Chapter 73 : Chapter 73
Chapter 073. Light Wolf (2)
The Light Wolf was originally a sacred wolf with brilliant golden fur, as if melted from sunlight.
A servant attending the Black Dragon reigning over the desert.
The Light Wolf had immense pride in that position.
Even until the very moment it completely lost its reason due to the surging demonic energy.
That is why it constantly wandered around that spot even after becoming a monster.
With the thought that it must fulfill its duty.
Kill the intruder.
Only that thought remained in the Light Wolf's head.
That was the same even when Dam Jeok-san rushed into its maw.
However, its feral senses were sharply forged even in the state of lost reason.
‘Dangerous.’
The Light Wolf felt a strange sense of incongruity watching Dam Jeok-san jump towards its maw clutching two swords.
Beasts are inherently very sensitive to the strength and weakness of opponents.
Because the logic of the jungle, which feels heartless in the human world, is merely a providence of nature among beasts who actually eat and are eaten.
In the Light Wolf's feeling, Dam Jeok-san was an existence weaker than itself.
Although he is mighty for a human like a mayfly, it could tell just by seeing the power that was not yet gathered and fluctuating.
It was confident it could crunch and swallow even his bone fragments if he got caught properly.
But suddenly—
An unknown unprecedented power was felt from the guy.
GROWL—!
The Light Wolf— no, the wolf monster that lost its light and reason to become a Mad Wolf (狂狼) let out a roar and raised its vigilance.
‘I must protect that person from that dangerous one.’
Blindness, having already lost the one to serve, urged the Light Wolf.
BOOM!
When the guy kicked the ground strongly with its hind legs, its huge body floated into the air in an instant.
At the same time—
AWOOOOOOOOOO—!
A howl incomparable to anything until now burst out from the Light Wolf's throat.
As dense demonic energy was added to sound waves enough to take away an ordinary person's hearing as is, the howl literally became a Sound Art.
For the first time, trouble appeared on the face of Dam Jeok-san who was sprinting towards the Light Wolf at lightning speed.
His figure staggered slightly, and his speed decreased sharply.
Furthermore, perhaps due to the aftershock of being swept by the Sound Art, the power of sword flames burning on the two swords was also significantly cut down.
At a glance, his spirit seems broken and he is faltering.
If I push aiming for this moment, I can chew the guy's bones and flesh.
The beast's instinct possessed by the Light Wolf whispered so.
However, before being a beast, it was also a warrior who had gone through countless fights.
Although the brilliance like before did not remain as it lost reason, judgment close to instinct was still engraved in its body.
Is that why?
FLASH!
It could discover Dam Jeok-san, albeit a step late, suddenly launching a sword strike upon reaching its vicinity at an unexpected moment.
CRUNCH—
The Light Wolf closed its wide-open maw and blocked Dam Jeok-san's sword.
However, even with bite force that could easily crush steel, it could not completely offset the sword strike of Dam Jeok-san rushing fiercely.
The inside of its mouth, which was much softer than the skin with thick hide, was clawed wildly by the burning sword flames.
Fresh blood splattered out of its mouth, and thrilling severe pain pierced the Light Wolf's mind.
But the warrior's instinct engraved in its bones continued the next action despite the maddening pain.
The Light Wolf lifts Dam Jeok-san while biting the sword tightly in its maw.
No matter how outstanding a swordsman Dam Jeok-san is, he cannot overcome the difference in absolute physical strength.
The moment Dam Jeok-san's body soared up, the Light Wolf released the force it was applying to its maw as is.
“Ugh……!”
A bewildered groan flowed from Dam Jeok-san's mouth.
Because his body was flung into the air.
The Light Wolf revealed a triumphant look and leaped towards Dam Jeok-san who couldn't control his body.
However.
“I thought you were just a beast with only strength, but you are a guy who knows how to fight a little.”
Dam Jeok-san opened his mouth nonchalantly and was floating in the air.
It is not Void Treading, the super-ascending lightness art.
Just maintaining the Flight state with the formidable energy waves emitted from the two swords.
However, this was also an ascending technique that becomes the basis of Sword Riding Flight.
SWISH!
He flew towards the Light Wolf as if plummeting even before his voice finished echoing.
STAB!
And finally, Dam Jeok-san's sword dug into the Light Wolf's body.
* * *
[Be careful! Nothing is over yet.]
The moment Dam Jeok-san drove his sword into the Light Wolf's body, Dark Heaven's telepathy struck his mind.
[Even before corruption, the Light Wolf was called by another alias, Mad Wolf (狂狼).]
Even when it was a Spiritual Creature, it went half crazy after getting injured, and in exchange became twice as strong as before.
Since almost no intellect exists now, perhaps it will just get stronger.
Dam Jeok-san did not frown even after hearing that fact.
Rather, a faint smile hung on his lips as if somewhat amused.
He was currently feeling not like hunting a monster but fighting a martial artist.
The Light Wolf fought skillfully to the extent that it was hard to believe it lost reason, no, that it was a beast.
Among the monster forms Dam Jeok-san met, few were this skilled in fighting, including the monkey monster of the Forbidden Demon Forest.
Because it is a fight he can purely enjoy without necessarily thinking about the result of predation or the aspect of battle afterward, Dam Jeok-san felt enjoyment.
SPLURT!
A stream of pitch-black blood pours out like a fountain from the part pierced by Dam Jeok-san's sword.
At the same time—
GRRRRRRRR—
The Light Wolf's pupils were completely covered in red light, and a gloomy cry rang in the surroundings.
The guy twisted its huge body without caring at all whether the sword dug into its skin or not.
The hide tore and intestines were stirred up as blood splattered, but to the Light Wolf who became a monster, this level was not at a level to be called a fatal wound.
