Chapter 129. Advance (1)
Kang Yujin knew very well that he had no time to drown in grief.
After laying Jegal Geum properly on the bed, he pressed his lips together and walked out of the infirmary.
“Kang Yujin...!”
Seok Taejun spoke first when he came outside.
There were traces of tears on his face, as though he already knew what had happened inside.
And Seok Taejun wasn’t the only one there.
Lee Jukheon was there.
Lee Hyeonje was there.
Several others had gathered as well.
Every one of them was exhausted and covered in blood.
They all waited for Kang Yujin with grim expressions.
"..."
Kang Yujin said nothing.
He simply walked down the corridor.
When he reached the hospital lobby, he saw Joo Minha and Ma Taesu sitting there.
A map lay between them, covered in all kinds of complicated markings.
As Kang Yujin crossed the lobby, he asked,
“What’s the plan?”
“There are two options, Kang Yujin.”
Ma Taesu answered.
“One is to advance through multiple routes, confuse the enemy, and send an elite unit along a detour to strike them from behind.”
He tapped the map.
“The other is to concentrate all our forces in one place and break through from the front.”
Ma Taesu looked at him.
“Which do you prefer?”
Kang Yujin didn’t stop walking.
“Front.”
“I knew you’d say that.”
Ma Taesu grabbed the map with both hands and tore it apart.
Then he put a cigarette between his lips and stood up.
Joo Minha also rose silently and followed Kang Yujin.
“Kang Yujin.”
Lee Sion was waiting at the hospital entrance.
She threw a piece of clothing toward him.
“Your protective suit is completely torn up. Wear this.”
It was a dark navy long robe.
There weren’t many decorations on it, but the image of a dragon had been embroidered across the fabric.
“When Master went to China to train a long time ago, he hunted a dragon with some Contractors there.”
Lee Sion’s eyes were wet with tears.
“This martial robe was made from its scales. He always wore it during important battles.”
Her voice wavered slightly.
“He stopped wearing it lately because he’d gotten so thin that he said it didn’t look good on him anymore.”
“Thanks.”
Kang Yujin pulled off the shredded upper half of his protective suit and put on the robe.
It reached down to his knees, but it didn’t restrict his movement.
"..."
The moment he stepped outside the hospital, heat washed over him.
Flames were still burning everywhere.
Demons rampaged through them.
Looking at the scene, Kang Yujin started walking forward.
“GRAAAH!”
Demons charged at him, roaring like creatures that had lost all reason.
Kang Yujin pulled his flail from his inventory.
Against demons whose bodies were protected by Demonic power, attacks from the flail were usually inefficient.
Even so...
Kang Yujin swung it.
BOOM!
The surrounding buildings shattered from the impact, and the demons were crushed along with them.
Internal energy had been infused all the way into the iron ball of the flail.
Until now, Kang Yujin had been incapable of using internal energy that way.
He had never properly accumulated it.
But now...
Kang Yujin possessed the ten years of internal energy Jegal Geum had passed on to him.
“Break through the enemy lines with Kang Yujin! Everyone, charge!”
Lee Hyeonje’s voice rang out from behind.
Countless people were following Kang Yujin and attempting to break through with him.
But Kang Yujin paid them no attention.
Anyone still capable of fighting here was strong enough not to get caught up in his attacks.
RUMBLE! BOOM!
The mercilessly swinging flail crushed demons.
Buildings collapsed.
Even the flames themselves seemed to split apart.
“Another one is coming! Watch out!”
Someone shouted.
Far in the distance, a dazzling arrow of light shot into the air.
“Kang Yujin! That is Brahmastra, a long-range attack borrowing the power of the Creator God Brahma!”
Joo Minha’s voice came from behind.
“Saionji Keito is firing it with his Constellation Armament, Gandiva!”
Now that she mentioned it...
that was the technique that had incapacitated Kang Yujin earlier.
Brahmastra flew in a high arc and struck about a hundred meters away from where Kang Yujin stood.
A tremendous explosion erased the surrounding area.
Even where Kang Yujin stood, the shockwave reached him.
So he isn’t aiming with his eyes.
Kang Yujin understood immediately.
Earlier, Keito had floated in the air, directly aimed at Kang Yujin, and fired Brahmastra.
At that time, it had tracked him almost like a guided missile and hit him precisely.
But now, Keito was positioned near the center of the fortress, raising his bow and firing loosely in different directions.
He wasn’t trying to accurately kill specific targets.
He was bombarding enemy positions over a wide area.
But soon...
Brahmastra would be aimed here.
There was no way Keito wouldn’t notice that the Korean force was attempting a concentrated breakthrough with Kang Yujin at the front.
"..."
Kang Yujin could feel tension spreading through the people behind him.
They were probably thinking the same thing.
The Brahmastra that had incapacitated Kang Yujin...
would come flying directly at them.
Just imagining it must have been terrifying.
But Kang Yujin said nothing.
He continued advancing.
Using the flail to create a path where none existed, he moved straight toward the direction Brahmastra had come from.
“Another one!”
“Wait, that trajectory...!”
“It’s coming this way!”
At last, Brahmastra turned toward them.
Unlike the first time Keito had fired at Kang Yujin, he wasn’t using the Durandal Replica as an arrow.
The trajectory was also curved.
Even so...
its destructive power didn’t seem much weaker.
“Kang Yujin!”
Seok Taejun shouted urgently from behind.
Kang Yujin didn’t answer.
He jumped.
He already knew what he had to do.
Draw up the internal energy.
He discarded the flail and concentrated internal energy into his fist.
Controlling his breathing, he imagined the greatest possible force.
The mistake last time had been trying to endure the attack.
He had underestimated its power.
Meet it head-on.
The merciless arrow that had nearly killed him approached.
Kang Yujin thrust out his fist without fear.
[Heavenly Splendor Great Thunder]...!
The Skill [Heavenly Splendor Great Thunder].
The strongest blow Jegal Geum had taught him erupted.
BOOOOOOM!
A deafening roar tore through the battlefield.
The impact felt powerful enough to break Kang Yujin’s body apart.
But that was all.
The Brahmastra that collided with [Heavenly Splendor Great Thunder] shattered completely.
Beautiful fragments scattered through the air.
They caused no destruction at all.
"..."
Kang Yujin landed.
His fist throbbed, but it was bearable.
Until now, using [Heavenly Splendor Great Thunder] had drained his strength every single time.
