WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 523: The Monster That Feeds on Despair (8)
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Just as I Hwagyu had said, the jiangshi did not wander the tomb alone.
As though they no longer had anything to hide.
Crackle-
Standing beside the jiangshi, they proudly scattered demonic qi and killing intent in every direction.
Three Soul-Returning Iron Zombies.
Thirty-five demonic beings.
Considering the terrifying destructive power of even one Soul-Returning Iron Zombie, there was no need to mention the danger concentrated within that pitiful-looking force.
“I’ll go!”
I stopped Cheonsim Seonsa as he moved toward the jiangshi.
“Please wait for now.”
“...Benefactor Jin. You need not sacrifice yourself for our sake!”
Huh? What was he talking about?
I was only stalling because I was worried Cheonsim Seonsa might notice how much his internal energy had diminished...
“Shouldn’t we send out the person with the greatest chance of succeeding, for the good of the martial world?”
“...”
I decided to play along.
I could not exactly tell Cheonsim Seonsa to stop showing off and stay put.
Hum-
Ilgak and I each possessed sacred qi, Jade Clarity Celestial Phenomenon Force and Vajra qi.
And Dang Seohui was with our Yuseong Unit as well.
“Die!”
A demonic being thrust out its sword with a phlegmy roar.
The three of us barely evaded the crude attack, then shot past them like scattering flower petals.
The moment our lightning-fast figures collided with the Soul-Returning Iron Zombies.
Slash-
Thud-
Clang-
‘Clang?’
I turned toward the strange sound.
“W-What is this?!”
Nam Hwaseong stood there, his face filled with panic.
‘Where did the Deputy Hall Master go, and why is that idiot here...?’
When two people had rushed out beside me, I naturally assumed one of them was Dang Seohui.
“J-Jin Sowoon! Isn’t this an Iron Zombie?”
The person who had rushed out was Nam Hwaseong, not Dang Seohui.
Crack-
Nam Hwaseong stared in shock as his full-power fist force accomplished nothing and the Soul-Returning Iron Zombie bent its knees with impossible ease.
“Move, idiot!”
“Gyaah!”
Nam Hwaseong fled in terror from the Soul Jiangshi’s arrow-fast movements, but his movement art could not match the monster’s speed.
Thud! Thud!
When I looked back, Dang Seohui had already begun fighting the demonic beings, making it difficult to switch places with her.
“J-Jin Sowoon, what am I supposed to do?”
If I forced the switch...
Dang Seohui would be fine, but Nam Hwaseong or someone from Yuseong Hall might die.
Well, it would be sad if Nam Hwaseong died, but it could not be helped. He was the one who had acted like an idiot.
For a man, dying this way could barely be called honorable.
At least he would make good drinking-table conversation.
‘That bastard really was an idiot.’
But if someone from Yuseong Hall died, it would be a completely pointless death.
I made a decision for Nam Hwaseong’s sake.
“Hold it off until I deal with this side!”
“H-Hold this off? How?!”
Nam Hwaseong cried out as though the world had collapsed around him.
I comforted him.
“Do it well!”
“...You’re insane.”
Slash-
Condensed Jade Clarity Celestial Phenomenon Force shot out and sliced off the Soul Jiangshi’s ears and nose.
It was strange. The rest of its skin was as hard as iron, yet protruding parts like its ears and nose were incredibly soft.
Kyaaah!
What was more, once those parts were cut off, it threw a fit as though it had lost something precious.
Its posture crumbled in rage, leaving it full of openings.
I brought my sword down on its arm.
Clang-
Metal crashed against metal, and the Soul Jiangshi screamed like a beast.
Kyaaah!
Dark red blood flowed down its body, giving off a thick poisonous vapor.
It seemed to know its own blood was poisonous. It swung its wounded arm wildly, scattering blood in every direction.
Sizzle-
Just one drop.
The moment a single drop touched my clothes, white smoke rose, and the fabric quickly rotted away.
I used the Greater Heaven Sword Art to create a sword wind and push its blood to one side, then rushed in and swung the Scarlet Radiance Sword.
