Chapter 49

Chapter 49: There Is No Justice More Expensive Than a Human Life (3)

The disturbance at the main gate awakened Seocheon Mountain Villa from its slumber.

*Ding-ding-ding!*

The alarm bell rang, and countless warriors poured out in unison.

"What is happening?"

"Th-there is an attack at the main gate!"

"Is it the Blood Forest Assassination Bureau?"

The warriors exchanged bewildered glances. But only for a moment—soon their faces twisted with rage as they charged toward the gate.

Though they did not know the enemy's identity, they were not so soft as to sit and wait for the enemy to reveal themselves.

At that moment…

*Whoosh!*

From the front, a scorching gale swept toward them like a tidal wave.

A searing wind mingled with killing intent and heat engulfed them in an instant.

*Boom! Boom!*

"Aaaagh!"

"Sp-spare me!"

Thunderous sounds and screams merged in the pre-dawn sky.

"Wh-what?"

Warriors positioned in the rear stared with bulging eyes.

A single man was charging toward them.

A man in a black robe, charging in a straight line like a rampaging bull. And warriors swarming to intercept him.

Countless blades cutting through the darkness. Sharp sword energy and sword winds howling.

All of it directed at a single man.

To halt his charge.

*We can stop him.*

*He is human too. If he is cut by a blade, he will bleed.*

Until that moment, they still clung to a sliver of hope. But in the next instant, that hope shattered like a clay pot dropped on the ground.

*BOOM!*

The thunderous roar of a demon rang out, and without fail, someone was sent flying—shattered—along with their weapons.

Even weapons forged from the finest steel, hammered hundreds or thousands of times, were no different from rotten reeds before the man's fist.

"Urgh!"

"What?"

In the blink of an eye, dozens of warriors were rolling in a sea of blood. But no one could halt the advance of the man in black—Dam Ho.

From breaking through the main gate to penetrating the inner compound, the only techniques Dam Ho employed were the Charging Step and the Fortress Breaking Fist.

He saw no need for anything else.

Two punches were unnecessary. A single strike eliminated one life.

Dam Ho's entire body was drenched in blood. None of it was his own. The blood that coated him was the life force of others.

Through his blood-matted hair, a dark light flickered. When Dam Ho's exceptionally black pupils fixed upon him, the warrior who had been charging froze—hand and foot.

The warrior had never, not once, seen such a gaze.

Was this the gaze of a demon crawling up from the very depths of hell? But the warrior could not confirm it. In that instant, his consciousness had been obliterated.

*Crack!*

The warrior's body was slammed into the wall. Broken masonry collapsed upon him. He did not move. He was dead.

Jo Deung-myeong, the inner master of Seocheon Mountain Villa, shouted:

"Wh-who are you? Why do you perpetrate such slaughter at Seocheon Mountain Villa?"

His desperate cry seemed to reach Dam Ho, who halted.

His gaze turned to Jo Deung-myeong.

"Are you the master?"

"The m-master is not here."

"Then call him."

"The master is not someone who comes merely because you call."

"If I kill everyone here?"

"What?"

"Then he will come, won't he?"

"What grudge do you hold against Seocheon Mountain Villa to do this?"

"And why did you kidnap merchants?"

"S-surely not because of that…"

Dam Ho did not answer. Further words were unnecessary.

Jo Deung-myeong closed his eyes.

He had always known this day might come.

When the tail is long, it will be stepped on. When grudges accumulate, their price must eventually be paid—that was the way of the world.

Jo Deung-myeong had the distinct feeling that today might be that day.

*Still, this is too fast.*

Then Dam Ho spoke again.

"You understand now? Then call your master."

"As I said before, the master is not here."

"Where is he?"

At Dam Ho's question, Jo Deung-myeong's gaze involuntarily turned toward the cliff. That was enough for Dam Ho.

"He is there, then?"

In the darkness, Dam Ho's eyes gleamed. In that instant, Jo Deung-myeong felt his heart plummet.

"N-no. The master is not there."

"…"

Dam Ho did not answer. There was no need.

The moment Dam Ho's steps turned toward the cliff…

"Hey, stop right there."

"You think you can create this mess and simply leave?"

