Chapter 333 |
Chapter 333
The Three Lords
The clothes of the men in black, exposed to the cold air dispersed by Jegal Jin-hee, started to gather frost, making their movements noticeably sluggish.
Realizing that they could all freeze to death if they held out any longer, the men in black retreated slightly to widen the distance.
Watching the enemies retreat step by step, Jegal Jin-hee cautiously opened her mouth.
"Are you alright?"
"...Thank you."
The elder of the Zhongnan Sect, now under Jegal Jin-hee's protection, regulated his breathing through intense pain from his injuries and responded.
While still keeping her eyes on the enemies, Jegal Jin-hee also quietly regulated her breathing after hearing the elder's response.
Thanks to the technique, she had managed to save the elder for the time being, but there was still a sense of regret.
'If only I were a bit stronger.'
It wasn't a matter of competitiveness or jealousy. If she were stronger, neither the First Young Master of Wudang nor the elder of Zhongnan would have been injured while protecting her.
However, this was an immediate life-or-death combat situation.
As the men in black who had briefly retreated started moving again, she steeled her resolve.
And as they rushed toward Jegal Jin-hee.
Swish!
A disturbing slicing sound suddenly echoed from the man in black on the far left.
A blade had suddenly pierced through his chest, and a faint figure hidden in the darkness of the night appeared next to him.
Caught off guard by the unexpected ambush, the men in black belatedly swung their weapons at the figure, but he dodged with minimal movements or parried the attacks with his blade.
Bang!
He swiftly produced a golden droplet and, using the Tanjigong technique, sent it flying to strike the vital point of a nearby man in black.
Witnessing Mu-jin skillfully take down two men in black in an instant, Jegal Jin-hee clenched her teeth.
'If only I were as skilled as that monk.'
Even as she had such thoughts, Jegal Jin-hee moved swiftly.
Now was not the time to admire Mu-jin's skills.
After a few dances of blades and fans, she quickly cleared the surrounding men in black. As she regulated her heavy breathing, she calmly surveyed the battlefield.
Boom!!
Meanwhile, Mu-jin was engaged in a fierce battle with a master of sonic arts, causing continuous explosions, while other special forces members were still fighting the men in black.
Just like the elder of the Zhongnan Sect and the First Young Master of Wudang, the special forces members were all injured and barely holding on, constantly threatened by the sonic attacks.nn
Mu-jin, who was observing the battlefield with calm eyes like Jegal Jin-hee, glanced at the special forces and spoke.
"Just distract them a little."
There was no hint of hesitation or doubt on his face. He seemed confident that Mu-jin would emerge victorious.
Jegal Jin-hee nodded lightly without saying much as she regulated her breathing, and Mu-jin's figure vanished into the darkness.
"Sigh."
Jegal Jin-hee took a final deep breath, gripped her two fans, and threw herself into the fray to rescue her comrades.
* * *
Screech!!
An invisible sonic wave collided with Mu-jin's Golden Turtle Technique, creating a chilling sound akin to scraping metal.
Despite his hair standing on end and the unpleasant sensation causing his brow to furrow, Mu-jin forced himself to ignore the noise and lunged at the enemy.
However, the master of sonic arts, instead of standing still and playing the pipa, used his superior qinggong to widen the distance and started playing the pipa again.
As expected, his qinggong was exceptional, far superior to Mu-jin's Fast Ascent Step, which tore up the ground and left shadows in its wake.
Although not as fast as Mu-jin's step technique, the opponent's light and agile movements allowed for more freedom in changing directions and body movements.
Even after several close pursuits, the opponent managed to evade Mu-jin's grasp with sudden changes in direction, causing Mu-jin to shout in frustration.
"You damn rat!"
By now, Mu-jin was a ragged mess.
Every time his Golden Turtle Technique was disrupted by the continuous sonic attacks, the sonic waves that penetrated through the technique would tear his clothes and skin, causing blood to flow.
