Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 68
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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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Chapter 68. Madness Manifestation (3)
‘Whew.’
Dark Shadow’s face, smeared with soot, looked even more devoid of presence.
‘It burns well.’
Crackle crackle.
Watching the pavilion blazing fiercely, it looked like some ancient tribe offering sacrifices to the heavens.
“Can we get inside?!”
“Three Blue Sword members went in and were severely injured!”
“We can’t break it down! If we make a wrong move, the entire building might collapse!”
“Then, then is Second Young Master still on the third floor?”
Despite countless people bringing water to pour on it, the fire wouldn’t be extinguished.
‘It won’t be easy to put out.’
In fact, from their perspective, the biggest reason to extinguish the fire had disappeared.
Hong In’s death.
Of course, they didn’t know that.
‘Better than burning alive, I suppose.’
Somehow, his mood was strange.
Though it was because of his contract with the Ten Swords Sect Leader, he had lived thinking he might have to fight the Hong Sword Family someday.
But when he was actually part of the Ten Swords Gate, he had never clashed with them, yet as soon as he became Moyong Bi’s servant, he had assassinated the Sword Family’s Second Young Master.
‘Really…’
You never know what life will bring.
That’s when it happened.
Whoosh!
A very subtle and sinister energy that the frantic Sword Family members couldn’t sense was caught by Dark Shadow’s qi sensitivity.
Dark Shadow turned his head.
‘Family Head’s residence.’
An energy wave felt from the top of the three-story building. Young Master had properly infiltrated.
His conversation with Young Master came to mind.
‘Approach from the rear outpost is impossible. Fortunately, there are no guards watching except at the front and rear.’
‘The path around through the left and right forests is quite difficult too. They must be confident.’
‘Still, there’s a risk of being discovered if you don’t use stealth techniques.’
‘I’ll just punch a hole and get in. Don’t worry about that, you go straight and cut off that bastard’s head and set a proper fire. I’ll charge in as soon as I get the signal.’
‘Will you be alright?’
‘The infiltration itself isn’t difficult. The problem is a quick decisive battle. That’s why, just in case, there’s something you need to do.’
He had killed Hong In and set the entire pavilion ablaze. Young Master had also infiltrated the Family Head’s Office, apparently knocked down all the guards, and was now confronting Hong Jun Ak.
One task remained.
Swish.
Dark Shadow, having stolen a sword, hid in a tree near the entrance to the Family Head’s Office.
* * *
The Hong Sword Family’s Family Head’s Office was sufficiently spacious.
But it could never be called spacious for masters to fight. This was a place for conducting business, not a space built for combat.
This was why the two men’s movements were getting faster and faster.
Whoosh! Crash!
Hong Jun Ak’s martial arts were quite impressive.
Every time the palm force he shot at Moyong Bi struck empty air, he immediately replenished his strength and moved into the next technique, with qi cultivation as refined as his palm techniques.
His footwork, curving smoothly like a snake, had no blind spots, and the mystical nature of his palm techniques that changed the nature of force according to the situation was worthy of being called first-rate.
However.
Bang!
It was blocked.
He had planned to pressure his opponent with the Red Snake Footwork, then unleash the Burning Stone Palm at the right moment to kill with one strike, but each time his attacks were blocked.
And what blocked those attacks were an iron short staff and an ordinary iron sword.
‘This can’t be.’
He didn’t know how many exchanges had already passed.
He had attacked dozens of times while moving throughout the entire Family Head’s Office. Yet he hadn’t landed a single effective hit.
‘Why on earth?!’
Whoosh!
The moment his opponent’s center seemed to collapse, he used the Red Snake Footwork to immediately close the distance and struck out with the Burning Stone Palm.
His target was Moyong Bi’s chest, but…
Crack! Thud!
A single sword strike delivered while tilted split the Burning Stone Palm diagonally. The split palm force struck the floor and walls, delivering a strong impact.
‘This is impossible.’
Disbelief appeared on Hong Jun Ak’s face.
‘For such a simple single sword strike to split the Burning Stone Palm, what is this…!’
The Burning Stone Palm infused with the internal energy of Red Snake Qi Cultivation could shatter rocks.
Naturally, the density of the energy had to be high. Right now, Moyong Bi had done something equivalent to cutting through a flying chunk of metal with a single thin iron sword.
