Chapter 75: Annihilation, Cruel Revenge

“If you want to live, don’t even think about moving, and answer my question.”

This was Choi Juwon’s threat, spoken with one already-dead body at his feet.

The ten Daepeld guild members standing guard were now nine.
Of course, even in this situation, their numbers were overwhelming.
But none of them felt they had the advantage.

The nine guards looking at Choi Juwon all thought the same thing.

‘Mo… Monster….’

They couldn’t even properly follow the movements of the man before them.
Some figure moved quickly, and when they opened their eyes, their colleague was stabbed and dead.

– Gulp.

Dry saliva was swallowed automatically.

– If you want to live, don’t even think about moving, and answer my question.

What the man said was by no means a bluff.
Naturally, the man was cruel enough to slash the throat of someone already dead, and with incredible speed, he had swung his sword twice to completely end one life.

Those present here were guards in charge of the secret hideout, meaning they weren’t among the less skilled Daepeld guild members.
The fact that he could kill one such person in just two strikes allowed them to guess the skill level of the man before them.

– Tremble.

One of the guards clenched his trembling hand, trying his best to calm down.
If he moved, even accidentally, the man would surely cut his throat.

Just then. The man in charge of the guards, Im Dochun, shouted.

“What are you all doing-! You damn bastards-!”

– Flinch.

Although Im Dochun shouted, none of the Daepeld guild guards here moved rashly.
Because the masked man before them still stood firmly.

Choi Juwon’s confident posture seemed to taunt them, as if daring them to move if they could.
His sword hung loosely towards the ground, his stance wide open, far from a guard position.
It was a posture vulnerable to a surprise attack at any moment.
However, not even the slightest opening could be felt.
It was a bizarre sight.

Im Dochun shouted once more.

“Move, you f*cking bastards-! If you don’t move right now, I’ll kill you myself-!”

As Im Dochun yelled while raising his mana, only then did the guards quickly start to move.

Choi Juwon looked at them and spoke.

“Your deaths are because of an incompetent leader who rushes in without properly assessing the opponent’s skill.”

With those words, Choi Juwon instantly teleported above the charging guards.

[Teleport]

– Whoosh.

Then, drawing mana in mid-air, he cast a spell.

[Lightning]

“Puhat! Lightning? Damn bastard, your swordsmanship was impressive, but your magic skills seem terrible.”

Im Dochun scoffed upon seeing Choi Juwon use magic.
When he saw the teleportation, he was briefly shocked that a swordsman could also use magic, but he burst out laughing when the magic that followed was merely ‘Lightning’.
And Im Dochun became convinced they could win.
He thought Choi Juwon must have poured all his strength into the first strike.

The moment Im Dochun was about to order the guards to attack again.

A chilling voice was heard.

[Overlap]

“What?”

– Pzzzzzzzzzt.
– Pzzzzzt-!
– Kwwaaaaang-!
– Kwwaaaaang-!

“Kuaaaaaaahk-!”
“Keeeeuuuuh-!”
“Keolok-!”

The single bolt of lightning instantly split into dozens of strands, striking down madly.
It didn’t end there.
The branches of lightning continued to multiply.

Im Dochun muttered.

“Sh*t… Don’t lie….”

– Kuuuuuuuung-!
– Kwwaaaaang-!

Im Dochun could only stare blankly at the scene unfolding before his eyes.
Dodge or counter?
He couldn’t even think of such things.
Because lightning was striking madly all around Im Dochun.

Dozens?
No.
The lightning, initially dozens of strands, was increasing to hundreds.

“Keeeeuuuuuuuuuuuuuh….”

The guards who had somehow endured the initial strike were not just electrocuted by the continuous shocks but their entire bodies began to burn.
Soon, due to the overwhelming electric shock, their bodies started to melt and collapse.

“Hiiiiiik-!”

Watching the guards die horribly before his eyes, Im Dochun felt as if his brain was paralyzed.

‘I’m going to die. I will die. I will definitely die.’

Hundreds of lightning strands were visible before him; they moved freely as if alive, mercilessly tearing through human bodies.

“S…a…v…e….”

