Chapter 433 – Who Deserves the Bottom of Hell More? (2)

Bloodshot veins appeared in Namgung In-hu's eyes.

He was kneeling on one knee, barely supporting his body with the sword held in his right hand.

His gaze turned to the opposite arm that wasn't holding a sword. But the place where the arm should have been was empty. Because his entire arm had been torn off from the shoulder.

When their hands became entangled just moments ago, Dam Ho had torn off his entire arm from the shoulder. Muscles were ripped away, flesh was torn off. And the pain of having his bone pulled out was so extreme that anyone who hadn't experienced it couldn't even imagine.

For a moment, Namgung In-hu's reason nearly flew away.

Namgung In-hu glared at Dam Ho with trembling cheeks. Seeing someone else holding the arm that had been his just moments ago gave him not just a sense of loss but even terror.

"You?"

Using his sword as a support, Namgung In-hu forcibly raised his body. Blood was flowing profusely from the shoulder where his arm had been torn off. He had lost so much blood in an instant that his mind was dizzy. But Namgung In-hu gritted his teeth and endured the pain.

He couldn't show weakness before an enemy.

Though he had lost an arm due to one wrong choice, his right arm that held the sword remained. Then he could still fight. The Namgung family's swordsmanship wasn't weak enough to crumble from this much.

Whoosh!

Namgung In-hu forcibly raised his power. Then the atmosphere in the area rippled in resonance with his internal energy.

"Just as I heard. You demon-like bastard! Your nature is fierce and your methods are utterly extreme. Someone like you may frighten people with terror, but you will never gain Heaven's Will. How can one who hasn't gained Heaven's Will discuss the righteousness of the martial world, or stand before people to lead them? You may become a tyrant, but you will never become a hero who saves the martial world."

"……"

"Someone who has acted his whole life for slaughter like you will never understand us. Our anguish, our choice to abandon the path of heroes and enter the evil path ourselves. But in the very distant future, our descendants living in a world incomprehensible by today's common sense will understand our decision. Because all of this is for them."

Namgung In-hu raised his sword and aimed it at Dam Ho.

Whether because he had lost too much blood or because he had lost an arm, his emotions were unusually agitated.

His rough emotions traveled through the air and reached even other people.

"Urgh!"

"Gasp!"

People collapsed clutching their chests.

Those who had reached Namgung In-hu's level could affect others just through changes in their mental state. Not to mention such agitated emotions filled with malice.

However, even such rough energy and emotions had no effect whatsoever on Dam Ho. In Dam Ho's appearance as he indifferently discarded the arm he was holding, not the slightest emotional wavering could be found.

That sight drew out Namgung In-hu's anger even more fiercely.

"How dare you ignore my words? To me……"

"You seem to fight with your mouth."

"Bastard! Your arrogance pierces the heavens."

"When fighting for one's life, why is conversation necessary?"

In battle, there is always only one option.

Kill the opponent and survive, or die yourself.

That was Dam Ho's martial world, and Dam Ho's way of living.

Dam Ho moved his steps toward Namgung In-hu.

Slide! Thud! Slide! Thud!

The off-beat ominous footsteps stimulated Namgung In-hu's heart.

Namgung In-hu realized that no words could shake Dam Ho's spirit.

A martial artist like Dam Ho was truly a first.

No psychological warfare worked on him, and emotional appeals were useless. Facing someone with such steel-like nerves and heart was also a first for him. That's why it felt terrifying.

People inevitably feel fear toward unknown existences they don't understand. To Namgung In-hu, Dam Ho was such an existence.

It was a matter of momentum before martial arts, and Namgung In-hu had been completely devoured by Dam Ho's momentum. Though he would hate to admit it even unto death.

Slide! Thud! Slide! Thud!

The growing sound of Dam Ho's footsteps made Namgung In-hu's heart pound even more fiercely.

Namgung In-hu's gaze suddenly turned toward the Namgung brothers who had retreated far away.

They were the last descendants of the Namgung family.

Though he could only watch the Namgung family be annihilated due to the Heavenly Evil Cult's policy and the inevitable flow of fate, as long as those two remained, the Namgung family wasn't finished.

