Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 69

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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 69. Manifestation of Madness (4)

“Cough!”

His throat, which had begun to swell red, immediately returned to normal.

Unless bones were broken, it was difficult to wound a body dominated by demonic arts. It was hard to even inflict shock before causing wounds.

“You, you bastard!”

Still, that one blow seemed to have shaken him to the bone.

A hint of reason returned to Hong Jun Ak’s eyes, which had been filled only with madness.

“How dare you to Myeong!”

“You killed him yourself.”

“Uaaaah!”

Crash!

Kicking off the ground with both feet and pushing off with both hands, he generated explosive speed. It looked like a four-legged beast running rather than a human.

Given human body structure, using all limbs wouldn’t make one as fast as a beast, but Hong Jun Ak was different. He was truly as fast as a leaping tiger.

Crack!

The Splitting Rock Palm with explosive speed added.

Moyong Bi’s short staff drew a smooth arc.

Thwack!

Deflecting the palm force, he immediately charged in low and spun his body.

Thud!

A leg technique delivered while tilting his upper body almost prone struck Hong Jun Ak’s face.

There was no scream or groan. His charging force was so strong that despite being hit in the face, he flew in the direction of his charge.

Crack!

Crimson heat haze flowed from Hong Jun Ak’s body as he broke through the wall.

Moyong Bi’s face crumpled.

‘The situation has really gone to shit.’

The Hong Clan Sword Family wouldn’t be filled with only idiots.

They’d be distracted by the fire at Hong In’s Residence, but someone might have heard the sound of the master’s building being destroyed. Unlike before, it wasn’t the internal floor but a wall that had been pierced.

Most critically, Hong Jun Ak’s energy waves had completely transformed into demonic energy. There would definitely be those who could sense that alien aura.

‘Though I did set up safety measures.’

His conversation with Dark Shadow came to mind.

‘There might be those who come rushing out claiming to request support. Deal with them as they appear.’

‘Understood.’

‘Conversely, there might be those who realize something’s wrong and try to enter. Block them as much as possible, but if a master you can’t handle appears, ignore them. No, don’t let your very existence be discovered.’

‘Pardon?’

‘If you’re going to draw it, cut cleanly, and if it’s ambiguous, it’s better not to draw – that’s what a sword is. If you can’t cut, you should at least stab the air. In the worst case, you’ll have to grab me and run away.’

Dark Shadow’s stealth technique was quite useful. Without the Brain Gate Heart Technique, it would have been difficult to detect easily.

‘I was thinking of finishing this quickly before that.’

That’s how life goes.

No matter how much you plan strategies and tactics, they rarely go as intended.

There’s a reason why armchair theories of those who haven’t been in the field are just pipe dreams. Even those who’ve been stabbed hundreds of times in the field are in this state, so how could the plans of scholars work out perfectly?

‘Can’t be helped.’

The situation aside, having lived on battlefields where anything could happen at any time, he had the habit of always conserving his strength and internal energy to the minimum.

However, when it’s time to pour out all your strength, there should be no hesitation.

A faint green heat haze rose from Moyong Bi’s toes.

Boom!

His low stance and straight-line speed were clearly faster than before.

He released the restrictions on his Primordial True Energy and poured out his internal energy without restraint.

This was the first time since entering this body that he used the Moyong Family Estate’s secret transmission, the Flying Bird Steps.

Surprise appeared on Hong Jun Ak’s face, stained with madness.

Whoosh! Crack!

“Urgh!”

Avoiding the powerful single punch, he drove a strike into his thigh.

It was a mysterious movement. It wasn’t simply fast, but the way he naturally curved his body in response to the opponent’s attack was like watching a bird riding the wind.

‘Urrgh!’

His lower back, which had hit rock bottom in flexibility, screamed in protest.

But Moyong Bi didn’t stop. He would have liked to provoke more anger and let him exhaust himself, but he could no longer postpone this.

Spinning gracefully and braking from his charge, Moyong Bi powerfully stepped forward.

Roar!

He struck the ground with his foot, but the sound was reminiscent of a large carnivorous beast’s roar.

The Earthquake Tiger Steps, a footwork technique on par with the Flying Bird Steps.

