Chapter 145

Chapter 145

Youngho drew his killing intent to its fullest and declared,

“By my command, Asura Squad!”

At Youngho’s words, determination gleamed in the eyes of the Asura Squad.

“Consider the number of enemies to be infinite! Not all of them are living humans! Every Jiangshi you know, recall it clearly and fight! Whether it’s a Poison Jiangshi or a Blood Jiangshi! Many dangerous ones are among them!”

Youngho lowered his stance and added,

“Stay vigilant!”

Bang—!

In an instant, the ground trembled as Youngho’s body stretched like taffy. Before anyone could react, he landed deep in the enemy formation, swinging his sword with lethal intent.

Kwaaang—!

As Youngho’s strike echoed through the mountains, Jongpal shouted at the squad,

“What are you waiting for! Don’t forget the Young Master’s orders—charge!”

The moment Jongpal bellowed, he leaped forward. The Asura Squad drew their swords and surged toward the lifeless Jiangshi.

Of course, not all of the Asura Squad had moved out. Youngho had clearly stated: assume the enemy is infinite.

‘Which means this will likely be a long battle.’

Kang Hosan quickly assessed the situation. Ten members of the Asura Squad were held in reserve.

‘A wheel of attrition,’ he thought.

The Jiangshi were surely meant to wear down their stamina.

‘And the real ones…’

Kang Hosan sensed the ominous demonic energy ahead and reflected,

‘It’s them.’

Without Youngho’s command, Kang Hosan glanced at Hyeon-gang treating Hyeonu, then spoke to Kang Chowon,

“Chowon.”

“Why?”

“Go wreak havoc.”

Kang Chowon smiled radiantly and replied,

“Yes!”

The elders of Hyeonbi and Shaolin also seemed to discuss something, shifting all their disciples into defensive stances.

Shaolin drew the Eighteen Arhats Formation, while Wudang prepared Sword Formations to counter the enemies.

Soon, the endless horde of Jiangshi surged toward the formations of Shaolin and Wudang.

Shreek!

Every swing of Youngho’s sword sent a Jiangshi’s head flying. Before the severed heads hit the ground, his blade had already dispatched the next.

Where the Poison Jiangshi were cut, venom rose—but Youngho whipped up sword wind, dispersing the poison into the air.

Even when Blood Jiangshi displayed superhuman movements impossible for normal humans, Youngho calmly found the openings and severed their necks.

He briefly glanced at the area under Kang Hosan’s command. Everything was proceeding smoothly, without incident.

However, trouble began before Youngho’s stamina even slightly waned.

Kang!

Kang Hosan parried a demon practitioner’s sword attack by briefly twisting his senses.

The demon, who had barely revealed themselves, immediately moved the Jiangshi forward and concealed their body.

Kang Hosan gauged the opponent’s strength from the wrist impact caused by the attack.

‘Weaker than me.’

Yet stronger than most Transformation Realm masters. If attacks continued like this, Shaolin or Wudang disciples might fail to perform at their best out of fear.

With a glance, Kang Hosan exchanged silent communication with Horyeung and returned to his position.

As Kang Hosan anticipated, Wudang disciples were startled by the metallic clangs near them.

“It’s our side! Don’t panic!”

Hyeonbi, knowing Kang Hosan protected the disciples, reassured them.

Whenever a gap appeared in Shaolin or Wudang formations, Kang Hosan and Horyeung intermittently filled it.

Victory seemed close—yet it didn’t take long for them to realize that was an illusion.

Kang—!

Once again, Kang Hosan’s sword defended a Wudang disciple from a demon practitioner’s attack.

‘Good!’

Though the attack intervals were shortening, he still had some margin—at least, that was Kang Hosan’s thought. Until his clothing was cut through.

Shaaak!

A Wudang disciple swung toward Kang Hosan. Initially thinking it was a heretical arts mishap, Kang Hosan aimed for the back of the disciple’s neck to incapacitate them.

“I-I’m sorry!”

However, the immediate apology made Kang Hosan stay calm and reply,

“It’s alright.”

Though odd for a mere mistake, he let it pass. Mental focus drained incredibly fast in battle.

Yet repeated errors from Wudang disciples swinging swords at him made Kang Hosan, almost unconsciously, speak sharply,

“Focus on the proper target when swinging your sword.”

He was surprised by his cold tone, but on the battlefield, he stifled the rising emotion.

As he prepared to move again, one Wudang disciple spoke.

“Just stay out of the way! You’re interfering with the Sword Formation!”

At that, Kang Hosan’s body froze as if petrified. No—more than frozen, it was as if lethal intent was about to pour from him.

Kang Hosan spoke in a hoarse voice, dry and cutting like parched earth.

“…What did you say?”

“You keep jumping in front, so you’re in the way! Just stay out of it!”

“Hah!”

Kang Hosan was too shocked to speak. If he hadn’t been protecting them, the Sword Formation would have collapsed long ago.

More importantly, Kang Hosan was not of such a low realm to swing his sword while interfering with a mere formation.

He had clearly avoided the sword paths of the formation and positioned his body outside its effective range.

And yet… interfering with the formation?

Fury began to boil within him. But Kang Hosan held himself back and shifted his position.