Namgung In-hu abandoned all lingering attachments. Even the obsession that had been firmly knotted in his heart.

Instantly, Namgung In-hu's momentum changed.

Everything in the world disappeared and only Namgung In-hu remained.

At least that's how it looked to Dam Ho's eyes.

The corners of Dam Ho's eyes trembled slightly.

Occasionally during fierce battles, great awakening occurs. When lingering attachments are abandoned, or when intense yearning draws forth enlightenment, such cases happen.

He didn't know which case it was this time, but Namgung In-hu had clearly gained enlightenment and advanced instantly.

The current Namgung In-hu was a completely different person from before his arm was torn off. Still, Dam Ho didn't think of being afraid. Rather, he thought it was an opportunity.

If Namgung In-hu had gained enlightenment in an instant, he had accumulated enlightenment bit by bit through countless death matches and meditations. And all that enlightenment had melted into the Solitary Path Style.

Dam Ho believed in himself. And he believed in the Solitary Path Style he had created. That belief was solid as a rock, never wavering under any circumstances.

Namgung In-hu swung his sword.

A rain of sword aura poured toward Dam Ho.

It was Flying Sword Aura, an advanced form of Flying Sword Energy. Deployed in the same way as Flying Sword Energy, but its power was incomparable.

Rumble!

Thunder echoed in the clear sky.

Dam Ho's retinas filled with the pouring rain of aura.

There was nowhere to dodge, nowhere to retreat, and no thought of retreating.

Dam Ho plunged into the rain of aura with both fists clenched tight.

Crash crash crash!

His fists poured forward without giving him time to breathe.

A technique that unleashed twenty-four consecutive strikes in the time it takes to breathe once, Six Harmonies Blood Mountain River.

The final chapter of the Solitary Path Style that stains heaven, earth, and all directions with blood collided with Flying Sword Aura.

Flash!

There was no sound. Only a dazzling explosion of light.

Crash!

Bang Jin-bo and the Namgung brothers who were far away were swept up in the explosion and tumbled backward.

As they barely raised their bodies and looked forward.

But their ears were ringing. Their ears were so full of tinnitus they couldn't hear other sounds. They spoke to each other's faces, but couldn't hear.

Eventually they gave up conversation and looked at the place where Dam Ho and Namgung In-hu had collided. In that moment, their eyes widened greatly.

Dam Ho stood covered in blood. But he remained dignified and unwavering as always. Conversely, Namgung In-hu was in a state of nearly losing consciousness. The only reason he hadn't fallen was because someone was supporting him.

Someone had intervened at the decisive moment to save Namgung In-hu.

Dam Ho's eyes flickered.

People felt goosebumps from his gaze that even revealed madness. The same was true for the person who had intervened in the fight to save Namgung In-hu.

She was a beauty in her late thirties with a silver scarf wrapped around her neck. A woman with unapproachable dignity and overwhelming presence. And Dam Ho knew her identity.

"West… Queen Mother."

"It's been a while, child."

She was precisely West Queen Mother Yong Hwa-seol, a member of the Four Divine Emperors.

Dam Ho's head turned askew. That single light action alone emitted terrifying killing intent.

Dam Ho didn't know why Yong Hwa-seol had intervened, or what reason she had for saving Namgung In-hu. But her intervention in his fight alone was enough to stoke his anger.

"Why?"

"I need him. Please yield him to me."

Yong Hwa-seol looked at Namgung In-hu she was holding. Namgung In-hu's breathing was faint and critical. Though he looked fine on the outside, his internal organs were crushed as if ground in a giant mortar. If left like this, he would surely die. So she injected internal energy into Namgung In-hu's back.

Dam Ho's eyes narrowed.

"He's mine."

"I'm sorry. I know it's shameless, but I wish you would yield him."

"And if I refuse?"

"I will ask like this."

Suddenly Yong Hwa-seol bowed her head to Dam Ho.

In that moment, Dam Ho's pupils wavered.

The opponent was West Queen Mother Yong Hwa-seol. A member of the Four Divine Emperors, and one of the strongest people in the world. Such a person was bowing her head making a request.

"I really need Namgung In-hu."

