Chapter 342

Moyong Geom swallowed hard.

‘This can’t be happening.’

Though they were clearly on the same level of mastery, there was no way he could match his opponent.

The only reason he was still alive was because the Overlord hadn’t pressed the attack after that initial strike—something even he understood well.

But, unsurprisingly, the Overlord had no intention of ending things with just one blow.

He strode forward steadily and asked, “Before you die, shouldn’t you give it your all? If this was your best effort…”

His words trailed off.

Yet Moyong Geom could read between the lines perfectly.

It was clear the Overlord saw no reason to keep him alive any longer.

Gritting his teeth, Moyong Geom thought bitterly that it would have been best never to encounter such a monster in the first place. But now that he had, he had to find a way to kill him.

He couldn’t afford to be the one who died.

Glancing sideways at Hae Cheong-yeon, who watched with an intrigued look, Moyong Geom ground his teeth and shouted, “What are the Clan Leader’s guards doing?! Attack them all!”

At his command, the bodyguards who had been staring blankly at the fight suddenly snapped to attention.

They hadn’t expected to be called in since this was supposed to be a one-on-one duel.

But hearing Moyong Geom’s order, they instinctively launched themselves forward.

The Shingeom Corps, his personal guards, moved to block the Overlord’s path, while the four elite guards boldly charged straight at the Overlord.

“Protect the Clan Leader!”

“Haaah!”

The Overlord smiled faintly as he saw the four top-tier warriors rushing at him.

“If you have no expectations, you can’t be disappointed.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than his divine form lunged forward like a wild beast.

Snap!

Jun Hak-sung, the eldest of the four elite guards, widened his eyes in shock.

The Overlord’s divine form, which had been standing still without any warning, suddenly appeared right before him.

“!”

That was the last thing he ever saw.

Crack!

Jun Hak-sung’s head exploded like a watermelon under the Overlord’s fist.

He never even realized what had happened.

And it didn’t stop there.

As his head shattered, the Overlord’s fist was already flying toward the other three elite guards.

Crack! Crack!

One by one, their heads burst in an instant.

The sound was so simultaneous it felt like it happened all at once.

Moyong Geom could only stare in horror.

The Overlord had just slaughtered four top-tier warriors in a single moment.

Truly, the title of the world’s second strongest was well deserved.

But unlike Moyong Geom, the Shingeom Corps had no time to marvel at the scene.

By the time the four heads exploded, the Overlord had already leapt into their midst.

His mighty claws swung wildly.

Fwoosh!

“Gahhh!”

“Ughhh!”

In that instant, most of the fifty or so Shingeom warriors were utterly wiped out.

The battlefield was soaked in blood, the corpses swept away like a crimson tide.

Within a radius of three jang around the Overlord, the space was now completely empty.

Given the number of fallen, the screams were surprisingly muted.

Only the survivors could still scream, and even then, barely.

“This… this can’t be!”

Moyong Geom broke through the elite guards and the Shingeom Corps as if they were nothing, staring in disbelief at the Overlord wildly swinging his claws toward him.

Summoning all his strength, he shouted and unleashed his protective energy.

“Haaah!”

Whoosh!

The Overlord’s claw slammed violently against Moyong Geom’s defense.

Boom!

The Overlord’s full-powered strike was devastating.

Moyong Geom could only watch in stunned silence as his protective energy shattered under the assault.

Even his defense was powerless—this was truly the end.

But then, in a flash, the Overlord shifted his body and slipped to the right with the agility and grace of a leopard.

The space where he had stood split apart.

A three-jang-long crimson blade sliced through the area he had occupied.

Shhaaak!

A surprise attack—an overwhelming one.

From a distance of ten jang, the Overlord turned to face his attacker and asked, “Just the daughter of a sword saint?”

In response, Hae Cheong-yeon, who had just retracted the massive blade she had forged from her energy, answered with a sultry smile and voice.

“Of course that was a lie. But I can’t keep lying forever—not if this thing dies now.”

Moyong Geom, the ‘thing’ she referred to, slumped to the ground, dazed and powerless.

The Overlord’s claw that had nearly crushed his head, the blade of energy that had brushed past him—both were terrifying.

