Chapter 432

Chapter 432 – Who Deserves the Bottom of Hell More? (1)

Whoooosh!

Rough energy waves swept through like a storm.

"Urgh!"

Bang Jin-bo hurriedly raised his internal energy to protect himself and the Namgung brothers. Thanks to that, the three people could remain safe. However, Bang Jin-bo didn't let his guard down and retreated further back with the Namgung brothers.

The same was true for Nok Su-bing. Having retreated to avoid the terrifying energy waves, her complexion had turned pale white.

Nok Su-bing's gaze was fixed on Namgung In-hu. It was definitely a face she was seeing for the first time. Yet somehow it felt familiar.

Nok Su-bing kept trying to recall her memories, but her mind was only hazy as if shrouded in fog.

'Where… where have I seen him?'

Even in that moment, Namgung In-hu's momentum was swelling like a snowball.

Crack!

The high wall surrounding the separate building twisted like an earthworm before collapsing completely.

It was truly unimaginable power. There weren't many martial artists in the world who could display this much power with just energy waves alone. Among them, Namgung In-hu's momentum was exceptionally outstanding.

But even in the storm-like momentum, Dam Ho remained unshaken. Though his hair and blood wind robes fluttered madly, he just looked at Namgung In-hu without blinking an eye.

Those calm eyes without any ripples. That terrifyingly sunken gaze was provoking Namgung In-hu's anger.

"What differentiates humans from beasts is that they think. And they know how to care for others. Without such distinctions, humans cannot be distinguished from beasts. Think for yourself. About your conduct. Then you'll realize. That you are not human but a beast."

"……"

"Moreover, humans must have noble ideals. Not just for oneself, but looking at the benefit and life of the whole, and choosing the most righteous path for everyone. For those who walk such a path to be insulted by a beast like you is far too unreasonable."

He was truly angry at the fact that he had been insulted by none other than Dam Ho.

Though his martial arts might be strong, he was a monster with paralyzed humanity.

That was his evaluation of Dam Ho.

Because he thought of himself as a noble person, his evaluation of Dam Ho had to be even harsher.

Even under the terrifying energy waves he emitted, Dam Ho still stood firm and unwavering. That appearance looked like a monster embracing darkness. It was when bloodshot eyes appeared in Namgung In-hu's gaze glaring at him.

"Are you done barking?"

"Barking? Are you calling me a dog right now, to this Namgung In-hu?"

Killing intent appeared in Namgung In-hu's bloodshot eyes.

"Aren't you? You turned to the Heavenly Evil Cult like a lowly dog."

"What do you know to be babbling like that? What would someone like you know? Our agonizing, our profound and far-reaching great plan……"

Bang!

At that moment, with a thunderous roar, Namgung In-hu's body was flung backward. And in the place where he had been standing, Dam Ho now stood.

Following his charging step, a Heaven-Breaking Pursuit had struck Namgung In-hu who was shouting angrily.

Whoosh!

Dam Ho's blood wind robes fluttered in the wind as his body shot forward in a straight line. At the end was Namgung In-hu who had deployed a sword screen. In the moment of crisis, he had created a sword screen to protect his body.

"You bastard!"

Namgung In-hu felt the blood throughout his body turn ice cold.

Dam Ho was rushing at him with terrifying momentum.

With the eyes of a beast flashing.

Crash!

In that instant, Namgung In-hu felt death rushing in. And he realized. That all the martial artists who had faced Dam Ho must have experienced exactly the same emotion he was feeling now.

To them, Dam Ho would have been the god of death, an unbearable disaster. Among them were many martial artists of the Namgung family, his own blood relatives.

Dam Ho was frightening enough that he could empathize with the despair and frustration they must have felt. But Namgung In-hu thought he was different from them.

The years he had trained martial arts were different, the depth of his martial learning was different, and his degree of enlightenment was different.

His sword smoothly crossed through the void.

Swooosh!

With a chilling sound, sword energy formed and flew toward Dam Ho.

