Chapter 156

Chapter 156

The second formation axis was found more easily than expected but had to be destroyed with difficulty.

“They said we just need to cut down the tree growing strangely sideways.”

I didn’t hear it would be this huge, though.

Baek Risan, who took in the sight of the tree trunk filling his vision, unconsciously stuck out his tongue. There was a tree so enormous before his eyes that it would be easily believable even if told it was a thousand-year-old ancient tree.

“Hey, should we try measuring the diameter? Branch Master.”

“Is there really a need to measure it? Even just eyeballing it, it looks like it exceeds three jang.”

“A tree with a diameter—not circumference—of three jang… That’s incredible. If it had grown upward, it would have covered this entire area.”

“Well, it’s not an ordinary tree, is it?”

“That’s true.”

Seonwoo Gang nodded unconsciously at the sight of the tree emitting an ominous light, brimming with sinister yoryeok. Baek Risan looked at him pathetically and spoke.

“What are you doing? Are you going to stand here all day? We need to destroy it quickly and go find the next formation axis.”

“Ah, right.”

“Step aside. I’ll destroy it in one strike.”

Hwareureuk!

“Alright.”

The moment Baek Risan finished speaking and drew up his Jinyeombaekhwa Gyeol, Seonwoo Gang took a step back.

“Then, shall I try?”

From top to bottom.

The moment Baek Risan, who had been quietly gathering his energy, stopped breathing and brought his fingers together.

Jinyeombaekhwa Gyeol Modified Baek Risan Style

Yeomgyeolji

A massive white flame generated from Baek Risan’s clenched geomgyeolji took the form of a sword and struck down the tree.

Kwaaaaang—!!!

Shockwave.

Everyone frowned and took a step back at the heat wave rushing in along with the flame storm that erupted after the collision. A martial art Baek Risan didn’t have before.

“What on earth is that martial art…?”

“Did you think I was just playing around while you guys were learning martial arts from that guy?”

“I learned too. Not in the same way, though.”

Grinning as he glanced at Seonwoo Gang, Baek Risan continued.

“While you were mastering the martial arts that guy gave you, I learned how to develop my own martial arts further. Like how to create new techniques and such.”

The method of mixing his own style into the existing Jinyeombaekhwa Gyeol. The method of developing it even further.

That’s what Baek Risan learned from Baek Riyun after the academy exchange tournament ended. For Baek Risan, who had come to walk an independent path with his own stubbornness, it was advice as precious as gold and jade.

“The preparation time is long, but the power alone is far superior to other techniques. Unless I bring out a secret technique or something, there’s no stronger power than this, right?”

“…Is that really true?”

“Of course it is.”

It’s the first technique created beyond the scope of modifying existing techniques. There’s no way the power would be insufficient.

“No matter how big, a tree like this shouldn’t be difficult to destroy.”

“Then what’s that?”

“What do you mean? Obviously…”

At Seonwoo Gang pointing behind him with a stiffly hardened expression, Baek Risan turned around while speaking with a triumphant expression. The moment he looked back, his expression changed to one of bewilderment.

“…Huh?”

It’s intact.

No, it’s not exactly intact, but there doesn’t seem to be much damage. Except for about one cheok of depression centered on where it was hit, it shows no significant damage.

“No, this can’t be…”

“There’s no way this could be intact, right? Huh?”

Watching Baek Risan fumble at the tree with a helpless expression, Jinwoong and Seonwoo Gang exchanged glances. They could roughly guess what was going on.

“It seems they’ve enhanced its durability.”

“It appears so.”

The formation axis is the core of the formation.

If the formation axis is destroyed, the formation will inevitably be dismantled in an instant. That’s why it’s common to set up various devices to prevent the formation axis from being destroyed.

In the case of the first formation axis, they solved this by hiding the formation axis, but in this case, it seems they solved it by increasing the durability itself.

“My pride… my first technique…”

“Baek Risan, pull yourself together.”

Seureung!

Seonwoo Gang grabbed the shoulder of Baek Risan, whose soul seemed to have left his body, and shook him to forcibly bring him back to his senses, then drew his sword.

“Looking at it, even if the durability is strong, it doesn’t seem impossible to destroy. After all, it did get scratched.”

“If several of us coordinate and strike together, we should be able to handle it. We don’t even need to cut it completely—if we cut about three-quarters of the way through, it’ll fall on its own from its own weight.”

It’s not even touching the ground, and given its enormous size, the load it bears must be great.

“I know…”

At Seonwoo Gang’s opinion, Baek Risan, who had been making a dejected expression, shook his head and slapped both his cheeks with his palms, making a loud sound. White flames blazed up again.

“I’m ready.”

Confirming Baek Risan’s eyes had returned to their sharp state, Seonwoo Gang nodded and this time turned his gaze toward Jangil.

“Jangil. Are there yokai nearby?”

“There don’t seem to be any in this area yet. Though they might come after hearing the explosion.”

“We need to hurry then. Baek Risan, and Branch Master, please help.”

“Let’s do that.”

Silence.

After calming their breathing in the stillness, Seonwoo Gang, Baek Risan, and Jinwoong stood side by side facing the tree and drew up their naeryeok to its peak while taking their stances. And then.

“I’ll count to three, then we strike.”

Three.

Two.

One.

The moment all the numbers ran out.

