Chapter 683
Boom.
The heat transmitted through his chest was scalding.
Crack, crack, crack!
An enormous impact swept through his entire body like a tidal wave.
Cough.
It had been a long time since he felt such excruciating pain.
His once-clear vision blurred, and dark red blood gushed from his parted lips.
However, what tormented the Great Snow Demon, who had been smashed into the ground, shattering a massive boulder, was not the pain or the internal injuries.
‘My strategy was read? By such a fledgling?’
The unbelievable reality that his own schemes, which had brought him to this point by defeating countless powerful enemies, had been outmaneuvered by a mere youth barely past his coming-of-age was confounding the Great Snow Demon’s mind.
‘Surely my judgment was correct.’
He muttered blankly to himself, then shook his head.
No, that wasn’t right.
It was not ‘should have been correct,’ but ‘was definitely the right judgment.’
In this insane Murim world, at the intersection of countless Death Lines, the reason he had survived was not only his powerful martial arts.
Concealing himself and knowing his opponent.
If the supreme martial prowess embodied in the Great Snow Demon was a sharp sword, his unwavering composure and cool-headed judgment were both a shield and a hidden weapon.
But… this was a first.
An opponent who didn’t fall even when cut with a sword, who couldn’t be blocked even with a shield, and against whom even hidden weapons were ineffective.
A being who so completely defied all his judgments and convictions.
‘How, in the world…’
With a lingering question that couldn’t be resolved, the Great Snow Demon raised his trembling eyelids and looked straight ahead.
Whoosh.
The fiercely swirling Snow Wind subsided. The frost-covered ground melted, and the white breath that had been exhaled was now mixed with a bitter heat.
And at the center of it all, there was one person.
Thud.
With footsteps echoing through the silent space, the figure that emerged from beyond the hazy steam was reflected in the Great Snow Demon’s eyes.
A man, soaked in blood from head to toe. Yet, in contrast, a pair of clear and distinct eyes.
As the young man slowly approached, the Great Snow Demon rose to his feet.
Pat, pat.
The pain that accompanied the falling pieces of stone from his entire body. Clenching his teeth, he suppressed his internal injuries and spat out a person’s name as if chewing it.
“…Jin Taekyung.”
A voice as cold as the chaotic thoughts in his head. But Jin Taekyung’s reply, which soon followed, was utterly calm.
“Unexpected. I thought you wouldn’t be able to move in this state.”
“What?”
“The old man’s got a lot of energy. But it’s not good in this situation. It’ll only become more painful.” (T/N: Uno Reversed bitch )
In an instant, the Great Snow Demon’s eyebrows twitched as he realized something.
“…You.”
“Ah. It doesn’t mean much, but it seems like someone said something similar to me earlier, so I just recited it. Roughly… it doesn’t seem like even an hour has passed. I can’t remember which idiot was running his mouth.”
Jin Taekyung, muttering to himself about whether he was suffering from early-onset dementia, glanced behind him and sighed.
“Ah. I feel like I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I don’t know. Maybe the old man lying over there might know, so should I go ask him?”
“I’ll be right back, okay?”
It was, without a doubt, utter nonsense.
Asking something of a corpse whose heart had already been crushed, and the corpse answering, was impossible.
This was blatant mockery. Not worth even a moment’s attention. But the Great Snow Demon bit his lip without realizing it. It was nonsense that he would never have reacted to under normal circumstances, but he couldn’t help but be shaken now.
“What… exactly are you?”
A single word filled with pure curiosity.
The Great Snow Demon was genuinely curious. How Jin Taekyung could be standing on two feet at this moment. How he hadn’t fallen along with the Black Hand Demon Fist.
“I saw it clearly with these two eyes. It was by no means an illusion or a clumsy act. But how, how could you do that?”
The Great Snow Demon’s words were the unvarnished truth.
There was no mistake. His Ki and blood vessels had been tangled by the powerful Yin Cold Energy, and he had even been cut by the Twin Wheels imbued with aura.
That was why the Great Snow Demon was certain until the very last moment.
That with this Ice Sword in his hand, he could simultaneously deal with the wounded beast and the hunting dog.
The Great Snow Demon had even decided to kill the Black Hand Demon Fist because of a sliver of caution held by the experienced hunter.
Because he couldn’t know what a beast driven to the edge of a cliff might do.
But… he was wrong. No, everything had been completely overturned.
The hunter had failed to kill the beast, and the beast that had sunk its teeth into the hunting dog’s neck had clawed at the hunter’s chest.
Something that should never have happened, and should never have been allowed to happen, had occurred.
And Jin Taekyung, staring blankly at the Great Snow Demon, who wore an expression of incomprehension, muttered to himself.
“Yeah, maybe that’s how it was.”
The meaning contained in that murmur reached a realm that the Great Snow Demon could not understand.
Because it was a gamble that only one person in this world could attempt.
‘Level up.’
A move that could reverse an extremely unfavorable situation.
Jin Taekyung had bet everything on that one thing. He had willingly offered his own flesh to lure the enemies into complacency, and had finally been able to take their bones.
‘If I hadn’t been able to level up with the experience points I got from the Black Hand Demon Fist… I would have been the one lying there right now.’
But the life-or-death gamble had succeeded.
Jin Taekyung had fought over a dozen battles on the way to Mount Aenoe, and had dealt with hundreds of venomous creatures while breaking through the Poison-Blooded Land.
And he had placed the name of the Black Hand Demon Fist on top of the experience points that had accumulated little by little.
‘On top of that, the 10 points I gained from escaping the Lightning Prison and hadn’t used, and the Fire Dragon Armor.’
He had been forced to suffer internal injuries first due to the Great Snow Demon’s unexpected move, but that was why he was able to take it out and use it at the most crucial moment.
