novelraw Chapter 110 : Chapter 110
Chapter 110 : Chapter 110
Chapter 110 Secret Scheme (3)
‘At least fifty, no, more.’
The Demonic Energy that felt only faint at first began to become increasingly clear.
Three people who emitted massive energy and dozens of personnel with high-level Demonic Energy, though not as much as them, were moving at a fast speed toward somewhere.
‘The Demonic Cult!’
Having felt the energy properly, it was certain.
Judging by the direction of movement, they were clearly martial artists of the Demonic Cult heading toward the grotto.
Jaun hid his body behind a large rock and began to examine the energy by concentrating his mind.
‘Three martial artists of the Pavilion Lord level.’
It was one more person than the Alliance Leader had predicted.
Since the Seven Demons manage five pavilions each, more than one-tenth of the thirty-five Pavilion Lords in the Demonic Cult, including the Tyrant Blade Pavilion Lord, was currently deployed here.
It was evidence that even the Demonic Cult thought of the current situation as serious.
‘……What to do.’
Since the number of personnel was more than expected, it seemed better to wait and watch for a while.
‘There’s no need to overdo it. For now, let’s follow them from behind until they get as close to the grotto as possible.’
While Jaun was tracking the presence of the Demonic Cult members while organizing his thoughts, the Demonic Cult members who were shooting toward the grotto stopped on the spot.
‘Eh?’
Then the energy of the Demonic Cult members, who had momentarily stopped on the spot, began to approach the place where Jaun was all at once at a fast speed.
Jaun stopped thinking and held his breath while keeping his body lowered.
‘Ah! The corpse of the sweet merchant!’
With a sense of regret, Jaun frowned.
As the distance narrowed, it seemed one of the Pavilion Lords felt the Demonic Energy remaining in the sweet merchant’s body.
Since they felt Demonic Energy in an unexpected place, it was natural for them to investigate.
Jaun began to erase his presence while holding his breath as much as possible.
─ PATTER PATTER
The footsteps of the Demonic Cult members who were approaching closely stopped.
“What. It was a corpse. Isn't this fellow part of the Information Pavilion?”
“That’s right. Tsk. He had been hiding well all this while, but it seems he eventually got caught.”
“But why is this fellow’s corpse in a place like this?”
“Isn’t it that he was caught around here while escaping from the Sado Alliance?”
The Demonic Cult members who were examining the corpse here and there tilted their heads.
“At least two Sijin have passed since he died. However, Demonic Energy remains too thickly around the body. This cannot be seen as anything other than someone having spread it artificially.”
“Someone spread Demonic Energy on purpose? With what intention……?”
The voices of the Demonic Cult members, which had continued for a while, cut off abruptly.
Judging by the vibration of the surrounding energy waves, it seemed they were sharing opinions via telepathic messages.
Jaun, who cautiously raised his energy, created a thin energy barrier around his body so that sound could not leak to the surroundings.
“……It’s suspicious somehow. Search the surroundings thoroughly.”
“Yes!”
The Demonic Cult members looked back at each other and nodded, then began to spread out in all directions.
Since he hadn't erased his traces at all, if the Demonic Cult members investigated properly, they would find his traces in no time.
‘If that happens…… do I have to handle them alone.’
“Pavilion Lord! There are footprints here.”
Not long after, someone’s loud shout was heard.
He felt the Demonic Cult members run in a crowd toward the side where the sound came from.
Listening to their voices, Jaun slowly brought his hand toward his sword.
‘Even if I end up facing them alone, it seems better to lure them toward the grotto as much as possible in preparation for a potential situation.’
Jaun took out a flare from his robe and quietly held it in his mouth.
─ THUMP-THUMP
─ THUD-THUD
Along with Jaun’s heartbeat, the footsteps of the Demonic Cult members gradually got closer.
‘When they come within two steps, I’ll set off the flare and strike.’
Jaun, who had hardened his heart, began to slowly raise his energy.
“The traces cut off here.”
The Demonic Cult members stopped all at once about thirty steps ahead of the rock where Jaun was hiding.
Soon the sound of them rummaging through the ground was heard.
