Chapter 426: Blood Is Thicker Than Wine

TL: FoodieMonster007

A purple aura shimmered around the Drunken Demon's body.

He was truly drunk. His drunken state should have made them think, 'This is our chance!', but no one dared to rush at him, even as he swayed with half-lidded eyes.

Indeed, that was likely because he was the Drunken Demon.

The Drunken Demon was truly swaying, deep in his cups. How could anyone possibly dare to attack him? Moreover, the languid gaze beneath his half-closed eyelids felt more terrifying than eyes filled with killing intent.

The Drunken Demon emptied the bottle in his hand, then picked up another from the floor. He drank again, consuming an amount of alcohol that seemed impossible.

"Ah, I'm getting drunk." The Drunken Demon staggered forward, then looked at the Northern Blood Sect Leader and the Blood King. "Come down already. My neck hurts from looking up."

The Blood King sat down. He settled into a comfortable position, as if intending to leisurely watch the fight from his seat.

This was a form of pressure on the Northern Blood Sect Leader. It was an unspoken command, 'I'll watch from here, so go die quickly.'

Damn it.

The Northern Blood Sect Leader simply could not fathom the Blood King. With Elder Seo of the Ice Palace dead, he believed the Northern Blood Sect was clearly needed to dominate the North Sea.

This man, however, was trying to use him as a consumable. He seemed utterly emotional, yet he hadn't even flinched at the Drunken Demon's provocation moments ago.

The Northern Blood Sect Leader looked at the smoke rising far behind them.

He even called his subordinates.

What exactly was his plan? If he escalated things like this, he wouldn't be able to handle the aftermath.

Regardless, now was the time to fight. Provoking the capricious Blood King was more terrifying than fighting the Drunken Demon. If he joined forces with the Blood King and won, he could achieve his long-held dream of becoming the strongest power in the North Sea.

"Kill him!"

At the Northern Blood Sect Leader's command, seven martial artists descended from the wall at once.

Facing the Drunken Demon, how could they not be afraid? Still, they clung to hope in their numbers, seven strong.

SWISH.

The alcohol mist that instantly rose obscured that hope.

From within the mist, the Drunken Demon's voice echoed. "If the mist rises, run west. Then you can live."

Still, no one fled through the escape route the Drunken Demon had offered.

They were not ordinary martial artists of the Northern Blood Sect. As the Sect Leader's personal limbs, they had committed all sorts of evil deeds throughout their lives, following his commands. They were one body, whether in life or death.

The alcohol mist that now rose was even more potent than before. Even a brief exposure to the mist caused them to begin feeling drunk. Attempting to expel the alcohol mist while still within it was a futile endeavor.

If it had been poison, they could have at least taken an antidote. The most terrifying aspect was that it wasn't poison, making it impossible to defend against.

WHOOSH!

One martial artist waved his hand, scattering the alcohol mist. The mist around his body briefly vanished, then reappeared.

The moment the martial artist waved his hand again, there, where the alcohol mist had vanished, stood the Drunken Demon.

The startled martial artist desperately thrust his sword, but it was already too late.

The Drunken Demon's palm lightly struck the martial artist's forehead first.

THUD!

The martial artist crumpled, but by the time he fell, the Drunken Demon had already vanished from that spot.

"I told you to run west if you want to live!"

Instead of running, however, the remaining martial artists unleashed sword qi towards the direction of the voice.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Sword qi rained down, but no scream from the Drunken Demon was heard.

"West is that way. No, is it this way?"

The Drunken Demon's drunken voice echoed again. This time, one martial artist lunged in the opposite direction of the voice, thrusting his sword.

This must be a trick to lure us!

It was a choice he thought clever, but it couldn't outwit a drunken mind.

His sword sliced through empty air, and at the same instant, as if waiting, someone's arm wrapped around his neck from behind.

How did he read my thoughts?

CRACK.

With that final thought, the martial artist's neck snapped, and he collapsed.

"Ah, I'm getting drunk."

SWISH! SWISH!

Swords flew in from two directions, but the Drunken Demon had already vanished. Though clearly drunk, his movements were faster than anyone's. This was his domain, a place where even the Blood King dared not recklessly step.

"Your subordinates are all dying. Are you still not going to step in?"

The Drunken Demon's voice came from within the mist.

The Northern Blood Sect Leader, however, remained standing on the wall, unmoving.

Entering that mist without a plan means death.

