Chapter 359. Somebody Save Me.

The Second Son, who had been staring at the Mukga Dagger, spoke.

“Any last words?”

“Where exactly are you planning to use my last words?”

The Second Son looked at me and said,

“I’ll need to let your acquaintance hear the Haomun Sect Leader’s last words. Before killing you, of course.”

I laughed at the Second Son’s words.

“You stupid bastard. Asking useless shit. Let me think. Ah, but I’ll tell you one thing first. You’ve already lost. I’ve already managed to slightly turn Cheonak’s heart.”

“…….”

“Now, whether you start skirmishes or launch an all-out offensive, it means you no longer have a way to seize the world. That’s what happens when you lock yourselves away and only train in martial arts. Even if I die right here, or if you go around spouting my last words, it won’t affect the bigger picture.”

Archduke Yang wore a surprised expression.

“……You’re a truly crazy bastard.”

The Second Son said with a stiff expression,

“Is that so? Cheonak was an enemy from the very beginning, so I cannot understand what you mean by turning his heart.”

“What would a Cult Leader’s son know about worldly affairs?”

“Can those Cheonak and Singae handle the Cult Leader? Quite a bit of time has passed. It seems you’ve grasped the situation somewhat. But your thinking differs from ours.”

Strangely enough, this bastard only spat out whatever he wanted to say. Of course, I was the same type of person, so it didn’t feel particularly odd.

I nodded.

“You’ll know when the time comes. I’ve rushed about busily and set the board up nicely. Before that, you three will die here.”

Archduke Yang asked,

“Sect Leader, why are you lost in such delusions? I knew you weren’t in your right mind before, but this…”

“Archduke Yang, wait and see, and you’ll know. Only those with very good luck will survive. Ah, then I should leave last words too.”

I left last words for the three of them.

“Alive, I am the Haomun Sect Leader; dead, I am the Mad Demon. That is me. These are my last words. Do you three have any last words? If you do, speak. I’ll pass them on to the Cult Leader.”

The Right Emissary Gwangmyeong, who had remained silent, spoke with a faint smile.

“Sect Leader, gathering your information, it seems you have discovered the method of defying the heavens (逆天) through yin and yang. But do you believe you are the only one in the entire world who knows it? Those who used such heaven-defying methods have already died by the Cult Leader’s hand in the past. Moreover, the Cult Leader has also researched heaven-defying methods.”

“Is that so?”

“Singae and Cheonak will also be difficult to handle now. Alive, the Haomun Sect Leader; dead, the Mad Demon…… Do as you will.”

Archduke Yang smiled annoyingly and said,

“Then shall we play?”

The three of them glared at me as if they had had their fill.

I waited briefly to receive the first strike, but all three seemed to have no intention of moving first. Only then did I confirm that these three regarded each other’s standing as equal. Because one was a meritorious subject, one was the Cult Leader’s son, and one was a power holder within the cult.

I glanced toward the Mukga Dagger, then sent palm force toward the Right Emissary Gwangmyeong. It was a level of force suitable for bouncing away.

Kwaaaaaaang!

Of course, meaning I would bounce away.

The moment Archduke Yang and the Second Son retreated from the shockwave of the palm force……

I was pushed back at high speed, and the moment I drew my sword in midair, I cut off the neck of the fake shopkeeper who had ruined the noodles.

Puaak!

Before that head hit the ground, I charged toward the cooking area. As expected, the corpses of those who had originally worked there were strewn limply in the corner.

I slaughtered the four or five cultists waiting there with a wooden sword, then fired a left palm strike to break through the wall and advanced. I had gotten revenge both for them ruining the noodles and for the dead.

The situation being what it was,

I forgot my sleepiness, and I forgot my hunger.

They had said they established a wide encirclement, but when I actually got outside, the waiting cultists swarmed in from all directions.

But since it was an open area on all sides, escaping was easy.

Could I truly enter the ranks of the Ten Great Experts of the Jianghu with my lightness skill? Even after sheathing my wooden sword and running frantically, Archduke Yang, the Right Emissary Gwangmyeong, and the Second Son followed very closely.

Somehow, I had a feeling that troops might be encamped near Baekungji, so I ran in the opposite direction. It was best to run far around before heading to Baekungji.

The distance was considerable, so even if I sent a signal or shouted with internal energy mixed in, it wouldn’t reach Baekungji. It seemed the Four Great Evildoers could turn the tide if they joined, but I had no sharp means to join them or request support, so for now I just ran.

Only by luck would someone see the Mukga Dagger stuck in the table.

For now, I focused on my lightness skill, but since I seemed to have energy to spare, I tried shouting,

“Somebody save me!”

I leaped into the air and spun my body to check the pursuers’ situation. Archduke Yang, the Right Emissary Gwangmyeong, and the Second Son stood at the front like three commanders. Next were the mid-level members, including Hongmokhan, and at the rear the cultists were swarming in.

No matter how crazy I am,

I didn’t think I could defeat the three commanders in a fair fight. I was so worked up from running that the possibility of the Purple Mist Divine Skill manifesting was practically gone. Why do I feel so good every time I run away like this? Perhaps because my five senses had developed, the Right Emissary Gwangmyeong’s voice pierced my ears clearly.

