CLS-Chapter 277

Chapter 277

It was like the sun itself.

The dazzling radiance that burst forth in that instant struck the Demonic Cult members with such shock that they felt momentarily blinded.

‘What the hell is this?’

There are countless swords that emit light. Sword energy naturally accompanies some radiance, and sword aura creates enough light to illuminate darkness.

But a sword that emitted such blinding brilliance—he could say with certainty he had never seen such a thing in his entire life.

However, the light itself wasn’t what mattered.

Kwaaaaang!

While his blurred vision couldn’t properly comprehend what was happening, the radiance that burst from Wei Yan-ho’s sword flew toward them and caused a massive explosion.

“……”

Seeing his comrade, who had been standing perfectly fine beside him just moments ago, now flying away in a wretched state and crashing down, Hwimunsaeng was horrified as he looked at Wei Yan-ho.

“Tsk.”

Wei Yan-ho was rolling his shoulders as he approached him.

“That’s why you shouldn’t bother people who are just minding their own business.”

But we never did that.

We were just chasing people as ordered.

Cold sweat ran down his forehead.

What the hell is this guy?

He had never heard of such a person among the Orthodox faction members. They had already finished assessing the masters present here, and there were others assigned to deal with such individuals.

So why did this kind of monster suddenly appear?

‘None of those here should be able to defeat us in one strike.’

But that damned bastard was doing exactly that.

Realizing this fact, Hwimunsaeng looked at Wei Yan-ho with shocked eyes. They were ones who had gone through hellish training.

They felt that the weak Central Plains people could never match them. Especially those of similar age or younger than them—they believed such people could never be their opponents, unlike perhaps the old masters who had trained their entire lives.

But…

“Who the hell are you?”

“I told you, I’m Wei Yan-ho.”

“Wei Yan-ho?”

“Yes.”

Hwimunsaeng’s eyes trembled.

“By any chance… are you that sacred Wei Yan-ho who caught the Dark King?”

“I don’t know about being sacred or whatever, but I’m the one who gave that black old man a beating, yes.”

Hwimunsaeng’s face turned ashen.

‘It wasn’t an exaggeration.’

When he heard that some kid had defeated the Dark King, he thought it was either the Central Plains people’s characteristic exaggeration or some misinformation.

But it wasn’t.

With the skill this guy just displayed, even if the Dark King’s grandfather came, he wouldn’t be a match.

‘What should I do?’

Hwimunsaeng’s eyes caught sight of his two fallen comrades. Even the three of them together hadn’t been a match, so there was no way he could face him alone.

“Huh? You’re hesitating?”

Wei Yan-ho tilted his head.

“Anyway, you can’t trust what old men say. They clearly said the Demonic Cult members they fought were like evil spirits who didn’t know how to retreat and would never back down even with their limbs cut off. Evil spirits, my ass.”

Twitch.

Suddenly, veins bulged on Hwimunsaeng’s forehead.

“Go on, go. I’m not some butcher, and I don’t chase after people who are running away. Go on.”

“Who said anything about running away?”

“Ey, with your butt pulled way back like that—I’ve seen that posture when I was about to get beaten by Master. Our Master couldn’t stand seeing such a pathetic sight and would chase me down to beat me more, but I’m a generous person, so I don’t beat people who’ve lost their fighting spirit. Go on. They say you get punished for bullying weak people.”

“You… you…”

Hwimunsaeng was so angry he was losing his reason.

In the Sacred Cult, the worst insults were calling someone a coward and calling them weak. And this bastard was doing both simultaneously. If he ran away after hearing such words, he might as well not have the qualification to return to the Sacred Fire.

“You, you bastard…”

“Ha, I thought so. People are all the same. They hurt when hit, they bleed when cut—that’s what makes them human. What’s this about bones being made of solid bone, not retreating even when limbs are severed? Anyway, you have to acknowledge the old men’s bragging. Don’t worry. I don’t expect such things.”

“You bastarrrrd!”

Seeing Hwimunsaeng charging at him with rolled-back eyes, Wei Yan-ho frowned.

“Seriously, why are there so many people who roll their eyes and charge at me whenever I say something? Why is everyone so hot-tempered?”

Wei Yan-ho had no idea what kind of things he was doing.

***

“…Whew.”

“Indeed.”

Wei Jeong-han wiped the blood flowing down his chin. Blood was streaming from a long gash that ran from above his eye down to his jaw.

Fortunately, his eye wasn’t damaged, but blood kept seeping through the cut eyelid, making his vision poor.

“Wei Jeong-han, Wei Jeong-han. They called you the Righteous Hero Sword… you truly deserve that name. I’m impressed.”

“I’ll say it again—I’m not particularly pleased to be praised by a Demonic Cult member.”

“Hehehehe, your sharp tongue is excellent too.”

‘Damn.’

While he wasn’t losing in momentum, the situation couldn’t be called good. Even fighting alongside the Plum Blossom Sword Lord, they were being unilaterally pushed back.

If not for Wei Jeong-han’s vigor in not caring for his own body, the two of them would have already become ghosts.

‘He’s strong.’

Wei Jeong-han narrowed his eyes as he looked at Guangmuryang.

He too was someone who prided himself on having experienced all kinds of battles in the previous war, but he hadn’t seen many as strong as Guangmuryang.

“May I ask you something?”

“By all means.”

“What’s your position in the Cult?”

“Hmm…”

Guangmuryang looked at Wei Jeong-han with a somewhat troubled expression, then shrugged his shoulders.