If his previous charge had been swift and smooth, his current charge was heavy and strong.

Even without being fast, it blocked the opponent’s escape routes with momentum, making it impossible to flee. Meanwhile, it was only heavier than the Bird Steps, not slower.

Whoosh!

Even the madness granted by the demonic arts seemed to be half blown away by the Tiger Steps’ momentum.

Hong Jun Ak desperately thrust out both palms.

It was the secret technique of the Splitting Rock Palm executed instinctively – the Melting Rock Hand.

Whoosh!

Hot palm force targeted his entire body.

The distance was short, and there seemed to be nowhere to dodge.

At that moment, the three-foot short staff danced.

Gripping the end of the handle and using the elasticity of his wrist, it rotated smoothly. The iron staff’s body seemed to bend slightly.

Whoosh!

A reddish light appeared at the end of the staff’s shadow as it rotated to the right.

It was the Crimson Sunset Staff Technique. The destructive force of the Melting Rock Hand was crushed and deflected by the force at the staff’s tip, formed by Primordial True Energy.

Moyong Bi’s left foot extended far forward.

Thud!

His stance lowered as much as his foot extended.

Through diagonal movement, he pulled the staff back and shifted his weight to his left foot, powerfully shooting his right chest forward.

His right arm shot out in a straight line along with his chest.

At its end was the rounded tip of the short staff.

Crack!

“Argh!”

The shoulder struck by the staff collapsed with a vicious sound.

The shoulder blade was broken. Beyond a simple fracture, the cartilage was torn and even the bone head was crushed by the shock of the energy release.

If it had been a spear blade, the entire arm would have been severed.

Hong Jun Ak screamed and swung his left arm.

The fact that he could still attack after such an impact might also be the power of demonic arts.

And Hong Jun Ak’s reckless attack unintentionally broke the rhythm, making it difficult even for Moyong Bi to dodge.

Bang!

Moyong Bi’s hair stretched straight back.

Hong Jun Ak, who had been elated at the thought of landing a blow on his enemy despite the pain.

His face changed to shock in an instant.

“Whew.”

Calm.

His naturally extended left hand was lowered toward the ground, and his right hand holding the staff was calmly extended at a right angle outward.

His chest, which had taken the hit defenseless.

That chest was far too intact. Aside from his clothing being torn and revealing a bit of his chest, there was no change at all.

At most, his skin was just slightly reddened and heated up?

Considering the power of the Burning Field technique, he looked ridiculously unharmed.

“How?!”

Whoosh!

The energy that had enveloped Moyong Bi’s entire body suddenly vanished like smoke.

Hong Jun Ak’s qi sensitivity keenly read that change.

That’s why he couldn’t help but be even more shocked.

“Could it be Energy Manipulation Arts?!”

Originally, Energy Release is fundamentally about amplifying power through internal energy operation and expressing it externally.

Expression means it’s discharged outside the body. The technique of wrapping such energy around the outer skin to remain at desired areas, or the entire body, to offset external impacts is called Energy Manipulation Arts or Energy Armor.

What Moyong Bi had just executed was exactly that.

“That’s impossible!”

It was a skill that even he, who had reached the eighth level of Demon-Slaying Technique, didn’t dare attempt yet.

For a young warrior not even twenty years old to execute Energy Manipulation Arts so naturally, when it’s difficult even for peak masters?

“You, what exactly are you?!”

“Why did you return to your right mind?”

Moyong Bi clicked his tongue and kicked off the ground again.

Crack!

Moyong Bi charged straight in and mercilessly swung his short staff.

Hong Jun Ak felt his mind grow dizzy for a moment.

Shadows of the short staff filled all directions. He couldn’t tell what was real and what was fake.

If it were before, he might have been able to dodge, but now he couldn’t. The energy that had shattered his shoulder blade and penetrated was remaining in his upper body, interfering with his internal power flow.

Thwack thwack thwack thwack!

He tried to block with just his left arm, but he couldn’t block all those short staff strikes.

“Kraaaah!”

His whole body hurt.

Even his left arm that blocked hurt. He had tried to deflect by filling it with internal power, but somehow the opponent had grasped the weak points of Energy Release and cleverly struck vulnerable areas to scatter the energy itself.

