Chapter 174 - The Black Flame Dragon That Swallows the Sea of Blood (4)

The darkness faded, and dawn approached as the light began to shine, but the space in the area was filled with an ominous red energy.

"... Amitabha."

In contrast to the benevolent voice chanting the Buddhist name, Ilgak stared at the red energy with fierce eyes.

Powerful qi condensed in his pressed palms.

As he reached out one hand and moved it slowly as if pushing against space, a massive Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm unfolded in the shape of his hand, beginning to push back the sorcery.

It was clearly a collision of intangible things, yet the giant golden hand and the red space vied against each other in the air, emitting a bizarre sound of tearing flesh.

RIIIIIP!

SCREEEEECH!

The screams that leaked out as the unidentified red space was torn apart shook his calm mind excessively.

He thought he had tasted transcendence through the deep cultivation of facing the wall and maintaining silence, but Ilgak was deeply disappointed in himself for shaking so violently at a small wickedness.

'How did it come to this...'

Worldly anguish, which he did not usually harbor, filled his head. However, those wicked sounds were not the cause.

It was purely deep regret over the past he had overlooked.

No, it was contempt for himself, having failed to face the truth while finding relief in the thought that things would be fine.

'They say regret is always too late, no matter how early it comes...'

Glancing around, numerous disciples of the Shaolin Sect and lay sects were holding their heads and chanting Buddhist scriptures.

They were desperately resisting to push out the bizarre sounds and illusions invading their minds.

Even so, they were the better ones.

The disciples of the Mount Cangshan Sect and their affiliated lay sects who had accompanied them were foaming at the mouth and convulsing with their eyes rolled back.

Seeing that even their only hope, Hyeseong, was clutching his head alongside Myeonghyeon, a wave of helplessness rushed in, making him feel there was nothing more he could do.

'Could there be such a pathetic failure?'

There had been a chance.

When Jin Sowoon's missive was delivered.

At the very least, he should have seriously considered the 'dangerous existence' he had spoken of.

Even if Myeonghyeon and Hyeseong had shown disdain and outrage, he should have taken it into account.

If he couldn't go against them, he should have at least maintained strict vigilance.

And the price for brushing off all those anxieties as worldly anguish was this very present moment.

"... Amitabha."

Repeatedly chanting the Buddhist name offered no solution.

Nevertheless, all Ilgak could do right now was shake off all distracting thoughts and chant the Buddhist name.

"Amitabha."

Drawing upon the power of the Bodhidharma Muscle-Changing Classic, he further amplified the energy of the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm.

A golden light like dawn spread in all four directions, but the wicked entities showed no intention of being pushed back.

His energy was already starting to bottom out to unleash the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm any stronger, and if he withdrew it, he couldn't guarantee the safety of those behind him.

STEP, STEP, STEP, STEP.

The sound of highly disciplined footsteps suddenly rang out.

Ilgak's anxiety amplified.

'Don't tell me...'

Through the red spaces, figures wearing blood-red garments from head to toe began to emerge in an organized line.

The red space acted like a curtain, making it utterly impossible to tell how many there were.

'Is this the end...'

Living as a disciple of the Shaolin Sect, Ilgak had never once anticipated this kind of end to his life.

His heart was filled with regret for a life where he failed to properly practice his enlightenments, rather than a desperation to survive.

SHING, SHING, SHING!

The blood-robed figures simultaneously drew their heavy swords.

In the balance of his own death versus the deaths of others, it was all too natural for Ilgak to choose the former.

"... Amitabha."

The blood-robed figures slowly approached, as if preparing to slit the throat of a struggling prey caught in a trap.

Seeing death approaching so leisurely, Ilgak had no choice but to close his eyes, even though he had achieved the Immovable Mind.

'Soon, the sensation of a cold blade piercing the back of my neck will be felt...'

The moment he thought that.

BANG! CRASH!

An impact sounded along with a loud tearing noise.

When Ilgak opened his eyes, he saw that the formation of the blood-robed figures approaching in a line had been completely shattered.

'Just what...'

SWOOOOOSH!

The sound of wind tearing echoed near Ilgak's ear.

His large earlobe flushed hotly as something flew past his line of sight.

'An arrow?'

The blood-robed figures must have seen it too, as they raised their heavy swords and drew out their internal energy to strike the arrow down.

BANG! CRASH!

The arrow, which should naturally have been cut down by the qi-infused sword, instead pierced through the body of the blood-robed figure swinging the blade and kept flying right past.

