Chapter 1584
Then who the hell are they? (4)
Bang!
Bang!
People’s heads exploded one after another.
The surging blue flames were more dangerous than they appeared and more lethal than they felt.
Like something alive, they swayed unpredictably, slicing through everything they touched and crushing every living thing within their range.
Unyielding Azure Slaughtering Flames. Jang IIso’s unique martial art.
This technique, befitting Jang Ilso who had fought countless battles, displayed its true worth when surrounded by enemies in the midst of the battlefield.
Clang!
The surging flames deflected the incoming swords. At the same time, they swirled and pierced the opponent’s chest. Ruthlessly, like the claws of a vicious dragon.
Crunch!
A person whose chest was torn apart fell forward. The merciless flames crushed the back of the falling person’s head as well.
Smash!
The flames spread, trembling as if in ecstasy.
“Jang Ilsoooooo!”
A lightning-fast sword thrust towards Jang IIso’s face.
But Jang IIso calmly tilted his head and took a step forward despite seeing the sword.
Crunch!
A large hand grabbed the face of the one who had thrust the sword.
Screech!
An immense grip force followed. In the agony of his face being crushed, the swordsman of Kongtong clutched Jang Ilso’s wrist, gasping.
“Ugh…ugh..”
“Remember this.”
Crunch!
Jang Ilso, who had begun to speak in a soft voice, completely crushed the man’s face.
“When facing a stronger opponent than yourself..”
Swish!
Jang Ilso’s sleeve flared dramatically. The neck of someone charging at him was neatly severed by the end of his sleeve.
Splash!
The scattered blood created a dense red mist around Jang Ilso. It was a scene so brutal it was hard to believe it belonged to this world.
“…You don’t attack head-on.”
In that red, thick mist, Jang Ilso smiled faintly.
Swish!
He launched himself off the ground, landing in the midst of those aiming for his neck. His crimson robe fluttered like the wings of a red butterfly.
Crunch!
His fist, striking like lightning, pierced through the chest of a Paeng family member swinging a sword. His blood-soaked fist emerged from the back, and Jang Ilso whispered into the ear of the dying man.
“Oh dear… does it hurt?”
Swish!
Jang Ilso might be quite merciful. With a swift upward swing of his arm, he split the impaled Paeng family member’s body in two, ending his life completely.
Hot blood splattered through the air once again.
Swoosh!
But the crazed swords aiming for him didn’t lose their momentum at the sight of death.
Instead, five swords, infused with internal power, flew at Jang Ilso simultaneously, as if they were about to tear him apart.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The incoming swords bounced off Jang IIso’s wrist, or more precisely, the accessories he wore. His wrist, filled with solid muscle, easily deflected blades twice as thick and large as his own arm.
“Dieeeee!”
But the swordsmen of the Paeng family and Kongtong did not retreat. The sight of Jang IIso before them shone too brilliantly. Like a ripened fruit ready to fall at any moment.
Like madmen who had lost their sanity, dozens of martial artists screamed and rushed towards Jang Ilso.
Jang Ilso’s lips twisted cruelly.
“Not enough.”
Swish!
At that moment, dozens of lightning bolts shot out from his fingertips.
“Gah!”
“Aaaargh!”
The shock of something piercing and tearing through their bodies. Those who were pierced through the head died on the spot, and those whose bodies were pierced screamed in unbearable agony.
Something burrowed into their bodies, twisting and tearing everything inside with ferocious rotation.
Clang!
Finally, the objects that had pierced their bodies hit the rocks on the ground and bounced up. Everyone momentarily lost their wits, staring at the shiny, blood and flesh covered rings.
“That’s not enough!”
Whoosh!
Jang Ilso shouted loudly and swung his hand horizontally with a rough motion.
At the ends of his long nails, claws like those of a demon emerged, slicing through the bodies of those writhing in pain in an instant.
Flesh scattered, and red blood poured out.
Covered in the clear signs of slaughter and death, Jang Ilso burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha! You look like slaughter pigs! Ahahahahahaha! More! Come at me more! Come on!”
A bizarre martial art that no one could have imagined.
Cruelty that never let an opponent live.
A barrage of laughter and mockery.
With his appearance added to all that, Jang Ilso’s presence made it impossible to look away from him. Once someone set eyes on him, there were only two choices.
Die with his madness in their eyes, or kill Jang Ilso with their own hands to extinguish the madness that spread like wildfire.
The blade of a Paeng family member, infected by Jang Ilso’s madness, fell towards him. Or perhaps, what had truly filled his eyes was fear.
A fear that he could not escape, a fear felt when facing an endless cliff with no choice but to move forward. That despair.
“Uaaahhh!”
A Paeng family member slashed his sword frantically.
Clang! Slash!
But an unexpected result occurred.
His sword bypassed Jang IIso’s accessories and struck his arm.
Of course, it was merely a flesh wound.
However, the fact remained that his sword inflicted a visibly deep wound on Jang Ilso, causing him to bleed.
“Ah… huh?”
Clang!
The sword embedded in his arm broke with a sharp metallic sound. The broken blade lodged itself into the man’s neck.
His death was no different from the others who had died under Jang Ilso’s hand, yet it was distinctly different at the same time.
That strike was imprinted clearly in the eyes of everyone present.
At the very least, anyone with the surname Paeng would remember the name of the person who inflicted a significant wound on Jang IIso. This was honor!
The flames of hope reignited in the hearts of those who had been slowly sinking into bleak despair.
“Ooooooooh!”
Those whose courage… no, whose desire had been stoked, rolled their eyes back and charged at Jang Ilso.
