Silver Dragon Chronicles: Episode 16
“Hmm……. Is there truly a mysterious master in this place?”
Bloodshadow Dark Ghost of the Blood Cult spoke with a bored expression. He had killed every last villager, yet he could not see a martial artist, let alone a master.
“Could the information be wrong?”
As the leader of the Assassination Bloodshadows, one of the Blood Cult’s assassination squads, he asked his subordinate with an annoyed expression, and his subordinate relayed to him the order received from the Blood Cult.
“The main cult has issued an order to kill everyone in this village.”
“Hmm……. Is that so? That idiot Bae Aek-gil is making this troublesome for me! Well, killing civilians is fun in its own way.”
Bae Aek-gil was the captain of the Blood Cult’s Blood Wolf Squad that had ambushed Seonu Ran and Dokgo Ryeong, who had separated from the Martial Alliance’s delegation.
And Bloodshadow Dark Ghost was a master incomparable to someone like Bae Aek-gil.
Just as he was making such an annoyed expression, Bloodshadow Dark Ghost turned his head at an alien sensation.
“Hm?”
He then discovered a boy walking toward them and put on an amused expression.
“Hoo! So one villager was still alive? But he looks rather peculiar. Silver hair…….”
But he soon spoke with a look of lost interest.
“Kill him.”
An order given with a blank expression, and with that order, one of the Assassination Bloodshadow Squad members swung his sword straight at the boy.
“Die!”
At that moment, the boy Je-hwa, who was suddenly putting on a bright smile, grabbed the head of the Assassination Bloodshadow member swinging his sword at him, and alongside that, an astonishing thing happened.
*Splat!*
“…….”
Everyone around made vacant expressions, watching the head of their comrade that Je-hwa had burst with his hand.
Shattered as if a watermelon had exploded, with brain matter splattering everywhere, it was so ruined that one would hardly think it had been a human head.
“Hoo!”
Seeing Je-hwa finish off his subordinate in an instant, Bloodshadow Dark Ghost exclaimed in admiration once more, then spoke with an expression of sudden realization.
“So the mysterious master who annihilated the Blood Wolf Squad was you. You didn’t show up even after we killed all the villagers……. So you’ve finally appeared.”
Je-hwa did not answer as he looked at him making an amused expression.
Seeing Je-hwa say nothing, Bloodshadow Dark Ghost opened his mouth again with an expressionless face.
“You couldn’t possibly hope to survive after daring to kill warriors of our cult? Everyone, kill him!”
Soon the Blood Cult warriors rushed at Je-hwa, but he merely laughed.
***
“……!”
The warriors of the Heavenly Demon Cult and the Martial Alliance’s delegation, who had been running in the direction Je-hwa disappeared, froze solid at the horrific sight in a moderately wide clearing.
What entered their eyes was nearly eighty corpses whose bodies were torn to shreds, Je-hwa standing among them, and more than twenty Blood Cult warriors looking at Je-hwa with faces twisted in terror.
Je-hwa glanced at the group that had just arrived and smiled brightly.
*Splat!*
Along with that, the sound of something bursting was heard. Before anyone knew it, Je-hwa had approached one warrior and smashed his head.
Je-hwa smirked at the warrior whose head had burst, and in the next instant, bestowed death upon those attacking him with swords swung at his back.
Afterward, Je-hwa spun in place, drawing powerful energy from his heart, and a storm of qi erupted from his body.
It was not some technique or form, but literally an enormous attack born of pure instinct.
*Craaack!*
“Kuaaaack!”
A few warriors swept up in the storm of silver qi screamed and collapsed onto the cold ground, and the remaining warriors instantly put distance between themselves and Je-hwa to avoid being caught in that storm.
It was no longer a battle but a one-sided massacre.
“A monster.”
Never in his dreams had he thought it would be such a terrifying monster.
“Would escaping be difficult?”
Bloodshadow Dark Ghost muttered while looking at the Heavenly Demon Cult warriors and the Martial Alliance delegation. No, even without them, the moment he showed his back to that monster, he would die.
“I don’t know where such a monster appeared from, but I can’t just die quietly.”
Muttering like that, he drew two blood-red daggers from inside his clothes.
“Come, let’s play for a bit.”
As Bloodshadow Dark Ghost pointed his blade at Je-hwa, Je-hwa spoke with an annoyed expression.
“Ugh, the smell……. Just what are you guys to give off such a foul, rotten stench?”
Seeing Je-hwa pinching his nose and waving his hand, Bloodshadow Dark Ghost furrowed his brow and his body vanished in an instant.
“……!”
Je-hwa, who had been widening his eyes at that, felt killing intent from beside him and swung his fist right away.
“Wh-what?”
Appearing from the side in an instant without any trace, attacking him.
“My specialty is assassination. Killing my presence is nothing to me.”
Bloodshadow Dark Ghost narrowed his eyes and smiled.
“I wonder what your blood tastes like?”
*Swish-*
As Bloodshadow Dark Ghost disappeared once more, Seonu Ran shouted out.
“Be careful!”
“Shut up.”
