novelraw Chapter 203 : Quick Resolution (2)
Chapter 203 : Quick Resolution (2)
Chapter 203: Quick Resolution (2)
Four days after Jang Woo-hyun and Cho-su left the Main Division of the Five Elements Cult.
The Floating Stronghold of the Annihilation Squad, now clearly confirmed to be named Roaring Thunder Fortress, began to move.
At its sudden movement, Im Gwan-hwa had no choice but to board Roaring Thunder Fortress. It was strange for it to move without the leader of the Annihilation Squad, Jang Woo-hyun.
“What’s going on?”
“Just training. Training among ourselves.”
Seo Ryeom spoke as if it were nothing, but no matter how she looked at it, it was suspicious.
She couldn’t just sit back and watch the Annihilation Squad roam freely within the territory of the Five Elements Cult, so Im Gwan-hwa moved along while on Roaring Thunder Fortress.
And it wasn’t long before she learned the real reason why Roaring Thunder Fortress was moving.
Roaring Thunder Fortress suddenly soared into the sky and flew above a city using spatial leap.
As soon as they arrived and grasped the situation, the Annihilation Squad chattered among themselves and leapt down.
What followed was absolute chaos.
Mak Ya-wol suddenly swung his chain sickle at allies who were fighting enemies, and after babbling among themselves, they started fighting each other.
‘And they call this cleaning up?’
Despite the complete lack of order, they miraculously subdued the surrounding enemies while brawling among themselves.
In less than half a si-jin, the martial artists of the Annihilation Squad had razed a manor and its surroundings, capturing several martial artists alive.
The local sect guarding the city rushed over in response to the sudden appearance of the Floating Stronghold and ensuing battle, but halted when they saw Im Gwan-hwa.
Though this was an outer region, it was still under the influence of the Five Elements Cult.
‘Good thing I came along.’
Had Im Gwan-hwa not been present, the local sect would’ve been swept away by the Annihilation Squad. Just like that manor, which now only had ruins left behind.
Im Gwan-hwa surveyed the devastation. Her gaze moved past Mak Ya-wol, Seo Ryeom, and the Annihilation Squad’s martial artists, turning toward Roaring Thunder Fortress, floating in the sky.
A group completely different from the Five Elements Cult to which she belonged.
For a massive organization, even a single movement was difficult. The bigger the group, the more factions within, the more conflicting interests, and the more factors to consider.
It was only natural that the larger the group, the slower it moved.
‘But not these people.’
The Annihilation Squad was a small elite force. They didn’t bother with various considerations and had no internal factions.
Once a goal was set, they simply charged forward to fight.
A simple and clear group.
But their power was anything but simple.
‘It's excessive.’
They were few in number, but each member stood out.
The Great Monster Wind-Passing Great Sage. The top-level spellcaster Antlered White Mask of the Radiant Light Sect.
Mak Ya-wol and Seo Ryeom, who made names for themselves in the Fighting Ghost Unit of the Baekmu Society.
The Annihilation Squad’s leader, Jang Woo-hyun, and the Machinist Cho-su from the Nation of Mechanical Marvels.
Even martial artists from the Fighting Ghost Unit like Maeng Ye-ju and Jin Ha-un.
It was far too much to merely call them a small elite force.
On top of that, there was also Roaring Thunder Fortress—an unbelievable construct.
‘Was something like that even possible?’
Roaring Thunder Fortress had traversed great distances on its own, without using teleportation formations or Geonmok.
Even Im Gwan-hwa, the second-in-command of the massive Five Elements Cult, had never seen such technology.
Although the giants of the Land of Giants used ships, and some other sects possessed Dharma Treasures that crossed space, none had a stronghold of this size.
‘If it were possible, the Twin-Winged Lotus would’ve built one first.’
Even the Twin-Winged Lotus, whose base was a Floating Stronghold, did not possess something like Roaring Thunder Fortress.
Though she didn’t know for sure, even the famed artisans of the Nation of Mechanical Marvels likely couldn’t produce such a creation easily.
Im Gwan-hwa’s gaze turned toward the creator of Roaring Thunder Fortress.
‘Cho-su.’
The Machinist traveling with Jang Woo-hyun.
It was a name she had never heard before.
Machinists, known for their mysterious techniques, never casually created Dharma Treasures or tools for others.
Yet Cho-su, for some reason, accompanied and aided Jang Woo-hyun.
‘He’s no ordinary Machinist.’
Though his name was unknown, Cho-su was likely one of the top experts even within the Nation of Mechanical Marvels. Otherwise, Roaring Thunder Fortress’s capabilities made no sense.
And Roaring Thunder Fortress probably wasn’t limited to just spatial movement.
Even now, Cho-su was continuously creating something.
‘And it’s not just him.’
