Chapter 132 : Time for the Hunt. -04

Chapter 132: Time for the Hunt. -04

The Sword Ring that had barely grazed past struck the ground, and the instant it made contact, a terrifying explosion erupted.

In a flash, the surface of the earth overturned, and the ground shook as if from an earthquake.

At the sight, Insect Fiend’s face briefly paled, but he soon broke into a grin.

He had been reminded once more that no matter how powerful an attack was, it meant nothing if it did not hit.

“Isn’t it a little early to celebrate?”

Swoooosh!

Just as Insect Fiend was about to sneer at Ban Hojin, he flung his body aside once more.

The Sword Thrust was still aimed at him, and another Sword Ring came flying.

All the while emitting that spine-chilling Air-Tearing Sound.

KWA-BOOM!

Yet again, the Sword Ring brushed past him by no more than the thickness of a sheet of paper.

For the second time, Insect Fiend had evaded Ban Hojin’s attack.

“You idiot! Try firing it a hundred times! As if this body would ever be struck!”

“You’re still dull. The fact that you don’t realize I didn’t intend to hit you.”

“Hah! What nonsense!”

“Well, I’ll humor you for now. I need this too.”

Swoooosh! Swoooosh!

Insect Fiend’s complexion turned pitch-black.

Even a single Sword Ring was enough to send chills down one’s spine, yet now they were being fired in succession like arrows loosed in rapid fire by an archer.

What was more, every single one was aligned precisely with his movements.

“Damn it!”

Knowing that a single mistake would mean the end of his life, Insect Fiend ran until his feet were slick with sweat.

His instincts told him clearly that the moment he was struck, he would die instantly. Cursing under his breath, he moved frantically.

At the same time, his eyes darted rapidly.

When he had first seen Ban Hojin, he had found him unbearably insolent and had intended to teach him the bitterness of life—along with death.

But now, that thought had changed.

‘I have to run!’

The fact that Ban Hojin could generate a Force Ring meant he had entered the realm of a Supreme Master Level.

And it was not that he had only just stepped into it.

He was not in the early phase, but at the very least in the mid-phase. Realizing this, Insect Fiend immediately revised his judgment.

He had meant to teach someone else the bitterness of life, only to risk tasting it himself instead. Without hesitation, he chose to flee.

‘Consider yourself lucky! I’ll spare you today, but the next time we meet…!’

Though he had chosen to escape, Insect Fiend did not believe it was because he was weaker.

He rationalized that the situation simply did not favor him.

After all, it was not a fair one-on-one duel.

He was at a numerical disadvantage, and they had rushed him in waves. Naturally, he was bound to be pushed back.

“Shall we wrap this up?”

Watching Insect Fiend’s eyes roll restlessly, Ban Hojin muttered indifferently.

Insect Fiend believed he was evading the Sword Rings with his exceptional Lightness Skill, but the reality was different.

It was not that they failed to hit him—Ban Hojin had deliberately not struck him.

If Insect Fiend fled, the venomous insects here would scatter in all directions. To prevent that, Ban Hojin had first cleared the surroundings.

Swoooong!

As if proving that fact, the Sword Ring—which until now had flown only in a straight line—changed direction for the first time.

It veered toward Insect Fiend’s leg as he schemed his escape.

“Eh?! Wh-what?!”

Seeing the Sword Ring suddenly alter its course and fly toward him, Insect Fiend cried out in shock.

The change from before startled him badly.

Even so, his reaction was swift.

Though startled, his legs did not cease moving for even an instant.

Sssshhk!

Unfortunately, the Sword Ring was faster than his legs.

It closed the distance at a fearsome speed.

“Y-you bastard!”

At the sight, Insect Fiend stopped running and unleashed his Protective Energy to its utmost.

Though his primary strength lay in Poison Arts, his Martial Scriptures were by no means at a low level.

It was only that his Poison Arts were so exceptional that his martial skill had been overshadowed.

Moreover, Insect Fiend’s Protective Energy differed greatly from the ordinary kind.

