Chapter 1324
That’s true, if it’s a human. (4)
Yu Iseol’s pupils shook.
‘Blood?’
It was only belatedly that she noticed Chung Myung’s leg, which had been thrown backward, was wet.
Of course, it wasn’t strange for blood to stain the robes on the battlefield.
There was no way to avoid bloodshed.
But it was unusual for it to continue soaking.
If it was the blood of enemies splattered on him, it should have gradually dried up.
This was clearly blood spurting from Chung Myung’s leg.
‘A wound!’
It must have been the wound he sustained on the coast of Hainan island.
The same wound they were told would heal as long as he didn’t overexert himself.
She had forgotten. No, she had no choice but to forget.
Chung Myung had always fought despite hearing such remarks, and there had never been any issues.
So, it was assumed that this time would be no different.
Just as he had done until now.
While momentary flipping his body, Chung Myung stretched his leg out to the ground.
The leg with the wound, supporting his body firmly, swelled momentarily at the hem of his pants.
It was clear that the blood spurting from the wound had hit the fabric from the inside.
Yu Iseol froze for a moment.
Yet, even in this moment, Chung Myung dashed towards Goe Ryang without any hesitation.
“No…!”
Kaaang!
Another strong collision occurred, and its aftermath swept over Yu Iseol.
In the gust of wind that seemed capable of splitting her face, she saw Chung Myung’s back.
His back was trembling.
She suddenly realized.
Even after being advised not to overexert himself, Chung Myung had never stopped fighting, not even for a moment.
He had defended against enemies while running on the cliff with that injured leg.
It couldn’t be okay. He shouldn’t be okay.
But why did she believe he would be okay?
Then, like crimson shadows, Blood Sword Squad’s members surged towards Chung Myung’s neck one after another.
“Sajil!”
Yu Iseol let out a scream, almost like a cry for help.
Thunk!
She desperately pounded the ground, but it was already too late.
Her typically calm demeanor, which rarely showed any fluctuation of emotion, was overwhelmed by the intense passion she felt at that moment.
“Hap!”
The response from Tang Pae, unaware of Chung Myung’s condition, had to be faster.
Swoosh!
The flying daggers surged towards the attackers at lightning speed.
Though it was an endlessly swift dagger, it failed to reach the enemy’s body, deflected by their swords.
The enemy’s momentum was momentarily disrupted, just a brief pause.
Under normal circumstances, that might have been sufficient.
But not for current Chung Myung.
With a roar, the Blood Sword Squad members’ swords extended towards his upper body like venomous snakes.
Chung Myung leaned back to evade the swords, but in that moment, Goe Ryang’s sword, which had bent like a whip, wrapped around Chung Myung’s Dark Plum Sword and pulled it forward in one swift motion.
Thunk!
To prevent being pulled, Chung Myung instinctively stomped on the ground, but the force was not enough, causing his body to be pulled slightly forward.
The flying swords clawed at Chung Myung’s body.
His clothes tore and crimson blood splashed out.
Her face distorted like a demon’s, and Yu Iseol soared like a hawk and attacked Blood Sword Squad’s members relentlessly.
Despite being hit with successive sword strikes, the opponents were unlike those she had faced so far.
While ordinary members of Maninbang might have succumbed to her attacks, these ones, though pushed back, managed to deflect all of her strikes.
However, the pushed-back enemies didn’t stop at defense, they lunged forward and thrust their swords towards Yu Iseol.
A sharp blue sword energy burst forth as if to pierce through her entire body.
Clang!
Turning her body mid-air with a swift kick, Yu Iseol narrowly evaded all the flying sword energies.
However, even as she dealt with the dangerous attack, her focus remained on Chung Myung below rather than on Blood Sword Squad’s members.
‘Sajil!’
With a loud roar, while Yu Iseol engaged the enemies in a brief skirmish, dozens of sword strikes continued below.
Swords clashed, and fragments of energy burst forth one after another.
It was quite obvious what kind of burden the powerful clashes of sword energy would place on Chung Myung’s body.
“This…!”
Swish!
Propelled forward with tremendous force, Yu Iseol’s feet barely touched the ground as she lunged forward.
However, before reaching Chung Myung, more Blood Sword Squad’s members sprang out from Goe Ryang sides and above, targeting Chung Myung.
Yu Iseol stubbornly extended her sword with determination.
As one of the flying swords approached Chung Myung’s face, her outstretched sword narrowly intercepted it.
Yet, two other swords remained aimed at Chung Myung. An enemy’s sword swiftly flew towards Chung Myung’s neck.
Kwaaaaah!
