Chapter 103: To Move Forward Without Regret (3)

Dam Ho's eyes were pitch-black. And they were silent.

The moment killing intent seeped into those eyes of absolute stillness, they transformed into a violent tempest.

Now was precisely that moment.

"Hah!"

Oh Gun-gi, witnessing the incredible sight of the killing intent in Dam Ho's eyes becoming a tempest, drew a sharp breath.

Tap!

Dam Ho deployed the Charging Step.

His target was Namgung Chang.

The man was still alive, still breathing.

He would sever his life force without fail.

That determination radiated from Dam Ho along with his aura.

"Madman!"

Oh Gun-gi, shocked by Dam Ho's onslaught, drew his sword and slashed.

Regardless of the reason, he could not allow Namgung Chang to die at Dam Ho's hands here.

Setting aside his personal relationship with the man, Namgung Chang was a crucial figure who had to play a central role in establishing the Martial Alliance.

Oh Gun-gi unleashed the Hainan Sect's secret sword technique, the Sea Dragon Slaying Sword.

Crack!

Dam Ho's fist and Oh Gun-gi's sword clashed.

"Guh!"

A stifled groan escaped through Oh Gun-gi's lips. Though they had merely collided fist against sword, his entire body had resonated as though struck head-on by a massive boulder.

What shocked Oh Gun-gi most of all was that Dam Ho's fist, which had met his blade, remained completely unscathed.

'How can human flesh…?'

But there was no leisure to ponder the reason. Dam Ho's follow-up attack was already flying toward him.

Oh Gun-gi hastily deployed the third form of the Sea Dragon Slaying Sword—Crimps Cloud Severing Soul.

Whoosh!

In that instant, a sword energy resembling crimson twilight erupted and swept toward Dam Ho.

Oh Gun-gi believed that this single move, while unable to wound Dam Ho, would at least force him to retreat. But Dam Ho's response surpassed his imagination.

Rather than dodging, Dam Ho lunged inward, closing the distance. At this rate, Oh Gun-gi's sword would strike Dam Ho's shoulder directly.

"Hah!"

Cho Yeon-woon clenched his fists involuntarily. Even to his eyes, Dam Ho appeared to be in danger.

But in that instant, something incredible happened.

Ting!

The sword that touched Dam Ho's shoulder deflected diagonally away. The Golden Hook technique had been deployed.

Oh Gun-gi's eyes went wide at the sight of his own sword being repelled.

This was no ordinary blade—it was a sword imbued with sword energy. Its cutting power and sharpness surpassed even the most renowned swords under heaven.

Dam Ho had deflected such a sword with his bare body. For Oh Gun-gi, who did not know the martial art called the Golden Hook, this was only natural to find shocking.

Dam Ho, having deflected Oh Gun-gi's sword, drove into his chest.

Dam Ho's eyes met Oh Gun-gi's. The distance between them was a mere chi—close enough to feel each other's breath.

Oh Gun-gi smelled a briny scent on Dam Ho's breath.

The deathly breath that only beasts, which lived by preying upon the living, could exude.

Grip!

Dam Ho's hands seized Oh Gun-gi's throat.

Oh Gun-gi twisted his body, trying to shake off Dam Ho's grip, but it was no use. Dam Ho's powerful arms clamped around his neck like iron pincers.

"Guh!"

Oh Gun-gi's mouth opened involuntarily.

In that instant, Oh Gun-gi's body was yanked into the air. Dam Ho had executed a Heaven and Earth throw.

Their positions reversed, and Oh Gun-gi was driven violently toward the ground.

Countless martial artists had been helpless against the Heaven and Earth throw. But Oh Gun-gi proved himself to be a warrior of an entirely different caliber—reversing his grip on the sword, he thrust it toward Dam Ho's side.

Swoosh!

Oh Gun-gi believed this would be enough to make Dam Ho release his grip. But Dam Ho was no ordinary martial artist. He was an existence that defied all conventional understanding.

Dam Ho twisted his body slightly to the side. Oh Gun-gi's sword grazed past his flank.

