Chapter 115: I'm Bleeding a Lot

TL: FoodieMonster007

Baek Manggi's face showed various emotions as he looked at me.

Fear, surprise, excitement, and anger.

Surprise surfaced first.

"So young?"

When my sword first brought him to the verge of death, he must have mistaken me for the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. He must have realized his mistake. After all, no one else could wield a sword so swiftly.

"Hey, old man."

I dropped all courtesy towards him. I didn't know what kind of life he had lived. However, the moment he cut down the three wolves today, any reason to respect him vanished.

"Did you say we were playing ghost games? You're the one playing them right now, aren't you?"

"What did you just say?"

"Why did you crawl out of your grave to meddle in a later generation's affairs? You lived your era and even earned the name Sword Emperor. Wasn't that enough for you?"

My words hit their mark, and the air around us grew cold.

However, I felt a scorching heat. It was the heat from the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, who slowly adjusted his mask behind me. I knew what he was feeling without even looking into his eyes.

Yes, some things can be understood without being said or seen.

"Look here, young junior. What's the use of such a foul mouth when speaking to your elders?"

"Old man, you're going to kill me anyway, so isn't it a bit shameless to expect politeness? Then again, if you had any shame, you wouldn't have swung your sword at those young juniors, would you?"

He stroked his severed beard, and the surrounding air grew even colder. I provoked his killing intent further.

"When your disciple went senile and jumped into a power struggle, you, his master, should have stopped him. What were you thinking, crawling out as if you'd been waiting for it? Did you both go senile together?"

Baek Manggi's face flushed slightly. Yes, get agitated. Get more agitated.

I shouted to Bi Sayin and the Thirteen Evil Wolves, who stood far away.

"Let's send these old men back into history."

It was a signal for them to handle Seok Gwanchu while we handled this side.

Hope blossomed in Bi Sayin's eyes, which had been filled with despair. If we took on Baek Manggi, this fight was more than winnable.

Seok Gwanchu's expression, on the other hand, was stiff. He must have never dreamed such a variable would appear in a matter where he had even mobilized his master.

Baek Manggi asked coldly.

"Who are you, you insolent brat?"

"The one who will take an old man, omitted from the Hell Mansion's list, to the underworld."

In that instant, Baek Manggi drew his sword with the speed of lightning.

"……"

I narrowly dodged the incoming sword. Baek Manggi's attack was fast and powerful.

At that moment!

PHEW!

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon unleashed the Blood Calamity Finger. Baek Manggi twisted his body to avoid it, and my sword stabbed at him.

As we clashed, the Thirteen Evil Wolves and Bi Sayin also rushed at Seok Gwanchu.

I decided to fight without worrying about the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

I had never fought in coordination with him, and I judged that a clumsy joint attack against Baek Manggi would only put us at a disadvantage. I trusted the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

He would handle it himself. He would jump in, dodge, and help on his own. He would fight well on his own.

Therefore, I fought with the mindset that I was fighting Baek Manggi one-on-one.

"……"

We clashed again. His swift sword was too fast for the Thirteen Evil Wolves to handle. It was an attack that even the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon would find difficult to dodge consecutively.

Blocking after seeing it with my eyes would be too late. I had to block with experience and instinct.

He attacks the left, so I should attack the right. The moment I had such a thought, my head would be severed.

Baek Manggi's technique, which had focused only on speed, suddenly became dazzling. This change was incredibly threatening.

However, I barely blocked his attack. I struggled not to be overwhelmed by his qi.

In the midst of our exchange, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon unleashed the Blood Calamity Finger. Because our movements were so fast, he launched the Blood Calamity Finger with extreme caution. One wrong move could have hit me instead.

Despite the two-on-one fight, Baek Manggi was not pushed back at all. His skill demonstrated what it meant to have earned the name Sword Emperor eighty years ago.

His swordsmanship was one thing, but Baek Manggi's movement arts were also spectacular. If I hadn't learned the Four Strides of the Wind God, his movement arts would have completely overwhelmed me. He fought entangled with me to avoid the Blood Calamity Finger, and his every step was breathtakingly fluid.

After about a hundred seconds, Baek Manggi suddenly unleashed a palm technique during our sword exchange. It was a truly unpredictable attack, but fortunately, I managed to block it by unleashing a palm technique of my own just in time.

"……"

Our palms met with an explosive roar.

The impact pushed us both back. Our internal energy levels were nearly identical. If I hadn't recently consumed the 10000 Year Black Lingzhi Mushroom, his inner arts would have overpowered me.

Pushed apart from each other, we found a moment to talk.

"I don't want to be surprised, but I can't help it. How on earth can you possess such profound inner arts at your age?"

I spoke to him cheerfully.

"My friend, you don't recognize me?"

"What?"

"I underwent Rejuvenation."

For a moment, he thought I was someone he knew.

"……"

"Who do you think? The young junior with the foul mouth. Why are you asking who, when you don't even have any friends?"

