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Yu Yiseol’s pupils trembled.
‘Blood?’
She belatedly noticed that Chung Myung’s leg, flung backward, was wet.
Of course, blood on him would be nothing unusual.
There is no way not to be splattered with blood on a battlefield.
But it was enough that she could see it continuing to soak through.
If it were enemy blood, it should have slowly begun to congeal.
That was clearly blood spurting from Chung Myung’s leg.
‘Wound!’
It must be the wound he took on the coast of the Southern Island.
The very wound they said would heal as long as he didn’t push himself too hard.
She had forgotten. No—she had been forced to forget.
Chung Myung had always fought despite such warnings, and there had never been any real problem.
So she assumed it would be the same this time.
Just as it had been up until now.
In an instant, Chung Myung flipped his body and thrust his foot toward the ground.
The moment the wounded leg bore his weight and stood taut, his pant leg suddenly puffed outward.
It was clear that blood spouting from the wound was striking the fabric from the inside.
Yu Yiseol froze for a moment.
Even so, Chung Myung charged straight at Gwi Yang without a moment’s hesitation.
“No...!”
Kaaaaaang!
Another violent collision erupted.
The aftershock swept over Yu Yiseol.
In the fierce wind that seemed like it could split her face, she saw Chung Myung’s back.
His back was trembling.
She realized anew.
Even after being told not to overexert himself, Chung Myung had never rested a moment and had kept fighting.
He had used that leg to scale the cliff and hold back the enemy.
There was no way it could be fine. It shouldn’t be fine.
So why had she believed he would be all right?
At that moment, Blood Sword Troops members, like red shadows, surged one after another toward Chung Myung’s head.
“Sajil!”
Yu Yiseol let out a scream that was almost a shriek.
Bang!
She stamped the ground desperately, but it was already too late.
Usually so rarely stirred emotionally, she couldn’t handle the torrent of feeling crashing over her now.
“Haap!”
Tang Pae’s reactions—unaware of Chung Myung’s condition—were inevitably quicker.
Swaaaak!
The dagger shot forward at light speed toward the Blood Sword Troops members charging Chung Myung.
Although the dagger moved incredibly fast, it was blocked by enemy blades before it could touch flesh and ricocheted away.
For a moment it only served to make the enemies hesitate.
Under normal circumstances, that would have been more than enough.
But not for the Chung Myung of now.
Paaaat!
The thin swords of the Blood Sword Troops members lunged at Chung Myung’s upper body like vipers.
Chung Myung snapped his torso back and avoided those blades.
But in that instant, Gwi Yang’s sword, curved like a long blade, wrapped around the Dark Fragrant Plum Blossom Sword and yanked it forward in one motion.
Kwoong!
To avoid being dragged away, Chung Myung stamped the ground forcefully without thinking.
But he couldn’t put enough force into it, and his body was pulled slightly forward.
Suk!
The countless thin swords that flew past slashed across Chung Myung’s body.
His garments were cut and red blood spurted up.
Paaaaat!
Yu Yiseol, her face twisted like a fiend’s, sprang up like a hawk.
A rapid rain of sword strikes poured onto the Blood Sword Troops members.
Kaang! Kaang!
But these opponents were not like the ones she had faced before.
If they had been ordinary members of the Ten Thousand People Clan, she could have cut them down, but the Blood Sword Troops members, though pushed back, managed to block all of Yu Yiseol’s strikes.
Swaaaak!
The pushed-back Blood Sword Troops members did not stop at defense; they thrust their swords toward her.
An azure sword qi at the tips was released in an instant, as if to pierce her whole body.
Thak!
Kicking at the air to flip her feet, Yu Yiseol narrowly evaded all of the incoming sword qi’s.
But even while dealing with those dangerous sword qi’s, her attention was fixed not on the Blood Sword Troops members but on Chung Myung below.
‘Sajil!’
Paaaaat!
While Yu Yiseol exchanged brief combos with the enemies, dozens of sword strikes continued back and forth below.
Blade met blade and fragments of qi burst forth one after another.
It was obvious how much burden the powerful clashes of qi must be placing on Chung Myung’s body.
“This...!”
Paat!
Pushing off the air and diving to the ground, Yu Yiseol launched herself forward the instant her feet touched the earth.
But before she could even reach Chung Myung, other Blood Sword Troops members popped up to Gwi Yang’s left and right and above, taking aim at Chung Myung.
Yu Yiseol thrust her sword with fierce determination.
The blade that flashed past Chung Myung’s face barely knocked aside one of the incoming thin swords.
But the remaining three blades were still Chung Myung’s to face; the Blood Sword Troops members’ swords streaked swiftly toward his neck.
Kwaaaa!