Clang-
Perhaps they had heard the unusual sound. One by one, the demonic beings turned toward us.
Before they could react, I swung my sword again, aiming to sever its arm.
Crunch-
The Scarlet Radiance Sword bit into its flesh and cut halfway through its arm. Blood shot out like a fountain.
Kyaang-
I avoided its savage claws and struck the wound with the Sacred Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand.
Whoosh-
At the same time, I unleashed the Silent Sound Azure Water Hand at the demonic beings rushing toward me from behind.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Silent Sound Azure Water Hand flew without a trace before striking their arms and bodies.
Even so, the demonic beings seemed to trust their demonic qi. They immediately gathered it and swung their swords.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sword blades sharp enough to split my head flew at me. I angled the Scarlet Radiance Sword and caught them.
Kyaaah!
As the Soul Jiangshi rushed at me from behind, I knocked aside the enemy’s sword and used the Drifting Current Formless Sword to sever the jiangshi’s claws.
Slash-
Even with its arm half severed, the speed of its swing remained terrifying.
Thud!
It smashed through the cave wall in a single blow.
On top of that, it kept scattering poisonous blood.
Kyaaah!
Perhaps it could feel the pain of burning beneath the Sacred Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand. It screamed with more rage than ever.
One demonic being rushed over and tried to put out the flames with palm force, but the Sacred Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand had already found fuel in its demonic qi. The fire would not go out easily.
Pretending that I wanted the flames to remain unextinguished, I ignored the other attacks and thrust with the Lesser Heaven Sword Art.
Swoosh-
The Scarlet Radiance Sword twisted with a variation and aimed for its opening.
The demonic beings beside it attacked my vital acupoints, but I deliberately did not block their swords.
‘The Silent Sound Azure Water Hand will activate soon enough.’
Just as expected.
The sword of the demonic being, which had barely pricked my vital acupoint, abruptly stopped.
At the same time, my sword pierced the nape of the demonic being trying to put out the flames.
“Ghk... Ghk... You...”
I kicked away the one trying to speak, grabbed the burning Soul Jiangshi by the arm, and hurled it at the immobilized demonic beings.
“N-No!”
“W-Wait!”
The demonic beings, who had barely been suppressing the Silent Sound Azure Water Hand, suddenly lost control of their bodies.
The Sacred Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand spread across them as they vomited blood.
“Arghhh!”
I brought my sword down on the fallen Soul Jiangshi’s neck.
Clang-
As expected, it did not break in one strike.
I planted my foot on its chest and struck again as though splitting firewood.
Clang-
The Soul Jiangshi raked at my foot with its claws, but I brought down the Scarlet Radiance Sword once more.
Thud-
At last, its severed head rolled across the ground. Its burning body went limp and lost all strength.
“Jin Sowoon! Now!”
Nam Hwaseong blasted his jiangshi back with full-power fist force and sprang away.
I immediately charged at the demonic beings as Nam Hwaseong screamed while the enraged Soul Jiangshi pursued him.
“Argh! Fuck...!”
Yuseong Hall deployed the White Tiger Sword Formation as a defensive formation against the demonic beings, while Dang Seohui’s sharp hands claimed their lives one after another.
Taking that opening, the monks of the Shaolin Sect fought the demonic beings while releasing internal energy filled with Buddhist power.
It was not at the level of sacred qi, but it was enough to affect the demonic beings.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A demonic being’s chest caved in beneath the fist force gathered at Cheonsim Seonsa’s fist, and it died instantly.
After withdrawing the Jade Clarity Celestial Phenomenon Force, I raised my internal energy again and released killing intent.
Kyaaaah-
The Scarlet Radiance Sword glowed red and let out an unidentifiable scream.
The demonic beings, fighting in a frenzy, flinched and turned around.
Slash-
I cut off two heads at once, sending blood spraying into the air.
The Scarlet Radiance Sword spread out like a fan and seized control of every direction in an instant.
The demonic beings, their hands and feet tangled by attacks coming from both sides, scattered sword qi everywhere, but none of those at the front were opponents they could handle.
