Chapter 549: He Would Have Done the Same

TL: FoodieMonster007

"Where are you now?"

Bi Sayin returned from a fruitless search of the outskirts. He found that Geom Mugeuk and the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon were gone, as were the Brawling King and the woman in the palanquin. The palanquin itself remained, leading him to conclude they must be fighting inside the dark evil arts.

So much time had passed without their return, which suggested a difficult battle was still underway. Furthermore, Jin Hagun and the Demon Slaying Brigade remained trapped in the formations. Jin Haryong and the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman were also missing.

We have to uncover the secret of that palanquin.

The warriors connected to it had fought him with what seemed like an endless supply of inner arts. A secret concerning inner arts had to be hidden inside it.

But he couldn't just destroy the palanquin recklessly. The aura it gave off was extraordinary. It was even possible that the palanquin was the reason for Geom Mugeuk and the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's disappearance.

"How about we expand the search area a little more?"

Bi Sayin shook his head. He doubted they could send such immense inner arts from a great distance.

They must be somewhere around here.

His gaze then fell upon a single location. It was a place they had not searched. A place they could not search.

It was the area where the martial artists stood in the darkness, revealing only their eyes. That was the one nearby spot they had yet to investigate.

A peculiar light flickered in Bi Sayin's eyes as he stared at them in silence.

"Aren't those men suspicious?"

They were facing the Faceless Warriors, with only their eyes visible. The eyes were strange, with white rings encircling the irises.

"I've heard that mastering the Am-Cheonya Divine Art gives you eyes like that."

Bi Sayin nodded at First Wolf's comment. He was already aware of this fact.

"I'm not saying this because of their eyes."

First Wolf gave Bi Sayin a look that asked what he meant.

"Aren't they gathered too closely in one spot?"

They were indeed. Even the Faceless Warriors confronting them, who seemed to be scattered about randomly, were naturally spread out to prepare for an enemy attack. In contrast, the others were huddled together, lurking in the darkness. Everyone had been so focused on their strange eyes that they had missed this fact, but Bi Sayin had pointed it out.

"I see. If we were to shower them with hidden weapons, the damage would be immense."

It wasn't just that. Something felt off. They stirred Bi Sayin's instincts in a strange way.

"Let's check behind them."

Bi Sayin moved with stealth, circling around to their rear while keeping enough distance to remain undetected.

Bi Sayin and the Thirteen Evil Wolves were all shocked. It was different from what they had seen from the front. No matter how far back they went, the men were still there. The glittering eyes at the front were merely a fraction of the total. Because of the distance and the fact that they weren't revealing their presence at all, they hadn't realized from the front that there were so many of them.

Their main body was separate, like a deep-sea fish using a glowing lure to attract prey.

"Could they be reinforcements, hidden to strike us if the situation turns critical?" First Wolf whispered.

Bi Sayin shook his head. "If that were the case, they would have hidden them better."

The formation was too obvious for an ambush and too clustered for an attack.

"A group this large would normally have guards on the perimeter, but there isn't a single one."

They were all gathered in one spot, literally forming a single, giant mass.

Chilrang, who had always possessed sharp eyes and knowledge of the unorthodox sects' bizarre martial arts, whispered as he stared at them.

"The way their eyes are blinking is strange."

"There's a regular pattern to their blinking."

At his words, everyone else focused on their blinking. Now that the idea was planted, it did look strange. They would close their eyes, then open them. Once shut, their eyes would stay closed for a long time. Once open, they would not close again. The sight was bizarre, yet it followed a regular pattern.

Just then, the moon emerged briefly from behind the clouds. With the Queen of Darkness having entered the Spacetime Manipulation Technique, moonlight could finally reach the outside world. In that instant, Chilrang discovered something.

"Look over there."

Something was cutting through the air. It was an aura, shimmering like a heat haze, that connected the darkness where the eyes were to the palanquin. This flow of qi was only visible if one looked very closely in the moonlight.

"It's them!"

The secret was not far away at all. They were the ones transferring inner arts to the palanquin. The men with closed eyes were replenishing their inner arts, while those with open eyes were sending it through some strange, grand technique. Now Bi Sayin understood why they had remained hidden in the darkness.

Bi Sayin's heart pounded with urgency now that he knew the secret. Geom Mugeuk and the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon must be in the worst possible situation, facing an endless supply of inner arts while their own reserves were depleted.

"Wipe them all out!"

The Thirteen Evil Wolves drew their swords in unison at Bi Sayin's command, preparing to attack.

"We'll strike with sword qi at the same time."

After getting as close as he could, Bi Sayin launched himself toward them.

SHWIIIIK!

Bi Sayin's sword unleashed a wave of sword qi. The Thirteen Evil Wolves followed his lead, firing their own sword qi in unison. His plan was to annihilate them all at once since they were clustered so tightly together.

FWHOOOOSH!

Black smoke suddenly billowed up, surrounding the group.

PAK! PAK! PAKPAKPAKPAK!

The smoke intercepted and blocked the incoming sword qi. It was a protective barrier, much like the enhanced qi that had guarded the Brawling King's body.

