novelraw Chapter 182 : Attack (2)
Chapter 182 : Attack (2)
Chapter 182: Attack (2)
Tongpung Daeseong and Mak Ya-wol bickered as they moved like machines. Each time the two of them swung their hands, the bodies of martial artists nearby were severed.
It hadn’t even been long, yet all the martial artists blocking their way were already dead.
“You two seem to get along quite well. Huh?”
Seo Ryeom chuckled as he spoke, then turned his head to the side.
The two who had been arguing also shifted their gaze in the same direction.
“So, you were there?”
Tongpung Daeseong smiled and, once again, was the first to move.
Kwaang!
With an explosive sound, the wall of the Floating Stronghold crumbled into powder, and Tongpung Daeseong pushed through, shattering everything that blocked his path.
Jang Woo-hyun, Seo Ryeom, and Mak Ya-wol leisurely followed behind him.
Before long, they arrived at a massive space that could well have been the training ground of a great sect.
Gathered to one side were over fifty martial artists.
Behind them, seated atop a high platform, was a man dressed in extravagant clothing.
Upon meeting his gaze, Tongpung Daeseong’s mouth stretched wide.
“Finally, someone decent. Since I came first this time, no complaints, right?”
“How can you say that? Since we came together, we should decide the order.”
“Hey, Chain. Are you changing your words? That’s not what you said just now.”
Even with dozens of enemies before them, not a trace of tension could be felt in their voices.
Bi Ik-ryeonju, seated atop the high platform, frowned deeply when Jang Woo-hyun’s group suddenly appeared after smashing through the wall.
‘So it was them?’
Amid the Suwangmun’s assault led by Great Elder Dan Hong, strange reports had begun to come in.
“It’s Fierce-Fisted Heroine!”
“It’s the Baekmu Society! Baekmu Society’s Fighting Ghost Unit is attacking us!”
“A monster! A white monkey monster! Guaaaah!”
A mysterious group whose identity could not be pinned down.
Some said it was the Suwangmun, others claimed it was the Baekmu Society. Some insisted they had no idea, while still others cried of a great monster.
Suddenly appearing, they struck swiftly, smashing through Bi Ik-ryeon’s forces with some unknown method.
And today.
They stood before Bi Ik-ryeonju even ahead of Suwangmun’s Dan Hong.
‘So that’s why the reports were so inconsistent.’
Seeing them himself, he understood why his subordinates had spoken that way.
The great monster Tongpung Daeseong, the two who led the Baekmu Society’s Fighting Ghost Unit, and an unfamiliar man. Four people whose combination was utterly mismatched, yet they had come together.
‘Bastards.’
The intruders, standing before none other than Bi Ik-ryeonju, one of the world’s great figures, weren’t even tense. Instead, they bickered over who would get to fight.
Crrrk.
Yet even as he ground his teeth, Bi Ik-ryeonju did not attack. He needed time.
Since the Suwangmun attack began, he had made his own preparations. He had gathered his scattered forces into one place and sought the aid of their ally, the Ascension Cult.
The four before him likely didn’t know, but right now, Ascension Cult monks were preparing elsewhere within the Floating Stronghold.
It had originally been a countermeasure against Suwangmun, but now, to deal with these four, he would have to use everything.
‘These are not easy foes.’
Even facing just one of them, the outcome would be uncertain. Yet there were four of them here.
Bi Ik-ryeonju’s gaze shifted to his subordinates guarding the platform. They were carefully nurtured, hand-picked among the strong, yet still hopelessly inadequate against these intruders.
What’s more, the sounds of battle and destruction still echoed throughout the Floating Stronghold. These four were not the only ones.
“Then, shouldn’t I have fought last time too, since I attacked first?”
“That was different. That time, it didn’t matter who went first. But this time, I came ahead.”
Tongpung Daeseong and Mak Ya-wol spoke as though they were casually conversing at an inn.
Though Bi Ik-ryeonju detested the sight, he did not recklessly step in. His task now was to stall for time.
“Then wait a moment.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Tongpung Daeseong vanished.
“Kuaaaah!”
A sudden scream rang out.
