Chapter 1322
That’s true, if it’s a human. (2)
Rumbling!
The gorge shook as if it was about to collapse.
But that was all.
The gorge, which had endured for thousands of years, didn’t crumble so easily from that level of shock.
If it were a gorge that could collapse from such a shock, it wouldn’t have lasted until now.
Perhaps if they had drilled holes in the cliffs beforehand and triggered the explosion from within…
But from the perspective of Maninbang, it was certainly not a situation where they could feel relieved that the gorge hadn’t collapsed.
As the thick dust and smoke billowed out on the wind, the once-formidable figures of Maninbang, now reduced to mere corpses, were fully exposed.
Even those crazed with frenzy momentarily faltered, their strides halting at the gruesome sight.
“Ugh….”
But they had no other choice.
“Aaaaaaagh!”
To shake off the rising anxiety and embarrassment in their hearts, they let out more beastly roars as they charged forward.
Just onward, and onward.
Squelch!
Stepping on the ground, now stained with blood, forming puddles.
The sticky substance clinging to their feet felt like a grudge, but this was the battlefield.
This is not a place where such sentiments can continue.
Ironically, it’s Maninbang’s side that has no way out.
If they want to survive, they have no choice but to charge forward and bring down the enemy.
But standing in their way is none other than Chung Myung.
Pow!
Throwing his body backward, Chung Myung swiftly severed the necks of the charging assailants one after another.
If they swung their swords, their arms were cut off, if they tried to grab his ankles, their wrists were severed.
If they tried to summon their inner strength to withstand his swordsmanship, it was shattered, and if they twisted their bodies to evade, he would already be there to pierce their vital points.
It was an iron wall of despair.
The sound of a comrade dying was clearly audible.
The stifled groans and the sound of flesh being torn by blades seemed to echo, more vivid than what their eyes could perceive.
Yet, there was no turning back. There was never a place to return to in the first place.
“Die!”
A dao [dao is a type of chinese sword] is simple.
If you’re going to measure it all around, it’s better to wield a spear or a sword.
A dao relies on the wielder’s strength to unleash its power in a sweeping motion, so it’s best to swing it with all your might.
The dao, grasped by the hand of Maninbang’s warrior, unleashed a devastating blow that perfectly complemented its purpose.
Kwaaaaang!
The sensation of exerting force as if about to burst one’s arms while pushing forward with the sword, and the feeling of driving the sword into the opponent’s body at the end.
It was a sensation of forcibly pulling internal strength out of one’s dantian, a mixture of pain and pleasure, triggering a massive explosion in the mind.
There was no doubt that nothing beyond this could exist.
The strike, pulled out at the brink of limits, shone brilliantly as if containing all of one’s life within it.
But even surpassing that limit, it was futile against the cold-blooded swordsman blocking the way ahead.
The sword strokes began to cleave through the air with tremendous force.
Compared to the power of those strikes, the swords reaching out to block the dao seemed infinitely feeble.
Compared to the dao emitting a power surpassing its limit, the crimson aura around the sword seemed faint and elusive.
If someone were to witness it, they would undoubtedly say that the elegant sword couldn’t withstand the force of the dao’s blow.
That it would just bounce off upon contact.
But the intricacies contained within that sword shattered all logical predictions and expectations.
Clang!
At the moment of impact between the sword and the dao, the sword subtly twisted.
The overwhelming weight and force behind the descending blow caused the dao to fall downwards along the flat side, not its sharp edge.
Clang-clang-clang!
In that brief moment as the dao struck down with full force, flowing along the surface of the sword.
As if dividing that moment into dozens, the sword twisted once again, abruptly altering the direction of the dao.
From vertical to horizontal.
The blow that surpassed its limit broke free from the control of Maninbang’s warrior in an instant.
In that moment, Chung Myung’s left hand struck the abdomen of his enemy like a flash of light.
The body, already turning sideways from the force of the blow, was forcibly turned back.