‘How!’
He unleashed the Burning Stone Palm once more.
Clang!
This time, he thrust out the short staff like a spear and crushed the palm force itself.
Whether from the shock, Moyong Bi’s upper body also swayed quite dramatically.
But there were no signs of internal injury at all. Rather, it seemed like he was deliberately swaying his body to mock him.
‘This!’
What kind of martial art was Red Snake Qi Cultivation?
It was a supreme technique of the ages that he secretly believed could compete with even the martial arts of the Nine Great Sects. The reason he harbored ambitions to rival the Wudang Sect and Zhuge Family, knowing it was impossible, lay precisely in this Red Snake Qi Cultivation.
And he was blocking it so easily?
“Getting heated up.”
Moyong Bi’s body, swaying both arms, looked like watching seaweed in the ocean.
“At this level, your head should be well-cooked too. It won’t taste bad when sliced.”
“You bastard!”
Already heated with anger, being mocked on top of it made his eyes roll with fury.
Hong Jun Ak, about to attack once more, gritted his teeth.
‘This is just wasting energy.’
The bastard had deflected and cut through all his attacks without properly using energy release even once.
He didn’t know how such a thing was possible, but continuing to just press the attack was meaningless.
“Myeong!”
“Yes!”
Hong Myeong had been watching the two men’s fight from the corner.
Even if he wanted to help, he couldn’t. Recklessly interfering would only hinder his father’s movements.
“Go and bring all of the Red Sword Corps! This bastard must be caught here!”
“Understood!”
The reason he hadn’t sent for reinforcements until now was because of his father’s pride. He had confidence too.
But now that the order was given, he had to move.
The moment Hong Myeong took a step, Moyong Bi’s stance lowered.
Thud!
Hong Jun Ak, predicting Moyong Bi’s movement, rushed to block the path and swung his left palm like a claw.
Whoosh!
His hand sliced through empty air. It was because Moyong Bi had immediately retreated backward.
Not missing that moment, Hong Myeong ran toward the door. Hong Jun Ak also ran alongside him, covering Hong Myeong.
Moyong Bi didn’t move from his spot.
Bang!
Hong Myeong roughly broke through the door and went out.
A cruel smile appeared on Hong Jun Ak’s face.
“That was martial arts worthy of confidence. But you must pay the price for arrogance, right?”
Moyong Bi glanced toward the window.
“Did he really need to break open the door to get out?”
“What?”
“Couldn’t he just jump out the window?”
Of course that was true, but the third-floor pavilion was quite high. Unless one was a peak master, it wasn’t a height one could comfortably jump down from.
Even if he could get down safely, the very thought of jumping down wasn’t something one could easily consider.
“Stop talking nonsense and obediently get on your knees!”
“Those with poor imagination tend to get caught off guard.”
“What did you say?”
Moyong Bi suddenly raised his short staff.
Hong Jun Ak flinched.
Just when he thought that bastard was finally going to attack first.
Crash!
The energy release that spread out magnificently completely shattered the floor.
“Wh-what?!”
Crack!
Moyong Bi, who had broken through the third floor and gone down, immediately pierced through the second floor as well and reached the first floor.
It was something that happened in truly an instant.
Urgency arose on Hong Jun Ak’s face as he stared blankly at that sight.
“N-no!”
Thud! Crack!
“Aaaaah!”
Along with brutal striking sounds, Hong Myeong’s scream echoed out.
Hong Jun Ak, who quickly went down through the hole, saw Hong Myeong.
Hong Myeong was trembling while embedded in the wall, his left collarbone completely shattered.
Thunk!
An iron sword thrown at just the right moment pierced Hong Myeong’s thigh.
At the same time, Moyong Bi ran toward Hong Myeong.
“Stop…!”
Crack!
Hong Myeong, who took a knee to the face, hit the back of his head against the wall.
He didn’t even have time to unleash his Red Snake Art. Left collarbone fracture, right thigh penetrating wound, face crushed, and on top of that, the back of his head slammed into the wall.
It was such severe injuries that it would be strange if he didn’t die immediately.
Even if he somehow recovered, would it be possible for him to make a comeback as a warrior?
Hong Jun Ak’s eyes became bloodshot.