Moyong Bi’s eyes flashed.

Hong Jun Ak was trembling. His body, still glowing red-hot, was still emanating demonic energy, but being flustered, he made many wasted movements.

And in that moment.

Finally, an opening appeared in the center of Hong Jun Ak’s chest.

Whoosh!

Moyong Bi’s body approached like a single streak of shadow.

Unlike Gold Step and Tiger Step, this was a surprise footwork specialized for stealthy attacks.

It was Hidden Forest Leopard Step.

Thud!

Hong Jun Ak’s body, struck in the center of his chest, flew backward.

Crash!

His body, which had pierced through another building wall, rolled on the floor mixed with debris.

Hong Jun Ak’s two legs, hanging over the pierced wall, trembled violently.

The match was decided.

“Whew.”

Moyong Bi, who exhaled his remaining breath, frowned.

‘Damn, it does hurt though.’

Even with Energy Manipulation Arts, there was still impact. It was natural with this level of internal energy and body.

‘There’s no time. First I’ll finish off that bastard and then…’

That’s when it happened.

Hiss.

Intense sharp energy was felt from the entrance leading into the Family Head’s Office.

An aura he had missed while concentrating on battle. It was already less than ten zhang away from the entrance.

“What a fucking abundant year of troubles.”

Of course I’d get caught. When has my life ever gone according to plan?

Thump!

Moyong Bi kicked off the ground. He planned to kill Hong Jun Ak as quickly as possible and flee.

The unexpected change happened in an instant.

Whooom!

Before he could even take three steps after kicking off the ground, he felt hot demonic energy suddenly interfere.

Moyong Bi quickly twisted his body to the right.

Swoosh! Bang! Crack!

A tree quite far away exploded and broke in half from the middle from a palm force that suddenly flew over.

Moyong Bi’s eyes flashed.

‘Air-Splitting Palm.’

It was an energy manipulation art referring to so-called fist wind and palm wind.

The palm force that Hong Jun Ak had emitted earlier also contained the principles of Air-Splitting Palm, but the level wasn’t high, so its power was halved after just one zhang.

But now it was different. The energy released from the palm center maintained consistent power all the way to the impact point.

It was a perfected Air-Splitting Palm.

“Grrrr.”

Thud thud.

Hong Jun Ak rose, scattering debris, and ominous red demonic energy rose from his body.

That writhing demonic energy looked like watching dozens of writhing snakes.

“Uaaaaaaah!!”

Hong Jun Ak’s scream was no longer human.

Moyong Bi’s face crumpled.

“What the hell did that bastard learn?”

His level definitely wasn’t high. Wasn’t it a half-baked demonic art in the midst of it all?

With the acupoint at his solar plexus shattered by the final blow, he shouldn’t have been able to get up normally no matter what demonic art he had learned.

‘This is at least intermediate level red class or higher.’

Hong Jun Ak charged toward Moyong Bi.

Madness mixed with demonic energy. He was a demon who had fallen into qi deviation itself.

Moyong Bi nimbly stamped his feet.

Thwack!

Moyong Bi, who had passed by Hong Jun Ak like a breeze, glanced back.

‘As expected, that level won’t work?’

He had mercilessly landed a strike on his side while passing through with Flying Gold Step, but after staggering briefly, he turned his body again.

This is why you shouldn’t associate with bastards who’ve learned demonic arts.

‘There’s no choice.’

He could squeeze out all his strength to kill the guy. The problem was what came after.

‘Escape would become difficult, right? Then there’s a method.’

Crack!

Moyong Bi ran toward the wall-side gate.

It was the direction where Dark Shadow was hiding.

“Kraaah!”

Like a beast chasing prey, Hong Jun Ak pursued Moyong Bi.

And.

“Family Head!”

Bang!

Urgency appeared on the faces of Lee Jong Baek and dozens of swordsmen who entered by breaking down the gate.

“What’s happen… Gasp!”

“Your family head is here!”

Moyong Bi kicked off the ground and leaped up.

At that moment, Hong Jun Ak’s face, having almost caught up to him, came into Lee Jong Baek’s view.

“Kraaaah!”

“B-block it!”

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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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