Chapter 765: Hero Appears.

‘Damn.’

Seeing the flood of gazes, I put on an awkward expression.

I never thought this would be solved so quickly.

Even though I tried to force a smile, no one laughed. Everyone’s eyes were wide open, staring only this way.

While being the center of attention was quite burdensome,

‘Seriously, is this something to be that surprised about?’

Honestly, I couldn’t understand why they were so astonished.

‘Why can’t they do this simple thing?’

It’s just a matter of grabbing and tearing it apart, but they kept saying this and that wouldn’t work. Weren’t they just wasting time?

Thus, I simply couldn’t comprehend their actions.

‘Is this really that difficult?’

What exactly is so difficult about it? It’s something you just do as you see it.

‘Hmm….’

A question flickered through my mind.

Perhaps, am I the strange one?

If they’re that surprised, it seems I must have done something quite unusual….

‘What could it be.’

I ponder it carefully.

What could be the reason they think I’m strange?

Why is this so difficult for them?

‘Is it because of the Mind’s Eye?’

Whether one can see the difference in threads or not.

If that’s the difference, then that’s the difference. And the cause is probably whether one possesses the Mind’s Eye.

The Mind’s Eye allows one to read the flow of energy, and using that, one could easily grasp the magic formations.

This means…

‘Is the Mind’s Eye specialized in dispelling formations too?’

Perhaps so.

Otherwise, I couldn’t understand such a reaction.

Then.

‘Why didn’t Master Paen tell me about this?’

That becomes the biggest question.

Master Paen surely would have told me about such effects of the Mind’s Eye, so it’s a bit strange that there was no explanation at all.

‘Hmm.’

For now, I’ll decide to ask Master Paen about this later.

Swooosh–!!

The barrier, which had been slowly dissolving, completely disappeared around the pavilion shortly after.

The barrier that had bound several of the Ten Great Masters and numerous experts of the Hwagyeong level had vanished so effortlessly.

“P-Phew, it’s gone!”

“The barrier has been dispelled…!”

“Sect Leader–!!”

“Q-Quickly, fetch the Hall Master!”

As soon as the barrier disappeared, the martial artists moved in a rush as if they had been waiting. Although the pavilion towered quite high, since everyone was a martial artist, climbing up was quick.

Watching the people moving in haste, I narrowed my eyes slightly.

‘Done.’

Although the situation turned out slightly different than expected, I succeeded in dispelling the barrier anyway. I was able to bring them out much faster than half a day.

That’s enough.

This was enough of a stepping stone for the final operation I planned to use for this scheme.

Thump.

Someone falls beside me.

For a moment, I felt a sensation like the air chilling.

It meant the person’s presence was quite chilling.

‘Haha.’

I had to suppress a laugh the moment I saw the culprit.

It was the current Alliance Leader, Sword Sage.

He had his brows deeply furrowed, not hiding his emotions at all.

No matter how much I ignored it, he was one of the Ten Great Masters of the Central Plains.

As he unleashed his presence freely, those around him had to hunch their bodies.

That’s how strong his presence was.

“…”

Before other figures could approach.

Sword Sage, who had descended on his own, slightly stiffened upon seeing someone.

It was none other than Heavenly Venerate.

“…Senior.”

Heavenly Venerate replies to Sword Sage’s words.

“It’s been a while. I suppose I should call you Alliance Leader now.”

“What brings you here?”

Heavenly Venerate was smiling, but Sword Sage’s expression was still not good.

Or rather, should I say it got even worse?

“Didn’t you say you were leaving the front lines for a while and told us not to contact you?”

“That’s right. That intention hasn’t changed.”

“Then… how come.”

“Hmm.”

As he was about to speak, Heavenly Venerate suddenly looked this way.

The moment I saw that, I immediately shook my head.

“I had a bit of business to attend to.”

“…”

Perhaps thanks to that, the young master wasn’t mentioned this time.

Anyway, the rumors were bound to spread, so Sword Sage would hear about it soon enough, but I didn’t want that to happen right now.

When Sword Sage mentioned Heavenly Venerate, the others finally turned their attention.

They seemed to have been in such a hurry that they hadn’t even realized Heavenly Venerate was there.

“Heavenly Venerate is here?”

“Then, the thunder striking just now, could it be….”

Although the place where the demonic creature was generated was quite a distance from here, it seemed the lightning strikes were visible even from this far due to their immense size.

Then again, it would be strange not to see something that massive.

“Did you help us, Senior?”

“Of course not. I merely assisted a little at the end. The ones who did all the work were the other children.”

“…”

“It seems you’ve been through an unpleasant situation. Are you alright, Alliance Leader?”

“…You don’t need to worry about it, Senior.”

Sword Sage replied to Heavenly Venerate in a deeply subdued voice.

“This is strictly the Alliance’s business. I will handle it myself.”

“…Hmm.”

Hearing this, Heavenly Venerate let out a shallow hum.

He clearly looked displeased.

“Alliance Leader.”

“…Yes.”

Sword Sage looked like something was about to explode any moment.

Heavenly Venerate, observing him, continued speaking.

