As silence settled over the area,
Ghost Demon stared at me for a moment before letting out a sigh.
“Perhaps this old man truly has grown old. To think I would repeat the same mistake.”
“……”
“I was praising you all as talented individuals just moments ago, yet I still tried to judge those very talents by common sense.”
“Thank you for the compliment. So what do you plan to do now?”
He let out another sigh as he answered.
“Since the original plan has fallen apart, it would be wise to settle for the next best option.”
“And what would that be?”
“Am I obligated to tell you? You will naturally find out when the time comes…….”
Leaving those words behind, Ghost Demon vanished as suddenly as he had appeared.
I didn’t know exactly what he meant by the “next best option” but it looked like he intended to act immediately.
Which meant we couldn’t afford to waste time either.
“We’re leaving right away.”
Just as we were about to move out with the group, Dang Eun-bi approached and spoke with a serious expression.
“Please let me come with you too.”
I didn’t say something like, “You’re too young.”
By that logic, we shouldn’t be here either.
Instead, I asked a practical question.
“What can you do if I bring you along?”
“Poison……”
“You know it won’t work.”
“Hidden weapons……”
“The firearms were at least somewhat effective, but we already used them all earlier.”
“……”
“If you follow us, you’ll just be putting yourself in danger. Go hide somewhere.”
I deliberately cut her off in a firm, cold tone.
Even so, Dang Eun-bi refused to give up and looked me straight in the eye.
“Medical arts. I can use them.”
“……”
“The sooner treatment is given, the better, right?”
She meant that she wanted to follow us and help treat the wounded.
Some of them would be hovering between life and death, and if Dang Eun-bi came with us, we might be able to save even one more person.
Before nodding, I added one condition.
“If things go bad, we might not be able to protect you. You’ll have to take care of yourself.”
“……I’m prepared for that.”
“Alright. Then let’s go.”
After adding Dang Eun-bi to the group, we continued moving forward.
***
Around the same time.
Not far from the Manor, the fiercest battle of the entire night was unfolding.
Both the Dang Clan and the Blood Cult had committed large numbers of elite experts, and several Yin-Yang Blood Jiangshi could also be seen on the battlefield.
It was also the place where the strongest fighters from both sides had clashed.
Creaaaaak—!
Blood-red blade qi tore across the ground.
The one who unleashed it was a woman dressed in blood-colored robes.
She casually wielded a huge saber larger than herself with one hand. She was none other than the Blood Cult elder, Blade Demon.
She spun the greatsword through the air a few times before kicking off the ground and charging forward.
Tak!
Waiting at the end of her charge was the head of Dang Clan, Dang Gun-ak.
With an indifferent expression, he stepped through a movement technique.
Not only did he lightly evade the greatsword, he instantly widened the distance between himself and Blade Demon.
A chill crawled down her spine.
“So the Dang Clan’s Pursuing Thunder Movement Technique truly is unmatched in the martial world. The rumors were no exaggeration.”
Moreover, the movement technique was merely a tool that supported his attacks.
Dang Gun-ak’s sleeves fluttered, and hidden projectiles filled the air.
Shweeeeeak!
To Blade Demon, those tiny projectiles felt more like pillars crashing toward her.
But fleeing was not an option either.
She tightened her grip on the greatsword and smashed aside the incoming projectiles.
Crack—!
“Urgh……!”
Blade Demon’s face twisted from the pain tearing through her hands.
Though they were both A-rank, the Dang Clan Head was clearly one or two levels above her.
That was why she had been taking losses throughout the entire exchange so far.
Shweeeeeak!
The hidden projectiles continued pouring toward her without pause.
As she swung her saber like a madwoman, she cursed inwardly.
Not at the Dang Clan Head, but at the Blood Sword Commander, who had now become a wandering soul.
If that turtle-like bastard hadn’t gotten himself killed!
The original plan had been for the two of them to gang up on the Dang Clan Head together.
With their combined strength and numerical advantage, they had expected to secure victory without much difficulty.
But after the Blood Sword Commander fell, Blade Demon had been left to face the Dang Clan Head alone.
Of course, she had expected that parts of the plan might go wrong.
Those who belonged to the Blood Cult always lived side by side with death.
The problem was the process itself.
If he died during the mission, that would’ve been one thing, but he got himself killed while fooling around playing games?
And on top of that, he got the entire Blood Sword Squad wiped out too?
