Chapter 39 : Chapter 39

Chapter 39 - Legacy of the Heavenly Demon (5)

Having dealt with one Demonic Cultist, Jaun approached the guy he had knocked out just before, released the acupoint block, and grabbed him by the collar.

“Hey.”

As the acupoint was unblocked, the Demonic Cultist’s eyes slowly opened.

“Who……?”

“Your colleague over there couldn’t give a faithful answer, so his head and neck were separated. Can you see?”

The Demonic Cultist turned his head, confirmed the body of his colleague lying on the ground, and trembled.

“Who, who are you!”

“Only answer what I ask. If not, you’ll end up in the same state.”

At Jaun’s words, the Demonic Cultist flinched and slowly turned his head.

“S-Spare me.”

“If you answer properly, I will spare your life. Besides the Illusion Demon, are there any more troops dispatched here?”

“W-Wait! I don’t know details like that! Such information doesn’t reach low-ranking guys like us! Like you said, I only know that the Illusion Demon is coming, and that the Squad Leaders went out to greet the Illusion Demon……!”

— Chwa-a-ak

Blood spurted from the Demonic Cultist’s neck, and his head rolled on the ground.

Jaun snapped the neck to finish it and began to approach the Demonic Cult’s combat squad main camp carefully.

After pushing through the thicket for quite a while, the main camp of the Demonic Cult’s combat squad came into view not far away.

Perhaps because they didn’t think the Murim Alliance would attack first, the Demonic Cult’s surveillance was on the loose side.

While taking out the Demonic Cultists scouting on the outskirts one by one and approaching the center, Jaun felt a dense concentration of Demonic Energy through his senses.

‘Is this the main unit?’

Sticking as close to the ground as possible, Jaun expanded his senses to search the surroundings.

Jaun, who was meticulously counting the number of Demonic Cultists, bit his lip slightly.

‘There are quite a few. It seems there was almost no loss of manpower when they destroyed Gansu. If the reinforcement troops and these guys join forces…… it will be a difficult battle for the Murim Alliance.’

Having grasped the situation, Jaun looked up at the sky once, estimated the time, and slowly backed away.

‘I strike here first. The Illusion Demon comes after that.’

Jaun started running quickly toward where the Murim Alliance’s combat squads were.

***

“I found them.”

At Jaun’s words, who arrived last, the group turned their heads.

“Is it the east?”

At Yeon Seung-il’s words, Jaun nodded.

“They said the Illusion Demon is coming for support from the Demonic Cult. So all the Squad Leader-level figures have vacated their posts to greet the Illusion Demon. We have to strike immediately before the reinforcement troops and the Demonic Cult troops that came over from Gansu join forces.”

“There isn’t enough time to contact the other squads. What is the scale of the demon practitioners in the east?”

“Total one hundred and ninety-two.”

At Jaun’s words, Yeon Seung-il frowned.

“Why so many? Combining Sword Phoenix and Blade Dragon’s squads, it’s forty. Even including us, it’s forty-four. We’d have to deal with five per person.”

Yeon Seung-il looked back at Baek-myo.

“Baek-myo. Deliver the information the youngest brought, and tell Elder Tak that we will deal with the main unit in the east first. Tell him that if Elder Tak blocks the Illusion Demon, we will handle this side and join up immediately in the meantime.”

“Got it, Squad Leader. I’ll go quickly. If I see the situation isn’t good, I’ll pull out right away. Don’t go facing death again.”

Baek-myo said a word to Yeon Seung-il with a firm expression and started running toward the main camp where Tak Mu-bin was.

“Hyeon-dam. Lead the combat squads and follow. The youngest and I are going in first.”

“Yes. I’ll follow right away.”

As Hyeon-dam turned his body toward where the combat squads were, Yeon Seung-il grabbed Jaun’s hand and ran toward the east.

***

“……Did you do this?”

There were already over ten corpses of Demonic Cultists lying around with their heads cut off.

“Yes.”

Yeon Seung-il, looking at Jaun, shook his head left and right.

“I still don’t know you well.”

At Yeon Seung-il’s words, Jaun smiled gently.

“You said everyone has secrets they want to hide, right? You will know someday, so for now let’s go, Squad Leader. Not much distance left now.”

Yeon Seung-il, watching Jaun go ahead, sighed.

‘Even though he is right next to me, I can’t properly sense his presence. He is more of an expert than me when it comes to tracking. Just what kind of life has this child lived…….’

With a complicated expression, Yeon Seung-il chased closely behind Jaun.

Shortly after, Yeon Seung-il and Jaun, hiding their bodies in the thicket near the Demonic Cult’s main unit, looked around.

Everyone was sprawled here and there resting with their guards down.

