Episode 496

Let’s meet alive (3)

Whooosh!

 

A fierce qi wave swept across the battlefield.

 

“Ugh!”

 

“What—?”

 

Even the martial artists who had been locked in fierce combat flinched at the intensity of the wave.

 

Lee Gwak furrowed his brow as he looked toward the source of the wave.

 

There stood Go Geom-wol. And Sa Yeon-hee was swinging her sword

.

The shockwaves generated from their clash swept across the battlefield like a storm.

 

Even Lee Gwak acknowledged Sa Yeon-hee as a true master.

 

Her proficiency with the sword, in particular, was unparalleled.

 

In terms of sheer destructive power of the sword techniques she had mastered, she was easily among the top five in the world.

 

She was that much of a peerless master.

 

Sa Yeon-hee was unleashing a fierce assault on Go Geom-wol.

 

Her blade displayed unparalleled variation and pressed down on Go Geom-wol.

 

Her vicious swordsmanship made it seem as if Go Geom-wol would be torn to pieces at any moment.

 

But Lee Gwak knew that this was only what it looked like on the surface.

 

Although it seemed as though Sa Yeon-hee was dominating, her strikes didn’t even come close to touching Go Geom-wol’s clothes.

 

In reality, Go Geom-wol’s face showed no sense of crisis as he faced Sa Yeon-hee.

 

Sa Yeon-hee was a top-tier martial artist, but she was no match for Go Geom-wol.

 

Go Geom-wol was the best of his generation, no, a martial artist who had reached a realm rare even throughout all of history.

 

Even within the same Absolute Realm, there were significant differences.

 

For now, Sa Yeon-hee was putting up a good fight, but as time passed, the scales of victory would rapidly tip in Go Geom-wol’s favor. He needed to get to Go Geom-wol before that happened.

 

However, there were those holding him back.

 

Thirty martial artists surrounded him, each radiating a strange aura.

 

They called themselves the Hell Blood Assassins. They were not ordinary martial artists.

 

Shhhh—

 

A hazy mist emanated from their pores.

 

“Gah!”

 

“Cough! Poison—”

 

Nearby martial artists clutched their throats and collapsed.

 

Those exposed to the mist writhed in agony, weeping tears of blood. They clawed at their bodies with their fingernails in horrific agony.

 

Where their nails scraped, their skin peeled away, revealing raw, red flesh. Yet, they kept scratching frantically until they died in extreme agony.

 

“My goodness!”

 

“P-Poison users! the Celestial Demon Troupe has created poison users!”

 

The faces of the martial artists who had kept their distance and narrowly escaped the disaster turned pale.

 

After the Great Heavenly War a hundred years ago, poison had been taboo in the Jianghu.

 

Back then, the Sichuan Tang Clan, synonymous with poison and hidden weapons, had sided with the Demonic Cult, causing immense damage to the Jianghu.

 

Since then, no sect or martial artist dared to openly use poison. Countless individuals were hunted down and killed simply for studying poison-related arts.

 

Just learning poison arts was enough to threaten one’s life, and becoming a poison user was something one wouldn’t even dare dream of.

 

Because of this, not a single poison user had appeared in the martial world for the past hundred years. But today, poison users had appeared.

 

The appearance of even one poison user could turn the world upside down. And here, there were thirty of them.

 

‘Could it be Go Geom-wol?’

 

Lee Gwak shook his head.

 

The Go Geom-wol he knew was not the sort to tolerate poison users. Moreover, Go Geom-wol had only recently become the lord of the Celestial Demon Troupe. Cultivating a proper poison user required enormous cost and a long time. Go Geom-wol hadn’t been given that kind of time.

 

In fact,  it was the previous Alliance Leader, Jin Gwang-hon, who had raised the Hell Blood Assassins.

 

Jin Gwang-hon had nurtured poison users in preparation for unforeseen circumstances. However, he was exiled before he could utilize the poison users he had painstakingly raised.

 

Had the Myriad Merchants Troupe continued to provide support, Go Geom-wol would not have mobilised the Hell Blood Assassins. However, the Celestial Demon Troupe was now in a critical situation and couldn’t afford to be picky.

 

After much deliberation, Go Geom-wol finally allowed the Hell Blood Assassins to act.

 

Tssssuuu!

 

A terrifying poisonous energy radiated from the entire bodies of the Hell Blood Assassins.

 

Anyone exposed to it, even slightly, died in unimaginable, horrific pain. The poison did not discriminate between friend and foe. Even martial artists of the Celestial Demon Troupe were poisoned and died.