An excruciating agony screamed through his mind. But without a flicker of change in his expression, Dam Ho drove Oh Gun-gi into the ground.

Boom!

"Guh!"

Oh Gun-gi, driven headfirst into the earth, let out a stifled groan.

He had managed to avoid the full force of the Heaven and Earth throw, striking the ground with his shoulder rather than his head by a narrow margin. Had Dam Ho not sustained that wound to his side, it would not have ended so lightly.

His blood ran cold.

It was not merely because his shoulder felt as though it had been shattered.

It was because he was seeing a martial artist like Dam Ho for the first time.

It was not simply because his martial arts were powerful. There were plenty of powerful martial artists in the world.

But he had never once seen a man as terrifyingly tenacious and blindly relentless as Dam Ho.

Once Dam Ho decided on his objective, he would stop at nothing. And he never looked back.

Meticulous calculations did not exist in his mind.

He moved solely for one clear objective.

To kill the one he had designated as his enemy.

Namgung Chang had been designated as Dam Ho's enemy.

That the man had the massive backing of the Namgung Family did not factor into Dam Ho's thinking. He did not consider how difficult his life would become if he killed Namgung Chang.

He was a man composed entirely of pure killing intent.

'Madman!'

Dam Ho leaped over the fallen Oh Gun-gi and charged toward Namgung Chang. Oh Gun-gi hastily rose, trying to stop Dam Ho, but it was already too late.

Swoosh!

With a speed impossible to believe of a man with a limp, Dam Ho surged forward. More than a dozen surviving members of the Golden Sword Squad stood in his path.

As Dam Ho closed the distance with terrifying speed, his savage aura overwhelming, despair washed over the faces of the Golden Sword Squad warriors.

They had never imagined that a martial artist like Dam Ho could exist.

The name of the Namgung Family, which under normal circumstances would have served as an impenetrable shield, had never before felt so hollow.

Dam Ho's black eyes were terrifying.

When those utterly savage black eyes turned toward them, their hearts felt as though they might plummet to the ground.

They prayed that those eyes would not turn toward them—but they knew better than anyone how futile such a wish was.

The eldest of the Golden Sword Squad warriors shouted.

"We must protect the Elder! Block him with your lives!"

"Yes!"

They answered out of habit, but a sudden thought crossed their minds.

'How?'

Boom!

As if to prove their doubt, one of the warriors before them was sent flying as a spray of blood.

The sight of their comrades' blood scattering in every direction—why did it look so beautiful?

Boom!

But when another thunderous sound rang out and another comrade was reduced to a bloody ruin, the beautiful sight became a terror that descended upon them.

"Aaaargh!"

"Sa-save us!"

Screams and cries erupted from every direction.

It was a wretched sight, utterly unbefitting the Golden Sword Squad's reputation as the handpicked elite of the Namgung Family.

"I… impossible!"

Namgung Chang's face crumpled.

A beast from hell was running rampant. And the ones dying at the beast's hands were none other than the proud warriors of the Namgung Family.

He could not even breathe in the face of this hellish sight, which he had never once imagined.

"Hah! Hah!"

He gasped for breath.

His breath was constricted. His face had turned deathly white.

Boom!

In that instant, a thunderous sound unlike any before erupted, and four more Golden Sword Squad members were crushed beyond recognition and sent flying in every direction.

Now, nothing stood between Dam Ho and Namgung Chang.

Namgung Chang felt cold.

He shuddered, as though standing naked in the middle of a snowy wasteland.

Dam Ho was charging toward him.

Eyes burning with killing intent.

Black robe fluttering in the wind.

All of it was terrifying.

'Is this the end?'

He felt hollow.

It was unjust to think that he must die like this without ever unfolding the grand dream he had harbored in his heart. But there was nothing he could do.

If he had known that Dam Ho—the man his nephew had made into an enemy—was such a terrifying existence, he would never have provoked him. But it was too late for regrets.

Dam Ho's figure expanded rapidly before his eyes. Then, suddenly, two familiar silhouettes appeared before him.

"Stop this, friend."

"Please stop."

Crack!

Cho Yeon-woon and Hae So-wol had taken the blow in Namgung Chang's stead.

