Chapter 355
"Hwi-ya. How are you here...?"
Maeng Gwang-gae said with a very surprised face.
Come to think of it, that's right. If I had originally intended to return to the Wudang Sect, I would have had to go south from that Dabie Mountain.
But when I asked my senior brothers if they wanted to go to the Martial Alliance, they all said they wanted to go, so I was going up north with them when I heard the roar and came here.
"I suddenly wanted to go to the Martial Alliance instead of the Wudang Sect. I was on my way to Kaifeng."
A faint smile appeared on Maeng Gwang-gae's face.
Because in a situation where he couldn't fight comfortably while carrying Ma Cheon-deuk, my appearance alone would have been a great comfort.
I, turning my head from Maeng Gwang-gae, glanced at the opponent he was fighting.
'The Seventh Elder of the Demonic Cult. The Black Killing Demon Lord.'
I could recognize his face at a glance.
Although he is much younger than I remember, it is a face I can never forget.
Because he was the one who had killed countless orthodox martial artists in the war I had experienced in the past.
And he had fought with me several times, and in the end, he had lost his life at the hands of the Huashan Sect Leader.
However, due to that fight, the Huashan Sect Leader also suffered a fatal internal injury, and the Huashan Sect, whose central point was shaken, gave up Huashan to the Demonic Cult bastards without being able to use their strength properly from then on.
'But... he's much weaker than I remember.'
If there's a silver lining, it's that the Black Killing Demon Lord in my memory had very high martial arts, befitting the name of an elder of the Demonic Cult, but he doesn't seem to be at that level now.
Come to think of it, the time I faced the Black Killing Demon Lord is more than ten years from now.
Perhaps he gained a great enlightenment during that time, or he met some kind of fortuitous encounter and developed greatly.
'If I get rid of the Black Killing Demon Lord here, it will reduce one of my big worries in the future.'
My original purpose was to join forces with Maeng Gwang-gae and make the enemy run away, but now that I know the opponent is the Black Killing Demon Lord of the Demonic Cult, I can't just let him go.
I thought I had to kill him somehow.
"Unhwi-ya!"
"Elder!"
Then my senior brothers, performing a movement technique, approached us.
As soon as they heard the loud noise, they had run at the maximum speed they could, so my senior brothers had only just arrived.
My senior brothers, each in a confident posture, drew their swords and surrounded old man Maeng Gwang-gae as if to guard him.
Maeng Gwang-gae, who was being protected, was a little dumbfounded, and the Black Killing Demon Lord, who was watching the scene, also had a dumbfounded expression.
"These... puppies don't know how scary a tiger is."
"It's the old wolf who doesn't know how scary a tiger cub is."
"What...?"
As if he didn't expect me to retort like that, the Black Killing Demon Lord had a blank expression for a moment, and I, in that gap, quickly said to my senior brothers, "Senior brothers. I appreciate the thought, but that person is not someone you can handle."
"Is he that strong?"
"Yes. Even at a glance, he looks incredibly strong. You all know that my eyes are accurate, right?"
If I were to say that he was the Black Killing Demon Lord of the Demonic Cult, whom even Maeng Gwang-gae couldn't recognize, it would be obvious that they would look at me strangely, so I mumbled like this.
Fortunately, not only my senior brothers but also Maeng Gwang-gae agreed with my words and nodded their heads.
"Instead, there's something you can do for me."
"What is it?"
"Just say the word."
"Since we were going to the Martial Alliance anyway, please escort Ma Cheon-deuk, whom old man Maeng Gwang-gae is carrying, to the Martial Alliance. Elder. Is that alright?"
"Alright. But what if other bastards aim for your senior brothers?"
"If we just block that person, there will probably be no other pursuers."
"How do you know that?"
"It's a hunch."
Although I once again said it was a hunch, in fact, I knew it because I knew the habits of the Demonic Cult bastards well.
The Demonic Cult bastards have a ridiculously strong pride. Especially the higher up they go, the more so.
