novelraw Chapter 178 : Fighting Ghost Unit (1)
Chapter 178 : Fighting Ghost Unit (1)
Chapter 178: Fighting Ghost Unit (1)
With such a brutish and monstrously ridiculous answer, Jang Woo-hyun came to the conclusion that accompanying the Wind-Passing Great Sage was impossible.
“Monkey, you won’t do.”
“What won’t do?”
“We can’t travel together.”
“What? What kind of nonsense is that!”
The Wind-Passing Great Sage protested. He had been excited at the thought of roaming around with Jang Woo-hyun and getting into countless fights, only to hear he couldn’t join him. To him, it was like a bolt from the blue.
The monkey demon who wished to fight True Immortals had no thought of separating from Jang Woo-hyun.
“It’s true I owe you, but what won’t do just won’t do.”
“Who decided that?”
Jang Woo-hyun pointed at himself with a finger, then drew the Black Wilds Sword.
“I did. If you can’t accept it, I’ll just send you back to the Demonic Spirit Realm.”
“You want to settle this here? Hahaha, I like that just fine.”
Wind whirled around the Wind-Passing Great Sage.
The monkey demon who was known to be battle-crazed would never avoid a fight when one presented itself.
While he looked forward to the battles that would occur traveling with Jang Woo-hyun, he always looked forward to fighting him just as much.
In his eyes, Jang Woo-hyun was the finest prey, marked with a brand twice.
As the mood between the two suddenly shifted, Cho-su and Maeng Ye-ju swiftly prepared for battle.
The two had expected things to turn out this way. The very fact that this crazy monkey demon had been standing still, merely talking, was already strange to them.
At the critical moment before the fight could erupt, the only one calm was Jin Ha-un. He quietly approached the Wind-Passing Great Sage.
“Um… Great Sage.”
“Hm? What is it, peculiar human brat?”
To the Wind-Passing Great Sage, Jin Ha-un seemed a strange human carrying someone else’s energy within his chest.
“About that tangerine story just now.”
“And what of it?”
“Put another way, it was about giants and small fry.”
“Huh? What are you babbling about?”
“What you were really saying, Brother, was that if one waits, the reward will be greater. Because you told it with a tangerine, it sounded strange. But put in terms of enemies, it means if you don’t fight weaklings right away and wait, stronger enemies will appear later.”
Jin Ha-un reinterpreted what he had just heard, explaining it in a way the Wind-Passing Great Sage could understand.
Since Jin Ha-un was not from the Central Heavens, unlike Maeng Ye-ju and Cho-su, he had no aversion to the Great Sage joining them.
Rather, he thought it would be a gain, so he explained kindly.
“So what you’re saying is, if small fry show up, don’t fight them, and instead wait, I’ll get to face stronger foes?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“Then why say it like that? What was the point of that tangerine story?”
True to his capricious nature, the Wind-Passing Great Sage’s ferocity deflated at once.
“……”
“If I’ll be allowed to fight strong ones later, then I won’t bother with the weaklings. They’re no fun anyway. Should’ve explained it like that from the start. What was with that tangerine business?”
The Wind-Passing Great Sage, now understanding Jin Ha-un’s words, declared he would not fight the weaklings.
From the beginning, the reason he wished to travel with Jang Woo-hyun was because of the True Immortals. Since such great foes awaited, it was nothing to pass over weaklings.
“Can you really restrain yourself? I can’t trust you. Shouldn’t we make some kind of contract?”
“Why make a contract over this?”
“Is there a contract that can force something like this?”
Jang Woo-hyun asked Nokgak Baekmyeon.
“With such vague terms, it would be difficult to enforce.”
Since the standard of weak and strong was subjective, it would be hard to bind.
“Don’t worry. I’ll only fight when you tell me to fight strong ones. If that was the concern, you could’ve just said so plainly. I don’t intend to go berserk for no reason. So let’s go. Come on, let’s go.”
The Wind-Passing Great Sage suddenly grabbed Nokgak Baekmyeon by the scruff.
“Eh, why me…?”
“This isn’t a permanent summoning, is it? To keep maintaining this projection, you’ll need his help too.”
“Th-that’s true.”
“Then you’re coming with us. An adventure, human sorcerer.”
After promising Jang Woo-hyun several times that he wouldn’t fight on a whim, the Wind-Passing Great Sage joined them, bringing along a demon and a sorcerer into the party.
“This will let us track them?”
Maeng Ye-ju looked at the large cube before her.
