Chapter 144 - Cheoma-dong (3)
Chapter 144 Cheoma-dong (3)
Rumbleeeeeeeeeeee…!
The sky split and the ground collapsed like a cracked mirror. A solid line was drawn through the world, and everything within was twisted. Standing amongst it, there was Yoon-seok. Unlike the majority who hadn’t noticed, the twelve warriors felt the threat and boosted their power.
‘It’s not going to be easy.’
Yoon-seok smiled. In other words, it meant that it was worth trying.
‘Judgment of the Ruined Monarch.’
Yoon-seok chanted the command internally. His magic wouldn’t be consumed in the b Demonify} state. Instead of increasing magic consumption by ten times for 10 seconds due to the Rank A effect of b Non-verbal Magic}, the waiting time for reuse of general skills was set to zero. That meant-
Whoooooooosh!
Judgment could fall from the sky over and over again for the next 10 seconds.
「 To Lady’s Commandment, the power of Judgment of the Ruined Monarch increases 12 times within the realm.」
In that state where the Lady’s Commandment’s effect was added-
Flash-!
-a black flash whose only purpose was destruction arrived. At that moment, a dark green translucent shield large enough to cover the entirety of the lake spread out, preventing the strikes.
Boooom! Booooooom!
Once, twice, three times, four times… over and over again. Yoon-seok read the magic flow and found the person who activated this skill.
‘Mosan Sect?’
An elderly woman wearing clothes marked with Chinese characters, both her arms raised to the sky, was struggling.
“Help the Sect Leader!”
Dozens of disciples formed around her and gathered their magic.
‘Of course, I won’t let this slide.’
Yoon-seok spread his palms in the direction of the Mosan Sect. As soon as he was about to clench them-
Whikkkkk.
He was interrupted by a swordsman in white clothes running over the lake to reach Yoon-seok near instantly. Yoon-seok changed his target, compressing the approaching swordsman’s surrounding space to swallow him.
“Interference.”
The white-clothed swordsman cut down the distortion with his sword and escaped through the gap. Yoon-seok drew his sword.
‘Does he wish to fight me in person?’
If someone had been able to accurately recognize Yoon-seok’s condition, he would have laughed. In one hand, his judgment sword, and the power of space domination in the other. On top of that, at this moment, he was using Judgment of the Ruined Monarch with {Non-verbal Magic}, and he was defending against arrows fired from afar with his energy.
This was a miracle that would have proved entirely impossible if he couldn’t manage three thought processes simultaneously with Yin and Yang. Yoon-seok himself was a little surprised. How long had it been since he fought with all his might?
‘Enhanced Speed.’
Yoon-seok caught the back of the white-clothed swordsman. Then, he drove his sword into the man’s chest. However, this was also immediately disrupted.
Whoosh-!
The invisible sword that triggered Arch Hunter’s hunting gloves aimed at Yoon-seok’s neck from the right. If it had been one-inch closer, it would have taken off his head. Yoon-seok stepped down, evading and smacking his lips in disappointment. At the same time, the invisible sword passed by Yoon-seok’s horn.
Splashhhhhh-!
Twelve warriors. Among them, those who approached showed openings to Yoon-seok after their short exchanges. In terms of time, in about 0.1 seconds. Yoon-seok didn’t miss it and spread his wings, kicking off the ground. It wasn’t Yoon-seok’s goal to fight and kill them all in the first place.
Honestly, it was probably impossible, and there was no reason for him to do so.
‘All I have to do is enter Cheonma-dong.’
However, there was a time limit for Yoon-seok to fight on par with the twelve warriors. The maintenance time of b Non-verbal Magic} was 10 seconds… no, he should make it at least before b Demonify} ends.
“Buddha’s Divine Palm.”
When Yoon-seok shortened the distance by about 100m, something unusual rumbled from the ground below.
Whoooooooooosh-!
Unlike the others who immediately attacked after Yoon-seok started running over the lake, this came from an old monk who stood still from afar.
‘It’ll be dangerous if I get hit.’
When he turned around and watched as he continued to rush through the air, he saw a huge golden palm reaching for him. His instincts shouted that it was the extreme opposite of him. If it hit him, it wouldn’t end well. But, in other words, as long as he didn’t get hit, he would be fine.
Clench.
Yoon-seok clenched his hand so that he could face the golden palm. Before it touched his body, he intended to twist the space in between them.
Whoooooosh-!
Sound, wind, the energy of nature, the black sphere pulled in everything. But…
“…?”
The palm blast fired by the old monk cut through the sphere as if it had no tangibility.
‘Damn it.’
The power of space control, which even worked for the devil he met in the mission, was useless here. But he didn’t have time to be surprised by that fact. Yoon-seok gripped the Judgment Sword with both hands. Space control didn’t work, and it was too late to avoid it now…
‘I have no choice but to meet it.’
Under Yoon-seok’s will, the Natural Energy of Middle Qi permeated his sword. Just like the man who taught him this technique, it captured everything that could be captured in their raw forms.
Whooooooosh-!
Yoon-seok’s sword swung upward.
Slash-!
The Buddha’s Divine Palm was cut in half by the blow he gave with all his might. His Middle Qi was empty, which caused him to feel worn out, but he was given no time to catch his breath.