For martial arts that had reached the pinnacle realm or beyond, creating and releasing sword energy wasn't very difficult. But Namgung In-hu's sword energy was different.

He released more than ten sword energies in an instant. He created and released sword energies so quickly that there was almost no time difference between the first and last.

Boom boom boom bang!

More than ten sword energies continuously pounded Dam Ho's body.

Flying Sword Energy.

It was a unique technique he had created.

It was a martial art that not only released sword energy but maximized its power, especially focusing on increasing the rapid-fire speed.

The power of each one couldn't compare to sword aura, but the combined power of more than ten sword energies actually surpassed sword aura. It also had the advantage of consuming very little internal energy, allowing it to be used almost infinitely.

Thud thud thud!

Dam Ho's body was pushed back with heavy footsteps.

His charging step had been blocked.

Seeing this, Namgung In-hu's eyes flashed.

"Did you think your ignorant charging would work forever? I've already thought of a way to counter you. You blood-crazed monster."

What made Dam Ho frightening was when his charging step displayed its power.

When the charging step filled with tremendous force gained speed, its destructive power increased almost infinitely. If you tried to block it then, it would be too late. Block the movement before it gains speed. That was the countermeasure against the Solitary Path Style that Namgung In-hu had found.

Swish swish swoosh!

Without giving him time to breathe, Flying Sword Energy flew toward Dam Ho again.

Ten at a time, three times in succession. A total of thirty sword energies cut through the air.

"Ah!"

Namgung Yeong-hwi, who was watching, unconsciously let out an exclamation. Because it was that spectacular.

Boom boom boom bang!

Thirty sword energies mercilessly pounded Dam Ho without giving him any chance to dodge. Explosions erupted and thick dust rose high.

"Br-brother?"

It was the moment when Bang Jin-bo's eyes widened.

Whoooosh!

Suddenly something black charged toward Namgung In-hu, breaking through the dust. It was Dam Ho. His body was trembling finely. The shield had activated.

Namgung In-hu continuously released Flying Sword Energy. But the Flying Sword Energy he released was either extinguished by the shield or deflected. However, the massive impact accumulated directly on Dam Ho's body.

His already disheveled hair fluttered in the air, and parts of his blood wind robes were torn away. Accordingly, wounds increased on Dam Ho's body as well. Still, Dam Ho didn't stop advancing.

Dam Ho's will wasn't weak enough to give up just because he was blocked once.

Colliding, and colliding again.

Even if he suffered wounds and became battered, rolling on the ground and dying miserably like that, Dam Ho had no intention of stopping his advance.

Charging forward like a battering ram was Dam Ho's very identity, and the driving force that developed him and kept him going.

Conversely, the sight of endlessly advancing Dam Ho was terror itself to his enemies. No matter what martial arts or techniques they used, the sight of Dam Ho approaching without stopping was frightening enough to make their blood run cold.

'Please stop!'

So much so that they would unknowingly plead in their hearts.

The same was true for Namgung In-hu as well.

He was confident of his victory. But even so, Dam Ho's appearance gradually approaching like salmon swimming upstream against a river was enough to frighten him.

As the distance with Dam Ho gradually closed, it felt like his rough breath could be felt.

The exhalation of a beast eating living things nauseously penetrated his nostrils. Fear toward Dam Ho amplified unhindered from that moment.

Paralyzing reason, amplifying fear, and swelling like a snowball. Countless masters had collapsed on their own, intoxicated by such fear of Dam Ho. But Namgung In-hu was an absolute master of a different caliber from them. In the moment of crisis, the Namgung family's secret Sky Great Evolution Divine Art awakened his reason.

"Cha-aht!"

Namgung In-hu swung his sword with all his might. He deployed Flying Sword Energy again. But it was different from the Flying Sword Energy he had been deploying until just now.

While normal Flying Sword Energy divided and released about ten sword energies through equal power distribution, this Flying Sword Energy condensed the power that should have been divided into ten into one. Naturally, the power increased tenfold as well.

Ziiing!

With an explosion, Dam Ho's head tilted backward. The sword energy had directly struck his forehead.

