novelraw Chapter 159 : Mayhem (3)
Chapter 159 : Mayhem (3)
Chapter 159: Mayhem (3)
From a distance, Jang Woo-hyun, watching the battle of the Beast King Sect, leapt off Yong Seo-hee’s head and kicked into the air.
Horse King’s Second Step – Berserk Light.
The air exploded with a thunderous boom, and in a single step, Jang Woo-hyun arrived at the battlefield.
The first target he aimed for was the one fighting Maeng Ye-ju and Jin Ha-un.
A brawny old man clad in a horned helmet and a crimson breastplate.
He merely landed in front of him, but that alone shattered the ground and unleashed a shockwave.
Within the tremendous shockwave, Jang Woo-hyun thrust his fist forward.
“Who dares—”
The opponent, caught off guard by the faster-than-expected punch, couldn’t even finish his sentence and had to cross both arms to block.
Kwaaaang!
Two people clashed, and yet a massive explosion erupted. The resulting shockwave flipped the ground, and even Maeng Ye-ju and Jin Ha-un nearby were blown away.
Thud!
Jang Woo-hyun stomped forward with True Step and swung the sword he had drawn at some point skyward.
A transcendent sword swung with endlessly expanding Will-Form Qi.
A trajectory that seemed to cleave the sky itself was drawn, turning the surroundings crimson as it slashed down the falling meteors.
And it didn’t stop there; even the space behind them was cut.
“What!”
Watching the meteors burn into small fireballs and crash to the ground, Manun’s mouth dropped open.
Just now, Jang Woo-hyun not only cut down the falling meteors with a single strike, but also cleaved the spell itself and made it vanish.
From taking out the helmeted old man to slashing through the technique of the Red Cloud—it all took less than a breath.
He was so fast that those nearby couldn’t even properly see him, but there was one person who recognized him.
“Hyung-nim!”
“What?”
“Senior Maeng! Ha-un! Attack now!”
Calling out to the two, Jang Woo-hyun kicked off the ground and charged forward. His target was the old man he had just attacked.
“Hyung-nim!”
At the sudden appearance of his sworn elder brother, Jin Ha-un clenched his fist.
‘Just how fast can he run!’
His skill had improved again. He thought he had taken a step closer to that distant back view, only for it to disappear once more far ahead. As always.
Staring at Jang Woo-hyun’s retreating figure, Jin Ha-un raised his sword. To catch up, even a little, to his sworn brother.
Hongyeomin in his right hand ignited in flames, and around Cheonglingin in his left, ice began to form.
The eyes of the Blue-Red Sword Demon, who wielded both swords, began to shine, and vitality returned to his body.
As he swung his sword, the wooden soldiers charging toward him either burned or froze solid.
And another person standing nearby also reacted upon seeing Jang Woo-hyun.
“Wahahaha!”
A power so immense it defied prediction. Maeng Ye-ju couldn’t help but laugh.
“Jang Woo-hyun, you crazy bastard!”
In just a few years apart, he had grown stronger again.
The addition of just one man had completely changed the tide of the battlefield.
‘I can’t lose!’
Maeng Ye-ju summoned his energy once more. To stand beside the junior surging forward.
‘What the hell is that monster?’
The moment he arrived, he swept through the battlefield. With each step, the troops around him were crushed.
The person who suddenly barged in moments ago faced none other than Blood Ox, the second-in-command of the Twin-Winged Lotus.
He had overpowered the strongest of the Twin-Winged Lotus, aside from the Bi Ik-jang himself, and had even slashed apart his spell with a single sword.
‘He must be eliminated. He’s the most dangerous one on this battlefield.’
Manun put everything else aside and prepared to attack Jang Woo-hyun.
Flames erupted from the clouds around him and spread in all directions.
Then, sensing an incoming presence, Manun quickly unleashed a defensive spell.
Crackle! Crash!
Multiple layers of transparent barriers exploded in front of him.
Turning his head, he saw a small fox Beastkin smiling.
