Chapter 413

Chapter 413 – Evil Fate Continues Endlessly (1)

"Huff!"

Yo Sa-ran let out a strange breathing sound. Her right shoulder hung limply without strength. Her collarbone was shattered. Not only that, her right side was grotesquely torn away as if ripped by the claws of a giant bird.

Between the white bone and red flesh, an enormous amount of blood was flowing down. If it had been just a little deeper, her heart would have burst.

At the moment of crisis, she barely survived by deploying protective sword energy with all her might. But as if struck by a house-sized boulder that had rolled down from a mountaintop, all the joints in her body were acting up on their own, and her muscles were ruptured so she couldn't put strength into them.

All she could do was barely keep breathing without collapsing. Around her, dozens of martial artists were sprawled out in wretched states.

They were Divine Fire Hall martial artists who had been pulled in by Dam Ho's attractive force.

With bones protruding through skin and limbs broken in bizarre directions, their appearance sprawled out was so horrible it would be frightening to see even in dreams.

Fortunately, other martial artists who had escaped the battle range and saved their lives were watching the scene with bated breath.

"Whew!"

Yo Sa-ran exhaled the breath she had been holding back. In her vision, she saw Dam Ho standing alone and tall.

Dam Ho's appearance looked more wretched than the Divine Fire Hall martial artists collapsed on the ground. His jet-black hair was matted red with fresh blood, and his entire body was covered with large and small wounds. Broken, shattered, ruptured – every kind of wound a human could experience covered his body.

That he was still alive with such wounds was unbelievable. Even though he had wounds that would make breathing difficult for an ordinary person, let alone standing, Dam Ho's fierce gaze and venom hadn't softened at all.

More survivors remained than the dead. Yet no one dared attack Dam Ho.

Though they too prided themselves on being second to none in venom and evil, they were overwhelmed by Dam Ho's even more vicious appearance.

How on earth should they deal with him?

The heavenly net hadn't worked on him.

Mass attacks were useless, and he couldn't be stopped even by absolute masters – how should they attack such an opponent?

Divine Fire Hall's martial artists saw despair in Dam Ho.

A giant wall of despair that could never be brought down by any method.

"Hup!"

Suddenly Yo Sa-ran vomited blood and knelt down. Her face was paler than white paper.

She had done her best.

She had drawn up every drop of inner power to deploy her strongest ultimate technique. Yet she couldn't bring down Dam Ho. After vomiting blood for a while, she barely raised her head to look at Dam Ho.

"Why… didn't you kill me?"

She knew.

That Dam Ho had held back.

If he had put in just a little more power, she would already be dead. That she was still alive was because Dam Ho had shown mercy.

When Dam Ho didn't answer, she asked again.

"Pity?"

"I just repaid a debt."

"Debt?"

"The debt for saving my sister."

"Sister?"

"Hwang Hye-ryeong."

"Ah!"

Only then did Yo Sa-ran let out a quiet exclamation.

Dam Ho looked at Yo Sa-ran indifferently.

Before parting, Hwang Hye-ryeong had told him about receiving help from Yo Sa-ran. And she had asked him – if they ever clashed, to show mercy just once.

It was a request from his only blood relative.

Though she now used the surname Hwang instead of Dam, she was Dam Ho's precious sister. He couldn't ignore such a sister's request.

Yo Sa-ran smiled.

Her blood-stained teeth were revealed.

"If that was the case, you should have shown mercy before fighting. To beat me up thoroughly and then show mercy. Haha! Truly amazing. Amazing… Cough!"

Yo Sa-ran vomited blood once more. She tried to laugh but couldn't anymore.

She struggled to stand up.

Her legs were shaking and even breathing was difficult, but she didn't give up and stood.

It was already shameful to receive pity from an enemy – she couldn't show any more weakness.

Even then, Dam Ho didn't move. Perhaps he couldn't move. No matter how much one transcended human limits, moving with such wounds was nearly impossible.

Perhaps if they attacked now, they could finish off Dam Ho.

The probability was eight or nine out of ten. But not a single one of Divine Fire Hall's martial artists moved.

They were that overwhelmed by Dam Ho.

They no longer felt the will to fight against him.

That was the dignity possessed by an absolute being.

