Chapter 130

Chapter 130: The Thread of Enmity Grows Ever More Bitter (2)

Thrum!

A wave of qi that shook the very soul of anyone who felt it washed over the battlefield, and Sage Cheong-gu's expression changed entirely. Sage Cheong-gu was a master who had transcended the peak realm. Yet even his stomach churned.

"What—?"

Sage Cheong-gu turned around. The Alliance warriors on either side had parted, and through the gap, a dark figure could be seen. With the setting sun at its back, the shadow stretched long, and an indescribable chill emanated from the black-clad figure.

Sage Cheong-gu tossed Hwang Hye-ryeong to the ground. She was no longer important to him.

"Who are you?"

"I-It is him. Dam Ho."

The answer came from Namgung Su. His face was white as a sheet. His lips had turned blue, and his body trembled like an aspen. The fear carved into the deepest reaches of his mind came alive the moment he laid eyes on Dam Ho. He bit his lip hard, trying to steel himself, but it was no use.

Sage Cheong-gu spoke with puzzlement.

"Dam Ho?"

"The Fist Demon. Also known as the New Stronghold Blood Saint…"

"Hmph! So it is that demon lord whose fearsome reputation has been spreading of late."

Sage Cheong-gu sneered. It was the name he had heard most often since entering 岳yang. But Sage Cheong-gu did not believe rumors. There was nothing easier to inflate than a rumor.

'The Fist Demon? Then is he not a demon lord? It is the Alliance's duty to eliminate demon lords.' If a single demon lord could be destroyed and hundreds of righteous men saved, that was precisely the role of sages like himself.

Step. Step.

Dam Ho walked forward. The Alliance warriors who had been surrounding the area retreated step by step.

"Why are you here?"

They could not fathom why Dam Ho had appeared. Dam Ho did not spare them a glance and walked straight ahead. His path led to Hwang Hye-ryeong. She lay in a pool of blood, writhing like a worm. The look in Dam Ho's eyes as he gazed upon her burned fiercely. He did not know why. The moment he saw her broken form, a violent rage surged from the depths of his chest.

"Grr!"

"Gasp!"

The warriors near him recoiled, their faces white with fear.

"Bro…ther…"

Hwang Hye-ryeong recognized Dam Ho and spoke. Her once-white teeth, stained red with blood, made the sight all the more wretched.

As Dam Ho moved silently toward her—

"Stop."

Sage Cheong-gu stepped in front of him. Dam Ho halted and looked at him. The moment their eyes met, Sage Cheong-gu flinched. He had never seen such deep, dark eyes—and within them, a single thread of killing intent.

Sage Cheong-gu hastily gathered his energy and assumed a combat stance. His body had reacted before his mind could catch up. Dam Ho's head tilted slightly.

"Move."

"I cannot. You are the one who should leave. This is the Murim Alliance's affair. Unless you wish to become the Alliance's enemy, you had best retreat."

"Murim Alliance?"

"That is correct. This is the Alliance's jurisdiction."

Sage Cheong-gu's voice was imbued with force. At this, the Alliance warriors found their courage.

"That's right! This is the Alliance's territory. We have no reason to fear him."

"He is only human."

The Alliance warriors gathered in the area began to murmur. A man who could do nothing alone could find courage in numbers. These were martial artists who had trained their entire lives. Their pride was immense—they had never had to defer to anyone. Their patience for bowing to a single person was not great. Their murmurs soon coalesced into a massive wave of killing intent that crashed toward Dam Ho. Hundreds of eyes fixed upon him alone.

An ordinary person would have been so overwhelmed that they could not even breathe freely. But Dam Ho smiled. If a twisted lip could be called a smile.

"So you refuse to move?"

"How dare you posture here?"

Sage Cheong-gu retorted without backing down. A frost-like aura was already emanating from his body.

'He is an ember. If left alone, his flame will spread elsewhere. Those who defy the order we have created will multiply.' Sage Cheong-gu was not taking such a hard stance merely because of Hwang Hye-ryeong. He saw in Dam Ho the spirit of a rebel. Dam Ho was a lone wanderer who did not submit to the existing order and lived as he pleased. If Dam Ho were an ordinary martial artist, it would not matter. But unfortunately, he was a master. If Dam Ho was left to run rampant, those who followed him in defying the established order would proliferate. The order created by the great sects and noble families was sturdy, but it also contained an inherent fragility—a vulnerability that someone like Dam Ho could exploit.

'The common people cheer for those who disrupt the established order. There will surely be those who follow him. I must cut the roots before that happens.'

In the very instant Sage Cheong-gu was secretly circulating his energy—

Boom!

Suddenly, a thunderclap rang out. Sage Cheong-gu's head snapped backward. His skull vibrated, the world spun, and he could not collect his thoughts.

"Ah!"

"E-Elder!"

The cries of the warriors sounded like tinnitus in his ears. Sage Cheong-gu blinked, not understanding what had happened.

"Gah!"

A searing pain shot through his chest, and in the instant he screamed, all his senses returned. Dam Ho's fist was buried in his chest. Had he not been secretly circulating his energy, the blow would have punched clean through.

"C-Cowardly…"

Whisssht!

