WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 346: Revenge (2)
──────
“Unit Commander Jin, did you predict this too?”
No, not at all.
On a battlefield, I prepared for countless hypothetical situations, but that did not mean I expected them to happen.
No, more precisely, I hoped they never would.
“It’s not certain yet.”
I prayed inwardly again and again that it was not.
If that really was a divine spirit, we were truly fucked.
“...It isn’t, right?”
I asked Yang Japyeong, who had stepped up beside me, with all the desperation I could muster.
“...”
His tightly sealed lips showed no sign of opening.
“Great Hero Yang...?”
Why were his eyes shaking so violently?
“Goddammit...”
“It is the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear.”
My curse seemed to snap Yang Japyeong out of it, and he delivered the final confirmation.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear.
I did not know what the other divine spirits looked like, but compared with the Sunfire Monkey, the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear did not look particularly unusual.
Except for one thing.
“It’s huge...”
It was monstrously huge.
While crouched, it was the size of a house.
But when it stood up...
“Fuck...”
I had to crane my neck farther and farther back.
It stood well over twenty feet tall.
Its body was so thick that I could not even imagine how much it had to eat each day to sustain that size. Black claws the size of medium swords gleamed strangely at the ends of its paws. Unlike human eyes, its eyes had no whites, and a faint murderous glow seeped from them.
I could understand why demonic beasts that shed their skin, such as giant serpents and snakes, grew so large. But it was difficult to believe that a mere bear, one that did not even shed its hide, could possess such an enormous body.
Beside me, I heard Ilgak muttering to himself in awe.
“Truly... one of nature’s mysteries.”
Was this really the time to admire it?
‘Something’s strange.’
Yang Japyeong had said that divine spirits were beings one would struggle to find even after wandering Mukrim for an entire lifetime.
There was a reason they were called divine spirits.
Yet the Sunfire Monkey had appeared, and now the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear had shown itself too...
‘It has to be connected to the Demonic Cult somehow.’
The Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear stood before us, radiating hostility, at a time when the Demonic Cult occupied Mukrim.
Could that really be a coincidence?
I could not believe I was this unlucky. Fuck, seriously.
“W-What are we going to do?”
Nam Hwaseong trembled as he stared at the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear without being able to look away.
“What else? We follow the plan.”
“...”
Nam Hwaseong’s face turned the color of shit. Of course, he was one of the people assigned to this plan.
“Great Hero Yang, please lead the way.”
“...Please be careful.”
At my gesture, the procession began moving again.
The original plan was for the designated people to strike first the moment we encountered a divine spirit, lure it as far from the group as possible, and draw it away.
“...”
But its massive body and the aura it gave off made it impossible to believe a preemptive strike would solve anything.
It was fear unrelated to internal energy or the level of one’s martial arts. The fear of prey that overwhelmed reason.
Kwaroooooar!
Its tremendous roar thundered through the entire forest.
Those who had been moving carefully froze without realizing it, then barely began walking again after receiving signals from behind them.
“Get ready.”
“B-But everyone hasn’t gathered yet...”
“We need to draw it away from here first. How long are we supposed to wait?”
The objective was simply to separate the divine spirit from the main force.
This was not a situation where we could hunt it at our leisure. More than half our people were injured, so trying to kill a divine spirit was absurd.
Still, could we really force that heavy-looking bastard back?
What choice did we have? We had to.
“We’ll drive it back as far as possible with our first strike.”
“...”
Without anyone saying anything else, I could feel them gathering their internal energy.
White vapor rose from Ilgak’s shoulders as he pressed his palms together.
Everyone knew it.
The moment that giant body began rampaging, we would suffer enormous additional losses.
“Hah... This is insane...”
Dang Gihan and Moyong Jaehwa, who joined us late, could not close their mouths when they saw the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear.
“B-Brother, how are we supposed to fight that?”
I did not know either.
I had never fought a bear like that before.
#
What was the decisive difference between a divine spirit and an ordinary spirit creature?
Based on my experience, which consisted of only one encounter, the greatest difference was intelligence.
The sample size was too small to publish any findings, but this alone was enough proof.
