Chapter 137
Chapter 137. Eight Styles of Annihilation (3)
The Northern Wind Sword Corps Commander is a leader who commands military forces.
Though the number of subordinates directly under the Corps Commander may be few, each individual is an elite composed of Peak or Ultra-Peak masters.
Moreover, the North, where the Northern Wind Sword Corps operates, is no different from Subduing Demon Hall from the perspective of the Four Fiends of the Outer Path powerhouses. The Righteous Heaven Alliance, Unorthodox Alliance, Imperial Army, and even Martial Sovereign Castle—Entering Transformation Realm masters of each force lie in wait there.
Therefore, while they felt the need to eliminate Northern Wind Sword Corps Commander Dam Jeok-san, they could not easily move to execute it.
However, if he walked into the Demonic Realm on his own, the story changed.
Now they could set down their burdens and project their full strength.
"We must kill him with certainty."
The one who advocated this most strongly was Blood Palace's Grand Strategist Ak Ji-yu.
A middle-aged man wearing a long robe red as blood, Ak Ji-yu's face was filled with vivid resentment.
Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable was an ultra-powerhouse ranked third within the palace. Having lost such a force to Dam Jeok-san, they had no choice but to burn with resentment.
However, the remaining forces aside from Blood Palace still showed passive reactions.
"I am not so sure. Might this not be a trap laid by the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle?"
The one who spoke thus was Yin God Cult's Internal Chief Administrator. That he, a powerhouse comparable to the Eight Cardinals and simultaneously the cult leader's strategist, showed such a reaction indicated one fact.
'Yin God Cult has abandoned the Sword Ghost.'
Everyone present in the hall immediately sensed that fact.
Well, it was natural. The chief overseer in charge of Yin God Cult's Northern operations had been Wi Cheon-rak. After he died at the hands of Northern Heaven Sword Venerable, Yin God Cult effectively lost its influence in the North.
From their position, it would be more efficient to project their strength to the Western Demonic Realm where the cult leader resided. Even if it meant abandoning one useless Cardinal.
Moreover, the Yin God Cult Internal Chief Administrator's words were true.
Dam Jeok-san was heading to the Demonic Realm alone at such a timely moment? His intentions could not help but be suspicious. To the extent that it would not be strange if it were a trap laid by the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle.
"However, it is also true that we cannot let this opportunity slip."
A woman wearing a hood embroidered in blood-red with the character for Black spoke.
She was Third Seat of the Four Black Swords of the Outer Path Four Fiends' Black Sword Forest, a swordsman who had reached the Entering Transformation Realm.
"If you trash do not wish to take the risk, our forest will step forward."
Black Sword Forest is a collective of madmen obsessed with swords. They have no boundaries, willing to lay hands even on the Outer Path's sorcery, but their foundation is that of swordsmen pursuing endless strength.
Therefore, they did not fear even if their opponent was the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle. They were lunatics who thought it would also be great fortune if they could die while competing with such a powerhouse.
'It is not a mere metaphor.'
Blood Palace's Grand Strategist Ak Ji-yu thought with a calmly settled face.
Black Sword Forest is truly mad. In fact, their previous Forest Lord charged recklessly at the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle and died in battle.
Having lost Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable now, Blood Palace did not have many forces capable of certainly eliminating Dam Jeok-san.
So if those Black Sword Forest bastards stepped forward to spill blood, there was no reason to refuse.
However, one thing that weighed on his mind was the fact that they were uncontrollable.
To put it more precisely, they might prioritize competing with the swordsman Dam Jeok-san over the mission of assassination.
The variables that would arise in that situation were……
'I do not even want to think about it.'
Grand Strategist Ak Ji-yu sighed. From a strategist's standpoint, martial artists who committed deviations as easily as eating meals were nothing more and nothing less than headaches.
However, his concerns were washed away as if cleaned by the woman's next words.
"The Mad Sword Demon will step forward."
