Chapter 127 : Blue and Red Twin Fiends. -02

Chapter 127: Blue and Red Twin Fiends. -02

Brrrrr!

At Soheung’s declaration that he would violate her without hesitation in front of so many people, Nan Hee-ju’s complexion turned deathly pale.

It was because she could not dismiss it as a mere proclamation.

Moreover, the Eight Evils were notorious for their lust.

Regardless of age, if a woman caught their interest even slightly, they would violate her first and think later. Because of that, Nan Hee-ju could not regard Soheung’s words as empty bluster.

“How dare you!”

“Where do you think you’re spewing such nonsense!”

The Escort Warriors quickly moved to shield the terrified Nan Hee-ju.

It was to block the lewd gazes of the Blue and Red Twin Fiends.

At the same time, the Flying Heaven Unit’s furious shouts split the air.

However, beneath those rough cries lay fear.

“Just like a mongrel raised in someone’s house. A mongrel only knows how to bark.”

“They’re not even fit to be hunting dogs.”

The Flying Heaven Unit members simultaneously unleashed killing intent, but it was nothing compared to the Masked Men in Black.

The Flying Heaven Unit had been nurtured with considerable effort by the Hao Sect, but they were all still unripe.

Nan Hee-ju knew it, and so did the members of the Flying Heaven Unit.

“Unfortunately, what you’re hoping for won’t happen.”

“Of course. Having more numbers doesn’t guarantee victory.”

Nan Hee-ju’s agitation quickly subsided.

She was not alone here.

Not only the Flying Heaven Unit, but also those who bore the title of Dragon stood by her side.

Among them, Ban Hojin was the martial artist who had single-handedly defeated the Green Forest Great Lord.

“You brats have no fear. Surely you know who this seat is.”

“Reckless louts, the lot of you.”

At the spirited remarks from Seonwu Bang and Seo Joun, the Blue and Red Twin Fiends snickered.

In their eyes, it looked no more than hot-blooded bravado from children.

Though they appeared to be around forty on the outside, both had long since passed fifty in reality.

To them, Ban Hojin and his group looked like nothing more than infants.

“Isn’t it better to be reckless louts than to swagger while licking the soles of the Ironblood Fortress?”

“What did you say!”

True to his massive build, his voice boomed thunderously.

It did not even seem like he infused it with Inner Energy, yet the roar echoed endlessly. Jeong Iryong and Murong Cheok frowned.

It felt as if he had unleashed a sound-based technique; their ears throbbed with pain.

“You. How did you know?”

“I’ve had some dealings with the Ironblood Fortress’s martial artists. Even if they wrap themselves up like that, I can tell at a glance.”

“I’ve never heard that the Divine Dragon crossed paths with the Ironblood Fortress.”

Unlike the agitated Geohung, Soheung stared at Ban Hojin with suspicion.

However, no matter how sharply he glared, he could glean nothing.

“How much do you think you know about me? At best, you only know what the Ironblood Fortress told you. Or perhaps something you picked up somewhere.”

Ban Hojin sneered right in his face.

It was laughable that he spoke as though he were some great figure.

Though surviving as a Public Enemy of Murim certainly meant his martial realm was formidable, it did not make him an absolute powerhouse.

If he truly were an absolute powerhouse, the Eight Evils would have ruled Murim instead of fleeing or hiding.

“You’re rather irritating.”

“We’re not on terms that require courtesy, are we?”

“It seems you still don’t grasp the situation. Even knowing that the ones here are martial artists of the Ironblood Fortress.”

Clang!

The moment Soheung finished speaking, the Masked Men in Black drew their various weapons.

There was no sense of uniformity among the weapons they wielded, but they shared one thing in common.

All of them glared at Ban Hojin as though ready to devour him.

“Grasp the situation? Have you ever seen a tiger fear rabbits just because they’re numerous? At the very least, they’d need to be wolves. You lot aren’t even jackals.”

“Ku-hahaha!”

At Ban Hojin’s bold display of spirit, Soheung burst into loud laughter.

He had heard until his ears hurt that the Divine Dragon was formidable, and it seemed those words were true.