Baek Manggi then realized I was mocking him. His expression twisted. I had to provoke him whenever I had the chance.

As always, in a fight, the one who gets agitated is the one who loses.

Sword qi unleashed from his agitated sword for the first time.

SHWAAAAAAK!

This was the moment I had been waiting for.

"……"

The sword qi I unleashed collided with his, and a deafening sound exploded.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon did not miss this opportunity, consecutively unleashing the Blood Calamity Finger and the Extremely Savage Demonic Palm. The two-on-one fight was to our advantage.

I continuously poured out the Burning Sky Strike, a sword qi emission technique.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon also relentlessly unleashed the Blood Calamity Finger and the Extremely Savage Demonic Palm.

Baek Manggi swung his sword and unleashed palm techniques like a madman to neutralize them. A series of explosions erupted.

KWANG! KWANG! KWWAAAANG! KWANG!

The ground shook and clouds of dust rose.

At this tremendous exchange, Seok Gwanchu, Bi Sayin, and the Thirteen Evil Wolves stopped fighting to watch the outcome.

When the attacks stopped and the dust settled, we were startled.

He stood there, perfectly fine.

Then, the Sword Emperor's ultimate technique, born from fury, began.

SSSSSSSSS!

In front of him, his sword split into sword-shaped qi.

I could tell. He intended to kill everyone here in a single move. He meant to kill the Thirteen Evil Wolves and Bi Sayin, then face us alongside Seok Gwanchu.

The Black Demon Sword rose before my chest and began to split.

SSSSSSSSSSST!

The Soaring Sky Sword Art Seventh Technique, the Ominous Sky Strike.

Was it because I had achieved Twelfth Star mastery? It split much faster and into a greater number than before.

Baek Manggi's sword qi flew towards everyone present.

SHWISHWISHWISHWISHWISHWISHWI!

SWOOOOOOOOOSH!

Simultaneously, my sword qi also unleashed.

The next moment, a magnificent spectacle unfolded.

Two kinds of lines embroidered the space. Lines meant to kill and lines meant to protect.

The moment those two lines intersected, a continuous series of explosions erupted as sword qi clashed with sword qi.

Bi Sayin saw Baek Manggi's sword qi flying toward his face. It flew at a speed impossible to dodge.

However, my sword qi flew in faster, tore that sword qi to shreds, and nullified it right before his eyes.

"……"

It was the same for the other members of the Thirteen Evil Wolves. The sight of the sword qi flying at them being torn apart by another sword qi was a spectacle they would likely never see again.

KWANG! KWANG! KWANG! KWWANG! KWANG!

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon nullified the sword qi aimed at him by himself. I believed he would, so I didn't block it for him.

When all the flying sword qi vanished, the dust had also completely settled.

Baek Manggi came into view. His eyes, a mixture of disbelief, surprise, and anger, were now filled only with killing intent. Seok Gwanchu was shocked and bewildered. He had never imagined his master's ultimate technique could be blocked.

Conversely, the eyes of Bi Sayin and the Thirteen Evil Wolves were filled with astonishment as they looked at us. It was beyond surprise, bordering on awe.

This time, I charged at Baek Manggi first.

If you give your best, I will give my all. If you die, only you die, but if I die, so many people will die.

I poured everything I had into my sword.

We exchanged dozens of blows in an instant.

Blood splattered from both our bodies. There was no time to check where or how I was cut. The fact that blood flew even though I wore the Top-Quality Heavenly Silk and the Ghost Armor meant I might have already been sliced in several places without them.

As I endured again and again, I could feel a sense of impatience from Baek Manggi.

When was the last time he had fought such a long and bloody battle? Fifty years ago? Seventy years ago? Perhaps he had never had such a difficult fight. After becoming the Sword Emperor, no one would have dared to challenge him recklessly.

In this fight, the help of the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was absolute. He didn't intervene carelessly because our fight was too fast, but he would fire the Blood Calamity Finger when he saw a clear opening.

When I was in danger, the Blood Calamity Finger saved me. A single, timely Blood Calamity Finger changed the tide of the battle and gave me an opportunity.

Eventually, Baek Manggi changed his strategy and tried to kill the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon first.

The moment I sensed his killing intent directed at the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, I drove Baek Manggi back like a madman.

If I give him an opening, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon will die.

That was my only thought.

I didn't want to lose the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon in this fight. I did not wish for this old man to kill him.

Even if he is to be killed, I'll be the one to do it! You damn old man!

This desperate desire created a surprising phenomenon.

Everything vanished from my sight, and only Baek Manggi was visible.

It was as if Baek Manggi alone, dressed in white, moved before me against a black background. Nothing else could be seen.

All sounds were blocked out too. I could only hear my own sounds and the sounds Baek Manggi made. It was an amazing experience, the first I'd had since learning martial arts.

Sparks flew as Baek Manggi's sword and my sword clashed.

There was another change.

Now, even Baek Manggi had disappeared, and only his sword moved in my eyes. I could only see my sword. Perhaps, if more time passed, even this sword would become invisible?

