Chapter 395

Chapter 395: The Sky of Green Forest Falls (2)

Snorting! ​

The horse repeatedly let out rough breathing sounds along with snorts. Its heart was beating wildly as if about to burst, and sweat was pouring like rain from its entire body. Still, Hwang Hye-ryeong couldn't stop the horse. ​

'Father!' ​

Having crossed the Yangtze River and run toward Mount Huang without resting for even a moment, the horses' stamina had now reached its limit. The only one still intact was Black Ghost that Dam Ho was riding. The rest of the horses were in such a state that it wouldn't be strange if they collapsed at any moment. ​

Still, what was comforting was that they had almost reached Mount Huang. The entrance to Mount Huang could be seen in the distance. ​

CLANG CLANG! ​

The sound of weapons clashing carried on the wind. ​

"Damn!" ​

Muk Il-gwang jumped down from his exhausted horse and deployed his lightness technique to rush forward. Behind him, the horse that had grown tired from carrying him was collapsing, but he didn't even glance at it. ​

In the distance, he could see those fighting. Though they were too far away to see clearly, only appearing as vague forms, Muk Il-gwang instantly recognized their faces. ​

They were Green Forest brothers he had spent his entire life with. Their screams were piercing his eardrums. ​

"You wicked Demon Cult bastards. You'll never climb up to Overlord's Stronghold." ​

"Come at us!" ​

Shouts and screams filled the air. And countless people were dying. ​

Most of those dying while spilling blood were Green Forest brothers. ​

"You bastards!" ​

A bloody gleam flowed from Muk Il-gwang's eyes. ​

Before his brothers' deaths, he lost his reason. Before he knew it, two large axes were in his hands. ​

"HYAAAAAH!" ​

CRASH! ​

With a tremendous battle cry, he threw his entire body forward. The human barrier formed by the Demon Cult martial artists greatly shook. ​

"Brother!" ​

"Il-gwang!" ​

Bang Jin-bo and Hwang Hye-ryeong joined the fight belatedly. ​

Faced with Overlord's Stronghold's crisis, they had no time to think of anything else. Overlord's Stronghold was a precious place that held good memories for Bang Jin-bo as well. ​

Hwang Hye-ryeong deployed her martial arts with all her might. ​

"Argh!" ​

"You bastards!" ​

Screams filled the air. ​

The ground was soaked with blood and muddy, and corpses were piled layer upon layer. And most of them were people Hwang Hye-ryeong and Bang Jin-bo knew. ​

Bang Jin-bo bit his lips until they bled. He prided himself on having experienced all hardships while following Dam Ho, but this was his first time directly participating in a bloody battle. ​

Both Muk Il-gwang and Hwang Hye-ryeong were fighting with all their might. Each time they swung their weapons, someone spilled blood and fell. ​

They were people who had already experienced killing others. They had already stepped deeply into the world called the martial world. But Bang Jin-bo was different. ​

Though he had seen Dam Ho kill people many times, Bang Jin-bo had never directly killed anyone. Therefore, this current situation was inevitably more frightening for him than anyone else. ​

Bang Jin-bo realized he stood at a crossroads of choice. And Bang Jin-bo made his choice. ​

SWISH! ​

His main blade created plum blossoms. ​

It was the Plum Blossom Blade technique. ​

"Gurgle!" ​

A Demon Cult martial artist spilled blood and fell. Bang Jin-bo was already moving to find his next opponent without having time to confirm his life or death. ​

He was a cook and a martial artist. ​

He would no longer deny his identity. ​

Dam Ho dismounted from Black Ghost and passed behind Bang Jin-bo. He didn't spare Bang Jin-bo a glance. Because he trusted him that much. ​

Bang Jin-bo wasn't weak enough to need his worry. His heart was also resolute. Worrying about Bang Jin-bo would rather be an insult to him. ​

Dam Ho moved his steps toward Overlord's Stronghold. ​

Countless Demon Cult martial artists were tangled in battle on the path he was heading. But none of them attacked Dam Ho. ​

It wasn't that they saw and avoided him. ​

Martial artists possessed martial instincts. The power to instinctively recognize opponents who matched their level. ​

Because of this, martial artists would move to find opponents matching their level even in chaotic battles and fight, while avoiding opponents they couldn't handle. ​