Watching a guild member whose face was so burnt by the cruelly pouring lightning that he couldn’t even speak properly, Im Dochun could only stand there dumbfounded.

‘Cannot win.’

A natural disaster.
The phenomenon before him was not something a human could contend with.

Choi Juwon walked towards one of the burning figures.

– Step.
– Step.

“Hu-heo… Huu-heo….”

Soon, he grabbed the face of the man whose tongue was completely burnt, rendering him unable to speak.

[Absorption]

– Whoooosh.

The moment the magic was cast, mana began to rapidly flow into Choi Juwon’s body.

One of the guards, now reduced to mere bones, was struck by lightning again and disintegrated the moment Choi Juwon let go.

Choi Juwon walked again.

– Pzzzzzt-!
– Kwwaaaang-!
– Pzzzt-!

Electric shocks clashed madly within the ruins.
The mass of electricity seemed like a living creature, striking down while avoiding the path Choi Juwon walked.

Im Dochun stared blankly at the lightning with desolate eyes.

‘He’s controlling all those hundreds of electric shocks?’

A typical mage would find it difficult to handle even a single electric shock flexibly.
There is a massive difference in difficulty between simply casting magic and handling it flexibly and freely.
Think of it like using both hands freely.
But Choi Juwon handled hundreds of electric shocks simultaneously.
And with great skill.

[Absorption]

Choi Juwon grabbed the neck of another fallen guard and absorbed his mana.

– Psssss.

The guard’s body crumbled and disintegrated.

“This should be more than enough mana replenishment.”

Choi Juwon whispered to Im Dochun.

“You’re the leader, right? If you don’t want to die, you’d better stand still. The only reason you’re unharmed right now is because I’m not using magic towards you.”

– Thump.

Im Dochun knelt before Choi Juwon and began to beg.

“Wh-what did I do wrong to deserve this? Pl-please spare me. If you just spare my life, I’ll give you anything you want.”

– Throoob…

Choi Juwon pressed his temples, massaging a throbbing headache, and spoke with annoyance.

“How can you all spout the exact same words? Trying to kill someone first, and then all you say is ‘spare me’? What did you do wrong?”

– Shhhk.

Choi Juwon raised his hand towards the guards fallen on the ground.

[Wind Cutter]

[Overlap]

– Chwaaaak-!

– Chwaaaaak-!

– Chwaaaaaak-!

Dozens of razor-sharp wind blades instantly swept over everyone lying on the ground.
Of course, it was clear that those lying there were already dead.
But Choi Juwon performed a confirmation kill on everyone to make sure.

“Keeeeuuuh…”

Witnessing the brutal scene unfold, Im Dochun began to foam at the mouth.

It wasn’t because it was cruel.
Working for the Daepeld Guild, Im Dochun had seen plenty of people die, and even witnessed torture.
Yet, Im Dochun was shocked because he knew the horrific sight before him was what awaited him soon.

Im Dochun was no different than an ant right now.
An ant whose body would burst and die if Choi Juwon simply lifted his foot and stepped down lightly.

Soon, the ground was filled only with bloodstains, without a trace of bodies.

– Step.

– Step.

Approaching the foaming Im Dochun, Choi Juwon slapped his cheek hard.

– Slap-!

“Hu-eok…”

His brain violently shaken, Im Dochun momentarily staggered but soon regained his senses.

– Thud.

Im Dochun fell to his knees, desperately rubbing his hands together and pleading.

“I’m sorry.”
“I was wrong.”
“Please, just spare my life.”
“I didn’t know you were such a strong person.”
“I’ll live quietly from now on.”
“I’ll only do good deeds and never do bad things.”
“Please spare me just this once.”
“All my money and artifacts, I’ll give you anything you want.”

Choi Juwon looked at Im Dochun with disgust and slammed his head into the ground.

– Kwwaaaaang-!

– Drip.

Bright red blood trickled down from his head.

But Im Dochun’s begging didn’t stop.

“S…spare me… please… I’ll do anything….”

– Kwwaaaaang-!

“Spa…re….”

Choi Juwon slammed Im Dochun’s head into the ground once more.