Im Gwan-hwa’s gaze shifted from Cho-su to Maeng Ye-ju.
One of the six successors of the Beast King Sect, known as the Fierce-Fisted Heroine.
Her involvement implied a connection between the Annihilation Squad and the Beast King Sect.
And now, the Five Elements Cult, too, had formed a tie with the Annihilation Squad. To be precise, the Five Elements Cult was indebted to Jang Woo-hyun.
‘It’s too much.’
The power this small elite group wielded was dangerously overwhelming.
Unless it was the Six Heavens, the Ten Thrones, or hidden masters of equal stature, stopping the Annihilation Squad would be near impossible. That went for the Ten Sects and Three Clans as well.
The power and influence of the Annihilation Squad were enough to shake the vast Central Heavens Martial Realm.
And all that power was concentrated in one man—Jang Woo-hyun. Without him, the Annihilation Squad wouldn’t even exist.
The Great Monster, the Baekmu Society’s Fighting Ghost Unit, the Machinist Cho-su, the Beast King Sect, and the Five Elements Cult—all were connected by the focal point of Jang Woo-hyun.
‘Has there ever been someone like him?’
There had never been a martial artist who began making a name for himself so recently and yet had already achieved an influence comparable to the sect leaders of the Ten Sects and Three Clans.
“Protector Wu, what’s got you so deep in thought?”
Seo Ryeom approached the pensive Im Gwan-hwa.
“I had a lot on my mind. What exactly happened here?”
As she hadn’t been properly briefed and had suddenly undergone spatial movement, Im Gwan-hwa had no idea what was going on.
“According to Brother Cho, the Captain seems to have caught a tail. He’s gone to track them down. Once he returns, we’ll know more.”
“Who did he go after?”
“He turned into lightning and flew off. Brother Cho couldn’t see clearly.”
“Lightning?”
Im Gwan-hwa widened her eyes at the word, and Seo Ryeom nodded vigorously.
“It seems he finally found those connected to that traitor.”
“Oh? It’s the Captain.”
At the shout from a nearby Annihilation Squad member, Seo Ryeom and Im Gwan-hwa stopped their conversation and looked up.
As he said, Jang Woo-hyun and Wind-Passing Great Sage were flying in from beyond the sky.
In Wind-Passing Great Sage’s hand was a fainted woman, drooling with both arms ripped out. A ring of wind bound her body, acting as a form of shackles.
The one Jang Woo-hyun brought had blades lodged all over his body. Lacking a proper method of restraint, Jang Woo-hyun had used Dragon King's Scale to bind him.
As the two approached, Seo Ryeom subtly tried to slip away.
“I already know everything. There’s no way Cho-su wouldn’t have told me.”
Thanks to Cho-su’s prior notice, Jang Woo-hyun had known the Annihilation Squad would be arriving.
At first, he had intended to scold Seo Ryeom for acting behind his back—
But thanks to Wind-Passing Great Sage who came looking for him, he managed to capture both of Ha Do-gwang’s subordinates, and so his anger subsided. In the end, the Annihilation Squad’s pursuit turned out to be helpful.
“Ahaha, I see.”
Seo Ryeom let out an awkward laugh and stopped moving.
“What brings you here, Protector Wu?”
Even at Jang Woo-hyun’s question, Im Gwan-hwa did not respond. Her gaze was fixed on the two people brought back by Jang Woo-hyun and Wind-Passing Great Sage.
“Won Gong, Neung So-yeon.”
From the moment she saw them, her expression turned cold.
Even if they had become enemies, it was unpleasant to see once-promising disciples bound and with broken bodies.
“You know them?”
Im Gwan-hwa gave a slight nod.
“They were once among the most promising in the cult. They’ve followed Ha Do-gwang since long ago.”
They had once been disciples cherished by Im Gwan-hwa herself.
“We’re the ones who caught them. We don’t intend to hand them over.”
“...Understood.”
Im Gwan-hwa didn’t object to Wind-Passing Great Sage’s words.
Jang Woo-hyun set the man he had brought down onto the ground and looked around.
“But why does it look like this here?”
With the martial prowess of the Annihilation Squad, subduing enemies shouldn’t have been difficult. But the surroundings were completely devastated. All that remained were the ruins of buildings and shattered corpses.
“The former Captain did it.”
“That’s right, Captain. We tried to stop him, but the former Captain, drunk on past glory, went on a rampage.”
The martial artists nearby tattled on Mak Ya-wol to Jang Woo-hyun.
As Jang Woo-hyun turned his gaze to him, Mak Ya-wol stood tall without shrinking, puffing his chest with pride.
“I knew what I was doing. Don’t worry. I only targeted the areas with martial artists.”
He hadn’t acted thoughtlessly. He remembered what Jang Woo-hyun had said.
