Chapter 592: Side Story 92
Chapter side_92
Carried on Gwon Mu-jin’s back, Jeok Mu-seong emerged from the cave and was speechless. He just stared blankly at the scene revealed before his eyes with his mouth wide open.
Not even the trace of the high, towering Martial Sovereign Castle was to be seen.
The grand pavilions that had been built here and there had also vanished without a trace.
The outside scenery visible as they passed Jeok Mu-seong’s relatively intact residence was truly so hopeless that the word dumbfounded suited it.
The partial destruction of the Demonic Sect in the past was nothing compared to this.
The Martial Sovereign Castle had suffered truly irreparable damage.
In his helplessness, he closed his eyes tightly, wishing that this was a dream. However, even when he opened his eyes again, the surrounding scenery only became more miserable, never returning to an intact state.
“Oh dear… He really went wild and threw a fit.”
“Y-Young Master Dan… went too far…”
Sado Hak clicked his tongue, and Namgung So-hye pinched the bridge of her nose. Her head throbbed at the sight, which was even worse than when they had gone to find Jeok Mu-seong.
Furthermore, the blazing flames were gradually growing stronger.
If they stayed like this, they too might be swallowed up.
“Hahaha. Let’s get out first. There is no use staying here.”
“Yeah, punk. If you care, you lose. Besides, aren’t they the ones who made you like that? Don’t hold on to it anymore.”
Jeok Mu-seong smiled bitterly at the words he heard.
Caring or holding on was not the problem. The Martial Sovereign Castle was a place where he had grown up and been active since childhood, containing more than half a lifetime of his life.
Such a place was being broken, collapsing, and burning.
How could his heart not ache?
Even when he learned of the betrayal of Gwon Hyeong-tae and the other elders, he was angry at them and did not particularly wish to raise a sword of vengeance against the Martial Sovereign Castle itself.
But what was this?
Now, no matter where or how he looked, it could no longer be seen as the Martial Sovereign Castle, the sacred ground of the Unorthodox Faction.
“D-Does Family Head Dan… bear some grudge against me?”
“Grudge? No way… He probably turned it upside down to catch the Heavenly Earth Sect. It was going to be destroyed anyway.”
“T-The Heavenly Earth Sect?”
“Yeah, they are probably there by now.”
Sado Hak smacked his lips with regret.
If not for Jeok Mu-seong’s matter, he would have followed Dan Woo-hyun too. Since those guys would surely swarm in, wouldn’t it be fun to beat them down one by one?
Since Dan Woo-hyun was going to do all of that alone, he could not help but feel dissatisfied.
This was the same for Namgung Cheon, but since they could not send Gwon Mu-jin and Namgung So-hye alone, they had no choice but to tag along.
Clash!
“He is absolutely flying around…”
“Hoho. It is his first time warming up in a while, so he must be enjoying it.”
At the loud rumble that soon followed, Sado Hak and Namgung Cheon smacked their lips in regret. Though they wanted to run over right now, they held back out of concern for Jeok Mu-seong’s condition.
“Let’s go out quickly. Before the flames grow any stronger…”
At that time, Namgung So-hye glanced toward the source of the noise for a moment before speaking in a hurry.
* * *
Woahhhhh!
Fanatical cultists.
Anyone who saw this sight would have had no choice but to think that. Over ten thousand cultists were running toward the Martial Sovereign Castle, swords in hand.
Their purpose was surely to save the Unorthodox Faction, but strangely, the sight of the cultists running and shouting was so threatening that it made one wonder if they were trying to swallow up the Unorthodox Faction instead.
“W-What is that?!”
“Isn’t that the Heavenly Earth Sect?! Why are they…”
The members of the Unorthodox Faction watching it were also unable to hide their bewilderment. The Martial Sovereign Castle had been collapsed and trampled by strange people, and yet, as if they had been waiting, the crowds of the Heavenly Earth Sect appeared.
Since they were pushing forward not in tens or hundreds, but with a truly massive volume, it was a situation that anyone would call threatening.
No matter where or how one looked at it, they did not look like they were there to help.
“B-Block them?!”
“We have to run, you idiot! Who could handle that number?!”
“N-No, but still!”
Originally, Jeok Mu-seong, who should have commanded them, was not present. In that case, Gwon Hyeong-tae should have stepped up, but what could a man who had instantly become a corpse do?
Even without that, since they had fled to escape Dan Woo-hyun, they could not break through the Heavenly Earth Sect to go forward, nor could they go backward where Dan Woo-hyun was.
In that perplexing situation, someone was walking over.
“There are many of them.”
Dan Woo-hyun strolled along, ignoring the terrified unorthodox martial artists. As if knowing that no one could draw a sword against him, he did not pay even ten percent of his attention to the people around him.
His gaze was straight ahead.
At the rushing cultists of the Heavenly Earth Sect.
“Glory to the Heavenly Earth Sect!”
“Glory to the Cult Leader!”
Shouting various things, they quickly closed the distance.
They were so numerous that it was impossible to even count them. It felt as if nothing would remain once they swept through the surroundings.
And their frenzied appearance made it look as if no one’s orders would reach their ears. Like people who had unleashed their condensed strength, they seemed to want to display their spirit, fighting will, and the status of the Heavenly Earth Sect, which had been treated with contempt.
At that sight, Dan Woo-hyun knit his brows.
“Amusing things they are.”
Saying so, he began to move toward the enemy numbering in the tens of thousands. The distance between them gradually narrowed, and the moment they finally overlapped.
Slash!
The sword Dan Woo-hyun unleashed drew a circle.
