Chapter 199: Fierce Clash
Chapter 198
The shrine where my companions and I had settled was located away from the residential area.
This was because it was literally a shrine.
The midnight hour painted a different kind of charm than the daytime.
As I strolled along the street, a landscape with a changed atmosphere entered my field of vision.
“Is the Heaven-Rebelling Faction over there?”
“Yes.”
Lit up brightly enough to be seen from afar, the place was reminiscent of a small sleepless city.
The Tianshan Mountains are a vast range, so much so that it is said to consist of a hundred thousand peaks.
It is grand enough to stretch from Gansu, cross Qinghai, and reach the very edge of the Western Region.
Between those large and small mountains, there are flat areas or gentle slopes where it would not be strange for a small city to be built.
The vicinity where the Demonic Cult was located formed a terrain encompassing both steep mountains and flat plains.
Since the shrine was situated at a relatively high altitude, the residential area below was visible at a glance.
The lights filling the scene like stars in the night sky reminded me of the night view I had previously seen in Suzhou.
In fact, even though it was the middle of the night, there were quite a few people walking around.
And the majority of them were soundly drunk.
“How unexpected. I thought it would be a more suffocating place.”
“As the Heaven-Rebelling Faction grew stronger, the rules loosened a lot too.”
That was understandable. When an uncontrollable flow arises, it is natural for rules to loosen.
Perhaps the suffocating Demonic Cult I had imagined existed in the past.
If so, this side seemed much better.
‘Though it doesn’t really match the weight that the name Demonic Cult carries.’
Nevertheless, I felt that Master Heavenly Demon would be more pleased with the current state.
It felt somewhat contradictory.
“Is everyone nocturnal? There are many people walking around late at night.”
I could feel signs of presence rising from the surrounding shadows.
“Are you planning to keep hiding even though you’ve already been found out? Just come out.”
When I pointed out the obvious fact that they had been exposed, they revealed themselves one by one and surrounded Yi Hwa and me.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha!”
Even though we were in a dangerous situation with our retreat blocked, I burst into laughter at the expressions on their faces.
“Masks? Are you serious?”
“…Shut up, fake Heavenly Demon.”
They seemed to be embarrassed in their own way. The voice answering me trembled slightly.
‘Right, if you’re a man, you should feel embarrassed.’
To them, this Demonic Cult was the home where they were born and raised.
Appearing with masks as if they were outsiders in their own home and birthplace was indeed something shameful.
“You die here today.”
As the man who declared my death raised his energy, the surrounding bushes flattened.
He was an expert. To affect the surroundings just by raising his energy meant he was a skilled master who would be treated as a powerhouse anywhere.
Moreover, he was not alone.
There were about twenty of them.
These individuals were also experts who possessed at least one ultimate technique they could boast of.
‘Though it’s funny that they can’t even show their faces despite that.’
“I have no intention of dying at the hands of fools who can’t even show their faces in their own home, though?”
Grind!
The sound of teeth grinding could be heard from behind the masks.
“You’d better regret coming out recklessly with only the Divine Maiden.”
It seemed he wanted to rip my throat out before I poked at their embarrassing spots any further.
“Who said I only came out with Yi Hwa?”
“…!”
Rumble!!
Presences surged like bamboo shoots after rain, surrounding the masked demonic practitioners who had surrounded me.
“W-What…!”
The twenty or so masked men who had surrounded me were now surrounded in reverse.
It was the Heavenly Demon’s Personal Guard and the Black-Wristed Demonic Monarch who had joined us this time.
And at their center stood Old Jong, his face red with a desire to crush these masked men immediately, radiating killing intent.
They were so shocked that their panic could be felt even through their masks.
“The Black-Wristed Demonic Monarch advised me. He said there are many pieces of trash even in the Heaven-Rebelling Faction.”
If one joined the Heaven-Rebelling Faction while the Heavenly Demon completely controlled the Demonic Cult, they could be called possessors of firm conviction who stood up to a mighty ruler.
But right now, the Heaven-Obeying Faction could not control the Heaven-Rebelling Faction, which ran wild as they pleased.
“I had already anticipated that cunning rats would be watching my surroundings to seize an opportunity.”
It meant that as the Heaven-Rebelling Faction grew, there would naturally be opportunists who gathered in search of vested interests.
Naturally, a lot of unnecessary fat would have attached itself to the position.
These guys were that fat.
“Anyway, since we’ve come to this, how about you take off your masks and introduce yourselves?”
At my words, a few of them raised their hands toward their faces, feeling the pressure.
But someone stopped them, raising his voice while keeping his mask on.
“…The Heaven-Entering Divine Demonic Sovereign will not let you be.”
It was no different from an irrelevant answer to me, but to them, it must have been an all-powerful weapon that worked anywhere.
The fox borrowing the tiger’s terror. It was a pathetic threat.
They were even worse trash than I thought.
‘In any case, they do belong to the Heaven-Rebelling Faction.’
Since I couldn’t be sure of their identity, I thought it was necessary to confirm before killing them, but looking at their pathetic speech, they were definitely Heaven-Rebelling Faction.
Since confirmation was complete, there was no need to take off their masks.
“I see.”
Believing their threat had worked, I saw the tension in their shoulders loosen.
Without missing the moment they faltered, I lunged forward.
“…Just die.”
Closing the distance, I thrust forward the Wuji Palm I had used when fighting Yi Gang-mu.
Though it couldn’t compare to the Ultimate Extreme Strike, it was a useful martial art for delivering a heavy blow.
“Hup!”