Yong Hwa-seol's face looking at Dam Ho was filled with earnestness.

An absolute martial artist who had reached the realm of Heart Speech Kill was seeking permission instead of using force.

After watching Yong Hwa-seol for a moment, Dam Ho took a step back. It meant he was accepting Yong Hwa-seol's proposal.

"Thank you. I will never forget this favor. I will surely repay it someday."

Yong Hwa-seol thought it fortunate she wouldn't have to fight Dam Ho.

When Dam Ho and Namgung In-hu last collided, the reason no sound erupted wasn't a natural phenomenon.

It was because the terrifying gravitational force generated from Dam Ho's body had swallowed even sound.

The opponent was a martial artist who had reached a level to devour even natural phenomena. Facing such a person was burdensome even for her.

More than anything, Yong Hwa-seol didn't want to make him an enemy yet. Because Dam Ho's existence was too ominous to make into an enemy.

Simply comparing martial realm, hers would be higher. But fights in the martial world weren't simple enough for victory and defeat to be determined only by martial realm.

That day's physical condition, mindset, momentum, senses, there were countless things to consider. What Yong Hwa-seol valued most among them was mindset.

The mindset as a martial artist, the desperate will to definitely kill the opponent, venomousness, emotions like obsession and such.

In that aspect, Yong Hwa-seol was quite lacking. She had reached a realm without rivals very long ago, and because of that, felt no need to fight.

With no need to fight, there was no reason for fighting spirit to arise, and such years piled up layer by layer and hardened like granite. Because of that, now even raising fighting spirit for any ordinary matter wasn't easy. Her heart wouldn't move.

In other words, her desire to fight had been worn away. Though her body maintained youth thanks to powerful internal energy, her spirit and emotions were those of an elderly person worn down by countless years.

The reason she didn't want to take the risk of fighting Dam Ho was also for such reasons.

Dam Ho was young, had strong mental power, and possessed terrifying obsession and fighting spirit to definitely settle the match under any circumstances.

Aside from his limp, he was the perfect martial artist. Fighting such a person was something even she was reluctant to do.

'No matter how much the body reverses aging and rejuvenates, it cannot make the aged spirit young again.'

Yong Hwa-seol briefly closed her eyes.

If her mental strength had maintained its prime state, there would have been no reason to go through such troublesome procedures.

She could have gone to 'him' and demanded confidently to obtain what she wanted.

Because she couldn't do that, she had to make a request to Dam Ho in a manner unbecoming of her reputation. And for some reason, Dam Ho readily granted her request.

"Thank you."

"……"

"And I'm sorry. That I can't tell you anything. I hate my own wretchedness, bound by oath."

Complex emotions swirled together in her eyes.

Dam Ho watched such Yong Hwa-seol silently.

The reason he yielded Namgung In-hu was because of the earnestness in Yong Hwa-seol's eyes. That truly desperate gaze had moved Dam Ho's heart.

Though he wanted to ask many things, he didn't bother.

Yong Hwa-seol said she was bound by oath. A master of her level wouldn't break the oath to give answers. She would rather choose death.

As Yong Hwa-seol shouldered the unconscious Namgung In-hu and was about to leave, she suddenly looked at Nok Su-bing.

"Child."

"Yes? Yes!"

"Come with me too."

"What do you mean?"

"He has played a trick on your body. I will heal you, so come with me."

At Yong Hwa-seol's unexpected words, Nok Su-bing blinked briefly. Then Yong Hwa-seol extended her hand to Nok Su-bing.

"Take my hand."

In that moment, Nok Su-bing's mind went blank.

She couldn't disobey Yong Hwa-seol's words. As if possessed, Nok Su-bing took Yong Hwa-seol's hand.

Holding Nok Su-bing's hand, Yong Hwa-seol looked at Dam Ho one last time.

"I wish you martial fortune. And please be careful. When they learn that Namgung In-hu fell by your hand, they will never remain idle."

"That's what I want."

"What?"

"Tell them all to crawl out. So I don't need to go around looking for them one by one." ​

Thunder Emperor Ga Mu-ru, standing on the half-destroyed ship, stared at Jin Ja-gang for a long while before raising his hand.

