Chapter 135
The thirty unidentified individuals who had raided the Liaoning branch were none other than the elite agents of the 'Eastern Depot'.
Their sole purpose was to kidnap Myo-seon.
But So-ah's appearance had shattered their plans.
'Isn't that Jin So-ah, the one who killed Chief Commander Go Ju-hoe!'
The agents recalled the incident at the Heroes' Tournament where So-ah had turned the Eastern Depot's Chief Commander, Go Ju-hoe, into a handful of wandering souls with a single blow.
'But he's alone. Even if the Martial Alliance Leader came, he couldn't handle all of us by himself...'
But they were not afraid.
In the first place, the Eastern Depot was a martial force where all members possessed martial arts skills of at least the first-rate, and among them were top-tier masters who surpassed the pinnacle.
Their theory was that no one in the world could defeat them single-handedly.
But.
'The Profound Realm!'
'It must be a bluff.'
'That young brat is in the Profound Realm? That can't be!'
An inexplicable sense of unease was silently approaching at the two words 'Profound Realm' that So-ah had mentioned.
Furthermore, Myo-seon.
'Th-The Profound Realm? It can't be. No matter how much it's So-ah... that can't be...'
She looked at So-ah with eyes of disbelief, as if she couldn't believe it at all.
But she soon realized that So-ah was by no means bluffing.
'My goodness... So-ah... you really...?'
From his serious demeanor, where his usual playful appearance had disappeared without a trace, she could fully feel So-ah's will and determination.
As expected.
[Myo-seon-ah.]
So-ah's telepathic message brushed past Myo-seon's ear.
[Listen carefully. These guys are no ordinary people. They are all at least first-rate, and among them are even some at the pinnacle.]
Myo-seon's shoulders trembled slightly.
[So, stay sharp. You know what I mean, right? I'm telling you to be careful.]
[So-ah...]
[With a single mind, what can't be accomplished, Myo-seon-ah? Let's just finish this quickly and have a drink.]
Simultaneously.
Grin—
So-ah was clearly smiling.
Tight—
It was a moment when the fear and anguish that had been troubling Myo-seon's heart vaguely disappeared before that smile.
***
The sight of a total of 30 Eastern Depot agents leaping at once was imbued with a power that overwhelmed the viewer.
The dark night sky.
The moonlight, the only thing emitting light, was obscured by their black cloaks...
In an instant, hundreds of sword shadows began to attack So-ah's body.
'What a great joint attack.'
So-ah's heart grew heavy.
Although he had shouted loudly to shake the opponent's psychology, he had realized from the beginning, just from the auras of the Eastern Depot agents, that this fight would by no means be easy.
Moreover, the Eastern Depot's joint attack that was charging towards his body was not lacking compared to the 'Great Desert Annihilation Formation' he had experienced at the Gwangpungsa before, but was rather a more dense and precise move.
But So-ah did not back down.
Instead, he had overlaid a powerful ki on the twin fists of the Heaven-Shattering Consecutive Cannon and had taken the whirlwind of sword lights head-on.
The sound of the world splitting apart covered every corner of the branch.
'He's a madman.'
'To try to break through our joint attack head-on.'
'He's an impatient brat.'
The Eastern Depot members clicked their tongues as they watched the reckless and impulsive So-ah.
On the one hand, they were mocking his foolishness.
But.
'If I get pushed back even once, it's over. Absolutely. I can't back down.'
So-ah did not doubt that his choice was a wise judgment.
It was common sense in a martial family that a frontal confrontation was not a good way to produce good results when dealing with a large number of opponents.
But what if the opponent was using a highly trained joint attack or a formation?
The story would be completely different.
The true nature of a joint attack lies in the superposition of power and the momentum like a raging tide.
Therefore, trying to evade by seeking a way out might seem like a smart part of the fight at first glance.
'If I did that, I might be able to save my life, but I could never break it.'
