Chapter 255 : Vendetta (2)
Chapter 255: Vendetta (2)
"You bastard!!"
When the masked man tried to slip away, the Blood Cult’s Fifth Elder swung his saber, firing a blast of red Force Qi at him.
Shwaaaaak.
But the masked man dodged it with nimble lightness skill, slipping past the attack by a hair's breadth.
"Haaah!"
While the Fifth Elder was busy attacking the masked man, the recovered Beggar Chaser thrust both palms toward the elder.
"Fine! I'll kill you bastards first!"
The arrogant smile from earlier had vanished from the Fifth Elder's face. He swung his saber to meet Beggar Chaser's attack head-on, shouting once more as he did.
"Protect the Third Elder!"
BOOM!!
Even though he spoke while striking, the Fifth Elder surprisingly matched Beggar Chaser’s power evenly.
Pat!
In that split second, the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord silently launched a sneak attack aimed at the Fifth Elder's vital points. The old man stepped back just in time, narrowly avoiding the strike.
***
While explosions continued to erupt behind him, Il-mok headed straight for the altar pulsating with energy.
But the cultists around the altar stood in his way.
“Spirit of the Earth and Wood, heed my call and let the land be transformed. By the decree of the Divine Law, open the Eight Apertures and manifest!”
Several of them threw talismans or brandished ritual implements. In response to their incantations, flaming birds flew toward Il-mok, and the ground beneath him transformed into a swamp.
Pwat!
Sensing the anomaly in the ground, Il-mok launched himself into the air with his lightness skill and cut down the lightning bolts and flaming birds that came at him.
"Die!"
The enemies who had closed in quickly swung their weapons at Il-mok while he was airborne.
Though not comparable to the sturdy old man’s power, their weapons were also shrouded in a crimson aura.
'The color looks similar to Seon-ah’s or the Hall Master Yeom’s energies.'
But Il-mok could sense a fundamental difference.
Their energy was murky as hell and reeked of sticky blood.
Those were internal energy gained by absorbing people’s vital blood. They must have learned techniques similar to Cosmic Absorbing Law.
(TL Note: Cosmic Absorbing Law is the signature martial art of Ren Woxing, the Cult Leader of the Sun-Moon Holy Cult before Dongfang Bubai rebelled and beat him with the Sunflower Manual. He is one of the antagonists featured in the Smiling, Proud Wanderer, one of Jin Yong’s works.)
Il-mok watched them calmly and dodged just enough to let a glowing red saber miss him by an inch.
Clang!
He slapped the flat side of the cultist’s saber with his own, knocking it off course.
Chaeng!
The deflected saber clashed with another saber of the guy next to him, who had been coordinating the attack from the side.
Slash!
Il-mok's follow-up strike flowed like a dance, cleanly severing the Blood Cult warrior's neck.
'Their movements are too crude for the amount of energy they possess.'
They gained an immense amount of internal energy thanks to their techniques, but their martial insights couldn't keep up with their internal power.
However, that did not make them easy opponents.
While he was dealing with one guy, a chain made of blood-red energy flew in to ensnare him.
Pat!
Il-mok boldly launched himself into the air to evade the chain.
At the same time, he swung his sword, shooting a pale red energy beam at one of the spellcasters.
He was firing back the Blood Qi his sword had sucked up from the guy he just killed.
“Elements of Heaven and Earth, heed my command and become my shield!”
The sorcerer hurriedly chanted an incantation while holding up a talisman, creating a force field that blocked Il-mok’s beam.
Meanwhile, the other sorcerers chanted more incantations to fire a barrage of spells at him while he was stuck in the air.
"Phew."
Il-mok watched the attacks coming from everywhere. He relaxed his body andslowly swung his sword.
With a movement so delicate it was hard to believe he was afloat without footing, the Ascension Sword swam through the air.
The energy gathered on the Ascension Sword formed an intricate barrier alongside the sword’s path. It swallowed the energies flying from all directions as if wrapping them in a cloth.
Some of the spells clashed inside the barrier, popping and cracking, but he held them together.
The moment he landed, he swung his sword and unleashed everything he’d caught right back to the casters.
"Aaaargh!"
The spells enveloped by the Sword Barrier blasted back at a Blood Cult warrior who had been charging from the front.
Though Il-mok had successfully dealt with two warriors, he had no time to rest.
"Die!"
There were still more warriors swinging their weapons at him.
"Heed my command!"
And a few steps away, the sorcerers were busily chanting their incantations.
***
While Il-mok fought a bloody battle against the Blood Cult members, the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord and Beggar Chaser were also engaged in a close fight with the Blood Cult's Elder.
BOOM!!
"Kugh..."
As the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord blocked the blood-red Force Qi from the Fifth Elder and got sent backward, Beggar Chaser manifested Force Qi on his palms and fired it at the Fifth Elder.
"Bwahahaha!"
But the sturdy-looking old man who had regained his stance simply swung his saber to meet Beggar Chaser’s strike.
BOOM!!
Dust rose with the explosion. Beggar Chaser already looked miserably to begin with and now looked even more pitiful from rolling around too much.
"Your energy feels disgusting. Just how many people's vital blood have you absorbed!"
Beggar Chaser had also noticed that this bastard's internal energy was built by absorbing other people's blood.
But the old man just sneered at him.
"Hmph. You’re such a hypocrite. Martial arts is all about fighting and winning. Didn't you spill oceans of blood to get as strong as you are? You kill enemies for 'enlightenment'; I kill enemies to take their blood. Tell me, what’s so different between us?”