The three evil faction masters surrounding Jin Ja-gang slowly began to retreat. At the same time, the ships carrying salt picked up speed, sailing around Jin Ja-gang to avoid him.

Ga Mu-ru folded his arms again and glared at Jin Ja-gang.

Chill!

Jin Ja-gang felt goosebumps rise along his spine.

Show your back and you’ll be cut.

Look away for even a moment and you’ll be cut.

Let your guard down and you’ll be cut.

This was the feeling of the powerful fighting spirit Ga Mu-ru was projecting. Though his hands were folded, the blade harbored in his heart was continuously targeting Jin Ja-gang.

Jin Ja-gang muttered.

“You’ve caused enough ruckus… if you’ve gone that far, stay put. Is that what you mean?”

Ga Mu-ru merely stared bluntly.

A brief sneer formed at the corner of Jin Ja-gang’s mouth.

“Your confidence is impressive.”

Hearing Jin Ja-gang’s words, Taoist Master Bok-cheon read Jin Ja-gang’s thoughts and shouted.

“No! Don’t do it!”

But Jin Ja-gang was already moving.

He reached out toward the three evil faction masters who were slowly retreating.

In an instant, Ga Mu-ru unfolded his arms, drew his great sword with his left hand, pulled his left foot back while twisting his waist and lowering his stance, then gripped the end of the great sword with his right hand and swung it.

This all happened in a single breath.

KYYUUUUUNG!

A massive blade energy flew toward Jin Ja-gang.

But Jin Ja-gang didn’t withdraw his hand. Poison needles sprouted from Jin Ja-gang’s right hand, and Asura Sutra emerged from his left.

Two of the three must be left behind!

The three masters fled in terror, scattering in all directions.

Among the three fleeing evil faction masters, a poison needle embedded in Soul-Locking Ghost’s calf. The man with iron claws curled up like a ball and rolled to avoid the Asura Sutra.

Soul-Locking Ghost fell onto a plank. The spot where the poison needle struck immediately began to swell and fester. Blood foam bubbled up.

“Uuuurgh! Urgh!”

Poison Dragon’s reputation for deadly poison had already spread across the four seas. Soul-Locking Ghost gritted his teeth and cut off his own knee with the scythe. The severed leg was instantly covered in bloody pus and melted away.

And just as Taoist Master Bok-cheon had warned, Jin Ja-gang had no chance to dodge and was struck by Ga Mu-ru’s blade energy.

The blade energy grazed Jin Ja-gang’s abdomen as it passed.

ZZZT!

The front of his clothes instantly burned away, and a straight line of black soot appeared on the Thousand-Year Turtle Shell. Jin Ja-gang was pushed into the air by the powerful blade energy and fell into the river water. But even in the midst of this, his hands moved once more.

SPLASH!

As Jin Ja-gang fell into the river water, two needles embedded in the sole of Soul-Locking Ghost’s remaining healthy leg and in the iliac bone of his waist.

Soul-Locking Ghost was groaning from the pain of cutting off his own leg when he realized he had been hit by poison needles again.

Despair.

To survive, he would need to cut off the ankle of another foot and carve out his waist.

Even if he survived, he would never be able to practice martial arts again.

No matter how ruthless someone might be, how could they make such a cold judgment in such a brief moment?

Soul-Locking Ghost thought “Oh no!” Excruciating heat shot through him.

He had only hesitated for a moment, but the poison was already beginning to spread.

Soul-Locking Ghost tore his pants. Flowers were blooming petal by petal along the blood vessels of his leg.

“Ha… ah… ah…”

Soul-Locking Ghost looked back and forth between his own leg and the water where Jin Ja-gang had fallen with a despairing expression.

Both despair and rage were carved simultaneously on Soul-Locking Ghost’s face.

Soul-Locking Ghost raised his scythe. Red extinction flowers were already blooming on his arm, and unbearably painful heat was arriving.

Any later and there would be no salvation.

“UAAAAAAAH!”

Soul-Locking Ghost struck his own crown with the scythe.

THUD!

Soul-Locking Ghost’s eyes rolled back and his body fell backward.

