Chapter 118: Storm Archipelago (2)

Moonrin, whose body was far larger than a pig’s, burst apart, scattering flesh and blood in all directions, yet nothing stained Jang Woo-hyun’s body, which was clad in the Sacred River Flowing Armor.

In the bizarre scene, none of the monsters could even let out a cry.

As monsters approached the level of high-rank monsters, their intelligence increased. However, at their core, they remained faithful to instinct.

That instinct was screaming—the human before them was a monster.

The surviving dozen or so Kamaitachi and one Moonrin were hesitating and retreating in midair.

“What are you guarding?”

They had suddenly attacked upon crossing a certain point. That meant the monsters were guarding something. What it was, he didn’t know.

Jang Woo-hyun realized it from the fact that monsters, who shouldn't have been together, were collectively guarding a specific area.

The monsters he was facing now were not naturally occurring or originally from this region.

‘Someone summoned them.’

Just like the spellcasters of the Thousand Demon Sect.

‘There's a high chance they're not far from here.’

If they were blocking access to the interior, then something would appear if he moved this way.

Having reached a conclusion, Jang Woo-hyun moved swiftly to clean up the monsters.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, something got caught on the widely spread Qi Threads. And the instant he sensed it, a massive shock shook his body.

Kwaaaang!

“Hyung-nim!”

“Woo-hyun!”

Jang Woo-hyun was flung back but regained his stance using Void Movement Technique.

Kwa-deudeudeuk.

Cracks spread across the air. The platform he had created to use the Void Movement Technique couldn’t withstand the force of the rebound and shattered.

Something was approaching again.

This time, prepared, Jang Woo-hyun extended his fist.

Kuuung!

The shockwave surged, pushing his body back once more.

This was on a completely different level than the Kamaitachi and Moonrin.

A person?

What first appeared was a human face. But upon a second look, it wasn’t human.

A monster with the body of a giant dog and a long tail had the face of a human.

“San-hwi! A high-rank monster that controls wind!”

“So you’re San-hwi.”

He saw the creature shaking its head, apparently stunned from the impact.

He had heard the name many times. San-hwi’s heart had once been fed to Yongwangrin, and the item handed over by Maeng Ye-ju also contained its heart.

He had thought of it as a monster treated like a spiritual beast.

With human-like eyes, the creature glared at Jang Woo-hyun, then kicked off the air again and moved.

It was far faster than Kamaitachi. In terms of pure speed, it was so quick that even most Absolute Realm experts wouldn’t be able to react.

Fwoooosh!

A tremendous gust of wind surged, pushing Jang Woo-hyun’s body backward. Just as he tried to regain his balance, San-hwi charged again.

Jang Woo-hyun, who had entered the realm of Transcendence, tracked San-hwi with his gaze.

Kkudeuk!

Clenching his fist, a mighty power infused into it. Then, he hurled it toward the charging San-hwi.

A tremendous explosion and the monster’s piercing scream echoed in all directions.

But it didn’t end there.

Closely following up, he unleashed a second punch.

The energy descending along his shoulder enveloped his left hand.

Kwaaang!

The wind barrier surrounding San-hwi’s body burst in an instant, and it was struck directly.

The impact must have been significant; this time, what spread around was a mournful wail. The creature, writhing in pain, moved its body to escape Jang Woo-hyun’s attack range.

San-hwi, having retreated nearly ten jang in an instant, drooled from its mouth as it stared at Jang Woo-hyun.

What is this?

Its gaze was strange. Though it glared with murderous intent, it occasionally lowered its eyes. As if it had seen something terrifying.

Its behavior made no sense. It seemed to fear something else, not him.

Jang Woo-hyun slowly walked up to stand before San-hwi.

Grrrrr.

As he raised his right hand, the creature lowered its body and growled. Feeling its fierce spirit, Jang Woo-hyun then raised his left hand.

Grrr.

The growling subsided, and the creature tilted its head and cautiously stepped back.

When he extended his right hand—

Grrr.

When he extended his left hand again—

Kkiiing.

