Chapter 496: Gobbling It Up Nicely
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Eul Sa-jeok flinched and took out the Spiritual Awakening Stone from his bosom, raising a question.
‘What, suddenly again…?’
The stone was emitting a grayish-white light along with trembling.
Woo woo woo woong, swish swish swish…
A repetitive strange phenomenon he couldn’t understand at all.
The radiant light spewing from the stone soon gathered into one.
And it quickly changed into a single sword.
It was an illusion like a mirage.
Visible to the eyes but untouchable by hand…
This had also happened just before Cheol Ryu-heun appeared.
Without doing anything, it had suddenly displayed a strange phenomenon like now.
He didn’t know what it meant.
Was it a sign that some kind of opportunity was about to properly begin?
However, the biggest question was the appearance of the sword that appeared as an illusion.
It was exactly the same as the sword used in life by the former White Peak Sword Sect Master and his own master, White Gate Sword Gentleman Sagong Woon.
For Eul Sa-jeok, it was an utterly incomprehensible matter.
He didn’t know that the illusory sword was the form of the Divine Martial Sword… The greatest and strongest divine weapon in martial history.
No, he didn’t even know that the stone in his hand was the Spiritual Awakening Stone.
On the other hand.
The Seventh GreatGeneral, collapsed on one side, recognized it at once the moment he saw it.
‘This can’t be…!’
Though he was practically half-dead from the penetrating wounds in his chest and lower abdomen, the surprise at the unexpected situation made him momentarily forget even the pain.
“Gugh… How do you have that…?”
At that, Eul Sa-jeok slightly shook the Spiritual Awakening Stone he held and wore a cold sneer.
“Ah, this? Can’t you tell by looking? I secretly took it out, of course.”
“When! Guh…”
The agitated Seventh Great General cried out, then grimaced and groaned as the revived pain twisted his face.
Having stepped closer, Eul Sa-jeok looked down at him with an arrogant expression.
“A few days ago. That day, after witnessing the strange phenomenon, I smuggled it out. You all probably stored it underground thinking it had lost its usefulness, but you were wrong. As you can see, the strange phenomenon appears frequently. That means it’s still rare and mysterious…”
“Stupid fool! If only you had said something then…”
“A bastard who’s about to croak doesn’t get to raise his voice.”
When Eul Sa-jeok kicked the Seventh Great General’s jaw with one foot.
Crack… !
With a dull sound, sticky blood and broken teeth spewed out of the Seventh Commander’s mouth.
“Gah… Gah guk…”
The Seventh Great General, whose injury complications had worsened, continuously retched out saliva-mixed blood.
“The stupid one is you. Anyway, your petty pride invites beatings. If only you’d said something then, what? Then what would change? Huh?”
Having squatted beside him, Eul Sa-jeok taunted while grabbing the Seventh Great General’s hair and shaking it.
As if telling someone about to die not to act so insolent.
The Seventh Great General, who had already suffered fatal wounds and had not even the small strength to resist, opened his bloodshot eyes wide in a final show of defiance.
“You bastard… Do you think… You won’t die? There’s… No way… To escape anyway.”
“Kukuk, that’s funny. You’re the one spouting bullshit so you’re the bastard, what do you mean? I won’t die. This gu poison’s subtlety is… Far more incredible than you think.”
“…”
“By draining their power one by one and watching for an opportunity, once I steal even that bastard Cheol Ryu-heun’s energy, I’ll rise to become the undisputed hegemon of this era.”
“Guh… The Society Lord will…”
“The Heaven Emperor Society Lord? I’ll kill and eliminate him too eventually. First, let me settle the situation here.”
“Fool… Ish…”
“Pft! Look at the state of you. Who’s more foolish?”
The moment Eul Sa-jeok sneered.
Whoong…
With a heavy wind sound, another Great General-rank flew through the dust cloud and fell toward the rear where Eul Sa-jeok and the Seventh Great General were.