In many ways, Ban Hojin was indeed remarkable.

He also recognized that Ban Hojin’s skill was considerable.

However, there was one thing Ban Hojin had overlooked.

Soheung decided to inform him personally.

“You dare…!”

Swish.

Geohung, who had cultivated Yang-Attribute Cultivation Arts and possessed a fiery temper, flushed red and roared as if about to explode. Soheung raised his arm to stop his younger brother.

Then, wearing a thoroughly cunning smile, he spoke to Ban Hojin.

“That may be true for you. But what about the others? The brats who just obtained the title of Dragon. Yes, they’re probably among the top of the younger generation talents. But how long can they endure? And the Flying Heaven Unit, who haven’t even mastered the basics? They may be called the Flying Heaven Unit, but in truth, aren’t they more like the Earthworm Unit?”

Brrrrr!

At Soheung’s open mockery—calling them a worm brigade—the Flying Heaven Unit Leader and every member of the Flying Heaven Unit trembled, their lips quivering or clamped tight.

They were enraged beyond measure.

Yet Soheung’s contempt brought about an unexpected result.

It blew away the fear from the Flying Heaven Unit’s minds.

“Strutting around with barely three hundred men. Anyone would think you brought a thousand.”

“You bastard—!”

“Wait. That’s his goading tactic. He’s trying to rile you up so you’ll charge in. So we can’t deploy our combined technique.”

“Ah!”

Geohung, simple-minded when angered, nodded vigorously as if he understood at once.

The flesh hanging from his cheeks wobbled like waves.

The weight of his face alone seemed comparable to Soheung’s entire body.

“A goading tactic against the likes of you?”

“As expected, still a brat. Running wild without knowing the fear of the heavens. Heh heh heh!”

Despite Ban Hojin’s provocation, Soheung did not take the bait.

The only way for Ban Hojin’s group to overcome this crisis was to defeat him and his brother.

And in the shortest time possible.

Only then could they assist the others. That was why Soheung believed Ban Hojin was attempting a half-baked goading tactic.

‘In a one-on-one, he certainly has a chance.’

The Green Forest Great Lord had been stronger than rumored.

He had also been cunning.

That was how he became the Chief Escort Slayer and the Chief Stronghold Master of the Eighteen Green Forest Strongholds, yet managed to avoid being fully branded as a Public Enemy of Murim.

Because of that, even Soheung could not confidently claim he would defeat the Green Forest Great Lord alone.

‘But there’s no need to fight on his terms.’

A sly smile spread across Soheung’s lips.

All circumstances favored him.

Not only did he hold the advantage in numbers, but even in terms of quality, he overwhelmingly dominated.

The only way Ban Hojin could win was through a one-on-one duel, yet Soheung had no intention whatsoever of accepting that.

“I never intended to face you separately in the first place. If I catch one while the other runs, that’s troublesome. It’s cleaner and better for me to deal with both at once. Don’t you think?”

“Now you’re bluffing as well? You might just be the greatest under heaven when it comes to lip service.”

“I even pitied you enough to yield the first move. But if you won’t come, I will.”

Sssuk!

Ban Hojin’s figure vanished in an instant.

To Nan Hee-ju and the Escort Warriors watching, it appeared exactly so.

At the very least, with the naked eye, they could not track Ban Hojin’s movements.

However, the Blue and Red Twin Fiends seemed different. The moment Ban Hojin kicked off the ground, Geohung stepped forward while Soheung positioned himself behind.

Thud!

The instant the Blue and Red Twin Fiends settled into position, Ban Hojin’s sole struck Geohung’s forearm.

Geohung had blocked Ban Hojin’s kick, launched at a terrifying speed.

Yet Geohung’s expression was entirely different from before.

His face, which had looked down on Ban Hojin with disdain, was now stiff and hardened.

“Hold him!”

But that expression was not visible to Soheung behind him.

He merely assumed Geohung had blocked perfectly, as usual.

With a vicious smile, Soheung gripped short swords in both hands and sprang out from Geohung’s flank.