Patter-patter-patter!

Thousands—no, tens of thousands—of venomous insects began gathering in front of him.

More precisely, they assembled before his Protective Energy, forming a wall.

They were willing to sacrifice themselves to save Insect Fiend.

Boom-boom-boom!

“Ghk!”

Fortunately, the venomous insects’ efforts bore fruit.

Though he spat out bright red blood, he somehow managed to block the Sword Ring.

Swoooosh!

The problem, however, was that he had only just managed to stop the first Sword Ring.

No sooner had one been blocked than Ban Hojin calmly fired the second.

“Wow.”

“He’s just crushing him with brute force.”

“But the important thing is that it works. The only problem is that not just anyone can do it.”

Watching Ban Hojin toy with Insect Fiend—whom they themselves had struggled against—Seo Jo-woon, Seonwu Bang, and Murong Cheok could not help but exclaim in admiration.

At the same time, it was immensely satisfying.

Seeing Insect Fiend, who had annoyingly controlled venomous insects from the rear and hurled Concealed Weapons, now being beaten helplessly felt like clearing a decade’s worth of indigestion.

“If Brother had been at our level, how do you think he would have dealt with Insect Fiend?”

“He would have found a way somehow. If it’s Hojin.”

At Seo Jo-woon’s murmur, Seonwu Bang stroked his chin.

Even if Ban Hojin had been at a similar level to them, for some reason it felt as though he still would have driven Insect Fiend into a corner.

In his own way.

KWA-BOOM! BOOM!

While the four spoke leisurely, Insect Fiend’s crisis continued.

Though he barely managed to block the Sword Rings, even he could feel it.

At this rate, he would eventually be defeated.

And defeat meant death.

‘I can’t die here!’

He was the one who had survived to the end despite becoming a Public Enemy of Murim and the target of countless martial artists.

If someone like him were to be captured and killed by mere later-generation experts, there could be no greater humiliation.

Thus, after quickly calculating his remaining energy, Insect Fiend pushed his Protective Energy to its peak.

At the same time, he spared none of the Concealed Weapons he possessed, hurling them all at Ban Hojin.

Sssshhhhhk!

They were rare Concealed Weapons and poisons he had gathered over decades, yet they were not more precious than his life.

Even if he expended everything he had now, as long as he survived, he could make and gather them again.

So Insect Fiend poured out everything without holding back.

Ting-ting-ting-ting!

Yet not a single one of the Concealed Weapons he had unleashed—while shedding tears of blood inside—so much as touched Ban Hojin’s body.

With that uniquely irritating face of his, Ban Hojin deflected every Concealed Weapon that rushed toward him.

Unlike his indifferent expression, Ban Hojin’s swordsmanship was flawless.

Without a single mistake, he knocked aside every Concealed Weapon that Insect Fiend had hurled with all his might.

Sssiiiing!

Even so, Ban Hojin did not cease his attack.

While deflecting the Concealed Weapons, he continued sending Sword Rings toward him.

‘I’ve been waiting!’

Yet Insect Fiend’s eyes, as he watched the Sword Ring rushing at him with its vicious Air-Tearing Sound, were different.

Gone was the clear terror from moments before; anticipation now gleamed in his gaze.

KWA-BOOM!

Soon, the thick wall formed of venomous insects and the Protective Energy collided, triggering an explosion.

But what followed differed from before.

With the explosion, Insect Fiend’s body was blasted backward.

Unlike how he had endured until now, he instead used the explosion to gain propulsion and fled in one swift motion.

“Kuahahaha! We’ll meet again, you unlucky bastard!”

Having opened an enormous distance in the blink of an eye, Insect Fiend let out a triumphant roar of laughter as he sprinted at full speed.

Yet unlike his loud bravado, his legs moved without pause.

He knew all too well how critical this very moment was.

So he did not look back even once, running with his eyes fixed straight ahead.

“Sorry, but I can’t allow that.”

Though Insect Fiend had already become no more than a speck in the distance, Ban Hojin neither panicked nor felt vexed.

