novelraw Chapter 164 : Chapter 164
Chapter 164 : Chapter 164
Chapter 164 The Red Sky (7)
Baek-myo quickly approached the two men who were staring blankly at the battlefield.
She let out a sigh of relief after confirming that the two were alive, albeit injured, and upon arriving, she forcefully struck Yeon Seung-il's back.
─ SMACK!
“Squad Leader! No, Vice Squad Leader!”
Tears welled up in Baek-myo's eyes as she shouted loudly. Yeon Seung-il looked at Baek-myo with an awkward expression and then ruffled his hair once.
“You’re here too. Did you safely escort the Poison King?”
“……You’re really mean.”
Baek-myo, who had been sniffling, blew her nose with a huff and then struck Yeon Seung-il’s chest with her fist again.
─ THUD!
“Oof.”
As Yeon Seung-il stepped back with an exaggerated gesture, Baek-myo, fuming, turned her gaze to Hyeon-dam.
“Save your whining for the squad leader. The battle is not over yet.”
At Hyeon-dam's words, Baek-myo bared her teeth and growled, pinching his arm hard.
“Who are you to be giving orders? Are you really asking to die!? Why do you keep throwing your lives away so recklessly? If you both die, what am I, what am I supposed to do!”
At Baek-myo’s words, Hyeon-dam scratched his head and smacked his lips.
While Yeon Seung-il went over to console Baek-myo, Tang Il-bi and Chu Myeong-hwa, who had arrived on the battlefield after them, turned their heads and quickly assessed the situation.
Chu Myeong-hwa tilted her head as she saw the two Demonic Leaders, who had been rolling on the ground, struggling to their feet.
“Huh? They look familiar for some reason……?”
Chu Myeong-hwa tilted her head once more, narrowing her eyes at the two Demonic Leaders as if she couldn't understand.
Jaun, confirming that the situation was under control, walked forward with a stern expression.
Jaun, who stood before the two Demonic Leaders who were writhing on the ground, unable to overcome the shock from his attack despite healing their wounds with blood energy, drew his sword with an indifferent gaze.
─ SWIIISH!
The heads of the two Demonic Leaders fell, and the thick, gushing blood spread across the ground.
The short return to the Murim of the two Demonic Leaders, who had gained a new life against the flow of time, ended in futility upon meeting Jaun.
'The martial arts they just displayed were the Soul Flame Sword and the Four Souls Devouring Art. They are definitely lost strange arts.'
Jaun, who had all the demonic arts in his head, was able to recognize the identities of the two Demonic Leaders the moment they exchanged blows.
'Has the Blood Cult been extending the lives of past Demonic Leaders all this time?'
He couldn’t even fathom how many sacrifices would have been necessary to extend their lives until now. Moreover, these were likely not the only past Demonic Leaders whose lives had been extended by the Blood Cult.
Jaun’s fist clenched tightly.
Jaun glanced at the dozens of Demonic Beings writhing behind the two dead Demonic Leaders, then raised his left hand, and the Ink Ring began to glow with a dark red light.
─ SWIIISH!
The Millennium Silk that shot out in an instant drew a dense net in the air. Immediately after, a thick fountain of blood gushed out, and the movements of the writhing Demonic Beings stopped.
Hyeon-dam’s eyes slightly contorted at Jaun’s merciless gesture, which could be described as cruel.
However, after a moment of thought, Hyeon-dam let out a small sigh and opened his mouth.
“……It’s been a while, Youngest.”
At Hyeon-dam’s words, Jaun turned his body and bowed his head slightly.
“It’s been a while, senior. I hope you’ve been well.”
“As for us…… we’ve been getting by somehow.”
Hyeon-dam paused and slowly read Jaun’s energy.
“It seems you’ve been through a lot yourself. The sharpness of the energy you’re emitting has changed.”
At Hyeon-dam’s words, Yeon Seung-il slowly nodded his head.
At first, he was so surprised by Jaun’s overwhelming martial prowess that he didn't feel it properly, but now that the situation had settled down, he could clearly feel the immense power hidden behind Jaun's blade-like, cool demeanor.
“From the first time we met, you possessed an incomprehensible amount of power, but I didn't know you would grow even more. It's embarrassing to even call you the youngest now.”
At Yeon Seung-il’s words, Jaun smiled slightly and bowed his head.
“I heard you became the Vice Squad Leader of the Anti-Demon Squad. I apologize for leaving without properly congratulating you.”
