Chapter 290 : Reunited Bonds
Chapter 290: Reunited Bonds
“I contacted the Supreme Extreme Sect, but it doesn’t seem like they’ll be moving.”
While the Immortal-Slaying Division contacted their allies, the Beast King Sect also searched for those willing to help.
“If they moved together with us this time, things would become much easier, but they didn’t give a definite answer. Do they have something going on?”
“If it’s the Supreme Extreme Sect, then that would make sense.”
When Jin Ha-un’s chest had been pierced by Yong Cheon-myeong’s attack, Heavenly Void True Man had clearly said that once his current affairs were settled, the Supreme Extreme Sect would personally move against the Divine Dragon Clan.
He was not the sort of person to speak carelessly, so there was undoubtedly a reason the Supreme Extreme Sect was not moving.
‘The elder has ascended to the position of Sword Heavenly Lord, so he must have a lot to handle.’
The Sword Heavenly Lord was a position meant to protect the Central Heavens Martial Realm.
Because of that, the Three Pure Supreme Extreme Sect likely had many responsibilities assisting him.
After all, Sword Heavenly Lord Jang Sam-bong was the Supreme Elder Sect Master of the Three Pure Supreme Extreme Sect.
“We’ll have to move on our own.”
Maeng Ye-ju regretted that the Supreme Extreme Sect could not participate, but Jang Woo-hyun did not care much.
Even without help from other sects, he intended to fight somehow regardless, so it did not matter who came or didn’t come.
“Cho Su-nim, how are the others?”
“The Five Elements Cult has its Cult Leader and Right Protector moving out, and the Sun Palace’s Young Palace Lord is coming. With this much, it should be manageable.”
“Brother Cho, the Hundred Martial Association will also lend its strength.”
Seo Ryeom casually stepped forward and added his words.
“You contacted the Hundred Martial Association too?”
“As if they’d miss out on a fight like this. We called everyone in the Central Heavens Martial Realm we could get in touch with.”
Jang Woo-hyun, who had been listening from the side, interrupted because there was something he did not understand.
“Are there people outside the Central Heavens Martial Realm as well?”
“Ah, the Association Leader and many others crossed over into the cultivators’ territory. They’re probably fighting cultivators over there right now. What was it again? The last thing I heard was… some Ghost Hand Palace? Ghost Palace? Something like that.”
“Are you talking about the Ghost Hand Divine Palace?”
“Oh, right! That’s it. I heard it’s one of the top cultivation sects in the Middle Heaven Realm. Apparently they use ghost path arts and curse techniques, so they’re troublesome to deal with.”
“That’s why they said it was even more fun.”
Mak Ya-wol added to Seo Ryeom’s words from the side.
“How did you know? Is it related to those Ascension Cult bastards?”
Jang Woo-hyun shook his head at the question.
The reason he knew of the Ghost Hand Divine Palace was not because he had some issue with them.
He simply remembered the name because he had heard it several times while wandering the cultivators’ territory.
-Actually, I heard martial world bastards have been rampaging around the edges of the Ghost Hand Divine Palace’s territory for some time now, but now there’s some lunatic rampaging around inside instead of near the border.
Thinking about it now, the martial artists mentioned in the conversation he overheard at the inn before meeting Yang Jeon-gun, the Asura Ghost, had been members of the Hundred Martial Association.
‘But they’re still fighting even now?’
It had been quite a while since Jang Woo-hyun rampaged around the cultivators’ territory under the title Sword Killing Sword Demon.
He had long since returned to the Central Heavens Martial Realm and gone through all kinds of things, yet the Hundred Martial Association still seemed to be near the cultivators’ territory.
“Is there some special reason the fighting has gone on this long?”
“Since they’re fighting near the cultivators’ territory instead of inside the Central Heavens Martial Realm, it won’t end easily. They never know when someone might suddenly interfere from the side.”
“They’re probably unable to focus on just one place and are fighting all over the place. Those people are more than capable of that.”
After learning during the Ten Sects Gathering that cultivators were scheming within the Central Heavens Martial Realm, the Hundred Martial Association became displeased and recklessly invaded the cultivators’ territory.
But by now, they likely no longer cared about schemes or conspiracies and were simply delightedly picking fights everywhere while wrecking various parts of the cultivators’ territory.
That was simply the nature of the Hundred Martial Association.
“And Captain, it’s normal for this not to end quickly.”
“That’s right. We’re the abnormal ones.”
This was a clash between the Hundred Martial Association—one of the Ten Sects—and a cultivation sect of comparable strength.
There was no way a sect war like that would end quickly.
At minimum it would take several months.
At worst, over ten years.
As Seo Ryeom said, the Immortal-Slaying Division was the unusual one.