Why else would that bear be looking between the front and rear of our procession, measuring our formation?
“It’s coming...”
“What? Not yet...”
“Get ready!”
Some of them seemed to hope the bear might simply watch us and pass by.
But I would say it again. We could not treat that thing as a stupid animal.
The Sunfire Monkey had manipulated a natural formation as it pleased, and it could even speak.
Kwaroooooar!
Sure enough, the moment it spotted the Sixth Unit, where the injured had gathered, the bear charged.
“Give it everything!”
Rumble.
I unleashed the Mad Heaven Divine Palm gathered in my hands.
Kwagagagagwang!
Nam Hwaseong’s Antler Iron-Cloud Palm added its power, followed by the Great Strength Vajra Palm, one of Shaolin Sect’s supreme arts.
Papapapapapang!
That was not the end.
As the battle began in earnest, every member selected for the Special Operations Unit unleashed their own martial arts.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Kwakwabang!
Because its body was so huge, aiming was less of a concern.
We could just throw our attacks and trust that they would hit somewhere.
Tremendous power swept through the area, enough to carve away an entire section of forest.
“Run!”
The instant the signal sounded, the Academy students who had been passing through carefully began running like mad.
If they got swept up in this battle, there would truly be no answer.
Pupupupupupupupung!
The Three Yang Divine Palm struck in succession, its green force following one wave after another, while Moyong Jaehwa fired the Heaven-and-Earth Water Palm from both hands.
The aftermath of the explosions was so powerful that some of those running past vomited blood as they fled.
The Special Operations Unit could not spare them any attention as they watched the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear.
Broken trees and mounds of dirt filled the area, leaving the air thick with dust.
With our view obscured, we could not clearly see the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear’s condition.
“D-Did it die?”
At Nam Hwaseong’s unlucky words, the massive body of the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear emerged clearly through the haze.
“Goddammit...”
Someone in the Special Operations Unit cursed as the furious Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear let out a thunderous roar.
Kwaroooooar!
As the dust settled, countless small wounds covered the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear’s hide, but none of the Special Operations Unit members celebrated.
Not a single injury looked serious.
Even so, I clung to a little hope.
It did not appear to possess a special ability like the Sunfire Monkey.
Then again, unlike fire, it could not exactly spit out earth or something...
Fuck. It was not really going to spit it out, was it?
Kwoooooar!
Had its injuries only made it angrier?
The Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear suddenly raised a paw.
‘It’s too far away...’
Even with its enormous body, the distance between the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear and the Special Operations Unit was too great for a single arm’s reach.
Then...
Thud.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear struck the ground.
Thud. Thud.
The instant I wondered whether it was merely threatening us...
“What the hell?!”
The ground began to undulate and heave like waves.
The overwhelming tremor nearly stunned me.
The earth rolled like a river in a storm, passed through the Special Operations Unit, reached the procession, and exploded.
Boom!
Mounds of dirt became waves and swallowed the Academy students whole.
“Argh!”
“W-What is this?!”
“Urk...!”
The procession descended into chaos in an instant, and the Academy students desperately dug out those buried beneath the dirt.
Kwaroooooar!
Meanwhile, the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear, roaring as though it were celebrating its victory, began to change.
“B-Brother... Its wounds...”
The injuries we had at least managed to inflict...
“...”
...began slowly healing.
What the fuck was this?
#
Kwaroooooar!
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
With its wounds healed, the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear began charging at us.
“Stop it!”
Golden energy shimmered around Ilgak’s entire body as he raised the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art.
Right. With defensive energy like that, even the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear’s claws should...
At that moment.
“Hah...”
I was dumbfounded as Ilgak sprang from the ground and met the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear’s eyes.
Why were you jumping that high? What were you planning to do?
Smack!
Bang!
The bear swung its forepaw at Ilgak’s golden figure, sending him flying like an arrow.
“T-That useless...”
He had used the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art, so he should not have suffered a serious injury.
I shouted at Nam Hwaseong.
“Don’t forget that thing’s three times our size!”
“Who are you calling an idiot?!”
The bald monk was an even bigger idiot than Nam Hwaseong.