Thud… Crash!
After rolling on the ground a few times and stopping, a single groan quietly leaked from that figure’s mouth.
“Ugh…”
It was the Sixth Great General.
His condition was no different from the Seventh Great General’s.
No.
His overall injuries were more severe than the Seventh Great General’s.
The various external injuries, large and small, were one thing, but more importantly, the heart meridian… A critical vital point within the body… Had ruptured.
Of course, it was certainly a wound received while fighting against Cheol Ryu-heun, who was displaying that tremendous martial prowess.
Inside the murky dust cloud, various roaring sounds still echoed.
‘Is this like blowing my nose without using my hands? Hoho. Anyway, I can’t let him just die. What a waste.’
Having spoken inwardly, when Eul Sa-jeok slightly twitched the sword in his right hand, the body of the Sixth Great General lying on the ground floated up and was drawn toward him like an arrow.
Hweeek…
It was the skill of object manipulation that he had become able to execute thanks to the transcendent internal power enhancement achieved through the isolated poison within his body today.
Meanwhile, his left foot pressed against the center of the Seventh Great General’s chest… That is, the middle dantian area.
His intention was to absorb both their energies at once.
Soon, the isolated poison’s outstanding power rapidly drained the energy within the two Great Generals he had pressed against.
Tremble tremble, tremble tremble…
The Sixth and Seventh Great Generals convulsed violently with their eyes rolled back.
But their movement didn’t last long.
By the even faster absorption, the two Great Generals departed this world together, withered dry like mummies.
That wasn’t the end.
The prey that Eul Sa-jeok could easily take continued flying out of the dust cloud.
Hwik, hwi-hwik… Thud, thud thud… !
This time it was the Fourth and Fifth Great Generals.
[ED: Mc Just sending them to him.Fattening the pig before Slaughter 😂.]
Still, their condition was a bit better than the Sixth Great General who had just died.
Eul Sa-jeok looked at the two lying not far away and smiled with a triumphant expression.
“Ha. Since it’s a feast prepared for me, I should eat my fill.”
Meanwhile, the Fourth and Fifth Great General’s, having painfully raised their bodies, coughed up blood several times before discovering the corpses around them.
Every single one had their entire body withered and twisted… The appearance of those who had died by the Star-Absorbing Great Art.
‘Eul Sa-jeok!’
Having thought the same thing, the gazes of the Fourth and Fifth Great General’s fixed across the distance on the face of Eul Sa-jeok, who was disgustingly grinning.
At the same time, both their dark brown eyes grew wide.
“What!”
“That is…!”
It was because they had seen the Spiritual Awakening Stone in Eul Sa-jeok’s left hand and its strange phenomenon.
But Eul Sa-jeok flew in at swift speed.
Thwack… Kwakwang!
Before Eul Sa-jeok’s heavy kick, the Fifth Great General was swept up in haze and flew sideways before hitting the ground with a thud!
In the meantime, Eul Sa-jeok’s sword tip was driven into the Fourth Great General’s upper body.
“Kuh… Huh…!”
A groan representing the agony of terrible pain.
He had been stabbed too deep in the side to move his body.
Eul Sa-jeok immediately pressed the Fourth Great General’s body close and absorbed all the energy including life force.
The process of stealing power became even faster.
It was literally in the time it took to blink a few times.
It was the effect of consecutively absorbing the energy of Great General-rank powerhouses who had strengthened their martial prowess by sacrificing the middle-ranks.
The vastness of that power was indescribable.
The Fifth Great General’s case was no different.
The moment he was drawn over by Eul Sa-jeok’s object manipulation, he had his energy absorbed, lost his vitality, and transformed into a corpse resembling a mummy.
Just then, even the Second and Third Great General’s burst out of the dust cloud like beams of light, wounded, and slammed into the ground.
Thump, thud…
The Second Great General had his left leg severed and even his right shoulder largely torn away, while the Third Great General was in a gruesome state having lost both arms.
