Chapter 1318
Have you ever seen hell? (3)
“Hiyaaaaargh!”
The air filled with screams and cries that seemed to come straight from hell.
It was absurd. A leopard is a leopard after all. It’s only natural for a tiger to defend its territory.
Considering the vast difference in power between the elders of Haenam and Maninbang, calling this fight a battle between a leopard and a tiger would be inadequate.
Logically, rationally, the leopard should have stopped and retreated long ago. Yet, even with the tiger’s fangs embedded in its neck, driven by madness, the leopard continued its charge.
Kwaddduk!
The bodies of the charging Maninbang’s warriors were swiftly cleaved sideways. Yet, despite witnessing their comrades’ bodies being sliced apart right before them, the following enemies leaped even faster through the cascading blood and entrails.
“Kahaaaaargh!”
Letting out screams that seemed unimaginable from human throats, Maninbang’s warriors poured all their accumulated power into their swords.
“Kaaaang!”
The clash of swords and blades, fueled by their accumulated internal strength, reverberated through the air. The face of the elder from Haenam contorted involuntarily.
Blocking the sword was not particularly difficult. After all, the elder’s power was not comparable to that of Maninbang’s warriors.
However, with all the power loaded into the sword, there was no way to avoid the heavy blow landing on the wrist.
“This…!”
Haenam’s elder, eyes ablaze with fury, forcefully pushed the sword aside and thrust his own blade through the chest of Maninbang’s warrior.
Kwaddeuk!
“This… damn it…!”
At that moment, as his enemy’s chest was pierced, another sword pierced through the abdomen of Maninbang’s warrior and mercilessly plunged into the elder’s lower abdomen.
“Guh… ugh…”
His body trembled uncontrollably. His dantian had been destroyed.
“Elder Gwan!”
“This… this is…”
Gwan Joyeong’s eyes flashed with shock and anger.
‘My comrade…’
“Paah!”
Suddenly, another sword flew and struck Gwan Joyeong’s neck, severing it instantly.
“You damn bastards! Uwaaaah!”
Haenam’s elders screamed in frenzy, swung their swords fiercely. Their momentum was like a raging tsunami crashing onto the shore.
The azure sword energy surged forth, rushing towards the approaching Maninbang’s warriors.
“Kwagagagak!”
Despite the madness gripping Maninbang, their wild swings couldn’t stop the onslaught of the sword energy.
The bodies swept by the sword energy were instantly torn apart, creating a horrifying sight that was almost unbearable to witness.
Yet, despite facing such a gruesome scene, Maninbang’s warriors in front showed no signs of slowing down.
If anything, they accelerated, launching their attacks relentlessly at Haenam’s elders.
A leopard may not hunt a tiger, but a weaker human can hunt a stronger one. It’s the nature of humans.
Only humans posses the capability to sacrifice their lives like pawns on a chessboard.
Even with a sword piercing their hearts, they swung their swords relentlessly.
Phoook!
Despite their intestines spilling out from their torn abdomen, they didn’t hesitate to grab hold of the legs of the person in front of them and tear into them.
“Aaaagh!”
Thud!
The person who finally drove the sword into the elder’s chest shown a surge of ecstasy in their eyes.
A sinister grin spread across their face.
They twisted the sword lodged in the elder’s chest, widening the wound even further.
“Ghaaaaaaaa!”
In the face of unimaginable pain they had never experienced before, a scream burst from the elder’s lips.
In the grip of excruciating agony, all the training they had undergone seemed meaningless.
For a moment, driven by sheer malice, the elder swung their sword.
The sword pierced through the face of the person who was laughing triumphantly, rendering their expression contorted and grotesque.
It was not a calculated move, just a desperate stab.
In no time, their face was pierced through, and it twisted in pain. But what difference did it make when their heart had been pierced moments before?
The sword flew towards the crumbling figure, aimed at their collapsing back. The sight of the elder falling to the ground was truly pitiful.
“These… these lunatics…”
Fear flickered in the eyes of the elders.
This was not a martial arts match, nor a sparring session.
No matter what strategy they employed, it was a war where the only goal was to cut off the opponent’s life.
The madness of war mocked and trampled upon the lifelong accumulation of martial arts they had painstakingly built.
Struggling to catch his breath, the elder looked around the narrow gorge with a sense of despair.
The narrow path was densely packed with countless enemies.
It seemed as if a black river flowed through it.
Of course, Maninbang’s average warrior couldn’t withstand the overwhelming prowess of the elders.
Yet, the elders had no way to stop the river of death flowing into the gorge.
One by one, necks were slashed, dozens fell, only to be replaced by more rushing forward.
The morale they had rallied was swept away by the merciless torrent, leaving them feeling as though they were slipping away at the tips of their toes.
“Ugh…”
No matter how many foes there were, he was confident he could stand like a wall against them.
And rightly so, for even though the enemy outnumbered them, only three could charge at once.
They couldn’t overwhelm them, not even if they attacked from above.
Furthermore, they weren’t alone in defending.
With elders who had trained together, they could withstand not just thousands, but tens of thousands, until their strength waned like armor on the battlefield.
But… the elder standing before them now was consumed by a sudden wave of terror in his eyes.
As the boiling blood and rage subsided, reality began to reveal itself.
Countless corpses lay sprawled before him. Enemies trampled over them without hesitation, charging forth.
And among those piles of bodies, the corpses of the elders who had fallen first would surely be mixed in.
“Ugh…”
The feet of Haenam’s elder, firmly planted in the ground, faltered for a moment, as if searching for support.