In the end, it was highly likely to lead to a sequence of certain defeat that would end in ruin.
'I'll crush you, you bastards!'
Also, So-ah's purpose was not limited to simply saving Myo-seon.
"Hoo-oop...!"
He was aiming for 'victory'.
With a single breath, an intangible aura rose thickly around So-ah's body.
It was the moment when the strong and gentle power of the 'Tae-gyeong-ryeok' enveloped his entire body.
'What is that guy doing?'
'Is he really a madman?'
'What an arrogant mudskipper-like brat.'
In an instant, the Eastern Depot members could not help but be astonished as they watched So-ah leap into the air and, on the contrary, launch a preemptive attack.
***
A thunderbolt in one fist.
A cataclysm in one kick.
Furthermore, the moment the fist, palm, and kick poured out at the same time, a blue lightning, as if a hole had been pierced in the sky, turned into a thunderclap and struck down, as if to shatter the Eastern Depot's joint formation.
'Keuk!'
'This... this is ridiculous!'
'Is he even human? Is there no limit to that guy's internal energy!'
In just one shichen, the masters of the Eastern Depot could tell that So-ah was a possessor of a much stronger martial art than they had thought.
They had already guessed that it would be a fierce battle, knowing the martial prowess that had killed Go Ju-hoe, who had served as the Chief Commander of the Eastern Depot, in a single blow.
But the So-ah of that time and the So-ah of now were on a different level.
So-ah's Ten-Second Invincible Arts, which did not run out no matter how much internal energy he used, were being implemented mercilessly like the punishment of a killing star descended upon the present world.
The sword ki, which any martial artist would consider a lifelong desire, poured out endlessly as if it were innately generated, and its speed was beyond comparison.
Moreover, So-ah's offensive had not changed a bit from the beginning until now.
It was absurd to think that a human, not a god, could maintain the same power indefinitely.
The masters of the Eastern Depot were also martial artists.
How could they not know that fact?
But So-ah was different.
As if the word 'stamina' had never existed for him from the beginning.
The hand-to-hand combat of an unprecedented great power, which seemed to split the world in two, was creating a grand spectacle.
And...
The direction of the tense, bloody battle tilted for the first time.
So-ah, who had deflected the opponent's sword with the Eight Walls of the High Mountain (shoulder charge), stomped hard on the opponent's foot.
In that moment.
"Keuk!"
The man whose foot was crushed let out a pained groan and his body faltered.
'It's here!'
The momentary collapse became an opportunity for So-ah.
And a golden opportunity at that.
"Ack!"
"Kwa-aak!"
A sneer appeared on So-ah's face as he stomped on the insteps of five or six people in an instant.
That's how a joint attack is.
Even in a small movement that seems insignificant, there are its own strict laws and rules.
Therefore, if even a small hole is pierced, the joint attack will collapse.
So-ah had aimed for this very point.
"What? It's impossible to beat us single-handedly?"
"Keu-eu-eu!"
"Why don't you say that again?"
"Uwa-a-a-ak!"
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
Once a crack appeared in the formation, the Eastern Depot's joint formation collapsed like a sandcastle, and So-ah once again mercilessly stomped on their insteps.
Would the masters of the Eastern Depot collapse just from having their insteps stepped on?
Of course not.
The instep-stomping divine art of this moment was no different from slamming the Tsunami Explosion Kick of the Ten-Second Invincible Arts, which was imbued with a Tae-gyeong-ryeok of at least 7-star, onto the ground.
Naturally, the feet of the Eastern Depot masters had their flesh burst and their bones turned to powder, making recovery impossible.
Just then.
Myo-seon, not missing the gap where the whirlwind that the joint attack had been creating had cleared, poured out her sword strikes.
The sharp, blue-tinged sword strike, which was condensed with the true ultimate art of the Emei Sect, known as the sharpest in the world.