The more she thought about it, the more her insides churned with rage.
In her mind, the Blood Sword Commander had already transformed from a turtle into a beetle, then into someone with an odd number of parents, then vanished entirely…but none of that changed reality.
In the end, he was at peace, while she still had to keep fighting, and the hidden projectiles were still flying at her.
Swish-swish-swish—!
Blade Demon was being pushed further and further into a corner.
There were limits to both blocking and dodging.
She could already sense that a decisive killing move would soon come her way.
But in the next moment, the Dang Clan Head suddenly flicked his hand toward an entirely different direction.
The hidden projectile shot out and pierced a Yin-Yang Blood Jiangshi that had been about to thrust its sword forward.
Bang!
As the creature staggered, the Dang Clan martial artist who had narrowly escaped death regained his footing.
“Clan Head……!”
Only then did Blade Demon realize what the Dang Clan Head had intended, and she let out a hollow laugh.
“You dare show mercy while facing me? You just let the perfect opportunity slip away.”
“It is not worth more than the life of one of my clan members.”
Dang Gun-ak answered indifferently, but the sneer remained on Blade Demon’s lips.
“No. You are simply weak. A leader of a group should know how to sacrifice one or two lives for the sake of victory. You lack the ability to make decisions for the greater good.”
At that moment, the Head of the Council of Elders, who had been fighting the Yin-Yang Blood Jiangshi, joined the conversation.
“Though you are our enemy, I agree with those words. Clan Head, please make your decision.”
And it wasn’t just him. The other Dang Clan experts were also staring at Dang Gun-ak with fierce determination.
Each of them was saying the same thing with their eyes.
That they too were ready at any moment.
If they unleashed their latent potential while prepared to die or become crippled—
They could defeat the Blood Cult experts and the Yin-Yang Blood Jiangshi, or at the very least drag them down together.
The faster they suppressed the enemy, the faster the aftermath could be dealt with as well.
And Dang Gun-ak himself would no longer need to worry about the safety of his clan members and could focus solely on defeating his opponents.
Just as Blade Demon had said, it was the rational choice for the bigger picture.
Yet Dang Gun-ak shook his head.
“I cannot allow it.”
“Clan Head!”
“Can you truly not see it? That this too is exactly what they intend.”
“……!”
The Blood Cult’s objective was obvious as day.
To inflict as much damage on the Dang Clan as possible, especially by reducing the number of their experts.
Even if they secured victory by unleashing their latent potential, the fact that they would lose large numbers of elite fighters would remain unchanged.
From the Blood Cult’s perspective, their objective would be achieved either way.
The Dang Clan Head continued,
“We absolutely cannot lose our clan members. Even if that means fighting far more defensively.”
The Elder Council Head fell silent for a moment in contemplation before issuing orders to those around him.
“……We will follow the Clan Head’s command.”
It was not because the reasoning was convincing enough to earn his agreement.
However, regardless of his personal thoughts, tradition and discipline had to be upheld.
Had he not spent his entire life pursuing those very principles, to the point of ostracizing a girl young enough to be his granddaughter so harshly?
The Clan Head’s command too had to remain absolute.
To defy it would be no different from denying themselves.
As Blade Demon listened to their exchange, a sneer once again spread across her lips.
“Haha……. It seems the old man left some words unsaid, so I shall say them in his place. How far do you think idealism will get you? You already look barely capable of holding out as it is.”
From the Dang Clan’s perspective, their primary weapons of poison and hidden weapons were nearly useless, making it as though they were fighting with one arm and one leg tied down.
As a result, the tide of battle was gradually turning against them.
“Rather than stubbornly clinging on only to lose even more, wouldn’t it be wiser to make a decision now?”
“To think I’d live to hear concern from a blood demon.”
“I only say it because it’s laughable. To think the famed poison arts of the Dang Clan amount to no more than this.”
“…….”
As though the words were not even worth responding to, Dang Gun-ak merely waved his hand dismissively.
Blade Demon deflected the incoming hidden weapons, though not without some difficulty.
Clang! Clang!
Yet her mouth continued to run.
“You speak of fighting defensively, so I assume you have something to rely on. Are you waiting for those so-called Twin Heroes of the Dang Clan?”
“…….”
“But will they truly arrive in time? Or perhaps…….”
At that moment, two Yin-Yang Blood Jiangshi landed on either side of Blade Demon.
The creatures from another battlefield had joined them.