It was a penetrating power so unbelievable that one couldn't trust their own eyes.

"Monk, are you alright?"

"..."

Turning his head, he saw Moyong Jaehwa looking at him with worried, bloodshot eyes.

He must have been the one who fired the arrow, as he held a bow in his hand.

Just how did he not get caught in the illusion array?

While Ilgak was blankly pondering that thought.

"Benefactor Jaehwa..."

"Ah! Oh no, Monk, your ear..."

When Ilgak touched it with his hand, he found a small wound on his earlobe dripping with blood.

"I'm sorry. It was such an urgent situation that I couldn't aim properly."

"I-It is fine."

Jaehwa spoke while glaring at the blood-robed figures.

"I will drive them back for now. Please wake the others, Monk."

"Wake them? What do you intend to do once they are awake?"

The opponents were using wicked sorcery, and it was impossible to tell how many there were.

They were not enemies that those whose minds had been shaken by the sorcery could fight against even if they got back up.

"We must run and hold out."

"Hold out..."

Seeing Moyong Jaehwa's face, with the capillaries in his eyes burst from exhaustion and blood seeping from his cracked lips, he felt his own foolishness all over again.

Even if he gathered the people here, there was no way they could escape.

Just looking at their numbers made it an impossible feat.

"... I am sorry, Benefactor Jaehwa. This is all my fault."

At Ilgak's apologetic words, Moyong Jaehwa shouted furiously.

"Monk! Pull yourself together. What are we to do if you break down like this now?"

Seeing Moyong Jaehwa holding onto even a vain hope made Ilgak feel even more ashamed.

"We just need to hold out a little longer. If we endure just a bit more, everything will be resolved."

"What do you mean by..."

Moyong Jaehwa spoke with a face full of conviction.

"Brother Sowoon is coming."

"Sowoon? Do you mean Representative Jin Sowoon?"

They were already surrounded by unidentified blood-robed figures.

The Second Line and Third Line were likely in the same situation.

No one could break through such a hellscape.

However, Moyong Jaehwa's eyes were resolute.

"Didn't he clearly state in his missive that he would come?"

"Well... that may be... but this place is already..."

Ilgak spoke with a face full of skepticism, but Jaehwa firmly shook his head.

"My brother said he would come! Then he will surely come."

Moyong Jaehwa repeated the words as if he were chanting a Buddhist name like Ilgak.

The only difference from Ilgak was that he firmly believed what he said was the absolute truth.

"..."

Seeing Moyong Jaehwa drawing his bowstring while glaring at the blood-robed figures with unwavering eyes, Ilgak could no longer chant the Buddhist name.

* * *

In my mind, I recalled the routes the Corpse Mountain Blood Cult had taken in my past life.

At the same time, I overlapped them with the routes the Murim Academy students took in this life.

When the two maps drawn across different timelines interlocked, it yielded a pessimistic result.

'Damn it...'

The First Line was facing the main force of the Corpse Mountain Blood Cult.

The path we were currently rushing down was likely blocked by moving Blood Cult squads as well.

Plunging into it would be no different from covering ourselves in oil and leaping into a fire pit.

My mind grew even more convoluted.

'I can't even seek the help(?) of the Green Woods anymore either.'

Since I had already overcome a crisis once with the help(?) of the Green Woods stronghold, expecting anything more from them was a thief's mindset.

And I wasn't a thief like those guys.

Just as I was desperately plotting a way to break through, Nam Hwaseong spoke to me.

"I have a question."

Did this bastard seriously leave his tact back at his family estate?

"Now?"

"Yes. Now."

"Do you really have to ask questions in this critical moment?"

"I have to."

"You damn bastard..."

He nodded with a stiffer face than ever before.

Let's hear him out, then.

"Speak."

"Neither Moyong Jaehwa nor Eun Seollan are people from your sect. So why are you going this far?"

"What kind of bullshit are you spouting now?"

"You know it too. With enemies of this caliber, they have already fallen to..."

"What? You think they're dead?"

As if my words hit the mark, Nam Hwaseong nodded without replying.

Well, for anyone else, giving up at this point would be a given.

"But we haven't confirmed they're dead yet."

"..."

"For all we know, they could be desperately resisting and waiting for a rescue party right now."

"... Isn't that too optimistic of an attitude?"

"If I haven't seen a corpse, they aren't dead to me."

I looked at Nam Hwaseong and spoke.

"And if they aren't dead, I will definitely go rescue them at all costs."