As if returning the favor, sword qi shot out from within the smoke.

SHWIK SHWIK SHWIK SHWIK SHWIK!

PAPAPAPAPAK!

The Thirteen Evil Wolves scattered left and right to dodge the volley.

"Close combat!"

Bi Sayin charged forward, taking the lead. He had a hunch that trading sword qi from a distance would only lead to a battle of inner arts, putting them at a disadvantage.

The black-clad martial artists in the front rank thrust their swords as one. Their clustered stance was not without reason. It was a formation designed to defend against an attack.

CHAANG!

The inner arts powering their swords was immense. The unexpected force caught Bi Sayin off guard, and he nearly lost his grip on his weapon.

"Everyone, be careful!"

As he parried the incoming blades, Bi Sayin realized something. Just like his earlier fight against the four black-clad men, the inner arts in their swords felt like it came from more than one person.

CHWAAAAAK.

The men parted to the left and right, allowing the black-clad martial artists behind them to fire sword qi.

Bi Sayin threw himself aside to dodge. The men on that side then unleashed their own barrage of sword qi.

Ignoring the danger, Bi Sayin charged directly at them.

SHWIIIIK!

He caught them by surprise, thrusting his sword into the chest of a man in the front line.

PUUK!

The man whose heart was pierced collapsed. His eyes instantly turned pure white, and his body became pitch black. He was not an ordinary human.

HWIRIRIRIRIK!

As the man fell, the entire group of black-clad men began to spin in unison. The corpse was swept away somewhere in the movement, and they sprayed sword qi as they rotated. Bi Sayin leaped back to avoid the attack.

When he first ordered the attack, he had thought they could wipe them out in a single blow. That was clearly not the case. These were not easy opponents. Above all, the inner arts fueling their attacks was immense.

Fine, if you're going to use inner arts, then use it all on us!

But the flow of inner arts from the darkness to the palanquin continued unabated.

PAPAPAPAK!

As he ran to dodge the sword qi, he glanced over at the Thirteen Evil Wolves. They were also struggling to break through the enemy's defense.

"Fall back!"

The Thirteen Evil Wolves briefly retreated at Bi Sayin's command.

Bi Sayin raised his inner arts, unleashing the Evil Alliance Chairman's unique martial art, the Tyrannical King Annihilation Sword Technique. He executed the First Sword, the White Heaven Stance.

An enhanced qi that gave off a pure white radiance raged toward the enemy. It pierced the protective smoke and swept over them directly. But at the moment of impact, the single mass of men instantly split in two.

PEOBEOBEOBEOK!

Three or four of the black-clad men were caught in the enhanced qi, but the group merged back together as if nothing had happened.

From the darkness, all their eyes turned to stare at Bi Sayin in unison. They stared together, then blinked at the same time. The sight was grotesque.

Their movements were not like a sword formation or a joint attack. Bi Sayin could feel it. They were connected as if they were a single organism.

This time, they initiated the attack. A dozen branches shot out from the large mass like an octopus's tentacles, their swords thrusting in unison.

CHAENG CHAENG CHAENG CHAENG CHAENG!

The Tenth Wolf, who had an injured shoulder, was caught in the sudden assault and cornered.

The other members of the Thirteen Evil Wolves nearby tried to help, but the black-clad men clung to them tenaciously.

"Watch out!"

The Twelfth Wolf, who was closest, was about to leap toward him despite the risk of injury.

SHUK SHUK SHUK SHUK SHUK SHUK SHUK SHUK SHUK!

A rain of finger qi bullets poured down upon the black-clad men. The ones who had been cornering the Tenth Wolf all flipped over and collapsed.

Bi Sayin turned and saw it was the Faceless Warriors. They had seen the Evil Alliance martial artists attacking the eyes in the darkness and had decided to help.

Bi Sayin shouted to the Faceless Warriors. "These things are sending inner arts to their leader!"

Those words were all that was needed. It meant that the Young Cult Leader and the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon were in danger because of this group.

The Faceless Warriors exchanged glances before drawing their throwing knives in unison. While finger qi bullets were their main martial art, they used throwing knives for close-quarters combat. They surged forward like the white crests of waves on a dark sea.

With the Faceless Warriors joining the fight, the scene descended into true pandemonium. They seemed to be completely without fear. They fought by wildly swinging their throwing knives, only to suddenly fire a finger qi bullet at an opponent's face with their free hand. It was like watching a bizarre, giant creature being hunted by even more bizarre creatures.

Then, one of the Faceless Warriors who had pushed deep into the enemy ranks was cut off from his comrades. The black-clad men surrounded him and attacked jointly. It was an assault he couldn't fend off with only a small throwing knife and finger qi bullets. He held on, tenaciously felling his enemies, but it wasn't enough.

PUUK!

He was finally stabbed in the waist and collapsed. A black-clad man raised a sword to strike down at his face.

PUUK!

Blood splattered across the Faceless Warrior's mask. A sword was now protruding from the chest of the black-clad man who had been about to kill him.

As the attacker fell, Bi Sayin stood behind him. He had broken through from the other side to save the warrior.

