Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The Corpse-Blood Demon’s eyes turned cold.

“Arrogant…….”

When he kicked off the ground, a red afterimage shot out as if exploding.

The Corpse-Blood Demon’s arm bent strangely like a boneless mollusk, digging into Dokgo Jin’s blind spot.

‘The distance……!’

Dokgo Jin’s brow narrowed.

Absurdly, the attack range of the barehanded Corpse-Blood Demon was far longer than his own, even though he held a sword.

It was a technique that dislocated and extended the arm joints.

Booooom!

An explosion rang out where Dokgo Jin had been standing, and fragments mixed with dirt and snow scattered in every direction. However, Dokgo Jin was no longer there.

He had already retreated with Nine Nether Traceless Step.

‘He is certainly troublesome.’

Even a fairly skilled master would have had his entire body shredded by the Corpse-Blood Demon’s irregular Blood Claws without knowing what had happened.

But that was only the beginning.

Even though his attack had missed, the Corpse-Blood Demon did not stop. He clung to Dokgo Jin like a shadow and kept thrusting out both hands.

Bang! Boom!

Dokgo Jin continued stepping through Nine Nether Traceless Step and avoided the attacks, while the innocent ground caved in.

The Corpse-Blood Demon’s red nails grazed past him at a hair’s breadth, close enough to touch and yet not touching.

“You dodge well, like a rat!”

The Corpse-Blood Demon’s eyes flashed with irritation and killing intent.

‘Let us see if you can dodge this too.’

Wooooong—!

The red wave of qi pouring from the Corpse-Blood Demon’s entire body suddenly surged explosively.

Blood Demon Hand, Second Form.

Blood Claw Wild Dance.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!

The red strong qi pouring from the tips of his ten fingers split apart in midair, becoming more than ten red whips that completely seized Dokgo Jin’s front, back, left, and right.

It was a ferocious offensive that left not even space to evade.

“…….”

Dokgo Jin’s eyes sank coldly.

‘I will dodge what can be dodged and block the rest.’

If he revealed his full strength, he could break through it without difficulty, but now was not the time.

He widened the distance as much as possible and drew a large circle with Extinction.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

Sparks flew in every direction along with fierce impacts.

Dokgo Jin’s form was pushed backward, but this time as well, he did not suffer any real damage.

“…….”

Seeing this, the Corpse-Blood Demon’s face hardened slightly.

‘Look at this bastard?’

Even if Dokgo Jin borrowed the power of a divine weapon, blocking his Blood Demon Hand was another matter entirely.

The Corpse-Blood Demon’s eyes flashed.

“You are certainly no ordinary bastard. Not bad.”

“…….”

“From now on, it will be a little different.”

The Corpse-Blood Demon’s atmosphere changed completely. At that moment, his red hand rushed toward Dokgo Jin without even a trace of presence.

Swoosh!

It was a speed on a different level from before.

‘Has he decided to go all out?’

Boom!

Dokgo Jin hurriedly raised Extinction and defended, but it was not perfect.

His form was pushed back again. Unlike before, his posture completely crumbled.

‘I cannot block this with ordinary methods.’

As he watched the Corpse-Blood Demon rapidly close the distance, Dokgo Jin’s eyes deepened.

‘To block this…….’

Dokgo Jin drew the Black Flame Qi in his qi center into Extinction, but instead of condensing it, he broke it into tiny pieces through subtle vibrations and scattered it into the air around the sword.

‘I will not give it form.’

Wooooong—!

Transparent waves like a haze rippled around Extinction’s blade.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The red strong qi and the black Extinction clashed more than ten times.

From the outside, it looked as if Dokgo Jin was struggling to swing his sword and block. However, every time they collided, the Corpse-Blood Demon’s expression twisted strangely.

‘……What is this?’

His Blood-Yin Strong Qi had clearly touched the sword, but the feeling of impact was strange.

It was not the sensation of striking solid steel, but the unpleasant feeling of thrusting a fist into sticky, murky mud.

The moment it touched the sword, the sharpness and power of his strong qi seemed to become dull.

Hiss.