"Guh!"

"Hmm!"

The ones emitting stifled groans were Cho Yeon-woon and Hae So-wol. They had blocked Dam Ho's strike on Namgung Chang's behalf.

The ground beneath their feet had caved in, leaving deep furrows.

Cho Yeon-woon's face was contorted, and Hae So-wol wore an expression of strain as well.

The impact of blocking Dam Ho's blow had left their shoulders stiff and their chests churning.

Each had used their secret techniques to redirect the force, yet it had still been this severe. The mere thought of having taken the blow directly from Dam Ho's fist made their blood run cold.

With the two of them intervening, Dam Ho's eyes blazed even more fiercely.

"Will you stop me?"

"Whoa, whoa! Calm yourself, friend."

Cho Yeon-woon hastily raised his hands to restrain Dam Ho. But Dam Ho's savage glare would not easily subside. Cho Yeon-woon felt his blood chill.

It was a fierce look that seemed to say: unless you give me a satisfactory reason, I will not spare even you.

The late-arriving Oh Gun-gi stood shoulder to shoulder with the other two.

Three renowned masters of the Murim had joined forces to stop Dam Ho. Such was his overwhelming presence.

Hae So-wol, enduring the oppressive pressure, spoke.

"Young Master Dam… I understand your anger, but perhaps this is enough?"

"Why should I do that?"

"Grandmaster Namgung is a man who has great deeds to accomplish."

"That has nothing to do with me."

Dam Ho's voice was as cold as it could possibly be. The north wind of the Northern Sea could not have felt colder.

Hae So-wol shuddered for a moment.

Dam Ho took a step forward. An immense pressure was felt. The very presence of the man called Dam Ho was overwhelming her.

'What on earth…?'

He appeared to be only five or six years her senior at most. But the aura emanating from Dam Ho was absolutely not something one could attribute to a mere peer.

If this was the case, he would be in no way inferior to Neung Cheon-wol, the Grandmaster of the Hainan Sect.

'Perhaps…'

Hae So-wol swallowed the rest of her thought.

She was too afraid even to imagine it.

No words seemed to reach Dam Ho. But neither could she simply withdraw.

She had to prevent the worst-case scenario: Namgung Chang dying at Dam Ho's hands.

Cho Yeon-woon stepped forward.

"Friend."

"……"

Cho Yeon-woon's soft voice rang in Dam Ho's ear.

Dam Ho looked at Cho Yeon-woon in silence. Then Cho Yeon-woon managed a bitter smile.

"Grandmaster Namgung is a man the world still needs. He must not die yet."

"……"

"But if you still think of me as a friend, then stand down this once. This is the first and last favor I ask of you as a friend."

"Brother!"

This time, even Bang Jin-bo stepped forward.

Bang Jin-bo was shaking his head. This was a situation that had arisen because of him. But he did not want things to escalate any further.

"Brother, please!"

Oh Gun-gi, Hae So-wol, and on top of that Cho Yeon-woon and Bang Jin-bo—all stood in Dam Ho's path.

The anxious gazes fixed upon him. The complex emotions reflected in their eyes held Dam Ho's feet in place.

Dam Ho moved past them toward Namgung Chang.

Cho Yeon-woon started to reach out, but stopped. Bang Jin-bo had caught his hand.

Turning his head, he saw Bang Jin-bo quietly shaking his head.

Dam Ho crouched down before Namgung Chang. Their eyes met at close range.

"I want you to never give up."

"What?"

"Keep coming at me. Again and again. Keep coming at me relentlessly. Because I will kill every last one of you."

"Ngh!"

"As I do, eventually I will be able to kill every living soul of the Namgung Family."

Namgung Chang felt his mind go entirely blank.

Dam Ho's words carried weight. Listening to them, it felt as though what he said would inevitably come to pass.

His hands and feet trembled like an aspen's.

Namgung Chang could not bring himself to meet Dam Ho's gaze. He lowered his head, averting his eyes.

Oh Gun-gi, watching from behind, shook his head.

'That is psychological murder.'

It was not only by severing one's breath that a person could be killed.