It had been a close call, but the result was a success.
The single punch he had unleashed with all his might had snatched the life of the Black Hand Demon Fist more swiftly than the Ice Sword, and the Great Snow Demon’s Ice Sword had failed to completely penetrate the Fire Dragon Armor.
Jin Taekyung suddenly recalled something he had heard from someone long ago. A man who loved Go. Every time he lost a game, he would shout, “Get out, Japs and Chinks!” That was what he had told him.
‘Son, there’s a saying in Go: “A large group cannot die.”‘
‘Dad, is that Buddhist?’
‘No, it’s not that. “A large group,” meaning a big group of stones, doesn’t die easily.’
‘I see. But Dad, why did you lose this game?’
‘That’s because the large group died… Honey! Please take Taekyung away! Honey!’
A chuckle escaped him. His father’s words were correct. A large group does not die easily.
The large group that finds a brilliant move at the end of a bad move becomes larger than any other stone and dominates the board.
Just like now.
“Black Hand already went ahead, and our Santa Claus here should be going to see his parents soon, too. Just so you know, I don’t do surrender recommendations.”
Swish.
The blade of White Flame, held in a blood-soaked fist, was aimed at one person.
The Great Snow Demon stared at Jin Taekyung with bloodshot eyes and opened his mouth.
“Don’t spout nonsense. You’ve only gained a slight advantage. It’s not over yet.”
Jin Taekyung didn’t bother to deny it.
At least, among the words that crazy old man was saying, the fact that it wasn’t over yet was true.
Flesh was cut, bone was severed.
Although it was flesh that had been given up in order to take bone, the internal injuries he had sustained earlier and the injuries caused by the Twin Wheels were not enough to be healed by a single level up.
On the other hand, just as he had risen again despite being attacked first, the Great Snow Demon still had plenty of energy left.
“You dying and this old man living is the natural order, the Heaven’s Will.”
Swish.
A cold aura enveloped the surroundings along with the chilling voice.
Faced with the sight of the old monster who hadn’t fallen even after being struck by the Flame Extinguishing Divine Fist at full power, Jin Taekyung once again awakened the Fire Dragon that filled his lower abdomen.
“Well, I can understand an old man going senile…
Fwoosh.
The blue-white flames that rose up, covering the transparent blade, drove away the cold air. Flames flickered in a pair of eyes that held a faint heat.
“For a Dark Heaven bastard to talk about Heaven’s Will, you won’t even be able to see your parents after you die.”
At that moment.
Flash.
With the space erased, flames and cold air collided.
Clang!
The world shook. The Fire Spear and Ice Sword, which were facing each other, emitted a huge roar.
The shockwave that would shake the earth and sky swept in all directions, but the two figures that were pushed back by the explosion reached out their feet towards each other without yielding an inch.
Swish!
One step. Just one step was enough. The Great Snow Demon, who had been shot out, tore through the moment and shook off his blood-soaked sleeve.
Boom.
The cold air that froze even the air swept over the boulder that was buried deep in the ground.
‘A rock?’
The Great Snow Demon raised his head at the same time as he realized it.
As if there were invisible stairs, Jin Taekyung, who had jumped into the empty air half a beat earlier, was falling down, becoming one with his spear.
Fire Dragon Divine Spear.
Heavenly Strike.
Pyeong!
There was no time to even think. The Great Snow Demon instinctively raised the Ice Sword he was holding in his hand.
A streak of fire that had been drawn like a meteor collided with the Ice Sword.
Clang.
Perhaps he would have been able to block it without difficulty an hour ago. But it was different now.
Jin Taekyung’s attack, having fully recovered his power, was heavier and sharper than before.
No, the internal injuries that the Great Snow Demon had sustained were also considerable.
‘Hmph.’
The Great Snow Demon, who had swallowed the gushing blood along with a groan, changed the direction of the Ice Sword. The flames that had exploded on the ground as if sliding detonated.
A figure was thrown back along with a deafening roar.
The Great Snow Demon threw the Ice Sword as if throwing it towards the figure that could be seen beyond his overturning vision.
Swoosh! Bang!
Jin Taekyung, who had brushed off the Ice Sword that had struck faster than the speed of sound, did not hesitate. He put strength into the tip of his foot, which was stepping on the rock that had been frozen by the Yin Cold Energy.
Crackle. Crack.
The ice melted, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the surface of the solid rock.
Then, a streak of fire rose up.
Khaaaaa!
Flame Fire Path.
Jin Taekyung charged forward, wrapped in blue-white flames.
Towards the Great Snow Demon. Towards the old monster who dared to defy the natural order and utter the words of Heaven’s Will.
‘I can do it.’
It wasn’t confidence or carelessness. He simply believed in himself.
Holding his breath, Jin Taekyung, who had cut through the space, grabbed the spear shaft in reverse grip and shot it out as it was.
Swaaaaaa!
The blade containing the flames brushed past the moment. It split the wind. It burned the air.
And at the end of it… there was one person.
“Gaaaaah!”
Too fast.
The Great Snow Demon, who had burst out a cry like a roar, gathered Yin Cold Energy in both hands.
Soon, a pure white aura that seemed to freeze even the world was fired towards the blade.
No, it had to be.
Swish! Rustle!
Pain transmitted from his back.
Something that scattered white hairs along with a burning pain brushed past the Great Snow Demon’s vision.
That which had passed by in the vision of the old monster, whose judgment had been clouded, was running straight somewhere without slowing down.
‘Damn it. White…’
The Great Snow Demon swallowed the rising curse. He unleashed both palms with all his might towards the blue-white flames that filled his eyes.
Khaaaaaaang!
Gugugugung!
A roar that seemed to split the sky shook the world.