Chapter 113

Chapter 113: It's Been a While Since We Met, But My Heart Isn't What It Used to Be (1)

Hae So-wol, who had been fighting alongside the Oh Army against the attackers, felt her heart plunge as if it had dropped into her stomach. She shuddered.

The atmosphere in the hall, which had been burning hot only moments ago, instantly turned cold.

A man was approaching, dragging his foot.

He struck the ground with his right foot, dragging his left foot slightly as he walked.

Boom! Thud! Boom! Thud!

The off-rhythm sound of his footsteps stimulated people's hearts in an unsettling way.

It was Dam Ho.

The moment Dam Ho appeared, there was one man who visibly stiffened. He was Namgung Chang, who had led today's gathering.

"Gah!"

Namgung Chang's facial muscles contorted hideously.

It was a reaction beyond his will. He tried to compose his expression, but it was useless. His body was reacting on its own to the fear seared into his mind.

His hands and feet trembled as though he had frostbite, and his heart pounded violently. Cold sweat drenched his entire body, and his eyes were bloodshot.

But among those present, not a single person paid attention to Namgung Chang's reaction.

All eyes were focused on one man—Dam Ho.

Dam Ho possessed a power. An inexplicable power that drew all gazes.

Once he appeared, no one could look away from him. His ominous yet overwhelming presence compelled it so.

The martial artists of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families, as well as the Golden Demon Lion and the attackers—even they had momentarily stopped fighting to stare at Dam Ho.

Receiving everyone's gaze, Dam Ho walked.

Behind the golden mask, the Golden Demon Lion's brow was deeply furrowed.

Thump! Thump!

His heart was pounding uncontrollably.

Though unknown to the world, the Golden Demon Lion was a martial artist who had passed through countless battlefields. Naturally, his experience was beyond compare to other martial artists.

But even for him, this was the first time he had encountered someone like Dam Ho—a man who made his heart fill with unease.

'It's because of those footsteps.'

The off-rhythm gait.

The footsteps of ordinary people beat in time with the heartbeat. They were born that way, and most people lived adapting to it.

But Dam Ho's footsteps were off-rhythm. The sound disrupted the natural cadence of the heartbeat. That was why his heart was beating so uneasily.

The Golden Demon Lion abandoned his fierce battle with Sage Cheong-heo and fixed his gaze upon Dam Ho.

Instinctively, he sensed that Dam Ho was more dangerous than Sage Cheong-heo.

Sage Cheong-heo was certainly a strong fighter. But he lacked the overwhelming aura and killing intent that made one's blood run cold.

It was a limitation inherent to Taoists.

Dam Ho, on the other hand, radiated an energy that made one's blood chill. As though he were a volcano on the verge of eruption.

"Who are you?"

The Golden Demon Lion's voice echoed coldly. But Dam Ho was not looking at the Golden Demon Lion.

His gaze was fixed on a woman.

Twelve years had passed, but she was still beautiful and lovely. She was one of the few people at Mount Hua who had always treated him with a consistent heart—Han So-yu.

Before her stood the Third Infernal Judge, his figure menacing. The Third Infernal Judge's sword was pressed against the nape of Han So-yu's neck.

If he applied even a little more force, her head would be severed from her body.

Dam Ho took a step toward Han So-yu.

"What—what are you?"

Startled by his aura, the Third Infernal Judge shouted fiercely.

Dam Ho's gaze shifted to the Third Infernal Judge.

"Move."

"How dare you!"

The Third Infernal Judge's eyebrows, hidden behind his mask, shot upward. Since joining the Golden Demon Lion, no one had ever spoken to him with such arrogance.

He tightened his grip on his sword.

"I'll kill this wench first, then tear you apart limb by—"

In that instant, the Third Infernal Judge's eyes widened.

Snap!

Dam Ho had closed the distance in the blink of an eye, compressing space itself without warning.

Through his wild, disheveled black hair, his beast-like eyes glinted with predatory intensity.

A charge like a battering ram.

Whoosh!

Following that, the Fortress Breaking Fist flew toward the Third Infernal Judge.

"Hmph!"

The Third Infernal Judge withdrew the blade from Han So-yu's neck and swung it at Dam Ho.

Swish!

Silver sword energy stretched out, aiming for Dam Ho's hand.

The Third Infernal Judge intended to sever Dam Ho's wrist with this single stroke. It was his common sense that no matter how one trained, a human fist made of flesh and blood could not withstand steel.

Clang!

But when his sword collided with Dam Ho's fist and shattered with a clear metallic ring, he instantly sensed something was terribly wrong.

Dam Ho's fist, which had shattered the Third Infernal Judge's sword, did not have a single scratch. The Third Infernal Judge's common sense had been obliterated.

"Gah!"

The Third Infernal Judge hastily retreated.

His sword had been infused with all his might, yet Dam Ho's fist had shattered it. If he took a punch from that fist, it would not simply be torn muscles and broken bones.

Dodge first, then counterattack. That was the Third Infernal Judge's thinking.

But in the next moment, the Third Infernal Judge painfully realized just how foolish his judgment had been.

It was a natural truth that charging forward was faster than retreating.

By the time the Third Infernal Judge regained his senses, Dam Ho had already penetrated to his chest.

Grip!

Dam Ho abandoned the Fortress Breaking Fist and seized the Third Infernal Judge by the throat.

"Kuh!"

As Dam Ho's iron grip constricted his neck, the Third Infernal Judge's face turned deathly pale.

The Third Infernal Judge quickly deployed a life-preserving technique to shake off Dam Ho's grasp. But before he could even react, his body was plucked into the air.

Dam Ho rose into the air with the Third Infernal Judge, and the man's upper and lower body flipped in midair.

