The Genius Warrior Who Remembers Everything Chapter 51

Chapter 51. A First-Rate Warrior Peering into the Darkness (4)

-How fast is your Movement Art?

Murong Sang-won suddenly spoke to me through Sound Transmission.

Since I understood his intent, I told him my former speed, from before I had learned Unrivaled under Heaven Movement Art.

-It takes me about half a quarter-hour to cover ten li.

-……When you run at full strength?

The Taeul Sect’s Movement Art was so poor that it was embarrassing to even call it a Movement Art.

-I will try to buy roughly two quarter-hours. During that time, flee as quickly as you can.

Murong Sang-won said this with a resolute expression. In one hand, he had brought out the Fire Monkey’s Inner Core, which he had carefully treasured, along with his own name plaque.

-……If you are fortunate enough to escape, stop by my home. Tell my child and my wife my story.

I pushed the Fire Monkey’s Inner Core and the name plaque back toward him.

-This is not the time to put on reckless bravado.

The plan I had prepared just in case had, as expected, fallen perfectly into place.

The Red Headband men had the same habits in my previous life and now.

-Would you trust me just one more time?

When I absorbed the Demonic Qi inside Murong Sang-won’s body, there had been a particular Demonic Qi that surfaced in my mind.

There are thousands of Demonic Arts that were born from the Heavenly Demon Scripture, but each Demonic Art has its own unique traits.

The Demonic Qi of those who had attacked Murong Sang-won had a quality especially like Poisonous Qi, stealthily gnawing away at its opponent, and I had already experienced this Demonic Qi to a sickening degree in my Sojeong Squad days.

-This may be our last chance.

Twenty Red Headband men approached.

I nodded.

-Let us go together. I still need to receive the Clear Bright Pill from the Young Clan Head, do I not?

Murong Sang-won snorted at my calm words and nodded.

-From now on, step exactly where I step. It is the Taeul Sect’s Movement Art, but it should not be particularly difficult for you, Senior.

Once we began to run, Murong Sang-won, who was a little confused at first, soon grasped the trajectory of the Movement Art and began running by stepping exactly where I stepped.

He did not know the subtleties of inner arts circulation, but because his understanding of martial arts was innately high, he followed in a way not much different from how I ran.

The problem was that the Red Headband men were so fast that Murong Sang-won’s face began to grow increasingly gaunt.

-Listen, how about I carry you and run instead?

I said firmly.

-You must never move even an inch beyond where I step.

At the chilling killing intent that felt as if it would pierce the back of my head, I looked back and saw that the Red Headband men were already almost upon us.

‘That nasty habit of scattering killing intent behind prey they’re chasing is still the same.’

Damn it all, these bastards were assassins, yet right before killing their target, they spread horrifying killing intent and drove the target into even greater terror.

SHING. SHING. SHING.

Even the chilling sound of swords being drawn.

Unable to bear the tension, Murong Sang-won finally burst out.

“So-un! They will reach us soon…….”

At that moment.

CLACK—!

Along with the sound of dull iron masses slamming together, a pained groan came out muffled in the mouth, as though the man had bitten his tongue.

“Stop!”

The bastard at the very front, who had been about to swing his sword, looked at the one standing on the far right.

His ankle had been severed at once by a Bear Trap.

-The other day, on my way to find food, I set up a few traps.

-What does that…….

-If they possessed enough martial force to ambush the Young Clan Head of the Murong Clan, I thought it would not be a coincidence.

-…….

Murong Sang-won looked as though he simply could not believe it.

-You must never stray from where I step. They are Bear Traps; they will bite your ankles clean off.

-A-All right.

As the two of us kept moving briskly, the Red Headband men sprinkled Bone-Melting Powder over the man whose ankle had been cut off and began running toward us.

“Ghaaagh!”

The man being eaten away alive by Bone-Melting Powder could not endure the pain of his flesh melting and screamed loudly for the first time.

Murong Sang-won glanced at the sight and turned even paler than before.

-V-Vicious bastards.

-They certainly are.

The men of the Red Headbands began gaining on us again.

Now wary of traps, they began using Grass-Skimming Flight.

At that sight, Murong Sang-won was once again utterly shocked.

