Chapter 1189. Fierce Fighting (4)

“

Kuwaaaaaahk

!”

“

Huwaaaaah

!”

They were coming!

Demonic cultivators, their bodies covered in dark demonic qi, charged at the Japanese like crazed beasts as the crimson light glowed eerily within their eyes.

“W-who the hell are these lunatics?!”

“T-they are coming! They are coming!”

It didn’t matter who, anyone would have been freaked out by this development.

The ocean looked like the only escape path available, but then a large group of crazed demonic cultivators suddenly leaped out of the water to block the Japanese. This development plunged the escaping Japanese warriors into the pit of despair.

Worse still, the outward appearance of these demonic cultivators instantly poured ice-cold chill into the hearts of the Japanese warriors that had been burning from the heat of the battle.

“

Kuwaaaaaah

!”

They were beasts!

After discarding what should never be thrown away, their humanity, the demonic cultivators pounced on the Yamashiro-gumi’s warriors like crazed beasts.

Their presence was overwhelming and destructive in a different sense from Vator’s.

If Vator was like an injured brown bear rampaging around in the middle of a wolf pack, these demonic cultivators were like wolves that hadn’t eaten anything good for the past month or so! That was how ferocious their charge at their targets was!

And then, they... began biting and tearing into their victims!

Ghost-head blades smacked away and slashed at the Japanese arms and legs. Lengthy spears skewered human torsos as if they were pieces of meat.[1]

Like a pitch-black tsunami wave crashing into the shore, the demonic cultivators bit, ripped apart, stabbed, and kicked all the enemies they could see.

It was completely one-sided. Overwhelmingly so!

This situation would never have happened if the Japanese fought them normally. No matter how much stronger the demonic cultivators had gotten, and even if these people were the elites among the demon cult members, the Japanese warriors should never be taken lightly.

If they had fought each other in a ‘normal’ battle, the side getting wiped out would’ve been the demon cult instead.

However, ‘situation’ was a fluid, ever-changing animal.

Kazuhiro’s death robbed them of one hope. And after allowing themselves to get swept up in panic, the Japanese got easily crushed by this negligible level of resistance.

“S-save me!”

“C-crazy bastards!”

The demon cult believers’ explosive momentum also played a crucial role in destroying the enemy’s morale.

The demonic cultivators screaming bizarrely like inhuman monsters while enveloped in demonic qi had this power to spook anyone daring to look at them.

Such scary ‘people’ were charging at their enemies with no regard to their own lives. Any sane human with functioning survival instincts was bound to flinch without even realizing it.

“Aaaaahk! My arm! My arm!”

“Uwaaaaaahk!”

The demonic cultivators pounced on the Japanese warriors to stab and tear into their legs. They climbed on top of the fallen to bite chunks out of the victims’ throats.

The Japanese were unprepared and helpless against such a savage fighting method, something they had never experienced before!

Not only that, but...!

A meteor fell from the sky next.

KA-BOOOOM!

After landing in the center of the Japanese army, claws of energy over a meter long extended from Chang Min’s hands. These ultra-sharp claws swiped and sliced through everything in the vicinity.

Splaaaat, splash!

A tornado of blood spun around as chopped bits of flesh rained down everywhere. Chang Min wiped the blood and seawater from his face, then growled like an enraged beast.

“You filthy trash dare!”

The truth was, Chang Min was genuinely enraged right now.

This battle was unlike any other. Until now, all the battles he was involved in were started by his side. But this battle was different. It was triggered by these lowly bastards daring to target the demon emperor’s life!

To Chang Min, Kang Jin-Ho was an irreplaceable existence, an absolute being. The depth of his true loyalty would easily dwarf the people’s impression of how loyal he was.

Hatred that didn’t exist before burned fiercely in Chang Min’s heart while looking at these bastards daring to invade this country for the sole purpose of harming a god-like existence to him.

“Do not let anyone live! Kill them all! And don’t kill them quickly, either! Make them bitterly regret ever setting foot on this land! By making them taste every pain existing on this Earth!”

Howls answering Chang Min’s murderous orders tore through the darkness of the night and spread in every direction.

These demonic beasts took advantage of the darkness to unleash their true nature.

Being demonic cultivators made them a target of discrimination, suppression, and indescribable humiliation. And they had to languish in their weakness because of their identity as demonic cultivators.

