Chapter 212. Nine in the Fifth Place (8)
Eun-Ah growled as she looked at the two auras of Dragon Bind Tiger Strike, which were still roaring. Then, she suddenly let out a roar, too.
ROAR!!!
Eun-Ah’s roar resonated throughout the surroundings. Some of the enemies died of heart attacks from the shock, while others vomited blood, the qi-imbued soundwaves turning their internal organs into mush.
Satisfied that her roar was louder and more majestic than the roar of Woo-Moon’s Dragon Bind Tiger Strike, Eun-Ah continued to fight with a proud heart. That roar had stimulated her competitive spirit.
Meanwhile, the dragon and tiger auras thrashed around viciously, attacking the Hegemon Clan and Mu Heons and their guards. With each movement, they wreaked absolute havoc around them.
“A...ahhh!”
The Mu Heons and their guards were somewhat better off. However, the Hegemon Clan warriors either wet themselves at Woo-Moon’s incredible force or threw their weapons aside and ran away. Only some of them were brave enough that they tried to approach Woo-Moon from behind.
It was the Hegemon Clan’s elite force, the Hegemon Dragon Squadron.[1]
‘We’ll never be able to kill him head-on. Let’s take advantage of the chaotic situation and...!’
Squadron Captain Woo Bo-Gwan, a pinnacle Transcendent that only had the slightest bit left until he reached the Absolute realm, gripped his saber tighter before rushing Woo-Moon.
His subordinates followed to his left, right, and behind him.
Fortunately, it seemed as though Woo-Moon hadn’t noticed them.
Woo Bo-Gwan gathered all of his strength, thinking that he would be able to slay a Paragon and the Hegemon Clan’s greatest enemy.
‘Huh?’
A girl wearing a light pink robe appeared before his eyes.
She didn’t seem to fit in with the battlefield, where blood splattered everywhere and death and hatred were rampant.
Her cold eyes seemed clearer and deeper than any lake, and her long hair was thick and dark as night, forming a strong contrast with her bright white face.
Her slender body looked so delicate that it begged to be hugged.
Her beauty had always been outstanding, and as time passed and she matured, she only became even more beautiful, blossoming with every day that passed.
She had a unique type of beauty that seemed difficult to categorize as the beauty of a girl, though at the same time, it was difficult to call the beauty of a mature woman. Yet a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; whatever you called it, her beauty was resplendent.
Woo Bo-Gwan’s mind went blank at the girl’s sudden appearance, compounded by her stunning beauty. All he could see was Ma-Ra. Even on the fierce battlefield, her beauty was so outstanding that it could steal a man’s soul.
So outstanding that he forgot the age-old adage: the brighter the colors, the stronger the poison.
Squelch!
A moment later, Woo Bo-Gwan’s head rose into the air, leaving his body behind.
Until the very end, his expression, the look in his eyes—everything about his face made it clear that he was unaware of his own death.
”I-it’s the Killing Flower, Death God Ma-Ra!”
That was the title she had received after forming the new Assassin Gate.
The rest of the Hegemon Dragon Squadron were only able to escape Ma-Ra’s trap because of the death of their captain.
“And you call themselves dragons? You’re just a bunch of rats. To think you’d target someone’s back.”
Leaving behind a cold remark, Ma-Ra disappeared into the shadows once again.
“W-where did she go?”
“Find her! We have to find her quickly!”
“Find the Death God quickly! AGK!”
Suddenly, the throat of one of the warriors searching for Ma-Ra split open.
A small hand holding a knife appeared faintly, like a ghost. None of the surrounding people had any inkling of where Ma-Ra was.
Pssssst! Psssst!
The warrior’s throat had been cut with surgical precision; the carotids were severed, and blood gushed everywhere. While he tried to stop the bleeding by pressing on his neck with both hands, it was hard to keep his hands from shaking as he panicked.
“G-g-g-eough...”
He eventually fell forward without ever saying a proper word due to the gushing blood.
Even as a murim expert, he wasn’t able to overcome the dizziness that came with such extensive blood loss, and he would soon die from the excessing bleeding.