Because there was no sect in the martial world whose every member specialized in assassination and could use Grass-Skimming Flight.

I handed him three throwing knives.

-Throw them at those bastards. We must not let them concentrate on Grass-Skimming Flight.

Murong Sang-won quickly accepted the throwing knives and flung two at the same time.

WHISH.

CLANG—! CLANG—!

I also poured power into three throwing knives and sent them flying toward the opposite side from where Murong Sang-won had thrown his.

Those bastards also tried to knock them away with their swords like the ones who had blocked Murong Sang-won’s knives, but because of the power I had packed into them, some had their bodies knocked backward, while others had their swords break and the knives embed in their throats.

SQUELCH, SQUELCH, SQUELCH.

CLACK. CLACK.

One man was caught by a throwing knife, and two by Bear Traps; hands were severed and ankles went flying.

The comrades following behind sprinkled Bone-Melting Powder without delay, and those melting away died amid screams.

We were certainly getting through each moment of crisis, but Murong Sang-won already seemed to be mentally exhausted by the enemy’s horrifying methods.

It was not strange.

The Demonic Cult’s way of fighting made mental fatigue continue to pile up in an opponent even in situations like this, when they had not gained the advantage.

I passed a hillock and turned toward the forest.

The Red Headband men kicked off the trees and rose, trying not to touch the ground at all, and I cut down two vines I had set up as though I had been waiting.

WHISH. THUD, THUD, THUD—!

As soon as we passed, eight rocks the size of a human head dropped where we had been, and two of them struck the Red Headband men.

And, of course, traps had been triggered where they fell.

CLACK—! CLACK—!

“Ghk!”

“N-No!”

For the first time, one of them refused to accept his own death, but this time, too, the ending was inevitably Bone-Melting Powder.

-Senior, it would be better not to look back.

-……I understand.

Despite suffering continual losses, those bastards were not cowering; if anything, they were exuding killing intent even more thickly.

And I triggered all the traps that would mark the finale.

When I cut the tautly pulled cord, spears made of wood shot out from every direction.

Then those rocks flew everywhere, and those struck by either wooden spears or rocks ended up caught in the Bear Traps below.

When two more died in an instant, the Red Headband men’s steps finally began to slow.

In the meantime, we widened the distance, left the forest, and stood before a fork in the road.

“Senior, please go to the right.”

“And you?”

“I will go to the left.”

“Why are we not going together?”

“The traps I set end here. While those bastards are intimidated by the traps and hesitate, we must confuse them and flee as quickly as possible.”

“Understood. Come to the Clear Bright Escort Agency in Mugang.”

“Understood. I will see you there.”

Murong Sang-won and I dashed down the two separate paths at the same time.

***

The masked men who emerged from the forest followed the road and came to the fork.

Perhaps because their rage at losing comrades to the unexpected traps was great, their killing intent was suffocating.

Seeing that the two forked paths each bore a set of tracks, they tried to split into groups of eight and four and give chase.

Until I came back.

“!”

When I walked out, the one at the very front making hand signals stopped his hand.

“It’s been a long time…… Ah, not for you bastards yet.”

The masked Red Headband man gave another hand signal, telling them to chase Murong Sang-won.

“Is there any point in chasing him now?”

“!”

The Red Headband man was noticeably flustered that I had understood his hand signal.

During my Sojeong Squad days, while I fought those bastards in sickening chases where we chased and were chased, I had memorized all of their hand signals.

In the end, four men ran off along the road.

“Even after seeing an old friend you have met after so long, you don’t even intend to reminisce? Yama Ghost Eye Unit?”

“!”

“!”

“!”

The bastards running off halted.

“How should I put it? Should I say this feels strangely moving? Back then, I was only ever being chased for my life.”

“Who are you, bastard?”

A voice like scraping metal rang out.

“Does that matter? What matters is that I know you bastards’ habits perfectly, isn’t that right?”

When the Red Headband man nodded, the four Red Headband men standing at the back disappeared.

I tossed three throwing knives from inside my garment into the air.

Guhk, khk. Ggk!

As three screams rang out, I turned behind me and swung the Black Dragon Sword.

SLASH—!