However, going under Kang Jin-Ho’s wings granted them the absolute treasure called ‘strength’.

The ironic thing was, though, despite acquiring this strength, these demonic cultivators didn’t have anywhere to unleash it.

They were forced to suppress this frustration in the corner of their hearts until now. However, finally the time had come! They undid the self-imposed seal and entrusted themselves to demonic qi.

Animals howled. After completely thrusting themselves into the embrace of bloodlust and madness, the demonic cultivators turned their backs on any semblance of defense or self-preservation and raced along the path of attack above all else.

Blood dyed the ground in a sickly crimson hue.

Of course, not all this blood came from Yamashiro-gumi’s people. Unsurprisingly, foregoing defense meant the demon cult members would also suffer casualties. However, these losses were too insignificant to matter in the big picture.

Their combined aura reminiscent of the enraged tidal wave had supplemented the demonic cultivators’ weaknesses. And the demon cult elders rampaging along in the middle of the crowd proved to be a great help, too.

But this was not enough to satisfy Chang Min.

“You!”

Chang Min grabbed a demonic cultivator rushing past him and tossed this crazed man forward. He landed in the middle of the Japanese warriors and began slashing, kicking, and biting into whatever was within reach.

“Feeble weaklings! All of you!”

Crazed demonic flames burned brightly within Chang Min’s eyes.

Those who knew Chang Min would sometimes forget. They foolishly viewed him as a kind-hearted grandfather from how devoted he was toward Kang Jin-Ho and how caring he was toward the demon cult believers.

However, they all forgot that Chang Min’s true nature was that of a demonic cultivator.

Other than Kang Jin-Ho, Chang Min was the only person in this world who could claim to be a legitimate demonic cultivator. Inside him lived incomparable cruelty and viciousness the likes of which other people couldn’t even imagine.

It was just that he ably suppressed those tendencies while going about his daily activities. But he had no need to suppress his true nature in this place.

Chang Min rushed forward with his energy claws. Those crimson-colored claws dissected and sliced apart everything they came in contact with. From a distance, it looked like a tornado of blood was bulldozing its way through the crowd of human beings.

“

Kuwahahahahat

! Die! Die!”

Thanks to Chang Min’s performance, the rest of the demonic cultivators grew even more frenzied. And now, an unstoppable feast of madness unfolded in this harbor.

***

“Holy cow, that’s a bit...”

Lee Hyeon-Su shuddered in dread. The demon cult’s unstoppable momentum left even him speechless.

‘Well, it kinda makes sense...’

When he thought about it, this development didn’t seem so strange anymore.

Didn’t Lee Hyeon-Su get scared several times while watching the Demon Flames in action? He nearly wet his pants from a hundred-plus Demon Flames and their scary aura. But here were over a thousand demonic cultivators pouncing on their enemies simultaneously.

The combined aura would obviously be substantial, to say the least.

‘So, this is the demon cult!’

Lee Hyeon-Su thought he could finally get it. He understood why practically everyone under the sun declared the demon cult to be the Public Enemy Number One and tried so damn hard to oppress the demonic cultivators.

He also figured out why only a few tens of thousands of demonic cultivators still managed to rule over the vast land called China in the past.

Lee Hyeon-Su’s fingertips felt numb. The hair on the back of his skull stood up.

“Rather excessive, aren’t they?” said Wiggins, the corners of his lips curling up. “What’s more, it’s just about the perfect level of excessiveness, too.”

Encountering these rampaging demonic cultivators as enemies would’ve been unbelievably terrifying. However, one couldn’t ask for a more dependable ally than them in a situation like this.

‘So, this is demonic cultivation?’

Kang Jin-Ho was responsible for rescuing the demon cult believers. Wiggins didn’t get a chance to participate from the beginning, and all he did was rescue Kang Jin-Ho when the latter stayed behind till the end.

If he was being honest, Wiggins used to think Kang Jin-Ho risked far too much to rescue these demonic cultivators. Considering all the grave injuries Kang Jin-Ho suffered as a result, he couldn’t help but conclude that this whole adventure had not been worth it.

But now? He finally understood why his lord would risk so much to bring the demonic cultivators to South Korea.

These people were

different.

The growth rate of demonic cultivators was incomparably faster than ordinary martial artists. Only a few months ago, these people were no better than actual trash, yet they were now mercilessly trampling on the elite Japanese warriors.

