Chapter 1205. Punishment (5)

Crunch!

For a moment there, sounds of bone breaking came from Tsukikage’s throat.

“

Kkrururuk!

”

Tsukikage barely held on to his consciousness as the incredible grip strength tightened around his throat. It felt like a gigantic machine was choking him. It was unimaginable that a human being could produce such immense power.

“

Kkrururuk?!

”

Tsukikage briefly wondered what was going on.

Who could this be?

However, he soon realized how stupid that question was. Who else could it be if it wasn’t Kang Jin-Ho?!

With the blood supply cut off, Tsukikage’s vision blurred, but he still desperately searched for Kang Jin-Ho’s figure. And he finally saw Kang Jin-Ho choking him while baring his blood-stained fangs in a crooked smile.

“

Kkeuh

...!”

What a horrifying and wretched state Kang Jin-Ho was in. His hair was half burnt away. His skin was either scorched black, or sliced and cut open to the point of exposing his bones. What remained of his clothes clung to his scorched skin.

All the blood trickling out of his burnt body made Tsukikage wonder just how Kang Jin-Ho was still alive.

Whatever Tsukikage thought of this situation, Kang Jin-Ho was undoubtedly alive.

He actually survived that blast!

‘M-monster...!’

Kang Jin-Ho’s body told the tale of how he survived that blast. All the dirt clinging to him—and the fact that he broke through the ground—made the how abundantly clear.

‘But, in that brief moment...? How?’

Kang Jin-Ho had burrowed himself into the ground to evade the explosion. Of course, such a method wouldn’t be enough to negate the force from the blast completely. But what mattered right now was that he was still alive.

No matter how grievous the wounds were, the battle wasn’t over as long as one was still alive! Kang Jin-Ho proved this maxim with his existence today.

“...I almost died this time.”

Kang Jin-Ho continued to bare his fangs in a cruel smile.

Tsukikage found that smile indescribably soul-chilling and dreadful. Encountering a devil after falling into the pits of Hell should be less terrifying than this.

How could anyone survive that explosion?! Just how!

This man miraculously evaded death. No, he ruled over death!

He granted inevitable death to others while delaying his own demise. No, maybe he was death itself!

‘In that case...!’

Since Tsukikage was now in death incarnate’s grip, his fate was as good as sealed now.

“I’ll praise you, at least,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

Tsukikage couldn’t understand. But the meaning behind Kang Jin-Ho’s words still vividly registered in his brain.

“Regardless of the method, almost no one drove me to a breaking point as much as you have. That’s why you can be proud of yourself.”

“

Kkeuruk

...”

“As your reward...” Kang Jin-Ho faintly smirked. “I’ll keep my promise.”

That was when this happened.

An incredible amount of demonic qi invaded Tsukikage’s body.

It felt like each of his cells was being prodded and scorched by a red-hot branding iron. Tsukikage couldn’t withstand the sensation of his body burning up from the inside and screamed loudly.

“

Kkwuah-aaaaaaaaahk

!”

A shinobi received an intense training to withstand all forms of torture. Yet Tsukikage still let out a hellish scream the likes of which he had never let out before. And everyone staring dazedly at this spectacle became paralyzed by the intensity of his scream.

“

Aaaaahk

!

Uwaaaaaaahk

!”

The screams exploding out of Tsukikage’s throat suddenly quietened down. However, it wasn’t because Kang Jin-Ho had done something to silence his victim. Tsukikage’s vocal cords had ruptured after he kept screaming louder than what his body could tolerate.

“

Kkuruk

...”

However, not being able to hear Tsukikage didn’t mean the witnesses stopped sensing his pain.

Tsukikage’s face puffed up as if it’d burst open at any second. From his mouth, bloody foam endlessly bubbled out. And tears of blood flooded down from the corners of his torn eyes. All these things conveyed the intensity of the suffering Tsukikage was under.

His body continuously spasming violently as if he was having a seizure was another undeniable proof of his suffering.

Kang Jin-Ho continued to smirk at Tsukikage.

“You better stay wide awake, okay? You’ll only win if you figure out when you’ll die, after all.”

Kang Jin-Ho lowered his hand gripping Tsukikage’s throat. The latter sagged on the ground but still spasmed and shuddered pitifully. Kang Jin-Ho dragged his victim with him as he approached the Tsukihas.