In that instant, Dam Ho's fist hammered downward from above to below.

Boom!

Sage Cheong-gu's head snapped to the side. Teeth scattered, and blood stained his face and chest. His body toppled to the ground like a felled tree.

"……"

The suddenness of the event caused the heated atmosphere of the battlefield to freeze. Sage Cheong-gu lay on the ground, twitching and coughing up blood. His consciousness had long since departed. Compared to his earlier imposing demeanor, his current state was pitiful beyond measure. His breathing was faint and weak, and his life could not be guaranteed. Even if he survived, he would likely never again eat with his own teeth.

"Elder!"

"How dare you!"

The Cheongseong Sect disciples who had accompanied Sage Cheong-gu were enraged by the sight of his wretched state. They were on the verge of charging, but Dam Ho did not so much as glance at them. His eyes were fixed upon the blood-soaked Hwang Hye-ryeong.

Seeing her bleeding and gasping for breath stirred an inexplicable rage within him that he could not endure. This was the first time since he had entered the Murim that his emotions had been so agitated.

'Why? What is this?'

The question echoed in Dam Ho's mind.

"Br…other…"

Hwang Hye-ryeong's voice trembled, her breathing weak. Dam Ho hoisted her onto his back. Even in her dazed state, Hwang Hye-ryeong pointed toward Muk Il-gwang.

"We must take him too."

"Yes."

Dam Ho tucked Muk Il-gwang under one arm. Though he carried two people, he showed no sign of strain.

To the assembled warriors, Dam Ho's manner appeared contemptuous—as though he treated every one of them as straw men. They could not suppress their fury.

"Fist Demon!"

Namgung Su's cry rang across the battlefield. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Dam Ho.

"Do you comprehend what you have done? How dare you raise your hand against the Murim Alliance!"

"Murim Alliance?"

"That is right. The Alliance was created to protect the martial world's order against the Demonic Cult. And you—you have inflicted a grievous blow upon it. How will you answer for this? It is always men like you who are the problem! You care only for your own prowess and never consider how to use it for the good of the martial world—irresponsible rogues, every one!"

Namgung Su poured all his fury upon Dam Ho in a torrent of words. 'If only you did not exist… If only you had never appeared before me…' The fire blazing in his chest surged up to his head. His already bloodshot eyes now burned with madness.

Dam Ho's arrival had tangled everything. He had been the one to halt Namgung Su's once-promising life. Because of him, Namgung Su had suffered an indelible humiliation. But he had been powerless to resist. The Namgung Family's Gold Sword Guard had been annihilated by Dam Ho's martial might—it was truly terrifying. Dam Ho had even broken the spirit of his uncle, Namgung Chang. Namgung Su had been able to do nothing alone. But now, hundreds of warriors surrounded him—not only the Namgung Family's men, but warriors from the great sects and the Five Great Families, all mixed together. To turn them into enemies was tantamount to making enemies of the entire world.

"Hand over that woman immediately. If you refuse, there will be no place in the Central Plains where you can set foot."

"Young Master Namgung is right."

"If he continues to defy the will of the martial world, he must be declared a public enemy of the Murim."

Many voiced their agreement with Namgung Su. Their murmur grew like a snowball, swelling in an instant. But Dam Ho did not spare them a glance. He attended only to Hwang Hye-ryeong's condition on his back.

"Brother, how…"

"Save your breath and circulate your energy first."

"But…"

Hwang Hye-ryeong looked around with an anxious expression. Countless eyes were fixed upon them alone. No matter how strong one's courage, such a sight was enough to make the flesh tremble. But Dam Ho walked among them as though they were not there, giving them not a single glance.

In the end, Namgung Su's fury erupted.

"Can you not hear what I am saying? You worthless mongrel—"

"You don't have to shout. I hear every word."

"You—"

"And it seems you have forgotten my warning."

In that instant, Namgung Su felt the blood in his veins turn to ice.

How could he forget? That day's humiliation. Dam Ho's words on that day. Fear flooded in like a rising tide. But he did not flee. If he ran now, he would live the rest of his life under Dam Ho's shadow. That was worse than death.

Namgung Su screamed in a fit.

"Stop spouting nonsense and hand over the woman!"

"And if I refuse?"

"From this day forward, you are an enemy of the Murim Alliance."

"Amusing."

"What?"

"Who decides that? You? Or the people gathered here?"

Dam Ho looked around. The Alliance warriors flinched. In that moment, one of them cried out, "It is the will of the entire Central Plains!"

"That is right!"

One voice became ten, then a hundred. A strange madness had seized the gathering.

Dam Ho walked toward them.

Scrape! Boom! Scrape! Boom!

His distinctive uneven gait—dragging his left foot and stamping his right upon the earth—left a foreboding echo in their hearts.

"Grr!"

Namgung Su's face twisted. His mind told him to retreat, but his heart rejected the trembling.

"Attack! Show him that the Murim Alliance is the center of the martial world!"

Tap!

In that instant, Dam Ho kicked off the ground. His movement technique was the Charging Step. His weapon was the Fortress Breaking Fist. His target was Namgung Su. The look of horror on Namgung Su's face filled his vision with vivid clarity.

Boom!