Tongpung Daeseong had torn off one of Bi Ik-ryeon’s martial artists’ arms while snatching his spear.
“Uugh…”
Even at the sight of their comrade writhing in agony, the Bi Ik-ryeon martial artists dared not charge.
Not only had their lord given no command, but they had already faintly grasped the immense power of the four before them.
‘If we rush in, we’ll die.’
Each one of them seemed as formidable as Bi Ik-ryeonju himself. Their current numbers stood no chance.
It would likely take Bi Ik-ryeonju along with the leaders of all Twelve Strongholds to contend with them.
Ignoring the nervous subordinates, Tongpung Daeseong broke the stolen spear into four pieces. Then he bundled them together and held the ends in his hand.
He extended the bundle of broken spear shafts.
“Whoever draws the longest piece gets to fight. No complaints, right?”
“…Are you joking with me?”
“Watch your mouth, bastard. I’ll take whatever’s left, so hurry and pick.”
“I’m fine with that.”
Unlike Mak Ya-wol who hesitated, Seo Ryeom boldly stepped forward and drew one of the broken spear shafts.
“This will do. Now everyone else, draw one too.”
“Woo-hyun, you pick one as well.”
When Tongpung Daeseong stretched out his hand, Jang Woo-hyun pushed it away.
“I’m fine. You guys do as you like.”
Glancing around, Jang Woo-hyun began walking toward something.
“Captain? Where are you going?”
Seo Ryeom called out, but Jang Woo-hyun didn’t answer. He moved as though he had seen something—or was searching for something.
Watching his retreating back, Tongpung Daeseong shoved the bundle of spear shafts into Seo Ryeom’s hands.
“You guys handle this.”
“You’re not fighting? Then I’ll take on Bi Ik-ryeonju…”
The gleam in his eyes and the grin tugging at his lips—Tongpung Daeseong looked genuinely delighted, and Mak Ya-wol sensed it too.
“…Fine, I’ll go with you then.”
“What the—whatever it is, I’ll go too.”
As Seo Ryeom was about to move, Tongpung Daeseong grabbed his shoulder. Mak Ya-wol seized his arm from the other side.
“You stay here.”
“Yeah, you stay.”
“Why? What’s going on? What are you two doing?”
“To face that one, someone has to stay.”
Mak Ya-wol jerked his chin toward Bi Ik-ryeonju, still seated on the platform.
“And you already drew yours.”
“Daeseong, what are you talking about? Nothing’s even been decided yet.”
Seo Ryeom shook his head strongly, refusing, but beside him Mak Ya-wol egged him on, saying, “You’re the one who should stay.”
“Then let’s all draw. We’ll decide it that way. Whoever draws the longest stays, and the rest follow the captain.”
As Seo Ryeom suggested, Tongpung Daeseong snatched the three broken spear shafts from his hands.
Then he clenched his grip. With a cracking sound, the broken shafts crumbled into dust.
“Now it’s settled. You drew the longest one.”
“…Wait, this is a bit…”
“Oh, a winner. Congratulations, Ryeom.”
While the two forced the matter onto him, Jin Ha-un and Maeng Ye-ju entered the hall through the hole Tongpung Daeseong had smashed open. Almost at the same time, one of the entrances collapsed, and eight members of the Fighting Ghost Unit rushed inside.
“The kids are here too. Ryeom, we’re counting on you. Daeseong, let’s go.”
“Rat, take care of it. Teach that bastard a lesson.”
Leaving everything to Seo Ryeom, Tongpung Daeseong and Mak Ya-wol hurried after Jang Woo-hyun.
Seeing the three move away when enemies still stood before them, one of the Fighting Ghost Unit martial artists approached Seo Ryeom, bewildered.
“Vice Captain, what’s going on?”
“Haah, I don’t know either.”
With a scowl, Seo Ryeom drew three short swords. He held two in his hands, and one with his long tail.
When he turned his head, he saw Bi Ik-ryeonju, face flushed red. He had endured, but being blatantly ignored, he could no longer hold back his rage.
“Ah, looks like I’ll be stuck fighting the boring one.”
Seo Ryeom let out a long sigh. At last, Bi Ik-ryeonju shattered his chair and leapt forward, unable to restrain himself.
