Heavenly Inquisition Sword Novel - Chapter 173
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Chapter 173. Isn’t It? Tell Me It’s Not.
When two of the Demon Warriors died, the remaining five quickly retreated, putting some distance between them. They wanted to observe how Eumsangwi and Jade Buddha would transform before resuming their attack.
At that moment, Yeon Jeokha watched the fleeing figure of Lee Moojin.
‘Should I kill one more?’
In the past, Yeon Jeokha had faced the Demon Warriors one by one to protect his group. But now he was alone, so he didn’t have to worry about others.
From the beginning, he had planned to create chaos in the fight against the Demon Warriors. He believed that only by doing so could he avoid their concentrated attacks.
‘Could the monsters cooperate with each other?’
The monsters were so different in appearance and sound that it seemed unlikely they could communicate.
The first to transform was Jade Buddha, whose form began to change radically.
Crack, crack.
Lee Moojin, Musangwi, and Mueongwi couldn’t take their eyes off Jade Buddha. His body broke and tore apart with a terrifying sound.
Soon after, the torn body of Jade Buddha gave way to a Flame Demon.
“Kyaaah!”
Lee Moojin’s mouth hung open as he saw the Flame Demon, standing about three meters tall. Seeing a Demon Warrior transform into a monster right before his eyes left him stunned.
As if things couldn’t get worse, Eumsangwi’s body also began to twist.
While Lee Moojin was distracted by the monsters, Yeon Jeokha attacked.
Yeon Jeokha’s sword unleashed a burst of energy toward Lee Moojin.
Too late, Lee Moojin tried to block it with his sword.
Crack, crack, crack.
The fragments of sword energy scattered everywhere.
But Yeon Jeokha didn’t stop; instead, he accelerated, leaping into the air.
In an instant, three rays of sword energy rained down on Lee Moojin’s head from the sky.
Yeon Jeokha had unleashed the seventh movement of the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship, Ground Splitting Dragon Claw.
Yeon Jeokha’s fierce offensive took Lee Moojin by surprise.
Ignoring the nearby monsters, Yeon Jeokha attacked Lee Moojin with deadly intensity.
“Damn it!”
Lee Moojin’s sword shone with light.
Boom, boom.
Lee Moojin used all his energy to block Yeon Jeokha’s attacks.
‘Ugh!’
The force behind Yeon Jeokha’s sword was such that Lee Moojin felt as if his body was being pushed back. One of the energy bursts grazed his arm, causing blood to splatter.
But there was no time to check the wound.
Yeon Jeokha attacked with a ferocity that suggested he didn’t care if he died in the attempt.
The other Demon Warriors, Yang Soran, Blood Sword, Musangwi, and Mueongwi, tried to assist Lee Moojin.
But Yeon Jeokha was faster.
Descending upon Lee Moojin from the air, his sword slashed fiercely.
Though Lee Moojin tried to block, he couldn’t stop Yeon Jeokha’s sword.
With a dull thud, Yeon Jeokha’s sword severed Lee Moojin’s arm.
“Ah!”
Lee Moojin let out a brief scream.
Yeon Jeokha’s next thrust decapitated Lee Moojin.
With wide-open eyes, Lee Moojin’s head fell to the ground, separated from his body.
At that moment, a wave of sword energy from Yang Soran swept toward Yeon Jeokha like a tornado.
“Damn demon! What have we done to deserve this?”
But Yeon Jeokha didn’t respond, retreating quickly.
Another monster was emerging.
“Kraaaargh!”
The One-Horned Demon, which emerged from Eumsangwi’s body, let out a roar that echoed throughout the fortress.
The One-Horned Demon, with a horn protruding from its forehead, scanned its surroundings.
For a moment, the gazes of the Flame Demon and the One-Horned Demon met.
But they showed no interest in each other.
Yeon Jeokha’s heart sank.
‘No, it can’t be.’
He had hoped that the monsters would confront each other or at least keep their distance. But by ignoring each other, it seemed they recognized a common enemy.
The dark eyes of the monsters turned toward Yeon Jeokha.
“Kyaaah!”
“Grrr…!”
Yeon Jeokha felt a growing unease.
Could these monsters see Yeon Jeokha as their primary enemy?
Would they really not fight each other?
If that was the case, instead of creating chaos, he had only summoned more formidable enemies.
“Haha. No, right? Tell me it’s not so.”
Crack, crack.
The decapitated body of Lee Moojin began to crack.
Another monster was about to emerge.
Yeon Jeokha slowly backed away, feeling a grim premonition.
The Flame Demon and the One-Horned Demon slowly turned toward him.
Clearly, the monsters knew who their real enemy was.
The Flame Demon was the first to move.
“Kyaaak!”
The monster charged at Yeon Jeokha, roaring.
The One-Horned Demon disappeared from its position in a flash.
Yeon Jeokha looked up, sensing a threatening presence.
From about fifteen meters above the ground, the One-Horned Demon descended with scythe-like claws.
Swish, swish.
Two crescent-shaped energy bursts flew toward Yeon Jeokha.
Yeon Jeokha quickly blocked the bursts with his sword.
