Chapter 508
Chapter 508: Into the Darkness (3)
When a chaotic fray erupted and swallowed me within a sea of bodies, my only option was to drive forward with maximum haste.
It mattered little whether a demonic being consumed by frenzy barred my path, an Iron Zombie with a physique like tempered steel loomed before me in mindless madness, or some bizarre demonic beast lashed out with grotesque claws and wicked arts.
Paradoxically, staying alive and clawing back even a single extra day in this living purgatory demanded that I plunge straight toward their cold steel, bared fangs, and vicious talons.
To halt or retreat meant certain doom.
Back then, I possessed nothing more than a trickle of internal energy and a notched iron blade. Yet, even if it amounted to throwing an egg against solid granite, shattering that blockade was mandatory.
Survival offered no alternative route.
“Stand firm!”
Our line was steadily losing ground.
Though the cavern possessed considerable breadth, it felt suffocatingly narrow under the weight of so many bodies falling, suffering grievous wounds, collapsing, and breathing their last.
“Guh!”
“Aargh!”
The true cause of this madness eluded me.
I had merely been pulled into a frantic maelstrom where desperate souls clashed in mutual slaughter.
Righteous factions tore into their own allies of the White Path, while scoundrels of the Black Path butchered their fellow outlaws. There was no luxury of time to ponder the reasons behind such madness.
My sole focus was preventing our unit from being overrun by the surging press, just as I had struggled to do in my past life.
The critical distinction now was that I was no longer a disposable vanguard cursed with feeble internal energy and a ruined iron sword.
“Advance!”
“Benefactor Jin… the sheer numbers are overwhelming!”
“Keep pushing forward!”
“…”
Hard-earned experience guided my judgment.
While withdrawing after careful preparation would have been ideal, moving forward remained our only viable path to survival in this moment.
“Die!”
Navigating a dense crush of combatants required absolute economy of movement.
Channeling my internal energy, I unleashed the Lesser Heaven Sword Art.
A sharp arc flashed through the gloom.
With a single fluid sweep, severed limbs and shattered armaments scattered, carving out precious space.
Through that fleeting breach, four spears lunged in unison.
Sparks erupted as metal met metal.
Geumpyo intercepted the thrusts, allowing me to use Geumpyo’s guard as a shield to pivot, slip past, and strike with my blade.
Flesh parted under the edge.
“Urrgh!”
“Gaaah!”
For the first time, the front ranks shrank back, hands pressed tightly against bleeding gashes.
I seized the opening without hesitation. To carve out a wider buffer, I drove forward with the Myriad Blossoms Invincible Fist.
A rapid sequence of impacts detonated through the air.
Over a dozen illusory fist silhouettes exploded across the front line.
The crowd staggered back several paces, yet the breathing room remained woefully insufficient.
‘It’s not enough.’
Without question, the Myriad Blossoms Invincible Fist was an exceptional technique for single combat or engaging a handful of adversaries. In a vast, congested clash like this, its area-clearing potency and raw efficiency fell noticeably short.
Air vibrated with low resonance.
Repeated booms shattered the cavern air.
Forcing sheer quantities of internal energy into the art could amplify its power, yet it still lacked the sweeping momentum required to smash through a dense host.
Countless auxiliary fist styles rested within my memory, but while some were more energy-efficient, none matched the sheer lethality of the Myriad Blossoms Invincible Fist. That deficiency only deepened my frustration.
‘I must put that aside for now.’
I snapped my focus back into alignment.
Reflecting on technical shortcomings was a luxury reserved for tranquil days.
Succumbing to irritation here would alter nothing.
A crimson arc cleaved through the air.
I thrust the Scarlet Radiance Sword directly through the lingering remnants of my fist projections.
The instant I retracted the blade, Geumpyo surged in to seal the void.
Their coordination had matured to the point where maintaining the sword formation had become second nature.
When pressing through an opposing host, guarding the flanks was of paramount importance.
My gaze flicked toward Dang Seohui, who anchored my side.
‘Just as expected…’
Her terrifying reputation as the White-Handed Divine Maiden was well earned.
Not a single soul crossed within half a jang of her domain without paying a gruesome toll.
“Press on!”
The deeper we penetrated the ranks, the more tangled and frenzied the combatants became.
The congestion was severe enough that people were nearly crushed by the sheer press of flesh alone. Even so, they continued blindly driving blades into nearby flesh and caving in skulls, stoking the fires of anarchy.
“Aaaargh!”
Roughly thirty feet ahead, a deranged warrior began venting sword qi like a torrential cascade.
‘That reckless fool!’
Expending the dregs of one’s internal energy so haphazardly in such confined quarters blasted bodies outward in every direction. The farther the shockwave propagated, the more violent its peripheral devastation grew.
“Brace yourselves!”
Surging ahead, I mobilized my full reserve of internal energy to stem the human tide.
Grit ground beneath my boots.