Destroying the will, shattering the mind—this too was a form of killing.

From Namgung Chang's mouth came a sound of breathing that defied description. His legs gave out, and he collapsed where he stood.

Dam Ho rose, leaving Namgung Chang where he had fallen.

The seat of Namgung Chang's trousers was wet. No one needed to be told what that meant.

Everyone turned their heads away, averting their eyes from Namgung Chang.

Chu Hyo was also bewildered. However, he decided to watch for now. He thought that perhaps Jin Ja-gang would beg Wei Zong for his life, or curse at Wei Zong, giving them definitive evidence.

Everyone’s attention was focused on Jin Ja-gang.

Jin Ja-gang went and stood below the main hall. With blood-stained eyes, he looked up at Wei Zong who was on the main hall.

Drip, drip-drop.

Jin Ja-gang stood there for a long time, getting hit by the rain that was falling drop by drop.

Time passed like this.

At first, those who thought Jin Ja-gang would do something gradually became bored.

Wei Zong felt the same way.

He wasn’t saying anything, just standing there quietly and looking, so they couldn’t tell what he wanted.

“How tedious. What do you want?”

Jin Ja-gang moved his lips as if to answer.

“What did you say?”

His lips moved.

With sounds that couldn’t even be heard, Jin Ja-gang just moved his lips while wearing a smile. One eye was severely swollen, and the other eye was filled with blood, making his face bright red.

Then he laughed.

Grin.

It was a laugh that seemed to mock Wei Zong. His lips that kept moving seemed as if he was cursing at Wei Zong.

The moment Wei Zong’s eyes flared up, wind arose before Jin Ja-gang’s eyes.

Whoosh!

Wei Zong grabbed Jin Ja-gang by the neck and lifted him high.

“What did you just say? Huh?”

Wei Zong had a personality that greatly disliked being ignored. He especially hated things crawling up from below.

Moreover, since Jin Ja-gang, who was worse than a bug, was cursing at him and laughing, there was no way he would just watch that sight.

He gripped Jin Ja-gang’s neck as if he would crush his neck bones and twisted his lips.

“What did you say. Huh? If you want to speak, go ahead and try, you dog-like righteous faction lackey! What? What did you say?”

Seeing this, Chu Hyo shouted.

“You’re not planning to kill him to silence him, are you! If you’re innocent, put down the limping one right now!”

Wei Zong sneered savagely.

“Prove my innocence? Why should I do that? I could just kill this guy and be done with it.”

“Guk!”

At the same time, blood spurted from the nose of Jin Ja-gang, who was dangling in the air.

Wei Zong was pouring internal energy through the hand he was gripping with, trying to kill Jin Ja-gang!

Chu Hyo shouted in anger.

“Hundred Fragrances!”

Clank! Clatter!

All the righteous faction martial artists were startled and readjusted their grip on their weapons.

Wei Zong also glared with wide eyes and shouted.

“How dare you try to entangle me in a snare with such a petty bait? Tiger Shield Sword, you righteous faction dog! Do you see me as such a joke?”

The limping one was backed by the righteous faction.

Even if not the Martial Arts Alliance, at least the Yunnan righteous faction had acted together with the limping one.

Wei Zong thought so.

Then all the mysteries would be solved.

They put the limping one at the front to annihilate the Three Great Poison Sects, then used Chu Hyo’s son as a sacrifice to pin all those crimes on Poison Valley.

Then they appeared at the very appropriate moment when Poison Valley caught the limping one.

What a well-orchestrated plan this was!

Grind grind grind!

Wei Zong ground his teeth.

“Even if it were deliberately coordinated, it wouldn’t fit together so perfectly, you rat-like righteous faction b*st*rds!”

Chu Hyo also blazed with anger in his eyes.

“Now that you’re cornered, you’re showing your true colors! Are you admitting that you yourselves are not righteous faction?”

“Admitting? You’re talking nonsense.”

Wei Zong shouted loudly.

“Tiger Shield Sword! I’ll give you one last chance to crawl out of this Poison Valley alive. Drop your sword and kneel before me!”

