Chapter 314: One Step Forward, One Step Backward (1)
RUMBLE!
While it wasn’t enough to shake the entire floor as the Heavenly Demon had done,
It was more than enough to shake this entire area.
The energy compressed within the Fang and Twin Dragon Swords extended forward to its utmost limit.
“This… this is…”
The Heart Demon Commander instinctively felt a sense of crisis.
If he were to be struck by the Heavenly Demon’s ultimate technique in such a condensed state…
It would be the end.
The ghoul army he painstakingly prepared would be obliterated in an instant.
“Dodge! Immediately!”
The Heart Demon Commander shouted at the top of his lungs.
And at that moment,
BOOM!
The extreme compressed energy was sequentially released.
A gigantic light enveloped Jinhyuk.
—
The first to be affected.
The body of the Heavenly Ghouls, closest to Jinhyuk, began to crack.
“Kie?”
With a pungent odor, their flesh started to burn.
Although their bodies, tempered by the extreme Yin energy, had immense heat resistance, this time their tough bodies couldn’t act as a shield.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The explosion of energy beyond imagination.
Everything turned white.
And when the vision returned…
The landscape had completely changed.
“Huff… Huff… Huff…”
The Heart Demon Commander staggered backward.
Thanks to the ghouls acting as a shield, he narrowly managed to survive.
He had used the ‘Servants of the Commander’ to momentarily convert the ghouls’ attack power into defense.
But that was all.
The ghouls he possessed had already turned to ashes and scattered.
‘How… am I supposed to face him now…’
Not only had he failed his mission, but he would also return alone?
There was no way such a pathetic excuse would be accepted.
He needed to achieve at least a small victory…
As he pondered,
‘…Huh?’
The Heart Demon Commander’s eyes fell on Jinhyuk.
Had using such a powerful technique taken its toll?
His breathing was visibly labored, and his legs seemed about to give out.
This was his chance.
“So, you do have a limit!”
If he could deal with this guy, he could redeem all his failures.
The Heart Demon Commander leaped forward.
Though his own body was riddled with wounds and exhaustion,
The opponent looked as if he would collapse with just a light push, unable to even swing his sword.
If he was to kill him, it had to be now.
SWOOSH!
The crescent daggers drew horizontal and vertical arcs simultaneously.
But then,
CLANG!
The surprise attack from the blind spot was deflected.
By the ‘Right Arm of Tombgrave’ and…
…the ‘High-Speed Sword.’
While the Heavenly Demon Divine Art prioritized destructive power, the attacks executed through these two abilities sought the ultimate speed.
Fast was an understatement.
It was now simply… unseeable.
Thud!
A chilling sound of flesh being torn marked the end of the battle.
Red blood spouted like a waterfall.
“You were supposed to be exhausted… How could you wield such a swift sword…”
If this was supposed to be exhaustion.
It was merely…
“Just an act.”
He had mastered the art of optimizing magical power long ago.
And acting, even longer.
“A monster… you…”
Thud!
The Heart Demon Commander’s body crumpled to the ground.
At the same time,
Ding!
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[You have acquired the ‘Advanced Ghoul Creation Method.’]
[You have acquired a pair of ‘Crescent Daggers.’]
Numerous status windows confirmed his victory.
Three levels up.
And two of the best items possessed by the Heart Demon Commander fell into his hands.
—
“It’s… over.”
Soh Yoomyung collapsed to the ground.
Fighting while protecting the hostages against numerous enemies had exhausted him to the core.
His disciples and junior martial artists had long since collapsed from exhaustion.
“Seems so. We just assisted Jinhyuk, though.”
Teresa’s white armor and shield were stained black with the ghouls’ blood.
“It sure was tough. If there had been a few more, it would’ve been dangerous.”
Alice added a comment.
Thankfully, they had incinerated the enemies down to their molecules.
The Blood Spears wouldn’t have been enough to kill them even after a hundred stabs.
That’s how impressive the regenerative power of high-level ghouls was.
But then.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of someone fighting desperately echoed through the forest.
To survive.
Chun Yoosung was still fighting fiercely, even at this moment.
Alice, who was thinking deeply, tugged at Jinhyuk’s sleeve.
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
“Hmm?”
“With all of us here, didn’t you think using that sword guy as bait wasn’t necessary? I mean, from what I saw, you could’ve handled it alone.”
“Hmm…”
Alice was unusually perceptive today.
Her mind was sharp and curious, exactly the kind to meet a short end.
“Alice.”
“Hmm?”
“Sometimes, it’s better to know but pretend not to.”
“Ah…”
Alice’s eyes widened.
She recalled the times Chun Yoosung had subtly tried to climb up the hierarchy.
This must be… karma.
Accumulated karma from past deeds.
So, the only thing she could do was cheer from afar.
“…Hang in there!”
She didn’t forget to wave her hand at Chun Yoosung, who was still running and fighting desperately.
—
A day after the battle ended, Jinhyuk and his party returned to Luoyang.
Having achieved the tremendous feat of defeating the Heart Demon Commander, they were confident they had secured a favorable position in the war.
However.
It wasn’t until they arrived at the Martial Alliance that they realized the situation was far more severe than expected.
“The three elite divisions of the Mt. Zhongnan and the Gongdeok Sect have been annihilated.”
“The inner elixirs and holy relics stored in the strongholds were also taken.”
