Chapter 28
Six men wearing bright red windbreakers faced Fist King Pang Jiyeol.
“Speak.”
“No matter if you are the Fist King, we have no reason to tell you that.”
Their tone was polite, but it was full of thorns.
There was even a subtle killing intent, as if they would draw their swords if questioned further.
Bang-!
It was Pang Jiyeol who attacked first.
His heavy fist aimed at the man’s face, but the man crossed his arms to block it.
The man was thrown nearly two meters back but was not seriously injured.
“As expected, you’re not ordinary.”
It wasn’t his full strength, but it was a punch with enough power.
The man defended against the sudden punch and twisted his body to deflect the force.
Considering his opponent was Pang Jiyeol, it was a technique that even a skilled master would find difficult.
The men seemed a bit surprised that someone like Pang Jiyeol would throw a punch out of nowhere.
Nevertheless, they quickly adjusted their stances and drew their weapons.
Their aura showed they were well-trained elites.
A formidable energy began to surge from Pang Jiyeol’s entire body.
Unlike Pang Jeoak’s, it was a clear reddish-yellow energy.
Combined with his massive build, it was as if the sun had descended to the earth. Given his rough guess about their identities, he had no intention of holding back.
If his guess was correct, they were people who deserved to be killed immediately.
Pang Jiyeol’s energy was so overwhelming that it weighed down the surrounding air, but the men did not retreat.
“I’ll ask again. Where are you from?”
There was still no answer.
They just poured their intense killing intent towards Pang Jiyeol.
No need for words.
There was no need for further conversation.
At this point, they would just kill their opponents.
It was the way the men were trained.
“Strike.”
The voice of the man in the cloak was low and deep.
The leader of the Shadow guard, who was watching the situation from the side, couldn’t believe his ears.
“Strike? Against one of the Twenty-Four Masters?”
They were genuinely thinking of killing the ‘Fist King.’
Like a pack of wolves in front of a tiger, their fierce eyes glinted as they surrounded him, showing their sincerity.
Strangely red swords aimed at the vital points of the Fist King.
Bang! Boom!
Every time their swords clashed with the Fist King’s fists, a loud noise erupted.
The leader of the Shadow guard was not just shocked.
The Fist King’s massive body, like Mount Tai, was pushed back two steps.
Individually, they couldn’t match the Fist King, but their combined techniques were perfect, as if they had been practicing for years.
The leader of the Shadow guard didn’t even think of intervening.
If he interfered with such a combined technique, it could harm the Fist King.
The fierce continuous attacks continued, and small wounds began to appear on the Fist King’s body one by one.
The men, thinking they had gained the upper hand, pressed even harder.
Hundreds of exchanges occurred in a short time.
The fierce momentum was enough to turn an average master into rags in an instant.
‘Just a little more.’
In front of such combined techniques, the Fist King was avoiding fatal injuries and looking for an opportunity.
One man’s sword aimed at his neck, then cut through the air and withdrew, while another’s sword aimed at his side and struck.
‘Now!’
The Fist King twisted his side to avoid it but was shallowly cut.
And at the same time, the head of the man who had first aimed at his neck exploded.
Bang-!
Just one blow.
One punch containing the power of a master of the highest level was enough.
In an instant, the formation of the men in the cloak was disrupted.
Not missing the fleeting moment, the giant body of Pang Jiyeol shot forward like a flying tiger.
Bang! Bang!
Two heads exploded in succession.
The sound of a fist meeting a head echoed loudly.
Having seized the advantage in an instant, the Fist King raised his momentum even further, as if to end the fight.
He raised both fists to his chest and waited.
“Come on. I’ll crush your heads.”
The men hesitated to move.
Their group of six had quickly been reduced to three.
They exchanged glances and then nodded.
Crunch, crunch.
They bit down on the small pills hidden behind their molars.
“Damn it!”
Pang Jiyeol rushed forward, throwing a punch filled with power.
There was no sound of impact this time.
The men, now filled with the drug’s energy, moved several times faster than before.
Veins bulged like wires on their temples and foreheads, and their eyes were bloodshot as if all the blood vessels had burst.
Seeing this, Pang Jiyeol’s face showed urgency.
“Are you planning to die together?”
The men in front of him were now using their innate energy.
Innate energy is a power one is born with.