Dam Ho wasn't just one among the many martial artists of the martial world. He had already risen to the ranks of absolute beings, and the weight and majesty he possessed made them not even want to challenge him.

Yo Sa-ran bowed to Dam Ho.

"Divine Cult Military Commander Yo Sa-ran expresses gratitude for Fist Demon Dam's consideration. With today's consideration, all debts between you and me are settled. So even if we meet next time, there's no need to show mercy."

"……"

"Even if we meet again, I will risk my life to do my best and fight you with everything I have. If that's okay with you, I'll withdraw now."

At Yo Sa-ran's dignified words, Dam Ho silently nodded. Then she looked at the surviving Divine Fire Hall martial artists and said:

"Let's go."

"But……"

"Why do you want to fight? Go ahead and try if you can."

"……"

Divine Fire Hall martial artists bit their lips hard.

To withdraw like this after losing their leader was something their pride wouldn't allow.

Thud!

At that moment Dam Ho stepped toward them. A powerful vibration traveled through the earth and reached the Divine Fire Hall martial artists.

Divine Fire Hall martial artists flinched and looked at Dam Ho.

"Only one person am I letting go. You're not included in that."

"Urgh!"

At Dam Ho's fierce words, Divine Fire Hall martial artists trembled.

Everyone thought emotionally that Dam Ho didn't have that much strength left. But their bodies were different. The moment they heard Dam Ho's voice, their strength drained away and they only wanted to flee this place.

Dam Ho's terror was dominating their minds and bodies.

"Ahhh!"

"Flee!"

At that moment they ran without looking back. Their appearance flying in all directions at once was like a swarm of locusts.

Before the terror of death, neither dignity nor stubbornness mattered. They scattered in all directions to survive.

Yo Sa-ran shook her head slightly at the sight.

Dam Ho didn't pursue them. Whether he wouldn't or couldn't move was unclear. But it was proof that his lingering presence was dominating the area.

'Truly a living disaster. How many more of our cult's martial artists will die at his hands in the future?'

The Demon Cult had already crossed a bridge of no return with Dam Ho. As long as Dam Ho lived, they would certainly repeat endless clashes. She couldn't even imagine how many would die in that process.

An endless disaster.

That's what Dam Ho was to Yo Sa-ran.

In her view, now was the best opportunity to kill Dam Ho. If they missed this opportunity, who knew when they'd get such a chance again. But Divine Fire Hall's martial artists had fled in terror, and she herself had barely saved her life due to Dam Ho's mercy.

'Surely… heaven hasn't abandoned the Divine Cult?'

Yo Sa-ran shook her head and took a step.

Each retreating step felt heavier than a thousand pounds. Wherever she stepped, red blood drops fell.

Thus she moved away leaving her traces, and Dam Ho silently watched her go.

Drip!

Finally, when Yo Sa-ran's form could no longer be seen, fresh blood flowed from Dam Ho's mouth. The internal injuries he had suppressed and suppressed again had greatly worsened.

As Yo Sa-ran suspected, Dam Ho's physical condition was too poor to move. His organs were severely damaged, and his internal injuries were serious. Some bones were broken, and many muscles were ruptured.

Though he was damaged and injured to the point that breathing in this state was miraculous, Dam Ho wouldn't show weakness even if he died.

The martial world was a place where showing even slight weakness would get you devoured. It wasn't lenient enough for those who lost in the battle of spirit to survive.

His vital energy was boiling madly. Like a pot about to overflow, his dantian and heart meridians were shaking dangerously. But Dam Ho trusted Dark Soul Cultivation Method and entrusted his body to it.

At that moment Dark Soul Cultivation Method began to move.

It started calming the shaking vital energy, stabilizing the weakened dantian as if cracked, and healing Dam Ho's internal injuries.

Dam Ho stood blankly while entrusting his body to Dark Soul Cultivation Method. While he was operating his energy like this for a while, someone quietly approached him.

'Brother!'

The one who appeared leading a black horse was precisely Bang Jin-bo.

After hiding the Namgung brothers in a safe place, he had come looking for Dam Ho. Though it wasn't outside Anhui Province as he had promised Dam Ho, it was safe from people's eyes, so he could say he had kept half the promise.

Bang Jin-bo immediately recognized Dam Ho's condition.

Instead of calling out to Dam Ho, he drew his main sword and began guarding the surroundings.

