Swoooosh!
Mok Gyeong-un grabbed the dead boy’s head and unfolded the Binding technique. Not long after, he absorbed all the death energy that still remained in the boy.
Nice.
A smile formed on Mok Gyeong-un’s lips. He had absorbed the death energy of no less than sixteen people. Even though his qi gates were sealed and he had not gathered it into his dantian, the energy coursing through the meridians of his whole body was enough to make him feel completely full.
He really had been lucky. Eleven of them had died fighting among themselves from the start, and the remaining five had been badly exhausted too. That was why he had been able to kill them with almost no effort.
“How easy.”
Those fools really did something stupid. Blue Spirit agreed with what Mok Gyeong-un said. Because the Forbidden Gate Locks had sealed all their qi gates, the situation had turned favorable for him.
If they had been in a state where they could use internal energy, killing the boys this way would have been difficult. But thanks to that, he was securing death energy with ease.
Well, if they were all going to die through competition anyway, it’s better for that death energy to become the mortal’s. She had been a vengeful spirit from the very beginning. So she did not feel any real pity. Besides, this was a place where they had to kill and be killed to pass the gate.
There was no point in nitpicking over such things. But that must be the flag.
“That seems right.”
Mok Gyeong-un set down the head he had been holding and walked toward the flag. He had no intention of claiming it yet, but since this was the goal of this gate, he could not help but be drawn to it. What are you going to do with the flag?
If you don’t plan to take it right now, break it and throw it away.
“I should.”
Or maybe carrying at least one in advance might be convenient later.
“That’s not a bad idea either.”
As he said that, Mok Gyeong-un reached for the flagpole, then suddenly stared intently somewhere. Even if internal energy was forbidden, his five senses were far sharper than those of an ordinary person. What is it?
“There’s something written near the bottom of the flagpole.”
Written?
What do you mean?
“Hmm. Three-form sword finger, bright feather crossing line, sword having upper force…”
As Mok Gyeong-un read the incantation aloud, Blue Spirit immediately realized what it was. That... it’s an incantation for sword forms.
“Sword Art? Hearing it, that does seem to be the case.”
Since it was an incantation that explained the movements of forms, Mok Gyeong-un agreed as well.
“But why would something like this be written here?”
Read the rest.
“Without master, immortal severance, sword below becoming one body, spirit object faces the world...”
After reading all the way through, Mok Gyeong-un said, “That’s all.”
What? That’s all?
At Blue Spirit’s questioning tone, Mok Gyeong-un asked in puzzlement, “Is there some problem?” It seems the form cuts off midway.
“It cuts off midway?”
“Yes. If this is all there is to the form, then there will be openings at four vital points: Crooked Pool, Spirit Pillar, Kunlun, and Middle of the Crook.”
“Then is it an incomplete form?”
“That does not seem likely. It is more faithful to the basics than a profound Sword Art, and looking at how the forms are arranged so they do not overlap at all…”
“Looking at what?”
“I think it was made for a sword formation.”
“If it’s a sword formation, is that like a formation art unfolded with swords?”
“Yes. But with just these forms, the weakness is far too obvious. Even if you made a sword formation with them, the result would only be shabby.”
“Shabby? Ha. That’s an interesting way to put it.”
“I did not say it to be amusing. More than that, there must be a reason they deliberately wrote an incomplete sword move here.”
Mok Gyeong-un nodded at Blue Spirit’s opinion. Just like the steel beads had numbers written on them, this felt like some kind of hidden task within the gate. Staring at the incantation for the forms, Mok Gyeong-un said, “It may be that this isn’t the only kind of flag.”
Didn’t they say there were forty?
“I don’t mean the number. I mean the type.”
Type?
“Yes. Couldn’t there be other flags with the rest of the forms written on them?”
Ohh.
That does sound plausible. This time, Blue Spirit agreed with Mok Gyeong-un. It was more than possible.
If what you say is right, mortal, and there are two kinds of flags with hidden forms on them, then those who discover this will inevitably stop trying to defend their own flag and start looking for another one.
“That’s what I think too.”
Two kinds of flags. Finding one flag was not the end. In the end, having eight people wait by the flag’s location until dawn was just the visible task, while the hidden task seemed to be completing the divided sword moves.
