Almighty God of War - Chapter 38

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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038

After a moment, sword light and blade light soared to the heavens near the summit of Saam Peak, and ear-splitting metallic clashing sounds and desperate screams began to erupt.

Clang clang clang clang clang-!

Thud thud thud thud thud!

“Aaaah!”

“Kek!”

“How dare you!”

A full-scale battle had broken out.

Greed for treasure had finally paralyzed reason, and it was progressing into a blood catastrophe where they aimed for each other’s lives.

Though it was expected, Heo Choryeong’s face hardened at the terrible screams that continued to echo.

“Haah… Human lives shouldn’t be lost so futilely like that…”

Guyang Cheongang, who guessed her feelings, spoke.

“Elder Sister, that’s a tragedy brought on by greed for Divine Weapon Aura. We have no room to intervene, and they wouldn’t want us to either. We must wait.”

A bitter tone could be felt in his voice as well.

Even though he had adapted considerably, he was someone who had received decades of 21st Century human rights education and lived in an environment where even simple assault resulted in legal punishment.

It couldn’t be easy to become accustomed to murderous combat and death.

Had a moment passed?

The fierce sounds of battle paused briefly, then a thunderous old voice filled with Internal Energy burst out from the summit.

“Eight Direction Divine Sword is running away with the treasure!”

“Catch him!”

“We absolutely cannot let him escape!”

Using that cry as a signal, shouts like howls erupted from all directions as hundreds of martial heroes could be seen running frantically to the opposite side of the peak all at once.

Only when the martial heroes disappeared beyond the peak and the surroundings became quiet again did Guyang Cheongang speak to Heo Choryeong.

“Elder Sister, let’s go up now.”

Guyang Cheongang deployed the Heavenly Meteor Movement Technique, and Heo Choryeong deployed her family’s Flying Swallow Divine Technique as they quickly climbed the peak.

The sight at the summit was truly a hellscape.

Forty to fifty corpses with severed limbs or crushed heads were scattered about miserably, and the fishy smell of blood vibrated from pools of blood gathered here and there.

The shouts and screams that had echoed until just moments ago were nowhere to be found, with only the bleak sound of wind swirling about.

At that terrible sight, Heo Choryeong unconsciously swallowed and her face turned pale.

But Guyang Cheongang was different.

He walked calmly among the gruesome corpses, scanning the surroundings thoroughly with sharp eyes as if trying to find some clue.

Of course, Akasha’s help played a large role in his ability to maintain composure.

[Doctor, I’ve discovered four corpses that died unusually.]

Akasha’s voice rang in his mind.

[One young man and three middle-aged men who seem to have been guarding him. Only traces of very minute mountain poison are found on these corpses. It’s not visible on the other corpses right next to them.]

Guyang Cheongang frowned.

‘In this chaos, they targeted and killed only these four people?’

His gaze turned to the nape of one of the corpses.

Too minute to call a wound, only a thin line of blood like a red thread remained.

[All four people have the same cause of death. The nerve center connecting the cervical vertebrae and brain was severed in one stroke by something sharp. It would have been instant death.]

Akasha’s words continued.

[The perpetrator is one person, and with this level of skill, there’s a 99.8% possibility they’re a professional assassin extremely skilled in assassination.]

‘Someone used this chaos to eliminate enemies, it seems. That’s no ordinary skill. Though it’s interesting, what’s more important to me right now is the Ten Thousand Year Cold Jade. If I get carelessly entangled in strange incidents without knowing the circumstances, it will only distance me from my goal. Let me focus on my task for now.’

There was no reason to dig into secrets involving the deaths of complete strangers.

He didn’t have the time to spare either.

‘Akasha, find me a door leading underground in this peak. The Resonance feels strongest here.’

[Understood. I’ll begin the Ground Penetrating Scan.]

A few seconds later,

[I found it, Doctor. At the rear of the peak, inside a gap between giant rocks, a cavity is detected. The entrance is blocked by thick rock.]

The place Akasha mentioned was a narrow rock crevice that only two or three people could barely enter.