Nam Hwaseong wrapped himself in defensive energy and clung tightly to the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear’s foot.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear tried to shake off Nam Hwaseong, who clung to its foot like an annoyance, but Nam Hwaseong did not budge.
“Do not underestimate the Samwon Sect’s Thousand-Catty Drop, you oversized bear... Aaargh!”
After trying several times to shake him loose, the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear slammed its foot into the ground when Nam Hwaseong would not come off.
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
After pounding the ground repeatedly with that enormous body...
Boom.
A huge crater formed in the hard dirt, leaving only Nam Hwaseong inside after he was finally thrown free.
Kwaroooooar!
Having dealt with Nam Hwaseong, the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear attacked the Academy students trying to crawl out of the dirt.
“Aaargh!”
“Urk!”
Each time it swung a paw or took a step, another corpse was added.
They used brilliant sword forms and swung sword qi at it, but they only left small scratches. The Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear did not budge.
Tatadatadatak.
I charged at the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear at full speed and kicked off the ground with all my strength.
The instant I reached a height of one jang above its head...
I used sword force and the Thousand-Catty Drop, driving straight down at its head.
Bububuk.
Sword force could slice through anything, yet I heard it forcibly tearing through flesh.
It would have been nice if I had struck true, but I only heard flesh being cut, not bone.
‘It dodged that?’
The Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear had twisted its head away at the last instant.
As a result, the Scarlet Radiance Sword only stabbed deeply into its shoulder.
Kwaroooooar!
It thrashed wildly in pain.
At the same time, it reached out with its other clawed paw. I quickly pulled out my sword and leaped high again.
Its sharp claws swept just below my feet by a hair.
Its defense was absurdly powerful, and my sword could not properly pierce it.
Its natural regeneration was incredible too. Its wounds healed almost immediately.
What was more, perhaps because it trusted its own recovery, it ignored the powerful Special Operations Unit and launched one-sided attacks on the injured.
‘This won’t work... I need something...’
Then I saw its eyes, filled with bloody light.
The moment it lowered its paw...
I raised the Yang Family Qi Art I had gained after killing the Sunfire Monkey and used the Thousand-Catty Drop again.
Pupupupupupupupak!
Scorching heat poured down like rain, burning the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear’s fur and filling the air with a foul stench.
The pain of burns seemed worse to it than being cut by a sword, and it swung its paws wildly.
I barely slipped past its claws, landed on the ground, ducked beneath its legs, and moved behind it.
Then I fired the Flying Dragon Claw and climbed onto its back again.
Then...
Chijijijik.
With solar yang energy gathered in both hands, I seared both its eyes.
Kwaroooooar!
The Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear screamed more painfully than ever, covering both eyes with its paws.
Taking that chance, I wrapped the Flying Dragon Claw around its neck and ran backward with all my strength.
Using the Thousand-Catty Drop, I began pulling the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear back.
“Now! Attack!”
Palm force erupted from every direction again, and the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear, still covering its eyes, slowly began to be dragged along by the Flying Dragon Claw.
Even so, it barely moved from where it stood.
Then a palm force carrying tremendous power struck the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear from within the forest.
Thwoooong!
A massive vibration traveled through the air as though a bell had been struck.
“...Benefactor Earth Bear, I cannot view you as a mere animal.”
Ilgak’s dry gaze turned toward the Academy students dead beneath the mounds of dirt.
“Carnivores only hunt when they are hungry.”
Ilgak’s clasped hands moved toward the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear in turn.
Thwoooong!
Thwoooong!
Whenever his hands moved, the heavy sound of a bell rang out, and the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear’s body, immovable as Mount Tai, began to be pushed backward.
Thwoooong!
Thwoooong!
Kwaroooooar!
The Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear tried to resist, but as long as it could not remove its paws from its eyes, it could only keep getting pushed back.
Thwoooong!
Thwoooong!
At last, the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear was far from the procession.
Golden fist force gathered around Ilgak’s fists.
Pupupupupupupupak!
It could not compare to the Myriad Blossoms Invincible Fist, but every time Ilgak swung his fists, flesh burst from the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear two jang away.
