The area where the gusts of wind passed was dusty.
When the dust settled, Gu On was standing with his arms to block, in the center of it.
Cough!
“Elder Gu On!”
“Are you alright?”
As he coughed up blood, the Elders of Mount Hua ran towards him. His current condition didn’t seem good.
His body was full of large and small wounds, and the blood from his mouth told others that he had suffered internal wounds.
“I am fine. Rather…”
Cough!
He spit out blood, and then shook his head.
“Let’s do this together. It looks like the ones behind him are up to something. If we don’t deal with them soon, it will be a big disaster for Mount Hua in the future.”
Everyone agreed with his words.
A warrior who can use ice and flame energy at the same time.
They had no intention of letting such a strong man from the Demonic Sect escape.
“Time?”
Meanwhile, Seol-Hwi asked his subordinates.
“…”
Songhwa mumbled something, and Yong Jin next to him delivered it.
“Almost done.”
“Good. When the time is near, count the numbers. We will leave exactly at one.”
Seol-Hwi wanted to fight.
And he thought that if time was given to the old men, they would come up with a plan, so he couldn’t allow it.
It was impossible to predict how things will turn out.
One should always assume the worst.
Especially when there was no guarantee that he won’t run into these old men again.
I need to finish this.
Seol-Hwi would use Supreme Low Temperature Ice again. Despite its waning efficacy over time, it was still useful.
“Attack!”
In the meantime, the Mount Hua Elders began to surround Seol-Hwi.
Perhaps this was a joint attack.
The old man in front was aiming for a gap which Seol-Hwi might give them, with his knife-like eyes.
And as soon as the ones on the left and right move into the right position, they can proceed.
“Haaah!”
The old men shouted as they ran towards Seol-Hwi at the same time.
<Supreme Low Temperature Ice activated>
Seol-Hwi used the technique right away.
Time slowed down, and he saw two swords approaching him from two directions.
And the other one…
Was he using sword energy?
Even with time being slowed down, a single ray of energy was moving at a high speed.
Seol-Hwi ducked his head to avoid the sword energy, and then ran towards the man closest to him.
He stabbed his sword through the man’s body.
It didn’t fail this time.
Because Seol-Hwi had predicted his movements beforehand, he was able to aim for the vital points.
“Kuak!”
It hit. As soon as Supreme Low Temperature Ice was released, the old man died with a short scream.
“No!”
Another old man who was aiming for Seol-Hwi stabbed empty air, and he desperately tried to find his balance, but it was too late.
He had entered the sphere of Flame Aggregating Demonic Martial Arts. Seol-Hwi used a skill again without even having to catch his breath.
<Sura Exploding Flame Arts activated>
Kwakwakwang!
Before several explosions finished detonating, the old man had already been reduced to ashes. Just like that, two Elders of Mount Hua died in an instant.
However, their sacrifice wasn’t in vain.
“Hah!”
Elder Gu On found a gap in Seol-Hwi. Bundles of swords of different sizes came from all directions.
In order to avoid them, Seol-Hwi leapt ahead.
“Caught you! You bastard!”
As if he was aiming for this right from the start, Gu On moved.
A light radiated from his sword.
It wasn’t too strong, but it was something which was beyond sword energy.
Elder Gu On naturally believed that this had killed his opponent.
But,
<Thrift Wind Sword activated>
Seol-Hwi was fine, despite the attack hitting him.
In the same moment, a storm was generated.
Elder Gu On had no choice but to be beaten helplessly.
“Ack!”
“Ugh!”
Not just that, the First Class disciples who were around, and even the Second Class disciples who were quite far away, were swept into the air.
An immensely extensive attack swept through, and there was no one left to defend the area.
Meanwhile, Seol-Hwi who was trying to finish off Gu On with Thrift Wind Sword, realized he made a mistake.
It was the disadvantage of range attacks.
An attack which spared no one.
It was such an extensive attack, that even his subordinates got caught in the storm.
But then, the result was unexpected.
How…?
The storm which exploded a while back, had no effect on his subordinates. To be precise, even while the storm was raging on, they had simply watched.
“This is absurd…”
Ma Taryong was wide eyed. After waking up a little while ago, he had been watching the battle closely.
This is just a command unit captain, so how…!
The person called Captain, was demonstrating an ability which couldn’t be explained at all.
The warriors of Mount Hua were something Ma Taryong himself would have trouble with.
But this man simply destroyed them, and when they unleashed their attacks, he was overwhelmingly dominant.
In particular, the entire performance at the end was a thing even Guyang Ryun, the first of the Seven Messengers, could not perform.
The martial arts which drained the opponent’s force, and produced numerous sharp winds - this was unbelievable.
“Ahem, would you believe me if I say he is my master?”
Imugi snuck up to the side of the shocked man.
“Are you saying that you are his disciple?”
“Right. Originally I was a disciple of a certain Elder, but due to a few unhappy memories, I am now that man’s disciple.”
“…?”
