Chapter 109

Chapter 109

A brief silence fell. The situation had shifted so rapidly that everyone’s minds froze.

“Get a hold of yourselves.”

However, a voice as dry as desert sand shattered the silence.

The gazes of the mountain bandits and Demonic Practitioners converged on one man. The man with eyes red as though soaked in blood slowly pointed toward Horyeung and spoke.

“We deal with these bastards first. No matter how Mad Black Sword Ghost he may be, if nine masters of the Transformation Realm attack together, he won’t survive.”

Even though he had just witnessed an utterly unreal scene with his own eyes, his voice did not falter in the slightest.

Yet that unwavering tone was enough to ease the tension of the mountain bandits and the Demonic Practitioners.

To be precise, they were reassured by the fact that nine masters of the Transformation Realm would face Youngho—but what mattered was that their tension had eased.

At that moment, the Demonic Practitioner with blood-red eyes snapped his head to the side. Almost simultaneously, Hyeonu turned his gaze in the same direction.

Soon, Horyeung smiled.

“You’ve arrived.”

“Young Master!”

Hyeokong unleashed a Lion’s Roar. The bellow of one who had nearly reached the Transformation Realm was enough to churn the insides of the mountain bandits.

Boom—!

At the tremendous explosion echoing from far away, Hyeokong realized that Youngho was currently fighting elsewhere.

Locking eyes with Horyeung, Hyeokong gave a nod.

Srrrng—

The sword slid from its sheath, its cold blade aura ringing sharply.

Woooong—!

At once, the Asura Squad members lined up behind Hyeokong all drew their respective weapons.

“Horyeung, your orders.”

Their lord, who should have been commanding them, was locked in a desperate battle far away.

Then who held command in this situation?

Horyeung’s sharp gaze gleamed as he spoke.

“Kill every last one of the mountain bandits and Demonic Practitioners.”

Kuuuung—!

A ferocious killing intent erupted from the bodies of the Asura Squad. Their well-honed aura crushed the morale of the mountain bandits.

Despite an equal-level expert standing before him, Hyeonu did not look at the man. Instead, he fixed his gaze intently on the Asura Squad.

‘So this is the Asura Squad?’

It was not a matter of strength or weakness. After seeing the eyes of the Asura Squad members, Hyeonu let out a sigh of admiration.

“…Impressive.”

Resolve.

The Asura Squad was prepared. They were prepared to endure humiliation and even throw away their lives for their lord.

And above all, they were reproaching themselves.

Because they could not fight at Youngho’s side. Because they were too weak to protect him.

‘It’s not just their resolve that’s remarkable.’

Their skill was also exceptional.

With a pleased smile, Hyeonu turned toward the Green Forest King and the Demonic Practitioner with blood-red eyes and said,

“One of you will have to face me.”

The Green Forest King let out a low groan.

Hyeonu was undeniably strong. Strong enough that even the Green Forest King felt he was his equal—or perhaps even beyond.

Perhaps because of that, the man with blood-red eyes spoke.

“Let’s change locations.”

Without even telling him to follow, the Demonic Practitioner immediately moved to the side. Hyeonu followed, watching his back.

Both were masters of the Transformation Realm who had reached the level of an Absolute Being. If they fought here among others, everyone except the Green Forest King and Horyeung might die.

The Green Forest King watched their retreating figures before turning to Horyeung.

“So then, who will face me now? No matter how feral a wolf becomes, it should know its place… Will you hold out until your master returns?”

As the Green Forest King curled his lips into a mocking smile, Horyeung could not suppress the laughter that rose from within.

“Heh heh heh.”

The Green Forest King frowned.

“The famed Blood Wolf hasn’t gone mad, has he…? What’s so amusing?”

A sticky killing intent began to seep from the Green Forest King’s body.

Meeting his gaze, Horyeung spoke.

“Our Young Master truly seems able to foresee the future.”

“What are you talking about?”

It was a puzzling remark. Yet for some reason, unease crept into the Green Forest King’s heart.

“There is still no one in the Asura Squad capable of fighting an Absolute Being. Well, the same goes for the other units of the Unorthodox Alliance….”

Horyeung bared his teeth like a wolf and growled menacingly.

“Unfortunately for you, we were trained to fight Absolutes.”

At that moment, Kang Chowon and Kang Hosan stepped forward and stood at Horyeung’s side.

“Are you ready?”

At their master’s question, the disciples replied,

“I’m a little nervous.”

“You’re the same, aren’t you, Master?”

As if exchanging final words before death, the three of them tightened their grips on their sword hilts.

At the same time, master and disciples charged toward the Green Forest King with chilling smiles. As though that were the signal, the Asura Squad moved.

Youngho landed lightly on the ground. Looking at those who had surrounded him, he grinned like a demon.

“Let’s finish this quickly. I’m rather busy.”

One of the Men in Black sneered.

“For someone who says that, you’re quite cautious. Did you really think your escorts wouldn’t be discovered by us?”

He was referring to Shadow and Black Shadow, who always guarded Youngho from the darkness.

“So you can at least sense their presence? But saying they’ve been discovered isn’t quite accurate, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t know where my boys are.”

A chill ran down the Man in Black’s spine. The instant he turned around, Youngho did not miss that fleeting opening and shot forward.

“Not happening!”

Slash!

With the sound of flesh being cut, blood sprayed into the air.

Thud.

The man’s wrist fell to the ground. The demonic energy still clinging to the severed hand proved that it had been attached to his wrist just moments ago.

“Urgh!”

At the lightning-fast sword draw, the other Demonic Practitioners moved at once.

One of them barked at the Demonic Practitioner whose wrist had been severed.

“Help him now!”