So the bastards hate to receive support from others for their missions.
This time will probably be similar.
At the level I feel now, the Black Killing Demon Lord is similar to or a little stronger than Maeng Gwang-gae.
Since it is a mission he can accomplish on his own, there will be no one else to interfere.
"That damn hunch... But your hunches are usually right, so I can't help but follow them."
Maeng Gwang-gae handed Ma Cheon-deuk to Senior Brother Un-jihak, who was closest to him.
Senior Brother Un-jihak, who had received Ma Cheon-deuk in a daze, soon came to his senses and carried him on his back.
"Senior Brother Un Gwang. Can you find your way to the Martial Alliance?"
"Yes. I've checked the way on the map."
"Alright. If you go down the mountain north from here, you'll come to an official road. If you follow that official road continuously, you'll reach the outskirts of Kaifeng. Until you get there... you shouldn't rest. Got it?"
"Yes. I know well. Let's go right away. Junior brothers."
"Yes. Grand Senior Brother."
"Elder Maeng Gwang-gae. And Unhwi-ya. Come back safely!"
Un Gwang, leaving only those words, immediately turned his back with his senior brothers and began to run north.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Although the Black Killing Demon Lord drew out a long, blackish sword qi towards my senior brothers, I threw my body into its trajectory and blocked the sword qi.
Although my senior brothers flinched a little at the loud roar, as if they believed I would block it, they didn't even try to dodge or block the sword qi, but just ran in the direction they were running.
Thanks to that, they soon went down the hill and disappeared from sight.
"You bastard!"
The Black Killing Demon Lord shouted loudly, as if he were angry.
"Tsk. It's noisy. I guess I can move my body a little now."
Maeng Gwang-gae, not caring about him, came up next to me, swinging his arms, and stood.
"You bastard. It's so hard to fight while carrying a person, and you harassed a person in that situation, and you thought that was your skill?"
He spat out words without a break.
As I stood side by side with Maeng Gwang-gae and was about to face the enemy, old memories came to mind.
Maeng Gwang-gae always talked a lot when he fought.
At that time, I was also dissatisfied with that, but why do I feel so nostalgic now?
"I'll deal with you two quickly, and then I'll chase after those bastards and tear them to shreds."
"Try it if you can."
Maeng Gwang-gae, saying that, approached the Black Killing Demon Lord first.
It was not just a fast movement technique.
The movement technique he performed was the Great Immortal Seven Steps, the unique movement technique of the Beggars' Sect.
It was a movement technique that contained such a mysterious change that for a moment, it seemed as if he had split into two.
And at the same time, it was a movement technique with a powerful force.
Because the ground he was stepping on was caving in.
At that very moment, Maeng Gwang-gae's Dog Beating Staff stretched out long.
A tremendous internal energy that had stretched out from him in an instant was shot at the Black Killing Demon Lord, who was emitting demonic qi.
The Black Killing Demon Lord reflexively blocked his Dog Beating Staff.
At that moment, a sound like an explosion was heard from the Dog Beating Staff.
Although I don't know how he operated his internal energy, his attack contained a strong yang energy.
"Keuk!"
The Black Killing Demon Lord, who had barely deflected the Dog Beating Staff, was pushed back ten steps and made an annoyed sound.
Although he had thought that Maeng Gwang-gae would not be a very difficult opponent, Maeng Gwang-gae had a much stronger power than he thought.
"You bastard!"
As if he had sensed a crisis, he once again shouted and emitted a powerful energy that was incomparable to the energy he had been emitting until now.
'He's strong.'
Although he is weaker than the one I had met, the Black Killing Demon Lord is still an elder of the Demonic Cult.
Of course, he would have a skill befitting that.
And I also, although I knew Maeng Gwang-gae's strength well, was preparing for the next attack without being careless.
'It's the Heavenly Firmament Demon Subduing Palm.'
The demon-subduing qi that clears away the cold qi began to form in my left hand.