Mak Ya-wol had expanded his qi perception and surveyed the surroundings before swinging his chain sickle. The members of the Annihilation Squad had roughly picked up on that too. They were just teasing him.
“What? That was for real?”
“You didn’t know? He was purposely aiming for areas without people.”
“I thought he was just attacking mindlessly as usual.”
“Brother, I thought the same.”
Of course, some martial artists genuinely criticized him rather than joke. Mak Ya-wol mentally took note of such people.
“Did you not see the fat man who owns this manor?”
The martial artists nearby all looked at Jang Woo-hyun with faces asking what he was talking about.
Seeing their reaction, Jang Woo-hyun sighed. That question had been asking too much of them.
“Where are Ha-un and Senior Maeng?”
Jang Woo-hyun sought the only hope amidst despair.
And fortunately, they responded to his hope.
“Brother!”
Jin Ha-un and Maeng Ye-ju flew in on Dharma Treasures.
Beneath their Dharma Treasures, people were tied up.
While the Annihilation Squad ran wild, the two of them had secured the area and captured those trying to escape. Among them was the fat man who had invited Jang Woo-hyun and Cho-su here.
“P-please spare me! I have sinned gravely!”
The fat man fell to his knees and begged desperately. Judging by his wounds, Maeng Ye-ju had already questioned him on a few things before arriving.
“I’ll tell you everything! Anything you want! Just show mercy. Please show me mercy!”
Though the fat man wailed and clung to them, Im Gwan-hwa personally stepped forward and cut off his right arm. After roughly stopping the bleeding, the Annihilation Squad’s martial artists bound him and took him away.
“What now?”
“Now we talk to those two.”
Jang Woo-hyun pointed to the two people he had captured.
“It won’t be easy. Their loyalty to Ha Do-gwang will be fanatical. I think it’d be better for us to handle it.”
“No, it’s fine. Even if they’re deeply loyal, we have plenty of ways.”
The Annihilation Squad didn’t only consist of martial artists.
There were monsters, top-level spellcasters from the Central Heavens Martial Realm, and even a Machinist from the Nation of Mechanical Marvels.
There were countless ways to make them talk—Jang Woo-hyun had confidence.
Just as Jang Woo-hyun had confidently said, the Annihilation Squad successfully extracted meaningful information from Ha Do-gwang’s subordinates.
With the help of Antlered White Mask, Seo Ryeom extracted everything during his turn.
His face, standing there proudly, looked particularly sinister today—and not just because he was a Rat Beastkin.
“They’re called the Ten Golden Thunders.”
Seo Ryeom began the story, starting with the identities of the two captives.
“If they’re called the Ten Golden Thunders and we’ve captured two… there are still eight left?”
“That’s right. And just like Protector Wu mentioned, Won Gong and Neung So-yeon didn’t originally handle thunder energy. Apparently, they received some unknown great art, and like Ha Do-gwang, gained the ability to wield thunder qi.”
The execution of that great art required a large amount of thunder qi, which was substituted using spiritual herbs or spiritual medicine imbued with thunder qi.
That was why Ha Do-gwang’s subordinates were going around acquiring thunder qi-infused spiritual herbs and medicines.
“What else?”
“We investigated the Sea Star Thunder Spirit Serpent the Great Sage mentioned. He was spot on. Ha Do-gwang obtained a Dharma Treasure of the Thunder God and had hidden it, then used it on the day the Five Wheel Guardian Spirit was stabilized.”
The full story behind how Ha Do-gwang managed to attack the Cult Leader with strength beyond his usual limits was finally revealed.
“The ones we captured—their powers are also connected to the Thunder God, right?”
“In that regard, the two of them knew nothing. It seems the only ones who know everything are Left Protector Ha Do-gwang and the Five Elements Envoy who betrayed the Five Elements Cult alongside him.”
It wasn’t confirmed, but Jang Woo-hyun and Wind-Passing Great Sage felt the energy of the Thunder God from the two captives, and believed that their method of empowerment was connected to the Thunder God.
‘Just like the Twin-Winged Lotus.’
A method of raising one’s level by acquiring the power of a martial god from the Upper Realm.
It was similar to how the Twin-Winged Lotus sacrificed Beastkin.
“And most importantly…”
Seo Ryeom paused to draw everyone’s attention. Unlike usual, he was being unusually serious.
“Ha Do-gwang’s location.”
Seo Ryeom turned around and began writing something on a Dharma Treasure designed for writing.
Tak.
After finishing, he pointed to the letters he had written.
“Golden Frog Island (金蛙島). This is the place where Ha Do-gwang, the traitor of the Five Elements Cult, is currently hiding. He’s not expected to move from there for a while, so we must strike immediately!”
Like a soldier reporting to a general, Seo Ryeom was speaking with full strength.