He had never felt so insignificant, not even as the absolute ruler of the martial world.

But no matter what Moyong Geom thought, Hae Cheong-yeon didn’t care.

Ignoring him completely, she turned her gaze to the Overlord and said, “Let me introduce myself again. I am Gwayeom. Also known as the Reverse Heaven Blood Demon.”

The Overlord glanced at the Shingeom Corps—two-thirds of whom were dead, the rest crippled by his hand.

Her words made it clear: she intended to kill every last one of the survivors.

Though most had been slain by him, a pang of pity stirred at the thought of the remaining ones’ fates.

Hae Cheong-yeon’s sharp eyes narrowed as she asked again, “Hmm, you don’t seem surprised to hear my name. Could it be you already knew who I was?”

The Overlord chuckled coldly.

“Whoever you are, what does it matter? Am I supposed to be impressed?”

Red, ominous light began to blaze from his eyes like twin suns.

He was activating his Crimson Blood Eye Technique.

Hae Cheong-yeon grinned fiercely in return.

“Quite arrogant. It’ll be fun to see that face of yours show some real fear.”

A storm of energy now radiated from both of them.

The Overlord struck first.

His divine form shot toward Hae Cheong-yeon like a cannonball.

Without any warning, it tore through space like a monstrous charge.

Shhaaak!

But Hae Cheong-yeon was no stranger to such attacks.

As the Overlord’s form launched, she thrust out both hands, and crimson shadows filled the air, pouring down upon him.

Shaaah!

Hundreds of blood shadows rained like a hailstorm—the Heavenly Blood Sect’s Thousand Transformation Blood Field.

The Overlord was caught in the heart of the storm.

Swept up in the torrent, it seemed he might shatter at any moment.

Yet he sneered.

“Hmph!”

With a roar, he accelerated, as if diving headfirst into the storm.

“Haaah!”

The blood shadows crashing into him struck his protective energy barrier.

Pabababababap!

The crimson hand-shaped shadows shattered like droplets against the red curtain of his defense.

They couldn’t even slow his charge.

In the next moment, the Overlord broke through the Thousand Transformation Blood Field and closed the distance in an instant.

Hae Cheong-yeon’s eyes flickered.

“Not bad.”

At the same time, she unleashed a massive blood shadow from her hands like a bolt of lightning.

Boom!

Unlike the Thousand Transformation Blood Field’s barrage of hundreds of shadows, this was the Blood Sect’s Thunderclap Blood Field—focused on a single, devastating strike.

The enormous hand-shaped shadow filled the Overlord’s vision, poised to strike his upper body and shatter his protective energy.

Or so it seemed.

If the Overlord hadn’t twisted his body with the agility of a cat—

Shhaaak!

With a single spin in that short distance, he dodged the Thunderclap Blood Field.

Even Hae Cheong-yeon was taken aback by his beast-like agility.

“!”

At that moment, the Overlord’s claw swung, striking Hae Cheong-yeon.

“Hah!”

Boom!

“Ugh!”

She was flung back like a cannonball.

Though her protective energy absorbed the direct hit, the impact was tremendous.

And unlike with Moyong Geom, the Overlord showed no mercy.

He immediately pursued the rebounding Hae Cheong-yeon and struck her again with his claw.

“Hup!”

But then—

As she was thrown backward by the Overlord’s strength, Hae Cheong-yeon didn’t resist.

Instead, she planted her foot on the ground in the same direction.

Pak!

Accelerating rapidly, the Overlord’s claw swished through empty air.

Whoosh!

Barely dodging the attack, Hae Cheong-yeon pushed off the ground again and soared into the air.

She let out a fierce shout.

“Haaah!”

From her entire body, nine massive blood dragons burst forth.

The Nine Heavens Blood Dragon Art.

The nine dragons roared wildly, jaws wide open, and charged at the Overlord.

Krrrraaaaar!

“!”

For the first time since the fight began, the Overlord halted his charge and dodged.

He instinctively knew he couldn’t face that head-on.

Shhaaak!

As the Overlord spun his body around, a blood dragon streaked past him like a sleek, agile cat.

