Chapter 398
by Heavenly CatChapter 398 – The Age of Blood Chaos Begins (2)
Namgung Mu-jin's pupils were trembling. His retinas were filled with the panoramic view of the Namgung Family engulfed in enormous flames.
The main family that had never collapsed in any bloodshed and had been the reliable shield for those bearing the Namgung surname was burning.
The Namgung Family's resistance was swept away without a trace by the massive wave that was the Demon Cult. Countless martial artists had died, and those still alive had now reached their limits.
"How can this be! How could the great Namgung Family… I can't believe it!"
He denied reality. No, he wanted to deny it. But the smell of blood wafting into his nose and the screams of people echoing throughout the family compound were telling him that what he was seeing was reality.
"That's reality. Nothing in this world exists forever. If you thought the Namgung Family would be eternal, that was a mistake."
There was someone coldly lashing out at Namgung Mu-jin as she watched him. It was precisely Yo Sa-ran.
Namgung Mu-jin's gaze turned toward Yo Sa-ran.
"Witch!"
"That might be so."
"Even after I die, I will curse the Demon Cult for eternity."
"Do as you please."
Yo Sa-ran snorted.
Drip drip!
At that moment, fresh blood began flowing down from Namgung Mu-jin's abdomen. As if being cut by an invisible sharp blade, the wound grew larger and larger, and blood poured like a waterfall.
Mixed in the blood pooling on the floor were severed pieces of organs.
"Ugh!"
Namgung Mu-jin finally let out a pained groan.
He had been severely wounded by Yo Sa-ran long ago. However, with superhuman endurance and excellent internal power, he had been holding on and standing until now. But even that had now reached its limit.
Yo Sa-ran looked at the staggering Namgung Mu-jin with indifferent eyes.
He was certainly a possessor of outstanding talent rarely seen in the world. Perhaps if more time had been given to him, he would have grown into a formidable opponent not easy to deal with.
But the time given to him was only up to here. With his death as the final act, the Namgung Family would walk the path of extinction. Just as the Demon Cult had decades ago.
The difference was that the Demon Cult had Cheok Gwan-hyeol, a genius of the ages, who survived and dramatically revived it. Without him, even the Demon Cult would not have been able to regain today's glory. But the Namgung Family would not be given such an opportunity.
"Root them out thoroughly. Kill every single person who uses the Namgung surname without leaving a single one alive."
Divine Fire Hall Master Nam Hyeon-so's cry echoed throughout the Namgung Family compound. At his command, the Demon Cult's martial artists searched the Namgung Family with blazing eyes.
"Die!"
"Hyah!"
They killed children and women alike as soon as they found them.
"Argh! You demons! Your end won't be good either."
"Waaah!"
People's screams and children's cries mixed with the flames and echoed. This place was already no different from hell on earth.
Yo Sa-ran looked at this scene with indifferent eyes.
'This is why the Divine Cult is called the Demon Cult.'
She didn't want to stop them, nor could she.
For far too long, the Demon Cult had been beaten and endured. The anger accumulated over decades was so immense that if not released, it would rather remain as internal dissatisfaction.
What had been accumulated needed to be released.
That was the minimum courtesy owed to the believers who had shared hardships until today.
Yo Sa-ran shook her head and moved her steps.
Seeing Yo Sa-ran leaving the Namgung Family compound, Nam Hyeon-so spoke to her.
"Are you leaving already?"
"The battle is already decided, so what's the point of staying here?"
"That's unexpected."
"What is?"
"I thought Commander Yo would stay longer to see more blood."
Yo Sa-ran's epithet was Blood Wheel Witch. It was an epithet earned by rolling the wheel of blood that much. Even now within the Demon Cult, her epithet was an object of fear.
Nam Hyeon-so didn't think her essence had disappeared or changed. That's why he was sending her a meaningful look.
Yo Sa-ran chuckled at him.
"That was when I was young, and now I'm not like before."
"Are you returning directly to Yueyang?"
"I should."
"Please don't get lost this time and find your way well."
"I will!"