Unlike refined internal energy, it can exert great power but will lead to death once exhausted.
Mutual Destruction (同歸於盡).
They were willing to die to kill the Fist King here.
Their numbers had halved, but their momentum had more than doubled.
Using their innate energy, this was the natural result.
Pang Jiyeol began to be pushed back.
Unlike before, he had no time to look for an opportunity.
A single mistake could cost him his head!
One man charged at an incredible speed, and Pang Jiyeol, thinking he couldn’t dodge, swung his fist widely.
The man who was hit by Pang Jiyeol’s fist flew back and crashed into the ground, breaking it. At the same time, a red sword blade appeared right in front of Pang Jiyeol’s nose.
“Damn it.”
He couldn’t dodge or block it.
In that fleeting moment, time seemed to slow down for Pang Jiyeol.
It was a phenomenon often experienced by those facing death.
Pang Jiyeol watched the red sword blade slowly descending to split his head.
He saw the surrounding scenery reflected in the sharp blade.
A carriage was reflected, the despairing expression of the leader of the Shadow guard was reflected, and his own face was reflected.
He just watched.
There was nothing he could do.
At the moment he thought that only death remained.
He saw a crude black sword floating up from inside the carriage.
Pang Jiyeol’s lips curled up.
“You’re quite diligent.”
The black sword shot through the air like a beam of light.
Thud.
The black sword pierced through the neck of the man wearing a windbreaker.
The man’s body collapsed helplessly.
They looked at the crude black sword with indifferent eyes, even at the death of their comrade.
“…Was the Black Blood Sword here? I didn’t know the Fist King would ride in the same carriage as the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.”
The men recognized the black sword.
It was the sword symbolizing the supreme master of Unorthodox Alliance Leader, the Black Blood Sword.
However, the person who came out of the carriage was completely different from their expectations.
He had a slender but sturdy build, and a strange arrogance in his cold gaze.
It was Eunho.
“You boasted that you could defeat the Three Sovereigns. How embarrassing.”
At Eunho’s subtle mockery, Pang Jiyeol’s face turned slightly red.
“Ahem, I was just about to kill him.”
“You would have been killed.”
“Hey, there are kids watching….”
Eunho jumped down from the carriage.
“Let’s finish this quickly and go. The schedule is unnecessarily delayed.”
Eunho’s gaze turned to the black sword embedded in the ground.
At the same time, the black sword floated up and flew over Eunho’s head.
“Who should I kill first?”
As if representing Eunho’s dilemma, the tip of the black sword alternately pointed at the two men.
Pang Jiyeol clicked his tongue at the sight.
“Huh, the Sword King would be terrified if he saw this.”
Even the Sword King, known as the best swordsman in the Central Plains, couldn’t perform such a technique.
The more he knew, the more monstrous Eunho seemed.
Regardless, Eunho’s dilemma did not end easily.
“If I kill this guy first, that guy will be upset, and if I kill that guy first, this guy will…”
“Just kill anyone!”
Pang Jiyeol shouted abruptly.
“Alright.”
Eunho spun the black sword above his head and then shot it at one of the men.
Clang-!
He hurriedly raised his sword to block it, but couldn’t withstand the recoil and was sent flying.
And then, the black sword shot out even faster.
Thud.
Before the man could even hit the ground, the black sword pierced through his chest.
The black sword didn’t stop there and spun in the air again, pointing at the last remaining man.
“Grr… Aaaah!”
The man pointed at by the black sword suddenly screamed.
“…I haven’t even attacked yet?”
Blackish blood flowed from the man’s mouth, eyes, nose, and ears as he let out strange groans.
Soon, the veins all over his body bulged grotesquely, and his limbs began to twist.
Watching this, Pang Jiyeol spoke softly.
“He has exhausted all his vital energy.”
Hearing the strange screams, Su Rin tried to come out of the carriage, but the Dark Shadow guard Leader blocked her.
It was because the sight of the man twisted and bleeding from his seven orifices was too gruesome.
When the Dark Shadow guard Leader shook his head, Su Rin understood and sat back down.
All the men who appeared wearing red windbreakers met their deaths.
Eunho looked at their corpses with a composed gaze.
“It seems you have an idea of who they are.”
“I’m not certain, but… they might be from the Blood Sect.”