From this moment on, Youngho could not be given even a moment to catch his breath. He had been caught off guard just now due to an unforeseen variable, but from here on, they had to press him relentlessly and kill him without pause.

Originally, they had thought five would be enough. But Youngho’s Martial Might far exceeded what they had imagined.

‘Demon Brain was not wrong.’

The Demonic Practitioners clenched their teeth and drew out the full strength of their bodies.

Meanwhile, Black Shadow and Shadow, who were watching the battle between Youngho and the Demonic Practitioners, involuntarily swallowed at the monstrous Martial Might on display.

Just moments ago, Black Shadow and Shadow had slipped into the shadow of one of the Demonic Practitioners. They had thought they had done so with considerable stealth, but as expected of a master of the Transformation Realm.

The Demonic Practitioner had immediately turned around to tear them apart.

If Youngho had not severed that Demonic Practitioner’s wrist at that instant, Black Shadow and Shadow would already have left this world.

Their hands trembled on their own. The Martial Presence of Absolutes was not something mere assassins could withstand.

Shadow spoke to Black Shadow, who was still somewhat dazed.

“As the Young Master instructed, we only need to reveal killing intent toward those Demonic Practitioners from time to time.”

Contrary to Shadow’s expectation that he would nod in agreement, Black Shadow asked a question he had never asked before.

“…Does it have meaning?”

“……”

There was no need to elaborate. Was there meaning in their actions? What use was merely revealing killing intent?

It was a fair point. There was no longer any place for Black Shadow and Shadow to interfere in that battle.

That was why Shadow rebuked him in a voice as cold as the Blade Winds of the Northern Sea.

“So you would give up?”

Black Shadow’s body trembled sharply for an instant.

“You must be afraid. No matter how much you trained to discard your emotions, this is the first time you’ve faced monsters of this level.”

Shadow continued in a steady, weighty tone.

“That is precisely why we must move. The Young Master, and even the Lord of the Unorthodox Alliance, are not gods. They are merely unbelievably strong. We should be content with supporting them.”

It was orthodox reasoning, perfectly correct. They only needed to do their best from their respective positions.

“The Young Master already knows we won’t be of much help, and he gave that order regardless. He likely has no great expectations for us.”

“…Understood.”

At some point, conviction filled Black Shadow’s eyes. Seeing those firm eyes—like a rock unmoved by any wave—Shadow nodded.

“We begin now.”

“Yes.”

Black Shadow and Shadow melted into the shadows.

As their presence faded, Youngho smiled. Displeased by that smile, one of the Demonic Practitioners spoke in a voice dripping with coldness.

“Invincible Divine Cult, Ten Thousand Demons Bow in Submission.”

“For a bunch that claims to be a religious group and doesn’t even pay taxes, what’s with the chant?”

Whoosh—!

Youngho deflected the weapons aimed at him with terrifying swift sword strikes and smiled chillingly.

“You’re still just brats.”

Enraged by Youngho’s attitude, as if he had already won, the Demonic Practitioners pressed him even more violently.

From the front, back, both sides, and even from the sky, attacks that could not be ignored poured in.

No matter how much he blocked, there was no end. If he evaded the Sword Qi flying toward him, then Fist Strikes, Blade Aura, and Sword Force would explode in succession.

A single misstep could cost him his life.

Unless some variable intervened, this state would continue.

At least, that was what the Demonic Practitioners believed.

Slash!

At that moment, Youngho’s movements suddenly doubled in speed. His Refined Internal Energy cleaved through demonic energy and sliced into a Demonic Practitioner’s flesh.

The cut was so deep that white bone was exposed, yet the Demonic Practitioner ignored it and focused solely on Youngho.

With the nature of demonic arts, such a wound would regenerate quickly.

Ssssss—!

However, the Demonic Practitioners soon began to sense something strange. The one whose thigh had been deeply cut smelled something burning.

Then an excruciating pain surged through his thigh as if it were being scorched by fire.

He staggered back slightly and looked at his wound. The color drained from his face.

With a pale expression, he looked at Youngho and saw the faint smile hanging on his lips.

“Fall back! That sword—!”

Boom—!

Before he could finish speaking, Youngho’s sword moved explosively.

Drawing elegant arcs, the blade advanced unhindered, leaving each Demonic Practitioner with wounds of varying severity.

One who had been cut from shoulder to heart spat blood and said,

“This much won’t kill us—.”

“I know.”

Youngho suddenly cut him off.

“With Daoist-aligned clean Internal Energy, it’s usually impossible to stop your regeneration. But did you know something?”

Strange. Aside from the horrific pain coursing through their bodies, the Demonic Practitioners felt an inexplicable unease at Youngho’s words.

“If you consume two drops of Clear Sky Stone Milk, your Internal Energy becomes incredibly refined.”

“What are you—!”

He was about to ask what nonsense that was when his body began to sway.

Guhk!

“Uwaaaagh!”

As though expelling all the blood in his body, a tremendous amount of stagnant blood surged up his throat.

“Heh heh!”

Youngho began to laugh like a ghost. Sensing something was terribly wrong, the Demonic Practitioners examined their wounds.

“…They’re not healing?”

“They’re not regenerating?”

Impossible. For regeneration to fail—it was something that, by their understanding, should never happen.

Soon, the Demonic Practitioners glared at Youngho as if they would kill him.

“What did you do?!”

“Nothing much.”

Youngho shrugged.

“I’m just special.”

Whoosh—!

At that moment, black flames ignited along the blade of Youngho’s sword. The Black Flames, carrying a searing heat as though drawn from hell itself, seemed to declare to the Demonic Practitioners—

That they would be annihilated without even leaving ashes behind.