“You old fool, Hundred Fragrances! This is the height of shamelessness! Not content with killing my son, you want to humiliate me too!”

The righteous faction martial artists and poison sect members all gripped their weapons tightly and glared at each other in a hair-trigger situation.

The killing intent was so intense that the atmosphere in the hall was eerily desolate. If even one person moved, a fight would immediately break out.

But then.

Jin Ja-gang, who was being held by Wei Zong, moved his mouth again.

When Wei Zong put strength in his eyes and injected more internal energy into his hand, blood poured from Jin Ja-gang’s nose again.

Chu Hyo shouted.

“I must hear what the limping one has to say. If you kill the limping one, I’ll consider that you killed my child!”

“If that’s your last wish, I’ll grant it.”

Wei Zong lifted Jin Ja-gang again.

“Now, listen well! To the limping one’s words!”

Jin Ja-gang’s face was deathly pale as he moved his lips.

Everyone in the hall held their breath. It was to hear Jin Ja-gang’s words. It was so quiet that even breathing sounds couldn’t be heard.

But there was no way Jin Ja-gang’s voice could be heard.

Whether anyone could hear or not, Jin Ja-gang continued to move his cracked lips.

Wei Zong was so angry that he shook Jin Ja-gang violently while gripping his neck.

“If you want to speak, then speak, you damn b*st*rd! I’m tired of waiting any longer. If you don’t speak, I’ll cut off your head right here.”

He had already lost his reason long ago.

Jin Ja-gang swayed like a powerless piece of straw as he was shaken. He was moving his mouth as if saying something, but it couldn’t be heard.

“Can’t hear anything at all! Speak loudly so that Chu fellow can hear! Speak up!”

Jin Ja-gang desperately kept trying to say something. Wei Zong, who couldn’t stand it anymore, pretended to bring his ear to Jin Ja-gang’s lips.

“What? Huh?”

At that moment.

Pop…

A sound that didn’t seem like it could come from a human mouth occurred near Wei Zong’s ear.

A sound like some kind of fruit bursting.

“…!”

Wei Zong was startled and turned his head to look at Jin Ja-gang’s face. Jin Ja-gang, whose eyes were severely swollen, was inflating his mouth with all his might right in front of Wei Zong’s face!

Hiss hiss hiss.

White steam was leaking from his mouth.

For a brief moment, Wei Zong couldn’t understand why this was happening.

Why was there smoke coming from this guy’s mouth?

But soon he realized the reason and got goosebumps.

He understood why Jin Ja-gang hadn’t said a single word until then.

“You crazy bas…”

At that moment, Jin Ja-gang forcefully spat out the liquid he had been holding in his mouth at Wei Zong’s face.

Puff-oo-oot!

It was Bright Adversity Poison. He had been holding a lump of Bright Adversity Poison in his mouth all this time.

Then he bit it with his teeth to burst it and spat it out!

No matter how crazy someone was, even Wei Zong hadn’t expected him to go this far!

As the price for that carelessness, Wei Zong got Bright Adversity Poison splashed all over his face.

Hissssss!

“Aaaaah!” Wei Zong screamed and threw his head back, but Jin Ja-gang didn’t let Wei Zong go. He grabbed Wei Zong’s head with both hands and drove his knee forcefully into his face.

Crack!

A terrible sound came from Wei Zong’s face.

However, Wei Zong was no pushover either. At the same time as his face was struck, he let his arms drop. Yellow powder began pouring out from Wei Zong’s sleeves.

Wei Zong dodged backward while swinging his sleeves.

Poison powder scattered in a haze.

Jin Ja-gang held his breath. Even so, he inhaled fine poison powder and coughed.

“Ugh, cough cough!”

Jin Ja-gang coughed and knelt down.

His hip bone was pierced, so he couldn’t stand properly. Moreover, his mouth wasn’t intact either.

White steam continued to leak from his mouth.

Because he had burst the Bright Adversity Poison in his mouth, his lips and inside his mouth were burned, causing steam to emerge.

But this was the only way. For Jin Ja-gang to catch Wei Zong, who was the most absolute and supreme master in this place, he had to be prepared for this much.