At its incomprehensible behavior, Jang Woo-hyun furrowed his brow.

What is it trying to do?

Had it gone mad after taking a few hits? Just as he was about to beat it further and end the situation, Jang Woo-hyun glanced slightly at his left hand.

‘Is there something unusual about my left hand?’

Even upon reconsidering, there wasn’t.

‘Then is it the left arm, not the hand?’

He didn’t think there was anything particularly special about his left arm either.

As he clenched his fist again, a powerful gust of wind blew between Jang Woo-hyun and San-hwi.

‘Wind? Huh? Wait a second.’

A monster that controls wind. And the left arm.

Then there was a connection. Though he could no longer recognize it, it had not yet been erased.

Jang Woo-hyun, who had been looking at his hand, shifted his gaze to his left shoulder.

“It’s over.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes. It seems like one Kamaitachi and one Moonrin were killed, but there’s no further damage.”

Over a hundred monsters had been released in all directions to guard this place. Two of the wind-controlling high-rank monsters, San-hwi, twelve Moonrin, and over a hundred Kamaitachi.

With that much, no one would be able to approach easily. If an expert capable of subduing San-hwi appeared, they would take care of it themselves.

The middle-aged man who had summoned the monsters could sense that one Kamaitachi and one Moonrin had died just moments ago. He had been considering going to deal with the enemy himself, but the damage hadn’t increased.

‘San-hwi must have moved to clean it up.’

The monsters had been ordered to attack anyone who entered a certain area.

An unknown enemy had entered and fought the monsters. They had defeated Kamaitachi and Moonrin, but upon San-hwi’s appearance, seemed to have been killed.

“Just in case, I’ll send subordinates to confirm.”

“Yes. It doesn’t hurt to be thorough with security.”

The old man smiled with satisfaction at the middle-aged man’s way of handling things.

“If we just finish this task, we’ll be able to reach an even higher place. We must give it our all.”

“……”

“Do you have complaints? Speak.”

“Lord of the Sect, pardon my words, but can we really trust them?”

The middle-aged man asked, and the one called Sect Leader chuckled. He understood what the concern was.

“Of course I don’t trust those Cultivators.”

“What? Then why…”

“It’s not the Cultivators I trust, but the contract with the being they serve.”

The Cultivators from the Ascension Cult. The being they served was a True Immortal of the Upper Realm.

The idea of trusting a contract with an Upper Realm True Immortal, who could not even be communicated with, made the middle-aged man frown. It was beyond his comprehension.

“The Elder has made a contract with the being they serve from the Upper Realm. All we need to do is believe and follow.”

“Ah…”

At the mention of the Elder, the middle-aged man’s face brightened. That was the one they believed in and followed.

“Does that clear some of your doubts?”

“Yes!”

“It was only hard to find, but now the situation is nearing its end. Soon, we will… What’s wrong?”

The middle-aged man, who had been smiling faintly, suddenly stiffened.

“N-no. It just felt a little off.”

“What do you mean, off?”

He sensed monsters approaching. But since it wasn’t certain, the middle-aged man held his tongue.

“I, that is…”

Kururung!

Before he could finish speaking, a roaring sound echoed, and the space they were in shook.

“…!”

Moments later, the door burst open, and a subordinate rushed in with an urgent expression.

“We’re under attack!”

“What?”

“What did you say?!”

The old man jumped to his feet. His sharp gaze turned to the middle-aged man he had been conversing with. He had said it had been handled, yet they were suddenly under attack.

“What’s going on?”

“The number of monsters hasn’t decreased. It seems they broke through a slightly weaker defense point. Since they’re monsters, they can’t be controlled as perfectly as humans…”

“That’s enough. I understand. I’ll go out myself. Who are they?”

The old man turned his gaze to the subordinate who had just entered.

“That is…”

Despite the urgency, the subordinate hesitated and glanced at the middle-aged man. Then, closing his eyes tightly, he continued.

“Monsters… it’s the monsters. Kamaitachi and others are launching the attack!”