The title of Killing Flower Death God was bound to be on the lips of every martial artist alive after this battle.
In particular, her ability to completely disappear even in bright sunlight, to act in full stealth even in the middle of a battlefield full of people, and to assassinate countless powerful people by herself was enough to make her an object of fear for everyone in the murim.
“Come out! Let’s fight fair and square! I refuse to die li... AGH!”
A long spike pierced the heart of the shouting warrior, then was pulled out by the attached chain.
“Assassination. Start.”
At Ma-Ra’s cold order, her twelve assassin guards made their moves.
Squelch!
Clang!
Thud.
Countless sounds rang out.
“Kuaak!”
“Aaah! S-save me...”
The members of the Hegemon Martial Dragon Squadron were helplessly killed by the hands of death.
Normally, the twelve Special Rank assassins who traveled with Ma-Ra weren’t strong enough to attempt an assault on the Hegemon Dragon Squadron.
Since there was quite a disparity in their cultivation levels, none of them would have normally even dared to try assassinating these Hegemon Clan elites.
The only reason they were able to kill the squadron members so easily was Ma-Ra’s presence. The Hegemon Dragon Squadron members, consumed by their fear of Ma-Ra, were unable to resist the Absolute Aura of the Death God that she exuded. Suppressed, they were unable to use less than half of their usual senses and movements.
This was just how terrifying her presence was.
After severing the head of the last member of the squadron, Ma-Ra appeared for a split second.
“Thank you, Ma-Ra,” Woo-Moon said.
“You wouldn’t have fallen to that anyway.”
She was right.
Woo-Moon had long realized that the Hegemon Martial Dragon Squadron was approaching him from behind. He had just ignored them because he had justifiably assumed Ma-Ra would take care of them.
“Still, thank you.”
Smooch!
Woo-Moon sneaked over to her side, hugged her tightly, and gave her a kiss.
THUD![2]
Surprised, Ma-Ra punched him in the side before disappearing again.
“Bastard!”
“Hehe.”
Woo-Moon let out a sinister laugh for a moment.
Not only had he gotten revenge for his grandfather, but he had also resolved the misunderstanding with Si-Hyeon, and it seemed they could be together again.
He was in a very good mood.
Then Woo-Moon sensed a peculiar flow in the energy of the battlefield.
‘That’s where the Saber King and Si-Hyeon are fighting.’
The moment he turned around, Woo-Moon’s eyes darkened and then brightened again.
“How incredible.”
It was the flicker of light-devouring darkness that marked the end of the battle between Si-Hyeon and the Saber King, stealing away the sunlight and briefly engulfing the surroundings.
With that single technique, Woo-Moon felt the breadth of Si-Hyeon’s technique and admired it, curious about her outstanding abilities.
“It’s not an application of Sword Heart. Hmm, it seems to be a form of the Natural Sword... Even though she can’t actually use the Natural Sword, it’s an application of the insights she’s gleaned about it. Wow, really incredible.”
While muttering to himself, Woo-Moon got lost in thought about martial arts for a moment.
He was one of those unhelpable martial arts fanatics.
The current situation was going too well.
Si-Hyeon had seized a clear victory over the Saber King, and thanks to Woo-Moon, Ma-Ra, and Eun-Ah’s efforts, the enemies lost their momentum. They were being pushed back by the thirty thousand remaining troops of the imperial government and the North Sea Ice Palace warriors.
Even within the battle of Absolute Masters, none of the Absolute Masters on his allies’ side had gotten pushed back.
As Woo-Moon walked toward the Saber King, who had been subdued by Si-Hyeon, someone suddenly appeared in front of him and knelt.
The figure covered in blood and with one arm cut off was none other than So Geom-Rak.
As soon as Woo-Moon saw him, he thought back to when they met in that brothel. Woo-Moon thought well of him and looked upon him favorably. Moreover, he was fond of So Geom-Rak and his peculiar way of being.
That was why he felt truly bitter now that they were forced to be enemies.
“It’s been a while.”