“I heard about your situation from Strategist Jegal. Don’t worry about it. If I were in that situation, I would have acted the same way as you.”
Jaun bowed his head slightly once more at Yeon Seung-il’s consideration and then turned his body toward the foot of the mountain. After closing and opening his eyes for a moment, he let out a small sigh.
“There are many things I want to talk about, but the situation is not good. For now, we need to get out of here quickly.”
Chu Myeong-hwa, who was staring blankly down the mountain, nodded her head at Jaun's words.
“That’s right. If we delay any longer here, the main unit could be in danger. We need to take the Tang family members and retreat immediately. The Demonic Cult bastards…… seem to have made up their minds for real.”
Yeon Seung-il, who had been looking puzzled at the two's words, focused his senses and looked down the mountain, his eyes widening.
“……No way.”
A thick demonic energy, emitted by nearly a thousand Demonic Cult members, was felt not far from the Tang family’s manor.
Yeon Seung-il, who turned his head toward Jaun with a stern expression, clenched his fists.
“The ones we dealt with…… were they just scouts?”
Jaun looked at Yeon Seung-il’s pale face and nodded.
“A full-scale offensive. It seems all the elites of the Demonic Cult have come out. The Demonic Cult’s movements are much faster than I thought. In a situation like this, we can’t protect Sichuan completely on our own.”
“If this place falls…… the entire southern region of the Central Plains will be under direct threat. We need to inform both the Murim Alliance and the Sado Alliance of this situation immediately and prepare.”
Yeon Seung-il’s expression hardened. In all this time, despite numerous threats, Sichuan had never fallen.
Once the Sichuan region, which had been a breakwater against the forces from beyond the Central Plains and the Demonic Cult, was conquered, the next would be the heart of the Central Plains.
‘It was because the Qingcheng and Emei Sects of the Sichuan region, and the Tang Clan, were holding out that the commerce of the Central Plains could develop as it has. If we are invaded by the Demonic Cult like this without any preparation…… the damage will be uncontrollable.’
Jaun, who had looked around once, turned his head and looked up at the mountain summit.
“We will retreat to the Sado Alliance with the Tang family members. Vice Squad Leader, please return to the Murim Alliance immediately, report the urgency of the situation, and mobilize the Murim Alliance.”
Yeon Seung-il, who was looking at Jaun with a complicated expression, slowly nodded his head.
“……I understand. Let’s move quickly.”
Jaun gripped Yeon Seung-il’s shoulder once, then turned and started running first. The rest of the group immediately followed him.
A thick and strong demonic energy, enough to make their bodies tingle, was felt from behind.
It was a level of demonic energy that none of them had ever felt before.
Now that the Demonic Cult had begun to move in earnest, the Central Plains was no different from a battlefield. Hyeon-dam’s expression hardened to a frightening degree as he foresaw the great sacrifices that the full-scale conflict would create.
In a silent stillness, the group ran nonstop to the summit.
Jaun’s party, who had climbed the mountain at full speed, was soon able to join the main unit. The Poison King, who had regained consciousness in the meantime, greeted Jaun’s party at the very rear with Tang Hun, his face pale.
“……You’re safe.”
The Poison King let out a small sigh of relief after confirming the appearance of Yeon Seung-il, Hyeon-dam, Baek-myo, and Tang Il-bi.
“Elder. Are you feeling alright?”
Tang Il-bi, who had followed behind, came forward and checked the Poison King’s body. The Poison King nodded his head with a complicated expression.
“Yes. I was just temporarily exhausted of my energy.”
“That’s a relief, elder. They say those guys earlier were scouts. Behind them, a vanguard of nearly a thousand from the Demonic Cult's main force is coming, so it would be best to get out of here quickly and plan for the future.”
At Tang Il-bi’s urgent words, the Poison King looked around at the Tang family martial artists gathered behind him.
“……I understand. For now, we must survive to be able to look forward to the future.”
The Poison King bit his lip as he raised his head and looked at the Tang family manor, which was engulfed in huge flames, for a moment.
“But it is nothing but shameful. That the Tang family, which has protected the Sichuan region for over two hundred years, has to retreat so helplessly.”
“It can't be helped, now that the Demonic Cult bastards have declared an all-out war. Elder. They even used the forbidden blood arts, didn't they? We have no choice but to join forces with someone to fight against the Demonic Cult.”