“Yes. Put inside the communication artifacts the Radiant Light Sect uses. Then it will analyze their signals and track them. The more artifacts, the easier to locate them.”
Though she didn’t know the principles, since Cho-su said so, the device must work.
Thanks to the Radiant Light Sect’s devices gathered by Jin Ha-un and Maeng Ye-ju, the party began their pursuit.
The reason it was hard to wipe out the Radiant Light Sect was because they never stayed in one place.
They constantly roamed aboard the Floating Stronghold and their ships, making them difficult to track in the vast Central Heavens Realm.
But Jang Woo-hyun’s party had Cho-su.
With the device he made, they could trace the Radiant Light Sect, and with the modified giant’s ship boasting overwhelming speed, they could easily chase them down.
Crossing space, they arrived at their destination.
There, they discovered over a dozen Radiant Light Sect ships.
At the sight, Jang Woo-hyun spread his will and examined the ships’ interiors.
“Looks like only the Radiant Light Sect members.”
He clenched his fist as he spoke.
A crashing sound came from within the ships, and the vessels in flight slowed. With a single move, he had crippled their engines.
“No strong foes, but be cautious.”
After warning the party, Jang Woo-hyun kicked off into the air. Following him, Jin Ha-un and Maeng Ye-ju leapt forward, while the Wind-Passing Great Sage, thinking they were mere small fry, didn’t budge.
Before long, the three dealt with the Radiant Light Sect members and gathered their artifacts and treasures.
“It’s more work than I thought.”
The fighting wasn’t the problem. Collecting the captured bandits and retrieving their devices and treasures was too much for the three alone.
“Should’ve brought more puppets.”
Cho-su did use puppets to assist, but there weren’t enough.
Having faced the power of the True Immortals, Cho-su had reduced their number in favor of raising their quality, so there weren’t many.
“Monkey, lend a hand. Can’t you make clones or something?”
“No use wasting myself on small fry.”
The Wind-Passing Great Sage simply lay on the deck, gazing at the sky. He kept his promise not to fight weaklings.
Despite the inconvenience, the party moved on, and with Cho-su’s device, they struck the Radiant Light Sect’s ships two more times.
They dealt with them without much difficulty, gathering their spoils.
Maeng Ye-ju’s communication artifact rang.
【We are under attack by the Baekmu Society! We need support!】
It was a message from the Beast King Sect, under attack by the Baekmu Society. The party moved at once to aid them.
They swiftly arrived, crossing space, at a massive Floating Island. At its edge lay five crashed ships.
At a glance, they were clearly Radiant Light Sect vessels.
Beside the wrecks stood around thirty beastkin, and near them were martial artists dressed in various garbs.
“Those damned Baekmu lunatics.”
Upon confirming their identity, Maeng Ye-ju gnashed her teeth.
Ever since the Central Heavens Martial Realm had fallen into chaos, Baekmu Society warriors had been picking fights everywhere. To them, there was no distinction between friend or foe. Only battles mattered.
At times, they helped the Beast King Sect, but more often than not, they hindered them.
Maeng Ye-ju, having clashed with the Baekmu Society multiple times, felt her irritation spike the moment she saw them.
The martial artists in varied garbs bore the character “투귀 (Fighting Ghost)” engraved on their shoulders or over their left chest.
Upon noticing that, Maeng Ye-ju’s face twisted even more.
“Baekmu Society’s Fighting Ghost Unit. The most troublesome of the lot. They’re the most deeply steeped in madness, even among the battle-crazed.”
The Baekmu Society.
A sect where people of all walks of life gathered, regardless of creed, martial art, or origin, united only by their pursuit of strength.
Because it was the most diverse and free, many sub-groups existed within the Baekmu Society: the Bare-Fisted Society, White Spear Gate, Celestial Blade Association, Ten Thousand Swords Hall—and the Fighting Ghost Unit was one of them.
Fighting Ghosts. As their name implied, they were the most belligerent, always seeking battles.
Even within the Baekmu Society, they were the most insane.
They were the Baekmu Society’s Fighting Ghost Unit.
‘Battle-crazed, you say?’
Hearing Maeng Ye-ju’s explanation, Jang Woo-hyun had a thought.
“Senior Maeng, think we could use them?”
“Who? The Fighting Ghost Unit? How could anyone control those lunatics? They’re battle-crazed, completely unmanageable—”
She had intended to say they couldn’t be controlled, but stopped mid-sentence.
Her gaze turned.