“This is interesting.”
No matter how one looked at it, they were pushing everyone into fighting. Those who failed to notice this would simply end there, but anyone even a little careful would move to target other flags. The conclusion was that Mok Gyeong-un also had to find one more flag of a different type.
And of course, together with that flag, he needed seven group members as well. It just got a little more troublesome.
“Still, now that I know what kind of game this is, I’ll have to choose accordingly.”
With those words, Mok Gyeong-un snapped the pole of the flag with the incantation written on it in one hand.
Clang!
As Blue Spirit had said earlier, he was disposing of the flag. But the instant he broke it, Hm? Mok Gyeong-un frowned as he looked at the flag.
“Ha…”
What is it?
“There was curse power inside the flagpole.”
Curse power? Curse power.
Just as the name said, it was the power of occult arts or magic art. Ever since learning occult arts after absorbing death energy through reverse energy circulation, Mok Gyeong-un had grown even more sensitive to all kinds of energy. But the moment he broke this, he felt the curse power escape.
Blue Spirit, who had been inside the wooden doll and thus had not been able to check the curse power, asked, Don’t tell me it was a trap?
“I don’t think so.”
If it had been a trap, the curse power would have remained as it was. But since the curse power disappeared the instant the flagpole broke, that meant...
Bweeeeeeeeeee!
At that moment, a sound like a horn echoed throughout the entire mountain. Since the sound was steady, it felt like some kind of signal.
Rumble!
Hearing it, Mok Gyeong-un lightly crushed the broken flagpole in one hand and muttered, “It seems there’s something else going on besides this.”
Not far away. At a place on the mountain ridge where one flag had been planted, another struggle was about to break out. The group of eight that had found it first was trying to defend the flag, while another group that had appeared later was trying to seize it from them.
And the group of eight defending the flag was none other than one led by a boy named Yeom-ga from Killing Curse Valley.
Thud!
“Urk!”
One boy was sent flying backward after taking a swift kick from Yeom-ga.
Damn it.
He’s way too strong. As he rolled with a breakfall, the boy who had been knocked away was flustered. Since internal energy was restricted, he had thought they would be able to fight somewhat evenly even if the other side was from Killing Curse Valley.
But the fundamentals themselves were different. He must have trained his external arts steadily too, because the power in his kicks was no joke. As expected of Killing Curse Valley.
He started to feel like they had picked the wrong opponent. He looked to see if the others were doing a little better, but...
Crash!
“Ugh!”
Sadly, there was not much difference. Anyone could see they were being pushed back. It seemed only natural, considering those gathered here were all top-tier participants from the battle for the steel beads at the first gate.
Even without internal energy, their basic skill was on a different level. They had never been a match in the first place. Yeom-ga of Killing Curse Valley seemed to know the gap in level too, and taunted them with a hand gesture.
“Hey. Since you’ve already come at us, at least show some guts.”
Damn it!
They were furious, but there was nothing they could do.
Crack!
“Gah!”
“O-jae!”
One of the boys had his neck twisted by a boy from Yeom-ga’s group. They had not been charging in for long, yet already two had lost their lives. If they kept this up, their group would be wiped out.
Deciding it was hopeless, the lead boy shouted, “Run!” At that cry, the other boys who had been desperately trying to take the flag back all agreed and tried to flee without even looking back. Yeom-ga of Killing Curse Valley smiled nastily and muttered, “Who said I’d let you go?”
Coming at them was their choice, but did they really think he would let them leave so easily? If he killed them all and displayed their heads, then the others would stop thinking so boldly about aiming for their flag.
“Catch every one of...”
Crunch!
“Aaaagh!” !?
Yeom-ga of Killing Curse Valley instantly shut his mouth. What was that just now? One of the boys, the one who had been fleeing the fastest toward the bushes on the opposite side, suddenly had a black shadow flash past him and vanished together with a scream.
For a brief moment, silence fell. From the boys who had been trying to pursue in high spirits to those who had been trying to run away, all of them stared in stunned confusion at the place where the shadow had passed.
Crunch! Crunch!
The bushes shook, and the sound of something chewing came from within. The sound was horrifying.
“W-what is that?”
“What was that just now?”
At that awful noise, the boys unconsciously took steps backward. Then a sound came from the shaking bushes.