Wiggins heard that demonic cultivation’s unique trait was the outstanding growth rate of its cultivators. But this rate easily surpassed his common sense.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

This sight should shock the Chinese martial artists to no end. Why wouldn’t they be shocked, when a group of people they viewed as trash had transformed into fierce demons and were currently tearing the Japanese warriors apart?

“For sure, their destructive power is nothing to scoff at,” said Wiggins.

The actual skill level was secondary right now.

The demonic cultivators’ destructive power came from their illogical and inhuman aggressiveness.

Humans were creatures whose mindset and instincts were all tuned toward ensuring their survival.

Even those addicted to warfare didn’t take the possibility of death lightly. The only reason they charged into a deadly situation was because that was the only way to survive. Or they believed in something much greater than their own survival.

However, that logic didn’t apply to these demonic cultivators.

With demonic qi completely corrupting their minds, these people pounced on their victims with complete disregard toward their own lives.

But they weren’t doing it for a potential reward. They simply did it. They kept charging forward again and again while tearing apart any human beings foolishly standing in their way.

Even the Japanese, who fought for the sake of their

gumi

and country and believed sacrificing their lives for the aesthetics was honorable, got cowered by the inhuman aura gushing out of these demonic cultivators.

Worst of all...

Lee Hyeon-Su grimaced slightly. “Master, that old man is really scary, don’t you think?”

“

Mm

...!” Wiggins weightily nodded in agreement.

Chang Min on the battlefield was unrecognizable. His usual demeanor of an airhead was nowhere to be found, replaced by that of a demonic entity that endlessly craved bloodshed and destruction.

In that regard, he and Kang Jin-Ho had something in common. Wiggins briefly wondered if all demonic cultivators at the peak level behaved in that manner.

The way Chang Min swung around his claws made of qi to create a tornado of blood around him even put Vator’s rampage to shame.

The spectators in the distance were feeling this way, so how much worse would it be for the people being pelted by the droplets of blood and flesh right now?

Considering all these factors, it didn’t take a genius to figure out why the terrified Japanese couldn’t even offer proper resistance while being turned into mince meat right now.

“Still, it’d be nice if they cared about the aftermath, too.”

Wiggins grumbled while raising his hands to point at a spot behind the army of demonic cultivators.

“

Huph!

”

A simple casting later, walls of flame rose up along the coastline. These gigantic walls completely separated the ocean and the shore.

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded while glancing at Wiggins. All the blood pouring out from the fallen was flowing toward the ocean. If nothing was done about it, the entire coast would remain dyed in crimson by tomorrow morning. That must be prevented somehow.

“Well, then...” Wiggins muttered while glancing behind him. “It’s about time we wrap this up, so... Should I test that now?”

The mage unit got into formation. That was when a large magic circle drawn on the floor manifested itself. Wiggins nodded, then stood at the foremost position of the magic circle.

A massive surge of mana traveled along the magic circle’s lines and flooded into Wiggins’ body. He bared his fangs in a ferocious grin as mana filled him to the brim.

‘It feels like I’ve become an archmage.’

What he was about to do wouldn’t have been feasible in a battle with a few combatants. Constructing a large-scale magic circle and assigning mages to stand in formation around it before injecting himself with mana? No one in their right mind would wait for the completion of such a thing.

However, ‘such a thing’ could be attempted in a war where the vanguards were doing their jobs.

These mages could only activate beginner-level magic like Binding, but when their magical energy was pooled together? The combined power would be more than worth the trouble.

Even if they were no better than a pack of batteries right now, that was perfectly good enough in this situation.

Blinding light gushed out from Wiggins’ hands. He used this light to draw lines in the air.

The light coming from his fingertips remained engraved in the empty air to form runes transcending the laws of nature.

“Now, then!”

The completed magic circle began pouring out brilliant rays of light.

Almost at the same time, massive licks of flames began coalescing in the sky.

“Be careful, now. Firefighters aren’t allowed in this area, you see?”

Just as Wiggins playfully said that, the flames blanketing the skies fell to the earth below.

This was the ‘fireworks’ denoting the end of the battle.

1. The ghost-head blade, aka “귀두도”, is a common heavy saber-type weapon used by demonic/evil minions in wuxia. It has an engraving of a specter/ghostly monster on the hilt. ☜