...succeeded in cleanly bisecting the back of an Eastern Depot member who had missed his rear due to his focus on So-ah.
A deep color of defeat was cast over the ranks of the Eastern Depot masters.
At the same time, So-ah's hand-to-hand combat also began to pour out erratically, transcending form, and the Eastern Depot members, continuously exposing their bodies to the unpredictable and powerful offensive,
"Kwa-a-a-ak!"
...died one by one, spitting blood.
But, in that moment.
[Everyone, take the Asura Heart Demon Pill!]
Among the Eastern Depot masters, Ma Cheong-bong, the former vice-commander and current chief commander who was leading the formation, sent a telepathic message to everyone.
At that.
Weren't all the Eastern Depot masters simultaneously taking out a black-tinged pill from their bosoms and throwing it into their mouths?
Simultaneously.
A thick black ki billowed from their bodies.
The black ki soon turned into a demonic ki that made one shudder just by touching it, and.
In an instant, Myo-seon's legs began to tremble uncontrollably, regardless of her will, due to the chilling sense of fear that was pressing down on her entire body.
[Myo-seon-ah. Don't interfere from now on. It's dangerous!]
In that moment, So-ah's warning struck Myo-seon's ear.
Myo-seon was not a fool.
She was not so foolish as to not know that if she were to step forward clumsily with the thought of helping So-ah, it could on the contrary become a poison.
Also, she was not so reckless as to act with bravado.
Myo-seon, without a moment's hesitation, flew away as So-ah had said, choosing a direction that would not be a burden to So-ah while taking care of her own safety.
***
'Of course. It can't be this easy.'
So-ah's eyes, looking at the Eastern Depot masters surrounded by black ki, were filled with depth.
'It's a good thing I took out a few of them. If all of them had brought out their best efficiency... there would have been no chance of winning.'
At the same time, a sense of caution naturally arose in his heart.
Since the 20 or so pinnacle masters who were still intact had taken a pill that led to awakening...
That firepower would be difficult to handle even for a God of War right now.
But.
"Oho? You guys seem to have awakened after eating that pill?"
"..."
"They say an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Since you guys awakened first, I should awaken too, right? That's what's fair."
So-ah thought it was rather a good thing.
Because this was not the first time he had faced such an enemy.
'It was like this in the trial of the second room of the Ghost Valley Villa. If I compare the Vajra Copper Men of that time with these guys? The Vajra Copper Men were stronger.'
So-ah recalled the memory of the 'awakened state' he had experienced in the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons.
The 'awakening' he had experienced then had neither made him lose his reason nor made his rationality run wild.
Of course, he had suffered from side effects due to temporarily unleashing an indescribable great power, but hadn't he, who was unparalleled in physical recovery, overcome it in half a day?
The explanation was long, but the time for deliberation was like a moment.
So-ah judged that the Profound Realm he had attained might be closely related to the 'awakening' he had experienced at that time, and.
If he could maintain this 'awakened' state at will and use it in the right place at the right time.
'I... will be able to take another step forward.'
He closed his eyes.
At the same time, as he opened all the senses of his body to the maximum, his blood vessels and cells seemed to pound.
Thus, with the eye of his heart.
So-ah, who had lit the 'heart lamp', fused the power of the Supreme Meridian Energy and the Vajra Bronze-Man God Core, which were sleeping in his abyss, with the Great Purity Limitless Divine Core in his lower dantian.
Then the three great streams of power, as if they were originally one, condensed into a single point...
When that condensed power caused an explosion.
From So-ah's eyes, a green light that seemed to see through the heavens and the earth.
From his whole body, a blue lightning bolt.
From his Baihui point, a white smoke reminiscent of a haze was slowly rising.
Moreover, the masters of the Eastern Depot, who saw So-ah's reddish face, felt a natural fear before that bizarre change.
So-ah's body stomped on the air.
The ferocious first step of the God of War crossing the night sky had thus begun.
(End of Chapter)