Blood splattered and his disheveled hair fell away in clumps.

"I did it."

Namgung In-hu forgot his dignity and burst out in a voice filled with joy.

He had finally blocked Dam Ho's damnable approach.

Namgung In-hu thought half of Dam Ho's head must have flown off. It was an attack powerful enough to be that confident.

That's when it happened.

Creak!

Dam Ho's head, which had been bent backward as if it would break, was slowly returning to its original position. His hair swayed and covered his forehead again. Between the darkly cast shadows, red blood dripping down could be seen.

The blood flowing from his forehead passed his brow and was staining Dam Ho's eyes and cheeks red.

It wasn't simply a small wound on the forehead. It was a deep wound where the skin was peeled back revealing white bone. The scar remaining on the bone showed just how dangerous the recent attack had been.

If he hadn't used both shield and Steel Joint Technique to deflect the sword energy, this one strike might have shattered Dam Ho's skull. It was that lethal an attack.

Yet there was not the slightest waver in the eyes of Dam Ho who had passed through such a dangerous moment.

The moment he saw those pupils without a single ripple, like a perfectly still lake, Namgung In-hu felt a shudder.

Whether it was from extreme excitement or fear, he couldn't tell, but every hair on his body stood on end, and a prickling sensation swept through his entire body like lightning.

"Huk!"

Namgung In-hu unconsciously let out a death gasp and retreated backward. At that moment, Dam Ho arrived where he had been. Namgung In-hu had dodged Dam Ho's attack by a hair's breadth.

Dam Ho's hand, which had been hidden by the blood wind robes, extended like lightning and struck the empty air.

Ziiing!

Instantly the texture of the air split and a shockwave engulfed Namgung In-hu. The Air-Severing Wall had unfolded.

"Urgh!"

As his eardrums took a hit from the shockwave, Namgung In-hu's form wavered momentarily. Like an absolute master, Namgung In-hu instantly recovered his original state. But Dam Ho didn't miss that split second.

Thwack!

His fist struck Namgung In-hu's waist.

Namgung In-hu's waist bent almost at a right angle as if it would break. Along with intense pain, blood surged up backwards through his internal organs.

Namgung In-hu spat the blood pooled in his mouth at Dam Ho while swinging his sword.

Whoosh!

The air split and Dam Ho's severed hair scattered in the air. And his counterattack continued.

Boom boom bang!

Sword and fist, sword energy and fist energy, body and body collided.

A storm of energy raged and the earth was overturned.

"Get away!"

Bang Jin-bo retreated outside the separate building with the Namgung brothers and Nok Su-bing.

The large separate building was collapsing before their eyes.

Dust rose high into the sky and broken debris flew in all directions.

"Wh-what is this?"

"R-run away!"

Guests staying at the inn were startled by the unexpected catastrophe and ran outside.

Rumble!

The earth cried and the air split.

It felt like the end of the world had come. Most guests couldn't overcome their fear and fled, while some people buried their heads to the ground and prayed to heaven to save them.

A ferocious fight they had never once imagined was taking place.

"What on earth?"

"Grandfather belongs to the Heavenly Evil Cult?"

The Namgung brothers' faces clearly showed they couldn't understand.

While they could accept that Dam Ho and Namgung In-hu were fighting, the unfamiliar term Heavenly Evil Cult made them uneasy.

The situation of Namgung In-hu suddenly appearing wasn't normal to begin with. With the term Heavenly Evil Cult added on top of that, the Namgung brothers felt indescribable fear and terror.

Especially the fear that Namgung Yeong-hwi felt was much greater. Being more intelligent than his brother Namgung Seon-hwi, he sensed much earlier that the unfolding situation was not ordinary.

Namgung Yeong-hwi tightly gripped Namgung Seon-hwi's hand. But Namgung Seon-hwi, unaware of this fact, watched the two people's fight in a daze.

That's when it happened.

Riiip!

"Aaaargh!"

Along with the sound of something being forcibly torn away, someone's desperate scream echoed to the sky. ​