Gwi Yang, thinking he’d seized an opportunity, enveloped himself in tremendous sword qi and, in one breath, aimed at Chung Myung’s waist.
It was a moment of life or death.
A swift lightning-like thrust and a slash so brazen one could hardly imagine blocking it.
This clean, perfect pincer attack seemed ready to carve Chung Myung’s body to pieces.
If he didn’t step back, his waist would be sliced; if he retreated, he’d risk being impaled.
Chung Myung’s choice was simple.
The place most familiar to him.
Kwaang!
He drove off the ground and a thunderous blast erupted.
Before the blast could reach anyone’s ears, Chung Myung shot forward like a shell, plunging against Gwi Yang’s chest as if embracing it.
Gwi Yang’s all-out swing cut emptily through Chung Myung’s back, and the desperate thrust pierced only air.
Kuuuuung!
Driving into and pushing off Gwi Yang’s chest, Chung Myung explosively unleashed dozens of streams of sword qi.
Seeing the countless sword qi’s rise like the quills of an angry porcupine, the Blood Sword Troops members widened their eyes.
Kwad-deudeuk! Kwaduk!
Numerous wind-holes were pierced in the bodies of the Blood Sword Troops members.
Those whose throats were cut open to the point they could have screamed died without even a groan.
Yet even in that, Gwi Yang proved he was on another level from the other Blood Sword Squad members.
Kagagagagang!
Having deflected dozens of sword qi’s, Gwi Yang gave no pause and surged at Chung Myung again.
A blue murderous aura flowed from his eyes exposed above the mask.
Kwaaang!
Chung Myung’s blade and Gwe-ryang’s blade clashed again.
At that moment, Gwe-ryang’s left hand moved.
Like lightning, he drew a leather scabbard from his thigh and fired the willow-leaf blade toward Chung Myung’s face.
Suk!
Chung Myung jerked his head back quickly, but the sharp willow-leaf blade sliced long across his lower jaw.
Skin split and droplets of blood spattered.
“This...!”
Chung Myung snapped his head forward like a battering ram and used the recoil to violently shove the clashing blades away.
Kwoong!
The moment Gwi Yang’s body was jolted back, Chung Myung thrust his sword fully forward.
Pararararack!
With a sound like silk fluttering in a gale, the tip of the Dark Fragrant Plum Sword began to tremble.
From that quivering blade tip, dozens of vivid Plum Blossoms bloomed like an apparition.
At the sight of that blossom, Gwi Yang immediately swung his sword down into the air.
Three claw-like sword qi’s released from the thin swords collided with the Plum Blossoms that had barely begun to bloom.
Kagagang!
The unbloomed blossoms collided with the fierce sword qi’s and lost their forms.
But one of the three sword qi’s Gwi Yang released pierced through the forest of blossoms and still had enough force to lodge itself in Chung Myung’s flank.
Suk!
Chung Myung’s side split longwise and a gush of blood welled up.
But even then, Chung Myung’s blade did not stop.
Whaaaaaak!
Blooming and blooming again, the Plum Blossoms filled the gorge in an instant and billowed with the coming wind.
The scattering petals flew at Gwi Yang, who was hastily retreating, as if in fury.
This gorge was too narrow to evade the Plum Blossom Shower that Chung Myung had truly unleashed.
In terrain where he couldn’t pull back or roll aside, the blossoms filling every view were pure despair.
It was the same for Gwi Yang; no matter that he was the Blood Sword Troop’s Captain, avoiding all of this sword energy would be difficult.
But Gwi Yang did not choose that difficult path.
Grab!
Bending his waist and reaching behind him, Gwi Yang grabbed the shoulder of a Blood Sword Troops member who had run to support him as he was being pushed back.
And without a moment’s hesitation, he snatched him up and threw him toward the onrushing Plum Blossom sword qi.
“Ca-Captain!”
Gwi Yang did not stop there; with an almost demonic grip he threw anyone he could seize.
Three in all.
The Blood Sword Squad members, turned into meat shields to block the incoming Plum Blossom sword qi’s, widened their eyes in bewilderment.
At that moment, no one could tell whether the despair blooming in their eyes was fear or a sense of betrayal.
“Kuaaaargh!”
The Plum Blossom sword qi’s tore through the three Blood Sword Squad members’ bodies.
Before the agony of being sliced by hundreds of blades, even the most diligently amassed cultivation was useless.
Whiiiiing!
As the wind blew once more, the blossoms that had filled the world vanished cleanly like an illusion.
When the blossoms disappeared, all that remained were three corpses of Blood Sword Squad members, their bodies riddled with wounds and utterly empty.
“Kheh.”
Gwi Yang let out a low laugh as he straightened his bent body.