Baek Manggi's sword began to appear more and more clearly.

My vision, enhanced by the Divine Eye Technique, finally began to show its effect. He hadn't slowed down, nor had I gotten faster. I was the one who had adapted to this speed first. My eyes had adapted.

I had only seen the sword, but now Baek Manggi's form became visible again.

I can see his face.

Now, I can finally see.

That he is struggling.

That he is regretting.

That he is afraid.

And I saw it.

The single opening shown by the man who had been perfect.

The moment I perceived it, my sword had already translated my mind's intent into action. My sword and my body were one.

PUK!

My sword pierced Baek Manggi's heart.

My vision returned to normal. The surrounding darkness vanished, and I could see my surroundings again.

There were already several holes in Baek Manggi's body, and blood flowed from them. They were spots where the Blood Calamity Finger had hit.

I don't know when Baek Manggi was hit by them. Baek Manggi had fought this well even while taking on the two of us.

Surprise and shock, emptiness and fear. I looked down at his final gaze, which held all sorts of emotions, and slowly pulled out my sword. I was too exhausted and tired to say anything to him.

Blood gushed from his heart as Baek Manggi collapsed, his life extinguished.

If I hadn't achieved Twelfth Star mastery, I would have lost this fight. If the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon and I hadn't attacked jointly, we would have died.

Monstrous masters of a bygone era like him exist in the murim. They are in the Murim Alliance, in our Cult, and like this, in the Evil Alliance too.

Old masters lie dormant like fossils, then suddenly pop up to burn their final flame. That is why the murim is a frightening place.

"Oh my, I'm going to die."

I collapsed where I stood. The mental exhaustion was so great that I didn't have the strength to lift a single finger. I truly felt I wouldn't be able to move unless someone came to stab me. A genuine 'oh my' escaped my lips.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon also plopped down next to me. I could see his chin from under my mask. Dried blood was below his chin.

"Are you hurt?"

"It's just a light scratch."

"You're probably ugly, so you can't afford to hurt your face!"

He let out a small laugh, as if he never expected me to say something like that in this situation.

"Even after such a hard fight, you still want to be funny?"

"You shouldn't miss an opportunity when it comes."

"Second Young Lord, you're bleeding a lot."

"It hurts like hell."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon pressed on my blood points to stop the bleeding on my arms, legs, stomach, and shoulder.

When I started this journey, could I ever have imagined a moment would come when he would be stopping my bleeding?

"How is the fight over there going?"

At my question, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon glanced over at the still-raging fight, then said to me.

"It's just about over."

Since he didn't say we needed to help, it seemed Bi Sayin's side was winning.

We stared at the sky in silence for a moment.

Then, I spoke first.

"Thank you."

After a brief pause, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon said.

"Thank you."

We only said 'thank you' to each other. We didn't add any other words. There was no need to.

"I'll buy you a new mask."

"Please buy me a better one. That mask gets sweaty if I wear it for too long."

"I will."

It was right at that moment.

"Kuaaack!"

A scream that signaled the end of someone's life rang out.

Lifting my head, I saw the swords of Bi Sayin and three members of the Thirteen Evil Wolves embedded in Seok Gwanchu's body.

Two more members of the Thirteen Evil Wolves must have been sacrificed during the fight, as they lay on the ground. A wicked man never goes to the underworld alone.

I pushed myself into a sitting position.

Bi Sayin walked over to me. He stood a short distance away and stared at Baek Manggi's corpse. It seemed he couldn't believe we had killed him.

He bowed his head to me in greeting. It was the first time he had ever bowed to me.

"Thanks to you, I survived."

I smiled and said to him.

"Thanks to you, I almost died."

He didn't smile. With a determined look in his eyes, he spoke while holding his blood-dripping sword.

"I intend to go kill Seok Gwanchu's grandson immediately."

He was more polite than before and was taking my advice well.

"The testimony of us, the Thirteen Evil Wolves, will be enough evidence."

"Be sure to create an Evil Alliance where that will be accepted."

"Then, I'll see you next time."

Bi Sayin bowed his head in farewell. The Bi Sayin I first met and the Bi Sayin of now were completely different people.

After they collected their comrades' bodies and left, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon asked.

"For the sake of our Cult, wouldn't it be better to install a bigger idiot than that Bi Sayin as the successor?"

"That would be so."

"But why did you help that man?"

It was something that started because Seok Gwanchu's grandson was a piece of trash, but to the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, I answered like this.

"Still, if the opponent is too much of an idiot, it's no fun, is it?"

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon chuckled. He probably thought the same. He was the type of person who burned brighter the stronger his opponent was.

"Shall we get going too?"

"Aaargh, my legs hurt too much to walk. Please give me a piggyback ride."

"Stop being a baby. You're limping on the wrong leg."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon and I walked side by side, leaving that place.

In the place we left behind, the faint moonlight only illuminated the sight of an old and even older desire growing cold.