The sword stroke, which should have been stopped by being driven into the ground, continued unabated, reaching out towards Maninbang’s warriors rushing from behind him.
Kwaaaaaang!
The devastating sword strike that followed swept away those who followed in an instant.
There was no way to handle such an unexpected attack with ease.
Those whose bodies were cut were thrown back with disbelief on their faces.
“Ah….”
A momentary sigh escaped from the lips of Maninbang’s warrior who had caused this tragedy.
But there was no need to feel remorse.
For the dead, remorse was not even permitted.
Whoosh!
He silently looked down at the sword tip protruding from his chest.
Suddenly, a sense of absurdity crept into his mind.
Lifting his head, he saw his comrades rushing forward, throwing away the corpses he had cut into pieces.
Though their momentum was formidable, he sensed an undiscerned fear lurking within their eyes.
Swish!
At that moment, the sword was pulled out of his chest, causing his body to slump forward.
Before his body even touched the ground, those who trampled on him were fiercely swinging their swords towards Chung Myung.
“Just die!”
“Please!”
Someone, unable to overcome the pressure from Chung Myung’s cold gaze, blurted out their true feelings.
Simultaneously, those who climbed up the cliff descended upon Chung Myung from above.
If a frontal attack wasn’t enough, the strategy was to increase the attackers’ numbers.
However, what those who had lifted themselves into the air faced was the harrowing consequence of their foolish choice to leap into an unavoidable trap.
Slash!
The flying daggers of the Tang clan struck the bodies of Maninbang’s warriors one by one.
Some managed to deflect the dagger , but for them, the silent, phantom-like strikes of Yu Iseol’s sword awaited.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Blood sprayed in all directions as bodies were sliced open.
Yu Iseol’s gaze remained calm.
It’s not difficult at all.
Those driven by madness to rush forward aggressively might seem threatening at first glance, but ultimately, it’s no different from saying they lack the finesse they usually possess.
Yu Iseol’s swordsmanship is not sloppy enough to let those rushing toward her, abandoning all caution, slip through her defenses.
No matter how many of them charge at her, she can block them effortlessly.
Yu Iseol knew exactly why this process was so ridiculously easy.
Swoosh!
The necks of those charging head-on were pierced through in an instant.
Her sword swiftly extended and retracted, effortlessly intercepting any subsequent attacks.
It’s chilling.
Despite typically being unaffected by emotional fluctuations, even Yu Iseol felt a chill from that sword.
After all, humans are ultimately emotional beings.
While striving to embody the ideal swordsmanship verging on perfection, it’s inevitable that some emotional residue would cling to the blade.
Hence, the swords wielded by excited individuals are intense, while those wielded by fearful ones tremble.
However, no such emotions could be sensed from Chung Myung’s sword.
It simply exists where it needs to and strikes where it must.
Its consistency is almost unsettling.
The battlefield is where everything hidden deep within humanity comes to the surface.
The aftermath of that frenzy was shaking even Yu Iseol, known for her composure.
But how could Chung Myung remain so calm?
How could he regard all this as nothing out of the ordinary?
Suddenly, Yu Iseol found herself thinking that the sword seemed sad.
Sadness and Chung Myung didn’t seem to go together, and even thinking such a thought was out of place, but somehow it felt that way.
Swoosh!
Chung Myung mercilessly cleaved through the hearts of those charging towards him and withdrew his sword.
The crimson blood splattered against Chung Myung’s cheek.
Yu Iseol thought as she swung her sword.
‘I can do this.’
She could block them. They could hold them off until the end of this gorge.
Even if ten thousand instead of one thousand rushed in, they wouldn’t be able to go through Chung Myung.
But… one thought lingered in her mind.
Her gaze passed over Chung Myung’s shoulder, beyond to the end of the gorge.
There stood the one who controlled everything here.
Ho Gamyeong, known as the ruthless commander of Sapaeryoen.