‘Yes, excellent!’
Having inwardly cheered, Eul Sa-jeok immediately moved toward them and successively absorbed the energy within the two battered Great Generals.
Clench!
Eul Sa-jeok put strength into the hands gripping the sword hilt and the stone, flashing an ecstatic look.
‘This is incredible! Despite absorbing the energy of so many powerhouses, there are no ill effects! Kukuk, with this power… Truly, there’s nothing to fear in the world!’
Right at that moment, a loud explosive sound shook all directions.
Kuaaaaaaaang… !
Along with it, one figure broke through the dust cloud.
“Huuuuurk…!”
Having let out a pained sound, he collapsed onto the ground!
It was Pa Ga-wi, the strongest and The Grand General of the Central Heaven Tower.
While he had external injuries in several places on his upper and lower body, his internal injuries that couldn’t be seen seemed greater.
The stream of fresh blood dripping ceaselessly from the corner of his mouth told that on his behalf.
At that moment, Eul Sa-jeok, having sharpened his energy sense, twitched up the corner of his mouth.
It was a mocking smile.
The reason was singular.
It was because of Pa Ga-wi’s internal power level that he sensed.
More precisely, he felt that his own internal power was at a level that completely overwhelmed him.
“Hoho. Now you’ve fallen far below me. Pa Ga-wi.”
Drawn by that coldly spoken voice, Pa Ga-wi, while raising his body, was aghast.
“…!”
Light of shock rippling like waves in his eyes.
Setting aside the corpses of the Great Generals strewn around, he had seen the Spiritual Awakening Stone in Eul Sa-jeok’s hand and the illusion of the Divine Martial Sword.
‘How…!’
Goosebumps rose all over.
More shocking than the fact that Eul Sa-jeok had stolen the Spiritual Awakening Stone was the fact that it was displaying such a strange phenomenon.
If one knew the inside story, it was natural to react that way.
‘It cannot be!’
The strange phenomenon of the Spiritual Awakening Stone signified only one thing.
The fact that the Divine Martial Sword, which had been ruthlessly destroyed by the Heaven Emperor Society Lord, still existed in this world!
That’s right.
That was exactly it.
Eul Sa-jeok, knowing nothing, threw an arrogant smile.
“Kukuk… Making that expression, you must be scared too.”
But in truth, Pa Ga-wi couldn’t properly register those words.
The only thought currently dwelling in his mind was that he had to inform the Heaven Emperor Society Lord at once.
Namely, the fact that the Spiritual Awakening Stone… Which they had believed to be eternally dormant after the Divine Martial Sword was completely destroyed… Had newly reacted at this point.
That was a very critical issue that would act as an unexpected variable in the Heaven Emperor Society’s grand plan.
Having quickly gathered his wits, Pa Ga-wi urgently shouted.
“Eul Sa-jeok, cooperate! We must combine our strength to breach the formation’s boundary and get out!”
Having shouted thus, his internal injuries were aggravated and blood surged up.
“Blurgh…!”
When Pa Ga-wi coughed up blood, Eul Sa-jeok, seeing that sight, wore a sneer.
“If we kill Ryu-heun, the formation will naturally disappear. I won’t avoid this fight. Because I’ve now obtained the power to become a ruler.”
At that moment, a brief telepathic voice rang out.
-Gobbling up what I threw away like a beggar.
Following that, a whirlwind of formless energy blew and sucked the giant dust cloud up into the air.
Standing alone in that cleared space was Cheol Ryu-heun, who had just sent the telepathic voice.
Displaying the majesty of an absolute being who had withstood the full force of the Central Heaven Tower.
Eul Sa-jeok, his mood soured, revealed naked murderous intent from a distance of about five Zhang and taunted.
“What the hell… What about it?”
Thereupon, Cheol Ryu-heun received the words expressionlessly.
“Since you seem to have gobbled up a lot, shall I see what you’ve got?”