Chapter 323
As the hostility among the Banhyung members grew uncontrollably intense, Seolpung shifted his gaze toward Myoaran, who was positioned behind him.
He sought her wisdom and counsel.
But she shook her head with a bitter expression.
It was a silent message: there was nothing more to be done.
Her voice echoed softly in Seolpung’s ear.
“There’s no stopping it now, Gongja Seol. Until they decide to halt themselves, no words will hold them back. It seems bloodshed is inevitable.”
Seolpung let out a small sigh and nodded in resignation.
Then, he addressed the Banhyung members.
“Very well. I will no longer restrain you. Do as you wish. But if the sacrifices become too great, you must stop quickly…”
Before he could finish, the Banhyung members had already erupted into wild laughter and charged forward.
“Ha ha ha! Hyeongsanpa, you bastards!”
“The time for revenge has finally come!”
“Die, you enemies!”
Over fifty Banhyung members surged out like a tidal wave.
Their pent-up hatred and fury exploded forth, radiating a fierce energy that rivaled even the ultra-powerful warriors enhanced by the Blood Fury Pill.
“Waaaaah!”
“Die!”
The ultra-powerful warriors from Hyeongsanpa stood their ground, watching the charge without moving.
At first glance, it seemed as if they were intimidated by the Banhyung members’ ferocity.
But when the Banhyung members finally clashed with them, everyone watching realized that was far from the truth.
One Banhyung member raised his massive blade high and brought it down toward the enemy.
“You bastard…!”
Crash!
The Banhyung member’s body was cleaved in two midair.
His eyes widened in shock as consciousness slipped away.
“!”
And that was just the beginning.
Swish!
Chak!
“Ugh?!”
Another Banhyung member lunging with a spear suddenly lost his weapon and arm, while one swinging a sword had his head sliced clean off, blood spraying like a fountain.
All of this happened in the instant the two sides collided.
And it was only the start.
As the lead Banhyung members fell, those charging behind them were also split apart, blood spurting everywhere.
“Ugh!”
“Th-this can’t be…!”
Swish!
Crash!
The scene resembled ripe persimmons thrown against a wall—Banhyung members literally shredded the moment they met their foes.
They had to painfully realize that sheer hatred and momentum alone could not overcome the supreme martial prowess of their enemies.
This was exactly why Seolpung had tried to stop them.
But now, it was too late for regrets.
Their numbers, once over fifty, were halved in an instant.
Seolpung shouted urgently.
“Rescue them!”
He had already anticipated that the Banhyung members alone couldn’t hold their own.
From the moment they charged out, he had ordered his subordinates to intervene and save them when the signal was given.
But even he hadn’t expected such overwhelming helplessness.
The enemy’s martial power, amplified by the Blood Fury Pill, and the reckless recklessness of the Banhyung members far exceeded his expectations.
At Seolpung’s urgent command, the ultra-powerful warriors on his side, led by Gam Jak-hyeong wielding the Three-Pronged Spear, rushed to the front lines.
“Stop!”
Closing the distance in an instant, Gam Jak-hyeong swung his massive spear like an axe, bringing it down like a thunderbolt.
His goal was to force the Hyeongsanpa warriors to retreat from the Banhyung members.
He was confident.
Unless it was the greatest swordsman of Honam, Wi Jeong-guk, no one in Hyeongsanpa could block his spear.
As a peer of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World, his confidence was well-founded.
But the next moment, Gam Jak-hyeong was stunned.
Clang!
A Hyeongsanpa warrior blocked his massive spear and began to retreat.
Though pushed back, it was far from the decisive victory Gam Jak-hyeong had expected.
‘They actually withstood that?’
Not only that.
While one blocked Gam Jak-hyeong’s spear, another Hyeongsanpa warrior closed in, stabbing at him with a sky-blue sword energy.
Shiiik!
“!”
Gam Jak-hyeong saw the attack but chose not to defend.
He knew who was behind him.