He aimed for Ban Hojin’s right knee—the axis of balance as he extended his leg.

Boom!

However, Soheung did not achieve his aim.

Ban Hojin’s left foot, which had been pressed against Geohung’s forearm, dropped precisely toward the crown of Soheung’s head.

It was a thunderbolt-like downward strike. Soheung abandoned his target of the knee and raised his short swords above his head, crossing them to block.

“Urk!”

Contrary to his expectation of an easy block, Ban Hojin’s kick was powerful.

Even though he crossed both short swords to defend, the force drove straight down onto Soheung’s crown.

It was sheer strength that overwhelmed him.

“You bastard!”

At that sight, Geohung started in shock and thrust out a palm like a pot lid.

Instinctively, he sought to shove Ban Hojin away.

With his massive hand and dark skin, it resembled a gigantic black bear swiping with its paw.

Craaaash!

Though it was a reflexive palm strike, tremendous force was contained within Geohung’s right hand.

The internal power he had cultivated his entire life flowed into it at his will.

Yet Ban Hojin accepted Geohung’s palm strike—which could send even a mid-generation master flying in one blow—without difficulty.

And that was while one foot still pressed down on Soheung’s head.

“H-how?”

Staring at Ban Hojin’s heel resting upon his crossed short swords, Soheung stammered.

Even if it was not delivered at full strength, Geohung’s power was so immense it could be called divine strength.

From childhood, he had been known as a strongman in his village. Even when fighting martial artists of the Hwangbo Family or the Hebei Peng Family—renowned for their massive physiques—he had never been pushed back, but instead overwhelmed them.

Yet Ban Hojin had received Geohung’s palm with one leg raised.

Soheung’s pupils trembled.

“Because you’re weak.”

Boom!

Retracting the foot that had been pressing down on Soheung, Ban Hojin threw a punch with his opposite hand.

It was a straight punch that even a three-year-old child could perform, yet when Ban Hojin executed it, its power defied imagination.

With a single strike, he sent Geohung flying.

“Kraaagh!”

Though Geohung attempted to counter, the result was his complete defeat.

Unlike Ban Hojin, Geohung was sent backward in an unsightly manner, tumbling miserably across the ground.

Blood poured from his mouth.

“I’ll kill you!”

Seeing his only younger brother brutally beaten and coughing blood, murderous light exploded from Soheung’s eyes.

His eyes literally rolled back.

Yet despite his fury, Soheung’s movements were concise and efficient.

Tracing the optimal path, he charged at Ban Hojin.

Shiiiiik!

If Geohung had been born with innate divine strength, then Soheung possessed speed surpassing all others.

From childhood, he had been faster than anyone. Combined with his small build and light body, he felt even swifter.

Soheung had fully utilized that advantage even after becoming a martial artist.

With his small frame and superior speed, he committed countless evil deeds.

‘It will be the same this time!’

Soheung’s eyes gleamed as he rushed forward with short swords in hand.

Until now, no martial artist had ever matched his speed.

There may have been stronger masters, but none had purely overwhelmed him in speed.

Soheung was certain.

Ban Hojin would be no different.

Sssaeek!

‘I won’t kill you in one stroke. I’ll dry you out in agony until the very end.’

Ban Hojin’s arrogance had reached the heavens. Though enraged, Soheung did not intend to kill him instantly.

He planned to make him regret his mistake hundreds, thousands of times before finishing him with death.

A painless death was no different from a blessing.

With dazzling speed, Soheung circled behind Ban Hojin and thrust his short sword into the spot just above his buttocks.

Cruelly, he aimed for the Dantian.

‘Kuhuhu! Beg until your hands and feet wear away while you watch your beloved trampled!’

Moving at a speed that left not even an afterimage, Soheung did not believe for even a speck that Ban Hojin could evade.

If Ban Hojin had reacted to his speed, he would have needed to move at least slightly, yet there was nothing of the sort.

In other words, like any other martial artist, he had failed to respond at all to Soheung’s tremendous speed.

Thus, Soheung did not doubt that Ban Hojin would soon collapse with a hole pierced through his abdomen.

Thud!