Even from this distance, the scent alone was enough to make one drunk.

Inside, his subordinates must truly be drunk. Their bodies and judgment would be slowed. They needed to be faster than usual, not slower.

Truly, if it weren't for the Blood King, this was an opponent he should never have fought.

He had to find a weakness before all his subordinates died, no matter what.

A scream echoed from within the mist. It was another subordinate's scream.

One martial artist, unable to bear the terror, launched himself upwards, soaring above the mist. It was a choice to at least escape the alcohol mist.

WHIZZ!

Something shot through the mist like a swift projectile, shattering his jaw.

The dead subordinate might not have known what killed him, but the Northern Blood Sect Leader saw it clearly. It was a stone from the ground. For the Drunken Demon, anything he could grasp became a weapon.

Again, the sound of a heavy blow erupted from within the mist.

THWACK!

A martial artist, flung out of the mist, crashed against the wall where the Blood King and the Northern Blood Sect Leader stood. He had already died the moment he took a single punch to the abdomen.

This time, a martial artist burst out through the western mist. He was truly trying to escape to the west.

WHIZZ! THWACK!

A stream of enhanced qi shot out, obliterating him.

The one who struck the blow and killed him was the Northern Blood Sect Leader. This fight could not be known to the world. He could not permit anyone to defy his orders and flee.

The mist scattered left and right, revealing the Drunken Demon at its center. Only the area around him remained clear of the mist.

The Drunken Demon looked at the Northern Blood Sect Leader with drunken eyes. The emotions in that languid gaze were contempt and amusement.

The Northern Blood Sect Leader glared back, shouting. "They died because of you!"

Just then, the seventh martial artist, as if in despair, bowed his head deeply and walked towards the Drunken Demon.

"West isn't this way."

The very moment the martial artist lifted his head, the Drunken Demon hastily raised his protective enhanced qi, crossing his arms to shield his face.

The martial artist had already activated the Self Destruction Art, his face and body glowing a fiery red.

CRASH!

The blood qi erupting from his chest engulfed the Drunken Demon.

The impact sent the Drunken Demon flying backward, and he tumbled to the ground. The thick alcohol mist surrounding him vanished.

"We've defeated the Drunken Demon!" The Northern Blood Sect Leader shouted in delight. The Blood King hadn't simply driven them to their deaths after all. "So this was what our Liege had arranged!"

Although he was displeased that he hadn't been informed beforehand, the mere fact that he didn't have to fight the Drunken Demon was enough to make it tolerable.

"Let's go before the Young Cult Leader returns."

The Blood King, however, remained seated, staring at the Drunken Demon who lay fallen on the ground.

The Northern Blood Sect Leader's gaze naturally followed his.

"Ugh, that hurts."

To his astonishment, the Drunken Demon was slowly rising.

The Drunken Demon rubbed his chest, then took a drink first. It had been an unexpected, sudden explosion, a situation that should have caused severe injury.

The Top-Quality Heavenly Silk wrapped around his body, however, had prevented the blood qi from piercing him, allowing him to avoid a major injury.

Little brother, you saved me.

Geom Mugeuk had saved his life. He had truly insisted so stubbornly that he wear the Top-Quality Heavenly Silk.

A strange glint flickered in the Blood King's eyes as he watched the Drunken Demon. It was unbelievable that he was so unharmed after taking such a direct hit.

"He's wearing protective armor."

The Blood King stated to the Northern Blood Sect Leader with certainty.

As the gaze that had been fixed on the Drunken Demon turned to him, the Northern Blood Sect Leader understood.

He wants me to go out and fight too?

Ultimately, it meant he wanted him to go out and die as well.

The Blood King's eyes conveyed a message: Die here, or die fighting.

There are moments in life when one suddenly awakened from a dream.

Huh? Was it this? Huh? Was he this kind of person? Huh? He thought of me like this?

That moment when one's heart sank and goosebumps rose. The moment when one lost control of their expression, stammered, and flushed with shame.

The Northern Blood Sect Leader felt exactly that in this moment. He had thought he wasn't such an insignificant being to the Blood King, at least. He now realized, however, the Blood King regarded him no differently than the subordinates who had just died.

"Give me a drink too."

The Northern Blood Sect Leader leaped down.

Still, the Blood King was more terrifying than the Drunken Demon. He couldn't die on top of this wall, no matter what.

The Northern Blood Sect Leader slowly walked towards the Drunken Demon. He intended to launch a surprise attack when he received the drink.