The opponent reacted late, his response a beat slow.
Thud!!
Me, who had gathered my full strength, and the opponent, who had to display a stance in a split second.
It was clear who held the advantage.
‘Add the Soft Vajra to this…’
The rebound force tore through the opponent’s flow at the moment of impact.
The opponent’s hand clashed with the Wuji Palm and was blown back much further than expected.
I played to my strengths and shut down his.
Through the wide gap, my hand slithered in like a snake toward the target.
“Ack!”
I caught a neck that was firm and easy to snap.
Crack!
“My… cough!”
That was the end of it.
Along with the sound of a dry branch snapping, a wet coughing sound echoed.
It was the end of one who hid in the shadow of a tiger and could not show even a fraction of his true skill.
I gathered strength once again in my momentum-less arm.
Rip!
With a squelching and cracking sound, the head of the nameless man was separated, held in my hand like a toy.
That scene repeated itself around me.
In an instant, twenty headless corpses were made.
“Well, now that we’ve gathered our gifts, shall we go?”
I had acquired a good gift to give to the Heaven-Entering Divine Demonic Sovereign.
***
The territory of the Heaven-Rebelling Faction.
Perhaps because they had a lot to say about the death of Yi Gang-mu, the place, which had been a sleepless city filled with drinking and chatting even in the dead of night, had been boisterous until just moments ago.
But the moment we set foot inside, it fell dead silent.
‘Pardon the intrusion.’
It was clear we had ruined the good atmosphere.
The cause was probably these heads held in our hands.
Even though they were wrapped in masks, it was impossible not to know they were human heads.
A trail of blood pooled behind us as we walked.
“The Heavenly Demon…!”
Perhaps because someone had seen me during the day, they recognized me and muttered under their breath.
Even though it was a small mutter, it rang out clearly in the heavy silence.
“The Heavenly Demon? That brat who smashed Yi Gang-mu’s head?”
“Watch your mouth! Does he really look like a brat to you?”
“Well, he looks a lot better than that dead fool Yi Gang-mu.”
“But whose neck is that?”
The surroundings began to grow noisy again.
Amidst the noise, someone approached.
“…Black-Wristed Demonic Monarch?”
Unlike his behavior of testing the waters during the day, he approached the Black-Wristed Demonic Monarch, who followed me with a highly satisfied expression, and greeted him.
The Black-Wristed Demonic Monarch smiled brightly at the lean, agile-looking man.
“Blood Wolf Demonic Monarch. It has been a while.”
“Why are you here… No, more importantly, what is all this…”
I had thought his energy was unusual, and it turned out he was one of the Demonic Monarchs.
His speech was disorganized, unable to hide his bewilderment.
The Black-Wristed Demonic Monarch let out a hearty laugh as he responded.
“I have much to say, but we are in the presence of a noble person.”
“You…”
“Do not make me commit any further disrespect.”
It meant he could not speak out of turn when his superior was present.
“I dared to speak first without permission. Please forgive this minor demon’s rudeness.”
The Black-Wristed Demonic Monarch lowered himself of his own accord.
If I didn’t forgive him quickly, he looked ready to slam his head straight onto the blood-soaked floor.
“It is fine.”
“Thank you!”
Since he was as large as a bear, the Black-Wristed Demonic Monarch stood out easily. His voice was as large as his body, successfully drawing all eyes to us.
The murmurs around us grew even louder at his behavior.
The Blood Wolf Demonic Monarch was so shocked that he could only gape, his mouth opening and closing.
“Where is the Heaven-Entering Divine Demonic Sovereign?”
Barely composing himself, the Blood Wolf Demonic Monarch spoke.
“He is…”
“No need to look for me.”
Just like our first encounter, the Heaven-Entering Divine Demonic Sovereign appeared in front of me in an instant, carrying an overwhelming pressure.
Standing within arm’s reach, the Heaven-Entering Divine Demonic Sovereign looked at me with a smiling face.
Meeting him for the second time, the feeling was even more distinct.
He was alien.
Considering his age, he should look older than Old Jong, yet his appearance was so young that the mismatch felt even greater.
The combination of his heavy energy and that mismatch made it feel like looking at a legendary yokai.
‘It’s a relief this is the second time.’
If this were our first meeting, I might have shown an embarrassing, dazed display no different from the Blood Wolf Demonic Monarch.
The cool breath rising to my chest prevented such a display.
Stiffening my mind with the Clear Brightness Mind Method, I was finally able to face the Heaven-Entering Divine Demonic Sovereign with an composed attitude.
“A gift.”
“A gift?”
Receiving the heads, the Heaven-Entering Divine Demonic Sovereign tilted his head, though his smile did not fade.
“I have never received human heads as a gift before. Whose heads are they?”
“I do not know. I did not even take off their masks. However, they said this: if I touched them, you would not let me be.”
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
Was it an illusion? For a split second, the Heaven-Entering Divine Demonic Sovereign’s face seemed to twist.
“Then it is better that I do not know either.”
The head held in the Heaven-Entering Divine Demonic Sovereign’s hand dropped to the ground.
Crunch!
The masked head that fell to the ground was stomped on and crushed.
The black mask instantly became a clump of filth.
It was a chilling sight.
“You heard him, right?”
Crunch! Crack!
At my mocking words, the same sounds rang out simultaneously behind me.
A heavy scent of blood began to drift in all directions.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
The Heaven-Entering Divine Demonic Sovereign laughed heartily. The twist that had appeared on his face vanished with his hearty laughter.
And then he stopped laughing abruptly.