Chapter 178 - The Black Flame Dragon That Swallows the Sea of Blood (8)

"Shit... That's an Iron Jiangshi?"

Nam Hwaseong asked with a dumbfounded face.

I spoke, feeling utterly astounded.

"Can't you tell just by looking?"

Its joint movements are awkward, and its skin is as hard as stone.

It was the lowest grade among the Demonic Path's jiangshis that threw the world into chaos, but even this would gift a nightmare to any martial artist if it appeared in the world.

It was impossible not to know.

Because the very thing that killed the most martial artists during the past Orthodox-Demonic Great War was that Iron Jiangshi.

Nam Hwaseong shouted, even as his hands trembled.

"You're the weird one for realizing what it is right away! I-I've never seen one in my life!"

"Anyway, you tried hard."

His actions deserved praise.

Since he had handled things even beyond what I had asked.

He must have really wanted the Demon-Subduing Talismans.

"Good job. I'll give you five Demon-Subduing Talismans as promised."

"Damn it...! I don't need them!"

A dishonest bastard, as always.

Hanging around a guy like Cheol Sunjik makes him act so shady all the time.

I pulled the tautly stretched Flying Dragon Claw even tighter.

The Iron Jiangshi struggled to break free, then looked at me and charged like a maniac.

I immediately jumped over it, wrapping the Flying Dragon Claw around it while simultaneously launching the Iron Jiangshi's body into the air.

THWACK! CRASH!

The Iron Jiangshi, having crashed headfirst into the ground, thrashed madly.

CRUMBLE, CRUMBLE.

It easily dug its way out of the surrounding dirt and gravel as if they were mud, and began to charge at me with those utterly ridiculous footsteps.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

Just as the Iron Jiangshi was a nightmare for lower-class warriors in my past life, the entity known as the Iron Jiangshi was a nightmare itself for me as well.

The Iron Jiangshi, stripped of reason and unable to feel pain, moved without fear to kill its enemies, whether an arrow pierced its eye or Sword Qi split its head.

And that unfeeling nature became a nightmare for those who faced it.

"But that's all just a story from my past life now!"

Shaking off my thoughts, I took a step with the Taiyi Eighty Thousand Divine Steps and dashed toward the Iron Jiangshi.

SWISH-SWISH-SWISH!

Faced with footwork that left illusions in all directions in an instant, the Iron Jiangshi swung its sharp nails helplessly at the empty air.

Catching its back, I drew upon a massive amount of internal energy and forcefully kicked the back of its head.

THUD!

CRASH.

The sound of hard stones smashing against each other rang out as the Iron Jiangshi's two arms were driven deep into the ground.

"There's an idiot over there trying to beat an Iron Jiangshi to death."

Nam Hwaseong, who had thrown up a handful of blood, sneered as if seeking revenge, but I didn't care.

After all, a crow-tit could never understand the deep intentions of a great peng.

TWITCH, TWITCH.

When the Iron Jiangshi tried to move its body to pull out its two arms stuck deep in the ground.

I stepped on its back, held the Black Dragon Sword, and took a stance like I was chopping wood.

Just then, the voice of the crow-tit who was all talk reached my ears.

"Idiot! It's known that an Iron Jiangshi's skin can't even be cut by Sword Qi!"

The guy who was shaking in fear of dying just a moment ago is sure good at yelling at the top of his lungs.

I glared at Nam Hwaseong and said.

"You're fine now, right? Come and help."

"... Cough, m-my internal injuries..."

Why would your internal injuries act up when you haven't even done anything?

As Nam Hwaseong said, the Iron Jiangshi's skin was harder than most iron.

To cut that skin, a weapon with the hardness of at least ten-thousand-year cold iron was required.

"And it just so happens that the Black Dragon Sword I received as a gift is made of Vajra Indestructible Iron."

I clad the Black Dragon Sword in Sword Force.

Nam Hwaseong's eyes widened as he coughed.

"H-How can the likes of you use Sword Force?"

Nam Hwaseong, you bastard, you're definitely not hurting anymore, right?

I focused on the Iron Jiangshi once again and struck down with my sword using all my might.

CLANG.

An impact like striking a massive temple bell sent a stinging vibration through my grip.

Even though I had drawn up a ton of internal energy to protect my hands, the impact traveled through my bones.

Perhaps proving that this effort wasn't in vain, the Iron Jiangshi, feeling the fear of death for the first time, began to thrash violently.

CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!

It swung the arms that were in the ground haphazardly, exploding the mounds of dirt in a space of about one jang in all directions.

BOOM!

The surface of the earth flipped over, and the mounds of dirt buried deep underground flew in all directions.

As I threw my body to avoid the aftermath of the explosion and landed next to Nam Hwaseong, he asked with a worried face.

"Isn't he, like, a bit pissed off?"

"Its neck got a chunk sliced off, why wouldn't it be pissed?"

"A-A whole chunk got sliced off...?"