 

“Ugh!”

 

“F-Fall back!”

 

Even the Celestial Demon Troupe’s martial artists shuddered and didn’t dare approach the area around the Hell Blood Assassins.

 

The Hell Blood Assassins looked at Lee Gwak with sunken eyes.

 

Their eyes held no vitality of the living.

 

Their pupils were so blurred and clouded they resembled those of the dead.

 

The leader of the Hell Blood Assassins fixed his murky eyes on Lee Gwak.

 

“Lee Gwak! I’ve heard a lot about you. They say you’re the top master in Jianghu. But no matter what master you are, you’ll simply melt like a pinch of powdered lead before our poison arts.”

 

A sinister light flashed in his eyes.

 

Thirty pairs of eyes emitted poisonous intent.

 

Sss—

 

Lee Gwak silently drew his blade.

 

He had never intended to negotiate with poison users.

 

He was merely waiting for those nearby to flee from the poison.

 

Even with his protective qi shield deployed, the poison stung his eyes and made his skin itch.

 

Had Lee Gwak’s level been any lower, he would have been poisoned with no chance of survival.

 

Dealing with Go Geom-wol was important, but suppressing the Hell Blood Assassins was important too. If they were left free, countless people would die in unimaginable agony.

 

Snap!

 

Lee Gwak moved first.

 

Using his Revolving Steps, he closed the distance to them in an instant and swung his blade.

 

Swish!

 

With a chilling sound of cutting air, one of the Hell Blood Assassins was pierced by his blade.

 

A normal person would have screamed or writhed in pain. But the Hell Blood Assasin showed no reaction.

 

Having become poison users, all their senses were numb; they couldn’t even feel pain.

 

Instead, he laughed.

 

Baring his yellowed teeth, his laughing appearance made Lee Gwak feel a chill.

 

“We go together. Lee Gwak! I have no desire to live like this anyway.”

 

Booom!

 

At that moment the corpse of the Hell Blood Assassin pierced through by the blade exploded.

 

Lee Gwak hastily held his breath and activated his protective qi.

 

A tremendous shock hit him. Worse, fragments of bones from the exploded assassin pierced the protection and lodged in Lee Gwak’s shoulder.

 

Slash!

 

Without hesitating for a moment, Lee Gwak cut away the area where the bone fragment had lodged. The flesh with the bone melted away.

 

If his reaction had been any slower, he might have had to cut off not just flesh but his actual shoulder.

 

He bit his lip at the gruesome sight.

 

The Hell Blood Assassins hissed and closed in around Lee Gwak.

 

“Now do you understand? We don’t cling to life. We aren’t deluding ourselves into thinking we want to live in such a state.”

 

It wasn’t by their own will that they had become poison users either.

 

They had simply been chosen and became poison users.

 

It was only their loyalty to the Celestial Demon Troupe that had sustained them until now. And now, they would give their lives for the Celestial Demon Troupe.

 

They thought dying together with Lee Gwak wouldn’t be such a bad deal.

 

Tsssuuu!

 

Poison smoke poured from every pore of the Hell Blood Assassins.

 

It was the poison they had been holding within themselves. Countless poisons fused together to create a virulent venom that no human could endure.

 

Indeed, the ground exposed to the poison turned black. Luxuriant grass wilted and withered in an instant.

 

The Hell Blood Assassins emitted poison and charged at Lee Gwak en masse.

 

Their willingness to throw away their lives and charge forward was terrifying.

 

Any martial artist in the world would have their knees go weak at the sight of the Hell Blood Assassin charging while emitting a poisonous mist. But Lee Gwak, without hesitation, threw himself into the very center of the poisonous mist.

 

Woong

 

Lee Gwak activated his Eight Snakes Art, and a great serpent began to spiral within his body.

 

The serpent devoured the poisonous energy attempting to invade Lee Gwak’s body. Thanks to this, Lee Gwak remained unharmed by the poison. But no matter how profound his Eight Snakes Art was, it couldn’t block the poison indefinitely.

 

He had to eliminate the Hell Blood Assassins before the poison eroded him.

 

Swish!

 

Lee Gwak’s blade sliced through the air.

 

The leading Hell Blood Assassin’s head flew off. Lee Gwak’s blade had beheaded him.

 

Ssshh!

 

Poisonous blood spouted from the assassin’s decapitated body.

 

Drops splattered onto Le Gwak’s sleeve, melting the fabric and leaving holes. But Lee Gwak paid no mind and moved on to his next target.

 

Swish!