“And as we are speaking, I have this amazing special ability. If we get a chance, I will give you a look at it…”
While Imugi was speaking,
“…”
“Captain!”
Hearing the desperate words of Songhwa, Yong Jin shouted.
The subordinates all turned to look at Seol-Hwi with tense expressions.
“Kuak! Where are you going you bastard!”
“…!”
Gu On moved close to attack.
Swish! Swish!
“Euk!”
Determined to take Seol-Hwi down, Gu On raised his energy with each slash of the sword.
Ignoring death, and clinging to life, he continued to attack.
“8!”
Seol-Hwi’s eyes lit up when he heard a voice from afar.
The sword in his hand was spun.
Although he had been pushed back due to a small mistake, he was preparing his own defense.
<Sura Exploding Flame Arts activated>
Kwakwakwang!
But was it because of how many times he had already used it?
Gu On predicted the extent of the explosions, and avoided them. While his opponent was recovering, he attacked again.
But that was also what Seol-Hwi was expecting.
<Supreme Low Temperature Ice activated>
Once again, but this time it was used to retreat, not attack.
Seol-Hwi began to run.
Time was slowed down, and if this was the case, it was enough.
But Seol-Hwi, who believed so, faltered.
…!?
A dazzling light shone from Gu On’s sword.
In the slowly passing time, a bundle of swords kept pouring in. They overlapped with the path Seol-Hwi was running in.
Noticing that Seol-Hwi was retreating, Gu On moved to stop him.
It was like being hit head on.
The Supreme Low Temperature Ice that Seol-Hwi had used several times in a row was losing its effect quickly.
“Where are you going?!”
Gu On, who ran with all his might, blocked Seol-Hwi’s path. He felt like he had finally caught Seol-Hwi.
“Captain! Hurry up!”
Yong Jin’s voice could be heard again.
“…”
This was bad.
He was almost to the circle. But now, the path was blocked by the Elder of Mount Hua.
“Look.”
Seol-Hwi didn’t seem frightened at all. Rather, he seemed to be enjoying this.
“Do you know how many times I have been through such horrible moments?”
“What?”
“I mean, you are the one who isn’t prepared for something like this.”
With that, Seol-Hwi rushed toward Gu On.
A suicide attack?!
Gu On’s hair stood on end. This was indeed a vicious thing only a Demonic Sect member could do.
But he didn’t avoid it.
“Die!”
Even if it meant death for him too, he was taking this man down with him. With all his might, he moved towards his opponent.
This…?!
He was so sure Seol-Hwi was going to die.
But something unexpected happened.
The opponent vanished.
“W-what…?”
Flustered he slowly turned his head back.
“Goodbye.”
Seol-Hwi entered the circle at the last minute, and waved his hand at Gu On.
“Youuu-!”
Gu On immediately drew his sword, and fired an attack at the circle, aiming it at Seol-Hwi and his subordinates.
It cut through the air.
But only the ground was destroyed, because his opponent was no longer there.
Seol-Hwi’s subordinates groaned, as the previously stuffy air around them, became cold and fresh.
They were all out of breath.
It was because that last sword attack almost hit them.
“This was possible…”
The members who had just experienced spatial disortion for the first time, couldn’t believe it.
Needless to say, this wasn’t common. Just how may people were moved to a different place in the blink of an eye?
How could such a thing even exist?
“You, you really are a genius.”
Yorim said, feeling genuinely surprised. Songhwa smiled broadly.
“Thank you…”
The little boy suddenly collapsed before he could finish his sentence.
Was it because he had used too much of his energy?
“He is having trouble breathing.”
Seo Ryeong said, after checking Songhwa’s condition. Yorim nodded his head.
“It would be strange if he was alright after all that.”
“Captain, I think we need to take a break.”
Jeok Song told Seol-Hwi.
“Let’s do that.”
Seol-Hwi nodded his head, and turned to Ma Taryong.
“…Who are you?”
Ma Taryong asked.
He was still in shock.
Although he had been in the Sect for a long time, he had never experienced such a technique to move through space.
“We’re the Hidden Truth Corps command unit.”
“You are serious?”
Ma Taryong shook his head, not believing it.
“Believe me or don’t, it’s up to you. But we were ordered to come here.”
“Ordered? By whom?”
“The Fourth Disciple of the Heavenly Demon, the Earth Demon. The details said you were missing, and we had to investigate.”
“…”
“I am glad we were able to recuse you somehow. Can you tell me now? How did a strong warrior like you get captured by Mount Hua?”
“…”
Despite the polite question, Ma Taryong didn’t answer.
Even thought they risked their lives to save him, the man didn’t believe them.
“Well, you don’t seem like you want to talk about it more. I will ask you something else then.”
Seol-Hwi nodded his head.
It would be strange if someone who had resisted torture for this long opened his mouth to answer right after being rescued.
So, he decided that he needed to ask a bolder question.
“Why did you ask the Demon Lord for help instead of the Earth Demon?”
“…!”
Ma Taryong’s eyes widened.
That’s right. This was the information the AI had told Seol-Hwi in his previous life.