My soles etched deep furrows into the solid stone as I strained to anchor our position, but Geumpyo began to yield under the sheer mass.
“Nngh!”
The human wall we had barely managed to contain threatened to burst through in a single breath. Just as our unit stood on the precipice of being swept away.
“…Amitabha.”
A serene palm shimmering with luminous golden qi arrested the onslaught.
“Uck!”
“Aaaargh!”
The opposing forces collided against our barrier, ensnaring the warriors caught between them. Piercing cries erupted from all sides as bodies folded inward and life slipped away.
I let loose a far darker, more merciless surge of power.
Radiating a murderous aura intense enough to strike fear into minds already lost to lunacy, I swung my weapon without the slightest reservation.
“Aaaagh!”
Each time crimson arcs painted the air.
“Haaa!”
A wild heat flared within my veins.
Unmistakable memories from my past life resurfaced at the faintest provocation, sending my pulse into a violent thrum.
A flurry of lethal slashes rent the air.
Relentless sword qi chopped through flesh, gradually carving out an avenue of escape.
“Monk, fall back! I will take point!”
Having regained balance, Geumpyo sought to reclaim the frontline.
“Amitabha. My place remains here.”
Ilgak cast a glance toward me and held his ground firmly.
Cleaving through the wretches blocking our path, I barked out an order.
“Ilgak, fall back.”
“…I am better equipped to match Benefactor Jin’s rhythm than Geumpyo.”
“The ones you merely incapacitate are rising to their feet again.”
Dull, heavy impacts reverberated continuously.
Waves of force detonated with each of Ilgak’s movements, tossing figures aside like ragdolls.
The Black Path combatants did not rise, their punctured lungs and fractured ribs ensuring their end. Yet among the White Path warriors, many stirred back to consciousness after being knocked flat, while others swallowed the agony and renewed their attacks.
The monk stood unyielding, reminiscent of a carved stone Buddha.
“Do you understand why I opposed bringing you along from the very start?”
“…”
A bald prodigy universally lauded for divine talent.
A monk whose profound martial attainment I could never dispute.
And yet.
“There is no space for the Buddha’s benevolence in this slaughter.”
A compassionate Ilgak was an utter liability here.
“…”
Ilgak looked back at me, his eyes wide with disbelief.
It felt like our first true confrontation since the tense days we spent standing against one another at the Academy.
How I wished we were back within the confines of the Academy. This cavern was…
“I will not permit any of our companions to be ushered into the Buddha’s embrace. Therefore.”
This was a merciless slaughterhouse, offering no leisure even to lock eyes.
“If you refuse to strike with lethal resolve, step to the rear.”
A gentle monk had no business walking this path.
“Did you hear me? Step back!”
“…”
Ilgak refused to yield his ground.
Though plenty of Black Path scoundrels surrounded us, his conscience barred him from discarding the lives of the White Path fighters mingled within the throng.
In his heart, he likely wished to shove me aside this very second.
A clean cut sheared through the tumult.
Compassion, warmth, empathy, and mercy were noble pillars of human nature.
Yet in a chaotic charnel house where survival was measured by inches, such sentiments had to be severed without pity.
Watching an ally indulge in righteous hesitation made my chest burn with bitter frustration.
Such soft-heartedness endangered not only the one practicing it, but everyone fighting beside them.
A broad fan of sword qi expanded outward, reducing bodies to torn remnants in a heartbeat.
Crimson rain pattered the stones, while bits of flesh scattered through the air like grotesque festival ribbons.
Despite fighting with all our might, our forward momentum lagged because someone still hesitated.
“Ilgak!”
I roared at that stubborn fool.
“Make your choice! Turn a blind eye completely, or finish them cleanly! If you don’t…!”
A blade hissed past, shearing through my sleeve.
The severed fabric fluttered silently to the cavern floor.
“…Must one of our comrades bleed out before your head clears?”
“…!”
Ilgak fixed his gaze upon the stone beneath him, then brought his palms together in prayer.
The atmosphere around him began to warp and compress.
A resonant hum filled the air.
His fist surged into the empty space, projecting layers of condensed force outward.
The manifestation swelled to the proportions of Mount Tai, leaving the indelible silhouette of a colossal fist suspended in the air.
A thunderous blast shook the cavern.
The Vajra Fist slammed home with flawless execution, leaving an imprint of staggering proportions upon the tightly packed combatants.
Pressing his hands together once more, Ilgak drove his opposite fist through the atmosphere.
Another deafening detonation rang out.
A second massive silhouette of destructive power smashed through the crowd.
The earth trembled beneath the impact.
The blow pulverized Black Path cutthroats, White Path fighters, and unaffiliated wanderers alike.
The instant Ilgak’s Vajra Fist shattered the barricade, we threw ourselves into the newly opened passage with everything we had.
“Move!”
At my command, Yuseong Hall sprinted at peak speed, successfully tearing free from the bloody vortex and reaching the outer perimeter of the engagement.
“Senior Brother! Pursuers are on our heels!”