It was the optimal condition for a surprise attack.

“We need some time until the combat squads arrive. Let’s wait and go in all at once.”

“No. We have to go in first now and reduce their numbers as much as possible. I don’t know

about Sword Phoenix and Blade Dragon, but their squad members didn’t look very experienced. We can minimize the damage to our allies only when the enemy is in a state of confusion.”

“……Are you saying the two of us should strike first? Can you do it?”

“Of course.”

Yeon Seung-il stared intently at Jaun.

Discovering firm belief in Jaun’s eyes, Yeon Seung-il sighed lightly and warmed up his body.

“Good. I’ll trust you and go in. On the count of three, you take the east. I’m going in from the west.”

“Yes.”

“Be careful. You know well how important every single ally is on the battlefield, right?”

Jaun shrugged his shoulders once and tapped Yeon Seung-il’s shoulder.

“Aren’t you going?”

“……Let’s go.”

Yeon Seung-il, looking at Jaun’s face where no tension could be found, shook his head from side to side and jumped into the west of the camp.

Following that, Jaun threw his body into the thick Demonic Energy gathered near the east.

— Pa-at

Simultaneously with Jaun’s feet kicking off the ground with force, Jaun’s body shot forward like an arrow, leaving an afterimage.

Reaching the place where the Demonic Cultists were gathered in an instant, Jaun swung his left hand wearing the Ink Ring forward.

— Chwa-reu-reuk

As Jaun raised his energy, Millennium Silk unspooled from the Ink Ring and drew a large semicircle.

— Chwa-a-ak

Immediately after, the bodies of four or five Demonic Cultists in the left radius were split in half.

“W-What?”

Towards the necks of the flustered Demonic Cultists who couldn’t even spot Jaun’s figure, Jaun’s sword, Moon Fang, flew in.

— Pi-shuk

Moon Fang, filled with red energy, cleanly severed the necks of the Demonic Cultists.

“B-Be careful! It’s an ambush!”

Only then did the Demonic Cultists, who started hurriedly looking for their weapons, fall helplessly to Jaun’s attacks.

The Demonic Energy that the Demonic Cultists raised to respond was sucked into Jaun, instead rapidly growing his energy.

[Blood Flower Death Shadow Sword ]

Jaun’s sword, filled with Demonic Energy throughout his body, began to bloom magnificent flowers of blood.

‘There are no Squad Leader-level figures, and no eyes watching from our side. So I have to use the Divine Art to eliminate as many enemies as possible.’

Revealing himself among the confused Demonic Cultists, Jaun swung his sword endlessly.

Every time Jaun’s left hand shook, Millennium Silk whipped around in all directions, and every time his right hand flashed, Moon Fang, harboring dark red energy, danced.

The unprepared Demonic Cultists fell helplessly to Jaun’s attacks.

Seeing Jaun slaughtering dozens of people in an instant and stirring up the main camp, the pants of the Demonic Cultists became wet.

Jaun’s figure, stepping with the Demon Shadow Step, blurred once again.

As Jaun’s blood-drenched figure blurred, it looked as if only blood-red pupils were floating in the air and stirring the surroundings.

“G-Ghost……!”

Demonic Cultists screamed in terror and scattered in all directions.

“Aaaahk!”

“S-Spare me……!”

As the Demonic Cultists scattered in all directions, Jaun frowned.

‘It’s easier to deal with them at once if they are gathered.’

Thinking he should inflict maximum damage before the Demonic Cultists scattered wider, Jaun raised his energy greatly.

“Huu-aaahp!”

A loud shout burst from Jaun’s mouth.

Jaun, having raised his energy to the brim, spun his body around and slashed the Moon Fang he was holding in all directions.

— Chwa-a-a-ak!

The energy extending from Jaun’s sword swept through a radius of about ten Jang (approx. 30 meters).

“Aaaack!”

The sword energy radiating in a circle centered on Jaun sliced through the waists of the Demonic Cultists just as it was.

— Kwa-da-da-ang

Dozens of Demonic Cultists fell on the spot.

With just a single sword strike swung by Jaun, there was no one left breathing within a radius of ten Jang.

“Uh, uhhh…….”

A few Demonic Cultists, who had thrown themselves just in time to barely escape the sword strike, stepped backward with pale faces and began to flee in all directions.

‘More than this will be difficult.’

It was time for the combat squads to arrive soon. Jaun folded his regretful heart and turned his head.

At the same time, a loud shout came from behind.

“Ensure not a single breathing Demonic Cultist remains in this place!”

Sword Phoenix’s loud voice was heard, and

“Waaaaah—!”

The massive roar of the morale-charged combat squad members followed.