‘Again?’
He didn’t know when it started. Maybe it was just now, or before that. But one thing was certain… when he noticed two people were holding down his wings.
“You’re strong.”
“But you’re going to die now, though?”
Twins in dark robes reminiscent of a Japanese ninja in their early to mid-teens at the latest.
“Hehe!”
A burning pain bloomed in his back at the girl’s bright smile. He could feel it without looking that both his wings were ripped off.
‘Fucking bastards…’
Yoon-seok recovered his sword that was blocking the arrows and attacked the twins. At that moment, they fell back as if this was enough and disappeared. He didn’t even have time to feel angry about it.
Plerkkk-!
As soon as he diverted his attention to the twins, a long spear penetrated Yoon-seok’s chest. It belonged to an unknown spearman who was calmly waiting until Yoon-seok came into the range near the entrance of Cheonma-dong. Of course, it was a wound that could be cured instantly by Skywrath Energy…
Right as the spear handle created another problem.
“Soul Arrow.”
A blow containing the full power of the archer who shot thousands of arrows in seconds and tormented Yoon-seok terribly. The moment he was hit, his body stiffened.
「You have suffered damage pushing you close to death.」
「Freeze for 10 seconds and ignore all damage.」
300m to go. It was exactly four seconds after Yoon-seok first stepped over the lake. Yoon-seok’s body, becoming rigid, began to fall helplessly to the surface. In the meantime, something incredible happened.
「All types of regeneration increase by 150x.」
Just before he hit, his torn wings regrew and covered Yoon-seok’s body. The spear that penetrated his chest was pushed out by his flesh and had naturally fallen away as he halted mid-air.
「The Forgotten helps you.」
Millions of forgotten souls flooded out.
The old man laughed helplessly.
“Hoho…”
Furrowing wrinkles, a bent waist that was perfect to call a hunch. Most of the warriors were surprised to see him when he first arrived.
“He went in.”
Two skies, Three Gods, Four Rulers: the nine people mentioned first when discussing absolute masters. And, out of the whole of the Four Rulers, the second-in-command of the Black Sword Sect… no one would think that the Tyrant Bow Samayul would be an old man.
“Are you okay?”
Tyrant Bow rescued a man from the lake, the swordsman that was almost ambushed by Yoon-seok. He was the Sword Celestial Lee Joo-hwan.
“I’m fine, elder, but I can’t believe it.”
The Sword Celestial, climbing on the boat, could hardly care about the hole in his abdomen. He just babbled.
“I feel like a frog trapped in a well.”
It was not something to be said by a person who was the best among the nine absolute masters, but that was understandable given what they witnessed.
“Don’t mind it too much. I thought we had him. Who knew that would happen in the end? Even I didn’t.”
“That’s… yes.”
In the end, when he put an arrow in the middle of his forehead with the help of the Ultimate Spear King, he thought everything was over.
“What are they?”
Something so faint that normal people couldn’t even sense it appeared. Each of the souls alone wasn’t a big deal, but there were so many that it was safe to call them an army. And while they focused on exorcising them, Yoon-seok entered Cheonma-dong.
“Probably, it’s a skill from the Tower. Tsk, tsk. I wouldn’t have missed it if I wasn’t flustered. What a shame.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why do you apologize? It’s all because of those lazy jerks.”
Tyrant Bow glanced to the side. The Four Rulers, Five Celestials, Eight Kings, and Twelve Men. As many as ten of them were present. However, though they joined forces, they couldn’t properly stop one person.
They didn’t miss it because they were careless. He was pushed back from the head-to-head match. However, if they had all pulled out all their might, the results would have been different.
“I don’t know when we’ll become opponents again, so even I understand why they want to hide their skills…”
Tsk, tsk.
Tyrant Bow clicked his tongue. They were all challengers who chose Duel and arrived on the 20th floor. So, he understood how they felt. Even if it weren’t for the old, dark soul twins that were nearing 100-years-old hiding their skills…
Even he had one or two hidden skills.
“…It was a foolish thing to do.”
“What? What did you say?”
“I didn’t say anything. By the way, I think he’s the famous Co-Sect Leader being discussed these days. What do you think?”
“I think the impression is right, too. Perhaps that’s why the Celestial Demon and Blood Sword King stopped and watched from afar.”
“Yes, that’s right…”
The old man smacked his lips while looking at the entrance to Cheonma-dong. He was filled with regret. He shouldn’t have thought this was enough. Even if he used up all his techniques in front of everyone, he would’ve been caught.
“Maybe this is our last chance.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well…”
Despite Sword Celestial’s question, the Tyrant Bow only looked far off in the distance. When that Co-Sect Leader who entered Cheonma-dong today re-emerged, how much of a monster would he become?
“The world will be shaken again.”
Today’s five-second battle would be known as the beginning of a new legend to be recorded down in history. The old man watched over the endlessly rolling lake. It was normally a stagnant lake, but such a dynamic stir…
“Who would’ve thought times would have changed so fast…?”
It was already 70 years since he was named part of the Four Rulers and began to be called the absolute powerhouse of Moorim. Starting with this outdated name, Moorim would change a lot in the future. Without a doubt.
It was just like the youthful days the old man had spent in the past.