Blood poured through the air, and a Red Headband man whose upper and lower body had been split apart appeared.

“Can none of you improvise?”

“……!”

The Red Headband man’s eyes were shaking violently.

“You really are as quiet as ever. You’re making me feel embarrassed. Still, you weren’t this silent back then. Was it because you could toy with us like playthings then? You rat bastards of the demon dogs.”

Demon dogs was a term used within the Demonic Cult only when they demeaned themselves.

In the Central Plains, it was a word that only came into use after they entered the martial world.

“……Who are you, bastard?”

“We asked you that question countless times at first, too. You never answered us once.”

“…….”

“Anyway, I’m very glad to see you after so long.”

I gathered the energy of Radiant Heaven Divine Palm in both hands.

Then I fired it at those bastards.

CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH—!

Radiant Heaven Divine Palm possessed such deranged destructive power that even the Demonic Cult bastards, who were mad for destruction, would click their tongues in disbelief.

And those bastards were not on a level where they could divert Radiant Heaven Divine Palm with Four Taels Deflecting a Thousand Jin as Yong So-ah had.

“Huh…….”

Two bastards struck directly by Radiant Heaven Divine Palm vanished without a trace, and one bastard caught in the aftermath of the palm lost an arm without a trace.

I immediately stepped into Taeul Eighty-Thousand Divine Steps.

The movement arts technique, harmonizing Movement Art and Footwork Art into one, created illusions wherever the feet landed and confused the opponent.

I grabbed the neck of the bastard whose arm had been cut off and activated the Azure Dragon Bracelet to fill my empty Dantian.

“Guuuuuhk!”

The bastard shriveled into a mummy in an instant, and at the same time, inner arts rose into my empty Dantian until it was filled to about thirty percent.

“If I’d known this, I should have made him eat a Blood-Explosion Pill.”

“…….”

The emotion reflected in their eyes.

I had seen that many times in my Sojeong Squad comrades.

The way we had been in the past, when we faced the Yama Ghost Eye Unit, was now being projected onto them.

“They weren’t even such strong opponents. Why were we so afraid back then?”

“…….”

The bastards began rolling their eyes about.

Knowing their intent, I smiled and said.

“Will you run even after your identities have been exposed?”

“!”

In my memories, there was no instance of Demonic Cult bastards appearing in the Central Plains during this period.

That meant nothing less than that these bastards had spent years laying the groundwork before the Great Righteous-Demonic War.

And that, in turn, led to the conclusion that neither the Orthodox Path nor the Black Path must learn they were active.

Perhaps having made up their minds, the five moved simultaneously and unfolded a Sword Formation.

Yama Ghost Sword Formation.

It layered their Demonic Qi over one another and turned the area into something like hell.

“This is another nostalgic formation.”

I also raised the power of the Taeul True Scripture to full force.

The Demonic Qi that had tried to burrow into my Acupoints was pushed back by the purity of the Taeul True Scripture and could not enter any farther.

I scattered the Ascendant Form of the Minor Heaven Sword Art.

SWISH.

At a speed different from before, it tore not only through Demonic Qi but even through space itself, cutting off the neck of the one occupying that space.

Twin Heaven Sword Formula.

Swords of falsehood and truth mingled together and sprang out in every direction.

The sword one thought false was true, and the sword one thought true was false.

And falsehood also became truth.

SQUELCH. SQUELCH. SLASH—!

Three met death at once.

The one who seemed to be the squad leader kicked off the ground at the sight before him and began fleeing.

“If you cannot carry out Kill to Silence, then delivering this news to the Demonic Cult is also a good idea.”

Perhaps he had unfolded an exquisite Movement Art; his figure already looked as small as a sesame seed.

I invoked Unrivaled under Heaven Movement Art.

Then I immediately folded space, overtook the bastard, and took position before him.

“!”

Perhaps unable to believe it even after seeing it with his own eyes, the bastard’s reaction was late.

“I-Impossible!”

A metal-scraping voice, as though predicting his own end.

And the result was exactly as the bastard expected.

SLASH—!

With his head severed from his body, just before dying, he watched his own body spouting blood like a fountain.

“Go and tell your god this. His faithful will soon be coming one after another to meet him.”