At the old man's shameless declaration, Beggar Chaser felt a hollow laugh bubbling up despite the urgency of the situation.
What a fucking bullshit.
If only he knew the Dog Beating Staff Technique, he would’ve smashed this bastard's head in right then and there.
"You're right that I've killed people too. But! I’ve never killed people just for the sake of getting stronger. What’s more, killing someone weaker than you won’t get you enlightenment.”
"Bwahahaha! That’s exactly why our Blood Cult’s arts are so amazing! We can become great just by taking the blood of useless insects!"
Then, as if he just realized something, the old man grinned and added, "Oh, I get it. You’re jealous of my Heavenly Blood Heart Sutra and my Heaven-Defying Blood Slaughter Saber Art. Hahaha. Tell you what, if you swear loyalty to the Blood Cult right now, I'll teach you."
Beggar Chaser's face twisted in disgust.
'As I thought, the Blood Cult is definitely a public enemy that all of the martial world must unite to destroy.'
With a mindset like that, no wonder they massacred people in the past like it was nothing.
The problem was that all those senseless slaughters made the old man incredibly strong.
Whoosh!
The Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord, who had been thrown back earlier while blocking the old man's Force Qi, used his stealth technique to launch a surprise attack.
Clang!
"Hahaha! You Orthodox hypocrites always call us cowards, but look at you using rat-like moves!"
The old man easily blocked the strike and laughed at them.
'Tsk.'
Beggar Chaser clicked his tongue inwardly.
The pointless conversation in the middle of fighting had been to give the injured Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord time to catch his breath and launch a sneak attack.
Pat!
With his plan foiled, Beggar Chaser thrust both palms forward again to save the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord from danger.
They fought the old man together for a few more rounds.
'This is dangerous.'
Beggar Chaser felt like time was running out.
It wasn't just because the old man was recklessly swinging blood-colored Force Qi. It’s also because of what was happening at the altar.
The old man called the Third Elder was refining an absurd amount of energy.
He didn't know what kind of ritual the Third Elder was performing, but he couldn't even imagine what horrific thing would happen if it were completed.
The Incarnation of Maitreya was busy killing cultists to get to him, but it looked like he wouldn't make it in time.
'Is there no other way?'
Beggar Chaser looked at the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord once and made his decision.
Though the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord's actions were suspicious, Beggar Chaser's top priority was the safety of the martial world.
Whoosh!
The old man’s saber came flying in to cut him in half, but Beggar Chaser boldly reached out with both hands.
One hand toward the saber’s edge, the other toward the old man's hand gripping the saber.
Realizing Beggar Chaser's intention, the old man grinned wickedly and drew up even more energy from his dantian.
Since Beggar Chaser was trying to block with one hand what he'd barely been stopping with both, the old man planned to cut off his hand in one strike.
However, things didn't go as the old man expected.
BOOM!!
With a massive explosion, the old man’s saber came to a halt in mid-air, caught firmly in Beggar Chaser's left hand.
"!?"
For the first time, bewilderment appeared in the old man's eyes.
A much denser energy than before was churning in Beggar Chaser's left palm.
It was Innate Life Force.
For the sake of the martial world, Beggar Chaser had chosen mutual destruction.
Because he was burning his life force and forcing out every drop of energy he had, blood was pouring from his mouth.
That wasn't all.
His dantian cracked from the strain and immense pain surged from his lower abdomen.
Even as his dantian shattered like glass, Beggar Chaser grabbed the old man's arm with his free hand so he couldn't escape.
"Thank you."
The Flying Dragon Lord didn't miss his chance. His sword went straight through the old man's heart.
"Kuk..."
The Blood Cult's old man let out a strangled groan and crumpled to his knees pathetically.
"Cough..."
Beggar Chaser coughed up a handful of bright blood and looked at the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord through his fading vision.
'Please. Let my suspicion be wrong.'
***
Around the time Il-mok had killed about half of the Blood Cult members blocking his path, a major change occurred on the battlefield.
The continuous explosions from behind suddenly stopped.
Slash!
The Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord appeared out of nowhere and cut a cultist's throat.
'What happened to Beggar Chaser?'
Il-mok wondered, but he kept killing cultists alongside the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord.
It was a situation that brought to mind the phrase “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
And for the Blood Cult members, this was nothing short of a disaster.
They couldn't even stop Il-mok and now that the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord had joined, they were getting slaughtered.
Right then, a second anomaly occurred on the battlefield.
The massive energy that had been churning at the center of the altar was rapidly being sucked somewhere.
"Damn it."
"Is it too late?"
Right as they spoke, the Third Elder opened his eyes and rose to his feet. But for some reason, even though the old man had risen, nothing happened.
Il-mok thought of a possibility.
'Maybe he stopped midway.'
Apart from the massive energy at the altar’s center, energy reeking of blood had been converging on this clearing from all directions for some time.
Even at this moment, when the old man had ceased the ritual, those energies were flowing along the paths carved into the clearing's ground.
To be precise, they were trying to reach the center, but kept getting blocked and ended up scattering.
So either the ritual was already complete and this was leftover energy, or the ritual had been stopped midway.
And from what the old man said after rising, Il-mok could tell it was the latter.
"The energy lost because of you bastards, I'll replenish it by draining every drop of your blood until none remains."
As if chanting a spell, the old man muttered in an eerie tone. For just a brief moment, blood-red energy churned around his body.
The old man's energy resonated as if in sympathy, mixing with the surrounding blood energy that had lost its path and was scattering.
Suddenly, a huge wave of blood energy grew massive and crashed into Il-mok and the Lord.