Yo Sa-ran nodded and disappeared through the burning main gate. Nam Hyeon-so no longer gave Yo Sa-ran his attention.
The bloody purge he was conducting was not yet over. Until the last person using the Namgung surname was found and killed, it wasn't finished even if it was finished.
"Kill them all!"
His cry echoed throughout the burning Namgung Family compound.
That day, the Namgung Family disappeared from the martial world without leaving a single foundation stone. And news of the Namgung Family's annihilation spread like wildfire throughout the entire martial world.
Anhui Province, which had been dominated by the Namgung Family, now completely fell into the Demon Cult's hands. With Hunan Province, Jiangxi Province, and now Anhui Province falling into the Demon Cult's hands, the waist of the Central Plains was completely cut off.
An age of chaos was indeed arriving.
***
"What will you do now?"
"I want to go to Changxing Stronghold in Zhejiang Province."
Hwang Hye-ryeong answered Dam Ho's question in a calm voice.
She no longer shed tears. Though her voice came out cracked due to her damaged throat, no emotional fluctuation could be felt.
"Changxing Stronghold?"
"Yes! There are elderly and weak people who were evacuated there. I plan to take the survivors and join them there to reorganize Green Forest's strength."
Hwang Hye-ryeong looked directly at Dam Ho.
Dam Ho realized while looking at her that a person could change even in one night.
Yesterday's her was a tearful girl. But today's her had become an adult with unwavering eyes. She had matured considerably in just one day.
"Was Changxing Stronghold also part of the Green Forest Eighteen Strongholds?"
"No. That place is just a small mountain stronghold."
"Why not go to other Green Forest Eighteen Strongholds instead?"
"Those places have a high probability of becoming the Demon Cult's targets. More importantly, now that Father has passed away, I don't think the leaders of large strongholds will listen to me. For now, I plan to gather Green Forest bandits starting from places beyond their sight."
"……"
"I'm sorry, big brother. In this situation, I should properly follow you to Mount Hua, but my heart doesn't tell me to do that. My abilities are insufficient to gather all the Green Forest bandits like Father did, but I still want to live for them as much as I can."
Dam Ho stared intently at Hwang Hye-ryeong.
The little sister who had only seemed childish had now become a proper martial artist. She was no longer a child. Since she had decided her own path with her own will, he had to respect it.
"You don't need to feel sorry toward me."
"You don't know how reassuring it is to have big brother here. But I can't rely only on big brother forever. These people are also like family to me. I will stay with them."
Hwang Hye-ryeong's gaze turned toward the Green Forest bandits lined up behind.
They were people who had shared life and death with Hwang Gyeong-mun, her father. They were also the people who had stayed by Hwang Gyeong-mun's side until the very end. To Hwang Hye-ryeong, they were friends and like brothers.
Dam Ho silently looked at Hwang Hye-ryeong and the Green Forest bandits.
There was nothing he could do for them now. The young sister who was starting to stand on her own would face all kinds of hardships from now on. She would have to overcome all of that with her own strength. And Dam Ho planned to silently watch that process.
Then Muk Il-gwang approached Dam Ho and spoke.
"I will protect the Miss. Please don't worry, big brother."
"Good!"
Dam Ho nodded.
Knowing Muk Il-gwang's feelings toward Hwang Hye-ryeong, Dam Ho trusted him. After taking the Plum Blossom Divine Pill, Muk Il-gwang had instantly broken through the wall blocking him. Now if enlightenment supported him, he would become a supreme master of Green Forest following in Hwang Gyeong-mun's footsteps.
"I entrust her to you."
"I will assist the Miss with my life."
Muk Il-gwang thumped his chest with his large fist.
Then Bang Jin-bo approached Hwang Hye-ryeong.
"Sister!"
"Jin-bo!"
"If things get difficult, come to Mount Hua anytime. Mount Hua's doors are always open."
"I'm always grateful to you."
Hwang Hye-ryeong grasped Bang Jin-bo's hands. Bang Jin-bo also firmly grasped her hands.
The two had grown so close they were like real siblings. They thus regretted parting. But knowing this parting wasn't eternal separation, they let go of each other's hands.