“These are traces that were just created. Someone was definitely here until just a moment ago.”
“Damn it. Did the Sado Alliance find out? If they are given time to prepare, things will become difficult.”
“The only way is to eliminate the fellow who left these traces before he reaches the Sado Alliance.”
“He must be hiding in a place not far away! If the fellow continued to move, there’s no way I would miss his energy. Search the surroundings thoroughly!”
At the Pavilion Lord’s command, the Demonic Cult members began to scatter their energy in all directions.
“Deploy the inescapable net of heaven and earth. The range is up to the vicinity of the summit of that mountain. Search every inch within it and eliminate every living thing discovered…… on the spot.”
“As you command!”
The Demonic Cult members, who received the Pavilion Lord’s command, began to scatter in all directions.
As one of the martial artists quickly approached the rock where he was hiding, Jaun gripped the handle of his sword tightly.
─ WHOOSH
The Demonic Cult member approaching the rock failed to discover Jaun who had hidden his body and jumped right over the rock.
Letting out a small sigh, Jaun slowly pushed the sword, which he had half drawn, back into its scabbard.
Jaun, who glanced at the back of the Demonic Cult member running forward, lowered his body a bit more.
‘If this goes on…… I might get trapped.’
The combat squad members of the Demonic Cult who had spread out to the surroundings began to take positions with a bit of distance between them.
There were about fifty combat squad members.
Since the number of personnel was not large compared to the range where the inescapable net of heaven and earth had to be deployed, they wouldn't be able to deploy a proper net, but even so, it was not at a level where Jaun could escape without being caught.
Jaun began to agonize while holding his breath.
“There are no traces!”
“Same here.”
The Demonic Cult members who took positions at regular intervals shouted respectively while scanning the surroundings.
The three Pavilion Lords, who confirmed that the combat squad members had completed a small inescapable net of heaven and earth like that, nodded.
This time, the Pavilion Lords began to move step by step while thoroughly scanning the inside of the net.
No one was heading toward the rock where Jaun was hiding yet, but if they scanned the surroundings in detail in this way, it was a matter of time before Jaun’s traces were additionally discovered.
‘Three Pavilion Lords and over fifty combat squad members.’
Feeling them from close by, the energy of the Pavilion Lords was more massive than expected, and the momentum of the combat squad members was fierce.
‘Since there’s no need to create a dangerous situation intentionally, let’s lure them toward the grotto first. It’s been a while since I played hide-and-seek…….’
Jaun slowly regulated his breathing and loosened his body.
While looking around with his body lowered as much as possible, Jaun began to wait for an opportunity while observing the positions of the demons.
The three Pavilion Lords were each heading in different directions.
Fortunately, no one was coming to the place where Jaun hid until now.
When the Pavilion Lords were at a certain distance while scanning the ground, Jaun, who confirmed the surroundings, gave a wide smile and reached for the flare he held in his mouth.
─ WHOOOOOOSH. BA-ANG!
Along with a massive noise, the flare was shot into the sky.
The flare that shot up with a bright light scattered red smoke in the dawn sky.
Simultaneously with shooting off the flare, Jaun ran forward. As Jaun, who raised his energy to the extreme, used the Demon Shadow Step, only blurry afterimages drifted in the empty air.
“Wh-what?”
The Demonic Cult member, who confirmed belatedly that something was approaching, raised his Demonic Energy.
However, Demonic Energy that was not properly controlled only became good prey for Jaun.
Jaun, who even absorbed the Demonic Cult member’s Demonic Energy, snatched the sword tied to the man’s waist as he passed by.
Whether it was the sword being snatched away or that sword cutting through his body.
The Demonic Cult member could not properly feel either.
The body of the Demonic Cult member, who was standing blankly, soon split into two pieces and collapsed.
“What? Which fellow set off a flare? I think that’s ours?”
“Is he crazy? Which birdbrained fellow would do that in a situation where even infiltrating quietly isn't enough……!”
One of the Demonic Cult members who were in confusion belatedly discovered the colleague fallen on the ground and shouted.
“It’s a sneak attack! It’s the enemy!”
“There! He’s moving that way!”
