novelraw Chapter 116 : Chapter 116
Chapter 116 : Chapter 116
Chapter 116 Secret Scheme (9)
Looking at Jaun, who was showing hostility at the mention of the Sado Alliance, with eyes full of pity, Mad Dragon exhaled a small sigh.
"……Calm down."
Mad Dragon, who gripped Jaun's arm tightly, lowered his head deeply.
"I am merely ashamed and sorry. I never…… imagined for a moment that the Alliance Leader would commit such a reckless act."
"Are you certain…… that you, Lord Mad Dragon, truly did not know?"
"Yes. If I had known, I would not have left her to play such a foolish trick. Tsk."
Mad Dragon scratched his head vigorously and looked back at Jaun.
"I am sorry. I should offer a proper apology, but right now there isn't even time for that. Please give me a moment."
Mad Dragon, who bowed his body once again, grabbed the Ice Rakshasa's wrist and began to push his own energy into her.
Mad Dragon, who had been closing his eyes and examining the Ice Rakshasa's body for a long time like that, exhaled a small sigh and opened his eyes.
"……Fortunately, I have some knowledge of medical arts; otherwise, it would have been a disaster."
Mad Dragon, with a much more haggard face, lifted his head and shouted toward the Grand Elder again.
"Where on earth is that Man-wol Squad Leader guy! Tell him to come here immediately, as we must send this child to the Sado Alliance as soon as possible!"
Jaun, who was staring fixedly at the Ice Rakshasa, opened his mouth.
"I just need to go to the Alliance Leader's Palace, right?"
Mad Dragon, who glanced at Jaun's body, shook his head from side to side.
"It is impossible with your body. Right now, this child must be moved as soon as possible. I will now pour all my energy into protecting this child's body. If that happens, it will be difficult for me even to move, let alone run, for the time being."
Mad Dragon, who bit his lip hard, continued his words.
"Still, the Man-wol Squad Leader guy is the best among those here when it comes to movement techniques alone, so it is best for him to take her."
"I can do it."
"You fellow! Do not show false bravado. If you collapse, this child dies along with you! A person who can move as quickly as possible……!"
In an instant, a massive demonic energy began to flow from Jaun's body.
Mad Dragon, whose breath hitched from the massive energy that made his hair stand on end, opened his eyes wide.
"……I can go faster. I will never let Miss Pan die, so please leave it to me."
"Y-you fellow."
Mad Dragon, who shuddered at the chilling energy flowing through Jaun's body, could not continue his words.
This was because there was no way such an amount of energy should remain.
Mad Dragon stared blankly at Jaun, who was pulling up his energy while burning his own life force.
Jaun threw off his upper garment and carefully lifted the Ice Rakshasa's body to carry her on his back.
Subsequently, after firmly fixing the Ice Rakshasa's body with his clothes, he rose from his spot.
"Stop! Halt. How can I trust you to send that child……!"
Thick demonic energy instantly wrapped around the body of the Grand Elder, who tried to block Jaun's way.
"……If you don't want to die, move."
It was a cold tone that felt as if it could cut flesh.
The Grand Elder, who looked into Jaun's eyes burning with dark red energy, swallowed hard and retreated hesitatingly.
"Wait."
Mad Dragon exhaled a sigh, rose, and took out one more wooden box from the Grand Elder's robes.
─ CLICK
Then, opening the wooden box and taking out the pill inside, Mad Dragon stuffed it into Jaun's mouth.
"Stop using your Innate Qi immediately. If you use your energy in such a way in your current physical state, you might never see that child wake up."
Mad Dragon, who looked over Jaun's body and pressed here and there, gripped Jaun's both arms and looked into his eyes.
"Do you truly…… intend to go yourself?"
"Yes."
"Even if something like what happened just now occurs again?"
"It doesn't matter. Right now, saving Miss Pan is the priority. Even if such a thing happens once more, I must go."
Looking into the eyes containing Jaun's firm will, Mad Dragon eventually nodded his head.
"If that is your will, trust me and run to the Sado Alliance. Once you depart, I will immediately send a letter to the Alliance Leader via a Special Express Carrier Pigeon used in emergencies. Containing the message that if even a single scratch appears on your body, I will destroy the Sado Alliance with my own hands."
Jaun looked straight into Mad Dragon's eyes.
Mad Dragon's gaze did not waver even a single bit.
A situation where the Ice Rakshasa's life was hanging by a thread.
In the end, Jaun had no choice but to trust Mad Dragon.
"Never overdo it. You fellow, if things go wrong, you'll die."
Confirming that there was no change in Jaun's expression even at the word death, Mad Dragon clicked his tongue.