Dam Ho's energy operation ended quite some time later. Until then, Bang Jin-bo guarded Dam Ho's side like a statue.

***

Silver Treasure Escort Agency's merchant group entered Yueyang without any problems. Eun So-cheong, who had entered Yueyang's bustling district, looked around for a moment then fixed her gaze on one place.

"Mm!"

Eun So-cheong's eyes became serious.

Cho Yeon-woon, who noticed her change, quietly approached.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Divine Flower Merchant Group."

On the large mansion's signboard that Eun So-cheong was looking at, the four characters "Divine Flower Merchant Group" were clearly written.

"Divine Flower Merchant Group? You mean the one that's supposedly the Demon Cult's outer court?"

"That's right."

Eun So-cheong quietly nodded.

It was Divine Flower Merchant Group, called the world's greatest merchant group. Divine Flower Merchant Group was the goal that all merchants and merchant groups absolutely wanted to surpass, and the same was true for Silver Treasure Escort Agency.

Though Silver Treasure Escort Agency was known to have the greatest wealth in Hunan, it was far short of Divine Flower Merchant Group. Countless businesses had been frustrated by Divine Flower Merchant Group's enormous wealth, and there were even regions where progress was completely blocked.

To Silver Treasure Escort Agency, Divine Flower Merchant Group was a wall of despair and an obstacle that absolutely had to be overcome. Eun So-cheong had also watched Silver Treasure Escort Agency be frustrated by Divine Flower Merchant Group several times.

Divine Flower Merchant Group was truly riding high, and Silver Treasure Escort Agency had to watch. At the time, she thought it was simply because Divine Flower Merchant Group was skilled. But when the Demon Cult brought down the Martial Alliance's main base and took Yueyang, Divine Flower Merchant Group's true colors were revealed.

People couldn't help but be shocked at their revealed identity.

Demon Cult's outer court.

Divine Flower Merchant Group, which everyone had known only as a pure merchant organization, was actually a merchant group created by descendants of the Demon Cult. Using the last wealth of the Demon Cult that had fallen after the first Righteous-Demon War, they created a merchant group and increased their wealth.

Having received the Demon Cult's support, they rapidly expanded in a short time and could grow into the world's greatest merchant group. In that process, countless merchant groups suffered great damage and had to shed tears of blood.

At the time she couldn't understand why Divine Flower Merchant Group was so powerful, but now she could see.

"No wonder we were bound to bleed competing without knowing the Demon Cult was backing them."

"You must have suffered a lot of damage. There's resentment in your voice."

"There probably isn't a single merchant group in the world that doesn't have bad blood with Divine Flower Merchant Group."

"That much?"

"Yes! They grew like that even when the Demon Cult had fallen, so now that the Demon Cult has taken control of southern Central Plains, we can't even predict how much they'll grow. To truly defeat the Demon Cult, we absolutely must bring down Divine Flower Merchant Group."

"Why do you think that?"

"Organizations or sects without financial backing cannot exist. Especially huge sects like the Martial Alliance or Demon Cult consume enormous funds. No matter how faithful the Demon Cult's believers are, if funding dries up and food becomes scarce, defections will increase accordingly."

"Aren't you underestimating the power of faith too much?"

"There's no faith greater than eating abundantly. It's hard to expect loyalty from the hungry."

At Eun So-cheong's clear words, Cho Yeon-woon found himself at a loss for words.

Unlike martial artist Cho Yeon-woon, Eun So-cheong viewed the world from a merchant's perspective. It was a viewpoint Cho Yeon-woon found hard to understand, but he couldn't say he didn't comprehend it.

"Divine Flower Merchant Group is truly the backbone of the Demon Cult."

It was when Eun So-cheong made this assertion.

Creak!

Divine Flower Merchant Group's gate opened and a group came outside.

Interest appeared in Eun So-cheong's eyes. Because there was an unexpected person at their head.

A woman whose noble bearing wrapped around her entire body like silk, yet with a somehow cold atmosphere – she was precisely Won Seol-hwa, Divine Flower Merchant Group's young leader.

Interest appeared in Won Seol-hwa's eyes as she came outside with her companions. She too had spotted Silver Treasure Escort Agency's flag.

Won Seol-hwa's steps headed toward Silver Treasure Escort Agency's merchant group. ​