Although Eunho didn’t know much about the affairs of the human world, he knew about the Blood Sect through the memories of the boy.
Even to ordinary people, not just martial artists, the Blood Sect was imprinted as a terrifying existence.
They suddenly appeared and massacred both martial artists and ordinary people, staining parts of the Central Plains with blood.
There were few who could stop them, as they caused bloodshed with martial arts based on madness and sinister sorcery.
To achieve their goals, the Blood Sect would even use their vital energy.
To stop their actions, the righteous and the demonic factions unusually joined forces, and it was only after hundreds of elite royal guards were mobilized that they could be eradicated.
Eunho was puzzled.
“The Blood Sect? Weren’t they exterminated long ago?”
“What are you talking about? They’ve been exterminated five times in recorded history. Yet they keep coming back.”
“Hmm, even so, those guys aren’t from the Blood Sect.”
“Why not?”
Pang Jiyeol’s curiosity was piqued.
If someone of Eunho’s caliber sensed something, it might be something he didn’t know.
“The Blood Sect wouldn’t openly wear bright red clothes. They wouldn’t go around shouting that they’re from the Blood Sect.”
“…That’s just how they are.”
“Is that so? They have peculiar tastes.”
“Aren’t you too calm about the possible reappearance of the Blood Sect?”
“Those guys don’t seem like a big problem.”
Pang Jiyeol shook his head.
“We should stop by a nearby village for a moment.”
Eunho frowned.
“Why?”
“Since those guys might be from the Blood Sect, we should inform the alliance.”
“Alright. Then we’ll head out first.”
“No! Isn’t that too much? We came all the way here!”
“Ah, there is one way.”
Eunho walked over to the carriage and explained the situation to Surin.
There was a vague expectation that if it was the Hao Sect Leader, they could exchange information anytime, anywhere.
However, Surin shook her head.
“I don’t have a way right now either. You might have to go to a nearby village….”
Suddenly, Surin’s gaze turned to the Shadow guard standing on one side.
At the same time, Eunho and Pang Jiyeol’s gazes also moved to the same place.
The Shadow guard, who received everyone’s expectations, had a hardened expression.
Seeing the duel of the Twenty-Four Masters up close was an incredible opportunity.
Especially for the Shadow guard, who had reached the peak and was blocked by a wall.
Although he didn’t show it, he had great expectations.
“I…”
The Shadow guard Leader, who was about to make an excuse, met Surin’s shining eyes.
It was something he could never ignore.
“Yes… I’ll go….”
“Please, Leader.”
“Thank you. I will repay you someday.”
Surin and Pang Jiyeol patted him in turn.
They could also guess what kind of expectations the Shadow guard Leader had.
Even if their levels were different, they were all martial artists.
The encouragement of the two was a small comfort, but the Shadow gjard was still sullen.
“If there’s time after everything is done, I’ll help you with your martial arts.”
“What? Really?”
Eunho shrugged instead of answering.
The Shadow guard Leader’s eyes sparkled.
He could tell from earlier that Eunho’s martial prowess was not lower than that of the Fist King’s.
No, it was hard to believe, but it was even higher.
If someone like Eunho personally helped with his martial arts, it would be incomparable to just watching an opportunity!
Pang Jiyeol made a regretful expression at the unexpectedly generous reward.
“Wait a minute! Then I’ll just….”
Everyone’s gaze turned to Pang Jiyeol.
There was a subtle hint of contempt in his gaze.
In the end, Pang Jiyeol couldn’t finish his sentence and could only pat the Shadow guard on the shoulder.
“Well… take care.”
The Shadow guard felt the heavy hand of the Fist King and leaped away with light steps.
Watching his back, Eunho smiled contentedly.
He thought of using the excuse of teaching him some martial arts to keep him in the Cheonhajang.
The Blood Sect guys were quite proactive, weren’t they?
Those bright red guys.
Even if hundreds of them gathered, he wasn’t afraid, but it was different when it came to his family.
It was unlikely, but it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared in advance.
“Hahaha.”
Eunho suddenly laughed slyly, and although his companions were puzzled, they didn’t ask since he was always a strange person.
Feeling good, Eunho patted Pang Jiyeol on the back and said,
“Catch it.”
“?”
“Who’s going to drive the carriage?”