There's only one chance.

Fighting within the alcohol mist would surely lead to defeat.

The Drunken Demon welcomed him with open arms. "Finally, I have a drinking companion. Is it really so hard to share a drink?"

The Northern Blood Sect Leader approached the Drunken Demon, step by step. He deliberately calmed his pounding heart, aiming for a single moment.

The two men were now close enough to reach out and touch.

"There are no cups, so let's just drink from the bottle." The Drunken Demon was about to offer the bottle directly, then, as if a thought suddenly struck him, he asked. "But Sect Leader, are you truly so afraid of that man?"

It was an unexpected question.

"I respect my Liege."

"What's so respectable about someone who pushes his subordinates into a death trap because he's afraid of his opponent?"

The Northern Blood Sect Leader felt bitter. He was the subordinate who had been pushed into the trap. He had believed he didn't deserve such treatment.

"Is that man blackmailing you?"

The Northern Blood Sect Leader offered no reply.

Weakness? He had two. The Blood Art, which could swell one's blood vessels and kill them, and his own burning desire to overthrow the North Sea Ice Palace and take its place.

What weakness had truly led him this far?

"Why not join hands with me and fight that bastard? Then, even if you die, you'll have no regrets, won't you?"

A cold sneer formed on the Blood King's lips as he sat on the wall.

"Look at how that man over there is smiling."

How could he possibly be smiling?

The very moment the Northern Blood Sect Leader carelessly turned his head.

SWISH! THUD!

The sound of flesh tearing was heard.

When the Northern Blood Sect Leader, with a shocked expression, turned back to the Drunken Demon, he saw a blood-stained dagger in the hand not holding the wine bottle.

What?

SPLURT.

The next instant, blood gushed from the Northern Blood Sect Leader's neck. The moment he turned to look at the Blood King, the Drunken Demon had struck like lightning, stabbing him in the neck.

The Northern Blood Sect Leader had only thought of ambushing the Drunken Demon, he never imagined the Drunken Demon would ambush and kill him. This was especially true because the Drunken Demon had displayed such overwhelming skill earlier and fought with such ease.

"My apologies. A drunkard's fight is always messy."

He wanted to say something in response to the Drunken Demon's words, but the wound on his neck was too deep.

He clutched his neck, but couldn't stop the flowing blood.

The Northern Blood Sect Leader collapsed as if crumbling. He died with wide, staring eyes, as if protesting the injustice of his death.

The Drunken Demon squatted down and closed his eyes. The man was going to kill him anyway. He knew all the deeds committed by the Northern Blood Sect in their search for the Extreme Cold Body Constitution. It was only a matter of when to deal with him.

He had sensed that the Northern Blood Sect Leader wouldn't betray the Blood King in this fight. He had also felt that the reason he asked for a drink was to launch a surprise attack.

"Standing by someone like that never ends well."

Using the thick scent of blood emanating from the Northern Blood Sect Leader as an accompaniment, the Drunken Demon drank his wine. Of course, even as he drank, he never took his eyes off the Blood King for a single moment.

Cold and hot, hot and cold, intertwined in the air.

The Blood King spoke to the Drunken Demon for the first time. "Yet, you don't even have anyone watching by your side, do you?"

The taunt, aimed at Geom Mugeuk, did not affect the Drunken Demon.

Instead, the Drunken Demon went a step further. "The Young Cult Leader shouldn't come to such a dirty and dangerous place. For that, I'm truly grateful to you. He doesn't belong in a place that reeks of alcohol and blood. This hell is for people like you and me to grab each other by the collars and roll around in the dirt."

The Blood King looked down at the Drunken Demon with a strange gaze. "You are a strange one."

"It's because I'm drunk. No, it's because you're not drunk."

Rambling incoherently, the Drunken Demon drank again, to an excessive degree.

The Blood King observed, however, that the more the Drunken Demon drank, the more his eyelids drooped, yet his eyes shone with even greater clarity.

The Drunken Demon beckoned the Blood King to come down.

At that, the Blood King finally rose from his seat and leaped down.

Finally, the Blood King had stepped forward. In that place, thick with alcohol mist, the Blood King's blood qi began to surge.

"Blood is thicker than wine."

Blood qi and alcohol mist conceded not an inch to each other.

"How can you compare lowly blood to alcohol?"

Alcohol and blood, primal and violent scents, mingled as the two energies began to push against each other with taut intensity.