Chapter 190. Eight Years of Hardship and Suffering (11)
Chapter 190. Eight Years of Hardship and Suffering (11)
“It’s fine. This is the best thing we can do for the Heavenly Demon Cult and the Supreme One. We will never have a good relationship with the Righteous or Evil Factions, anyway. So before we take down Martial Heaven, we need to sort out these guys.”
After waiting for a while longer, Bloodrush Archdemon finally stood up.
“Go, kill them all!”
Although he only had five hundred troops with him, every single one was among the most elite members of the Heavenly Demon Cult, so there were no worries about his force being able to destroy the Peng Family.
Bloodrush Archdemon had been forced to put in an incredible amount of effort even to bring out these five hundred troops, even going so far as to leverage his position as vice cult leader.
An arrow hit the forehead of one of the Peng Family's guards.
“E-enemy attack!”
The cultists rushed in like a black tsunami, first killing the guards at the outermost posts before infiltrating the estate and beginning an indiscriminate massacre.
The Peng Family was unable to bring about any proper response to the ambush due to how suddenly they had been attacked, and their defenses began to collapse miserably.
“It’s the Demon Cult! The Demon Cult!”
“You dirty cultists! How dare you attack the Peng Family!”
Bloodrush Archdemon frantically slayed everyone in his path as he pushed on ahead to find Peng Yinggang.
“Peng Yinggang! Peng Yinggang! Where are you, you bastard?! I’ve come to avenge my father!”
Bloodrush Archdemon continued to move toward the center of the Peng Family. Eventually, he found himself in front of the Clan Patriarch’s residence.
However, Peng Tianhao blocked his path.
“You won’t be able to get to grandfather.”
After Woo-Moon had disappeared, Peng Tianhao left the Wind Sword Battalion and returned to the Peng Family. There, he trained in the family’s secret foundational techniques and was able to significantly improve his cultivation, eventually reaching the peak of the Transcendent realm.
Currently, excluding Woo-Moon and Ma-Ra, he was the strongest among the younger generation.
He had cultivated even more diligently than before after being shocked by Ra-Mi’s, Woo-Moon’s, and Ma-Ra’s techniques.
However, his opponent was too strong.
Bloodrush Archdemon had perfected his techniques even more than his father and had reached the Absolute realm. It was only natural; otherwise, how could he become a vice cult leader within the Heavenly Demon Cult.
“A puppy really doesn’t know what it means to be scared of a tiger. Hmph. Your courage is commendable, at least.”
Bloodrush Archdemon ran toward Peng Tianhao, swinging the great axe in his hand with all his might.
‘He’s strong! I’ll have to put everything on the line.’
Peng Tianhao realized that Bloodrush Archdemon was an Absolute Master. Nervous, he imbued his saber with as much aura as he could and lashed out with the strongest attack he could produce.
BOOOM!
The shock of the clash sent Peng Tianhao sliding backward, but still standing on two feet. His feet carved furrows in the hard flooring tiles.
Bang!
There was a smaller bang—the sound of Peng Tianhao hitting his back against the wall.
“Cough!”
He coughed, spitting blood. Then, as he looked at Bloodrush Archdemon, blood poured out from wounds all over his body.
‘As expected, I... I... and the Battalion Leader was already an Absolute Master by then...’
Peng Tianhao closed his eyes, remembering Woo-Moon, whom he still thought was dead.
Bloodrush Archdemon looked at Peng Tianhao’s corpse with a somewhat confused expression. Even as he breathed his last, Peng Tianhao stood upright and held his sword firmly.
“How regretful that someone of your caliber died so young. But what can you do? Just blame yourself for being born into the Peng Family.”
After giving Peng Tianhao a slight nod of respect, Bloodrush Archdemon turned to the patriarch’s residence and shouted. “Come out now, Peng Yinggang, you little rat bastard! How can you tremble and hide like this while your grandson dies in your stead?!”
With these words, Bloodrush Archdemon ran toward the patriarch’s residence. However, in the middle of his sprint, he suddenly burst into anger and sent a blast of axe aura toward the ground.
BOOM!
The ground exploded, immediately collapsing.
Bloodrush Archdemon was truly enraged. In the midst of his conflicting feelings over killing Peng Tianhao, he suddenly sensed the latter’s grandfather fleeing through a secret underground passage!
“Even back then, you used unscrupulous means to kill my father! Truly the hypocrite of the Righteous Faction!”
