Book 7 Chapter 4

Rampage (暴走)

"Grrrrrrrr!"

Perhaps due to the extreme mental and physical shock, Galhyo-bong's condition seemed strange.

A darker and darker blood-red light was filling his eyes.

It was a blood-red light so intense that it felt like demonic energy.

His blood-veined muscles twitched as if writhing.

"Kuaaaaak!"

Slay!

With a single casual swing of his sword, five members of the Chohon Sword Brigade on his right instantly met their demise. However, this was merely the beginning.

Suddenly, Galhyo-bong's eyes were dyed with blood-red light and demonic energy, and he began wildly swinging his dual swords, ignoring friend and foe alike, leaving Moyong-hwi in front of him.

It was a rampage.

"Kwak! Kwak! Keeeeeeek!"

As Galhyo-bong, whose eyes were filled with blood-red light, suddenly lunged forward and swung his dual swords, the necks of the stealth attackers who had been lurking nearby were instantly adorned in the air. It was a foolish, ignoble death.

The restriction of the Chohonsohyeolsul (Soul Summoning and Spirit Capturing Art) imposed by Cheonsal had been cracked by the collision with Moyong-hwi's secret ultimate technique.

"Damn it!"

This had become a very troublesome situation for the Twin Slayers. They had to clean up the mess. There was a risk of their subordinates being massacred if this continued.

"Now it's your turn. Be prepared!"

Yeomdo, who had been momentarily distracted by the clash between Galhyo-bong and Moyong-hwi and had forgotten about Jisal, shouted. It seemed he intended to finish things quickly as well. His beloved sword, Hongyeom (Crimson Flame), was already burning hot.

"Wait a moment!"

Jisall's sudden shout instantly deflated Yeomdo's enthusiasm. He had been heated up and then suddenly cooled down.

"What? Disappointing?"

"I can't today, I'm too busy. Unfortunately, I must postpone our duel to another time, and I deeply regret it. Next time we meet, I will definitely… definitely kil, l, you, dead!"

Seeing Galhyo-bong's rampage, Jisal had already made up his mind. As long as he was running wild, the situation was too disadvantageous. It was time to retreat and regroup. Jisal was not the type of hot-headed individual who let emotions override reason. Therefore, he decided to set aside the matter with Yeomdo for the moment.

'I'll just slowly wear him down!'

To satisfy his revenge, a prolonged killing would be far more effective than a single death.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Yeomdo's temper would never allow him to simply say, "Yes! Goodbye!" and let Jisal leave peacefully. However, Yeomdo couldn't bring himself to swing his sword. A telepathic message from Biryu-yeon had struck his eardrums, stopping him.

'Let him go!'

It was a single word conveying the meaning to let him go peacefully without causing a bigger incident.

'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!'

Was he really going to have to let him go? Yeomdo's dissatisfaction was on the verge of exploding. But in the end, he suppressed it. Yeomdo had made remarkable progress in his patience recently.

"Then let's meet again! I apologize for keeping the Underworld King waiting, but it can't be helped!"

Jisall, as expected, spoke only annoying words until the end.

"Tring tring!"

Cheonsal's wrist-worn Chohon-ryeong let out a cry.

"Retreat!"

However, despite Cheonsal's command, Hyobong did not stop swinging his dual swords indiscriminately. With every swing of his swords, the casualties among his subordinates increased.

Cheonsal's brow furrowed severely. His bad premonition had come true, unfortunately.

'C-curse it! How dare he defy the restriction! Could it be that the Chohonsohyeolsul Great Law I cast is unraveling? Impossible…'

Unless the heavens split in two, it was an impossible feat. But looking at the current rampage, it was hard to deny.

"Jingling! Jingling! Jingling!"

The sound emanating from the Chohon-ryeong grew louder. Cheonsal's eyes flashed with a luminous glow. He initiated forced mental control to manage Hyobong's unstable state.

"Wooooooo! Keeeeeek!"

A tremendously powerful Chohongwihou (Soul Summoning Ghostly Roar) erupted from his mouth. Its power was so devastating that it could inflict serious damage, forcing everyone to gather their internal energy to resist his sonic attack.

"Kuaaaaaaak!"

A piercing scream burst from Galhyo-bong's mouth. Hearing the full-force Chohongwihou, an agony as if his entire body was being torn to shreds overwhelmed him.

Cheonsal inwardly sighed with relief. Fortunately, the restriction had not completely broken.

Galhyo-bong writhed in pain as if his entire body was being mangled. Moyong-hwi, with vacant eyes, merely watched him in his rampaging madness. He didn't even consider the logical and practical thought of thrusting his sword in during this opportunity, but simply stared at this unexpected situation. In fact, Moyong-hwi no longer had the strength to stand properly with his sword.

'What kind of goblin trick is this?'

Moyong-hwi was confused.

When the Chohongwihou finally ceased, Galhyo-bong was freed from his agonizing torment and stopped screaming. His eyes, which had been flashing with blood-red light and demonic energy, had become dull. It felt like looking into the eyes of an imbecile.

"Tring tring! Jingling jingling!"

"Stop! Halt!"

With the tring sound of the Chohon-ryeong, Cheonsal commanded once more.

Hyobong's sword, which had been madly and mercilessly slashing at the Twin Slayers' subordinates as a gift to the underworld, suddenly stopped. This time, Hyobong did not defy his command.

"Retreat! Withdraw!"

Finally, Galhyo-bong withdrew his body in accordance with Cheonsal's command. Cheonsal followed behind him.

"Yeomdo! Then we'll meet again! I've definitely registered your trip to the underworld!"

With Jisall's farewell, as his hand rose, the stealth attackers retreated like a receding tide. As they left, they left no corpses behind. They took their fallen or injured comrades from the fierce battle and disappeared. They vanished in an instant, taking all evidence with them. The losses were so heavy that the pursuing party couldn't even contemplate chasing them.