But in that instant, another blood dragon lunged at him.

The Overlord had no choice but to push off the ground and leap over it.

“Hup!”

Smack!

No sooner had he taken to the air than seven blood dragons descended upon him from all directions, encircling him completely.

He was caught in a trap—an ambush so perfectly positioned that no one airborne could possibly evade it.

Rrrrrrrak!

This was meant to be the finishing blow.

Or rather, it would have been—if the Overlord weren’t someone who had long since transcended human limits.

Shiiiiiik!

Amidst what should have been an inescapable pincer attack, Gwe Galhyeon, the Overlord who had reached the pinnacle of fiery energy, took flight like a bird.

Like a hawk weaving through a canyon, he deftly dodged the seven blood dragons and soared high into the sky.

Below him, the blood dragons collided violently, triggering a massive explosion.

Kaboom!

But that was not the end of it.

The Overlord soon realized he hadn’t just escaped the Nine Heavens Blood Dragon Assault.

From above, a crimson blade charged with lightning sliced down toward him like a streak of light.

Shaaak!

“!”

It was a blade forged from pure energy.

Hae Cheong-yeon, already high above, had swung her energy sword down as if to cleave him in two.

The Overlord had no choice but to deploy his defensive energy to shield himself.

“Hah!”

Fwoosh!

But then—

The crimson blade cut through his protective energy like it was paper, closing in on him in an instant.

If he stayed still, his body would be split clean in two.

“Ugh!”

For the first time, the Overlord’s face twisted in pain as he hastily clapped his palms together—like a thunderclap aimed directly at Hae Cheong-yeon’s descending blade.

Thud!

His hands, glowing with a fierce red light, managed to catch her crimson blade.

He had just pulled off a move that only a master of the ancient art of “Air and Hand Exchange” could perform—and he did it against the Reverse Heaven Blood Demon.

His reaction speed and focus were nothing short of extraordinary.

But his ordeal was far from over.

Suddenly, a violent surge of red lightning exploded from the blade.

Crackle!

“Grrrgh!”

The Overlord couldn’t help but let out a pained groan.

It felt as if dozens of lightning bolts were scorching his entire body—an agony even the mighty Overlord couldn’t endure.

This was the terrifying power of the Blood Thunder Sword Technique, an enhanced form of the Namgung family’s Royal Sword Art.

Hae Cheong-yeon laughed wickedly, pressing down harder on her blade.

“Oh ho ho ho! Feeling the thrill, are you?!”

Crackle! Crackle!

Fierce red lightning flashed in dozens, then hundreds of arcs, searing the Overlord’s body.

Unable to release her blade, he had no choice but to endure the brutal assault.

“Ughhh!”

Then, in a moment of overwhelming pain, the strength in the Overlord’s hands gave out.

Seizing the opportunity, Hae Cheong-yeon drove her sword down toward his body.

“Oh ho ho ho!”

Shaaak!

But just then—

The Overlord’s body, which seemed about to collapse, bent and flowed like a wave.

Swish!

What happened next was astonishing.

With the fluid grace of an eel, the Overlord’s body slipped past the crimson blade.

Even Gwe Yeom, the Reverse Heaven Blood Demon from six centuries ago, had never seen such a movement—truly like water itself.

Hae Cheong-yeon gasped in shock.

“No way?!”

In that instant, the Overlord spun his body and delivered a powerful kick to Hae Cheong-yeon.

Thud!

“Aaah!”

She was flung back like a cannonball.

Though she hastily raised her defensive energy, the impact was so tremendous it felt as if every bone in her body shattered.

The Overlord’s eyes flashed sharply as he watched her.

This was the perfect chance to press his advantage.

But instead, he clicked his tongue and landed on the ground.

His entire body was battered and broken—there was no way he could continue fighting.

He had to recover as quickly as possible.

A wasted opportunity, but unavoidable.

“Phew…”

The Overlord exhaled slowly, expelling the dark energy that had built up inside him.

His battered body rapidly regained vitality.

Taking a deep breath, he raised his condition once more, then floated in midair, watching Hae Cheong-yeon approach with an indifferent expression.