Dan Hong approached him, chuckling with a strange “Oh hohoho—” laughter.
“Now that the distractions are gone, let’s have some fun together.”
“A mere beast dares...”
“That’s why you should have attacked immediately. That’s why you people lose. Next time, don’t try to capture your enemy—just kill them.”
“Silence! Filthy beast!”
Within Manun’s fury, another battle began.
Jang Woo-hyun stomped forward again, heading toward the old man he had first attacked.
Click! With that sound, the old man in the horned helmet was now clad in a crimson armor covering his entire body.
“Who are you!”
At the old man’s shout, his Will-Form Qi expanded in all directions. Dominating the surrounding space, it pushed everything away.
If Jang Woo-hyun’s Will-Form Qi was like a sword extending outward, his was a force that repelled everything around him.
‘A martial artist at the Boundless Realm.’
But something felt off. And familiar.
Not his face or actions, but the man’s energy itself.
‘It doesn’t suit him.’
When Jang Woo-hyun swung his sword, the aura radiating from the old man split in half.
“……!”
Crack!
Not only did it sever the old man’s Will-Form Qi, but it also damaged part of his armor.
A single strike. That was all it took.
“You’re from the Twin-Winged Lotus?”
That ill-fitting, unstable aura—he had seen it once before.
Sa Do-woong, the third-ranked member of the Twin-Winged Lotus.
Just like him, who forcefully augmented his power through a Beastkin, the old man before him was similarly unstable.
What he had sensed back then, he could perceive even more clearly now that he had reached the Boundless Realm.
Others might not feel it, but to Jang Woo-hyun, the old man seemed weak.
“He’s the Bi Ik-gong of the Twin-Winged Lotus—Blood Ox!”
Blood Ox launched dozens of punches.
Jang Woo-hyun, without even revealing his name, drew a circle with Mukya. He saw no need to name himself to the likes of these—after all, they would be dead soon.
The attacks poured in, but none reached Jang Woo-hyun, all missing narrowly. More dozens of strikes followed, yet not one landed.
Gritting his teeth, Blood Ox gathered his energy. From him, an enormous aura spread out, pushing Jang Woo-hyun backward.
At the same time, something massive approached from behind.
【Halt!】
Thud! Thud!
Sensing the danger, the giant tree from behind advanced forward.
The tree giant was a cultivator of the Ascension Cult and belonged to the Wood Spirit Tribe, the same as Cho Ryeong, whom Jang Woo-hyun had met. He had absorbed power from the surrounding earth using a unique spell and transformed into a giant tree.
Until now, he had only created wooden soldiers and supported from the rear with spells, but when Jang Woo-hyun appeared on the battlefield, he moved his massive body himself.
【Die!】
A colossal fist descended, powerful enough to raze a small city in an instant.
At the sight, a faint smile appeared on Jang Woo-hyun’s face.
Though the hand was enormous enough to evoke awe, it was merely laughable to him.
He had seen a hand so large it could be mistaken for the sky—this was nothing in comparison.
Jang Woo-hyun slightly turned his head and hurled Yongwangrin toward the tree giant’s fist.
The giant fist and the small sword collided.
One would think the tiny sword would shatter without a trace, yet what actually happened defied expectations.
Kwa-de-de-de-deuk!
Yongwangrin pierced through the tree giant’s fist and exploded from within.
【Gaaaaaaaah!】
Yongwangrin split into hundreds of blades.
Hundreds of hidden weapons whirled in all directions, shredding the tree giant’s arm to pieces.
Thud! Thud!
The giant body reeled back. The arm of the tree giant, which was larger than most towers, disappeared in an instant.
To face such foes, neither Nayuta Sword Mandala nor the world-shaking Annihilation Slash was necessary.
Jang Woo-hyun had always been far stronger than martial artists of the same realm.
And that hadn’t changed even after reaching the Boundless Realm. Even if three of them attacked at once, they wouldn't stand a chance.