*Thump!*

"Whew!"

Moyong-hwi collapsed powerlessly to the ground. His body had been completely drained of energy from the fierce battle with Galhyo-bong. Blood stained the ground.

Tangsam and Tangmunhye, members of the Saseondangmun clan with extensive medical knowledge, rushed over and quickly examined Moyong-hwi. Everyone looked at Moyong-hwi with worried eyes. His spitting blood had cast a grim shadow.

"Hmm…"

Tangsam, who had been feeling the pulse with a serious expression, his face hardened. An unintelligible groan escaped his lips. He slowly shook his head from side to side.

"What's wrong? Is something wrong? Why are you shaking your head?"

Cheongheun asked with a hardened face. His once handsome face was now pale with worry.

'Could it be that his life is in danger?'

It was an unacceptable outcome for him to die arbitrarily without properly concluding their duel.

"Huh? No! It's just surprisingly little internal damage considering the brutal battle we just had, I couldn't understand it! His internal organs aren't as damaged as the blood he coughed up. Did he eat some kind of miraculous herb?"

Tangsam looked astonished.

"What?"

It was natural for Cheongheun's expression to become bewildered. Tangsam reported the examination results to Yeomdo.

"It seems there's no significant threat to his life. I'll need to continue some more treatment, but his internal organs aren't as badly damaged as I feared. If he avoids any strenuous movement, there shouldn't be any lasting effects. However, it will be difficult for him to exert his full strength for a while!"

"Phew!"

Everyone let out a sigh of relief as if they had been saved.

"Don't scare me like that. I'm a normal person, so unfortunately, I don't have two livers! If my liver falls out, will you be responsible? Please refrain from actions that could easily confuse people!"

It was Cheongheun's complaint, as he had been the most worried. Considering the fierce battle just moments ago, it was nothing short of a miracle.

"Carry him! And treat him with care!"

As Yeomdo commanded, the two quickly carried Moyong-hwi into the room. Only Cheongheun's worried gaze remained behind.

'He won't just retreat like this! If so, we won't just passively accept it.'

A determined glint flashed in his eyes.

'Even if it's a net of heaven and earth, I will break through it!'

The Twin Slayers retreated obediently. It was a retreat that did not match their grand entrance. However, they wouldn't have simply gone home like that. It was clear they had already spread a net of heaven and earth to prevent them from sending a message to Mudang Mountain. They were now laying a death trap and waiting for their target.

Cheongheun could sense it. They were now thoroughly isolated. This place was like a solitary island in the vast ocean. It was a dead end where reefs and whirlpools inducing death abounded in all directions. To reach land, they would have to face the stormy seas, reefs, and whirlpools, risking death to break through them.

Cheongheun could not dare to guarantee whether they could safely navigate this stormy, treacherous sea.

"What do we do now?"

No one answered…

"Alright! Let's go eat."

…There was.

The person who declared their opinion so confidently was none other than Biryu-yeon. He acted as if nothing in the world was more important than food.

Cheongheun's gaze turned to Yeomdo. As their leader, he harbored a sliver of hope that Yeomdo would say something about Biryu-yeon's nonchalance. However, his hope was shattered without mercy. Instead of expectation, Yeomdo filled him with utter despair.

"Oh my! It's already lunchtime! If I had known, I should have eaten at the Mudang sect! Hmm. No! Eating at a place with only mountain vegetables would just ruin my appetite. Alright! Everyone, let's go eat! Those on meal duty, hurry up and prepare the meal! Don't you need to be full to fight? You can't fight when you're hungry."

'He… he agrees!'

Cheongheun was inwardly horrified. Instead of reprimanding him sternly, how could he agree with such an unproductive opinion? The sound of his expectations crumbling echoed in his ears.

At Yeomdo's command, people moved in perfect unison to 'eat'. Cheongheun was left alone. For a moment, he enjoyed the luxury of solitude.

"Gurgle!"

As the tension eased, hunger set in. Sensing the crisis that his share might disappear, Cheongheun quickly moved towards the dining hall. After all, one had to eat to live. It was an immortal truth.

"Too bad for you!"

Cheonsal knew well what Jisall felt towards Yeomdo. If Galhyo-bong hadn't suddenly gone berserk, the matter would have been settled today. Though his face wore a sly smile, Cheonsal knew it was Jisall's characteristic smile when his killing intent boiled over.

"Haven't you been grinding your teeth in hatred for him?"

"My side still aches. Would you be able to forget it if it were you?"

Of course, he couldn't forget. Jisall moved his body, grinding his teeth as he smiled.

"I'm sorry! For asking such a thing…"

Cheonsal apologized sincerely, shaking his head. Jisall, who always buried his emotions deep within and rarely showed them, was one of the few people who expressed his feelings towards Yeomdo.

"He stabbed an old man in the side for teasing him that his name sounded like a woman's! In short, he's a madman. A man who knows no manners!"

Thinking of that moment 15 years ago, Jisall felt a chill.

"I hate the color red!"

Even now, 15 years later, Jisall still loathed the color red.

"I'll make sure you die on Mudang Mountain!"

Jisall vowed in his heart.

The fact that Mujin-ja, the official in charge of the joint training, was nowhere to be found despite the commotion in the dormitory was enough to attract public attention.

At that time, Mujin-ja was in a state where he could not move a single step due to a very important matter. Mujin-ja, who was diligently doing his job. He had a crucial mission to enjoy his afternoon walk. He was adhering to his walk time even though his disciples were in danger of dying. Besides that, his daily schedule was tightly packed, without any breaks.

Next, he had a schedule to leisurely drink a cup of tea for three periods. Mujin-ja was extremely busy.