At the point of collision, the red energy evaporated, and only faint smoke rose.

‘It feels almost…… like cutting mist.’

The Corpse-Blood Demon’s face distorted.

‘So he still had a petty trick left.’

The Corpse-Blood Demon, whose patience had run out, condensed the energy of Blood-Yin Strong Qi into both hands.

‘Die now.’

Blood Demon Hand, Third Form.

Blood Snake Soul Chase.

Rooooar!

The condensed red strong qi burst from the Corpse-Blood Demon’s fingertips like a waterfall. Its destructive power could not be compared to before.

Dokgo Jin’s eyes flashed coldly.

Tsssssss!

He instantly recalled the Black Flame Qi he had scattered into the air and concentrated it into Extinction’s blade.

The sword, which had already been dyed black, held a light darker than pitch-black.

Nine Nether Dark King Sword, Second Form.

Sword Wall Overlap.

Wooooong—!

Extinction’s sword tip vibrated madly and rose roughly from below to above.

Swoosh!

It was a single sword strike, but its trajectory was not one.

In the place the sword passed, dozens of black curtains were created in layers, forming a qi wall like an impregnable fortress that blocked the Corpse-Blood Demon’s storm of strong qi head-on.

Booooom!

The air screamed.

The aftermath of the collision made the ground beneath Dokgo Jin’s feet sink deeply, but he still stood on both feet.

The Corpse-Blood Demon’s eyes narrowed like a snake’s as he watched him.

‘He blocked it again?’

The problem was not simply that he had blocked it.

At the moment of collision just now, the Corpse-Blood Demon saw a chilling “abyss” beyond Dokgo Jin’s black qi wall.

It was a deep, dark energy that seemed as though it would devour even his demonic qi.

‘Now I see…… You are hiding something.’

It was not Wudang’s Taiji or anything of the sort.

In the Corpse-Blood Demon’s red eyes, dense killing intent beyond curiosity began to fill.

‘Against me, of all people?’

“Arrogant bastard.”

The blood-red strong qi gathered on his nails became even clearer and grew larger.

“I will break that paltry sword in a single breath and burst your heart.”

“…….”

Dokgo Jin maintained his composure, but inwardly, he flinched.

‘That is a little troublesome.’

Originally, the Corpse-Blood Demon’s Blood-Yin Strong Qi naturally wrapped around his entire body. But now, he had concentrated it all into both hands.

Thanks to that, the power of his strong qi must have increased severalfold.

‘If I aim for that opening, I could actually bring him down easily. But…….’

Yu Seol-ah and the other unit members were too occupied with blocking the Blood Mist Corps’ offensive to pay attention, but Han Seo-ryeong’s gaze, watching his side with an uneasy expression, bothered him.

‘Troublesome.’

Even by chance, showing that he could defeat the Corpse-Blood Demon single-handedly would not be good.

In the meantime, the Corpse-Blood Demon closed the distance.

‘Hmm.’

Just as he was wondering whether he should keep enduring even if it meant taking damage.

[Retreat!]

A thunder-like Sound Transmission struck his mind.

Because Dokgo Jin knew the owner of that voice, he kicked off the ground without delay and launched himself backward.

Boooooom!

A thunderous explosion erupted where Dokgo Jin had been standing, as if a massive lightning bolt had fallen from the sky.

A tremendous shock wave swept in every direction, and even the Corpse-Blood Demon was sent flying backward.

“……!”

The Corpse-Blood Demon hurriedly corrected his posture and glared at the place where the dust was rising.

A man tore through the thick cloud of dust and revealed himself.

A huge man holding an iron spear in one hand and emitting terrifying fighting spirit from his entire body.

“I will be your opponent now.”

The one whose eyes emitted a blue light was none other than Yeom Baek, Captain of the Iron Soul Unit.

***

While Dokgo Jin held back the Corpse-Blood Demon alone, Yu Seol-ah and the fourteen members of the Iron Soul Unit were fighting a desperate, blood-drying battle.

Clang! Clang!

“If we are pushed back, it is over! Put your backs together! Maintain the distance!”