“Shouldn’t you be continuing from where you left off?”

He smiled.

Kang Jin-Ho bared his fangs in a now-trademark ferocious smile.

All those who looked at that smile felt the eerie chill tightly squeezing their hearts.

Kang Jin-Ho no longer looked like a living person. All those explosions left his body in complete tatters. That last blast even nearly killed him.

One ankle was clearly broken, judging from how limply it flopped around. Not a single spot on his body was unscathed. An ordinary man... No, even a top martial artist would’ve already died from shock after getting injured to this degree. If not, they would’ve keeled over from excessive blood loss.

However, Kang Jin-Ho was still moving around. While clutching Tsukikage’s throat with one hand, he dragged his broken leg forward to get closer and closer to the surviving Japanese warriors.

Blood trickled out of Kang Jin-Ho’s mouth and nostrils. One of his eyes was closed, probably because of another injury, and blood trickled out from there, too.

His scorched-black figure was gradually being dyed crimson with his blood, yet Kang Jin-Ho walked closer instead of trying to flee.

His remaining open eye emitted this chilling yet desperate glare.

No one in this world should be capable of maintaining their composure after facing that glare head-on.

Kang Jin-Ho suddenly laughed out loud as if this whole thing amused him greatly.

“Didn’t he already tell you...?”

Kang Jin-Ho raised his free hand.

“That you’ll all die regardless?”

Rumble, wuuooong...

Something behind the Japanese warriors buzzed and whirred before the Crimson Destiny flew right back into Kang Jin-Ho’s grip.

Clomp!

While gripping the Crimson Destiny, Kang Jin-Ho walked closer and closer toward the Japanese warriors.

Their determination to risk their lives? Their will to kill Kang Jin-Ho no matter what?

‘No, we were wrong...!’

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The Japanese warriors had an epiphany just then.

Throwing one’s life away was actually nothing significant. At least, when compared to Kang Jin-Ho still wishing to fight despite being in that wretched state!

Compared to what Kang Jin-Ho was doing, risking their lives and charging at him was something even a kindergartner could do!

In the blink of an eye, Kang Jin-Ho’s terrifying aura completely suppressed all the Japanese present.

“Giving your all is a good thing. And trying everything at your disposal is also pretty good.”

Almost no one here understood what Kang Jin-Ho was saying.

However, that didn’t matter. Certain things in this world could still be understood despite the language barrier, after all!

“But... Did you know that the real thing only comes after all that?”

Drag, drag...

While tightening his grip on the spasming Tsukikage’s throat, Kang Jin-Ho lazily approached the Japanese warriors.

“The real thing...”

Kang Jin-Ho’s eye flickered coldly.

“...usually shows up when all your schemes fail and crumble away. So, prove it to me. Show me that you’re the real martial artists you all claim to be.”

Kang Jin-Ho suddenly sped up and leaped into the center of the Tsukihas.

Now not even half of them remaining, the Tsukihas freaked out and tried to back away.

“M-maintain your forma...”

The Tsukiha who spoke first was also the first to get his head cut off.

The cleanly severed head flew up in the air. Even before the expression of shock faded from the head no longer attached to its body, Kang Jin-Ho expertly kicked it away.

“

Aaaaaaahk

?!”

A Japanese warrior who inadvertently caught that head freaked out while urgently throwing it away. He even plopped on his butt and pathetically retreated.

This was how momentum and fighting spirit worked.

The higher the momentum, the worse the rebound would be. It was the same principle as a junkie reveling in the highest of highs experiencing incomparable anxiety and terror after their drug’s effect wore off.

Since their fighting spirit had been burning fiercely, its cooling down was incredibly rapid. The cooled heads and bodies were easy prey to terror.

Swiftly and rapidly! Terror spread around the Japanese warriors like a plague.

Paaaahng!

Kang Jin-Ho’s sword beheaded three warriors in one strike. And then, it severed the waist of another warrior who had been trying to retreat.

Crunch!

However, it seemed Kang Jin-Ho had reached the limit as well, judging from how he failed to cleave this victim cleanly in half. The Crimson Destiny got stuck by the warrior’s spine and stopped moving.

Shuffle!

That was when another shadow leaped up from the darkness and pounced on Kang Jin-Ho.