Sensing an opportunity, Goe Ryang swiftly imbued the sword with his immense inner strength and aimed for Chung Myung’s waist in a decisive movement.
It was a moment of life and death.
The thrusting attack akin to a lightning strike and the merciless slashing left no room for hesitation.
This flawless coordinated attack seemed poised to eviscerate Chung Myung’s body in an instant.
If he didn’t retreat, his waist would be cleaved, and if he did, he’d risk being impaled.
Chung Myung’s choice was simple.
It was the place he was most familiar with.
Kwaaah!
As he propelled himself forward, a thunderous boom erupted upon striking the ground.
Before the sound could reach the ears of the others, Chung Myung shot forth like a bullet, plunging into Goe Ryang’s chest.
Goe Ryang’s sword, swung with all his might, futilely cut through the air behind Chung Myung, while the desperate thrust missed its mark entirely.
Kwoooong!
As Chung Myung pushed into Goe Ryang’s chest, he unleashed dozens of sword energies explosively.
The members of Blood Sword Squad widened their eyes at the countless sword energies shooting up like the spikes of an enraged porcupine.
Thunk! Thud!
Their bodies were riddled with numerous holes.
Ones pierced through their throats died with being able to even scream.
However, amidst this chaos, Goe Ryang proved himself to be on a different level than the other members of Blood Sword Squad.
Kwagagagang!
Swatting away dozens of sword energies, Goe Ryang relentlessly charged towards Chung Myung once again, leaving him no room to breathe.
From beneath his mask, a fierce murderous aura emanated from Goe Ryang’s eyes.
Kwaah!
The clash resumed between Chung Myung’s and Goe Ryang’s swords, but in that moment, Goe Ryang’s left hand moved.
Swift as lightning, he drew a leaf-shaped knife from a leather sheath strapped to his thigh and launched it towards Chung Myung’s face.
Swish!
Chung Myung quickly jerked his head back, but the sharp leaf-shaped knife still managed to slice along his jawline, causing the skin to split open and blood to spurt out.
“This…!”
Using the momentum from his swift movement, Chung Myung forcefully pushed back against the incoming sword.
Kwuung!
As Goe Ryang’s body recoiled backward, Chung Myung thrust his sword forward.
Pararararak!
Accompanied by the sound akin to fluttering silk in the strong wind, the tip of the Dark Plum word began to tremble.
Upon seeing the vivid blossoms emerging from the trembling sword tip, Goe Ryang immediately brought down his sword towards the empty space.
The three claw-like sword energies released from the thin sword clashed with the blossoms that hadn’t fully emerged yet.
Kwagang!
The closed blossoms collided with the intense sword energies, losing their form.
However, one of the sword energies unleashed by Goe Ryang pierced through the forest of blossoms, retaining its strength as it stabbed into Chung Myung’s side.
Seogeuk!
As Chung Myung’s side was deeply cut, blood gushed out, yet his sword did not stop amidst the chaos.
Hwaaaak!
The blossoms, rapidly blooming and filling the gorge in an instant, swirled along with the blowing wind.
The scattering flower petals flew towards Goe Ryang, who was retreating urgently.
The profusion of plum blossoms unleashed by Chung Myung posed a daunting challenge in the narrow confines of the gorge, where there was no room to dodge or evade.
Plum blossoms flying across one’s entire field of vision were despair itself.
For Goe Ryang, despite being a formidable master of the Blood Sword Squad, avoiding all these sword energies was an immensely difficult task.
However, Goe Ryang didn’t opt for the difficult path.
With a resolute determination, he made his choice.
Haaap!
Goe Ryang, with his waist bent and reaching behind his back, grabbed the shoulder of the Blood Sword Squad member rushing to his aid, then without a moment’s hesitation, he hurled him towards the oncoming torrent of plum blossom sword energy.
“D-Danju!”
Not stopping there, Goe Ryang grabbed another with a malicious grip and flung him as well.
Three in total.
The Blood Sword Squad members, unknowingly turned into meat shields to block the flying plum blossom sword energy, widened their eyes in horror at the despair that had suddenly engulfed them.
Whether the dread in their eyes stemmed from fear or betrayal would remain a mystery to all.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaagh!”
The plum blossom sword energy struck the bodies of the three Blood Sword Squad members like a barrage of blades, rendering even their rigorous training useless in the face of excruciating pain.
As another gust of wind blew, the numerous plum blossoms that once filled the world vanished as if an illusion.
In the absence of the blossoms, only the bodies of the three Blood Sword Squad members, riddled with wounds, remained in the narrow path.
“Grr…”
Goe Ryang rose slowly, a grim smile playing on his lips as he straightened his bent form.