The Immortal-Slaying Division was an elite force with few members, so their movements were never sluggish, and when Jang Woo-hyun gave an order, everyone moved as one without complaint.
Once a target was decided, they immediately charged forward and smashed into it.
Their speed of action was completely different from other sects.
Moreover, the Immortal-Slaying Division possessed Cho Su’s masterpiece, the Thunderous Lightning Fortress.
The Thunderous Lightning Fortress’s mobility, their exceptional strength, and their swift actions free from political interests.
With all these combined, the Immortal-Slaying Division could finish battles swiftly and decisively.
A level of mobility and execution that large sects could never display.
This was the Immortal-Slaying Division’s greatest strength.
Listening to the three converse, Cho Su finally asked something once it seemed the discussion had roughly concluded.
“So who exactly is coming from the Hundred Martial Association?”
“We called the ones nearby. Among them, the only one Brother Cho might know is probably the old man. You’ve probably heard of Gongsun Jung-rak.”
“Gongsun Jung-rak? You mean Thunder Cannon Roar?”
“That’s the one.”
“Isn’t Roar your leader?”
At Cho Su’s words, Seo Ryeom and Mak Ya-wol’s faces twisted.
“What nonsense.”
“Who says he’s our leader?”
“I heard Thunder Cannon Roar was the strongest among the Nine Experts of the Hundred Martial Association. Wasn’t he?”
“Strongest my ass. He’s just treated well because he’s the oldest.”
“The former captain is right. Old Man Gongsun is respected as a senior because he’s old, not because he’s the strongest among us.”
The nine great experts representing the Hundred Martial Association each bore one of the Nine Sons of the Dragon names.
Just as Mak Ya-wol carried the name Mocking Eye and Seo Ryeom carried the name Sharp Blade, Gongsun Jung-rak was the expert bearing the name Roar.
Since he was a martial artist whose name had been famous for quite a long time, people often regarded Gongsun Jung-rak as the leader of the Nine Experts—commonly called the Hundred Martial Nine Sons.
“If he’s a martial artist whose name has been known for a long time, then his strength must be considerable. He’ll be a great help this time.”
“Help? Honestly, we’d be fine with just us.”
“He’s an old fossil already on his last legs. What great help could he possibly be?”
Once Jang Woo-hyun showed interest, Seo Ryeom and Mak Ya-wol immediately began criticizing the absent man.
Perhaps they had a lot built up against him, because the two kept calling Gongsun Jung-rak an old monster while throwing out childish slander and complaints.
At this point, it made one wonder why they even called him in the first place.
As the childish insults continued, Kang Ryung approached Jang Woo-hyun and Maeng Ye-ju.
“Noona, the giants have awakened.”
The giants who had been drained of power while forming Ban Woon-hwang’s body.
Those giants Jang Woo-hyun had saved had only just regained consciousness.
---
Fewer than a hundred giants had awakened.
Although Jang Woo-hyun destroyed the spell itself connected to Ban Woon-hwang and saved them, the majority of the giants had already lost too much life force and died before regaining consciousness.
The awakened giants were gathered in a wide clearing.
Since their identities were still uncertain, beastmen surrounded the area in a circle while keeping guard.
Among them, the most eye-catching was Dan Yeong transformed into a massive Eight-Tailed Fox.
She bared her fangs while glaring at the giants.
As though she could tear them apart at any moment.
“……!”
Dan Yeong had been releasing sharp killing intent in all directions, but the moment she saw Jang Woo-hyun approaching, she flinched in surprise.
Then she quietly backed away.
Unlike their first meeting, he no longer looked like a monster to her.
But Jang Woo-hyun was still a terrifying existence in Dan Yeong’s eyes.
Jang Woo-hyun gave Dan Yeong a slight nod, then received greetings from the surrounding beastmen as he entered deeper inside.
The giants gathered in the wide clearing were displaying something completely unexpected.
“What the hell? Are they on different sides? Why are they acting like that?”
Seo Ryeom’s words represented everyone’s thoughts.
The giants inside the clearing had split into two groups.
The larger group radiated killing intent, while the smaller group cowered nervously while watching them.
As Jang Woo-hyun walked while observing the giants, his brows slightly rose.
“Oh?”
“Hm?”
At the same time, Cho Su and Jin Ha-un also noticed something and looked surprised.
“Tarun and Tawi?”
“What? Brother Cho knows those giants?”
“Yeah, they’re giants we met with Woo-hyun back in the Great Tree Forest. Why are they here?”
“Looks like they were forcibly captured and drained of their power?”
“It’s not strange for them to be here.”
Jang Woo-hyun smiled as though he had realized something.
“Eh? Why?”
“I just remembered too. Think about what we went through with those guys we met in the Great Tree Forest.”
“The guys we met? Tarun and Tawi. Then the assassins, the sorcerers, the Ascension Cult bastards… and the giants helping the Ascension Cult… Ah!”