Bloodrush Archdemon immediately jumped into the cavern, continuously swinging his axe at the collapsing ground.
Bang! Boom!!! BOOOM!
Dirt continuously flew into the air, quickly becoming wet with blood.
After three or four more axe strikes, Bloodrush Archdemon plunged a hand into the ground and pulled out Peng Yinggang's mercilessly mutilated body.
Then, with bloodshot eyes, Bloodrush Archdemon tore out his heart with his bare hand and took a bite, chewing with a mad expression on his face.
“Hahaha! At last! I finally kept the oath I made when I saw your body, father! Peng Yinggang, you bastard! Peng Yinggang!!”
Meanwhile, the Peng Family was being massacred by the other cultists, all of whom agreed with and followed the lead of Bloodrush Archdemon.
After they left, the Peng Family’s estate was left burning, the fire reaching the sky.
At that moment, a small group of people from the Hegemon Clan, who were passing by, watched with bated breath as the estate turned to ashes. Soon after, news of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s attack on the Peng Family spread like wildfire. \
More and more people voiced their support for an allied force to rise against the tyranny of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
***
Everyone was still adjusting to their new base.
The sound of hammering could be heard everywhere as the necessary buildings were being erected one by one.
Su Ran frowned as she listened to her subordinate’s report.
“Are you saying you haven’t seen that person since this morning?”
“Yes. No matter where I went or how hard I looked, I couldn’t find him at all...”
Suddenly, Ok Ji-Gyeong appeared with a smile on his face.
“The person you were looking for has appeared right here.”
Hye-Rim, who was standing next to Su Ran, frowned. “And where did you go without saying anything?”
Ok Ji-Gyeong laughed and pointed at Princess Namar, Su Ran, and Hye-Rim, one by one.
“You three bitches are going to get some good dick today. Better look forward.”
Ok Ji-Gyeong spat these vicious and crude words in front of everyone watching.
The most hot-headed of the trip, Princess Namar, began to tremble in rage.
“You say these disgusting things so easily... Clearly, you’re pretty used to doing these things. Su Ran, don’t bother, there’s no use in trying to stop me. I’m going to kill that bastard today.”
Hye-Rim also agreed, putting on her gauntlets.
“It seems like today I will have to break my vow of not killing.”
Not only the three beauties, but the others within the Heaven Slaying Alliance were also trembling with anger.
To them, Princess Namar, Su Ran, and Hye-Rim were like their younger sisters, their daughters.
Su Ran shouted, “Get him!”
The Heaven Slaying Alliance members closest to Ok Ji-Gyeong rushed him.
“Oh dear, isn’t that scary?!” Ok Ji-Gyeong said as he slowly retreated. Suddenly, a deluge of arrows poured down like rain from the forest behind him.
“Agk!!”
“Ugh!”
Five people died, their bodies turned into porcupines.
Then, one after another, warriors dressed in black appeared in front of Ok Ji-Gyeong.
“Martial Heaven!”
“How did you find this place?!”
As the Heaven Slaying Alliance was flustered, shocked, and confused by what was happening, Princess Namar shot an arrow with her full strength.
FWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!
“Hiiik!!”
Ok Ji-Gyeong screamed in fear as a middle-aged Daoist wearing black robes suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking the arrow in his stead.
“Ok Ji-Gyeong... You betrayed us,” Princess Namar spat out
It had only been ten days since they had moved their base.
Unless someone had revealed their secret, there was no way for Martial Heaven to have discovered them.
In other words, Ok Ji-Gyeong had purposefully exposed them.
“Hahaha! Well, you shouldn’t have rejected me, you stupid bitches!”
Behind the black-clad middle-aged Daoist, Ok Ji-Gyeong giggled hysterically. Then, while rubbing his hands together like a fly, he asked the middle-aged Daoist, “Hehe... You’ll keep your promise, right?”
At his question, the middle-aged Daoist stretched out a pale hand and grabbed Ok Ji-Gyeong by the shoulder with enough power to crush it.
“Agh!!!”
“I keep my promises. How dare you doubt me?”
“Oh, no, I would never! I would never!”
After releasing Ok Ji-Gyeong, the middle-aged Daoist continued, “I’ll definitely give you those three girls. Of course, after taking their techniques.”
“T-thank you.”
Although the man’s crushing grip caused him excruciating pain, Ok Ji-Gyeong endured it and bowed his head.