For the first time, the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear shed a massive amount of blood and flesh.
Dang Gihan did not miss the chance, driving poisoned throwing knives into its wounds.
“Haaah!”
Finally, I tried to cut off its arm with sword force.
Smack!
Flesh caved in deeply enough to expose bone, yet the bone itself was not cut through.
Krrrrrr.
The moment I realized something was wrong...
“...”
I met the gaze of the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear’s two burned eyes.
Whoosh!
It was only a casual swing.
Smack!
My insides churned and shook violently.
After smashing through two or three trees, I barely came to a stop. The moment I kicked off the ground and rose...
“Guek.”
A mouthful of blood surged up.
I had definitely been wrapped in defensive energy.
...How did Ilgak and Nam Hwaseong endure that?
Suppressing the internal injuries that felt ready to tear me apart, I ran at the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear again.
Praying that the sight I had seen at the end was not real.
Kwaroooooar!
The Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear let out a savage roar, but its eyes had returned to normal.
Fucking ridiculous regeneration.
“Fuck... Is it a jiangshi or what?”
Even the wounds we had inflicted by pouring out all the Special Operations Unit’s internal energy were healing in an instant.
“...”
The Special Operations Unit members’ faces twisted.
The same went for the Academy students searching for the injured buried beneath the dirt.
“H-How are we supposed to fight this...?”
“What the hell is it...?”
Everyone froze before the absolute gap in strength they could not overcome.
Hah. I had not wanted to take on this much risk.
Click.
I sheathed the Scarlet Radiance Sword and moved the Special Operations Unit back.
“From now on, rescue the people trapped beneath the dirt first!”
“U-Unit Commander Jin?”
“Move!”
The Special Operations Unit members who had faced the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear backed away one by one.
Kwaroooooar!
Perhaps thinking it had won, the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear tried to charge at the Academy students again.
Rumble.
I unleashed the Mad Heaven Divine Palm gathered in my hands.
Kwagagagagwang!
Before the palm force faded, I raised the Sacred Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand and unleashed the Myriad Blossoms Invincible Fist.
Pupupupupupupupung!
The internal energy filling my dantian was consumed in an instant.
Flames rose all over the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear’s body.
But...
“Fuck...”
The flames soon began to die down amid acrid smoke.
As the damage healed, even the traces of burns vanished.
Even so, I could not stop.
I glanced toward the mounds of dirt for only a moment, then climbed the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear’s body and tightly wrapped the Flying Dragon Claw around its neck.
“Unit Commander Jin! We got them all out!”
“Then move, quickly!”
“But...”
“That’s an order! Move!”
At my shout, the Academy students who had rescued the injured began leaving the area.
In the meantime, I activated the Azure Dragon Bangle with all my strength.
‘Its regeneration is incredible, so it won’t turn into a mummy.’
Using the Azure Dragon Bangle before so many people was incredibly dangerous.
But I could not think of any other way.
“Let’s see whether you win or I do!”
An enormous amount of internal energy flowed into my dantian through the Azure Dragon Bangle.
So much internal energy that every blood vessel and energy channel in my body, including the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, felt ready to burst.
#
“Ugh... Uuuugh...”
The veins across my body, including my face, swelled as though they would burst.
The power was so immense that my dantian, which had surpassed three hundred years of cultivation, filled up instantly.
“Aaargh!”
I had once thought that, with the Azure Dragon Bangle, I would fear no enemy.
But fighting Je Geumhak had taught me otherwise.
It had only been arrogance.
The dantian, the blood vessels, the energy channels, all of them had limits.
The human body was not solid profound iron.
Energy absorbed so violently would eventually wear down the body.
Energy filled me, and I released it as quickly as it came.
Whether it was the Sacred Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand or the Void-Destroying Fist, I unleashed anything that could hurt it.
How fortunate that it did not spew flames from its entire body like the Sunfire Monkey.
Kwaroooooar!
The Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear screamed in agony, but I was not unharmed either.
My dantian and the blood vessels throughout my body swelled as though they would burst, then contracted so sharply they felt ready to snap.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After trying to shake me off and realizing it could not, the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear began rolling in every direction and slamming its body into giant trees.