Slash-
I pierced the final demonic being’s heart, finishing off the nearly thirty who had attacked me.
“Argh! If you’re done, help me already!”
Nam Hwaseong was still being pushed back as he fought the Soul Jiangshi.
Ilgak, who had punched a massive fist-shaped hole into the face of the Soul Jiangshi assigned to him, joined Nam Hwaseong.
Soon after, the Soul Jiangshi fighting Dang Seohui also stopped moving like a puppet with its strings cut.
Fortunately, Ilgak’s arrival extended Nam Hwaseong’s life.
At last, the disturbance in the cavern began to settle...
“I almost died!!!”
My ears were going to fall off.
I answered casually.
“You said you could handle it.”
“It wasn’t like the Iron Zombie I saw before!”
“I thought the outstanding martial arts of the Samwon Sect would be enough to deal with it.”
“...”
Nam Hwaseong looked like a puppy that desperately needed to relieve itself but could not decide where to go.
I immediately searched the demonic beings for survivors.
I thought the monks of the Shaolin Sect might have shown restraint, like Ilgak had...
“...”
Yet most of the demonic beings had their heads crushed.
Seeing that every last one had died with their heads smashed in, I asked carefully.
“Um... Monks?”
For a moment, I wondered whether the people traveling with me were monks of the Shaolin Temple or disciples of the ancient Demon Buddha Sect, once infamous for its brutality.
“They rushed at us so fiercely...”
One monk muttered as though making an excuse and turned away.
I was about to say something, but stopped.
This was much better than hesitating and showing needless restraint.
“I Hwagyu’s words were true.”
Cheonsim Seonsa sighed.
The truth he had least wanted to see had been confirmed.
“Was this truly their trap?”
The realization that they had fallen into the enemy’s trap because of greed became shame and self-reproach, weighing down everyone’s shoulders.
Knowing they had paid for a vast deception with the lives of their companions filled them with self-loathing.
Cheonsim Seonsa’s face twisted the most.
“Let’s keep moving. We can only despair after we survive.”
He slowly closed his eyes, his lips moving.
“Amitabha... Amitabha...”
It was the first time I had heard his chanting sound so powerless.
#
We continued onward.
The farther we went, the more enemies we encountered.
Five jiangshi and fifty demonic beings.
In the second battle, a Shaolin Temple monk and a Moyong Clan martial artist died.
We moved again without even having time to bury the bodies.
Three more Moyong Clan martial artists died in the third battle.
Two more died in the fourth.
Only five members of the Moyong Clan, including Moyong Seol, remained.
Their level of participation in battle had been the lowest, yet they had suffered the greatest losses.
None of them had been weaker than the Yuseong Hall members, so the surviving Moyong Clan martial artists looked at Yuseong Hall with strange eyes.
We slowed down for a while.
The more we tried to move forward, the more clearly we could feel the enemies multiplying.
“Looking at the enemies appearing behind us, it seems we’re in the middle of enemy territory.”
Just as Cheonsim Seonsa said, enemies had begun appearing along the path we had already traveled.
They poured out endlessly from the countless roads connected to the main road we had taken.
We could neither advance nor flee backward.
There was no choice but to keep moving forward.
After encountering the seventh force of enemies, three Shaolin Temple monks died.
We tried to capture demonic beings and question them, but every wounded one who fell either struck the crowns of their own heads or swallowed poison hidden in their mouths, taking their own lives.
Those who had already encountered demonic beings in Mukrim were used to the sight, but it seemed to greatly shock the people from Shaolin Temple and the Moyong Clan.
Their fighting spirit gradually began to weaken.
Everyone looked as though they had lost hope of living.
‘This isn’t good.’
If they began to give up even halfway in this desperate situation, battle would become even more difficult.
The thought that many people might have no choice but to die here kept returning to me.
“Group Leader Jin! Over there!”
A wounded man came into view as we moved slowly.
I made the group wait and approached him carefully, keeping watch on the Red Phoenix Bangle for any reaction.
Fortunately, it did not vibrate until I reached him.