The qi that formed in my hand soon began to take shape, and a chillingly blue light formed a halo of light in my hand.
While I was preparing the Heavenly Firmament Demon Subduing Palm, he pressed Maeng Gwang-gae with a sword that was emitting demonic qi.
Maeng Gwang-gae somehow blocked his attacks and, in the middle, tried to counterattack occasionally.
I took a big step towards them, who were fiercely exchanging attacks.
Maeng Gwang-gae and the Black Killing Demon Lord, who were concentrating on their fight, did not even notice my approach.
Thanks to that, I was able to fill my left hand with the demon-subduing qi.
When I was only about half a about 1.5m away from him, the Black Killing Demon Lord finally noticed my presence.
But, I was in a situation where I had finished preparing to perform the Heavenly Firmament Demon Subduing Palm.
I stretched out my left hand, which was emitting a light that was so heavy, towards him.
"Heup!"
Of course, the Black Killing Demon Lord did not intend to just take it.
He, as if he were using all his strength, even bit his lip hard and swung his sword, which was full of demonic qi, at me.
But, he couldn't help but be flustered.
Because he must have felt the demonic qi that was chillingly on his sword scattering.
It was truly a martial art of extreme incompatibility.
The Heavenly Firmament Demon Subduing Palm broke through, as if it were eating the demonic qi.
The name of the martial art itself is also 'Demon Subduing'. It means to make the demon submit.
The moment my left hand and his sword clashed. A tremendous roar echoed.
But that roar was a different roar from the explosion sound created when two huge energies clashed.
It was a roar created by the demon-subduing qi I had performed, tearing apart all of the Black Killing Demon Lord's demonic qi.
"This... is ridiculous...!"
After one clash. The Black Killing Demon Lord, looking down at his sword, which had lost all of its black energy that had been overflowing until a little while ago, spat out words as if he were dejected.
On the other hand, my left hand is still full of the energy of the Heavenly Firmament Demon Subduing Palm.
I once again took a stance to attack him, and the Black Killing Demon Lord also reacted to my movement.
But he, perhaps because of the shock from the clash a little while ago, had forgotten something very, very important.
The fact that the opponent he had originally started fighting was not me, but Maeng Gwang-gae.
Maeng Gwang-gae's Dog Beating Staff, which had approached him from behind without a sound, struck his head, and he, who had received a big shock to his head without realizing it, fell forward.
The person who was an elder of the Demonic Cult had been defeated so futilely.
'Heavenly Firmament Demon Subduing Palm. Literally, it subdues the demon. It's a perfect martial art to face the Demonic Cult.'
I clenched my left fist, which was still not over the energy of the Heavenly Firmament Demon Subduing Palm.
If I had had such a martial art in my past life.
Then wouldn't I have been able to catch many more Demonic Cult bastards?
Perhaps I could have even stopped the invasion of the Demonic Cult?
"Keu-eu-eu—."
The moment I was thinking about the past, a groan came out of the mouth of the Black Killing Demon Lord, who was not yet dead.
I glanced at Maeng Gwang-gae.
It was from the thought that perhaps Maeng Gwang-gae would want to keep this person alive and get information from him.
But Maeng Gwang-gae, walking over to him.
He broke the Black Killing Demon Lord's head with his Dog Beating Staff.
The Black Killing Demon Lord, as if his whole body were trembling, soon went limp. He was dead.
Looking at him with a slightly surprised expression, Maeng Gwang-gae let out a big breath and said, "You have to catch information and hostages within a manageable range. If I bring a person I can't even handle properly into the Martial Alliance, something always happens because of such people."
"Yes. I've learned another thing."
"It will be hard, but for now, let's move to a different place and rest. We don't know when that bastard's comrades will come here."
I, following Maeng Gwang-gae who was moving right away, moved to a different place.
Only the corpse of the Black Killing Demon Lord, lying carelessly on the short grass, saw us off.
(End of Chapter)