Thinking through everything one by one, it no longer felt strange for Tarun and Tawi to be here.
From the beginning, everything had been connected since the Great Tree Forest.
The Ascension Cult, the sorcerer group, the assassins of the Flying Spirit Hidden Sword Division, and the giants of the Eternal Life Gate of Pangu.
Because they had encountered so many different incidents and dangers, they had never thought deeply about it, but just as Jang Woo-hyun said, with even a little thought, there was nothing strange about Tarun and Tawi being here.
Perhaps kidnapping giants had been part of the enemy’s operations in the Great Tree Forest from the very start.
After helping Jin Ha-un understand, Jang Woo-hyun called out to the two giants he had a connection with.
“Tarun! Tawi!”
Hearing their names suddenly called, the two giants quickly turned their heads.
The moment they recognized Jang Woo-hyun, Jin Ha-un, and Cho Su, their eyes widened.
“Little person!”
“Gigantic Brilliance Kingdom! Little person! Strong!”
Hearing the awkward speech pattern again after so long caused the three men, including Jang Woo-hyun, to burst into laughter.
---
“They are Ban Woon-hwang’s subordinates.”
The one speaking was a giant named Po-uk.
A giant barely one jang tall—small by giant standards.
An old man with wrinkles covering his face.
Though his physique was small and the strength he emitted was weak, Po-uk seemed to be the elder with the highest status, as the surrounding giants obeyed his authority.
And all of them treated him respectfully.
“If they were Ban Woon-hwang’s subordinates, then why did they end up like that?”
“Though they belonged to the Eternal Life Gate, they eventually defied the Sect Master’s orders. They felt he had gone too far.”
The subordinates of Ban Woon-hwang, gathered to one side, had rebelled against the ugliness of their Sect Master gaining power by sacrificing his own clan.
However, they were quickly suppressed and reduced to the same fate as the other giants—forced to supply Ban Woon-hwang with power.
As he listened to Po-uk’s short explanation, Jang Woo-hyun roughly understood how the situation had unfolded.
After finishing his explanation, Po-uk glanced at Jang Woo-hyun before cautiously speaking.
“I heard Great Hero Jang saved us. Though I am shameless, may I ask one favor?”
Jang Woo-hyun was about to casually tell him to go ahead, but someone else interrupted first.
“A favor, my ass. Hey, old man. Po-uk, was it? Our captain saved you, and now you’re asking for favors too? Did we owe you something? Bastards. You think our captain’s a joke? Should we start by cutting off an arm and a leg each?”
The others were shocked by Seo Ryeom suddenly stepping in with threats.
His actions were too abrupt, leaving even their allies wide-eyed in confusion.
But Seo Ryeom was thinking something completely different from everyone else.
‘If the Great Sage had been here, these bastards wouldn’t even have dared speak properly.’
He disliked how they only offered a simple thank-you, and the moment they brought up favors irritated him even more.
And if the Great Sage had been present, they would have only trembled under his overwhelming presence.
Since the Great Sage was absent, Seo Ryeom felt he had to handle everything himself.
‘Great Sage, I’ll protect the captain. Watch from there.’
Having made that vow alone, Seo Ryeom swaggered toward Po-uk.
At his attitude, the surrounding giants glared fiercely and raised their power.
And as though that became a signal, the surrounding beastmen and Immortal-Slaying Division martial artists also raised their momentum.
“So what if you glare? What’re you gonna do? Not lowering your eyes? Hah, fine. Let’s see today whether your bodies are tougher or my sword is sharper.”
Seo Ryeom’s words made the atmosphere grow even more dangerous.
The pressure from everyone around intensified further.
It truly seemed as though a fight was about to break out.
As the atmosphere overheated, Jang Woo-hyun slowly looked around and spoke.
“Everyone, stop.”
The instant those words fell, every aura vanished all at once.
No one could raise their energy anymore.
“Uh…….”
“……!”
This was not simply the pressure of overwhelming force crushing them.
Jang Woo-hyun had completely seized control of the surrounding space itself.
If he wished, everyone nearby would have their heads severed before they could do anything.
Sssshk.
The first to react to the overwhelming power and presence was Dan Yeong in her gigantic form.
The Eight-Tailed Fox with a body over ten jang long quickly retreated farther away.
No one could speak as they tensely stared toward a single point.
Jang Woo-hyun, who held everyone’s attention, slowly opened his mouth.
“Please speak. If it’s something I can help with, then I will.”
His tone was clearly polite.
There was no malice.
Jang Woo-hyun naturally had no intention of harming anyone.
But from Po-uk’s perspective, it felt completely different.
‘We’ll die…….’
The thought that one wrong word here would lead to disaster kept repeating endlessly in his mind.