Kwek! Kwek!
What was that? At first it sounded like a pig squealing. But the strange gleam little by little visible through the bushes was more than enough to send chills down their spines.
As the boys who had tried to flee kept backing away, the bushes shook harder. Then at last, something revealed itself. !? Every boy who saw it froze with stiff expressions.
Tap!
It stretched out front claws shaped like hooks. It was not human. It looked something like a wolf, yet it was different as well.
It looked nearly twice the size of an ordinary wolf. The fur on the front of its head was red, and its eyes were as wholly black as a rat’s. W-what is that?
A wolf?
Is there a wolf like that?
Too... big. Kwek! Kwek!
When the wolf-like lesser beast opened its jaws with a pig-like squeal, sharp teeth packed its entire mouth.
Gulp.
One boy, so tense his throat had gone dry, shouted, “Run!” No sooner had the shout ended than the boys all twisted their bodies and ran to the right.
Then, Dash!
The red-haired wolf lesser beast instantly caught up to the boy at the very rear.
Crunch!
“Aaaagh!”
It bit down on his calf with its mouth. Then with its terrifying bite force, it flung the boy around.
Boom! Boom!
“Urk!”
It had only smashed him around two or three times, yet the boy lost consciousness at once, whether dead or merely passed out. His calf was left nearly severed, hanging in a ragged mess from those sharp teeth. The wolf-shaped lesser beast walked over and bit the boy’s head in one mouthful.
Crunch! Crunch! !!!!!
At that sight, the boys defending the flag turned deathly pale. A lesser beast was chewing a person’s head right in front of them. It would have been stranger not to feel fear.
The same was true for Yeom-ga of Killing Curse Valley.
Damn it!
Why did something that bizarre have to appear right when internal energy was sealed? No matter how he looked at it, this was not an ordinary lesser beast. Without internal energy, even facing a normal wolf barehanded was hard enough.
And something with a body that size went beyond hard. He might have to risk his life. Should I avoid it?
It no longer seemed like a situation where he could stand around guarding the flag. But giving up a flag they had barely managed to get because of some damn lesser beast like that was absurd too. It was then.
Kwek! Kwek!
After crushing and swallowing the boy’s head, the lesser beast looked this time toward them. Then, perhaps having chosen its target, it scraped its hind legs against the ground and prepared to launch itself forward. At this, Yeom-ga of Killing Curse Valley tried to shout, “Ru...”
Dash! Kwooooooar!
At that moment, the lesser beast that had been charging over from a distance of barely five steps suddenly saw something, let out a shriek, and staggered backward in total panic. Then it snorted harshly through its nose and changed direction.
Papat!
That direction was where the group of boys who had tried to steal their flag and fled had gone. One boy, who had been trying to run in terror, said, “W-what? Why did it suddenly do that?”
Yeom-ga of Killing Curse Valley muttered irritably, “Shit. How would I know?” He too had no idea why that lesser beast had suddenly reacted that way.
It looked like it had seen something and gotten startled. So he turned his head toward the direction the thing had been looking at, and what he saw was, The flag?
“Huff! Huff!”
“Ughhh.”
Three boys were running like mad. There was no fixed direction. They were simply dashing wherever their eyes led them.
The terrified boys felt like their hearts would burst.
Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!
While fleeing, one more of them had been taken. Since internal energy was sealed, they could not use light body technique, so their running speed was only a little faster than that of ordinary grown men. But that lesser beast was different.
It looked almost faster than a galloping horse. At this rate, aren’t we all going to die? Then one of the running boys spotted a lone figure standing ahead of them.
For an instant he was startled and almost changed direction, but after realizing it was a person, he felt relieved inside. Who is that? And the moment he saw him clearly, he recognized him at once.
It was that guy, the one who had passed the battle for the steel beads first with those cruel methods. Under other circumstances, the boy would have ignored him or avoided him because he felt uneasy about him, but clinging to a faint hope, he shouted, “H-hey!
Help us!”
That guy had definitely saved his group before too. So if that whole group helped them, they might somehow be able to deal with this lesser beast. But why are his clothes like that, and why is there so much blood on his hand?
Hm?
And as he looked at them running over, the corners of his lips curled all the way up beside his ears in a smile.
End