As Mu-jin tore off his tattered top, revealing his iron-like body bleeding from numerous wounds, he looked more like a ferocious beast than a human, a fearsome sight more akin to a yaksha than a beggar.
However, the Third Lord, who was fighting Mu-jin, was not entirely comfortable either.
Having survived several chases with Mu-jin, he continued to play the pipa without wiping the sweat streaming down his forehead.
Instinctively, he knew that if he entered close combat with Mu-jin, his life would be in danger.
Therefore, every time he evaded Mu-jin's grasp with sudden changes in direction, the sight of Mu-jin's fingers brushing past him sent cold sweat down his spine.
However, the most concerning part was not the hair-raising close calls.
'I heard stories, but this body is really unbelievable.'
Despite landing several attacks on Mu-jin's body, he hadn't been able to inflict any serious damage.
But as a master of sonic arts who rose to the rank of lord within the Shinchun, he had his own solutions.
As he conceived a solution, his music changed.
Like a solo performance turning into a duet, a strange sound began to mix with the existing tune.
And at the moment when Mu-jin's Golden Turtle Technique wavered and a gap appeared.
nn
As Mu-jin, who had closed in on the Third Lord, swung his arm, he suddenly stumbled and staggered.
Barely regaining his balance, Mu-jin lunged at him again, but when his Golden Turtle Technique wavered again, he lost his balance and fell.
Due to the speed of his Fast Ascent Step, he created a huge trench in the ground as he rolled.
But thanks to this, he realized what the opponent was doing.
As he quickly stood up, Mu-jin covered his ears with both hands and charged at his opponent again.
He realized that the sonic arts the enemy was using aimed at his semicircular canals through his ears, rather than killing him directly.
Indeed, as soon as Mu-jin covered his ears, the dizziness disappeared.
Moreover, he felt a continuous tapping sensation on the back of his hands covering his ears.
However, there was still a problem.
'Damn, my speed has decreased.'
Running wasn't just about using the legs.
One needed to swing the arms strongly back and forth to gain more speed through the momentum.
Of course, there was a difference between qinggong and running, but holding both hands to his ears made his posture awkward and his movements sluggish.
Eventually, Mu-jin gave up covering his ears with his hands. Instead, he quickly tore off a piece of his already half-tattered pants.
Rip!
In no time, Mu-jin rolled the piece of cloth and stuffed it into his ears.
'At least my hearing is dulled.'
But he couldn't be satisfied with just that.
"Hoo."
Stopping his qinggong briefly, Mu-jin regulated his breathing and focused his mind.
As he did, the Golden Turtle Technique, which was fighting off the sonic waves sent by his opponent, began to shrink gradually.
Continuing to shrink in size, the Golden Turtle Technique finally positioned itself around Mu-jin's face and neck.
Though the size of the Golden Turtle Technique had decreased, the amount of internal energy used remained significant.
Mu-jin hadn't reduced the internal energy in the Golden Turtle Technique but had compressed it instead.
He reasoned that if the sonic waves infused with internal energy could penetrate through the ears to shake the semicircular canals, they could similarly attack through the nose or eyes.
Having prepared, Mu-jin, with the golden energy hovering around his head, launched his qinggong and charged at his opponent.
The sight of the golden aura floating around his head made him look almost like an enlightened Buddha from a Buddhist painting.
Boom!!!
But Mu-jin's face, tearing up the ground as he charged, looked more like an Asura than a Buddha.
n
Dodging Mu-jin's fierce attacks while playing the pipa, the Third Lord realized it was not easy to break through the now thicker Golden Turtle Technique. So, he targeted Mu-jin's torso, where the technique had vanished.
Slash! Slash!!
Naturally, the wounds on Mu-jin's body multiplied exponentially.
Yet, for some reason, Mu-jin felt a peculiar sense of refreshment instead of pain.
