Chapter 586

## Chapter 586. The Lazy Falls into Despair (1)

“Wake up, damn you! What’s wrong with you?”

“They’re crazy! Everyone’s gone mad!”

“Don’t disrupt the ranks! Stay calm!”

“Aaaaaaaah!”

Chaos.

And terror.

The battlefield turned into hell in an instant.

It was inevitable.

Who wouldn’t panic when a comrade you were just talking to and fighting alongside suddenly turns their sword against you?

And what if, on top of that, a pure demonic aura emanates from that comrade’s body?

“Fall back! Now!”

Song Hyun grit his teeth.

Even though he shouted “fall back,” he knew very well that it was impossible.

Where could they retreat to?

They were already deep within the formation that Baekgeom Fortress had prepared. Turn around and retreat with so many people inside the fort?

It was practically impossible.

The moment they tried to retreat, the members of Baekgeom Fortress surrounding them would attack their backs.

Show their backs to enemies of that level?

“It would be easier to bite my tongue and die.”

Although they had pressed them with momentum, their skills were not inferior to those of Shaolin or Wudang. If they turned their backs, they would be completely defenseless.

And it wasn’t even necessary.

Baekgeom Fortress had already maintained a prudent distance from them. They didn’t give them room to break away, but they also didn’t allow the swords to reach them.

It was evident that they were observing and pressuring.

“Damn it.”

Song Hyun’s gaze returned to Baek Hoemyung.

Seeing Baek Hoemyung watching them calmly, he felt something boiling in his stomach.

“Demon.”

He was a demon in every sense.

His smile as he watched people die, or his demonic ability to achieve something so absurd.

“What have you done? What?”

The situation was becoming increasingly desperate.

Those suffering from convulsions began to go insane. At first, only a few caused trouble, but soon they turned into dozens, then hundreds.

Whoooosh!

The pressure was palpable.

On the nose, on the skin.

The demonic aura that enveloped them plunged them into a spooky tension. The moment the demonic aura touched their skin, their bodies trembled uncontrollably.

“Demonic aura?”

Why were they emitting demonic aura?

Song Hyun’s face paled more and more.

It would have been easier to understand if it were poison. They might have thought they had been poisoned at some point. Although the question would remain of how so many people could have been poisoned at the same time, at least that could be explained by the enemy’s exceptional ability.

But demonic aura…

What was demonic aura? It was the evil energy emitted by those who practiced demonic arts. It wasn’t something that could arise from external interference, like poison.

But who among them practiced demonic arts?

Maybe one or two. Martial artists, after all, are attracted to power. It wasn’t impossible that some, craving power, had practiced demonic arts in secret.

But so many at the same time?

“Impossible!”

It was absolutely impossible. If he wasn’t seeing it with his own eyes, Song Hyun would have bet his life on it. Even now, seeing it, he could bet on it.

It was impossible that so many people had practiced demonic arts under the noses of their own sects.

“What is going on?”

Song Hyun shouted, completely out of his mind.

As the leader of Wudang, he had a duty to remain calm, but in this situation, that was impossible.

“Cheong Mu! Cheong Jin!”

The disciples in front of him began to emit demonic aura in overwhelming amounts. Faced with that radical change, Song Hyun couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed.

Demonic aura.

The demonic aura flowed.

Those enveloped in the black demonic aura twisted their bodies grotesquely and then looked to the sky.

Mouths open.

Eyes bulging.

The blood vessels in their eyes burst, dyeing them red, increasingly red. The corners of their eyes tore, and tears of blood sprang forth.

It was such a horrible sight that you wouldn’t want to see it even in your worst nightmares. But the real problem began then.

“Kiiiiiiii!”

It was like the squeal of a small animal.

It wasn’t strong, nor was it threatening. It was a creepy sound that made your skin crawl when you heard it. While emitting those squeals, they wielded their swords uncontrollably.

The swords of Wudang, the swords they had practiced with devotion, were plunged into the bodies of their elder brothers.

“Cheong Muuuuuu!”

Song Hyun shouted in despair.

His eyes went crazy as he wielded his sword. The force at the tip of his sword was surprising, but the smoothness and precision for which Wudang was known had disappeared.

“Elder brother! Why are you doing this? Elder brother! Come to your senses!”

“Leader!”

It was chaos.

The demonic aura flowed.

They spat blood from their mouths.

Their faces were deformed, covered in blood, and the swollen blood vessels looked about to burst. In that grotesque state, they attacked with their swords.

“Disciple! What’s wrong with you? Come to your senses!”

They couldn’t defend themselves.

Those who had lost their minds and were attacking were their comrades. Sect brothers. They had trained together, discussed the future of Wudang together. How could they counterattack when those same brothers were attacking them uncontrollably?

All they could do was block the swords flying towards them.

One after another, their number increased.

Soon, those affected exceeded a fifth of their forces, and Song Hyun’s lips, pressed tightly together, began to bleed.