“The answer would differ depending on what you mean. In terms of position, I’d roughly be within the top twenty in the Sacred Cult. I’m one of the bishops, even if at the lowest rank.”

‘A bishop…’

Considering Guangmuryang’s youthful appearance, he could be said to have reached the position of bishop quite early.

That meant Guangmuryang was a promising talent within the Demonic Cult. Though his age and position made the word “promising” seem inappropriate.

‘He might become the future Cult Leader.’

Knowing this fact was somewhat reassuring. Regardless of position, his actual martial prowess was probably…

“And in terms of martial prowess, I probably wouldn’t even make it into the top thirty in the Cult.”

“…What?”

Wei Jeong-han’s eyes wavered.

“That can’t be! You are…”

“Ah…”

Guangmuryang waved his hand, cutting off Wei Jeong-han’s words.

“Don’t equate the past us with the present us. We’ve become strong enough to reclaim what we lost. We have surpassed our predecessors.”

Wei Jeong-han’s face twisted unpleasantly.

‘Surpassed?’

That wasn’t something easy to do.

For a sect to become stronger isn’t simple. Two things are needed to increase martial power.

Excellent martial arts and the talent to make use of those martial arts.

But martial arts can’t become dimensionally stronger in just twenty years, and even if such a thing happened, not everyone could properly master those martial arts.

Not everyone can be a prodigy.

But right now, Guangmuryang was saying the Demonic Cult had accomplished exactly that.

“Is such a thing possible?”

“It’s not easy to explain. Anyway, just know that. You should understand that we don’t needlessly spout false boasts.”

“Kugh…”

Wei Jeong-han couldn’t argue.

Demonic Cult members had, to put it nicely, a straightforward side, or to put it badly, a simple side. They didn’t dislike lying because it was evil, but because it was pathetic—that’s what Demonic Cult members were like.

Such people wouldn’t bother spouting boasts to threaten him.

And above all, Guangmuryang had no reason to boast. After all, Guangmuryang had no intention of letting Wei Jeong-han live.

“Now, it’s been enjoyable, Righteous Hero Sword. All the rumors about you were true. But you too are just another part that has grown complacent with the passing years, something that needs to be pruned away. Now I shall bring the curtain down on your legend.”

Clenching and unclenching his fists, Guangmuryang approached Wei Jeong-han step by step, applying pressure.

‘This isn’t good.’

It was nearly impossible for the exhausted him and the severely injured Plum Blossom Sword Lord to stop Guangmuryang. If Guangmuryang hadn’t been taking his time, Wei Jeong-han would already be a corpse.

“Father!”

At that moment, a man with a familiar voice landed behind Wei Jeong-han.

“San-ho?”

“Yes!”

“Didn’t I entrust your mother and Su-ryeon to you!”

Wei San-ho nodded.

“The Peng Family’s people are looking after them.”

“You fool…”

“Don’t you need even cat’s paws right now? I won’t be a hindrance.”

“Fool!”

Wei Jeong-han was about to get angry but ended up sighing instead.

‘Telling a warrior to run away in such a situation would be an insult.’

If he acknowledged Wei San-ho as an excellent warrior, he had to respect Wei San-ho’s will. Removing the preconception of seeing him as a child through a father’s eyes, Wei San-ho was a more excellent warrior than anyone.

Wei Jeong-han, who had sighed, nodded.

“Be careful.”

“Yes.”

Seeing Wei San-ho, Guangmuryang frowned slightly.

“Is that your son?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm, quite impressive energy for his age. You’re excellent, but that son is even more excellent.”

“Thank you for the praise.”

Guangmuryang laughed heartily.

“When I praised you, you only spouted harsh words, but as soon as I praised your child, you became gentle.”

“That’s what being a father is.”

“Father, father…”

Guangmuryang looked back and forth between Wei Jeong-han and Wei San-ho with interest.

“I’ve never had the experience of killing a child and father simultaneously… Would it be alright? After today, the lineage of the Guangdong Wei Family will be cut off.”

“That won’t happen.”

“You shouldn’t be so certain.”

“I can be certain. Even if we fall, the most troublesome one will remain.”

“The most troublesome one?”

Wei Jeong-han began chuckling inappropriately for the situation.

“From your perspective, he’ll be a very troublesome fellow. If you should happen to take our two lives, you’ll never be able to sleep peacefully for the rest of your life. There’s no one in all the world more vicious and terrifying than that guy when he’s angry.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’ll understand once you experience it, once you experience it.”

Wei Jeong-han raised his sword.

“We’ve talked enough. I’d like to continue our conversation a bit more, but…”

Wei Jeong-han glanced around at his surroundings.

Seeing his allies being overwhelmingly pushed back, the situation couldn’t be viewed optimistically. If possible, he needed to quickly defeat Guangmuryang and help the others.

“It seems we don’t have time for that, so we’ll have to fight first.”

“Did I tell you that you were just as the rumors said?”

“…You did.”

“I’ll have to take back those words. From what I heard, Wei Jeong-han was supposed to be taciturn, cold, and extremely calculating—a man who would fit better with our side… but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“Hehehehehe.”

Wei Jeong-han glanced at Wei San-ho.

“When a man raises a child, he becomes a father.”

“That’s unfortunate. It would have been more interesting if I could have faced the sharp-edged you.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. A father fighting to protect his child is strong.”

“I hope so.”

“Here I come!”

Wei Jeong-han charged at Guangmuryang with a roar. Guangmuryang received Wei Jeong-han with an extremely pleased expression.