As always, he simply raised his sword leisurely.

But the result was astonishing.

The casually thrown sword turned into a streak of lightning and pierced through Insect Fiend’s Dantian.

“Ghk!”

At the same time, Insect Fiend collapsed to the ground with a groan.

He stared in disbelief at the worn sword protruding from his abdomen.

His heart wished to pull out the sword at once and flee again, but unfortunately, he could not.

The savage energy flowing from the sword ravaged his insides, leaving him unable to move.

‘M-me… like this…!’

As his consciousness faded, Insect Fiend howled, but regrettably, no sound escaped his lips.

Moments later, his writhing body went limp.

For someone who had shaken Murim with his infamy as one of the Eight Evils, it was an all-too-pitiful end.

A woman of striking beauty—far too refined to be seen in a remote mountain village—quietly sipped her tea.

She was a beauty marked by her porcelain-white skin, and unlike her innocent-looking face, her figure was the complete opposite.

Even though she wore loose garments, her voluptuous curves were unmistakably revealed.

“So the Twin Fiends fell, and now Insect Fiend as well. That’s rather surprising.”

The woman, exuding the sensual aura of a mature beauty in her middle years, wore a look of disbelief.

The Blue and Red Twin Fiends possessed remarkable combined techniques, but it was not as though they were without rivals.

If they had truly been at that level, they would not have been counted among the Eight Evils but would have claimed two seats among the Ten Great Masters Under Heaven.

But Insect Fiend was different.

He was a man capable of wiping out not only a village but an entire fortress by himself.

“I was told he was killed by only a handful of people. Hmmm.”

The woman’s expression turned curious.

Yet nowhere on her face was there any sign of tension or fear.

Rather, a strange anticipation lingered as she let out a soft hum.

“Young and strong martial artists, hm. That sounds delicious.”

The woman licked her upper lip with a smile brimming with sensuality.

Her favorite taste was young men with abundant internal energy.

Men in their twenties possessed a freshness and firmness that older men lacked.

The only regret had always been their internal energy—but if they were strong enough to kill Insect Fiend, perhaps she could allow herself to hope.

“Turning misfortune into fortune. A calamity depends on how you use it. Just as poison can become medicine if handled well.”

Ironblood Fortress had issued a warning, yet she had not retreated.

At least when it came to men, she was confident she would never lose.

To her, men were always prey—and in the relations between men and women, she was always the praying mantis.

“I had heard the Divine Dragon appeared. I did want to see him at least once.”

Step, step.

From where she sat by the window, she saw figures approaching from afar.

But her brows knitted deeply.

Contrary to what Ironblood Fortress had told her, there were women among the group.

Not just one or two—there were more women than men.

“Oh?”

The human heart was like that.

It always wished to see only what was good, beautiful, and pleasing.

It was fine that there were men handsome enough to make one’s eyes widen—but she disliked that beside them walked a woman whose beauty was extraordinary at a single glance.

In this world, one beautiful woman—herself—was enough.

“Still, who is she? With beauty like that, she should have long been known to the world.”

Muttering with clear displeasure, the woman narrowed her eyes.

Though the veiled woman revealed only her eyes, sharp nose bridge, and long slender brows, that alone was enough to gauge her level of beauty.

It was obvious at a glance that she was an exceptional beauty, and the woman’s brows furrowed tightly.

“Is it because she’s a temptress who chases after men? The way she looks at men and women is completely different.”

“Quite the foul mouth for someone who looks the part.”

At the words of the Veiled Woman, Nan Hee-ju, the middle-aged woman’s eyes slanted upward as far as they could go.

She shot Nan Hee-ju a sharp glare.

But when it came to a battle of nerves between women, Nan Hee-ju was no novice.

“No matter if you’re an old hag, isn’t it rather rude to speak so casually upon a first meeting?”

“Hah!”

Twin veins bulged in the woman’s eyes.

The very word she hated most had slipped from Nan Hee-ju’s lips.

At the same time, a chill descended.

The cold aura emanating from the woman began to seep into the surroundings.