His body bore deep wounds all over.
While three of them served as shields, they were unable to entirely block the onslaught of the flying plum blossom sword energy.
Despite his efforts to block and counter the incoming sword energy, Goe Ryang still bore wounds from the strikes that managed to breach his defenses.
However, it wasn’t a bad deal overall.
Inflicting injuries of this magnitude on a body of Hwasan Geomhyeop in exchange for the lives of three members of his squad and these injuries was a fair trade-off.
Drip, drip.
Blood streamed continuously from the long gash on Chung Myung’s side.
After casting a fleeting glance at his side, Chung Myung casually applied pressure to the acupoints around wound to stop the bleeding, a gesture that seemed all too familiar and evoked a peculiar sense of dread.
Yet, amid this, Goe Ryang didn’t miss the subtle tremor in Chung Myung’s shoulders.
“You seem short of breath.”
Being out of breath implies fatigue.
The mouth hidden beneath Goe Ryang’s mask curved into a bright smile.
“You’re worn out. Aren’t you?”
If Chung Myung had been in perfect condition, no matter how viciously Goe Ryang attacked, he wouldn’t have left a single scratch.
This means that Chung Myung in his current state is far from normal.
Hwasan Geomhyeop, a person who should not be called a predator but a monster, has finally been caught in his net.
Even if he’s known as Hwasan Geomhyeop Chung Myung, in his current condition, he can never escape Goe Ryang’s grasp.
Thud.
Goe Ryang gnashed his lips roughly, drawing blood. As the metallic taste of blood spread in his mouth, his heightened excitement gradually subsided.
‘I shouldn’t get too excited.’
When hunting, one must remain calm until the very end. Only then can one fully savor the thrill of tearing into the prey’s throat.
Regaining his composure, Goe Ryang nodded towards Chung Myung.
In times like these, true beasts always leave one final opportunity.
There’s no need to invite unnecessary risks.
“Run in.”
As those words trailed off, the members of Blood Sword Squad surged out fiercely to the left and right of Goe Ryang.
Though other comrades had witnessed the fate of those who turned into the meat shields, the fallen were already erased from their minds.
In Sapa, in Maninbang, such events were not considered anything special.
“Ha-aa-aa-ack!”
The members of Blood Sword Squad leaped over the grotesquely mutilated corpses and charged towards Chung Myung.
Yu Iseol rushed forward as if to protect Chung Myung.
“Step aside. I…”
In that moment, Chung Myung grabbed Yu Iseol’s shoulder as she moved forward and forcefully pushed her back.
Paaa-aa-ack!
A momentary confusion flickered across her face.
But it was already too late, as Chung Myung’s blade pierced through the neck of the enemy who had charged forward.
“Ghk…”
Even as they were dying, confusion filled their eyes.
‘He, he’s injured….’
Clearly, Chung Myung had been wounded.
But Chung Myung’s sword was no different from the beginning.
Before they could truly grasp the gap between their expectations and reality, their lives were easily extinguished.
Thud. Thud.
Only then did Chung Myung glance briefly at Yu Iseol.
“This is my place, Sago.”
“But your condition…”
Chung Myung’s gaze was already moving forward, away from Yu Iseol.
She bit her lip tightly.
At that moment, Chung Myung spoke with an indifferent voice.
“I’m as tired as it can get.”
“…”
“Injuries don’t make one’s condition normal.”
“You…”
“So, what about it?”
A twisted smile played on Chung Myung’s lips.
His blood-stained lips revealed white teeth eerily.
“After all, it’s war. Isn’t it?”
Goe Ryang’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Chung Myung glanced down at his side.
Whether it was because the wound was deeper than it appeared or due to some form of poison, the bleeding didn’t completely stop despite him striking the acupoints.
Chung Myung pressed his hand against the wound on his side as if trying to apply pressure on it.
Upon seeing this, Goe Ryang openly sneered.
“The situation is different from what you speak with your mouth…”
At that moment, his mouth involuntarily closed shut.
Sizzle. Hiss!
A pungent smoke emanated from the wound where Chung Myung’s hand touched it.
Soon, the scent of burning flesh brushed against Goe Ryang’s nostrils.
Under the mask, the smile disappeared from Goe Ryang’s face.
Since the bleeding wouldn’t stop, he was using his hand, covered in gathered yang energy, to cauterize the wound.
What madness was this?
A chill ran down Goe Ryang’s spine.
“That’s it.”
With a satisfied smile, Chung Myung, having cauterized the wound, spoke.
“Let’s continue.”
As Chung Myung approached with the sword in hand, Goe Ryang’s eyes faintly trembled.
Comments