Roughly a dozen warriors chased behind us, madness gleaming in their bloodshot eyes.
Strangely enough, the pursuit consisted of an unnatural blend of Black Path outlaws and White Path disciples.
Just as I prepared to wheel around and meet their charge.
“…I am certainly not like a certain someone.”
Dang Seohui materialized before the approaching pack like an ethereal phantom, flicking an imperceptible mist across their path.
“Ghk!”
“Aagh!”
Carried forward by their own momentum, the pursuers crashed face-first into the unforgiving stone.
In less than a breath, every last one of them lay twitching upon the ground.
Dang Seohui lingered over them with a dispassionate look.
She strolled back toward our group with complete nonchalance and remarked,
“I don’t waste time second-guessing myself like a certain someone.”
There was no mystery as to whom her barb was directed.
“…”
Keeping his eyes lowered, Ilgak offered no rebuttal.
Dang Seohui turned her back on him and met my eyes.
“Can I have my tanghulu now?”
Only then did the true motive behind her swift intervention become clear.
“…”
“I did great, didn’t I? I’ve earned my treat!”
Even after putting the outskirts of the battlefield behind us, we maintained a steady pace for a considerable distance.
Finding a secluded cavern largely devoid of presence, our priority shifted to assessing everyone’s physical condition.
Nam Hwaseong had taken a blow from behind, leaving an ugly laceration across his back, but we were fortunate to count a gifted healer among our ranks.
“Stay still.”
“Aaaagh! Have mercy, it stings!”
Unable to endure the agony of the needle closing his flesh, Nam Hwaseong was silenced when Dang Seohui briskly sealed his paralysis acupoint. His frame seized up completely, eyes turning crimson as he weathered the silent torment.
The moment Geumpyo confirmed their own injuries were minor, Geumpyo swiftly wolfed down rations, tapped their own paralysis acupoint, and drifted into slumber.
“…What kind of creature behaves like that?”
Staring at Geumpyo’s bizarre efficiency as if observing a curious beast, Yayul Geuk shook his head and settled into a meditative posture nearby to regulate his internal qi.
“Benefactor Jin…”
Ilgak sat isolated from the rest, his complexion ashen.
Though he had acted when pushed, his conscience clearly remained deeply troubled.
“Was such extreme brutality truly necessary?”
“Do you possess any idea what they were killing each other over?”
“What drove them to it?”
“I have no clue either.”
“…”
My answer was entirely genuine. This was my very first time setting foot within the Sword Tomb as well.
“What I do know is that not a single one among them possessed their sanity.”
Martial artists of the Black Path and White Path were hopelessly intermingled, butchering one another with zero regard for alliance or allegiance.
Such madness made it plain that an unnatural influence was at work.
“And I also understand just how lethal half-baked sympathy becomes amidst such slaughter.”
“Yet given our capabilities, Benefactor Jin… could we not have extracted ourselves without shedding so much blood?”
Perhaps we could have.
In truth, with Dang Seohui by our side, an escape without total annihilation was likely within reach.
Yes, that might well be true.
Even so…
“S-Senior Dang! Aaaaargh!”
Nam Hwaseong’s stifled shriek echoed through the cavern.
The sound cemented my resolve anew.
“What if that hesitation had cost him his life?”
I had sworn never again to let someone dear to me perish.
“Would you still stand there and preach about righteous conduct?”
“…”
“You may harbor full confidence in your own survival. But you have no right to gamble with the lives of those walking beside you. The teachings of the Buddha hold great merit, as does benevolence toward others. However, do not burden yourself with lifelong regrets born from a half-baked enlightenment. Furthermore, you are not currently acting as a monk of the Shaolin Temple. You stand here as an interim member of Yuseong Hall—never lose sight of your obligation.”
Whether he absorbed my counsel or rejected it, Ilgak stood up and walked away in silence.
To an extent, his resentment was completely understandable.
Just as he noted, carving our way through that skirmish might not have presented insurmountable difficulty for masters of our caliber.
Even so, I had intentionally driven him into a corner.
During my days with the Sojeong Unit in my former life, I had watched countless supreme masters perish on battlegrounds just like this.
Arrogance in their own martial might and a lifetime of reigning supreme regularly bred careless oversights, culminating in irreversible tragedy.
“Jin Sowoon.”
“Address me as Hall Master Jin, Deputy Hall Master.”
“Hall Master Jin.”
“To be entirely formal, Hall Master, sir.”
“This is hardly the moment for levity. We have company approaching.”
Our true trial had not even commenced.
“What are their numbers?”
“Five signatures.”
“Moving in deliberate unison, no doubt.”
“You find that peculiar?”
Our true adversaries were the unseen orchestrators who spun fabrications to gather these martial artists, driving them to slaughter one another in blindness.
“Indeed. Very peculiar.”
A sharp tremor ran through my wrist.
The Red Phoenix Bangle hummed with quiet certainty, signaling that the wretches were closing in.
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