To think the day would come when I'd save one of the Faceless Warriors!

That was Bi Sayin's honest thought.

Just then, other Faceless Warriors broke through from a different direction. Bi Sayin disappeared back the way he came as the Faceless Warriors silently watched him go.

As the fight raged on, the tightly clustered group of black-clad men began to break apart. Even though they were masters of the Am-Cheonya Divine Art, they were facing Bi Sayin, the Thirteen Evil Wolves, and the death-defying Faceless Warriors.

Bi Sayin saw it. The flow of inner arts that had been transmitted through the air was severed.

"The inner arts is cut off! Push them harder!"

The black-clad men tried desperately to re-establish the flow. One part of their group tried to protect those sending the inner arts, while Bi Sayin and the Thirteen Evil Wolves fought desperately to stop them.

That inner arts will be what kills Geom Mugeuk!

SWAAAAAEK!

Bi Sayin charged like a bull, breaking through their lines. He blocked the sword qi that flew at him with his protective enhanced qi. After tumbling to the ground, he sprang back up and charged another group. Whenever one of the men sending the inner arts died, the energy in transit would vanish before it could reach the palanquin.

"Block them over there!"

It was a desperate battle between those trying to send the energy and those trying to stop it.

Finally, the black-clad men decided they could not continue like this and made a final choice. They gathered around a single point, and an unsettling silence fell. The white rings in all of their eyes began to spin.

HWIIIIIIING!

Black smoke swirled around them like a vortex. A sorrowful sound, like the wail of a ghost, echoed as a malevolent energy radiated outwards.

"It's dangerous! Everyone, back!"

Bi Sayin had thought that as long as they weren't sending inner arts to the palanquin, it didn't matter, but he was wrong.

HWIIIII.

The vortex vanished, revealing an astonishing sight. All the black-clad men had collapsed. Their eyes were white, and their bodies were pitch black. An energy began to flow from their corpses, moving toward the palanquin. This was not the ordinary inner arts from before. It was a bizarre and powerful energy born from the price of death, and it was shrouded in a vortex of black smoke.

"No!"

Bi Sayin swung his sword at the energy, but the blade simply passed through it. He could not stop the energy, just as one cannot kill the air. He fired sword qi, but that was also useless. In fact, the black smoke only moved more vigorously when struck. The energy flew slowly toward the palanquin along an invisible path. The sight was both astonishing and bizarre.

Bi Sayin leaped to stand in front of the palanquin. He could feel it. If this power reached its destination, Geom Mugeuk would die.

"We have to block it with qi."

He reasoned that since this energy would ultimately become inner arts, only inner arts could stop it.

First Wolf ran up to stop him. "You can't! You won't be able to overcome that powerful force! Even if you do, you'll suffer severe internal injuries from that black energy! No, you could even die!"

"If this power is transferred, the Young Cult Leader will die."

"Why not just destroy the palanquin instead?"

How could Bi Sayin not have considered that?

"What if, by some chance, the Young Cult Leader and the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon are inside?"

If that was true, he would be killing his friend with his own hands.

"We must leave the fight inside to the Young Cult Leader and block this energy."

HWIIIIIIING.

In the time they had been talking, the energy had drawn near.

"Then I will block it."

First Wolf stepped to the front, and the rest of the Thirteen Evil Wolves lined up behind him.

Of course, Bi Sayin was not one to stand behind them. He moved to stand in front of First Wolf.

"Young Alliance Chairman!"

"First Wolf, if the Young Cult Leader and the Demon Supreme die, we can't guarantee our own lives either."

He was right. If the ones who killed those two emerged and began to sweep through the area, they would be powerless to stop them.

Then, he made a more decisive statement.

"He would have done the same."

First Wolf knew better than anyone how Bi Sayin felt about Geom Mugeuk, so he knew he could not stop him.

Bi Sayin raised his protective enhanced qi and turned back. There was no time left to argue. The energy was already upon them.

First Wolf placed his palm on Bi Sayin's back. Yirang stood behind First Wolf, and Samrang stood behind Yirang. In this way, all of the Thirteen Evil Wolves placed their palms on the back of the person before them. A resolve to live or die together was etched on their faces.

It flew toward them like a black meteor. Bi Sayin pushed his inner arts to the absolute limit and held out his hand.

He never imagined he could risk his life for Geom Mugeuk so readily. Not for a man who did nothing but make him dance and tease him constantly.

I will sever this inner arts no matter what, so you must win and come out!

The very instant the incoming force was about to touch Bi Sayin's palm, an incredible scene unfolded before his eyes.

SAAAAAAAH.

An unknown sound filled the air, and the approaching energy seemed to slow for a moment. The black smoke enveloping it turned transparent, beginning to shine like ice. He first thought it had turned into white smoke, but that wasn't it.

SWAAAAAAAAAAH!

A cold chill that felt like it was freezing his lungs washed over him. The movement of the smoke enveloping the energy began to cease, as if time itself had stopped.

JJIIIIK, JJEONG!

Everything that had been flying toward them froze solid in mid-air.