“……Move with your men to Baekungji. If the Sword Demon attempts to join them, enter Baekungji and slaughter the innocents first. Go.”

“Understood.”

The voice answering was Hongmokhan’s.

This time, Archduke Yang’s voice gradually drew closer.

“How long will you run?”

I still had some leeway, so I answered Archduke Yang,

“The last words are canceled. Nothing like that. I prefer one-on-one.”

“Good. I will fight you one-on-one, so stop.”

“You crazy bastard, bullshit.”

The terrain near Baekungji was now familiar. I ran toward places with as few people as possible. The reason I felt good even while running was because my lightness skill realm had deepened compared to my previous life.

This time, the Right Emissary Gwangmyeong’s voice was heard.

“Sect Leader, isn’t this the place you want? It’s a remote place. If you run further, I will split off forces to slaughter civilians first.”

A snort escaped me involuntarily.

“You sick bastard, why do you live so shabbily?”

To avoid being shaken by the Right Emissary Gwangmyeong’s words, it was better to run faster.

I leaped into the air, stepped down with my left foot, and unfolded the Dark Fragrant Step as if ascending a waterfall. Of course, in the direction of escape. When the waterfall of dust exploded at my toes and surged like waves, I extended forward using the Dark Fragrant Step. It was the Dark Fragrant Step that instantly pierced through the fiercely pouring waterfall. My entire body was wrapped in wind as if using the Ground-Shrinking Steps of immortals.

My thought is this.

I absolutely mustn’t fight these bastards easily. It’s better to stick to them like a dog’s tail for three or four days. So I ran with all my might. Since I had widened the distance, I rotated in the air again and checked the running order of those swarming in. Baekungji was growing distant, and people were becoming scarce, yet I shouted into the empty air,

“……Somebody save me!”

I dare say, there has never been anyone in history who shouted “Somebody save me!” in a louder voice than mine. Even I thought it was a thunderous voice, so much so that it echoed despite there being no nearby mountains. Is it possible to make an echo in an open field when your martial arts grow strong?

I put the words “Save me” to a monotonous tune and sang it the entire time I fled. Though I was the Hao Clan Leader in name, though I had set every mood imaginable, driven a dagger into a table, and even bluffed that I would become the Mad Demon after death, the truth was I had absolutely no intention of dying recklessly.

All of a sudden, I felt nothing but gratitude that I had gained the martial arts, internal energy, and movement technique to shake off the Right Envoy of Radiance, the Demon Cult Leader’s second son, and Grand Duke Yang no matter how fast they chased me. I had become so fast that it seemed I could simply flee all the way to the Murim Alliance like this. The moment I had that thought, the Right Envoy of Radiance gave an order.

“Squad Leader Go, if you move to the right, Byeokcheon County will appear. Slaughter them all, not even leaving a single dog alive.”

“I obey your command.”

The moment I heard the Right Envoy of Radiance, I stopped and turned around.

“…….”

Then not only the three commanders, but all the Demon Cult forces that had been following me stopped as well. The three commanders were catching their breath, while the rest were approaching, panting heavily.

I raised my right hand and said to the Right Envoy of Radiance,

“I lost. I surrender. You’re absurdly vicious.”

They were the sort of bastards who would actually carry it out, so I was truly dumbfounded. Unfortunately, I also knew the roads around here roughly enough to know full well that Byeokcheon County would appear before long.

Grand Duke Yang stepped forward and said,

“Kneel first.”

At the words telling me to kneel, I thought I ought to soar upward instead. A sudden thrill ran down my spine. If I met Cheonak, shouldn’t I at least give him one deep bow? Had it been this blissful and freeing a thing to not have a torrent of water pouring down over my head? Thinking of Cheonak, I muttered,

“Senior, our training was quite a splendid thing after all.”

I lowered my stance, then unleashed the Dark Fragrance Step with all the strength I had, enough to obliterate a waterfall.

‘Anyone who can jump higher than me, feel free to follow.’

As I shot into the vast sky, I poured the Flame Realm Great Hand Seal onto several cultists who had fearlessly leapt after me. In the meantime, I used the principle of lightness and heaviness that the White-Clad Scholar and Senior Divine Beggar had advised me on, accepting the recoil of the Flame Realm Great Hand Seal with my body. In other words, I was soaring upward by combining the power of the Dark Fragrance Step and the Flame Realm Great Hand Seal.

Wouldn’t this be enough?

From a height I could never have reached alone, I looked down at the Demon Cult’s forces.

Was I going to die to the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven in a place like this?

Without the slightest hesitation, I prepared the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven for the Demon Cult forces who had so kindly waited for me. In truth, considering the tremendous damage it could cause, I should have made something moderate, but it seemed my martial arts had deepened another level after visiting the Steel Manor. In midair, I was holding on to a taiji formed from the Golden Turtle Carefree Art and the Moon Shadow Heartless Art. At the moment I was about to complete the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven with the heaven-defying principle the Right Envoy of Radiance had mentioned, I activated the Hundred Battles Ten Stages Art from the thumbs of both hands.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!