Hwang Hye-ryeong looked at Dam Ho.
"Big brother, please be careful. The path from here to Zhejiang Province hasn't been seized by the Demon Cult yet, but the path you're taking back will surely be crawling with Demon Cult martial artists. I trust big brother, but please be careful, and careful again."
"I will!"
Hwang Hye-ryeong lightly embraced Dam Ho and whispered in his ear.
"Then I'll go first, big brother."
"Go well."
Hwang Hye-ryeong turned around. Muk Il-gwang and the Green Forest martial artists followed behind her. Dam Ho silently watched them descend Mount Huang.
Bang Jin-bo approached Dam Ho's side.
Dam Ho was fine, but tears had gathered in Bang Jin-bo's eyes.
Finally, when Hwang Hye-ryeong and the Green Forest martial artists could no longer be seen, Dam Ho opened his mouth.
"Let's go too."
"Yes!"
The two descended via the path opposite to where Hwang Hye-ryeong's group had gone.
The smell of blood still lingered throughout Mount Huang.
Though the bodies of Hwang Gyeong-mun and the Green Forest martial artists had been cremated, the Demon Cult martial artists' corpses were left as they were. Thanks to this, crows and wild beasts were having an untimely feast.
A troubled expression appeared on Bang Jin-bo's face.
Among those now becoming food for beasts, there were surely some he had killed.
That day, Bang Jin-bo had killed others for the first time.
The sensation felt through his main blade was still vivid. The feeling was so terrible he never wanted to recall it again, making him shudder even now.
'I need to get another main blade for cooking.'
He couldn't cook with a blade that had killed humans.
Bang Jin-bo was finally realizing that he had entered the path of a martial artist. The fight with the Demon Cult was greatly changing not only Hwang Hye-ryeong's but also Bang Jin-bo's life path.
"Sigh!"
A sigh escaped without him knowing. But that was momentary – soon a resolute expression appeared on his face.
Since he had decided by his own will, he could neither turn back nor retreat. If he could only go forward anyway, regret didn't suit the situation.
Bang Jin-bo made such a resolution and moved his steps.
Arriving at the bottom of Mount Huang, they found Black Ghost and the horse Bang Jin-bo had ridden. Fortunately, Black Ghost and Bang Jin-bo's horse were together, making them easy to find.
"That's fortunate."
Bang Jin-bo let out a sigh of relief and mounted his horse.
Before mounting Black Ghost, Dam Ho first patted his neck.
Snort!
Black Ghost snorted as if complaining. Dam Ho soothed such Black Ghost for a moment then mounted.
"Let's go!"
"Yes!"
The two began galloping simultaneously.
Black Ghost ran like crazy as if releasing the frustration of not being able to run for a while. Because of this, Bang Jin-bo had to struggle desperately to keep up with Black Ghost.
Thanks to this, they reached the Yangtze River in just one day after leaving Mount Huang. It was exactly the place where they had crossed to go to Overlord's Stronghold. Even the small boat they had used to cross the Yangtze River was still there.
The two loaded the horses on the small boat and crossed the Yangtze River. Fortunately, the waves were calm, so crossing the river wasn't difficult.
When they arrived on the other side of the Yangtze River, it was already getting dark.
Bang Jin-bo looked up at Dam Ho.
"We'll have to sleep outdoors tonight."
"Mm!"
As soon as Dam Ho nodded, Bang Jin-bo busily moved to prepare for sleeping outdoors.
He gathered dry branches and grass, quickly lit a fire, and finished preparing to cook.
From then on, everything proceeded smoothly. He placed a pot over the campfire and quickly made decent food. Meanwhile, Dam Ho chose a flat spot and finished preparing to sleep.
"Brother, you can eat now."
"……"
When Dam Ho didn't answer, Bang Jin-bo looked at him with a puzzled expression. Dam Ho was looking at the thicket where darkness had deeply settled beyond the campfire.
"Brother?"
"Come out!"
At that moment, Dam Ho's cold voice echoed through the night sky.
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