As expected, another blade flashed from behind, deflecting the incoming strike.
Chaaang!
It was Gui Do Baek Gi-ryang.
He blocked the attack aimed at Gam Jak-hyeong and immediately countered, slashing the attacker with his sword in a smooth, rapid combo.
But even his counterattack failed.
Chaaang!
“?!”
Baek Gi-ryang’s face showed surprise.
He hadn’t expected the opponent to block an attack aimed at their weakest point.
Such a defense was impossible unless the defender was of comparable skill.
Gam Jak-hyeong and Baek Gi-ryang realized something was wrong.
They had assumed no one but Wi Jeong-guk could match them in Hyeongsanpa.
Yet, unexpected warriors were displaying extraordinary martial power.
They had severely underestimated their opponents.
Watching the battles of other warriors following behind, they confirmed their suspicion.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
“Ugh?!”
Hong Chu, the Bone Demon, clashed weapons with a Hyeongsanpa warrior and was quickly pushed back, groaning in pain.
The other warriors on Seolpung’s side who had engaged the enemy were in the same predicament.
Geumdo Mujuk Cho Ha-gon, Dan Akpaebu Go Sang-jong, and the Three Swords of Yeodeung—each had been confident they could handle an ultra-powerful opponent together, but now they were all being pushed back.
Chaecheng! Chaecheng!
“Ugh?! These bastards?!”
“W-what?! Why are they so strong?!”
Despite facing only one Hyeongsanpa warrior each, they were losing ground rapidly.
There were eight Hyeongsanpa warriors in total—enough to have one left over even after matching up with Seolpung’s fighters.
The remaining warrior charged at the weakest among them, the Three Swords of Yeodeung.
They intended to reduce their numbers starting with the weakest.
“Hahap!”
Shiiik!
Already on the back foot, Yeodeung’s trio screamed as they were struck by a swift, precise blow targeting their opening.
“Ugh?!”
Gam Jak-hyeong swung his spear in a wide arc, stopping the attacker.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
Jjeong!
But even his spear couldn’t drive the Hyeongsanpa warrior far away.
Though the warrior stepped back a few paces, the opponent originally facing Gam Jak-hyeong immediately attacked him.
Shu-hak!
“!”
A cold sweat broke out on Gam Jak-hyeong’s back.
Each of these warriors possessed overwhelming martial power.
Even for him, handling two at once was the limit.
To be honest, even two was a heavy burden.
‘Is this… the effect of the Blood Fury Pill?’
He recalled Jin So-eun’s warning—that if a leopard took the Blood Fury Pill, it could become a tiger.
At that moment, another Hyeongsanpa warrior, who had been waiting for an opening, dashed forward like lightning.
This time, the target was Dan Akpaebu Go Sang-jong.
Shiiik!
“Gah!”
Go Sang-jong specialized in powerful axe strikes.
His fighting style was simple but devastating, overwhelming those who couldn’t withstand his fierce blows.
But his strength was also his weakness.
If his powerful strikes failed, he had nothing else to fall back on.
That was the case now.
Chaecheng! Chaecheng!
The Hyeongsanpa swordsman who had easily parried Go Sang-jong’s initial charge closed in, unleashing a storm of sword strikes.
The attacks were so fierce and fast that Go Sang-jong could barely respond.
“Ugh!”
Such delicate and rapid swordplay was the kind of attack he struggled with most.
He was being pushed back, on the verge of bleeding.
Then, another Hyeongsanpa swordsman charged at him.
Shiiik!
While Go Sang-jong’s axe blocked one sword strike, another blade stabbed at his back like a ray of light.
His eyes glazed over.
‘Is this the end?’
But luck wasn’t done with him yet.
As he stared blankly at the incoming blade, a silver light suddenly struck the sword’s blade, deflecting it.
Kaang!
The silver light came from the silver iron staff wielded by Jin So-eun, who had finally joined the fray after seeing their side falter.