– Kwwaaaaang-!

– Kwwaaaaang-!

– Kwwaaaaang-!

After being slammed into the ground several more times, Im Dochun had to endure dizziness that made the whole world seem to shake and excruciating pain.

He wasn’t dead because Choi Juwon controlled his strength, but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was on the verge of death.

“Please… don’t do this, just tell me what you want….”

– Kwwaaaaang-!

Slamming Im Dochun into the ground one more time, Choi Juwon whispered into the ear of Im Dochun, whose head was pressed against the floor.

“I know bastards like you well.”
“When you can think straight and have some leeway, you spout f*cking nonsense, either refusing to give information or giving false information.”

– Shhk.

Lifting Im Dochun’s face, Choi Juwon plunged Hellhound’s Fang into his foot.

– Stab.

“Kuaaaaaaahk-!”

Im Dochun finally burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

“I… if you need information, I’ll tell you anything.”
“Please… please just spare my life.”

Only then did Choi Juwon get to the point.

“If you hesitate when answering, I’ll kill you.”
“If it’s obvious you’re lying, I’ll kill you.”
“If you feign ignorance, I’ll kill you too.”
“So don’t hesitate, don’t even think about lying, just answer with whatever comes to mind.”

Im Dochun was already completely broken mentally.
He was not in a state where he had the capacity to lie or deceive his opponent.
He nodded his head frantically.

Choi Juwon said to Im Dochun.

“You know Seo Hohyuk, right? The person you guys kidnapped.”
“Tell me everything, starting from the reason for the kidnapping, everything you know about Seo Hohyuk.”

At Choi Juwon’s question, Im Dochun answered quickly, fearing he might be too slow.

“I… I know him.”
“Our leader ordered us to kidnap Seo Hohyuk.”
“Recently, an issue arose between an instructor named Choi Juwon and our guild leader.”
“To retaliate, we tried to find Choi Juwon’s residence, but we couldn’t locate him.”
“So we looked into the people Choi Juwon was supporting.”
“Among them, a man named Seo Hohyuk had been receiving support for a considerably long time.”
“We thought he might know information about Choi Juwon, so we kidnapped him for torture.”
“Cu… currently, he is being tortured, but he’s stubbornly refusing to talk, so we are increasing the level of torture.”
“Ho… however, he’s bleeding too much, so we’re being careful while torturing him, worried he might die.”

Not only had his nine colleagues been horribly torn apart, but he himself had been beaten to a pulp.
In this situation, he couldn’t even think of filtering his words, spewing out all the information he knew while trembling uncontrollably.

“Where is Seo Hohyuk being tortured?”

“Underground… if you go down to the second basement floor, there’s one door.”
“That door has a special device, so it’s impossible to open alone if you go by yourself.”
“I… I will open it for you.”
“So you can’t kill me here.”

Still wearing the mask, Choi Juwon stared intently at Im Dochun.

“There are absolutely no lies.”
“I swear on everything I have.”
“What I said about Seo Hohyuk and the security device is true.”
“If we go underground and find nothing, or if I can’t open the door, then kill me.”
“I mean it.”

Choi Juwon finally averted his gaze and said to Im Dochun.

“I’ll trust you.”

“Th-thank you very much.”

Then Choi Juwon stepped back slightly.
Im Dochun rejoiced, thinking he was saved.
Just as he was about to get up.

– Slice.

“Kuaaaaaaaaahk-!”

In a single strike from Choi Juwon, Im Dochun’s wrist was severed.

“Heok… Heok….”

Im Dochun stared at his severed arm and shouted at Choi Juwon.

“Wh-what are you doing-! Without me, you can’t open the basement door….”

– Flinch.

Im Dochun couldn’t help but stop talking due to the killing intent emanating from Choi Juwon’s body.

Choi Juwon spoke to him quietly.

“I want to kill you right now, but I’m holding back this much because you have to open the door.”
“Be thankful I only blew off one arm.”
“What I wanted to cut was your neck.”

– Grip.

Choi Juwon gripped Im Dochun’s head and whispered in his ear.

“Shut up and lead the way, if you don’t want to die.”