Episode 332: Return of the Demon Sect Leader
“Hongmyo! What on earth are you doing?”
Shiiing!
Clang!
Jeok Murin swiftly swung his sword, deflecting the dagger that flew at him with deadly intent.
Thud!
In the next instant, Seoraehyang kicked off the ground, launching herself at him with a fierce strike.
“Hongmyo! Please, snap out of it!”
But Seoraehyang’s face remained expressionless as she unleashed a torrent of lethal attacks on Jeok Murin.
After exchanging dozens of blows, Seoraehyang delivered a powerful kick.
Boom!
Jeok Murin crossed his arms to block, but the force sent him stumbling backward.
Seizing the opportunity, Seoraehyang struck again.
In desperation, Jeok Murin extended his hands to counter.
Boom!
With a resounding crash, Jeok Murin was sent flying, tumbling several meters away.
Crash!
“Ugh!”
He coughed up blood once more.
‘I can’t take much more of this!’
Even as Seoraehyang entered the inner courtyard, she continued her relentless advance.
Once she passed through the buildings, she would be right at the entrance to the Lord’s Hall.
That area was strictly off-limits.
The moment she set foot there, a barrage of attacks would rain down without warning.
“Hongmyo! You mustn’t go any further!”
Despite staggering, Jeok Murin forced himself to his feet and ran after her.
But Seoraehyang’s steps were light and swift.
Finally, as she reached a small clearing between the buildings—
Whoosh!
Thirty martial artists descended in front of Seoraehyang, taking up defensive stances.
The leader among them raised his voice.
“This is a restricted area. Turn back.”
Seoraehyang hesitated for a moment, then resumed her stride as if nothing had happened.
This time, a hundred martial artists sprang up from the ground, surrounding her like phantoms.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Swords brimming with killing intent were pointed at her.
The leader issued another stern warning.
“You have entered a restricted area. Stop immediately and turn back.”
At that moment, Jeok Murin rushed forward, shouting.
“Wait! There’s been a misunderstanding!”
The leader sneered coldly.
“A misunderstanding? What kind of misunderstanding?”
“I’ll explain later. I’ll take her back myself.”
The leader regarded Jeok Murin for a moment before speaking.
“Very well. Take her back quickly.”
“Understood.”
Jeok Murin hurried to Seoraehyang and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“It’s too dangerous. We should—”
Shiiing! Thud!
“Argh!”
Without even turning around, Seoraehyang struck Jeok Murin in the chest.
Caught off guard, he coughed up blood and was sent flying.
The martial artists surrounding her erupted with killing intent and charged at Seoraehyang.
“No!”
Jeok Murin shouted, but it was too late.
Astonishingly, even without a weapon, Seoraehyang held her ground against a hundred martial artists without faltering.
Despite her elevated power and mastery, how could she fight so calmly?
In fact, the martial artists of the Justice Alliance seemed to be struggling more.
But soon, Jeok Murin realized why.
‘They’re not using lethal force!’
Remarkably, the Justice Alliance martial artists, despite exuding killing intent, refrained from using deadly techniques.
As a result, they were no match for Seoraehyang, who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts.
Finally, the leader shouted and joined the fray.
“Do not let her pass! Stop her at all costs!”
“Understood!”
The thirty martial artists blocking the way also charged, swinging their swords.
Even with a coordinated attack from a hundred and thirty martial artists, their teamwork was impressive.
It was a testament to their training in orthodox martial arts.
‘Is this the true strength of the Justice Alliance?’
If they had used lethal techniques, Seoraehyang might have been in trouble by now.
For some reason, they refrained from using deadly force against her, which was their only weakness.
‘Their teamwork and coordination are certainly superior.’
Unfortunately, those trained in unorthodox arts tend to be self-centered.
Killing others to make oneself stand out doesn’t suit their nature.
Their sole focus is on becoming stronger, adhering strictly to the law of the jungle.
Thus, their teamwork and coordination are relatively weaker compared to the Justice Alliance.
Nevertheless, Seoraehyang began to subdue them one by one.
The difference between a group not using lethal force and a master who could was significant.
“Ugh!”
“Aaah!”
One by one, those struck by her poison techniques began to fall.
After about half an hour, nearly half of the martial artists had succumbed to her poison and collapsed.
However, the thirty who initially blocked the way were unaffected by the poison.
They seemed to have taken an antidote.
They fought to the end, but they were no match for Seoraehyang, who unleashed deadly techniques without restraint.
At some point, Seoraehyang picked up a fallen sword and continued fighting.
With each blink of an eye, screams erupted, and blood splattered.
‘What on earth is happening?’
Jeok Murin gritted his teeth.
He was filled with questions about why Seoraehyang had changed so suddenly and why the Justice Alliance martial artists weren’t using lethal force even in this dire situation.
As another moment passed,
Slash!
With a flash of light, three martial artists fell.
Fortunately, they survived.
Out of the hundred and thirty martial artists, only two had died.
Seoraehyang inflicted just enough wounds to prevent them from hindering her.
It wasn’t out of consideration for her opponents; she simply didn’t need to expend more energy.
After incapacitating the leader and two others, she resumed her indifferent march.
By then, someone else had blocked the path to the northern gate of the clearing.
“Stop!”
It was Mucheon, leading the Shadow Corps.
But Seoraehyang didn’t even glance at them as she turned away.
“Hmm?”
Mucheon, the Shadow Corps, and even Jeok Murin watched her with puzzled expressions.
Until a moment ago, Jeok Murin thought Seoraehyang was heading for the Lord’s Hall.