Swords upon swords, and more swords.
Blades upon blades, and more blades!
The countless blades were filled with nothing but malice. The kind of thick, intense malice that was so far removed from the reality of a Just Sect.
“Yes.”
Jang Ilso looked at the products of malice flying toward him with a twisted face. His expression was one of boundless joy and also boundless disgust.
“This is it.”
Bang!
As he stepped forward, the rings that had bounced away simultaneously returned to him.
They pierced through the bodies of those trying to attack him as if they were sheets of paper.
“Aaaaargh!”
Large holes appeared in their bodies. Horrific screams erupted. Blood burst forth like fireworks, splattering onto Jang Ilso’s pale face.
“Aaaaagh!”
Despite trembling in agony, a few filled with fierce determination did not give up. A flying sword slashed a long cut across Jang Ilso’s cheek, and a large blade took a chunk out of his shoulder.
But Jang Ilso showed no sign of pain, his expression remaining unchanged. He only laughed, his face full of madness.
Some charged at him and fell, others sank down in pain, and some were swept away, forgetting what they were even doing.
They all tangled together like lumps of meat, surging toward Jang Ilso.
“Hahahaha!”
Jang Ilso burst into laughter.
These were the distinguished Just Sects that had so harshly criticized and mocked him. The noble figures who sat high above, sneering at the struggles of the mundane world.
Thud!
Jang Ilso’s hand gripping the twisted face of his enemy.
Why did they not understand?
It was because they already possessed what they desired, allowed them to look down on all with such arrogance.
Yet, if they too began to covet, they were no different from the vile scavengers of the world.
“Arrrggh!”
From the horizontally drawn sleeve of Jang Ilso, a fiercely sharp aura shot out. The sleeve, drawn to fairly divide the world, cleaved those surrounding him in half.
Amidst this, Jang Ilso watched closely.
Eyes once boiling with hatred now clouded with despair. Unable to accept their fate of struggling here only to die, the gazes of those cooling down finally acknowledged it.
Desolation, emptiness, fear, sorrow. Various emotions permeated each gaze.
Yet, in every corner of those eyes, an unyielding desire still burned.
Jang Ilso had seen it countless times before and would continue to see it ahead. Perhaps, as long as he lived, what he witnessed wouldn’t change.
The red silk shoes stepped slowly across the space littered with fallen bodies. It casually crushed the cooling skulls of those stiffening beneath its cold touch.
It was merely a step forward in the pursuit of his own path.
Yet, others read so much more into that single step. The cruelty of treating the dead as mere lumps of meat, the chilling apathy towards what had already cooled, and even the complacency of a predator ingrained in it all.
“Why do they do this?”
Jang IIso slowly raised his hand.
His blood mixed with the blood of others, flowing down from his wounds.
As he touched his cheek with his fingers, the red marks smeared and blurred.
Looking at the bewildered onlookers, Jang Ilso smiled like a demon. Then he whispered.
“I am here. Come, hurry and kill me. Take what you desire.”
In that moment.
Swish!
Over a dozen dark shadows leapt out, intertwining over the clustered people. In an instant, Jang Ilso’s eyes widened. These were not the mediocre opponents he had faced before.
“Paeguuuun!”
Crimson blade energy and shimmering blue sword energy fiercely flew at Jang Ilso.
Jang Ilso evaded swiftly instead of confronting his opponents.
Crack! Clang!
The pouring energy tore harshly through the ground he had trodden, ruthlessly sweeping away fallen bodies.
“Huh?”
In an instant, Jang Ilso’s eyes sparkled.
Whizz!
His retrieved rings once again flew through the air as if tearing through space.
Crash! Clang! Crash!
But this time, his opponents were not caught off guard. The elders of Kongtong and the elite fighters of Paeng family, already anticipating his moves, deflected the rings.
However, the elders wielding swords of Kongtong were pushed back by the aftermath. Their swords were lighter compared to the heavy blades of Paeng family.
Thanks to this, the Paeng elites who had seized the initiative rushed at Jang Ilso like a pack of wild beasts.
At that very moment when Jang Ilso’s eyes emitted a fierce blue light!
Roaaaar!
Unexpectedly, Jang Ilso’s body was violently thrown backwards.
“Gasp!”
“What, what?”
The charging Paeng family elites were taken aback and froze in their tracks.
Following the sudden shock emerged a golden light.
Due to its incredibly fast flying speed, the distinctly golden power of Shaolin’s unstoppable force made it appear as if Jang Ilso had been thrown back by an invisible force.
“A-mi-ta-bha!”
A resounding cry shook the earth and sky.
Eventually, a person slowly descended where Jang Ilso had been standing.
“A-Abbot!”
“Abbot!”
Those who had been backing away in fear and those who had been waiting for their chance all stared in astonishment.
But Beop Jong paid them no heed, focusing only on the fallen Jang Ilso, sprawled on the blood-soaked ground. His gaze was heavy and dark.
“Put your hands up, Paegun.”
It was an exceedingly awkward scene.
Bodies and weapons intertwined, with Jang Ilso lying exposed on the ground soaked in red. It truly did not fit at all.
“Ha…”
Soon, a voice full of disappointment escaped Jang Ilso’s lips.
He slowly lifted his body, put one leg up as he sat down. With a sluggish posture, he looked ahead at Beop Jong standing before him.
“This…”
A trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
“I guess your honor… has been tarnished?”
A spark gleamed in Jang Ilso’s eyes.
Beop Jong, the Abbot of Shaolin.
Jang Ilso, Bangju of Maninbang.
It was the moment when these two truly clashed, standing on the blood soaked ground.
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