Chapter 791: That's Why I Left the Smiling Demon Alone

TL: FoodieMonster007

Geom Mugeuk stepped into the darkness.

A suffocating stuffiness washed over him the moment he entered the fog. His body felt heavy, as if his clothes were soaked with water.

He felt he could not have displayed even half his usual skill if the Heavenly Demon Defense Art had not pushed the energy back. The aura would significantly affect anyone without a martial art to counteract it.

He focused all his senses and took a step forward.

WHOOSH!

Something suddenly shot from the darkness.

SHIIIIK! THWACK!

It had a vague human form, but it was not human. The Black Demon Sword sliced its neck, and it vanished with a puff of smoke.

A voice echoed through the fog. "What if that was a real person? How could you swing your sword so recklessly?"

Geom Mugeuk instinctively knew who the owner of the voice was. "It's you, the Darkness Palace Lord."

"That's right, it's me."

The words were not spoken, nor sent by telepathy. They traveled through the dark fog itself.

"How did you know it was me?"

"How could I not know? There's no ill-fated connection quite like ours."

Something shimmered within the fog.

SLITHER…

The Darkness Palace Lord revealed himself before Geom Mugeuk. This was the first time the two had met.

Geom Mugeuk remarked, "You look just as I imagined."

"And how did you imagine me?"

"Old, ugly, greedy…" Geom Mugeuk strode forward and reached out to touch the Darkness Palace Lord, but his hand passed right through him. He looked vivid and real, but he was an illusion. "…And cowardly. You wouldn't show yourself unless you'd thrown all your subordinates at me first, would you?"

A strange smile touched the Darkness Palace Lord's lips. To be so rude at their first meeting. Geom Mugeuk was exactly like the Young Cult Leader from the reports, always striking at an opponent's weaknesses.

Geom Mugeuk continued, "Betraying long-standing friendships, using people's hearts. That's your method, isn't it? Have you ever once approached someone honorably and said, 'Let's have a fight'?"

Instead of rising to the provocation, the Darkness Palace Lord said something unexpected. "Young Cult Leader, would you like to see what a cowardly, dishonorable man has done?"

He spread his hand, and a scene unfolded beside him like an illusion.

"This is what's happening outside."

The image showed Lee Ahn leaning against a rock, blood pouring from her chest. No one helped her as she died.

Her figure then receded, revealing the surrounding scene. The Ghost Shadow Squad Division Leaders and their team members were all dead, their bodies strewn about.

Cha Yiran lay fallen, her body severed in two. Green Mask was dead beneath a half-shattered mask. Seo Jin was dead, riddled with so many hidden weapons she looked like a porcupine. Ji Han was dead, his face plunged into a pool of his own blood.

Lee Ahn looked around at the scene, tormented. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," she gasped, even as a gush of blood poured from her mouth.

Geom Mugeuk roared in fury, "You bastard! I'll kill you!"

He tried to throttle the illusion's neck, but he could not.

"Come out, now! Aren't you coming out? You bastard, I said come out!"

The Darkness Palace Lord watched him quietly. "You're not agitated at all."

Geom Mugeuk instantly stopped screaming, and his panicked eyes calmed. He hadn't believed what he had been shown in the slightest. "You must have hoped I'd go crazy, but I'm sorry. As you can see, acting worked up isn't easy for me."

"Why do you assume it's fake?"

"I didn't raise her to be that weak, and she has a guardian who wouldn't let her die like that. Plus, the deciding factor is that Lee Ahn didn't call for me as she was dying. If she had said, 'Young Cult Leader, I'm sorry I couldn't serve you until the end,' then even I might have gotten a little worried."

A look of disbelief flickered in the Darkness Palace Lord's eyes.

Geom Mugeuk added unexpectedly, "Since you're showing me things, how about you show me the real scene outside? I'm curious how everyone's doing without me. In any case, one of us is going to disappear from this world today. We've waited three hundred years to finally meet, so what's the rush? Honestly, you're curious too, aren't you? Who knows? Maybe seeing Lee Ahn really die will make me fall into qi deviation."

The Darkness Palace Lord stared silently at Geom Mugeuk, then waved his hand again.

The initial scene of scattered corpses vanished, and the real view of the lakeside unfolded before their eyes.

The attacks concentrated on Lee Ahn, too persistent to be a simple tactic of killing the leader to lower morale.

She realized that an order must have been given to kill her, no matter the cost. However, they had overlooked one thing. She was much stronger they had anticipated.

Moreover, because the attacks focused on her, Cha Yiran and the members of Team Three could easily pick off the assassins.

Ordinarily, it would have been an incredibly difficult fight. The enemies had not learned martial arts, and were trained solely to launch hidden weapons. They were also trained not to reveal their killing intent, making them difficult to detect, yet they suddenly popped out from among the screaming, fleeing civilians to launch their hidden weapons.

