Chapter 85: Sky Ocean Cruise (4)
After a long interrogation—
Go Hanil spilled all the information he had.
The otters had struck him over and over until their shells turned red…
There was no way he could endure that.
“Battalion Commander, sir! Here is the information you ordered!”
The otter trotted over and handed him a sheet of paper.
“Well done.”
Johan handed the staff sergeant otter shells and mussel shells he had collected from the dining hall.
They were carefully selected—large and pretty ones.
“Oooo! The Staff Sergeant has received decorations!”
“Hooe! Tonight we celebrate with lanterns and unlimited PX access!”
The otters treated the shells like sacred relics, jumping in place.
To think they’d be that happy over sothing like this.
They’d be very cost-effective to use in the future.
‘Hmm… so they’re after the [Sword of Fla], huh…’
A weapon with excellent base attack, additional fire damage, and even an active skill.
It was useful.
Very useful.
But—
‘Not worth taking that level of risk.’
If this were the episode where ‘Ice Age’ began, it might be different.
But the environnt wasn’t right to fully utilize the Sword of Fla.
‘There must be sothing more.’
Unfortunately, Go Hanil didn’t know beyond that.
Samuel had only given him minimal information while using him.
Well.
He’d just have to capture Samuel and ask directly.
Still—
There was one more thing bothering him.
The group of four he had t earlier.
Naturally, he thought they were connected to Go Hanil or the Requiem Cult—
‘No.’
Neither.
Then…
Why did they guide him here?
He didn’t have ti to dwell on it.
Wooooong!
The formation inside the shelter finally activated.
“Ugh…!”
“Cough! My body… sothing’s wrong.”
People staggered, unable to keep their balance.
Even Hunters couldn’t control their bodies.
“Now we can finally harvest properly.”
“Hehehe. Excellent work. A Soul-Siphoning Formation… I can barely contain my excitent.”
Two old monsters revealed themselves.
Not the Requiem Cult.
Not the Empire.
Murim.
As the formation activated, those who had been hiding began to appear.
“Johan-nim!”
Scarlett, cheeks puffed from eating bread—
“Damn it…”
And Park Yeri, smiling with a pile of hearts—
Both froze.
It was clearly a well-prepared setup.
It even affected Scarlett, who had high resistance to such effects.
But—
Only one person.
Step.
Johan walked forward as if nothing was wrong.
The two old monsters’ eyes flickered.
“Oh? Unaffected by the formation… so you are Kang Yohan, the one they’ve been chasing.”
The one with the long white beard spoke.
“You’ve been following persistently since Korea. It made my trip quite inconvenient.”
“My apologies for that. Ah, introductions are late. I am Ma Hakso, leader of the Ghost Spirit Unit.”
“And I am Lee Ak, leader of the Blood Slaughter Division. Hehehe.”
Unlike their earlier ruthlessness—
They were strangely cordial.
Ghost Spirit Unit and Blood Slaughter Division—
Sub-branches of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
‘So I’ve caught their attention already.’
Defeating Gluttony in Daejeon had been too much.
He hadn’t expected even the Heavenly Demon Cult to take interest.
And as expected—
“Well then, how about it? You seem to have business in the Empire as well. Join us, and things will be much easier.”
A recruitnt offer.
Refuse, and their friendliness would instantly turn hostile.
But—
“I refuse. Being under soone isn’t my style.”
Getting involved with the Heavenly Demon Cult would be troubleso.
It would put him directly at odds with holy factions—including Archangels.
More importantly—
With the Heavenly Demon, who possessed the [Heavenly Killing Star] trait—
He’d never sleep peacefully again.
“Hm. Your skill is impressive, but your judgnt is lacking. Do you think being unaffected by the formation ans you can escape this situation?”
Ma Hakso smiled.
An overwhelming pressure filled the space.
Far beyond the formation.
‘Their level… is high.’
Johan licked his lips.
As expected of leaders—
They had the presence to match.
Still—
Nothing compared to Gluttony.
Compared to that mountain-like wall—
This was manageable.
Fwoosh.
Black flas ignited in Johan’s palm.
“So you insist on drinking the wine of punishnt. The higher-ups have plans for you, so I won’t kill you.”
Ma Hakso tilted his chin.
At that mont—
Tap.
Tatat.
Shadows moved like snakes.
‘Two on the left. Three on the right.’
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Black flas exploded among them.
Calculated attacks based on trajectory and speed.
But—
‘Fast.’
Faster than expected.
All but one evaded and closed in.
[Skill ‘Sleet’ is activated!]
[Bloodline Power ‘Blood Bind’ is activated!]
Even the crowd-control skills were narrowly dodged.
The first masked man struck.
Clang!
Johan blocked with a dagger.
Sparks flew.
The assassin’s eyes glead.
