Swish swish
At Seol-Hwi’s words, Ma Taryong busily scanned the place.
The opponents had suffered unexpected damage all at once and weren’t moving.
Were they flustered due to the attack that happened? Or were they just calming themselves down?
Ma Taryong observed that the five surviving Soulless lay aside and their ferocious appearance turned quiet.
“…It doesn’t seem like much has changed.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Look again at the Soulless you defeated.”
In response to Seol-Hwi’s question, Ma Taryong pointed calmly.
Broken, smashed, and dead Soulless, the sight of people lying down, a person with severed limbs, a person with a broken head, shattered heads, and more.
“Um?”
Seol-Hwi frowned.
The smashed corpses began to show strange signs.
Swish
Among the shattered corpses, severed limbs, and smashed heads, faint smoke began to rise.
Shh….
And as the smoke continued, it reconnected the broken body parts and severed limbs. A web of smoke had been formed.
“Even if we kill a single Soulless, that isn’t the end. They can bring the other Soulless back to life.”
Ma Taryong continued, pointing to the scene where the broken ones were connected back together.
“They have less intelligence and movement, but their bodies are stronger and faster.”
Obviously Seol-Hwi had amazing strength, but in the eyes of Ma Taryong, it was pointless.
As long as the Soulless were getting reattached together, they would turn back to normal.
These beings were immortal. Even if they were killed, they would come back to life.
“And there… See that one?”
Ma Taryong pointed at the one who appeared to be the captain, and the one next to her.
“The Ghastly Troops is divided into three troops. Each has its own captain. The guy there is the escort, protecting the captain. And their skills are…”
Unlike others, he had black only on the back of his clothes.
Seeing that, Ma Taryong closed his mouth for a moment and then opened it again.
“At least around my level. Or more.”
“…!”
Seol-Hwi was shocked. He thought that he had been pretty good so far and that no one would want to fight.
But the one Ma Taryong pointed out was on the same level as himself?
“This isn’t all. Their most dreadful attack hasn’t even come out yet. They are not martial artists but Fangshi.”
This was dizzying as he continued.
“There is a price for using the spells. They are experts in knowing what makes people go crazy or lose their minds. Have you ever been attacked by a spell of theirs?”
“…”
Seol-Hwi shook his head without a word while Ma Taryong nodded as if he already knew.
“When you get hit by a spell for the first time… no matter how hard you try, you cannot come to your senses. And if you try to pierce…”
He meant it was over.
The surviving Soulless will come endlessly and his subordinates will die if they come to support him.
Anticipating the outcome, Ma Taryong sighed.
“Didn’t I tell you. All of you will die.”
“That is… surprising.”
Yeorin sighed.
More than 20 Soulless dead.
The weapon which should be able to wipe out a hundred soldiers was taken down in a second.
Their opponent surely had strong skills, which surprised her, and it wasn’t just her but her entire troops.
It was difficult to predict the strength of this captain of the Hidden Truth Corps.
“What is the footwork… you used?”
Especially that movement.
Like a flying bird, the captain moved in the air ,changing directions so fast that she couldn’t predict them.
“It wasn’t a trick or an illusion. It is amazing, the fact that the Fourth Disciple has such a talented person.”
“Right.”
Yeorin nodded.
Looking at the number of Soulless falling, everything she thought was turning to reality.
“What do we do?”
A man approached her. Unlike the others who were shocked and unable to respond, he looked calm.
And he had different clothes from others.
Unlike the other members who covered their entire bodies in black robes, he only had black on his back.
Wolsa.
He was an escort guard for the Ghastly Troops Captain.
Unlike the others, he moved independently.
In some cases, he was in charge of directly eliminating the enemy.
“What did the man just do?”
When Yeorin asked about the situation she witnessed, Wolsa looked around and spoke softly.
“Hmm, I think… It doesn’t look like a footwork technique. It doesn’t look like he used a spell either.”
“What…?”
“A divine technique, but it has to be a special ability that can move explosively and quickly in an instant. But he cannot keep doing it. If he could keep using it, there would be more dead right now.”
“I understand.”
She nodded.
It was like Wolsa said.
If the captain had such power left, he would have wiped out the remaining Soulless.
For some reason they didn’t know why, but the man backed out.
“Don’t worry. There is just one of the Seven Messengers, Ma Taryong and one unknown captain. I will take care of Ma Taryong, so please give me five Soulless for the captain and eight to control the rest of them.”
“Will it work?”
“If possible I want seven to eight. After all, we don’t use mystic arts but spells right?”
“Well, right.”
Seven to eight Soulless.
It was thought that they could suppress these people with it if they went directly.
Actually, at this level, it should be enough to handle even the most skilled warriors. And even if Ma Taryong intervenes, Wolsa could subdue him.
In the past he was on equal footing with people on the Peak Demon level.
Ma Taryong, who climbed up to Peak Demon could easily be handled.
And what if they use spells to help him?
He already had too much of an advantage on his side. It was like shooting a cannon to take down a chicken.
“Resurrecting the Soulless into Kangshi… is already happening.”
Shhh!
The dead Soulless began to wake up.
Clack!
Kangshi. As soon as a Soulless person dies, they regenerate right away.
As long as there are Fangshi attached to them, they turn immortal.
The brain controls the body to move without there being a need for a head over the neck.
In such cases the Fanghsi can control them. It might be more flattering if it was alone, but it doesn’t matter.