The Flame Demon’s fist, as large as a tree trunk, came down like a hammer.
Yeon Jeokha jumped onto a nearby roof to avoid the blow.
Looking down, he saw another One-Horned Demon emerging from Lee Moojin’s body.
“Kraaaargh!”
The new One-Horned Demon let out a howl toward the sky, and its eyes met Yeon Jeokha’s.
“Damn it! This is completely ruined.”
The new One-Horned Demon lunged at him.
Yeon Jeokha returned to the courtyard to avoid the One-Horned Demon.
The three monsters surrounded him, attacking in coordination.
Thanks to the monsters, Yang Soran, Blood Sword, Musangwi, and Mueongwi were able to take a breather. They watched the battle between Yeon Jeokha and the monsters with perplexed faces.
The speed of the movements was so fast that they couldn’t intervene.
If any of them took a hit from the monsters, their life would be in danger.
The speed of Yeon Jeokha’s and the monsters’ movements made the Demon Warriors hesitate.
For the bandits watching from the corners, the shadows moved too quickly to follow.
Yeon Pagang was only startled every time the Flame Demon’s fist struck the ground, creating craters.
Because of this, the Demon Warriors couldn’t easily intervene.
They couldn’t be sure that the monsters recognized them as allies.
It was madness to jump in without a guarantee of safety.
However, they couldn’t just stand by and watch.
Musangwi, who had been waiting for an opportunity, jumped into the fight.
Using his technique, he shot toward Yeon Jeokha’s back.
Yeon Jeokha had just dealt with two One-Horned Demons when he sensed a presence behind him.
Swish.
Feeling threatened, Yeon Jeokha leaped forward.
The Flame Demon, standing in front of him, extended its arms to catch him.
Yeon Jeokha slid between the Flame Demon’s legs, using a technique called Lazy Donkey Roll.
It wasn’t a common technique, but he didn’t care.
Swoosh.
Musangwi found himself in the path of the Flame Demon.
Perhaps Musangwi trusted the Flame Demon to protect him.
But, unfortunately, the Flame Demon didn’t recognize him as an ally.
“Grrr!”
The Flame Demon struck with terrifying speed, outpacing Musangwi’s reaction.
Thud.
Musangwi, hit by the Flame Demon, flew like a leaf in the wind.
Fortunately for Musangwi, the Flame Demon didn’t pay him any more attention after that. He fell to the ground, coughing up blood.
Mueongwi rushed over to Musangwi.
“Cough! Cough!”
Each time Musangwi coughed, he expelled dark, thick blood.
“Are you okay?”
“….”
But the impact had been so severe that Musangwi could only tremble, his eyes closed.
Clearly, he was gravely injured.
Mueongwi looked at Musangwi with a worried expression and then turned to Yang Soran.
“I’m afraid this is it for us. His wound is severe; we have to take him away.”
Yang Soran nodded sadly.
Of the seven Demon Warriors who had come, three were dead, and one was seriously injured. There was no way the two remaining could defeat Yeon Jeokha.
Yang Soran knew that continuing the fight was a suicide mission.
Mueongwi helped Musangwi up, and they quietly retreated.
As Yang Soran watched, Blood Sword spoke in a low voice.
“It’s too risky for just the two of us. What should we do?”
Yang Soran sighed.
“I know. Ah! I didn’t expect the monsters to attack Musangwi. If it weren’t for that, we could have done something.”
“Yes, I didn’t expect those monsters not to consider us allies…”
Yang Soran murmured in frustration.
“That’s an unexpected surprise. I had hoped they would behave like our former companions.”
The monsters had no connection to the former Demon Warriors. They acted as completely new entities.
If they had known this earlier, Musangwi wouldn’t have been injured.
Yang Soran, with a look of hopelessness, watched the fight between the monsters and Yeon Jeokha before turning away.
“Let’s go. No matter who wins this fight, it won’t bring us any good.”
With both sides as enemies, there was no reason to stay and watch.
Blood Sword hesitated before asking, curious.
“Who do you think will win, the monsters or Yeon Jeokha?”
Yang Soran stopped and looked back at him.
“Yeon Jeokha is holding on for now, but he won’t last long. The monsters aren’t giving him a chance to counterattack. Although his skill is formidable, he’s still human and can’t match the monsters’ stamina. Unless someone helps him buy time.”
“Do you think that old man, Shim Tong, might come to help him?”
“Shim Tong is no match for the monsters. He wouldn’t last a second against them.”
Blood Sword nodded, understanding but still feeling a sense of loss.
“Then, should we stay to confirm his end? I think our leader would be interested to know…”
Yang Soran turned again, a shadow of resignation on her face.
“Don’t you get it yet? Who do you think will be next after Yeon Jeokha? It’s likely that those monsters want to kill everyone on this mountain.”
“Huh! Do you really think that?”
“Believe me. It’s only a matter of time. Those monsters don’t seem to want to coexist with humans.”
Blood Sword couldn’t refute that logic.
It was evident that the monsters had no respect for humans.
He had hoped to confirm Yeon Jeokha’s fate, but he decided it was better to follow Yang Soran’s advice and leave.
He didn’t want to be the next target of those monsters.
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