To the white monkey demon lying on the floor.
‘Compared to that one, maybe they’d be easy.’
They were already traveling with a battle-mad demon.
No matter how crazy the Fighting Ghost Unit was, they couldn’t compare to the Wind-Passing Great Sage.
The thought, ‘Maybe it’s possible,’ filled Maeng Ye-ju’s mind.
While she was still wavering, new prey caught the Fighting Ghost Unit’s eye, and their warriors mounted flying apparatuses to approach.
Before they could arrive, a chained sickle cut through the air, targeting the giant’s ship the party rode upon. Jang Woo-hyun stepped forward to block it.
Boom—!
A heavy force ran through his arm.
His expression hardened. The power behind the chain sickle was stronger than expected.
It was a strike in place of a greeting, but there was no further attack.
The grotesquely oversized chain sickle, stretching dozens of jang, was quickly reeled back.
Its wielder was a middle-aged man with a square face, beside whom stood a black-furred rat beastkin.
The two stood at the forefront, seemingly representing the Baekmu Society’s Fighting Ghost Unit.
‘Both strong.’
Jang Woo-hyun habitually gauged them and reached his conclusion.
The middle-aged man and the rat beastkin—both were masters of the Realm of Immeasurability.
Just as he assessed them, they too were sizing up Jang Woo-hyun. But suddenly, a startling presence appeared, and their brows shot up.
“Uheheheheh.”
Laughter came from behind.
Jang Woo-hyun didn’t need to look back to know who it was, nor why the two across from him were surprised.
The Wind-Passing Great Sage, who hadn’t lifted a finger against the Radiant Light Sect, had now risen, recognizing worthy opponents.
At the sudden appearance of the Wind-Passing Great Sage, an uproar broke out among the Baekmu Society. Such was the normal reaction upon encountering a Great Demon of the Demonic Spirit Realm.
“Monkey, the chain sickle on the left.”
“Wahahahaha!”
At Jang Woo-hyun’s offhand command, the Wind-Passing Great Sage laughed loudly and leapt forward.
In an instant, he struck at the middle-aged man wielding the chain sickle, and the two flew hundreds of jang in a blink, smashing through the Floating Island’s mountain ranges.
“Isn’t that Fierce-Fisted Hero?”
“And beside him, the Azure Crimson Sword Ghost.”
“Why is the Wind-Passing Great Sage with them?”
“Must’ve been summoned by some sorcerer. But who is that man?”
Even as their comrades flew off, the Fighting Ghost Unit warriors hardly cared, conversing instead.
“That one is the strongest.”
The rat beastkin, arms folded, jerked his chin toward Jang Woo-hyun, and the murmuring grew louder. After muttering among themselves, the Fighting Ghost Unit warriors split into three groups and lined up.
‘What are they doing?’
After a moment, Jang Woo-hyun realized their intent.
The Baekmu Society warriors were lining up for one-on-one matches against Maeng Ye-ju, Jin Ha-un, and himself.
Single combat.
This was the Fighting Ghost Unit’s way.
‘They’re no different from the monkey.’
Simple and straightforward. Jang Woo-hyun looked over the warriors, then took a step forward.
“Come all at once. You’re wasting my time.”
“Well, you must be confident in your skill.”
A man wielding a short spear stepped onto the air, approaching first.
“Greetings. I am of the Baekmu Society’s Fighting Ghost Unit—”
“Save it. I don’t remember weaklings’ names.”
The man’s face twisted at Jang Woo-hyun’s words, and he flicked up the shaft of his spear from his shoulder.
“Then let’s see your skill.”
Without warning, he thrust.
It was fast—ignoring rhythm altogether.
The short spear shot forward while closing distance, a thrust not easy to evade even within the Realm of Transcendence.
Formidable skill—but the opponent was wrong.
Jang Woo-hyun tilted slightly, avoiding the strike at his throat, and closed in.
He needed no special martial art, no technique.
He simply dodged and threw a punch.
Bang!
The resulting sound couldn’t have come from a fist striking flesh. The man was blown back.
Had another warrior not caught him, he would’ve been flung into the Floating Island’s mountains.
One strike. The Fighting Ghost Unit warrior failed to react and lost consciousness in a single blow. Everyone’s eyes widened at Jang Woo-hyun’s overwhelming strength.
Even the rat beastkin, who had seemed composed, unfolded his arms and furrowed his brow. Not even his trained eye could fully gauge Jang Woo-hyun’s power.
‘What kind of monster is this?’