“So what’s going on?”
As they walked, Mak Ya-wol asked Tongpung Daeseong.
“I don’t know. But it looks like that guy found something we don’t know about.”
Jang Woo-hyun walked ahead, paying no mind to the words behind him.
The faint aura he had felt earlier was now growing stronger.
‘It’s here.’
Samcheon Gwang-eun Bohwa Cheonjon. The power of a True Immortal.
This was the third time already, so Jang Woo-hyun could sense the presence of a True Immortal’s power more keenly than anyone.
Whether another giant hand would descend, or whether it would be like the monk last time borrowing its strength, he didn’t know. What was certain was that somewhere here, that power was being drawn.
Following the aura, Jang Woo-hyun smashed through the walls of the Floating Stronghold.
After passing through wide corridors and two storerooms, he arrived in a chamber as vast as the one where Bi Ik-ryeonju had been.
Silver-lit spell formations covered the floor, ceiling, and walls. At the center stood a massive altar.
And atop the altar.
A monk sat cross-legged.
Not knowing what trick he might attempt, Jang Woo-hyun drew Mukya the instant he saw him, ready to strike.
But the opponent was faster.
The monk’s eyes opened, unleashing a flood of golden light, as though orbs of gold had been set in his sockets.
“Khk…”
The moment their eyes met, Jang Woo-hyun and Mak Ya-wol nearly collapsed to their knees.
It wasn’t a difference in skill or strength that caused it.
It was the crushing weight of disparity in realm.
Unlike the monk they had encountered before, this one bore the full fragment of the True Immortal’s power.
His golden gaze swept across the three of them.
【Weren’t you the beasts of Suwangmun?】
Uuuung—
Even simple words carried power. With just a single sentence, the Floating Stronghold trembled.
The monk’s gaze fixed on Jang Woo-hyun.
【Are you the adversary? Foolish creature, how dare a mere insect bare its fangs at a god?】
“The Ascension Cult, then?”
Gathering his aura, Jang Woo-hyun asked. But the monk did not answer. His gaze turned next to Tongpung Daeseong.
【Great monster of the Demonic Spirit Realm. Do you mean to break the pact?】
“What pact? I only obey the sorcerer who summoned me.”
He had nothing to do with any pact. He hadn’t come of his own will, but was summoned by a sorcerer, and by chance became entangled in the fight against Bi Ik-ryeon.
It was a near-loophole, but he had not broken the pact forbidding entanglement with beings of the Upper Realm.
【So the monster used its wits.】
The monk chuckled faintly, then unfolded his legs and stood.
That alone made invisible force crush down from all sides.
【Yeogongbaek. Remember it, for it is the name that will claim your tomorrow.】
His lofty tone was soon followed by crude insult.
“Hey, bastard! You should at least ask me something too!”
Mak Ya-wol shouted, enraged.
There were three of them, but he had spoken only to two.
Feeling ignored, his excitement at witnessing the True Immortal’s power instantly soured.
At Mak Ya-wol’s outburst, Yeogongbaek finally turned his gaze toward him.
【Do you also speak to worms?】
“What? You bastard…”
Before the furious Mak Ya-wol could move, Yeogongbaek stepped forward.
Kuuuuung.
Once more, invisible force pressed down on all three of them.
It was but a fragment of True Immortal power, yet even that was immense.
As his foot fell, countless silver hands manifested, wrapping around his body.
Moments later.
Yeogongbaek stood clad in silver armor.
Radiant in silver armor and golden gaze, he seemed the embodiment of a celestial being.
Kugugugu—
The moment he donned the armor, his aura transformed completely. Simply standing there, his spreading power cracked the floor and collapsed the walls.
【Today, your—】
Kwaduduk!
The overwhelming presence and crushing might were cut short before his words could end.
“Uwahahahaha!”
Tongpung Daeseong had already leapt forward, clawing for Yeogongbaek’s throat. Part of the silver armor tore away, and for the first time, Yeogongbaek’s brow furrowed.
“Uwahahahaha! Excellent! Splendid!”
Tongpung Daeseong roared with wild laughter as he charged.