“Relax your eyes. I know I’m handso, but it’s getting uncomfortable.”
“We’ll see how long you can keep that smirk.”
Clang!
The masked man infused energy into his sword.
[Go Ryun activates ‘Ghost Spirit Sword Dance’!]
A domineering technique unfolded.
A sword specialized in severing tendons targeted Johan.
Yet—
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Even after one minute… two minutes—
Their coordinated attack yielded nothing.
It was all being read.
Every thought.
Every trajectory.
“H-How…?”
The masked man stamred.
Even experts would struggle against this technique.
Especially on the first encounter—
Drawing blood was inevitable.
“The technique itself isn’t bad, but its variations are tricky. Instead of relying on forms 3 and 6, you should’ve mixed in forms 2 and 4 between breaths. That would’ve made it a bit harder.”
Johan shrugged.
“Insolence! How dare an outsider speak of our sacred sword!”
The masked man attacked again.
Tsk.
No willingness to learn.
Well—
He needed to stall anyway.
“Control your emotions. Getting angry at a little provocation—are you a dog or a person?”
Shoulder—
Smack!
“Ugh!”
“Don’t overreact. That was the flat of the blade.”
Knee. Foot. Knee. Foot.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
“AAAAARGH!”
He beat him rcilessly—
Teaching him how to properly use the Ghost Spirit Sword.
“Found the problem. You’re not circulating your inner energy properly. Before executing a move, raise the energy to the Baihui point and release it.”
“Idiot! Teaching the enemy?”
“I won’t refuse!”
The masked n followed his advice.
Their senses were heightened from battle.
Rumble!
Power surged.
“Hahaha!”
“I feel unstoppable!”
But—
“…!”
“…!”
Their laughter froze.
Sothing was wrong.
They had broken through a wall—
But—
Rustle.
Sothing began falling from their bodies.
Black strands.
Hair.
Endless amounts of it.
“This can’t be…”
“Even… our eyebrows…”
Despair filled their faces.
“You gain so, you lose so. Natural law.”
Sorry.
Didn’t expect that side effect.
＊＊＊
“Heh. You called him a hunting dog? Looks more like a tiger cub.”
“Indeed. Even the Ghost Spirit Unit cannot handle him. I heard he was a sorcerer, but his swordsmanship…”
Lee Ak and Ma Hakso spoke.
Then—
They touched the formation.
They intended to convert absorbed life force into inner energy.
Though not fully charged—
The massive number of victims provided more than enough.
‘They’re making their move.’
Not good.
And—
It was about ti.
“Sambok!”
Johan called his loyal subordinate.
“Heh! A true powerhouse appears in tis of need. Let show you ‘Hellfire.’”
Three mouths gathered flas.
[Sambok activates ‘Black Cloud Fla Cannon’!]
Boom!
A massive wave of fire engulfed everything.
Even the formation trembled.
“Oh? You command beasts as well.”
“Hehe. Not ordinary ones. Reminds of mythical creatures.”
They were still amused.
‘Still underestimating .’
Johan smirked.
To them—
This was entertainnt.
Never once imagining defeat.
So—
Ti to show them the cost of arrogance.
Swoosh.
His fingers touched the formation.
Heat spread throughout it.
[Dream Magic ‘Barrier Reversal’ is activated!]
His trump card—
Prepared since entering the shelter.
The gathered life force surged into Johan, Scarlett, and Park Yeri.
At the sa ti—
Murim warriors staggered.
“Cough!”
“Urgh…!”
Veins bulged.
They collapsed.
“The formation…!”
“What did you do!?”
Even Ma Hakso and Lee Ak were affected.
Black blood spilled from their mouths.
Their inner energy twisted—Qi deviation.
“When I got here, there was this crude, garbage formation. I thought a five-year-old made it.”
Johan smiled brightly.
“You insolent brat…!”
“Getting angry will only make it worse. See? It’s draining you faster.”
Wooooong!
Thick energy filled the Blood Vessel.
‘As expected of experts… their inner energy is deep.’
His mana pool filled rapidly.
Ma Hakso prepared to attack—
But it wasn’t necessary.
His allies were fully revived.
“How dare you insult Johan-nim!”
Scarlett unleashed Blood Threads.
“I’ll tear you apart! Hand over your beating hearts!”
Park Yeri licked her sickle.
The tide had turned.
One side struggled to survive Qi deviation—
The other overflowed with power.
The result was obvious.
A one-sided slaughter.
Slash!
Scream!
Cries echoed.
Scarlett and Park Yeri rampaged.
“Hooe! Found more!”
“Well done. Keep it up and you won’t beco my food.”
Sambok and the otters gathered loot.
Good.
Almost finished.
Ti to head to the auction.
But then—
“Heh. Now this is unexpected.”
An unexpected figure appeared.
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