Chapter 374
It was like rolling dark clouds.
The feeling of countless black fist forces, each as huge as a house, clustering together and rushing forward was similar to that of black storm clouds rolling in from the distant sky.
The same scene was unfolding in both heaven and earth.
Wei Yan-ho resisted.
He swung his sword and unleashed sword qi. He drew out the massive internal force filling his energy core and drew it out again, swinging and swinging again. But just as humans cannot overcome nature, light was destined to be covered by storm clouds.
The moment his arm was swept up in the Ghost Face's fist force, blood burst from Wei Yan-ho's tightly clenched mouth. Another fist force swept across his body, and yet another surged forward.
It felt as if everything in the world was being swept away by the massive explosion caused by the fist force.
The air, the ground, even the falling raindrops couldn't withstand the enormous storm of energy created by the fist force and fled from their places.
"Grrraaahhh!"
Jang-il planted his hands into the ground and resisted the approaching storm.
'Damn it, really!'
If you're going to fight, shouldn't you fight at a reasonable level? When people fight people, does it make sense for storms to arise and earthquakes to occur?
But he couldn't deny it either. He was seeing it clearly with his own eyes.
"Wei Yan-hoooooo!"
Even though his legs were lifted from the ground and fluttering, Jang-il couldn't take his eyes off the black swirl of demonic energy that writhed like a devil's tongue.
Wei Yan-ho was inside there.
Could a human survive after taking such an attack with his body?
It was something he didn't want to think about.
But Jang-il, who had always been trained to view and analyze situations objectively, could only reach one conclusion.
Defeat.
And death.
No one could come out alive from inside there. And that meant Wei Yan-ho's death.
The moment he realized this fact, something began to boil up in Jang-il's chest.
"You bastaaaaaaard!"
When he thought Wei Yan-ho had died, he could no longer make calm judgments. The moment he tried to plant his legs into the ground and exert force, someone pressed down on him from behind.
"Let go!"
"Excitement is poison."
"Let go, you damn monk bastard!"
The one pressing him down was Mu-san. Mu-san's face was also slightly flushed, but he didn't seem as extremely agitated as Jang-il.
"You bastard! The lazy one is dead!"
"Not yet! We haven't confirmed it!"
Mu-san spoke with conviction.
"How can he come out alive from there!"
"That benefactor has always been like that. He's always done impossible things, so it's not too late to get excited after we confirm."
It was nonsensical talk, but his excitement seemed to subside a little. Only then could he realize that rushing in now would only result in a dog's death.
'Damn it.'
As his excitement subsided, he couldn't understand himself.
If Wei Yan-ho was dead, the best choice he could make was to run away.
What could he do against the Mad Blood Demon who even Wei Yan-ho couldn't handle?
Hadn't Wei Yan-ho already given him a hint? He said if things got ambiguous, to immediately take Jin Ye-ran and run away. When Wei Yan-ho said that, he thought why would he say such a thing when he would run away at the first opportunity anyway…
'I'm not that smart a guy either.'
He thought he stood one step removed from the world of martial artists who got excited easily. That's why he thought he could maintain composure in any situation.
But that wasn't the case.
He seemed to understand why the Chief said he couldn't be entrusted with important missions yet.
'What happened to the others?'
As his mind returned, his vision widened. Then various things began to enter his sight.
Peng Dao-ji was resisting the surging storm with his blade planted in the ground, and Wei San-ho was blocking Jin Ye-ran's front, protecting her.
Originally, that was a job Wei Yan-ho had entrusted to him.
'Damn it.'
When he couldn't even properly handle such a simple task, how could he possibly take on the heavy responsibility of being the Chief of the Beggar's Sect?
Jang-il's eyes became bloodshot.
When he realized he was the most excited among them all, he felt like he'd been doused with cold water. Even Jin Ye-ran wasn't as excited as he was. He could fully guess her feelings from how she held her tightly clenched fists in front of her chest, but she didn't do the stupid thing of rushing forward recklessly like Jang-il.
The storm subsided.
Jang-il, who had come down to the ground, raised his hand and slapped himself on the cheek.
He felt the bitter taste of blood bursting in his mouth.
Thinking he had regained some composure, Jang-il stood up.
Swoooooooosh!
Rain poured down like mad. And thanks to that rain, the dust cloud that had shot up to the sky also quickly subsided. And then…
'Wei Yan-ho!'
Jang-il clenched his fist tightly.
Through the subsiding dust cloud, he could see Wei Yan-ho lying collapsed. His clothes were torn to shreds and filthy, and his hair was disheveled.
Jang-il unconsciously bit his lips.
He knew maintaining composure was important, but how could he maintain composure seeing such a scene?
'He must be alive!'
He wasn't dead. There was no way he could be dead.
At that moment, Wei Yan-ho's body twitched slightly.
"…He's alive."
He felt all the strength drain from his body. The situation hadn't improved at all, but just knowing that Wei Yan-ho wasn't dead yet felt reassuring.
And toward the collapsed Wei Yan-ho, an elderly man slowly walked.
The Mad Blood Demon, who had returned his greatly swollen body to its original state, looked down quietly at the collapsed Wei Yan-ho as he was drenched by the pouring rain.
He had won.