Deep cuts were carved across many parts of his body as well.
He had used the members as shields, but those three alone couldn’t have stopped all the incoming Plum Blossom sword qi’s.
Although he had deflected even the sword qi’s that pierced the members’ bodies to some extent, the ones he couldn’t stop left wounds all over him.
But... it wasn’t exactly a bad deal.
For inflicting that level of injury on Mount Hua’s Sword Saint, having the three members’ lives and this degree of injury in return was cheap.
Drip.
From Chung Myung’s long-slit side, blood streamed down without cease.
Chung Myung glanced indifferently at his flank, then pressed the blood channel to staunch the flow.
That motion, so utterly practiced, evoked a strange chill.
Yet even so, Gwi Yang did not miss the faint rise and fall of Chung Myung’s shoulders.
“His breathing is labored.”
Labored breathing means stamina is running low.
Gwi Yang’s mouth, hidden beneath his mask, spread into a wide grin.
“He’s exhausted to the utmost. Isn’t he?”
If Chung Myung were in his right state, no matter how viciously Gwi Yang attacked, he wouldn’t have left a single wound.
This meant that the current Chung Myung was by no means normal.
This being—better called a monster than a man, the Mount Hua’s Sword Saint—had finally been caught in his net.
No matter that he was Mount Hua’s Sword Saint Chung Myung, in that state he could never escape Gwi Yang’s grip.
Snap.
Gwi Yang bit down hard on his lip and drew blood.
As the metallic taste of blood spread in his mouth, his fevered body felt somewhat cooled.
‘No excitement.’
When hunting, one must remain calm until the very end.
Only then can one fully savor the pleasure of sinking teeth into prey’s throat.
Regaining his composure, Gwi Yang nodded towards the Mount Hua’s Sword Saint.
At times like this, a predator always leaves one last strike.
There’s no need to court unnecessary risk.
“Charge.”
No sooner had he spoken than Blood Sword Troops members surged to Gwi Yang’s left and right.
They had clearly seen comrades become Gwi Yang’s meat shields and die, but the dead had already been erased from their minds.
In the Evil Sect, in the Ten Thousand People Clan, this was nothing extraordinary.
“Haaaap!”
The Blood Sword Troops members leaped over the gruesomely mutilated corpses and charged at Chung Myung.
Yu Yiseol rushed forward quickly as if to protect Chung Myung.
“Stand back. I’ll...”
At that moment, Chung Myung grabbed Yu Yiseol’s shoulder as she stepped forward and shoved her violently backward.
Paaaaat!
A flash of bewilderment crossed Yu Yiseol’s face.
But Chung Myung’s already-released sword had ripped through the throats of the charging Blood Sword Troops members in an instant.
“Grrk...”
Even dying, distrust filled their eyes.
‘W-wound...’ Clearly Chung Myung had been injured.
Yet Chung Myung’s sword was no different from before.
Before they could even comprehend the gap between what they expected and reality, their lives were cut short.
Thud. Thud.
Only then did Chung Myung glance briefly at Yu Yiseol.
“This is my place, Sago.”
“Your condition right now...”
Chung Myung’s gaze had already left Yu Yiseol and turned forward.
Yu Yiseol bit her lip hard.
Then Chung Myung spoke in a casual voice.
“I’m exhausted to the utmost.”
“...”
“I’ve been injured; I’m not in normal shape.”
“You...”
“So what of it?”
A twist crossed Chung Myung’s mouth.
Blood-soaked Chung Myung’s lips pulled back, revealing his white teeth in a chilling display.
“That’s war, isn’t it? Isn’t it?”
Gwi Yang’s eyes narrowed slightly at that sight.
Chung Myung looked down at his own flank.
Whether the wound was deeper than it looked, or perhaps due to poisoning, even after cauterizing the blood channel the bleeding would not completely stop.
Chung Myung placed his hand on his side as if to press the wound.
Gwi Yang let out an overt sneer.
“Compared to all the talk, the situation is...”
At that moment, Gwi Yang’s mouth snapped shut.
Sizzle. Chiiiiik!
A acrid smoke seeped from the wound Chung Myung’s hand touched.
Soon the scent of flesh burning brushed past Gwi Yang’s nostrils.
The smile on Gwi Yang’s face beneath the mask vanished as if washed away.
Because the bleeding wouldn’t stop, he was cauterizing the wound by heating it with a hand focusing Yang qi to staunch the flow.
What mad stunt was this?
A chill ran down Gwi Yang’s spine.
“Enough.”
Having cauterized the wound, Chung Myung said with a satisfied smile.
“Let’s continue.”
Watching Chung Myung approach gripping his sword, Gwi Yang’s eyes trembled faintly.
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