If this continued, they would be annihilated.

Baekgeom Fortress wouldn’t even need to intervene. Although they were still resisting, they wouldn’t last long.

Without the enemy needing to act, they would collapse due to their own internal problems.

So… what should they do?

“Hold them down!”

A loud voice resonated from somewhere.

Boooom!

The monks of Shaolin jumped on those affected, holding them tightly. At the same time, those nearby rushed to immobilize their limbs.

“Gaaaaah! Gaaaah!”

The crazed, immobilized ones foamed at the mouth and convulsed. But they held them down even more tightly.

Those who had found a way to deal with the situation began to apply the same method, capturing those who resisted.

“No.”

Song Hyun’s face distorted.

This wasn’t a solution. In fact, it made things worse. It took four or five people to subdue one. And those holding them down couldn’t do anything else.

And Baekgeom Fortress?

How would they face Baekgeom Fortress?

Moreover, the number of those affected continued to increase. Soon, they wouldn’t have enough hands.

He trembled.

Song Hyun’s hands trembled uncontrollably. He knew from the beginning what decision he had to make. But he didn’t dare to make it.

The situation was getting worse and worse.

And the gaze of Baekgeom Fortress, watching them like predators watching their prey exhaust themselves.

All of that began to put pressure on Song Hyun.

“Fine.”

It was better to die having made a decision than to die doing nothing.

If he didn’t go to hell, who would?

A coldness appeared in Song Hyun’s eyes.

“Grrrrrr!”

His gaze landed on a person. Someone who was spitting blood while being held down by arms and legs.

Someone who was resisting with all their might.

“Disciple.”

It was Song Dam (松潭), his disciple.

Song Hyun slowly approached Song Dam. The other disciples struggled to control his movements. They couldn’t attack a senior of the sect, but they also couldn’t let themselves be killed by a blind sword. So, risking injuries, they threw themselves into melee combat to stop them.

Song Dam spat bloody foam and writhed. Realizing that he couldn’t move his limbs, he tried to bite, turning his head frantically.

“…You seem to be suffering.”

Song Hyun smiled slightly.

Who to blame? This situation was a product of his own incompetence. If he had been more careful, perhaps they wouldn’t have reached this point.

So he had to bear everything.

“I’ll relieve you.”

Slash!

Song Hyun’s sword cut Song Dam’s neck in one stroke. The head rolled on the ground, and a stream of blood spurted from the severed neck. The body, now headless, twitched a little before becoming still.

“……”

Those who had been holding Song Dam looked at him with wide eyes, unable to speak.

“Dis… Leader…”

“Listen, disciples!”

Under those gazes, Song Hyun infused his internal energy and shouted in a firm voice:

“Cut them down! Kill everyone who shows signs of madness!”

“B-but, Leader!”

“It’s an order!”

The sound of teeth gnashing, of lips being bitten, of sighs of disbelief.

All those sounds resonated painfully in Song Hyun’s ears.

He knew it.

He knew what those who heard his order were feeling.

But there was no other option. Everyone knew it. If they wasted more time, they wouldn’t be able to avoid the swords of Baekgeom Fortress.

“I’ll bear this.”

Song Hyun’s eyes were bloodshot.

A leader didn’t exist just to make decisions. He existed to take responsibility. And now was the time when, as the leader of Wudang, he had to do it.

“What are you doing? Now!”

“Yes!”

The swords were raised.

A Dantean scene.

An absolute chaos.

Those who had previously fought shoulder to shoulder now wielded their swords with ferocity to snatch each other’s lives.

At first, the swords hesitated, but soon they gained momentum.

No one wanted to die.

They knew that those attacking them were their elder brothers. They knew that something had happened to them, that it wasn’t their intention.

But what did that matter?

The fierce momentum and bloodlust with which they threw themselves to cut off heads didn’t disappear. Those who were hit by those merciless attacks began to counterattack instinctively.

The demonic aura that disturbed them, those horrible expressions, all made them more ruthless.

Killing and dying.

Brothers against brothers, allies against allies, friends against friends, all sought to behead each other.

Tears of blood sprang from Song Hyun’s eyes.

“Demons.”

How could they do something like this?

“Why?”

When had they been possessed? When?

Song Hyun slowly turned his body. His eyes found Baek Hoemyung.

“Fine.”

Perhaps they would die here. Even if they managed to eliminate all the possessed, they wouldn’t have enough forces to face Baekgeom Fortress.

Then…

“I’ll make you feel it too!”

This pain, this despair.

With his sword.

“Baaaaaek Hoemyuuuuung!”

Song Hyun drew his sword and lunged directly towards Baek Hoemyung. A sharp glow enveloped his blade. An unimaginable sharpness and ferocity for a sword of Wudang.

Without a trace of its characteristic smoothness, his sword flew straight to Baek Hoemyung’s neck.

Extremely sharp.

Extremely sad.