“……Will these things be faster instead?”
This was the Blood Cult’s strategy.
If the top experts clashed head-on from the very beginning, their chances of victory would be slim and the damage inflicted minimal.
So instead, they struck every location simultaneously, seeking to sow chaos and scatter the Dang Clan’s experts.
To maximize the effect, the Ghost Demon roamed from battlefield to battlefield, deploying Yin-Yang Blood Jiangshi wherever he went.
As a result, the Dang Clan’s experts found themselves unable to regroup with the main force easily.
Meanwhile, the Blood Cult intended to gather the Jiangshi ahead of time and use their overwhelming advantage in strength to decide the battle.
And the two that had just arrived were only the beginning.
Even at this very moment, more Jiangshi were likely converging on this location.
Then Blade Demon gestured toward one side of the battlefield.
“And that is not all. You should be worried about that as well.”
At the end of her gaze stood a single Yin-Yang Blood Jiangshi, yet unlike the others, it did nothing and merely stood there blankly.
From time to time, Poison Jiangshi approached the creature and placed their stiff arms against it.
Then they injected it with the poison they had absorbed from the Dang Clan warriors.
After the same process had repeated itself over and over, the creature’s body had swollen to an enormous size.
At some point, it would inevitably reach its limit, and if it were to suddenly move or explode, there was no telling what would happen.
Blade Demon let out a relaxed smile.
“To think I even have to explain it for you. In any case, you should understand by now that time is not on your side.”
“You certainly are trying hard. But I have no intention of changing my mind.”
“……Your stubbornness truly is pointless!”
At Dang Gun-ak’s response, Blade Demon’s face twisted violently.
Gripping her blade, she kicked off the ground alongside the Yin-Yang Blood Jiangshi on either side of her.
As before, hidden weapons flew toward them,
Clang! Clang! Clang!
But with all three deflecting them together, the burden was greatly reduced.
As the distance closed, Dang Gun-ak unleashed the Pursuing Thunder Movement Technique.
Blade Demon also pushed her movement technique to its limits as she pursued him.
“Do not think this will keep working forever!”
Then, alongside the Jiangshi, she launched a triple assault.
While narrowly evading the attacks, Dang Gun-ak suddenly faltered for a moment before once again sweeping his hand toward an entirely different direction.
Woosh-wooosh-wooosh-woosh!
The hidden weapons he unleashed once again saved several Dang Clan warriors.
But Dang Gun-ak was forced to pay the price, receiving a shallow wound along his forearm.
Blade Demon let out a hollow laugh at the sight.
“You can barely take care of yourself, yet you still worry about others. At this point, it is becoming disappointing.”
“…….”
“Because of that weakness, not only you but everyone who follows you will leave their bones in this place.”
Jingle…….
As if matters were not already dire enough, an eerie bell chime echoed throughout the battlefield.
What appeared next was Ghost Demon, accompanied by numerous Yin-Yang Blood Jiangshi.
Blade Demon spoke a single sentence toward him.
“So it proceeds as planned, though it seems you hurried a bit.”
“There was reason to hurry. Even now, there still is.”
“……What happened?”
“It is a long story. For now, eliminate the clan head first.”
“Very well.”
Before long, the two Blood Cult elders and several Yin-Yang Blood Jiangshi surrounded Dang Gun-ak.
The Dang Clan experts were each locked in desperate battles of their own, leaving them unable to help even if they wished to.
With her great blade resting on her shoulder, Blade Demon spoke.
“Now even your final chance has disappeared. Since this was the result of your own choice, do not regret it.”
“…….”
Still wearing an indifferent expression, Dang Gun-ak slowly swept his gaze across his surroundings.
So the opportunity has vanished…….
It was not wrong, and he regretted it deeply.
However, the regret he felt was directed toward something else entirely.
In Dang Gun-ak’s mind surfaced the conversation he had shared not long ago with Dang Mun-hyeong and Kim Ho.
– How long do you intend to keep postponing it?
– By then, there may no longer be another chance.
– Could you find the courage just this once?
In the end, I never managed to say it.
All he had needed to do was take one more step forward, yet he kept delaying it again and again until things turned out this way.
But if another opportunity were ever to come…….
As Dang Gun-ak indulged in such meaningless thoughts, Ghost Demon finally gave the signal.
At once, the Jiangshi charged in from all directions.
Whoooooooooooooosh!
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