So Geom-Rak bowed his head at Woo-Moon’s words.
“Benefactor! I received your favor last time, I’m so sorry that I have to ask you for a favor again before I can repay the previous one.”
A favor.
Woo-Moon already knew what So Geom-Rak was going to ask before the man even said it aloud.
It had to be a pardon for his father, the Saber King.
However, the resentment in Woo-Moon’s heart wasn’t negligible enough for him to change his mind at So Geom-Rak’s request.
No matter what anyone else said, the Saber King was someone who had a hand in the death of his grandfather, the Palm Martial Emperor.
Moreover, he had killed the Night Spear Devil with his own hand.
“... I’m sorry. I can’t save your father.”
“I’m begging you! If you save my father, I’ll live the rest of my life as your save. Please, please...”
Watching So Geom-Rak’s tears, Woo-Moon’s heart began to ache. No matter how evil the Saber King was, even if he was a mole who had mocked the world as he acted as a spy for Martial Heaven, to his son, he was the only father in the world.
But even so...
‘How could I stand by my beliefs and achieve my revenge if I have to consider all of that?’
Just as Woo-Moon was about to shake his head again, a variable suddenly appeared.
“Song Woo-Mooooooon!”
Someone appeared, screeching at the top of his lungs.
“And who are y—oh, it’s you again!”
As soon as Woo-Moon saw the man, he frowned, and a terrifyingly cold light poured out of his eyes. “It’s you again, and you’re doing the same thing all over again, aren’t you.”
The Ninety-Third Mu Heon—the Mu Heon who had previously plotted against the Baek Family—burst into laughter.
“AHAHAHAHA! We meet again, Song Woo-Moon! I’ve always waited for this day, the chance to repay you!”
As he spoke, Mu Heon tightened his grip a little. His fingernails bit into Yeo-Seol’s white neck, and blood trickled down.
While Yeo-Seol was at the peak of the Transcendent Stage and thus similar in strength to the Ninety-Third Mu Heon, the Mu Heon had approached her secretly and attacked her the moment she got flustered by the light-devouring darkness Si-Hyeon had unleashed.
The thing Woo-Moon hated the most was when someone tried to use his loved ones against him. This Mu Heon had caused many of his relatives to die, and now he was holding a hostage.
He glared at the Ninety-Third Mu Heon.
“How strange. I definitely killed you back then. How are you still alive?”
The Ninety-Third Mu Heon had cultivated the Immortal Heavenly Demon Divine Art that had been leaked to Martial Heaven by a traitor of the Heavenly Demon Cult. It wasn’t perfect, but it was definitely good enough. Of course, Woo-Moon had no way of knowing that.
“Well, why would that be? Kekeke! Shouldn’t it be me asking the questions here?”
“Really? Do you really think you’re holding a hostage right now?”
“What?”
The Ninety-Third Mu Heon was taken aback for a moment.
Woo-Moon was acting a little too tough right now.
“Do you think I really don’t know that this bitch is your fiancée, Ha Yeo-Seol?”
“No, I believe you know that.”
“You do? Then why the hell would you say something like that... oh. Do you possibly not like this woman?”
Even though she had been captured by the enemy and her life was in danger, Yeo-Seol wasn’t scared at all.
That was because she firmly believed that Woo-Moon would save her.
“No, I love her. More than my life.”
The Ninety-Third Mu Heon cheered inwardly. He had chosen the right hostage.
“Then put your sword down right now. And tell all those other bastards to stop fighting! Otherwise, you’ll be staring at this bitch’s headless corpse.”
Then Ma-Ra, who had been standing behind Woo-Moon without hiding in the shadows, suddenly vanished.
Seeing that, the Ninety-Third Mu Heon’s eyes filled with madness.
“Stop her! Tell that assassin bitch or whatever to show herself right now!”
1. The full title is actually Sharp Spirit Hegemon Heavenly Martial Dragon Hundred-Man Squadron. Yes, I am serious. Yes, that is a lot of words. ☜
2. Yes, her punch was louder and more forceful than the other stuff. ☜