“Though we eliminated many ghouls, the white ghouls were on a different level. I barely managed to escape with my life.”
The atmosphere in the conference room was heavy.
The Martial Alliance had secured victories in only two locations.
In the others, they had suffered heavy losses at the hands of the enemy.
The only silver lining was that they had eliminated around 2,000 blood ghouls.
Jinhyuk, who arrived late to the meeting, frowned.
‘This is a gathering of complete fools.’
Even after stopping the most troublesome Heart Demon Commander, this was the result.
Clearly, these people were not worth accommodating.
The best strategy was to use them thoroughly and discard them.
But then.
Venerable Hyemyeong from Shaolin spoke unexpectedly.
“We also lost the divine herb we were keeping. It’s strange that they only took that and left the other elixirs untouched.”
“Isn’t the divine herb supposed to increase internal energy by half a level?”
“It’s rare, but its effects are considered minor compared to the effort required to refine it into an elixir.”
Dan Mokil from Mt. Kunlun and Ha Ryeohwa from Mt. Huashan added comments.
“That’s right. It was something I cherished and cultivated with great care, and it’s a pity it was taken.”
The divine herb… could it be?
Jinhyuk’s pupils trembled.
Known to rejuvenate a body long turned stiff.
And even awaken those who had been in a deep sleep for centuries.
Of course, this was only when properly refined.
In the martial world, the divine herb was merely considered a material for internal energy enhancement elixirs.
‘Sama-ja aimed for that?’
It was strange that they had lost 2,000 blood ghouls, and now he understood Sama-ja’s true goal.
He wasn’t just trying to create elixirs…
‘He’s trying to awaken the Four Divine Beasts.’
To win this war, Sama-ja intended to use the divine beasts that had fallen into deep sleep.
Considering Sama-ja’s unique ability and the divine herb’s effects, it was a plausible plan.
Among the currently sleeping divine beasts, the one likely to form a contract with him was…
Only one.
Azure Dragon.
The Oriental dragon that commands the weather would soon appear on the battlefield.
At a timing completely unexpected by the Martial Alliance.
‘I thought these martial artists were completely useless earlier… but they unexpectedly provided useful information.’
This information was worth its weight in gold.
It was like seeing one of the opponent’s hidden cards in advance.
And knowing what they would use in advance…
Im allowed for countermeasures.
‘First, I need to get what I came for.’
Especially to face Sama-ja and the Azure Dragon, there was something Jinhyuk needed to secure from the Martial Alliance.
With his thoughts organized, Jinhyuk finally spoke.
“Ahem! You’ve all worked hard discussing, but there’s something urgent I need to say. Could I have your attention, please?”
“Who are you…”
“Is this the man who defeated the Heart Demon Commander?”
“That’s right. My son was beaten by him.”
Those who hadn’t attended the previous Martial Alliance meeting murmured.
Representatives from Gongdeok, Mt. A-mei, Mt. Zhongnan.
And the representatives from the Mooyoung, Jegal, and Hwangbo families.
“What is it that you urgently need to say?”
Ha Ryeohwa asked, directing her question at Jinhyuk.
“It’s time for the Martial Alliance to pay up for the information I provided. If you would hand over the treasures from each sect as promised.”
“Ridiculous!”
BAM!
Dan Mokil slammed the table.
The others also glared at Jinhyuk with incredulous expressions.
“Do you have any idea how much we’ve lost in this battle? And you’re asking for more here?”
“It’s not my fault if you got ambushed despite the information I provided.”
If you lost due to lack of skill, you should be ashamed.
The fact that they dared to open their mouths was surprising.
“That… that’s…”
“Besides, I defeated the Heart Demon Commander. Do you plan to close your mouths and say nothing? Wow. All that talk about righteousness and cooperation was just for show. You’ve sold your integrity at the local tavern. Well, having thick skin is one thing, but how do you plan to manage without my information in the future? Do you think the Martial Alliance can counter the next moves of the Heavenly Demon Sect without it? Do you really believe that?”
Faced with Jinhyuk’s rapid-fire words, Dan Mokil became speechless.
It was true that they had made a promise. And he had indeed made a significant contribution.
Most importantly, to break through the dire situation, they desperately needed more of Jinhyuk’s information.
But giving up the sect’s treasures was a tough pill to swallow.
They needed to find some excuse to get the information for free.
That was the common thought among the representatives.
“Setting the reward aside, do you all really believe he defeated the Heart Demon Commander? I can’t believe that the monster commanding hundreds of ghouls is dead. I think we need to verify that first.”
“I agree.”
“I second that.”
“Believing that he did something the orthodox masters couldn’t… is hard to swallow.”
“Indeed, it’s also possible he used some strange trick or is in league with the Heavenly Demon Sect.”
“What are you saying? Thanks to him, we narrowly avoided a disaster. Are you just going to doubt him without any reason?”
“Isn’t the Beggar Sect being too favorable towards him? Your constant favoring of him is suspicious.”
Debates raged on.
Seeing the situation, Soh Yoohyung called Soh Yoomyung.
He believed that his disciple, who had fought directly, would provide a clear answer.
“Yoomyung.”
“Yes, master.”
“Did that man really take down the Heart Demon Commander?”
“That is…”
Soh Yoomyung glanced at Jinhyuk.