Yu Seol-ah’s twin swords surged like they were dancing and knocked away the Blood Mist Corps members’ daggers.

At her shout, the unit members clenched their teeth and endured. Their stamina was already depleted, and their bodies were covered in wounds.

However, they did not collapse.

‘That man…… Dokgo Jin is risking his life to stop that monster.’

The huge bursts and vibrations coming from behind them.

Dokgo Jin was buying time alone against a Unit Leader of the Demon Palace. If they were pierced through here, how could they raise their heads with any dignity?

“If we die, we die here! Defend the formation!”

“As—you—command!”

The Iron Soul Unit members screamed with malice and thrust out their swords.

It was a desperate resistance that filled the gap of numerical inferiority and physical limits with mental strength. However, the Blood Mist Corps’ offensive was just as persistent.

Blades digging in relentlessly sent blood flying from the unit members’ shoulders and thighs.

The circular formation slowly became distorted, and its limit was approaching.

Yu Seol-ah’s blood-smeared face twisted.

‘Is this as far as we go?’

It was right then.

Booooom!

With a roar that seemed as though it would swallow the battlefield, a massive shock wave burst out from Dokgo Jin’s side.

“……!”

Yu Seol-ah and the unit members instinctively turned their gazes there.

Within the thick dust, the Corpse-Blood Demon was sent flying, and a huge man emitting majestic spirit was standing in front of Dokgo Jin.

“Ah!”

Yu Seol-ah’s eyes widened.

It was a familiar back. As far as she knew, there was only one person who emitted such spirit that overwhelmed the battlefield.

“C-Captain……!”

Someone cried out in a choked voice. Yeom Baek, Captain of the Iron Soul Unit, had finally appeared.

“We are saved now…….”

It was instinctive relief. That was how great a hope Yeom Baek’s appearance became when they had been driven to their final limit.

However.

The string of tension that had been pulled taut loosened for an instant.

The Blood Mist Corps did not miss that instant.

Rather, they aimed for that very moment when everyone’s attention had turned and pressed their offensive even more relentlessly.

Relief turned into screams in an instant.

A unit member who had been responsible for one side of the defensive wall failed to react in time, and the enemy’s sword cut deep into his shoulder.

“Krgh!”

Flash!

Blood surged, and he collapsed, naturally breaking the formation. Through the opened hole, red killing intents rushed in.

“It is not over yet! don't lower your guard!”

Yu Seol-ah shouted until her throat nearly tore and charged in, but three or four Blood Mist Corps members were already bringing down their daggers toward the wounded unit member’s neck.

From her distance, there was no way she could reach them.

‘Ah……!’

At that moment, when despair blocked her sight.

Slice!

A Blood Mist Corps member’s head shot into the air. A pitch-black blade that had suddenly appeared had cut through his neck.

“……!”

The startled Blood Mist Corps members flinched and retreated, and the man holding the black sword quickly filled the gap in the formation.

It was Dokgo Jin.

“To think you were pushed back just because I stepped away for a moment. Is that not embarrassing in front of a new recruit?”

“Hah.”

Yu Seol-ah let out a hollow laugh.

‘Is this really his first mission? How is he that cold-headed?’

As soon as Yeom Baek blocked the Corpse-Blood Demon, Dokgo Jin had returned to the formation. It was an extremely accurate judgment.

“The Captain has come, so the other unit members will join us soon as well. Endure a little longer!”

“Ooooh!”

At Dokgo Jin’s shout, the Iron Soul Unit members’ morale surged once more.

Four unit members had already fallen. Dokgo Jin filled their empty places alone.

‘Even though the Captain has arrived, the situation has not reversed.’

Even if the separated unit members joined them, the Blood Mist Corps still had the numerical advantage, and it was unclear whether Yeom Baek could defeat the Corpse-Blood Demon.

‘Even for the Captain, the Corpse-Blood Demon is no easy opponent.’

The crisis was not over yet.

‘Captain, you will need to live up to the name of the strongest Captain in the Northern Heaven Alliance.’

At that moment, Yeom Baek and the Corpse-Blood Demon clashed.