It was as if countless shallow cuts on his thick skin allowed his skin to breathe, similar to the feeling of clearing a blocked throat.
'Damn, have I taken so many hits recently that my senses have gone numb?'
From fighting against Wi Ji-hak, to the Young Lord, and now this opponent.
Receiving full-body massages after every recent battle seemed to have made Mu-jin perceive pain as pleasure.
Despite these distracting thoughts, Mu-jin continued to tenaciously chase his opponent.
As he finally closed in on the Third Lord and reached out his hand.
Swish!
The Third Lord evaded Mu-jin's grasp with agile movements, but at that moment, something red spurted from Mu-jin's outstretched hand.
It was blood.
The blood from countless cuts trickled down his shoulder and forearm, gathering in his palm. Mu-jin infused it with internal energy and shot it out.
The Third Lord, not expecting Mu-jin to shoot blood, hurriedly twisted his body to narrowly avoid the blood.
This brief moment allowed Mu-jin to close in again.
Mu-jin swung his leg to crush the Third Lord's leg, forcing him to leap into the air.
Anticipating this, Mu-jin launched his Invincible Divine Fist at the airborne opponent.
The golden energy from Mu-jin's right fist illuminated the darkness as it flew toward the Third Lord, who quickly changed direction mid-air.
"!!!"
Mu-jin had already dashed toward the direction the Third Lord leaped.
Mu-jin, aware that the Third Lord could perform air-walking techniques, had launched his Fast Ascent Step right after using the Invincible Divine Fist.
The Third Lord desperately played the pipa, sending sonic waves at Mu-jin.
Mu-jin, bracing himself like facing a fierce storm, pierced through the sonic waves and approached the Third Lord.
Finally enduring all the sonic attacks, Mu-jin reached out his right arm toward the falling Third Lord.
Gotcha.
"I finally caught you, you rat."
A wide smile spread across Mu-jin's face.
Covered in blood, with only his face oddly clean, his smile had an eerie quality.
* * *n
Slash!
"Hoo..."
Jegal Jin-hee let out a deep breath after cutting the last man in black's throat with her fan.
Though the battle wasn't long, her internal energy was nearly exhausted, and even lifting her fan made her arms tremble.
However, thanks to her efforts, she managed to save the special forces members.
In reality, her main role was to draw the enemies' attention and slow their movements with her ice technique.
Most of the finishing blows to the men in black were delivered by Mu-jin.
In any case, thanks to her and Mu-jin's intervention, there were no additional casualties among the special forces.
But she couldn't help feeling regret.
Despite saving everyone else, one disciple of Wudang lost his life trying to protect her.
Winning a life-and-death battle and dwelling on such negative thoughts wasn't productive.
As she shook her head to clear the negative emotions.
Crunch!
The unpleasant sound of bones shattering echoed.
Jegal Jin-hee, regulating her breathing, turned to look in the direction of the sound and saw the master of sonic arts with limbs grotesquely twisted.
Beside him stood Mu-jin, who had shattered the man's limbs.
Upon seeing Mu-jin, Jegal Jin-hee quickly turned her head away.
At that moment, Mu-jin voiced her thoughts for her.
"Mu-jin, why are you naked again?"
Mu-jin's voice pierced her ears.
"I'm not a pervert stripping in the middle of a fight! My clothes are all torn because of this damn rat!"
Mu-jin, sounding annoyed, then gave instructions.
"Everyone, tend to your injuries and conduct your qi circulation."
"What are you planning to do, Mu-jin?"
Mu-gyeong asked, as Mu-jin lifted the man he was holding.
"I'm going to interrogate him. He seems to be a Third Lord of the Shinchun. Maybe we can get some information."
Covered in blood, his clothes in tatters, Mu-jin replied, making Mu-gyeong respond with a doubtful tone.
"...That thing is still alive?"
The grotesquely twisted limbs of the man made him look like a corpse to anyone who saw him.