The outcome was clear. But despite his victory, the Mad Blood Demon's heart was by no means light.
'What a monster-like fellow.'
On the surface, it was an overwhelming victory.
But only the Mad Blood Demon knew that the content was by no means so. The outcome between masters of the highest level is always a paper-thin difference. Because of that paper-thin difference, the damage tends to widen drastically.
If he had been just a little weaker, the one lying collapsed now would have been himself, not Wei Yan-ho. Perhaps afraid that he might be defeated, he had poured out all the internal force filling his energy core. In the end, he couldn't even maintain his Demon Emperor Body and ended up in this state.
'To feel the fear of death, even for a moment, from this young fellow.'
He still couldn't forget the sight of Wei Yan-ho maintaining his natural composure even while watching his Mad Demon Avatar rushing toward him. The eeriness that such a sight gave was something those who hadn't experienced it would never know.
'He will become stronger.'
Young people tend to learn quickly.
They just lack experience and composure, but when learning the same thing, young people become stronger faster than older ones. It was obvious that he would use even the defeat he received as nourishment to become frighteningly stronger at an incredible speed.
"…It's human nature to want to raise a lion cub when you see one. People inevitably become weak in the face of potential. I'm burning with curiosity to see what you'll look like in one year, and what you'll look like in two years, but…"
The Mad Blood Demon raised his hand with a bitter expression.
"I'm different from others. I value certainty over uncertainty."
If he just brought his hand down like this, Wei Yan-ho's head would split like a ripe watermelon.
At that moment, Wei San-ho rushed toward the Mad Blood Demon like lightning.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
With how much force he put in, every time he extended his foot and struck the ground, the floor resounded with thud, thud.
"Take your hands off my younger brother!"
Using Wei San-ho's charge as a signal, the others all began rushing toward the Mad Blood Demon at once.
Jang-il too, Peng Dao-ji too, and even Mu-san rushed toward the Mad Blood Demon with hardened faces at full power.
'Chances of winning?'
Jang-il's mind began spinning furiously. If it were the Mad Blood Demon in his normal state, even if the sect leaders of the sects they belonged to came, he wouldn't be confident they could capture him.
But the current Mad Blood Demon wasn't in normal condition. No matter how much he looked down on them, if his strength hadn't weakened much, there would be no need for him to return his body to such a state.
Could they face the exhausted Mad Blood Demon with just themselves?
Jang-il bit his teeth hard.
Even if they couldn't face him and win, it seemed somehow possible to extract Wei Yan-ho and escape.
But at that moment, black shadows rose from the collapsed forest and blocked their path.
"Move! You damn bastards!"
Jang-il powerfully unleashed his Strong Dragon Eighteen Palms, but the demon who blocked his path sneered and blocked his palm strike far too easily.
"Kek kek kek, looks like the beggar bastard is quite angry."
"This…"
Into Jang-il's eyes, filled with frustrating helplessness, came the sight of Wei San-ho cutting the demon blocking his path in half with one strike.
"What?"
The demon blocking his path seemed flustered and turned his head even with Jang-il right in front of him.
Wei San-ho charged forward with storm-like momentum and broke through between the Mad Blood Demon and Wei Yan-ho.
"Huff, huff, huff!"
Wei San-ho was keeping the Mad Blood Demon in check with his eyes while sharpening all his bodily senses to check Wei Yan-ho's condition.
'He's not dead.'
Realizing that he was breathing, albeit shallowly, Wei San-ho blocked Wei Yan-ho's front with firm resolve.
It was always like this.
He had lost Wei Yan-ho like this before too, in rain where he could barely see ahead. Wei San-ho had no intention whatsoever of repeating that terrible experience.
"You'll have to kill me first."
The Mad Blood Demon looked at Wei San-ho quietly.
"Is it loyalty?"
"We're brothers."
"Brothers?"
The Mad Blood Demon wore a sneer.
"Brothers, brothers… Who are brothers? You and that fellow? Brothers?"
"…"
Wei San-ho's mind became dizzy.
Was such talk important right now?
Though those words didn't necessarily carry any particular meaning, the Mad Blood Demon acted as if they were the most important thing in the world.
"Block him! Just for a moment!"
"We'll help you right away!"
The shouts of his comrades came from behind.
'I will block him.'
This wasn't the time to be obsessed with whether someone was coming to help or not. He had to protect Wei Yan-ho completely with his own hands. There was no way he could have confidence in blocking the Mad Blood Demon alone. But at least he was determined to drag him down by the ankles.
If his hands were cut off, he would bite with his mouth to protect his younger brother. That was what he had to do as an older brother.
"Older brother…"
The Mad Blood Demon smiled leisurely.
"How touching, this brotherly love. So you're saying that even if you die, you'll protect your younger brother?""That's right."
The Mad Blood Demon nodded quietly.
"Then that's good. To be honest, I'm in a somewhat difficult situation right now. I have something I need to do, but I'm not confident I can finish that task without injury. If I just grab him carelessly, the other bishops and that person will try to tear me apart."
"…What are you talking about?"
"I'm making a proposal."
The Mad Blood Demon smiled like a devil.
"How about you converting to the Demonic Cult in exchange for me sparing your younger brother's life? Wei Yan-ho's older brother, Wei San-ho."
Wei San-ho's pupils shook.