Instead of answering Nam Hwaseong's words, I stepped with the World-Traversing Lone Footwork, swiftly passing the Iron Jiangshi to avoid its nails, and tied its neck again with the Flying Dragon Claw.

When I drew up my internal energy and infused it into the tautly stretched Heavenly Silkworm Thread, the thread began to contract rapidly.

Soon, the figure of the Iron Jiangshi, which was struggling to protect its severed nape, shot out even faster than me, passed by my side, and smashed into the cliff face.

CRASH.

I immediately infused qi into the Black Dragon Sword and fired out Sword Qi wildly.

I gorged myself on spiritual elixirs precisely to use them at a time like this.

CRASH, BOOM. KABOOM.

Along with an immense series of explosions that the word 'exhilarating' couldn't fully describe, rocks and mounds of dirt flew in all directions.

Seeing the bastard that was so sickeningly persistent in my past life become as helpless as a moving target, a rather refreshing feeling poured out of me, even as the internal energy in my Dantian drained rapidly.

CLATTER.

The Iron Jiangshi rose from the collapsed pile of stones, clattering like a broken doll.

Its wound must have widened in the meantime, as its neck was separated by another inch.

Just then.

"T-There..."

Nam Hwaseong pointed, his face pale with fright.

I shook my head and mocked him.

"Do you still not get it? The Iron Jiangshi..."

"No! I'm saying those guys over there are charging at us, you punk!"

"..."

Perhaps worried that the Iron Jiangshi would be destroyed, the Blood Cult's warriors were charging at us like their lives depended on it.

"Tsk. ... I knew."

"Don't lie, shit! You weren't even paying attention to them!"

The crow-tit is quick on the uptake, alright.

I ignored Nam Hwaseong's gaze and looked back.

"Academy student Ilgak."

Ilgak, who had been staring blankly in this direction, suddenly snapped to his senses.

I looked deeply into his eyes.

"I can leave them to you, right?"

Ilgak looked once in the direction I pointed, then nodded.

"... Please leave them to me, Benefactor."

"I told you I'm not a benefactor."

Is he rebelling because I called him an academy student instead of a monk?

Whether I voiced my complaints or not, Ilgak quickly got up from his spot and began to beat down the Blood Cult's warriors.

Even if he had exhausted all his Vajra power, Shaolin was still Shaolin.

He would definitely buy me enough time to deal with the Iron Jiangshi.

'Then my opponent is...'

GRRRR.

Where had its previous unfeeling nature gone? The Iron Jiangshi was growling like a wounded beast.

Right, even you must be itching to kill me after suffering this much, huh?

Now, instead of its distinctively ridiculous short steps, the Iron Jiangshi moved as if shot like an arrow, closing the distance in an instant.

BOOM!

I executed the Lotus hand technique toward the bastard flying at me like an arrow, redirecting its course.

The Iron Jiangshi surged past me and charged into a solid bedrock area.

CRASH!

The bastard, having crushed the boulders like tofu, pushed its way through the collapsing stones and crouched its body once again.

It seemed as though only the clear and singular purpose of killing me remained starkly within it.

"Right, I vividly remember how many people your sheer persistence drove to their deaths."

The members of the Minor Orthodox Unit who faded away and had to sacrifice their comrades because of it came to mind.

We cursed and cursed you, who wouldn't die no matter how much we struck you or swung our swords at you.

We naturally chose the person to be sacrificed in front of you.

We naturally ran away from you.

You are the Demonic Cult's most wicked symbol.

"Your unfeeling nature makes me even more furious."

A demon made from human materials in order to kill humans.

That wicked sense of purpose prevented even an ounce of sympathy from arising.

"Come!"

BOOM!

Kicking off the ground, the Iron Jiangshi shot out like an arrow.

At the same time, I launched my body toward it.

ROAR!

I thrust the Black Dragon Sword at the bastard, who bared its teeth dripping with black blood.

CLANG!

The Black Dragon Sword and its fangs collided, letting out the sound of clashing metal.

The monster stood its ground, resisting the Black Dragon Sword I had thrust solely with its bite force.

In the midst of that, it tried to crush me with its black nails.

RIP, RIP!

My black martial robes were torn as the nails dug in, but I did not dodge.

Because the Heavenly Silkworm Armor, the secret treasure of Wangga Manor worn beneath my black robes, would protect me from the jiangshi's nails.

"If you had reason, you would have tried to remove this sword right away."

Internal energy gathered at the tip of the Black Dragon Sword, forming Sword Qi.

The Black Dragon Sword, enveloped in golden Sword Qi, didn't stop there and began to manifest Sword Force.

GRIND.

Noticing that something was wrong, the Iron Jiangshi's head began to tremble violently.

"Too late."

I continued to push my internal energy into it, enlarging the size of the Sword Force even further.

SQUELCH!

The Sword Force, having pierced through the roof of its mouth and out the back of its head, emitted a bright light.

"GRAAAAGH!"