Blood Ox, who had been clashing with Jang Woo-hyun, recognized the weapon that had just destroyed the tree giant’s arm.
A weapon that transformed from a sword into hundreds of tiny hidden weapons.
There weren’t many people who used such unique weapons.
“Cheonrin Sword Alliance?”
A name that had suddenly gained fame a few years ago before disappearing. Now, he had appeared here out of nowhere.
‘How...’
Though he now realized Jang Woo-hyun’s identity, there was still something Blood Ox couldn’t comprehend.
A few years ago, the name Cheonrin Sword Alliance had become known during the New Rising Experts era.
But the current display was not something a mere rising expert could achieve.
The Jang Woo-hyun before him could be called a ruler of an entire region of the Central Heavens Martial Realm without exaggeration.
‘Seventeen Lords.’
Blood Ox thought of them. At this level of ability, even the Bi Ik-jang wouldn’t stand a chance.
“How! How can you be this strong!”
Blood Ox’s shout, full of agitation, echoed all around.
It made no sense. How could one grow this much in just a few years?
“No way?”
Blood Ox halted his words, furrowing his brow as he stared at Jang Woo-hyun.
“You... do you also possess the power of the gods?”
To attain such abnormal strength, there was only one method he knew.
The very method they themselves used.
If it was that—the power of the Martial God—it would make some sense.
“Nonsense.”
Dismissing his words, Jang Woo-hyun charged in.
Blood Ox tried to summon his energy and repel him, but it was futile.
With one swing of Mukya, all the qi projections surrounding him, and even his pervasive Will-Form Qi, were sliced apart.
Crack!
Once again, a long mark was etched into his armor.
With a single strike, Jang Woo-hyun cut through everything that filled the surroundings and reached even Blood Ox’s armor.
The overwhelming strength made Blood Ox’s face harden. This opponent was impossible. He glanced around, trying to gauge the situation, but no one could aid him.
The Ascension Cult’s spellcaster, Manun, was battling Dan Hong, and the massive tree was still reeling from Yongwangrin, now scattered into dozens of blades.
Even while handling Blood Ox, Jang Woo-hyun continued to pressure the giant tree. At present, he was fighting one against two.
“...Now I see why the Ascension Cult so desperately wanted you dead.”
Their judgment had been correct. For a monster that displayed such growth, every resource should be used to eliminate him swiftly. One could never know what trouble he might cause in the future.
A hundred exchanges followed, and eventually Blood Ox, with his entire body shattered, crashed to the ground.
Jang Woo-hyun turned and approached his next opponent.
He saw dozens of swords flying on their own, unleashing Annihilation Slash.
Kwa-gwa-gwang!
Dozens of swords pushed back the tree giant, whose size spanned hundreds of jang.
As Jang Woo-hyun finished Blood Ox and approached, the tree giant shook its body.
Countless seeds dropped from its massive frame, rooting in midair and extending branches.
Heavenly Sky Tree Sea.
In an instant, a massive forest bloomed in the air.
Even Jang Woo-hyun, seeing the power of this unfamiliar spell for the first time, was briefly impressed.
【Spirit Wood Sky Army!】
Rumble—
At the tree giant’s cry, the airborne forest trembled.
Trees toppled, and foliage split, revealing wooden people mounted on wooden horses, each armed with weapons, charging toward Jang Woo-hyun.
Their number exceeded a thousand. A veritable army of tree people.
Jang Woo-hyun stepped forward to face them, gathering his strength. Then he swung Mukya.
A simple horizontal slash.
What followed made the tree giant tremble.
Screeeech—
A single slash.
Thousands of tree soldiers and the forest behind them were cleaved at once.
Then, with Jang Woo-hyun’s Will-Form Qi sweeping outward, the wooden soldiers and the forest behind them began to shatter.
Just the intent to cut was enough to fragment everything in sight.
A realm where one’s intent alone could kill—Heart Equals Kill, or Heart Equals Slash.
Having reached the Boundless Realm, Jang Woo-hyun could sever the world around him with mere intent.