“What?”

“What?!”

The middle-aged man and the old man were both stunned by the completely unexpected news.

* * *

“Gaaaah!”

“Block them!”

“Activate the defensive spell!”

“Raise the barrier!”

Bisa Sect, which used a winged serpent as its symbol, was a sect primarily composed of spellcasters, much like the Radiant Light Sect among the Ten Sects.

They had come to Storm Archipelago to aid the Cultivators from the Ascension Cult, only to be suddenly attacked by monsters.

Slash! Crack!

Razor-sharp winds whipped from all directions.

Upon closer inspection, it was a weasel cloaked in wind. Weasels with long tails shaped like blades moved swiftly, attacking the disciples of Bisa Sect.

Spellcasters of lower skill couldn’t react in time, having their limbs severed and dying on the spot.

“Grrr!”

“Aaaagh!”

“Save me!”

When the Bisa Sect Leader emerged from the cave that had been prepared as a temporary base, what met his eyes was utter chaos.

“What in the world…”

He paused briefly in shock but moved quickly to aid his subordinates.

He pulled out a talisman from his robes and threw it, causing it to emit light and manifest a massive golden shield.

A shield with a metallic quality formed by the spell of Platinum.

Clang! Crack! Kaga-kak!

The attacks from the monster known as Kamaitachi could not pierce the shield. Only then did the disciples manage to catch their breath.

“Leader!”

“The Sect Leader is here!”

With the appearance of the Bisa Sect Leader, the chaotic situation settled down, and the disciples regained their morale.

“Tend to the wounded and prepare to counterattack!”

As he threw several more talismans, additional shields formed to protect the Bisa Sect disciples.

“To dare attack the Bisa Sect! I don’t know who you are or where you’re from, but this act—”

Kwaaaang!

Before the Bisa Sect Leader could even finish speaking, the shield created by the spell shattered.

Fwoosh! The talismans turned to ash and scattered.

In the place where the shield had vanished stood a pig-like monster with a yellow body. A Moonrin, shrouded in a barrier of wind, had destroyed the shield that Kamaitachi could not penetrate.

“……”

Kwaaaang!

The sound continued in succession.

It wasn’t just one. In various locations, pig-like monsters—Moonrin—were breaking the golden shields.

Creak.

“A mere monster… Hong-rak, summon our monsters.”

The Bisa Sect Leader called out to the middle-aged man who had followed him, but there was no response.

“Gye Hong-rak! I told you to summon our monsters…”

The Bisa Sect Leader turned around with a furrowed brow. What met his eyes was the pale face of the middle-aged man, Gye Hong-rak.

“H-how could this…”

With a dazed expression, Gye Hong-rak could not believe what was happening before his eyes.

The Sect Leader’s rage. The subordinates being torn apart. That wasn’t the issue now.

Others might not know, but as someone who handled the Demon Beast Contract Technique, he understood.

‘These are… the monsters we summoned!’

The Moonrin and Kamaitachi attacking the Bisa Sect were monsters summoned by him and his subordinates.

Why had those monsters broken free of their control and turned against them? And where was the strongest monster, San-hwi?

As if answering his question, a whirlwind surged not far away, followed by a massive explosion and a burst of Qi.

Moments later, something soared up from that spot.

At first, it moved too quickly to make out, but as it approached, its identity became clear.

A monster with a body like a massive dog and a human head.

“San-hwi…”

It was one of the two San-hwi that Gye Hong-rak had summoned.

But it was not the savage monster he remembered.

Like a well-trained warhorse, it carried someone on its back.

A man clad in black martial arts uniform, wielding a black sword.

In his hand was the head of the other San-hwi that Gye Hong-rak had summoned.

The moment he appeared—

All fighting within the field ceased. Even the fierce Kamaitachi halted like disciplined soldiers, waiting for his command.

The man who had drawn everyone’s attention casually tossed the San-hwi’s head aside and spoke.

“What are you all doing here?”

Gye Hong-rak realized immediately.

That this man now commanded all the monsters present in this place.

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