The Mad Sword Demon is First Seat of the Four Black Swords. Moreover, he became Black Sword Forest's First Sword after the Forest Lord lost his life to the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle.
"Oho!"
Only then did a satisfied gleam appear in Ak Ji-yu's eyes.
The Mad Sword Demon is truly a powerhouse comparable to the Eight Sovereigns of Murim. But that alone is not what matters.
He is the sworn brother of the previous Black Sword Forest Lord who was mercilessly slain by the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle.
They were closer than blood brothers. To the Mad Sword Demon, Dam Jeok-san is the disciple of his enemy.
If so, he will not neglect his duty swayed by personal desires. He must be consumed by burning desire for revenge.
"The Mad Sword Demon…… If he personally moves, no other forces will be necessary."
The Yin God Cult Internal Chief Administrator spoke with a displeased expression.
They had planned to abandon the Sword Ghost. Unexpectedly, he might return alive to the cult. Well, that was not a bad thing either. He is ultimately a body that cannot leave the cult anyway.
Even until the moment they made such a decision, they did not suspect at all. How obsessed with the sword the Mad Sword Demon truly was.
* * *
A quiet night where even moonlight scattered faintly.
SHING!
A single flash of sword light crossed the pitch-black sky. A clean and swift trajectory without excess.
Following that trajectory, a black-robed man's side was deeply sliced away, and fresh blood spurted up.
"Caught you."
The owner of the sword strike, Gyeong-un, pressed down the staggering black-robed man and subdued him as he spoke.
The black-robed man is the Vice-Squad Leader of the Secret Moon Squad, an intelligence unit under the Northern Wind Sword Corps, one of the few individuals who knows about Dam Jeok-san's journey to the Demonic Realm.
"Are you Secret Moon Squad Vice-Squad Leader Mok Dan-woo?"
Gyeong-un asked as he drove his sword into the man's shoulder blade.
However, instead of answering Gyeong-un's question, Mok Dan-woo bit down on a poison pill hidden in his molars to commit suicide.
No, he tried to, but failed.
FWOOSH! CRUNCH!
Because a finger wind that suddenly flew from far away completely crushed his jawbone.
A covert strike so subtle that one could not even guess from where it had flown.
The owner of that strike was none other than—
"Gyeong-un, your skills have improved greatly."
It was Dam Jeok-san.
"To subdue a mature Peak master with one sword."
"……I am still very lacking."
But Gyeong-un still shook his head while pinning down Mok Dan-woo.
He almost failed to prevent suicide after catching him.
"Well, do not worry about it. Whether that bastard lives or dies is not very important anyway."
Dam Jeok-san, who had already approached Gyeong-un's side, was carrying another black-robed man tucked under his arm.
"Ah……! You found him!"
"Right. I caught him."
Mok Dan-woo is a spy planted in the North by Eldest Young Master Jeok Yeon-jun. Evidence of this had already been secured quite some time ago.
The fact that he planted a spy in the North itself is a grave crime that shakes Martial Sovereign Castle's discipline. However, it was not at a level where Jeok Yeon-jun could be expelled, so they attached covert surveillance and waited.
And today. They detected circumstances where his information flowed from the North to Outer Path forces.
"A Blood Palace member too."
Dam Jeok-san said as he threw down the black-robed man he had subdued by suppressing his blood points and demonic blood points.
"First lock both of them in Brain Prison. I will resolve it after I return from the Demonic Realm."
That the Secret Moon Squad Vice-Squad Leader who received Jeok Yeon-jun's instructions contacted a Blood Palace member also means that Eldest Young Master Jeok Yeon-jun secretly communicated with Outer Path forces privately.
'With this much, I can even expel Eldest Senior Brother.'
Something that would have been impossible normally. However, if Dam Jeok-san returns after beheading one of Yin God Cult's Eight Cardinals alone, the story changes.
'Master could not have been unaware of Eldest Senior Brother's transgressions.'
