Chapter 188: A Rat in a Trap
I stared into the darkness beyond the demonic humans rushing toward us.
Moyong Cheonhwi and the black-masked members of the Shadow Corps stood there.
They hadn't moved.
Their swords were drawn, but they remained lined up behind Moyong Cheonhwi.
So they're planning to send the demonic humans in first.
I didn't have time to think any further.
“KRAAGH!”
One of the demonic humans was already right in front of me.
Whoosh!
Its claws tore toward my face.
I twisted my body and swung my sword.
Slice!
Its arm flew off.
But—
“KRAAAH!”
It didn't stop.
It didn't even seem to care that its arm had been severed.
It swung the remaining arm and threw its entire body at me.
Its eyes were already those of a rabid beast.
No.
Calling it a beast wasn't even right.
There was no pain.
No fear.
Not even an instinct for survival.
Only the urge to rip apart the person in front of it.
Damn it.
I reversed my sword and cut through its neck.
SPURT!
Only after its head fell did the body finally collapse.
But more demonic humans immediately surged in behind it.
Ink-black eyes continued flashing through the darkness.
“You bastards!”
BOOOOM!
A powerful palm force erupted from Jin Gwangung's hand and blasted two demonic humans away at once.
Their bodies smashed into the wall and bent at grotesque angles.
Yet one of them immediately tried to rise again.
“Persistent bastards.”
Jin Gwangung unleashed another palm force.
CRUNCH!
The demonic human's head was driven into the stone floor.
On the opposite side, Sect Leader Wonmyeong's sword light flashed.
Slice! Slice!
Demonic humans fell one after another.
Mount Hua's sharp sword techniques drew red lines through the darkness.
Every thrust was clean and direct, severing throats and piercing hearts without wasted motion.
But even as they fell...
the demonic humans kept reaching out.
A claw tore through the hem of Wonmyeong's robe.
Another demonic human slipped into an opening and aimed for his side.
At that instant—
SWISH!
Elder Hyeoneom's sword cut through the air.
The creature's wrist flew away.
“Sect Leader, are you all right?”
Wonmyeong immediately corrected his stance and nodded.
Master Gonghyeon's palm force also shook the underground chamber.
BOOOOM!
The tremendous impact hurled several demonic humans backward.
The Great Vajra Palm was truly overwhelming.
Golden palm force pushed through the darkness, folding the charging demonic humans backward all at once.
CRACK! CRUNCH!
The sounds of bones breaking echoed one after another.
As expected of those standing at the pinnacle of the Nine Great Sects.
They weren't people who could be overwhelmed simply because the enemy had numbers.
And yet—
“Grrrrrr....”
There was no end to them.
More demonic humans kept emerging from deeper in the passage.
“KRAAAAAH!”
One of them rushed toward me.
I immediately drove my sword into its chest.
THUD!
The demonic human grabbed the blade buried in its chest...
and charged even harder.
Its palm split open against the edge.
Its fingers were cut apart.
It still refused to let go.
I tried to pull my sword free.
It wouldn't budge.
“KRAAAGH!”
Another demonic human rushed me from the side.
“Mujin!”
Jin Gwangung shouted urgently.
I twisted the trapped sword with force.
CRUNCH!
The demonic human's fingers were crushed around the blade.
At the same time, I dropped low and avoided the claws coming from the side.
Several strands of my hair scattered into the air.
One breath slower and my neck would've been gone.
I planted my foot and swung the sword in a wide arc.
Slice!
The charging demonic human's torso was split halfway through.
Even with only its upper body remaining...
it clawed at the floor and crawled toward me.
A creature with no fear of pain or death.
That was what made them so horrific.
“Be careful!”
Master Gonghyeon shouted.
BOOM!
The Great Vajra Palm blasted several demonic humans away.
But then the direction of his palm force suddenly shifted.
Toward the cages behind them.
Toward the Test Subjects imprisoned inside.
Damn it.
It wasn't only Gonghyeon.
Sect Leader Cheon Gwangcheon and Sect Leader Wonmyeong couldn't freely unleash wide-area techniques either.
Powerful sword qi surged from Cheon Gwangcheon's blade...
then narrowed sharply.
He could have swept through the entire area.
But he didn't.
Wonmyeong was the same.
Mount Hua sword arts excelled at spreading wide and fast...
yet he was forcibly constraining his sword paths.
Hundreds of Test Subjects were trapped inside the cages.
One mistake...
and they would be caught in the attacks along with the demonic humans.
CLANG!
I knocked aside a demonic human's hand with my sword, then drove the blade deep into its chest.
STAB!
“Grrrr....”
Even with its heart pierced...
the bastard still reached toward my throat.
Black blood clinging to its claws gave off a foul stench.
“You insane bastard.”
I ripped the sword upward.
SLICE!
Its upper body split wide.
Only then did it finally collapse.
“Haa... haa... haa....”
Rough breaths kept spilling from my mouth.
My breathing burned.
The hilt in my hand was slick with sweat and blood.
Damn it. If only I had the Heavenly Law Sword....
This battle wouldn't have been nearly this difficult.
The power within the Heavenly Law Sword could sever the demonic qi lodged inside these creatures.
But the weapon in my hand now was just an ordinary sword.
It couldn't cut away the demonic qi.
The only way to stop them was to destroy their bodies completely...
or cut off their heads.
“KRAAAAAH!”
Another group charged.
Damn it. They won't even give us time to breathe.
I steadied my ragged breathing and swung again.
Slice! Slice!
CLANG!
Steel collided with claws and sparks burst outward.
BOOM! BOOM!
Palm force and sword qi smashed into the floor, scattering broken stone in every direction.
The smell of blood.
The scorched stench of demonic qi.
The damp underground air.
Everything mixed together and scraped my throat every time I inhaled.
The battle continued.
I had no idea how many demonic humans I'd cut down.
The stone floor was soaked in black blood.
Corpses piled up everywhere.
And more creatures climbed over those bodies like waves.
“These goddamn monsters....”
Jin Gwangung growled at them.
A long wound already ran across his shoulder.
Blood flowed through his torn clothing.
He didn't care.
If anything...
his grin only became more savage.
“Come on, then! Keep coming, you rotten bastards!”
His palm force shook the underground air once again.
BOOOOM!
Three demonic humans were blasted backward together.
“Huff.”
“Haa....”
Sect Leader Wonmyeong and Sect Leader Cheon Gwangcheon's breathing had grown noticeably rougher as well.
Master Gonghyeon's robes were stained with blood and dust.
Black blood splattered across the backs of his clasped hands.
Still...
the central figures of the three sects remained standing.
The problem was the Righteous Alliance side.
One struggling warrior was dragged down beneath several demonic humans.
“S-Save... AAAAAAGH!”
His scream didn't last long.
Another man stumbled backward after having his arm bitten apart...
only for a demonic human behind him to punch straight through his throat.
“Ghk....”
Almost all the ordinary Righteous Alliance warriors were dead.
Only a few elders remained.
And even they were badly wounded.
I kept swinging my sword while looking ahead.
Damn.
Beyond the demonic humans...
the black-masked figures were still standing there.
Dozens of Shadow Corps masters.
Saving their strength.
Watching us.
Their swords pointed downward...
but every one of them was ready to move at any moment.
And in front of them stood Moyong Cheonhwi.
He also hadn't lifted a finger since using Heavenly Stars, Ten Thousand Rains.