He knew. He knew what needed to be done. Why they had to defend this place.
But knowing in his mind didn’t make the task any easier, as sacrificing oneself for a cause is never easy.
Furthermore, the reckless frenzy of Maninbang charging forward without regard for their lives was enough to create cracks in the resolve of even the most resolute elders.
“Don’t back down!”
Recognizing the situation, Geum Yangbaek shouted quickly.
But reversing the shaken momentum was no different from rebuilding a collapsing sandcastle.
The consequences were immediate.
“Aaargh!”
The elder, who had been stepping back, stumbled as a blade struck his thigh.
There was no way to compare standing against the enemy with full force and awkwardly defending while pulling back.
Had he been able to fully utilize his skills, these wounds would not have been incurred.
But at this moment, Haenam’s elders were not in a position to fully utilize their abilities.
“Get out of the way!”
Geum Yangbaek leaped over the heads of the elders in one swift motion.
Shouting would not reverse the situation. In that case, it was right for him to take action directly.
His thoughts were brief, his actions swift.
Rushing forward, Geum Yangbaek pierced the throats of Maninbang’s warriors charging towards him one after another.
Truly, his swordsmanship was like a gleaming ray of light.
With this single attack, Geum Yangbaek had proven the prowess of Haenam’s Sect Leader.
The enemies, their throats swiftly pierced, collapsed like rotten straw.
‘Next…’
But in that moment, Geum Yangbaek flinched. His gaze shifted to his arm, the one holding the sword.
Even as the enemy fell, dying from the hole in his throat, he had viciously swung his blade, inflicting a deep wound on Geum Yangbaek’s arm.
Geum Yangbaek’s eyes flickered faintly.
‘Vicious…’
Of course, there was little strength left.
Just because his throat was pierced didn’t mean he would die immediately.
But at least for this moment… it felt as though the dead were wielding their swords.
“Eeik!”
With a roar, as if trying to shake off the lingering discomfort, Geum Yangbaek swung his sword fiercely through the air.
Once again, the gleaming blade cut through not only the enemies at the forefront but also those following behind in one swift motion.
“Ghaaaaaa!”
“Aaargh!”
As Maninbang’s warriors screamed, feeling the unexpected strike pierce through their allies and suddenly into their own bodies, the impact was even greater due to the unforeseen nature of the attack.
The sudden halt of those rushing forward led to an even greater catastrophe.
“Quickly, get out of the way! You bastard!”
Whoosh!
The blades of allies struck the backs of those who had abruptly stopped in their tracks.
Instantly, their spines severed, they foamed at the mouth as they collapsed forward.
Those behind them drew their swords from their fallen comrades and trampled over them as they pressed forward.
Guilt? There was no room for such sentiments.
Once the momentum of a charge began, it couldn’t be stopped by any means.
If he hadn’t trampled over his allies, he would have been trampled by those following behind.
“Aaaargh!”
Cursing, he charged forward, and a dozen strikes of swords rained down on him simultaneously.
He raised his sword, using the blade to shield his throat and heart, and pounded the ground before leaping into the midst of the onslaught.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The fierce strikes of sword energy pierced through his torso incessantly.
Blood gushed out, but amidst it all, Maninbang’s warrior, protecting only his head, swung his sword fiercely.
“Aaargh!”
Sprays of blood from the sword’s edge splattered onto Geum Yangbaek’s torso.
Yet, the blade did not touch him.
It only sliced through the space just moments away from his body.
However, the fervor of that blood still relentlessly engulfed Geum Yangbaek.
“Kkrrrk…”
With his last bit of strength, Maninbang’s warrior collapsed forward.
As he watched the dying struggle, scratching the ground fiercely until his breath ceased, Geum Yangbaek felt the chilling coldness trickle down his spine.
“Haargh!”
At that moment, something sharp flew towards Geum Yangbaek.
Reflexively, he raised his sword to block the incoming strike.
In an instant, the flying objects spun around and swiftly wrapped around Geum Yangbaek’s sword.
‘A chain-scythe?’
Geum Yangbaek blinked in surprise.
Seizing the opportunity, the enemies rallied their momentum and charged forward with thunderous roars.
“Kill them all!”
“Capture them!”
Geum Yangbaek pulled his sword with all his might, but the sword, entangled by a dozen chain-scythes, didn’t budge.
“Don’t make me laugh, you bastards!”
The one who responded instead of Geum Yangbaek was none other than Tang Pae.
Leaping over Geum Yangbaek’s head, Tang Pae shattered the jar with poison and hurled the venomous powder with all his might.
Thanks to the elders’ efforts, there was enough respite to find some room to take a breather, and the poisonous cloud he created quickly enveloped the enemies like smoke rising over a raging fire.
“Everyone, die…”
Tang Pae, who had intended to scream until his throat burst, suddenly lost his voice as if his throat had been choked.
“That…”
His bloodshot eyes fixated beyond the poisonous cloud.
A spherical object, no larger than a child’s head, was flying towards the poisonous cloud he had unleashed.
Tang Pae realized something.
He realized what was flying towards his poisonous cloud.
And what consequences that flying object might bring.
“E-Explosives!”
Kwaaaaaaaah!
With a deafening roar that seemed to shatter the sky, a tremendous explosion erupted in the center of the gorge.
Rumbling and shaking, the narrow gorge and its adjacent cliffs seemed on the verge of collapse.
And then…
Whoosh!
The shockwave generated by the explosion forcefully pushed aside Tang Pae’s poisonous cloud in an instant.
The storm of poison, capable of melting everything in its path, surged not towards Maninbang but towards Haenam.
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