A rough voice accompanied by savage killing intent swept across Seocheon Mountain Villa. Simultaneously, dark figures emerged from the shadows.

Men in tattered clothing, their hair and beards unkempt. Over two hundred of them, dressed like ronin—at a glance, they were clearly out of place in Seocheon Mountain Villa.

The man who appeared to be their leader sauntered forward.

A towering figure of seven chi, with a massive halberd slung over his shoulder, radiated an overwhelming presence that made one's knees weak just to look at.

Dam Ho's gaze turned to him. The leader grinned.

"What a terrifying fellow. You have turned Seocheon Mountain Villa completely upside down."

"Who are you?"

"Me? My name is Sa Pyeong-gang."

"Sa Pyeong-gang?"

"That is right!"

The man who introduced himself as Sa Pyeong-gang grinned. Around him, the ronin-like warriors gathered in a loose formation.

Over two hundred men assembled in one place created an imposing aura.

Sa Pyeong-gang muttered, surveying the men who had gathered around him.

"Thanks to you, the entire Blood Storm for the first time in a long while. Should I be grateful?"

"The Blood Storm?"

"That is right! We once went by that name. And it is the name with which we shall turn you into a creature of blood and sand."

The Blood Storm—once feared as the terror of the desert.

The same Blood Storm that Seocheon Mountain Villa and Eun Ha-seong had supposedly destroyed was alive and well. And inside Seocheon Mountain Villa, no less.

The greatest secret of Seocheon Mountain Villa was being revealed.

The Blood Storm had terrorized all of Xinjiang, and when Seocheon Mountain Villa stepped in to resolve the crisis, they had won the people's trust and consolidated their power.

The Blood Storm was Seocheon Mountain Villa's hidden sword. A double-edged blade that, if discovered, could turn against its own master. That was why Eun Ha-seong had kept the Blood Storm hidden all this time.

Dam Ho did not know this fact. And so he had no interest in it.

His gaze was fixed on a single destination—the cliff. The mastermind behind all of this was there.

Sa Pyeong-gang clicked his tongue, exasperated by Dam Ho's apparent indifference.

"Tsk! To be ignored like this is a first."

"Big Brother! We have been resting too long. That is why even this young pup looks down on us."

"All the better. Let us remind them of the Blood Storm's terror once again."

The warriors of the Blood Storm chattered among themselves.

They seemed not to regard Dam Ho as worthy of attention, laughing and speaking among themselves. But from their entire bodies, killing intent rose in thick waves—even the warriors of Seocheon Mountain Villa, who were ostensibly on the same side, stepped back.

*Those butchers are on the move.*

*Seocheon Mountain Villa will be swept away in a bloodstorm.*

Though they had fought to suppress the Blood Storm—albeit reluctantly—they had witnessed firsthand the carnage the Blood Storm inflicted. They knew better than anyone how terrifying they were.

But in this moment, the Blood Storm did not seem so frightening after all. More terrifying was Dam Ho, standing alone in the center of this carnage.

Jo Deung-myeong's gaze turned to Dam Ho.

*Can they truly stop that demon?*

Jo Deung-myeong prayed that the Blood Storm would halt Dam Ho. If they could, he would turn a blind eye to any atrocity the Blood Storm committed.

The Blood Storm continued to laugh and chat. But their gazes were locked on Dam Ho, and their bodies were gradually shifting into a circular encirclement.

A formation that surrounded Dam Ho in a ring.

Heavenly Demon-Slaying Formation.

A battle formation designed to deal with small numbers of elite opponents.

The hallmark of the Heavenly Demon-Slaying Formation was that its two hundred-plus members moved in concert like interlocking gears, launching coordinated attacks without a gap.

Even Sa Pyeong-gang, who led the Blood Storm, had questioned whether such a formation would ever be necessary. But today, it seemed to have found its perfect opponent.

Though he had belittled Dam Ho outwardly, Sa Pyeong-gang too sensed instinctively that this was no ordinary warrior. For a single martial artist to lay waste to Seocheon Mountain Villa and inspire such terror was impossible otherwise.

The warriors of the Blood Storm had taken their optimal positions to deploy the Heavenly Demon-Slaying Formation when…

"If you are done barking, come at me."

Dam Ho's voice, sunk low, resonated across the area.