The martial artists of the Demonic Cult, who confirmed Jaun’s energy, began to run in pursuit of him.
The Pavilion Lords also turned their direction and ran toward where Jaun was in an instant.
‘Now then. Shall we begin?’
Jaun kicked off the ground and began to shoot toward the grotto.
“What? He’s using Demonic Energy?”
“Is he a renegade?”
The Pavilion Lords tilted their heads after confirming Jaun fleeing.
“Block him somehow even with your bodies!”
“Drive him to the right!”
The Demonic Cult members who were positioned in front of Jaun swarmed to catch him, but no one could catch Jaun’s form, which left only blurry afterimages.
Jaun, who broke through the encirclement in an instant, shot out through the dawn air.
“Damn it. We lost him!”
“He is a fellow whose martial prowess is more outstanding than expected. Everyone, chase with all your strength!”
Behind the receding Jaun, dozens of Demonic Cult members began to throw their bodies.
‘Huff. Huff.’
Jaun, who was running forward with dozens of Demonic Cult members in tow, regulated his breathing.
As a bit of time passed, the combat squad members of the Demonic Cult, who could not keep up with Jaun’s speed, gradually fell behind, and soon only the rough breathing sounds of the three Pavilion Lords and Jaun were echoing through the forest.
“Damn it. His lightfoot art is not ordinary? Just which organization does that fellow belong to?”
“Why isn't the distance decreasing?”
The Pavilion Lords chased Jaun with all their strength, but the distance from Jaun just wouldn't narrow.
Maintaining a precarious distance as if they were about to touch the Pavilion Lords, Jaun lured the three people in the direction where the grotto was located.
Passing over the mountain peak in an instant, the stone mountain standing tall far away began to be visible to his eyes.
‘I’m halfway there. Just a bit more like this.’
If he ran for about another half a Sijin at his current speed, it would be the stone mountain.
Jaun regulated his breathing and kicked the ground forcefully to pick up speed once more.
And at that moment, strong pain rose from the sole of his foot.
“Ugh?”
At the unexpected pain, Jaun’s body momentarily faltered.
He tried to pick up speed again while enduring the pain as much as possible, but in that short gap, the distance from the Pavilion Lords had narrowed significantly.
─ BOOM!
He felt the Pavilion Lords, who seized the opportunity to catch up, explode their energy.
‘At this level…… it’s dangerous. It’s a distance where sword energy can reach!’
Jaun hurriedly lowered his waist and rolled on the ground.
─ PAT
At the same time, sharp energy narrowly brushed past Jaun’s back.
─ BA-ANG!
The sword energy that brushed past Jaun’s back created a massive crater in the ground.
─ BA-ANG! BA-ANG!
The two sword energies that flew in succession also created craters in the path placed in front of Jaun.
Jaun, who rolled his body to the side out of necessity, pulled out something that was stuck in his foot.
‘Poisoned Caltrop?’
It was a chestnut-shaped hidden weapon with six sharp needles attached crosswise to each other.
Seeing that the tips were colored darkish, it seemed poison had been properly applied.
The fact that poison was applied meant someone had spread them with intention.
‘Why is this here?’
Since he had absorbed the Poison King’s energy into his body, he was not much worried about the poison itself, but he could not understand at all why such a hidden weapon was spread here.
However, there was no time to think long.
Jaun threw away the Poisoned Caltrop and drew the sword from his waist.
“Heh heh. You rat-like fellow. We finally caught you.”
A man spoke while wiping the sweat flowing on his forehead.
“A small fellow’s lightfoot art is quite something. It’s my first time seeing you fellow. Where did you learn demonic arts?”
─ CLANG!
All three people were martial artists who used swords.
Having surrounded Jaun in a circle, they pushed forward the swords they had drawn.
“Open your mouth. What is your identity fellow?”
The momentum of the Pavilion Lords surrounding him bound Jaun.
‘Well, it can't be helped now.’
Jaun expanded his energy sense, but there was no movement yet from the stone mountain.
‘It’s actually for the best. At times like this, it might be better not to have watching eyes.’
Jaun spun the sword in his hand and slowly raised his body.