Placing his hand on the Ice Rakshasa's back, Mad Dragon opened his mouth again.
"I will somehow keep this child's lifeline connected with my energy. So you too, save your energy as much as possible. Only then will you be able to take this child safely to the Sado Alliance."
Jaun swallowed the pill that Mad Dragon had put in his mouth.
The energy flowing from the pill spread to every corner of Jaun's body.
Mad Dragon also began to push all of his energy into the Ice Rakshasa.
Jaun, who was absorbing the energy of the pill while taking several deep breaths, bowed his head slightly toward Mad Dragon.
Soon, Mad Dragon, who had pushed all his energy into the Ice Rakshasa, nodded his head to Jaun with a pale face.
"Now, depart."
Jaun bowed his head deeply to Mad Dragon once more, then gripped the Ice Rakshasa's legs tightly and clenched his teeth.
"No matter what happens, I will take her safely to the Sado Alliance."
Jaun clenched his teeth and kicked off the ground just like that.
─ BOOOOOM!
Mad Dragon watched Jaun's figure, which shot forward in an instant, with weary eyes.
And as soon as Jaun's figure disappeared, he turned his body toward the Grand Elder.
"……Did you truly think this was the correct path?"
Mad Dragon looked around the surroundings.
The ground was gouged in various places as if dozens of Thunderclap Bombs had been detonated.
The corpses of the elders did not even possess a proper shape, and the surrounding vegetation was all dried and withered due to the thick demonic energy.
"Even if that child truly possesses the power of the Heavenly Demon, how could you have such a shameless thought!"
Mad Dragon's shout, which had turned deathly pale, shook the forest.
The Grand Elder could not look into Mad Dragon's eyes and turned her head to the side.
Mad Dragon exhaled a large sigh.
"……I feel that perhaps the Sado Alliance might collapse because of this choice right now."
Mad Dragon stared blankly at the place where Jaun had disappeared with hollow eyes.
"We can only hope that the Ice Rakshasa survives."
Mad Dragon bit his lip hard and turned his body.
***
While catching his breath which rose to the tip of his chin, Jaun spurred himself once more.
Wrapped in dark red demonic energy, Jaun was crossing mountains at a tremendous speed.
The whole body of Jaun, who had traveled a distance that would normally take a full day in half a day, was drenched in sweat.
A sweet smell rose from his parched insides, and his eyelids kept sticking together.
Furthermore, the demonic energy he had forcibly pulled up was constantly digging into Jaun's head.
At first, he had tried to resist somehow, but as time passed, it became difficult to withstand the erosion of the demonic energy.
Jaun's mind, which was being gradually consumed by demonic energy, was chaos itself.
The flow of past and present was not properly connected, and illusions and auditory hallucinations troubled his eyes and ears.
His feet kept stepping into thin air, but each time, Jaun clenched his teeth and steadied his staggering body.
'Please…… just a little more.'
The only clear thing within his faint consciousness was the single-minded determination to save the Ice Rakshasa.
That clear determination, which was emitting the only bright light within the chaos, was forcibly moving Jaun's body.
His whole body was as hot as if it were burning.
His Qi and Blood were tangled, and his overexerted muscles were letting out cries for mercy.
Nonetheless, Jaun's legs did not stop.
'Just a little faster.'
Jaun gripped the Ice Rakshasa's legs tightly once more.
He felt the energy Mad Dragon had infused into her gradually vanishing into thin air.
When that energy disappeared, the Ice Rakshasa's breath would also stop.
Because of that, Jaun could not waste even a single step.
While his whole body was being scratched, torn, and bursting open, Jaun ran endlessly.
The shapes of objects passing by were blurred. Only the pain of his Qi and Blood twisting and his muscles tearing apart was vivid.
How many more Sijins had he run?
At a time when the sunset was gradually settling around.
Jaun finally reached a place where the city gates of Uichang were visible.
"Huff. Guh-hak. Cough!"
Jaun's melted lungs produced blood froth.
Each time he inhaled once, he felt a pain as if his entire body were being mutilated.
The blood had already escaped from his body as much as it could.
Like a path over a parched desert, Jaun's tongue was cracking open.
Because his vision had blurred whitely, Jaun could not clearly distinguish his surroundings.
His body, which was laboriously taking steps while chasing only the energy felt from the front, momentarily wavered and then collapsed toward the floor as it was.
─ THUD
Even then, Jaun, who received all the impact with his own body so that it wouldn't reach the Ice Rakshasa, clenched his teeth and rose from his spot again.
His shoes had long since worn out to reveal the soles, and through the gaps, Jaun's feet were covered in blood scabs.
A sound of escaping air could be heard from his lungs.