Meanwhile, the Heaven Slaying Alliance and the three beauties glared at Ok Ji-Gyeong, their eyes full of contempt as they heard his conversation with the middle-aged Daoist.
“If that happens, I’m going to kill myself first,” Princess Namar said decisively.
Hye-Rim nodded in agreement.
Then, the Heaven Slaying Alliance members parted in the middle as a middle-aged scholar with a youthful appearance walked out.
“Alliance Leader!”
“Alliance Leader.”
He was none other than the Alliance Leader of the Heaven Slaying Alliance, the Springtime Scholar Ban Moon-Yeop.[1]
He had been a guest at the Western Nihility Gate and had been lucky enough to be outside of the sect when it had been destroyed, narrowly escaping death.
The Heaven Slaying Alliance was a coalition he had created in order to exact revenge for the sect that he owed so much to.
“Where did you come from?” he asked.
“The Great Darkness Palace,” the middle-aged Daoist answered.
Ban Moon-Yeop was shocked by the answer. However, after taking a quick look at the Great Darkness Palace members who had appeared, he sighed with quite a bit of relief.
“I don’t see the Great Darkness Palace Master.”
“I am the new Great Darkness Palace Master.”
Ban Moon-Yeop was shocked once again.
“Wasn’t the Great Darkness Palace Master a Paragon in his prime?”
“That idiot was murdered.”
Martial Heaven completely looked down on any of its members who were harmed or killed by people of the murim.
“Woo-Moon!” Hye-Rim cried out. “He must have been the one to kill him!”
The Great Darkness Palace Master had been a Paragon. The only person she could think of who could kill him was naturally Woo-Moon.
The new Great Darkness Palace Master, the middle-aged Daoist in black robes, nodded in agreement. “That is correct.”
Ban Moon-Yeop burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! Those arrogant bastards from Martial Heaven must have been shocked out of their minds. To think a Paragon from Martial Heaven was killed! Well, let’s fight then. It would’ve been different with the old Great Darkness Palace Master, but I’m not afraid of you.”
Ban Moon-Yeop blasted out his aura as he spoke, his loose clothes flapping crazily from his Absolute Qi.
Although he was hardly known within the murim, Ban Moon-Yeop was also an Absolute Master, and not a weak one either.
However, he quickly felt something strange and hurriedly looked at the new Great Darkness Palace Master.
"I-impossible...” he said as black blood flowed from between his half-closed lips. “How could you... poison...”
By the time he finished speaking, Ban Moon-Yeop's entire body had turned pitch black.
“Alliance Leader!”
Those were the last words Ban Moon-Yeop heard as he fell to the ground.
The new Great Darkness Palace Master, Hu Mu-Hae, was the very same poison expert who had created the Qi Dispersion Poison that had almost brought Woo-Moon to his death.
“Martial Heaven does not give positions to unqualified people. You had the honor of dying from my Paragon Poison, so I hope you feel some gratitude in death,” he said softly.
As soon as Hu Mu-Hae finished speaking, Ban Moon-Yeop's body began to burn from the inside out. Flames quickly began to flicker around him, smoke billowing into the air.
He was well and truly gone. A single error, not noticing the poison spread through the air during their conversation, had cost him everything.
The Heaven Slaying Alliance was left speechless as they watched their Alliance Leader die in a completely absurd manner.
“NOOOO!!!”
A woman burst into tears as many within the Heaven Slaying Alliance clenched their fists, a desire for revenge burning within them.
They weren’t afraid of those who had come to kill them or of the new Great Darkness Palace Master. After all, those who felt fear when facing strong enemies wouldn’t have joined the Heaven Slaying Alliance to battle Martial Heaven in the first place.
“Let’s kill them all!”
“Kill the dogs of Martial Heaven!”
Su Ran looked at the Great Darkness Palace Master with a cold gaze.
“We may die by your hand, but we will never bow to you. Better shattered jade than intact stone!” [2]
“We will never bow!”
“We will never bow!”
Those of the Heaven Slaying Alliance rushed toward the Great Darkness Palace members, shouting their lungs out.
“Like moths to a flame...” the Great Darkness Palace Master muttered as he waved his hand from left to right.
1. The word for “springtime” here is “green/blue time,” which we like to think is a nod to Might Guy’s favorite catchphrase. KONOHA’S GREEN BEAST IN THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH EYYYYYYYYYYY ☜
2. 大丈夫宁为玉碎,不为瓦全, a Chinese idiom stating that it’s better to die with your principles than to break them and live. ☜