And inside it, a single massive rock completely blocked the path.

Heo Choryeong spoke with a bewildered expression.

“There’s an entrance behind this? But how do we move this?”

The rock blocking the entrance was a boulder that looked to weigh at least five thousand geun.

Guyang Cheongang examined the area around the rock thoroughly.

His eyes spotted grooves cleverly hidden between the boulder and wall, and small gaps that could utilize the principle of leverage.

“Elder Sister, please concentrate your Internal Energy on this spot I’m pointing to. Not force, but gather your energy to one point and push steadily.”

The two drew up their Twelve Star Internal Energy and pushed the rock.

Grrrrrrrr-

With a heavy rumbling sound, the massive boulder began to slide aside very slowly.

Only after struggling for nearly half an hour could they barely secure a passage for people to enter and exit.

Behind the entrance was a vertical cave that opened downward with no visible end – a Bottomless Cave.

Seeing it, a troubled expression appeared on Guyang Cheongang’s face.

‘Damn, I can’t close the door. It’s only a matter of time before someone notices we entered here. I need to hurry.’

When they descended about fifty zhang while gripping the walls like rock climbing, the bottom appeared.

It was a Stone Chamber about two zhang high and five zhang wide.

Luminous Stones embedded here and there in the walls made it not difficult to distinguish objects.

Even a three-year-old child could tell at a glance that human hands had touched this place.

Something entered the eyes of Guyang Cheongang and Heo Choryeong, who arrived at the bottom drenched in sweat.

In a corner of the Stone Chamber, they saw a skeleton sitting dead while leaning against the wall.

Beside him, wearing old clothes with only bones remaining, two dust-covered Jade Boxes were placed.

Guyang Cheongang intuitively realized that skeleton was the legendary Gangho great thief Ghost Hand Divine Thief.

Without hesitation, he picked up the Jade Boxes and opened the lids in turn.

Inside were a lump of Ten Thousand Year Cold Jade and Books and an Iron Plaque of unknown purpose.

[Doctor, someone is approaching rapidly from above!]

Akasha struck his mind.

Startled, Guyang Cheongang closed the lids of the Jade Boxes and shouted to Heo Choryeong.

“Elder Sister, someone is coming down!”

Before his words even finished, a shadow silently dropped down from above.

He was a Masked Man with a slender build.

Though masked, his lively eyes and solid physique made it not difficult to guess that his age wasn’t great.

He looked over the skeleton, the two Jade Boxes, and Guyang Cheongang and Heo Choryeong who showed wariness in turn, then soon burst into incredulous laughter.

“Kahahaha!”

Dust fell from the ceiling at the laughter filled with extraordinary Internal Energy.

He stopped laughing abruptly as if it were a lie and continued speaking in a murderous tone.

“I prepared this massive stage of death for my foolish Elder Martial Brother, but to think strange mice came first and took the ownerless offerings! I don’t know what’s inside those Jade Boxes, but from now on they’re mine. Hand them over nicely, youngster. Then I’ll kill you nicely.”

Angered by his incredibly arrogant attitude, Heo Choryeong drew her sword first.

Clang!

Guyang Cheongang also silently clenched his fists.

It was a clear refusal.

“Foolish things.”

The Masked Man sneered at their angry gazes and took one large step forward.

It was just an ordinary step, but it created the illusion that the distance between him and the two was instantly halved.

He slowly extended his right hand.

Whooooooooo-!

An invisible energy wave that burst from his palm pressed down on the surrounding air and rang heavily.

Seeing that force, Guyang Cheongang’s complexion hardened.

‘This is….’

He clearly remembered the aura of absolute masters that Heo Ilbi and Jin Mun had displayed when they fought a few days ago.

But the pressure emanating from the masked man before his eyes far exceeded that of those two.

What was contained within the palm force went beyond simply being strong—it was a destructive energy that seemed intent on crushing and devouring everything.

[Doctor. The opponent’s energy output is measured at more than 1.5 times higher than Manor Lord Heo Ilbi’s maximum. With your current full power and Miss Heo Choryeong’s, it’s absolutely impossible to block.]