The warriors of the Blood Storm showed their fury at being treated like dogs. Sa Pyeong-gang's rage in particular was immense.

"Heavenly Demon-Slaying Formation—open! Tear him to shreds!"

"Yes!"

Until that moment laughing and chatting, the Blood Storm warriors now moved with a unified, resonant response.

The Heavenly Demon-Slaying Formation was not a simple combined assault. It contained the profound principles of heaven and earth, maximizing the power and potency of each individual.

An overwhelming pressure bore down upon Dam Ho's entire body.

*Crack!*

Under the mountain-like force pressing upon his shoulders, Dam Ho's feet sank into the ground. The pressure was so immense that an ordinary person would have died instantly.

Surrounding objects cracked and crumbled. Solid stones shattered into fragments, and ornamental trees disintegrated into powder.

At the center of it all stood Dam Ho.

*Whirrr!*

Like the turning of interlocking gears, the Heavenly Demon-Slaying Formation unfolded around Dam Ho.

Horizontally, vertically…

Their intricate movements dazzled Dam Ho's vision.

A sword thrust out aiming for his throat, a sharp blade flew toward his limbs.

"Hyung!"

Bang Jin-bo, who had arrived late, saw the scene and screamed.

To Bang Jin-bo, who knew nothing of martial arts, it seemed that Dam Ho's body would be torn to shreds at any moment.

In that instant, Dam Ho moved.

*BOOM!*

"Kuhuk!"

Thunderous sound and a scream erupted simultaneously.

A warrior was sent flying at a speed invisible to the naked eye. His upper body had been crushed beyond recognition.

Dark red blood flowed down Dam Ho's forearm.

Another nameless life had been extinguished by Dam Ho's hand. Yet Dam Ho felt no guilt.

*Have I become a monster?*

The muscles in Dam Ho's jaw twitched.

It did not matter.

Whether he was no longer human, whether he had become a monster—

This was not the life he had chosen from the beginning.

He had not wished to become a monster, but he harbored no regret for having walked the monster's path.

*Snap!*

He kicked off the earth.

Four swords flew toward Dam Ho.

Though nearly two hundred warriors fought in concert, only a handful could directly attack him at any one time.

Even the peerless Heavenly Demon-Slaying Formation could not significantly increase that number.

At most, six. He only had to deal with six at a time.

If he divided two hundred by six, that was thirty-four. He only needed to fight thirty-four times. That was Dam Ho's calculation.

To an ordinary person, it would seem the calculation of a madman. But Dam Ho was no ordinary person.

*CRASH!*

With a single Charging Step followed by Fortress Breaking Fist, another warrior was crushed and sent flying. Almost simultaneously, five or six warriors became mangled flesh, tumbling across the ground.

"One."

The first line of the Heavenly Demon-Slaying Formation collapsed.

As though waiting for this, the second line launched its attack upon Dam Ho.

Six blades flying from six directions.

There was nowhere to dodge, and blocking seemed utterly impossible.

"Got him."

"Die!"

The moment joy lit up the faces of the six warriors, Dam Ho's body bent in a strange curve.

Like the rounded shell of a scarab beetle, his body deflected the six blade strikes. The warriors who had launched them were certain that this single technique would tear Dam Ho's body apart.

*Ting-ting-ting!*

In that instant, a faint metallic sound rang out, and their certainty shattered.

The sharp blades that struck Dam Ho's body had, impossibly, deflected at an angle.

Golden Turtle.

A unique defensive technique that Dam Ho had developed, inspired by the rounded carapace of a beetle deflecting the mantis's sharp foreleg strikes.

It was a miracle born of the harmony between the Dark Soul Heart Method and a body forged to its absolute limit.

The moment horror flickered across the warriors' faces, a powerful shockwave engulfed them.

*CRASH!*

A devastating blow struck their entire bodies.

In an instant, six warriors became mangled flesh, rolling across the ground.

"Two!"

A low voice escaped Dam Ho's lips.

His voice was very quiet, yet it pierced the ears of all who heard it with startling clarity.

"This bastard!"

The instant Sa Pyeong-gang's eyes went wide, Dam Ho's voice echoed across the battlefield once more.

"Third wave, come."