The body of Jaun, who was moving his legs unconsciously, gradually drew closer to the city gates of Uichang.
─ TAP TAP
The martial artists guarding the city gates of Uichang discovered Jaun approaching while emitting an unusually dark energy and simultaneously took out their weapons.
"H-halt!"
"Ugh…… what on earth is that. Is it a person?"
The martial artists shuddered as they saw Jaun, whose entire body was covered in dried blood with thick dust on top, looking just like a corpse.
Jaun, whose whole body had turned black after being consumed by demonic energy, slowly raised his hand.
"Grrr."
He tried to speak, but a proper sound did not come out of Jaun's mouth.
One of the martial artists, who was trembling once more while looking at Jaun's eyes glowing dark red, discovered a figure hanging on Jaun's back.
"……A woman?"
Only then did the gatekeepers, who examined Jaun's appearance in detail, tilt their heads.
At the moment the martial artists stepped forward to confirm the identity of the woman tied to Jaun's back, Jaun's sword was drawn with a CLANG.
"Gasp!"
The martial artists froze in place at the terrible killing intent that sword was emitting.
Jaun's sword, containing the will to cut down anything blocking his path, wavered here and there in the air.
Even so, Jaun's steps were constantly moving forward.
Before they knew it, there were fewer than twenty steps remaining to the city gates of Uichang.
In the end, the martial artists clenched their teeth and thrust their weapons forward.
"Stop!"
When the gatekeepers shouted loudly, Jaun lifted his sword as it was.
At the moment Jaun's sword was falling toward the gatekeepers,
─ SNAP
The Sado Alliance Leader, who suddenly appeared from the air, grabbed Jaun's wrist.
"Stubborn fellow……."
The Sado Alliance Leader, who confirmed Jaun's state, clicked her tongue.
When Jaun tried to lift his sword once more, the Alliance Leader applied strength and blocked Jaun's arm.
And after briefly examining Jaun's state, the Alliance Leader reached out toward the Ice Rakshasa carried on his back this time.
─ FLASH
At that moment, Jaun's eyes burned with dark red energy.
Looking at Jaun, who showed killing intent while grabbing her wrist before she knew it, the Alliance Leader exhaled a sigh.
"It is enough. Since your will has reached this place, leave the rest to me."
Even at the Alliance Leader's voice, Jaun did not withdraw his killing intent and tried to lift his sword again.
"The Strange Physician will come soon. That guy will examine the state of that child Ice Rakshasa. So, you may rest now."
"I-Ice Rakshasa……. Strange…… Physician."
Jaun, who had not responded to any sound, trembled his body as soon as he heard the name of the Ice Rakshasa and the title of the Strange Physician.
From his already torn lungs, only a sound of escaping air came out, but the meaning contained in that sound was being sufficiently conveyed.
"Yes. I will show that child to the Strange Physician, so stop and rest now. I have…… committed a far too great a wrong."
At the moment the Sado Alliance Leader exhaled a deep sigh and tried to touch Jaun's body again, Jaun's body lost its strength and collapsed forward as it was.
The Sado Alliance Leader, who caught Jaun as he collapsed toward her, bit her lip.
"……Now what should I do about this matter."
Beside the Alliance Leader, who was contemplating for a long while while holding Jaun, an old man holding a wine bottle approached stealthily while staggering.
"Is it two corpses?"
"Yes, you brat. Finally, an opportunity for you to earn your keep has arisen."
"……This is more than just earning my keep?"
"Stop talking nonsense. Quickly recover them."
The Strange Physician, who approached while tilting his head, grabbed Jaun's wrist and the Ice Rakshasa's wrist in turn.
"……I might be able to save the girl, but the boy might not make it."
[He is a child who possesses the energy of the Heavenly Demon; can it still not be done?]
The Strange Physician, whose eyes suddenly grew large, grabbed Jaun's wrist once more.
After squinting his eyes and examining Jaun's energy for a long time, the Strange Physician shook his head slightly from side to side.
"Still, I cannot guarantee it. But, it would be interesting just to try it."
The Strange Physician, who stared fixedly at Jaun's body, clicked his tongue.
"Good grief. In all my life, I'm seeing a fellow who has exhausted his energy to this extent for the first time. This…… isn't a pain that a person can overcome."
The Strange Physician, who glanced at the Alliance Leader once, exhaled a sigh and shouldered the two people on each side.
Toward that Strange Physician, the Alliance Leader quietly opened her mouth.
"……I will send both children to the Prison, so recover them there."
"Bullshit. Can the Sado Alliance's Prison even hold a child who possesses this much energy?"
The Strange Physician grumbled while shouldering the two and moving his steps into the Sado Alliance.