Jin Ja-gang coughed and spat out a thin lump.

“Ptui!”

It was the shell that had wrapped the Bright Adversity Poison.

Jin Ja-gang coughed a few times and then stood up.

Wobble.

The poison that Wei Zong had spread was still flying through the air, but Jin Ja-gang didn’t care.

Jin Ja-gang spoke haltingly with his burned lips.

Fortunately, thanks to the shell, his tongue was intact.

“Conversations… should be had after breaking the limbs, I learned. Isn’t that right?”

“Uuuuu!”

Wei Zong hastily covered his face with his sleeve and retreated. The poison sect leaders protected Wei Zong’s back.

Jin Ja-gang wiped the rainwater flowing down his face with his hand and let out a long sigh.

“Hoo.”

Then he tried to follow Wei Zong up to the main hall.

Chu Hyo and the righteous faction martial artists were just watching for a moment at the sudden turn of events.

But then a mental transmission flew to Chu Hyo’s ear.

[Now!]

Chu Hyo suddenly came to his senses.

Now that all Four Great Poison Sects had disappeared, the most dangerous thing in the poison sects was only Wei Zong. That Wei Zong had, for some unknown reason, suffered a fatal wound from the limping one and retreated.

Originally, Mang Ryo was supposed to handle Wei Zong. But now that Wei Zong was injured, there would never be another opportunity like this.

Chu Hyo put his hand in his chest and shouted.

“Everyone, now!”

The righteous faction martial artists all took out pills wrapped in oil paper from their chests and put them in their mouths. These were Poison Avoidance Pills that could provide some resistance to the poison sects’ poisons.

They held the Poison Avoidance Pills under their tongues and wrapped their mouths and noses with cloth.

They had thoroughly prepared to fight the poison sects.

Even right now, the poison powder that Wei Zong had scattered was floating around, blocking the entrance to the main hall. Having prepared in advance was a great help.

“Let’s go!”

“Waaaah!”

The righteous faction martial artists shouted battle cries and began fighting with the poison sect warriors who were surrounding them.

Clang! Clang clang!

Various weapons clashed, and sparks began flying everywhere.

And some tried to go up to the main hall to face the poison sect members on the main hall.

But then Jin Ja-gang, who had been slowly climbing toward the front of the main hall, suddenly stopped and looked back.

From the righteous faction’s perspective, Jin Ja-gang’s presence was bothersome. For the righteous faction, who needed to attack quickly before Wei Zong regained his senses, he was extremely annoying.

Chu Hyo approached the bottom of the main hall with several sect leaders and shouted at Jin Ja-gang.

“Your punishment will be dealt with later, so get out of the way!”

Jin Ja-gang stared blankly at Chu Hyo again. It was an indifferent look, as if looking at someone being unreasonable, but with irritation clearly showing in his eyes.

Chu Hyo blazed with anger in his eyes and shouted.

“You b*st*rd! Get off the main hall before I pluck out those eyeballs!”

The limping one was definitely someone who had to be killed. He had to be killed to comfort his son’s spirit.

But right now, Wei Zong was more urgent.

If they could just take Wei Zong’s head, they could kill the limping one anytime.

However, that was only Chu Hyo’s thinking.

Jin Ja-gang asked in a cracked voice.

“From whom are you getting permission to go up to the main hall?”

Chu Hyo thought for a moment that he had misheard.

“What?”

“I asked from whom you’re getting permission to go up.”

“Such, such insolence!”

Chu Hyo put strength into the hand gripping his sword hilt.

But he couldn’t strike.

The same was true for the other sect leaders beside Chu Hyo.

The moment they saw Jin Ja-gang’s blood-stained eyes, their bodies froze on their own.

From deep within his blood eyes, blood vessels seemed to spread out and cover the entire world.

The blood vessels seemed to writhe and spread like spider webs, binding them.

“Kheuk!”

“Wh-what is this…!”

Madness.

The tremendous madness visible in Jin Ja-gang made them unable to move.

Jin Ja-gang bared his teeth like a beast.

“I will devour these b*st*rds.”