In a battle where it was impossible to tell assassin from civilian, Cha Yiran and the assassins displayed their absolute best skills. They, too, were masters at concealing their killing intent.

Meanwhile, the First and Second Divisions rescued the civilians.

SHWIK SHWIK SHWIK SHWIK! CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!

Another assassin popped out and launched hidden weapons at Lee Ahn, but she deflected them all. She feared the deflected weapons might hit someone behind her, so she did not dodge, instead knocking every single one away with her sword with divine skill.

Cha Yiran, once again, dealt with the attacker who threw the hidden weapons. The women who had once vied for the title of the world's number one beauty worked in tandem. One blocked the hidden weapons while the other killed the enemy.

Suddenly, Lee Ahn spotted merchants trembling by a cart, unable to dodge in time. "Get over to where the martial artists are!" she shouted in warning.

Right after, though, she was assaulted by a sense of unease. Her eyes met one of the merchants, and his eyes held no trace of fear.

SLITHER…

A device for launching hidden weapons rose from his cart. It was the Tempest Rapid-Fire Cannon that had previously threatened the Demonic Army.

SHWIIIIIIK!

Lee Ahn instinctively fired her sword qi, but an iron wall in front of it blocked the attack. To harm the enemy, she had to precisely strike the small peephole made for looking outside.

Her heart sank. It had been difficult enough just deflecting the hidden weapons the enemies wore on their arms, but he mechanism mounted on the cart looked incomparably more powerful than those.

Worse, there was not just one cart, but three. A total of three Tempest Rapid-Fire Cannons, including the other carts to the left and right, aimed at her all at once. They had been waiting for this very moment amidst the chaos.

It was the worst possible situation, but she wasn't afraid. If she died here, the civilians behind her and the subordinates protecting them would all die. As a Commander, she could never allow that.

Block it. Lee Ahn, you can block it.

She calmed her mind and concentrated with all her might.

SHUK SHUK SHUK SHUK SHUK SHUK!

The moment the Tempest Rapid-Fire Cannon fired, something incredible happened. Perhaps it was because her concentration had reached its absolute limit, everything around her began to move slowly.

Through the hole in the mechanism, she could see the enemy's pupils move. She could see the hidden weapons pouring out of the mechanism. One, two, three. She saw the continuous stream of hidden weapons emerging in slow motion.

Hidden weapons also launched from the left and right, flying toward her. Her instincts told her which hidden weapons to dodge and which to deflect.

Then, the slow flow of time returned to normal.

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!

She deflected the incoming hidden weapons as she charged, and was suddenly in front of the cart.

SHWIIK!

She brought her sword down vertically.

CRASH! SPLURT!

She sliced through the iron plate that her sword qi could not cut previously, splitting the man's face in half behind it.

"Gasp!"

The moment she let out the breath she had been holding, the mechanism on the left also stopped firing.

Cha Yiran had leaped over the iron wall as it turned to attack Lee Ahn and plunged a throwing knife into the operator's neck. It was an unbelievably fast movement.

SHUK SHUK SHUK SHUK SHUK SHUK!

The mechanism on the right was still firing, but something like a black serpent shot up from under the cart, forcing its aim toward the sky. It was the work of Seo Jin's ghost arts.

SPLURT!

Green Mask planted a throwing knife in the heart of the operator as he lost his balance.

Lee Ahn stared blankly at her sword for a moment. Not only had she experienced time slowing down, but she had sliced the iron plate that her sword qi could not cut as if it were a radish.

She could not understand how it was possible. She would have to ask Geom Mugeuk about it later.

A moment later, the Demonic Army arrived. The continuous barrage of explosive hidden weapons had stopped for some reason, allowing them to break formation and rush over.

Jang Ho and the Demonic Army gaped in shock at the sight before them. The situation was already resolved. The three mechanisms were completely destroyed, and the corpses of those with mechanical hidden weapons scattered everywhere.

The Third Division martial artists collected the hidden weapons from their arms. They planned to recover all of them and take them to the smithy.

On one side, the First and Second Divisions stood guard, protecting the common people.

Jang Ho realized he had grossly underestimated the Ghost Shadow Squad.

"General Jang," Lee Ahn greeted. She could feel how urgently Jang Ho and the Demonic Army had rushed over and was grateful for it.

"Commander Lee."

The two stood face to face.

Jang Ho could feel it. The Lee Ahn on the battlefield was so much more skilled than the one from their tavern gathering. that she seemed like a different person. "I'm glad you're safe."

"It's thanks to your concern."

Jang Ho offered a word of encouragement to Lee Ahn, who had fought so brilliantly. "Congratulations on your first real battle. If the Demonic Army is ever threatened again, please be sure to come and help us."