The other two masters who had luckily survived trembled in their hearts. Their faces turned pale white. If Jin Ja-gang had targeted them, they would certainly have ended up in that state.

Ga Mu-ru’s eyes narrowed.

Even though he had warned that careless movement would result in being cut, Jin Ja-gang had still gone ahead and killed one.

Ga Mu-ru’s heavy mouth opened.

“Vicious bastard.”

SWOOSH…

Jin Ja-gang burst out of the water. He extended Asura Sutra to hook onto the rail of a passing ship and climbed aboard. All the evil faction warriors and sailors on the ship jumped into the river water and fled.

They couldn’t help but be frightened after seeing what had just occurred.

Jin Ja-gang touched the ship. Part of the Thousand-Year Turtle Shell’s surface, charred as if burned, had cracked and was oozing.

Son Bi came over supporting Taoist Master Bok-cheon to the ship where Jin Ja-gang was.

Taoist Master Bok-cheon looked at Jin Ja-gang with an incredulous expression and shook his head.

Well, that was Jin Ja-gang for you. In any situation, he wouldn’t be overwhelmed by his opponent’s momentum.

Then, surprisingly, Ga Mu-ru pointed to the opposite riverbank for Jin Ja-gang to see.

Then he launched his body and flew there first. Despite his massive frame and wearing armor, he lightly leaped several zhang at a time, stepping on the water’s surface.

At the riverbank, Ga Mu-ru embedded his great sword in the ground and gestured.

“Come over.”

The terrifying fighting spirit he had been pouring out disappeared.

He had acknowledged Jin Ja-gang!

Taoist Master Bok-cheon was about to try to dissuade Jin Ja-gang from going, but stopped.

There was no need to tell the current Jin Ja-gang to do this or don’t do that from the sidelines. What Taoist Master Bok-cheon should do as an adult was not interference or meddling, but advice.

Taoist Master Bok-cheon said while breaking out in cold sweat from pain.

“Thunder Emperor is a warrior who once stood shoulder to shoulder with Master Haewol. He has also competed with Brother Woo-am. Brother said that Thunder Emperor’s internal energy is profound and his Lightning Blade rarely tires. Having experienced it today myself, it’s truly so. And…”

He added the rest through voice transmission.

‘There seems to be an injury around his chest area.’

Though Ga Mu-ru could have purely overwhelmed Taoist Master Bok-cheon with strength, at the end he waited while accepting that his ship would sink from Taoist Master Bok-cheon’s sword energy. He also frowned when using Lightning Blade.

For such a master to have received an injury uncomfortable enough to hinder his movement meant it was probably from fighting Master Haewol. The injury wasn’t very minor.

“Understood. I’ve dealt with the Demon Cult masters, so please avoid them.”

Ga Mu-ru wanting to hold Jin Ja-gang while sending the other ships away was also what Jin Ja-gang wanted. Since he had sent Yeung-gwi to help the Poison Sect Cliques, they would block them from below.

Son Bi approached and firmly gripped Jin Ja-gang’s hand. Though she couldn’t speak, this replaced a hundred words.

Jin Ja-gang nodded in response without taking his eyes off Ga Mu-ru, answering with a gesture.

Then he jumped off the ship, rode a small plank, and went to the riverbank where Ga Mu-ru was waiting.

SPLASH.

Jin Ja-gang stepped onto the riverbank, shaking off his wet pants. He removed his torn and burned upper garment that was cumbersome. The Thousand-Year Turtle Shell was fully exposed.

Ga Mu-ru looked at Jin Ja-gang with heavy eyes. His deeply sunken eye sockets made his atmosphere seem even more profound.

“Are you the successor Haewol mentioned?”

“I’ve never directly heard myself called a successor. Though I did receive a request to take his life if things went well.”

Ga Mu-ru’s eyes changed slightly.

“So it was like that after all.”

“What do you mean by ‘after all’?”

Surprisingly, Ga Mu-ru readily answered.

“I thought there was no way Haewol would really have joined hands with the Demon Cult.”

“That means…”

“Anyone who knows Haewol would think so naturally.”

Jin Ja-gang was suddenly swept by a strange emotion.