Mucheon and the Shadow Corps had the same assumption.
That’s why they concentrated all their forces on guarding the Lord’s Hall.
The Heavenly Destruction Squad was also positioned to intercept her if she breached the northern gate.
But…
‘Where is she going?’
Mucheon furrowed his brow, watching Seoraehyang.
‘Could there be an issue with the Soul-Destruction Bomb?’
Though he thought it unlikely, Seoraehyang’s sudden change of direction made him wonder.
As he stood there, watching her retreating figure,
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Seoraehyang kicked off the ground and sped away at an incredible pace.
Mucheon furrowed his brow, let out a shallow sigh, and spoke.
“Well, I suppose we’ve averted the immediate crisis.”
A vague unease lingered in his heart, but the path to the Lord’s Hall was secured.
At that moment, one of the Shadow Corps members spoke in a startled voice.
“That direction… it’s where the former Lord of Sabigang is buried.”
”……!”
Mucheon whipped around to look at him.
Then he turned back to the direction Seoraehyang had gone.
‘Could it be…!’
Overwhelmed by a sudden, ominous thought, he quickly kicked off the ground and started running.
**
“Damn it! They’re relentless!”
Maeng Gasuk clicked his tongue as he glanced back.
Churyang and the new recruits were fleeing without a moment’s rest, using their light-footed techniques.
Maeng Gasuk approached Dobicheon, who was lagging slightly behind, and asked.
“Are you okay?”
“Don’t worry! I won’t die from this.”
“Of course not. I meant, how’s your pride holding up?”
Dobicheon chuckled.
It was a harrowing moment to recall.
He had been spying on the military camp with Banggak, Heukgwi, and Gugangryong.
There, they witnessed Heukgyeon killing the Soul-Destruction Bomb.
Up to that point, everything was fine.
But when Lianju killed Heukgyeon, his composure slipped for a brief moment.
Even though he had heard about Lianju’s true nature from Sabigang and Onggiseung, witnessing it firsthand ignited his fury.
Lianju didn’t miss that opening.
She immediately used her telekinesis to hurl weapons at him.
He managed to dodge, but one sword grazed his shoulder deeply.
Afterward, the four of them fled to where the new recruits were waiting, and they all began to escape.
Fortunately, with a large-scale operation imminent, Lianju didn’t pursue them personally.
Their pursuers were the shadowy figures secretly nurtured by Heomuguk.
“Damn it, how long do we have to keep running? Can’t we just wipe them out?”
Banggak gritted his teeth and shouted, prompting Maeng Gasuk to click his tongue and retort.
“Tsk! Foolish talk. Are we running because we’re afraid of them? If we fight them now and more pursuers come, we’ll be in real trouble!”
“He’s right. It’s better to get as far away as possible before dealing with them.”
When even Yusongryeong agreed with Maeng Gasuk’s opinion, Banggak had no choice but to relent.
“Fine, fine. I get it.”
How long had they been running?
After what felt like an eternity, a massive river appeared before them.
Swoosh!
The new recruits skidded to a halt, almost as if they were sliding on ice.
“Isn’t this far enough?” Banggak shrugged, glancing at the river flowing in front of them.
Maeng Gasuk nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I think we’re ready to take them on now.”
“Let’s deal with those guys and then cross the river,” Gu Gangryong said, drawing his sword from his waist. A fierce blue aura enveloped the blade.
Finally, the dark spirits that had been pursuing them began to arrive, one by one.
Fifty in total.
Their eyes, wild with madness, scanned the recruits, and they licked their lips hungrily.
“Have our little pups chosen this place as their grave?” one of the dark spirits taunted, prompting a chuckle from Maeng Gasuk.
“Looks like they sent us some real troublemakers who can’t even pick their own burial ground,” he replied. “They seem even more reckless than we are.”
“Let’s see how long you can keep running your mouth!”
With a sudden burst, the dark spirits launched themselves into the air.
At the same time,
“Take them down!” Maeng Gasuk shouted, and the recruits leaped into action.
**
“We have a problem! Hongmyo is heading this way!”
“What?” Tang Yi-hyeop spun around, his eyes wide with alarm as he looked toward the rear garden.
There, his subordinates were tirelessly spraying medicinal water, the air thick with mist like a dense fog.
‘Coming here…?’
Could it be that Lian Zhu’s target was Sabigang all along?
No, that doesn’t make sense. How could Lian Zhu know Sabigang was here?
Lian Zhu probably didn’t foresee this outcome, just like him.
‘The master… possesses even deeper inner strength than the leader! Damn it!’
Hongmyo must have been sent to eliminate the leader. But when someone with even greater inner strength than the leader appeared, the Sehonpokmyeolgo changed its course.
Or perhaps it was influenced by the “mana” Sabigang once mentioned.
The Sehonpokmyeolgo wouldn’t care what kind of energy it used, as long as it could fuel its explosive power.
In any case, it meant that Sabigang now harbored an energy even deeper than the leader’s within him.
This was far from a welcome development.
A subordinate continued to report urgently.
“The Dark Shadow Unit is doing their best to hold them off, but it looks like they’ll break through soon!”
“What about the other warriors?”
“They’re guarding the leader’s quarters, so we can’t pull them away.”
It was unavoidable. The warriors existed to protect the leader, and they couldn’t be moved lightly.
“Call in the Celestial Annihilation Unit immediately! We have to hold out somehow! If Hongmyo gets within five chapters of this place, it’s all over!”
“Understood!”
The subordinate dashed off, and Tang Yi-hyeop quickly armed himself.
He could no longer afford to just stand by and watch Sabigang.