Just as it had done in my past life, I pushed it back and pushed it again.

Without stepping back a single inch, I drove it back.

The Iron Jiangshi kept getting pushed back while flailing its hands, ultimately slamming into a rock.

GRIND.

Somehow, the Iron Jiangshi's pupils seemed to shake violently.

"Do you feel the fear of death, too?"

ROOOOOAR!

The Iron Jiangshi growled like a beast once again.

"Good. I'm glad!"

I drew upon the Taiyi True Scripture with all my power and cleaved the Iron Jiangshi in half.

SLIIIICE...

With a black line drawn from its head to its crotch, it still tried to swing its nails.

ROAR...

Then, spilling black blood like a waterfall, it split into two pieces.

CRASH.

The bastard collapsed onto the ground, utterly powerless.

Severed in half, the Iron Jiangshi did not move anymore.

Looking at the gruesome corpse of the Iron Jiangshi before me, for some reason, the guys in the Minor Orthodox Unit came to mind.

"... Heh. I suppose seeing this gruesome demon made me think of you gruesome bastards."

A sudden wave of longing bloomed in my heart.

* * *

Moyong Jaehwa, who was helping Ilgak deal with the blood-robed figures approaching Jin Sowoon, quickly turned his head at Jin Sowoon's battle cry.

"YAAAAAAAH!"

Jin Sowoon, who was engaged in close combat with the Iron Jiangshi, didn't even dodge its nails, solely focusing on relentlessly dispatching the Iron Jiangshi.

'I-If he gets poisoned by the corpse poison at this rate...'

He wanted to run over and help right away, but to Jin Sowoon right now, he was nothing more than a piece of baggage, not a help.

Even now, that was the case.

He was imitating the Thunderbolt Arrow using the arrows Jin Sowoon had sent him, but it wasn't enough to turn the situation around.

If he had actually perfected the Thunderbolt Arrow, would those blood-robed figures have even dared to approach again?

Moyong Jaehwa shook off the thoughts muddying his mind and pulled the bowstring again.

THWANG. SWOOSH—

BOOM.

The arrow exploded, inflicting massive damage on the blood-robed figures.

And right behind that, Ilgak tore through the blood-robed figures, denying them access.

However, even though he tried to shake off his thoughts, they didn't scatter easily.

'If only I had perfected the Thunderbolt Arrow... If only I had worked a little harder...'

His older brother wouldn't have had to fight so desperately.

No, he wouldn't have even had to rush into this deadly situation to save him.

Thinking that way made his chest feel even heavier.

'What the hell... am I doing?'

The blood-robed figures were no longer approaching.

They hesitated and backed away, no longer even approaching Ilgak.

'Why?'

Turning his head to follow where the blood-robed figures' gazes were directed, he saw Jin Sowoon standing there blankly, harboring a golden Sword Force.

And looking down, following his gaze, there was the Iron Jiangshi, cut in half and no longer moving.

'My god...'

In the end, his older brother had taken down even the Iron Jiangshi all by himself.

"Young Master Jaehwa! They're retreating!"

Even at Eun Seollan's joyous voice, Moyong Jaehwa could not readily rejoice.

For some reason, he felt apologetic toward Jin Sowoon, because he ultimately couldn't meet Jin Sowoon's expectations.

"Brother Jin!"

As the blood-robed figures began to retreat in earnest, Eun Seollan, who had been hiding her body, ran over and embraced Jin Sowoon.

After finishing his short reunion with Eun Seollan, Jin Sowoon also spoke with Ilgak and Nam Hwaseong.

"..."

Moyong Jaehwa took a step forward, then stopped in his tracks again.

He ultimately couldn't approach him.

Just then.

"Moyong Jaehwa!"

Jin Sowoon called out to Moyong Jaehwa.

"O-Older Brother...!"

"Are you out of your mind!"

Moyong Jaehwa flinched and stepped back at the sight of Jin Sowoon striding toward him as if angry.

However, he couldn't avoid Jin Sowoon's hand that suddenly reached out toward his own hand.

"Don't tell me you kept shooting your bow while freezing your torn hands like this? My god!"

Jin Sowoon's gaze was focused entirely on Moyong Jaehwa's right fingers.

Examining the wounds, Jin Sowoon clicked his tongue.

"Tsk, well, it must be your first time shooting an iron bow, so it'll take a while to get used to."

Then, he promptly tore a piece of his own martial robes, applied golden wound medicine, and bandaged the injuries.

"Still, you managed to hold out well with the arrows I sent."

"... Huh?"

"You probably don't know... just how many people you saved."

To think he would even praise him for playing a small part with his incomplete archery.

Moyong Jaehwa couldn't lift his head.

Jin Sowoon gently patted such a Moyong Jaehwa on the head.

"You really worked hard."

"..."

His hands stung, and his body ached as if it were going to break, but somehow he felt revitalized.

"Let's go back."

That single phrase from Jin Sowoon made Moyong Jaehwa feel okay.