People who had known Master Haewol for a long time all had the same evaluation of him.

He can be trusted. If it’s Master Haewol…

If it’s Master Haewol…

If it’s Haewol…

Master Haewol himself thought he was a villain. Of course, most people certainly thought so too.

But the people who actually knew Master Haewol didn’t think that way.

This wasn’t something that applied only to orthodox sect people.

If Ga Mu-ru spoke like this, wouldn’t the Demon Cult also have known Master Haewol likewise?

So from when Master Haewol brought in the Demon Cult, the Demon Cult probably also suspected Master Haewol’s true intentions. There would have been more than enough room for Baek Li-jung to intervene there.

The Demon Cult’s betrayal was a predetermined betrayal.

Jin Ja-gang even felt a sense of futility.

Master Haewol’s noble cause of trying to shoulder the villain’s role went awry because others knew but he himself didn’t realize it.

An unbearable sense of futility washed over him.

Jin Ja-gang asked Ga Mu-ru.

“Are you saying Master’s death was in vain?”

“Are there separate deaths for dogs and immortals?”

Ga Mu-ru said with deep eyes.

“Haewol failed to prove his cause and I simply remained alive.”

That was the cause that should have been proven to Jin Ja-gang through Haewol’s death.

“Was that the only reason Master had to die?”

“Long ago, the Northern Heaven Evil Sect was driven out of the Central Plains under a total attack by the Martial Alliance. Haewol was the instigator.”

Strength entered Ga Mu-ru’s eyes.

“Is there any reason Haewol shouldn’t have died?”

“So… you’re saying you used this opportunity.”

Jin Ja-gang’s voice became sharp.

“Northern Heaven has been involved in this affair from long ago. Surely you don’t not know why Master Haewol came to make such a choice.”

Ga Mu-ru didn’t answer.

“Did you knowingly let yourself be used, or are you pretending to be used? If neither, will you at least shift responsibility to King of Hell who orchestrated this affair?”

“King of Hell?”

A faint smile formed at the corner of Ga Mu-ru’s mouth.

“Let me tell you one thing. Even if King of Hell had been fine, this affair could never have succeeded.”

There was something contradictory in Ga Mu-ru’s words.

The one trying to continue King of Hell Tang Qing’s plan was precisely the Northern Heaven evil faction. Yet from the mouth of the Northern Heaven evil faction’s leader came talk that it wouldn’t have succeeded?

Are you saying you cooperated with King of Hell Tang Qing while knowing the plan would fail!

“Are you the instigator this time?”

“No.”

Jin Ja-gang lifted his chin slightly and said.

“Then it’s even more pathetic.”

“What do you mean?”

“Pretending to be deceived, pretending to be fooled. Where exactly is your cause?”

Ga Mu-ru stared at Jin Ja-gang for a while, then answered.

“Survival.”

Ga Mu-ru’s bass voice dropped even lower.

“Our cause lies in survival. Those who survive are strong, and the will of survivors is justice. That’s the way of thinking of the dark path.”

“To survive, you don’t mind dirty deeds and clung to the current. Is that what you mean?”

Ga Mu-ru twisted his lips and asked.

“Is Haewol who died for ideals pitiful, or are we who were driven to the frontier and forced into extreme survival pitiful?”

“If everyone dumps waste in a pit because the pit is dirty, the pit will rot even more inside. At least you should know shame. If everyone doesn’t feel ashamed about riding the current to pursue their own interests, how can any justice remain?”

Ga Mu-ru’s expression became distorted as if both laughing and angry, his thick lips lifting.

“Do you think there’s still justice left in the martial world that should be protected?”

Jin Ja-gang answered.

“I don’t know about chivalry or great causes. But I know one thing. Because of that one thing, I’m standing here.”

Ga Mu-ru looked at Jin Ja-gang.

Jin Ja-gang stared straight into Ga Mu-ru’s eyes and said.

“If life is entirely about just eating and living, what makes that person different from a beast?”

These words were meant directly for Ga Mu-ru to hear!

What makes you, who only pursues survival, different from a beast?

Ga Mu-ru’s lips parted.

Paradoxically, it looked like a quite pleased expression.

“Prove it.”