"..."

Nam Hwaseong continued.

"... Is that because they are your people?"

"You're not tired at all, are you, you punk? Shall we pick up the pace?"

"Jin Sowoon!! This is an important question."

"..."

Seeing how he still hadn't come to his senses after being put through the wringer, his sheer grit seemed just as good as Go Tae's back in the Minor Orthodox Unit. Eventually, I raised a white flag and answered him.

"Yeah, it's because they are my people."

"..."

Nam Hwaseong still looked as if he didn't understand.

He wouldn't understand. No, he couldn't possibly understand even if he tried.

To understand this, he would have had to experience horrific loneliness.

During the Orthodox-Demonic Great War, the Minor Orthodox Unit had no one to lean on.

The same went for me, as the Taiyi Sect had been exterminated.

That was why we couldn't even harbor the hope that someone would come to our rescue if we were isolated behind enemy lines.

Was it only us?

It was the same for Moyong Jaehwa,

and Eun Seollan too.

Everyone who had devoted themselves to the Murim Alliance from the shadows had been lonely.

I watched them die, all alone and lonely.

That was why I did not want to repeat those tragedies all over again.

"Because they are my people."

So as not to leave them lonely.

So that I won't be lonely.

So that even if Murim is destroyed by the Demonic Cult once again, we won't be terrified alone.

"I don't let my people die alone."

A momentary silence.

Nam Hwaseong's mouth opened heavily.

"Then why did you save me?"

This bastard seriously...

"I'll only be satisfied if I shove you back into the illusion array..."

Nam Hwaseong yelled out furiously.

"Answer me! Jin Sowoon! You could have left me behind. So why did you save me?"

Why is he suddenly getting angry? Making things awkward.

I stared at his face.

And seeing the look in his eyes staring back at me as if yearning for something, I had no choice but to tell him the truth.

"Following my orders means you've entrusted your life to me, doesn't it? Then as long as you follow my orders, you are my person."

"..."

Nam Hwaseong finally shut his mouth with a serious expression.

Then, the Blood Cult's squads began to come into view ahead.

"Are they already here?"

Some of them must have noticed us, as shouts rang out among the blood-robed figures and some began drawing their weapons.

No matter how extraordinary the skills of the World-Traversing Lone Footwork were, breaking through that encirclement was no different from volunteering to become a pincushion of blades.

It ultimately meant that one person had to throw the squad into chaos while the other crossed through that deadly terrain...

'Why doesn't the Taiyi True Scripture have something like a cloning technique?'

Just as I was engaging in such extreme escapism.

Nam Hwaseong opened his mouth again.

"Leave that baggage to me."

"... What are you talking about? You're completely out of energy."

"I just need to hand it over to Moyong Jaehwa, right?"

Nam Hwaseong took the bags strapped to my back and shouldered them himself.

"... What are you doing?"

"One of us has to break through that, don't they?"

Nam Hwaseong pointed at the Blood Cult's squads ahead.

"It's frustrating, but right now I have no confidence in staying here to fight those damn bastards, nor am I confident I won't fall for their sorcery. ... Instead, I will run like my life depends on it and deliver those items to Moyong Jaehwa."

Did this bastard suddenly take drugs or something? Why is he acting like this?

"... If you go alone, you might die. No, you should consider it almost a certainty. Are you fine with that?"

Nam Hwaseong heavily scrunched his brow and replied.

"Even if I become a ghost, I will make sure to deliver it."

Nam Hwaseong nodded as if making a resolute pledge.

I didn't know the reason why he would suddenly walk into a death trap on his own, but for now, there was no other way.

At times like this, even if it was unreliable, I had no choice but to trust him and push forward.

I even trusted those Minor Orthodox Unit bastards who pulled gambling scams; what reason was there not to trust Nam Hwaseong?

"Alright. I'll draw their attention as loudly as possible."

"Understood. See you ahead."

Grateful that he was willingly stepping up, I offered him a word of encouragement.

"If you survive this time too, I'll give you five talismans."

Nam Hwaseong, who was running ahead, shot me a glance before continuing to run and yelling out furiously.

"You fucking bastard!"

Spitting out curses, Nam Hwaseong seemed to be quite motivated.

Did he want the Demon-Subduing Talismans that badly?

I began to run in the opposite direction from Nam Hwaseong.

"You bastards of the Blood Demon Sect! Over here! Right here is a highly promising warrior of the Orthodox faction!!"

I'll make a proper ruckus for them.