Did he truly not know this fact when they came here?
Yu Iseol’s eyes flickered faintly.
Ho Gamyeong’s cold gaze pierced through them like a snake.
“An impregnable fortress, indeed.”
Goe Ryang couldn’t help but laugh, because it was absurd.
“Offense and defense may seem similar at first glance, but they’re entirely different things.”
Ho Gamyeong agreed with those words.
Chung Myung he saw was a relentless spear. It pierced through the opponent’s defense and went straight for the heart, an unstoppable force. It broke through an unbreakable shield by force.
It was a spear that shattered contradictions.
Yet, to perfectly block the opponent’s offense with that spear was something that should not happen in reality.
The sword is incredibly subtle. Therefore, when attacking and retreating, everything from the distribution of power to the manipulation of internal energy must inevitably change.
However, Chung Myung was effortlessly managing all of that.
Goe Ryang scratched his chin nervously.
They were the ones being pursued. Even if they managed to escape this gorge, there was plenty of time left for them to be tracked down.
Troops? They were not just plentiful: they were overflowing. Even if this gorge were to collapse suddenly, there would still be more people left than that, not even in Sapaeryeon but in Maninbang alone.
Moreover, even among the remaining individuals, there were formidable figures aplenty, incomparable to those mobilized here.
Right now, Red Dogs, the symbol of Maninbang, had not been deployed in battle, and Dan level warriors, except for those accompanying the Blood Sword Squad, remained intact.
So, there was no reason to feel anxious, no matter how much one thought about it.
Cheonumaeng and Haenam were the ones being chased.
But Goe Ryang felt restless now. He felt it so intensely that it was undeniable.
Despite being in the position of the hunter, he felt as if his throat was being constricted by an oppressive pressure, making it hard to breathe.
Goe Ryang spoke with a slightly annoyed tone.
“At this point, it’s understandable to feel overly guarded.”
Ho Gamyeong glanced at Goe Ryang with indifferent eyes. Goe Ryang clenched his teeth and continued.
“Is it because you can’t see it?”
“….Yes.”
The conversation may seem abstract, but the two people engaging in it understood each other’s words accurately.
It’s not about the limits of strength or martial prowess.
Understanding is essential for hunting.
The one hunting deer needs to understand their behavior, and the one hunting tigers must fully comprehend tigers.
Otherwise, not only will the hunt fail, but their lives will also be endangered.
However, that guy is beyond the scope of understanding.
Just when you think you’ve grasped it, a new aspect emerges.
Aspects that should not coexist within one person continue to reveal themselves one after another, and just when you think you’ve caught a clue, they hide back into the ambiguous mist.
That’s why he is unpredictable.
What will happen, what actions will be taken.
And ultimately, it’s the fear of being swallowed by that uncertainty, even for Sapaeryeon.
“…But even so, it’s pointless. The terrain here isn’t favorable.”
Ho Gamyeong remained silent in response.
“If we could at least wear down the enemy’s stamina, it might be different, but this will only increase meaningless sacrifices. We know well that he doesn’t tire out this easily, don’t we?”
Goe Ryang didn’t hold human life in high regard.
However, there’s no need to waste available resources.
It was a moment when Goe Ryang was about to say another word to the silent Ho Gamyeong.
“Perfect…”
“Huh?”
“Yeah, maybe it’s perfect. But… just because something’s perfect doesn’t mean it can’t be killed.”
“…”
“That’s true, if it’s a human.”
For a moment, a sinister gleam flickered in Ho Gamyeong’s eyes.
His cold gaze was fixed on Chung Myung’s right leg.
It was only now, from the moment Chung Myung stepped forward, that Ho Gamyeong’s eyes, which had been focused solely on that one thing, finally saw it.
The sight of Chung Myung’s right foot being slightly dragged for a moment.
“You’re human after all, Hwasan Geomhyeop.”
A triumphant smile spread across his face.
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