A sigh escaped me on its own.

“……Ah, save me.”

In truth, it seemed the one killing the Hao Clan Leader was myself. I suppose that was what the Mad Demon was. I squeezed out every last bit of strength and dropped the tri-colored Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven, a combination of the Golden Turtle Carefree Art, the Moon Shadow Heartless Art, and the Hundred Battles Ten Stages Art.

Then what would happen to me?

Though I was not a Buddhist disciple, I could not help but mutter without realizing it.

“……Namu Amida, damn it.”

It was fortunate that I had not thrown the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven. Watching the fiercely spinning Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven, I fell about two beats later and, like an utter idiot, frantically waved my hands, pouring out the force of the Great Hand Seal into the empty air one after another. I poured it forward and even beneath my feet, but widening the distance enough to escape the aftermath of the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven felt impossible from the start, nothing more than desperate flailing.

At that moment, I saw the Demon Cult forces scattering like a swarm of ants.

Most of all, the three commanders, whose attire set them apart, were fleeing the fastest. In any case, watching the Right Envoy of Radiance, Grand Duke Yang, and the second son of the Demon Cult flee from a single technique was so satisfying I could hardly describe it.

Now that I thought about it, if I wanted to survive, there were only two ways. Strangely, a spirit of challenge welled up in me, so I chose the slightly more dangerous method.

It was the moment when I had to withstand the aftermath of the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven with my own martial arts. I extended my right hand and supported it from behind with my left.

Just as I thought my ears had gone muffled……

Starting from my little finger, I called forth the martial arts I had learned. I wrapped Wood Realm, Flame Realm, Fighting Realm, Full Moon, and Hundred Battles around my five fingers, then countered the soundless, formless shock wave of the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven with the Five-Colored Palm Art.

In that instant, something rose backward from inside my body and burst out of my mouth. First, I lost my sense of direction; then my hearing and vision vanished. I worried that if I fell while unconscious, my entire body would break. Even so, my consciousness seemed about to snap, and the thought that I had to wrap my whole body in the Moon Shadow Heartless Art felt like my final judgment. Since I had already used Snow-Robed Solitude before, it was not terribly difficult.

When on earth would I grow up?

Just as I thought that the Mad Demon was ultimately going to kill the Hao Clan Leader, I struck the ground while unconscious. Because of the pain, I briefly repeated passing out and coming to.

Still, it seemed I truly was a man of Ilyang County.

I kept the words I had spoken.

When I stopped after rolling with pain that felt as if my entire body would shatter, I saw the clear sky. If any of the three commanders had been so lucky as to survive the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven, they could come over right now and kill me.

Since I had used Snow-Robed Solitude for too short a time, my whole body had not stiffened.

But for the moment, I could not move.

For some reason, even though I could not move, my mouth was still alive.

“……Save me.”

If my mouth was still alive, that was actually good. I thought I might be able to bring down the Demon Cult even while operating from a sickbed. If that happened, would my epithet become the Crouching Dragon Mad Demon?

In truth, my exact last words would be “Save me.”

I could not die like this.

I tried moving the parts of my body that could move first. After wiggling my fingers and toes, I checked first whether my neck was broken. As soon as I breathed through my mouth, dust puffed out. When I slightly lifted my head and looked around, I was half-buried in what looked like a pit. It was probably a pit made when my body slammed into the ground.

“…….”

I gathered my staggering body and forced myself to stand.

The horizon was strangely clean. If it was the aftermath of the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven, corpses should have been piled up like mountains.

The thought that I should flee and the thought that I was curious about what had happened battled for supremacy, but as always, curiosity took the lead, so I walked forward. Since there was no strength in my body, I drew the wooden sword still hanging intact at my waist.

When I went forward and checked, I could not see the ground where the ground should have been. It was all a pit. It looked as if a youngest disciple of Ten-Thousand-Zhang Cliff had appeared before my eyes.

It was so wide and deep that I could not estimate its size.

Surprisingly, at the farthest point from where I was, I saw the Right Envoy of Radiance sitting cross-legged. Grand Duke Yang and the second son were not immediately visible, but the moment I saw the Right Envoy of Radiance sitting cross-legged, the strength left my legs and I naturally sat cross-legged as well.

How on earth had he survived?

Had he been quick-witted enough to use his movement technique and create as much distance as possible? Or had he minimized the damage with palm force like I had? In truth, from the moment I dropped the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven, the three commanders had been the first to flee with their movement techniques.

‘Persistent bastard.’

The Right Envoy of Radiance was also looking at me, but for the moment, he did not seem inclined to move. Judging from the mess I was in, the Right Envoy of Radiance seemed to have been injured quite badly as well.

I asked the Right Envoy of Radiance, who was far away,

“……Hey, Right Envoy.”

“…….”

“Are you pondering your last words with such a serious expression? How does it feel, having all your subordinates die?”

I couldn’t help but snicker; the very fact that bastard wasn’t answering was hilarious.