The Poison King stroked his beard once at Tang Il-bi’s words and then turned his head toward Jaun. He slowly nodded his head after confirming Jaun’s momentum.
“You’re here too……. Looking at you now, it was a good thing I put you in my debt back then. I never thought you would grow to this extent.”
Jaun, who bowed his head deeply to the Poison King who was looking at him, stepped forward.
“Thanks to the teachings you gave me in the Tang family, I have saved my life several times. I was wondering how I could repay you, and I'm glad I can be of some help today. I will escort you safely to the border of Hunan Province, no matter what.”
The Poison King slowly nodded his head.
“I’m counting on you. The strength of the Tang family has weakened greatly due to frequent fights with the Demonic Cult. We need a little more time.”
“For the time being, you can recover your strength under the protection of the Sado Alliance. What's important right now is to join the Sado Alliance safely, so let’s depart immediately.”
At Jaun’s words, people began to prepare busily.
At that moment, Jaun, who was carefully observing the gradually approaching demonic energy, stopped walking with a puzzled expression.
‘Huh?’
Jaun, who closed his eyes and greatly expanded his energy, looked at the movement of the demonic energy again and frowned.
“Wait a minute…… I don’t think the Demonic Cult members are heading this way?”
“What do you mean?”
Yeon Seung-il approached Jaun.
“I don’t think the direction the demonic energy is heading is here. The demonic energy, which is split into several branches, is scattering toward various parts of the mountain. If their target was the Tang Clan and the Anti-Demon Squad, they wouldn’t be moving like that……”
Jaun thought about something for a moment and then turned his body toward the Poison King.
“Elder. Let me ask you one thing. Do you know why the Demonic Cult is so persistently targeting Sichuan?”
The Poison King, who was checking the preparation status of the Tang family members, turned his head toward Jaun.
“Isn’t it because, geographically speaking, they can't enter the Central Plains without breaking through Sichuan?”
“I thought so at first too, but looking at their movements this time, it seems there is another reason. If they wanted to target the Central Plains, it would be much easier to avoid Sichuan and enter from the north.”
“Hmm……”
The Poison King momentarily frowned. There was no flaw in Jaun’s words.
The reason they had to conquer Sichuan was because it was a strategic point for advancing into the Central Plains.
It was indeed a necessary place to confront the forces of the Central Plains for a long time, but if they were planning to push into the Central Plains with all their forces like this, there was no reason to conquer Sichuan. No matter how much they used the blood arts, losses were inevitable.
“Is there anything in Sichuan that the Demonic Beings might be targeting?”
At Jaun’s subsequent question, the Poison King, who had been lost in thought for a moment, frowned and raised his head.
“Did you say the demonic energy is scattering toward various parts of the mountain?”
“Yes.”
“If so, could it be…… that the Demonic Cult bastards are after our Tang family's medicinal herbs?”
Jaun tilted his head at the Poison King’s words.
“But isn't this the only place where the Tang family cultivates medicinal herbs? They haven’t touched any other places.”
At Jaun’s words, the Poison King slowly opened his mouth.
“It’s not widely known, but there are a few types of medicinal herbs that can only be cultivated on this mountain. Wait, now that I think about it, I heard that the transaction volume of black lotus has increased tremendously recently……. The Demonic Cult bastards might be targeting the black lotus.”
“Black lotus?”
“Yes. It’s a type of lotus with black leaves. For the past few years, there has been a shortage of black lotus in the market, and I thought it was strange. It’s a medicinal herb that is not used much, so it’s always in surplus.”
“What is the effect of the black lotus?”
“It gives an extreme sense of euphoria and temporarily reduces pain. However, if taken for a long time, turbid energy accumulates in the body, gradually fading one’s reason and causing one to become faithful only to one’s instincts as a side effect.”
“Euphoria. And temporary pain reduction……”
“Because of the side effect of fading reason, it’s actually a difficult one to use properly. In addition, its cultivation method is quite difficult, and the areas where it can be grown are limited, so there is usually almost no demand for it.”
“……Blood Immortal Pill.”
Jaun’s expression hardened.
“I think that medicinal herb, the black lotus, is an ingredient that goes into the Blood Immortal Pill. The biggest side effect of the Blood Immortal Pill is that if you take it for a long time, your reason gradually disappears.”
“……The Blood Immortal Pill. It’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. Certainly, for that purpose, they could use the black lotus.”
At the Poison King’s words, Jaun stopped in his tracks.