“I know from experience. That path only leads you deeper in, it’s not a way out.”

“…What are you suddenly talking about?”

“I hope you’ll understand someday. Before it’s too late, like me.”

“…”

Sword Sage frowned slightly upon hearing this, but that was all.

Further words were meaningless.

He must have had mountains of tasks to attend to immediately.

“…Azure Dragon Brigade Leader and Flying Dragon Brigade Leader.”

“Yes-!”

“Yes, yes…!”

Upon being called, Ilcheonggeom and Seomgeom approached and paid their respects to the Alliance Leader.

The Alliance Leader looked at them and asked.

“I’ll give you some time. Report to me in detail what happened after the cleanup.”

“…I shall obey your command.”

The Brigade Leaders who received the order moved.

In the heavy, settled air, Sword Sage’s gaze shifted.

His gaze soon turned towards me.

“…”

Eyes filled with countless emotions. A gaze brimming with indescribable thoughts.

I, too, stared calmly into Sword Sage’s eyes.

Is he expecting me to pay my respects?

Wondering what his intention was, I waited for a moment.

“From what I see, it seems you were the one who dispelled this barrier.”

“Yes.”

I nodded at Sword Sage’s words.

I wondered what he would ask, but it was this.

“How did you do it?”

“…Huh?”

I was momentarily flustered by the question.

How did I do it…

“…I just did it?”

Perhaps the answer was unsatisfactory. Sword Sage’s expression crumpled.

But there was nothing I could do.

“No, really… I just did it.”

What am I supposed to do if it just worked when I did it?

Even if I tried to explain, I couldn’t.

“When I tore it, it just came undone.”

“…”

To be precise, there was a spot that looked like it could be torn, so I actually tried tearing it.

I didn’t know it would actually work.

“…Anyway… Isn’t it good if it just worked out?”

Isn’t it enough that it’s undone?

I tried saying that, but Sword Sage’s expression remained the same. Just as I wondered what the problem was,

“This is a barrier that even the Flying Dragon Brigade Leader, let alone those bound by it, couldn’t easily dispel. And you dispelled it so easily? That’s not something easily believable.”

“…”

Ah, I see.

Listening to Sword Sage, I finally realized.

That old man.

‘He’s suspecting me.’

Bima-pa, renowned in the Central Plains for her expertise in formations.

This was a formation that even she struggled with for a long time.

Since I just tore apart such a formation, it must have seemed strange to Sword Sage.

Moreover.

‘Given the circumstances, my presence here would also be strange.’

The situation where I suddenly appeared with Heavenly Venerate.

In Sword Sage’s eyes, my presence must have felt like an intrusion.

‘Well now.’

His mind works better than I thought.

‘Although I did rush out a bit due to urgency.’

I didn’t expect him to suspect me immediately upon my arrival. As I mentioned before, Sword Sage didn’t seem like a completely foolish person.

However.

“Even if you ask like that… I don’t have much to say. It really just worked when I tried.”

What can he do even if he suspects me?

Is further explanation needed for the statement that it worked just because I tried?

Nothing would be resolved even if Sword Sage suspected me now.

My attitude, which might seem somewhat brazen, seemed to have displeased him, deepening the frown lines between Sword Sage’s brows.

“…You punk.”

Just as Sword Sage was walking towards me,

“B-Brigade Leader–!!”

“Snap out of it!”

A loud noise came from behind.

Immediately, everyone’s gaze turned.

The location was right in front of where the barrier had originally been set up.

It was the spot where Bima-pa had been trying to dispel the barrier, and that was the direction the sound came from.

“Brigade Leader…!! Q-Quickly, get a doctor.”

Those who appeared to be from the Flying Dragon Brigade shouted urgently.

It was understandable, as Bima-pa, who had been manipulating the formation just moments ago, had collapsed.

She was bleeding profusely and breathing shallowly.

“Hk… Hkeu… Hkhkh…”

“Brigade Leader… please–!”

Her gaze was almost unfocused. Looking at those eyes, I knew immediately.

Bima-pa’s eyes were definitely looking at me.

Others might not know, but at least I am certain.

Her eyes were losing their vitality.

After watching that silently for a moment,

“B-Brigade Leeeeader–!!”

Not long after, Bima-pa finally breathed her last.

It was Bima-pa’s sudden death. As everyone was panicking at the sight,

‘Now.’

I secretly nodded.

This is the right time. Thinking so, I put strength into my heart.

[Prepare.]

It was a signal sent to the glutton, who must be groaning somewhere.

It was truly time to execute the final operation.

As that fleeting moment passed,

Swooosh–!!

“Huh?”

At the moment everyone’s attention was stolen by Bima-pa’s death,

One of the martial artists looked up at the sky, as if having discovered something.

“Th-That–! Everyone look over there…!!”

Heads turned at the sound of the shout.

Then, something slowly began to rise into the sky.

It was clearly visible even without trying to look.

Because a being with a colossal size had appeared beneath the sky that was just barely clearing up.

Compared to the crimson crest that came to mind, it was smaller, but this couldn’t be compared.