“You bastaaaard!”
The thread of reason snapped.
The surging anger instantly turned his vision white. Emotions he hadn’t even known he possessed were changing even the color of his internal power.
Anger and madness that flared up in an instant.
Hong Jun Ak screamed and swung both palms.
Crash!
An explosive sound of a completely different dimension rang out.
The density of the energy had risen so much that even the speed seemed to slow down.
Moyong Bi grabbed Hong Myeong by the collar and pulled him.
Boom!
Blood splattered in all directions.
The expression of Hong Jun Ak, who had been growling with bared teeth, completely changed.
“Myeong?”
Hong Myeong’s back was covered in blood.
A body that had taken the Splitting Mountain Palm head-on – even with internal energy, there was no way he could withstand that impact.
Hong Myeong, whose spine was crushed, coughed up bloody foam and then went completely limp.
“Even if it’s only half, a demonic art is still a demonic art. No, rather, it’s more dangerous because it’s only half.”
Moyong Bi’s cold gaze was revealed next to Hong Myeong’s broken face.
“At some point, you can’t even realize that you’ve become strange.”
Moyong Bi’s voice didn’t reach Hong Jun Ak’s ears.
His son was dead.
And not by someone else’s hand, but by his own.
‘Th-this is…’
Even if he died, he had wanted to save his son at all costs. If he died, only his own life would end, but if his son died, it would mean the history of the Hong Clan Sword Family would disappear as well.
His beloved child and the family’s one and only successor.
How much effort had he put into secretly teaching him martial arts.
“Uaaaah!”
Whoosh!
The energy wave that burst forth became dense.
Surprisingly, the energy wave had become twice as powerful as before.
‘As expected.’
Moyong Bi’s face became serious.
‘It was a Red Type.’
Demonic arts also had classifications.
Basically, demonic arts touched upon human nature itself. Even good people could become more angry or cruel after learning demonic arts, or they might suddenly become lethargic.
Among them, demonic arts classified as Red Type referred to the lineage that used heart fire to multiply power.
It was the most common type among demonic arts, and some would take spiritual medicines rich in yin energy to control the fire energy, or use bedroom arts to extract and consume women’s yin energy.
“Fucking idiot.”
Like other types, but especially demonic arts classified as Red Type, if one wasn’t well-versed in demonic studies, they would eventually lose their reason and become demons who only knew slaughter and debauchery.
It was ridiculous to think he had been pleased with learning such demonic arts.
‘Thanks to that, has it become much easier?’
His level had risen considerably, but it was difficult to keep up with Hong Jun Ak’s movements. The reason he had continued to receive attacks and only aimed for openings was there.
But now it was different.
He had become a monster who only knew attack. His power had grown stronger, but his openings had become much larger than before.
He hadn’t planned to use Hong Myeong as well, but anyway, he had erased the man’s reason.
The entire battle up to now had been preliminary work for a quick decisive battle.
“Come at me slowly now.”
“Graaaah!”
Hong Jun Ak, who let out a bestial cry, charged roughly and swung his fist.
Crash!
Cracks spread throughout the ground beyond the pierced wall.
It was tremendous power. The Red Snake Art, no, the Red Snake Demonic Art was displaying its true power.
Moyong Bi’s foot curved up like a snake.
Crack!
Hong Jun Ak, who was hit in the jaw, whipped his head around and glared at Moyong Bi.
His eyes, which had gone beyond bloodshot to become completely red, were truly menacing.
Whoosh!
Not like a snake, but like a tiger.
Hong Jun Ak charged forward in a low stance and swung both arms mercilessly.
Clang clang clang clang clang!
A single short staff deflected all of those swift attacks.
The attacks of a monster that had lost its reason were always monotonous. Even if he couldn’t match the speed, predicting the attacks was easy.
Moyong Bi, who had been receiving Hong Jun Ak’s attacks with an expressionless face, suddenly flashed with intense light in his eyes.
Whoosh!
Moyong Bi dodged the fist and moved inside, then swung his short staff upward.
His target was Hong Jun Ak’s neck.
Thwack!
“Gack!”
Hong Jun Ak, struck hard in the neck, flew backward.
Moyong Bi grinned wickedly.
“You’re tougher than you are greedy.”
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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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