Simultaneously, the bodies of three or four beside him were cut and thrown back, yet Dan Woo-hyun did not stop and swung his sword.
Boom!
Although it was a simple downward strike of the sword, its destructive power was beyond imagination. The surroundings exploded, and those who were there could not even be found without a trace.
Moreover, since debris flying in all directions embedded into bodies like hidden weapons, in an instant, dozens became corpses and bid farewell to this world.
“W-Who? Gack!”
“W-What is this? Th-This… Argh!”
Boom! Boom!
The appearance of the cultists who were running triumphantly changed in an instant, starting to be stained with bewilderment. They engraved the sight of the forefront ranks being smashed into their eyes, and at the center of it was only a single person.
Should they believe this?
But they had no choice but to believe it.
Because Dan Woo-hyun’s sword never stopped.
There was no mercy in his sword.
He seemed to think only of cutting and cutting again, annihilating the enemies before him. As a brief moment passed, the bodies and necks of another dozen were severed, and when they closed and opened their eyes, a fountain of blood surged from the body of the comrade before them.
The footsteps of the cultists numbering ten thousand were stopped in front of Dan Woo-hyun, unable to advance.
Slash!
Soon, wind flowed from Dan Woo-hyun’s outstretched sword.
It seemed to spread around, encroaching.
There was no one who did not feel the wind that stretched out for more than ten zhang. Though they felt the wind suddenly brushing past them, they did not seem to think much of it.
However.
Slash!
Simultaneously with the wind coming to an end, everyone within ten zhang collapsed, spouting fountains of blood. Even if it were anyone else, creating such a technique should have been absolutely impossible, yet Dan Woo-hyun was doing it nonchalantly.
“G-Gack…!”
“W-What is this… What on earth is this?!”
“Arghhh!”
When people were dying only at the front initially, only bewilderment had settled in. After all, he was just one person, while they numbered ten thousand, and they were the elite of elites protecting the main cult within the Heavenly Earth Sect.
But what use was that now?
It had not even been fifteen minutes since they began clashing with Dan Woo-hyun.
Yet, the number of the dead had already exceeded a hundred, and no one had advanced past Dan Woo-hyun. They were blocked entirely before him, becoming corpses.
* * *
“What on earth… is happening?”
Watching the situation from the very rear, Yuk Cheol-wan trembled and engraved the absurd sight into his eyes. They could not kill just one person, and instead, the cultists were dying.
“Just what on earth is happening?!”
Yuk Cheol-wan screamed at the top of his lungs, raising his voice.
It was surely a story that would be hard to believe even if heard by ear, but even seeing it with his own eyes, he could not distinguish between a dream and reality.
Even if the Five Emperors were in that position, they would not have been able to do that.
No matter how strong a human was, there was no meaning in swarming them. A human was bound to grow tired, and their internal energy was not infinite either.
Yet, that man never stopped.
“Argh!”
“Spare me… Spa… Gack?!”
They died.
Several, or even dozens, with a single swing.
In an instant, corpses began to pile up around that man, and counting them now, the number would easily exceed one or two hundred.
Even now as he thought this, even in the moment he blinked, even in the instant he spoke while watching the situation, the corpses of the Heavenly Earth Sect cultists continued to pile up.
“Cult Leader! I will go!”
At that time, Baek Man-ryang beat his chest with a confident expression. Although he had engraved the man’s strength in his eyes, the man had already killed many people and must have consumed a significant amount of internal energy.
He was proud that if he targeted that moment well, he would never lose.
“Can you… do it?”
“Leave it to me! With this martial art I learned from you, Cult Leader, I will grind that fellow to dust!”
Baek Man-ryang was confident.
Had he not trained his body with the martial arts bestowed by the Cult Leader and become the strongest in the Heavenly Earth Sect? Since he had not suffered a single defeat so far, his grounds for confidence were sufficient.
Did Yuk Cheol-wan also think the same?
After thinking for a moment, he nodded.
“I will… return shortly!”
Baek Man-ryang grinned and looked at Hwang Do-jin.
The Cult Leader’s left arm and right arm.
A relationship of checking each other.
If Baek Man-ryang succeeded in the mission here and returned, he would not only win the Cult Leader’s trust but also snatch away Hwang Do-jin’s influence.
With that, Baek Man-ryang threw himself forward.
“Get out of the way!”
Pushing aside numerous cultists, he narrowed the distance with Dan Woo-hyun at a speed like an arrow. The boisterous shout he let out was also a statement proving his confidence.
“It’s Lord Baek Man-ryang!”
“If he steps forward, surely!”
“Woahhh!”
Instantly, morale surged.
Though their morale had been broken by Dan Woo-hyun’s continuous moves, Baek Man-ryang’s appearance was equivalent to bringing them victory.
Hearing the grand cheers, Baek Man-ryang’s noble spirit also boiled up. He wanted to reveal his presence before all these people and prove to himself that someone like Hwang Do-jin was no match for him.
Soon, arriving in front of Dan Woo-hyun, he clenched his fist.
It was a fist filled with tremendous internal energy.
To the point that even the onlookers stared wide-eyed, feeling that power and Baek Man-ryang’s momentum. No one would ever be able to survive after being hit by that.
Then, kicking off the ground even harder, he leapt up and rushed toward Dan Woo-hyun.
“Take it as an honor! I, Baek Man-ryang, personally… Gack?!”
Slash!
And at that moment.
The moment a strange light brushed past his body, Baek Man-ryang’s body split in half, pouring out an immense amount of blood and organs as he crashed to the ground.
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