The Earth Shaking Strike—a martial art that used the earth itself as a weapon—was deployed.

The ground rushed toward the Third Infernal Judge's eyes at terrifying speed.

"No—no!"

Crash!

At that moment, with a thunderous boom, the Third Infernal Judge's head was driven into the earth.

His head was no longer visible. In its place, shattered bone fragments and brain matter were scattered in all directions.

The Third Infernal Judge's body twitched, then collapsed to the ground.

"Hah!"

"Umph!"

Many who witnessed the Third Infernal Judge's horrific state—headless—could not help but shut their eyes tightly.

It had happened in an instant.

Because of that, the other judges, and even the Golden Demon Lion, could not react in time.

The blood flowing from the Third Infernal Judge's body stained the bluestone floor a deep red.

"You—you?"

The First Infernal Judge, who had been fighting Myeong-gyeong, stammered.

He and the Third Infernal Judge were practically brothers. Since they began training, they had not spent a single day apart in decades. And they had expected that, barring any accidents, they would continue to be together.

But the First Infernal Judge's wish had been shattered by Dam Ho.

"I told you to move."

Dam Ho spoke coldly.

Han So-yu stared blankly at Dam Ho, who stood directly before her.

Wild, unkempt hair like a madman's, deep black eyes beneath it, and firmly closed lips.

Though it seemed like she was seeing him for the first time, he felt inexplicably familiar.

"Um…"

Han So-yu tried to speak, but Dam Ho passed her by without a glance.

He was heading toward Eun So-cheong.

"Ah… Uncle."

Eun So-cheong's voice trembled when she saw Dam Ho.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes!"

"Any injuries?"

At Dam Ho's question, Eun So-cheong shook her head vigorously.

She was trying to appear composed, but her eyes were brimming with tears.

"Jin-bo is very worried. Let's go."

"But…"

Still hesitant with fear, Eun So-cheong was reassured by Dam Ho's words.

"It's all right."

In that moment, Eun So-cheong felt something hot surge within her chest.

It was a sense of relief.

Hell still raged around her. But with Dam Ho here, a faith had taken root that everything would be all right.

"Yes!"

Eun So-cheong wiped her tears and nodded firmly.

Just then—

"Heh heh! How amusing this has turned out to be."

A voice laced with metallic undertones seeped out from behind the Golden Demon Lion's golden mask.

They had invested enormous human and material resources for today.

They had thoroughly investigated the identities of everyone gathered here, meticulously analyzed their dispositions and martial strength, and deployed their forces accordingly. They had even taken on the risk of losing their carefully cultivated forces. All of it was to achieve the result they desired.

But the arrival of a single person—Dam Ho—had changed everything. Dam Ho was a figure who had not existed in any of their calculations.

When he turned to look at Sage Cheong-heo, the Sage was staring at Dam Ho with a dazed expression, clearly caught off guard as well. The sight was almost comical.

Dam Ho's appearance had thrown not only the Golden Demon Lion and the Blood Chain Demons into disarray, but also the martial artists of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families who had gathered to form the Martial Alliance.

While everyone gazed at Dam Ho with suspicion, there was movement. The Blood Chain Demons.

—Kill him.

The Golden Demon Lion's telepathic transmission set them in motion.

Swish!

Dozens of chain sickles flew toward Dam Ho, aimed at a single target. Dozens of iron chains crisscrossed wildly through the air, and the razor-sharp sickles threatened to carve into Dam Ho's flesh at any moment.

"Ah! Danger—"

Han So-yu and Hae So-wol cried out in alarm at the same time.

Whirrr!

In that instant, they heard a bizarre sound.

The unpleasant buzzing of thousands upon thousands of bees beating their wings.

At the same time, Dam Ho's figure blurred.

He was clearly in the same spot, yet he appeared strangely indistinct. And then something astonishing happened.

Ting! Ting! Ting!

The chain sickles that had flown with such terrifying momentum all bounced off Dam Ho's body with faint metallic clangs and scattered in every direction.

Dozens of chain sickles, robbed of their power and sent flying in random directions.

In that instant, Dam Ho's hand shot out like lightning, sweeping through the air. In the blink of an eye, he held dozens of chain sickle chains in his grasp.

"Hah!"

The Blood Chain Demons who had launched the sickles let out involuntary gasps.

Dam Ho yanked the chains with all his might. Dozens of Blood Chain Demons were dragged toward him at once.

Over their staggering bodies, a waterfall of Dam Ho's fists rained down.

Dam Ho had deployed the Three Strikes Cannon Shadow Fist seven times in succession.

Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam!

Like fireworks exploding, the Blood Chain Demons burst apart.

Those struck in the head had their skulls explode. Those struck in the torso had their bodies shattered.

It was a horrifying power that one would dread to see even in a nightmare.

In an instant, dozens of Blood Chain Demons had become mangled corpses, thudding to the ground.

"……"

Silence descended upon the hall.

A rain of blood was falling.

In its center stood Dam Ho.

Over his black hair and ink-black robe, red droplets of blood trickled down.

But his two eyes burned with fierce intensity.

The sight was terrifying beyond measure.

People lost the ability to speak and could not even breathe loudly.

At that moment, Dam Ho's gaze shifted to the Golden Demon Lion.

The Golden Demon Lion flinched, and in that instant Dam Ho charged at him.

Whoosh!

The blood clinging to Dam Ho's body scattered in the wind, and a fierce gale made the Golden Demon Lion's golden robe flutter wildly.

Without warning, Dam Ho appeared right before his eyes.

For the first time, bewilderment flickered in the Golden Demon Lion's eyes behind his golden mask.

Bam!