He must have just been waiting. To see whether or not Dam Jeok-san could strike at that weakness.
That is the way the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle makes his disciples compete. Just as when Second Young Master Woo Seo-gwang died.
The moment Dam Jeok-san kills an Entering Transformation Realm swordsman alone, his status within Martial Sovereign Castle itself will change.
Beyond ordinary martial artists, even the moderate elders maintaining neutrality will incline their hearts toward Dam Jeok-san.
Even those who participated deeply on the Eldest Young Master's side and cannot pull their feet out will agonize.
Would it not be better to change their intentions even now.
Dam Jeok-san planned to wrap everything up at that time.
'Well, all of this is possible only if I return safely from the Demonic Realm.'
Not just Martial Sovereign Castle, but the providence of the world is such.
What moves the world is The Strong are Respected. Only the words and actions of the strong can change the world.
"Anyway, I should get going now, Gyeong-un."
"……Have a safe journey."
When Dam Jeok-san spoke while waving his hand lightly, Gyeong-un bowed his head with wavering eyes.
He will trust his lord. He made that resolution. And he actually acted accordingly. That did not mean his heart could be completely at ease.
The Demonic Realm of the North is literally hell on earth. Even if one is not entering to eliminate the Sword Ghost, it is a place where survival cannot be guaranteed.
"Train hard."
Dam Jeok-san spoke with a leisurely expression.
"When I return, you will have fallen further behind. Now you really must become an Ultra-Peak master. To stand beside me."
At that declaration, Gyeong-un clenched his molars tightly.
He was currently facing the wall of Ultra-Peak. But he felt it instinctively. That crossing this wall would absolutely not be easy.
But what could he do. If his lord tells him to do it, he must do it. No matter how difficult that thing may be.
"I will become a martial artist befitting the Corps Commander and wait. May you be unharmed."
Gyeong-un withdrew taking the two black-robed men with that as his final words.
And Dam Jeok-san headed toward the Demonic Realm of the North.
The origin of the calamity that struck Central Plains. The land where everything began and the land where everything could also end. A treacherous land where not only ordinary people but even Ultra-Peak masters cannot survive.
However, the closer Dam Jeok-san got to the Demonic Realm, the more sharply his senses stood on end and vitality circulated through his body.
The Ability of Predator was manifesting more powerfully than ever before.
It was a change that occurred from completely digesting Wi Cheon-rak after two years.
'This effect is greater than I thought.'
At this level now, after entering the Demonic Realm it seemed he could even deploy the Third Style of Eight Styles of Annihilation.
Of course, he would have to stake his life, but he should be able to use it to the extent of a life-saving ultimate technique or mutual destruction technique.
This was an intuition as a swordsman.
'I am gradually feeling it.'
Where the Sword Ghost is hiding his body.
The lingering scent of Demonic energy he emitted tickled Dam Jeok-san's nose.
The Sword Ghost was not staying in as deep a place as expected.
'It is actually a natural thing.'
In the depths of the Demonic Realm, numerous Monsters possessing tremendous power and intelligence surpassing humans lie in wait.
If he entered the territories of such beings, the injured and weakened Sword Ghost would fall to become nothing more than prey.
Therefore, the Sword Ghost could not head to the depths of the Demonic Realm and was wandering the outskirts untouched by human footsteps, recovering his body.
'The boundary is right before my eyes now.'
Dam Jeok-san thought while lightly regulating his breathing.
If he deployed lightness skill for just one more quarter of an hour, the boundary separating the Demonic Realm and the North would appear.
And if he moved a few more double hours after crossing that boundary, the Sword Ghost would be there.
Two years ago, Dam Jeok-san staked his life to withstand the man's one sword.
And now, two years later. He was crossing the Demonic Realm alone to kill him.
'It is true that I have become strong very quickly.'
But it is still insufficient. He must become stronger.
To survive in the approaching chaos.
Dam Jeok-san must advance toward the Demonic Realm while feeling unending thirst and anxiety.