After protecting the formation from the demon practitioner’s attacks twice, the one who had shouted at him earlier yelled again.

“Stay still! You’re in the way!”

This time, even Kang Hosan had no choice but to speak. And in the moment his focus wavered, the demon practitioner seized the opportunity.

Shreek!

“Gyaaah!”

A Wudang disciple was injured.

No one had disrupted the formation, meaning someone had deliberately attacked a gap in the Sword Formation.

Kang Hosan carried the Wudang disciple with a deep leg wound to Hyeon-gang, showing him the injuries.

Kang Hosan was now confused about the situation.

‘Already exhausted?’

Hyeonbi hurriedly filled a gap in the formation, replacing the injured disciple. The formation creaked slightly under the strain.

Seeing this, Kang Hosan could only give a hollow laugh.

Sweat poured down his body like rain, and his trembling arms made it seem as if he might drop his sword.

The battle had not even passed a quarter-hour, yet Wudang disciples were already slowing from fatigue.

Shaolin fared somewhat better. Despite Youngho treating the Abbot lightly, it was still Shaolin.

Their Eighteen Arhats Formation, modeled after the One Hundred and Eight Arhats Formation, left little room for exhaustion if properly mastered.

‘At this rate, we’ll lose!’

He could not understand the problem. His defense was perfect. Then why?

-Training is to prevent mistakes in battle. And the most important factor in battle is mental strength, so it’s unavoidable that I am projecting killing intent.

“Whatever the situation, even with weak mental strength, one must adapt flexibly…”

Kang Hosan muttered.

Thinking back, Kang Hosan’s training had been truly harsh. He stroked the scar on his jaw, a remnant of those trials, and thought,

‘They don’t know the threat of death.’

They had surely never experienced the death-intense training personally devised by Youngho.

This was extreme. They were First-Generation Disciples, not Second-Generation. Yet they were struggling with such minor strain?

Their claim of interfering with the Sword Formation was likely not fully sincere, but rather a symptom of mental fatigue.

“Aaah!”

Another injury occurred. The singular point here was that a Shaolin disciple was hurt.

Hyeon-gang’s eyes widened as he identified the culprit.

“Blood Demon Jiangshi!”

If Hyeon-gang mentioned it, it was no weak Jiangshi.

Knowing Hyeon-gang’s temperament, Kang Hosan surged toward the Blood Demon Jiangshi. Seeing Kang Hosan leap forward, Hyeon-gang shouted,

“Hosan, be careful! That one!”

Kaang—!

Kang Hosan’s eyes widened at the sword held by the Blood Demon Jiangshi. He could not hide his shock at the flurry of strikes that followed.

Ka-ka-ka-ka-kang!

In an instant, dozens of exchanges occurred. Veins bulged in his hands from gripping the sword tightly.

“…Using martial arts?”

Hyeon-gang’s voice came from behind.

“I told you to be careful! Damn it! Blood Demon Jiangshi can use the martial arts they wielded in life!”

Even ordinary Jiangshi would have caused despair, but now there was a Jiangshi using martial arts?

Kang Hosan let out a bitter laugh. Yet even then, his mind did not rest.

“Everyone in the Asura Squad attack except for three! Wudang and Shaolin leave only the minimum defenders, the rest all attack!”

“What do you mean!”

“So the brat’s been acting arrogantly from the start!”

As expected. They thought they were the only ones right, while the Orthodox sects?

Kang Hosan spoke mockingly.

“Even defending, you’re trembling and can’t act properly. Better to fight and die than be useless baggage. Don’t expect to handle a hundred—just deal with ten Jiangshi each.”

“You brat!”

“Talking out of turn, huh…”

“I don’t want to lose my precious friends here, so don’t become dead weight, you worthless bastards!”

Kang Hosan’s cry, filled with emotion unlike usual, startled even Hyeon-gang.

Frustrated, Kang Hosan shouted toward Youngho.

“Young Master! Do we really have to protect them?!”

In response, Youngho let out an even greater roar.

“Are you insane?! When did I say to protect them! Worry about your own lives! Hyeon-gang can fight, so use the Orthodox sects as bait! Those useless ones won’t help anyway…”

For a moment, Youngho unleashed his anger as if venting.

“The long-nosed ones and the bald monks won’t help, so just focus on yourselves!”

Contrary to expectation, Kang Hosan had assumed Youngho would order cooperation with the Orthodox sect due to the situation. Instead, Youngho’s answer far exceeded Kang Hosan’s expectations. Much to his relief.

Kang Hosan grinned, feeling a weight lifted as if shedding ill-fitting clothes.

As he cut through the Blood Demon Jiangshi coming at him, he muttered,

“Ugh! Fighting with these deadweights was pointless!”

Before Wudang and Shaolin could respond,

Paaaang—!

Kang Chowon’s sword cut through the air, severing the necks of the Jiangshi.

The strike was so powerful, even those in front of one Zhang fell.

With cold eyes, Kang Chowon looked at the Wudang and Shaolin disciples.

“There’s no shield protecting you from now on. Survive on your own, vermin.”

The chill in her voice, so incongruous with its beauty, made the body shiver.

Ding-dang—!

At that moment, the sound of a bell echoed in their minds.