Akasha’s cold analysis drove the final nail into his judgment.

Before he could even move, Heo Choryeong, who had steeled herself to protect him, reacted first.

Her body movement shot forward like a swallow, and sharp flashes extended in over ten streaks from her sword tip.

Like a swallow soaring through a storm, it was a brilliant yet deadly technique of the Flying Swallow Sword Technique.

However, the masked man didn’t even flinch upon seeing that fierce sword momentum.

He simply waved the palm he had extended forward lightly, as if shooing away a bothersome flying insect.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Heo Choryeong’s sharp sword shadows struck an invisible wall of palm force and scattered futilely.

Shock filled her eyes.

That was the exact moment.

Guyang Cheongang, using Flash Step, penetrated toward the masked man’s flank at terrifying speed.

His hand extended sharp as a bird of prey’s talons, going for the masked man’s joints.

It was the Dragon Subduing Golden Binding Technique, one of Divine Physician Hwata’s Three Great Joint Techniques.

However, the masked man, as if mocking him, deflected his touch with only the minimal movement of slightly twisting his shoulder.

Guyang Cheongang’s hand grasped at empty air for a split second.

Whoooosh—!

The next moment, tremendous palm force that seemed capable of toppling mountains poured out like a storm from the masked man’s palm.

Stone dust from the chamber floor, pushed by the inescapable pressure that seemed to crush space itself, scattered in concentric circles around Guyang Cheongang and Heo Choryeong.

Thud!

“Urgh!”

“Kuk!”

Guyang Cheongang and Heo Choryeong were pushed back simultaneously, groaning as if they had collided head-on with a massive wall.

The crushing pressure made it impossible to even breathe properly, as if their bones would be ground to dust.

Just three seconds.

In that brief time of a single blink, the two stood at the crossroads of life and death, realizing the overwhelming difference in skill.

Right then, Akasha’s urgent voice rang in Guyang Cheongang’s mind.

[Doctor, I’ve discovered another passage in the rear wall! There’s a groove carved in the wall surface, and the pattern matches the design of that iron plaque from inside the jade box. There’s a high possibility it’s a key.]

‘Damn, there’s no time!’

Guyang Cheongang instinctively knew he couldn’t avoid the masked man’s next attack.

He instantly decided on an extremely dangerous gamble.

‘Akasha, from now on concentrate all available internal energy into my right hand. Condense the nanobot defense shield as much as possible in my palm!’

His following thought was nothing short of madness.

‘I’ll receive that bastard’s palm force while simultaneously using the rebound force to escape through the door in the rear wall!’

[Success probability is less than 17%. Considering the opponent’s internal energy level, there’s a high chance your arm will shatter first!]

Akasha’s urgent warning rang through his mind, but he was already moving his body.

Instead of dodging, he extended his right hand straight toward the masked man.

Nanobots condensed in his palm, and an iridescent light swirled around his skin, which had transformed like a silver gauntlet.

Crash!

With a terrible impact that seemed to tear flesh and make bones ring, his body was flung backward.

Though the nanobots absorbed and deflected most of the shock, the remaining aftershock alone was enough to twist his internal organs, causing blood to burst from his mouth and nose.

By the time the masked man realized his intention, it was already too late.

Guyang Cheongang was using the rebound of the palm force in reverse, catching Heo Choryeong’s waist in midair and flying toward the stone wall where the secret door was located.

In a split second, he pulled out the iron plaque and fitted it precisely into the groove in the stone wall.

Creak—!

The stone wall opened inward, revealing a pitch-black space.

Guyang Cheongang leaped into that darkness while holding Heo Choryeong.

As soon as the door accepted them, it immediately closed again with a heavy sound.

“How dare you pull such tricks!”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The enraged masked man launched palm force repeatedly, but the door didn’t budge at all.

The cloud of stone dust shattered by the palm force cleared.

The masked man’s face contorted upon seeing the surface of the revealed stone wall.

There stood a black cold iron door of unimaginable thickness.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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