 

A sharp tearing sound rang out.

 

Again another Hell Blood Assassin’s chest was ripped open.

 

The wounded assassin tried to hug Lee Gwak and explode, but by then Lee Gwak had already passed by him.

 

Boom!

 

Booom!

 

The Hell Blood Assassin exploded a moment too late.

 

Poisonous mist and flesh fragments rained down, devastating the area.

 

Boom! Booom!

 

The Hell Blood Assassins exploded one after another.

 

Lee Gwak was drenched in poisonous mist from head to toe.

 

His eyes stung and his head spun.

 

Even with his Eight Snakes Art active, the poison was seeping in.

 

He couldn’t afford to delay any longer.

 

Swish! Swisht!

 

Lee Gwak swung his blade even faster.

 

The thirty Hell Blood Assassins were reduced to fifteen in an instant. Before they knew it, half of them had lost their lives at the hands of Lee Gwak. Seeing this, desperation appeared on their faces.

 

What they feared most was dying uselessly without managing to land a single blow on Lee Gwak.

 

“Lee Gwak!”

 

They roared in fury and charged toward him all at once.

 

Blocking every escape route, they charged with determination to die together with him.

 

At that moment Lee Gwak’s eye caught a sword lying on the ground.

 

Without hesitation, he grabbed it and struck it with his own blade.

 

BZZZAAAANG!

 

The sword instantly exploded.

 

Whooosh!

 

Like a thunder-bomb going off, the blade fragments flew out as lethal shrapnel.

 

The Hell Blood Assassins, charging at full speed without regard for their lives, had no way to avoid the sword fragments.

 

Their bodies were riddled with holes and shards of the sword were lodged in them.

 

Some died on the spot; others collapsed where they ran.

 

Only the leader of the Hell Blood Assassins remained breathing. But he was in bad shape.

 

A fragment had pierced his throat and blood gushed out.

 

Ssssh!

 

The blood that flowed from his throat corroded the earth.

 

“Ugh… you—”

 

Blood vessels popped in the leader’s eyes. Tears streamed from his bloodshot eyes.

 

They were bloody tears mixed with blood.

 

He gritted his teeth.

 

He  had sacrificed all the Hell Blood Assassins, but in the end, he had failed to inflict any damage on Lee Gwak.

 

Their abilities simply could not measure up.

 

Like Go Geom-wol.

 

“Gahaha!”

 

The leader laughed.

 

Because it was simply laughable.

 

He felt his existence had been denied.

 

If they could not at least share Lee Gwak’s fate and go together, why had they endured such cruel pain to become poison-users in the first place? Regret surged through him.

 

The leader stopped laughing abruptly.

 

“All right! I’ll admit it. We died. Even if we wake up again, we cannot kill you. But can they endure our poison like you can?”

 

 

 

He looked towards the raging battle, where a large number of Heavenly Justice Alliance warriors had gathered.

 

The moment their gazes met, Lee Gwak understood the leader’s intent. The leader intended to blow himself up among the gathered warriors of the Heavenly Justice Alliance.

 

Pop!

 

Sure enough, the Hell Blood Assassin leader threw himself toward where the Heavenly Justice Alliance men were.

 

Lee Gwak’s eyes deepened.

 

There were ten or so paces between them. Even if Lee Gwak rushed after him now, it would be physically impossible to catch him.

 

The leader knew this, which was why he threw himself at the Heavenly Justice Alliance martial artists. He hoped to drag as many of them as possible into hell and cause Yi Gwak some mental distress.

 

Tsk, tsk, tsk!

 

The poisonous mist emanating from his body grew even denser.

 

He was squeezing out every last bit of his poison.

 

At that level, he could easily kill hundreds of people instantly. The martial artists who had just noticed the Hell Blood Assassin leader were struck with terror.

 

“Waaaah!”

“Guhk!”

 

It was already too late to avoid it.

 

They closed their eyes, anticipating the horrific pain to come. But even after waiting for a long moment, they felt no sign of being poisoned.

 

The martial artists cautiously opened their eyes.  There, in the middle, the leader stood frozen in place.

 

He stood like a statue, blinking blankly.

 

It wasn’t that he had stopped of his own will.

 

He had no choice but to stop.

 

Because his heart meridian had been severed.

 

Lee Gwak was clearly standing in place.

 

No one else had attacked in to strike either. And yet, his heart meridian had still been cut.

 

There was only one possibility that came to mind.

 

“I-Is it… Heart Blade?”

 

Thud!

 

His body collapsed.