Lee Ahn smiled. This was the highest possible praise from him. "Thank you, General. I doubt there will be a need for us to come help, but please, call on us anytime."

SWOOOOOSH!

Just when they thought everything was over, something flew toward the two of them.

A member of the Demonic Army holding a shield beside them threw himself forward to protect Jang Ho and Lee Ahn, and the pair spun around together and quickly infused their qi into the shield.

KABOOM!

The three of them were pushed back. Realizing from the sound that the incoming object was no ordinary projectile, the two had combined their strength. If they had not, the Demonic Army soldier who tried to protect them would have died from the impact.

CRACK…

The shield he held cracked and then shattered. Finally, the tactical shield that had remained unbroken throughout the entire battle was destroyed.

THUD!

Someone landed in that spot.

Everyone was startled the moment. He was a man of enormous build, clad in iron armor from head to toe. Various metal plates attached to the armor made his frame look even larger.

Cha Yiran recognized him. Or more accurately, she recognized what he was wearing. "The Divine Mechanical Armor!"

The greatest creation of the Divine Mechanical Engineering Sect was this very Divine Mechanical Armor. It was the culmination of all their technology and capabilities.

"It can't be cut by sword qi or enhanced sword qi."

That was not the only problem. The man was armed from head to toe, with advanced weapons attached to his shoulders, arms, and waist. They were far more powerful than the ones they had experienced before.

Lee Ahn knew the only weakness was to aim for the eyes of the iron mask protecting his face. However, judging by the opponent's presence, he was a formidable martial artist. He would never easily expose his eyes.

"Arrogant dogs of the Demonic Cult, did you think we'd get scared and run away just because you swarmed us like a pack of dogs?"

The iron-clad man slowly raised both arms. A nasty metallic sound came from the hidden weapons attached to his arms.

"I wonder how many of you will survive here?"

The Demonic Army soldiers with shields rushed forward, forming a line in front of the Ghost Shadow Squad. Their eyes showed no fear.

"You Demonic Cult bastards, this will be your grave…"

Before he could finish his sentence, something flew through the air, shooting forward without a tremor or hesitation and striking the iron mask's eye hole precisely.

THWACK!

The projectile was not only faster than a meteor streaking across the night sky, it was faster than even the speed of sound!

SHWIIIIIIIIK!

Silence fell over the area as blood trickled from the eye of the iron-clad man.

The man who looked like he was about to slaughter them all began to slowly collapse.

THUD!

He was already dead by the time he hit the ground.

Lee Ahn and everyone else there turned around with shocked faces. They were stunned when they confirmed where the finger qi bullet had come from.

No way. From this distance?

Far away, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, wearing a pure white mask, revealed himself from behind a rock on a small hill. He had landed a direct hit with the Blood Calamity Finger from such a great distance.

Everyone understood. This was not the old Blood Calamity Finger. It was a faster, more accurate Blood Calamity Finger.

Furthermore, they realized that the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon had been watching this entire battle from the very beginning, and the reason they had all finished the fight alive because he had been quietly watching over them.

After all, in the chaos of battle, the martial artists must have missed some enemies. However, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon did not miss them. A silently flying Blood Calamity Finger send every grim reaper back before they could take any lives.

Everyone felt a shiver run down their spine. Perhaps this battle had been more mentally taxing for him than if he had fought directly.

Jang Ho too realized that the person who had taken out the enemies that attacked them at the end was the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. He realized that the Demon Supreme had been silently traversing the battlefield, fighting alongside them the whole time.

Lee Ahn, her face filled with emotion, called out to him powerfully, "Smiling Demon!"

"Smiling Demon!" Geom Mugeuk shouted at the same time as Lee Ahn, his face filled with emotion.

He could not remember the last time he had been this moved. He was so proud of Lee Ahn and all the team members for their splendid fight. They all fought well!

Conversely, the Darkness Palace Lord's expression hardened. The scene that had been unfolding like an illusion beside him vanished with a poof.

"Don't think this is the end." The illusion of the Darkness Palace Lord flickered, showing his rage. "Your Extremely Evil Smiling Demon will be trapped in eternal darkness today."

"……" Geom Mugeuk showed no reaction.

The Darkness Palace Lord asked, "You don't believe this either?"

Geom Mugeuk shook his head. "I believe it. You knew the Smiling Demon would come here, so you wouldn't have sent just anyone to fight him. You must have sent a very, very fearsome foe. You have to kill or take hostage the person I cherish most to shake my heart, no matter what. This is a very important matter for you, isn't it?"

His faith in the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was absolute. Neither the advantage of time etched into the Darkness Palace Lord's fine wrinkles nor the threats filled with the aura of darkness could overcome his conviction.

"That's why I left the Smiling Demon alone, without any other Demon Supreme to support him," he added. "It's all to teach you guys that tricks like that never work."