No one spared Dam Ho a glance. Their bodies were instinctively sensing and avoiding him as an opponent they couldn't handle. ​

A path opened before Dam Ho. Dam Ho walked that path. ​

He didn't spare a glance for those fighting around him. His destination was precisely Overlord's Stronghold. ​

Since it was Overlord's Stronghold he had visited once before, Dam Ho's steps were unhindered. Throughout his journey toward Overlord's Stronghold, countless corpses caught his eye. ​

Most were martial artists from Overlord's Stronghold, but some Demon Cult martial artists were mixed among them. The blood they shed was dyeing Mount Huang red. ​

"G-Great Hero Dam!" ​

Then someone's weak voice was heard. ​

Dam Ho's gaze moved to find the owner of the voice. The owner of the voice was a middle-aged man wearing tiger skin. He was buried under a broken tree stump, weakly looking at Dam Ho. ​

His limbs were bent in grotesque directions, and through a large hole in his abdomen, his intestines were flowing out. Despite wounds that would have killed an ordinary person already, he was tenaciously clinging to life. ​

Dam Ho asked. ​

"Your name?" ​

"I-Iron Bear Stronghold Leader Y-Yong… Cheol-gyeong." ​

He was precisely Yong Cheol-gyeong, the leader of Iron Bear Stronghold who had come running to help Hwang Gyeong-mun. A master who could be considered second only to Hwang Gyeong-mun was lying fallen in such a wretched collapsed state. ​

Dam Ho silently looked at Yong Cheol-gyeong. Then Yong Cheol-gyeong barely opened his mouth. ​

"The Grand… Leader, please… I beg you…" ​

With eyes completely reddened from burst blood vessels, Yong Cheol-gyeong earnestly looked at Dam Ho. Dam Ho knew the meaning contained in his gaze. And he also felt its weight. ​

SNAP! ​

Yong Cheol-gyeong's head tilted. His breath had stopped. ​

Even after his breath stopped, Yong Cheol-gyeong's wide-open eyes wouldn't close. Dam Ho reached out and closed Yong Cheol-gyeong's eyes. ​

That's when it happened. ​

"He was quite a decent martial artist." ​

A youthful voice was heard from behind. ​

Dam Ho got up and turned around. Then he saw a boy around Bang Jin-bo's age. A boy with remarkably white skin was looking at Dam Ho with a bright expression and smiling. ​

He was wearing white clothes as white as his skin, but nearly half was stained red with blood. Fresh blood dripped down his sleeves. ​

The boy looked at Yong Cheol-gyeong and smiled. ​

"He was quite strong. I was almost in danger thanks to him. But since he died by my hand, he probably has no regrets." ​

"……" ​

"Still, he was worthy of being one of the leaders of the Green Forest Eighteen Strongholds. Should I say he had value worth dying by my hand?" ​

The boy was bright. His eyes were clear and pure, and his voice was full of curiosity. ​

He tilted his head looking at Dam Ho. ​

"But are you always so speechless? If someone speaks to you, you should speak back as a matter of courtesy. Central Plains martial artists really have no manners. Really!" ​

WHOOSH! ​

Suddenly, tremendous wind pressure struck him without warning. ​

"Wh-what?" ​

The boy was startled and tried to retreat. But tremendous gravitational force arose and pulled him in. ​

BOOM! ​

With a thunderous sound, the boy's body was sent flying. Dam Ho's Star-Shattering Fist had erupted. ​

The boy's neat hair became disheveled and blood flowed from his nose. All the blood vessels in his eyes had also burst, looking as if bloody tears might drip down at any moment. ​

He had barely managed to raise his protective Gang Qi after sensing danger – otherwise he would have departed this world with a single strike. ​

The bright-faced boy became distorted like a fierce demon. ​

"How dare you…" ​

Though he appeared to be an ordinary boy on the outside, he was a martial artist that Black Wing Death King Jin Do-hwi had painstakingly raised. From childhood, he had consumed various great techniques and spiritual medicines to possess abnormally powerful internal energy, and his humanity had been destroyed so he couldn't feel common emotions. ​

To him, killing was an exciting game like killing grasshoppers or frogs, not something to feel guilty about. ​

The boy who suffered an unexpected attack exploded with killing intent and tried to counterattack. But Dam Ho didn't let him. ​

CRACK! ​

Dam Ho's elbow, having approached within striking distance, crashed into the boy's temple. ​