Confirming the combat squad members charging in among the confused Demonic Cultists, Jaun dispersed the remaining Demonic Energy.

Catching his breath for a moment, Jaun turned his head to look at the combat squads filling up all directions.

— Chwa-ak

Sword light flashed from Sword Phoenix’s waist. Sword Phoenix’s momentum, standing at the lead and swinging her sword with disciplined movements, was quite fierce.

Seeing Sword Phoenix advancing forward while ending lives one by one with precision, the combat squad members gained courage.

Gripping their weapons tightly, the combat squad members swung their weapons endlessly toward the Demonic Cultists.

“Aaaack!”

The momentum of the combat squads was stronger and fiercer than expected, and their skills were substantial.

Although most were children of prestigious Orthodox sects without much practical experience, they were filling their lack of experience with the high level of their respective martial arts.

Plum blossoms bloomed on one side, and the Taiji symbol was drawn on another.

In an instant, the number of fleeing Demonic Cultists was reduced by half.

“Hyeon-dam! Block the escape route.”

Yeon Seung-il, who was watching the situation, instructed Hyeon-dam who arrived following behind.

Behind the backs of the Demonic Cultists fleeing with all their might, Hyeon-dam’s massive Lion’s Roar was heard.

— Eo-heo-heo-eong

At Hyeon-dam’s clear energy, the movement of Demonic Energy came to a sudden halt, and the movements of the Demonic Cultists using Demonic Energy also stopped.

Not missing that gap, Hyeon-dam raised his energy to the fullest.

— Kwa-a-a-ang!

Fist Energy released from Hyeon-dam’s fist poured out frontally.

— Kwa-a-ang! Kwa-a-ang!

At Hyeon-dam’s consecutive fist strikes, the ground was gouged out as if lightning bombs had exploded.

While the fleeing Demonic Cultists were struggling to control their tangled Demonic Energy, Hyeon-dam, who had cut through the air and flown in an instant, blocked their escape route.

“Amitabha! Where are you trying to go? There is only one place you can go. Only hell.”

As Hyeon-dam blocked the escape route, the Demonic Cultists bit their lips tight, retreated hesitantly, and began to bunch up in one place.

The number of Demonic Cultists gathered in the center was a little over seventy. They looked around and realized the situation they were in.

All escape routes were blocked, and only Anti-Demon Squad members were visible.

One of the Demonic Cultists, who had come to his senses from the shock of the ambush, shouted loudly.

“Snap out of it! We’re dead anyway, let’s take even one more of those beggar-like Murim Alliance bastards to the Demon God’s side!”

“Heavenly Demon, Ten Thousand Years! Ten Thousand Years!”

Simultaneously shouting the slogan in one voice, the eyes of the Demonic Cultists began to burn.

As the demon practitioners, who had properly taken their positions, raised their energy, Demonic Energy began to settle thickly in all directions.

Instinctive repulsion toward the Demonic Energy made the combat squad members’ feet falter.

“What are you doing! Slaughter the remaining Demonic Cultists!”

At that moment, Sword Phoenix’s loud shout filled the battlefield.

Thanks to that, the combat squad members, having recovered their morale, charged at the clustered Demonic Cultists.

“Waaaaah!”

— Kka-ang! Kkang!

— Chae-aeng!

The charging combat squad members sprinkled their swords endlessly toward the Demonic Cultists.

The attacks of the combat squad members were invariably sharp, but the momentum of the Demonic Cultists defending their formation with their lives was distinctly different from before.

“Stall for time! The Squad Leader will come soon escorting the Illusion Demon!”

One of the Demonic Cultists wearing fancy clothes shouted loudly.

“Ooooooh!”

Hearing those words, the counterattack of the energized Demonic Cultists became fierce.

— Seo-geok

— Ka-ang!

— Chae-aeng!

Blade Dragon and Sword Phoenix also charged fiercely into the Demonic Cultists’ formation, but piercing the defense formation of the Demonic Cultists who had gathered together and entered a defensive stance was not an easy task.

Time passed like that, and the frequency of the Demonic Cultists, who had regained confidence, blocking the swords of the Anti-Demon Squad members began to increase noticeably.

“Unfold the Mad Demon Sword Formation !”

One of the Demonic Cultists took out a flag and waved it in all directions.

The Demonic Cultists, who were bunched up in one place, moved quickly to create a round circular formation.

The Demonic Cultists standing in the front raised their swords upward, and the Demonic Cultists standing in the back row thrust their swords forward.

The eyes of the demon practitioners, who had assumed a thorough defensive stance, were overturned with rage.

“Damn Murim Alliance trash bastards! Come if you dare. We’ll take your heads with us!”

The Demonic Cultists, having recovered their momentum, chewed their lips and growled.