Jinyeombaekhwa Gyeol Secret Technique

Daechoyeol

Uicheonjeokgong Deepening Second Form

Yangcheonmugung

Gyoryongbaekta Secret

Uak

Brilliant techniques struck the formation axis all at once.

Muffled noise.

Those who had protected their ears with energy barriers in anticipation of a huge explosion all frowned. The noise penetrated through the barriers and came through dully despite the protection.

“Did we get it?”

“…Hey, don’t say things like that!”

“Why?”

“Never mind.”

It’s not like saying that would change anything.

Seonwoo Gang sighed at Baek Risan’s words, shook his head, and waited for the dust to settle. Eventually, after the dust cleared, the scene was revealed.

“It’s… destroyed.”

Perhaps because they concentrated the power on one point.

Seonwoo Gang nodded at the sight of techniques showing significantly greater power than what Baek Risan had carved out. The formation axis split in two and fallen to the ground.

“Jangil. Is there anything else we need to do now?”

“If you look, there should be something strange embedded in the center. Destroy that and the formation axis will be destroyed.”

“This must be it.”

Confirming what looked like a spear shaft embedded in the center of the tree, Seonwoo Gang raised his hand and gripped the shaft. Strange lingering thoughts flowed through to his arm tips.

“…How is it?”

“Doesn’t feel good. I can feel something like obsession.”

This is something that shouldn’t be left behind.

With conviction, Seonwoo Gang infused his naeryeok and destroyed the shaft.

“Good. With this, the second formation axis is destroyed too. Now…”

Let’s go destroy the last formation axis.

The moment Seonwoo Gang, who had turned the shaft into dust, was about to say that.

Uuuuuung!

A thick wave flowing from the destroyed shaft covered and rippled the darkness that had been enveloping the entire area.

“…What is it?”

Jinwoong, who looked around at the ominous situation, unconsciously drew up his naeryeok and expressed his confusion. The surroundings felt strangely unsettled despite being clearly quiet.

“The darkness…”

Seonwoo Gang, who had noticed the anomaly, muttered quietly.

And for good reason—the darkness that had been covering the entire formation area until now was gradually clearing.

“…Everyone, listen carefully.”

A brief lull.

“The objective hasn’t changed. We must destroy the third formation axis.”

Jinwoong, his voice lowered, clenched his fists while looking at the frozen group members. Naeryeok rose like wildfire.

“What we need to do is clear. Run without looking back.”

“There’s no time to take care of anyone who falls behind. Make sure not to fall behind—squeeze out every ounce of strength you have and run. Understood?”

“Yes.”

“Good answer.”

With a bitter smile, Jinwoong looked around and kicked off the ground forcefully.

The moment Jinwoong kicked off the ground.

Front, back, left, right—countless red glowing eyes began staring directly at the group.

“Run. Right now!”

That moment, in the village.

“Light it! Set the fire right now!”

“Yes!”

Watching the Gyoryongpa sect members hold their torches to the wood at Seomun Cheok’s instruction, Seohwa hardened her complexion. A strange and unpleasant sensation flowing in on the wind, laden with heat.

She could tell without seeing. She could tell without hearing. Such sinister and unpleasant energy.

“They’re coming.”

Preparations are complete.

Confirming that the red flames had instantly blazed up and surrounded the village, Seohwa turned her head. Things flickering at the edge of her vision.

“Yokai.”

One. Two.

Deformed things that couldn’t exist in the human world revealed themselves, moving forward. Drooling at humans, revealing their greed, craving blood and flesh.

Things that live like that.

“Looking at their appearance, it seems the Divine Maiden’s ability no longer works now.”

“Should we kill her now?”

“No, we won’t kill her. It was already decided in the meeting that we don’t know what variables might occur.”

At Seomun Cheok’s answer, Seohwa unconsciously let out a sigh of relief and nodded. And Seomun Cheok gripped his spear shaft while watching her.

“Two shichen.”

“We just need to hold out for two shichen. We can’t hold out longer than that, and even if we could, it would be meaningless. By then, we’d have already suffered great damage.”

“I know.”

The injured Wangpal is inside, Choil is there, and the villagers are there. If they weren’t planning to save everyone, they wouldn’t have taken this strategy.

Steeling her resolve, Seohwa gradually dispersed the cold energy at her fingertips to shake off the heat and spoke.

“There’s something the sect master often says.”

“The sect master does?”

“Yes. He says that even if you’re dragged into a tiger’s den, you can survive if you keep your wits about you.”

In reality, the moment you’re dragged into a tiger’s den, you’re likely already dead. Felines bite the neck first when hunting to crush the cervical vertebrae.

However, if you’re still alive even after being dragged into a tiger’s den, that paradoxically means your chances of survival are high.

Baek Riyun said that. No matter how desperate the situation before your eyes, if you give up based on assumptions, you might not even grasp the opportunities that come. He often said such things.

Seohwa liked those words.

“I have no intention of just sitting down and waiting like a fool.”

About two shichen until the formation is dismantled and Baek Riyun arrives here.

If they can’t hold out for two shichen, everything ends. With just over ten people, facing hundreds of yokai for two shichen.

“Doesn’t it seem doable?”

Looking at Seohwa forcing a smile, Seomun Cheok remained silent and gripped his spear shaft.

“Honestly, it doesn’t seem very doable.”

“But it’s not so bad that we’d collapse saying we can’t do it.”

Following Seomun Cheok’s response.

The yokai, which had let out strange cries, began swarming in like a tidal wave.