit Flow Core had surpassed its limit. Deploying the Spiritless Zone in rapid bursts had been too much.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heartbeat raced uncontrollably. His chest constricted, bitterness rising to his throat.
But he could not stop. He could not show pain.
Ssshhh! Ssshhh!
Ma Ungyeol’s attacks rained without pause. Red spears flew at him like venomous snakes.
Gugwi clutched his chest with one hand, enduring the pain. Cold sweat soaked his forehead, dripping from his chin. Blue light spread along the veins beneath his skin.
“Yaaah!”
He roared, channeling all his strength into the spear.
The anger beyond pain fused with the blue flames. The spear blade blazed with blue light. The energy was so intense that even Gugwi was surprised. The spear writhed like a living snake.
It shot toward Ma Ungyeol’s spear like lightning. The two forces collided head-on in midair.
Bang!
This time Gugwi’s spear had shoved Ma Ungyeol’s spear aside. The metal screamed and bent.
Spiderweb-like hairline cracks spread across Ma Ungyeol’s spear. The fissure that had started at the center of the blade ran down to the shaft. It was a miracle it had not shattered into pieces.
Ma Ungyeol widened his eyes and stared down at his weapon. His mouth fell open as if he could not believe it.
“Impossible….”
But it was reality. Gugwi’s spear had overwhelmed his.
A practitioner with one year of martial arts experience was pushing back one of the Twelve True Armies.
Ma Ungyeol ground his teeth and charged again. Madness flared in his eyes.
He poured his inner strength through his entire body into the spear tip.
A red energy burst forth like molten lava.
At that moment, Gugwi had fully dissected Ma Ungyeol’s spear technique.
The offense and the defensive patterns… every form had been crisply organized in his mind. Naturally, he had also identified the gaps.
Sam Sohwa’s spear method had many variations and was fast enough to be invisible. That was its greatest strength… but it lacked power. The force carried on the spear tip relied on the weapon’s own strength.
Whether one died being cleaved by an all-out downward strike or by having one’s head bashed in by a casual blow, the outcome was the same.
That was why every attack could not be predicted.
‘Improvise!’
Gugwi muttered as he swung his spear along an entirely new trajectory. It was a completely different angle from before. With sheer force — very strong force — he generated a vortex and pressed forward.
He suppressed the varied changes with the whirl.
The blue vortex engulfed the red energy completely.
Of course, the more power he unleashed, the more excruciating the pain that swept through his body. His chest burned like a furnace, his vision blurred, and a metallic sweetness filled his mouth. His tongue tasted of iron.
But the blue light of the Spirit Flow Core flowed out steadily.
Gugwi blocked the Spirit Union martial art with the Spirit Flow Core, and Un Serim’s spear method he defended with his own force.
Fwah!
Ma Ungyeol launched an all-out attack.
It was probably the strike that squeezed every drop of vital energy he could pour out.
Red lightning exploded from the spear tip. The air tore and a deafening sound burst through the ears.
‘In raw power I have the advantage!’
Gugwi did not hesitate and met it head-on.
He was not fighting Ma Ungyeol personally. Un Serim and Sam Sohwa were fighting. Even seasoned spirit summoners sometimes misjudged this point. They erred as if they were the ones fighting.
Kwah-ong!
The blue vortex collided directly with the red lightning.
The result was clear. The blue vortex swallowed the red lightning entirely. Ma Ungyeol’s attack vanished in vain. His spear split into fragments and scattered in all directions.
“Urgh!”
He dropped to his knees and slumped to the ground. Dark red blood spilled from his mouth.
My gods! Among the Twelve True Armies, Ma Ungyeol had fallen to Gugwi — a mere fledgling soul-summoner. And by soul-summoning.
At that instant, a new spirit — the Robed Spirit — began its full-scale assault.
A gigantic shadow raised its hand.
The energy radiating from its fingertips heated the air. The surrounding temperature rose rapidly and the rocks grew hot.
“Uh! Th-that…!”
The Black Blood Unit hurried over. Ma Ungyeol was in no condition to fend off an attack.
At that moment, Gugwi did not perceive the Robed Spirit’s assault.
‘Ugh!’
Suddenly a stabbing pain welled from his heart. It was as if someone had clenched his heart tightly with their hand.
A breath-stealing agony!
‘Of all times, now!’
He gritted his teeth and endured the extreme pain.
Bang!
A blue light enveloped his whole body. He felt each muscle harden like steel.
At that moment, the Robed Spirit moved behind Ma Ungyeol.
Its finger sliced through the air and aimed for Ma Ungyeol’s acupoints. The essence of the art. Its fingertip moved like lightning and precisely struck Ma Ungyeol’s Gyeonjeong Acupoint. With a small sound, Ma Ungyeol’s shoulder stiffened.
The Robed Spirit’s hand moved again.
This time it touched the Gokji Acupoint. Ma Ungyeol’s arm went limp.
Fear flashed in his eyes.
“W-wait a moment!”
Before his words finished, the Robed Spirit’s finger pressed his Danjung Acupoint for the last time.
Thud!
A sound like a leather drum bursting rang out… Ma Ungyeol convulsed violently.
Black blood ran from his mouth. His life force drained and his pupils clouded.
Ma Ungyeol crumpled to his knees and toppled over.
The faces of the Black Blood Unit warriors, who had rushed over at the sight of the Robed Spirit’s attack, went pale.
“The Lord of the Twelve True Armies… killed by the Eleventh True Army? Lord of the Twelve True Armies! Don’t hide cowardly — come out! Are you still our idol?”
“Treachery, is this treachery!”
Their gaze wavered with unease.
“Is that really the work of the Lord of the Twelve True Armies?”
“Look at that art. It’s the Dark Blood Point Technique — Jin Mukgyeol.”
Their agitation grew.
Sweat ran down their spines.
They had thought the fight would end cleanly… but Ma Ungyeol’s death had turned everything upside down.
Swoosh!
Gugwi rose, spear in hand.
He looked perfectly untroubled as if he had not suffered pain at all. He casually levitated the spear and pointed it at the Black Blood Unit members.
“You… bastard!”
“Fall back! We can’t!”
The six remaining Black Blood Unit members quickly began to retreat.
Even if the entire Black Blood Unit had attacked, they could not defeat Ma Ungyeol. All the more so they could not defeat Gugwi, who had bested Ma Ungyeol. Staying here meant certain death.
Their retreat was natural.
If they had known, they would have cut those three down, not merely maim them.
Their regret was overwhelming."