At that shout, Sa Wol-lin spoke with a frown, and Seonu Ran retorted.
“You’re not worried at all?”
At her words, Sa Wol-lin smirked and said,
“Just watch.”
Right then, Bloodshadow Dark Ghost appeared behind Je-hwa and swung his dagger imbued with qi at him.
*Clash-clang!*
“……!”
In that instant, Bloodshadow Dark Ghost’s face distorted in shock, and it was the same for the others.
“Uaaaargh! That hurts, you bastard!”
*Smack!*
“Keuk!”
Je-hwa, who had been hit by the blade aura, complained in annoyance and slapped Bloodshadow Dark Ghost’s face.
“Stop playing around and finish him already!”
At Sa Wol-lin’s words, Je-hwa shouted back,
“Do you know how much this hurts? You want to get hit too?”
“I’d die if I got hit by something like that! Did you think your tough hide and my delicate skin are the same?”
At Sa Wol-lin’s words, Je-hwa frowned deeply.
“No, just how tough is his skin that qi doesn’t work on him?”
Seonu Ran muttered with a blank expression, and Dokgo Ryeong also muttered vacantly.
“Could it be blade immunity?”
“No……. I don’t think blade immunity would be at that level? Could it be Vajra Indestructibility?”
Ma Yu-gang of Hwasan took over from Jegal Hwan’s words.
“If qi doesn’t work on him to that extent, it must be at least Vajra Indestructibility……. Just what is that young hero?”
Just as the rising talents of the Martial Alliance were discussing Je-hwa’s absurd hide,
“Krrrrgh…….”
Bloodshadow Dark Ghost glared at Je-hwa with a face full of pain.
“You brat…….”
*Grind!*
“How dare you look down on me!”
Seeing Bloodshadow Dark Ghost charging at him, Je-hwa quickly tilted his head back.
*Slash!*
At the same time he felt a stinging pain on his left cheek, tremendous pain surged from his side.
“Kuk?”
Je-hwa hurriedly retreated from Bloodshadow Dark Ghost.
“Kekekek! These daggers are coated with lethal poison! No matter how great you are, you won’t be safe!”
One of Bloodshadow Dark Ghost’s daggers was stabbed into Je-hwa’s side.
“Owowowow…….”
Je-hwa frowned deeply and covered his side with his hand, but blood flowed without end.
“Kwahahaha!”
At that sight, Bloodshadow Dark Ghost burst into maniacal laughter.
“What’s so good that you’re laughing like a madman?”
Frowning for a moment as he looked at his left side, Je-hwa spoke with a murderous face and then charged at Bloodshadow Dark Ghost with tremendous speed.
“Wh-what! You were definitely poisoned!”
Whether Bloodshadow Dark Ghost cried out in shock or not, Je-hwa merely swung his fist.
“Die!”
*Boom-boom-boom-bang!*
“Keuk!”
The fist of Je-hwa wrapped in silver qi clashed with the two daggers of Bloodshadow Dark Ghost wrapped in blood-red qi.
“Wh-what! Is this the power of someone poisoned? Keuk!”
*Boom-boom-bang!*
“Keuk!”
Under the endless, storm-like attacks, Bloodshadow Dark Ghost began to stagger as if he would soon fall.
‘At this rate, I’ll lose!’
He could not fathom how Je-hwa could move so nonchalantly while pouring out enormous internal energy despite being wounded by lethal poison, but one thing was certain: if this continued, he would die.
‘If I can stab him just one more time, I can win!’
Bloodshadow Dark Ghost was certain that if he succeeded in one more attack, he could create an opportunity to win. His eyes grew cold as he widened the distance from Je-hwa, erased his presence once again, and vanished from the spot.
“……!”
Je-hwa, who had paused for a moment watching that, soon wore a smile brimming with malice and punched directly toward the empty air.
*Crash!*
“Keuk!”
Along with that, Bloodshadow Dark Ghost collapsed, groaning in pain.
“Wh-how…….”
How had he been found? If he willed it and hid his presence, there were few in the Central Plains murim world who could detect it, so why…….
“You might be able to hide your presence, but you can’t hide that foul stench of yours.”
Smirking at Bloodshadow Dark Ghost’s face full of disbelief, Je-hwa said so and raised his fist.
“Now die.”
“Keuk!”
Bloodshadow Dark Ghost, letting out a groan, began to struggle to get out of Je-hwa’s range with wide eyes.
But before that, Je-hwa used his silver qi to crush Bloodshadow Dark Ghost’s entire body.
“Die!”
*Splat-crunch!*
“Kwaaaack!”
Along with a desperate scream, blood burst from Bloodshadow Dark Ghost’s entire body. His whole body had been crushed by the qi and simply exploded.
Je-hwa watched Bloodshadow Dark Ghost, who had turned into a horrific corpse in an instant, with indifferent eyes, then turned his gaze to the remaining Blood Cult warriors standing rigidly. As his gaze turned to them, they flinched, and Je-hwa smiled sweetly and said,
“You guys have to die too, right?”
With those words, Je-hwa’s one-sided massacre began once again.