Go Sang-jong, pale-faced, expressed his gratitude.
“Th-thank you, Lady Jin!”
“Don’t mention it!”
Meanwhile, Yeon Tae-jin joined the side of Geumdo Mujuk Cho Ha-gon, who was also struggling.
“Choh, great hero! Stay strong!”
“Ah! Thank you, Young Master Yeon!”
At that moment, the warriors on Seolpung’s side, who had been on the brink of collapse, finally caught their breath.
Meanwhile, Seolpung still couldn’t move to support them.
He locked eyes with Wi Jeong-guk, his face set and serious.
Wi Jeong-guk, as if signaling that he would act if Seolpung did, focused his gaze solely on him.
And his expression was unusually calm and confident.
Even with Jin So-eun and Yeon Tae-jin joining in, their side was still clearly dominating.
A bitter smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
In Wi Jeong-guk’s mind, it seemed only a matter of time before someone would be killed.
And if even one of the opposing masters fell, the balance would collapse in an instant.
Plans for what came next were already forming in Wi Jeong-guk’s head.
“If we win this battle between supreme masters, we’ll immediately join forces to kill that Seol Poong and then make our escape. It might take some time, but since I have all the secret techniques of Hyeongsan memorized, I can easily recover elsewhere.”
Just then, Seol Poong suddenly let out a quiet chuckle.
It was a laugh that didn’t fit the dire situation at all—almost as if he found the whole thing amusing.
Wi Jeong-guk’s eyes twitched at the sight.
He didn’t like that expression one bit.
With a bitter smile of his own, he said to Seol Poong, “Trying hard, huh? Pretending to be calm when you’re clearly not…”
At that moment, Seol Poong sent him a telepathic message.
—The seeds you’ve sown will be your own ruin.
The words came out of nowhere.
Wi Jeong-guk frowned and shot back, “…What?”
Before he could get an answer, a group suddenly swooped in from thin air, crashing into the fight.
Whoosh!
“?!”
Startled, Wi Jeong-guk looked up to see five people—five swordsmen, all appearing to be top-tier masters.
Seeing them, his frown deepened at the unexpected arrival, then his eyes widened in disbelief.
He couldn’t help but blurt out, “Who are they?!”
What shocked him most was their attire.
All five wore white martial uniforms with blue hero’s robes—the signature garb of the Hyeongsan Sect warriors.
Five elder swordsmen of Hyeongsan had suddenly appeared and were attacking the elders.
“…Hyeongsan’s own warriors?”
But moments later, Wi Jeong-guk realized this surprise was only the beginning.
The five had formed a sword formation and began to take on a single elder.
The Hyeongsan elder who had been attacking Kamjak-hyung now scowled in confusion at the sudden assault from his own sect’s warriors.
“Who are you?!”
But instead of an answer, he was met with sword strikes.
Shing!
Clang!
The lead swordsman’s blade clashed against the elder’s, then immediately retreated.
From both sides, two more swordsmen moved in like interlocking gears, swinging their swords in unison.
Shing!
The elder was caught off guard.
“Ugh!”
The rapid, continuous strikes were razor-sharp.
Even as a Hyeongsan elder empowered by the Blood Fury Pill, he could barely defend against the relentless assault.
Clang!
“Wh-what?!”
But the moment he barely blocked the attack, his eyes widened in shock.
Suddenly, sword strikes like beams of light pierced from beneath his feet and above his head.
Thud!
“Gah!”
Pierced through chest and abdomen, he stared at his attackers in disbelief before his consciousness faded.
A supreme master like him died without even releasing his defensive energy.
The attack was a perfectly synchronized, gear-like chain strike executed at a speed that left no room to react.
Wi Jeong-guk realized with a start that this deadly chain strike was a technique he knew very well.
And their faces looked familiar too.
He muttered in stunned disbelief, “The Gui, Gui-myeol Yuk-hap Sword Formation? Could it be that they are…?”