“Urk!”
Another basinful of blood burst from my mouth.
I finally tried to release the Flying Dragon Claw and escape, but...
“Damn it...”
Perhaps it had become tangled while we rolled together, but the Heavenly Silkworm Thread would not come loose.
There was no need to panic. If I calmly adjusted my internal energy...
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Unable to wait, the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear rolled across the ground again.
My hands were bound tightly by the Flying Dragon Claw, so I could not get away from its body.
I activated the Azure Dragon Bangle once more and used the absorbed internal energy to unleash the Sacred Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand.
When the Sacred Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand struck the fresh flesh that had just healed, the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear screamed as though it were dying.
Then again, I would go mad too if someone kept burning the skin off my head.
While its mind was dazed, I moved toward its head.
Crack.
When I tore away the shriveled, burned skin, a black skull was revealed.
Fuck, was that bone or steel?
Thud.
Thud.
No matter how much I struck its skull with the Sacred Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand, there was no sign of it breaking through.
‘Is this my limit...?’
It was hard to believe, but it felt like I could kill it if I only pushed a little farther.
My dantian had enough internal energy, yet for some reason, my arms no longer had any strength.
If only someone could land one more strike...
“Is anyone here...?”
I turned my head and saw only corpses that had already lost all signs of life.
Ah, I had told everyone to run because I was going to use the Azure Dragon Bangle.
I needed to run too, but...
The Heavenly Silkworm Thread was not easy to untangle. Even if I did, there was no way the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear, utterly furious, would let me go.
I gave up on that hope.
If I were the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear, even if one of my arms had been torn off, I would chase my enemy to the end and rip them to pieces.
In the end, one of two things would happen. Either my blood vessels would be destroyed and I would die when my strength ran out, or the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear’s regenerative power would be exhausted and it would die...
But it did not look like the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear would die first.
Look, its flesh was healing again even now.
All I could do was hope the Life-and-Death Unit escaped in time.
At least while I held the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear here...
“Unit Commander Jin!”
Then I heard Ilgak’s voice. He should have evacuated alongside the injured.
Huh?
When I barely turned my head, a shining bald head was running toward me.
‘That bastard really doesn’t listen.’
Still, was this fortunate?
A laugh escaped me, but I quickly looked back at the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear.
It had grown a little gaunter, but it had not become a mummy.
Ilgak would not suspect the Absorbing Star Grand Art after seeing this.
“Ilgak! Use the Hundred-Step Divine Fist!”
“H-Huh?”
“The head! Break the skull!”
Ordinary martial arts would not be able to break it.
Even after I hammered it with the Sacred Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand, it had not budged.
In that sense, it was incredibly fortunate that the person who never listened was Ilgak.
Shaolin Sect’s Seventy-Two Supreme Arts would have enough destructive power.
“But...”
I knew why he hesitated.
But this was not the time to worry about that.
“Hurry up, you bald bastard!”
Ilgak’s hesitant expression turned serious.
Then his monk’s robe swelled as though it would burst.
“Unit Commander Jin, be careful...”
He seemed angry for some reason... He would not make a mistake, right?
While I trembled with unease...
Wooooong.
As with the Void-Destroying Fist, space warped, and a fist-shaped force of immense power formed in the air.
A fist art that boasted the greatest level and destructive force among Shaolin Sect’s Seventy-Two Supreme Arts.
The Hundred-Step Divine Fist.
Swoosh!
The fist force fell like a meteor, leaving a trail behind it.
It struck the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear’s skull precisely.
Kkaboooom!
The tremendous impact nearly dragged my body backward, but the Heavenly Silkworm Thread held me in place, preventing disaster.
“Unit Commander Jin, did it work?”
Ilgak asked wearily, and an unconsciously satisfied smile spread across my face.
Crack.
A small fracture had appeared in the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear’s skull, which looked harder than steel.
A gap large enough to drive the Sacred Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand into.
That bald bastard who never listened.
“You’re useful for once.”
Gathering the last of my strength, I drove my hand deep inside.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