Kang Jin-Ho coldly smirked at this sight, then raised Tsukikage, still gripped in his other hand, at the incoming shinobi.

KA-BOOM!

The ensuing explosion engulfed Tsukikage.

Kang Jin-Ho didn’t bother to check his meat shield’s condition and swung his sword once more.

“

Heuh

...

Heuhwaaaaah!

”

Responses of the terrified warriors were varied and colorful, to say the least. Some hurriedly fled, while some stumbled back. Some simply sank to their knees.

“D-die! Die, you monster!!!”

The most courageous warriors swung their swords in Kang Jin-Ho’s direction, even as their legs precariously shook about.

Smack, slap! Bang!

Blades not supported by any discernible sword qi cutting into human flesh sounded almost like baseball bats hitting used tires. What was unfortunate about that was that the human flesh in question didn’t belong to Kang Jin-Ho, but to Tsukikage!

Tremble, shiver...

Tsukikage’s spasms worsened after receiving a dozen or so sword blows.

What would he be seeing right now?

At least one thing was for sure. He must be going through an invaluable experience right this moment. Experiencing the sight only familiar to Kang Jin-Ho was an incredible privilege for a martial artist.

No one could view Kang Jin-Ho’s battles with their own eyes, after all!

Tsukikage must be sensing all kinds of hatred, malice, and even fear from the enemies flooding toward him. Of course, whether he enjoyed being subjected to such things or not was a separate matter altogether.

“Not yet. It’s still too early. You need to see more.”

Didn’t Kang Jin-Ho say it earlier? That he’d kill Tsukikage without the latter figuring out how?

Kang Jin-Ho bared his blood-soaked fangs. His sword scythed through the air again and again to slice through space and human bodies.

‘It’s getting blurry.’

Blurry, and dark, too!

His vision that saw through the night as if it was the middle of a day could no longer see through the darkness.

“

Aaaaahk

!”

Stab!

He felt something stabbing him in the back. Kang Jin-Ho simply swung the Crimson Destiny without even bothering to look back. The sensation of cutting through human bones got transmitted through his hand.

That was enough for him.

He took another step forward.

Something was right in front of him. He could feel an object touching his feet, so he mindlessly thrust the Crimson Destiny at whatever it was and shoved it away before advancing forward again.

KA-BOOM!

Kang Jin-Ho sensed an explosion and reflexively used Tsukikage as his meat shield again. However, this explosion must’ve been close by. He couldn’t withstand the impact and slammed into the ground.

‘Well, I haven’t felt this way in a long while.’

He vaguely remembered experiencing something similar to his current state.

‘Right. Wasn’t it when...’

When he killed Azure Demon?

‘I remember now.’

This sensation was when death was slowly but surely creeping closer.

Kang Jin-Ho faintly smiled. No matter how many times he experienced this sensation, he knew he’d never get used to it.

He sensed yet another blade stabbing into his back. But his senses no longer screamed in pain.

Kang Jin-Ho reflexively swung the Crimson Destiny.

Did he get his enemy? He couldn’t tell.

The feelings from his hand had gotten too dull for him to be sure. He couldn’t see, hear, or even sense anything.

However, it was still too early.

Chomp!

Kang Jin-Ho bit his tongue. The extreme pain stunned his senses, and his view cleared up in an instant.

He could see faces pale in fright. People on their butts, trembling away. The katanas in their hands were shaking like leaves against storm winds.

How pathetic was that?

A warrior standing on a battlefield must never tremble like that. But determination gilded by flimsy words like patriotism and whatnot was bound to be easy to strip away.

If that was the case, then...

What was Kang Jin-Ho’s determination, then?

Kang Jin-Ho forced his arm to drag Tsukikage closer to his face.

“...”

Tsukikage had stopped breathing some time ago. Thanks to serving as a meat shield against explosions and attacks, his corpse became too mangled to be identifiable.

Plop.

Kang Jin-Ho released Tsukikage. This man probably didn’t even understand how he died today. In that case, Kang Jin-Ho could say he kept his promise.

What remained now was...

Kang Jin-Ho gripped the Crimson Destiny with both hands, then stood up straight. His desperately burning glare swept across the still-remaining Japanese warriors.

“Now, show me.”

Show me your determination!

The specter running amok in sheer madness trod on the darkness to advance forward.