The guy revealed a quiet yet ferocious intimidation like a gatekeeper of the underworld and rushed towards Dam Jeok-san.
WHOOSH!
A fleeting movement hard to believe that a huge body was moving.
The wolf's two front paws fly aiming for Dam Jeok-san's face.
Judging purely by power, it is comparable to Astral Qi, which only masters who reached the extreme realm even within the Ultra-Peak can forge.
However, the real terror of Astral Qi is the transcendental heat emitted from that energy wave and the will distorting even providence, so it probably isn't at a level comparable to real Astral Qi.
But the power alone was burdensome enough for the current Dam Jeok-san.
‘……If I didn't have the ability of Predation, it would have been really dangerous.’
Dam Jeok-san crossed his two swords in a zigzag shape and clicked his tongue.
Two swords spitting out sword flames as blue as the night sky resonating with his will.
Inside those flames dwelt the Predator's will that burns and eats up demonic energy.
Is that why?
FLARE!
The moment it touched the Light Wolf's front paw, the demonic energy wrapping that rich fur and hide began to burn as if fire transferred to oil.
However, the Light Wolf did not care at all and swung its front paws containing only ferocious killing intent solely towards Dam Jeok-san.
“Kuk……!”
No high-level martial principle or rule existed in that merciless attack, but strangely it was harder to block than ascending swordsmanship.
As the guy's claws grazed, red drops of blood splattered from places on Dam Jeok-san's neck and shoulder.
But as if Dam Jeok-san also felt no pain at all, he pushed the crossed swords tightly.
‘I will settle the outcome here.’
According to Dark Heaven, the Light Wolf gets stronger the more it gets injured.
Even so, he would be able to defeat it without difficulty if he receives help from the Monster Repelling Squad and Dark Heaven but…….
‘Then it might become difficult to perform predation.’
That is not the only problem.
To Dam Jeok-san, the Light Wolf was an existence no different from a martial artist, and he wanted to conclude this fight with his own hands.
That would be the last courtesy he can give to an existence that fell into a monster regardless of its will.
Instead of attempting any new move or technique, Dam Jeok-san steadfastly poured internal energy into the two swords.
Just like the Light Wolf stupidly swinging its front paws.
SIZZLE!
The willpower Dam Jeok-san put into the swords burns the Light Wolf's demonic energy and peels off even the guy's hide.
In that process, the Light Wolf went crazy constantly, but Dam Jeok-san maintained silence like the eye of a typhoon.
Blocking fatal blows that must be blocked.
And just taking other attacks with his body.
How much time passed like that?
Whether it was one tea-time or one double hour.
Or if half a day or a day passed.
Dam Jeok-san couldn't even distinguish that.
However, he intuited that his sword was gradually cutting the Light Wolf's hard bones.
The Heaven-Breaking Star-Destroying Style, which became more mature as he reached the Ultra-Peak, mixed into all of Dam Jeok-san's swordsmanship in general without following any special move.
So, he could unravel its martial principle without difficulty even against a monster like the Light Wolf that possessed a form completely different from a human.
SLICE!
The sword form harboring the principle of Heaven-Breaking Star-Destroying severed the Light Wolf's two feet.
HOWL!
A single cry flowed from the guy's mouth.
It is a roar of anger, not pain.
The moment the Light Wolf realized its front paws disappeared, it immediately opened its maw and tried to swallow Dam Jeok-san.
Dam Jeok-san didn't bother to dodge it.
He threw his body into the Light Wolf's maw once again.
However, the situation was completely different then and now.
The Light Wolf who lost two feet had its center of gravity completely disrupted, and could not exert bite force like before.
On the other hand, Dam Jeok-san was feeling more elation than ever due to the awakening during battle.
Furthermore, having become able to manifest the principle of the Heaven-Breaking Star-Destroying Style at all times without going through the ultimate mystery, he became another step stronger than before.
STAB!
Dam Jeok-san's sword strike pierced through the guy's roof of the mouth as is and penetrated the head.
FLARE!
At the same time, as the monster destruction flame burning even a monster's soul rose from the sword, even the Light Wolf's tough vitality could not endure anymore.
The moment the guy's life, which continued forcibly, was cut off.
Dam Jeok-san felt formidable demonic energy permeating into his body.
‘This is…… an amount far exceeding the demonic energy the Light Wolf harbored in its body?’
No, it's not just that degree.
A part of this corrupted grave was being predated by Dam Jeok-san.
That was a phenomenon that occurred because the Light Wolf hovered around this place for hundreds of years and virtually assimilated with this domain.
Due to Dam Jeok-san's predation, the demonic energy density of the entire domain became noticeably lower.
And that also meant that the power Wi Cheon-rak could wield was limited.
Of course, the only person in the scene who could infer that fact, albeit vaguely, was Dark Heaven.
As Dam Jeok-san was dazed for a moment due to the sucked-in demonic energy and the sentiments swirling inside it, Dark Heaven moved quickly and stood by his side.
The girl with red eyes and white hair looked at the wolf's corpse sprawled on the floor while protecting Dam Jeok-san from potential threats.
The corpse was brutally hacked, and vitality was completely extinguished from its eyes.
‘I should have ended it with my own hands.’
Because she couldn't bear to do so, she left it entirely to Dam Jeok-san.
Because he was a swordsman qualified to return the Light Wolf to the sand.
The warrior Light Wolf must have been satisfied too.
Of course, Dark Heaven already knew the fact that Dam Jeok-san possessed some mysterious power to absorb a monster's power.
She also intuitively realized just now that perhaps knowledge and memories might also be included in the category of that ‘power’.
Is that why?
Dark Heaven's gaze looking at Dam Jeok-san gathering his power was very complex.