From the intense shock, the boy's consciousness was instantly cut off. His eyes were open and he could see everything clearly, but he couldn't recognize the situation. ​

He regained consciousness due to the intense grip choking his neck. Dam Ho's hands were somehow gripping the collar around his neck. ​

"Wh-what?" ​

Just as the boy cried out in alarm, his legs were instantly pulled up from the ground. Immediately after, dizzying weightlessness struck and his head and legs' positions were reversed. ​

The boy struggled to escape from Dam Ho's grasp but it was useless. His upside-down body was driven toward the ground like lightning. ​

"N-no!" ​

CRASH! ​

At that moment, the boy's head was buried directly into the ground and shattered completely. The headless torso seemed to shake powerlessly a few times before collapsing. ​

Only then did Dam Ho straighten up. ​

Dam Ho moved his steps without sparing a glance for the boy's corpse. His eyes were sunken deeper than ever. ​

As he approached Overlord's Stronghold, acrid smoke and the fishy smell of blood pierced his nostrils. It was the smell of death all too familiar to Dam Ho. ​

CRACKLE! ​

Overlord's Stronghold was burning. ​

Screams and wails erupted from various places, and some people busied themselves trying to put out the fire. But the flames that had caught Overlord's Stronghold were too large to be extinguished by just a few people's efforts. ​

Dam Ho's gaze turned toward the clearing in the center of Overlord's Stronghold. Because Hwang Gyeong-mun was there. ​

He stood firmly like a stone statue holding the Tyrant Blade. And across from him, Black Wing Death King Jin Do-hwi stood with his arms crossed, watching. ​

Hwang Gyeong-mun's eyes, which had been fixed on Jin Do-hwi, suddenly turned toward Dam Ho. A smile bloomed on his lips. ​

"You came." ​

"……" ​

"Thank goodness… Ugh!" ​

CRACK! ​

At that moment, the Tyrant Blade in his grip shattered and Hwang Gyeong-mun's body collapsed powerlessly. ​

Fresh blood instantly spread across the floor where he sat down. As if all the blood in his entire body had been squeezed out by a press. ​

Dam Ho walked toward Hwang Gyeong-mun. Only then did Jin Do-hwi turn around. ​

"I clearly told Yeong-yu not to let anyone come up." ​

"……" ​

"He must be dead." ​

Jin Do-hwi's eyes gleamed coldly. ​

He was one of the Demon Cult's greatest masters. Excluding the Cult Leader Check Gwan-hyeol, there were almost none who could match him. ​

Naturally, he sensed the violent aura flowing from Dam Ho's body. The beast-like atmosphere and energy that ordinary people couldn't detect. ​

The boy he had raised certainly possessed tremendous martial prowess worthy of being called a killing machine. But he was inadequate to handle someone with such violent aura. ​

His gaze turned toward Dam Ho's feet. ​

Dam Ho was still slightly limping on one foot. In all the world, there was only one martial artist with such a distinct characteristic. ​

"So you're the Fist Demon." ​

"……" ​

"Who would have thought I'd meet you here. Heaven's will is truly mysterious." ​

Jin Do-hwi smiled. Then his black cloak writhed like a living creature. It was a remarkably bizarre sight. ​

He moved his steps toward Dam Ho. ​

"I wanted to see you. Fist Demon." ​

"……" ​

"Just what kind of bastard you are to repeatedly interfere with our cult's great enterprise." ​

The closer he came, the more violently his cloak fluttered like black wings. ​

At that moment, Dam Ho opened his mouth. ​

"You're the same." ​

"What do you mean?" ​

"Being talkative." ​

"What?" ​

"He was also talkative." ​

At Dam Ho's words, Jin Do-hwi wrinkled his nose. Because he momentarily couldn't understand Dam Ho's words. But soon his face became viciously distorted. ​

"You mean Yeong-yu?" ​

"Right! He was chatty. Just like you!" ​

"……" ​

This time Jin Do-hwi closed his mouth. ​

Dam Ho moved his steps toward him. ​

"So I killed him." ​

"You bastard!" ​

"And I'm going to kill you too." ​

"You think that's possible?" ​

"He probably thought like you until he died. But he still died." ​

"How dare you!" ​

"Do you think you'll be different?" ​

In an instant, the thread of reason snapped in Jin Do-hwi's head. ​