The reason being.

‘That’s a living creature.’

Unlike the crest, which was compared to a phenomenon, what appeared was undeniably a living creature.

It was something with a vast size that couldn’t even be hidden by clouds.

If anything, that would be more terrifying.

What on earth is that?

Was it not over yet?

As I thought that, despair began to creep onto people’s faces.

[Grrrrrr—!!!]

A rough cry, loud enough to shake the ground, could be heard.

Could it be? Was that cry uttered by that monster? It was unbelievable.

So, everyone watched the monster with heightened vigilance, but then…

“…Something is coming.”

Something could be seen falling from the wriggling entity high above.

What was slowly descending was, surprisingly, a person.

The figure, with hands clasped behind their back and wearing flowing black martial attire.

It was clearly the shape of a person, and…

“…N-No way. Th-That person…”

Someone expressed surprise, having recognized the figure’s identity.

“…Heavenly Demon (天魔)…!”

The softly whispered words, for some reason, sounded exceptionally loud.

The very person who identified himself as the Heavenly Demon and claimed responsibility for this attack.

The mysterious organization currently causing a bloodbath across the Central Plains.

The leader of the Demonic Cult (魔敎).

Heavenly Demon (天魔).

He had revealed himself once again.

I ‘watched’ the slowly descending Heavenly Demon and clutched my heart.

‘Half a breath… no, a quarter of a breath….’

Just hold on for that long.

The limit of what my mind and energy could endure.

Remembering that, I focused.

This is.

This was the final operation I had prepared for them.

---

Rumble—!!!

Far away, a massive shadow stretched across the sky above Hanam.

It was a situation visible even from a considerable distance.

It seemed something unusual was happening.

“…Hoo… Well now.”

Seeing that sight, a giant with deep green hair.

Tang Deok scrunched up his face.

“…This is bad.”

It was because I remembered something I had forgotten.

I had forgotten because I was fully engrossed in the fight.

Specifically, his order to arrive without delay.

“…”

Realizing this, Tang Deok’s face turned progressively paler.

Because the moment I admitted I had forgotten, it was obvious I would face quite severe consequences.

Fwush-!

Foreseeing a grim end, Tang Deok pulled out the saber blade lodged in his abdomen and threw it onto the ground.

Blood immediately gushed from where it was pulled out, but Tang Deok paid it no mind.

It was because what he would face later was more terrifying than the current pain.

“This is all your fault.”

Tang Deok glared at someone as if blaming them.

It was the owner of the weapon that had been stuck in his body, the person he had been fighting until just moments ago.

A young man, kneeling on one knee on the ground, catching his breath.

Peng Woojin of the Bi-seong Sword Style.

He looked at Tang Deok with a battered appearance.

His left arm was twisted into a grotesque shape.

Blood was also flowing profusely from his abdomen, as if he had suffered a penetrating wound.

He looked like he could collapse at any moment.

However, Peng Woojin didn’t even scream despite his condition.

He merely showed fervor.

That it wasn’t over yet, that he would do more.

At that crazed gaze, Tang Deok couldn’t help but smile.

“As expected. You’re amusing. I like you.”

“…”

Tang Deok, who was smiling, looked no different.

His wrist dangled as if it could be severed with a mere touch, and the saber that had been lodged in him moments ago wasn’t thrust in, but rather sliced through.

Meaning, it had stopped halfway through slicing his waist.

Both looked like walking dead, but the difference was that Peng Woojin was kneeling while Tang Deok was standing.

That’s why it’s even more regrettable.

“If I had my way, I would have killed you somehow…”

Thump.

Tang Deok grabbed his Guan Dao and slung it over his shoulder.

“Unfortunately, if I delay any longer, I’ll die by someone else’s hand, not yours.”

“…Are you… planning to run…?”

“It seems things have turned out that way.”

Having said that, Tang Deok looked at Peng Woojin and smiled even wider.

“…I… still…”

“What’s your name?”

Instead of continuing the conversation, he asked for the name.

Hearing that, Peng Woojin spat blood and answered.

“Peng Woojin….”

“I am Tang Deok.”

They exchanged names.

It was far from a friendly exchange; their voices were filled with killing intent.

“Next time, I’ll kill you. Peng Woojin.”

“…Wait…”

KABOOM-!!

Having finished speaking, Tang Deok leaped away, bleeding.

Seeing that, Peng Woojin staggered and braced himself against the ground.

The surroundings were devastated by the aftermath of the battle.

It was unrecognizable from the forest it once was.

“Cough.”

Peng Woojin, having spat out a mouthful of blood, looked behind him.

Amidst the heavily damaged forest, there was one tree barely standing. Beneath it sat a corpse.

It was his father, Peng Zhou.

Peng Woojin had suffered fatal injuries trying to protect him.

The last sight of his father, whom he had killed with his own hands.

Seeing that, Peng Woojin let out a wry chuckle.

“…Really… you were no help until the very end.”

After saying that, Peng Woojin collapsed and lost consciousness.

Not long after, he was discovered by the Murim Alliance forces who were searching the area after hearing the loud noises.