With these, they just had to deal with the members of the Hidden Truth Corps and then that kid called Songhwa.
“After a long time we can finally warm up. So before we go…”
She raised her palm.
“We will start by casting a ranged spell.”
“Well it wouldn’t be a fight if we didn’t use…”
Wolsa raised an eyebrow.
Even if the opponents were from the main Sect just like them, they cannot have much experience against fights with Fangshi.
Tick
As the young woman gestured, the members of the troops began to gather up and start an incantation.
The captain then ordered them to unleash the wide range magic.
“Then, please.”
Wolsa, who received the command, threw his robe down.
Ahhhhh
The orders from the captain began to take form along with the sound of a cry similar to one from a child.
“What is that?”
“What?”
Seo Ryeong noticed it first, and then Yong Jin confirmed it.
A white haze or something like mist began to blow. It was an ominous energy pretending to be something else.
“That’s a psychic manipulation technique!”
Songhwa, who recognized it, immediately shouted.
At those words, the expression of all the members changed abruptly.
“Psychic manipulation?”
“What is that?”
“If you get caught… a curse which takes you over seeps in. It is probably something like delirium!”
Songhwa’s face turned contorted at this.
Although he is young, he is skilled. A high level spell was being performed. His mind started rapidly processing how he could deal with such curses and spells.
“A wide area curse… Is that even possible? Oh my…”
The spell that had been activated was something to knock out everyone in the area.
Normally this should not be possible.
Woo…
But there are 29 fangshi now casting this.
“…We are finished.”
This was an attack which even Songhwa could never handle.
“Is this the start…”
Ma Taryong’s face contorted.
The monstrous powers, the spell, and now the ranged fight.
Of course, he was currently at the Peak Demon level, and it was a tough task to actually reach that point.
He would be able to overcome it with mental strength, but it would be much more difficult for the others.
“This…”
From Seol-Hwi to everyone else, they all looked confused.
Even so, Ma Taryong could do nothing.
“Long time, Ma Taryong.”
Tuk
As expected, Wolsa came ahead.
“Right. Ten years?”
“Yes. It has been a while. Ahem. But… do you really want to be involved in something with obvious consequences like these?”
Wolsa stopped his greeting and titled his head. He saw Ma Taryong roll his sleeves up.
“What is obvious? If you think that I am the same as before, then you are in for a ride.”
“You certainly look more accomplished than before. But…”
Wolsa laughed as his face reflected brightly in the moonlight.
“Should we find out?”
—!
The Ghastly Troops began to unleash the spell.
There was no sound.
Instead, something that looked like white mist began to spread out.
Shh
And that intangible energy was already entering Seol-Hwi’s body.
A sense so subtle that a normal warrior would never know.
However, Seol-Hwi recognized this foreign feeling.
What is this?
It seemed similar to when your head was spinning due to drinking too much. No, maybe it was a little different.
It was his first time experiencing something like this, and he couldn’t figure out what it was.
Something which felt like being deceived.
More than the first time which Ma Taryong spoke of.
“Grrr.”
“Ughhh.”
In a hurry, the Soulless began to approach. These were the ones he didn’t touch before.
They were the people with tremendous combat power, the ones who dodged all his attacks.
Combat power 29.99 million…
The most dangerous of them.
A single Soulless who was next to the captain.
Step
After that, the Fangshi came out holding hands while staying close.
It felt like they were preparing for something.
Glance
Surrounded by enemies, Seol-Hwi looked at the men behind him.
He had noticed the Soulless who had turned into Kangshi rush at him.
I can hold out for a while.
He wasn’t being optimistic.
Because his subordinates had new weapons which increased their combat power in the meantime.
It wasn’t known if all the opponents could be defeated but he was sure to gain enough time to figure things out.
“Kaang!”
Did it notice a gap?
The Soulless woman rushed to Seol-Hwi and looked around.
Seol-Hwi immediately used,
<Supreme Low Temperature Ice is being used.> <You have found a gap in Soulless_12. How will you respond?>
As expected the text came up.
<You have selected ‘Decide for yourself’.>
Seol-Hwi rushed forward with the intention of ending it in one go.
Wobble!
“…?!”
But then his body rolled to the ground
What?
He was surely running ahead. No, he was planning to run forward. But then his legs moved as if he was running backwards and his balance was completely broken.
What is this?
Was it an illusion or a mistake?
What if his body is rejecting the signal his head is giving? No, it wasn’t being rejected. To be precise it was being redirected.
Tuk!
Seol-Hwi, who was about to get up, fell again.
Obviously he was trying to touch the ground with his right but his left moved.
…No!
And now he realized.
Swish!
The ability to slow time he used was called back and Soulless approached closer.
Seol-Hwi hastily used it again.
<Supreme Low Temperature Ice is being used.>
And the gap came.
<You have found a gap in Soulless_12. How will you respond?>
He again chose to do it for himself and ran ahead.
But the result was simply the same.
Tak
“This…!”
He tried to move ahead but his body went back. When he turned his head to see the left, the other side came into view.
I am under the spell!
The strange energy which his body had absorbed a moment back, it made his sense of direction change.
Swish!
Seol-Hwi released the slowing technique again, and when he felt confused,
<Soulless_12 found a gap in Seol-Hwi. How will you respond?>
This was bad.
Front and back, left and right. In a situation where he couldn’t move how he wanted, this time there a gap was open on his side.