‘Even so, I can’t let my guard down.’
Shing-
I took out the Red Phoenix Bangle and approached slowly. The wounded man slightly raised his head.
“S-Save me! P-Please save me!”
The moment he noticed someone nearby, the man panicked and tried to flee.
Blood flowed from his abdomen and leg, but he kept trying to crawl away from me in the opposite direction.
“S-Save me! I was wrong! Just spare my life!”
I shone a torch on the man as he crawled away.
‘Wudang Sect?’
A middle-aged man from the sect said to possess not only supreme martial arts but unmatched pride as well was fleeing from me in terror, as though he had seen a mountain goblin.
I released finger wind and struck his paralysis acupoint.
“Urgh...!”
“Are you all right?”
I sheathed the Scarlet Radiance Sword and showed him my empty hands to prove that I meant no harm.
“S-Save me! Save me!”
Even so, the man continued begging as though he had completely lost his mind.
I gave him a Clear-Mind Spirit-Protecting Pill and waited.
When the pill’s effects began to take hold, I examined his eyes.
“Save me! Save me!”
He still did not appear to be in his right mind.
These symptoms were not caused by Mushim Illusion Powder alone.
Then...
“Can I take a look?”
Dang Seohui took his pulse and began sending internal energy into him.
I did not know much about medicine, but I could tell that her touch was gradually calming the Wudang Sect man.
“Save... Save... me.”
Even so, he did not stop begging for his life.
“Where are your companions?”
“My companions... are all dead. Save me.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing happened. Save me...”
Our eyes met. Her gaze was full of questions as well.
Nothing had happened?
“Then where were you going?”
“As far away from people as possible.”
“Why?”
“Because if you stay near people, it’ll come.”
“What is it?”
“...Heehee! Heehee! S-Save me! Save me!”
The Wudang Sect Taoist, who had barely calmed down, began to panic again.
Dang Seohui finally removed her hand.
“Is there a place where people have gathered?”
“C-Central Wing... Central Wing... R-Run... S-Save...”
“...”
The man convulsed, then finally breathed his last.
“He had already lost too much blood.”
Dang Seohui hurriedly tried to treat him, but there was no response.
“Hall Master Jin, based on what he said, didn’t he flee from Central Wing?”
That was what puzzled me as well.
Central Wing was much closer to the entrance than this place.
It was also the only place where three main roads converged.
It was strange enough that people had gathered in Central Wing, but it was even stranger that he had fled from there to here.
“F-Fuck! How long are we supposed to keep walking into certain death?”
Perhaps the Wudang Sect Taoist’s death had shocked them. At last, a curse burst from the Moyong Clan’s Deputy Group Leader.
“They say we’ll die if we go any farther. I Hwagyu said so, and that Wudang Sect Taoist said so too! How long are we going to keep moving because of what this brat says?”
“Watch yourself, Deputy Group Leader.”
“Miss! I sincerely apologize for what I did before. But this isn’t right. How long are you planning to throw away your lives like this?”
“I told you to watch yourself.”
Moyong Seol’s voice fell coldly over the group.
The Deputy Group Leader wrinkled their nose and stepped back.
“Hall Master Jin. Do you believe we can survive by going this way?”
Moyong Seol fixed her steady gaze on me.
Her eyes did not waver in the slightest.
In my previous life, she had looked at me like that whenever she took on an impossible operation.
And we had always drawn groundless confidence from her unwavering gaze.
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll follow any plan you make.”
Feeling the weight behind her gaze, I made my decision without hesitation.
If we stood around wavering, we would accomplish nothing.
The best choice was to face them according to what I knew and what I had experienced.
There was no need to show my own uncertainty and make everyone anxious.
“From now on, we’ll break through.”
“You’re going to do this insane thing again?”
The Moyong Clan’s Deputy Group Leader voiced their displeasure.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“From now on, we won’t stop.”
“...”
“We’ll head for Central Wing without stopping for even a moment.”
Just as she had shown me in my previous life, I showed them an unwavering resolve.
“Not for a single moment.”
Footnotes:
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